the strongest creature does not mean the strongest being
only the creature part of a character is considered
a weapon is not part of the creature so is not taken into account when determining who the strongest creature is
devil fruits that arent zoan are also not considered as they are not creature related
for example a sandman is partially creature and partially a thing, the human is the creature and the sand is the thing
so this explains how kaido is the strongest creature without being stronger than shanks or akainu
only the creature part of a character is considered
a weapon is not part of the creature so is not taken into account when determining who the strongest creature is
devil fruits that arent zoan are also not considered as they are not creature related
for example a sandman is partially creature and partially a thing, the human is the creature and the sand is the thing
so this explains how kaido is the strongest creature without being stronger than shanks or akainu