Powers & Abilities Dracule Mihawk : He has been Constantly portrayed as bigger deal than an Emperor
- Thread starter ShishioIsBack
- Start date
He let Kiku fight Kaido with 8 other people and let Franky handle Big Mom + they had other allies
Also, why are we using Luffy for this
He’s an idiot
Marco is not. He’s a smart veteran pirate with decades of experience
When Marco saw Big Mom he said he HAD to handle it himself because he knows how dangerous she is
He left Vista (who he should know is inferior to him) to take care of Mihawk
There’s a very clear difference here
Again, this is not me saying he’s WEAKER than the Yonko
This is me saying his portrayal was noticeably worse Pre timeskip and is currently being salvaged by Oda
Also, why are we using Luffy for this
He’s an idiot
Marco is not. He’s a smart veteran pirate with decades of experience
When Marco saw Big Mom he said he HAD to handle it himself because he knows how dangerous she is
He left Vista (who he should know is inferior to him) to take care of Mihawk
There’s a very clear difference here
Again, this is not me saying he’s WEAKER than the Yonko
This is me saying his portrayal was noticeably worse Pre timeskip and is currently being salvaged by Oda
I mean... is BM's portrayal that great to begin with?
She's far from the golden standard among the Yonko
Anyway, I don't take Luffy's judgement as serious because him and Marco are 2 very different characters
One is a smart veteran pirate with a good track record
The other is a dumb rookie
Also, yes her treatment in Wano ruined her portrayal
Her nickname in the community is literally Big Meme
True, but there was no such statement for Mihawk
He told Vista to go handle it and went about his business
They aren't double standards
They're 2 different situations involving 2 different characters
If Luffy and Marco try to solve a problem and come up with 2 different answers who would you believe?
Luffy or Marco?
She's far from the golden standard among the Yonko
Anyway, I don't take Luffy's judgement as serious because him and Marco are 2 very different characters
One is a smart veteran pirate with a good track record
The other is a dumb rookie
Also, yes her treatment in Wano ruined her portrayal
Her nickname in the community is literally Big Meme
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True, but there was no such statement for Mihawk
He told Vista to go handle it and went about his business
They aren't double standards
They're 2 different situations involving 2 different characters
If Luffy and Marco try to solve a problem and come up with 2 different answers who would you believe?
Luffy or Marco?
The situation also matters though.
The Vista vs Mihawk thing is blown significantly out of proportion when at the end of the day, all Oda wouldve wanted to draw was to introduce Vista as a Swordsman.
Besides, the Warlords AND the Marines werent allowed to attack the WBPs but only the allies at that time so that Squard would believe the lies he's been fed.
Same reason why Doflamingo didnt attack Jozu but only restrained him.
The Vista vs Mihawk thing is blown significantly out of proportion when at the end of the day, all Oda wouldve wanted to draw was to introduce Vista as a Swordsman.
Besides, the Warlords AND the Marines werent allowed to attack the WBPs but only the allies at that time so that Squard would believe the lies he's been fed.
Same reason why Doflamingo didnt attack Jozu but only restrained him.
I'm not saying Vista would push Mihawk at all if they fought
I'm saying the fact that Marco left Vista (a commander that Marco knows is inferior to him) to deal with Mihawk instead of handling it himself worsens his portrayal
His portrayal has improved dramatically over the timeskip but it was dire before. Just look at his treatment in the community as a reference
The Vista meme was the bane of any Mihawk fans' existence on Twitter, Reddit, Discord, anywhere. Shanks fans sucking him off and underselling Mihawk's title was VERY common.
Now even the biggest Mihawk haters have to grasp for different straws to slander him. After his bounty reveal and the whole Cross Guild fiasco it's almost impossible to downplay him
I'm saying the fact that Marco left Vista (a commander that Marco knows is inferior to him) to deal with Mihawk instead of handling it himself worsens his portrayal
His portrayal has improved dramatically over the timeskip but it was dire before. Just look at his treatment in the community as a reference
The Vista meme was the bane of any Mihawk fans' existence on Twitter, Reddit, Discord, anywhere. Shanks fans sucking him off and underselling Mihawk's title was VERY common.
Now even the biggest Mihawk haters have to grasp for different straws to slander him. After his bounty reveal and the whole Cross Guild fiasco it's almost impossible to downplay him
It does not worsen his portrayal when a Warlord guaranteed weaker than Mihawk used a Commander stronger than Vista as a foot stool.
It only shows that during a war, clashes and exchanges happen.
The problem is youre confusing Oda's portrayal of Mihawk with the community's retardation.
Mihawk isn't a newly introduced character, he's been around since East Blue and his portrayal was always set in stone when Whitebeard talked about him while meeting Shanks.
It was reinforced and subtly wanked again & again in Wano, when a Kokuto wielder in Ryuma had a similar effect to what Kaidou did with regards to keeping the World Govt out of Wano & when a guaranteed inferior Swordsman to Mihawk in Oden nearly killed Kaidou & was placed alongside Xebec, Roger, WB & Shanks by Kaidou.
The point is, Oda always held Mihawk really high in his mind. The community just showed their collective iq levels when they disrespected him & constantly underplayed him.
@Welkin Oda never salvaged Mihawk's portrayal, he didnt retcon him. What he did with Crocodile in Alabasta and then in Impel Down/MF? THAT was a retcon.
Here he merely reinforced what intelligent readers already knew, its the dumbfucks and delusional ones who were surprised at what was shown.
It only shows that during a war, clashes and exchanges happen.
The problem is youre confusing Oda's portrayal of Mihawk with the community's retardation.
Mihawk isn't a newly introduced character, he's been around since East Blue and his portrayal was always set in stone when Whitebeard talked about him while meeting Shanks.
It was reinforced and subtly wanked again & again in Wano, when a Kokuto wielder in Ryuma had a similar effect to what Kaidou did with regards to keeping the World Govt out of Wano & when a guaranteed inferior Swordsman to Mihawk in Oden nearly killed Kaidou & was placed alongside Xebec, Roger, WB & Shanks by Kaidou.
The point is, Oda always held Mihawk really high in his mind. The community just showed their collective iq levels when they disrespected him & constantly underplayed him.
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@Welkin Oda never salvaged Mihawk's portrayal, he didnt retcon him. What he did with Crocodile in Alabasta and then in Impel Down/MF? THAT was a retcon.
Here he merely reinforced what intelligent readers already knew, its the dumbfucks and delusional ones who were surprised at what was shown.
That has more to do with strength though
Anyone with a brain in their head could tell you Mihawk is STRONG. It's been set in stone that he's a legend since damn near the beginning
It's the way he was treated by other characters that's a problem for me. His presence should be equal to that of Oldbeard, Kaido, and Shanks but it never felt like that in canon
In Marineford he didn't FEEL like this major player that's superior to everyone around him. He felt like just another piece of the puzzle when he was most likely stronger than the antagonist at the time
The Vista situation just makes it even worse. I can't imagine Marco telling Vista to go deal with someone equivalent to his Captain (Kaido, Shanks, Big Mom) if they were standing there
It just doesn't make sense. Oda dropped the ball with that completely
I agree with you but I don't think you really know where I stand on this topic
Oda always had this in mind that's true. I'm trying to say he didn't handle it very well
No one downplays characters like Whitebeard, Shanks (Japanese fans think he's the strongest character), or Roger
Plenty of people before the Cross Guild chapter downplayed Mihawk. That alone should tell you how he's been handled throughout the series
Anyone with a brain in their head could tell you Mihawk is STRONG. It's been set in stone that he's a legend since damn near the beginning
It's the way he was treated by other characters that's a problem for me. His presence should be equal to that of Oldbeard, Kaido, and Shanks but it never felt like that in canon
In Marineford he didn't FEEL like this major player that's superior to everyone around him. He felt like just another piece of the puzzle when he was most likely stronger than the antagonist at the time
The Vista situation just makes it even worse. I can't imagine Marco telling Vista to go deal with someone equivalent to his Captain (Kaido, Shanks, Big Mom) if they were standing there
It just doesn't make sense. Oda dropped the ball with that completely
I agree with you but I don't think you really know where I stand on this topic
Oda always had this in mind that's true. I'm trying to say he didn't handle it very well
No one downplays characters like Whitebeard, Shanks (Japanese fans think he's the strongest character), or Roger
Plenty of people before the Cross Guild chapter downplayed Mihawk. That alone should tell you how he's been handled throughout the series
Two of the most paramount positions a pirate can hold in the World of One Piece, and it is innately fair to call them positions as that's what they are even if not categorically and official defined as "Admiral", are Warlord of the Sea and Emperor of the Sea.
Despite the fact that position of Warlord has been eternally chastised and looked down upon by usual suspects of Yonko Fandom, realities is by their inherent nature, both positions, when evaluated by their stand alone nature, and not enhanced by an additional title, represent mediocrity or as directly mention in canon itself The Silver Medal. And for all the raving about the emperor title, its never ending and certainly unearned wank, the undeniable, categorical reality is that the lowest cut of bounty that qualifies as an Emperor of Sea, at least that of what we know so far, doesn't mean it can't be lower, is 2.25 Billion which is not that far off of a bounty of an average Warlord after his bounty is unfrozen, case in Point Sir Crocodile.
And well that's not even counting the idea of The Fifth Emperor which drags down the criteria even further, and if The Fifth Emperor is essentially considered just a step behind an emperor, whose to say just how much more of a bounty than Fifth Emperor a real emperor actually needs.
And taking a step further from the metric of bounty, we would like to point out that when the meeting of Kaido and Big Mom was presented as an event that is causality of unrest among the Marines, the cry of desperation from Marines painted a very clear picture
"Only people who can stop them are Warlords and Admirals"
I mean its not like Warlords are called One of the Three main powers alongside Emperors
And comically enough both are categorized as "Mere" titles at one point in the manga or another.
So to sum up this part of the essay, the predicate of a Warlord's placement on the sea swarmed by Pirates is just as significant as that of an Emperor or at least very close to that of an emperor is, both are essentially equally impressive or unimpressive depends on where you stand, both are equally significant or insignificant (mere).
But there are exceptions as well, among the Emperors and Warlords, one entity separated from the pact and aforementioned entity happens to hold a title that is not insignificant, that does not represent the mediocrity of previously mentioned "Silver Medal", instead it represents the very apex, the top of the world, bonafide living legend status and that title is that of Strongest in the World.
Edward E Newgate, "The Strongest Man in the World" is an exception among Emperors of The Sea
Dracule Hawk Eye Mihawk "The Strongest Swordsman" in the World is an Exception among Warlords of the Sea
But Mihawk's greatness, his significance, his legend, his combat prowess, his well earned respect, doesn't just stop at being an exception among Warlords of the sea, rather by the virtue of Warlords and Emperors being virtually comparable in significance, also translates to Mihawk's superiority over the average Emperors of the sea. Now what is cause here and what is effect, is very debatable and I myself am not sure what to precisely categorize as what, but Mihawk has been presented consistently as a threat greater than an Emperor, as a legend bigger than an emperor, as an entity more significant than an Emperor. And perhaps that is to support the notion that Warlords of the Sea are just as significant, threatening and legendary as Emperors or perhaps greatness of Warlords helps Mihawk.
Lets explore further and establish why Dracule Mihawk is superior at least on general level a superior entity to Emperoros, barring of course Mihawk's fellow exception Whitebeard, and for some Kaido fanatics here, we can add Kaido as well, as depressingly as he has failed to deliver on that prospect and fundamentally never even given the title, rather just a rumor signifying his exception from the rule.
Battles that Shook the Grand Line : A Duel to Make History
Now ne of the reasons demonstrating Mihawk's well established superiority over Yonko, and perhaps the most overlooked one when it comes to its own significance and due to a notable fallacy, is the fact that Dracule Mihawk's Battle with Red Hair Shanks is the only battle in One Piece that has been treated as a historical event that "Shook the Grand line"
This battle was so remarkable, that Strongest Man in the World himself called it stuff of the Legend and something that still rings clear in his head
Now the fallacy I previously mentioned, many Yonko fans would immediately interject, "Well well I mean look Shanks is there too and he's an emperor" well certainly but you are missing one thing, version of Shanks that fought Mihawk was Prime Shanks with two arms.
Since then, and certainly Yonko Army who has been preaching Yonkou are in constant battles with each other, must agree Shanks has had many battles since he became a Yonko, certainly with other emperors, but none of his other battles are even given remotely the significance and respect his battle with Hawk Eye has. He hasn't displayed, and to Mihawk's disappointment, the ability to have a historical battle with anyone anymore.
And to further support that, Kaido and Big Mom's battle couldn't even become a logical legend in Wano country, hell not even in tiny ass Onigashima.
And well you could say they didn't go all out, well the battle in which Kaido himself was defeated, the battle between Joy Boy Incarnate Luffy where he shoved Kaido's ass down the bed rock of Wano and further into magma, even that isn't considered legendary by anyone.
Closest thing that comes to that is Aokiji vs Akainu, but one we aren't talking about Admirals here and two the main source of notoreity of that battles stems from World altering stakes associated with the battle, it was the battle to determine an individual who would command the largest military faction of the world from up coming years.
This certainly comes close tho and this is obviously a battle between two individuals who just like Mihawk are also greater than the Emperors
Looking Down Upon an Emperor : Red Hair Shanks is One Armed Has Been
This is a good time to talk about the first obvious narrative superiority of Mihawk, not entirely the implied superiority as the previous one but almost a direct in its nature, is Mihawk visiting Shanks in Shanks' own territory in front of his own crew and denying him the right to battle by calling him "One Armed Has Been" while Shanks did nothing to stand up for himself, and unironically neither did any of his crew members
Now Shanks defenders and Yonko army can chalk this up to, Dracule Mihawk just playfully trash talking his former rival but it ain't that simple inn'it? On the contrary, this establishes one of the core, fundamental layers of Dracule Mihawk's character, he sits on the top of the World, alone suffering from success as after Shanks has lost his arm, there is one one left in the World, at least no swordsman strong enough to give Mihawk a real challenging duel.
This notion was asserted in the very early stages of the story, where ever so bored Dracule Mihawk, seeking thrill of the battle for years has finally been excited when he saw exceptional, once in a life time potential in Roronoa Zoro and asked him to become stronger and surpass Mihawk
And then this is further supported in Vivre Card Data Book, and it can't get any more clearer than that
Strongest Swordsman in The World : An Emperor is a Swordsman
No matter how many mental gymnastics are applied, no matter how many Haki Hame Has Shanks shoots out of his ass, at the end of the day he is a swordsman, and Dracule Mihawk is the strongest Swordsman in the World.
All these men are directly categorized by Eiichiro Oda, the author of the story as Swordsmen. No level of intellectual dishonest, disingenuity, conniving lies, crying, bitching, regretting, coping, malding, enduring, seething, denying, misrepresenting or what ever else have you can change that well established fact.
100s of times this topic has been debated, and each 100 of times no logical reason has been established for Shanks exclusion from Dracule Mihawk's World wide reputation as Greatest prospect Swordsmanship has produced since Sword God Ryuma. As a matter of fact, quite the contrary has happened, as mentioned in the last point, Shanks' decline in strength due to loss of an arm has been looked down upon by Mihawk and he has called One Armed Has Been.
Then data book not just said "He is strongest in name and actuality" but directly mentioned Shanks, and said Mihawk is waiting for Swordmaster stronger than Shanks.
And very very recently, the beautiful chapter that butt fucked basically every Mihawk downplayer, especially the one who shall not be named, who so firmly believed "Mihawk is only as strong as Vista" who now apparently believes "Mihawk is slightly stronger than Law and Kidd" (Quite the progression if you ask me judging by who he is) and another one of his fellow goons has just hauled ass and is now bitching and moaning in Narutoforums or what ever the fuck it is...once again not naming anyone here
From getting introduced as "Strongest Swordsman in the World" calling Shanks"The One Armed Has Been" to waiting for someone stronger than Shanks in Data Book to Manga confirming (And Fan Boys some what mistranslating it) as Surpassing Shanks in Swordsmanship, every single development and once again a whole post can be made about this, has suggested that Mihawk is above Shanks and there is no shadow of doubt associated with it.
And Shanks is no bottom feeder of an Emperor, as a matter of fact quite the contrary, he might be strongest of the non exceptional emperors as he has yet to be explored in the story, just like Mihawk. As manga progresses, combat feats inflate, strongest characters generally appear and make their mark after weaker ones, to the dismay of Kaido and Big Mom, well Big Mom is trash no matter when she shows up.
And talk about Kaido, the sheer juxtaposition in the way Mihawk perceives Shanks as essentially an utter disappointment and a one armed Has Been as the cause of Mihawk's eternal boredom and suffer form succes, and the way Kaido perceives Shanks as one of the 5 men capable of fighting equally with him and potentially defeating him.
Really gotta feel for Big Mom, she couldn't even make it to this list, despite fighting Kaido literally days ago...like God damn Oda show bitch at least some respect
The Black Blade and Kozuki Oden : Perhaps even Sword God Ryuma
Just like Shanks, another individual in what some people call "Kaido's Top 5", the 5 silhouette behind Luffy, often a source of very nonsensical and head scratching Luffy wank, and arguably the most significant one as he left the mark on Kaido both mentally and physically, is Kozuki Oden.
But what exactly does Kozuki Oden represent as a Swordsman and he is as pure a swordsman can get, even delusional Shanks crowd can't deny, the Enma Holder Nittoryu Samurai from country of Wano is not some Asshole Haki hame Ha shooter, but rather one that exudes the utmost purity a swordsman can exude, perhaps even more pure than our champion himself Dracule Mihawk.
But Oden in the realm of Swordsmen in One Piece is not so exceptionally significant, as a matter of fact his significance doesn't even approach that of Dracule Mihawk, it really doesn't even come close.
For Starters Oden doesn't even have a supreme Grade Blade, both Enma and Amano Hibakiri (Not sure if the grade of this sword is quite revealed yet tho) are Great Grade Swords
Some One Piece fanatic please tell me what in the blue hell is Yamaorashi?
Secondly, and bare with my I am trying to keep it brief here Oden hasn't made a Black Blade, as a matter of fact a comment was directly made on Oden's lack of adequacy and skill to be able to make a Black Blade
As a matter of fact there is only one man in the history of Wano country to be able to have talent, skill, strength, Haki mastry, greatness to make a Black Blade and that man is worshipped as a God by Oden's friends, Oden's retainers, Oden's daughter, Oden's father and most certainly Oden himself. Sword God Ryuma
Significance of Black Blade Shushui was of such utmost significance to Wano that it is placed in a shrine with Ryuma's corpse and it is so significant, Hiyori was willing to give a sword she received in inheritance from her father.
And above all else, despite Kozuki's Oden's notoriety in Gol D Roger's ship, his general accomplishments as a combatant, as a swordsman, as giving Kaido's scar to be seen by entire World, not once in his life time was Kozuki Oden ever recognized as Strongest Swordsman in the World
But despite Oden's mediocrity as a Swordsmen, he was certainly comparable to an Emperor, certainly strong enough to give Kaido a battle of his life and certainly give him post traumatic stress disorder.
Its almost like Mediocrity, almost there but not quite good enough, goes hand in hand with Emperor and fighters and legends of the class of an Emperor. A Mere Strong Samurai is comparable to a Mere Emperor.
Chapter 1058 : It can't get any clearer than that
A Subordinate having a greater bounty than the Captain.
How exceptional that phenomenon is can not be overstated, it is something unheard of something that has never happened.
Zoro was essentially, and at worst equal to Monkey D Luffy at the time of Whiskey Peak and Zoro's reputation was so great, he was basically perceived as the actual captain by Vivi, his status as a subordinate was often in question at that time
And this is not the first time Zoro's status as a "subordinate" was questioned, same happened in Water 7 as well, Urouge was shocked at the fact that someone like Zoro can be just a first mate.
Yet despite Zoro's exception as a subordinate, being very very close to Luffy or even equal, the idea of Zoro having greater bounty, being perceived as a bigger threat than his own captain was not even humored in One Piece.
Because Captain puts the cap on you, if you are a threat, by extension of whose umbrella you are under, who commands you is bigger threat as he can simply command you to fight for him.
Unless the the gap between perception, the distance between reputations, is so big, you are so much stronger than your captain, that Marines have no choice but to put a greater bounty than you.
And that's what happened to Dracule Hawk Eye Mihawk
And fans of Emperors always make stupid argument so they will make one here as well, and while to anyone with common sense, this shouldn't even need to be described, I will baby sit you guys regardless.
Yeah no shit Mihawk is far stronger than Buggy, we all know that but this bounty isn't the indicative of Mihawk's real strength with Buggy's real strength. This is the gap of perceptions, Buggy's reality and Buggy's perception is very different, Buggy has, through his own bullshit, has established himself as a threat who is just as strong as an emperor of the sea, a threat who can rival, once again Mihawk's inferior Red Hair Shanks.
Just read this God Damn Page if you want proof
And Buggy isn't even perceived as someone who barely makes the cut as an Emperor, he certainly isn't perceived as a Psusedo "5th Emperor", no he is a Full Blown Emperor with Bounty greater than Luffy, his Fellow Emperor.
I mean his bounty is far bigger than Blackbeard at the time he received his first bounty as an Emperor as well.
So Mihawk is perceived as such an insane threat, such a legend, such a significant entity in the history of the World, that it doesn't matter that he calls Buggy his "Captain", World Government still has to acknowledge Mihawk as the biggest threat.
Everything else I said prior to this point, only sets a stage, there is still some wiggle room I'll acknowledge but all that only establishes Mihawk deserves benefit of the doubt, this just puts a concrete cap on it, now its not about benefit of the doubt anymore...its about establishment of the undeniable fact that DRACULES HAWK EYES MIHAWK SHITS ON THE EMPERORS OF THE SEA.
@Fleet Admiral Lee Hung
@sanjikun
@TheAncientCenturion
@pg13
@grey matter
@HA001 OF THE RAIN
@comrade
@Seraphoenix
@MarineHQ
@SakazOuki
@Blackbeard
@Shanal
@Den_Den_Mushi
@ConquistadoR
@Franosuke
@L55
@SkySanji
@Steven
@Gol D. Roger
@Garp the Fist
@LANJI CUCKSMOKE
Despite the fact that position of Warlord has been eternally chastised and looked down upon by usual suspects of Yonko Fandom, realities is by their inherent nature, both positions, when evaluated by their stand alone nature, and not enhanced by an additional title, represent mediocrity or as directly mention in canon itself The Silver Medal. And for all the raving about the emperor title, its never ending and certainly unearned wank, the undeniable, categorical reality is that the lowest cut of bounty that qualifies as an Emperor of Sea, at least that of what we know so far, doesn't mean it can't be lower, is 2.25 Billion which is not that far off of a bounty of an average Warlord after his bounty is unfrozen, case in Point Sir Crocodile.
And well that's not even counting the idea of The Fifth Emperor which drags down the criteria even further, and if The Fifth Emperor is essentially considered just a step behind an emperor, whose to say just how much more of a bounty than Fifth Emperor a real emperor actually needs.
And taking a step further from the metric of bounty, we would like to point out that when the meeting of Kaido and Big Mom was presented as an event that is causality of unrest among the Marines, the cry of desperation from Marines painted a very clear picture
"Only people who can stop them are Warlords and Admirals"
I mean its not like Warlords are called One of the Three main powers alongside Emperors
And comically enough both are categorized as "Mere" titles at one point in the manga or another.
So to sum up this part of the essay, the predicate of a Warlord's placement on the sea swarmed by Pirates is just as significant as that of an Emperor or at least very close to that of an emperor is, both are essentially equally impressive or unimpressive depends on where you stand, both are equally significant or insignificant (mere).
But there are exceptions as well, among the Emperors and Warlords, one entity separated from the pact and aforementioned entity happens to hold a title that is not insignificant, that does not represent the mediocrity of previously mentioned "Silver Medal", instead it represents the very apex, the top of the world, bonafide living legend status and that title is that of Strongest in the World.
Edward E Newgate, "The Strongest Man in the World" is an exception among Emperors of The Sea
Dracule Hawk Eye Mihawk "The Strongest Swordsman" in the World is an Exception among Warlords of the Sea
But Mihawk's greatness, his significance, his legend, his combat prowess, his well earned respect, doesn't just stop at being an exception among Warlords of the sea, rather by the virtue of Warlords and Emperors being virtually comparable in significance, also translates to Mihawk's superiority over the average Emperors of the sea. Now what is cause here and what is effect, is very debatable and I myself am not sure what to precisely categorize as what, but Mihawk has been presented consistently as a threat greater than an Emperor, as a legend bigger than an emperor, as an entity more significant than an Emperor. And perhaps that is to support the notion that Warlords of the Sea are just as significant, threatening and legendary as Emperors or perhaps greatness of Warlords helps Mihawk.
Lets explore further and establish why Dracule Mihawk is superior at least on general level a superior entity to Emperoros, barring of course Mihawk's fellow exception Whitebeard, and for some Kaido fanatics here, we can add Kaido as well, as depressingly as he has failed to deliver on that prospect and fundamentally never even given the title, rather just a rumor signifying his exception from the rule.
Battles that Shook the Grand Line : A Duel to Make History
Now ne of the reasons demonstrating Mihawk's well established superiority over Yonko, and perhaps the most overlooked one when it comes to its own significance and due to a notable fallacy, is the fact that Dracule Mihawk's Battle with Red Hair Shanks is the only battle in One Piece that has been treated as a historical event that "Shook the Grand line"
This battle was so remarkable, that Strongest Man in the World himself called it stuff of the Legend and something that still rings clear in his head
Now the fallacy I previously mentioned, many Yonko fans would immediately interject, "Well well I mean look Shanks is there too and he's an emperor" well certainly but you are missing one thing, version of Shanks that fought Mihawk was Prime Shanks with two arms.
Since then, and certainly Yonko Army who has been preaching Yonkou are in constant battles with each other, must agree Shanks has had many battles since he became a Yonko, certainly with other emperors, but none of his other battles are even given remotely the significance and respect his battle with Hawk Eye has. He hasn't displayed, and to Mihawk's disappointment, the ability to have a historical battle with anyone anymore.
And to further support that, Kaido and Big Mom's battle couldn't even become a logical legend in Wano country, hell not even in tiny ass Onigashima.
And well you could say they didn't go all out, well the battle in which Kaido himself was defeated, the battle between Joy Boy Incarnate Luffy where he shoved Kaido's ass down the bed rock of Wano and further into magma, even that isn't considered legendary by anyone.
Closest thing that comes to that is Aokiji vs Akainu, but one we aren't talking about Admirals here and two the main source of notoreity of that battles stems from World altering stakes associated with the battle, it was the battle to determine an individual who would command the largest military faction of the world from up coming years.
This certainly comes close tho and this is obviously a battle between two individuals who just like Mihawk are also greater than the Emperors
Looking Down Upon an Emperor : Red Hair Shanks is One Armed Has Been
This is a good time to talk about the first obvious narrative superiority of Mihawk, not entirely the implied superiority as the previous one but almost a direct in its nature, is Mihawk visiting Shanks in Shanks' own territory in front of his own crew and denying him the right to battle by calling him "One Armed Has Been" while Shanks did nothing to stand up for himself, and unironically neither did any of his crew members
Now Shanks defenders and Yonko army can chalk this up to, Dracule Mihawk just playfully trash talking his former rival but it ain't that simple inn'it? On the contrary, this establishes one of the core, fundamental layers of Dracule Mihawk's character, he sits on the top of the World, alone suffering from success as after Shanks has lost his arm, there is one one left in the World, at least no swordsman strong enough to give Mihawk a real challenging duel.
This notion was asserted in the very early stages of the story, where ever so bored Dracule Mihawk, seeking thrill of the battle for years has finally been excited when he saw exceptional, once in a life time potential in Roronoa Zoro and asked him to become stronger and surpass Mihawk
And then this is further supported in Vivre Card Data Book, and it can't get any more clearer than that
Strongest Swordsman in The World : An Emperor is a Swordsman
No matter how many mental gymnastics are applied, no matter how many Haki Hame Has Shanks shoots out of his ass, at the end of the day he is a swordsman, and Dracule Mihawk is the strongest Swordsman in the World.
All these men are directly categorized by Eiichiro Oda, the author of the story as Swordsmen. No level of intellectual dishonest, disingenuity, conniving lies, crying, bitching, regretting, coping, malding, enduring, seething, denying, misrepresenting or what ever else have you can change that well established fact.
100s of times this topic has been debated, and each 100 of times no logical reason has been established for Shanks exclusion from Dracule Mihawk's World wide reputation as Greatest prospect Swordsmanship has produced since Sword God Ryuma. As a matter of fact, quite the contrary has happened, as mentioned in the last point, Shanks' decline in strength due to loss of an arm has been looked down upon by Mihawk and he has called One Armed Has Been.
Then data book not just said "He is strongest in name and actuality" but directly mentioned Shanks, and said Mihawk is waiting for Swordmaster stronger than Shanks.
And very very recently, the beautiful chapter that butt fucked basically every Mihawk downplayer, especially the one who shall not be named, who so firmly believed "Mihawk is only as strong as Vista" who now apparently believes "Mihawk is slightly stronger than Law and Kidd" (Quite the progression if you ask me judging by who he is) and another one of his fellow goons has just hauled ass and is now bitching and moaning in Narutoforums or what ever the fuck it is...once again not naming anyone here
From getting introduced as "Strongest Swordsman in the World" calling Shanks"The One Armed Has Been" to waiting for someone stronger than Shanks in Data Book to Manga confirming (And Fan Boys some what mistranslating it) as Surpassing Shanks in Swordsmanship, every single development and once again a whole post can be made about this, has suggested that Mihawk is above Shanks and there is no shadow of doubt associated with it.
And Shanks is no bottom feeder of an Emperor, as a matter of fact quite the contrary, he might be strongest of the non exceptional emperors as he has yet to be explored in the story, just like Mihawk. As manga progresses, combat feats inflate, strongest characters generally appear and make their mark after weaker ones, to the dismay of Kaido and Big Mom, well Big Mom is trash no matter when she shows up.
And talk about Kaido, the sheer juxtaposition in the way Mihawk perceives Shanks as essentially an utter disappointment and a one armed Has Been as the cause of Mihawk's eternal boredom and suffer form succes, and the way Kaido perceives Shanks as one of the 5 men capable of fighting equally with him and potentially defeating him.
Really gotta feel for Big Mom, she couldn't even make it to this list, despite fighting Kaido literally days ago...like God damn Oda show bitch at least some respect
The Black Blade and Kozuki Oden : Perhaps even Sword God Ryuma
Just like Shanks, another individual in what some people call "Kaido's Top 5", the 5 silhouette behind Luffy, often a source of very nonsensical and head scratching Luffy wank, and arguably the most significant one as he left the mark on Kaido both mentally and physically, is Kozuki Oden.
But what exactly does Kozuki Oden represent as a Swordsman and he is as pure a swordsman can get, even delusional Shanks crowd can't deny, the Enma Holder Nittoryu Samurai from country of Wano is not some Asshole Haki hame Ha shooter, but rather one that exudes the utmost purity a swordsman can exude, perhaps even more pure than our champion himself Dracule Mihawk.
But Oden in the realm of Swordsmen in One Piece is not so exceptionally significant, as a matter of fact his significance doesn't even approach that of Dracule Mihawk, it really doesn't even come close.
For Starters Oden doesn't even have a supreme Grade Blade, both Enma and Amano Hibakiri (Not sure if the grade of this sword is quite revealed yet tho) are Great Grade Swords
Some One Piece fanatic please tell me what in the blue hell is Yamaorashi?
Secondly, and bare with my I am trying to keep it brief here Oden hasn't made a Black Blade, as a matter of fact a comment was directly made on Oden's lack of adequacy and skill to be able to make a Black Blade
As a matter of fact there is only one man in the history of Wano country to be able to have talent, skill, strength, Haki mastry, greatness to make a Black Blade and that man is worshipped as a God by Oden's friends, Oden's retainers, Oden's daughter, Oden's father and most certainly Oden himself. Sword God Ryuma
Significance of Black Blade Shushui was of such utmost significance to Wano that it is placed in a shrine with Ryuma's corpse and it is so significant, Hiyori was willing to give a sword she received in inheritance from her father.
And above all else, despite Kozuki's Oden's notoriety in Gol D Roger's ship, his general accomplishments as a combatant, as a swordsman, as giving Kaido's scar to be seen by entire World, not once in his life time was Kozuki Oden ever recognized as Strongest Swordsman in the World
But despite Oden's mediocrity as a Swordsmen, he was certainly comparable to an Emperor, certainly strong enough to give Kaido a battle of his life and certainly give him post traumatic stress disorder.
Its almost like Mediocrity, almost there but not quite good enough, goes hand in hand with Emperor and fighters and legends of the class of an Emperor. A Mere Strong Samurai is comparable to a Mere Emperor.
Chapter 1058 : It can't get any clearer than that
A Subordinate having a greater bounty than the Captain.
How exceptional that phenomenon is can not be overstated, it is something unheard of something that has never happened.
Zoro was essentially, and at worst equal to Monkey D Luffy at the time of Whiskey Peak and Zoro's reputation was so great, he was basically perceived as the actual captain by Vivi, his status as a subordinate was often in question at that time
And this is not the first time Zoro's status as a "subordinate" was questioned, same happened in Water 7 as well, Urouge was shocked at the fact that someone like Zoro can be just a first mate.
Yet despite Zoro's exception as a subordinate, being very very close to Luffy or even equal, the idea of Zoro having greater bounty, being perceived as a bigger threat than his own captain was not even humored in One Piece.
Because Captain puts the cap on you, if you are a threat, by extension of whose umbrella you are under, who commands you is bigger threat as he can simply command you to fight for him.
Unless the the gap between perception, the distance between reputations, is so big, you are so much stronger than your captain, that Marines have no choice but to put a greater bounty than you.
And that's what happened to Dracule Hawk Eye Mihawk
And fans of Emperors always make stupid argument so they will make one here as well, and while to anyone with common sense, this shouldn't even need to be described, I will baby sit you guys regardless.
Yeah no shit Mihawk is far stronger than Buggy, we all know that but this bounty isn't the indicative of Mihawk's real strength with Buggy's real strength. This is the gap of perceptions, Buggy's reality and Buggy's perception is very different, Buggy has, through his own bullshit, has established himself as a threat who is just as strong as an emperor of the sea, a threat who can rival, once again Mihawk's inferior Red Hair Shanks.
Just read this God Damn Page if you want proof
And Buggy isn't even perceived as someone who barely makes the cut as an Emperor, he certainly isn't perceived as a Psusedo "5th Emperor", no he is a Full Blown Emperor with Bounty greater than Luffy, his Fellow Emperor.
I mean his bounty is far bigger than Blackbeard at the time he received his first bounty as an Emperor as well.
So Mihawk is perceived as such an insane threat, such a legend, such a significant entity in the history of the World, that it doesn't matter that he calls Buggy his "Captain", World Government still has to acknowledge Mihawk as the biggest threat.
Everything else I said prior to this point, only sets a stage, there is still some wiggle room I'll acknowledge but all that only establishes Mihawk deserves benefit of the doubt, this just puts a concrete cap on it, now its not about benefit of the doubt anymore...its about establishment of the undeniable fact that DRACULES HAWK EYES MIHAWK SHITS ON THE EMPERORS OF THE SEA.
@Fleet Admiral Lee Hung
@sanjikun
@TheAncientCenturion
@pg13
@grey matter
@HA001 OF THE RAIN
@comrade
@Seraphoenix
@MarineHQ
@SakazOuki
@Blackbeard
@Shanal
@Den_Den_Mushi
@ConquistadoR
@Franosuke
@L55
@SkySanji
@Steven
@Gol D. Roger
@Garp the Fist
@LANJI CUCKSMOKE
