What? Did I say he was weak or something?
He is what he is.
The World's Strongest Swordsman is a great title.
Do I think he can take on the Four Emperors because he has a Black Blade? No.
What do you want me to say? lol
I'm not the guy to talk to about who is more powerful. Shanks is an Emperor to me, and Mihawk is strong, but I consider stuff like innate knowledge to be part of their skillsets. It's two different beasts bro.
On one hand, to me, Shanks uses a sword because he is a leader, and that doesn't necessarily translate into swordsmanship skill. I like to think that Shanks is good at swordsmanship, but he's definitely not as good as it as Mihawk is. He may have rivaled him in the past, but it's not like Shanks has tried to take the Strongest Swordsman title and it's not like Mihawk has tried to take the Emperor title.
I think they stopped doing that sort of thing when Shanks became an Emperor. Conqueror's Haki is overpowered, and if Shanks has an affinity for it then that makes it challenging for anybody to fight him. Mihawk mentioned he didn't want to fight a one armed man because using two hands is important for swordsmanship and if Shanks was intending to duel without focusing on swordsmanship then he didn't want anything to do with it. The score isn't settled with them.
You know what I think the worst thing I can say about it is?
- Mihawk has the same relationship with Shanks that Zoro does with Luffy. If Zoro and Luffy can throw down with each other then I don't see why Mihawk and Shanks can't. Generally, though, it is believed Shanks and Luffy would have the edge in that due to their high level of Conqueror's Haki, but Zoro and Mihawk might win 4 times out of 10. It's that close.
Let me tell you a couple of facts so try to align those with your belief that Shanks and Luffy are superior to Mihawk and Zoro. Here goes.
It is not about black blade, it is about #1 weapon in the whole world and it was forged with haki so you can see how this looks bad for Shanks and Luffy? The supposed hakiman is losing in haki to Mihawk. Is it clicking yet?
Black blade is not the reason why he can take on 4 Emperors, his haki being the strongest is that reason.
Mihawk happens to be one of the 10 dreams of Strawhats. How will Oda make their accomplishments stand out in the world of One Piece? By making all of their dreams impossible to pull off. You know what that means? Beating Mihawk is impossible. That's why it is Zoro's dream. All 10 of them will do something that is impossible for all others. Mihawk being on the list of impossible things seals the fate of any VS Mihawk thread.
Shanks is praised for a strong crew. Mihawk is praised for individual strength. Two different beasts indeed.
You know how awesome the ability of handful of strongest is? Just a stepping stone towards beating Mihawk.
The best part is that Zoro already has it and Mihawk is still unbeatable. How is that for a challenge?
Is it challenging enough that despite the ability of handful of strongest you stand no chance at beating Mihawk?
Is this even hinting at how much of an impossible obstacle Mihawk will turn out to be?
If Zoro is created to beat the impossible, logically, Shanks and Luffy do not stand a chance whatsoever.
And ultimately, let me give you a taste of the gap between the strongest of the show and everyone else.
All the top dogs of the show need 1 supreme grade weapon to channel their power through it.
Zoro, at his strongest, needs 9 strongest weapons in the world to channel his full power. Can you even imagine the difference?
In short, whether you pick Zoro or Mihawk, Shanks and Luffy lose 10 out of 10. Victory is not in the realm of possibilities.