I don't get this argument, we've been seeing Mihawk first hand in real time, we've been seeing what he's been getting, why do you need to see Xebec from 50 years ago lmfaoooo.
Even now this is all just Saint Shanks hype really if you think about it, Saint Shanks took down Loki, Harald who got defeated by Loki is sharing a CoC clash with Xebec like they are PrimeBeard and Roger. It's always Saint Shanks Oda is making look good.
It's hype for Mihawk because Mihawk is the current strongest swordsman, and Xebec proves irrefutably that you do
not need to master 'cutting' to be considered an exceptional swordsman, contrary to the general gist of that post you tagged us in. Weaker swordsman
does equal weaker overall. Shockwave swordsmen are just as valid as cutting swordsmen.
Xebec being stated as a swordsman by the narrator no less is finally
proof that guys like Saint Shanks and Roger are
undeniably swordsmen, and that Saint Shanks is
10000% included in Mihawk's title.
Your issues with Mihawk's portrayal vs Saint Shanks' are aside to the simple point that when Oda said Mihawk is the world's strongest swordsman with even greater sword skills than Saint Shanks, he was literally telling us Mihawk > Saint Shanks. Actually quite outrageous considering he usually keeps these things ambiguous.
Imagine, bro could've stopped at "Mihawk is the WSS" and that would've been enough, but it's like he knew this whole hakiman Saint Shanks debate has been going on for decades and wanted to finally nip it in the bud lmfao. Man randomly included Saint Shanks' name in his Mihawk wank chapter just so that nobody had any confusion as to who the strongest swordsman in the world is, wild.
People can bring up Vista, his portrayal to the world etc... but the fact of the matter is, Oda has proven he is more than happy to say Mihawk > Saint Shanks in a direct comparison. He is literally the world's greatest leecher, as Mihawk
cannot be weaker than Saint Shanks from a narrative perspective. His title isn't a rumour, it's official. Mihawk is just a chill guy who is yet to fight seriously — he'll get his love; at this point there's no point in fighting it, just wait for the feats. The longer we wait, the crazier the feats due to power creep. Don't forget that Mihawk is the first top-tier we ever saw fight and that Saint Shanks knowing him was initially hype for Saint Shanks not the other way round. Honestly the biggest nod to Mihawk being wildly strong is the fact that he's this strong and completely unblemished by scars. He has this untouchable air to him that even Saint Shanks doesn't have.
Drake just wasn’t him.
