Worstgen
Cinera
"He looks forward to the day a swordmaster will emerge to surpass even his rival, Red-Haired Shanks"
Cinera
Also, apparently according to the Ace novel Shanks became famous by duelling Mihawk and not the other way round. So in universe, Shanks is the leech.
ZenZu
Going by logic Shanks shouldn't be able to push Mihawk past high diff. But I doubt this, knowing Oda and how careful he is with Shanks it will likely be an extreme diff battle. Shanks and Mihawk to me are like WB and Roger lite. WSM a superior version of WSS, while PK is a superior version of a Yonkou. An individual title vs conquering the seas as a leader. I don't care much for vivre cards.
Cinera
I think narratively, current Shanks should be substantially weaker than a hypothetical two armed Shanks. Sacrificing his (dominant!) arm for Luffy was sacrificing his potential, and he relinquished his claim to the throne (symbolised by him giving Luffy his hat). He was betting on Luffy.
Cinera
It cheapens Shanks' sacrifice if he didn't really lose any potential and is not significantly weaker than he would have been otherwise in the counterfactual scenario where he never lost his arm.
Cinera
If Mihawk was on Shanks level, and they were long term rivals before his incident, then it's not unreasonable to infer that current Mihawks is comparable to/near the counterfactual two armed Shanks.
Cinera
Two armed Shanks should beat one armed Shanks with at most high diff.
ZenZu
If WB truly was the WSM despite the existence of Roger that's all the more reason for me to think this way. Oda doesn't hesitate to use even the likes of Akainu to hype up Shanks, he has a legit shot to be one of those characters where when he's 100% serious, where under the right circumstances he's the strongest. I place him as one of 4-5 known characters with a chance to be the strongest char.
ZenZu
I do believe he got weaker as well, but consider Shanks was the one Roger passed his hat down to, the Luffy of the middle gen, it's not far fetched to think Shanks would have been on Roger's level if he was allowed to peak. But instead he left that role for Luffy.
ZenZu
Mihawk is a character who has a shot to be the strongest as well imo. That's a given since I have a swordsman as the potential strongest and Mihawk is the WSS. My only problem with him is I feel Oda would do more to highlight that in the war of the "best". I realize he was a warlord in a limited role but I don't know how I feel about the strongest character being relegated to a background role in such a prolific war
ZenZu
My issue with Shanks being the strongest is Mihawk's existence. It goes back and forth, but with Shanks its a gut feeling. I don't take part in the Shanks Mihawk debate for that reason, I'll let the manga sort this out.
Cinera
> consider Shanks was the one Roger passed his hat down to, the Luffy of the middle gen, it's not far fetched to think Shanks would have been on Roger's level if he was allowed to peak.
Yes, that's why I said Mihawk may be comparable to/near two armed Shanks. I acknowledge that two armed Shanks would have surpassed Mihawk.
Yes, that's why I said Mihawk may be comparable to/near two armed Shanks. I acknowledge that two armed Shanks would have surpassed Mihawk.
Cinera
I think Mihawk's Marineford performance is not befitting of a top tier unless you accept the hypothesis that he was sandbagging himself. Alternatively, you just scream "plot!" and leave it at that. Mihawk would probably feature in the Act 3 - Act 4 interlude, and we would see his bounty poster soon.
Cinera
What do you expect his bounty to be (your answer doesn't have to be exact?)
How would different values for his bounty affect your assessment of his combat ability?
How would different values for his bounty affect your assessment of his combat ability?
ZenZu
Its pretty much a given Mihawk was sandbagging tbh but my issue is more of an Oda thing, you would think he would make it more clear to the readers if he truly wanted us to believe Mihawk was the one who sits atop the verse. Him sandbagging though still leaves that possibility open atleast.
ZenZu
I feel his bounty will be below Teach's. If it's real close to Teach's bounty with no territories, no crew, that would be mad impressive. Might be the most impressive bounty honestly if that's the case.
Cinera
Well he did canonically tell Zoro that he doesn't go all out to hunt a rabbit. He was also perfectly willing to abandon a fight with Krieg despite the latter attacking him because he had satisfied his boredom. Sandbagging is a lot more in character for him than someone like Sakazuki.
ZenZu
Yea that and the fact that he's fighting for a cause he could give 2 fucks about.
Cinera
I think Oden's accomplishments reflect really well on Mihawk. Zoro is heavily implied to surpass the likes of Oden *before* he makes it to the top, so it seems Mihawk was significantly above Oden (maybe a low high diff fight).
ZenZu
I agree, that flashback to me benefitted Mihawk more than any currently active character in the verse.