There are only two characters who have ever created a black blade. Ryuma and Mihawk. Mihawk is the WSSM and Ryuma was "sword god".
So far, Mihawk is hyped to be one of the strongest characters in OP. Yet there are a few who undeniably have greater hype than him. Roger, WB, and Xebec definitely have this portrayal.
Shanks, while assumed to be below Mihawk due to Mihawk's title, still has portrayal on par with Mihawk and much better feats at the moment. In fact I do think its worth noting that Mihawk's superiority over Shanks is specifically qualified.
Its never outright said that Mihawk is more dangerous than Shanks, or even that he's outright stronger. Just that his sword skills are greater. And I'm not saying this means Mihawk is weaker than Shanks, I think that's up for debate. The fact of the matter is, Mihawk has never fought prime Shanks. Shanks became a yonko only 4 years ago whereas he lost his arm like 10+ years ago and Mihawk refused to fight him since.
So why exactly does Brannew say that Mihawk has greater sword skill when they haven't fought in over a decade? Did Mihawk just fraudulently take credit for the lord of the coast taking Shanks's arm? While that would be funny, I think it would be a bit underwhelming.
The only real feat we have of Mihawk that could put him over Shanks is the fact that he made Yoru a black blade. This along with the fact that Ryuma is the only other one we know who made a black blade, leads me to think that the WSSM is simply anyone who creates a black blade. The black blade is the pinnacle of sword skill and anyone who can create one is worthy of the WSSM title.
While I don't really care about the Shanks vs Mihawk conversation too much, Oda portrayed them to be close in strength and I doubt he will ever give a definitive answer on who is stronger, I do think this could come into play later in the series.
Nasujuro has to be Zoro's final fight, yet he isn't the WSSM. I'm still wondering how Oda is going to deal with this. But one way could be if WSSM isn't purely a strength based title. Of course, you cannot be weak to be WSSM, just like you cannot be weak to be PK. However there is an aspect of the title that isn't inherently a powerlevel feat: unlocking a black blade. I believe this is purely a skill based feat. A character can have immense strength and ACoC power like Roger, the gura gura no mi like WB, but only a masterfully skilled swordsman can create a black blade.
In Zoro vs Nasujuro, Zoro will probably have already attained the WSSM title. Yet Nasujuro will be stronger due to his awakened mythical zoan and immortality. However Zoro will surpass Nasujuro's DF powers and immortality with his immense sword skill, probably granting him a new title even greater than WSSM. "Strongest swordsman in history" or "Sword god" imo.
So far, Mihawk is hyped to be one of the strongest characters in OP. Yet there are a few who undeniably have greater hype than him. Roger, WB, and Xebec definitely have this portrayal.
Shanks, while assumed to be below Mihawk due to Mihawk's title, still has portrayal on par with Mihawk and much better feats at the moment. In fact I do think its worth noting that Mihawk's superiority over Shanks is specifically qualified.
Its never outright said that Mihawk is more dangerous than Shanks, or even that he's outright stronger. Just that his sword skills are greater. And I'm not saying this means Mihawk is weaker than Shanks, I think that's up for debate. The fact of the matter is, Mihawk has never fought prime Shanks. Shanks became a yonko only 4 years ago whereas he lost his arm like 10+ years ago and Mihawk refused to fight him since.
So why exactly does Brannew say that Mihawk has greater sword skill when they haven't fought in over a decade? Did Mihawk just fraudulently take credit for the lord of the coast taking Shanks's arm? While that would be funny, I think it would be a bit underwhelming.
The only real feat we have of Mihawk that could put him over Shanks is the fact that he made Yoru a black blade. This along with the fact that Ryuma is the only other one we know who made a black blade, leads me to think that the WSSM is simply anyone who creates a black blade. The black blade is the pinnacle of sword skill and anyone who can create one is worthy of the WSSM title.
While I don't really care about the Shanks vs Mihawk conversation too much, Oda portrayed them to be close in strength and I doubt he will ever give a definitive answer on who is stronger, I do think this could come into play later in the series.
Nasujuro has to be Zoro's final fight, yet he isn't the WSSM. I'm still wondering how Oda is going to deal with this. But one way could be if WSSM isn't purely a strength based title. Of course, you cannot be weak to be WSSM, just like you cannot be weak to be PK. However there is an aspect of the title that isn't inherently a powerlevel feat: unlocking a black blade. I believe this is purely a skill based feat. A character can have immense strength and ACoC power like Roger, the gura gura no mi like WB, but only a masterfully skilled swordsman can create a black blade.
In Zoro vs Nasujuro, Zoro will probably have already attained the WSSM title. Yet Nasujuro will be stronger due to his awakened mythical zoan and immortality. However Zoro will surpass Nasujuro's DF powers and immortality with his immense sword skill, probably granting him a new title even greater than WSSM. "Strongest swordsman in history" or "Sword god" imo.
