One Piece's greatest swordsman is overrated

This article contains spoilers from the final saga of One Piece.

Key points

• Mihawk's true strength remains unknown, leading to overestimated assumptions from fans
• Mihawk is powerful, but not at the level of the strongest in the world like Whitebeard or Roger
• Mihawk's generosity and demeanor mean that his strength is second to that of Shanks, unmatched by legends like Garp or Whitebeard.

The strongest swordsman in One pieceDracule Mihawk, is quite a powerful individual and fans know that he has tremendous power. Having been introduced in the Baratie Arc, Mihawk has impressed fans over the years.

His displays of strength have been limited, but it's safe to say that they are, without a doubt, nothing short of impressive. That being said, Mihawk's true strength has not been revealed by Oda, which has led to many floating ideas among fans about how strong he truly is. It's almost absurd to imagine that Mihawk could be overrated as a swordsman. However, it's pretty clear based on how some fans perceive him that he is actually believed to be much bigger than he actually is.

Mihawk is a powerful and powerful fighter

• Mihawk is the greatest swordsman in the world
• Mihawk's full power remains unknown

It goes without saying that Dracule Mihawk is very powerful. Fans know him as the world's most powerful swordsman One piece World, and this has been made clear to fans since its first introduction. When Mihawk first appeared in the Baratie story arc, Zoro made it clear that this person was the strongest swordsman in the world and that his strength was impeccable. At the time, Zoro underestimated how strong Mihawk truly was and thought he could defeat him. When the two ended up fighting, Zoro felt humiliated quite quickly and realized that the gap and strength between him and the world's greatest swordsman was too great. Mihawk refrained from using his true strength in the battle against Zoro because if he had, it is very likely that Zoro would have died.

Sorry, red hair. This power knows no limits. – Mihawk

Fans expected to see Mihawk's true strength sooner or later. For example, when the Paramount War began, Mihawk's strength was once again put on display, only this time, against the Whitebeard Pirates and some other fighters who were present in the Navy headquarters. Unfortunately, once again, Mihawk did not show his true strength. After the timeskip, Mihawk remained largely on the sidelines, until fans finally got to see the dissolution of the Shichibukai system and the establishment of the Cross Guild. Oda eventually placed a bounty on Mihawk's head and it was revealed to be 3.59 trillion berries. This bounty is absolutely huge and shows just how powerful the swordsman Mihawk is. His generosity puts into perspective his level of power and the kind of threat he poses to the World Government. But, at the same time, it's also a clear indication that Mihawk is nowhere near the strongest in One piece.

The Gulf that separates Mihawk from the other greats

Mihawk is not at the level of the strongest in the world

The questions about Mihawk's strength will always keep coming. Fans don't know how strong he truly is, but Oda has hinted at his limit on many occasions. Despite this, many fans often overestimate Mihawk. Simply because Mihawk holds the title of greatest swordsman, fans believe that Mihawk is stronger than all current emperors, and at the same time, some even go so far as to assume that he is stronger than the legends of the One Piece world. , like Roger, Garp and Whitebeard.

Undoubtedly Mihawk is strong and there is no denying it. He is a powerful fighter in the same league as the current Emperors of the One Piece world. But Mihawk is far from the strongest and there is absolutely no comparison between him and the world's historical monsters. Fans often like to compare Mihawk to Shanks, and this is largely due to the rivalry they once shared. Of course, Mihawk is the man who holds the title of most powerful swordsman, but that certainly doesn't mean he's stronger than Shanks.

I simply want to measure the distance between that man and us. – Mihawk

For one thing, fans know that Shanks and Mihawk engaged in not just one duel but countless ones. Shanks also says that Mihawk wants to settle a score with him. This clearly implies that whatever rivalry they had was left unresolved because Shanks lost his arm. This is a clear indication that Shanks had never lost even a single duel with Mihawk. Clearly, the idea is that Mihawk was already the strongest swordsman in the world when these two characters fought. Additionally, fans also know that Shanks was not a Yonko when they fought and was far from his prime. Shanks only became a Yonko 4 years before the start of One Piece, which is proof that he only continued to get stronger after that.

Now, that's not to say that Mihawk couldn't have done the same, and there's absolutely no doubt that Shanks and Mihawk will be close in terms of strength. However, claiming that Mihawk is stronger than Roger and Whitebeard is complete nonsense. Whitebeard, the man known as the strongest in the world, is directly compared to an Ancient Weapon. Whitebeard has the power to destroy the entire world. In the Paramount War, Mihawk himself openly exclaims that he wants to measure the gap between himself and Whitebeard. After attempting to test Whitebeard, Mihawk is stopped by Whitebeard's commander, Jozu, who doesn't even hold back.

The case of Mihawk's comparison to Roger is even more absurd. Just because Roger carried a sword a long time ago doesn't make Mihawk stronger than him. There are countless characters in One Piece who have swords but are not swordsmen. They simply use their tools to channel their various abilities. They are much more than simple swordsmen. Characters like Mr. 1 have openly stated that they are more than just swordsmen, as has King, who fought Zoro in Wano. Shanks channels his Haki through his sword and fans know that he has multiple ways to use it, whether from long range, sword strikes or Haki blasts. Likewise, Roger had multiple ways to utilize his powers, and was openly hailed as the strongest, even going so far as to fight Whitebeard despite being terribly ill.

Additionally, when the Guild of the Cross was founded and Buggy made it clear that he wanted to rival the other Yonko for One Piece, Mihawk was intimidated by the fact that the Guild of the Cross wanted to feud with the Emperor's other crews, such as the Red Hair. Pirates, Straw Hat Pirates and Blackbeard Pirates.

Additionally, while sizes are not a perfect indicator of strength, Mihawk's bounty of 3.59 trillion berries is much smaller than Shanks'. Now, some might argue that this is because Shanks is an emperor and Mihawk is an underling. However, that has little to do with this, because the truth is that Mihawk is a very well-known individual who actively hunts Marines while Shanks is more of a pacifist who doesn't do much harm to the Navy.

Furthermore, Mihawk is affiliated with the Cross Guild, which, as was recently made clear, is hunting down Marines by placing bounties on their heads. This makes them direct enemies of the World Government and highly infamous. Shanks, on the other hand, does nothing of the sort. Despite everything, Shanks' size is much higher.

Mihawk is second to Shanks and always has been, and there is absolutely no comparison between him and the likes of Garp, Roger, and Whitebeard. When Mihawk continues to show his strength, he will be defeated by Zoro and, similarly, Luffy will have triumphed over Shanks. The balance of power will remain however and it is clear that Shanks will still be superior to Mihawk in his own way, just as Luffy will always be superior to Zoro.