In the world of One Piece, rivalries between major characters hold much importance. These rivalries enthrall fans and make them excited for the series. One such major rivalry is between Mihawk and Shanks. While Shanks is one of the Emperors of the sea, Mihawk is the strongest swordsman in the entire One Piece world.
As the plot developed, it became clear that Shanks and Mihawk had a past together, and their rivalry might be among the best in recorded history. The two characters were portrayed by One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda as ideal opposites, which led to an intriguing relationship between them.
A great deal of information about their past has been missing, but Whitebeard claims that the fights between the two swordsmen rattled the Grandline. However, Mihawk chose to end the rivalry after Shanks lost his arm. Since it was revealed that Shanks and Mihawk used to duel evenly, fans have been curious as to which character would prevail in a fight. And this question might have been answered by Eiichiro Oda.
The Rivalry Between Shanks And Mihawk
One of Shanks’ first roles in One Piece was apprentice on Gol D. Roger’s ship, where he learned a lot from people like Roger and Rayleigh. Regarding Mihawk, fans don’t know much about his background at this time, other than the fact that he trained incredibly hard to become the best swordsman and also defeated several formidable swordsmen to finally achieve the title of the Strongest Swordsman.
The fights between Shanks and Mihawk happened years ago, and Shanks wasn’t even a Yonko at the time, but still, their battle would shake the entire grand line and there is hardly anyone who doesn’t know about their rivalry.
Only a select few characters can match the strength of Mihawk and Shanks. The two are portrayed as being on par with one another and having a well-known rivalry. But Oda san might have hinted about Shanks being a stronger character than Mihawk despite losing one of his arms.
Eiichiro Oda Hints At Shanks Being Stronger Than Mihawk
Following the termination of the Shichibukai system, enthusiasts witnessed the establishment of the Cross Guild. Eiichiro Oda was careful to highlight the unique abilities of all the members of the Cross Guild, and when it came to Mihawk, he made sure to emphasize that his swordplay was superior to everyone else’s in One Piece and explicitly stated that Mihawk’s sword skills even outclasses Shanks’.
Oda, though, only brought up Swordplay, which makes it abundantly evident that Shanks is still generally more powerful than Mihawk. Furthermore, Mihawk had a smaller bounty than Shanks at the time of the Cross Guild’s introduction. And to make it more clear, Shanks has not yet shown his full strength even though he has scared off an Admiral and defeated Kid with one strike.
Consequently, it demonstrates that Shanks is the more capable fighter overall. That is not to say that Mihawk lacks strength in any manner, though. That merely indicates that Shanks is regarded somewhat more highly by Oda than Mihawk in terms of overall strength.
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