Summary
Throughout the entire story ofOne Piece, there are many notable rivalries between some of the most powerful and important players in the world. Oftentimes, these rivalries offer the greatest motivations behind the journey of a specific character, as they may devote their lives to getting stronger in order to defeat their foe. The best example of something like this is none other than Zoro’s rivalry with Mihawk.
However, in the case of this specific rivalry, it’s very one-sided at the current moment, sinceMihawk still considers Zoroto be far beneath him in terms of power. His true rival is Shanks, who has been so ever since both of them were young pirates decades before the start of the modernOne Piecestory. So, let’s go over why this rivalry may be the most important in the entire series.
The Two Strongest Pirates Of Their Era
Shanks’s First Appearance
One Piece, Chapter 1, “Romance Dawn - The Dawn of Adventure”
Mihawk’s First Appearance
One Piece, Chapter 49, “Storm”
From the early days of the franchise, both Shanks and Mihawk have been built up as some of the most important characters inOne Piece. When they were young, they clashed multiple times in bouts that always ended in a draw but were so incredible to witness that evenlegends of the caliber of Whitebeardmade note of this, stating that their rivalry was known far and wide.
Many believe that Shanks and Mihawk essentially act as modern-day versions of Roger and Whitebeard respectively, in the sense that these are the most powerful pirates of their day who have an intense rivalry that has defined both their careers and notoriety. Of course, this conflict between the two has largely subsided, due to Mihawk’s unwillingness to take on a one-armed Shanks, although Red Hair is far stronger now than he has ever been before. However, Mihawk is still aware of this monstrous strength, as was seen in the Marineford War.
I agreed to fight Whitebeard, but I never agreed to fight “Red Haired” Shanks!
However, the reason why their rivalry is so important for the overall story is because of what each of them means to their respective Straw Hat Pirate. Shanks is the biggest reason why Luffy even became a pirate, and he desperately wants to meet his mentor on the Grand Line so he can return the iconic Straw Hat to him. To this day,reuniting with Shanks is one of Luffy’s primary motivations, and it is also something that Shanks himself wants to see, since he didn’t meet him at Marineford so that Luffy could fulfill his promise.
On the other hand, Mihawk has had just as much of an impact on Zoro’s entire journey, if not an even bigger one. Ever since he was young, Zoro wanted to become the World’s Strongest Swordsman due to the promise he made to Kuina. However, only upon setting out to sea and meeting Mihawk would he realize how difficult this dream truly is to achieve, and ever since then, he has been growing his strength specifically to take Mihawk’s title. The two are inextricably linked, to the point where it was Mihawk who trained Zoro in Haki during the time skip with the express desire to face him at the end of his journey.
So Who Is Stronger Between The Two Of Them?
Shanks vs. Mihawk, Who Wins?
One of the greatest debates that has raged within theOne Piececommunity for years is the matter of who is actuallystronger between Shanks and Mihawk. Although both of them have been stated to be equals who always fought one another to a draw, signifying the equality of their strength, fans of either character fight tooth and nail to explain why their favorite pirate is superior.
Right off the bat, this debate is largely pointless to have since the story has outright confirmed them to be long-standing equals, as well as the fact that both have had very few moments throughout the story where they could properly showcase their abilities. What is known about them is that neither have a Devil Fruit ability, owing all of their legendary strength to their proficiency in the various forms of Haki as well as the unparalleled skill they have as warriors.
However, the debate that fans have regarding their rivalry typically tilts in the favour of Shanks being the stronger of the two, but only marginally. This is purely because Shanks has had more screentime in combat situations, where he has shown thegreatest feat of Conqueror’s Hakiin the modern era, where he used a large burst to incapacitate a Navy Admiral from miles away, as well as the greatest Observation Haki against Kid, which allowed him to see 10 seconds into the future. Although Mihawk’s showings were amazing, they weren’t on this level.
However, detractors claim that Mihawk’s title as the World’s Strongest Swordsman almost assuredly confirms him as a user of Conqueror’s Haki as well, which must be the case due to his Black Blade as well. Many state that Shanks' usage of his sword, Gryphon, automatically makes him a swordsman, and seeing how Mihawk is the strongest one in the world, he may be even stronger than Shanks. At the very least, the two are relative in their power, with most fans typically giving the edge to Shanks.
