Thirteen years ago, Shanks and Mihawk, the two greatest swordsmen, were fighting each other to attain the title of World’s Strongest Swordsman. However, due to the happening in Fusha Village, where Shanks lost his arm to save Luffy from a sea king. After that, Mihawk lost his interest in Shanks and considered his lost arm as his greatest weakness. Following this incident, Mihawk attained the title of the World’s Strongest Swordsman.
But now, after 13 years when Shanks has become an emperor and one of the most powerful characters in One Piece, fans once again desire to surface the most required question of all time “Is Shanks Stronger than Mihawk” or who will win in the fight between Shanks and Mihawk? Is Shanks with one arm can overpower Mihawk?
The answer to the question is: Presently, Shanks has a higher bounty than Dracule Mihawk, and he is the emperor of the sea, but in recent chapters, Marines have confirmed that in terms of sword skill, Mihawk has surpassed even Red Hair Shanks. So here, we can estimate that no one can overpower Mihawk in sword skill.
But if we compare them based on Haki, Mihawk can only use two forms of Haki, whereas Shanks has mastered all three forms of it. And we witnessed how even Admirals feared his Supreme King Haki, which makes him a Yonko of the sea. Also, his Supreme King Haki can nullify the opponent’s Observation Haki. It means now it will be problematic for Mihawk to fight against Shanks as his Observation Haki will not work against him.
Thus, Shanks has the edge over Mihawk based on Haki. Therefore, if we compare them based on overall development, we think Shanks has a slight advantage over Mihawk because of the strongest Haki. But still, it’s nearly impossible to predict the outcome of their fight.
Later in the post, we compared both Shanks and Mihawk based on every minor detail and concluded an unbiased result of their fight. So, let’s discuss.
Table of Contents
What is Shanks’ power?
Shanks is one of the most powerful and influential pirates in the new world. He got over 1 Billion Bounty at the age of 27 and is the leader of Red-Haired pirates, which is known for having a well-balanced crew. He is a master of all three forms of Haki, has excellent swordsmanship skills, and, most importantly, has good leadership skills.
Shanks is one of the strongest users of Conqueror Haki. He is also known as an Observational Haki Killer as he uses this advanced form of Conqueror Haki to make his presence disappear and prevents his enemies from seeing his future. During his meeting with Whitebeard, half of the crew was knocked out by Shanks’ Haki.
Shanks is an excellent swordsman as he managed to take on Whitebeard’s powerful attack even with one arm. He also managed to block Akainu’s magma-infused punch with his sword easily. He has excellent leadership skills, as it can be seen how much his crew is loyal and puts their absolute faith in him. Shanks also has significant influence in the One Piece world as he was granted an audience with Gorosei, and the Marineford war got stopped at his word.
How strong is Shanks’ power? Power Level Explained
Shanks is one of the four Yonkos whose power rivals Big Mom, Kaido, and Blackbeard. His mere presence made most of the marines scared during the Marineford war. Shanks alone could single-handedly annihilate Big Mom’s pirates as he is stronger than all of them. In front of his strength, Big Mom’s devil fruit is futile since her fruit works on the principle of fear which he doesn’t have any shred of it.
During the Marineford arc, he easily managed to hold off Beast pirates all by himself as he made them withdraw from interfering in the battle. Kaido is known as the strongest creature of One Piece, yet he was made to back off because of Shanks. Even Blackbeard, who had two devil fruits, was not ready to fight against him.
During the Wano arc, when Kaido was battling against Luffy, he was shocked and witnessed the tremendous strength of the young pirate. He mentally compares him to other big names of pirates, including Shanks. This, itself, shows that he fully knows how strong Shanks is and what he can bring to him if he is not careful.
Shanks is much stronger than the marine admirals as they are no match for him. In post Wano arc, he scared Aramaki just with his Haki blast, and in the movie Red, he managed to make Kizaru and Fujitora sweat by showcasing a glimpse of his full strength. Shanks’s current Bounty is above 4 Billion Berries (currently highest in the One Piece world). It clearly demonstrates how powerful Shanks is. Right now, excluding Luffy, no one can defeat Shanks in one on one fight.
Prime Whitebeard=Roger>Kaido=Big Mom=Shanks>Blackbeard
To know more about Shanks’ Power Level. Kindly refer the article mentioned below.
Must Read: One Piece: How Strong is Shanks? Haki & Power Level Explained
Abilities
- 1) Swordsmanship
In the film Red, it was shown that Shanks uses a flaming sword against his enemies. As being rival to Mihawk, Shanks is a highly skilled swordsman as he efficiently managed to block off Whitebeard and Akainu’s attack even though he had only one arm. He might have been the strongest swordsman in the series if he hadn’t lost his arm.
- 2) Leadership Skills
Shanks has excellent leadership skills as he commands an army of loyal men. In his crew, everyone has made their name, and all have unique abilities. His crew easily managed to steal Gomu Gomu No Mi’s devil fruit with ease as they didn’t even question Shanks why he was even after that fruit.
- 3) Advanced Supreme King Haki
Shanks has mastered all three forms of Haki. He uses an advanced form of Conqueror Haki, which prevents his enemies from seeing his future. His Haki blasts made Aramaki, Kizaru, and Fujitora cower in fear as they were forced to retreat.
How strong is Mihawk?
After Shanks, the one who holds the second-highest Bounty in the series is Mihawk. He is the rival of Shanks, who used to have a lot of duels against him. Mihawk is the strongest swordsman and one of the former warlords in the series. He was also known as Marine Hunter before becoming one of the seven warlords.
When he first appeared in the manga, he annihilated Don Kreig’s entire fleet and easily defeated Roronoa Zoro, the strongest swordsman of East Blue. Shanks and Mihawk share a lot of history; after Shanks lost his arm, he lost his interest in him and never dueled with him ever again.
Mihawk greatly respects Shanks; as we saw during the Marineford arc, he mentally apologizes to Shanks when he is about to fight against Luffy. When Shanks arrived to end the war, he was the first one to withdraw from it.
In addition, Mihawk became famous before the Great Pirate Era even started. It means he made his name before Roger’s execution. In his past, he trained relentlessly for many years, challenging more and more powerful foes until he had no more worthy challengers left. Because of that, he became a Shichibukai to travel freely despite having no crew. All he wants is to spend most of his time sailing for fun. It clearly shows how strong Mihawk is.
Initially, his epithet was going to be “Clairvoyant” (Senrigan), but Oda sensei finalized it as Hawkeyes. Mihawk mastered Observation Haki and Armament Haki. His only desire is to find a swordmaster who can surpass even his rival, Red-Haired Shanks.
Is Mihawk Yonko Level? Mihawk’s Bounty
Yes, Mihawk is a Yonko level. Currently, his Bounty is over 3.5 billion berries, the second highest in the present series. He got his Bounty just by hunting down the marines. If he hadn’t been a Warlord, his Bounty would be nearly equal to the other three Yonkos, as his Bounty got frozen for many years after becoming a Warlord. It illustrates that if he didn’t accept to be a Warlord and went on havoc by eliminating every strongest opponent, then his Bounty would be even greater than Red-Hair Shanks.
Also, as mentioned in the section, Mihawk trained for many years and surpassed every strongest opponent one by one until he had no more worthy challengers left. It shows how monstrous and powerful he is. He made his name before Roger’s execution means before Shanks even started his journey of forming the strongest crew.
The greatest proof to say that he is a Yonko level is he is a rival of Shanks, a Yonko. And in the recent chapters, it is mentioned that he has already surpassed Red-Hair in terms of sword skill. It clearly illustrates that he is the same as the Emperor Level in One Piece.
Abilities
- 1) Swordsmanship
Mihawk is the strongest swordsman in the series as he carries the title of strongest in the series. Apart from Shanks, no one has even given him a tough fight. He is the only swordsman who managed to make his permanent sword black. Mihawk easily managed to cut a glacier created by Aokiji into two halves.
- 2) Haki
Mihawk has mastered Observation and Armament Haki. He is a keen observer; as is shown during the Marineford arc, he was easily able to predict the movement of Luffy and was able to counter it with very ease.
Shanks vs. Mihawk: who would win?
1) Based on Strength
Based on just strength, as both are equal, they become stronger without any power of devil fruit. Whenever they fight against their opponents, their strength is brutal. Shanks has a fiery sword, whereas Mihawk has the most potent black sword, Yoru.
He efficiently managed to destroy Don Kreig’s fleet, and with one swing, he sliced the glacier created by Aokiji into two halves.
2) Based on Speed
Based on speed, again, it is a tie. Both are incredibly skillful in predicting their opponents next, as they immediately counter it without any delay. During the Marineford arc, both of them launched their attack quickly on their opponent.
Many pirates clashed with Mihawk to prevent him from getting to Luffy. Yet, he swiftly dealt with all his opponents and managed to stop Luffy in his tracks.
Meanwhile, Shanks efficiently managed to erase his presence and swiftly save Coby from being killed. Even during the start of the manga, it was shown that Shanks quickly located Luffy when he was kidnapped by Higuma.
3) Based on Haki
Shanks is an excellent Haki user; he is more efficient in using it than Mihawk. Currently, we only know that Mihawk only uses two Haki. Shanks is also given an Observational killer as he prevents his opponent from seeing his future.
Mihawk cannot use this Observation Haki/Future Sight against him, thus making him one step behind Shanks.
4) Based on Swordskill
It is Mihawk all the way; he is the strongest swordsman in the entire series. In the latest chapter, it is revealed by marines that Hawkeye’s sword skills indeed surpass Shanks.
Thus it means that Shanks cannot defeat Mihawk in a fair sword fight as he can only use his one arm. Unlike Shanks, Mihawk has many feats using his sword, such as eradicating an entire fleet, slicing glaciers into two, etc.
5) Based on Experience
Shanks comes out the victor on this as he traveled worldwide and had a lot of knowledge about it. Meanwhile, Mihawk chooses to be Warlord so that the marines can stop chasing them and he can have a peaceful life.
He is a lone wolf, whereas Shanks is a team player. This is one of the things which makes the difference. After having no way out, Mihawk accepted Crocodile joined cross guild recently shown in a new chapter.
Therefore, if we follow Rayleigh’s & Kaido’s words that Haki is everything in the One Piece world, then we can say that Shanks is stronger than Mihawk. But if we compare them based on one-on-one swords fight, then Mihawk has the upper hand. So, this is it for today, folks! Here, we have concluded our article on “Shanks vs. Mihawk: Is Shanks Stronger than Mihawk in One Piece.” We will update once the story progresses further, as we can witness their interaction again.
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