Oda Has Revealed The World’s Strongest Swordsman Before Mihawk

From the start of the series, the title of the World’s Strongest Swordsman has been shown to be incredibly coveted in the world of One Piece. In fact, achieving this level is the primary focus of Zoro’s entire character arc, with the First Mate of the Straw Hats wanting to rise above all other swordsmen in the world to honor the promise he made to his best friend. However, the current holder of this title, Dracule Mihawk, stands in his way.

Mihawk has been one of One Piece’s greatest mysteries for quite a long time now, despite appearing very early on in the series. Introduced as the World’s Strongest Swordsman, his bounty is one of the highest in the world as he himself is stated to be the rival and equal of Shanks due to his exceptional sword skills. However, Oda has just introduced the character to own this title before him, so let’s break this down.

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Rocks D. Xebec Was The World’s Strongest Swordsman Before Mihawk

The Legendary Pirate

Throughout the series, the title of the World’s Strongest Swordsman has always been met with a lot of respect since it indicates the incredible strength of the user. Of course, the series has never explicitly stated anyone who has owned this title aside from Mihawk, but fans have always wondered who could have fallen under this umbrella. Common answers to this question are Roger, Rayleigh, Shiki, etc.

However, Chapter 1155 of the manga may have finally answered this question. With the recent reveal of Rocks D. Xebec, the entire fandom was set alight with the reveal of the most mysterious and powerful character from the old generation, who was powerful enough to be viewed as Roger’s greatest rival. This latest chapter has given fans a way better look at his fighting style, as his incredible swordsmanship has been outright mentioned as being akin to a hammer or cannon fire. Many believe that this gives a huge hint as to the meaning behind his strength.

In many of the shots of Xebec where he is in a combat situation, he always seems to be using a sword, prompting most fans to agree that Xebec was likely primarily a swordsman and, together with his insane power that allowed him to stand toe-to-toe with Roger, that he was the World’s Strongest Swordsman decades before Mihawk was even born. All of this checks out with the legend surrounding the man as well.

As for his weapon, it’s highly likely that, just like Mihawk, Rocks also used a Supreme Grade Blade. These are essentially the most powerful and durable weapons in the entire story, and the ones that have been shown in the series so far only belong to the most notable characters in the world. Judging by this, it would make sense that Rocks would have a similar weapon of that caliber.

Roger is remembered as the greatest foe that Rocks ever had, with the two having battled multiple times in their primes. Although details regarding these fights are vague, it is implied that Rocks may have gotten the better of his foe more than once, as was hinted by Roger’s first words as he appeared on God Valley. This is important because his rival is known to have wielded Ace, a legendary Supreme Grade Blade. Moreover, Xebec’s First Mate, Whitebeard, wielded Murakumogiri, which is also among these revered armaments.

So, it can be easily surmised that, to compete with these characters on a similar level, Rocks must have had a Supreme Grade Weapon himself. Mihawk has been seen to cut entire icebergs the size of mountains with Yoru, and the brief panel focusing on Loki just before Rocks’ official introduction in Chapter 1154 shows a mountain being cut in the background, which many have taken to mean that it was likely Xebec who did so with his sword. As for the information that we have right now, Rocks D. Xebec was likely the World’s Strongest Swordsman before Mihawk.

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What This Could Mean For Mihawk’s Future In The Final War

How Strong Does This Make Him?

• This confirms Mihawk as, at least, equal to Shanks.
• Some believe it even makes him stronger than his old rival.

There is a hilarious meme within the One Piece community that takes just about anything from the story to make it a ‘Mihawk upscale’. However, this time, it isn’t a joke, since the confirmation of Xebec’s legendary strength within the world has only established how powerful someone needs to be in order to become the World’s Strongest Swordsman, which is the title currently held by Mihawk. Of course, Xebec hasn’t been confirmed as such, but most fans believe that such an insistence and focus on his swordsmanship in Chapter 1155 was done deliberately to hint that he was.

Narratively, it makes sense as well, since Shanks is seen as the modern-day equivalent of Gol D. Roger, so his rival, who is the greatest swordsman in the world, would be somewhat of an equivalent of Xebec. So, it’s clear the Mihawk is set to be one of the strongest characters in the history of One Piece, and that Zoro has a lot to do before he can even think of reaching this level.

One Piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

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