Shanks main weapon is a sword. if shanks is close to whitebeard level then mihawk is also close to it 2 since he can beat/equal shanks. and the only reason why the yonkou are on whitebeard level is cuz they live like kings in the lower half of the grand line. it was nver stated that they can match whitebeard in 1 on 1 combat. your point holds no water.
My points hold no water? Everything I say is based directly on what has been stated by the author himself while everything what you say is pure fan speculation.
If the author tells us that the other 3 are on Whitebeards level then they friggin´ ARE! If you say you think so because they are on the lower half without any backup from the author then this is friggin´ unfounded fan speculation with no backup at all.
And just because Shanks wields around a sword it doesn´t make him a swordfighter in the classic sense. Spandam also carries around a sword but he´s no swordfighter. Heck he´s no fighter at all, he´s a director.
And I never said that they can match Whitebeard in an 1 on 1 combat, I said they are on the same level which going by the author is a canon fact. Being on the same level does not mean to be 100% equal. You can have ranking order even if you are on the same level and so far we only know that Whitebeard would be number 1 of the 4 guys that are on the highest level in the OP world.
I really don´t know what else is required to get the friggin´ point across that swordfighting alone does not make you the worlds strongest man. You may be the worlds greatest swordfighter but not the worlds strongest man. Don´t you see the difference in those two fields?
But wait….Mihawk and the emperors have never been mentioned together. In fact, during the time that Mihawk was in the stories the emperors have yet to exist.
Sight, here we go again. The Marine HQ and the Shichibukai as groups are there to counter the Yonko. It´s not a single Shichibukai that can counter it but the combination of all of them. That is evident since not even one whole can be taken lightly.
As I said before, even though they are self-centered the Shichibukai among themselves don´t seem to be enemies. The WG would be foolish if they would chose people that fight amongs each other to be part of such an important group.
The Yonko however have been established to be enemies with each other. Shanks said that Whitebeards ship is an enemy ship. The same probably goes for the other two guys. So unlike the Marine HQ or the Shichibukai the Emperors are not working together. I take that to mean that 1 Emperor alone can be countered by the Marine HQ and/or all the Shichibukai together. But all of the 4 Emperors together would probably rape the HQ AND the Shichibukai.
Just remember how affraid the Gorosei are that Whitebeard and Shanks would work together. This means that if two of the four are already serious problems for the other two powers then all four of them are superior to them.
And consiquently, Mihawk is part of the group (Shichibukai) that as group is there to counter the Yonko. And if the what has been established in the story so far holds any water. Then 1 Emperor plus his crew can be equaled by all the Shichibukai together.
I never said Mihawk is utterly inferior to Shanks. But in an anything goes fight (which for a pirate is more then likely) Shanks would win. In a pure swordfight Mihawk would own him. But as I´ve been saying again and again in this very thread. That is different pair of shoes.
Look at it that way. In a swordsfight Zoro would RAPE Luffy. Does that make Zoro the strongest Strawhat?