Shanks and Mihawk

[FireFistAce 0]

Okay, some ground rules.

1. Let's keep this civil.

2. No flaming, bashing, etc. That includes myself.

3. No belittling or saying you "owned, pwned, etc." someone.

4. RESPECT EVERYONE'S OPINION, even if you think it's not true.

5. If you have nothing positive to say, don't post it.

Okay, facts we know:

1. Shanks uses a sword.

2. Shanks was a rival of Mihawk in the past.

3. Shanks lost his arm and spent many months training to use his other arm.

4. Shanks and Mihawk have not fought since Shanks lost his arm.

5. Mihawk currently holds the World's Strongest Swordsman title.

6. Mihawk is a Shichibukai, an employee of the WG.

7. Shanks is a Yonkou, who are in opposition to the WG.

8. The Yonkou are considered the World's Greatest Pirates.

9. There is a balance of power between the Shichibukai, the Yonkou, and the Marine HQ.

10. Mihawk refuses to fight Shanks anymore.

11. The Marines and the Shichibukai are equal in power.

What we DO NOT know:

1. When Mihawk recieved his title.

2. If Shanks fights in any other way than swordsmanship.

3. If the balance of power is Shichibukai + Marines = Yonkou, or Shichibukai = Marines = Yonkou.

4. If Mihawk and Shanks fought again, if Shanks could take or debunk the title (meaning they are still equal).

5. If Shanks really cares about having the title or not.

Now, let's begin.

Personally, I think if Mihawk and Shanks fought again, it's possible that at the very least, the title would be debunked. If Shanks trained hard enough with his right arm and regained the skills he had lost, it would still put Shanks at an equal level.

Discuss, and keep it civil.

[Zulen]

Shanks is a Yonkou…? Whow. I didn't catch that.

Well... Yonkou > Shichibukai, right?

[FireFistAce 0]

@Private:

Shanks is a Yonkou…? Whow. I didn't catch that.

Well... Yonkou > Shichibukai, right?

That's the general consensus, but try telling that to three certain people here…

Anyway, yes, Shanks is a Yonkou. Each Yonkou is a loose representation of the 4 Chinese Gods of direction:

Byakko the White Tiger (Whitebeard, West)
Suzaku the Red Phoenix (Shanks, North)
Seiryu the Blue-green Dragon (??????, East)
Genbu the Black turtle (?????, South)

[Zulen]

And the last horse finally crosses the finish line.

[Refii]

I don't recall reading where it was stated that the Yonkou represent the 4 Chinese Gods, would someone mind linking me to the chapter/SBS?

[FireFistAce 0]

@Refii:

I don't recall reading where it was stated that the Yonkou represent the 4 Chinese Gods, would someone mind linking me to the chapter/SBS?

It's never specifically said, but it's logical. Oda bases a LOT of things on myth and legends, even if just in name.

Think about it. Shichibukai come from the "Seven Samurai of the Seas". The thre Admirals come from Momotaro. Since Whitebeard is White and Shanks is Red, then it would be easy to associate them with the 4 Chinese/Japanese God Emperors (in Chinese myth, there's 5)

[Phenomenol]

Okay, facts we know:

4. Shanks and Mihawk have not fought since Shanks lost his arm.

Speculation! Hawkeye's even STATES that he has seen Shanks AFTER his visit from Luffy's Village, so you don't know if they fought since then.

6. Mihawk is a Shichibukai, an employee of the WG.

Let me help you out here, Hawkeye's and the /shichibukai are "ALLIES." to the WG.

Now, let's begin.

Personally, I think if Mihawk and Shanks fought again, it's possible that at the very least, the title would be debunked. If Shanks trained hard enough with his right arm and regained the skills he had lost, it would still put Shanks at an equal level.

Discuss, and keep it civil.

What I have put in bold is your ONLY FACT!!!!! and this is what I have been telling you in the other thread. It seems you have finally seen the light!!!!!! Shanks and Hawkeye's are EQUAL….I do believe even with Shanks one arm he is still; equal with Hawkeye's.

I also believe before this One Piece series is over they will have another Duel.

That's the general consensus, but try telling that to three certain people here…

Anyway, yes, Shanks is a Yonkou. Each Yonkou is a loose representation of the 4 Chinese Gods of direction:

Three Great powers thead, type in search…...........

[FireFistAce 0]

@Phenomenol:

Speculation! Hawkeye's even STATES that he has seen Shanks AFTER his visit from Luffy's Village, so you don't know if they fought since then.

Let me help you out here, Hawkeye's and the /shichibukai are "ALLIES." to the WG.

What I have put in bold is your ONLY FACT!!!!! and this is what I have been telling you in the other thread. It seems you have finally seen the light!!!!!! Shanks and Hawkeye's are EQUAL….I do believe even with Shanks one arm he is still; equal with Hawkeye's.

I also believe before this One Piece series is over they will have another Duel.

Three Great powers thead, type in search..............

Dude, read the first post. If you don't have anything positive to say, don't post it. And also, DO NOT BELITTLE OTHER PEOPLE'S OPINIONS.

[WHITEBEARD]

Shanks is a Yonkou…? Whow. I didn't catch that.

Well… Yonkou > Shichibukai, right?

It was never stated that the Yonkou > Shichibukai.

[Razza]

Speculation! Hawkeye's even STATES that he has seen Shanks AFTER his visit from Luffy's Village, so you don't know if they fought since then.

It's speculation to say they have too, why is it that you want to put him down? :wassat:

Let me help you out here, Hawkeye's and the /shichibukai are "ALLIES." to the WG.

If they were only allies, than the Shichibukai would be able to change their alliance at will to suit them, surely you don't take the World Government to be stupid enough for them to only be Allies with all the benefits they reap? They must do whatever the World Government wants them too.

What I have put in bold is your ONLY FACT!!!!! and this is what I have been telling you in the other thread. It seems you have finally seen the light!!!!!! Shanks and Hawkeye's are EQUAL….I do believe even with Shanks one arm he is still; equal with Hawkeye's.

You say base things on facts yet your last sentence totally defies what you just said …

[Phenomenol]

@Fire Fist:

Dude, read the first post. If you don't have anything positive to say, don't post it. And also, DO NOT BELITTLE OTHER PEOPLE'S OPINIONS.

Dude, I was just congratulating you on your new dicovery!!! It is like you just found your long lost brother. I also helped you out by posting POSITIVE FACTS…....

It's speculation to say they have too, why is it that you want to put him down?

That was my point! I don't want to put him down read the other shansk and Hawkeye's thread…..

If they were only allies, than the Shichibukai would be able to change their alliance at will to suit them, surely you don't take the World Government to be stupid enough for them to only be Allies with all the benefits they reap? They must do whatever the World Government wants them too.

Oh really??? Why didn't all of the Shichibukai show up to the meeting? Why was Doflamingo willing to start a war in Holy land? Wow that is some great obedience there.

You say base things on facts yet your last sentence totally defies what you just said …

No, it is a Fact that Shanks was a Rival to Hawkeye's!

[WHITEBEARD]

@Fire Fist:

If the balance of power is Shichibukai + Marines = Yonkou, or Shichibukai = Marines = Yonkou.

4. If Mihawk and Shanks fought again, if Shanks could take or debunk the title (meaning they are still equal).

Personally, I think if Mihawk and Shanks fought again, it's possible that at the very least, the title would be debunked. If Shanks trained hard enough with his right arm and regained the skills he had lost, it would still put Shanks at an equal level.

Discuss, and keep it civil.

I agree with ya FFA.

Bout them 3 bad guy, you metion to Pirate Zulen. We must keep an eye out for them. So NO flaming/bashing can enter this thread.

Plus do ya think that shank's crew have any other swordsman? that are skilled.

[FireFistAce 0]

Rockstar probably uses a sword or a guitar (That would just fucking rock, a badass who uses a guitar to fight). Lucky Roo so far has only used pistols, but it's possible he's a swordsman. Yasopp is a gunner and Beckman is incredibly physically strong (as seen when he beats the crap out of those pirates with a rifle).

What do you think Marco and Joz use?

[WHITEBEARD]

Well I think that most of the guys on WB ship are DF user.

B/c Blackbeard said that he has the most chances of finding his DF on WB ship. That means WB crew must have found alot of them DF.
Plus WB has a rule on his Ship "you find it you can eat it".

[Archibald Desmond Deus]

Mihawk is your prototypical, legendary shounen character who represents an obstacle for our hero (in this case Zoro) to defeat to accomplish some objective. Besides some light backhistory we've got on him (he's known Shanks for some time, fought with him) we don't know that much. From what we can gather is that Mihawk is strong, possibly on Yonkou level not counting the crew as a factor. And Shanks is a Yonkou which obviously places him on a very high tier.

Now if we're talking about who would win in a fight I think one point people need to agree on that despite the amount of time or amount of training a person has, losing an arm is a big disadvantage. No matter how godly his ki, spirit power, or whatever is, dude's only got one arm and against Mihawk, who has two good arms, in a duel without guns that's a problem for Shanks.

At the same time, from what we've seen of Shanks he seems to be a very altruistic, diplomatic, and overall cool sort (given he didn't fly off the handle during his confrontation with Higuma, and his polite response to Whitebeard tearing his note and demanding he come to him face to face). Not only that, he's gotten the position of Yonkou, where he himself must not only be powerful, but he has to assemble a powerful crew as well. Not only that, he has to keep them organized and on task making Shanks a capable leader.

These are the only sure things between them that I can identify. It really doesn't say much in an actual duel. I guess if they were sitting on a plank with only forward motion available where a single draw of the sword would end the fight then Mihawk would probably be the victor. However, in the case of say, an Island setting, with plenty of room to move, Shanks could use the environment to his advantage (he doesn't strike me as the type to fight fair).

I think the more important distinction needs to be made between the two though. You see, while Mihawk floats on his coffin boat, scowling angrily at everyone, cutting the fleets of would-be inspector gadgets to shreds, and giving ambitions to would-be swordsmen, Shanks spends his time traveling from island to island, getting drunk off his ass, and causing a general commotion wherever he goes. And considering he's a fairly happy sort he's probably pounded his fair share of barroom wenches as well. Thus, after heavy and thoughtful analysis, while Mihawk may win in a fight, Shanks wins at life.

[Urian]

Maths are hard to use here, but this is my speculation from my part:

Navy

-4 Admirals, being one of them a supreme admiral at the same level of the Yonkou.

-20 Viceadmirals, at the same level than the Yonkou liutenants combined.

Shichibukai

-We only know 5 of them.

-4 Strong Shichibukai, 3 less powerful Shichibukai

-We Know 3 of the Strong (Kuma, Mihawk and DoFlamingo) and 1 of the minor Shichibukai (Crocodile)

-4 Strong Shichibukai equals to 4 Yonkou

Yonkou

-2 Know, 2 Unknow

-Great Political power

-They absorb entire pirate crews that are defeated like Foxy but using normal battle instead of stupid tricks. Thanks to this they become emperors of the pirates.

-Whitebeard is the strongest man of the world, he remains undefeated.

-In the new world a war between the different Yonkous exist, but they combine forces blocking the pass of the WG to the new world

-Because the continous attacks of the Navy and the Shichibukai, the Yonkou are frozen in movement.

[Saloma]

@Phenomenol:

Speculation! Hawkeye's even STATES that he has seen Shanks AFTER his visit from Luffy's Village, so you don't know if they fought since then.

Mihawk also STATES that he won't fight Shanks because he now only has one arm.

Let me help you out here, Hawkeye's and the /shichibukai are "ALLIES." to the WG.

The World Government creates the Shichibukai, thus making them the employers.

I shall say it again, I believe Shanks and Mihawk are equals, but we won't know for sure because Mihawk won't duel Shanks again.

[Crimz]

Ok at wikipedia they say that navy+ shichibukais=yonkou. But nt confirm true.
Then lets say the worst, Yonkou=shichibukais=Navy. Then got 4 yonkous and 7 shichibukais.

So actually the 4 yonkou are covering 7 ppl in strenght. + the yonkou got whitebeard which is world number 1. Then they say shanks and whitebeard is equal in power. And if shanks is the same lvl as mihawk, then whitebeard also same as mihawk. Then the other 2 yonkous=5 shichibukais. like that the other 2 yonkous are stronger than whitebeard. But how can that be cause whitebeard is world number 1. So i my opinion i think shanks is stronger than mihawk. So wat is shanks use a sword?? Maybe he got other style of fighting like using his legs and other weapons leh?? Or maybe the sword is his common type of weapon + shanks got his spirit power also.

So to be exact, 1 yonkou = to 1.75 of the shichibukais. Therefore i think yonkou are the strongest and base on my theory abv, Shanks might be stronger than mihawkj

[BlackGalleon1]

@ FFA: I don't remember it being that the general consensus was Shichibukai + Marine HQ = Yonkou, and if my memory serves me right the was a huge debate over this issue. I personally am inclined to believe that each of the 3 powers are equal to each other, as it is hard to believe that an organisation that has the likes of AoKiji and 2 others on his level + Garp, who cornered the PK + marines like Smoker and Hina and countless othe marines, roughly = 2 of the yonkou.

@ Anyone who will ask "Why would the WG need the Shichibukai if the Marine HQ is equal in power?" I will quote something I just read a minute before entering this thread

Originally Posted by "Fire Fist" Ace

The answer is pretty simple. If the Shichibukai didn't exist, then the WG and the Yonkou would be at war with each other. Sooner or later, one would try to attack the other and all hell would break loose. With the two sides fighting, innocent bystanders would get caught in and killed. As a result, people would lose faith in their government and despair.

Having 3 equal powers is necesary because it prevents that. If the Yonkou attack Marine HQ, the Shichibukai would assist the Marines and prevent the Yonkou from mobilizing. It's a preventative measure.

However, the Shchibukai's only role would be to stop conflict, not overtake the Yonkou. If that was the case and the Yonkou were overpowered by the Shichibukai and the Marines, then there would only be two powers, and the same scenario would start all over again.

If any of the powers gains the upper hand and defeats one of the others, then the war resulting from the remaining two would cause a lot of death and suffering.

So, basically, that's why there are 3 powers. To keep everyone in check.

Not to mention the Marine HQ don't only have the Yonkou to deal with, but other pirates, revolutionaries and other criminals.

Back on topic: So far all evidence in the manga suggests that a fight between Mihawk and Shanks would end in a win (whether marginal or not) for Mihawk. Like I stated in the last thread,this is because Mihawk is the World's Greatest Swordsman, and Shanks, so far, has only been shown to be a swordsman. So logically Greatest Swordsman vs Really Great Swordsman will most likely result in a win for the Greatest Swordsman. I do not deny that Shanks could have some other special abilities that could make him a greater/more powerful than Mihawk, but w have yet to see proof of this. Conclusion: at this moment in time Mihawk > Shanks until proven otherwise.

[Archtyrant]

To me, Mihawk = Shanks.

But, this is fact: Mihawk => split ships; Shanks => split sky

Splitting the sky always seemed more impressive to me.

[Tony Tony Choppa]

@Fire Fist:

Personally, I think if Mihawk and Shanks fought again, it's possible that at the very least, the title would be debunked. If Shanks trained hard enough with his right arm and regained the skills he had lost, it would still put Shanks at an equal level.

Discuss, and keep it civil.

FFA, where is it mentioned that Shanks was lefthanded?

In my opinion, Shanks would win, for a bunch of reasons that you all have alredy discussed and plus he is the good guy anyway! =P

[BlackGalleon1]

@ Archtyrant: There is a difference between what looks impressive and what is. Looks can be deceptive.

[odlam]

Well here's how it breaks down for me:

1. Oda says that Shanks swordsmanship was some of the best in the world when he was Mihawk's rival.

• WHEN he was Mihawk's rival. They are not rivals any longer. Mihawk is the strongest swordsman in the world bar non. Some people say this is due to Shanks losing his arm BUT….

2. Oda has stated that Shanks power did not decrease any when he lost his arm.

• Even if he did have to retrain, he's no weaker now than he was before he lost his arm by Oda's own statement. So the missing arm, all personal opinions aside, is irrelevent. Shanks power has not decreased any, and Mihawk still holds the title. This also shows that Mihawk did not receive the title upon Shanks losing his arm, as Shanks power is at least the same now as it was then.

3. It has already been stated that Shanks is a high level swordsman, he always is using his sword in flashbacks, and even when confronting Whitebeard, his weapon of choice is once again his sword.

• Ya I know, his ambition and aura and all that jazz could also be in his arsenal. Hell he could even have DF powers, although god I hope not. But Kaku had a Zoan Df and strange martial arts, and he was still a swordsman. Extra tertiary abilities does not make a swordsman not a swordsman, it just gives him extra tools. And Mihawk is still the strongest swordsman in the world. And we still don't know if Mihawk has anything else up his sleeves either.

[Kirin D. Cross]

We just dont know enough information on either Mihawk or shanks.. And we just dont know enough about anything about them really.
I always thought that the Yonkou were Pirates considered to be on the same level of Whitebeard.. And I also think that this is reconfirmed as we see shanks start to duel him.. I mean why duel if you know he is stronger..

But like I said before when it comes to them its liike a stand still.. Where both sides are extremely strong but neither gaining anything on the other.. Another thing I like to factor in is DF.. At first I didnt think that they real strong people would be non-DF users, and I thought they could fight against logias in a certain way. But with the showing of BB with a fruit made me reconsider if a Yonkou has a fruit..

But I think that shanks is stronger right now. Although mihawk is said to be the best.. I think shanks has other abilities that just swordsmanship, where I think Mihawk is just sword.

WHEN he was Mihawk's rival.

That means that he was at one time Mihawks rival, just because He isnt a rival anymore doesnt mean it is becasue he is too weak, it just means they dont look at each other as rivals anymore

[AD-HD Pirate]

For me it is Shanks > Mihawk.
I don't know why. As a person, fighter and pirate I think that Shanks is better than Mihawk.

[BlackGalleon1]

@Tony:

FFA, where is it mentioned that Shanks was lefthanded?

Here: Quote from one of the databooks.

[hide] 本来左ききであるシャンクスはかつて、右の腰に長剣を携えていた。　ミホークとライバルだった過去からみて も、その剣の実力は世界でもトップクラスだ ったのだろう

"At first, the left-handed Shanks had simply carried his sword on the right side. When he was a rival of Mihawk, he was regarded as having some of the world's top-class skills" [/hide]

[ONEinchPUNCH]

@Archtyrant:

To me, Mihawk = Shanks.

But, this is fact: Mihawk => split ships; Shanks => split sky

Splitting the sky always seemed more impressive to me.

What about Mihawk sat down in a coffin slicing huge galleons with a flick of his wrist?

You see you've seen what to expect from shanks he has attacked the strongest man in the world. Did you expect shanks to stay sat down and flick his wrist against someone stronger than him?

Now Mihawk is he best swordsman in the world so if shanks can split the sky what do you think mihawk is going to do? He'll probably split the sky and earth at the same time.

[Final End]

It seems that my thread has been closed down 4 some odd reason. hmmmm
Well i'll just post in this thread

@ONEinchPUNCH:

What about Mihawk sat down in a coffin slicing huge galleons with a flick of his wrist?

You see you've seen what to expect from shanks he has attacked the strongest man in the world. Did you expect shanks to stay sat down and flick his wrist against someone stronger than him?

Now Mihawk is he best swordsman in the world so if shanks can split the sky what do you think mihawk is going to do? He'll probably split the sky and earth at the same time.

Hey it could happen

Zolo wants to be the strongest swordsman, I doubt oda is going to change that and make Mihawk lose to Shanks, and then zolo gonna have to go after shanks. It would just jack up the story specially after Mihawk said, I'll wait for zolo as the strongest….

[FireFistAce 0]

@Final:

It seems that my thread has been closed down 4 some odd reason. hmmmm
Well i'll just post in this thread

Hey it could happen

Zolo wants to be the strongest swordsman, I doubt oda is going to change that and make Mihawk lose to Shanks, and then zolo gonna have to go after shanks. It would just jack up the story specially after Mihawk said, I'll wait for zolo as the strongest….

Dude, quit saying Zolo. It's Zoro. That's just disgusting.

The thread was closed because everyone was flaming each other and everyone was getting nowhere.

Shanks and Mihawk are probably still equal, it's just that while Shanks was retraining with his right arm, Mihawk claimed the title. If Zoro beats Mihawk, he gets the title. I doubt he'd ever fight Shanks, but they're still on the same level.

[Final End]

@Fire Fist:

Dude, quit saying Zolo. It's Zoro. That's just disgusting.

The thread was closed because everyone was flaming each other and everyone was getting nowhere.

Shanks and Mihawk are probably still equal, it's just that while Shanks was retraining with his right arm, Mihawk claimed the title. If Zoro beats Mihawk, he gets the title. I doubt he'd ever fight Shanks, but they're still on the same level.

If they were on the same level then wouldnt they share the title????
hahaha same level, obviously Mikawk is on another leve because he has the title….

[Angel emfrbl]

You can't have two world champions, only one. There has to be someone who is the greatest, even if he has an equal. The slightest slip-up and your equal gains the title.

[Final End]

@Angel:

You can't have two world champions, only one. There has to be someone who is the greatest, even if he has an equal. The slightest slip-up and your equal gains the title.

Woah thats the post of the week…...
I'm not posting till another chapter comes out....
Threads are betting boring specially after my thread was closed......
See you when the next chapter comes out....:ninja:

[Tony Tony Choppa]

@BlackGalleon1:

Here: Quote from one of the databooks.

[hide] 本来左ききであるシャンクスはかつて、右の腰に長剣を携えていた。　ミホークとライバルだった過去からみて も、その剣の実力は世界でもトップクラスだ ったのだろう

"At first, the left-handed Shanks had simply carried his sword on the right side. When he was a rival of Mihawk, he was regarded as having some of the world's top-class skills" [/hide]

Alright! Thanks!

[BlackGalleon1]

^^ You welcome. 16 chars.

[WSL307]

@Fire Fist:

3. If the balance of power is Shichibukai + Marines = Yonkou, or Shichibukai = Marines = Yonkou.

I think that the marine is as strong as shichibukai… ( Shichibukai = Marines = Yonkou )
because there are marines like garp and one admiral ao kiji... i think this is enough power to get equal to shichibukai...:ninja:

[Kirin D. Cross]

Mihawk is Zoro's goal.. I think that once they all found out that red-hair shanks was Luffys idol, someone would have mentioned that he is a great swordsman..
But still like anything else there is no facts about shanks having any other skills.

[Rai]

Man, I just love your threads. The only shame is that every little opinion you put into the facts gets a huge argument, by people who can't post on topic for once.

The only thing I don't want to admit is Shanks training for being right-handed. I said it somewhere before, but you'd think top-skill swordsmen in the OP world can use both hands, including Zoro and Mihawk.
And I don't think the title means everything. Remember, Mihawk might win against Shanks in a swordsmen fight, but lose when Shanks uses other stuff [if he does, of course]. However, Shanks is an honorable warrior, he might as well fight as a swordsman against a swordsman.

I'd like to not talk about the balance yet since we have so little information about the system. One thing for sure, there's no difference between the powers when it comes to teamwork.

[Gizmo]

@Fire Fist:

Rockstar probably uses a sword or a guitar (That would just fucking rock, a badass who uses a guitar to fight).

Not joining this discussion but this is by far the coolest idea ever. Luffy needs somebody like that as a musician. And if Rockstar did that, coolest.

[Impel Down]

Well, with both arms Shanks = Mihawk. Since he lost an arm, he's not strong enough to beat Mihawk and that's why Mihawk doesn't fight him anymore.

[FireFistAce 0]

@Final:

If they were on the same level then wouldnt they share the title????
hahaha same level, obviously Mikawk is on another leve because he has the title….

Not necessarily. Don't be so narrow minded (And read the first post about not insulting the opinion of others).

We don't know when or under what circumstances Mihawk earned the title. The most likely assumption is that he earned it while Shanks was training with his right-arm, during which time Shanks could not defend the title or at least debunk it.

To me, they're still equal, Mihawk is just refusing to give Shanks a chance to prove himself.

[ONEinchPUNCH]

@Fire Fist:

Not necessarily. Don't be so narrow minded (And read the first post about not insulting the opinion of others).

We don't know when or under what circumstances Mihawk earned the title. The most likely assumption is that he earned it while Shanks was training with his right-arm, during which time Shanks could not defend the title or at least debunk it.

To me, they're still equal, Mihawk is just refusing to give Shanks a chance to prove himself.

The problem with this claim is it doesn't matter, like I told you before it isn't like a boxing title in real life. It's Oda telling us who the best swordsman in OP is, whoever has that is the strongest according to Oda.

A true swordsman would never back down from a challenge, he obviously knows shanks isn't a challenge or shanks was drunk and joking. If shanks truly was betterthere would be rumours going around saying "shanks is the best swordsman and that pansy Mihawk is too scared to accept his challenge".

[Blue Pheasant]

@fire fist: Still assuming that Mihawk earned the title whilst Shanks was training with his right arm is guess work at best, Mihawk could have had the tilte even when Shanks had his left arm.

We haven't really seen anything to make an accurate conclusion on who is stronger, however Mihawk currently holding the title probably means that he is the strongest swordsmen.

@one inch punch: I dont think that Mihawk thought that he wasn't a challenge, but rather it could be that it just goes against Mihawks moral code to fight someone with such a handicap.

[Angel emfrbl]

Missing an arm, Shanks wouldn't get so many challenges from other Swordsmen. I still say lack of fighting to prove his strength could kill his chances, even if he didn't beat Mihawk in a fight Mihawk would win in merit.

Either that or Mihawk killed everyone worth noting at the time he earned the title. Shanks doesn't like needless bloodshed, we know from Luffy's past. Mihawk just kills weaklings and leaves stronger challengers it seems.

[CodedTech]

I doubt Mihawk only challenged weaklings, he didn't want to face Zoro at first due to his weakness, as he himself said that he can figure out a man's strength just by looking and Zoro wasn't up to par.

Mihawk: If you fancy yourself a swordsman, then we need not cross blades.
I shall divine the difference in our strengths by eye.

So you could say it could be the same with Shanks, which is why he said he's not interesting in fighting him.

Mihawk clearly wants a challenge as he himself said he'd wait for years just for Zoro to get strong enough to fight him.

Mihawk: As the strongest,
I will wait years for you, if need be!!
Take your will, brave one, and use it to surpass my blade!!!

[Blue Pheasant]

Mihawk dueling with Shanks many times prior to him losing his arm suggests that Shanks cant be considerably weaker then him, i doubt Mihawk would continue to duel someone that isn't worthy.

[ONEinchPUNCH]

@Blue:

@one inch punch: I dont think that Mihawk thought that he wasn't a challenge, but rather it could be that it just goes against Mihawks moral code to fight someone with such a handicap.

Being reconised as the best and refusing to fight someone who is stronger than you is against a swordsmans code.

Mihawk: If you fancy yourself a swordsman, then we need not cross blades.
I shall divine the difference in our strengths by eye.

Nice find CodedTech

That is also a most likely reason why Mihawk didn't want to fight shanks

[freedom]

Just throwing something random out there….
Mihawk is the strongest swordsman. Did he say this, or was he actually given a title like Whitebeard got.
WB is the strongest man (title given by Oda). He fought against shanks with his "blade" (forgot name of his weapon). If he is stronger than Mihawk, it means he can defeat Mihawk right... how would he do it? Using his blade or other method? If it's another non-blade method, why is it so unfathomable to believe that Shanks can employ the same non-blade method to defeat Mihawk?
It's like with Logia's, so far, 3 of the established strong characters (WB, Shanks, Mihawk), all seem to have no DF (and i really hope it stays this way), yet they retain their titles....
Mihawk and Shanks were rivals, and they obviously share some form of relationship. Mihawks seems like an honourable person, he could definitely tell that Shanks was drunk off his ass, that's why he wasn't interested in fighting him. He used the one-armed statement as an excuse.

[FireFistAce 0]

@ONEinchPUNCH:

Being reconised as the best and refusing to fight someone who is stronger than you is against a swordsmans code.

I'm not saying Shanks is stronger. I'm saying they're still equal. Shanks is stronger in a lot of other ways that aren't the subject of this thread, but in swordsmanship, they were equals. Then Shanks lost an arm and had to retrain. If Mihawk allowed Shanks a duel now and they tied, then the title would be debunked.

[Blue Pheasant]

It hasn't been said that they were exactly equals, for all we know Mihawk could have defeated Shanks in every single one of their duels.

Shanks may have been near on par with Mihawk but with Mihawk still being the more powerful swordsmen, in terms of power and skill with swords Mihawk may have always been the more stronger of the two.

[ONEinchPUNCH]

@Fire Fist:

I'm not saying Shanks is stronger. I'm saying they're still equal. Shanks is stronger in a lot of other ways that aren't the subject of this thread, but in swordsmanship, they were equals. Then Shanks lost an arm and had to retrain. If Mihawk allowed Shanks a duel now and they tied, then the title would be debunked.

That could be right but it is speculation we don't know until Oda shows some proof, I'm using fact from the manga. All I'm saying is shanks is a swordsman, Mihawk is the strongest swordsman so Mihawk is stronger. Oda uses titles to tell you who is the strongest, no-one argues ao kiji being the strongest marine. Oda has told us this so it is fact no matter how he won.

Now when Oda shows me these other styles or shanks has a devil fruit then we got something to discuss.