Let’s take a step back. Let’s talk about Shanks.
Shanks has one arm. He has one weapon. Every single time we have seen him prepare to fight, he draws his sword. Therefore, we can conclude that Shanks is a pirate who mainly uses a sword to fight. Does this mean his status as a yonko and Mihawk’s status as a Shichibukai makes Shanks a superior swordsman? No. The show clearly emphasizes multiple times and has made undisputable the fact that Mihawk is indeed the world’s greatest swordsman. Does this mean Mihawk is stronger than Shanks? No. The show has clearly defined the Yonko to be the 4 strongest pirates in the sea and last time I checked, Mihawk IS a pirate. Notice a pattern yet? So, if they both primarily use swords, why is Mihawk the one with the title of “Greatest swordsman” and why is Shanks higher on the power scale? My answer? Haki. As we have seen established by Zoro when fighting Pica, the power of Haki varies between users, and we know Shanks possesses a significantly powerful haki and we’ve only seen small glimpses of his power as of yet. What does this mean?
Well, it means that Mihawk is defined as the strongest swordsman in the world because he has mastered the use of a sword. He can cut mountains, and perform long distance sword slashes.
Meanwhile, Shanks may not be THAT adept with a sword as to use it in such a skillful way, but the power behind his swings, the actual power brought on by his immensely powerful haki coupled with his ridiculous speed which we get a glimpse of when he dodges Whitebeard’s jug throw instantly WHILE SITTING DOWN, theoretically allows him to fend off Mihawk’s attacks seamlessly and win all their duels. Back to Kaido. “He has been defeated 7 times as a pirate”. “He is the strongest creature among ALL LIVING THINGS”. At this point, I know most of you probably know where I’m going but I’ll finish anyway. Kaido’ skin might be the most durable in the world; his muscles might be the biggest and strongest in the world; he might even have a strong resistance to haki due to his incredibly and abnormally tough skin, but it doesn’t mean he possesses a significantly powerful haki. And as this series has clearly wanted to push down our throats, HAKI IS THE KEY TO EVERYTHING post timeskip.
Now, think about this for a moment… Why would an incredibly durable, incredibly powerful human being or creature who is obviously very confident in his power want to master something like Haki? Now, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying he doesn’t have haki. He probably, most likely does. It’s standard post time skip. However, why would he want to MASTER something like that? He doesn’t NEED TO! He is the strongest creature alive! This brings me directly to my next point. Whitebeard and Shanks are most likely two of the pirates who defeated Kaido those 7 times, the latter having actually been mentioned as having stopped Kaido when he wanted to fight Whitebeard. It has been established that both Shanks and Whitebeard possess or in Whitebeard’s case, possessed conqueror’s haki. And considering they split the sky in half with a casual clash, I’d say their haki was and is incredibly powerful.
Then, if you follow Oda’s pattern you realize that yeah, Kaido by definition may be the strongest creature among all living things, but it doesn’t mean he has a powerful haki and as we established earlier, haki seems to be the key to everything since the time skip. It also doesn’t mean he can’t be cut or beaten. And he has the scars and the reputation of being defeated and cut before by someone. On to my final point… I know… I have already written a book… it’s almost over, I promise…. What is Haki?
Haki is defined as the fighting spirit within people. That means that two people may have a strong fighting spirit and therefore a strong haki but the person with a slightly stronger fighting spirit will always win the haki contest. Now tell me this. Do you honestly think that a man who has made a hobby out of trying to KILL HIMSELF to the point where he wants to start a war with the entire world (Most likely to find himself someone who can finally kill him) has a strong fighting spirit? Sounds like his fighting spirit, his will to live, needs some sowing back together. So if we add up all the variables, we get Kaido the strongest creature among all living things that possesses a weak haki, or not as strong as others. Then we take Luffy, a man whose fighting spirit grows significantly with every trial he faces. A man, that when met with his match, overcomes the limits of his powers (as seen in Alabasta when he lost to crocodile twice on the same day but beat him the third time) to protect his crew and move further ahead toward his goal.
And then you tell me, you don’t know how in the world he’ll beat Kaido? Take a moment and rethink your logic.
by TonySnow97