Summary
Ever since the early days ofOne Piece, it has been made clear that lineage can mean a lot when it comes to how powerful a character can end up being. The greatest example of this is none other than the protagonist of the series, Monkey D. Luffy, whose grandfather is the greatest Marine in history and whose father is the world’s most wanted criminal, both of which are titles that speak to how strong they are.
Similarly, one of the greatest lineages is the legendary Figarland family, which Shanks, Garling, and Shamrock all belong to. However, sinceShanks was only confirmed as a World Noblevery recently in the Elbaf arc, it has raised many questions about another hidden Celestial Dragon who may have been flying under the radar ever since the early days ofOne Piece. So, let’s go over how Dracule Mihawk may belong to this ancient lineage.
Story Arc
Baratie
The story ofOne Pieceis nothing without the many parallels and subtle hints towards things that Oda has made from the very early days of the series. Although it had been heavily speculated for quite some time, Shanks was only 100%confirmed to be a Celestial Dragonin Chapter 1138 during the Elbaf arc, despite being one of the very first characters in the series who was introduced in Chapter 1.
Similarly, many fans believe that Mihawk seems to mirror this arc, as a legendary pirate who is integral to one of the Straw Hats' journeys, just like Shanks is to Luffy. The two of them have also repeatedly been defined as rivals and the strongest pirates of their age who fought dozens of times, stated to be equal in just about every regard. Currently, Shanks stands at the top of the world of pirates while Mihawk is the world’s strongest swordsman, once again reiterating just how similar they are in terms of power and status.
However, Mihawk is an even greater mystery than Shanks since nothing has been revealed about his backstory. Because of this, there is a rather large contingent of fans who believe that he is also secretly a Celestial Dragon who, like his rival, abandoned the Holy Land in order to embrace a life of piracy in the world, eventuallybecoming the world’s strongest swordsmanby seeking out and defeating the strongest foes he could find.
Admittedly, there is not much evidence to base this off of, though the connections do end up making sense. Firstly, Mihawk carries a legendary Supreme Grade Blade named Yoru, and the detailing on its guard is strikingly similar to the markings on the Empty Throne which Imu sits upon. These details and the coloring of both seem to be an intentional choice since they are quite similar, potentially drawing a connection between Mihawk and the true ruler of the world.
It is the Empty Throne! An oath that the kings of the various countries are equal, and that none must harbor the greed to rule them all, the greed of dictatorship.
This connection is made even more apparent with their eyes. One of Mihawk’s epithets is ‘Hawk Eyes’, seeminglydue to his unparalleled Observation Haki, though this is mostly speculation for now. However, his eyes are also incredibly unique in terms of how they look, with a bullseye-like circular pattern that has only ever been shown on one character besides him; Imu. These two are the only ones with these kinds of eyes in all ofOne Piece, perhaps indicating that Mihawk may belong to the same family as Imu, which would make sense with his incredible strength.
Conversely, he may just belong to a previously unheard-of clan called the Dracule family. It’s known that all the Celestial Dragons belong to any one of the 19 families which originally formed the World Government and chose to live atop the Red Line, of which only 10 names have been outright confirmed. If this is the case, it may be revealed that the Dracule family is one of them, and that Mihawk abandoned this life very early on just like Shanks.
How Likely Is This Theory To End Up Being True?
The Reality Of Mihawk
As fun as this theory is to think about, it’s clear that most of the things supporting it work on what is not known rather than what is. Due toMihawk’s entirely unexplained backstory, he is essentially a blank canvas who can have just about anything fit into his origins to be made true, and until Oda outright says what it is, there is no telling exactly where he came from.
However, there are a few connections to the Celestial Dragons that, although vague, do seem to hint at something more when it comes to his relationship to them. It’s entirely possible that he left Marijoa alongside Shanks when Red Hair briefly went back there for two years, which could explain the start of their rivalry and perhaps friendship. However, at this point, fans can only wait to see how Mihawk’s backstory will play out.
