Dracule Mihawk

Dracule Mihawk (ジュラキュール・ミホーク, Jurakyūru Mihōku), also known as "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk (鷹の目のミホーク, Taka no Me no Mihōku) by those in the seas, is a fictional character and deuteragonist from the One Piece series. He is currently known as the current holder of the title, "Greatest Swordsman in the World" (世界最強の剣士, Sekai Saikyō no Kenshi). He is also one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, or seven, former pirate captains who serve under but not necessarily respect the World Government and the first one to be revealed in the series. When he was younger, he considered Shanks to be his rival in swordplay, but Mihawk dropped his perceptions when Shanks lost his arm.

Mihawk is first seen in the series hunting Don Krieg's fleet, sailing a single coffin-shaped raft whilst in pursuit. He had single-handedly destroyed all the boats except for the flagship. By the time he finds the flagship, Krieg is engaged in a battle with Baratie. Zolo, who wants to test himself, challenges Mihawk to a duel and the swordsmen concentrate their attention to their match.

He effortlessly defeats Zolo but is impressed by the younger fighter's undaunted resolve. When Zolo realized that he is utterly defeated, he openly exposes his chest so his opponent could honorably take his life. Although he did slash it with his sword, Mihawk chose to spare Zolo's life and eagerly awaits the day when Zolo can surpass him. Simultaneously, he takes an interest in Luffy's dream to become King of the Pirates.

Later parts of the series have Mihawk half-heartedly attending to his duties as a Warlord of the Sea. He keeps tabs on both Luffy and Zolo as the series progresses. He is also a major antagonist in the Navyford Arc where he took part in the Battle of Navyford and sided with the Navy, along with most of the other Seven Warlords of the Sea. Mihawk willingly became and served as Roronoa Zolo's swordsmanship mentor/teacher during the two-year timeskip. His former bounty remains unknown.

"Is it your courage or your ignorance that causes you to raise a sword against me?"
 * —Dracule Mihawk.

Appearance

 * Voice Actor: John Gremillion (English), Hirohiko Kakegawa (Japanese), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (German), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (French), Not Known (Latin American Spanish)

Biography
His nickname is "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk. One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the world's greatest swordsman. He can even slice a gigantic ship into 2 with a single blow. He has defeated the East Blue's most powerful Krieg's fleet of 50 ships alone in the Grand Line. He says he was bored - a very mysterious person.

With the Black Sword "Night" one of the 12 great swords, strapped to his back, he hunts pirates on his own.

He as once rivals with Shanks, but lost interest when he lost his left arm.

To gain the power to protect his friends in the New World, he trained Zolo in the sword arts for 2 years.

Appearance
Mihawk is a tall lean man with black hair, a short beard, mustache and sideburns that point upwards. His nickname comes from his strangely colored yellow eyes, which resemble a hawk's eyes.

The Young Past Days
As a child, Mihawk had many scratches and bruises from training. He used a bokken as his weapon. He dressed in a dark-colored open jacket, short pants, shoes and a light-colored belt.

Twenty four years ago, during Gol D. Roger's execution, Mihawk did not have his beard, nor did he wear his hat, and his hair was scruffier and shorter. He already had his crucifix pendant, and sported what looked like a flower-patterned jacket. Although it cannot be directly seen, he did not seem to be in possession of the Black Sword "Night" at that time.

Pre-Timeskip
He wears black and red ornate clothing with a crucifix pendant that hides a little dagger, which gives him the appearance of a Spanish swordsman. His attire consists of a wide-brimmed black hat decorated with a large plume, and a long, open black coat with no shirt underneath, with red-violet, flower-patterned sleeves and collar. He wears light purple pants held up by a decorated belt and tucked inside overly large boots in comparison to his leg size.

He wears a kogatana around his neck, appearing as a golden cross-shaped necklace, and carries his sword Night on his back when he is not using it.

At his home in Gloom Island's castle, he sports different pants and an open white shirt with a ruffled neck. When he met up with Zolo outside, he had a plain dark cloak draped over his shoulders.

Post-Timeskip
After the timeskip, he shows some more wrinkles near the eyes. While reading about the Straw Hats' actions on Dressrosa and resulting new bounties, he was seen in his casual outfit along with a dark scarf draped over his shoulders and a wide brimmed straw hat.


 * Hair Color: Black
 * Skin Color: Not Known
 * Eye Color: Yellow
 * Age: 41 (debut), 43 (after timeskip)
 * Birthday: March 9th
 * Height: 198 cm. (6'6")
 * Weight: Not Known

Personality
Like many other characters in the Japanese version, he has a unique laugh, rather unusually bearing two: "Wahhahhahha/Kukukuku."

Mihawk is possibly one of the mostly very serious characters; he rarely smiles, and he has only been seen laughing twice so far. He took the revelation about Luffy being Rex's son and "Revolutionary" Dragon's nephew in stride, despite the surprise of those around him. He never unnecessarily reveals emotions on the battlefield, even when something unexpected happens (such as Jozu intercepting his flying slash aimed at Whitebeard, or Luffy surviving his onslaught).

He displays a sense of honor like some other Seven Warlords, such as Boa Hancock, Bartholomew Kuma, and the ex-Warlord, Jimbei. He recognizes and respects the swordsman's code and he even permitted Roronoa Zolo the luxury of training at his hand for his dedication and selflessness. He is also unafraid to reference his title of "Greatest Swordsman in the World" in relation to himself, indicating a high level of confidence in his own abilities. He takes pride in his swordsmanship, believing that a nick on his sword is a blemish to his pride. Though he is confident in his strength, Mihawk remains grounded. While he has become jaded regarding the abilities of other swordsmen, due to facing numerous weaker opponents, he is able to recognize talent. In fact, he has a desire to see Zolo surpass him after having witnessed Zolo's incredible will and determination after their battle. When he speaks to Zolo, he states he will wait for Zolo, no matter how long it takes and notes that he will continue to be the world's greatest swordsman, showing great confidence in his own skills and abilities.

Mihawk is selective and whimsical when it comes to fulfilling his duties as a Warlord, as evidenced by his history of poor attendance at Seven Warlord summons, as well as his decision to hunt and harass some pirates over others. Zeff speculated that the reason Mihawk attacked Don Krieg and his men might have simply been because they disturbed his nap. Mihawk admitted that the only reason he followed them all the way back to East Blue Region from the Grand Line Region was to kill time.

Although Mihawk spends most of his time alone, he is fine with making company with people, such as Shanks and Perona. He also appears to have a sense of hospitality, having (somewhat) tolerated Perona and Zolo's presence upon his return to Gloom Island right after the Whitebeard War; he even went as far as relay to Zolo the events that occurred concerning his captain, Luffy. In addition, he offered a boat to help the Straw Hat's swordsman leave the island.

Mihawk also shows curiosity for the people he decides to attack. He attempted to strike Whitebeard just to see what the power distance between himself and Whitebeard was. He also attacked Luffy just to see if fate is on Luffy's side or not. As a result, Mihawk is very analytical about others' abilities, and can recognize strengths that others may not, such as when he understood that Luffy's natural charisma and quick amassing of comrades is his most dangerous attribute.

Despite his serious demeanor, he is shown to be capable of engaging in peaceful activities such as tilling the land of Gloom Island.

Friends/Allies

 * Shanks
 * Monkey D. Rex

Neutral

 * World Government
 * Monkey D. Luffy
 * Portgaz D. Ace
 * Jimbei

Rivals

 * Shanks
 * Monkey D. Rex
 * Roronoa Zolo

Abilities and Powers
Mihawk possesses an immense amount of skill in battle, defeating all but one of Don Krieg's fleet of 50 ships and 5,000 men by himself just before a storm struck. He has also remained unharmed thus far throughout the entire series, despite participating in the Battle of Navyford, in which many of the world's most powerful people suffered injuries. He was also a rival to one of the Four Emperors, further demonstrating his abilities.

True to his epithet, "Hawk-Eye", Dracule Mihawk has exceptional eyesight, able to easily track Luffy's high speed Gear Second movements, and strike with extreme precision, releasing a long-range slash at him while there was a chaotic battlefront of New World pirates and Navy officers between them.

In addition, he is also a talented teacher: after training Zolo for two years, he accomplished more than the dojo had achieved in the many years Zolo had trained there (though it helped that Zolo's skills were already greatly developed by the time he became Mihawk's disciple). Zolo himself even admitted that even after training with Mihawk during the entirety of the (time-skip), while talking down to Pica, an elite officer of the former Don Quixote Pirates, that he (Zolo) is still not anywhere near Mihawk's level of skill with swordsmanship, further attesting to Mihawk's combat and fighting prowess.

Mihawk's strength is so great that Don Krieg accuses him of having the power of a Devil Fruit. While it has not yet been officially confirmed that he does not, it has only been indicated that his abilities are from pure skill and power. This makes Mihawk one of the few known Warlords whose strength is based solely on human abilities and skill, being completely human (Jimbei being a Mermen and Bartholomew Kuma being a Pacifista Cyborg), and possessing no Devil Fruit powers.

His first demonstration of power was defeating all but one of Don Krieg's fleet of 50 ships and 5,000 men by himself just before a storm struck. Perhaps the most accurate and evident demonstration of his incredible power is the fact that he has remained unharmed during the whole series (just like his fellow Warlords Don Quixote Doflamingo and Boa Hancock).

He is shown to have a strong will as he was able to resist Luffy's Conqueror's Haki and be one of the few to still be able fight despite others around him falling unconscious. He also has great mental strength, having not fallen for the charms of Hancock Boa while most men easily fall for the pirate empress' beauty.

It is especially worth noting that, during the Battle of Navyford, while the Whitebeard Pirates (one of the strongest pirate crews in the world, with top Marco and Jozu being heavily-wounded), the Navy Admirals (with Akainu being defeated and Aokiji being harmed for the first time in the whole series) and the Warlords (with Moria, Kuma, Teech and former member Crocodile being heavily-wounded) had very difficult battles, Mihawk has remained truly unscathed through the whole conflict.

Physical Abilities
Although he has never been seen resorting to physical combat outside of swordplay, his fortitude suggests that he naturally possesses superhuman strength and resilience, as he applied tremendous strength behind all of his swings, enough to split battleships and a mountain of ice with ease. He was also able to stop Zolo, a formidable swordsman with enormous strength, with only a single dagger that he held with one hand. He also has extraordinary agility, being able to jump and leap enormous heights and distances. He is quick enough to counter Luffy's Gear Second enhanced speed.

Swordsmanship
Although he has never been seen resorting to physical combat, his fortitude suggests that he naturally possesses super human strength and resilience. In terms of combat, Mihawk is the single greatest swordsman alive, naturally commenting on his mastery of swordsmanship: back in the East Blue Saga (where Zolo, while at his weakest in the storyline, was still notorious across that entire stretch of ocean as the "Pirate Hunter" and had effectively mastered both "Three Sword" and "Two Sword" fighting styles), he was capable of defeating a three sword-wielding Zolo, who was renowned all over the East Blue, with the single "crucifix" knife hung around his neck disguised as a pendant, generally used as a dinner knife. He has been known to have frequently dueled and fought with the Emperor Shanks when they were younger. He is also at skilled in teaching, as he trained Zolo into a very powerful swordsman in two years’ time.

The fact that Mihawk used to be a rival of one of the Four Emperors implies that Mihawk might be one of the strongest characters in the series. Because of his status, defeating him is Roronoa Zolo's ultimate goal he made to Kuina. Mihawk also seems to have great strength, as he was able to stop Zolo, a formidable swordsman with great mastery and enormous strength even to launch entire buildings and destroy them with powerful slashes, with only a single dagger, and handling it with just one hand.

Mihawk demonstrates enough immense skill in swordsmanship, especially when using his main sword, Night, to perform incredibly gentle and subtle movements that would normally be impossible. His range of abilities are extensive, from destroying entire fleets of ships and giant icebergs with immense power to being able to deflect the course of bullets that were aimed at him with graceful precision only at the slight touch.

Yet as well as having the ability to use it to slice up entire fleets of ships or giant masses of ice just by swinging his blade, making a powerful, long-range slice, he is also graceful with the blade enough to knock bullets and change their course with little effort and at great speed. He is also able to cut through steel with ease and swiftness rapidity, as demonstrated with the steel-bodied Mr. 1, whom even Zolo struggled to defeat.

Haki

 * Main article: Haki

Mihawk taught Zolo how to use Armament Haki to protect his swords from any damage, which not only suggests that he himself can use it, but that he possesses enough mastery of it to teach other people at a high level.

Kogatana

 * Main article: Kogatana

Mihawk has a pendant cross knife worn on his neck. He is shown using it as a tool to eat with, but in his hands it is also a deadly weapon capable of defeating any minor or moderately skilled swordsman.

Night

 * Main article: Night

He wields the Black Sword Night, the strongest sword in the world, as his main weapon. Black Sword "Night" is a curved black blade in the shape form of a crucifix, with a golden crossguard decorated by blue and green cabochons, and a hilt wrapped in bandages, with a particularly big cabochon at its extremity. When Mihawk accepts challenges for his title, this blade is only drawn for those with enough spirit to earn Mihawk's respect, or enough power to present a threat; otherwise his Kogatana is sufficient. Black Sword "Night" an ornately-decorated, single-edged, life man-sized (about 7 feet) sword with a shiny black blade, which is curved at the end. is an ornately-decorated, single-edged, life-sized sword (about 7 feet) shaped like a crucifix with a shiny black blade, which is curved at the end.

Transportation

 * Main article: Coffin Boat

Mihawk travels around in a coffin-shaped raft with two green-flamed candles, a single black sail, and a single seat. The fact that he can traverse the unforgiving oceans, as well as the Grand Line Region itself, in such a meager craft is yet another testament to his abilities.

Past
Much of Mihawk's past remains a mystery. However, he was among those present at Gol D. Roger's execution. He also made the castle of Gloom Island his home.

Mihawk once saw a strong rival in Shanks. Their battles were said to shake the whole of the Grand Line and Mihawk often sought Shanks out for duels. After Shanks lost his arm twelve years ago, Mihawk ceased seeking him out for duels. At some point, he earned the title of "World's Greatest Swordsman" and joined the ranks of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Mihawk had been responsible for single-handedly destroying Don Krieg's entire fleet, excluding Krieg's flagship, during Krieg's failed attempt at entering and conquering the Grand Line. The destruction of Krieg's fleet drove the pirate from the Grand Line. He then followed Don Krieg to East Blue to the Baratie.

Canon

 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Shanks (numerous times, unseen)
 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Krieg Pirates
 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Roronoa Zolo
 * Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Navy vs. Whitebeard Pirates and their allies
 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Monkey D. Luffy
 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Vista
 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Daz Bones
 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Crocodile

Non-Canon

 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Jimbei

Notes & Trivia

 * He and Jimbei are currently the only known Seven Warlords who do not have Devil Fruit powers.
 * The only duel between Shanks and Mihawk that was actually seen is in the game One Piece: Unlimited Cruise 2. It was used as an intro for both of them as bosses.
 * In the 5th Japanese Fan Poll, Mihawk ranked as the 23rd most popular character, making this the first poll where he was not ranked as the most popular Warlord.
 * He is the first Warlord shown in the series.
 * He shares his birthday with Shanks and Franky (March 9).
 * He is the only Warlord with no known bounty.