Dracule Mihawk

Dracule Mihawk

Mihawk Dracue (ミホーク・ジュラキュール, Mihōku Jurakyūru), also known as "Hawk-Eye Mihawk" (鷹の目のミホーク, Taka no Me no Mihōku), is a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the first one to be revealed. He is also the current holder of the title, "Greatest Swordsman in the World" (世界最強の剣士, Sekai Saikyō no Kenshi). Mihawk served as Zolo Roronoa's swordsmanship teacher during the two-year timeskip.

Appearance

Voice Actor: John Gremillion (English), Hirohiko Kakegawa, (Japanese)

Mihawk is a tall (198 cm. (6'6") in height) and lean black haired man with a short beard, moustache and sideburns that point upwards. His nickname comes from his strangely colored yellow eyes, which resemble a hawk's eyes. His birthday is March 9th.

The Young Past Days

When Mihawk was younger, he was seen with 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 Roger D. Gol'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 Night at that time.

Before the 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, flower-patterned sleeves and collar. He wears white (light purple in the anime) pants held up by a decorated belt and tucked inside overly large boots in comparison to his leg size. His age is 41.

He wears a kogatana around his neck, appearing as a golden cross-shaped necklace, and carries Night on his back. His large sword, which he keeps on his back at times when not in use, has a curved black blade, and is also in the shape of a crucifix, with a golden handguard decorated by blue and green beads, and an hilt wrapped in bandages, with a particularly big bead at his extremity.

At his home in Kuraigana 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.

After the Timeskip

After the timeskip, he shows some more wrinkles near the eyes. His age is 43.

Personality

Like many other characters in the japanese version, he has a unique laugh, or uniquely to himself bearing two: "Wahhahhahha" and/or "Kukukukuku".

Mihawk Dracule is possibly one of the most serious characters; very little seems to surprise him, he rarely smiles, and he has only been seen laughing once in the series so far. He takes the revelation about Luffy being Tiger's son in stride and "Revolutionary" Dragon's nephew, despite the surprise of those around him. He never unnecessarily reveals emotions on the battlefield, even when he's trumped (such as "Diamond" Jozu intercepting his flying slash aimed at Whitebeard, or Luffy surviving his onslaught).

He displays a sense of honor which other Warlords seem to lack, with the exception of Kuma Bartholomew and the former Warlord Jimbei. He recognizes and respects the swordsman's code and he even permitted Zolo Roronoa the luxury of training at his hand for his dedication to 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 (a fairly conceded point).

Mihawk is selective when it comes to fulfilling his duties as a Warlord, as evidenced by his history of poor attendance at Warlord summons, as well as his decision to hunt and harass some pirates over others. Zeff speculated that the reason Mihawk attacked Krieg Don 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.

Though he is the swordsman above all the world's swordsmen, Mihawk remains grounded. While he has obviously become jaded regarding the abilities of other swordsmen, he's able to recognize talent. In fact, he has a desire to see Zolo Roronoa 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. He also understands that Luffy's natural charisma and quick amassing of comrades is his most dangerous attribute.

Mihawk also shows some 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 and he attacked Luffy just to see if fate is on Luffy's side or not.

He also appears to have a sense of hospitality, having tolerated (somewhat) Perona and Zolo's presence upon his return to Kuraigana Island right after the Whitebeard War; he even went as far as relay to Zolo the events that occurred concerning his captain, Luffy D. Monkey. In addition, he offered a boat to help the Straw Hat swordsman leave the island.

Relationships

Friends/Allies

• Shanks
• Tiger D. Monkey

Neutral

• Zeff
• Zolo Roronoa
• Luffy D. Monkey
• Ace D. Portgaz
• Jimbei
• Kuma Bartholomew
• Hancock Boa

Rivals

• Shanks
• Tiger D. Monkey
• Roronoa Zolo
• Seven Warlords of the Sea
  • Doflamingo Don Quixote

Enemies

• Krieg Pirates
  • Krieg Don
• Worst Generation
  • Teech D. Marshall

Abilities and Powers

True to his epithet, "Hawk-Eye", Mihawk Dracule 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. Mihawk's strength is so great that Krieg Don accuses him of having the power of a Cursed Fruit; however, in the Databooks, his abilities appear to be simply brute skill and power. Mihawk Dracule is the only Warlord whose strength is based totally on natural human skill, being completely human (Jimbei being a Mermen and Kuma Bartholomew being a Pacifista Cyborg), and possessing no Cursed 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 Doflamingo Don Quixote and Hancock Boa).

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 Gecko, Kuma, Teech and former member Crocodile being heavily-wounded) had very difficult battles, Mihawk has remained truly unscathed through the whole conflict.

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 itself, in such a meager craft is yet another testament to his abilities.

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 Swords Style" and "Two Swords Style" fighting styles), he was capable of defeating a three sword-wielding Zolo 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 fought with 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 Zolo Roronoa'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 also demonstrates enough skill in wielding the Night to perform incredibly gentle and subtle movements that would normally be impossible for such an immense blade, like deflecting the course of bullets that were aimed at him with only a 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 rapidity, as demonstrated with the steel-bodied Mr. 1, whom Zolo struggled to beat.

Weapons

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.

Main article: Night (Sword)

He wields the Black Sword Night, the strongest sword in the world. 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. Kokuto Yoru an ornately-decorated, man-sized (about 7 feet) sword with a shiny black blade, which is curved at the end.

History

Past

He was among those present at Roger D. Gol's execution. He also made the castle of Kuraigana Island his home.

Much of Mihawk's past remains a mystery. However, he once saw a strong rival in both Shanks and Tiger. 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 ten years before the story, Mihawk ceased seeking him and Tiger out for duels. At some point, Mihawk Dracule earned the title of "World's Greatest Swordsman" as well as having joined the ranks of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

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