Chapter 253: The Power of the Shichibukai (22)
Chapter 252: The Power of the Shichibukai
Just how powerful were the Shichibukai?
This had always been an enduring question in the One Piece World.
It was like asking who was stronger, the Four Emperors or the Three Admirals; whether the Three Sweet Commanders or Three Calamities could defeat the Three Admirals; whether the Shichibukai could match the Three Sweet Commanders, and so on...
The Shichibukai had actually always been underestimated.
The reason was simple: Luffy had defeated two Shichibukai right at the start, later beat up another one, recruited one as a crew member, and nearly married yet another one.
Anyone beaten by the protagonist's group was automatically treated as a minor character and looked down upon. Especially those defeated during the Straw Hat Pirates' early voyages—Crocodile, the first minor boss of the Grand Line, simply had not performed with much strength.
Gekko Moria was even worse. The Straw Hats used shadows to defeat his shadows, and Moria, who could not even control his own powers properly, was even called the shame of the Shichibukai.
Kuma had fought the Straw Hat Pirates when they were already badly weakened, and only displayed his true power at the Sabaody Archipelago.
The Empress had always been acting lovestruck and had never revealed her true abilities.
Doflamingo was strong, certainly, but judging from how he later acted like Kaido's little brother, he was probably even more servile and weaker than the Three Calamities.
Then there was Jinbe, the only one who, like Hawk Eyes, had maintained the prestige of a Shichibukai.
Hawk Eyes was the man who had once attacked Whitebeard only to be blocked by Jozu. Of course, that had not happened yet, but the fact that he was both a friend and rival