Warning: SPOILERS for chapter #1073 of One Piece.Chapter #1073 of One Piece teases a fight that fans have been waiting to see for over two decades: Zoro vs Mihawk. Even if this is not the real Mihawk, but his Seraphim clone, the exchange of blows with Zoro in this chapter created a very cool moment and teased one of the most anticipated fights in the entire series.
In One Piece, the title of "world's strongest swordsman" belongs to one man only: Dracule Mihawk. This character is still mostly a mystery, despite making his debut very early in the series. In his first appearance, Mihawk humiliated and almost killed the Straw Hats' Zoro, who also dreams of becoming the world's strongest swordsman. After that defeat, Zoro swore of defeating Mihawk, but he actually ended up training with him during the "two-year gap". This was an unexpected development, but it proved that Zoro's desire to grow stronger for the sake of his friends was greater than his personal ambition of defeating Mihawk. Luckily for One Piece fans, the real battle between the two swordsmen has only been postponed.
Zoro Vs The Mihawk Seraphim Is An Appetizer For One Piece's Most Anticipated Fight
Chapter #1073 of One Piece gives readers a small glimpse of what that battle will look like. The Straw Hats are currently trying to rescue Dr. Vegapunk from his laboratory on Egghead Island, which is currently under attack by the World Government's assassins of Cypher Pol 0. Vegapunk deploys his latest and strongest creations, the Seraphim Pacifista, created by cloning the DNA of the former Warlords of the Sea, including Mihawk, and mixing it with the powerful genes of the Lunarian race. However, CP0 snatches control of the Seraphim, and the Mihawk Seraphim attacks one of Vegapunk's "satellites". Zoro jumps in and blocks the attack, even joking that the clone looks more human than his rival/mentor.
It's hard to get any clues from this brief exchange about how the fight between Zoro and Mihawk will go. While his true strength remains a mystery, Mihawk is at least on the same level as Shanks, one of the most powerful characters in the series. However, the strength of the Mihawk Seraphim should also not be underestimated. He has the same abilities as Mihawk, even if they are less developed because the Seraphim is still a child, plus the DNA of a Lunarian that gives him superhuman physical prowess. This was shown when he previously clashed with Blackbeard and took the attacks of the Yonko without getting a scratch. Also, the Mihawk Seraphim has a still-unrevealed Devil Fruit that the original does not possess.
The dynamic between Zoro and Mihawk remains one of the most interesting in One Piece. Mihawk truly sees Zoro as his rival, recognizing his potential since their first encounter, and he is prepared to wait as long as it takes for Zoro to become strong enough to give him a serious fight, and Zoro's recent displays of power show he might be close. This is why he accepted to train Zoro who, on his hand, will have to defeat Mihawk in order to fulfill the promise of becoming the greatest swordsman that he made to his dead friend Kuina. The battle between Zoro and Mihawk should be one of the final highlights of One Piece, but for now, fans will have to settle for the small appetizer they got in chapter #1073.
The latest chapter of One Piece is available from Viz Media.