In its never-ending fight against pirates, the World Government has developed a surprisingly effective system of bounties that are used to entice not only its staff, but also, the worldwide public to use their own best efforts to bring in the most wanted, save the authorities trouble, and get a generous reward for their troubles. Placing bounties is no random and capricious enterprise. Rather One Piece’s World Government considered a number of factors, such as dangerousness to the government, in order to determine just how high a bounty should be, and therefore signify just have important that person’s termination or detention is to the authorities. At the top of the bounty list are the Yonko, or the four pirates the World Government considered the strongest, most influential, and the biggest threat to their authority. After the fall of Kaido and Big Mom, the World Government identified Buggy as a Yonko.

The problem with the World Government’s choice of Buggy as a Yonko is that it deviates from its past focus on naming the threats with the most capacity to challenge their rule as Yonko. While Buggy is, without a doubt a competent pirate captain, he is abilities clearly due not arise to “Emporer of the Sea” status. Conversely, while One Piece’s Dracule Mihawk neither commands a massive fleet of ships to do his bidding nor is a pirate in the One Piece sense of the word, as the undisputed “greatest swordsman in the World”, he’s undoubtedly a more serious threat to the Word Government’s rule than Buggy could ever be. For a while, the World Government was able to co-opt any threat Mihawk posed by naming him a Warlord of the Sea, but once that system was obsolete, Mihawk no longer has any reason to hold back.

Why Mihawk Would Make a Better Yonko Than Buggy

Whereas Buggy’s successes have mainly come to him by dumb luck, Mihawk’s triumphs are all self-made. Having set out at an early age to be a warrior ever, he sought out the best and challenged them. First, he took on the Marines, then it was other thieves and criminals like himself. Soon there were few left who could match his abilities. In One Piece Chapter 51, it is revealed that Mihawk destroyed the Krieg Pirates’ fleet of 50 boats and 5,000 men single-handedly. Moreover, unlike other overpowered characters in the series, Mihawk’s abilities are all-natural, and not the result of eating a Devil Fruit.

Interestingly, the World Government seems to understand the tremendous threat that Mihawk poses to them. This is most obviously proven by the fact that the most recent bounty they place on his head is greater than the bounties for Buggy, Luffy, and Blackbeard. But because Buggy is the “front man” for the Cross Guild, a criminal organization founded by Mihawk and Crocodile, they mistakenly believe that despite his capabilities, he answers to Buggy. It’s an interesting example of Buggy’s One Piece luck, and disrespect for Mihawk, the man who speaks softly but carries a big sword.