Mihawk being Rayleigh’s son also explains his friendly rivalry with Shanks, who must have been Rayleigh’s swordfighting student. I imagine that Mihawk and Rayleigh would have butted heads often enough that Mihawk didn’t grow up on the Oro Jackson or at the Rip-Off Bar, but instead was sent away to sword school during his youth. He wouldn’t have been interested in being a part of Roger’s crew, anyway.
The second part of my theory concerns Mihawk’s position as Shichibukai. I think Mihawk became a Warlord in order to help protect his parents. The agreement might have been that as long as Rayleigh & Shakki didn’t cause any trouble, the Marines would leave them alone, which explains why Borsalino said he had heard Rayleigh was on Sabaody.
Borsalino was ready to bring down Rayleigh and said that Rayleigh’s crimes could never be forgiven. But hello? Rayleigh’s wife is literally running a bar with her damn name on it! Granted, it’s in the lawless area, but it’s not like it’s a secret. If the Marines really wanted to find Rayleigh & Shakki, they could.
If it’s known, or even suspected, that Dark King Rayleigh and former member of Rocks Shakky are on Sabaody, why aren’t the Marines hauling them in?
The Ace novel recently told us that it’s the Gorosei and Sengoku (Fleet Admiral) who pick the Shichibukai. It also said that both the Gorosei and the Marines take their instructions from the Celestial Dragons.
By choosing Mihawk as a Warlord, the Celestial Dragons could enter a détente with Rayleigh and Shakky as well as having the World’s Strongest Swordsman on their side. There must have been a “stand down” order on Rayleigh and Shakky, and Mihawk joining the Warlords was the reason for it. Borsalino and the other Admirals are not fully aware of this agreement, which makes sense because while Borsalino wants to catch Rayleigh, he also admits that there’s not even a plan in place for that situation.
Rayleigh tells Borsalino that he wasn’t exactly living in peace, so it does seem like there was a “lie-low-and-be-cool” kind of thing going on here, and the reason is that Rayleigh’s son is a Shichibukai. (Now, what will happen to Rayleigh & Shakki since the Shichibukai were dismantled??)
If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading!
*Theory by wordyworm
