Mihawk's betrayer may be a beloved One Piece character

Modified Oct 30, 2024 10:30 GMT

One Piece might have a big twist involving Dracule Mihawk (Image via Toei Animation).

One Piece author Eiichiro Oda revealed in volume 108 of the SBS that Dracule Mihawk suffered a betrayal by a member of the Marine, which has defined many of his actions as a character. Subsequently, there have been several theories of who could be the person who betrayed him, as a user on X, @writingpanini, has come up with their own recently.

This user suggests that the person in question is Monkey D. Dragon and these two characters share a past in One Piece. The idea is that Dragon's decision to leave the Marine and become a revolutionary to overthrow the World Government, in a way, meant a betrayal for Mihawk, mirroring what happened to Crocodile with Nico Robin, as Crocodile told Mihawk that they are similar in terms of not trusting others.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the One Piece series and reflects the opinions of the author.

Explaining how Monkey D. Dragon could be the one who betrayed Dracule Mihawk in One Piece

Expand Tweet

Author Eiichiro Oda stated in volume 108 of the SBS (a column where Oda answers some fan questions) that Dracule Mihawk was betrayed by a member of the Marine, which is why a lot of people have come up with their own theories of who that person could be. In that regard, a theory written by an X user (@writingpanini) states that the Marine in question could be Monkey D. Dragon.

This stems from the fact that Crocodile told Mihawk that they are similar as they don't trust others, and the X user uses what happened to the former with Nico Robin as a possible similarity of the betrayal the latter went through. Robin chose to betray Crocodile because she wanted to reach her true goal - understanding the real history of the Ancient Weapons, and Dragon perhaps did the same thing to Mihawk.

It is common knowledge now that Dragon abandoned the Marine when discovering the corruption of the World Government and chose to form the Revolutionary Army to defeat them. Therefore, there is a chance that he was Mihawk's friend at once, and his decision to leave the Marines could have meant a significant betrayal to the former, perhaps even leaving him in a very critical position.

More evidence of this theory

Dragon as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation).

The One Piece manga is yet to show what Dragon's rank was in the Marine, but it is general knowledge that he is quite strong, especially considering his connection with Garp. Therefore, he probably had a fleet and perhaps the likes of Mihawk and Akainu were a part of his crew, with the latter shown in Marineford to be one of the few to know that Luffy was Dragon's son.

When considering that Akainu seems to have a grudge against Dragon, the latter perhaps did something that damaged their relationship, whether it was merely professional or a profound friendship. The same could have happened to Mihawk, with him becoming the "Marine Hunter" and Akainu becoming one of the most ruthless members of the Marines.

Final thoughts

There is no confirmation regarding the member of the Marine who betrayed Dracule Mihawk, but the idea of that person being Dragon is certainly exciting. It could add some connections between these two beloved characters, and also add more context to Dragon's change from the Marine to becoming a member of the Revolutionary.