First of all i'd like to acknowledge all those who have made theories on whether "Rayleigh" was the previous "world's strongest swordsman" before Mihawk took the title. [ Soz, but i can't remember your names ] . But i wish to provide some proof that he truly was.
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First of all, he was the Pirate Kings 1st mate so he was bound to be heaps strong [ duhh ]. Now remember Rayleigh from the Roger v Shiki flashback in the past?
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[ Look carefully, at Rayleigh's sword. Particularly its handle. ]
Doesn't it remind you alot of Shanks sword?
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Then we see at different timings Rayleigh using multiple different swords indicating to me, that he is very skilled and can adapt well to swords making him the previous "worlds strongest swordsman".
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YOUR THOUGHTS?