User blog comment:AYET/The worth of the Shichibukai to the Marines/@comment-4899461-20130529141404

There's one important unknown here that could really change things up here: Did the Shichibukai get stronger over the timeskip too?

As a group, I'd say the answer is yes. There are simply more of them now than there were during the war. Individually, it's hard to know, and it has to be taken on an individual basis.


 * I'd say it's a safe bet to say that Mihawk got stronger over the TS. Training Zoro probably didn't consist of sitting around all day, and he probably learned somethings himself.


 * Kuma probably didn't get stronger over the TS, but after he left the Sunny, I'm sure Vegapunk is out to give him several upgrades.


 * Hancock, I don't know, but maybe. She could also have had "Straw-Hat timeskip disease" and want to get stronger for Luffy too.


 * Doflamingo, we can't even know, since we don't know how strong he was before.


 * Buggy, while weak himself, probably adds quite a bit of power with the pirate organization it sounds like he leads now. A hundred Impel Down escapees can't be bad.


 * We all know Law is very, very powerful.


 * The new guy we don't know about probably kicks ass too. If Akainu picked him (or helped pick him), the I bet he would have picked someone incredibly powerful.

In the end, I bet the whole world has gotten stronger over the timeskip. I doubt the marines could ever become powerful enough to take on the whole world, so I think they'll always need the Shichibukai.