User blog comment:Yatanogarasu/Gecko Moria: Weakest of the Eight?/@comment-3242083-20110130192539

I will just copy what I wrote in another blog:

"His Devil fruit is possibly one of the most powerful Paramecia's out there. With enough time and devotion, this man alone can create an unlimited amount of super strong soldiers, thousands of them. It was just bad luck that he encountered the Straw Hats so "early" in his mission - else he could have gathered one strong shadow after another.

Thats why I believe that Moria is actually one of the strongest Shichibukai, just not on a one-on-one basis. I believe this is also the reason why the Marines wanted him, to create said army. Only natural that they droped him after he released all his shadow minions.

In the end, personal strength is not everything - numbers are equally important. Who takes care of an overthrown island when you head for the next? The split in two fruit isn't out yet (bara bara no mi doesn't count!)"