User blog comment:Yami6302/Shichibukai is 7 "strongest" pirates? shouldn't it be "strong"?/@comment-53539-20100407110150

@Smartboy3 - its not fair to attempt to place Rayleigh just yet on a standing. I'd put him at Whitebeard level, but we need more info on him first outside of Haki.

@Anon - traditionally, smoking is seen as a "tough" guy image. To the extent a lot of folks smoke to make themeselves look tougher. Oda is playing on that, plus in the real worlds golded age of pirates, lots of people smoked frely unaware of the dangers of smoking.