Straw Hats’ Captain Luffy got his ridiculously strong powers because he unknowingly ate a special fruit. Their reindeer doctor Tony Tony Chopper and Archeologist Nico Robin also got their unique powers because of a special fruit as well. This special fruit is called the Devil Fruit in the vast universe of One Piece.
Devil Fruits are mysterious fruits that will give you powers after eating them. One Piece’s main protagonist Luffy ate Gomu Gomu no Mi and became a rubber man. But sadly, he cannot swim anymore as a price to pay for eating the Devil Fruit.
There are many other characters in the series that had also eaten a Devil Fruit which gave them powers unique to them. But what is this Devil Fruit? To know more about this, continue reading!
What Is the Devil Fruit in One Piece Universe?
First of all, A Devil Fruit is a special type of fruit that is scattered throughout the One Piece world. The fruit is very rare and gives its eaters a special type of power that is unique to the fruit. According to the records, at least over a hundred Devil Fruits exist around the world, and there is only one of each kind at a single point in time.
That means, the two same fruits do not exist in the world. Pretty cool right? However, this coolness comes with a huge risk. The user will lose the ability to swim after eating the fruit as a terrible side effect.
Legend has it, that upon eating a Devil Fruit, you agree to sell your soul to the Devil inside of it. Now, because your soul is not yours anymore, seas reject your existence and hence they wipe your ability to swim!
It was first revealed in Luffy’s flashback from when he had eaten the fruit. If you can’t figure out a way to survive in the Pirate Era without swimming, then you’re going to have a pretty tough time on the ocean.
Gomu Gomu no Mi That Luffy Eats to Get His Rubber-Man Powers
Each Devil Fruit gives its eaters a unique ability and the people with Devil Fruit abilities are called “Power Holders”. These Power Holders are a majority of the time unaware of what type of fruit they are eating until after they’ve eaten it.
The World Government has compiled an encyclopedia with information about most of the Devil Fruits in it. It is quite interesting to know that the user will realize the name of the fruit and its powers after eating it.
Luffy became a rubber man after eating Gomu Gomu no Mi. Chopper was a reindeer who ate the Hito Hito no Mi to become a human reindeer. And similarly, Robin ate Hana Hana no Mi and was able to sprout parts of her body from anywhere and everywhere.
It is also interesting that while Grand Line has no scarcity of Devil Fruit users, the people outside the Grand Line have little to no idea about the fruit’s existence. To them, it is nothing more than a myth.
Fun Fact: Legend has it that Devil Fruits contain certain types of sea devils which dwell inside the body of the person who has eaten it. It is because of this reason that the seas refuse to accept such existence and steal the person’s ability to swim. Sea Prism stones have the same effect as the sea on the power holders!
What Are the Different Types of Devil Fruits?
Devil Fruits are interestingly classified under three main types— Paramecia, Zoan, and Logia. Each type of the Devil Fruit gives the user a particular type of ability and has different levels of how rare they are in the environment.
Out of the three, the Logia type of Devil Fruits is the rarest. These fruits allow their users to become, produce, or control a particular type of substance or element. For example, the God of Skypiea, Enel ate Goro Goro no Mi and was able to produce and manipulate lightning.
Enel, the God of Skypiea Wielding the Powers of Goro Goro no Mi
Next, the Zoan type of Devil Fruits is not as rare as Logia types. These fruits give their users animalistic abilities. The people who eat the fruit become Human-Animal Hybrids. They can transform into hybrids and are far superior to humans in terms of strength and powers.
For example, Straw Hats’ doctor, Tony Tony Chopper ate Hito Hito no Mi and became a Reindeer-Human hybrid.
The last is the Paramecia type of Devil Fruits. They give their users abilities that differ from that of Logia and Zoan-type fruits. Luffy’s Gomu Gomu no Mi is also a type of Paramecia Devil Fruit.
What Happens if You Eat Two Devil Fruits?
The record has it, that eating more than one Devil Fruit may lead to your body being torn apart to such a degree that little to nothing of it will be left. A mess of gore and flesh is definitely not the best way of dying. Hence it is advised to avoid eating more than one Devil Fruit.
But why does that happen? There are some theories that said that if you eat two Devil Fruits then the devils from the fruits will use your body like a battlefield and you will die. The devils do not like their territories invaded and will definitely wage a war with each other. Another theory is that the fruits are highly incompatible in nature and explode in each other's presence inside the body. However, this theory does not have enough evidence to support it.
CP9 Chief Spandam Gives Devil Fruits to Members
In the Water Seven Saga, CP9 chief Spandam gives two of its members a Devil Fruit each as a reward for their hard work. The fruits are kept in close proximity to each other but show no reaction to being around each other. Hence the second theory fails to provide a concrete answer to this question.
All the recorded cases of people eating two Devil Fruits had ended with them becoming a mass of gore and flesh. All except for Blackbeard Teach who is somehow able to survive and use the powers of two Devil Fruits that he has eaten. For some unexplained reason, Teach did not die after eating his second Devil Fruit.
There is a theory that explains this situation—Blackbeard’s Yami Yami no Mi powers allow him to absorb the powers of other Devil Fruit without dying. There is no evidence for this theory but it seems pretty plausible to me. What do you think?
What Happens to the "Devil Fruit" if the Power Holder Dies?
No two same types of Devil Fruits exist at a single point in time. So, if the person who holds Devil Fruit powers dies, does that mean the fruits die too? But wouldn’t that make the fruits extinct? Then it is clear that the fruit does not die and somehow reappears in the world.
In the Punk Hazard and Dressrosa arc, we discovered that the Devil Fruit gets reincarnated into a nearby fruit when the power holder dies. That means the fruit will reappear in the world and get reborn into a normal fruit that is near the power holder when he dies.
Dressrosa Arc Graphic
However, it does not matter what type of fruit it reincarnates into. For example, if a Devil Fruit is in the shape of an apple, it doesn’t have to be an apple when it reincarnates. It can become a strawberry or cherry too.
The spiral patterns, coiled stem, and unconventional colors are an identifier of Devil Fruits. The shape plays little to no role in determining the powers of a Devil Fruit.
How Did Blackbeard Steal Whitebeard's Devil Fruit?
This is getting interesting as we progress in the article. Blackbeard was suddenly able to wield Whitebeard’s Devil Fruit, Gura Gura no Mi’s powers in the Marineford arc. It is possible that he had absorbed the powers of the Devil Fruit. But how did he do it? It is one of the most mysterious secrets revolving around the Devil Fruit.
There are two possibilities that could explain how he did it. First is that he just absorbed Whitebeard’s powers using his Yami Yami no Mi fruit. But second is that he discovered a way to steal the Devil Fruit without waiting for the fruit to reincarnate. Both possibilities seem equally plausible to me.
But the second possibility seems to be closer to the truth. Blackbeard’s crew covered Whitebeard in a black cloth after his death. Then when the cloth was taken off, Blackbeard already had the powers of Gura Gura no Mi.
Blackbeard-Marshall D Teach
It is still unclear how he did it. But it is clear that Blackbeard's crew wanted to keep the method a secret. That explains the black cloth.
However, we cannot completely ignore the fact that Blackbeard had a bizarre body from the start. It could also be a reason why he was able to assimilate and use the powers of two Devil Fruits.
Do you agree with our theories? Let us know in the comments! Stay tuned for more updates on One Piece
