Summary
Devil Fruits are the foundation of the mystical world of One Piece, but do you know how old the first Devil Fruit is? Or is there any Devil Fruit that can work in water? Here, we will explore these deep questions about Devil Fruits, and perhaps even tackle the biggest mystery of all: Where do Devil Fruits come from?
However, from the very first chapter of One Piece the powers of Devil Fruit are introduced and we thought that our protagonist has given some unique powers. But as the progression of the story the master of imagination mr. Oda confirms that it will not be so simple to understand his imaginary magical fruits. Although devil fruit power is unique it is not just for one. And so till now, more than 200 Devil fruits have been revealed in the series along with their unique power holders.
“Amazing Fact: Did you know that despite the biggest drawback of Devil Fruits, not a single Devil Fruit user has died after submerging into the water in the entire history of the One Piece world?”
Devil Fruits in One Piece
Devil Fruits have more than three categories
The Grand Line is the most common place where a vast range of Devil Fruit users have been seen. Apart from the three basic categories of Devil Fruits—Zoan, Logia, and Paramecia—there are also uncategorized categories and subcategories.
Zoan Fruits
This category of Devil Fruits allows the user to transform into an animal, usually granting them an immense boost in strength and stamina. For example, a user can become a leopard, a falcon, or any hybrid human-animal form.
There are multiple subcategories of Zoan Devil Fruits:
Carnivorous Zoans: This type of Zoan includes any animal that is a hunter or a meat eater, such as the leopard and the wolf Devil Fruits. Due to the bloodthirsty nature of these animals, these Devil Fruit users receive an extra boost in aggression and physical fighting capabilities. For example, Mohji in episode six of One Piece uses his lion to fight.
Ancient Zoans: Ancient Zoans played a major role during the Wano Arc. While most Zoan Fruits are limited to regular animals found in the world, there is a subcategory of Ancient Zoans, which includes Ice Age creatures like the Mammoth and the Sabertooth Tiger, as well as even older creatures like dinosaurs.
These Ancient Zoans grant an even bigger boost in strength, speed, recovery, and endurance compared to regular Zoans, which is why the Emperor of the Sea, Kaido, was eager to collect as many of these fruits for his crew as possible. Oda also recently revealed a new warlord who was defeated by Ace and was collecting Ancient Zoans, potentially for Kaido, although this remains uncertain.
Mythical Zoans: Mythical Zoans are the rarest type of Zoan Fruits, granting abilities based on mythological creatures such as the Phoenix or the Dragon. These fruits often provide abilities beyond just physical transformation, such as regeneration or elemental control, making them extremely powerful.
Logia Fruits
Logia Fruits allow the user to transform into a natural element or substance, gaining control over that element as well. Examples include the Magma-Magma Fruit and the Lightning-Lightning Fruit. However, some Logia Fruits are based on more unusual substances, like the Swamp-Swamp Fruit or the Forest-Forest Fruit.
Paramecia Fruits:
Paramecia Fruits have different categories that can be further subcategorized into three parts:
Body Transformation Paramecia: This type of Paramecia alters the user’s body in some way, such as turning into rubber, blades, or even becoming invisible. For example, Mr. 1 in Alabasta could transform his body into blades, which made it extremely difficult for Zoro to defeat him.
Substance-Producing Paramecia: These fruits let you create stuff out of thin air. Doflamingo’s String-String Fruit lets him whip up endless strings, while Magellan, the Warden of Impel Down, can create a deadly poison. These abilities are game-changers in any battle.
Environment-Manipulating Paramecia: This type of Paramecia allows the user to manipulate the environment or other people in some way. A prime example is Admiral Fujitora, who can control gravity around him.
Special Paramecia
Here’s where things get really interesting. The Mochi-Mochi Fruit, eaten by Katakuri, is so unique that it had to get its own subcategory: Special Paramecia. It lets Katakuri both produce and transform his body into a mochi. It was originally mistaken for a Logia, but Oda made sure to set the record straight. Katakuri’s powers are so versatile, it’s no wonder he’s one of the toughest opponents Luffy’s ever faced!
Artificial Fruits: SMILE
Kaido’s obsession with Zoan-type Devil Fruits led to the creation of a new type of Devil Fruit known as SMILE. These fruits are made by combining animal DNA with a mysterious chemical called SAD. The mixture is then fed to trees, which grow these artificial SMILE Fruits. The process was first shown in Dressrosa, but the true horror of these fruits was revealed in the Wano Arc.
Only ten per cent of SMILE fruits are successful, while the other ninety per cent leave users with consequences worse than death. Imagine not being able to cry, no matter how sad you are, and being stuck with a goofy grin forever. That is the dark side of the SMILE fruits. Even successful SMILE users don’t gain real Zoan power.
Instead, they are left with grotesque animal hybrid parts attached to their bodies, leading to some of the most bizarre characters in the story.
Uncategorized Devil Fruits
With over 200 Devil Fruits in the series and counting, it’s no surprise that some of them are still mysterious. One of them is used by Lafitte, one of Blackbeard’s Titanic Captains. His angel wings have us all guessing—could it be a Zoan? We just don’t know yet.
Another uncategorized fruit belongs to Prince Groz of the Special Marine Division. His ability to manipulate clay seems like it could be a Paramecia, but who knows—it might turn out to be a Logia! Only time (and Oda) will tell.
Read More: The Mystery Behind Blackbeard’s Power Grab
How Devil Fruits Reborn?
Devil Fruit Powers reborn into another fruit after the user’s death
This remained one of the biggest mysteries in One Piece until the Dressrosa Arc, where we finally saw a Devil Fruit reincarnate for the very first time. After Luffy’s brother Ace died at Marineford, his Fire Devil Fruit powers were reborn into a new fruit somewhere in the world.
We learned that when a Devil Fruit user dies, the “soul” or “Devil” inside the fruit—containing the powers—passes from the deceased person into a nearby fruit. We witnessed this process during the Punk Hazard arc when a giant mass of poison died, and its Devil Fruit power transferred to a nearby fruit.
It remains unclear whether the Devil Fruit power transfers to just any random fruit nearby or requires a specific type of fruit. However, once the Devil takes residence in the new fruit, it waits until someone else takes a bite and gains the powers. This process explains how Devil Fruits are continually reborn into the world and why there can only ever be one of each power at any given time.
Interestingly, there is one group that seems to know far more about this process than anyone else: Blackbeard and his crew. Throughout the story, we’ve seen them hunting Devil Fruits, seemingly carrying sacks of fruit and killing Devil Fruit users to claim their powers. Maybe, they have a deeper understanding of this mysterious process, though exactly how much they know remains to be seen.
Can a Devil Fruit work in water?
Some Devil Fruits actually work underwater
Some Devil Fruits actually work underwater, and you might have forgotten a couple of important examples where Luffy was just fine beneath the waves. First, we have seen it right before the Jaya Arc, when the Straw Hats are nearly crushed by that mysterious falling ship Luffy dives straight down. He checks out the sunken wreck using a weird barrel diving suit. And he was totally fine underwater, hinting that Devil Fruit users have to actually touch the water to be weakened.
We saw this principle again during the Fishman Island Arc. Luffy was thousands of meters underwater, but thanks to that bubble coating, he could still function well enough to deliver a flaming punch to that evil Fishman. But here’s something that might blow your mind: we’ve never actually seen a Devil Fruit user drown in the story.
Sure, we’ve seen Luffy fall in and need to be saved, and even one of Kaido’s top officers sank to the bottom of the sea. But he was a Fishman, so he could conveniently breathe underwater. So yeah, not a single confirmed Devil Fruit user has drowned in One Piece—which is wild when you think about it, considering it’s their number one weakness in a world filled with water.
The Oldest Devil Fruit
Toki’s Devil Fruit is over 800 Years Old
The time-travelling Devil Fruit is currently the oldest confirmed fruit in the story. This Devil Fruit, wielded by Toki, was born during the Void Century over 800 years ago. While we don’t know exactly when or how Devil Fruits were created, this one is the oldest confirmed fruit in the story. Toki came from 830 years in the past, which aligns with the end of the Void Century.
Though she’s supposedly dead, in One Piece, you never really know. If there’s anyone who could escape death, it would be Toki, with her broken time-leaping powers. we’d certainly love to see more of her in the story, and who knows—maybe we’ll learn more about the origins of Devil Fruits through her.
Origin of Devil Fruits (Theories)
The National Treasure of Maria Could be the Origin of Devil Fruits
First mentioned by Doflamingo back in Chapters 700 and 761, Mariejois is the city on top of the Red Line where all the Celestial Dragons, the World Nobles, live and rule. Doflamingo, who was once a Celestial Dragon himself, claimed that with Law’s ability, he could fully utilize the National Treasure of Mariejois to seize true world power. For a long time, the community has speculated that this National Treasure is none other than the Devil Fruit Tree.
As wild as it sounds, it also feels strangely fitting—after all, they are called Devil Fruits, so it makes sense that they might grow on a tree. However, we’ve never actually seen anything like this in the story, and we do know that Devil Fruits reincarnate into regular fruits before transforming. Could it be true, though?
There’s another piece of the puzzle that ties into this theory. There’s a legendary tree whose roots reach all the way down to Fishman Island, providing light for the Fishmen. Since Fishman Island is directly below the Red Line and Mariejois, it would make sense for the Sunlight Tree Eve to somehow be connected to the Red Line itself.
Hence, Could the National Treasure and this legendary tree be connected? Could the Devil Fruits have originated from a giant tree hidden within the World Government’s base of operations?
Devil Fruits were once created by scientific experiments
This theory was bolstered during the Egghead Island Arc when Vegapunk revealed that Devil Fruits might have been created as scientific experiments long ago. We’re not sure how this would have worked or how the fruits continue to exist today, but in the world of One Piece, science often borders on magic. The idea isn’t far-fetched when you consider how closely Devil Fruits and science are already connected.
In Chapter 698, Law mentions bloodline elements, which in One Piece is akin to DNA, being crucial to the creation of artificial Devil Fruits. It’s possible that a highly advanced, technologically superior kingdom could have learned how to make real Devil Fruits by modifying DNA, essentially turning them into biotechnological marvels.
Devil Fruits might have grown from the sacred trees and dead souls on Jaya
Believe it or not, there’s another theory that ties into the history of the Shandians on Jaya. Remember the Shandian chief and Kalagara and the sense of betrayal he felt when Noland and his crew chopped down trees that were sacred to his people? These trees were believed to house the souls of Shandian ancestors.
How does this relate to Devil Fruits? Well, the Shandian people believed these trees contained souls, and as we’ve discussed, Devil Fruits seem to possess a soul or will of their own. Could it be that these sacred trees, imbued with the souls of the dead, were the origin of actual Devil Fruits?
Final Thoughts
In the Final Saga of One Piece, we’re finally seeing many unrevealed secrets of the world. Recently, even the truth behind the existence of Devil Fruits has started to come to light. But if there’s one thing we know about Oda, it’s that our theories and speculations will likely be turned upside down by the time the full story is revealed. Still, as One Piece fans, the thrill of guessing and theorizing is half the fun. So let’s keep the discussion alive, share our wildest ideas, and continue to dive deep into the mysteries of this incredible world. Who knows? We might just stumble upon the truth before Oda surprises us all once again.