Here’s everything you need to know about the awakening of Devil Fruits in One Piece.
Devil fruits are an incredible source of power in the world of One Piece. Introduced to the fans in the very beginning through Luffy’s Gomu Gomu no Mi, Devil Fruits are known to be mystical fruits full of power, famed across the world as the treasures of the sea because they grant immense power to whoever eats them in exchange for their ability to swim.
Since the very beginning of the story, Devil Fruits have become a key source of power in the One Piece world. It is a power system that has been very well established over the decades and, with time, it is only getting more interesting and diverse. There is one aspect of Devil Fruit powers that has been introduced rather recently in the story, known as Devil Fruit Awakening.
The First Instances Of Awakening
Devil Fruit Awakenings came into play for the very first time after the timeskip of the One Piece series. While they were mentioned once before the timeskip during the Impel Down arc through Crocodile, it wasn’t until much later in the series that this concept was properly explained. In Impel Down, fans saw the Jailer Beasts be forcefully awakened into their Zoan states. This granted them additional strength, speed, and recovery rate and, in general, granted them a big boost in all their physical stats. Crocodile, who is a veteran pirate, knew all there was to know about the forcefully Awakened Beasts of Impel Down. However, Oda did not explain what awakening truly meant until the Dressrosa arc of One Piece.
During the Dressrosa arc, while Luffy was fighting Doflamingo, the latter pulled out what he called his trump card and it was Devil Fruit Awakening. Doflamingo was a user of the Ito Ito no Mi. With this Devil Fruit, he could produce and manipulate strings and use them to the best of his abilities. Doflamingo’s control over his powers had grown so immense that he managed to take his fruit beyond its limitations and that is precisely what he called Awakening. In his case, he was able to turn his immediate surroundings into string as well. The buildings, the ground, and everything that he touched could be turned into strings. Later on, Katakuri, one of the biggest antagonists of the Whole Cake Island Arc, also had an Awakened Devil Fruit, and his powers worked similar to Doflamingo’s, only they were Mochi instead.
What Is Devil Fruit Awakening?
Finally, the Wano country arc of One Piece explained the concept of Devil Fruit Awakening to the fans when Luffy finally managed to awaken his Gomu Gomu no Mi. It was revealed to the fans that his Devil Fruit was actually the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, and went by a different name to hide its true powers. In his awakened state, Luffy became much stronger than he ever was before and his level of strength grew to a point where even Kaido was fearful of his powers. Shortly after Awakening, Luffy was able to swing around Kaido and push him back like it was nothing. The Yonko, being an experienced fighter, knew immediately that the latter had Awakened his Devil Fruit.
Kaido then went on to explain Awakening to the fans. According to him, awakening is what happens when the mind of a Devil Fruit user catches up with their powers. In other words, Devil Fruits require a synchronization of the mind and the fruit of the user. This allows the user to take the fruit beyond its limitations and manifest different powers that they were unable to use prior to this. In Luffy’s case, he was able to attain a unique transformation that he calls Gear 5 and, at the same time, he gained the ability to turn his immediate surroundings or anything that he touches into rubber as well. This was quite similar to the ability exhibited by users such as Doflamingo and Katakuri.
Different Types Of Awakenings
In the One Piece world, there are three main types of Devil Fruits and they are the Paramecia class, the Zoan class, and the Logia class. The Paramecia type of Devil Fruits allow the user to become a substance or produce it. All the other miscellaneous abilities that exist in the One Piece world also fit into this category. When it comes to the Paramecia Awakenings, the user is usually able to transfer their powers from their own bodies to their immediate surroundings and the things that they touch. Doflamingo being able to turn the ground into strings or Katakuri being able to turn the Mirror World into Mochi are prime examples of Paramecia Awakenings. In fact, Luffy, despite being a Mythical Zoan, also exhibits a property of Paramecia Awakening, thanks to the rubbery nature of his Devil Fruit. He is also able to transfer the rubber powers of his fruit to his immediate surroundings.
The Zoan awakenings are rather unique as they don’t allow the user to transfer their powers to their surroundings. Instead, they grant unique transformations, as mentioned by Kaido himself. For all the Zoans to exist in the One Piece world, Awakening leads to a completely new state that redefines how they look and boosts their physical power tremendously. It also boosts their speed, their recovery rate, and all the other physical stats that they have. Luffy’s Awakening into the Nika state is the best example of a Zoan awakening. Fans also got to see Rob Lucci and Kaku awaken their Devil Fruits and they follow the same logic. Unfortunately, fans have not yet seen a Logia Awakening in One Piece, however, it is most certainly going to be very special. If one had to guess, a Logia awakening should allow the user to produce their element on a large scale or even turn others in their surroundings into the said element and manipulate them. In time, fans will get to see what a Logia awakening is as well.
