One Piece's Creator Just Cleared Up One of the Biggest Mysteries Surrounding Devil Fruits Awakening

Devil Fruit transformations have showcased some of One Piece's most extravagant character designs, but author Eiichiro Oda recently cleared up a major misconception about the visually stunning forms in the latest manga SBS Q&A section. With Luffy's adventure entering the final saga, he and the Straw Hat crew are encountering many of the One Piece world's strongest characters, many of whom use Mythical Zoen Devil Fruit that until recently had many fans believing them to be Awakened because of a special feature, one that Oda just proved to be misleading.

Even though Luffy's story has been going strong for over twenty-five years, several One Piece mysteries have lingered for just as long. Some involve the mystical Devil Fruits that grant the devourer's otherworldly powers. Skilled users like the Straw Hat Captain and World Government super-assassin Rob Lucci have advanced their Devil Fruits powers, awakening their fruit's latent potential. Their new transformations both feature a strange smokey sash many fans have associated with Awakened Fruit users; however, thanks to X user and One Piece superfan PewPiece, a translated response from author Eiichiro Oda helped clear the air.

The Smokey Sash Is A Feature Of Mythical Zoan Fruits, Not Awakened Devil Fruits

Very Few Character Transformations Have Featured The Strange Scarfs

With the release of new One Piece manga volumes usually comes several revelations about the franchise and its cast through the SBS section, where Eiichiro Oda answers questions from fans. While some questions can range from humorous observations, others can tease huge future developments in One Piece's story. However, one question requesting a look at the young Yamato's Zoan form after they ate their mystical wolf deity Fruit revealed that it doesn't take awakening a Devil Fruit to gain the godly smokey sash.

Oda's adorable picture of the young Yamato in their hybrid beast form features the same smokey sash her adult Hybrid Zoan form uses. Since it wouldn't have been possible for the child of Kaido to train their abilities to Awaken their Devil Fruit at such a young age, the illustration from One Piece's author proves that the smokey sash is a feature of Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits, not the results of Awakening. Because of the impressive strength of characters like Kaido, Luffy, and Lucci, some fans incorrectly believed exceptionally strong Devil Fruits users could attain the godly sash.

Yamato's role in One Piece's Wano arc often goes underlooked because of the monumental achievements of characters like Luffy, Law, and Kid. If they had not held off Kaido while the Straw Hat Captain recovered, the Captain of the Beast Pirates would have played a devastating role in helping defeat members of the Straw Hat Samurai Mink Alliance. Despite Yamato's considerable strength, genetics, and willpower, it's unlikely they could have awakened the Mythical Zoan Fruit's latent powers so quickly after accidentally eating it as a child, especially when comparing their capabilities to those of confirmed Awakened Devil Fruit users.

One Piece Characters Who've Awakened Their Devil Fruits

Awakened Devil Fruit Users Have Become More Common In The Final Arcs

In many popular shōnen storylines, it becomes difficult for the author to consistently introduce new intimidating threats while gradually increasing its protagonists' strength and capabilities in exciting and believable ways. While Devil Fruits already provided incredibly varied abilities for its characters to use and encounter, they got even more complex in the story's later half. Combining One Piece's mysterious Haki powers with several Devil Fruit categories and the handful of users who've awakened their Devil Fruit abilities after years of hardcore training, determining which features belong to particular skill sets can be a complex endeavor.

For a long time, it was believed that Luffy wielded the Paramecia Gum-Gum Devil Fruit, but revelations during the Wano arc and his grand battle against Kaido featured the debut of his Gear 5 transformation, which changed everything fans thought they knew about the Straw Hat Captain's powers. The reveal reclassified Luffy's powers to that of a Mythical Zoan Type: Human Fruit Nika.

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Similar to Yamato and Luffy's more monstrous foes like Kaido and Rob Lucci on Egghead, an odd scarf of cloud-like material forms across the character's shoulders in their transformed states. The fact that the smokey sash has only been seen on the strongest Devil Fruit users caused debates about whether it's a feature of exceptionally skilled Awakened Zoan users or Mystical Zoan users. While CP0 agents Lucci and Kuku were able to improve the mastery of their ordinary Zoan Fruit powers and manifest their own mystical scarves, other Awakenings have also been shown to have devastating abilities.

The wonderfully devilish One Piece villain Donquixote Doflamingo and the stoic Charlotte Katakuri provided vast challenges for Luffy to overcome, partially due to their Awakened Devil Fruit abilities. Their Paramecia-type Fruits allow them to control substances tied to their powers (in this example, string and mochi). With extreme skills and training, they awakened their powers, allowing them to manipulate themselves, objects, and their surroundings to take on the properties of their Devil Fruits. However, Oda's young Yamato in their beast form with the mystical smokey sash drawing proves that there are many mysteries about the Devil Fruits fans don't know.

There Are Still Many Things One Piece Fans Don't Know About Devil Fruits

One Piece Is Written and Illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, Anime Produced by Toei Animation

After meeting hundreds of characters, many of whom wield Devil Fruits, the direct source for the ability-granting fruits has yet to be revealed. Unfortunately, Dr.Vegapunk provided several clues and even more questions about the mysterious items that have helped make One Piece so beloved and interesting. The series has grown so large that several details, like the revelation of Yamato's younger mystical Zoan hybrid form, don't have room to fit in the manga's chapters. Hopefully, author Eiichiro Oda will be able to answer enough of One Piece's mysteries to satisfy fans when the manga ends in the next few years.

Source: PewPiece/ X

One Piece

Created by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is a multimedia franchise that began as a manga series and follows the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates as led by Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy, an enthusiastic pirate with a thirst for adventure, is afflicted by a mysterious curse that gives him various powers he uses to protect himself and his friends. The manga eventually gave way to the anime series, with the two being some of history's longest-running anime and manga series. Along with over fifty video games made over the years, the series entered the live-action world with Netflix's 2023 adaptation.