Awakened Devil Fruit

The awakening is a process that takes place within the Devil Fruit allowing its user to fully manifest the powers of the fruit. It is reflected through increased abilities and refined control over the abilities they possess.

The process seems to apply to all types of Devil Fruits however the prerequisite to achieving this stage is not yet confirmed.

Before we get into the deep meanings of the awakening, here is a course on Devil Fruits.

What are Devil Fruits?

Devil Fruits or Akuma no Mi are mysterious and mystical fruits in the world of one piece that grants its consumer abilities unique to the fruit. These consumers are called ‘” Devil Fruit Users” and they are deprived of the ability to swim the moment they swallow a bite of this fruit.

The history and nature of the Devil Fruits are still very much unknown, however, it has been established that the Devil Fruits have been in existence for eight centuries as the oldest Devil Fruit user, Kozuki Tori, was born 800 years ago

Devil Fruits exists in a multitude of various forms of ways, but they can be grouped into three types:

Zoan: Those that consume this type of Devil Fruits can transform their body into an animal, i.e: Chopper, Kaido, Marco etc

Logia: Logia users allow users to alter their forms into a natural element and manipulate it at their will and usefulness I.e: Blackbeard, Sabo, Akainu etc

Paramecia: paramecia users fruits are incredibly diverse and are broadly categorized as fruits that grant ‘’superhuman powers” to their consumers. I.e: Luffy, Trafalgar Law.

Anything that is not a Logia or a Zoan type of devil fruit is classified as Paramecia the third and most powerful type of the devil fruit. This can be differentiated from the ability to turn oneself into a jacket or generates tremors and quakes at one will.

What is the Awakening of a Devil Fruit?

The aspect of “Awakening” of a Devil Fruit was not explicitly mentioned until Chapter 785 of the manga where Doflamingo touches upon this during his fight with Luffy.

He described it as “another stage to the powers of the Devil Fruit”. Doflamingo even claims that it is rare however some powers can ‘awaken’. This piece of information by Doflamingo was enough to send fans into a spiral having been fed a completely new piece of information 700 chapters down the line, Some believed that it was a relatively new concept that Oda pushed into the story to maintain intrigue but in retrospect, traces of this phenomena can be witnessed

They are the first confirmed signs of awakened Devil Fruit users. At the time of their entry, readers were not given enough information (such as the awakening), to fully understand the nature of their powers.

Most importantly, Doflamingo implies that the Devil Fruit and the users are two separate entities. The description of the awakening places emphasis on the fruit rather than the user. So, it can be inferred that it is the fruit that awakens, not the user.

It seems to be a budding seed planted by Oda early into the story that is slowly unfolding to give readers an idea about the nature of the Devil Fruit. Simply put, the awakening unlocks an advanced or special stage of the Devil Fruit which results in enhanced abilities, refined control, greater efficiency, and utilization of the ability at hand.

Now, I am sure with this information, your mind is buzzing with questions regarding its effects and what triggers it. Let us tackle these questions one by one so it is easily understandable!

What Happens After a Devil Fruit is Awakened?

The nature of the Devil Fruits is quite diverse and rich with information – as if they were a life of their own!

Therefore, there are no streamlined ways in which the Devil Fruit awakens. Each Devil Fruit, once awakened, plays to its strengths as a way to further expand the capacities of the ability the fruit possesses.

Zoan Type Users

For example, Zoan type users rely heavily on their physical capabilities in battle. So, it makes perfect sense that once they are awakened, their physical capabilities such as – strength, durability, speed, recovery time – are all cranked up. Interestingly, it is also seen that Zoan type users do not display any complex mode of thought once awakened, almost as if they are driven by instincts like animals.

Awakened Zoan type users also maintain forms that resemble their full beast form with human attributes. It is unknown whether this is characteristic of an awakened Zoan user or a choice on their part.

Logia Type Users

As for Logia users, the manga has not yet confirmed any Logia users to be awakened. But fans do speculate that since Logia users exercise elemental control, they probably can exert a permanent or drastic change to their environments. This speculation is derived from the fight that took place between current Fleet Admiral Sakazuki and former admiral Kuzan on Punk Hazard. In their attempt to claim the position of Fleet Admiral, both Logia users subjected themselves to a death match that forever altered the island’s geography.

Even two years after the fight, half of the island is freezing due to Kuzan’s Hie Hie no Mi and the other half is burning due to Sakazuki’s Magu Magu no Mi.

Paramecia Type Users

However, Awakening in Paramecia type fruits is what truly reflects the diversity in its nature. Since there is a diverse range of abilities categorized under Paramecia, it cannot have a standardized form of awakening. the only awakened ones confirmed in the story are Doflamingo and Katakuri. They’re both generator type Paramecia users.

Doflamingo can generate string and Katakuri can generate mochi. Their awakened forms increased the range through which they could transform inorganic materials into strings and mochi respectively.

In their basic stage, it was only possible through direct contact, however, the awakened stage allows them to use the ground as transmutation and transform objects within a certain distance into strings or mochi.