Summary
Devil Fruitsare the signature power system ofOne Piece, and anyone who eats one of themwill automatically gain a strange but useful superpower. However, these mysterious fruits are very rare and not every important character in the series has had the opportunity to eat one. And some of them should never do so.
Several key figures in theOne Pieceworld have built their entire identity around their mastery of another power system, like Haki or Rokushiki, and, thus, eating a Devil Fruit would go against their established character. On top of that, they also give their users a debilitating weakness to water, which may be a huge detriment in this huge semiaquatic world. The following characters should never consume one of these bizarre fruits.
8Bepo
This Mink Has A Huge Advantage Over His Brethren
Members of the Mink Tribe have two efficient weapons in their arsenal: their Electro ability and their Sulong transformation, so most of them don’t need to consume a Devil Fruit in order to fight their opponents. However, Sulong can be quite unreliable, as it only activates when there’s a full moon in the night sky. But one particular Mink,Bepo, doesn’t have this problem.
Thanks to Tony Tony Chopper, Bepo has access to a drug that can activate his Sulong form regardless of the moon’s position. When combined with his solid martial arts skills, this transformation is very effective, not to mention that it has let Bepo save his captain, Trafalgar Law, by swimming away into the sea. So a Devil Fruit would only nullify all of that.
7Dracule Mihawk
What Would Be The Point Of Being The Strongest Swordsman?
Dracule Mihawkhas been establishedas the “Strongest Swordsman” of the entireOne Pieceworldever since the first story arcs of the series. He certainly stayed true to this prestigious title, because his skills with a sword are unparalleled, as he can slice through huge battleships or icebergs with no problems.
Mihawk can also use Haki, but he doesn’t depend on it when fighting, unlike Shanks and other similar swordfighters of near skill level. It’s evident that he worked hard to get there, so eating a Devil Fruit would completely undermine his efforts and make his title of Strongest Swordsman lose all of its meaning. It would feel like cheating.
6Monkey D. Garp
He Became The Hero Of The Marines Without One
There’s no doubt thatMonkey D. Garpis one of the strongest figures inOne Piecesince he defeated the infamous Rocks D. Xebec (with the help of Gol D. Roger) and gained the title of “Hero of the Marines”. After that, he kept detaining dangerous pirates and even began mentoring younger marines, like Koby and Helmeppo.
With a combination of immense physical strength, Rokushiki techniques, and the three types of Haki, Garp is an absolute beast in battle and has managed to pull off impressive feats,like his powerful Galaxy Impact, which completely obliterated most of Hachinosu. Garp has come so far without even thinking about eating a Devil Fruit, so he certainly doesn’t need one now.
5Koby
It Would Go Against His Inspiring Character Growth
No character inOne Piecehas grown as much as Koby did: he went from a feeble kid who wanted to join the Marinesto a heroic Marine Captain who is so strongthat he can even destroy part of an island with his mighty Honesty Impact. It’s immediately evident that Koby is Garp’s protégé, and he shares a similar fighting style with his master.
What’s especially important about Koby is that he also worked extremely hard to get where he is at today, and eating Devil Fruit would diminish the impact of his character growth and development. Of course, Devil Fruit users still have to put a lot of effort in their fighting and training (with Monkey D. Luffy being a clear example of this), but Koby wouldn’t benefit from eating one at this point.
4Shanks
He Is Already One Of The Most Skilled Haki Users In The Series
“Red Hair”Shanksis the only Emperor inOne Piecewithout any Devil Fruit powers, andhe would never have been able to earn and keep this title if it wasn’t for his impeccable Haki skills, which have always been so powerful that even Whitebeard himself recognized him for them. This is all expected of someone who trained under Gol D. Roger himself.
After Luffy faced so many threatening foes with crazy Devil Fruit powers, like Big Mom or Kaido, Shanks’ main role in the story now is to prove how far a Haki master can get. His crushing victories over Ryokugyu and Kid revealed that he has complete mastery of the three types, and there’s arguably no one else alive in the world who is as efficient at using Haki as he is. This all means that Shanks not only shouldn’t eat a Devil Fruit but that he was practically written to never need one.
3Franky
He Already Has His Advanced Cyborg Technology
When it comes to the Straw Hat Pirates, Eiichiro Oda has managed to achieve an almost perfect balance, since only 4 out of 10 members of this crew have eaten a Devil Fruit. And while there’s an argument that could be made for some of them to eventually eat one, there are others who should never do so, withFrankybeing one of the most definite examples.
The point of Franky as a character is to introduce cyborgs to the storyand to show everything that a smart and talented engineer can achieve with cutting-edge technology. He already has a resilient metal body, numerous weapons, and he can even pilot a giant mech, so he wouldn’t benefit from a Devil Fruit anyway. Curiously enough, Franky is one of the few characters who stated that he doesn’t want to eat a Devil Fruit since Luffy offered him the Mera Mera no Mi during the Dressrosa Arc, but he rejected it because he doesn’t want to lose the ability to swim.
2Vinsmoke Sanji
He’s A Proficient Swimmer With Super Human Abilities
It’s been established thatSanjiis one of the best swimmers among the Straw Hat Pirates, and he was often the first member of the crew that would jump in the water to save Luffy or Chopper from drowning. It would be a shame if he ever ate a Devil Fruit since it would eliminate one of his most useful abilities.
Not to mention that the powers of a Devil Fruit won’t even give him an upper hand in battle, since Sanji can already perform a lot of impressive techniques without one: he was already a proficient martial artist, and he could even set his legs on fire with his deadly Diable Jiambe.On top of that, he recently awakened the genetic modifications in his body, which made him even faster, stronger, and more resistant.
1Jinbe
It Would Literally Ruin His Entire Character And Fighting Style
Fish-Men and Merfolk are all about their innate amphibian abilities and thus, any member of these races would be hindered by the prospect of eating Devil Fruit, as was proven with the only 2 examples in the series, Vander Decken IX and Jack.Jinbeis no exception, as he inevitably is the most skilled swimmer of the Straw Hat Pirates. He’s also the helmsman of the crew, meaning that his position always puts him too close to ocean water for this to be a major weakness.
On top of that,Jinbe is also a master of Fish-Man Karate and Fish-Man Jujutsu, two unique martial arts that rely on his abilities to swim and manipulate water. So, this weakness to water would completely invalidate the efficient fighting style that he has been using for many years. There would be zero benefits for Jinbe if he had Devil Fruit abilities, and it’s certain that he will reach the end of the series without eating one.
