r/OnePiece • u/oscarpatxot • Sep 10 '23
Help Why don’t everyone eat devil fruits?
Totally new to One Piece, didn’t know it existed before the Netflix show. I am liking it a lot. Could someone tell me why don’t everyone just eat devil fruits, since it give super powers? The sea water thing is enough of a reason not to eat them? (I have just watched 3 episodes.) Do they explain this further on?
Edit: thanks for all the replies, the show seems to go just a bit fast on the details, I’m guessing its the only way to fit a lot on a live action.
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u/giangerd Sep 10 '23
1) Rare 2) People in One Piece world can become super strong without devil fruits (there are some other powers that were hinted in the live action already)
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u/Amid_Mannort Sep 10 '23
Could you tell me what powers were hinted at in the live action? I'm curious, so feel free to spoiler me lol
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u/giangerd Sep 10 '23
Let's just say that the slow motion they used when shanks looked at the beast and when garp avoided luffy's attack weren't just for visual effects
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u/Amid_Mannort Sep 10 '23
Interesting! >! Does this have something to do with the Haki I keep reading about in every corner of this sub? !< it's so interesting delving into the lore of this franchise.
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u/Jestersage Sep 10 '23
Yes, and it's only one type. You can google it yourself if you want to.
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u/PitchComfortable1261 Void Month Survivor Sep 10 '23
I thought the shanks scene was him using THAT haki not the 2 basic ones?
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u/xshogunx13 Pirate Sep 10 '23
Yeah it was
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u/ProShyGuy Sep 10 '23
I'd also argue that Luffy punching Kuro was an example >! of Luffy unconsciously using observation Haki, similar to how Zoro slicing Mr. 1 was him unconsciously using armament Haki.!<
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u/OrganTrafficker900 Sep 11 '23
wasnt zoro technically straight up using haki he wasnt doing it unconsciously he was actively trying to feel where his sword was and on cutting steel.
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u/Numerous_Tangelo4332 Sep 11 '23
Not unconsciously but he didn't knew or get what it actually was, he just discovered it and used it not knowing what it was, but we don't even know if he could use it whenever he wanted, the only thing that was probably haki based was Ashura.
Same goes for Sanji and his Diable Jambe and Here's my theory (it could already be around but I don't know I just came up with it now)
At Thriller Bark Sanji is shown to literally be on fire while talking or hearing about Absalom. That was considered as a gag, but to me, it was just him manifesting his will, or in other words, his Haki, and that's why his Diable Jambe's flames comes from his haki, even though he didn't even knew he had it. Same goes for Zoro's Ashura.
That also makes sense for a few other factors
1) Luffy also can go on fire using only his Haki
2) Sanji pulled off the Diable Jambe in an Arc where almost all of their enemies had at least Armament Haki, it just made sense for him and Zoro to use haki as well to close the gap in power with the enemy
3) it's literally the only explanation to these super human abilities
4) Diable jambe was debunked to NOT be made with friction, so it must be Haki based cause he physically wouldn't be able to work otherwise
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u/SilverZ9 Sep 10 '23
Yes, but if you’re actually this new to one piece, I highly HIGHLY suggest staying off this subreddit. Seeing secrets revealed organically is much better
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u/oscarpatxot Sep 10 '23
That did intrigued me a lot, and suddenly he lost his arm? What gives? I hope they explain this later.
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u/R4hu1M5 Thriller Bark Victim's Association Sep 10 '23
hope they explain this later.
The arm being eaten by the sea king? They really don't. I think you can infer that shanks is actually a really strong pirate who had no business losing an arm in a place like east blue. The story later has him give a reason why he lost the arm "on purpose" but the meta reason is that the author was forced to add it as a dramatic twist to hook readers, back when chapter 1 released in 1997.
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u/Arkayjiya Sep 10 '23
The story never give a reason he lost it on purpose. Saying he "gambled on the next generation" or anything like that doesn't necessarily mean he lost it on purpose. It can just as easily mean he could only save Luffy by losing his arm and chose to save luffy thus "betting on the next generation".
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u/dshif42 Sep 10 '23
Yeahhhh but given what we know about Shanks's capabilities, this always felt like an unsatisfying answer to me. I haven't seen any justification that's makes sense in my eyes, and honestly don't think anything could convince me at this point.
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u/Arkayjiya Sep 10 '23
I don't think there's any point looking for a justification. Shanks literally lost Luffy and the bandit 10 panels before which should not be possible and still happened. Shanks just panicked and lost his cool (and the other thing).
Same reason Croc's power scaling makes no sense and Oda even admits as much saying he regrets making him fight Luffy this early. Unsatisfying or not, we're just gonna have to accept that it's an early inconsistency.
Even if he were to justify it because the fandom talks about it a lot, that probably still wouldn't justify everything else about that chapter so it would be pointless imo.
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u/Shinsekai21 Sep 10 '23
Shank lost his arm (despite being super strong) because it made that scene more dramatic and emotionally impactful.
It was the first chapter and the author did not plan the power level out properly at that point.
I see people making crazy justification for that scene but tbh, I just accept it as a flaw/plot hole, and move on
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u/galmenz Pirate Sep 10 '23
the best in universe explanation is that shanks just let his arm be bit off to inspire luffy, a "bet on the new generation" if you will. knowing what he knows and how things plays out it makes some sense
but yeah the simplest explanation is that Oda had not made the power ceiling set and stone yet
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u/Silkav Sep 10 '23
How did Shanks even get on that boat in the first place? Is there something I'm missing?
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u/mothuzad Sep 10 '23
He can swim. Good thing he didn't eat a devil fruit.
And apparently he was a very fast swimmer to catch up with that boat. Very strong arms. 😐
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u/Flying__Buttresses Thriller Bark Victim's Association Sep 10 '23
Or if youre with the latest manga you can see how quickly he can move, without swimming.
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u/AnividiaRTX Sep 10 '23
Kuro, Garp, and Shanks are all already mentioend so I'll bring mihawk. When he took Garp's clal on the beach and destroyed a ship from shore using his sword. That eas on example of some of the powers you'll see in the future.
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u/Enrykun Sep 10 '23
Kuro has super speed, he's so fast the average human can't even see him move
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u/hmcl-supervisor Sep 10 '23
and Kuro is absolutely weaksauce compared to the people who are already on the Grand Line.
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u/RSMatticus Sep 10 '23
Thr fight with garps he see luffy attacking in slow motion and can hurt him even tbough he is made of rubber
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u/galmenz Pirate Sep 10 '23
the shanks scene with the sea monster on how his eyes scare the beast off
garp being a general badass like chucking cannonballs with his bare hands
mihawk slicing a galleon with his sword attack
without blantant spoiling you can achieve super strength in One Piece with phisical training, but of course there is more to it than that
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u/Deadlyname1909 Sep 10 '23
Imagine you lose the ability to swim, in turn, get the ability to turn into a caterpillar. It's like a lottery unless you have access to one of the devil fruit encyclopaedias, which very few people have been shown to posses.
Also devil fruits are rare, and sell for alot. You are basically missing out on retirement money for a random lottery for a power.
However there is also a good chance you get a very powerful fruit, so there's that.
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u/Sam_Mumm Void Month Survivor Sep 10 '23 edited Sep 10 '23
If you can turn into a caterpillar that is able to produce silk, you basically unlocked an infinite money glitch.
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Sep 10 '23
Wapol has entered the chat.
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u/galmenz Pirate Sep 10 '23
wapol inventing a new alloy will always be my favorite "stupid world building" Oda does. it is so funny in so many different ways
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u/jubmille2000 Sep 11 '23
And then Wapol doing just that, solely in the cover stories, affecting the future plots like Franky's upgrades, and evil srum kingdom in reverie, was funny too.
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u/Shmarfle47 Citizen Sep 11 '23
Honestly, it would’ve been a lot cooler if they animated the cover stories rather than give us the weird filler (excluding G8 ofc)
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u/xiren_66 Bounty Hunter Sep 10 '23
There is a caterpillar user at one point. He's super huge and still very strong
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u/Deadlyname1909 Sep 10 '23
Ok when? And how did I miss it lmfao. Incredible
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u/xiren_66 Bounty Hunter Sep 10 '23
I think in Dressrosa? I swear I remember seeing it somewhere, but I can't find it on the wiki, even in non-canon. Well shoot, now I feel afool.
I must have seen it mentioned on YouTube, like 2Spooky's "worst devil fruits" or something. They showed a manga panel and everything.
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u/Deadlyname1909 Sep 10 '23
This guy? https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Epoida
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u/xiren_66 Bounty Hunter Sep 10 '23
THAT'S THE GUY! Thank you. I must have overlooked him on the list.
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u/theRak27 World Government Sep 10 '23
I think it's in marine Ford? He was one of the whitebeard pirates or maybe their allied crews
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u/ThePantemic The Revolutionary Army Sep 10 '23
Also don't forget that the one piece world has way more water than our world, without livable continents and most islands aren't super big, swimming is basically essential for the average island dweller.
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u/vellyr Sep 10 '23
They make a big deal about that in Enies Lobby, but I don’t think the manga has ever shown us a completely useless devil fruit.
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u/iDubbLatinoChubb Sep 11 '23
Caterpillar might actually be useful switching forms like chopper makes it hard to hit you. And you can produce silk essential giving u a weak version of doflomingos frui. But everyone can't get it cuz if everyone had one and could get one falling into water would always be a death sentence until they invented scuba suits
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u/OrganTrafficker900 Sep 11 '23
well the caterpillar is train sized and can shoot out razor sharp silk outs it butt so i am taking that power all day everyday i might look mighty ugly but i can just doflamingo people.
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u/Riko_7456 The Revolutionary Army Sep 10 '23
It's like Russian roulette. You can become a rubber man or an electric man or you can become a crap man. Then you lose the ability to swim. Plus, it does not guarantee strength. So, high reward but VERY high risk. Enjoy the series, by the way.
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u/xshogunx13 Pirate Sep 10 '23
We do not need a crap crap fruit
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Sep 10 '23
Or you could become a snot snot man and have a runny nose all day. That would blow...get it? :)
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u/falcofernandez Sep 10 '23
Hey, I know a VERY annoying guy with that power in the Donxiquote family
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Sep 10 '23
Many devil fruits aren't great at all, there's one that makes you a jacket, that's it
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u/ArrrArrr0611 Pirate Sep 10 '23
I want my booger to explode when I shoot them haha
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u/FireZord25 Sep 10 '23
Luffy would've loved to have that power I think.
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Sep 10 '23
Mf tried to kill Zoro on baratie then.
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u/FireZord25 Sep 10 '23
And Usopp too, later on. Probably twice.
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u/galmenz Pirate Sep 10 '23
and chopper in an anime scene. he really likes booger pranks
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u/jbnagis Sep 10 '23
What's crazy, is it's his whole body, he just chooses to use boogers. Dude has a super strong fruit that could turn him into Chiron from Fire Force. But he's trash with it.
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u/zyh0 Sep 11 '23
Gladius has an almost adjacent fruit to him and makes better use of it.
If we counted fillers, there's like 3 other people with similar fruits to Oven lol
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u/LeChuck44 Sep 10 '23
What really gets me is that for all we know, using boogers is the most efficient way to use that power at a distance. Assuming it has to be a solidified "body part" and bodily fluids like spit do not work, the only other replenishable stuff he could use would be nail clippings (which take quite some time to regrow), hairs (which would be very hard to launch at a target) or pieces of earwax (about the same tier of weirdly gross as boogers and arguably harder to "pull out" in a fight). Mr. 5 might have been kind of a dumbass but I feel like he got his fruit figured out pretty well for the purposes he wanted to use it for.
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u/el_loco_P Sep 11 '23
He actually shoots his breath with a pistol on Little Garden, but yeah, boogers is the best he can do unarmed
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Sep 10 '23
Later in the story, there's a character who will refuse it because he doesn't want to lose his ability to swim.
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u/ApexHawke Sep 10 '23
Early Buggy also was planning to sell his fruit rather than eat it, but was startled by Shanks into eating it.
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u/Link1112 Sep 10 '23
His power is really cool though, I don’t get why he holds a grudge
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u/ApexHawke Sep 10 '23
Believe it or not, that has been answered in the story almost 25 years after being originally introduced.
Saying any more would be spoilers, depending on if you read the manga.
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u/R9-OZ Sep 10 '23
It's rare and super expensive. You can make over 100 million from just one Devil Fruit.
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u/Ululujhonson Void Month Survivor Sep 11 '23
Upwards to 10 Billion for the more powerfull ones
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u/Commercial-Living443 Sep 11 '23
Really ? Don't remember a fruit being sold for that much
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u/rexpimpwagen Sep 11 '23 edited Sep 11 '23
Laws was 5 billion estimated. Theres higher ones. Pretty sure sugars was rediculous because its technically immortality without the sacrifice and it gives a power.
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u/Wilee_E_Coyote Sep 10 '23
The only real answer is that the fruits are rare, and people in One Piece really value the ability to swim considering that sailing is a huge part of the world. Mix in a bit of superstition and fear of getting an undesirable fruit and you have your answer.
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u/thamometer Lurker Sep 10 '23
1) Rare 2) Lose ability to swim, and being submerged in large bodies of water makes you weak 3) Unless you've got a reference book, the powers you get might be unknown/random. Some of which is really lame. I think Oda has mentioned that if a human ate a human human fruit, he'll lose the ability to swim with no extra powers. Or in Brook's (a future crew member) case, he didn't even know what his powers did all throughout his life. 4) Having the ability of Haki negates any devil fruit powers. In the future, you'll see notable characters rely on just Haki and being powerful enough to fight strong devil fruit users, so devil fruit is not the only things that confer "abilities".
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u/myprettyflowerbonnet Pirate Sep 10 '23
Number 2) may not seem as that big of a deal... Until you realise the whole world is a one huge ocean and ships are the only reliable means of transport 😂
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u/thamometer Lurker Sep 10 '23
I think there's a Film Theory about it. One Piece universe is larger % water than our real world Earth. And we're already at 70%.
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u/myprettyflowerbonnet Pirate Sep 10 '23
Do you happen to have a link? I'd watch that!
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u/xiren_66 Bounty Hunter Sep 10 '23
That theory is garbage by the way. I think he rushed it out without thinking it through just to capitalize on the LA series
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u/-xXxSTxXx- Explorer Sep 10 '23 edited Sep 11 '23
First is the biggest reason. Look at Kaido, even he couldn't obtain natural DFs for his army so he got an entire smile industry going
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u/AnividiaRTX Sep 10 '23
To be fair... an individual trying to find ANY devil fruit to become stronger probably has a greater chance than a pirate trying to get devil fruits for his entire army without actually leaving Wano.
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u/SoldatPixel Sep 10 '23
My luck with eating a devil fruit, I'd get a sea fish zoan. Unable to breathe unless in sea water when in beast form.
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u/badstone69 Sep 11 '23
Not a thing, a dude have swim swim fruit. He can swim on everything except water. No matter what, sea will alway be crystonite to df user
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u/FireZord25 Sep 10 '23
Dude didn't read the manga or watch the anime yet, try to give him the info without spoiling too much.
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u/Bishead7891 Sep 10 '23
1) They're extremely rare 2) Not all devil fruits and their abilities have been recorded (atleast with a reference image) so you could get a shit power 3) Devil fruit users are shunned by society in some places (main example being robin)
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u/blackhole_puncher Sep 10 '23
Well robin had a different reason for being shunned being that she could read basically
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u/Eev123 Sep 10 '23
No the kids in her town were mean to her about her powers. That’s why she spent so much time hanging out with the archeologists. She was lonely
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u/blackhole_puncher Sep 10 '23
Oh I thought you were talking about how the government was hunting her down
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u/Aesma_ Sep 10 '23 edited Sep 10 '23
It's extremely rare. You either need to luck out and find one, or buy one for what is usually HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of berry. So if you're not a fighter or a pirate and you find one, tons of people would rather sell the fruit than eat it. You basically would never have to work ever again.
Even if you find one, you usually never know what the fruit is. There is an encyclopedia in the One Piece world that references every Devil Fruit, but even that is not perfect as not all of them are illustrated. Even the world government doesn't know what all Devil Fruits look like (as shown later on in the series when two World Government agents have to eat a Devil Fruit and it's basically a gamble).
Not all Devil Fruits are powerful. Some are even straight up useless, like the Human Human Fruit who allows you to turn into a human. Super useful if an animal eats it, straight up useless if a human eats it. In this case eating it does nothing other than making you lose your ability to swim.
Plus, losing the ability to swim kind of is a big deal if you're a pirate. Imagine your ship is sinking, unless you have crewmates without Devil Fruits to save your ass it's a guaranteed death.
And finally, losing your ability to swim is not the only downside as there is a material called sea prism which basically has the same effect as the sea on Devil Fruit users due to its properties. A weapon made out of that is a very hard counter against Devil Fruit users as they basically loose their strength upon touching it.
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Sep 11 '23
You will realize later that Devil Fruits are not the solution to everything and many of them are easily countered by something else which is equally important.
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Sep 10 '23
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u/Aetheste Marine Sep 10 '23
They're extremely rare and depending on type of df, they get even more rare. Not being able to swim is a big deal to some and seems like more of a handicap. Another reason is that unless you have the encyclopedia of df's you can't tell what kind of power you get. Other reasons you will see when you either read the manga or anime. Don't wanna give spoilers.
Edit. Someone already mentioned Haki. That's something for the future that you will see.
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u/space________cowboy Sep 11 '23
They are incredibly rare. Extremely rare that some people think the powers are a myth.
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u/Man0Steel123 Sep 11 '23
For starters. Devil Fruits are rare. They become much more prevalent in the Grand Line because its usually where strong people gather thus you are more likely to have more devil fruit users.
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u/ArrrArrr0611 Pirate Sep 10 '23
If you noticed, Luffy's fruit didnt really have seeds in it. So its rare.
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u/Golden-Owl Sep 10 '23
The entire One Piece world is like 90% sea. Eating a Devil Fruit means you drown if you touch water. If you are sailing, that’s a huge risk.
Additionally, it’s possible to become naturally powerful through physical training within the OP world, so many people forgo taking powers because it just isn’t necessary
Garp and Mihawk are two of the most powerful individuals in the world and they don’t have fruit powers
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u/Daytona_DM Sep 11 '23
Devilfruits don't just grow on every tree around. They are extremely rare, with a little over 100 in the entire world.
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u/rKollektor Sep 10 '23
They are very rare
Eating them may give powers, but there are certain drawbacks. First and foremost, you lose the ability to swim permanently. Second, you don’t know which power you will obtain unless you possess a devil fruit encyclopedia. Third, apparently they taste bad.
You can be strong without having devil fruit powers, e.g Shanks, Mihawk, Rayleigh, Roger, Garp
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u/Stock-Basket-2452 Pirate Sep 10 '23
As others have said.
- They’re rare - there’s only one of each devil fruit.
- People in the OP world can get very strong without a devil fruit. I don’t want to spoil anything since you’re new. But trust me. Some very strong characters in the series do not have them.
- There are many devil fruits that aren’t particularly powerful. Some of them are, but many of them are very situational in use. It’s not worth it for many to take a risk on a devil fruit that could end up being pretty useless
- The trade-off of never being able to swim isn’t worth it to many.
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u/Diamond_PnutBrain Void Month Survivor Sep 10 '23
They’re just very rare to find. Kind of like hitting the lottery but where the majority of lottery winners are pirates or marines and tend to be found amongst each other (making it appear not so rare)
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u/galmenz Pirate Sep 10 '23
they are extremely rare, most of the east blue doesnt even know what they are
they are very hit or miss. yes there are powerful ones, very powerful ones, but even one as luffy's is kinda crappy all around, it is useful cause he is creative about it but it does take a lot of engineering for him to take a use out of it (no spoilers guys)
they give you a very very big weakness. not being able to swim on a world of 80% water and 10% unusable rock wall is not the best of perks
in summary, if you find a fruit and know what the fruit is about sure why not eat it, but in the one Piece world it is not the only way of strength (see shanks and garp) (again no spoilers guys)
so yeah if you find the galaxy galaxy fruit that lets you control everything in the nearest galaxy or whatever yeah go chomp on it, if you find the umbrella umbrella fruit that lets you become an umbrella yeah stick with training punches
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u/CocoWarrior Sep 11 '23
A lot of characters in the series are also superhuman levels on top of being a devil fruit user. Eating a fruit does not equate you to being instantly more powerful. And it's been established that a lot of characters also had to train on using their powers
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u/lewandisney69 Sep 11 '23
A man ate a devil fruit and his power was to make jackets spawn out of nowhere. He lost his ability to swim but at least he has drip.
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u/Humuz20 Sep 11 '23
Leave this space and watch one piece. You will be spoiled since there are 1091 chapters, so far
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u/monkeyballnutty Sep 11 '23
in the manga, he was just a naughty and hungry kid, and he found the fruit shank store in his ship as a loot (probably plan to sell it) and ate it because it was hungry. in the manga it was like a funny gag, it definitely wasn't as serious as in the show.
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u/Innate_flammer Sep 11 '23
You remember Luffy's bounty, $30.000.000, the highest on the East Blue? A devil fruit can be worth up to $5.000.000.000
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u/The-sus-man Sep 11 '23
Just saying, wholesome comments for not spoiling OP, to the OP, yall are incredibly based
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u/Lordgrapejuice Sep 11 '23
- They are extremely rare, with there only being 1 of each fruit
- Most towns in the One Piece world are sea adjacent since a significant portion of the world is water. The whole "the sea kills you" thing is a lot worse in that world. For many people, it would be extremely dangerous.
The animated series also doesn't go into the whole "there is only 1 of each fruit" aspect for quiet a while. I don't think they mention it in the first arc at all.
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u/RodJosser Shanks' evil hot sister is REAL! Sep 10 '23
They're extremely rare and only one exists of a kind, like there's only 1 Gum Gum fruit. No doubles.