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Since we learned that Devil Fruit powers can sometimes be negated by strong Haki, we were sure there must be some sort of connection between the two beyond just the fact that the weaponry allows interact normally with them.
Luckily, we think the manga’s most recent chapter gave us a good clue about the connection between Devil Fruits and Haki, thanks to the explanation of the Doctor Vegapunk on Devil Fruits.
Vegapunk describes Devil Fruits as follows: “Each Devil Fruit is a possibility of human evolution that someone has desired! !! If only I could be like this… if only I could be like that! !! All of these powers represent the many branches of the future of Humanity. »
The haki, or the will
If we go back to manga chapter 597, when Rayleigh first explains Haki to Luffy, he says the following: “Never doubt, that’s power!” This tells us that Haki is a spiritual power born from concepts like conviction, will, fighting spirit, etc. It is a manifestation of the spirit of the one who wields it.
But more importantly, look at the wording used by Rayleigh. In a way, the idea of an absence of doubt is quite the opposite of what Vegapunk says Devil Fruits embody. In his explanation, the Devil Fruits embody a possibility, a fantasy, a wish. The use of “if only” really cements this idea.
And while it can be said that possibilities and wishes can be fulfilled by willpower, that’s not really the case with Devil Fruits, but we’ll get to that later.
Basically, Devil Fruits are shorthand. You take a bite of the fruit, and the powers are immediate. Yes, you have to train them, but to learn the abilities as a whole, you don’t really need to do anything other than eat a bad-tasting fruit.
With these two pieces of information, you can begin to formulate a partial hypothesis about how the interaction between Devil Fruit and Haki.
Let’s say a Logia fights a person with Haki, and the Haki user wraps their weapon in Armament in order to attack the Logia user. At that point, the “possibility” that exists in the logia devil fruit collides with the “conviction” of the haki user.
To put it another way, the Devil Fruit thinks “If only this person were made of fire, then we couldn’t hit them”, but Haki’s attack shatters that ideal with the belief that “My punch is going to hit. that person “. The same goes for canceling Devil Fruit powers used to affect the body of the Haki wielder. They break the effect of “If only I could do X to this person” by channeling the belief of “I am not affected by this power”.
We mentioned we’d be revisiting Devil Fruits and Conviction combined, so let’s get to the nitty-gritty, because we think that really answers the question of how Awakenings work.
Kaido, Luffy and Lucci, three proofs of awakening
Kaido says in the manga, during his fight against Luffy, that “Awakening is what happens when your mind and body catches up with your powers”. Since we have the idea that Devil Fruits represent a possible evolution for humanity, perhaps Awakenings are what happens when you train to that point where your body essentially embodies that state.
We could expand on DNA and lineage factors to explain why this might be the case, but the series actually gives us one perfect example in the form of Lucci’s recent awakening and guards from Impel Down.
Shaka states that “Awakened Zoan Powers usually absorb and control the user’s personality.” We see this very clearly with the guards of Impel Down, who have become animal-like in their mental abilities. One reason this might be the case with Zoan Devil Fruits is that Zoans embody the possibility of “If only I could turn into animal X.” »
A weak-willed person might let this possibility take over when they begin to awaken. They let the spirit of the animal in the devil fruit take over them, basically becoming that animal. However, Lucci had enough strength of mind and personal identity to remain in control while waking up. He has become one with the animal, but in a way that preserves his identity.
We already mentioned in a previous article that Luffy was only able to achieve his Devil Fruit awakening, against Kaido, only because that’s when he became what his fruit is, freedom warrior.
If one considers awakening to be “reaching the point where your mind and body fully encapsulate the possibility of evolution of your devil fruit”, then the powers gained upon awakening can be seen as ” an evolution beyond what the fruit had originally dreamed of”. In a sense, it is an evolution without limits.