Summary
- Living weapons programmed to attack can stand up against powerful Devil Fruit users without fear.
- Eating a second Devil Fruit will have disastrous consequences, making it a potential counter strategy.
- Haki is essential for making contact and dealing damage to intangible Devil Fruit users like Logia types.
In the world of One Piece, if somebody possesses a Devil Fruit, it will almost always give them a huge advantage in combat, since they will be able to unleash plenty of devastating abilities while also bolstering either their strength, durability, or speed. While this can already make it difficult for those who do have fruits of their own to take on these kinds of characters, Pirates of Marines who don't possess one at all will have an even harder time, though the good news is, there are a few easy counters that can be used to weaken them, or even take them down for good.
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Because of how absurdly powerful these Devil Fruit abilities can be, Eiichiro Oda made sure that they still had a fair share of weaknesses that would help balance them out and also give the non-Devil Fruit users a fighting chance. As a result, there have been several methods that have proved effective in shutting down someone who possesses a Devil Fruit throughout the One Piece story, and it's these tactics that this list is going to take a closer look at today.
6 Send Out Living Weapons
Unlike Humans, Living Killing Machines Have No Fear When Standing Up To Devil Fruit Users
If the average human being were to see a giant fireball or ice ball headed their way, their first response would probably be to run in the opposite direction, but this wouldn't be the case for a manufactured weapon or machine. As has been shown several times with the Pacifistas, and more recently with the Seraphims, units that are simply programmed to follow orders will be more than willing to stand up against a dangerous Devil Fruit user without having any fear of receiving incoming damage, making them effective tools for dealing with a powerful fighter.
Considering the majority of them are also built by the wicked smart Vegapunk, it means they also tend to be kitted out with their own set of explosive weapons and defensive properties, granting them the ability to stand their ground no matter how tough the opponent may be. If somebody doesn't have a Devil Fruit that they can use to take down their enemies, they might want to start thinking about putting together a few robotic servants to help them get the job done instead.
5 Give Them A Second Fruit
It's Been Said That Eating A Second Fruit Will Have Disastrous Consequences
While Blackbeard has somehow been able to consume two Devil Fruits, he is the only character in the series who has been able to achieve this, as it has long been established that consuming more than a single fruit can lead to pretty severe consequences. As Rob Lucci put it, those who get too greedy will eventually get what's coming to them, with it being implied that a person's body will simply shut down or even explode due to it being unable to handle so many overwhelming abilities at once.
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While it wouldn't be easy to pull this off, there are a few ways that a character could use this to take down someone whom they deem an enemy. For example, they could try and slip a smaller fruit into a plate of food to trick the fruit user into eating it, or they can take a note out of Corazon's book and just force-feed it to them out in the open. Considering how advanced the One Piece world is in regards to its scientific creations and discoveries, there could even be a way to extract energy from fruits that could then be shot out as bullets, though whether this is actually possible or not is currently unknown.
4 Counter The Fruit's Element
Devil Fruit Abilities Still Abide By The Laws Of Nature
Devil Fruit abilities can be absurdly powerful, but if they're based on an element, they still must abide by the laws of nature. To put it simply, this means fruits that allow the user to control and utilize fire, ice, or lightning, for example, can easily be countered if the opponent knows the correct way to match them. A prime example of this in practice is when Luffy was able to protect himself from Enel's devastating lightning blasts because his body is made of rubber.
Another is when Luffy utilized water and blood to solidify Crocodile's sand attacks, forcing him to get up close and personal rather than burying his opponents from afar. It can be easy to get caught up in how over-the-top and exaggerated Devil Fruit abilities can truly be in action, but it's important to remember that many of them still have glaring weaknesses that can be exposed, especially the elemental ones.
3 Attack With Haki
Charge Up Some Haki To Make Contact And Deal Damage To Fruit Users
In the first few story arcs, Luffy was being humiliated time and time again by Marines and Pirates who were using Logia Devil Fruits, considering that all of his punches would simply go straight through them. It would take a little while before he finally learned that, in order to make contact with people who are able to become intangible, he would first need to master his Haki, and more specifically, his Armament Haki, since this is the only way to actually deal any significant damage.
While this specifically applies to Logia users, considering they will often use their fruit to try and avoid being attacked, channeling the power of Haki will also enable someone to deal much more damage to Paramecia and Zoan types, too. In the same vein, Observation Haki can also assist with preempting an enemy's attack patterns, which is a huge help considering how fast these abilities tend to be when thrown out.
2 Use Seastone
A Strange Material That Will Severely Weaken A Person's Abilities
Being chained up in Seastone cuffs is a dangerous situation for any Devil Fruit user to be in. As the name implies, these materials are able to sap the stamina of a Devil Fruit while also nullifying their abilities, just like if they were thrown into the sea itself. An early example of this in action is when Smoker apprehends Luffy in Loguetown, using his giant Seastone blade to pin him to the floor with ease.
There are also many countries in the world of One Piece that will use Seastone handcuffs to keep Devil Fruit users in line after throwing them in prison, ensuring they don't get any funny ideas about breaking out by unleashing an explosive attack. While it can be easy enough for characters to break out of these chains if they're strong enough, Seastone does still seem to be pretty accessible in most areas, making it the go-to resource for anyone who's having trouble taking down an opponent who has a Devil Fruit ability on their side.
1 Dunk Them Underwater
Most Devil Fruit Users Will Avoid The Sea Like A Plague
It's ironic that Luffy and so many other Devil Fruit users decided to sail the open seas as pirates, considering that, if they accidentally fell overboard, they wouldn't just be able to swim back to safety. Devil Fruit users are considered to be the enemies of the sea, meaning their fruits will be completely disabled if they end up dunked underwater, and when seeing how much of this world is made up of glistening, vast oceans, it's honestly not that hard to throw someone in if they start getting a little too close for comfort.
Though there have been some characters who are able to traverse through water, such as Sanjuan Wolf, thanks to his enormous size, this won't apply to the vast majority of people who possess Devil Fruit powers. In stark contrast, most will try to avoid water as much as humanly possible, considering they will be an easy target if they find themselves unable to throw out an attack or technique to fend off incoming attackers.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Writers
- Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda
- Franchise(s)
- One Piece
- Creator(s)
- Eiichiro Oda
