If there’s something that sets One Piece’s Devil Fruits apart from similar power systems in other action shōnen series is the fact that they’re actual tangible objects that the characters have to eat in order to obtain their fantastical powers. Naturally, this means that there have been several situations in which a specific Devil Fruit was almost eaten by a completely different person, which is both weird and fascinating to even think of.
Curiously enough, this has happened more than once throughout the series’ extensive history, but the following examples are the most notorious ones. Many fans can’t help but wonder how different the plot of One Piece would be if these iconic Devil Fruits were eaten by another character.
Gomu Gomu No Mi / Hito Hito No Mi Model: Nika
Was Almost Eaten By Shanks (Or Ace)
- Eaten by: Monkey D. Luffy
- Type: Mythical Zoan (Previously classified as a Paramecia)
- Debut: Chapter 1 (Manga) Episode 1 (Anime)
After so many chapters/episodes, it may be easy to forget that even the main character of One Piece, Monkey D. Luffy, ate his iconic Devil Fruit by complete accident. Back when he was a little kid, he was hanging with the Red Hair Pirates at a bar in Foosha Village, when he found a small chest containing the Gomu Gomu no Mi and ate it thinking it was dessert.
As audiences would find out much later, this Devil Fruit was originally called Hito Hito No Mi Model: Nika and it was so incredibly important that the World Government was trying to hide it, so Shanks and his crew most likely stole it from a CP9 ship on purpose. The only problem is that it was never revealed what the captain of the Red Hair Pirates was planning to do with it: maybe Shanks himself was going to eat it (after all, he still lacks any Devil Fruit powers to this day) but the popular fan theory is that he had traveled to Foosha Village because he was planning to give it to Gol D. Roger’s biological son, Portgas D. Ace.
Mera Mera No Mi
Was Almost Eaten By Masked Deuce And The Corrida Colosseum Combatants
- Eaten by: Portgas D. Ace/Sabo
- Type: Logia
- Debut: Chapter 158 (Manga) Episode 94 (Anime)
The history of the Mera Mera no Mi is one of the wildest and most chaotic ones in the entire series: it was originally eaten by Luffy’s adoptive brother, Portgas D. Ace, but the canon One Piece novel A revealed that he actually shared it with Masked Deuce after they found it. Only Ace gained fire-based powers from it because he consumed his piece just a few seconds before his friend, so Masked Deuce would have obtained them in his place if he was slightly faster.
After Ace died in the Summit War of Marineford, the Mera Mera no Mi resurfaced and was found by Donquixote Doflamingo, who used it as the prize of a tournament held at Corrida Colosseum. Ace’s other adoptive brother, Sabo, infiltrated the tournament and ended up eating the Devil Fruit in order to carry his legacy, but literally any other contestant — like Hack, Don Chinjao or Cavendish — would have eaten it if they had seized it before him. Even Franky could have been the user of the Mera Mera no Mi, seeing as Luffy offered it to him early on in the Dressrosa Arc, but he refused because he didn’t want to lose his ability to swim.
Ushi Ushi No Mi, Model: Giraffe
Was Almost Eaten By Kalifa
- Eaten by: Kaku
- Type: Zoan
- Debut: Chapter 379 (Manga) Episode 266 (Anime)
After CP9 successfully completed a five-year-long infiltration mission at Water 7, Spandam rewarded them by giving Devil Fruits to two of the agents that didn’t have any powers: Kaku and Kalifa. Needless to say, Spandam had no idea what these fruits' names were or what powers they could grant, so their eventual choice was completely made at random.
Kaku ultimately ate the Ushi Ushi no Mi, Model: Giraffe, a Zoan-Type Devil Fruit that gave him the ability to transform into a giraffe at will. As weird as this power may seem, Kaku ended up bringing out its full potential, as he used it to fight Roronoa Zoro one-on-one and even awakened it after the time-skip. Truth be told, Kalifa should be thankful that she didn’t choose this Devil Fruit, because the bizarre appearance of a giraffe wouldn’t really fit her elegant demeanor. Fortunately for the fans, they don’t even have to imagine what she would have looked like in this scenario, because Oda drew Kalifa’s hypothetical giraffe form in the SBS column of Volume 49, and it looks hilarious.
Awa Awa No Mi
Was Almost Eaten By Kaku
- Eaten by: Kalifa
- Type: Paramecia
- Debut: Chapter 379 (Manga) Episode 266 (Anime)
Just as Kaku was munching down on the Ushi Ushi no Mi, Model: Giraffe, Kalifa ate the Awa Awa no Mi, a Paramecia-Type Devil Fruit that allows her to generate and control soap bubbles that can clean off objects and people, both figuratively and literally. It’s a very good thing that she ate this one, because not only does it fit her personality and fighting style better, but it also made her eventual encounter with Nami all the more entertaining.
If Kalifa and Kaku had chosen the opposite Devil Fruit instead, the Awa Awa no Mi would have been consumed by the long-nosed assassin. He’s a surprisingly versatile fighter, so maybe he would have been able to put up a good fight with its soap-based powers, but he’s clearly much more comfortable with his powerful giraffe transformation. Unfortunately, Oda never drew what Kaku would have looked like if he ate the Awa Awa no Mi, so this is up to the fans' imagination.
Yami Yami No Mi
Was Almost Eaten By Thatch
- Eaten by: Marshall D. Teach (Blackbeard)
- Type: Logia
- Debut: Chapter 440 (Manga) Episode 325 (Anime)
Blackbeard lived his entire life with one clear goal in mind: to find and eat the legendary Yami Yami no Mi, a Logia-Type Devil Fruit that gives its user control over darkness, which can be used to absorb everything and even nullify other Devil Fruit powers. While he clearly enjoyed his time with the Whitebeard Pirates, he set his lifelong plan into action the moment one of his crewmates found the legendary fruit.
At one point, the crew’s chef and 4th division commander, Thatch, found the Yami Yami no Mi and, while it has never been confirmed if he was even aware of its fantastical powers, the Whitebeard Pirates had a rule that said whoever found a Devil Fruit could eat it. That’s precisely why Blackbeard ended up murdering Thatch, stole the fruit and ran off with it. Nevertheless, it’s fascinating to think how much different the story would be if Thatch had eaten the Yami Yami no Mi instead, as it would have prevented Blackbeard from becoming the terrifying antagonist he is today.
Nikyu Nikyu No Mi
Was Almost Eaten By Kaido
- Eaten by: Bartholomew Kuma
- Type: Paramecia
- Debut: Chapter 473 (Manga) Episode 368 (Anime)
The God Valley Tournament was notorious for having many legendary Devil Fruits that were meant to be prizes for any Celestial Dragons that hunted down a large number of innocent civilians/slaves. But, shortly after a bunch of powerful pirates arrived on the island and chaos broke out, two young slaves, Bartholomew Kuma and Emporio Ivankov, took advantage of the situation to escape and find two of these Devil Fruits: the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi and the Uo Uo No Mi, Model: Seiryu respectively.
They were both suddenly ambushed by Charlotte Linlin (AKA Big Mom), who wanted to acquire one of these Devil Fruits and give it to her younger crewmate, Kaido, but Kuma quickly ate the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi before it could be stolen from him. This was a blessing in disguise that changed the course of history, because he ended up wielding his newfound repelling powers to save multiple people during the infamous God Valley Incident, while the young member of the Rocks Pirates would have most likely used them for more nefarious purposes.
Uo Uo No Mi, Model: Seiryu
Was Almost Eaten By Emporio Ivankov
- Eaten by: Kaido
- Type: Mythical Zoan
- Debut: Chapter 921 (Manga) Episode 921 (Anime)
If that day Big Mom had attacked Kuma instead of Ivankov, the young Okama would have eaten the legendary Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu instead of Kaido. This is a mythical Zoan-Type Devil Fruit that allows its user to transform into a massive azure dragon that can fly, breathe fire, and create whirlwinds; all attributes that go perfectly with Kaido’s ruthless and violent fighting style.
While Ivankov walked away from the God Valley Incident without any Devil Fruit powers, he was eventually able to obtain the Horu Horu no Mi, which is way more suitable for his lifestyle and personality. It’s safe to say that seeing a character as extravagant as Ivankov turning into a giant dragon would have been hilarious (and, admittedly, quite cool) and, fortunately for the fans, Oda has drawn exactly what he would have looked like if this hypothetical scenario had occurred.
- 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
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga's popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
