Devil Fruits are one of the biggest sources of power in the world of One Piece and the primary power system that exists in the series. Known to be treasures of the sea, these fruits are exceptional as they grant the users the ability to do things that would otherwise be simply impossible.
They grant tremendous powers to their eaters, and, and in rare instances, these powers can be taken a level beyond. To take them beyond their limitations, a Devil Fruit must be Awakened, however, not much is known about what it truly means to Awaken a Devil Fruit in One Piece.
8 What Awakenings Is
The first proper instance of Devil Fruit Awakening was given to the fans during the Dressrosa arc, where Luffy fought against Doflamingo. The latter went on to explain to Luffy that Devil Fruit Awakenings happen only in very rare instances and, when this power is triggered, the abilities that a Devil Fruit offers can be taken to the next level. Essentially, a fruit will allow the user to do more than what it is actually capable of.
In Doflamingo's case, he was able to spread his powers to his immediate surroundings with a mere touch, making his fruit function, unlike a Paramecia. Breaking through the limitations of a Devil Fruit and evolving its powers is essentially what a Devil Fruit Awakening is.
7 How Fruits Are Awakened
The process of Awakening is rather vague at this point in time, however, in the Wano Country arc, Kaido, one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, who was engaging in battle against Luffy, explained to the fans that Awakening only happens when the mind and the body of the user finally catch up with their Devil Fruit ability.
In other words, when the mind and body synchronize with the fruit and bring out all there is that the Devil Fruit has to offer, and master it to the utmost best, the process of Awakening can be triggered. In Luffy's case, this process was only triggered after Luffy mastered his Devil Fruit and all his Gear forms and, eventually, was killed by Kaido.
6 First Introduction
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While Devil Fruit Awakenings were properly explained to the fans in the Dressrosa arc for the first time, their first appearance in the story came long before that. In the Impel Down arc, fans saw Awakened Jailers Beasts. These were Zoan-type of Devil Fruit users who were forcefully Awakened through some unknown means.
Crocodile, one of the former Warlords of the Sea, went on to explain that these Jailer Beasts were extremely powerful because they were forcefully Awakened. However, that also meant that they had not attained perfect control over their Awakening, as the Awakening was triggered forcefully.
5 Number Of Awakening Users
So far, the story has introduced fans to seven Awakened Devil Fruit users in canon. The first person to display Awakening was none other than Doflamingo, who was followed by Katakuri. In Wano, all three of Luffy, Law, and Kid ended up demonstrating their Awakenings.
After Wano, in the Egghead arc, Lucci and Kaku also displayed their Awakened Devil Fruit powers. There are other non-canon users of this ability, such as Tesoro. Furthermore, there are other Devil Fruit users who have displayed powers that are ambiguous and could possibly be Devil Fruit Awakening, such as Kaido, who could access the transformation of Kaen Hakke, towards the end of his fight against Luffy.
4 Paramecia Awakenings
Different Devil Fruits exhibit different types of Awakenings in One Piece and Paramecia types were the first ones to display it properly. Simply put, Paramecia type of Awakening allows the user to extend their powers beyond their bodies. For instance, Doflamingo's fruit allowed him to produce and manipulate strings at will. His Awakening allowed him to turn objects around him into strings instead of just being able to produce them from his body.
Kid, whose powers essentially made him a magnet and allowed him to attract metallic stuff to himself, experienced a similar Awakening. His awakening allowed him to turn other people into magnets and control magnetism to the fullest.
3 Zoan Awakenings
Zoan Awakenings work in a slightly different, yet straightforward manner when compared to the Paramecia ones. When it comes to Zoan Awakening, the user gets a strong buff in terms of strength, speed, durability, as well as recovery rate, even when unconscious.
On top of this, Zoan types who end up asserting control over their Devil Fruit Awakenings are granted a new transformation known as Awakened Forms. All three of Luffy, Lucci, and Kaku have demonstrated these forms.
2 Logia Awakenings
Unfortunately, at this point in time, fans have not seen what Logia Awakenings are capable of. They are the only type of Awakening that Oda has been saving and, given that Logia is widely considered to be the strongest class of Devil Fruits, the awakening of their powers is certainly going to be extremely special.
Perhaps, permanently changing the surroundings like Akainu and Aokiji did on Punk Hazard is linked to Logia Awakenings.
1 Awakening Mastery
Awakening a Devil Fruit doesn't automatically grant infinite power. To actually get stronger, the Devil Fruit user has to adjust themselves to their new Awakening as well as train in order to master it. For instance, Luffy ends up looking like an old man after using his Awakening.
This is surely a side effect of his Awakened powers. With time, he will surely improve his control over his Devil Fruit Awakening and shorten the side effects. Similarly, both Law and Kid have stated that Devil Fruit Awakening takes a heavy toll on their stamina. With time, they will attain further control over their Awakened powers and reduce the stamina consumption.