Brook might have one of the most interesting Devil Fruits in One Piece. Here’s a look at how it works.
From rubber man to self-made cyborg, the Straw Hats Pirates is full of people with strange powers and abilities. But none of them are as eccentric as the group’s beloved musician, Brook, the skeleton fencer.
Decades before joining the Straw Hats, Brook was the captain of a fairly renowned pirate crew called the Rumbar Pirates. At the time, he ate a mysterious devil fruit called Yomi Yomi no Mi, also known as the Revive Revive Fruit. What he didn’t realize, however, was the fact that this particular devil fruit is a lot more tricky and mysterious than others. Here’s a closer look into One Piece’s Yomi Yomi no Mi.
Yomi Yomi no Mi – The Revive Revive Fruit
The Yomi Yomi no Mi is incredibly unique when compared to other Devil Fruits. Unlike other devil fruits that usually grant the eater unique abilities after one bite, the Revive Revive Fruit’s ability won’t activate until the eater loses his life.
Strange Activation Requirement
As the name suggests, Revive Revive Fruit is a devil fruit that grants the eater the ability to come back to life. That means the user has to die first in order for the power of this fruit to activate. That’s why during his life as the captain of the Rumbar Pirates, Brook never felt the benefits of the Revive Revive Fruit at all.
When I was still alive, this Devil Fruit power did nothing but make me unable to swim.
A Wandering Soul
As if that’s not frustrating enough, there’s also a big caveat regarding his resurrection. Once the eater of this fruit dies, the soul will indeed return to where the eater died. Unfortunately for Brook, he died on top of his pirate ship, which continued to roam the foggy Florian Triangle for 50 years after he died.
This means that by the time his soul was revived, his body was no longer there. Brook ended up spending a year looking for his corpse. When he finally found his body, however, it had already turned into a skeleton, leaving his afro hair as the only recognized part of his actual body.
Active Abilities
Brook’s devil fruit presents its ability in two different stages. There are active abilities and passive abilities. As the name suggests, the active abilities can be activated whenever and wherever he pleases. However, there is also an ability that is automatically triggered once a certain condition has been met.
Return from the Dead
First Appearance: Episode 338
Release Date: January 13, 2008
The first and ultimate ability of the Revive Revive Fruit is freeing the eater from the cold embrace of death. Those who eat the Revive Revive Fruit will automatically return to life, no matter the cause of their death. This is the biggest ability granted by the eater of this devil fruit.
When it comes to resurrection, however, there is still one key condition that is still unknown about the Revive Revive Fruit, which is how many times can the eater return from the dead. Brook has revived once, but it’s unclear whether or not he will return to the mortal realm if he dies one more time.
Astral Projection
First Appearance: Episode 565
Release Date: September 23, 2012
During the two-year time skip, everybody in the Straw Hat Pirates gains new abilities. The same thing is also true for Brook, even though he was active as a rock star known as the Soul King at the time.
Brook’s newly found power is a form of astral projection. In the simplest terms, his soul can freely leave his body, which allows him to roam around undetected. This ability basically allows Brook to become a ghost.
That being said, somebody needs to guard his body while his soul floats around looking for information. Because while he is in his astral form, Brook loses control of his physical body. Since his corporal form is nothing more than a pile of bones, he is extremely vulnerable during this state. That’s why Brook needs somebody to guard his body while he uses this ability.
Soul Infusion
First Appearance: Episode 565
Release Date: September 23, 2012
The Revive Revive Fruit enhances the power of the user’s soul way beyond that of average living creatures. Thanks to this, Brook gains the ability to tap into that abundance of soul power and infuse it into his sword. That power usually manifests itself in the form of stabs and slashes that can freeze the opponents.
Besides a sword, Brook also uses his instruments during a fight, particularly his violin. He can calm people down or make them feel drowsy with his music. Brook can also infuse the power of his soul into his musical instruments, which enhances its effect multiple folds.
Soul Scream
First Appearance: Episode 814
Release Date: November 19, 2017
Brook can boost the power of his soul so much to the point that it can strongly influence the souls of other people around him. This ability may not be effective against powerful people like Luffy or the Marine Admirals, but against low-ranking soldiers, the soul scream can knock them out cold, just like when Luffy uses his Conqueror’s Haki.
Passive Abilities
The passive abilities of the Revive Revive Fruit are rarely mentioned in the series, but they are undoubtedly some of the best parts of this strange fruit. These are the abilities that allow Brook to have a massive advantage against his opponent.
Immortality
First Appearance: Episode 338
Release Date: January 13, 2008
Since the core of the Revive Revive Fruit’s powers lies in the soul, this means as long as the soul is still alive and well, Brook will also be alive and well. Furthermore, Brook is basically a living skeleton who doesn’t require any kind of sustenance to stay fully functional. He can still consume and taste foods for some reason, but he doesn’t physically need them to stay alive. So for all intents and purposes, Brook is immortal.
Invulnerability
First Appearance: Episode 565
Release Date: September 23, 2012
Thanks to the power of the soul, Brook’s bones are enhanced to make them way sturdier than the average person’s. But what makes him special is the fact that no matter how many times his bones are cut or broken, they will heal immediately. In fact, as long as the attack doesn’t directly hurt his soul, Brook is basically invulnerable.
Yomi Yomi no Mi is often misunderstood as a rather useless devil fruit. After all, many people think that the only thing this devil fruit can do is simply bring Brook back to life. But as discussed in this article, there are lots of subtle and unique abilities that are not only useful in a combat situation but also prove to be a big advantage that allows Brook to stand tall over his peers and opponents alike.
