The Five Elders might introduce a new class of devil fruits in One Piece.
The Five Elders are some of the most intriguing characters in One Piece, especially now, in the final saga of the story. Over the course of the last few months, the fans have seen quite a lot of the Five Elders, and this is thanks to one of them, Saint Saturn, being on Egghead.
Even before that, fans got a proper glimpse of the incredibly dangerous abilities that the Five Elders held when Sabo infiltrated the Reverie and caused a ruckus there. Fans were finally able to see the dangerous abilities that they held, and the demonic transformations they showed in front of him. Saturn’s transformations made it quite clear to the fans that the Five Elders held the power of special Devil Fruits. While one might attribute them to Mythical Zoans, their abilities might be something completely different.
The Zoan Subclasses
Fans of One Piece know very well that the Zoan Devil Fruit are some of the most diverse ones. Simply put, Zoan Devil Fruits allow one to transform into animals and a human-animal hybrid at will. These types of fruits are best for close-range combat, and they increase the strength, speed, and nearly every other physical attribute of a user by manifold. They also grant superior toughness, and of course, an incredible recovery rate. This makes the Zoan class the very best when it comes to actual brawls. Among the Zoans, there are two subtypes that the fans know very well about. These are Ancient Zoans and the Mythical Zoans. The ancient Zoan Devil Fruits allow the user to transform into an ancient creature, such as the likes of the dinosaurs, or a saber tooth cat. Any creature that has existed in the past can be accessed with an ancient Zoan Devil Fruit.
The Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits, on the other hand, grant powers of mythical creatures. These are creatures that do not actually exist, however, only exist as myths. These include powers such as the Phoenix, the nine-tailed fox, and many others that one would only believe to be a fairytale. In terms of rarity, strength, and just about everything else, the Mythical Zoans are believed to be the most special Devil Fruits of them all. In fact, their powers are even rarer than the Logia times, and some of the most dangerous abilities that Oda has introduced in One Piece belong to this category. Clearly, the Mythical Zoans are special. This is exactly why the likes of Kaido, Sengoku, and even Luffy, have Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits. That just goes to show the power and rarity of this Devil Fruit class. At the same time, it also goes to show that if the Five Elders have any Zoan Devil Fruit, it certainly belongs to the Mythical class.
The Case For The Mythical Zoans In One Piece
When the fans saw the Five Elders first, they were seen during the Reverie, transforming into their Devil Fruit states immediately after being attacked by Sabo. At that point, it was quite clear for the fans to see that they certainly held Devil Fruit powers up their sleeve. They showcased incredible endurance in the skirmish, and later down the line, Saturn showcased his amazing transformation on Egghead. Clearly, Saturn’s first transformation was a sign of a hybrid form of a Zoan Devil Fruit. He looked like an Ushi Oni, which had the upper half of an ox, and the lower half of a spider. Saturn later transformed into the full spider form, and, once again, his abilities functioned similarly to how a Zoan Devil Fruit does.
Clearly, Saturn does have a Devil Fruit or a Devil Fruit like power up his sleeve. There are many cases for the Five Elders to not have Devil Fruits at all, but, have powers that are simply magical in nature. This does not appear to be the case. Whatever abilities they have are directly tied to lineage factor manipulation, at the very least, which is what Devil Fruits truly are anyway.
Clearly, since one has already established that the Five Elders have Devil Fruits, and that they have Zoan powers, then one would simply come to the conclusion that their abilities are that of the Mythical Zoan class. However, the fact is that the Five Elders have other abilities that don’t seem to fit in any Devil Fruit subclass. That is why it is possible that they might actually hold abilities that belong to an entirely different class of Devil Fruits.
The Demonic Devil Fruits Of The Five Elders
While one might refute the idea of there existing another subclass of Zoan Devil Fruits, fans need to remember that this wouldn’t be the first time Oda introduced a completely new subtype of Devil foods. In the Whole Cake Island arc, Oda created an entirely new subtype just for Katakuri. To make his Devil Fruit fit in a particular class, Oda gave him a Special Paramecia that reflected it. As such, the idea of creating a subclass for the likes of the Five Elders shouldn’t be completely discredited here.
At the same time, fans also need to keep in mind that the Five Elders have powers that their Devil fruit that are beyond what fruits can offer. For instance, the Five Elders can use the power of telepathy. In fact, all five of them share this ability, which is rather bizarre. No Devil Fruit should have this power, and, at the very least, no Devil Fruit should have this shared power. To make things even worse, Saturn possesses a regeneration factor which is also likely shared by all members of the Five Elders. When one considers the demonic aspect of their Devil Fruits, such as the regeneration power, the telepathy, and the satanic summoning circles, then it is entirely possible for the Five Elders to have a new subclass of his own devil fruits. These Zoan devil fruits could be the God Fruits, such as the Japanese Yokai, such as Ushi Oni. This would also tie in directly to the sea devil, that is Imu. It is possible that Imu gave the powers to the Five Elders, and, since they all were given directly by email, they can share a common consciousness, and at the same time, have abilities that far surpass regular Devil Fruits. These God Fruits with then be the strongest of the Zoan class, followed by the Mythical Zoans, which are followed by the Ancient Zoans, and finally from the regular Zoans.
Of course, while much of it is just conjecture at this point, it’s a fact that the Five Elders possess powers that do not fit in any category that the fans have seen so far. The only way their abilities make sense is if one included a special subclass, since their fruits break the laws of average fruits seen in One Piece. Thankfully, because the Five Elders are already heavily involved in the Egghead arc, fans will most certainly find out the truth pertaining to their powers very soon.
One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1110, is set to be March 17, 2024.
