When he was younger, Luffy unintentionally became the newest Gum-Gum Devil Fruit user, but Shanks may have intended to give it to Ace all along.
Page Content
The lengthy shonen anime One Piece is ready to begin what will undoubtedly be its final chapter as the Wano Country Arc, which has been in syndication for four years, is finally nearing its conclusion. The Raid on Onigashima raised more mysteries than it answered, including those involving Monkey D. Luffy and his enigmatic Gear 5 metamorphosis, despite the fact that the series’ endgame is rapidly approaching.
The Gum-Gum Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that gave the Straw Hat Pirate the ability to turn his body into rubber, was long thought to be in his possession. In a shocking turn of events, Who’s Who, a former CP9 agent tasked with delivering the Devil Fruit years before the events of One Piece, reveals that Luffy actually wields a Mythical Zoan type known as the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika, which accounts for its awakening during his pivotal battle with Kaido. This new fact has significant narrative ramifications for the series’ future, but it also raises an essential question: Who was the famous Devil Fruit intended to be fed to before Luffy consumed it?
The History Of The Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika
It’s critical to first consider the peculiar past of the Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit in order to comprehend Shanks’ initial goals for the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika. The Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika, is said to have existed since at least the Void Century, according to the Five Elders, the World Government’s highest ranking council. According to their own accounts, the World Government spent several hundred years looking for the Devil Fruit before finally erasing its name from history in an effort to limit its absurd powers.
The fate of the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika at this time is largely unknown, as is its relationship to the enigmatic entity known as Sun God Nika. One Piece does, however, offer some details about Shanks’ possession of the Devil Fruit, according to dialogue said by Who’s Who.
The World Government acquired the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika, eleven years prior to the main plot of One Piece. They assigned Who’s Who and CP9 with escorting the Devil Fruit across the Grand Line in an effort to convey it to an unidentified location, however during this escort assignment, they were attacked by the Red-Hair Pirates.
The Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit was in Shanks and his crew’s possession when they managed to flee the battle and eventually made it to Foosha Village, where they stayed until Monkey D. Luffy accidentally ate it. Shanks’ links to both the Celestial Dragons and Gol D. Roger suggest that he was more than aware of the Gum-Gum Fruit’s significance, even though it is unclear whether the Red-Hair Pirates were aware of the Gum-Gum Fruit’s real nature or its presence aboard the escort ship.
Shanks' Original Intentions For The Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika
Shanks consistently displays throughout One Piece’s story that he will not take any action unless there is a good cause to. Shanks maintains his composure even when characters like Higuma the Mountain Bandit attack him, thus the fact that he and his crew were so bold as to attack a CP9 ship shows they had a good reason for doing so.
Given this, as well as Shanks’ ambiguous relationship to the Five Elders, it seems likely that the Red-Hair Pirates were aware of the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika prior to their attack on Who’s Who. A common Paramecia type like the Gum-Gum Fruit isn’t nearly enough of a reason for the Red-Hair Pirates to launch a direct attack on the World Government. But even while it was obvious that Shanks intended to take the fabled Devil Fruit, it was also plain that he didn’t want to give it to Monkey D. Luffy.
The Red-Hair Pirates become enraged after Luffy swallows the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika, proving conclusively that they had no desire to give the Mythical Zoan to One Piece’s protagonist. There are various reasons to believe that the pirate group intended to give the Devil Fruit to Portgas D. Ace, a different youngster who would shortly arrive in Foosha Village. Few individuals, with the exception of Silvers Rayleigh, were more closely associated with the King of the Pirates than Shanks, who was essentially raised by the Roger Pirates.
Shanks might have thought that Gol D. Roger’s descendent would be the one to awaken the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika’s true powers if he had explained the significance of the fruit to his protégé before being put to death. Although Monkey D. Luffy foolishly steps into the role and thwarts this scheme, Shanks appears to swiftly change his mind after realising the young man’s potential. In order to save Luffy from a neighbouring Sea King, the Red-Hair Pirate gives up his left arm. Shortly after, he also offers the aspiring pirate his famous Straw Hat, indicating that he now sees Luffy as the rightful heir to Sun God Nika’s heritage rather than Roger.
It has not yet been shown that Shanks truly wanted to give Portgas D. Ace the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika; in fact, it is unclear whether Shanks ever knew that Gol D. Roger had a living successor. Although the sequence of events leading up to Shanks, Luffy, and Ace’s arrival in Foosha Village is very speculative, it’s entirely possible that the Red-Hair Pirate had a specific plan for the Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit given his extensive knowledge of the Grand Line’s most important secrets.
One Piece’s last saga has a tonne of unanswered questions, but before it wraps up, it must first address the backstories of Sun God Nika, Shanks, and Luffy. The trio, even if their paths crossed by chance, are poised to decide the future of the Grand Line, making their relationship the greatest threat to the World Government since Gol D. Roger.