One Piece just brought back one of the most forgotten devil fruit mechanics in the series, reminding fans yet again of Eiichiro Oda’s boundless creativity and excellent memory. The Elbaf Arc recently introduced an all-new, exciting antagonist in the form of Shanks’ estranged brother, Figarland Shamrock, and the latest chapter finally gives fans a glimpse of his intriguing abilities, or rather, that of his sword.
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Chapter 1138 of One Piece reveals that Shamrock’s sword possesses the power of a devil fruit, granting it the ability to transform into the famous three-headed hound, Cerberus. Though the chapter does not reveal the name of the devil fruit, it is all but clear that the devil fruit in question is most certainly a Mythical Zoan modeled after the beast of legend from Greek mythology, with Cerberus likely even serving as the name of the sword.
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One Piece Reveals Figarland Shamrock’s Powerful Devil Fruit Sword
Wacky as it may seem, this is hardly the first time fans have seen an inanimate object gain the power of a devil fruit in One Piece. This concept was first introduced as early as the Alabasta Arc with Lassoo, Mr. 4’s gun who was revealed to have absorbed the powers of the Mutt-Mutt Fruit, Model: Dachshund. This particular devil fruit mechanic would return once again a few arcs later during Enies Lobby with Spandam’s sword Funksfreed, which possessed the power of the Elephant-Elephant Fruit. Seemingly relegated to the back shelves for quite sometime after that, this concept of having objects eat devil fruits would return once again during Punk Hazard in arguably the weirdest way with Smiley, the sentient poisonous gas with the power of the Sala-Sala Fruit, Model: Axolotl.
Compared to these outrageous examples in the series so far, Shamrock’s sword having a devil fruit power does seem rather tame in comparison, though it more than makes up for that in sheer viciousness. As seen in Chapter 1138, Shamrock’s sword can transform into a massive, powerful beast, with each of its three heads sporting a sword within its maws. Cerberus uses these swords to the fullest, relentlessly attacking and stabbing Loki without hesitation. Moreover, like the other inanimate objects with devil fruit powers, Cerberus also seems to possess quite a bit of intelligence, with Shamrock seen leaving the sword to its own devices with Loki, trusting it to keep the latter busy.
Overall, given the sheer level of anticipation surrounding Figarland Shamrock and his abilities, giving his sword a devil fruit instead was quite a clever bait-and-switch on Oda’s part while simultaneously reviving a forgotten concept that most fans would never have expected to see again. This is yet again an excellent reminder that Eiichiro Oda never forgets even the smallest of details, and it wouldn’t be surprising if this peculiar devil fruit mechanic becomes more common going into the Final Saga, maybe even finding its way into the Straw Hats’ artillery of abilities. That said, this is surely only the beginning of Shamrock’s abilities. it isn’t quite clear just yet whether Shamrock, too, possesses a devil fruit of his own, though the Elbaf Arc will likely reveal more of his powers soon enough.
One Piece is available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
