[Theory] One Piece – Yamato’s Devil Fruit

December 21, 2020 by Syphin 2 Comments

Edit: Chapter 1020 reveals that Yamato has the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Okuchi no Makami. The below theories while wrong in there deductions were fun entertaining.

It has been hinted at in chapter 996 that Yamato has a different form they can transform into. Whether the transformation results from a Devil Fruit or through Yamato’s blood, at this point in time that is unclear. Yet, if we were to entertain the possibility that Yamato has a Devil Fruit, what potentially could it be? Having looked at the structure of the Wano Kuni Arc, Yamato’s role and potential relevance beyond Wano, I have been circling around the idea that Yamato has the Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Nue.

• The Nue is made up of limbs of a Tiger, the head of a Monkey, the body of a Tanuki and the front half of a Snake for a tail;
• The Nue is also sometimes referred to as a Japanese chimera;
• The head of a Monkey could give Yamato’s transformed state the likeness of an Oni (Red Oni);
• The interesting aspect of the Nue is how the Tiger represents a prominent part of it (Tiger could also represent both the limbs and body of a Nue);
• Within Chinese Mythology, the Tiger is said to be the mortal enemy of the dragon;
• In particular, the White Tiger and Azure Dragon (Kaido) are significant creatures within Chinese Mythology – with the White Tiger constellation residing in the west and the Azure Dragon constellation in the east. The two are traditional enemies;
• The Tiger represents yin (female) and the Dragon represents yang (male);
• The meaning behind the Tiger-Dragon Yin-Yang story has the dragon representing the Chinese emperor who ruled all over the world and held the earth hostage. The Tiger challenges what it perceives to be a long-held power. With this adversity, the emperors’ hold on the world loosens and the tiger helps to level the field and restore a balance to a world held hostage by the Dragon (Emperor);

If Yamato is to have imagery associated with the Tiger, they will embody the force that will restore balance by helping to weaken the Emperor’s (Kaido’s) hold over the land (Wano Kuni).

The other interesting aspect of the Nue is its association with the Green Pheasant:

• The Nue was originally stated to be a bird that resembles the green pheasant;
• Nue is written with characters (kanji) connoting “night” and “bird”;
• Within Momonosuke’s story, I have been speculating for several months that Yamato embodies the Pheasant with Luffy being the Monkey and Inuarashi the Dog;
• Looking at the Green Pheasant, even the colour scheme for Yamato matches – red, blue and green;

• The fact that those are the colours of the male green pheasant fit Yamato even more considering Yamato identifies as Kozuki Oden;
• The national bird of Japan is the Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor);
• The national fish of Japan is Koi

The Nue also has other curious features that could come into play going forward if Yamato does possess the Nue Devil Fruit:

• The Nue is also said to have the ability of shape-shifting, often into the form of a black cloud that can fly;
• I don’t know about black clouds, but when Yamato attacks, black lightning is released. Whether it is the release of concentrated Busoshoku Haki or something else, I am not certain;
• The Neko Neko no Mi Devil Fruit would fit the 2, 9 numbering (ne-ko) for the Straw Hat Pirate Devil Fruit Number theory

I have done a sketch of what I believe a Nue transformed version of Yamato could look like (main post image). I wasn’t entirely sure if the Nue would be classified under the neko subcategory given its chimera nature but seeing as the Tiger is the most noticeable aspect of the yōkai, I would surmise that a Nue Model Mythical Devil Fruit would likely be classed under the Neko category. Excited to see what mysterious powers Yamato has and how the battle they will have against Kaido will play out.

If Yamato does not have a Devil Fruit, their transformation could be based on “science”. Queen is a scientist and if we assume he was part of the rogue science group Vegapunk and Judge [and Caesar] belonged to 21+ years ago, it would mean Queen has knowledge of manipulating the Lineage Factor which Vegapunk and Judge co-discovered while operating within this outlaw group of researchers. Every time Yamato challenged Kaido and failed, Kaido punished Yamato by experimenting on them (on the basis of helping to make Yamato more powerful). The transformation could be the result of the experiments done to Yamato. Or could that be incorrect as well and the transformation be the result of the blood that flows through Yamato? Such a curious mystery Yamato’s transformation is.