Devil Fruit (One Piece)

Devil Fruit (悪魔の実, Akuma no Mi), called Cursed Fruit (pronounced with two syllables) in the 4Kids and edited FUNimation dubs, is a mystical fruit found in the world that can give the eater many different and varying kinds of strange and interesting abilities depending on the type and variation of the fruit itself. There are some seen only in the anime and different ones seen only in the manga. However, most of them appear in both and are crucial in the storyline where many main characters possess their powers. A certain professor will explain the complex mechanisms behind the Devil Fruits in the near future.

Devil Fruits when first described by Morgan.

About

“

I once heard that all the Devil's Fruits are the Sea Devil's incarnations. If you eat one you'll gain a special ability, but you won't be able to swim.

”

— Shanks speaks to Buggy on Devil Fruits.

Devil Fruits are said to be the fruits of the Sea Devil and that the secret to their power is hidden in the Grand Line. Because encounters with them are rare (especially outside the Grand Line), a number of rumors about them have risen, making it difficult to tell whether some things are fact or fiction. The average person knows nothing or very little about what they are or what they do. Because of their power, if sold they can expect to reach well over 100,000,000 and Devil Fruit users themselves are sold at market prices as slaves. There are more than 100 types of Devil Fruit
One running theme with Devil Fruits, however, is the fact that they taste unimaginably horrible, to the point of making it seem like the user had taken poison. The Devil Fruit, when consumed, gives the consumer a power or special trait, though they will not immediately become aware of; a person who has eaten a Devil Fruit and gained its powers is known as a Devil Fruit User (能力者, Nōryokusha, literally meaning "Ability User"). They come in different shapes, colors, and all Devil Fruits have swirl marks or patterns, presumably, on them of some kind. There can be only one of each type of fruit at a time. Only one bite is needed for the user to gain the power of a Devil Fruit, after which the Devil Fruit becomes a simple, useless, disgusting fruit. Swallowing the fruit whole, as Buggy did, has the same effect, as well as peeling off the skin and eating it piece by piece also works.
Devil Fruits are the origins of the powers of some of the strongest people in the current generation of the world, including rookie pirate crews, Marine admirals, Shichibukai, and at least one former Yonko. They are common in the Grand Line compared to the other four blues. In fact, since entering the Grand Line, nearly every single major opponent that Luffy has faced, had an ability, while in the East Blue he only faced two (not including Alvida, who ate her Devil Fruit later).
As noted by Crocodile, there is no way to tell how Devil Fruit powers will fare when pitted against one other. A Devil Fruit user who normally dominates all other powers can sometimes be brought down by a power considered "weak" in comparison; one such example is the Gomu Gomu no Mi unexpectedly withstanding the Goro Goro no Mi's powers, Akainu's Magu Magu no Mi dealing a fatal blow to Ace despite his Mera Mera no Mi and the Doru Doru no Mi unexpectedly holding back the Doku Doku no Mi's powers. Another surprise also came when the Mera Mera no Mi clashed against the Moku Moku no Mi, equalizing with each other, and then later against the Hie Hie no Mi with the same results.
Like many series, One Piece follows the trope that a Devil Fruit power also generally affects the clothes the user is wearing. Paramecia fruit users alter their clothes along with themselves automatically (for example, Luffy's shirt will never burst a button when his chest is swollen in Gear 3rd, Mr. 1's pants become blades along with his legs, etc.), Zoan fruit users' clothes will fit in the same proportions after transformation (Chopper's hat grew big when he was in Monster Point, Jabra's shoes are considerably stretched when in the hybrid form), and Logia fruit users transform their clothes (and subsequent accessories) to their element along with themselves. Oda explained in a SBS once that if he had done it realistically, the comic would have too much unnecessary nudity. However, some users do not seem to apply to this, such as Jewelry Bonney and Honey Queen, whose clothes do not change proportionally to their powers.

Identification

“

We can figure out the name of a fruit by the power it gives, but the kind of power we get is completely up to chance.

”

— Kaku on his and Kalifa's unidentified Devil Fruits

According to Oda in a SBS, the same power of a Devil Fruit can exist more than once, though no two Devil Fruits of the same kind may exist at once. Though the process of the Devil Fruit reappearing in the One Piece world is unknown, several Devil Fruits have seen their consumers either die or met unknown fates within in the storyline. Whether or not Oda will explain or reuse any of the aforementioned Devil Fruit powers again is unknown. Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi is still in use despite his death because Blackbeard stole his powers.
There is a book in the Grand Line with Devil Fruits listed (although sometimes a Devil Fruit is said to have been unidentified). The most notable example is Blackbeard, in his search for the Yami Yami no Mi, catalogs a book which was also mentioned by Spandam and Sanji. Shanks and his crew already knew Luffy's Devil Fruit was the Gomu Gomu no Mi before he consumed it. Spandam mentions briefly that Devil Fruits have an aura around them which can often help identify them and that the two Devil Fruits he supplied to Kaku and Kalifa contained an unknown aura.

Growth

When a Devil Fruit user dies, their ability is reborn into another fruit of the same kind. Instead of growing from a plant, the ability simply regenerates inside the closest nearby fruit, as seen when Smiley "died" and the Sara Sara no Mi, Model: Axolotl transplanted itself into a nearby apple. Another characteristic of a Devil Fruit's growth is that the stem becomes noticably curlier than it was when the fruit was not implanted with the ability.