BLACKBEARD’S LIE, HIS TRUE POWERS AND 1ST FRUIT

I’m here to post my own theory on our newest Emperor, Blackbeard. Now I know there are tons of content and ideas about this guy, ranging from Cerberus to split personality to the ceremonial dagger. So I just wanted to throw my hat into the ring and see how it goes. Warning, this might be a pretty long post. Hang in there with me guys.

So the first thing I wanted to address is how BB is in fact a genius. I think he is the mascot for people who are super smart but act super dumb. The sheer number of things he was able to predict/manipulate is staggering. And I think he would be the the kind of person who would actively lie about his own abilities to get an advantage. (ie Trebol)

The core of the theory then is that Blackbeard’s power does not function the way he tells us it does. He tells us exactly what he needs to for us to hang ourselves in assumptions. What do I mean? Let’s take a look at his powers and our assumption about them.

1. BB is able to suck in anything into what appears to be an alternate dimension and can push it out of said dimension.
2. BB does not have normal Logia functions like regeneration or intangibility.
3. BB suffers more pain than a normal human being, yet can survive some serious damage.
4. BB can cancel out the effects of other fruits.
5. We assume that all of these effects belong to the Yami Yami no Mi.

We assume this, because that’s what Blackbeard tells us. But what if he is lying? What if the Yami Yami no Mi is not solely responsible for all these exceptional powers? What if number 3 and 4 is a separate ability all together?

I know this is a pretty bold claim; I’ll admit, it’s pretty far out there. But here’s a few hints that led me to this conclusion.

When BB fought Ace, he said a few interesting remarks. Chief among them are “This power chose me.” and “My body absorbs much more pain than a normal human’s.” and “This power is the most evil.” Now we automatically attributes the extra damage anomaly to the Yami Yami no Mi, but I no longer think it is the case. And why would BB say that this specific fruit chose him? And why is the Yami Yami no Mi so evil? I believe he said all these things because he is hiding the fact that the Yami Yami no Mi is his 2nd fruit, not the first one.

So here’s a little scenario I constructed. I think that BB ate a very useless fruit as a young child like Luffy. I know, I know, we all love the Gumo Gumo no Mi. But comon, stretching like rubber is pretty tame in comparison to some of the overpowered fruits we have come across. But instead of embracing the power as Luffy have, BB’s fruit made him extremely sad and depressed. Which is why he was crying as a kid.

What is this useless fruit? I think that it is similar to Urouge’s fruit. It would have the effect of amplifying pain in exchange for toughness and the ability to cancel out other fruits like a powered up sea stone. As a kid, pain amplification might have been the only effect that BB knew and it overwhelmed BB, which is why he set out to find the Book on Devil Fruits, hoping that it might help his situation.

Instead of a cure, he found information on the Yami Yami no Mi. I think that this book held the true information on what his fruit and the Yami Yami no Mi does, and one of Dark traits is that its power is self-destructive. I think that this fruit is so evil, because it kills its own user with its power. But then there might be a footnote on the page where it states that the Author (assumed to be Vegapunk) theorize that another fruit might be out there which could allow the user to use and control the Yami Yami no Mi. And this here is why BB thinks this power chose him. Because it just so happens that his first fruit can handle the power of absorbing another fruit and the Yami Yami no Mi.

Then with this new information, he came under Whitebeard and begun his search for the Yami Yami no Mi.

So then how does this work? And why does it matter? Well I think it matters for a few different reasons.

Thematically, this would bring BB one step closer to Luffy. Both ate a ‘bad’ fruit early in life, but one rejected it and one embraced it. It could bring out more character development for Luffy by setting up BB as a foil.

Story wise, I think it’d be a pretty killer plot twist. It would explain BB’s pirate flag and set up Vegapunk to be a critical element in bringing down BB. Because Luffy and crew need to know this final trump card up BB’s sleeve to defeat him. It would be essential come up with a plan to deal with his insane endurance.

It would also explain a couple of BB’s tendencies. Ever notice how he is really slow in battle and talk alot, specifically to provoke his opponents? And I think he almost always get hit first. I think he needs to feel pain in order to evoke his first fruit’s power to control his 2nd and 3rd fruit. And in the case where his opponents don’t fight first, he could grind his missing teeth to generate pain to fuel his powers.

So there it is, that’s roughly my idea on how BB’s powers works. I know it’s really out there, but it does connect a few dots for me personally.

What do you guys think?

*Theory by Cloudastic