Great Devil Fruits with Terrible Users In One Piece

Technically speaking, there is no such thing as a weak Devil Fruit. The potential for each one to be trained and, in some cases, awakened past a certain point is always there. That said, there is absolutely such a thing as a weak Devil Fruit user.

While certain seemingly innocuous materials like string or mochi can become a lethal weapon in the hands of the right fighter, the opposite is also true. Sometimes a worse user can drag down a Devil Fruit that, at the very least, has potential, if nothing else. These users are typically bad combatants, and their poor natural abilities may even undermine the great ones their Devil Fruits afford to them.

5 Buggy

Failure Falling Upwards

• Debut: Chapter 9 (Manga); Episode 4 (Anime)
• Devil Fruit: Bara Bara no Mi
• Devil Fruit Class: Paramecia

Buggy is perhaps the poster child of weak pirates. His infamy is often only due to those he associates with, and his real strengths lie in brokering alliances and convincing others to fight for him. Even his rank as a figurehead in Cross Guild, the position he most recently forced himself into, resulted in him reclaiming power from the true leaders by energizing his crewmates to get excited about making him the Pirate King.

However, his own lack of skill as a fighter may lead one to overlook the potential his Devil Fruit actually has. Even though Buggy doesn’t fare too badly, with the ability to survive being cut and disassemble himself still working well with his own style of piracy, a more combat-oriented pirate could probably make better use of it. The Devil Fruit’s extended range, ability to survive numerous cuts, and potential for improvisational combat could all be devastating in the hands of a more seasoned fighter. Yet, for Buggy the clown, they are more appropriately classified as comedic.

4 Pierre

And The Most Redundant Devil Fruit Goes To…

• Debut: Chapter 237 (Manga); Episode 153 (Anime)
• Devil Fruit: Uma Uma no Mi
• Devil Fruit Class: Zoan

Pierre is not a particularly poor fighter. He is the longtime companion of Gan Fall, the God of Skypiea, and bravely accompanies his master into combat. Using his Devil Fruit, he can transform his body into that of a horse, serving as a mount for Gan Fall, as he rides his winged companion into combat. To the uninitiated, this may seem like a beneficial Devil Fruit for Pierre.

The only problem? Pierre was already big enough to fit Gan Fall in his bird form. While one can praise the aesthetic appearance of a pegasus that Pierre evokes, it ultimately has no bearing on his own style of fighting, save for the occasional bite he can give someone in horse form. A human being or even another animal that could more directly benefit from the assets of a horse would be a better choice than a bird that can already be mounted by its master.

3 Funkfreed

A Sentient Sword

• Debut: Chapter 365 (Manga); Episode 254 (Anime)
• Devil Fruit: Zou Zou no Mi
• Devil Fruit Class: Zoan

Funkfreed is, in his base form, a fairly big sword owned by Spandam, the former leader of Cipher Pol 9. Spandam’s position in CP9 was notably afforded to him by nepotism rather than skill. He is an infamously poor combatant, possibly even one of, if not the worst in the series. His only means of self-defense is this very same sword, which he is not skilled in the use of. However, through unknown means, this blade managed to “eat” a Zoan Devil Fruit, and gained sentience, along with the ability to transform into an elephant.

Unfortunately, Funkfreed is just as much of a coward as its owner. It may be capable of putting people off guard, or overpowering people in a select few cases. That said, it took little effort on Franky’s part to turn the sword against its owner, even while it was in elephant form. Some may attribute this to Devil Fruit itself, as Zoans are said to have minds of their own. That being said, if a user comparable to the likes of Jack the Drought (who uses an ancient variant of the Zou Zou no Mi) ate this Devil Fruit, they would likely become a far bigger threat than Funkfreed.

2 Gecko Moria

Carried By His Devil Fruit

• Debut: Chapter 449 (Manga); Episode 343 (Anime)
• Devil Fruit: Kage Kage no Mi
• Devil Fruit Class: Paramecia

Gecko Moria is a somewhat terrifying foe. He can manipulate the shadows of others, create a number of powerful servants, and is able to augment himself with shadows to increase his size and strength. That being said, for all his ability and reputation, Gecko Moria is fairly poor as a pirate once his Devil Fruit is taken out of consideration. Since his defeat at the hands of Kaido, which resulted in the death of his previous crewmates, he has instead decided to become Pirate King, specifically by relying on others. He often uses his Devil Fruit to manipulate his own shadow to fight in his place, and shows far more enthusiasm for directing others to fight for him.

His own difficulty in dealing with the Straw Hats at Thriller Bark resulted in his colleague, Kuma, being directed there, against Moria’s will, to take care of the problem instead. Ultimately, he was coldly dismissed from the Seven Warlords of the Sea for his incompetence. Doflamingo was charged with unsuccessfully executing him during the Summit War. Jimbei, another former Warlord, noted that Moria had grown weak due to his own lack of training. Recently, Moria and his crewmate, Perona, have escaped the clutches of the Blackbeard Pirates. It remains to be seen if Moria will attempt to make himself worthier of his Devil Fruit powers.

1 Kurozumi Orochi

Wasted A Mythical Zoan

• Debut: Chapter 927 (Manga); Episode 921 (Anime)
• Devil Fruit: Hebi Hebi no Mi, Model: Yamata no Orochi
• Devil Fruit Class: Mythical Zoan

Kurozumi Orochi is first and foremost not a fighter. Although he shows some skill with a gun, he is an inferior combatant overall compared to Kozuki Oden, and has had propaganda created to counter this fact. He took advantage of Kaido’s power to become shogun, and instead made use of the Beasts Pirates, as well as his own servants, to intimidate others into obeying him. When Kaido no longer saw any use for the selfish Shogun, he beheaded him in an attempt to directly usurp his political power. That being said, Kaido failed, due to the stupidly good Zoan Devil Fruit Orochi consumed. Orochi’s Devil Fruit allows him to transform into the fabled Yamata no Orochi, an eight-headed serpent from Japanese Mythology.

The fact of having seven extra heads is somewhat excessive, even if it reflects the character’s own sneaky snakelike nature. Orochi was notably beheaded six times at once, by the nine red scabbards. His final head (and his body along with it), died after being slashed by Denjiro, and subsequently burned alive by Kozuki Hiyori. Although Orochi managed to drag out the event of his defeat, an actually competent fighter may have managed to survive with at least a couple more heads intact.