Devil Fruits Are a “Possibility of Human Evolution”
According to the hypothesis of Vegapunk, the world’s greatest genius, a Devil Fruit is:
“A ‘possibility’ of ‘human evolution’ that someone wished for… ‘I wish I could be like that…’ ‘I wish I could do that…’ — the many futures of humanity, manifested as ‘abilities’.”
In other words, it’s something that human imagination brought into reality.
He also adds: “Whether or not there is a god is not even worth thinking about.”
This can be interpreted as: “It wasn’t that a god existed and became the model — it’s that people wished for gods, and so they manifested.”
In other words, anything humanity can imagine has the potential to become real.
This foreshadowing has now been paid off.
(Note: this is depicted as the quote of a physicist named “Willie Gallon,” but it’s modeled on the words of Jules Verne, the father of science fiction: “Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real.”)
Since Oda even made a sandworm the ability of the Five Elders, he must be quite the science fiction fan.
Adventure and sci-fi go hand in hand — both share the excitement of curiosity about the unknown.
“Close Encounters of the Third Kind” — available on Amazon Prime Video
Everything Is “Human Imagination”
Adventure, ancient creature ecology, the future, sci-fi novels, gods, demons, yokai, mythical beasts, aliens, manga…
All of these depend on human imagination.
No one can prove that a Triceratops spinning its frill like Sasaki to fly doesn’t exist, and no one can prove a Brachiosaurus separating its neck and body like Queen doesn’t exist either.
No one can prove the war devil doesn’t exist, or the toilet god.
No one can prove demons, yokai, or aliens don’t exist.
Failing to prove something doesn’t exist is called the “devil’s proof.”
Maybe “Devil Fruits” are called that because human imagination is infinite — you can’t prove any fruit doesn’t exist, hence the devil’s proof!
Which means:
- Human imagination is infinite
- Devil Fruits are “possibilities of human evolution”
…so there’s no way Chopper’s Hito Hito no Mi is just a plain human fruit, right?
All “Hito Hito no Mi” Are Mythical Zoan
- Sengoku has the Hito Hito no Mi, Mythical Zoan, Model: Daibutsu (Great Buddha)
- Onimaru has the Hito Hito no Mi, Mythical Zoan, Model: Dainyu (Great Apparition)
- Luffy has the Hito Hito no Mi, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika, God of the Sun
As shown, every revealed Hito Hito no Mi is Mythical Zoan.
Given that, it’s nearly certain that Chopper’s is also Mythical Zoan.
So what model would be appropriate?
Chopper’s Mythical Beast
Since Chopper was called a “yeti” in past flashbacks, many suggest the Mythical Zoan model is the “Yeti.”
If it were the Yeti, it would also fit well with my other article about the Square RPG homage theory — personally very convenient for me.
However, the Yeti theory can’t explain Chopper’s rampage form.
The Awakened Form
According to Crocodile, “the jailer beasts are awakened Zoan users.”
And according to Vegapunk (Shaka), “Zoan awakening often results in the personality being absorbed.”
Lucci awoke without his personality being absorbed; the jailer beasts likely had theirs absorbed.
Either way, the common trait of awakened users is that “the upper body is dominated by the Zoan.”
In other words, the horns and fur on Chopper’s rampaging form should be from the mythical beast that is the Devil Fruit’s model — not the reindeer base of his body.
So the “Yeti” theory, which has no horns, is weak.
Then what mythical beast perfectly fits the rampaging form?
The conditions to meet are:
- Has antlers or horns like a deer or reindeer
- Fits wearing fur
- Can be called a mythical beast appearing in mythology
- Can explain why the Devil Fruit is mushroom-shaped
- Has a connection to all-purpose medicine or doctors
- Can also explain why this was kept secret until the Final Arc
If a mythical beast satisfies all five conditions, there can be no objection.
Such a conveniently perfect mythical beast…
…I found one.
Cernunnos from Celtic Mythology
Cernunnos is a deity from Celtic mythology, a branch of Norse mythology.
Depicted as a humanoid figure with deer-like antlers on its head, it is the god of hunting, god of the forest, king of the beasts, and king of animals.
God of hunting → hunter → wearing the prey’s fur: the fur condition is cleared.
Cernunnos also appears as an enemy character in the game Fate/Grand Order, appearing as a monster with horns and fur.
Horns, fur, and mythology — three conditions cleared.
Furthermore, as a forest god: mushroom-shaped Devil Fruit → “tree child” → forest god — that’s also cleared.
Then what about the connection to medicine, doctors, and control over life and death?
The Forest Spirit (Shishigami) is also modeled on Cernunnos, I believe.
The Forest Spirit is the manager of life in the forest — absorbing and granting life, controlling the life and death of other living things → doctor → Chopper.
The fourth condition is also cleared.
Why suddenly bring up the Forest Spirit? Let me review the connection between One Piece and Ghibli.
Norse Mythology and Ghibli
In “My Neighbor Totoro,” when Mei says “I met Totoro!” Satsuki replies, “Totoro? You mean the troll from the picture book?”
Trolls are forest spirits from Norwegian (Norse) folklore, appearing in the Norwegian picture book “Three Billy Goats Gruff.”
That’s why Satsuki immediately understood that the forest spirit Mei described was a troll.
“Ponyo on the Cliff” is about a mermaid who wants to marry a human — in other words, the Little Mermaid, whose origins lie in Irish folk tales of the Merrow. And the town in “Kiki’s Delivery Service” is in Sweden.
Since most Ghibli works are rooted in Norse tradition, there’s no way Miyazaki’s Forest Spirit wasn’t influenced by ancient Celtic mythology.
Therefore: the Forest Spirit is Cernunnos, and that’s Chopper.
Then why was this hidden until the Final Arc of One Piece?
This too becomes clear when you research Norse → Finnish → Celtic epics in depth.
In short:
- The spiral pattern on Devil Fruits (solar energy / Triskelion)
- The clan of the gods named “D” (Danu)
- Indigenous peoples of Europe (Lunarians, Buccaneers, and other indigenous peoples)
- Viking history (Elbaf)
Researching Norse mythology in detail provides too many hints for theorizing about One Piece’s mysteries.
Since this is already quite voluminous content, I’ll save “the reason it was kept secret until the Final Arc” for a separate article.
By the way, the Celtic pattern “Triskelion” represents solar energy — and it’s also the pattern on Devil Fruits.
Interesting, isn’t it?
So the Devil Fruit Chopper ate is the Hito Hito no Mi, Mythical Zoan, Model: Cernunnos. If his true ability awakens like the Forest Spirit from Princess Mononoke, he might gain the ability to drain the life of any living thing he touches — which would be terrifying.
“An Easy-to-Understand Guide to Finnish Mythology” — available in Kindle edition