One Piece: The true power of Shiryu's Clear-Clear Fruit

Among the strongest One Piece characters, those who ate a Devil Fruit usually obtained a devastating ability. Due to this, some fans were disappointed when Shiryu was revealed to have eaten the Clear-Clear Fruit, whose previous user was Absalom, a pretty weak character.

A fearsome swordsman, Shiryu is the second-strongest member of the Blackbeard Pirates, second only to Teach himself. As such, he is bound to be an immensely powerful individual. For this reason, fans expected him to obtain a more performing Devil Fruit power.

However, One Piece showed that most abilities aren't strong or weak in themselves: it all comes down to the user. The Clear-Clear Fruit might also hide some remarkable potential. While Absalom wasn't able to use it, an individual of Shiryu's caliber may bring out the fruit's real power.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1072 and reflects the writer's personal views.

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Shiryu may evolve the Clear-Clear Fruit among One Piece's most dreadful powers

What is known about the Clear-Clear Fruit so far?

The first user of Clear-Clear Fruit shown in One Piece was Absalom (Image via Toei Animation, One Piece)

The Clear-Clear Fruit is a Paramecia-type that allows its user to turn himself and anything he touches invisible, thus becoming an "Invisible Man". Relying on this ability, the user can spy on people, as well as approach them, without being detected.

This power also allows the user to conceal weapons and other items. The main flaw is that if the user gets covered by something, his presence may be revealed. Moreover, the user becomes invisible, but not incorporeal, meaning that if he gets hit, his body can be hurt just like any other person's.

Additionally, objects that turn invisible as a result of the Devil Fruit's usage will instantly become visible once the user stops being in contact with them. The effect will also wear off for a few seconds if the user suffers a powerful blow and loses focus.

The Clear-Clear Fruit was introduced in the series during the Thriller Bark Arc via Absalom, one of the subordinates of Gecko Moria. Absalom used his invisibility against the Strawhat Pirates, attempting to harass Nami and fight Sanji.

Overall, Absalom was definitely a weaker opponent. However, he could become somewhat dangerous by exploiting the advantages granted by the Clear-Clear Fruit. For instance, he could fire invisible bazookas, with the projectiles flying towards the opponent without being seen.

Sometime after the Paramount War, Absalom was killed by the Blackbeard Pirates. Through unknown means, Shiryu took the Clear-Clear Fruit powers before they could return to circulation as would normally happen at the death of the user.

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Who is Shiryu?

Shiryu is the strongest subordinate of Marshall D. Teach (Image via Toei Animation, One Piece)

Shiryu "Of the Rain" is the former Head Jailer of the Impel Down prison. A vicious and deceitful individual, he is a bloodthirsty brute who enjoys killing. He even slaughtered his former subordinates without mercy.

Shiryu is a fearsome swordsman. While most of his true capabilities are yet to be disclosed, it has been revealed that he owns a Famous Sword called Raiu. During the Impel Down Arc, he was shown using it to perform deadly attacks at extreme speeds.

It was stated that, before the time skip, Shiryu was as powerful as Magellan, the Chief Warden of Impel Down. A further testament to Shiryu's strength, Magellan was confident that the swordsman was strong enough to stop Marshall D. Teach - who at the time was one of the Seven Warlords - and his crew.

However, after meeting Teach, Shiryu showed interest in him. He decided to renege on Impel Down and join the Blackbeard Pirates. Interestingly enough, Shiryu's recruitment in Blackbeard's crew seems to be a parallel to Oden's recruitment in the Whitebeard Pirates.

After the time skip, Shiryu improved his fighting capabilities, partaking in several battles. Moreover, he gained a new power, granted by the Clear-Clear Fruit. Allowing him to become invisible, this ability enhanced his stealth skills.

One Piece author Eiichiro Oda recently revealed that Shiryu is the second most powerful member of the Blackbeard Pirates. This was portrayed with the color spread of chapter 1031, which depicted the "number two" of the most prominent crews, i.e. the second strongest individuals right after the captains.

On that issue, Oda featured Zoro for Strawhats, Rayleigh for Roger's crew, Benn Beckman for the Red Hair Pirates, Shiryu for Blackbeard Pirates, Sabo for the Revolutionary Army, and more.

In a subsequent SBS - a special column where One Piece author Eiichiro Oda directly answers fan letters - the author stated that not all the characters portrayed in the color spread hold the official rank of first mate, but all of them are the second strongest individuals in their respective groups.

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Shiryu could use the Clear-Clear Fruit's true power to fight Zoro

Shiryu will likely be a future opponent for Zoro (Image via Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, One Piece)

Shiryu exploits the Clear-Clear Fruit in combat by turning himself and his sword invisible, to cut opponents without being spotted. Combined with his speed and power, this remarkably enhances Shiryu's lethality. His first victim was former Warlord Gecko Moria.

Given Shiryu's status as a master swordsman as well as Blackbeard's strongest subordinate, One Piece fans immediately speculated that he would be Zoro's opponent during the fated clash between Blackbeard Pirates and Strawhat Pirates.

Thus, fans expected Shiryu to obtain a superior Devil Fruit. With Zoro possessing extraordinary reflexes, as well as having unlocked the all-powerful Advanced Conqueror's Haki, Shiryu may need something more to be a worthy opponent for the right-hand man of Luffy.

After all, regardless of Absalom's low-level of overall strength, his performance exposed the flaws of the Clear-Clear Fruit even against someone who couldn't use Observation Haki. As such, it really doesn't seem possible for such an ability to be a game-changing asset against powerful Haki users.

However, it wouldn't make sense for an end-game opponent such as Shiryu to have a useless power. Shiryu accepted the Clear-Clear Fruit fully knowing that if he obtained its abilities, he wouldn't have had another Devil Fruit power for his entire life.

Shiryu even openly declares that he has a very nice power for himself. Hence, it seems that he has a very different opinion about the Clear-Clear Fruit. Interestingly enough, even Blackbeard held this Devil Fruit in very high regard.

In the novel One Piece: Ace's Story, there's an interesting claim from Thatch. The latter was a prominent member of the Whitebeard Pirates who, at one point, happened to find the Dark-Dark Fruit. He was killed by Blackbeard, who stole the fruit for himself.

In volume 2, chapter 5, Thatch claims that Blackbeard wants to eat the Clear-Clear Fruit out of all the countless Devil Fruits. Given Blackbeard's great knowledge on the subject, this is a very intriguing statement.

Admittedly, the novel was not directly written by One Piece author Eiichiro Oda, but by Tatsuya Hamazaki. Still, the statement appears to hold some value, given that a member of the Blackbeard Pirates, no less than the second strongest member of the bunch, eventually got the Clear-Clear Fruit.

The novel was released five months before One Piece 925, the chapter where readers first witnessed Shiryu using the Clear-Clear Fruit. Such a coincidence seems hardly feasible. It's much more likely that Oda passed some information to Tatsuya.

The intriguing concurrences don't stop there. In the One Piece Databook Green (which was completely supervised by Oda), it was revealed that Blackbeard was originally going to be named Everything D. Teach. In One Piece chapter 577, Blackbeard declared that his power allowed him to:

"Turn everything to nothingness"

Connecting all these elements, it appears highly possible that Oda's original intent was to give Everything D. Teach the Clear-Clear Fruit, making him the villain who could turn everything into nothingness.

Oda's actual realization was different, but such an understanding implies that at the very least the Clear-Clear Fruit has to be an uncommon power. It can't be different if this fruit was originally intended to be the signature ability of Blackbeard.

The Clear-Clear Fruit allowing a prominent antagonist to turn himself into "nothingness" would also take inspiration from the famous manga Hokuto no Ken. Oda has already paid homage to the series within One Piece.

In fact, he made Queen use "You're already dead" (the iconic line of Kenshiro, Hokuto no Ken's protagonist) and based his appearance on a character featured in the same series. Oda appears to be a fan of Hokuto no Ken, given that he also spontaneously referenced it in a SBS.

Hokuto no Ken's Kenshiro can use an ultimate technique called Muso Tensei, which allows him to achieve a state of "nothingness" that makes him impervious to attacks, even enabling him to glide through air and space. This move is very broken. The only way to counter it was to distort space and time.

Shiryu achieving the Awakening of the Clear-Clear Fruit and becoming nothingness would be another homage to Hokuto no Ken, as well as recalling the original intent that Oda had for Blackbeard's caliber.

Awakening a Devil Fruit allows using abilities on a whole different level. This stage can only be achieved when the user, through training and extreme experience, becomes ready to handle the Devil Fruit's full potential.

Absalom was unable to accomplish that, but a fighter of Shiryu's level may very well be able to. This would allow him to become an immensely broken character who could give Zoro a serious challenge.

In fact, the idea of Shiryu turning into nothingness to fight Zoro may have been foreshadowed since hundreds of chapters ago, with Koshiro (Zoro's master when he was a child) introducing the idea:

"There are swordsmen who are able to cut nothing"

During his fight against Mr 1 in the Arabasta Arc, Zoro remembered Koshiro's words.

"To cut nothing... is that like hearing the breath?"

Intensely focusing, Zoro became able to hear the breath of steel. He then used an attack called Lion Song against Mr 1, who, despite his body being made of tough steel, was immediately cut and defeated.

Later in the series, this ability was likened to an advanced form of Haki. Given Zoro's impressive Haki mastery, the green-haired swordsman may unlock a similar power to counter Shiryu's Devil Fruit abilities.

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Final thoughts

Shiryu becoming able to turn himself into nothingness would be an unbelievable move (Image via Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, One Piece)

Every powerful captain needs a mighty number two on his side. Luffy can depend on Zoro, Shanks can rely on Benn Beckman, and Roger used to count on Rayleigh. The same goes for a man like Blackbeard, who aspires to become the Pirate King.

With Blackbeard attempting to grow even stronger than Admirals and Emperors, Shiryu, who is his most powerful subordinate, needs to step up his game as much as possible. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to effectively support Blackbeard in his rise to the throne.

The ability to turn matter into nothingness as a result of the Clear-Clear Fruit's Awakening would be an excellent power up for Shiryu. Combined with this swordsmanship, this asset would make him one of the most lethal fighters in the One Piece world.

With many hints at the Clear-Clear Fruit hiding a much greater potential, as well as the foreshadowing about Zoro becoming a swordsman who can cut even nothingness itself, this widely popular theory may turn into reality soon.