Sometimes known as the “Ultimate Devil Fruit” for its ability to negate the powers of other fruit users, as well as its capacity to grant eternal life, the Ope Ope no Mi has beenone of the most sought after powersin the world ofOne Piecefor decades. Currently used by Trafalgar Law, the captain of the Heart Pirates, the fruit’s powers permit him to remodel and freely manipulate the world around him, in the style of performing surgical procedures within the limits of a spherical force field known as a “ROOM.” In the hands of Law an expert surgeon, the Ope Ope no Mi finds even greater purpose, as he can exploit its power to the fullest both in combat and for medicinal use.
Ever since the time of the Dressrosa Arc, the Ope Ope no Mi has been extremely coveted by powerfulindividuals with allegiance to the World Government, as well as pirates such as Donquixote Doflamingo and Blackbeard. This is primarily due to the most coveted technique associated with it — the Perpetual Youth Surgery — which grants immortality. Although the existence and true nature of this ability has not been shown or confirmed inOne Piece, the fact that so many individuals have knowledge of it is fair evidence to its validity. With this in mind, Law has also become the subject of intense scrutiny ever since he burst on to the scene. After his defeat against Blackbeard, fans may wonder what his final fate may be, as there is no shortage of parties that would do anything to gain control of his Devil Fruit.
RELATED:One Piece: How Enma Drew Out Zoro’s Latent Conqueror’s Haki
The Power Of The Ope Ope no Mi
Beyond his base abilities,Law has also Awakened his Devil Fruit, as shown during his fight against Big Mom in Wano alongside Eustass Kid. The new set of abilities afforded by his Awakening allows him to use his ROOM powers on foreign objects, moving the field of effectiveness past the user’s own position, bypassing this Devil Fruit’s main weakness. However, the drawback to this power is the massive toll it takes on his stamina, to the point of leaving him almost incapacitated after repeated use.
The fact that Law has not mastered this ability is a cause for concern for him at the moment, and his loss to Blackbeard was a stern reminder of the need for him to be able to use this technique at will. Furthermore, overuse of any Ope Ope no Mi technique — Awakened or otherwise — can shorten the user’s lifespan, which is something Law must consider when fighting drawn out battles. This becomesmore important with respect to his Awakened techniques, which could effectively kill him if deployed too many times. Unfortunately for Law, this is still not the biggest threat to his life that he must contend with.
The Perpetual Youth Surgery
Of all the abilities conferred by the Ope Ope no Mi, none have been more desired than the Perpetual Youth Surgery, which permits the fruit’s user to confer eternal life to someone in exchange for their own. Before Law was forced to eat the fruit by Donquixote Rosinante — the younger brother of Doflamingo who was also known as the Second Corazon — both the World Governmentand the Doflamingo Pirateswere striving to gain hold of the fruit, in order to perform this very surgery.
RELATED:One Piece: What Could Luffy’s Next Power-Up Be?
Additionally, since it is quite possible that Imu has undergone this procedure given that they are theorized tohave been alive since the Void Century, it would make sense for the World Government to seek the fruit out again. It has also been speculated that the Five Elders have themselves benefited from the Perpetual Youth Surgery, given that it appears that they have not aged since the time of the Ohara Incident two decades prior to the start of the story. In the past, it is said to have been in the possession of a famous doctor who miraculously cured illnesses and saved countless lives with the aid of the Ope Ope no Mi.
A Sacrifice For The Greater Good
With this in mind, the prospect of Law’s ability being a major factor in the future course of the story is not entirely improbable. This is likely given how even Doflamingo has stated that Mary Geoise holds a national treasure, which when combined with the immortality granted by the Perpetual Youth Surgery, could be enough for anindividual to take control of the entire world. Since this might be how Imu managed to take on the role of the secret ruler of the world after the Void Century, there is a chance that another character inOne Piecemay take a similar course of action. The catch here is that Law will have to perform the procedure willingly, which means that it will only be possible if one or more of his crew mates or allies are taken hostage.
Law’s defeat on Winner Island in chapter 1081saw him barely escape Blackbeard’s clutcheswith his life, after Bepo managed to trigger his Sulong form with the aid of a drug developed by Chopper. With the fate of the rest of the Heart Pirates still yet to be revealed, there is a likelihood of Blackbeard using them as leverage to manipulate Law into perform the Perpetual Youth Surgery on him. On one hand, this would be an extremely tragic conclusion for Law, whose life has been marred by pain and suffering from a very early age. Alternatively, Law may also be forced to perform the procedure on one of his allies in order to save their lives in the final conflict, which would be a much more fitting end for him, following in the footsteps of his mentor Rosinante.
