The One Piece manga recently saw the defeat of Rob Lucci, one of the strongest antagonists of the series, at the hands of Roronoa Zoro. Although Lucci was incredibly strong, he could not hold himself in front of the Straw Hat Pirates swordsman. Lucci has come a long way from the Water 7 arc and his character growth over the years makes him one of the best villains of One Piece. And his Devil Fruit abilities certainly add to this title.
Rob Lucci shocked the One Piece fandom when he introduced the awakened form of his Devil Fruit in his first fight in the Egghead Island arc. His awakened form was first revealed in One Piece Chapter 1069 when he was fighting Luffy and while it did not have a chance against Luffy’s Gear 5, it was extremely powerful making it one of the best Zoan Devil Fruits in the One Piece world.
Rob Lucci’s Cat Cat Fruit: Model Leopard is One of the Strongest Zoan Devil Fruits
The full power of Rob Lucci’s Devil Fruit, Cat Cat Fruit: Model Leopard was first introduced during the Water 7 arc. This Devil Fruit is a Zoan-type fruit that allows the user to transform into a leopard or a human-leopard hybrid. It gives the user all the powers and strengths of a leopard, and the hybrid form combines it with a human body making it even stronger.
Lucci usually chooses his hybrid form in combats and fights as it is much stronger, faster, and more adaptive. It gives him the additional traits of a leopard, like strong legs, sharp teeth, and claws, and a carnivorous blood thirst that makes him even stronger and more dangerous than he already is.
However, Lucci also has an additional advantage that helps him fully utilize his Devil Fruit powers. Being a former CP9 agent, Lucci learned a lot of Rokushiki combat-style techniques that when combined with his Devil Fruit abilities make him an even bigger threat.
The Awakened Devil Fruit Form of Rob Lucci
Although the full extent of Rob Lucci’s awakened Devil Fruit form has already been shown in the One Piece manga, it has only debuted in the anime series with episode 1110. Therefore anime fans don’t know what this dangerous awakening is capable of. His physical appearance changed a little bit and the cloud that was only customed to the Zoan Devil Fruits appeared around his body.
Although the awakened Devil Fruit powers did not grant Lucci any new major abilities, they did enhance his strength, his speed, his recovery, and his bloodlust. This has helped him become even more dangerous than he already is. The thing that makes Lucci’s awakening unique is the fact that he does not lose control of the will of his Devil Fruit after awakening.
The perfect example of Rob Lucci’s immense strength was seen during his fight against the King of Hell (Zoro). Although Lucci was no match for Luffy, he did give a hard time to Zoro and forced him to use his full power and all three swords. No matter what Zoro did, he and Lucci were quite evenly matched for a long time and Lucci’s powers showed why he is one of the most menacing villains of One Piece.
Rob Lucci has certainly proved his worth as a One Piece antagonist by awakening and controlling his Devil Fruit powers. His battles with Luffy and Zoro have proved it already. After combining it with additional abilities like Haki, and Rokushiki, it certainly makes him one of the most menacing and dangerous Zoan Devil Fruit users in the One Piece world.
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