Usopp will eat the Paw-Paw Fruit

Usopp was always the weakest Strawhat, but the gap between him and his crewmates was never as big as it is now. So much so that baseless theories are circulating about him picking up Mjolnir, the mythical hammer of Thor, in Elbaf. This is One Piece. If you need to get stronger fast, you eat a Devilfruit.

The Strawhats still have tough battles ahead, where everyone will have to do his part. Usopp won’t always be as lucky as he was in Onigashima, where Big Mom defeated his opponent for him. Against the Blackbeard Pirates, he will have to take out a Titanic Captain. His enemy will be Van Augur. The sniping skills of the Super Sonic would be obstacle enough, but the guy can warp also. He ate a Devilfruit that allows him to teleport himself and others.

It seems impossible for the current Usopp to overcome that. But we know that he will. The Strawhats are sure to come out on top. To have that make sense, Usopp will receive a power similar to Augur’s. The Pawfruit would allow him to send himself, others and objects flying anywhere. The flight is very fast but not instantaneous. If the distance isn’t too great though, it is practically like teleportation. With that Fruit, Usopp could send himself or projectiles wherever Augur warps to. In chapter 1081, Augur already fell victim to paws. Polarbear-Mink Bepo hit him with his and send him flying.

The current Devilfruit users of the Strawhat crew all wear or have worn hats. Luffy got Gum-Gum Fruit and Strawhat from Shanks. Brook has a top hat placed on his afro. Chopper wears a blue cap. Robin wore a cowboy hat before the time skip, and in Dressrosa a white bell-brimmed hat. No Strawhat without Devilfruit wears headgear regularily, with one exception: Usopp. Zoro for example puts on his bandana only when he goes all out. Before the Timeskip, Usopp always wore a bandana. After the Time Skip, he always wears a white sun cap.

In SBS 59, a fan asked Oda if Kuma would become a Strawhat. He believed that due to the name of Kuma’s Devilfruit, Nikyu Nikyu no Mi. Ni means 2 and kyu is 9 in japanese. All the Devilfruits of the Strawhats contain numbers aswell. Luffy’s Gomu Gomu no mi stands for 5 and 6. Chopper’s Hito Hito no mi stands for 1 and 10. Robin’s Hana Hana no mi for 8 and 7. Brook’s Yomi Yomi no mi for 4 and 3. 2 and 9 are missing. If the user of the Pawfruit joins the crew, the Strawhat Devilfruits would cover all numbers from 1 to 10.

Oda responeded that he was surprised and he didn’t want to comment further. Implying that the questioner was on the right track. The Pawfruit will find its way into the Strawhat crew. Kuma won’t join though. Oda is preparing to kill him off. Vegapunk said that Kuma couldn’t be brought back. He will die and his Devilfruit will become available again soon. Even if Kuma somehow survives, a Strawhat could find a replica of his fruit on Egghead.

If Usopp eats it, that would complete the number pattern but also the hat pattern. No other Strawhat is fit to become the user of the Pawfruit. Jinbe won’t eat a fruit because that would make him lose most of his Fishman powers. Franky outright said he would never eat a Devilfruit. Nami doesn’t need a power up after she just got Zeus. Zoro uses his hands to hold his swords, he wouldn’t be able to utilize the paws. Sanji refuses to use his hands in combat. That only leaves the Strawhat’s sniper.

On first glance. the Pawfruit does not appear well suited for a sniper. A sniper needs his hands to hold his gun. Usopp doesn’t have a gun. He uses a slingshot, with which he shoots Pop Greens. If he ate the fruit, he wouldn’t need Kuro Kabuto anymore though. He could just as well use the paws to send the plants toward his enemies. It would actually work better. The paws would offer a far bigger range than the slingshot. Usopp could send his greens to places all over the world, just like Kuma did with people. That would do his epithet justice. Just like self proclaimed God Enel, who could rain down thunder at every spot on Skypiea, God Usopp could send his plants everywhere.
Pop Greens are seeds. Brownbears are important seed dispensers. They eat alot of fruit and then spread the seeds. Usopp will become a better seed dispenser by eating Kuma’s Devilfruit and acquiring bear paws.

Usopp will fight many more people besides Augur. Not all of them will be snipers. The paws would allow him to turn every fight into a ranged one regardless. He would just have to touch them, to send them away from him. If they somehow dodge, he could still use the paws to deflect all their attacks, which should come naturally to him.

When he fought Luffy over the Merry, he had to engage in close combat. He didn’t take a knife into his hand or make fists. He used his palms. He had strapped Impact Dials to them. He used his hands like he would use them if he had eaten the Pawfruit. Impact Dials absorb damage and give it back. The Pawfruit allows one to repell any attack back to the attacker. The dials were the ideal training for his future power. When he gets paws, it will be nostalgic and exciting at the same time. On one hand, it will be a callback to Usopp’s fighting style from Water 7, on the other hand he will be able to develope many new techniques.

Usopp will find ways to use the Pawfruit that Kuma never considered. In the past, he displayed his resourcefulness by making gadgets. The Pawfruit is versatile. It can be applied in different ways. You can for example repell the air around you and thus create bubbles that explode. Usopp is already familiar with using bubbles in combat. He created Nami’s Clima Tact.

It isn’t just the Devilfruit itself that makes me think Usopp will eat it. He also parallels the current user. Usopp and Kuma have similar hair. Kuma has cybernetically enhanced eyes. Usopp wears goggles that increase his, already great, eyesight. He needs that to be a better sniper. Kuma has a target crosshair on his jacket. They come from sugary sounding places. Usopp is from Syrup Village. Kuma ruled over Sorbet Kingdom. Kuma was said to have been a tyrant during his time as king. This is likely fabricated. Usopp also has a reputation that is based on lies. He is called God Usopp. Kuma carries a book that is tied to God, a Bible. He also was a double agent for the Revolutionary army, fooling the World government for many years. Usopp tried to fool the Strawhats with his alter ego Sogeking, though only Chopper and Luffy fell for it.

Kuma encountered the Strawhats for the first time in Thrillerbark. When he arrived, he send Perona away. The Thrillerbark Pirates officer which Usopp defeated. Usopp also hid in, and later purified, Kuma-shi, Perona’s teddybear zombie.
During the Timeskip, Kuma protected the Thousand Sunny. Usopp tried to safe the Going Merry, even when it was too late for that in Water 7.

Usopp left the crew over the dispute about the Merry. When he wanted to participate in the rescue of Robin regardless, he came back as Sogeking to fight CP9. The leader of CP9, Spandam, wielded a sword that had eaten the elephant fruit, which had been created by Vegapunk. The genius scientist probably also created Lassoo, the Gun that ate the Dachshund fruit. Its owner, Mister 4 was defeated by Usopp. We don’t know yet how Vegapunk made such weapons. Perhaps it was done via the Pawfruit. The fruit allows the user to turn intangible things like pain or memories tangible. Perhaps Kuma and S-Bear are able to push the Devilfruit abilities out of fruits and into paw shaped bubbles. Then a weapon could be inserted into the bubble to make it eat the Devilfruit. If that is how it works, the Pawfruit would enable Usopp to refine his gadgets with Devilfruits. One of his inventions was powerd up with a Devilfruit recently, though not by him.

Nami put the cloud Zeus into the Climatact, one of Usopp’s inventions. She, Chopper and Ussop make up the Weakling Trio. Zeus was created from a part of Big Mom’s soul, via her Devilfruit. Nami’s new power puts her into another league than Chopper and Usopp. Balance will be restored. Chopper will probably awaken his Devilfruit soon. I believed his Rumble Balls already brought out his awakening, but he looks different than Kaku and Lucci. He has no scarf. When he awakens, it will be obvious that Usopp is also in need of a power up. Both Nami’s and Chopper’s would be Devilfruit related, so Usopps should be too.

He doesn’t just need the fruit for its strength, but also for its utility. He has two seemingly irreconcilablegoals. He wants to be a great warrior of the sea and he also wants to live together with Kaya. It would be too dangerous to take the frail girl with him to the sea. It would also defeat the point of it. Usopp wants to experience adventures so he can tell his childhood friend exciting stories about them later. If she was present, there wouldn’t be a need to tell her about it. If he settled down, he wouldn’t be a warrior of the sea anymore. He wouldn’t have material for his tales, which would force him to resort back to lies again. The Pawfruit would allow Usopp to have his cake and eat it too. He could fly from East Blue to the New World, and back, in a few days. As if he had a private jet. He could live two parallel lifes and wouldn’t have to repeat the sin of his father, abandon his future child to be a pirate.