Yamato’s Devil Fruit awakening before Kaido was already destined in One Piece.

The rare possibility of awakening a Devil Fruit in One Piece has raised the level of the mysterious power and its users. Every Devil Fruit kind has a unique form of awakening, and the Logia and Mythical Zoan awakenings are the ones that fans have rarely or never seen, since the notion of awakening was established in the story.

Devil Fruits in One Piece | Toei Animation

In fact, in the case of Mythical Zoan, the only Devil Fruit that has gone through awakening is Yamato’s Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Okuchi-no-Makami. While it has never been officially confirmed in the story, there have been multiple pieces of evidence that suggest that Yamato has awakened his Devil Fruit.

However, the thing that surprised the fans the most was that Yamato had an awakened Devil Fruit, and his father, Kaido, did not. While this certainly is fascinating, there is one theory that explains how Yamato was able to achieve the impossible before his father.

Yamato’s Awakened Dog-Dog Fruit in One Piece

Yamato is a devoted follower of Kozuki Oden. So much so that he started calling himself Oden and vowed to protect Wano from every possible danger, just like Oden did in his time. But calling himself Oden was not going to cut it. He had to train hard and master every technique that would make him strong enough to be called the Guardian of Wano.

While Yamato did a great job in becoming the next Oden for Wano, he took it one step further by awakening his Devil Fruit. The awakening of the mystical Zoan Devil Fruit gave him an additional level of abilities and strength that made him stand his ground in front of the might of his father, the strongest creature in the world, Kaido.

Yamato’s Hybrid Form | Toei Animation

While it has not been officially confirmed by Eiichiro Oda, there have been multiple aspects that explained Yamato’s awakening. The first one was the smoke strip around his body, which is the first sign of an awakened Devil Fruit. And the second one was the hybrid beast form that had an unimaginable level of strength that rivaled Kaido’s.

One Piece Theory Explains How Yamato Awakened His Devil Fruit Before Kaido

According to a theory posted by u/darkoopz43 on Reddit, Yamato checked all the boxes that were needed to awaken the Devil Fruit. An awakening in One Piece requires the user to align their mind and body with the will of the Devil Fruit. And while Kaido could not do it, Yamato’s need to become like Oden proved to be a big bonus.

Yamato’s Devil Fruit Powers | Toei Animation

Yamato’s Devil Fruit Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Okuchi no Makami, was deemed by Kaido as the protector of Wano, which was already what Yamato intended when he decided to follow Oden.

Thus, the synergy between him and the Devil Fruit was already synced. Plus, living in a prison and fighting the Tobi Roppos helped him develop his physical structure.

Even though he did not have experience like other awakened Devil Fruit users, he did manage to awaken his Devil Fruit before others. On the other hand, Kaido couldn’t achieve it because, even though he was strong and powerful, he was never able to align his mind and body with his Devil Fruit.