One Piece: What are Kaku's powers? His Devil Fruit, explained

One Piece's Devil Fruit battle system has paved the way for a lot of characters with unique abilities, showing the full extent of author Eiichiro Oda's creativity when it comes to these elements. And while some of them have been far more successful than others when it comes to reception, most of those Devil Fruits are very creative, with Kaku being a very good example of that trend.

While Kaku is certainly a very minor character in the grand scheme of things when it comes to One Piece, he and the rest of the CP9 had a positive reception from the fandom with their twist in the Water 7 arc.

In that regard, his Devil Fruit was something that he obtained a bit prior to fighting the Straw Hat crew in Enies Lobby, giving him a very unique set of abilities.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the One Piece series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda.

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Explaining how Kaku's Devil Fruit works in One Piece

Unlike a lot of most Devil Fruit users in One Piece, Kaku gained his right before the battles in the Enies Lobby arc, with him receiving it from his boss, Spandam. Therefore, when fighting Roronoa Zoro in the arc, he didn't have a lot of knowledge regarding his new abilities, which was something that could have caused him problems. But he managed to learn to use it on the spot, still giving the Straw Hats' swordsman a hard time.

When it comes to the Devil Fruit itself, it is the Ushi Ushi no Mi, Model: Giraffe, which is a Zoan-type that, as the name suggests, allows him to turn into a giraffe. Kaku can alternate between turning into the aforementioned animal or maintaining his human form, which is something that he struggles with initially in the arc, mostly being used as comedic relief due to the bizarre form he displays when transformed.

Kaku still manages to combine the enhanced strength and overall athletic abilities, which is something that gives him an edge over Zoro during certain portions of their battle.

His ability with the six forms of Rokushiki was also a way to compensate for the issues he was having with his Devil Fruit.

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The role of the CP9, now CP0, in recent arcs

The CP0 in the anime (Image via Toei Animation).

The comeback of the members of the CP9, now part of the CP0, in recent arcs of the One Piece series is something that has been viewed as divisive regarding what author Eiichiro Oda is going for. While there is no denying that they are one of the most iconic antagonist groups in the entire series, most fans agree that they had fulfilled their role back in Enies Lobby.

This makes the decision of them coming back all the more puzzling beyond obvious fanservice.

This has been shown during certain sections of the Egghead arc, with Zoro not defeating Rob Lucci with ease when considering that the former should be a lot stronger than the latter at this point of the series.

Lucci did say they have grown more powerful but that happening offscreen, without the audience witnessing this, is something that doesn't fully work.

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Final thoughts

Kaku's Devil Fruit allows him to turn into giraffe, which is something he struggles with during the events of Enies Lobby in One Piece because he got it just a few chapters prior to the start of that arc.

It gives him a lot more strength and increased athletic abilities in general, to which he eventually adapts during his battle with Roronoa Zoro.