Zoan-Type fruits intrigue me. They seem to be the most basic of Devil Fruits, with normally just giving the user access to three transformations.
But they also seem to be the most malleable of Devil Fruits. Chopper managed to alter his ability to transform with the Rumble Ball by “disturbing the frequencies of the Devil Fruit.
Furthermore, Zoan Fruits are the only fruits Vegapunk managed to put into inanimate objects (Lassoo, Funkfried and Smiley).
But why is that? I think it has all to do with the Lineage Factor, Vegapunk and Judge discovered together.
This Lineage Factor acts like DNA, it is the building block of life itself. If we assume Devil Fruits to alter the Lineage Factor of the user, it would make sense for Zoan Type fruits to carry their own Lineage Factor – the one of the animal it represents. That would make Zoan types not only alter the users DNA but merging its own with it. I think that is the reason why only Zoan types can be put into inanimate objects, because they need at least one set of Lineage Factor to actually be a living creature. Ever thought about where Funkfried and co. got their personality? It is because of that DNA that the Devil Fruit brought into it.
This would even further explain why only Zoan types can be manufactured. I think Vegapaunk managed to distill the Lineage Factor of animals and put it into a Devil Fruit. Using his knowledge of how Zoan types merge with the user, he reverse-engineered the process to create his first Artificial Devil Fruit, Momonosuke’s Dragon fruit.
This even is reinforced by Law when he said that the artificial Devil Fruits are created by Vegapunks research of the bloodline element, which is later known as the Lineage Factor.
That would make SAD a “soup” of different Lineage Factors distilled from various animals. Mass-produced Smile-Fruits are incomplete and that could be the reason. Chopper managed to alter the effects of the merging of his two Lineage Factors with the Rumble Ball. It would make sense that this is the “frequency” he was talking about. I mean, he can even stimulate his Devil Fruit to such an extent to induce an Awakening-like state!
Interesting enough, Vegapunk even managed to replicate parts of a Devil Fruit already in use by giving the Pacifista Kizarus laser beam.
Drake, who actually has knowledge of the Marines, specifically called it “Kizarus fighting ability”. I can imagine that Vegapunk managed to crack a part of Borsalino’s already altered Lineage Factor and replicate that. It would even explain why the Pacifistas are cyborgs instead of simple robots: They need to be alive for there to be Lineage Factor to be altered!
*Theory by KurokaKisho
