The One Piece universe presents a vast array of mysteries and unanswered questions, many of which have led to some truly crazy One Piece theories that actually have substantial evidence. But a common question among One Piece fans is how Big Mom got her Devil Fruit powers—especially since she's never "eaten" a Devil Fruit.

It is strongly implied that Big Mom obtained the Devil Fruit Soru Soru no Mi from Mother Carmel through cannibalism. She appears to have ingested the Devil Fruit along with its previous user and acquired its powers, killing Carmel in the process—but this rule may or may not apply to all Devil Fruits and users in the One Piece universe. However, due to the Soru Soru no Mi's unique soul traits, it is possible that Carmel transferred her soul and is still alive inside Big Mom.

While there are still some gaps in the story as to exactly how Big Mom obtained her Devil Fruit powers, it seems she was able to obtain them the same way as anyone else in the One Piece universe—albeit with a darker, more unexpected approach. Stick around to find out everything you need to know about Big Mom's Devil Fruit powers and how she obtained them in One Piece.

Big Mom's Devil Fruit: Soru Soru no Mi

Big Mom, formerly known as Charlotte Linlin, displays the power of the Soru Soru no Mi, which is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit in the One Piece universe. This Devil Fruit allows Big Mom to manifest the souls of others as a sort of ethereal substance that she can actually control—provided the intended victim meets the criteria, as this ability has no effect on those who do not fear her or cannot hear her voice.

She can then steal the victim's soul energy, extending the individual's lifespan by the amount she chooses at that moment. Big Mom can drain all of an individual's remaining lifespan in order to kill them instantly, or she can drain only a fraction of the victim's remaining lifespan, drastically reducing their lifespan instead of killing them.

From this point on, Big Mom can infuse stolen souls into inanimate objects and bring them to life—creating creatures known as "buddies" with human-like traits, such as talking and walking. These buddies will serve as her servants or weapons, depending on her wishes.

Aside from people and corpses, Big Mom can turn almost anything into a chum, such as animals, plants, minerals, liquids, furniture, food, buildings, and even things at the molecular level like fire, air, and light. She can also create "special chums," the most notable of which are Zeus, Prometheus, and Napoleon, who are far more powerful than ordinary chums also imbued with Big Mom's soul.

In addition to these primary uses, Big Mom can also use her stolen souls by consuming them—which has the effect of making Big Mom bigger and stronger. She can also infuse herself with stolen souls to perform a healing function, such as restoring broken bones, and she can also create incarnations of her soul that can go out and steal more souls on her behalf.

How did Big Mom get her Devil Fruit powers?

Eiichiro Oda has filled One Piece with tons of deep stories and unique characters, all with different histories and origins. Fans don't know much about Big Mom's past, aside from evidence shared in a flashback during one of the One Piece anime episodes that reveals more details about her story.

The episode depicts many other people who were part of Big Mom's origins, such as orphans and Mother Carmel—who demonstrates the same powers Big Mom had during the One Piece storyline, being able to integrate souls into inanimate objects. It's also shown that Big Mom actually has a pretty dark and sad past, but the final scene is what really stole the show.

1. Big Mom ate the Devil Fruit instead of the Devil Fruit

Towards the end of the episode, Big Mom is shown "eating" Mother Carmel and the orphans, and all were consumed by the episode's conclusion. Now, it's not obvious that she ate Carmel and the orphans, but it was heavily implied using strategic imagery and timing. According to the images and information provided by the One Piece Wiki:

"After the death of her former owner, Carmel, Linlin somehow acquired the powers of the Soru Soru no Mi."

As a result, there is no "official" reason as to how exactly she acquired her Devil Fruit powers. Technically, Mother Carmel and all of Big Mom's childhood friends simply "vanished" into thin air immediately after Big Mom went on a massive, raging eating rampage.

Still, it was a pretty disturbing scene for One Piece fans, even without Oda describing the event in detail, the idea being further confirmed by a terrified-looking Streusen lurking in the background. But this may just be the answer we've been looking for regarding Big Mom's Devil Fruit powers—it seems to make the most sense compared to other possibilities (such as Carmel being killed, the Devil Fruit reincarnating next to her, and Big Mom eating the fruit, according to some fans).

The only rule that has been clearly stated throughout One Piece's history is that Devil Fruits must be ingested for the individual to gain their powers—and most people can't eat more than one Devil Fruit without suffering a bad fate. Using this as a basis, we can say that Big Mom likely gained her Devil Fruit powers by ingesting the Devil Fruit along with its previous user, thus killing Mother Carmel.

2. Carmel is alive inside Big Mom

Knowing that this type of scenario could be a potential way to "steal" a specific Devil Fruit power from another is absolutely shocking, setting a terrifying new precedent for characters in the One Piece universe. However, many fans have argued that this could be specific to Big Mom's case as well as the specific Devil Fruit ingested.

The next plausible theory also involves the idea of ​​Big Mom eating Mother Carmel, but supports the concept of Carmel using the Soru Soru no Mi to transfer her soul into Big Mom during the incident, as her body was destroyed. This theory would suggest that Big Mom has Carmel inside her, and that Carmel is still the one technically using the Soru Soru no Mi.

As detailed below thanks to Theory Anime, Oda may have hinted that one cannot simply obtain Devil Fruit powers by eating a Devil Fruit user. If this is the case, the way Big Mom acquired her Devil Fruit powers could be much more specific to the Soru Soru no Mi than fans might have expected.

We all know Big Mom is a force to be reckoned with, but the origin story of her Devil Fruit powers makes it even more horrifying. It may seem dark and ominous to think that Big Mom gained her powers by eating the previous Devil Fruit user—as opposed to ingesting the fruit itself. But no matter how the incident is told, it seems that eating Carmel (dead or alive) is the most likely cause.