User blog comment:Kaido King of the Beasts/Chapter 836: Man of a Thousand Pounds/@comment-4374114-20160819181114/@comment-24850639-20160819212335

Awakening is too important of a concept to get glossed over like that. The typical story mechanics for something like Awakening:

A) Protagonist unintentionally learns of the concept through an enemy, friend/mentor, folklore, etc. (Check - Doflamingo fight, and maybe even Crocodile in Impel Down)

B) Something particularly hurtful or heartbreaking happens to the protagonist, and they realize that their strength just isn't where it needs to be

AND/OR

C) An expert on the concept personally teaches the protagonist the ropes, or gets them started on the path to unlocking the ability

D) The stressful event in B) is in fact so stressful, that the protagonist is pushed to a level of power that even they don't comprehend in the moment and they unlock the ability.

Not that it for sure has to go down like this, we all know how One Piece goes, but its for sure not going to be something that just pops up outta nowhere, or through flashback. Luffy may meet a really strong awakened DF user thats willing to teach him the ropes, or Big Mom could do something to Jinbe or the Sanji Retrieval team that makes him go apeshit, but I'm almost positive its going to be a live moment.