Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Phoenix

The Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Phoenix is a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit which bestows the power to transform into a phoenix (and phoenix hybrid) at will. It was eaten by Marco.

Etymology

 * Tori (鳥) is Japanese for "bird".
 * The kanji written for the "phoenix" read fushichō (不死鳥), meaning "immortal bird", a common Japanese title for the Western phoenix.

Strengths
This Devil Fruit grants the power to transform into a large phoenix shrouded in blue flames, as well as a human-phoenix hybrid at will. Notably through Marco's usage, no full-bodied Human-Beast Form has been seen so far, only partial morphing of his arms and legs into wings and bird legs respectively; whether said partial transformation is in fact his Human-Beast Form or not is unclear.

As with all Zoans, the user's transformation grants them a significant boost to their overall physical abilities, bestowing (in Marco's case) strength great enough to hold back two powerful Ancient Zoan users at once. As a bird Zoan, the user is also given the ability to fly at great speed. The phoenix form (both in part and full) comes with a set of sharp talons on the feet, usable to deliver slashing damage via kicks.



Most significantly, the user can produce so-called "Blue Flames of Resurrection" (復活の青い炎), also known as "Flames of Regeneration" (再生の炎). These light-blue flames automatically enshroud the user upon transforming, though transforming is not necessary for the flames to be conjured. Generally, while the flames do not burn, spread, or exude heat as normal flames do, due to their "special" nature they are superior in potency to normal fire, proven when Marco overpowered and caused pain to Prometheus, a "special" fire homie made from Big Mom's soul.

Instead of burning, the phoenix flames have immense healing properties. By cloaking themselves in the flames, the user can rapidly regenerate from all injuries inflicted onto them, lethal included, much like how a phoenix is said to rise from its own ashes. Thus, the user boasts enormous resilience, able to undergo extreme punishment without so much as feeling pain or being slowed down. In Marco's case, severe injuries like his body being perforated all over (e.g., by gunfire), having his head and midsection run through by blades, having parts of his head and neck blown off, or even having one of his wings cut off, have elicited little reaction from him, the wounds simply disappearing in the flames almost as quickly as they were made.



The user may shift into their phoenix form to automatically heal all damage accumulated in their human form, or heal simply by summoning the flames around their body while staying human. In the user's full phoenix form, attacks may simply pass through them as if their body is one intangible flame, akin to a Logia's body, the defining difference being that the user just regenerates, retaining a solid body under the fire. As such (as an advantage over Logia users), even injuries taken while touching Seastone can be recovered by the flames once contact with said material stops (whereas Logia users permanently suffer damage done by anything that bypasses their elemental physiology, like Haki or Seastone).

In battle, the phoenix flames are highly useful for defense and may help the user ward off extremely powerful attacks when they use their own body (especially their large wings) as a shield. Their healing-bolstered durability lets them endure massive blows without falling, examples of which are Marco blocking Marine admiral Kizaru's light bullet barrage or admiral Akainu's scorching-hot magma. Moreover, while the flames are not as inherently destructive as natural fire, they do not completely lack potential for offensive use, as Marco has shown the ability to perform attacks using his flames that, rather than burning, hit with blunt force.



On top of self-healing, the phoenix flames may be applied to other living targets in order to mend them (even many at once if the user manually spreads out their fire by, for example, swirling their wings), but in that capacity to heal others, the flames have a smaller effect. Once the flames have lit other people, they stay with and continuously heal them (the recipients' stamina permitting). This may even extend to diseases, shown when Marco employed his fire to act as a temporary countermeasure to Queen the Plague's cold-inducing virus, increasing the body heat of any infected party caught by the flames to prevent said virus from further spreading through their bodies.

Weaknesses
While powerful, there is a limit to the user's healing factor: that is, the amount of damage from which can be recovered in the long term is limited, as the user is not truly immortal, though precisely where this limit is remains to be specified.

It should be noted that, in battle, while Marco instantly heals fatal wounds upon receiving them, he tends to leave relatively minor ones alone, like scrapes or bruises. Also, his rate of regeneration may be dependent on Marco's own preparedness or the level of his transformation, as seen when he was pierced by Kizaru's lasers from behind while in human form but did not instantly heal, despite the wounds being highly detrimental. Following the war at Marineford, Marco was seen in bandages, hinting at injuries that had not been healed by his flames.

In general, the user's stamina is not unlimited, and it appears that prolonged usage of the flames is physically draining and may impede further use. After fighting two powerful opponents for an extended period and having previously used his flames on dozens of other people, Marco was temporarily put out of commission, which onlookers attributed to his stamina being depleted.

When used on others, the blue flames are not as strong in their healing as when applied to the user's own body, while depending in their efficacy on the recipient's stamina, ceasing to work once it has run out.

Other than that, the user suffers from the standard weaknesses of any Devil Fruit user, like Seastone fully sealing Marco's powers upon contact.

Usage


Marco's abilities have garnered him the epithet "Marco the Phoenix", with the man demonstrating extensive use of his transformation to do aerial combat. Due to the physical and mythical qualities of this Devil Fruit power, it is shown to be very flexible, filling not only offensive and defensive roles in battle but supportive ones too. Marco's bird physiology allows him to fly at significant speeds and utilize his human legs to deliver strong Haki-imbued kicks, knee strikes, or his phoenix legs for slashing talon strikes. Marco can further employ his wings as a means to restrain foes, even extremely strong and fully transformed Ancient Zoan users, shown when Marco immobilized King and Queen—two of the strongest members of the Beasts Pirates with a billion-plus bounties—at once with casual ease. For direct offense, Marco can shape his flames into attacks that, instead of burning, deal concussive damage to opponents.

In combat, Marco's regeneration serves a passive, defensive purpose. He can outright ignore most physical attacks he is faced with, letting melee and ranged blows, even weapons, simply pass through his body before his wounds seamlessly close up and vanish without a trace; this may make it seem, even to formidable adversaries, that he is invincible. Among other things, Marco has been seen shielding his allies using his own body and flames before simply healing himself up afterwards.

In healing others, Marco's flames have shown immense usefulness on battlefields where there are a lot of potential allies to be mended, whether from injury or infection. For the Whitebeard Pirates, Marco's healing let him serve his years as an efficient ship doctor; following the crew's disbandment, it instead helped him do doctorship on Sphinx.

Marco has made practical usage of flying to traverse battlefields quickly and bypass enemies on the ground, in order to supervise whatever fighting is going on (as he did during the Summit War of Marineford in Whitebeard's place), to relay important intel, and to possibly carry others with him. In his apprentice days, Marco acted as a scout for the Whitebeard Pirates, investigating unknown islands.

Like other Zoan users, Marco can freely choose between entering his full Beast Form or that of a human-phoenix hybrid, but unlike most Zoan users seen so far, Marco can undergo selective transformation of only parts of his body, without changing his full appearance; most often shifting just his arms into phoenix wings and his legs into phoenix legs, while his head and torso remain unchanged. If this is a mark of Marco's superior control over his powers or simply a distinct facet of the phoenix transformation remains unclear.

Techniques



 * Fujiazami: A defensive move that has Marco, in his phoenix form, jump in front of someone he wishes to shield from an attack. While midair, he forms a protective swirl of fire in front of him, out of his wings, in order to block the attack in question. Being Marco's first-seen technique, Fujiazami was used by him (but not named) when protecting Whitebeard from Kizaru during the Summit War, warding off the admiral's Yasakani no Magatama. It was named during the battle at Onigashima when Marco used the technique to block King's Andon attack, protecting a bandaged-up Roronoa Zoro. Later on, the technique proved strong enough to block Kaidou's Bolo Breath. The move's name is a pun on fujiazami (富士薊), the name of the Japanese Fuji thistle. The Viz manga calls the technique Undying Thistle.




 * Hoo-in: While midair, Marco readies his phoenix talons in front of him, and then delivers an extremely forceful, two-legged kick to a target (in the anime with a single leg). This move, when first shown by Marco, was strong enough to knock back the Queen Mama Chanter, an enormous ship. Later when used against Queen, the attack came in the form of a concentrated fireball (similar to Marco's Bluebird attack) that was launched at and dealt a powerful blow to the All-Star's brachiosaurus neck, making Queen cough up blood and question if he had been hit by some shockwave. This attack's name contains the Japanese name for the fenghuang (hōō), an immortal bird originating in Chinese mythology that is often compared to the Western phoenix, being sometimes called "Chinese phoenix" (despite mythological similarities between the two being only superficial). In the Viz manga, this technique is called Phoenix Brand.




 * Nashi no Tsubute: A support-type move for which Marco transforms his arms into phoenix wings and swirls them around, thereby spreading his flames to a potential multitude of people, setting them on fire in order to heal them. The technique was first seen being used by Marco to counteract the "Ice Oni" virus in numerous infected at Skull Dome's Live Floor, keeping the flames at just the right temperature to slow the virus' effects. However, it is noted that the flames cease to work the moment the affected run out of physical stamina. The technique's name is a pun: the kanji include an antiquated Japanese word for pineapple, hōri (鳳梨), which plays on Marco's likeness to said fruit (as mentioned in-story) and in itself contains the kanji hō (鳳) for "feng" (a fenghuang's male aspect); however, the furigana indicate the reading Nashi no Tsubute (梨の礫), which is an idiom that literally means "tossing the pear", referring to a lack of reply after asking something (the "nashi" for "pear" sounds the same as "nashi" for "nothing"). In the Viz manga, the technique is called Phoenix Pyreapple.




 * Bluebird: An attack where Marco uses his outstretched index and middle fingers to make a dense, flaming swirl of phoenix feathers in front of him, remotely shaping it into a large fireball that he launches straight toward an enemy in a thrust-like, concussive attack. When first shown performing this technique, Marco used one of his cut-off wings as a medium to produce the feathers, and the resulting attack was able to send the All-Star King flying back with immense force. The bluebird is a passerine bird named for the blue color of its plumage. The attack's name may also reference (given the kanji for "goose") how in Chinese myth, especially per ancient texts, the fenghuang is said to bear various animal resemblances, including having the breast of a goose. In the Viz manga, the technique is called Bluebird.


 * Ongle: A melee attack similar to Hoo-in, where Marco uses a phoenix leg to powerfully kick an opponent, but this time uses a single leg, with its four sharp talons doing slashing damage. This kickproved strong enough to send Queen the Plague flying with great force, while gashing his face. Ongle is French for "nail". The attack's name may also (given the kanji) play on how the fenghuang is said, per modern descriptions, to be the composite of various birds, including having a crane's legs. In the Viz manga, the technique is called Crane Talons.

Video Game Techniques

 * Saisei no Hono (再生の炎): Used as his Level 1 Special Attack in Pirate Warriors 2 and 3, where Marco changes into a phoenix and flaps his wings, restoring life around him while sending out a shockwave. In the game's English release, the technique is called Rebirth Flame.


 * Tensei no Soen (転生の蒼炎): Marco changes into a phoenix, spirals around enemies to gather them into the air, then charges into the ground from a very high altitude, causing a shockwave. It is used in Pirate Warriors 2 and 3 as his Level 2 Special Attack. In the game's English release, the technique is called Blue Transmigration Flame.


 * Phoenix Goen (豪炎): Marco shoots a powerful, fiery shockwave forward from his wings while airborne, thereby suffering from some slight recoil. The move is seen in Pirate Warriors 3 as Marco's Kizuna Rush Special Attack. In the game's English release, the technique is called Phoenix Inferno.


 * Zoan-kei Genjushu (「系」幻獣種): Marco soars into the air and sends an enemy flying, then flies to the airborne enemy and kicks him down to the ground like he did with Kizaru during the Summit War of Marineford. This attack appears in Burning Blood. In the game's English release, the technique is called Mythical Zoan.


 * Genju Rengeki (幻獣連撃): Marco flies towards an enemy, continuing with subsequent hits caused by flying into them. This move appears in Burning Blood. In the game's English release, the technique is called Beast Chain.


 * Ichibantai Taicho (1番隊隊長): Marco covers himself in his phoenix flames and counters attacks from enemies situated around him. If hit from close range he spins around, which causes the enemy to be sent flying away. If hit by projectiles from afar, he flies into the enemy. This move is another one to appear in Burning Blood. In the game's English release, the technique is called 1st Squad Commander.

History
Three decades ago, a 15-year-old Marco had already eaten from the fruit, seeming well-versed in utilizing his phoenix transformation.

Trivia

 * This fruit's power combines traits of both the Western phoenix and the Chinese fenghuang:
 * The fruit's name and ability to self-regenerate (implied to almost verge on immortality) seem more based on the motif of the Western phoenix. Per various mythologies such as Classical and Egyptian, the phoenix is said to cyclically regenerate or, most prominently, to resurrect itself after burning its body to ashes, and from those ashes rising anew.
 * The phoenix of real myth, per most accounts, envelopes itself in fire only upon death, self-combusting so that a new phoenix may be born from its ashes; this is unlike Marco's phoenix body, which is always shrouded in flames, and his ability that is more based on healing than actual rebirth. Additionally, while Marco's powers are distinguished by the blue color of his flames, most descriptions/depictions of the Western phoenix, both more modern and traditional, give its bright plumage a red and yellow/gold coloration.
 * The appearance of the phoenix form taken by Marco is more in line with traditional depictions of the Chinese fenghuang: with its slenderness, long neck, crest-resembling flame on the head, eyespot-marked feathers similar to a peacock's, and what seems to be lengthy "tail feathers" made of closed, bound-together circles. More than that, some of Marco's canon techniques contain in their name one or both kanji for fenghuang (鳳凰), while others seem to reference the animal resemblances that in Chinese myth are ascribed to the fenghuang.
 * The phoenix's flames are generally colored blue or a combination of blue and yellow in the manga. In the anime, the flames are more consistently portrayed as a mix of blue and yellow (the former color more predominant).
 * This fruit was the first Mythical Zoan fruit revealed in the series and the second one officially named (after Sengoku's Daibutsu Zoan).
 * This fruit is one of three known Devil Fruits that grant the ability to heal/restore health, the others being the Ope Ope no Mi and Chiyu Chiyu no Mi (both Paramecia-type fruits).
 * As an answer to a SBS joke question, Oda noted that if Marco had his penis ripped off, he could regenerate it.

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