The Horu Horu no Mi is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that grants the user the ability to create various special hormones that can affect anyone they are injected into however the user desires, making the user a Hormone Controlling Human (ホルモン自在人間,Horumon Jizai Ningen?). It was eaten by Emporio Ivankov.[2]
"Horu" is short for horumon (ホルモン?), the Japanese way of pronouncing the word "hormone".
In the Viz Manga, FUNimation subs and dub, it is called the Horm-Horm Fruit, shortening the word "hormone".
Strengths and Weaknesses
The major strength of the fruit, as demonstrated by Iva, is to create special hormones. These hormones can manipulate various aspects of a person such as gender, body temperature, pigmentation, growth, and even emotional state. The hormones can also be used to greatly increase a person's battle capabilities through healing and energizing. By turning four of their fingers into syringes and stabbing a person, the user is able to inject these hormones and change the person on a genetic level to whatever the user desires.[2] This process can also be used by the user on themselves to aid them.[3]
Other than that, the fruit seems to have no other weaknesses outside the standard Devil Fruit weakness.[4]
Usage
The fruit's bestowed hormone powers, as used by Iva, have been used for a variety of reasons. Iva seems to enjoy playing around with the concept of "gender" as he and his ally Inazuma are seen switching in and out their male and female forms. In addition, supposedly all the Newkamas of level 5.5 have switched sexes. Though Iva enjoys playing around with his powers, they can also make him a powerful and persistent opponent in battle. Iva has clashed with the likes of Prison Warden Magellan and Marine Admiral Akainu[5] and has come out of these battles with little harm, despite the deadlyabilities of both opponents. Iva's quick recoveries are due to his ability to greatly heal and energize his body through hormones.[6][7]
The fruit's powers are the source of Ivankov's "miraculous" reputation, which, aside from gender changing, allow Iva to perform other miracles on people besides himself, such as extremely fast super healing, using the hormones to allow for a person's body to adjust from a fatal-condition to having a chance of survival. However, while he can make the adjustment within the body to heal from these conditions, the miracle is also dependent on the person hit by the hormones, whereas only those with a strong enough will can survive and use their survival instincts via the hormones to their advantage. Depending on what the condition the patient is in, as well as the hormones used, the receiver may suffer a shortening of lifespan in exchange for the "cure".[8]
The named techniques that are used by Emporio Ivankov that involve the Devil Fruit are as follows:
Emporio Onna Hormone.
Emporio Onna Hormone (エンポリオ･女ホルモン,Enporio Onna Horumon?, literally meaning "Emporio Female Hormone"): By injecting a male with special female hormones, Iva is able to completely transform them into a female. He can also use this on himself, doing so when he fights Sadi.[9] When a male is turned into a female, their body becomes soft, allowing them to withstand serious blunt force. It appears that this technique does not affect the clothes of the person who is transformed, as every time someone is hit with this technique their physical appearance changes, but their clothes become too small or big for them.[1] This was first seen being used on Bellett, who was trying to get revenge on Iva.[1] In the Viz Manga, this is called Emporio Estrogen, and in the FUNimation dub it is called Emporio Female Hormone.
Unnamed Male Hormone: By injecting a female with special male hormones, Iva is able to completely transform them into a male.[10] Like the Female Hormone, it appears that this technique does not affect the clothes of the person who is transformed, as every time someone is hit with this technique their physical appearance changes, but their clothes may become too small or big for them.[1] This usage for his ability is not a named technique.
Emporio Chiyu Hormone (エンポリオ･治癒ホルモン,Enporio Chiyu Horumon?, literally meaning "Emporio Healing Hormone"): By injecting special hormones meant to stimulate the body's immune system's full potential into a sick person, Iva is able to cure them of serious disease and poisoning. This is the secret to his "miracle" healing. Since the hormones only unlock the immune system's potential, the chance of survival is mostly based upon the individual's will to live. In order to use this technique, a certain amount of the target's life-span must be sacrificed in order to compensate for the energy used to heal the damage. In the case of Luffy being exposed to various deadly poisons and having only 24 hours to live, it took 10 years of his life-span. In the case of things like poison it seems to make them immune to the very ailment that plagued them. This was first seen being used on Luffy to counteract Magellan's poison.[11] In the Viz Manga, this is called Emporio Healing Synthesis, while in the FUNimation dub it is called Emporio Healing Hormone.
For the chapter titled "Emporio Tension Hormones", see Chapter 539.
Emporio Tension Hormone (エンポリオ･テンションホルモン,Enporio Tenshon Horumon?): By injecting special adrenaline affecting hormones, Ivankov can provide a tired person with a supply of adrenaline that can relieve tension and allow for easier movement for an entire day. There is an aftereffect after being injected with this hormone, which causes the user to feel nauseaous and tired. There is a limit to how much fatigue the hormones can relieve, as Ivankov warned Luffy that he would not be getting up again after receiving a second dose. This was first seen being used on an exhausted Luffy.[12] Ivankov has also used this together with Emporio Healing Hormones to recover quickly from fatal poisoning.[6] This is called Emporio Energy Synthesis in the Viz Manga and Emporio Energy Hormone in the FUNimation subs and dub.
Emporio Ganmen Seicho Hormone.
Emporio Ganmen Seicho Hormone (エンポリオ・顔面成長ホルモン,Enporio Ganmen Seichō Horumon?, literally meaning "Emporio Face Growth Hormone"): By injecting special growth hormones into ones face, Ivankov can make a person's head expand to enormous proportions that surpass even giants. This was first seen used by Ivankov on himself during the escape from Impel Downlevel 4[3] to make his Death Wink technique into a more powerful version called Hell Wink.[13] While his head is in this state, it allows his hair to hold up to at least 235 people inside it.[14] This is called Emporio Face Growth Synthesis in the Viz Manga and FUNimation subs and dub.
Anime and Manga Differences
In the manga, Ivankov forced a guard to show him where Ace's cell was. In the anime, he used his Emporio Onna Hormones to turn the guard into a woman and persuaded her to tell him where the cell was.[15]
In the anime version of his confrontation with Akainu, Ivankov used his syringe needles as slashing weapons in conjunction with his Newkama Kenpo.[16]
Translation and Dub Issues
The Devil Fruit's gender changing hormones were first seen being used on a male prisoner. In the magazine serialization of the Viz Manga, when the guy was changed into a girl, a top was added to her for censorship reasons despite the guy appearing shirtless earlier.
Trivia
The Straw Hats genderswapped.
In a SBS, a fan asked Oda if he would draw the Straw Hats as they would if they were gender-swapped by Iva's hormones. In response, Oda provided the following drawings. For the male crewmembers turned female, they would use a typical Japanese feminine style of talking. The opposite is also said for the female crew members with them using a typical Japanese masculine style of talking. Female Luffy is apparently a vegetarian. Female Zoro apparently does not like putting a sword in her mouth as it would chip her teeth. Female Sanji's specialty would be sweets. For most of the Straw Hats, the gender-swap is very apparent. Brook, however, is not so apparent since he has no flesh to help identify whether he was injected with Iva's gender changing hormones or not.[17]
This, along with the Soru Soru no Mi, are the only known devil fruits that shave off another lifespan.
This power is an exaggeration, but not complete fabrication, of what hormones actually can do. Hormones really do control many biological functions in the body, including (but not limited to) growth, behavior, energy, and secondary sex characteristics.
↑ 6.06.1One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 56Chapter 549 (p. 4) and Episode 452, Ivankov states that he recovered from Magellan's poison using a combination of healing and tension hormones.
↑One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59Chapter 581 (p. 10-11) and Episode 490, Ivankov has recovered from his fight with Akainu.
