Iba Iba no Mi

Iba Iba no Mi
Statistics
Japanese Name:	イバイバの実
Official English Name:	Thorn-Thorn Fruit
Meaning:	Thorn
Usage Debut:	Chapter 1143
Type:	Paramecia
Current User:	Shepherd Sommers

The Iba Iba no Mi is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that grants the power to create and manipulate thorns and thorn-covered vines, making the user a Thorn Human (荊（イバラ）人間, Ibara Ningen^?, VIZ: "Thorn-Man"). It was eaten by Shepherd Sommers.

Etymology

• Iba is short for ibara (荊^?), which means "thorn" or "thorny shrub/briar".

Strengths and Weaknesses

A user of this power can manifest thorny vines, as well as individual thorns, from their body or nearby surfaces, which can be controlled at will and altered in length, thickness, and (to a degree) shape. The thorns are razor-sharp, easily piercing flesh at the slightest touch, and the briars' overall resilience is such that they are described as "iron thorns" (鉄の荊（イバラ）, tetsu no ibara^?).

The briars can be used in assorted ways, being especially useful for combat and deterrence. They can be weaponized as stabbing tendrils, deployed for defense, or grown over the battlefield to keep enemies from moving freely, lest they be cut. Anything covered in the thorns becomes harmful to touch: be it the user's own body, a handheld weapon, other people to render them untouchable and/or captive, or the surrounding terrain to create a hazardous zone. Beyond combat, the vines may serve auxiliary purposes like aiding movement: e.g. being ridden or used like grapnels.

Invisible thorn vines surrounding a target, inflicting damage when touched.

A special application of the Iba Iba no Mi's power involves putting an invisible coil of thorns on a living target, which will hover around them without making contact or hampering their movements; any unwitting bystander who then touches the seemingly unprotected victim(s) will fall into the trap and suffer severe lacerations, all the while the thorns' invisibility makes discerning the power at work difficult. If this aspect of the fruit's power is used in conjunction with some means to guide the movements of the thorn-bound victim(s), it becomes exceedingly difficult to physically divert them off their path; attempts to do so (e.g., using objects to break contact, like shields and ropes) may be possible but impractical given extraneous factors. Furthermore, the invisible thorns offer no extra protection against non-living threats (e.g. fire), and two or more entangled victims may still be hurt by each other's thorns should they collide.

Due to the power's limited range of effect, the thorns may disappear if the user is forced far enough away from them, as deduced by Nico Robin. Additionally, it appears that the ability user themself is not fully immune to their own thorns, as they can be pierced by and feel pain from them. Otherwise, the fruit comes with the standard Devil Fruit weaknesses.

Usage

Sommers excels at using his thorns for battle and trap-setting. He likes to gloat about his power and takes sadistic pleasure in exploiting his victims' emotional bonds to inflict pain, deeming the tragedy of loved ones trying to reach each other only to be hurt by and die to his thorns a poetically beautiful prospect. Sommers' knack for traps is made evident during the hostage-taking "game" that Shamrock suggested the God's Knights play on Elbaph. To create a favorable scenario for the kidnapping of Walrus School students, Sommers and his fellow knights synergized their powers: Killingham made batches of giant children fall asleep remotely, Gunko had them sleepwalk along an arrow-guided path, and Sommers made them untouchable using invisible thorns, grievously wounding would-be rescuers.

Saul left grievously wounded by Sommers' briars.

Sommers' thorns are brutally effective in combat, causing deep lacerations with every hit. Summoning sprawling thickets or beds of thorns allows Sommers to hinder enemy movement as he himself attacks, securing a battlefield advantage. The vines' sturdiness makes them similarly potent in offense, as a stabbing weapon, and in defense to block incoming attacks. Given their sharpness, the thorns are also ideal for restraint, allowing Sommers to swiftly wrap up a foe in a bramble and leave them unable to struggle free without injury. The God's Knight can likewise grow thorns all over his body, goring anyone close to him, and convert his sword into a spiked bludgeon much bigger than himself to deliver a mix of crushing and puncture damage. Overall, Sommers' thorn powers make him a troublesome opponent to face especially in hand-to-hand combat and have allowed him to single-handedly dispatch a giant of Jaguar D. Saul's caliber, as well as briefly hold off an elderly Scopper Gaban.

Sommers riding snake-like bramble.

Besides combat, Sommers is seen using his power for mobility purposes, such as riding atop a bramble to cross distances without having to physically exert himself; interestingly, he is able to make a bramble take on the shape of a serpent, complete with eyes and a mouth lined with fang-like thorns, but if this "serpent" mount is some quasi-living thing or not is unclear. Alternatively, Sommers can use his ability to break a fall from a high altitude, by extending a vine to latch onto something above him like a makeshift grapnel.

Techniques

Sommers Ibarrier to block a Haki-infused attack.

• Ibarrier (荊壁（イバリア）, Ibaria^?, lit. "Thorny Wall"): Sommers makes several thorned vines erupt from the ground in front of him to block an incoming attack. The vines have proven resilient enough to block Scopper Gaban's Haki-infused axe. The technique's name is a portmanteau of ibara ("thorns") and baria ("barrier"). In the VIZ manga, the move is called Thorn-Sulation, a play on the word "Insulation".
  

Sommers uses Ibarush and Guren Jigoku together.

• Ibarush (荊狩（イバラッシュ）, Ibarasshu^?, lit. "Thorny Hunt"): Sommers summons several thick briars behind him, then sends them rushing point-first at an opponent to skewer them. He was first seen using this attack against Gaban, who easily cut the vines apart with his axe. The technique's name is a portmanteau of ibara ("thorns") and rasshu, based on the English word "rush" (with shu 狩（シュ） using the kanji's go-on reading to suit the pun). In the VIZ manga, the attack is called Thorn Hunt.

• Guren Jigoku (紅蓮地獄, Guren Jigoku^?, lit. "Crimson Lotus Hell"): Sommers covers the ground around him in a bed of thorns, making it difficult for opponents to approach him or gain footing. The technique is named after a Buddhist hell, the Hell of the Crimson Lotus; this name is shared by Level 1 of Impel Down, which contains "Haribarisō" (針々草^?, lit. "Needle Grass") made of sharp metal and soaked red with blood, which Sommers' thorns resemble. The VIZ manga calls the attack Crimson Lotus Hell.

Trivia

• Sommers has seemingly referenced the old proverb "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" when describing his power, although he fumbled the meaning in order to create the metaphor that "Every loved one has their thorns" (「愛しい者には棘がある」, "Itoshī mono ni wa toge ga aru"^?, VIZ: "Every love has its thorns").
• This fruit's power being used in conjunction with Killingham's ability may reference the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, the German and Japanese titles of which, respectively, translate to "Little Briar Rose" (Dornröschen) and "Thorn Princess" (茨姫, Ibarahime^?).
• The Iba Iba no Mi is similar to the Toge Toge no Mi in that both fruits deal with spikes: the Toge Toge no Mi exclusively makes the ability user's body spiky while the Iba Iba no Mi's thorns can be applied to the user, other people, or the surrounding environment.
• The fruit's thorns being compared to iron makes it similar to the Ordeal of Iron operated by the Skypiean priest Ohm. In Ohm's case, his ability to create thorny iron wires comes from his usage of iron clouds stored in a Milky Dial rather than a Devil Fruit.

External links

• Thorns, spines, and prickles – Wikipedia article about spinose structures on plants.