Here is why Blackbeard is after Boa Hancock's Mero Mero no Mi.
One Piece 1059 saw Yonko Blackbeard make his move and head towards the island of women, Amazon Lily, which lies in the Calm Belt. In One Piece 956, fans saw him claim that he wants to steal an ability for himself, however, the ability that he was talking about was not made known at the time. Most of the fans assumed that Blackbeard was talking about Sabo and wanted to acquire the Mera Mera no Mi, which is something that he's wanted for quite a long time.
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Recently, it was revealed that Blackbeard was instead targeting the Mero Mero no Mi, a paramecia-type Devil Fruit that belongs to none other than the Snake Princess and the Empress of Amazon Lily, Boa Hancock. Blackbeard attacked the island a few weeks ago and nearly got his hands on her powers. He claimed that he had been patiently waiting for quite a long time to acquire her ability, which raises the question of why he chose to acquire this fruit in the first place.
The reason why Blackbeard chose this fruit is quite an interesting topic to discuss. The powers of this Devil Fruit are certainly immense. Fans saw them being used during the Amazon lily arc, followed by the Paramount War, and even on a few occasions after the time skip. Hancock's abilities are certainly very dangerous, however, they are tied to her beauty. Anyone who lusts after her or is attracted to her, regardless of their sex, can easily be turned into stone by her within a matter of seconds. At the same time, she has other abilities up her sleeve that allow her to turn those who aren't attracted to her, if any, to stone by merely making contact with them. Techniques such as Perfume Femur, Slave Arrow, and Pistol Kiss, among others can turn even inanimate objects into stone, making this ability truly fearsome.
The petrification powers of this fruit are certainly quite interesting and could be the reason why Blackbeard wanted it in the first place. However, Blackbeard is certainly not beautiful in any way and would have trouble making full use of its powers. This makes it quite difficult for him to be a good user of the Mero Mero no Mi, unless he knows about some secrets of the fruits that the story hasn't revealed just yet.
As fans know, Blackbeard is the first person in the world of One Piece to have eaten two Devil Fruits. He acquired the Yami Yami no Mi from Thatch by murdering him in cold blood while he was a member of the Whitebeard Pirates. By jumping ship, Blackbeard finally made his move and started his own career as a pirate. He established the Blackbeard Pirates and soon rose to infamy. Blackbeard claimed that this Devil Fruit was the strongest of all, especially in the Logia class. Shortly afterwards, he was offered the position of Shichibukai, which he used to raid Impel Down and acquire a powerful crew.
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Making his arrival late on Marineford, he killed Whitebeard and successfully stole his ability. He became the user of the Gura Gura no Mi, which is a Paramecia type of Devil Fruit and the strongest in its class as well. This fruit is known to hold the power to destroy the whole world. At this point, Blackbeard had now acquired the strongest Paramecia and the strongest Logia Devil Fruits. After the time skip, his hunt for powerful Devil Fruits continued and this eventually led him to Amazon Lily, the Island of Women.
In One Piece 1059, Blackbeard claimed that he had been patiently waiting to get his hands on the Mero Mero no Mi for quite a while. This is rather interesting as Blackbeard did not want this fruit for one of his crewmates. Rather, he wanted to take this ability for himself which he only does in case the fruits are rather special. He has the strongest Paramecia, the strongest Logia, and the only one missing is the strongest Zoan. It would make sense for him to acquire a very powerful Zoan devil fruit, however, the Mero Mero no Mi was clearly revealed to have Paramecia-like powers.
Furthermore, its powers aren't even suited to a ragged-looking character such as Blackbeard. It makes little sense for Blackbeard to want this fruit; unless he knows something about it that fans don't just yet. Blackbeard only hunts the most special of devil fruits for himself. At the same time, he should be on the hunt for a Zoan type of Devil Fruit. Looking back at how Hancock acquired this fruit, it is rather strange that both her sisters received Zoan fruits and she received a Paramecia one. However, it is also possible that Hancock's fruit is not a Paramecia type at all. All things indicate towards her fruit being extremely special so it is entirely possible for her fruit to actually be a Zoan type as well.
This would parallel well to Luffy being revealed as the user of Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika recently. In reality, Hancock's fruit might well be an incredibly powerful Zoan going by the name of a Snake Goddess, such as Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Medusa. This would check all boxes as it would make her fruit extremely special, especially once awakened. It would explain why Blackbeard wants her fruit as it has both the name of a God and is a Zoan type ability as well. Lastly, it would line up well with all the Gorgon Sisters receiving Zoan powers, with Marigold being given the Hebi Hebi no Mi, Model: King Cobra, Sandersonia being given the Hebi Hebi no Mi, Model: Anaconda, and Hancock being given the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Snake Goddess, possibly Medusa.
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