So far, awakening has been extremely rare, with even yonko like kaido and BM not being confirmed to have it. However, I think next arc we will see it a lot more. The blackbeard pirates rely on DFs more than any other crew, and hence I think it would fit their theme if their top commanders were all awakened. It would also put them above the beast pirate commanders, none of whom had awakening.
I think the top commanders of the blackbeard pirates are:
Burgess's awakening
The riki riki no mi is a paramecia. Given the trend by Doffy, Kata, Kid, and Law, this necessitates that Burgess's awakening transfer his powers to the environment. So no, Burgess's awakening won't make him extra-strong, that's what zoan awakening does, and Burgess isn't the next Luffy.
Burgess's base powers make his body really strong, awakening would then make objects really strong. What's the point of making objects strong, you might ask? Well it so happens that such an awakening would perfectly complement Burgess's signature move.
taking big objects and throwing them at people. Usually, destroying a house or a mountain isn't that big of a feat. However, when Burgess imbues awakening into these objects, they will become ultra-durable, making them really hard to destroy. For jinbe, I believe he will need to master CoA and learn how to use internal destruction ryuo in order to overcome burgess's awakening.
Lafitte's awakening
Lafitte seems to be a mythical zoan siren. He can sprout wings and hypnotize people, all of which are siren abilities. So I'm just going to assume this is what it is. This awakening will be really cut and dry, standard zoan awakening, what Lucci and Luffy have.
I think the biggest stat boosts awakening will give Lafitte are to his flying abilities and his sound abilities. He will be able to fly really fast and launch powerful sound attacks. A perfect enemy for Sanji. If Sanji's flames are born of his desire, basically a proto-DF ability. It might be possible for Sanji to get an awakening of his own, which is how I think he would beat Lafitte. But I don't think I can really speculate on what that would look like.
Shiryu's awakening
I don't think that Shiryu's suke suke no mi will be his main power. Rather, I think Oda will make him parallel Teach, much like King paralleled Kaido's powers with his mini flame dragon and durability. Oda will do this by making Shiryu effectively use two devil fruits by feeding his sword a DF. Specifically, I think he will feed it Kaido's Seiryu fruit, which I believe Shiryu will awaken.
Why would shiryu awaken this fruit but not kaido? Because I think that the seiryu fruit wasn't meant for a person to eat it, but rather a sword. This is why Oda said that zoro would have the seiryu fruit, if he were to have any DF, but that he would give it to his sword. The seiryu fruit is the ultimate DF for a sword.
Ultimately, the seiryu will make Shiryu an adequate rival for near EoS Zoro. In order to surpass such a powerful blade, Zoro will need to turn enma black. He might also need to access more of asura's power, as he might need all 9 blades in order to hit an invisible shiryu.
I think the top commanders of the blackbeard pirates are:
- Shiryu
- Lafitte
- Burgess
Burgess's awakening
The riki riki no mi is a paramecia. Given the trend by Doffy, Kata, Kid, and Law, this necessitates that Burgess's awakening transfer his powers to the environment. So no, Burgess's awakening won't make him extra-strong, that's what zoan awakening does, and Burgess isn't the next Luffy.
Burgess's base powers make his body really strong, awakening would then make objects really strong. What's the point of making objects strong, you might ask? Well it so happens that such an awakening would perfectly complement Burgess's signature move.
taking big objects and throwing them at people. Usually, destroying a house or a mountain isn't that big of a feat. However, when Burgess imbues awakening into these objects, they will become ultra-durable, making them really hard to destroy. For jinbe, I believe he will need to master CoA and learn how to use internal destruction ryuo in order to overcome burgess's awakening.
Lafitte's awakening
Lafitte seems to be a mythical zoan siren. He can sprout wings and hypnotize people, all of which are siren abilities. So I'm just going to assume this is what it is. This awakening will be really cut and dry, standard zoan awakening, what Lucci and Luffy have.
I think the biggest stat boosts awakening will give Lafitte are to his flying abilities and his sound abilities. He will be able to fly really fast and launch powerful sound attacks. A perfect enemy for Sanji. If Sanji's flames are born of his desire, basically a proto-DF ability. It might be possible for Sanji to get an awakening of his own, which is how I think he would beat Lafitte. But I don't think I can really speculate on what that would look like.
Shiryu's awakening
I don't think that Shiryu's suke suke no mi will be his main power. Rather, I think Oda will make him parallel Teach, much like King paralleled Kaido's powers with his mini flame dragon and durability. Oda will do this by making Shiryu effectively use two devil fruits by feeding his sword a DF. Specifically, I think he will feed it Kaido's Seiryu fruit, which I believe Shiryu will awaken.
Why would shiryu awaken this fruit but not kaido? Because I think that the seiryu fruit wasn't meant for a person to eat it, but rather a sword. This is why Oda said that zoro would have the seiryu fruit, if he were to have any DF, but that he would give it to his sword. The seiryu fruit is the ultimate DF for a sword.
- Dragon scales increase the blade's durability, making the sword one of the most durable blades in OP
- amplifies flying slashes, as the seiryu's roar can create flying slashes
- Gives the swordsman access to fire and lightning slashes
- the dragon's massive size would make the blade's slashes extremely powerful
Ultimately, the seiryu will make Shiryu an adequate rival for near EoS Zoro. In order to surpass such a powerful blade, Zoro will need to turn enma black. He might also need to access more of asura's power, as he might need all 9 blades in order to hit an invisible shiryu.
