<p>He's just a skeleton obviously, so he's not really breathing, however, when his body gets drowned slowly by the seawater, his strength begins to fade away (Chapter 493, page 7):</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/gjb4a.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/gjb4al.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>And from this scene, I imagine if he falls into the ocean, like all Devil Fruit users, he will be powerless and be unable to resurface unless helped.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2013-06-05T08:46:09.223Z
2023-08-15T13:54:28.747Z
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Abie Giordano
<p>I imagine it would work something like this:</p>

<p>As a Devil Fruit user, he'd be rendered weak by the submersion. But we've also seen instances of Devil Fruit users' powers being somewhat nullified by submersion in seawater (specified since I have no idea if it applies to bath water, pool water, etc.). For example, Luffy was unable to stretch himself in the Arlong Park arc, but his head was still brought above water by third parties. Similarly, in the Enies Lobby arc, Chopper's rampage was stopped when Franky threw him into the sea, transforming him back into little Chopper.</p>

<p>My thought was that since Brook can't drown, as he has no lungs, the fact that he was submersed in seawater would nullify his Devil Fruit power and his soul would leave his body at the bottom of the ocean.</p>

<p>Just a thought.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-26T05:23:38.860Z
2014-10-26T05:23:38.860Z
Michael
<p>Like all Devil Fruit users, Brook won't be able the move if he is fully submerged underwater, that's a fact.</p>
<p>But will he drown? We've seen Jack the Drought Mammoth guy got trapped in the sea floor still alive but unable to swim himself up, waiting for someone to rescue him because he was a fishman-human hybrid. We don't know whether Brook will drown or not because, during Fishman Island, he was wearing an oxygen bubble underwater, meaning he somehow breathed. Otherwise, he wouldn't need it since he was fully submerged in the water anyway (episode 538).</p>
<p>I always theorized that Brook had invisible organs that could not be touched or felt since he eats and poops, and that requires organs to break down his food and give him energy like all living things. If my theory is correct, then Brook will drown underwater.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-04-04T23:36:08.917Z
2023-08-15T13:54:38.630Z
2023-08-15T13:54:38.630Z
KaTz Frans Chauke
<p>As a skeleton, he has no lungs to drown with. As a Devil Fruit user, he cannot move underwater.</p>
<p>You can make theories about how he works all you want, but as far as we've seen, there is no proof that he can die unless you destroy his skeleton. And even then, we've seen him pull his head back on using his spirit.</p>
<p>It is a known fact that skeletons decompose in salt water, it just takes five or ten years to accomplish. However, we've seen Luffy attack people while his limbs are underwater (Fishman arc) using Haki to protect his stretchy arms, so I'd assume that if Brook ever learned full-body (or full-skeleton?) Haki, he could not only survive the ocean but even walk about underwater unharmed. Swimming I doubt, as he has no flesh to move the water out of his way with. But would he survive? Most certainly.</p>
<p>So to sum it up: Brook COULD survive underwater for five or ten years in paralysis, or indefinitely (or as long as Haki lasts) with full-body Busoshoku Haki.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-03T16:46:12.547Z
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2023-08-15T13:54:41.960Z
Kalyion
<p><a href="https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/14664/2516">Michael</a> brought up the topic of Luffy when nullified. He did tell his Devil Fruit being nullified underwater but was used by a &quot;third party&quot;, so Devil Fruits can still function but the user is paralyzed I think.</p>
<p>So if Brook goes underwater, he doesn't drown because he's breathing nothing literally, so he won't drown. But let's say maybe he's underwater like Luffy. Just like drowning in a dreamlike situation, but he's unconscious like having a battery used 5x faster so it'll be null. But Brook won't die, he'll get unconscious, like &quot;unconscious mode&quot; underwater, so he'll be unconscious only. Even if he ejects his soul in the body because the body is the source of him.</p>
<p>And by Luffy, as his Devil Fruit abilities are still going to be functioning by other people as a third party, well, I don't know about Brook, but he's still having his abilities, but he's like paralyzed.</p>

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2017-05-27T11:18:00.070Z
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2023-08-15T13:54:52.330Z
Jacobe siao
<p>I think you asked this question because you have seen Brook running on water.
No, Brook isn't actually able to drown as he has eaten a Devil Fruit, namely the Revive-Revive Fruit, but he can't die as he is already dead.
As per Brook's statement, when a person who has eaten this particular fruit has died, his soul would have to descend to Earth and find its body to be revived. But Brook happened to die in the Florian Triangle, which was so engulfed in darkness that Brook's spirit had trouble finding the body. And when he finally found it, Brook had already turned into a skeleton.</p>
<p>But we also see that Brook is able to literally &quot;run&quot; on water. This is because he is a very light-weight person. But of he were to stop running, he would immediately sink.</p>
<p>Had Brook's spirit found its body before he became a skeleton, then Brook wouldn't be so light as he is, thus he wouldn't be able to run on water.</p>
<p>So, if he is dropped into the ocean, he can survive by running on the Ocean's surface. But if he is released under the ocean like from a submarine, then he would lose his strength, but we can't say that he would die cus he is already dead.</p>
<p>It was a Skull Joke</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-08-15T10:17:28.237Z
I don't see how any of this answers the question of whether Brook can drown or not. You say that he can, but offer no evidence. How do you *know* Brook can drown?
F1Krazy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-08-18T15:26:04.967Z
He can run on the ocean when he falls down from ABOVE. But he can drown when he is released into the water under the surface. Something like he is seated in the Shark Submersible, the submarine breaks down, he comes into contact with water, loses strength and drowns. Just a thought
Ayan Dutta
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-08-18T15:48:39.873Z
That's not the part I'm questioning. The part I'm questioning - and the entire point of the question - is the actual "drown" bit. How do you know that that's what will happen if he's released underwater? Is he, as a skeleton, *actually physically capable* of drowning?
F1Krazy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-08-18T17:28:14.347Z
He's bound to drown cus he is a Devil Fruit eater, as soon as he makes contact with water, he drowns. I mentioned his running on water cus he is so light that he can run on water before he loses his strength.
Ayan Dutta
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-08-18T17:29:11.640Z
Also bones are pretty heavy and dense compared to water. He is just bones, even if he was just a dead skeleton he would just drown.
Ayan Dutta
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2023-08-18T17:32:39.903Z
"he is a Devil Fruit eater, as soon as he makes contact with water, he drowns" - is that how it works? I thought Devil Fruit users were merely unable to swim. Note that "dying as soon as you touch water" still doesn't count as drowning. "He is just bones" - in that case, wouldn't that mean he has no respiratory system, and therefore cannot drown?
F1Krazy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-08-18T17:34:07.877Z
Basically, this question can be rephrased as "Does Brook need to breathe?" If he does, then he can drown; if he doesn't, then he can't (because lack of air won't kill him). You need to address that in order to answer this.
F1Krazy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-08-18T17:38:43.247Z
Drowning is not surviving under water, it's being unable to go up to the surface of the water and continuously going down. Brook is literally BONES, on top of that he is already dead, he is talking bones. Just why does he even need to breathe. He won't die due to suffocation, he's already dead, but he would sink and not rise up until someone helps him
Ayan Dutta
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-08-18T17:40:24.440Z
He ACTUALLY has no respiratory system.
Ayan Dutta
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-08-18T17:44:11.180Z
"Drowning is [...] being unable to go up to the surface of the water and continuously going down." No, that's *sinking*. [*Drowning* is when your lungs fill with water and you die from lack of oxygen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drowning). If Brook has no lungs, then he can't drown.
F1Krazy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-08-15T08:32:14.390Z
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2023-08-18T18:09:43.113Z
Ayan Dutta
<p>It is known that the <em>Yomi Yomi no Mi</em> fruit will only revive its user once, and also that Devil Fruit users can't swim, so I was wondering... <strong>What would happen if Brook falls into the ocean?</strong> I mean, even if he's alive, as a skeleton he has no lungs, so he should just be unable to go back to the surface, shouldn't he?</p>

<one-piece>
Is Brook able to drown?
# Is Brook able to drown?
Posted by: username_0 on 2013-06-04
It is known that the *Yomi Yomi no Mi* fruit will only revive its user once, and also that Devil Fruit users can't swim, so I was wondering... **What would happen if Brook falls into the ocean?** I mean, even if he's alive, as a skeleton he has no lungs, so he should just be unable to go back to the surface, shouldn't he?
**Tags:** one-piece
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## 6 answers
### Answer by username_1 on 2013-06-05. Score: 7
He's just a skeleton obviously, so he's not really breathing, however, when his body gets drowned slowly by the seawater, his strength begins to fade away (Chapter 493, page 7):

[![](https://i.sstatic.net/gjb4al.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/gjb4a.jpg)

And from this scene, I imagine if he falls into the ocean, like all Devil Fruit users, he will be powerless and be unable to resurface unless helped.
---
### Answer by username_2 on 2014-10-26. Score: 1
I imagine it would work something like this:

As a Devil Fruit user, he'd be rendered weak by the submersion. But we've also seen instances of Devil Fruit users' powers being somewhat nullified by submersion in seawater (specified since I have no idea if it applies to bath water, pool water, etc.). For example, Luffy was unable to stretch himself in the Arlong Park arc, but his head was still brought above water by third parties. Similarly, in the Enies Lobby arc, Chopper's rampage was stopped when Franky threw him into the sea, transforming him back into little Chopper.

My thought was that since Brook can't drown, as he has no lungs, the fact that he was submersed in seawater would nullify his Devil Fruit power and his soul would leave his body at the bottom of the ocean.

Just a thought.
---
### Answer by username_3 on 2018-04-04. Score: 0
Like all Devil Fruit users, Brook won't be able the move if he is fully submerged underwater, that's a fact.

But will he drown? We've seen Jack the Drought Mammoth guy got trapped in the sea floor still alive but unable to swim himself up, waiting for someone to rescue him because he was a fishman-human hybrid. We don't know whether Brook will drown or not because, during Fishman Island, he was wearing an oxygen bubble underwater, meaning he somehow breathed. Otherwise, he wouldn't need it since he was fully submerged in the water anyway (episode 538).

I always theorized that Brook had invisible organs that could not be touched or felt since he eats and poops, and that requires organs to break down his food and give him energy like all living things. If my theory is correct, then Brook will drown underwater.
---
### Answer by username_4 on 2018-06-03. Score: 0
As a skeleton, he has no lungs to drown with. As a Devil Fruit user, he cannot move underwater.

You can make theories about how he works all you want, but as far as we've seen, there is no proof that he can die unless you destroy his skeleton. And even then, we've seen him pull his head back on using his spirit.

It is a known fact that skeletons decompose in salt water, it just takes five or ten years to accomplish. However, we've seen Luffy attack people while his limbs are underwater (Fishman arc) using Haki to protect his stretchy arms, so I'd assume that if Brook ever learned full-body (or full-skeleton?) Haki, he could not only survive the ocean but even walk about underwater unharmed. Swimming I doubt, as he has no flesh to move the water out of his way with. But would he survive? Most certainly.

So to sum it up: Brook COULD survive underwater for five or ten years in paralysis, or indefinitely (or as long as Haki lasts) with full-body Busoshoku Haki.
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### Answer by username_5 on 2017-05-27. Score: 0
[Michael](https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/14664/2516) brought up the topic of Luffy when nullified. He did tell his Devil Fruit being nullified underwater but was used by a "third party", so Devil Fruits can still function but the user is paralyzed I think.

So if Brook goes underwater, he doesn't drown because he's breathing nothing literally, so he won't drown. But let's say maybe he's underwater like Luffy. Just like drowning in a dreamlike situation, but he's unconscious like having a battery used 5x faster so it'll be null. But Brook won't die, he'll get unconscious, like "unconscious mode" underwater, so he'll be unconscious only. Even if he ejects his soul in the body because the body is the source of him.

And by Luffy, as his Devil Fruit abilities are still going to be functioning by other people as a third party, well, I don't know about Brook, but he's still having his abilities, but he's like paralyzed.
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### Answer by username_6 on 2023-08-15. Score: 0
I think you asked this question because you have seen Brook running on water.
No, Brook isn't actually able to drown as he has eaten a Devil Fruit, namely the Revive-Revive Fruit, but he can't die as he is already dead.
As per Brook's statement, when a person who has eaten this particular fruit has died, his soul would have to descend to Earth and find its body to be revived. But Brook happened to die in the Florian Triangle, which was so engulfed in darkness that Brook's spirit had trouble finding the body. And when he finally found it, Brook had already turned into a skeleton.

But we also see that Brook is able to literally "run" on water. This is because he is a very light-weight person. But of he were to stop running, he would immediately sink.

Had Brook's spirit found its body before he became a skeleton, then Brook wouldn't be so light as he is, thus he wouldn't be able to run on water.

So, if he is dropped into the ocean, he can survive by running on the Ocean's surface. But if he is released under the ocean like from a submarine, then he would lose his strength, but we can't say that he would die cus he is already dead.

It was a Skull Joke
> **Comments:**
> **username_7** (2023-08-15): I don't see how any of this answers the question of whether Brook can drown or not. You say that he can, but offer no evidence. How do you *know* Brook can drown?  
> **username_6** (2023-08-18): He can run on the ocean when he falls down from ABOVE. But he can drown when he is released into the water under the surface. Something like he is seated in the Shark Submersible, the submarine breaks down, he comes into contact with water, loses strength and drowns. Just a thought  
> **username_7** (2023-08-18): That's not the part I'm questioning. The part I'm questioning - and the entire point of the question - is the actual "drown" bit. How do you know that that's what will happen if he's released underwater? Is he, as a skeleton, *actually physically capable* of drowning?  
> **username_6** (2023-08-18): He's bound to drown cus he is a Devil Fruit eater, as soon as he makes contact with water, he drowns. I mentioned his running on water cus he is so light that he can run on water before he loses his strength.  
> **username_6** (2023-08-18): Also bones are pretty heavy and dense compared to water. He is just bones, even if he was just a dead skeleton he would just drown.  
> **username_7** (2023-08-18): "he is a Devil Fruit eater, as soon as he makes contact with water, he drowns" - is that how it works? I thought Devil Fruit users were merely unable to swim. Note that "dying as soon as you touch water" still doesn't count as drowning. "He is just bones" - in that case, wouldn't that mean he has no respiratory system, and therefore cannot drown?  
> **username_7** (2023-08-18): Basically, this question can be rephrased as "Does Brook need to breathe?" If he does, then he can drown; if he doesn't, then he can't (because lack of air won't kill him). You need to address that in order to answer this.  
> **username_6** (2023-08-18): Drowning is not surviving under water, it's being unable to go up to the surface of the water and continuously going down. Brook is literally BONES, on top of that he is already dead, he is talking bones. Just why does he even need to breathe. He won't die due to suffocation, he's already dead, but he would sink and not rise up until someone helps him  
> **username_6** (2023-08-18): He ACTUALLY has no respiratory system.  
> **username_7** (2023-08-18): "Drowning is [...] being unable to go up to the surface of the water and continuously going down." No, that's *sinking*. [*Drowning* is when your lungs fill with water and you die from lack of oxygen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drowning). If Brook has no lungs, then he can't drown.  
---
