The Sovereign of the world of One Piece, Saint Imu Nerona, is the main antagonist of the entire series. Imu has been controlling things from the shadows in the One Piece world for centuries but it wasn't until the Reverie arc that their existence was finally revealed by Oda. Imu sits atop the Empty Throne and rules over all the Celestial Dragons and, as such, also over the remainder of the world.
Naturally, given that Imu is the ultimate antagonist in the One Piece series, it does not come as a surprise to anyone to know that they possess tremendous abilities. While all of Imu's abilities have not been revealed yet, Oda has already revealed more than enough to give the fans an idea of why Imu controls the whole world and what kind of strength they possess up their sleeve. Upon getting a good glimpse of their strength in the Final Saga, it now makes sense as to how Imu was able to defeat Joy Boy in the Void Century.
6 Imu Is Immortal Likely Due To Ope Ope no Mi
Imu Is Canonically Immortal
There are a lot of powers that Imu has up their sleeve, but the first one that needs to be discussed is their power of immortality. It has already been confirmed that Imu is a relic from the Void Century and it was established by Oda in the Reverie, and the fact that they are still alive right now proves it. The reason for their immortality is not clear yet, but Ivankov and Dragon strongly believe that Imu had the Ope Ope no Mi Perennial Youth Surgery performed on them at some point in the past.
One Piece Quietly Confirms Its Undisputed Best Devil Fruit User
The Best Devil Fruit user has been revealed. This character is on a whole other level in One Piece.
Among the first 20 Kings that fought against the Ancient Kingdom long ago in the Void Century, there was a figure known as Saint Imu Nerona. This person was not supposed to be the king of the world. Instead, he was only supposed to be one of the 20 Kings who would swear an oath of equality in front of the Empty Throne. Yet, somehow, Imu found his way to the top and sat on the Empty Throne with all the others bowing down. More importantly, Imu is still alive to this day, 800 years later. Quite clearly, Imu has the power of immortality and the only way that can be explained is with the Ope Ope no Mi. It is a known fact that using the Perennial Youth Operation, the Ope Ope no Mi can make anyone immortal at the cost of the user's life. In the case of Imu, this surgery was likely performed by a genius doctor long ago in the Void Century. This power of immortality is one of the main reasons why Imu is as powerful as they are.
5 Imu Has A Unique Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit
The power of immortality explains why Imu has been alive for so long in the One Piece world, but there is more to them than just immortality. As has been clearly established in the story, Imu also has access to a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit. What exactly the Devil Fruit is remains unknown, but the fact is that Imu can transform into some creature, which all but confirms that this Devil Fruit belongs to the Mythical Zoan type.
Allow Mu to show you the dominance of a God! — Saint Imu Nerona
The first time this Devil Fruit transformation was seen was when Sabo broke into Marijoa and attacked the Five Elders and Imu. All six of them transformed into their Devil Fruit forms immediately. Given that the Five Elders have Yokai powers bestowed upon them by Imu, it is clear that Imu has some Mythical Zoan ability.
Imu quickly transformed into a giant four-legged creature and consumed the fire that Sabo threw at them. Then, Imu utilized their pointy arrow-like tail and skewered both Sabo and King Cobra. Quite clearly, this was a Mythical transformation of some kind of demonic entity, and it gives Imu tremendous powers.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
4 Imu's Fruit Grants Demonic Powers
Imu's Devil Fruit possesses demonic powers and this was confirmed for the first time in the Elbaf arc of One Piece. In this particular arc, Imu decided to take over Gunko's body. Once they did that, Gunko underwent a unique transformation where she sprouted two giant bat-like wings and a dark tail with a pointy end, portraying the cliche appearance of the devil.
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Imu also referred to themselves as a God, meaning whatever Devil Fruit ability they have gives them a godly power similar to Luffy's Sun God Nika. Imu also relishes turning others into demons, which means that Imu considers themselves to be the Demon God of the One Piece world.
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3 Imu Can Use Demonic Contracts
As far as Imu's overall powers go, Oda has already revealed quite a bit to the fans. The first and most important power that Imu possesses is a grimoire. This grimoire can be summoned by Imu using some kind of enchantment and it consists of various spells. The full extent of the powers of this grimoire has not been revealed just yet, but it goes without saying that this grimoire is incredibly overpowered.
Thou shalt not be bound by logic or reason, and become my slave. — Imu
3 Yonko Level Female Characters In One Piece
One Piece has a lot of powerful female characters, but only a handful of them are Yonko level.
When Imu was attacked by Dorry and Brogy, just one spell from the grimoire turned out to be enough to subdue these two absolutely massive warriors, with a cumulative bounty of 3.6 billion berries. Imu utilized the power of Domi Reversi on them, which is a spell from the grimoire. Domi Reversi is, simply put, a spell that allows Imu to take a body part from the enemy or injure them with their appendages in some way. Then, Imu forces a contract on the target and takes away a portion of their lifespan. Instead, Imu gives them a superhuman body that is immortal and doesn't heed logic. They also become Imu's subservient slaves. The power of Domi Reversi turned Dorry and Brogy into Imu's demon slaves. At the same time, Imu also utilized this power on Rocks D. Xebec in God Valley, and quite clearly, even someone as strong as Rocks could not withstand it.
2 Imu Has The Power Of Covenants
If the grimoire wasn't enough, Imu also has the power to bestow Covenants on others. Just as Domi Reversi is a contractual power, so is the Covenant that Imu grants to his underlings. There are three different stages of the Covenants that Imu can grant to others:
- The Shallow Sea Covenant, which allows anyone who bears this power to pass through the Abyss immediately. In the Holy Land of Marijoa, they are under Imu's watchful eyes at all times.
- The Deep Sea Covenant, which gives one unimaginable superhuman strength, as well as regeneration and immortality. At the same time, it also grants them access to the powers of the Abyss, and Imu can utilize their bodies as a vessel from any range.
- The Abyssal Covenant, which is the strongest of the three. On top of granting everything else that the Deep Sea Covenant grants, it also gives them an unaging body and at the same time the power of a Yokai as well. This is the strongest covenant that Oda has shown in the story, and is only utilized by the Five Elders, and most likely Gunko.
1 Imu Has Overwhelming Haki
On top of all this, Imu is also a masterful user of Haki. They possess Haki of all three types and it is incredibly powerful. Imu's Haki was first shown in the Elbaf Arc and it was so strong that it was felt miles away, even in the Underworld of this giant country. Then, in God Valley Imu's Haki proved to be stronger than even the likes of Roger and Garp, signifying that they were at a much higher level when it comes to Haki manipulation. The only one with Haki stronger than Imu would be Joy Boy, but other than him, Imu has the strongest Haki in the entire series.
One Piece is available to read via Manga Plus.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
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Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga's popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
