This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf arc.
One Piece's Elbaf arc has surprised all fans with the sheer focus that it has given the biggest overarching antagonist of the series, Saint Imu Nerona. Fans know very well that Imu is the biggest and most important villain in all of One Piece, which is why most expected him to be focused on only at the end of One Piece. That said, the series is in the Final Saga after all, so Oda revealing key bits and pieces about him shouldn't exactly be a surprise either.
It's Time To Meet The Only One Piece Pirate That Can Beat Imu
Imu is powerful, and only one pirate can even stand up against them in One Piece.
Regardless, One Piece's Elbaf arc has introduced Imu as the main villain, with them taking over Gunko's body in Elbaf. Meanwhile, in the Loki flashback, fans saw Imu do the same in God Valley, only there, the vessel body was none other than Saturn. Imu's overwhelming power was clearly seen in One Piece chapter 1163, where even the alliance of Roger, Garp, Rocks, Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom wasn't enough to stop Imu. Naturally, this makes fans wonder what exactly it will take to stop this monstrous individual, and surprisingly, Oda has already revealed the answer to that question. In order to beat Imu, Luffy needs to master the power of the. Nika fruit, and attain Haki on the level of Joy Boy.
Luffy Needs Two Major Abilities To Defeat Imu
The Power Of Nika, And Joy Boy Level Haki
- Joy Boy Countered Imu's Demon Powers in Egghead
- Nika Is A Hard Counter To Imu's Powers
Imu cannot be defeated by normal means, and that's something that all fans of One Piece should know already. Imu is an immortal being and one that carries tremendous power. Beating them isn't possible even for the greatest alliance that fans saw in One Piece chapter 1163, so how exactly can Imu be taken down? The answer lies in the antithesis to their ability, and that's the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika.
First, I need two Devil Fruits! I'll have Harald eat one of them. — Rocks D. Xebec
Whereas Imu is darkness and evil, Luffy represents good and light. Imu turns others into slaves using the power of Domi Reversi. Luffy will liberate them using the power of Gear 5, as the Warrior of Liberation. Luffy is the complete opposite of Imu, and that's exactly why he stands a chance against him. To counter Imu's Domi Reversi, Luffy needs to use his Devil Fruit powers to turn the board in his favor, and that's exactly what fans will see happen when the main battles begin.
One Piece: Oda Finally Reveals The Strongest Alliance Of All Time
The strongest alliance of all time has been revealed, and it unites the biggest monsters of the One Piece world.
But, Gear 5 isn't enough on its own. Luffy also needs powerful Haki, which he doesn't have currently. In order to truly cleanse Elbaf of Imu, Luffy needs access to Haki on the level of Joy Boy. First things first, when the Five Elders attacked Egghead, the only way to beat them was for Emeth to unleash Joy Boy's Haki. Joy Boy stated himself that it was his strongest Haki. Only after this Haki was unleashed were the demonic summonings nullified. In God Valley, even though the pirates combined their Haki, they were not able to nullify Imu's powers. In other words, their Haki was not as good as Joy Boy's.
That Haki? It's Joy Boy! — Imu in the Egghead arc
Luffy Vs Imu Will Be The Biggest One Piece Battle
Blackbeard Could Also Fight Imu
Luffy vs Imu is going to be one of the biggest fights in all of One Piece, and to beat the latter, the two weapons Luffy needs are already quite clear. Luffy needs to master Gear 5 to the point where he can rival Imu's Domi Reversi and do the exact opposite with his power of imagination. Along with that, Luffy needs to master his Haki to the same level as Joy Boy, and when he does that he can actually deal damage to the sovereign of the world.
One Piece's next chapter will be out this week. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on November 2. Fans can read the chapter for free on 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
-
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
