Imu’s yokai form remains a mystery in One Piece.
One Piece is getting more intense with each passing chapter, and because Oda is finally exploring the Final Saga now, it is quite clear to the fans that the deepest and the biggest mysteries of the series are now going to be tackled. One Piece chapter 1110 revealed quite a lot of interesting details by turning to the Five Elders, and at the same time, fans are sure now that Oda will soon shed light upon the biggest antagonist in the entire story, Saint Nerona Imu.
Currently, One Piece is in the Egghead Island arc, and here, the Gorosei are finally getting a lot of attention. Just like the Gorosei, Imu will soon be at the center of attention, and his intriguing powers, which a lot of the fans have been wondering about, will be explored in full detail.
The Yokai Powers Of The Gorosei
In the Egghead Island arc of One Piece, fans got to see quite a lot of incredible shocks. One of the biggest moments in not just the Egghead Island arc but the entirety of the story was the power of the Five Elders that Oda depicted in this arc. Fans always knew that the Five Elders are going to be a massive threat in the story at some point. However, what wasn’t clear to the fans was the fact that they would actually end up playing a major role as antagonists in the Egghead Island arc. Saint Saturn, one of the Five Elders, was sent to Egghead to deal with Vegapunk and the entire problem surrounding him, and he, against all odds, showcased his true power in this arc.
Saint Saturn surprised all fans when he did that, and fans fully believed that he was an individual whose mere presence shook the entire arc and flipped it on his head, in terms of what to expect. However, Saint Saturn’s appearance wasn’t even the biggest shock of the arc. In the climax of the Egghead Island arc, fans saw Saint Saturn use a giant summoning circle and bring all the remaining Elders to Egghead Island. In what turned out to be the most shocking event in the entire story, Saint Saturn and the remaining Elders assembled on Egghead against the Straw Hat Pirates. They all utilized their unique powers, and much to the surprise of the fans, it was clearly revealed that they had the abilities of different Yokai.
Clearly, the Five Elders possessed powers that are demonic in nature. What is even more interesting is the fact that it appears that they are not humans at all. They don’t possess Devil Fruit abilities. Instead, they are actually devils themselves. This is a very curious step that Oda has taken in the story, and it gives fans an idea of what Imu truly could be like.
Saint Nerona Imu And The Void Century
The Five Elders are the personal guard of Saint Imu. This is something that fans know very well and it is something that Oda has portrayed quite brilliantly in his story over the course of the last few chapters. For instance, when Imu was first introduced, the Five Elders decided to bow down in front of him, asking him who he wanted to be eliminated from the entire world. Similarly, in the Reverie arc, when King Cobra was killed, it was also because the Five Elders did not want Imu’s identity to be revealed to the entire world. This was an absolutely massive indication of the fact that, above all, the Five Elders are connected to Imu in ways that one cannot even imagine. This also means that the powers of the Five Elders, who, as fans know, are Yokai, are connected to Imu as well.
In fact, all the Five Elders are likely from the Void Century, and Imu himself is from this dark period as well. This hypothesis was put forward by Ivankov recently, and it quite clearly confirms the fact that Imu is an immortal demon who has continued to survive up until this point in the story. In particular, for him to also found out bits about Saint Imu. According to Ivankov, long ago, among the Founding 20, there was an individual named Imu. In fact, this individual belonged to the Nerona Family, however, little is known about him. According to Ivankov, Saint Nerona Imu could actually be immortal, which he believes to be due to the power of the Ope Ope on Mi.
Imu’s Yokai Form – The Devil
It has already been established in the story that Imu and the Five Elders are not human. At the very least, they are not like regular humans. Imu is believed to have been on the receiving end of the Perennial Youth Surgery, meaning that he has been alive for many many centuries. That certainly is not all. It is also implied that the Five Elders, along with Imu themselves, are not human. Oda recently introduced the Five Elders to be your Yokai.
If those under Imu are not human, the Imu themselves is likely not going to be human either. This brings one to the question of what exactly Imu is. The answer to that is going to be a demonic godly entity, likely based on the devil itself. Fans must remember that Imu is likely going to mirror Luffy in many ways. While Luffy is the Sun God and Warrior of Liberation, Imu is going to be the god of darkness and an enslaver. While Luffy is light, Imu is going to be darkness. If Luffy has the power of a mythical God, then Imu is likely going to be a mythical God as well. Only, in Imu’s case, the God is going to be one of darkness.
When Imu killed Cobra, a very interesting detail that Oda represented was hidden in how Cobra was murdered. Firstly, Imu transformed into a massive creature who sat on all fours. The creature also had an arrow-like tail. Imu used an arrow-like ability to kill Cobra. This arrow might very well have been the tail of the devil itself. A triangular arrow-like tail is often synonymous with the devil itself. It is a safe bet to assume that Imu has the power of the devil. An even safer bet would be to assume that Imu has the power of the Sea Devil, which is how he has given the ability of the Yokai to the Five Elders. Imu might also have the power to create Devil Fruits through unknown means.
Whatever power Imu has, fans can rest assured that he isn’t human. If he was human, then he likely abandoned his humanity at some point and became a God. Imu is mostly going to mirror Luffy as a God of the world, and, of course, the Sea Devil. That is most likely going to be his power, and fans will likely see it being explored later on the line in One Piece.
