Warning: Contains spoilers for chapter #1113 of One Piece.
One pieceThe latest chapter may have just confirmed one key detail about the series’ latest villain, Imu, finally revealing the identity of the secret ruler. Despite only making a handful of appearances in the series so far, Imu is undoubtedly a key figure in the world of One piece. However, about the enigmatic figure, whose appearance has always been cast in the shadows, is known. However, Vegapunk’s message may have indirectly exposed Imu’s secret identity, confirming a conspiracy theory that is discussed even in the series.
In chapter #1113 of one PieceVegapunk begins his message in which he says that he does not blame those responsible for his death and claims that he cannot label them as good or evil. Vegapunk then mentions that He does not know enough about a certain “him”, which may refer to Imu. This would confirm that Imu is indeed a male, and is the same St. Imo Nerona who was one of the twenty rulers of the 19th century that formed the world government.
Although Vegapunk could also be referring to Kizaru, whose morals have always been ambiguous, Vegapunk and Kizaru are quite well acquainted and it wouldn’t make sense for Vegapunk to claim to know very little about him after all these years. The “him” in this chapter is also bold, implying a deeper hidden meaning which, along with the focus on Saint Saturn’s face at this point, points to Imu being the one Vegapunk is talking about.
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Vegapunk hints at Imu’s gender and true identity
One piece Created by Eiichiro Oda, Chapter #1113, “stay”
So far, Imu has only appeared in silhouette and chapter #1085 is the only instance of Imu being seen speaking. In this chapter, Imu refers to herself in the third person using “mu” and, as the anime has yet to adapt this chapter, it was impossible to be sure of Imu’s gender. As said, Emporia Ivankov proposed an interesting theory in chapter #1086 when he revealed that there was a monarch among the first twenty rulers named St. Imo who belonged to the Nerana dynasty.
While the “holy” prefix is ​​commonly used for both male and female world nobles in the English translation, in Japanese, there are two separate terms for each. Male celestial dragons are called “Say“While female celestial dragons are called”Good”. As such, Saint Imu is referred to as “Imu-sei” in the original Japanese textVerify that the original IMU is indeed male.
Judging by how Imu seemed to know Nefertari Lily well and was aware of her blunder as well as the true history of the D Clan and the Poneglyphs, it is safe to assume that the Imu seen in the present is the same Imu Nero from 800 years ago. As Ivankov suggested, the op-op fruit’s ability to give eternal life needed to be proven, and this could very well be Imu and the five elders. All these facts add up to prove that the mysterious person Vegapunk mentioned in chapter #1113 is very likely IMU.
The One Piece anime also dropped a few clues about Imu’s identity
The secret leader of the world government IMO has not been revealed yet One piece Chapter #906
Toei Animation’s stunning adaptation of the Egghead arc finally reached the pivotal moment where Imu made herself known to Albasta’s King Cobra and unknown to the Revolutionary Army’s Chief of Staff, Sabo – the dramatic moment expertly kept the mysterious figure layered in shadows. however, One pieceThe anime reveals something the manga doesn’t, potentially revealing more about the world government’s secret ruler from the sound of their voice.
The character was one of the most enigmatic of the long-running series, fans did not expect the anime to reveal anything that the chapters of the manga did not, and while hearing the voice failed to narrow the character’s Male or female vocal range, it has Succeeding in making IMO sound otherworldly. Some fan theories believe they could be inhuman, like an actual devil or possibly even a robot like Dr. Vegapunk’s satellites. Author Eiichiro Oda provided only a small number of clues about the leader of the Five Elders, who controlled much of The world for over 800 years.
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The flashback involving Sabo’s brutal confrontation with the Five Elders and Imu’s demonic forms claimed that the life of Albasta’s King Cobra ended in episode #1120. However, it also provided more historical insight from the words of revolutionary Ivankov. The flamboyant leader recognized the name Nerona Imu, one of the original 20 kings who helped defeat Joy Boy and form the World Government at the end of the Void Century 800 years ago. The leading idea is that Imu used immortality to give Ope-Ope Devil Fruit, but the theories that they are a robot or an undead devil have yet to be disproved.
Vegapunk’s message casts doubt on IMU’s morality
The world government and the ancient kingdom cannot be completely good or evil
As a man of science with rather complex morals himself, Vegapunk is certainly right to assume that he is in no place to make moral judgments. Although Imu is largely regarded as an evil tyrannical ruler, Vegapunk’s words suggest that there may be more to his character And history meets the eye. Some fan theories have even entertained the idea that the ancient kingdom may not have been as good and innocent as fans have been led to believe and that perhaps the world government’s strict authoritarian rule was born out of necessity.
Granted One pieces nuanced approach to morality, such a twist would certainly be possible. According to Professor Clover, it is the ideals of the Old Kingdom that the world government deemed dangerous and tried to bury, which may be related to freedom because of the implied connection between Sun God Nika and the Old Kingdom.
Nevertheless, while freedom is presented as a positive ideal through the lens of the pirates, it is entirely possible that unrestricted freedom nearly brought the world to the brink of destruction in the past. This may be especially true if the Ancient Kingdom, which Vegapunk reveals is more scientifically advanced than Egghead, did in fact create the Ancient Weapons as popularly speculated. The dangers of unrestricted scientific advancement are known in real life and have been discussed even in One piece.
It is It is possible that Imu considers his actions necessary for the greater good of the world And even the plans of the world government for a great cleansing simply serve to restore the equality that they believe is necessary. The Great Pirate Era caused a lot of upheaval and while there were technically “good” or rather “morally just” pirates like the Straw Hats, there were also those like Kaido who caused nothing but suffering to innocent people while aspiring to freedom.
What IMO’s immortality means for One piece
At this point, it is all but inevitable that Imu will be one of the primary antagonists of the series in the final saga alongside Blackbeard. If he is immortal not only makes him appear more intimidating but also adds a poetic sense of meaning to his inevitable confrontation with Luffy, who inherited the will of Imo’s oldest enemies, the D Clan.
Imu’s immortality Does not necessarily equate to him being invincibleBut he will certainly not be an easy opponent by any means. Imu’s gender doesn’t invalidate the theories about his connection to the sea, and given the brief glimpse of his powers in chapter #1085, he could be just as troublesome to deal with as the five elders.
Overall, as seen from Neferatri Cobra’s death, Imu’s existence is a secret learned at the cost of death and very few have seen him and lived to tell the tale. It is still unclear how Vegapunk managed to learn of Imu’s existence without the Five Elders’ knowledge, but it is possible that Ohara’s findings and Shaka’s research may have uncovered the truth. This raises the interesting question of how many secrets Vegapunk knows about the world of One piece which may be revealed in his message.
One piece is available from Manga Plus and Viz Media.