One Piece’s Huge Imu Reveal Confirms A Key Detail About The Final Villain

In chapter #1113 of OnePiece, Vegapunk begins his message in which he states 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 could be referring to Imu. This would confirm that Imu is indeed male, and is the same St. Imu Nerona who was one of the twenty rulers from the Void Century who formed the World Government.

While Vegapunk could also be referring to Kizaru, whose morality has 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 the chapter is also bolded, implying a deeper hidden meaning which, together with the focus on Saint Saturn’s face at that very moment, point to Imu being the one Vegapunk is talking about.

Vegapunk Hints At Imu’s Gender and True Identity

One Piece created by Eiichiro Oda, chapter #1113, “Stalemate“

Thus far, Imu has appeared in silhouette only and chapter #1085 is the only instance Imu is seen speaking. In the chapter, Imu referred to themself in the third person using “mu” and, as the anime has yet to adapt the chapter, it was impossible to be sure of Imu’s gender. That said, Emporio Ivankov proposed an interesting theory in chapter #1086 when he revealed that there was a monarch among the first twenty rulers named St. Imu who belonged to the Nerona Dynasty.

While the “saint” 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 “sei” while female Celestial Dragons are called “gū”. As such, Saint Imu is referred to as “Imu-sei” in the original Japanese text, confirming that the original Imu was 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 Nerona from 800 years ago. As Ivankov proposed, someone had to have proved the Op-Op Fruit’s ability to grant eternal life, and this may very well be Imu and the Five Elders. All these facts add up to prove that the mysterious man Vegapunk mentions in chapter #1113 is very likely Imu.

Vegapunk’s Message Casts Doubt on Imu’s Morality

The World Government and the Ancient Kingdom May Not Be Wholly 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. Though Imu has largely been considered an evil tyrannical ruler, Vegapunk’s words suggest there may be more to his character and story than meets the eye. A few 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.

Given One Piece‘s nuanced approach to morality, such a twist would certainly be possible. According to Professor Clover, it is the ideals of the Ancient Kingdom that the World Government deemed dangerous and tried to bury, which may be related to freedom given the implied connection between Sun God Nika and the Ancient 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 edge of destruction in the past. This may be especially true if the Ancient Kingdom, which Vegapunk revealed was more scientifically advanced than Egghead, did in fact create the Ancient Weapons as popularly speculated. The dangers of unrestricted scientific advancement are well-known in real life and have been discussed even in One Piece.

It is possible that Imu deems his actions necessary for the greater good of the world and even the World Government’s plans for a great cleansing simply serve to restore the equilibrium they believe is necessary. The Great Pirate Era has caused plenty of upheaval and while there are technically “good” or rather “morally just” pirates like the Straw Hats, there are also those like Kaido who have caused nothing but suffering to innocent people while aspiring towards freedom.

What Imu’s Immortality Means for One Piece

At this point, it is all but inevitable that Imu will be one of the series’ primary antagonists in the Final Saga alongside Blackbeard. Imu being immortal not only makes him appear more intimidating but also adds a poetic sense of meaning to his inevitable confrontation with Luffy, who has inherited the will of Imu’s oldest enemies, the D Clan.

Imu’s immortality does not necessarily equate to him being invincible, but he will surely not be an easy opponent by any means. Imu’s gender does not invalidate the theories about his connection to the sea, and given the brief glimpse of his powers in chapter #1085, he may 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 about just how many secrets Vegapunk knows about the world of One Piece which could be revealed in his message.