Imu

For the founder of the World Government from the Nerona Family, see Nerona Imu.

Imu is the supreme ruler of the World Government, who occupies the Empty Throne and whom even the Five Elders bow to and serve.^[2]

Imu's existence has been kept an absolute secret within the government and from the world at large for centuries, to maintain the lie that there is no singular ruler of the world, until they were discovered by Sabo of the Revolutionary Army during the most recent Levely.^[3] With the ambition of bringing the Great War to a decisive conclusion, Imu directed their subordinates to procure Dr. Vegapunk's invention, the Mother Flame,^[4] and ordered the God's Knights to annex Elbaph in an invasion that Imu personally participated in.^[5]

Imu is revealed and first appears during the Levely Arc. Due to their status and indirect actions, they are the overarching antagonist of the Egghead and Elbaph Arcs, and one of the primary overarching antagonists of the Final Saga and the One Piece series as a whole.

Quick Answers

Who is the true supreme ruler of the World Government in One Piece?

The true supreme ruler of the World Government in One Piece is a character named Imu. Imu is the highest authority and de facto leader of the World Government, which is a worldwide aristocratic regime. Despite the presence of other figures like the Five Elders, it's Imu who holds the reins of power from the shadows and they are not known to the public.

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What is the significance of the Empty Throne that Imu occupies?

The Empty Throne that Imu occupies in One Piece holds a significant symbolic value. It's officially stated to be unoccupied to maintain peace and equality among nations, symbolizing that no one person will take full control of the world. However, the throne is secretly occupied by the enigmatic sovereign Imu, whose authority supersedes that of the Five Elders. The 19 weapons in front of the throne represent the founders of the World Government, and all royals must pledge not to take the throne when they come to Levely. This throne is a symbol of peace, equality, and the shared power of the world's nations.

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Why is Imu's existence kept a secret within the World Government?

Imu's existence is kept a secret within the World Government to maintain the illusion that there is no singular ruler of the world. This level of secrecy is so intense that even the Five Elders, who are publicly considered the highest authorities of the World Government, bow down to Imu and serve their every whim. The secrecy around Imu's existence allows them to wield immense power and control while remaining undetected, making them one of the primary overarching antagonists in One Piece.

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What is the role of Imu in the Levely Arc?

In the Levely Arc of One Piece, Imu is revealed as the secret ruler of the World Government, sitting on the Empty Throne. Despite the world being led to believe there's no singular ruler, Imu holds the highest authority, with even the Five Elders bowing to them. Imu's existence is kept a secret to maintain this illusion. During the Levely conference, the Five Elders consult with Imu about a 'light' that needs to be extinguished from history. Imu also shows a particular interest in certain characters like Monkey D. Luffy, Marshall D. Teach, Shirahoshi, and Nefertari Vivi, keeping their wanted posters or photos.

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Appearance[]

Imu has only been shown as a silhouette so far. They possess a humanoid figure similar in size to a regular person, with a hand resembling a human's and sharp, almond eyes with red irises, each having a thin ring around the pupil. In terms of attire, Imu dons a crown that has four sharp, incredibly tall spikes on the top and an extremely long robe that flows upon the ground a great distance behind them.^[1][2] In the anime, Imu's voice has a distorted echo to it.

Gallery[]

Close up of Imu's face in silhouette.

Imu from the back in silhouette.

Imu's anime concept art.

Personality[]

Imu is a callous and enigmatic despot who refers to their own self as "god", much like the World Nobles are prone to do.^[6] Imu has shown no care whatsoever to the subjects they rule over, and everything they have done and decreed so far has been for the sole purpose of advancing personal desires or the interests of the World Government, namely its Holy Land Mary Geoise. For this reason, Imu was unbothered when Rocks D. Xebec attempted to leverage five captive Levely kings, as they did not care nearly enough about the kings to be swayed into doing anything.^[7] Imu is even perfectly willing to commit genocide against nations affiliated with the World Government for the sole purpose of conveniently testing new weapons at the government's disposal, having targeted the Lulusia Kingdom to test the Mother Flame's power on for no other reason than its proximity. Even the Five Elders were taken aback by this request, but Imu calmly asserted that the many lives in Lulusia were of no importance.^[8][4]

Imu has eschewed ruling out in the open in favor of operating in secret, and so the World Government presents itself as a decentralized representative body which prevents Imu's power from being challenged. Imu's existence is treated as one of the World Government's greatest taboos, and so anyone outside of Imu's inner circle who learns of the supreme leader will be sentenced to death and their exploits erased from history, which occurred with Rocks.^[9] Imu has been known to reveal themselves to outsiders as they see fit, but even this will carry a death sentence for the other party.^[10][3] In almost all instances, Imu lets the Five Elders and God's Knights execute decrees publicly; Imu has been content to remain hidden even when someone is at large with knowledge of the leader's existence. Only in truly desperate situations will Imu decide to take direct action; by the time the God's Knights moved to annex Elbaph, the suffering of Mary Geoise caused by the Revolutionary Army's blockade caused Imu to view that the giants must be turned to the government's side as soon as possible and so Imu brought their own powers to the fray by possessing Gunko's body.^[6]

In most instances, there is an air of calm serenity around Imu. When not at the Empty Throne, Imu is typically found in the Room of Flowers where they stay still and handle butterflies while being attended to by special servants.^[2][7] In typical conversation, even with non-World Nobles, Imu tends to maintain an air of politeness and avoid petty rudeness. However, Imu does still show a domineering side in these exchanges by bluntly dictating the topic of discussion, as they explicitly refused to answer Cobra's question about their identity and made clear that they would only answer what he had originally come to ask about Lili and the D.^[3] With subordinates, Imu similarly keeps them in line by giving strict orders and may question faltering maneuvers, but has not been shown to target them with petty insults.^[11] Imu does not blink in the face of most threats, being secure in their power. Notably, they barely reacted when Rocks invaded the Room of Flowers, despite this action being unprecedented in history and Rocks having killed a Marine Admiral shortly before, as Imu did not care for Rocks' hostages and both parties knew the pirate could not threaten Imu.^[7] That said, however, Imu was much less calm when Sabo unexpectedly interrupted their audience with Cobra 56 years later, when Imu was in the midst of attacking the king while having been worked up from their prior conversation.^[3]

Indeed, there have been several moments when Imu's veneer of calmness has slipped away, turning into a violent anger. So far, this emotion has been shown manifesting itself when Imu is confronted with knowledge and remnants of the distant past. Although the Five Elders stood ready to execute Cobra following his meeting with Imu, the ruler took it upon themself to transform and strike the king first after he revealed Lili's true name.^[3] Imu notably screamed in agony upon sensing Joy Boy's Haki eight centuries following the latter's death,^[12] and shortly following this event Imu moved to kill Elder Jaygarcia Saturn because of his failure to stop the new "Joy Boy", Monkey D. Luffy. Imu spoke to Saturn in a rage while recounting this unforgivable sin, ignoring the Elder's pleas for mercy despite his more than two centuries of service and going forward with stripping his immortality despite Saturn being in a room with several Marine Vice Admirals at the time.^[13] Even when not angered, Imu has demonstrated willingness to inflict brutal injuries in combat, such as when they casually severed Brogy's hand with a pistol (though Brogy retained use of the hand afterwards).^[14]

Imu has displayed a considerable degree of interest in the World Government's history, which they are familiar with to the most ancient days. Imu greatly dislikes those who have opposed the government, such as the Clan of D. and Joy Boy, and has a particular obsession over the spreading of the Poneglyphs across the world and Nefertari D. Lili's role in that, referred to by Imu as her "great mistake". Notably, Imu began shaking in anger while recounting this affair.^[3] Imu has been seen visiting relics of the past, including a giant straw hat^[1] as well as a portrait of Lili that hangs on the wall despite Imu's seeming animosity toward her.^[15] Despite their reclusiveness, Imu does actively keep aware of present day global affairs so that they may advise the Five Elders' actions. Notably, Imu considered images of Monkey D. Luffy, Marshall D. Teach, Shirahoshi, and Nefertari Vivi before being approached by the Elders to identify the "light" that should be extinguised from history. Imu was shown to have left the aforementioned pictures (save for Vivi's) pierced through and cut apart by blades,^[2] and later declared that they desired to have Vivi.^[4] Imu has also recounted the history of Elbaph and expressed their desire for its giants to return to their traditional warrior ways, though it is uncertain whether Imu actually respects this culture or if they are just interested in Elbaph fighting on the World Government's behalf.^[16]

Imu uses the unique first-person pronoun "Mu" (ムー, Mū^?) seemingly derived from their name, as well as the unique second-person pronoun nushia (ヌシア^?) for others.

Relationships[]

Five Elders[]

As the true supreme leader of the World Government, the Five Elders are all extremely loyal to Imu and obey them without question. The Five Elders often come to their sovereign for counsel about matters of the utmost importance. What Imu personally thinks of the Five Elders is currently unknown, but Imu seems to trust them enough to handle government affairs on their behalf. The Five Elders understand that any outsider that learns of Imu's existence must be eliminated to maintain the illusion of peace and equality among the allied nations.

However, Imu has no qualms of killing and replacing the Elders at any time if they fail particular orders, as seen with Saturn, who failed to stop "Joy Boy" from escaping and disobeying the direct order to scrap Emet, swiftly filling his vacant position with Garling. Even the other Elders were shocked by Imu's choice to dismiss Saturn without letting the rest of them know beforehand.^[13] Imu's dismissing of Saturn implies that they see the Elders as merely tools that can be discarded and replaced at any time.

God's Knights[]

The God's Knights all serve Imu with great reverence, regarding them with respect and humbleness. Imu, on the other hand, admonished the ones sent to conquer Elbaph for their tardiness in light of Mary Geoise's hour of need, and forcefully possessed Gunko to take matters into their own hands. They do, however, respect the Knights enough to have a cordial conversation with Sommers and Killingham, answering their questions calmly.^[6][17]

Clan of D.[]

Imu possesses an immense hatred for those who bear the letter D. as the middle initial of their names, due to it being the moniker of an "ancient enemy".^[3] For this reason, they became angered when Cobra admitted that his ancestor, Lili, also had it.

Nefertari Family[]

Imu shows great disdain for the Nefertari Family, particularly because of the actions of Queen Lili during the Void Century that resulted in the dispersing of the Poneglyphs across the world, which they suspected was no mere accident. However, despite this disdain, Imu seemingly keeps a portrait of Lili inside Pangaea Castle to look at for unknown reasons.^[18]

Despite their utter contempt for Lili, they were polite to her descendant King Cobra, although they fully intended to kill Cobra when the conversation ended because he had become aware of Imu being the shadow ruler of the world. Hostilities intensified when Imu learned that Arabasta's royal family had the initial "D" in their middle name. When Cobra sacrificed himself to ensure that Sabo escaped Mary Geoise, Imu was greatly angered.^[3]

Imu has also developed an interest in Princess Vivi for currently unknown reasons. After she escaped the custody of CP0, Imu ordered the Five Elders to capture and bring her to them.^[4]

Joy Boy[]

Imu appears to be familiar with Joy Boy on a personal level, as they were kneeling in pain after Joy Boy's Supreme King Haki was unleashed during the Egghead Incident, instantly recognizing that the Haki used to belong to him.^[12] Imu regards stopping Joy Boy's second coming, manifested in the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika's awakening of Monkey D. Luffy, as of the utmost importance and even went as far as to kill Saturn of the Five Elders for allowing Luffy, whom Imu referred to as "Joy Boy", to escape.^[13]

Abilities and Powers[]

As the occupant of the Empty Throne, a seat whose occupant would be associated with sole authority over the entire world, Imu by all accounts holds the highest authority within the World Government. They have direct control over the Five Elders, who are publicly considered the government's highest authorities,^[2] and have the sole authority to revoke an incumbent Elder's title and replace them should the need arise.^[13] Imu also has the authority to command the God's Knights, an elite group of powerful Celestial Dragon warriors who publicly oversee affairs on Mary Geoise.

Imu's own abilities in combat are incredible as they showed no hesitation over confronting the full might of the Giant Warrior Pirates while possessing Gunko's body (some who even fought against the Five Elders during the Egghead Incident), nor did they appear troubled by an invasion from Rocks D. Xebec, one of the most powerful pirates in history, who made it all the way to the center of Mary Geoise to confront Imu before seemingly being forced to retreat, acknowledging there was nothing more he could do at this point, despite Rocks having killed an Admiral and kidnapped five kings attending the Levely.^[7] The Five Elders and the God's Knights, all powerful combatants on their own, have shown to be incredibly subservient and even fearful of Imu, with even one of them being more energized in battle as the "Great One" was there themselves to assist.

Notably, Imu appears to have possession of one of the Ancient Weapons,^[19] which is powered by the Mother Flame invented by Dr. Vegapunk. This weapon, which floats in the sky above the target location, can effect the total annihilation of an entire island within seconds, which it did to the Lulusia Kingdom.^[8]

Telepathy and Possession[]

Imu has been shown to have a supernatural telepathic connection with the Five Elders and God's Knights, and has been indicated to hold at least some degree of influence in the esoteric immortality and Abyss powers granted to them. Though Imu has utilized Den Den Mushi to normally communicate with the Elders,^[20] they communicated telepathically with Saturn during the latter's death, in which Imu stripped Saturn of his immortality. The process involved a dark, flame-like substance being emitted from and around Saturn, leading to him withering away and resulting in a large explosion, which left only his skeleton.^[21]

Imu can utilize this connection to even greater lengths by outright possessing their own subordinates, which they did with Gunko. When the possession takes effect, the original personality of the host body is removed as Imu takes full control of it. Imu appears to retain full access to their original powers when possessing someone else, including their demonic transformation and Haki.^[6]

Abyss[]

Main article: Abyss

Imu can make use of the Abyss in combat, seemingly to a far more extensive and casual degree compared to the Five Elders and God's Knights. While these groups have so far only summoned magic circles to transport themselves and other people, Imu has swiftly created circles of varying sizes that can manifest weapons from the Abyss which are immediately put to use.^[22] Imu's regular usage of magic circles and the Abyss while in their demonic transformation, particularly with the A Kuwaru technique, indicates some degree of connection between the powers.

Demonic Powers[]

Imu's transformation.

Imu's transformation whilst possessing Gunko.

Imu wounds Sabo with a demon's tail.

Imu possesses the ability to transform into a demon, which appears to resemble common depictions of the devil Satan. They first showcased this transformation against Sabo in Pangaea Castle; it has only been seen in silhouette to this point, but is evidently extremely large, rivaling the entire platform under the Empty Throne and being roughly equivalent to the Five Elders' massive Mythical Zoan Beast Forms in size.^[3] It remains uncertain if this ability is also Devil Fruit-based. While transformed, Imu gains a pair of large, bat-like wings, a pointed tail, and a long pitchfork trident.^[22] The tail can be used as a fast and powerful piercing appendage, and Imu could even impale Sabo, a Logia user, with it. When fully transformed they were unaffected by a strike from Sabo's fire which they caught with their mouth.^[3]

When possessing Gunko's body, Imu activated a seemingly more limited version of the transformation, in which only the three aforementioned features appeared while the rest of Gunko's body remained unchanged and did not grow in size. While in this transformation, Imu is capable of floating in the air without appearing to have to move their wings.^[22]

Imu can summon a levitating grimoire-like book with a pentagram on the cover seemingly out of thin air. From this book, they are able to manifest a dark-colored substance which can quickly transform into a variety of weapons, with these weapons being powerful enough to severely injure the giant Brogy.^[14]

In this demon form, Imu makes frequent use of magic circles and the Abyss to an unprecedented degree. In particular, they have the capability of sending targets into the Abyss and transforming them into fellow demons, who possess features very similar to those of Imu's transformation. In this condition, the target becomes intoxicated with their overwhelming power and loses their sense of reason, and can be freely ordered by Imu to even attack their comrades.^[16]

Techniques[]

• A Kuwaru (悪魔契約（アー・クワール）, Ā Kuwāru^?, lit. "Demon's Contract"): Imu creates an Abyss in the air with their hand, which is then projected down beneath their target for them to sink into. In exchange for a portion of the target's lifespan, they are transformed into a demon that possesses an immortal body and greatly enhanced strength, which Imu dubs the "power of evil" (悪の力, aku no chikara^?). The name of this technique is likely on pun on the Japanese words aku and waru (悪^?), which mean "evil". In the VIZ manga, this pact is called Diabolical Covenant.

• Domi Reversi (黒転支配（ドミ・リバーシ）, Domi Ribāshi^?, lit. "Black Conversion Control"): After Imu's target becomes partially submerged into the Abyss and begins transforming into a demon, Imu flips their hand and rotates the target so that they become fully submerged. If two demons stand on either side of another target, then that target — having been caught between them — will also undergo the same process and transform into a demon.^[23] This is similar to the rules of the board game reversi.
  

Haki[]

Further information: Haki

Imu is one of the few people in the world able to use Supreme King Haki. When possessing Gunko's body, powerful waves of Haki began to radiate out from her body, resembling black lightning.^[6] Imu is capable of unleashing Supreme King Haki over a vast area to incapacitate multiple giants across Elbaph, including warriors of the Giant Warrior Pirates.^[24] This burst of Haki was so powerful and potent that numerous powerful fighters among the Straw Hat Pirates, a crew who's captain is an Emperor, veteran pirate Scopper Gaban, and the New Giant Warrior Pirates have reacted with shock, with Loki in particular commenting that it was "preposterous".^[25]

Weapons[]

Imu summoning cannons from an Abyss.

Imu's book summoning weapons.

Imu possesses a saber, which they used to cut apart wanted posters and photographs or stab them.^[2] Whether or not Imu has any skill in wielding it for combat is unknown.

While possessing Gunko's body, Imu manifested a large black trident with arrow-shaped prongs. They appeared to use this weapon in the creation of an Abyss portal to summon a pair of cannons.^[22]

Using their mystical book, Imu manifested a dagger that they used to stab Brogy's hand and free themself from his grip, and a huge double-barrelled flintlock pistol that is powerful enough to blast straight through Brogy's arm and sever the giant's hand from his body.^[14]

History[]

Past[]

Most of Imu's life is a mystery, but it has been speculated by Emporio Ivankov that they may have been alive since the Void Century. This assumption is supported by Imu being familiar with Nefertari D. Lili and recognizing the Haki of Joy Boy, both of whom lived during that time period. What is known is that Imu has been the secret supreme ruler of the World Government for some time, though its unknown how long they have held this position.

56 years ago, during the Levely of that year, 5 kings were kidnapped. Imu expressed little concern about their lives when the perpetrator, Rocks D. Xebec, infiltrated the Room of Flowers. Rocks menacingly declared his intention to return in the future, and left before Imu could say anything.^[7]

Whole Cake Island Saga[]

Levely Arc[]

As royals gathered at Mary Geoise for the Levely, Imu went to an underground frozen chamber deep within Pangaea Castle, and approached a large straw hat while carrying several wanted posters and photographs including Monkey D. Luffy's.^[1] Imu later went to the Room of Flowers and cut apart Luffy and Blackbeard's wanted posters and stabbed the photo of Princess Shirahoshi. Afterwards Imu was alerted by a servant that the Five Elders had arrived. While carrying a photo of Nefertari Vivi in hand, Imu met with them and sat on the Empty Throne. The Elders requested that Imu reveal the name of the "light" that needed to be extinguished from history.^[2]

On the fourth day of the Levely, Nefertari Cobra went to the Empty Throne room to talk with the Five Elders about why Nefertari Lili, the Queen of Arabasta 800 years ago, was not officially documented after the Void Century, and questioned what the "D" meant. As the two parties conversed, Imu listened in on their conversation from the Room of Flowers. Without notice, Imu then entered the Empty Throne room and proceeded to sit on the throne in front of the Five Elders and a surprised Cobra.^[10]

Imu refused to answer any questions about their own identity but went on to reveal that the Will of D. was the moniker of the government's ancient enemy; it has cropped up more frequently in recent times, but Imu referred to it as nothing but a faint echo and individuals who carry the name aren't even aware of its true meaning. Imu then explained Lili's involvement that caused the Poneglyphs to be scattered all over the world, considering it the worst possible outcome for the World Government. In exchange, Imu, who had shown interest in a letter written by Lili that Cobra mentioned having beforehand, ordered the Arabasta king to reveal the full name of its author.

Realizing he had no chance to escape and was set to die anyway, Cobra admitted that Lili carried the moniker D. on her name and was impaled by Imu using a devil tail. Sabo, who was eavesdropping nearby, quickly jumped in to attack the Five Elders and Imu, but the latter was able to cancel Sabo's flames with their own ability. Having let Sabo witness some of their biggest secrets, the top brass of the government gave chase to the revolutionary and Cobra, only managing to stop and kill the latter. Wapol also happened to witness the whole thing through a peephole and ran away as far he could.^[3]

Sabo managed to escape with knowledge of Imu, and the World Government went on high alert to locate him.^[8]

After the Levely ended, Imu called the Elders. They wished to test out Vegapunk's latest creation, the Mother Flame, and upon being asked where to use it on, Imu named Lulusia Kingdom as its target simply due to the kingdom's proximity to the Mother Flame, regardless of the people living there. Imu also ordered the Five Elders to capture Vivi and bring her to them.^[4]

Final Saga[]

Egghead Arc[]

Coincidentally, the World Government eventually was able to trace Sabo's location to Lulusia, after intercepting a call where he attempted to reveal Imu's existence to the rest of the Revolutionary Army. In the Room of Flowers, Imu listened in on the Five Elders' discussing the discovery of Sabo's location and the country of Lulusia being destroyed by an explosive energy barrage from the sky, with the Five Elders proclaiming that it never existed at all.^[8] Imu later witnessed the rise of the sea in the world.^[26]

The next day, Imu looked at a painting of Nefertari Lili and listened to Vegapunk's broadcast message about that rise of the sea and the discoveries he had made about the Void Century.^[27][28][29] With the broadcast nearing its end, Imu listens to Vegapunk state that the fate of the world will be decided by whoever is able to claim the One Piece.^[30] After Emet used Joy Boy's stored Supreme King Haki to force the Five Elders back to Mary Geoise, Imu fell to their knees screaming and cursed Joy Boy's name.^[12]

Following the conclusion of the Egghead Incident, Imu furiously blamed Saturn for his role in allowing Luffy (whom Imu referred to as Joy Boy) and his allies to escape. As a result, Imu stripped Saturn of his apparent immortality, killing him. At the same time, they promoted Figarland Garling to Saturn's previously held position as Warrior God of Science and Defense.^[13]

Elbaph Arc[]

During the God's Knights mission on Elbaph, the group ran into a number of adversaries that caused them trouble in completing their mission of subjugating Elbaph and bringing it under the World Government, including the Straw Hats and Scopper Gaban, Gol D. Roger's left hand man. As a result of this, alongside an unknown catastrophe in Mary Geoise involving the holy city being set ablaze, Imu decided to act. Having noticed God's Knights member Manmayer Gunko suddenly regaining lost memories between herself and Straw Hat member Brook, Imu used an unknown method to possess Gunko's body, before declaring their intention to "assist" the God's Knights.^[6]

A moment later, the Giant Warrior Pirates, as well as a few parents, finally made their arrival to rescue the children. Imu, annoyed by their interference, sprouted a pair of devil wings and took to the sky, before unleashing a burst of Supreme King Haki, knocking a few of their adversaries unconscious. As said giants were meant to have been distracted by Killingham's MMAs, Imu took a moment to berate Killingham for his failure to do so. They then addressed Sommers, demanding that he take charge of the children. Meanwhile, Dorry and Brogy, the captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates, finally arrived to confront whom they believed to be Gunko.

With suitable candidates before them, Imu attempted to inform the pair of their new status as the kings of Elbaph, but was interrupted by Brogy grabbing them. While Brogy began to rant about stopping the God's Knights, Imu casually summoned a magical book, which they then used to create a pair of weapons. At the same time, they issued a simple order for Dorry and Brogy, which was to kill Jarul and declare themselves kings. Brogy was outraged by the very idea, but was cut off by Imu suddenly stabbing him with a dagger they summoned, before blowing his left hand off using a large shotgun. With Brogy effectively immobalized, Imu summoned an Abyss below his feet, before preparing a demonic contract. Using Domi Reversi, Imu converted Brogy into a demonic version of himself. The shock of the moment allowed Dorry to be converted as well, alongside a few of their crewmates. Imu was impressed with the sheer ability their new pawns showed, and watched intently as they set off to kill Jarul.^[31]

With the majority of their work complete, Imu stood aside and watched as their demons proceeded forward, alongside Killingham's newly revitalized MMAs. Upon being proposed a question by Sommers as to how long they planned to go with their takeover, Killingham chimed in that things were safely in their favor. Before he could finish his explanation, Imu cut him off, and declared their intention to shatter Elbaph's spirit. Imu added that Harald's apparent mistake 14 years prior had been the sole reason for their previous failure, and that Elbaph should long have been under the World Government's control.^[32]

Major Battles[]

• Imu and Five Elders vs. Sabo
• Imu vs. Brogy

Translation and Dub Issues[]

In the VIZ Media translation, Imu talks in first person with the standard subject pronoun "I", but instances of the objective form "me" are replaced by "mu".

Imu's unique second-person pronoun nushia (ヌシア^?) in Japanese is seemingly derived from the dated "you" pronouns onushi (御主^?) and nushi (主^?). In the VIZ Media translation, Imu uses the archaic English pronouns "thou" and "thee".

The dub does not use this convention, but it does have Imu speak in a very formal dialect.

Trivia[]

• Regarding Imu's name:
  • The Japanese verb imu (spellings: 忌む・諱む・斎む^?) means "to shun", "to avoid" or "to detest" (with imubeki (忌むべき^?) meaning "abominable/detestable").
  • The katakana of Imu's name (イム) are the radicals that form the kanji 仏 ("buddha").
  • Ím (transliterated as イーム in Japanese) is a jötunn in Norse mythology.
• Emporio Ivankov has hypothesized that Imu may be one of the First Twenty from 800 years ago: specifically, a member of the Nerona Family named Saint Imu, who may have received the "Perennial Youth Operation" since a normal Celestial Dragon has no authority to command the Five Elders.
  • This belief is supported by Marcus Mars referring to Imu as a "Creator", the same way as the First Twenty are referred to, although whether Imu is indeed one of those 20 kings is unknown as of now.^[4]
  • This theory is further reinforced when Imu collapsed and seemed to recognize the Haki of Joy Boy, who lived during the Void Century, during the same time as the First Twenty.^[33]
• Imu's position as ruler of the world is a title that the infamous pirate Rocks D. Xebec once aspired to obtain.^[34] While it is currently unknown how Xebec came to know of Imu and the Room of Flowers, the two did meet each other 56 years ago.
• The existence of an authority even higher than the Five Elders within the World Government is first hinted at in Chapter 793 when Fleet Admiral Sakazuki learns from the Five Elders that the orders approving Doflamingo's charade of falsely quitting the Seven Warlords came from an authority that supersedes their own.^[35]
• In One Piece in Love, an extremely shy girl called Hagiwara Hana (萩原 花^?) wears an Imu costume to approach the pirate club.^[36][37]

Imu costume in One Piece in Love.

Person inside the Imu costume.

Notes[]

References[]

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