After Elbaph, One Piece sets up the official strongest Devil Fruit Awakening Reveal

With the reveal of Nerona Imu in Elbaph's climax in chapter 1179, and a huge display of his strength recently in chapter 1182, which was officially released in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #24 on May 10, 2026, One Piece now rushing towards the end of the arc. Eiichiro Oda himself confirmed in his Jump Festa 2026 announcement that he intends to end Elbaph this year and set up an arc of major confrontations to follow. This new arc will focus on the Four Emperors, the Revolutionary Army and, of course, the World Government, which is at the center of everything. Through this new arc, Eiichiro Oda has set up the reveal of the official strongest Devil Fruit Awakening i One Piece.

While most fans may think this is Nerona Imus' Akuma no Mi, this Devil Fruit is actually none other than the one canonically stated to be the most powerful of them all – the Yami Yami no Mi, belonging to none other than Marshall D. Teech, also known as Blackbeard.

One Piece Chapter 441 Officially Confirmed Logia Type Yami Yami no Mi as the Strongest Devil Fruit

In the Elbaph arc of One Piecespecifically in chapter 1179, which was officially released in Shueisha's Weekly Shounen Jump Issue #19 on April 6, 2026, Eiichiro Oda introduced fans to one of the most powerful Devil Fruit abilities of all time, called Akuma no Mi, belonging to none other than Nerona Imu. Through this unique Devil Fruit power, Imu gains the ability to transform into the Devil God himself and uses a power called God's Dominion. Imu also gains a unique ability of black flames called Omen or Maki, which has immense strength and potential. With these powers, Imu is easily one of the strongest in the One Piece world, and in terms of offensive output and destructive ability, he might just be the strongest.

Omen is my military might! A force that lurks within everything in the world. — Nerona Imu, One Piece Chapter #1180

When I watched Imu's exploits at the climax of the Elbaph arc, I couldn't believe the strength he displayed. Loki, who was canonically stated to be able to destroy the world in chapter 1130, was absolutely no match for Nerona Imu, which shocked me to the core, but also excited me as it served to further raise the stakes for the upcoming Great War. Imu's Haki is also canonically stated to be stronger than Roger, Garp, and even Rock's D. Xebec, by Scopper Gaban in Chapter 1180, which was officially released on April 20, 2026 in WSJ Issue #21, making him the strongest in the One Piece world right now.

What's going on? Even at God Valley, I never felt Haki like this! – Scopper Gaban, One Piece Chapter #1180

However, despite all these tremendous feats in the Elbaph arc, Imu is not the strongest Devil Fruit user in the One Piece world. This honor goes to none other than Blackbeard, whose importance I and many other fans absolutely cannot forget in the grand scheme of things. Blackbeard's Devil Fruit reveal officially came on Banaro Island in One Piece Chapter 441, which was was released on January 22, 2008, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #8. In this chapter, Blackbeard took on the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and Luffy's own brother, Portgas D. Ace, in battle and revealed a lot of exciting information that, for some fans, tends to be forgotten.

Image via Toei Animation.

Blackbeard unleashed the power of his Yami Yami no Mi in this battle, and what is surprising is that all those years ago, Eiichiro Oda directly said that this Devil Fruit is the strongest in the world of One Piece. Blackbeard specifically told Ace that, with this newfound ability, he is now the strongest in the entire world, and the main thing I couldn't help but remember after watching Imu is that Blackbeard's ability specifically counters the “Devil” himself.

When Blackbeard used the power of Kurouzu for the first time on Ace, he said that his ability is infinite gravity, which absorbs everything, including light itself. The other thing that his Devil Fruit ability pulls in is the “power of the devil.”

The other thing that my Yami Yami no Mi can soak in “Devil's power.” — Blackbeard, One Piece Chapter 441

What stood out to me the most here is the distinction Blackbeard makes between a Devil Fruit and the Devil. Blackbeard doesn't say that his Devil Fruit only takes away the powers of other Devil Fruits. He specifically states that his power removes the devil's abilities. Linking it to One Piece Chapter 1179's big reveal of Nerona Imu as the Devil of the One Piece world, it's clear that Blackbeard's ability is the direct opposite of Imu's power, making it the strongest in the world and, what's more, making its awakening the biggest threat in the entire world of One Piece.

Why Blackbeard's Devil Fruit Awakening Makes Him the Strongest in One Piece World

Yami-Yami no Mi is a very powerful Logia-type Devil Fruit that allows Blackbeard himself to become darkness and control the power of infinite gravity. Its greatest strength, as Blackbeard himself put it in Chapter 441, is that it can remove the abilities of all other Devil Fruits, along with the Devil himself. This is overpowered enough on its own, but Blackbeard needs direct physical contact with someone to cancel their abilities. But that's where Devil Fruit awakenings come in.

Awakening is what happens when the mind and body finally catch up with the ability. Your powers are truly ridiculous. — Kaido, One Piece Chapter #1046

When Blackbeard awakens his Devil Fruit, he will no longer need direct contact with his enemies to negate their powers. When Blackbeard wakes up, Blackbeard should be able to affect his surroundings with the power of darkness instantly, meaning that anyone near him will not be able to use his Devil Fruit powers. Luffy's Gear 5, Nerona Imu's Akuma no Mi, or any other Devil Fruit ability found in the world of One Piece will simply become useless. Blackbeard should also theoretically be able to create multiple black holes instead of just one and then crush all of his enemies with infinite gravity. Looking at what this Devil Fruit is capable of after awakening, I can't help but come to the conclusion that its awakening is by far the strongest in the world of One Piece.

Blackbeard's potential time-stopping ability could make him stronger than Imu

If Blackbeard's ability to remove the devil Fruit powers of others, including Nerona Imu, after the conclusion of the Elbaph arc is terrifying, then what makes this power even more terrifying is that it can even gain the ability to potentially stop time itself after awakening, and that is truly terrifying. The basis for Blackbeard getting a time stop ability is pretty simple. Blackbeard controls the power of infinite gravity, and when focused on a certain point over a long period of time, the theory of relativity suggests that this black hole should be able to stop time itself. Blackbeard was able to gain the ability to do just that with his overwhelmed Yami Yami no Mi Awakening.

You can't kill me. This power is said to be the most dangerous of all abilities in existence. With this ability, I have become the strongest! — Blackbeard, One Piece Chapter 441

If Eiichiro Oda wanted to complete Blackbeard as the final villain in the story for me and many other readers who have watched him grow over decades, it is by giving him this overpowered ability in the arcs to come and set him up as the successor to Rocks D. Xebec as well as Davy Jones, his Void Century ancestor. I can't wait to see what Blackbeard shows in the upcoming arcs of One Piece, and it's really going to be incredibly exciting.

All the latest One Piece chapters by Eiichiro Oda are officially available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.