Eiichiro Oda's One Piece has an incredibly expansive power system powered primarily by Devil Fruit abilities. As such, quite a few characters have unique transformations by using their powers. Until recently, the strongest transformation was in One Piece was Monkey D. Luffy's Gear 5, which is the awakening of his Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, used in Chapter 1044 on March 28, 2022, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #17.
Now, four years later, One Piece has officially dethroned Luffy's Gear 5 with the recent revelation of Nerona Imu's Devil God transformation, which stems from the use of his Akuma no Mi powers, which is officially confirmed in One Piece Chapter 1179 in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #6, April 19, 2026.
One Piece Unleashes Nerona Imu's Akuma Transformation in Chapter 1179, Surpasses Luffy's Gear 5
One Piece Chapter 1179 was released on April 6, 2026, and it marked a historic moment in the entire series for us. It is this chapter that officially revealed the full character design of Nerona Imu for the very first time as he decided to descend upon Elbaf in an attempt to erase both the Sun God Nika and Nidhoggr from existence. By doing so, Eiichiro Oda gave us all a proper glimpse of Nerona Imu's powers, and it was confirmed that he was indeed a bearer of a Devil Fruit.
Creator of World Government (one of the first 20)
Power: Akuma no Mi
The king of that world, Saint Nerona Imu
— Nerona Imu Intro Box from One Piece Chapter #1179
Interestingly, Nerona Imu's Devil Fruit is quite different from all the others found in the One Piece world, and it's called Akuma no Mi. By using the power of Akuma no Mi, Nerona Imu can transform into the Devil himself, or the “Devil God”, as he likes to call himself. This Devil God transformation debuted in chapter 1179, and its powers were shown in subsequent chapters, from 1180 all the way to 1183, where Brook's flashback officially took over.
Loki: So your power is God's dominance? I think you mean a contract with the devil!
Imu: God? Devil? What is the difference?
— Imu explains her Akuma no Mi ability in One Piece Chapter #1181
Nerona Imu's Akuma no Mi transformation is unique. It gives him two giant horns, a pair of massive black wings, tanned skin, and a naginata as a weapon. He can also tap into the power of the Omen, which is what he calls his military power, and use it to craft various weapons such as bullets, bombs, shields, morning stars, swords, and even spears, among a host of other things, as officially shown in Chapters 1180 to 1183.
“The omen is my military power. It is a force that resides in all living things.” — Nerona Imu explains her Akuma no Mi Omen, One Piece Chapter #1181
Imu's physical abilities are at such a level that he can easily overpower Loki, despite having the power of the ice squirrel Ratatoskr by his side. He can shoot away the likes of Zoro, Sanji, and Hajrudin, which is officially shown in One Piece chapter 1180, which was released in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #21 on April 20, 2026. Obviously, right now, Nerona Imu stands tall as One Piece's strongest character in the current era, and his Akuma transformation is the strongest we've seen in the story so far.
Why Akuma no Mi is a unique devil fruit transformation
Nerona Imu's Devil God powers are special in more ways than one. Not only does this Devil Fruit make him strong by giving him the power of Omen, as well as various contracts and spells, but it is also special in the sense that it carries unique abilities that make it very different compared to any of the fruits found in the world of One Piece. All Devil Fruits found in the One Piece world fall under a specific naming pattern. Each Devil Fruit has a name pattern that is repeated twice, and all are usually written by author Eiichiro Oda in kanji. For example, Luffy's Hito Hito no Mi, Buggy's Bara Bara no Mi, Kuzan's Hie Hie no Mi, and Ace's Mera Mera no Mi all follow a similar naming pattern. Imus Akuma no Mi is very different.
Akuma no Mi only has a singular name, and instead of kanji, it uses katakana. In other words, this is the ultimate Devil Fruit in the world of One Piece, with a name that pretty clearly embodies that as well. With the power of a Devil Fruit surpassing any other found in the world of One Piece, it's no surprise to see Nerona Imu use transformations that far surpass the likes of Monkey D. Luffy's Gear 5 or Loki's Nidhoggr.
“What's going on? Even in the God Valley, I never felt Haki like this!” — Scopper Gaban confirms that Imu's transformation is the strongest, One Piece Chapter #1180
Luffy was able to develop a new transformation to surpass Nerona Imu's Akuma powers
The Elbaf arc of One Piece sets up the ultimate battle between Monkey D. Luffy and Nerona Imu, after the conclusion of the Brook flashback, which will continue in One Piece Chapter 1185 of June 14, 2026 in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #29. As it is, Luffy doesn't stand a chance against Imu, and even his Gear 5 isn't enough to take him down. This is evident from the fact that Luffy and Loki scale to a similar level of power, but Loki seems to struggle to land a single real hit on the World Sovereign.
“Possessing a body with the powers of rubber and fighting in any way he wants, bringing smiles to people, the warrior of liberation…also known as the sun god, Nika!” – Gorosei explaining the Sun God Nika's power, One Piece Chapter #1044
In order for Luffy to defeat Nerona Imu or even push him back, he needs a stronger transformation, and this is something that Eiichiro Oda could introduce in the climax of the Elbaf arc, after the conclusion of the Brook flashback. This transformation could be due to Luffy upgrading his Haki and combining it with Gear 5, or it could be something as simple as taking the awakening of his Devil Fruit to a whole new level and achieving a higher overall strength. If Luffy manages to do so, then he would also have access to a unique transformation that directly rivals the power of the Akuma no Mi possessed by Nerona Imu.
We're eager to see how Eiichiro Oda sets up the Luffy vs Imu battle once it starts and what abilities he gives him. At this point it can be said with absolute certainty that Luffy needs to get a lot stronger if he is going to fight Nerona Imu, and if he doesn't both Elbaf and Luffy himself will be crushed.
All new One Piece manga chapters by creator Eiichiro Oda can be read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
