One Piece Volume 115 was officially released in Japan on July 3, 2026. This new volume of One Piece is the longest in the entire history of the series, with 13 chapters spanning from One Piece chapter 1167 all the way to 1179. As is the case with every One Piece volume, Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the series, revealed a lot of new information to us, and this also included important details concerning the Imus clan.
Thanks to the official release of the One Piece Chapter or One Piece Volume 115 on July 3rd, we now know that Nerona Imu is connected to Dracule Mihawk, and this has been highlighted once again through the latest PV released for the volume.
One Piece Volume 115 establishes Imu and Mihawk's blood connection through golden/red ringed eyes
Every time a One Piece volume is released, Eiichiro Oda and Shueisha release a PV for it. One Piece Volume 115 was no exception, and a new official PV was released alongside the volume on July 2, 2026. This PV was officially shown on the official One Piece YouTube account, and it showcased animated panels from all the chapters included in the volume release, and some even further back. One specific panel that stood out was from One Piece chapter 1155, released on July 21, 2025, in WSJ issue 34, where Nerona Imu was seen showing off her powerful, shining eyes.
Usually Nerona Imu's eyes are colored red One Piece Digitally colored edition. However, for this preview, it appears that Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the series, has changed the color tones for Imu. This time, Nerona Imu's eyes appear golden, and the ringed pattern makes it look exactly like Dracule Mihawk's eyes. Interestingly enough, the One Piece The Digital Color Edition also shows Dracule Mihawk's eyes as red, while the anime shows them to be golden.
The man claimed to be a worshiper of Davy Jones. He knew there was nothing more he could do, so he simply walked away with the words, “Just wait. I'll be right back, right here.” — Dialogue on the One Piece Panel showing off Imu's golden eyes.
Imu's golden eye color, shown in Volume 115 PV officially creates a connection, and the fact that these are the only two characters in the entire world of One Piece with golden ringed eyes making them directly connected with blood. Mihawk is royalty, and that much has already been set up in the story. Now, with this latest information from Oda himself One Piece Volume 115, we can link the strongest swordsman in the world directly to the Nerona Clan of the Heavenly Dragons.
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Nerona Imu's Sword of Judgment: Nemesis links him to the world's strongest swordsman
Mihawk and Imu are the only two characters in the One Piece the world with this golden eye pattern is already conclusive proof of their connection. What makes this even more believable is the fact that, i One Piece Chapter 1181, titled “God and Devil”, and officially released in Shueisha's Weekly Shounen Jump Issue #22-23 on April 27, 2026, Imu unleashed a powerful sword attack called the Sword of Judgment: Nemesis. This powerful sword was made by Imu's Maki or Omen, and the design that Imu conjured up for this sword was exactly the same as Dracule Mihawk's Yoru.
Imu: Omen is my military power. It is a force that resides in all living things.
Imu: Blade of Judgment: Nemesis!
Imu: Humans crave power. But if the power they crave is obtained through ease, it leads to corruption.
— Nerona Imu's explanation of the Omen and the use of the Blade of Judgment, One Piece Chapter #1181
This was a clever way by Eiichiro Oda to show that Mihawk and Imu are related by blood. This new swordsmanship that Imu displayed, combined with the golden/red eye pattern, officially created a strong blood relationship between the two through the Nerona clan.
For those who don't remember, the Nerona Clan was one of the 20 families that joined together in the fight against the Ancient Kingdom 800 years ago during the Void Century. Although Imu ended up becoming king, the Nerona clan still exists in the Holy Land as one of the 20 founders.
There are many ideas regarding Mihawk and Imu's blood relation, but the strongest of them all is that Mihawk is Imu's very own son. This makes sense when looking at their shared eye pattern, but more than that, also the naming pattern Oda has used for Dracule Mihawk. The word Dracule literally translates to “son of the devil” in Romanian. In One Piece Chapter 1179, which was officially released on April 5, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19, Eiichiro Oda officially introduced Imu as the Devil of the World with the power of the legendary Akuma no Mi, or “Devil's Fruit.” If Mihawk's name implies that he is the son of the devil and Nerona Imu is the devil of the world, it is very likely that Mihawk is a direct descendant by blood, which is further backed up by the recent revelation in One Piece Volume 115.
“My name is Dracule Mihawk! It is far too soon for you to die. Know yourself. Learn the world and become strong. However long it takes, I will wait for you at the top. Strive with all your heart and mind to make this blade the best. Strive to surpass me, Roronoa Zoro!” — Dracule Mihawk introduces himself, One Piece Chapter #52
There may be complications due to Nerona Imu being over 800 years old, but it must be remembered that Imu is immortal and as such can have children at any time. With the heavenly dragons' habit of taking slaves often, Nerona Imu could easily have had a child recently One Pieceand that child may very well end up as Dracule Mihawk. As we move towards the final part of the story after the events of Elbaf, Dracule Mihawk's character will be greatly expanded, and it is in this part of the story that his connection to Nerona Imu and his clan will be properly explained.
For now, we can be sure that these two are connected by blood, although the exact specific connection between the two will likely be worked out by Eiichiro Oda later down the line. As Imu continues to fight in Elbaf against Loki and Luffy, more hints about his powers, as well as his bloodline and the old battle from the Void Century, will be given to fans. Perhaps a connection to Dracule Mihawk will also be teased here, and we absolutely cannot wait to see how Eiichiro Oda shapes this beautiful story in the future.
All the new One Piece manga chapters by creator Eiichiro Oda are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
