After 8 years, One Piece officially confirms Saint Imu Nerona's true gender

One Piece's The Elbaph arc has proven to be quite unpredictable, with some of the most exciting developments taking place in recent chapters. With Saint Imu Nerona deciding to head to the Warland herself, it was only a matter of time before some of the biggest mysteries surrounding this individual were finally revealed to fans. Now, for the very first time, Oda has confirmed the true gender of Imu, and this individual has been revealed to be male.

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Why the world sovereign's gender was hidden by Oda

Saint Imu Nerona from Founding 20 made her debut in One Piece 8 years ago during the Reverie Arc. When the empty throne was first revealed, it was immediately followed by a person who sat atop it and declared himself the king of the world. At this point, it became clear that Imu would go on to be the final villain in the story of One Piece.

Much to the surprise of readers, Oda hid Imu's true appearance and covered the entire character in silhouette, and this was done on purpose. The main reason Oda took this approach was to hide Imu for now. At the time, One Piece hadn't even started the Wano Country Arc, and bigger threats needed to be dealt with, like Kaido and Big Mom. In order not to overshadow these threats and set the scene for the final saga, Oda decided to hide Imu's appearance. Now that the war against the World Government is on the horizon, it is the perfect time for Oda to reveal the true form of Saint Imu Nerona, which is exactly why he has done just that in the Elbaph arc. As was made clear in the chapter, Imu has now landed in the land of war and revealed her true form for all to see.

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How the Elbaph Arc Confirmed Imu as a Man

The Elbaph arc in One Piece has focused a lot on the character Saint Imu Nerona, the ruler of the World Government and one of the 20 founders, and the latest chapter took this to the next level by bringing the character to Elbaph to fight Nika and Nidhogg. Immediately after Imu's introduction, it became clear that this individual is a man. Imu sports white hair and tanned skin. In addition to that, Imu also has dark wings and a pointed tail, along with an ability that seems to awaken.

By looking at the character design, it's clear that Imu is a man. However, the design appears to be quite feminine, which is where a lot of the confusion stemmed from. Now it is clear that Imu is simply an effeminate man, but really a male character. This is further supported by how the five elders refer to Imu in Japanese. The Celestial Dragons have their own titles of honor: Male Celestial Dragons are referred to as “-sei”, while the females are referred to as “-guu”. The Five Elders and the Holy Knights clearly refer to Imu as “Imu-sei”, putting the character's gender beyond doubt. Imu is a manand this has now been officially confirmed in history.

Analyzes Imu's connection to the world's greatest breeds

That Imu is male is a huge reveal in itself, but there's more to the character design than just that. Imu is also likely connected to the large races One Piece the world in one way or another. First, Imu has tanned skin as well as white hair. This is one of the main characteristics of the Lunar race and suggests that the Imu may be connected to them in some way or form.

Meanwhile, Imu also sports horns, which are a sign of the ancient giant's bloodline. It is unclear if Imu's horns are derived from the Devil Fruit transformation or if they are natural. If they are all natural, the Imu may even be connected to the ancient giant race and have some past connection to the land of Elbaph, which they are currently trying to take over. It would also make it quite poetic for Imu to go back to this land, considering that in this case it would end up being their home. Imu's appearance in Elbaph really elevates the story tremendously and makes it more exciting than ever before. The coming weeks will shed even more light on this character, and fans absolutely cannot wait for it.

One Piece chapter 1179 is available to read on Manga Plus starting April 5, 2026.

One Piece

Release date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

Author

Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)