After a long wait, One Piece finally returns to the present timeline in Elbaf, and this return was celebrated by the writer, Eiichiro Oda, with the official beginning of the God vs. Devil battle that lights up the climax of the arc. IN One Piece Chapter 1186, officially released on June 28, 2026, Monkey D. Luffy, who is known as the Sun God Nika, officially teams up against Nerona Imu, the Devil God One Piece world, for the very first time, sets up the battlefield for what could potentially be the biggest battle in all of One Piece.
One Piece Chapter 1186 Officially Marks the Beginning of Sun God Nika vs Devil God Nerona Imu
After a very long wait, One Piece Chapter 1186 was officially released on June 28, 2026 in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #31. This chapter officially marked the end of Brook's flashback, where he explained how Princess Shuri was brought to the sacred land of Marijoa and how Esperia was destroyed long ago. Just as Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, officially established the storyline to rescue Princess Shuri, One Piece also set off its ultimate Elbaf climax by having Monkey D. Luffy, the protagonist of the series, join the fight against Nerona Imu. In One Piece Chapter 1181, which was officially released on April 27, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shounen Jump Double Issue #22-23, Eiichiro Oda showed Monkey D. Luffy consuming a huge amount of food in order to have enough energy to go up against Nerona Imu in battle.
“Gotta eat more! I've never felt anything like this before! It's so heavy and hard! What's with this guy's Haki?” — Monkey D. Luffy eats food to gain power before the Imu battle, One Piece Chapter #1181
One Piece officially introduces a 3000 year old mythical Zoan
The Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit class is being set up to receive a new divine addition depicted in the Harley mural in One Piece chapter 1138.
IN One Piece Chapter 1186, Luffy officially proclaimed that he now has enough energy and couldn't imagine anyone in the world beating him at this point. As such, Luffy entered the battle with immense confidence and landed a powerful punch coated in both the armor color and the Supreme King color, right across Nerona Imu's face. This has officially marked the beginning of the God vs. Devil battle at the end of the Elbaf Arc, but it is most certainly an ominous one with a premonition of the Straw Hats' defeat.
That bad news is Elbaf's enemy, isn't it? Then that means he's my enemy too. I am overflowing with strength. Right now I can't see anyone beating me.” — Monkey D. Luffy declares himself invincible, One Piece Chapter #1186
Eiichiro Oda foreshadows Luffy's defeat of Nerona Imu
While the God vs. Devil battle where Nika clashes with Akuma One Piece Chapter 1187 on July 5, 2026, and beyond is sure to be incredibly exciting, it is highly likely that Luffy will continue to lose this fight for a multitude of reasons. It must be remembered that Monkey D. Luffy runs into the final antagonist of the One Piecewho 800 years ago even managed to kill Joy Boy. He then played a significant role in the destruction of the Ancient Kingdom and established the world government, installing himself at the top and ruling the world as its king for 800 years now. For such a number to fall in Elbaf is practically impossible, especially when the war against the World Government has not even officially begun.
Creator of World Government (one of the first 20)
Power: Akuma no Mi (Devil's Fruit)
King of the World St. Nerona Imu
— Nerona Imu's Intro Box, One Piece Chapter #1179
Imu made a premature appearance in Elbaf in One Piece Chapter 1179 on April 5, 2026, in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19, making the possibility of him being defeated here highly unlikely. More importantly, One Piece Chapter 1186 saw Luffy officially enter the battle, saying that he can't imagine losing to anyone in the world right now. This message from Luffy was very intentionally put in by Eiichiro Oda in the chapter and is very ominous indeed. By having Luffy say that he can't imagine losing in battle, Eiichiro Oda sets the stage for a complete flip of the script and the defeat of Monkey D. Luffy.
“You're coming out of Elbaf right now! — Luffy punches Imu in the face, One Piece Chapter #1186
Luffy has not been defeated in battle since One Piece Chapter 1042 on March 7, 2022, where Kaido officially unleashed the Horai Hakke on him and killed him in battle. Eventually, this led to his Devil Fruit Awakening and the return of Sun God Nika through Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika in One Piece Chapter 1044 on March 28, 2022, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #17. Since then, Luffy has had smooth sailing in the Grand Line, but now it's time for him to hit the wall again. This fight against Nerona Imu will test Luffy and force him to take his powers to the next level, but after all, it seems that Eiichiro Oda foreshadows the defeat of the Straw Hat Yonko in Elbaf.
Why Elbaf can still be saved from Imu due to Imu's time limit
Right now, both Loki and Luffy are fighting Nerona Imu, and One Piece Chapter 1187, which will be officially released in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #32 on July 5, 2026, will continue this struggle. Imu, the king of the world, is expected by all of us to make a strong showing in battle after being beaten by Luffy, and the intensity will increase in the coming chapters of the series. As we mentioned earlier, Nerona Imu will likely be the victor in the fight against Luffy, but in the grand scheme of things, Elbaf can still be saved, and this is because Imu herself is on a strict timeline.
“Great Imu's body is not meant to sustain the outside. But even getting past that, the strength we need and the strength we should destroy are both here.” — Super Sommers explains the time limit to Nerona Imu, One Piece Chapter #1182
IN One Piece Chapter 1182, officially released in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #24 on May 10, 2026, Saint Sommers mentioned to Saint Killingham that Nerona Imu's body is not designed to be in the outside world and therefore has a strict time limit. This was also highlighted in One Piece Chapter 1180, where Imu herself stated to Sommers that they are very short on time and that every second is precious. Also, when Imu landed in Elbaf in One Piece Chapter 1179, which was officially released on April 5, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19, we could see the World King spitting blood due to the lower world weakening him. As such, Nerona Imu cannot maintain her powers for long, and this is directly supported by the story that Eiichiro Oda built up in the climax of the Elbaf arc.
“Anyway, Imu-sama, you must not leave Pangea Castle. We will send out the naval admirals stationed at headquarters.” — The Five Elders beg Imu not to go to Elbaf, One Piece Chapter #1179
Although Imu manages to defeat Luffy and Loki in the climax of the arc, he still runs out of time and is forced to retreat to the sacred land of Marijoa. In that sense, Eiichiro Oda is able to both cause Luffy to face his first defeat since Awakening his Devil Fruit, and protect Elbaf by ensuring that Luffy still lasts long enough before he is finally defeated, forcing Nerona Imu to retreat to the Holy Land. In other words, while the Devil would claim victory over the Sun God in a one-on-one, the overall battle would be won by the Sun God by defending Elbaf against the threat of the Heavenly Dragons.
All manga chapters of One Piece by Eiichiro Oda are available to read through Manga Plus and Viz Media.
