Eiichiro Oda's One Piece is a traditional shonen that is filled with incredible adventures led by the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, Monkey D. Luffy, and astonishing world-building, which hardly any story in the world can match. These two things also constitute the greatest strengths of One Piece. But lately, Eiichiro Oda is also trying his luck with romance. When One Piece originally started, the writer of the series made it quite clear that he didn't want romance to be a mainstay of the story. This is specifically because One Piece is a skillful story, and young boys tend not to care much about romance, but it's clear that things have changed significantly in the Final Saga.
Recently, in the Elbaf arc, One Piece set the stage for one of the darkest romance stories of all time, centered around the king of the world, Nerona Imu, and his deep obsession with Nefertari Lily of the Void Century. In the midst of it all, the likes of Candelle and Princess Shuri also got involved.
One Piece reveals Imu's one-sided dark romantic obsession with Nefertari Lily
The main villain of One Piece is none other than Nerona Imu, who is also the king of the world. Imu was a huge mystery in the overall storyline too One Piece until recently, but One Piece Chapter 1179, officially released on April 5, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 19, demystified this character by showcasing his arrival in Warland Elbaf for the very first time. Nerona Imu's full character design was revealed to us, as were his powers in subsequent chapters.
“Gorosei, the Holy Land will be without Mu for a while. I leave it in your care.” — Nerona Imu as he heads to Elbaf, One Piece Chapter #1178
At the same time, Imu's connections to those from the past also began to become clear. For example, Eiichiro Oda gave us a flashback panel of Nerona Imu and Joy Boy, clearly showing that they were friends at one point in One Piece Chapter 1181, released on April 27, 2926, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #22-23.
At the same time, we know Nerona Imu's deep obsession with Nefertari Lily. Initially, Lily was one of the founding 20 kings; however, she ended up siding with none other than Joy Boy and raised a flag of revolution against the sinking world. This was officially confirmed in One Piece Chapter 1085, released on June 5, 2023. Imu's obsession with Lily seems to have started before this. Although he clearly accuses her of spreading the Poneglyphs throughout the world and keeping D's spirit alive, Imu desires her deeply. This is exactly why Nerona Imu also wants Nefertari Vivi, who looks just like Lily. By this point in the story, Eiichiro Oda has made it very clear that Nerona Imu has a one-sided obsession with Nefertari Lily, which is particularly evident from the portrait of the former queen of Arabasta in his flower chamber.
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“If it wasn't for Lily's mistake that fateful day, the hideous relics known as Poneglyphs would not have spread across the world!” — Nerona Imu explains Lily's role in Void Century, One Piece Chapter #1085
Why Princess Shuri's fall is directly tied to One Piece's darkest story
While Imu's obsession with Nefertari Lily is pretty clear, there's more to it than just that. It seems that Imu is projecting her obsession with Lily onto other blue-haired women in the world of One Piece, and Princess Shuri is one of them. This was evident from One Piece Chapter 1185, which was officially released in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #29 on June 15, 2026. In this chapter, Brook told Shuri that at one time a celestial dragon ship went to Esperia and stayed for a couple of months. During these months, Lady Candelle, Shuri's mother, was particularly overworked and stressed. Immediately after, a marriage between Reuven and Candelle was announced, and Shuri was born.
“Once a World Government ship washed up on Esperia, and the kingdom was surprised to encounter such authority as they had never experienced before. Lady Candelle was bedridden for months after due to fatigue, and you wouldn't believe how gloomy the people were during those months.” — Brook explains Candelle's dark past, One Piece Chapter #1185
This, combined with the fact that Shuri has celestial dragon blood and is from the Manmayer family, officially confirms that King Reuven is not her real father and that she is the product of a certain celestial dragon. Shuri has the same blue hair as Vivi, which explains why Nerona Imu took her back to the Holy Land and why she personally serves him as his own maid. Shuri should have been in her 70s by now, but clearly hasn't aged much since going to the Holy Land of Marijoa.
Apparently, Imu has kept her with him to tend to his every need, turning her into a mindless slave soldier for him to keep himself. No matter how we look at it, this is a dark, unrequited love story with a very twisted form of tragedy that Imu has encountered several characters so far. Now he wants to do the same with Nefertali Vivi as well.
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Why Lily could have been in love with Joy Boy instead of Imu
Imu's obsession with Lily makes a lot of sense when you watch One Piece Chapter 1183, which marked the beginning of the Esperia flashback on May 25, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #26. In this flashback, it was pretty clear that Shuri, in her childish nature, was in love with none other than Brook. Because of her childlike innocence, she didn't realize why her feelings for Brook were misplaced. No matter what Brook told her, Shuri was fully set on displaying her feelings for him. Oddly enough, at the beginning of this flashback in One Piece Chapter 1183, Eiichiro Oda showed Brook doing the Nika pose. This was an important hint from the writer that connected Brook directly to the sun god Nika and Shuri to Nefertari Lily.
Nerona Imu: There is another thing, I wish Vivi!
Five Elders: As you wish
— Exchange showing Nerona Imu's dark obsession with Lily
As such, the implication here is that just as Shuri had feelings for Brook, Lily had feelings for none other than Nika. This was clearly shown in One Piece chapter 1181, which was officially released on April 27, 2026, in WSJ Issue #22-23. Joy Boy and Nerona Imu were friends, but since Lily chose Joy Boy over Nerona Imu, his obsession with her grew to an unhealthy amount, which indeed had a significant role to play in the great war that took place 900 years ago. This also explains his deep desire to acquire Nefertari Vivi in the Final Saga. As the Elbaf arc whizzes towards its end, Shuri's connection to Imu, as well as more information about the likes of Lily and Vivi, will also be revealed by Eiichiro Oda, and that's something we're excited to see.
All new One Piece Chapters by Eiichiro Oda are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
