One Piece officially welcomes The Grand Line's strongest Haki user

With official release of One Piece chapter 1182 of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #24 May 10, 2026The Elbaf arc of the series continues to expand on the character of Nerona Imu as well as his incredibly powerful abilities. With the introduction of Imu, Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piecerevealed the most significant Devil Fruit in the world of One Piece, called 'Akuma no Mi' or 'The Devil's Fruit', making it an ability that surpasses all others in the world of One Piece.

However, looking at Nerona Imu's incredible strength across Chapters 1180, 1181, and 1182 of the Elbaf Arc, it has become apparent that he is the official strongest Haki user currently in the Grand Line. There are several statements and feats straight from Elbaf's climax that support it.

One Piece Chapter 1180 and 1181 officially confirms Nerona Imu as the current strongest Haki user

The king of the world and the man known as the true god One Piece world, Nerona Imu marked her descent into Elbaf in Chapter 1179, which was officially released in Shueisha as Weekly Shonen Jump issue 19 on April 6, 2026. This was a significant development in the story that shocked me and most fans, as we had never anticipated Imu's arrival so early in the Final Saga. When Imu was officially introduced in the Reverie Arc eight years ago, the impression I got was that he was going to be the ultimate antagonist that writers traditionally save for the last arcs. Eiichiro Oda completely flipped the script by bringing Imu into action, but at the same time managed to piss off all of us fans in the process.

“Five Elders, I will leave the Holy Land for a while!” — Nerona Imu, One Piece Chapter #1178

While the vast majority of Imu's powers come from his Akuma no Mi, such as his devil form, the power of the Omen, as well as the power he calls God's Dominion, there is more to Imu than just that. Nerona Imu is an ultimate fighter and easily the strongest in the world of One Piece right now, and a lot of that is also due to his Haki. As it stands, Nerona Imu has the strongest Haki in the One Piece world right now among all the characters currently alive and present within the Grand Line. First, Nerona Imu is the ultimate villain in One Piece and as such has strength that even Loki or Luffy can't compete with at this point. This alone makes his Haki stronger than both of these individuals.

Image taken by the author from One Piece English version from Viz Media.

IN One Piece Chapter 1180, which was officially released in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #21 and was officially released on April 20, 2026, saw Imu unleash her immense strength in the fight against Loki. Although Loki himself was the warrior god of Elbaf, he could not withstand Imu's powers and was easily overwhelmed. All of Imu's powerful attacks were charged to the Supreme King's suit, and in almost every case, Imu had the upper hand in their clashes. This directly implies that Imus' Haki is stronger than Loki's.

Omen is my military power! A force that resides within all living beings. — Nerona Imu, One Piece Chapter 1181

One Piece Chapter 1181 also had Luffy officially stating that he had never felt Haki like Imu ever before when he was sweating. Luffy fearing Imu's Haki and saying that he has never felt a presence so strong is also a direct confirmation that Imu's Haki is much stronger than his and even Kaido's, who he fought before.

“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 after sensing Imu's Haki in One Piece chapter #1181

Although some fans may feel that there is still a debate between characters like Nerona Imu and Shanks, this debate was also put to bed directly by Scopper Gaban in Chapter 1180. Witnessing the power of Imu's Haki after his descent, Gaban directly told us that he did not feel Haki that strong even when he was in the God Valley, 38 years ago.

At God Valley, Oda displayed the power of Garp and Rogers Conquerors Haki as well as Rocks D. Xebec after being Domi Reversed. Imu's own Haki was also felt through Saturn's body then in Chapter 1164. Despite seeing these powerful and monstrous Haki users, Gaban officially claims that the Haki he felt in Elbaf in Chapter 1180 was the strongest and in a completely different strength.

What's going on? Even at God Valley, I never felt Haki like this! — Scopper Gaban, One Piece Chapter #1180

Likewise, having seen several powerful Haki users during Elbaf's 1.5 year run, I can only conclude that Nerona Imu is the strongest of them all and thus the strongest Haki user in the entire Grand Line.

Nerona Imu's full Haki power has yet to be revealed in Elbaph

While Imu's Haki-charged Akuma no Mi attacks are already incredibly impressive, such as Chapter 1182's Gazing Eclipse, we must also not forget that he is currently in a very nervous state. IN One Piece Chapter 1182, published on May 10th, Sommers explained that Imu's body is not meant to be in the lower world because it suffers tremendously. As such, Imu is currently not at full power. In fact, One Piece Chapter 1179 clearly showed Imu spitting up blood immediately upon descending on Elbaf. This tells me that Imu is not at the peak of his powers, which also means that, after all, his Conqueror's Haki is still not at its peak.

Great Imus' body is not meant to sustain the outside. But even if we go past that, the strength we need and the strength we should destroy are both here. — Saint Sommers, One Piece Chapter #1182

Only after Imu regained her full strength later down the line One Piecehis true strength will be shown to us. If this level of Haki is already the strongest, I shudder to think what Imu will show later in the final saga.

Only Joy Boy's Haki has been shown to surpass Imu's In One Piece Chapter 1122

Through Imu's incredible display of strength in the Arc of Elbaf, it is incredibly clear to us that he is the strongest Supreme King user in all of One Piece right now. However, speaking of the entire series overall, Void Century specifically, there is one character whose Haki surpassed Imu's, and that is none other than Joy Boy. Officially released in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #36-37 on August 5, 2024, One Piece Chapter 1122 gave us a proper look at Joy Boy's Haki for the very first time, which he sealed inside Emeth.

“Was that Hakim even stronger than Red Hair's? There was no hostility towards it!” — Dorry and Brogy talk about Joy Boy's Haki, One Piece Chapter #1123

This Haki was so strong that it managed to split the sky by itself, nullified all the abilities of the five elders, sent four of them back to Marijoa, knocked out all the vice admirals present around Egghead, and most of all, struck immense pain right through Imu's body, which sat thousands of kilometers away in the Marijoa Sacred Land. To date, Joy Boy's Haki feat is the greatest, crowning him as the strongest Haki user of all time in One Piece. However, Joy Boy died 800 years ago, which was confirmed in One Piece Chapter 1115, May 27, 2024. With his death, the Void Century War ended, meaning that he is currently not in the hunt for the strongest Haki users in One Piece. After Joy Boy's death, Nerona Imu established her dominance over the world and now reigns as the strongest Supreme King user in the Grand Line.

All the latest One Piece chapters are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.