One Piece's new Elbaf villain shows that Yonko is no longer the strongest

With the arrival of the ruler of the world, Saint Imu Nerona in Elbaf, Eiichiro Oda's latest One Piece arc has officially reached its climax. Against all expectations, Oda has unleashed the power of the strongest villain in the entire series, who long ago in the Void Century fought against Joy Boy and the Ancient Kingdom. Imu's powers are the greatest in the world of One Piece at the moment, and they are much larger than those of any of the Yonko found in the seas. This is precisely why Oda must show a dominating performance from the King of the World in the Land of War.

Family

One Piece: 6 Devil Fruit Users From The Void Century

The Void Century was a mysterious time period, with some of the most powerful Devil Fruits ever.

Evaluate the difference in strength between Nerona Imu and Yonko

The Yonko have always been some of the strongest individuals in the world of One Pieceand that hasn't changed. To this day, they remain the four strongest pirates and rule the New World as kings, with not even the Marines able to directly rival their influence. Yonko take huge territories under their control and directly compete with the influence of the government. Basically, Yonko simply want to claim One Piece, but to do so requires immense powers, which is why only the strongest can continue to claim this title.

But as strong as they are, they don't even hold a candle to Saint Nerona Imu of the World Government. One Piece chapter 1179 went on to confirm that Nerona Imu is the possessor of The Devil's Fruit, or Akuma no Mi. This fruit is much more special than any other found in the world of One Piece and predates them all. It also gives Imu the ability to transform into the devil himself and use demonic powers, as well as spells from a magical book whose powers go far beyond human understanding.

The most important difference in strength between Yonko and Nerona Imu can be easily illustrated from the God Valley incident that took place 38 years ago. Despite Imu only using Saturn's body from a distance and not even being directly present on the island, he was able to withstand attacks from six top tiers, they were Rocks, Roger, Garp, Kaido, Big Mom and Whitebeard. All these attacks didn't even scratch Imu, and on top of that, he could easily take down Rocks D Xebecsomeone even stronger than Yonko. All of this Imu achieved by using only a fraction of his Akuma no Mi powers, and that's what separates him from the Yonko. Apparently, Imu appears in a completely different strength that no one can dare to oppose.

Breaking down the powers of Akuma no Mi

The powers of Imus' Akuma no Mi have not been fully revealed, but so far it is clear that he can recover from any damage dealt to them. Using this power, Imu can also transform into the devil as well as a devil-human hybrid, use various magic, derived from a spell book, produce weapons with ease, and even turn his enemies into his allies. Imu can also issue certain commands to her enemies and force them to take effect, such as making two individuals hate each other forever for a portion of their lifespan.

At the same time, Imu can also bestow certain special powers through alliances to his subordinates. So far, Imu has proven to be able to grant three different alliances:

• The Shallow Sea Association

• Deep connection

• Abyssal League

All of these offer various abilities to Imu's loyal followers, but they eventually corrupt those who have these powers.

Family

One Piece fixes Logia Devil Fruits with Monkey D. Dragon

Logia Devil Fruits have declined in importance in One Piece, but they could be fixed with Monkey D. Dragon.

Why the king of the world stands as the strongest in the story

800 years ago, during the Void Century, Imu finally killed Joy Boywho at that time was the only person strong enough to rival his strength and influence. With the death of Joy Boy and the subsequent disappearance of Davy D. Jones, Imu was the unrivaled king of the One Piece world. Since then, Imu has completely dominated the world and shaped it the way he wanted. As such, right now, Imu stands on top as the undisputed king of the One Piece world as well as the strongest character in the series.

That said, it must also be noted that Imu is seriously nervous somehow, as indicated by the fact that he started coughing up blood immediately after descending on the lower surface. Sooner or later this nerf will be removed, and when that happens, Oda will unleash his true strength and show fans why he became the king and defeated Joy Boy.

The path to defeating Imu in the final saga

At the moment, the path to defeating Nerona Imu in the final saga is still quite complicated. Neither Luffy nor Loki have what it takes to beat him. However, Luffy must continue to reach extremely high levels of strength if he is to defeat the King of the World. For that he has to work on his Haki and make it reach the same level as Joy Boy.

Of course, one cannot also ignore the fact that Luffy is the sun god Nika and a direct opposite of Imu's devil powers. With all of these abilities combined, Luffy may have a chance against him once he reaches his peak and brings out his full potential, but until then, he has no chance against the King of the World.

One Piece chapter 1180 will be available to read on Manga Plus on April 19, 2026 at 11 a.m. EST.