With One Pieceheading deep into the Final Saga, fans know that those of the World Government are going to be the primary antagonists of the series. Fans still have the Five Elders creating all sorts of havoc in the previous arc of One Piece, with readers getting to see all their incredible abilities. At the same time, fans also know that Imu is going to be even more special than all the Elders, and that their powers will be some of the most incredible ones that fans have seen in the story.
When it comes to the fighters of the World Government, especially the Elders and those above, fans know that there is one power that stands out the most, and that is immortality. Yet, in the previous chapter of One Piece, something curious happened that has now taken the attention of all the fans and it pertains to immortality as well. Now, fans have solid reason to believe that the one giving immortality to the Elders is none other than Imu, and while this may sound shocking to many readers, there is reason to believe that it was none other than the sovereign of the world.
Imu’s Devil Fruit Power Could Be The Greatest Of Them All
Imu Rules The World
The Elders Bow Before Imu
When it comes to the immortality of the Elders, fans simply need to look at the one who ties it all together, and that person is none other than Imu. For anyone to grant an ability to someone else, they need to have some sort of devilish power themselves. Granting one’s own ability to someone else doesn’t seem normal by any standard. Fans know for a fact that Luffy cannot give an aspect of his power to someone else. Similarly, no other Devil Fruit user can give their power to someone else, unless a very unique case exists in the story. The general rule is that abilities cannot be passed down, unless a sub-ability allows for one to do something similar. For instance, the Kobu Kobu no Mi, which is a powerful Devil Fruit wielded by Bello Betty, cannot be passed down to someone else. However, using this fruit, other people can be empowered.
Similarly, Imu likely has a devil fruit power that allows him to do the same. For one, fans know that Imu does possess the powers of Zoan type ability. Fans don’t clearly know what this power is, but, as has been hinted in the story on many occasions, Imu’s power could just be that of the Sea Devil. The Sea Devil has been brought up in One Piece on many occasions. Shanks spoke of the Sea Devil in the very early parts of the series, and Oda has also brought up this concept in his other one-shots.
For instance, within the main story, Shanks states that he once heard a rumor that the Devil Fruits are all incarnations of the Sea Devil. Whoever eats the fruit gains an ability in exchange for their power to swim. This essentially implies that the Sea Devil is the one in charge of all the abilities and through its various incarnations, Devil Fruits come into existence. Perhaps, Imu has the power of the sea devil itself, which would explain why he or she can grant an ability to someone else.
Fans don’t know what Imu’s devil fruit is, but the fact that it appears to be that of a massive creature supports the idea that it is some sort of devil, at the very least. It also makes sense thematically, when looking at the abilities of the Gorosei. All of them are demonic in nature, which is why Oda made them Yokai. Imu is most likely demonic in nature as well, and there is no bigger demon in the entire world of One Piece than the Sea Devil.
The Elders’s Immortality Is Connected To Imu
The Elders Could Have Gained Their Immortality From Imu
Coming over to the powers of Imu and his sea devil ability, fans simply need to look at Shanks’ statement again. Shanks stated that Devil Fruits are essentially an incarnation of the sea devil in various forms. This means that the sea devil has the ability to grant multiple powers to different individuals.
This would simply explain the idea of how the Elders got their powers. Simply put, all the abilities that the elders have are incarnations of Imu themselves. This idea makes a lot of sense, and explains how the Elders are able to connect with each other and even communicate telepathically. This was seen in the Egghead Island arc, where all the Elders were seemingly connected, just as the Vegapunks are connected to Punk Records. They could all speak to each other while being miles apart, and at the same time, could read each other’s minds, and even pass on messages easily. The Sea Devil allows for them to do so.
One might wonder as to how that is possible, but it is quite easy to understand if one takes into consideration the fact that Imu was the one who granted these abilities to different Elders as incarnations of his own self. In other words, these abilities are pieces of Imu and are given to the elders as a gift. Fans could also call this making a pact with the devil. The Elders were normal Celestial Dragons who existed during the Void Century. They were part of the Founding 20, but, at one point, they made a pact with the Imu, and at this point, they received various Yokai abilities which allowed them to strengthen themselves even further. But in return, they gave up their humanity.
As for how they gave up their humanity, the answer is right in front of the fans. They gained the power of immortality and cannot be called humans anymore. Oda has made the Elders as demonic as possible in every single aspect in Egghead. These people cannot be seen as humans anymore, and the fact that they plan to crush everyone who isn’t a celestial dragon is proof of how they think of themselves as something other than humans.
Essentially, it was because of Imu that the Elders received their Yokai abilities. If that wasn’t enough, Imu also extended the power of immortality to the Elders, through the same pact. This, once again, makes total sense, given that Imu is the Sea Devil who can offer powers of their own incarnations to different individuals, based on what Shanks has mentioned early on in the story. This is why Imu simply took away Saturn’s immortality in One Piece chapter 1125, and essentially killed him. Of course, right now, this is just an idea, but, as One Piece continues, it is highly likely that this idea will be confirmed.
