Imu and the Gorosei are set up to be the final villains after One Piece chapter 1085. While the Gorosei or the Five Elders are regarded as the most mysterious figures of the world, appearing only to provide exposition, even they are seen as subordinates to the dark shadowy figure of Imu. Mangaka Eiichiro Oda is a master storyteller with most of his foreshadowing being hits rather than misses.
Who is Imu, and who are the Elders? What powers do they have? These questions have revolved in the minds of viewers throughout the narrative. While some have considered the Elders to be simply political figures with privilege, similar to the Tenryubito (Prince Charlos) others have disagreed, believing that the hype attributed to them must have some payoff.
It helps that one of the Elders has a huge sword, and some even speculate that he might be Zoro’s final opponent. The recent revelation in One Piece chapter 1085 even hinted at the possible Devil Fruit abilities of these Elders as well as the Gorosei.
One Piece chapter 1085 hints at possible revelations regarding the Devil Fruits possessed by Imu and the Gorosei
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New Theory: Imu "Where the Wild Things are"
Big thanks to @Aldhisqs9 and @Ritasvn since they mentioned it before.In Chapter 1085 we see Imu and the Gorosei transform into monsters, Sabo describes this as hellish, like looking at hell. I already did a theory about… pic.twitter.com/KRf0ZGGZOi
— WorstGenHQ (@WorstGenHQ) June 1, 2023
One Piece chapter 1085 shows the Gorosei getting increasingly interested in Cobra’s conversation with Imu. They expressly state that Cobra’s demise is unavoidable and impending by first pointing their rifles at him. Fans can only presently explain their transformation into monstrous, horrifying shapes—their Devil Fruits—as their outlines finally change into.
Alleged spoilers state that towards the end of the issue, each of the five Gorosei members had changed into a distinctive silhouette. One appears to be a bird, another as an elephant or boar, a third appears to be an oni or demon (with prominent horns evident in the silhouette), and a fourth appears to have clouds floating about his neck, like to Luffy and Lucci’s Awakened designs.
The fifth one, according to One Piece Chapter 1085 is just an indiscernible silhouette, a big shadow without any specific shape or form. The fourth and fifth are mysterious figures and hint at possible Paramecia Fruits though they just as might well be Zoan fruits, considering the recent reveal of Luffy’s Hito Hito no Mi powers. In fact, when looked at with the other fruits, the Zoan hypothesis seems more likely.
Why Zoan Devil Fruits make the most sense in the context of the story
So are all of the Gorosei mythical zoan users?? pic.twitter.com/dsofgDgC54
— Geo (@Geo_AW) May 31, 2023
In One Piece chapter 1044, it was hinted that Zoan Devil Fruits have minds of their own. Before this discussion cuts to the unveiling, the Five Elders are debating the real nature of Luffy’s Devil Fruit. One of them bemoans the fact that they have been eluding his fruit for more than 800 years. They received an intriguing response in return.
The newest Elder claims that Zoan fruits, particularly Mythical ones, have free will. Such fruits appear to be capable of acting independently. Although the specifics are unclear, Luffy’s Devil Fruit purposefully avoided the World Government for a long period of time.
Zoan Fruits form the sole classification that lifeless objects can take in, as opposed to Paramecia and Logia. While once hyped as the strongest Fruit, the nature of Mythical Zoans might even overtake the elemental abilities, because they combine elemental capabilities with other features.
Devil Fruits of Each Gorosei member, and their relevance to the story
Always knew the Gorosei were THEM pic.twitter.com/UFaQMmWt2Z
— onigiri (@fondleball) May 29, 2023
It would be no exaggeration to suggest that all the Gorosei have Mythical Fruits. While some of the rarest Fruits among all the categories, these Fruits might be captured by the World Government and its cronies immediately after they spawn. As such, the best of the best might be relegated to the Elders. That being said, the bird-like silhouette might be one of the Elders possessing a mythical bird.
There is already a mythical bird in the story, in the form of Marco’s Phoenix Fruit but there are lots of birds to go around from a variety of mythologies. Garuda the King of Eagles from Indian myth, the gigantic roc rumoured to carry an eagle in The Arabian Nights, the sinister harpies of Greco-Roman tales – all of these fit the bill. We know very little about the individual characteristics of the Gorosei members so picking one over the other is yet too soon.
Similarly, there have been two elephant fruit users, including Spandam’s sword that ate the regular Elephant Fruit and Jack the Calamity who had the Ancient Mammoth Fruit. The regular and ancient Fruits having been covered, it is time to move on to a Mythical fruit. One of the most mythical elephants is Airavaat, Indra’s steed in Hindu myth, who has four tusks and is rumoured to be able to use lightning in some stories. It will not be a stretch to have him feature as a major superpower in the story.
Gorosei devil fruit predictions pic.twitter.com/TKhSahLVVB
— Meight🌚 (@justmeight) May 31, 2023
Of course, Oda can go the other route and give a pig or boar-related fruit to the Elder, considering the association of pigs to gluttony where the Five Elders are literally the epitome of a world signifying greed and selfishness that needs liberating from. There are pigs such as the Boar from Greek myth that Hercules defeated as well as Varaha in Hindu myth, who was allied to good.
Considering that oni or demons are an actual race in the story (such as that of Kaido), it does not make sense to have a Mythical Zoan with the oni ability as we have not seen any Zoan with fishman or mink abilities yet. However, the horned Gorosei member’s Devil fruit might just as easily be a form of bull-cow-based animal, like that of the Impel Down guard. Mythological bovines are scattered across legends of old, but one prominent contender would be the Mesopotamian myth’s Bull of Heaven.
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The gorosei don't play around. They pulled out the blicky with no delay💀 pic.twitter.com/C1uTT6r8X2— JamesPeter (@JPeter2927) May 31, 2023
The Bull of Heaven was rumoured to be a creature of vast might, a hidden weapon of the gods that they caused to form earthquakes in the ground for punishing mortals. That would align very well with the Gorosei’s self-proclaimed status as gods who mete out justice on all citizens of the One Piece universe. Just like the gods of Mesopotamian myth, the One Piece rulers are totalitarian dictators who oppress the regular citizens – the ones Luffy need to liberate as the sun god Nika.
The last two devil fruits are difficult to pick and might range across a whole host of mythical figures with elemental, reality-altering or telekinetic powers. They might even be new, aka, not based on any existing mythos like Oda did for Luffy. The one resembling Luffy might even be one of the protagonist’s adversaries later on in the story before he finally faces off against Imu. In such a scenario, having two Devil fruits with similar powers clash would be thematically satisfying like Luffy’s battle with Katakuri had been.
What Imu’s Devil Fruit power might be, if he has one
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This part of the chapter is most intriguing. We assume that it says, "The Poneglyphs must be protected." But then why would Oda feel the need to have one of the Gorosei cover it up with a roar?Perhaps because it actually says something else? Like, "Corrected." pic.twitter.com/AE2dX9QGZb
— Typical Joe (@3SkullJoe) May 31, 2023
Does Imu have a Devil Fruit power or is he a force even beyond that – perhaps the progenitor of all Devil Fruits? The possibilities are endless, giving many a dedicated fan several happy hours to ponder upon this enigmatic figure’s identity, end goal and abilities.
Imu has been established to be an enemy of the free world, especially after One Piece chapter 1085. It is reasonable to suppose that Imu has a large degree of power and that no one can match it as the ruler of the planet. Imu and his power are unquestionably connected to the fall of the Lulusia Kingdom, therefore what might his power be? Imu may be seen walking till he reached a map just before the island was destroyed.
A large shadow suddenly arose on the top of the island not long after that, and when Imu had completed drawing a cross on the map, a huge ball fell from the skies and destroyed the entire island. It’s plausible that Imu has an Ancient Weapon, but he also might be in possession of a fantastic Devil Fruit.
https://twitter.com/Toxuu/status/1663269754365198350
His powers can range from anything such as the ability to alter reality, bend space and time or control minds. Temporal Devil fruits are not out of the world, as seen by Toki’s possession of one that allowed her to jump in time but Imu’s power might undoubtedly be even more than that. Imu might also have the ability to have godly omniscience, the power to exert control over everything, providing him with the tools to be the perfect foil of Luffy.
After all, wouldn’t it be really satisfying to watch the ultimate rubber-boy connoisseur of freedom and independence, who wouldn’t even rule his own grand fleet come up against the dark god of destruction? Luffy wants everyone to do their own thing, but over all, he wants to be free to do his own thing. Contrarily, Imu has the tendency to make everyone obey his will – or do this thing. Imu’s Devil fruit as such could be the perfect vehicle of oppression that comes up against Luffy’s godly will and strong Conqueror’s Haki that leads our protagonist to be indomitable in the face of authoritarian rule.
What did you think about our analysis of the Gorosei’s fruits? Do you agree and is there something we missed? Let us know in the comments below!