As unreal as it may feel, One Piece is finally approaching the final leg of its story. After two and a half decades, the end is finally in sight, and as the manga dives headfirst into the Final Saga, it’s clear One Piece has already zeroed in on its ultimate antagonist.

First introduced in chapter #906 over seven years ago, Imu, the hidden ruler of the World Government, is someone who holds many secrets. In fact, Imu’s existence alone is a huge secret within One Piece.

Luckily, after years of lurking in the shadows, One Piece’s latest arcs are finally unpacking the enigma that is Imu. The Elbaph Arc, in particular, has revealed a lot of new information about Imu, which, together with everything else revealed so far, is finally beginning to paint a picture of One Piece’s mysterious final villain.

One Piece’s Final Villain Is Immortal

Despite being a recent addition to the story in the grand scheme of things, it seems like Imu has canonically been around for much longer in One Piece. It’s been all but confirmed that Imu has been alive at least since the Void Century. Naturally, any reveals of Imu’s past would directly impact the plot and lore of One Piece.

This is supported by several pieces of evidence, such as Imu knowing about Lily and recounting her blunder of scattering the poneglyphs like he was present back then. Imu also appeared to recognize Joyboy’s haki at the end of the Egghead Arc, which is easily the biggest giveaway.

Furthermore, in One Piece chapter #1086, Ivankov reveals the existence of Imu Nerona, one of the founders of the World Government, with the implication being that this is the very same Imu who has gained immortality.

Considering Imu’s ability to bestow immortality on the Five Elders and the Holy Knights through the covenants, it only makes sense for Imu to be immortal as well.

One Piece Has Already Confirmed Imu’s Gender

When Nefertari Lily was introduced during the Reverie, a very popular theory that arose was that Imu could be Lily herself or could be possessing Lily’s body. It would also be incredibly on-brand for One Piece and Eiichiro Oda if the final villain turned out to be an attractive woman.

That said, a subtle detail in the Japanese version of the manga has already confirmed Imu is male. Essentially, instead of the English “saint” prefix, in Japanese, the Celestial Dragons in One Piece receive a certain suffix attached to their names. Add to that the series creator Oda’s referral of Imu as a Saint rather than Saintess, clearing up ambiguity.

Male Celestial Dragons are addressed with “sei,” while female Celestial Dragons receive the suffix “guu.” Imu, however, is referred to as “Imu-sei” in the manga in Japanese, confirming he is male. However, the ambiguity surrounding Imu’s character, particularly the distorted voice, played into the eldritch quality of this final villain alongside gender ambiguity.

Imu’s True Appearance May Have Already Been Revealed

In the seven years that Imu has been introduced, fans have only seen a shadowy black figure, with only discernible feature being his red ringed eyes. Given how One Piece has introduced major antagonists over years, natural assumption with Imu was that this was only silhouette with full reveal coming later down line.

One Piece most recently teased Five Elders’ transformations in pretty much same way before big reveal on Egghead. However, things may be different with Imu as what we see might just end up being what we get.

In chapter #1165 of One Piece, Roger and Garp encounter Imu on God Valley and Roger notably refers to Imu as an “enormous black monster,” hinting that this may not be silhouette but Imu’s true appearance.

Imu’s Powers Have Finally Been Revealed