One Piece Creator Oda Officially Unveils The Strongest God In The World

On August 23, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #39, Eiichiro Oda released One Piece Chapter 1191, and it delivered quite a lot of exciting content to us. As was expected, this week's chapter focused heavily on Nerona Imu's clash in the Underworld of Elbaf and immediately followed up on the aftermath of Scopper Gaban's powerful assault on the King of the World.

Much to the surprise of every single fan, Nerona Imu was powered up even further in this chapter. By doing so, Eiichiro Oda has now officially crowned the strongest God in the entirety of One Piece. Nerona Imu's Akuma no Mi powers already made him an invincible God, the likes of which surpass even the Warrior God of Elbaf and the Sun God Nika. Now, with his new transformation unleashed in the latest chapter, Imu is officially a God in a league of his own.

One Piece Chapter 1191 Confirms Imu As The Strongest God With New Transformation

The world of One Piece features quite a lot of powerful Gods. This concept was first expanded upon starting with the Wano Country arc, in Chapter 1044, released officially on March 28, 2022, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #17, when Monkey D. Luffy tapped into the powers of the Awakened Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, unlocking a god transformation in Gear 5 for himself. In the subsequent arcs, more lore about the gods of the One Piece world was revealed. It was confirmed to us that four main gods exist in the world of One Piece, those being:

• the Sun God
• the Rain God
• the Earth God
• the Forest God

"Awakening [the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika] further strengthens their rubber body and gives them even more freedom. It is allegedly the most ridiculous power to exist in the entire world!" — Elders explain Luffy's awakened Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, One Piece Chapter #1044

In Elbaf, specifically in One Piece Chapter 1182, which was released on May 10, 2026, Eiichiro Oda revealed a ton of lore regarding the Rain God Zaza, which lurks somewhere in the world and is the bane of the existence of the Celestial Dragons. We were also introduced to the War God of Elbaf, who existed long ago in the country and fought against the Sun God Nika on even footing. Now, the power of this War God has passed officially to Loki, as was confirmed in One Piece Chapter 1175. Quite clearly, Eiichiro Oda has significantly expanded upon the lore pertaining to the gods of the One Piece world, but only one of these gods can be the strongest, and that is Nerona Imu.

"In Elbaph, we have a legend about a Warrior God. He wielded a weapon known as Ragnir-Iron Lightning-and turned into an enormous dragon to face off against the Sun God!! He fought alongside a trusted, loyal ice squirrel known as Ratatoskr." — Jarul reveals the Elbaf God of War, One Piece Chapter #1175

In One Piece Chapter 1179, which was released on April 5, 2026, Nerona Imu made his descent upon Elbaf and immediately showcased his superiority, even against other powerful Gods like the War God of Elbaf as well as the Sun God Nika. In One Piece Chapter 1191, which was released on August 23, 2026, this was taken to a whole new level when Nerona Imu utilized a brand-new transformation, bringing out even more power from his Akuma no Mi ability and crowning him the strongest in the entire world, despite being in a severely nerfed state.

Nerona Imu's Akuma no Mi Makes Him Unbeatable

When the Akuma no Mi was first introduced in One Piece Chapter 1179 on April 5, 2026, it became immediately clear to us that Nerona Imu was going to be the strongest Devil Fruit user seen in the story to date. In the subsequent chapters, Eiichiro Oda certainly did not let us down and gave an incredible showing of strength by Imu. Not only did Imu defeat the likes of Zoro, Sanji, and Hajrudin effortlessly, but he also fought against Loki and managed to deal with him without even breaking a sweat, despite being in a weakened state. Monkey D. Luffy, who was overflowing with energy, joined the battle in One Piece Chapter 1187 and lost in just one chapter.

Creator of the World Government (One of the First 20)

Power: Akuma no Mi (The Devil's Fruit)

King of the World St. Nerona Imu

— Imu's introduction box, One Piece Chapter #1179

Luffy was saved from death by Scopper Gaban, who then went on to fight against Imu himself, despite being old and injured. To his credit, Gaban did incredibly well against Imu, pushing him more than any of the other fighters and earning his respect while at it. At the end of the day, he still lost the battle, and this goes to show that Imu's Akuma no Mi abilities are so powerful that not even the mightiest in the world can stop him. Imu is quite easily the strongest in the world and, at this point, clearly unbeatable with the new transformation that he tapped into in One Piece Chapter 1191. The gulf between him and the other Gods of the One Piece world grows even further.

Loki: So your power is God's Domination? Think you mean a contract with the Devil!

Imu: God? Devil? What is the difference?

— Loki explains Nerona Imu's power of God's Domination, One Piece Chapter #1181

Why Monkey D. Luffy Needs Another Power Up To Stop Imu

At the end of One Piece, Monkey D. Luffy has to somehow get on the same level as Nerona Imu and Joy Boy, which means that he must grow significantly in power. As things stand, Luffy has absolutely no shot at beating Imu in battle. Even at full power in Gear 5, he was easily overpowered by Nerona Imu in his base transformation. One Piece Chapter 1191 gave us a new Imu transformation, and this makes him even stronger than before.

There is absolutely no way for Luffy to face off against this form of Imu and defeat him. The only logical way for Luffy to progress is to grow further in terms of strength. As to how he will achieve that, only time can tell, but what we can say for sure at this moment is that Imu is the absolute strongest God in the world of One Piece, surpassing even Nika by quite a margin.

All the new One Piece manga chapters by author Eiichiro Oda are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.