With One Piece in the climax of the Elbaf arc and deep into the final saga, Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the series, is slowly shedding more light on the most mysterious time period to exist in the series — the Void Century. First brought up in the story in One Piece Chapter 392 on December 12, 2005, the Void Century has since been expanded upon dramatically in the series, and it is currently central to the overarching plot line of the series.
In the Egghead arc, Eiichiro Oda explained the gist of the Void Century war to us through the character of Vegapunk. In Elbaf, Oda has introduced relics from the Void Century, such as Nerona Imu himself, who officially made his appearance in One Piece Chapter 1179 on April 5, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19. Now, Eiichiro Oda has also confirmed the strongest sword user from the Void Century era, and this person is none other than the King of the World, Nerona Imu himself.
One Piece Chapter 1189 Confirms Nerona Imu As The Strongest Void Century Sword User
Nerona Imu is an incredibly powerful fighter, and a glimpse of his abilities was given to us following his descent in Elbaf in One Piece Chapter 1179. In One Piece Chapter 1180, Nerona Imu easily defeated Roronoa Zoro, Hajrudin, and then Sanji. At the end of the same chapter, Imu vs Loki officially began. In Chapter 1181, released officially on April 27, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #22-23, Nerona Imu was seen overwhelming the God of War of Elbaf effortlessly. While Loki certainly did lose in battle for a couple of chapters, it did not take Imu long to deal with him permanently. Even after Monkey D. Luffy, the current Sun God Nika of the One Piece world, stepped into battle in Chapter 1186, Nerona Imu was not fazed and completely defeated him at the end of One Piece Chapter 1188 after he was stabbed with the Blade of Nothingness: Vohu.
Imu: Blade of Nothingness: Vohu!
Luffy: What? The forest withered away!
Imu: The view is far clearer now.
Luffy: Same from up here!
— Imu uses the Blade of Nothingness: Vohu, One Piece Chapter #1188
Quite clearly, Nerona Imu showcased his immense skill in battle, but what was very interesting to note here was that the vast majority of Nerona Imu's strong attacks came through various blades. In One Piece Chapter 1181, Nerona Imu first unleashed the power of the Blade of Judgment: Nemesis, and in the subsequent chapters, he unveiled more powerful blades and showed immense skill in wielding them. In One Piece Chapter 1188, Imu dealt the telling blow against Luffy using Vohu. Given that he is the strongest in the world right now, as well as the man who defeated Joy Boy 800 years ago, it is no surprise to know that Imu is the strongest blade user in all of One Piece that we have ever known.
All The Blades Wielded By Nerona Imu So Far
So far, the King of the World, Nerona Imu, has unleashed quite a lot of powerful bladed weapons. In chapter 1181, Nerona Imu unleashed the power of the Blade of Judgment: Nemesis. Using this blade, Imu dealt a deep blow to Loki, piercing him directly through his chest. Shortly after, Nerona Imu unleashed his second blade, which was the Blade of Wrath: Gram, and he used this blade to counter Loki's very own lightning-based attacks. Then came the Blade of Hatred: Stigma, which dealt the final blow to Loki during his battle against Imu and completely incapacitated him to the point where he needed saving from all the others around him. Imu then went on to unleash the Blade of Nothingness: Vohu, using which he defeated Monkey D. Luffy in chapter 1188.
Imu: Omen is my military might. It's a power that dwells within all living things.
Imu: Blade of Judgment: Nemesis!
Imu: People crave power. However, if the power they crave is obtained through ease, it leads to corruption.
— Nerona Imu unveils Nemesis for the first time, One Piece Chapter #1181
Immediately after, in Chapter 1189, released officially on July 26, 2026, Imu unleashed the Blade of the Sea God: Fragarach as well as the Axe of Xingtian, which is also classified as a blade in the world of One Piece. At the same time, Imu also granted the Sword of Wrath: Gram to Saint Sommers and the Spear of Holy Command: Longinus to none other than Killingham. Normally, these weapons are also wielded by the King of the World himself. Through Sommers, we also know Imu possesses the Blade of Chaos: Tohu and the legendary blade Muramasa.
"Blade of Chaos, Tohu! Vohu! Nemesis! Longinus! Stigma! Muramasa! They are the 19 weapons of those who brought the world to heel! The Great One used Omen to bring them back and grant them to us. There are no lies among the legends each family passed down!" — Sommers reveals more of Imu’s blades, One Piece Chapter #1189
While they remain unseen so far, Imu can wield them in combat with great skill, and all things considered, he is immensely strong as the greatest blade user in all of One Piece. All these weapons put together only make up a portion of Imu's blades. As was confirmed in One Piece Chapter 1189 on July 26, 2026, Nerona Imu has access to a total of 19 blades. We have only seen or heard of nine of these blades, which means ten more remain to be unveiled, and they all possess immense strength.
Why Imu Isn't A Traditional Swordsman
While Imu possesses 19 blades at his disposal, it goes without saying that he isn't a traditional swordsman. Nerona Imu does not possess high sword skills like Zoro or Mihawk. He simply makes use of the various abilities that the blades possess and channels them in combat through his Omen. The vast majority of Imu's strength comes from his Akuma no Mi ability, unveiled on April 5, 2026, and all these weapons that he uses are also directly tied to it. Nerona Imu can also unleash other weapons, such as flintlock pistols and even tridents, as was previously seen in the Elbaf arc.
"His fellow former Warlord, Hawkeye Mihawk, has even greater sword skills than the Red-Haired Emperor, Shanks. He's worth 3.590 billion berries, a fitting reward for the World's Greatest Swordsman!" — Brannew reveals Mihawk's Bounty
Imu is an all-round weapon user, which also includes blades, but he isn't a swordsman who respects and trains in the art of the blade. This is exactly why Dracule Mihawk can be the strongest swordsman in the world of One Piece yet be weaker than the likes of Nerona Imu, the Five Elders, or Shanks, for that matter. As One Piece continues the Final Saga, Eiichiro Oda is highly likely to unveil more of Imu's blades and solidify his position as the most powerful blade user in the entire series. That said, fans should not take this to mean that Imu is the most skilled swordsman, because that title officially belongs to Dracule Mihawk.
All the new manga chapters of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece series, serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump, are available for reading via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
One Piece
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
