We are gonna witness the mighty power of THE DARK GOD, IMU. An evil god with powers unlike anyone else's has finally arrived on Elbaph. The new dawn is at risk of being eclipsed once again. In the first world, Nika failed to stop them. In the second, Joyboy fell short. And with this dramatic entrance at the end of chapter 1149 Imu has started the third world war! I just have one question dude, what the HELL is happening? I thought my man Scopper Gaban was just about to lay waste to the Holy Knights, and Sommers was going to just step it up and become a real threat. But it turns out that I was sort of right in calling out the weird strength gap between these godly warriors and Luffy, Loki, and Scopper. Our heroes are still really busted, and so IMU had to step in to intervene. At the end of chapter 1149, Imu’s taken over Gunko’s body and is PISSED. I want to go over exactly what Imu is capable of, why I think Imu is doing this, and how it’s going to absolutely change the direction of the series. Elbaph WILL fall, and Luffy’s role as the sun god and warrior of liberation will be humanity’s last hope—don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything there is to know. Starting with Imu’s INSANE powers. In this chapter we get the chance to witness something that has been theorized for a long time- Imu’s dark possession. Imu has, at the very least, the ability to override Gunko’s mind and take control of her body. My guess is that the abyss is how this happens, especially because we’ve seen Gunko actively use it the most. We know that her arrows have appeared from the shadowy flames of the abyss power, and that she’s the one who summons Sommers and Killingham. Gunko has deep ties to this shadowy hell power, and while all the Holy Knights probably can do the same, we just know that they share the regeneration powers from it. But we want to talk about IMU more, and considering Imu also unleashed what appears to be insane conqueror's haki FROM Gunko’s body, Imu themself is on a whole other level. Shanks has used wifi haki, but Imu is using wifi haki THROUGH another person—like a wifi extender! Or maybe it’s more accurate to call it modem haki. I actually have no idea if it’s Imu amping up Gunko’s existing willpower, or if Imu can literally push their haki THROUGH a pre-established vessel from that far away—but whatever they are doing, it’s something we’ve NEVER seen in this series before. And I want to really delve into this possession because it seems like it may be an extremely important part of Imu’s toolkit. First off, it really seems to boost the credibility of a lot of theories. One is the idea that Imu’s silhouette body has been hidden for so long BECAUSE they are currently possessing the body of a key character from the past. Which I am going to go into much more detail on after I touch on the other ones. For example, it also boosts the idea that EVERY major villain in the series, from Crocodile to Kaido, has some sort of tie-in or foreshadowing of Imu’s true power. Crocodile foreshadowed Imu’s desire to use an ancient weapon to dominate the world, and Kaido alluded to the despair of Joyboy and his attack “conqueror of three worlds: ragnarok” seems to directly imply Imu’s role as the person who conquered the first, second, and now the third world. In this new possession situation- Imu seems to have a tie to Gecko Moria, who also uses dark possession powers to overtake people. Gecko Moria’s ability is clearly different, as he uses shadows from his devil fruit to accomplish this- but it does show a major villain use possession as a power. I also find it particularly interesting since Kuma really hits the stage during that arc, creating an interesting parallel between the man who foreshadowed Nika, and a possession villain who foreshadows Imu. That one is especially interesting only due to the fact that Brooke appeared in the Thriller Bark arc and suddenly is a key focus of Gunko’s past according to chapter 1149. I think there might be more to dig into with this Thriller Bark, Gunko, and Brooke stuff in a different video. For now I want to also cover all of the similarities between Imu and Mihawk, because now that we’ve seen Imu’s eyes appear in Gunko when she’s possessed, it raises EVEN MORE QUESTIONS about Mihawk and Imu’s identical eyes. And don’t worry, I am going to talk about Imu POSSESSING THAT CHARACTER in like, one or two minutes I promise. If you aren’t locked in on a character's eyes like me, I’ve sort of got a thing for eyes; look at these two side by side. This is Mihawk, and this is Imu. Interesting, right? Well, guess what, I LIED! Liar Manu is here, and I strike hard. I actually flipped them. These are Mihawks, and these are Imu’s, but there is a good chance I fooled you because THEY LOOK SO SIMILAR! Now let's put Gunko’s possessed eyes up as well, and yeah, these three are peas in a pod. So this raises the question: is Mihawk ALSO a vessel for Imu? Maybe. I wouldn’t immediately write it off. I at least think there is a chance that Imu CAN possess Mihawk and isn’t actively doing so at all times. I also think it’s quite likely that based on how he dresses, presents himself, and his epic power, Mihawk was a former celestial dragon like Shanks. Possibly even reaching the rank of a holy knight in training. I’ve talked about this many times, and actually in this video specifically I cover a TON of stuff to do with it. Such as Mihawk’s “clan name Dracula meaning “son of the dragon,” as in, son of the CELESTIAL dragon, ya know? But also that he could be a descendant of the Nerona clan, and that’s why Imu and he share similar eyes. Not to mention these two characters also just live alone inside of castles hidden away from society—the parallels are clear. Oda wants us to notice some sort of similarity between Mihawk and Imu, and considering they both have insane power, I wouldn’t be surprised if we find out that Shanks and Mihawk are so close because they share a similar homeland and hatred of it. Alright enough teasing. I’ve covered Imu’s baseline powers and the theories that are getting boosted, so let’s really delve into this possession stuff. If you take a look at most of my IMU thumbnails You will know that I have always been on the side of Imu possessing Nefertari D. Lily. I’ve said tons of things like “Imu was in love with Lily” or “Imu possessed Lily to get back at Joyboy,” and all of these things COULD still be true, but that’s not the biggest point that 1149 makes me think about. What REALLY catches my eye is the fact that Imu CAN and IS SHOWN to possess people finally. It’s no longer just some theoretical idea that Imu “may” be able to do this; the CURRENT god of this world IS ABLE TO posses people. And so I think it’s VERY LIKELY that Imu is CURRENTLY possessing the body of some historical figure. Lily is the one I think makes the most sense, considering Imu has a fascinating obsession with looking at pictures of Lily and Vivi, but I think I may have unraveled a slightly crazier thread because of this. I have another theory idea that talks about how Imu may have consumed or possessed Nika’s original body, which is another reason they are hidden. But I am starting to think all of these options may be the case, and that Imu has just been hopping body to body every 1000 years, and now Vivi is next up on the chopping block for possession. It makes a lot more sense when you consider the real-life queen of Egypt, Nefertiti, was a prominent center of the cult of the sun god. There is a really fun case to be made that Nika’s full name was Nefertari Nika and that Lily and Vivi are his LITERAL descendants. And THAT’S why Imu possesses them. But hey, that’s just a theory, something I do want to point out is that Imu SPECIFICALLY possessed Gunko for some reason. Since Gunko was most likely in the throne room when Cobra died, as seen by a dark arrow that 100% looks like hers being what killed him. Why Gunko? Why not possess Sommers or Killingham? Well, it could be as simple as Sommers was cut up into pieces by Scopper, and Killingham needed to maintain the dream demons he created, and so Gunko was the easiest choice—but I think it may be more specific. Imu may be possessing Gunko because they can ONLY possess women, or they ONLY CHOOSE to possess women, because Imu themselves is a woman. Note that this is a totally baseless idea, but I wanted to call it out because it would also make a ton of sense with all the Imu controls Lily and will want to control Vivi stuff. And that Gunko, Imu’s vessel, is the only woman we see in the Holy Knights roster- so far. Alright, alright, Imu is incredibly powerful, and there is a lot to go over with what and why they might be possessing Gunko, but I think there is another BIG question that needs to be answered from chapter 1149. WHY does Imu NEED the Holy Knights at all? You’re telling me this whole time that Imu can send out a vessel into the ocean, possess them, and use their body as a vessel for their divine power? AND FOR SOME REASON THEY SEND SOMMERS TO DEAL WITH THINGS? What the hell? Why would you do that, Imu?? In all fairness, it’s probably because they can’t possess them and use their full power at the same time. It’s likely that Gunko’s body won’t be able to withstand 100% of Imu’s haki, and we’ll just get a taste of what Imu is truly capable of here on Elbaph. And considering it’s looking likely that it’s going to be INSANE, I want to ask another question. Why the hell does Imu need to stay hidden in the Holy Land? That to me is a much more important question, because Imu’s super secret lifestyle has now been revealed to be known by all of the Holy Knights as well. Personally, I think that is a bit wild, as it means there are some loudmouth idiots like Sommers walking around who know Imu exists, but at the same time, they probably have to know about Imu to use the abyssal powers. However, I do think I have the answer for why the holy knights HAVE to exist, and it’s one of two things. One idea is that Imu can, in fact, possess ANY of them, and they are all chosen to be vessels for Imu. We’ll see if Imu ends up taking over Shamrock, Killingham, or Sommers at some point. If that happens, I feel confident saying this is a major factor for them even existing in the first place. Regardless of if only Gunko or all of them can be possessed, it points towards the second reason. The idea here is that Imu CANNOT leave Marygeoise, and even more specifically, I don’t think they can leave Pangea castle. I think it is very likely that the essence of Imu, whether that be their haki, or the abyss, or whatever it may be, is tied to the space of Pangaea Castle. But I also think the Eve Tree is another likely culprit, and for the sake of my theory here you could probably use them interchangeably. This prison situation would explain why the Holy Knights need to exist, enacting Imu’s will, because they themselves literally cannot. But maybe through the Abyss, Imu is able to grant them powers and mark them as vessels to briefly leave the castle. I think it also explains why Imu NEEDS them to return to the holy land as soon as possible. They’ve taken too long, and it seems that the winds of change have finally arrived, as Monkey D. Dragon is assaulting Marygeoise. If Imu’s existence is tied to that castle, the Holy Knights NEED to come back and defend them from the revolutionaries. But I also think it explains a very odd room in the castle, the flower garden. We know Imu loves this room and that it is NOTHING like the rest of the castle. It’s beautiful, full of flowers, trees, and water. It’s a wonderful garden, a pocket of earth up on top of the red line. And you know honestly, if I was trapped or had my shadowy spirit bound to a heavenly castle, I’d also yearn to be in the room that reminds me of the surface more than anything. But how? How did this potentially happen to Imu? DING DING DING, it’s Joyboy. I think it’s super clear that Joyboy did SOMETHING to seal Imu away inside of the castle. As a last-ditch effort to cut down their immense power. And even if they aren’t bound to the grounds of Pangea, I think Joyboy used his divine haki to at least heavily injure and fragment Imu’s power somehow, and they have been hiding up here recovering for over 800 years. Waiting until their power was great enough to overtake the world and kick off Ragnarok, the end of the third world. It would actually form a really cool connection or allusion to other epic fantasy villains, like the Dwarf in the Flask from Full Metal Alchemist or even a character like Voldemort. Super powerful dark lords that had their power cut down by an even more powerful rival of theirs from the past spent the series plotting to get their full strength back. I am definitely getting the vibe that these vessels and possessions of Imu are a necessity more than a choice, and it’s because during the void century they were too strong to be defeated, and thus the solution was limiting their strength instead. With that in mind, the entire reason the Poneglyphs and laughtale exist makes perfect sense. Joyboy failed to save Fishman island, he failed to defeat Imu, and he failed to save the second world. So alongside his companions, people like Lily and Kozuki, he created a guiding map for his successor. That way eventually someone could learn from his mistakes and have a baseline for defeating Imu. I actually think this is how Scopper would know how to counter the abyss, it was probably written on Laugh Tale. If this is the true story, then Imu possessing Lily as their own last ditch “screw you” to Joyboy makes sense. If I was a big evil villain and you stopped my plan, I’d probably do something to get revenge. Possessing a love interest seems like a bit too extreme for me, but hey go off I guess Imu. Now, regardless of that, what I should also talk with you about is what is next. What is ABOUT to happen thanks to Imu’s insane Gunko possession? Imu looks MAD, and literally says they are about to show the straw hats a god's TRUE power. What exactly does that mean? The safest answer is that Imu will use their dark god haki lightning to burn down the Adam tree. We’ve been told numerous times that lightning is the trees greatest weakness, and we know the abyss lightning has already set a massive branch on fire. I am fairly confident that all this black lightning surrounding Gunko is about to be used against the great treasure tree, burning Elbaph to the ground like it’s Ohara 2.0. No, not THAT Ohara. NO NO, not him either. I just did a podcast with him, we’re cool. I meant THIS Ohara. You’re getting cheeky, editors; I’m watching you. Now I think it’s also likely that Luffy and Loki are about to get low-diffed by Imu’s dark powers in the next 3-4 chapters. Scopper Gaban is falling down into the underworld, and basic Oda storytelling points to him conveniently falling RIGHT into the hands of Zoro, Sanji, Luffy, and Loki. Then they’ll go up to the mainland, and Imu will body them. Or it’ll just be too late, and Elbaph will already be burnt. But I think Luffy and Loki will stand against Imu here, framing them as two sun gods ready to take care of the evil shadow god. Or more likely, Luffy will rise above and prove to Elbaph AND Loki that he is the true sun god. These two teaming up would also work because Robin and Franky could point out the Harley and the mural symbolism of these two after that. Looking at the left side of the mural, we can see what appears to be Joyboy and an ancient giant leading the charge- Luffy and Loki are clearly the next in line to do this. Imu’s impatience may prove to be their downfall, as seeing Luffy and Loki team up to fight Imu COULD be what the giants need to rally behind Loki and Luffy once and for all: uniting this war-torn nation and destroying Imu’s plans of getting the giants on their side for the final war. Which we know is their goal based on Gunko’s lines in chapter 1147. I’ll admit though, there is also a sneaky gut feeling I can’t shake. I hate to say it, but it’s also possible that Imu steals Nico Robin here, dude. Like, look at it; she’s captured and tied up right there. She is Luffy’s ONLY way of deciphering the Poneglyphs and making it to Laughtale, which presumably needs to be done to defeat Imu. If Imu’s smart, they’ll yoink Robin through the abyss and keep her tied up in Marygeoise. But I don’t actually know if that’s possible, considering they were leading the kids around by force to boats because they COULDN’T take them through the magic pentagrams. Maybe Robin will end up getting a sick tattoo this arc first, then get kidnapped. It would match her demon of Ohara, goth baddie vibe she rocks on occasion. With Imu’s potential next steps covered, honestly, I want to keep running with this dark and depressing reality. It is looking grim for the crew right now. Most of them are captured by celestial dragons, Elbaph is burning and is likely to suffer even more, and the ONE man who was stopping everyone, Scopper, has been stabbed and is falling into the underworld. Unless Luffy and Loki appear NEXT chapter, things are NOT looking good for them. I’ve been saying this for a few weeks now, but I am getting some serious Sabaody vibes right now. Look at it on paper—the Straw Hats have come face to face with an unbelievable power they have no means of defeating. Back then it was the crazy logia powers of Admiral Kizaru. But now, it’s the abyss regeneration and IMU themselves. One of the Roger pirates has done their best to defend them and hold off the threat, but they weren’t enough. In Sabaody it was Rayleigh, and now it’s Scopper Gaban. And so to finish off the parallels, the Straw Hats would have to be forcibly separated, kicking Luffy into a fear and despair. Which is looking REALLY likely, since most of them are tapped by the Holy Knights. The odds that the crew is forcibly separated from Luffy are feeling REALLY high. I just am getting a really sneaky suspicion that Oda is using Elbaph to kick off the next big Marineford-style conflict. This is Sabaody; an Impel Down prison break is ABOUT to occur, and then a big raid against the holy land or another prominent area will happen. Yes incase you forgot, Marco is about to raid impel down to free weevil and friends. it’s a big factor we aren’t addressing too much, but it fits in real nicely with these pre-timeskip similarities. It could be Dragon’s assault on Marygeoise that Luffy ends up joining to try and save his crew, or it could be something to do with Blackbeard and Garp. I just cannot shake this gut feeling that the next summit war is approaching, and after an important character dies, a final timeskip will be next. That way Luffy and the crew can gain one more big power-up before their climactic battle with Imu and the Holy Knights. Though it’s likely this time that Zoro and Sanji will be at Luffy’s side. And hell, he may have another big ally going into it that helps shift the tides. I’m talking about Loki, of course. Knowing that Scopper Gaban is likely going to fall right into their hands, I find it most likely that they’ll nurse him back to health, and then by the time they get back up to the heaven realm, the crew will be gone. Scopper Gaban is at the center of this, and if you want to know more about why, how he’ll save the crew, and why I really think a timeskip is likely—check out this video here. I promise you will want to be prepared for next week's chapter with this one.