On August 23, 2026, One Piece Chapter 1191 officially dropped in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #39. After the magazine went on a break following the Obon Festival in Japan, Eiichiro Oda made his grand return this week with a sensational chapter and, in doing so, unveiled some of the most exciting fights in this Elbaf arc.
With the battle between Nerona Imu and Monkey D. Luffy ongoing, we were expecting the protagonist to power up even further and potentially even gain new transformations. Much to the surprise of all readers, Eiichiro Oda ended up doing the opposite and gave Imu a transformation instead. This new transformation is easily the strongest in the entirety of One Piece, and all of it stems from the powers of his Akuma no Mi Devil Fruit.
One Piece Chapter 1191 Unveils Nerona Imu’s New Devil Fruit Transformation
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Image via Manga Plus -
Image via Manga Plus
Image via Manga Plus
Image via Manga PlusNerona Imu first arrived in Elbaf on April 5, 2026, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19 with the release of Chapter 1179. This descent upon Elbaf came against all odds and surprised every single reader of the story. Nerona Imu was always believed to be the final villain of One Piece, and as such, most of us believed that he would only make his presence known at the very end of the story in the Great War. However, Imu surprised us when he decided to make a direct appearance in Elbaf in order to confront the threat posed by Loki and Luffy.
“Elders, the Holy Land shall be without Mu for a while!” — Nerona Imu leaves Marijoa to fight Loki and Luffy, One Piece Chapter #1178
Since then, Nerona Imu has gone on quite a run, taking on a multitude of powerful fighters and overwhelming them all. Much of this has been possible due to the use of his Devil Fruit called Akuma no Mi, or The Devil’s Fruit. Nerona Imu’s Akuma no Mi is quite a special Devil Fruit and doesn’t function like the others that exist in the world. For one, this Devil Fruit has a unique naming pattern and is simply known as “The Devil’s Fruit,” suggesting that it precedes all the other fruits that we have seen in One Piece to date. It gives him the power to turn into the true Devil God of the One Piece world and grants him an ability known as God’s Domination or a Contract with the Devil, Nerona Imu.
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 God’s Domination, One Piece Chapter #1181
The power of Akuma no Mi makes Imu an unstoppable force, and while we do not know what classification this Devil Fruit truly holds, what is clear is that it grants him a powerful transformation. Imu first unveiled his legendary Devil Fruit transformation in One Piece Chapter 1179, and its powers were demonstrated to us over the course of the subsequent chapters. One Piece Chapter 1180 saw Imu crush the likes of Sanji, Zoro, and Hajrudin, while the chapters that followed saw Loki vs. Imu, leading to the former’s defeat. Luffy eventually joined and was also defeated, alongside Scopper Gaban. That said, the left arm of the Roger Pirates who faced Nerona Imu in One Piece Chapter 1190, which was released on August 9, 2026, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Double Issue #37-38, proved to be quite a handful for the King of the World.
Even though Imu fought against the likes of Loki and Luffy, it was only Scopper Gaban who managed to push him to take on a new form. In the previous chapter, Gaban launched a powerful technique at Imu called Kamudo and dealt tremendous damage to him. This attack was then followed up by Yachitakeru, which is a stronger version of Yasotakeru that he first used in One Piece Chapter 1140 in the battle against Luffy and Zoro. This attack was a hundred times stronger, and while Nerona Imu was able to evade this attack, he still sustained heavy injuries from his fight against Gaban. To that end, Imu was forced to unveil his strongest Akuma no Mi transformation in One Piece 1191, and now, Imu is at an even higher power level.
How Scopper Gaban Pushed Imu To Use His New Form
Scopper Gaban pushing Nerona Imu to use his new transformation shouldn’t come as a surprise to any fan. While Gaban was largely irrelevant for the vast majority of the story, Elbaf put quite a lot of focus on him. It was revealed in One Piece Chapter 1139 that Gaban was a pirate in the same league as the likes of Gol D. Roger and Silvers Rayleigh. Together, these three were neck and neck, and while Roger was quite easily the strongest of them all, Gaban was adamant that he was the second strongest on the crew. In other words, Gaban and Rayleigh were equals and possessed tremendous levels of strength as Roger’s Wings.
“Even though thou art old, still the Pirate King’s Crew!” — Nerona Imu shows respect for Gaban, One Piece Chapter #1190
Gaban fighting Imu in One Piece Chapter 1191 on August 23, 2026, confirmed to us that he, Rayleigh, and Roger all grew tremendously in terms of power following the events of God Valley. While Gaban was only considered to be a small threat back during the God Valley era, his strength grew dramatically over the years, to the point where it was directly compared to that of Rocks D. Xebec in his old age by Imu. This means that in his prime, Gaban must have been even stronger and a massive threat for anyone to face in battle. For this monster to unleash his immense power at Nerona Imu meant that the latter could not take the threat lightly, and he most certainly did not manage to effectively counter Gaban’s attack. Imu was forced to undertake a new transformation, which brought out even higher levels of power from the Akuma no Mi ability. Now, we officially have the strongest One Piece transformation at our hands at the climax of the Elbaf arc.
“That brat from God Valley? Had Mu known that thou wouldst become so powerful, Mu would have eliminated thee alongside Rocks on God Valley!” — Nerona Imu confirms Gaban’s immense power, One Piece Chapter #1191
Imu’s New Form Makes Him An Unbeatable Enemy in Elbaf
Nerona Imu was already an unbeatable foe immediately after his descent on Elbaf in One Piece Chapter 1179. Since his arrival, Imu has fought against quite a lot of powerful enemies, starting with Zoro and then following up with the likes of Hajrudin, Sanji, Loki, Luffy, and Scopper Gaban. These are all powerful pirates in their own right, yet Nerona Imu had no trouble dispatching them without even going all out. Just by using his basic transformation, Imu was able to beat almost everyone in his path, including Sun God Nika.
Now, Nerona Imu has brought out even more power of his Akuma no Mi with a new transformation that is quite easily the strongest in the entire series. This transformation might be a bit of an overkill because, as things stand, nobody on Elbaf has enough strength in them to stop the King of the World. Nerona Imu is already unbeatable, and no matter what Luffy does from here on out, he absolutely cannot win, even if he gains a new transformation of his own.
Imu: Those traits made Harald a true monster? Yet he was taken down? What exactly is lurking in Elbaf?
Five Elders: We shall have the Abyss Pentagram carved by Harald in Elbaf inspected.
Imu: That shall not be necessary. It’ll result in the death of another Knight. Every Covenant comes at a high price to pay for Mu.
— Imu confirms Holy Knight deaths weaken him, One Piece Chapter #1171
The only way to beat Imu here is to weaken him drastically, which is why Zoro and Sanji’s role here is incredibly important. In order to weaken Imu, Sommers and Killingham must both be dealt with. If that happens, Nerona Imu’s powers will take a hit, and his ultimate transformation might be lost. Nerona Imu is also already nerfed by being in the outside world, so taking a significant hit by losing Sommers and Killingham will certainly weaken him quite a lot. This would then become Luffy’s ultimate opportunity to drive him out of Elbaf, because otherwise, there is no hope for him in this battle.
The latest One Piece chapters by Eiichiro Oda are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
