One Piece Sets Up A New Devil Fruit Class Surpassing Mythical Zoans

One Piece introduced the concept of Devil Fruits as a power system in Chapter 1 of the story on July 18, 1997. Since then, the creator of the series, Eiichiro Oda, has greatly expanded upon this system and introduced various classes, such as Paramecia, Logia, Zoan, and other sub-categories such as Ancient and Mythical Zoan, among others. While most Devil Fruits that exist in the world of One Piece fall under these categories, One Piece’s Elbaf Arc climax, specifically Chapter 1179, which was released in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19 on April 6, 2026, unveiled the power of Nerona Imu’s Akuma no Mi. This Devil Fruit surpasses all other classes that exist in the world of One Piece and exists in a class of its own, making it the most unique Devil Fruit to exist in the world of One Piece.

Nerona Imu’s Akuma No Mi Breaks Devil Fruit Classes And Surpasses Mythical Zoans

Until recently in One Piece, the rarest devil fruit subclass was Mythical Zoan, which was introduced in chapter 553 of the story on August 10, 2009, in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #37-38, with Marco’s Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Phoenix. The Mythical Zoan class was officially introduced to be even rarer than the Logia and just as impressive, if not even more. Over the years, Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits have gone on to eclipse even the likes of Logia and have carved out a great legacy for themselves.

“A Devil Fruit type even rarer than the Logia! The Mythical Zoan Class!” — Kizaru explaining the rarity of Mythical Zoans, One Piece Chapter #553

The vast majority of the Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits that have been introduced in One Piece as of late, such as Luffy’s Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, Loki’s Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Nidhoggr, and even the Risu Risu no Mi, Model: Ratatoskr, revealed in One Piece Chapter 1183, go on to surpass the average Logia Devil Fruits by quite a mile in terms of powers and special capabilities. Despite that, all of these Devil Fruits still exist and function within the realms of the classes that Eiichiro Oda has established over the years.

With the reveal of Nerona Imu’s Akuma no Mi in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19 of 2026, Eiichiro Oda has now officially introduced a Devil Fruit class that far surpasses the others and exists in a league of its own. Nerona Imu’s Akuma no Mi is incredibly special. Out of all the Devil Fruits that exist in the world of One Piece, it offers the greatest firepower. However, it isn’t the firepower of this ability that makes it unique. In fact, it is the very classification introduced in Chapter 1179 that sets it apart from all the other fruits in the world, including the extremely rare Mythical Zoans.

Why Imu’s Akuma no Mi Doesn’t Belong To Any Devil Fruit Class

The primary reason why Nerona Imu’s Akuma no Mi surpasses all other Devil Fruit classes is its special naming. All Devil Fruits that exist in the world of One Piece are named in Kanji. However, “Akuma no Mi” has a unique name written in Katakana, setting it apart from the others. Unlike any other Devil Fruit that exists in the One Piece world, all Devil Fruits carry a dual naming pattern, such as Luffy’s Hito Hito no Mi, Model Nika; Eustass Kid’s Jiki Jiki no Mi; or even Blackbeard’s Yami Yami no Mi.

All the fruits that exist in this world, created by Eiichiro Oda, have a dual naming pattern. Imu’s Akuma no Mi is the only one that exists with a singular naming pattern. And that’s not all; the name itself carries the meaning of “The Devil’s Fruit,” indicating that it is the ultimate Devil Fruit ability that exists in the world and breaks the normal classes that exist.

Loki: So your power is God’s Domination? I think you mean a contract with the devil!

Imu: God? Devil? What is the difference?

— Imu’s Akuma no Mi ability explanation in One Piece Chapter #1181

More than that, Nerona Imu’s Akuma no Mi powers are also quite clearly unique in the way they work. On the surface level, this Devil Fruit appears to be a Mythical Zoan, as it allows Imu to transform into the Devil God of the world. However, the way the powers function is unique. imu doesn’t seem to have a full Zoan or a hybrid form. Instead, he simply has a Devil transformation and a multitude of powers that don’t fit in any specific category.

For instance, Imu has the ability to utilize a grimoire in battle. This grimoire consists of a plethora of spells that have various effects on the enemies, making it quite deadly. On top of that, Imu can also make Contracts with other people, and once again, this ability does not fit in the Mythical Zoan class and is more of a sign of a Paramecia Devil Fruit. Similarly, Imu can also utilize the power of Domi Reversi, which once again doesn’t have a clear classification. Finally, the unique ability to manipulate black flames of Omen, which was officially unveiled in One Piece Chapter 1180 on April 20, 2026, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #21, makes it even more peculiar. Eiichiro Oda also did not confirm the classification of the Akuma no Mi, making it a unique Devil Fruit and putting it in a class of its own.

“Omen is my military might! A power that exists within all living things!” — Nerona Imu explaining Omen, One Piece Chapter #1181

One Piece’s Most Unique Devil Fruits Alongside Akuma no Mi

Image via Toei Animation

Nerona Imu’s Akuma no Mi is the most unique Devil Fruit in the world of One Piece at the moment, but along with it, there exist others that break some rules of Devil Fruits. For instance, Luffy’s Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika is unique in the sense that, despite being a Mythical Zoan, it exhibits properties of a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit. Luffy’s Mythical Zoan Awakening should only give him a transformation, but, as noted by Kaido in Chapter 1045, released on April 4, 2022, in WSJ Issue #18, this Devil Fruit ability also allows him to transfer his powers to the surroundings.

“Since you can transfer your power to your surroundings, it is safe to assume that you have awakened your Paramecia fruit. But, something is off! Transformations like these are typical of a Zoan Awakening!” — Kaido explaining Luffy’s special Devil Fruit Awakening, One Piece Chapter #1045

Not only that, but Luffy’s fruit also allows him to transfer his powers to other living beings with his Awakening, making him the only person capable of doing so in the entire series and breaking quite a few laws of Devil Fruits in the process.

Alongside Luffy, there is Charlotte Katakuri to consider, whose Devil Fruit is the only one in the entire series to belong to the Special Paramecia category. Given that Eiichiro Oda has broken quite a few rules of Devil Fruit classes already, it is likely that Imu’s Akuma no Mi is going to break quite a few of them as well, and at the same time, establish a class of its own.

All the latest chapters of One Piece by Eiichiro Oda can be read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.