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Monkey D. Luffy officially ascended to the status of God in One Piece Chapter 1044, which was officially released in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #17 on March 28, 2022. In this chapter, Luffy awakened the powers of the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, and became the Sun God and the Warrior of Liberation. Since then, he has continued to fight as a God of the One Piece world and grown drastically in strength as well.
While Monkey D. Luffy stands as a powerful God of the One Piece world, he isn't the only one to have achieved godhood in the final saga. Eiichiro Oda has lined up multiple characters with immense godly powers. Now, in the climax of Elbaf, specifically One Piece Chapter 1188, Eiichiro Oda has officially confirmed two Gods to be even stronger than Luffy himself.
One Piece Chapter 1188 Confirm Former Sun God Nika And Imu To Be Stronger Than Luffy
One Piece Chapter 1188 was officially released on July 12, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #33. This chapter was absolutely massive because it finally delivered the battle between Nerona Imu and Monkey D. Luffy. Beyond just the fight of these characters, this battle fulfilled and delivered a prophesized battle that saw Sun God Nika clash with the Demon King of the One Piece world. While this fight was quite exciting for fans to witness, with Gear 5 showcasing the full potential of its creativity and, at the same time, Nerona Imu unleashing more powers of Omen, it was only going to end with one winner.
All fans knew that Monkey D. Luffy would face a defeat at the hands of Nerona Imu in this fight, and that is precisely what happened. At the end of One Piece Chapter 1188, Nerona Imu utilized the power of Omen to create the Blade of Nothingness: Vohu, and stabbed Luffy directly through his torso. While utilizing this ability, Imu declared Luffy too weak.
"Of course I know that thou art not Joy Boy! Joy Boy was not this weak!!" — Nerona Imu beats Luffy with Blade of Nothingness: Vohu, One Piece Chapter #1188
With it, Eiichiro Oda has officially confirmed Nerona Imu to be a stronger God than Monkey D. Luffy. For those who do not remember, Nerona Imu is the strongest and the highest-ranking God in the world of One Piece at the moment, who rules over the entire world itself. Naturally, it is expected of him to maintain and showcase this level of strength, and he is canonically stronger than Luffy at this point in time.
At the same time, One Piece Chapter 1188 also brought back an 800-year old God in Joy Boy, and confirmed that he was a stronger God than Luffy. Both Joy Boy and Luffy share the same powers, but according to Imu, Luffy being called Joy Boy is an insult to the latter because he was far stronger, while Luffy is way too weak.
Why Imu And Joy Boy Surpass Monkey D. Luffy In Power
Both Joy Boy and Imu surpass Monkey D. Luffy in terms of power, and the reason as to why is clear. For one, both Joy Boy and Imu had stronger abilities up their sleeve. Imu has the power of the Akuma no Mi, unleashed first on April 5, 2026, in One Piece Chapter 1179, which makes him so strong that he essentially seems unbeatable unless Eiichiro Oda put several nerfs on him.
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
— Oda shows Nerona Imu's introduction box, One Piece Chapter #1179
Meanwhile, Joy Boy is a much better user of the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. Given that he lived for way longer and had a lot more experience than Luffy, it makes sense as to why he had better control over its powers and potentially even had access to stronger transformations. With stronger transformations comes a higher overall power level, and with that comes stronger Conqueror's Haki, as confirmed in One Piece Chapter 597 on August 30, 2010.
"Though you can control the Color of the Supreme King, you can't train it to be stronger directly. It is the embodiment of the spirit of the user. The only way to make it stronger is for the user to grow stronger." — Silvers Rayleigh explains how to strengthen Conqueror's Haki, One Piece Chapter #597
Similarly, Nerona Imu, who also has a much greater strength overall compared to Luffy, also has far stronger Conqueror's Haki. When all these factors are taken into consideration, it makes sense as to why they are far stronger than Luffy at this point. That said, with time, Monkey D. Luffy will catch up to them in one way or another. Eiichiro Oda is already lining up major upgrades for the Straw Hat Captain in that regard, which is great news for all of us fans.
How Luffy Can Catch Up To Imu And Joy Boy
At the moment, there are only two ways in which Monkey D. Luffy can reach the same level as the two ultimate Gods of the One Piece world — Nerona Imu and Joy Boy. The first is to upgrade his Devil Fruit even further. At this point in time, Gear 5 is being perceived by Monkey D. Luffy as the peak of his Devil Fruit abilities, which was stated by him in One Piece Chapter #1044 on March 28, 2022. However, as is quite evident, Luffy does not have an elemental ring behind his back, which both Nerona Imu and Zaza, the Rain God, do. Luffy, as the Sun God, could potentially gain access to this power as well, which could complete his Awakening and give him access to a new transformation. He might even call this form Gear 6 in the future, and it could strengthen him remarkably and put him on a completely new level.
The second way is to gain greater power through stronger Haki. Once Luffy grows physically, he will automatically gain stronger Conqueror's Haki. Then, he will be able to fight against the likes of Nerona Imu on equal footing. With these two major upgrades, Luffy is sure to reach the next level of strength and catch up to these powerful gods of the One Piece world. But, he mustn't stop there. Luffy must also go beyond their level and become the strongest God in existence. This is because Nerona Imu must be defeated by Monkey D. Luffy at some point in the future, and to achieve that, Luffy has to surpass both Joy Boy and Imu. While Luffy might be weaker than these two Gods at the moment, in the future, he has to go far beyond their level, and that is something we are eagerly waiting to see.
All chapters of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
