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The climax of One Piece's Elbaf Arc has unveiled some of the strongest abilities that exist in this world, crafted by creator Eiichiro Oda for us to enjoy, and among them is also the mightiest Devil Fruit type of all. Over the years, Eiichiro Oda has introduced countless powerful Devil Fruits, as well as unique Devil Fruit types such as the Mythical Zoans, the Ancient Zoans, and even the likes of Logia and Special Paramecia. The strongest Devil Fruit that exists in the world of One Piece is unique and belongs to none of those categories, and is wielded by the King of the World — Nerona Imu.
Imu possesses the most unique and powerful Devil Fruit in the entire world of One Piece, known as the Akuma no Mi or ‘The Devil's Fruit’ itself, which precedes all other powers that exist in the world. This Devil’s Fruit is unique, and through the run of One Piece Chapter 1180 all the way to 1188, Eiichiro Oda officially confirms it as the mightiest fruit to exist in terms of power.
One Piece Chapters 1179-1188 Officially Confirm Akuma no Mi As The Greatest Ability In The Story
One Piece first confirmed the Akuma no Mi ability in chapter 1179's release on April 5, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19. In this chapter, Nerona Imu descended upon Elbaf, and Eiichiro Oda confirmed in his introduction box that he wielded the ability known as Akuma no Mi or The Devil's Fruit. Immediately upon seeing this ability, it felt as if normal Devil Fruit laws did not apply to it. This is because Nerona Imu's Devil Fruit was not categorized like normal Devil Fruits. All fruits that exist in the world of One Piece have a double naming pattern. This has been seen uniformly across all categories and subcategories that exist in the world of One Piece, be it Luffy's Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, Enel's Goro Goro no Mi, Katakuri's Mochi Mochi no Mi, Big Mom's Soru Soru no Mi, Sakazuki's Magu Magu no Mi, or any other fruit. All Devil Fruits have a double naming pattern, other than Nerona Imu's unique Akuma no Mi power.
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
— Nerona Imu's introduction box, One Piece Chapter #1179
Furthermore, all the fruits that exist in the world of One Piece fall under unique categories of Logia, Zoan, or Paramecia, but Nerona Imu's fruit is ‘The Devil Fruit,’ meaning that it sits atop all other Devil Fruits and exists in a class of its own. Nerona Imu's powers officially confirm to us that this Devil Fruit is a type of its own and a unique power that rules above all. So far, Eiichiro Oda has revealed quite a few of Nerona Imu's abilities, and needless to say, it is an incredibly powerful fruit to hold. Nerona Imu can, first and foremost, use his ability to grant various powers to individuals through brandings known as Covenants. As explained in One Piece Chapter 1167 in WSJ Issue #1 on December 1, 2025, there are three different Covenants that exist in the World of One Piece, those being the Shallows Covenant, the Depths Covenant, and finally the Abyssal Covenant. All of them grant tremendous powers to the user, with the Abyssal being the strongest, the Depths being the one that the Holy Knights wield, and the Shallows being by far the weakest of them all.
“The Covenant has three stages. The Shallows is but a mere trace of the bond, but the Depths Covenant and the Abyssal Covenant are reserved only for 13 exclusive individuals who can enter into a contract with the true God.” — Five Elders explain Covenants, One Piece Chapter #1167
Imu can also utilize his Devil Fruit power to turn his enemies into demonic slaves using an ability known as Domi Reversi, which was officially confirmed in One Piece Chapter 1150. By granting them a significant buff to strength as well as giving them an undying body. Nerona Imu can create an army of undying slaves in a matter of seconds, but this is only a portion of the tremendous Akuma no Mi ability.
Imu can also conjure a spell book, which likely possesses thousands of spells, and utilize various abilities, such as summoning various weapons with it. The true extent of this spell book has not been seen yet.
Above all, Nerona Imu has the power of Omen or Maki, which manifests itself in the form of black flames that can be manipulated in countless ways in combat. Nerona Imu's fruit showcases properties of all three types of Devil Fruit, those being Logia, Paramecia, and Zoan, which is precisely why it exists as a type of its own. For instance, Imu's black blob-like form showcases the same powers as a Logia type. His normal state grants him a demonic transformation, which resembles the Zoan type, and the ability to utilize Covenants, grant an Omen to individuals, manipulate the black flames, conjure up books, and use spells in combat all fall under the Paramecia class. Clearly, Imu's ability stands atop all Devil Fruits, and it makes sense as to why it is called ‘The Devil's Fruit.’
"Omen is my military might. It's a power that dwells within all living things. People crave power. However, if the power they crave is obtained through ease, it leads to corruption." — Imu explains his Omen, One Piece Chapter #1181
Why Nerona Imu's Akuma no Mi Surpasses The Nika Fruit
As things stand, Nerona Imu's Akuma no Mi is quite clearly far stronger than Luffy's Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. Even though the Nika fruit is strong and allows Luffy to transform into the Sun God of the One Piece World, it is in no way or form a match for Imu's Akuma no Mi abilities. While Nika is powerful, especially when his imagination is unleashed to the absolute fullest, the Akuma no Mi abilities are more dangerous and diverse.
Imu's skill set was officially tested against that of Nika in One Piece Chapter 1188 on July 12, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #33. It was quite clear for us to see that Nika was outclassed rather easily and was easily beaten.
"Of course I know that thou art not Joy Boy! Joy Boy was not this weak!!" — Nerona Imu defeats Luffy, One Piece Chapter #1188
Nerona Imu's Full Power Has Not Been Revealed Yet
Even though Imu is strong, we need to keep in mind that he is in a significantly nerfed state right now. Imu was seen coughing up blood immediately upon stepping foot on Elbaf in One Piece Chapter 1179 on April 5, 2026. Throughout the battle against Loki, Imu felt quite a lot of pain due to being on the lower surface. Sommers also confirmed to us directly in One Piece Chapter 1182, which was released on May 10, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #24, that Imu's body is not designed to be in the lower world, which means that Oda has already put a significant nerf on him.
Despite all that, he was able to defeat Luffy effortlessly, on top of having already fought against Loki as well. Quite clearly, Nerona Imu's Akuma no Mi surpasses the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, and all other Devil Fruits that exist in the world of One Piece. The only fruit that could potentially stand a chance against it is Blackbeard's Yami Yami no Mi, but in terms of firepower, it is still not even remotely close. The only way Blackbeard could stand a chance against Imu is by canceling his abilities and landing a blow when he gets an opportunity to do so. But with Imu's wide array of abilities, even Blackbeard would not stand a chance against him.
All the latest One Piece manga chapters by Eiichiro Oda are available to read for fans via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
