An often overlooed arc of One Piece could hold the secret to Imu’s Devil Fruit.
SUMMARY
Imu could be one of the Four Gods revealed in the Skypiea arc.
The Four Gods are: The Sun God Luffy, Rain God Dragon, and perhaps the Forest God Ryokugyu.
Imu’s Earth God ability could grant him mental manipulation powers, which is how he controls the World Government.
Imu, the overarching main villain of One Piece is yet to make a face-reveal. But it hasn’t stopped fans from creating theories to make sense of him. This mysterious character has always appeared as a silhouette, often with mysterious backgrounds.
Yet, it is not clear how Imu is able to rule over the World Government as well as the Celestial Dragons. Is his Devil Fruit that powerful? Fans have theorized Imu’s potential Devil Fruit as well as its powers.
The Four Gods and Their Devil Fruits in One Piece
Luffy finding the Hito Hito no Mi: Nika | One Piece Fandom
For the longest time, Luffy’s Devil Fruit was conjectured to be Gomu Gomu no Mi, a simple rubber-type Paramecia fruit. Yet, as the plot progressed, it was revealed that Gomu Gomu no Mi was just a cover-up name to hide its actual nature. The fruit is actually Hito Hito no Mi: Model Nika, it allows the user to transform into the Sun God Nika.
If a Sun God exists, there are bound to be other Gods in the series as well, such goes a particularly popular theory. The same is confirmed in the Skypiea arc. Chapter 287 of One Piece featured the backstory of the island of Jaya from 400 years ago.
One Piece Chapter 287 | Viz Media
A sacrificial ceremony was held to save the island from a disease. In the ceremony, the people of the island prayed to four Gods: the Gods of the Sun, Rain, Forest, and Earth. Since the Sun God Nika exists, as proven by Luffy, the chances of the existence of other Gods also rise. So who are these three Gods?
Before we talk about Imu’s ability, let’s talk about the other two Gods, aside from Luffy. The Rain God should be able to control the weather. Along with rain, they might have power over wind, lightning, clouds, and other abilities related to natural disasters. Monkey D. Dragon is the one most likely to have this ability, as every time he appears, there are always clouds hovering above, as well as rain.
The next is the Forest God. So far, Ryokugyu has shown the ability to control plants. He can create and control plants as well as transform into one himself. As for Luffy, he is able to exude an unexplainable energy that powers up the Iron Giant at Mary Geoise, just like how the Sun is the source of energy.
Imu’s Earth God Devil Fruit Powers
Imu One Piece | Fandom
As the name suggests, the person who consumed the Earth God Devil Fruit is bound to have powers over the Earth. Imu is most likely to have the Earth God Devil Fruit and could exhibit terrain manipulation powers.
He could be able to manipulate territories or subjugate people by dominating them. He might be able to control the sentience of people and use it to control them or make them do his bidding. This could be how he has been in control of the Celestial Dragons and the World Government for centuries.
As the Earth God, he could also be able to manipulate Earth just like how Crocodile could manipulate sand. However, the speculation of mind control stands stronger as he reigns at the top of the biggest authority of the World.