How Imu Betrayed Joy Boy and Took Control of the World

How Imu Betrayed Joy Boy and Took Control of the World:

Davy D. Jones Was the First Enemy

My theory is that the Void Century wasn’t originally just a war between Joy Boy and the Twenty Kingdoms.

I think the first real threat was Davy D. Jones.

Davy Jones may have been someone who wanted to control the entire world, whether as a king, pirate, or something in between. He became such a huge threat that people who normally would never work together were forced to unite against him.

That alliance may have included Joy Boy, Imu, and the Twenty Kingdoms.

Together, they defeated Davy D. Jones.

But I think the real conflict started after that.

Joy Boy and Imu Wanted Different Worlds

Once Davy Jones was defeated, everyone had to decide what the new world would look like.

I think Joy Boy wanted the world’s resources to be shared more fairly. Things like food, wealth, technology, land, and other important resources shouldn’t belong only to the richest and strongest kingdoms.

Imu and the Twenty Kings probably didn’t agree.

They had just won a massive war and may have wanted to keep their wealth, territory, weapons, and political power.

That disagreement could have been what eventually turned Joy Boy and Imu into enemies.

Joy Boy wanted a world built around freedom and shared resources, while Imu and the kings wanted a world built around control.

The War Between Joy Boy and Imu

Eventually, their disagreement became a full-scale war.

I think this is when the Ancient Weapons were actually used.

The battle between Joy Boy’s side and Imu’s alliance may have become so destructive that the sea level of the entire world rose by around 200 meters.

Whole civilizations could have disappeared beneath the ocean.

So the strange geography of the One Piece world may actually be the result of that original war.

The islands we see today could simply be the highest parts of the old world that survived above the water.

Joy Boy eventually lost, but I don’t think Imu got everything they wanted either.

Imu Never Truly Won the Entire World

Even after defeating Joy Boy, Imu may not have gained complete control.

Most importantly, Imu may not have obtained all of the Ancient Weapons.

My theory is that the only Ancient Weapon Imu successfully gained control over was Uranus.

Poseidon remained outside their control, while Pluton was hidden away.

So even though Imu created the World Government, they never truly possessed all the power of the old world.

That could be why Imu has spent the last 800 years maintaining control instead of simply destroying every enemy immediately.

The Empty Throne Was Never Really Empty

After the war, the Twenty Kingdoms created the World Government.

The Empty Throne supposedly represented the idea that no single king would rule above everyone else.

But I think that was a lie.

Imu secretly became the ruler of the world.

And I think something happened around the Empty Throne that transformed Imu into what they are today.

The Ritual of the 18 Kings

My idea is that some kind of ritual, spell, or ancient technique was performed around the Empty Throne.

Through this ritual, Imu may have absorbed the wills, powers, souls, or abilities of the other kings.

Since Lily refused to remain in Mary Geoise, perhaps only 18 kings were absorbed, with Imu being the nineteenth person.

That could explain why Imu seems capable of using so many different abilities.

It could also explain the weapons surrounding the Empty Throne.

Maybe every king was connected to a different weapon, power, or piece of Ancient Kingdom technology.

By absorbing those kings, Imu may have gained access to 19—or possibly 20—different weapons or abilities connected to the throne.

The Curse of the Empty Throne

But I don’t think the ritual came without a price.

Because the ritual happened around the Empty Throne, Imu may now be permanently connected to that location.

There could be some kind of curse or restriction that prevents Imu from staying too far away from Mary Geoise for too long.

The farther Imu travels from the Empty Throne, the weaker or more unstable they become.

That could explain why the Gorosei were so worried about Imu going all the way to Elbaph.

Maybe they weren’t simply worried because Imu was personally entering battle.

They may know that Imu becomes much more vulnerable when they are far away from the Empty Throne.

If that’s true, the Imu we are seeing on Elbaph may not even be Imu at full power.

Lily Refused to Join Them

Lily may have discovered exactly what Imu and the other kings were planning.

She refused to remain in Mary Geoise and may have refused to participate in the ritual as well.

That could explain why there were only 18 kings for Imu to absorb.

Lily may then have helped scatter the Poneglyphs around the world because she knew the World Government was going to erase the truth.

She wanted some record of Joy Boy, the Ancient Kingdom, the Ancient Weapons, and the real history of the Void Century to survive.

Gunko’s Warning About the End of the World

Chapter 1146 may give us another major clue.

Gunko says:

“One day the world as we know it will cease to exist. Or so we thought. A small number of humans realised it and warned the world of the danger.”

I think this line could be much more important than it first appears.

It suggests that certain people already knew the world was heading toward some kind of massive destruction.

And that fits almost perfectly with the idea of the sea continuing to rise.

Maybe the people who understood the danger realized that what happened during the Void Century could happen again.

The world had already been flooded once when the Ancient Weapons were used.

Now Imu may be preparing to finish what started 800 years ago.

Vegapunk Said the War Never Ended

Vegapunk gives us another clue that fits this theory.

He explains that the war from the Void Century never truly came to an end.

I think that is extremely important.

It means Joy Boy losing 800 years ago may not have actually ended the conflict.

The battlefield just changed.

Instead of one continuous physical war, the conflict continued through the World Government, the Ancient Weapons, the Poneglyphs, the people carrying the D., and everyone who continued resisting Imu’s system.

That could also explain why the Ancient Weapons are becoming important again now.

The same powers that shaped the world 800 years ago are coming back into the story because the same war is entering its final stage.

So Luffy wouldn’t be starting a new war against Imu.

He would be finishing Joy Boy’s war.

And if the sea rose 200 meters during the first part of that conflict, the current events could be leading toward the final part of the same disaster.

Imu’s Final Plan: Destroy the World to Save It

This is where I think Imu’s ultimate plan becomes even darker.

Imu defeated Joy Boy, but never truly gained complete control of the world.

So maybe Imu has decided that the only way to finally control everything is to destroy the current world itself.

Using Uranus or similar power, Imu could continue raising the sea level until most of the remaining world is underwater.

Basically, Imu may be willing to submerge the entire world just to create a new world that is easier to control.

Gunko’s words could be foreshadowing exactly that.

“The world as we know it will cease to exist” may not mean that the planet itself will disappear.

It could mean that the current world of islands, kingdoms, and nations will disappear beneath the ocean.

And Vegapunk saying the Void Century war never ended would mean this new flood isn’t a separate event.

It could simply be the final stage of the same war that began 800 years ago.

But Imu probably wouldn’t present themselves as the person who caused it.

Instead, Imu could try to become its savior.

The Four Bridges Could Be Part of the Plan

This is where the four massive bridge projects could become important.

If the sea continues rising, those enormous bridges may eventually become some of the only safe places left above the water.

The survivors could be forced to escape there.

And if the World Government controls those bridges, then the survivors would depend completely on them for food, shelter, protection, and survival.

From the survivors’ point of view, Imu wouldn’t look like the person who destroyed the old world.

Imu would look like the person who saved humanity from the flood.

That could finally give Imu what they failed to achieve during the Void Century.

Not just control over kingdoms.

Complete control over the surviving human population.

Imu Became the New Davy D. Jones

And that would be the biggest irony of the entire story.

Davy D. Jones wanted to control the world.

Joy Boy, Imu, and the Twenty Kingdoms united to stop him.

But after Davy Jones was defeated, Imu slowly became exactly like him.

Maybe even worse.

Davy Jones tried to conquer the existing world.

Imu may be willing to destroy the existing world and create a new one where everyone depends on them.

Joy Boy realized what was happening and tried to stop Imu, but he failed.

And because that war never truly ended, Joy Boy’s failure 800 years ago is directly connected to what is happening now.

Why the Final Battle Will Happen at the Red Line

That brings everything back to Luffy.

I think the true final battle between Luffy and Imu will happen around Mary Geoise and the Red Line, close to the Empty Throne.

That is where Imu should be at their strongest.

We may finally see Imu use the complete power of the ritual, the abilities of the kings they absorbed, the weapons connected to the throne, and possibly Uranus itself.

The Imu fighting on Elbaph may only be a weakened version.

The Imu waiting at Mary Geoise could be something completely different.

Luffy Will Finish What Joy Boy Started

Luffy is the opposite of everything Imu represents.

Luffy doesn’t want to rule the world.

He doesn’t want people depending on him.

He just wants to be free, and he wants the people around him to be free as well.

That is why I think Luffy will finally finish the conflict that Joy Boy couldn’t finish 800 years ago.

Joy Boy failed to stop Imu.

But the war itself never ended.

Luffy could be the person who finally ends it by defeating Imu at the Red Line, destroying the system built around the Empty Throne, stopping the world from being submerged, and breaking the cycle that started with Davy D. Jones.

In the end, the Void Century may have started with everyone fighting against one person who wanted to control the world.

Eight hundred years later, that same war may end with Luffy fighting another person who became exactly the same thing.