Imu's similarities to this One Piece character tease a significant connection

Modified Mar 14, 2025 02:30 GMT

One Piece could be connecting Imu to another character (Image via Toei Animation and Shueisha).

One Piece has a lot of mysteries regarding who seems to be the final boss of the series, Imu, the leader of the World Government, ranging from her identity to her past and motivations. In that regard, a new theory suggests that Gunko, one of the Holy Knights, could be another personality of Imu and is currently causing havoc in Elbaph.

This theory references what happened to Cavendish in the Dressrosa arc, where it is revealed that he has another personality, Hakuba, taking over when he sleeps. Therefore, now that One Piece has established that mechanic in its world, it's not impossible to believe that Imu is Gunko since they have some similarities on the appearance side of things as well.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda.

Explaining how Gunko could be Imu in One Piece

Imu as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation).

One of the first similarities between Imu and Gunko is that they fear Nika, as stated by each of them in the last two arcs, respectively. Furthermore, the odd design of the Holy Knight's eyes could be a sign such as Cavendish's personality disorder in Dressrosa, highlighting that perhaps she takes over Imu's body when the latter is sleeping.

There is also the fact that some translations seem to suggest that Imu is a woman, which could fit with this theory. These two characters also seem to have "long arms", with Gunko's case being related to her sleeves while Imu was seen having these long extremities when holding Luffy's wanted poster. The leader of the World Government has been depicted as having an odd body shape which could be a trick to play with people's expectations.

Another element that some people have noticed is that both characters use arrow-based abilities, with Gunko using them with her Devil Fruit in Elbaph in a very clear manner. Imu seems to do something similar against Cobra, meaning that either the Holy Knight attacked him from the shadows without anyone noticing or the World Government leader has the same ability.

More details about this theory

Gunko as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha).

Another fact that makes this One Piece theory even more valid is that some characters, such as Cavendish and Dracule Mihawk, have been seen wielding eyes in a similar design to the ones Imu has. When considering that Cavendish's Hakuba personality had him wielding eyes of different colors and styles, this seems oddly familiar to Gunko in the recent chapters of the manga.

Furthermore, when Hakuba took over during the Dressrosa arc, he was shaded in a way that seemed similar to Imu in the manga. There is a good chance that author Eiichiro Oda is establishing a mental disorder in the series reflected in the character's eyes. Imu and Gunko could have a connection of sorts because of that.

Final thoughts

Gunko has become one of the most mysterious inclusions to the One Piece manga thus far and she has spawned a lot of different theories during her short stint in the series as of this writing. However, the idea of her being connected to Imu seems quite interesting, considering these similarities could be a great way to slowly introduce the villain to the main action.

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Edited by Bharath S