One Piece theory claims Imu's beginnings, and origins of Devil Fruits are one and the same

One of the biggest mysteries in One Piece is the origins of devil fruits. These spiral fruits grant normal human beings supernatural powers, in exchange for their ability to swim. They have been surrounded by mystery since the series started.

However, a recent theory has linked the mystery of devil fruits to another mystery figure with the highest authority in this world. That figure is Imu, the Supreme leader of the World Government.

A dialogue from Shanks forms the base of this theory that is about to be discussed in this article. Imu's link to Damballa, the link of One Piece to the Holy Bible, the spiral energy of the devil fruits, and how all of these factors tell about the origin of the devil fruits and their link to the Supreme leader Imu.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the One Piece manga series and might contain the author's opinions.

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Discovering the relationship between the origins of Imu and the devil fruits in One Piece

Imu has been linked with Nure-Onna, a yokai spirit of Japanese folklore, who possesses the head of a female and the body of a snake. In the Holy Bible, the snake lured Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. The Eve in One Piece can be considered to be Lily, the Queen of Arabasta.

Damballa, a Haitian Voodoo mythology spirit, can also be linked to Imu considering this spirit's appearance resembles that of Nure-Onna. In Voodoo methodology, Damballa's ceremony is performed around a tree, thus linking Imu to a tree.

Shanks as seen in the manga (Image via VIZ Media)

Getting back to the base of this theory, Shanks' dialogue regarding the origin of devil fruit. According to him, the devil fruits are the incarnation of the sea devil, which could be Imu ('Umiboze,' a giant sea devil of Japanese folklore has an appearance similar to Imu).

Fans have noticed a connection between One Piece and the Bible (the Nure-Onna luring Eve into eating the forbidden fruit). Thus, there must be some reference in the series that directly connects to the Adam-Eve story. Turns out, two trees directly connect to the Bible's story: The Sunlight Tree Eve, and the Treasure Tree Adam.

After the Water Seven arc, Franky started to build the Thousand Sunny from the wood of a precious tree that was the Treasure Adam Tree. The Sunlight Tree Eve was first mentioned during the Fisherman Island arc when Neptune explained to Nami how the tree made the island so bright, despite being deep in the sea.

Damballa is also known to give birth to spirits, which confirms Shanks' theory of how these fruits are the incarnation of the sea devil (Imu as in the meaning of Umibozu).

Another thing fans have brought into discussion is the spiral patterns of the devil fruits, which also relate to their origin. The 'spiral energy' has been described by Oda in the SBS section of volume 7 of One Piece. He explained it as the energy needed for the environment to work as everything works in spirals (planets, etc).

Fans have related this energy to the Celtic Tree of Life. This cycle connects two trees with a spiral and forms a circle. This could depict that evil and good emerge from the same source.

Vegapunk once stated that as long as dreams exist, Luffy's fruit (the Nika fruit) will never cease to exist. Comparatively, devil fruits like Saturn's are the ones that looked to have emerged from the sea devil (Imu). So, a white cloud depicting the fruits that emerge from dreams (dream fruits) and a black cloud for the ones that emerge from the sea devil (devil fruits)

Relating this to the Bible, Adam (good) could be related to the dream fruits, and Eve (lured by the devil) could be related to the evil cloud. As the Thousand Sunny is also built from Adam's tree, this could mean that Luffy's devil fruit emerged from the same tree as his beloved ship.

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Final thoughts

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

Theories like these should be taken with a grain of salt as these support their arguments with another argument that could make the theory less believable. That being said, it doesn't mean that there is zero possibility of such theories being true.

Imu's origins could be revealed in the next couple of chapters as her true identity as Nefertari Lily is popular amongst the fandom. This could make Imu the key figure in turning the story of One Piece.