After 2 years, One Piece's Void Century God is still the strongest

One piece is currently at the climax of the Elbaf arc with chapter 1184 officially ending on May 31, 2026, continuing the story of Brook and Shuri from the Kingdom of Esperia 70 years ago. As the series reached the final phase of the Elbaf arc, author Eiichiro Oda introduced quite a few powerful characters into the plot.

The Elbaf Arc alone introduced us to the likes of Shamrock Figarland, Gunko, Saint Sommers, Killingham, and of course the one who stands above them all, Saint Nero Ima, who displays immense powers through the use of Akuma no Mi and Haki. While Nerona Imu and all the other characters Oda introduced are tremendously powerful, the narrative still portrays a certain Void Century god from 800 years ago as the strongest. This God is none other than Joy Boy, whose flash of power was revealed to us in One piece chapter 1122, which was officially released in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 36-37, two years ago on August 5, 2024. Despite Imu's huge performance in Elbaf, Joy Boy is still the overall strongest in the story.

Joy Boy's Power In One Piece Chapter 1122 Makes Him #1 Strongest Despite Imu Elbaf's Appearance

Joy Boy is a legendary character that was first teased in the Fishman Island arc One piece through a special Poneglyph that contained his apology. This message from Joy Boy was found by Nico Robin in the Sea Forest in One piece chapter 616. Immediately upon reading this message, the legend of Joy Boy was introduced and then expanded upon as the story continued. In the Wano Country arc, specifically in chapter 1043 when Luffy awakened the power of Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, it was officially confirmed that Joy Boy held the same Devil Fruit as Luffy long ago.

“Momonosuke, I hear it! The drums of liberation! Joy Boy has returned!” — Zunesha, One Piece Chapter #1043

In the final saga, thanks to Vegapunk's speech, it officially began in One Piece Chapter 1108, published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #13 on February 26, 2024. Joy Boy's history with the World Government and the war that followed a long time ago in the past was covered in quite some detail. Although the specifics of the war are still lost, it is known that Joy Boy had the power of the Gomu Gomu no Mi, better known as the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, in the Void Century era, which is officially known as the Second World War, as confirmed by Harley in One piece Chapter 1138 February 3, 2025 Joy Boy performed as Nika, or the Sun God of the World. He had immense power, and with this power he fought against the influence of the 20 Kings Alliance, which also included Nero Ima as one of the most powerful figures.

Image by the author, sourced from One Piece Chapter 1122 via Manga Plus

IN One piece Chapter 1179, which was officially released in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19 on April 6, 2026, Eiichiro Oda marked the descent of Nero Ima in Elbaf and with it unleashed the power of his Akuma no Mi. Since then, he has defeated the likes of Zoro, Sanji, Hajarudin and even Loki in battle. Imu is completely unstoppable and has powers that can easily crush entire countries. Despite this, Joy Boy remains officially the strongest in One pieceand this was confirmed in Chapter 1122. In this particular chapter, Emeth unleashed the strongest form of Joy Boy's Haki that he had sealed within himself 800 years ago. When this Haki was unleashed, Eiichiro Oda officially performed the greatest performance in One Piece.

“I tried a knot of the best Haki and locked it in your body. You will live long after I am dead. There will come a day when I will no longer be able to help you.” — Joy Boy holds the strongest Haki in Emeth, One Piece Chapter #1122

Joy Boy's Haki proved to be so powerful that it caused the solo sky above Egghead to tear apart. More than that, it took out all of the Navy Vice Admirals – something that only Shanks managed, aside from Joy Boy, in One Piece Film Red. Additionally, it nullified all of the Covenant powers the Five Elders had gained from Imu, sending them crashing back into the Holy Land of Marijoa. Most importantly, the greatest feat it accomplished was making Imu shudder in fear and pain, bringing him to his knees, reminding him what a threat Joy Boy used to be. To this day, this remains the greatest feat in One Piece and officially makes Joy Boy the #1 strongest in the verse.

Imu's time limit and fear of joy boy make him #2 even though he won the Void Century War

While currently Imu is definitely the strongest when talking about overall strongest characters, Imu would still rank right behind Joy Boy at number 2. This is directly supported by the narrative when looking at chapter 1122 and 1164. In chapter 1122 of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda clearly showed Imua Joya falling to his knees and screaming on his knees. Egghead. Nero's Haki was clearly felt by Imu due to the presence of the Five Elders on Egghead, all of whom carry some of his power through the Covenants he shares with Akuma no Mi. This confirmed to us that Joy Boy's Haki was strong enough to deal massive damage to Nero Ima despite being nowhere near Egghead.

In chapter 1164, when Imu was successfully defeated by Rocks D. Xebec in the God Valley Incident, the latter officially confirmed that Imu feared both Davy D. Jones and Joy Boy. The fact that Imu was afraid of these two individuals suggests that they were close to him in terms of strength, and in Joy Boy's case, the immense pain that Haki caused him back then would indicate that he was even stronger.

Rocks: I wonder who scares you the most? Davy D. Jones? Joy Boy?

Imu: Stop babbling. It never emerges until you fall into oblivion.

— An exchange between Nero Ima and Rocks showing the dreaded Joy Boy, One Piece Chapter #1164

Plus right now Imu is seriously nerfed in One Piece. Saint Sommers confirmed in One Piece Chapter 1182, which was officially published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #24 on May 10, 2026, that Nerona Imu's body cannot handle the outside world. That's why it's always in the flower room at Pangea Castle. While Imu is out in Elbaf right now, there is a time limit. Being currently the strongest, Imu pales in comparison to Joy Boy.

Harley from One Piece Chapter 1138 prepares Nero Ima for power in the future

While Nerona Imu is nervous about his time limit right now and is probably weaker than Joy Boy, One Piece's Harley has set up a great power for him in Harley, which was officially revealed in Chapter 1138, featuring Nerona Imu with the Mother Flame in her hands. This Mother Flame is a great source of power that would take Ima to a whole new level of power. Harley is a foretaste of the great battle to come, as well as a recounting of battles past.

“The Earth God along with the Hellfire Serpent have enveloped the world in death and destruction. —Harley, One Piece Chapter #1138

If this is accurate, then Nerona Ima will get her hands on the biggest power source in the entire One Piece world and will rise in terms of overall power. With Mother Flame, Nerona Imu officially becomes the strongest in the entire One Piece world, leaving even Joy Boy behind. The fact that Imu was able to defeat Joy Boy long ago was probably due to the power of the mother flame that he had by his side. With York now working directly for the World Government, more Mother Flames will soon be in their possession, propelling Nero Ima to the heights of heaven.

All chapters of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece are available to read through Manga Plus and Viz Media.