One piece establishes a new class of devil fruit that surpasses mythic zoans

One piece introduced the concept of Devil Fruits as an energy system in Chapter 1 of the story on July 18, 1997. Since then, the series creator, Eiichiro Oda, has greatly expanded the system, introducing various classes such as Paramecia, Logia, Zoan, and other subcategories such as Ancient and Mythical Zoan, among others. While most Devil Fruits that exist in the world One piece fall into these categories, the climax of One Piece's Elbaf Arc, specifically Chapter 1179, which was released in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump #19 on April 6, 2026, revealed the power of Nerona Imu's Akuma no Mi. This devil fruit surpasses all other classes that exist in the world of One Piece and exists in its own class, making it the most unique devil fruit that exists in the world of One Piece.

Nerona Imu's Akuma No Mi Smashes Devil Fruit Classes and Beats Mythical Zoans

Until recently in One piecethe rarest devil fruit subclass was the Mythical Zoan, which was introduced in Chapter 553 of the August 10, 2009 Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #37-38 story, featuring Marco's Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Phoenix. The Mythical Zoan class was officially introduced as even rarer than Logia and just as impressive, if not more so. Over the years, Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits have eclipsed even the likes of Logia and created a great legacy for themselves.

“A type of Devil Fruit even rarer than Logia! The Mythical Zoan Class!” — Kizaru explains the rarity of mythic zoans, chapter #553 in one piece

The vast majority of mythical Zoan Devil Fruits that have been introduced in One Piece recently, such as Luffy's Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, Loki's Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Nidhoggr, and even Risu Risu no Mi, Model: Ratatoskr, revealed in One Piece Chapter 1183 on average by Logsurpass the Devil. powers and special abilities. Despite this, all of these Devil Fruits still exist and work within the classes that Eiichiro Oda established over the years.

With the reveal of Akuma no Mi Nerona Imu in the 2026 issue of Weekly Shonen Jump #19, Eiichiro Oda has now officially introduced a Devil Fruit class that far surpasses the others and exists in a league of its own. Nerona Imu's Akuma no Mi is incredibly strange. Of all the Devil Fruits that exist in the One Piece world, it offers the most firepower. However, it's not the firepower of this ability that makes it unique. In fact, it is the classification introduced in Chapter 1179 that sets it apart from every other fruit in the world, including the extremely rare Mythic Zoans.

Why Imu's Akuma no Mi doesn't belong to any devil fruit class

The main reason why Nerona Imu's Akuma no Mi surpasses all other Devil Fruit classes is because of its special naming. All Devil Fruits that exist in the world of One Piece are named in Kanji. However, “Akuma no Mi” has a unique title written in katakana, making it stand out from the rest. Unlike any other Devil Fruit that exists in the One Piece world, all Devil Fruits carry a dual naming pattern, such as Luffy's Hito Hito no Mi, Model Nika; Eustass Kid's Jiki Jiki no Mi; or even Blackbeard's Yami Yami no Mi.

All the fruits that exist in this world, created by Eiichiro Oda, have a dual naming pattern. Imu's Akuma no Mi is the only one that exists with a unique naming pattern. And that's not all; the name itself carries the meaning of “Devil Fruit”, indicating that it is the ultimate Devil Fruit ability that exists in the world and breaks the normal classes that exist.

Loki: So your power is God's rule? I think you mean a deal with the devil!

Imu: God? Devil? what is the difference

— Explanation of Imu's Akuma no Mi ability in One Piece chapter #1181

More than that, Nero's Imu Akuma no Mi abilities are also quite clearly unique in the way they work. On the surface level, this Devil Fruit appears to be the mythical Zoan, as it allows Im to transform into the Devil God of the World. However, the way the powers work is unique. The imu does not appear to have a full Zoan or hybrid form. Instead, he simply has a diabolical transformation and a multitude of abilities that don't fit into any particular category.

For example, Imu has the ability to use a grimoire in battle. This grimoire consists of a plethora of spells that have different effects on enemies, making it quite deadly. In addition, Imu can make contracts with other people, and again this ability does not fit into the Mythical Zoan class and is more of a Paramecia Devil Fruit trait. Similarly, Imu can use the Domi Reversi power, which again has no clear classification. Finally, the unique ability to manipulate Omen's black flames, which was officially revealed in One Piece Chapter 1180 on April 20, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump #21, makes it even more special. Eiichiro Oda also did not confirm Akuma no Mi's classification, making it a unique Devil Fruit and placing it in its own class.

“Omen is my military power! The power that exists in all living things!” — Nero explaining the Omen to Ima, One Piece Chapter #1181

The most unique One Piece Devil Fruit next to Akuma no Mi

Image via Toei Animation

Nerona Imu's Akuma no Mi is the world's most unique Devil Fruit One piece at the moment, but there are others along with him who break some Devil Fruits rules. For example, Luffy's Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika is unique in that despite being a Mythical Zoan, it exhibits Paramecia-type Devil Fruit properties. Luffy's Mythical Zoan Awakening should only give him a transformation, but as noted by Kaido in Chapter 1045, published on April 4, 2022, in WSJ Issue #18, this Devil Fruit ability also allows him to transfer his powers to those around him.

“Since you can transfer your power to those around you, it's safe to assume you've awakened your Paramecia Fruit. But something is off! Transformations like these are typical of Zoan Awakening!” — Kaido explaining Luffy's special Devil Fruit Awakening, One Piece Chapter #1045

Not only that, but Luffy's fruit also allows him to transfer his powers to other living beings using his Awakening, making him the only person capable of this in the entire series, breaking quite a few Devil Fruit laws in the process.

In addition to Luffy, Charlotte Katakuri comes into consideration, whose Devil Fruit is the only one in the entire series that belongs to the Special Paramecia category. Since Eiichiro Oda has already broken several rules of the Devil Fruit classes, it is likely that Imu's Akuma no Mi will also break them while creating a class of its own.

You can read all the latest One Piece chapters by Eiichiro Oda via Manga Plus and Viz Media.