Officially introduced in One piece chapter 1044 of the March 28, 2022 issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump #17, the Sun God Nika is one of the most prominent characters in the lore established by Eiichiro Oda, the story's creator. Also known as the Freedom Fighter, Nika fights with immense freedom and brings smiles and laughter to the faces of oppressed people. Nika is one of the most dangerous warriors in the history of the One Piece world, and his powers are currently controlled by none other than Monkey D. Luffy through Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, the powerful mythical Zoan Devil Fruit.
As the Sun God, Luffy has immense power and combined with his awesome Hakim, he stands tall as one of the four sea emperors, an individual feared even by the world government. However, the climax of the Elbaf arc confirmed to us that although Monkey D. Luffy is the Sun God, he is not the strongest God in One piece. Nero Imu, the devil god One piece world, is even stronger, and this was repeated again in One piece chapter 1187 on July 5, 2026.
One Piece Chapter 1187 officially confirms Nero Ima as a stronger god than Nika
The Sun God Nika is an extremely powerful deity, and Eiichiro Oda demonstrated his power immediately upon awakening Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika in One piece Chapter 1044 When Luffy took on Kaido in battle, Sun God Nik's abilities were clearly visible. He was able to overpower Yonko Kaido and eventually use his most powerful ability called the Bajrang Gun to officially defeat and potentially kill him.
“Having a body with the powers of rubber and fighting in any way he likes, bringing smiles to people's faces, Liberation Warrior…also known as the Sun God, Nika!” — The Elders Explain Nika's Power, One Piece Chapter #1044
Later, Monkey D. Luffy fought against Admiral Kizaru, and without going all out, he was able to hold off rather easily and paralyze him with a rather mediocre move known as the White Star Gun in One Piece Chapter 1094, October 9, 2023. In the battle against Saint Saturn and the other elders, Luffy was pretty much consistently dominant, but he didn't know them. However, in Elbaf, Luffy's shortcomings are clear to all. As strong as he is, he can't hold Gear 5 for long, and even if he can, he has no chance against the strongest god, Nero Ima.
“Great Imu's body is not meant to maintain the exterior. But even if we overcome this, the power we need and the power we should destroy are right here. — Sommers explains Nero's nerf to Ima, One Piece Chapter #1182
IN One piece Chapter 1187, which was officially released on July 5, 2026, saw Monkey D. Luffy take on Nero Ima in battle. If there's one thing this battle made clear, it was that Imu is above Luffy in terms of league god power. There are two important things to consider when scaling Luffy's power to Nero Ima:
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When Imu arrived on Elbaf in One Piece Chapter 1179 on April 5, 2026, it was clear that he was noticeably nervous. This was reiterated by Saint Sommers in One Piece Chapter 1182 on May 10, 2026 in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump 24, where he stated that Imu's body was not designed to sustain the outside world, thus confirming that he was in a weakened state.
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Nerona Imu fought against Loki, a powerful God in his own right who has the ability Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Nidhoggr. Imu even took a few hits from Loki and eventually triumphed with his Stigma technique that completely knocked out the God of War of Elbaf.
“That was a good hit, I'll admit, but it was only possible because of all the damage I did to him before you came. – Loki confirms that he weakened Ima in front of Luffy
Luffy, on the other hand, heads into battle completely fresh and has eaten as much as he can. IN One piece In Chapter 1186, Luffy officially stated that he couldn't imagine losing to anyone in his current state. If there's one thing we should be worried about, though, it's the big ominous flag Oda has planted on the series' protagonist, who will likely lose his first battle against Nero Ima.
“The guy with the bad news is Elbaf's enemy, isn't he? That means he's my enemy too. I'm brimming with power. I can't see anyone beating me right now.” — Monkey D. Luffy's Ominous Message, One Piece Chapter #1186
Nerona Ima beat War God and Sun God despite heavy Nerfs in Elbaf Climax
So far, Imu hasn't used his full power in Elbaf, and as said before, that's because of the few nerfs Oda put on him. Not being able to properly use his body outside of the flower room in Marijoa and being cut down by Loki confirms to us that Nerona Imu is officially a much more powerful God than Sun God Nika, or Luffy in other words. Despite these heavy nerfs, Imu will probably win his battle against Luffy here. Since Imu is the final One Piece villain, the chances of him being permanently defeated in Elbaf are close to zero. As such, we should all head into the upcoming battle in One Piece Chapter 1188 on July 12, 2026 expecting Nerona Imu to defeat Luffy in the Battle of the Gods and the King of the World to come out on top.
Imu: So you finally showed up, Joy Boy!
Luffy: Don't tell me what you want. I am Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become the king of the pirates.
— Beginning of Luffy vs Imu, One Piece Chapter #1187
Still, at the end of the arc, Imu has to be forced out of Elbaf one way or another. Eiichiro Oda cleverly put a time limit on Ima just for this purpose. By setting a time limit on how long Imu can stay in the world below, Oda will be forced to force Imu to retreat once his time is up and push him back to the Holy Land of Marijoa, defending Elbaf while protecting Imu for a future war.
Why Full Powered Imu is an unstoppable force in one piece
Right now, Nerona Imu is very nervous One piecebut it won't stay that way for long. When Final War begins, Eiichiro Oda will not want his main villain to remain in a nerfed state. Nerona Imu will thus have all her limiters removed one way or another. The best way to achieve this is potentially using Mother Flame, which was introduced in One Piece 1060, officially released on September 20, 2022, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #42.
In Harley, who was officially introduced in One Piece Chapter 1138 on February 3, 2025, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump #10, the Elbaf mural showed the demon god Nero Ima holding a giant sun. As a consequence, this sun can greatly strengthen Ima and help him ignore any nerfs that were put on him long ago, probably during the Void Century. At full power Nerona Imu will be practically unmatched in battle and only then can we see the full range of his abilities. For now, we'll have to settle for watching Imo in his weakened state, yet he still surprisingly dominates every battle he takes part in.
All chapters of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga are available to read through Manga Plus and Viz Media.
