One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda introduces the biggest new upgrade since Gear 5 in Elbaph

Elbaph Arch One piece introduced a lot of new characters to fans and also elaborated on some very powerful pre-existing individuals. With Loki's introduction in chapter 1130, the reveal of Scopper Gaban in chapter 1139, along with the arrival of individuals like Shamrock, Gunko and other holy knights, Elbaph is packed to the brim with exciting characters and unique new power revelations.

None of this comes close to what Eiichiro Oda did with the official introduction of Nero Ima in chapter 1179 of the manga. Imu's abilities were continuously explored in Chapter 1181, and with the use of Akuma no Mi, also known as The Devil's Fruit, the Creator of One Piece officially introduced the biggest improvement to the story since Gear 5 in the Wano Country Arc.

Why Nerona Imu's Omen is the greatest power since Luffy's Niko transformation

As officially confirmed by Eiichiro Oda in chapter 1179 of the manga, Nerona Imu has the power of the Akuma no Mi, the original Devil Fruit, also known as the Devil Fruit. This fruit allows Ima to turn into a devil at will. As a devil, Imu can use various demonic powers, topped by Omen or Maki. In Chapter 1181 of the manga, which dropped on Manga Plus on April 26, 2026, Eiichiro Oda elaborated on Omen's power in great detail, setting it up as one of the greatest One Piece upgrades of all time, second only to Monkey D. Luffy's Gear 5 from the Wano Country Arc.

At its core, Nerona Imu's Omen is a form of energy present within everyone and serves as their primary military force. Omen is born from envy, which leads a person to achieve his goals. According to the series creator, the Omen is incredibly powerful and grants Im the ability to produce black flames. Using these black flames, Imu can propel herself in many ways, such as increasing her own size to that of a giant, creating powerful weapons such as the Blade of Judgment: Nemesis or Morningstar, or even something similar to a weapon.

Imu can even block incoming attacks as well as launch them to deal devastating damage, powerful enough to one-shot the likes of Zoro and Sanji as seen in chapter 1180 of the manga. This power is absolutely immense and what makes it truly powerful is the fact that Nerona Imu can bestow a sign on any of his subordinates. In chapter 1180, Imu gave the sign to Saint Sommers and Saint Killingham, both of whom receive a halo of black flames above their heads. This sign greatly strengthened them, returning them to their full strength and even granting Saint Sommers the ability to fly. The Omen obviously works as one of the most convenient and at the same time dangerous power-ups in the One Piece world, and unlike Gear 5, it doesn't seem to come at a cost to the Holy Knights.

Scaling sign strength to transfer 5

Generally speaking, Nerona Imu's Omen is quite easily one of the most versatile and incredible powers that exist in the One Piece world. The Omen is incredibly overpowered as it not only empowers Ima himself and allows him to overpower people like Loki as seen in the latest chapter, but also allows him to massively enhance the power of his subordinates.

The power of the Omen also comes into effect through Covenants and Corruption, as confirmed by Eiichiro Oda in the latest chapter of the One Piece release. In this regard, it is through the Omen that Nerona Imu created the entire structure of the World Convention and established powerful individuals alongside him, akin to making a pact with the devil. This makes the Omen one of the most versatile abilities in One Piece and the exact opposite of Luffy's Nika power.

While Luffy can transform into a Warrior of Liberation, his influence on other people is limited so far. Luffy can't greatly increase the power of others around him with Gear 5, making it much less convenient than Nerona Imu's Akuma no Mi.

All of Nero's Imu's Omen abilities

Image by Toei Animation

As one of the most versatile superpowers in the world One pieceThe Omen has many applications, with many more to be revealed by the author as the battles of Elbaph continue in Chapter 1182 and beyond. So far, Nerona Imu's Omen has shown the ability to shoot projectiles capable of knocking out someone as strong as Zoro. He has also shown the ability to cover his body in Black Flames of Omen and knock out individuals as strong as Sanji. He can shoot Omen-like bullets as seen when he took out Hajarudin in chapter 1180 and can even shape him into any weapon he wants. In chapter 1181 Imu shaped the flames of Omen into Morningstarwhich he then used to attack Loki and later turned it into the Sword of Judgment: Nemesis, which he used to impale him.

Imu even used Black Flames of Omen to do so block Loki's Ragnazuchivery powerful lightning boosted attack, effortless. He powered his own body with the Omen to grow tremendously in size to match Loki's and most of all he uses these black flames to strengthen himself even more. The fact that the Omen can also amplify the powers of the Five Elders and the Holy Knights makes it a dangerous ability that Imu rightly cites as her military strength. This is a power that can hardly be matched by any other in the world of One Piece, and is unmatched right now.

Despite Sun God Nika being able to match Nero Imu in terms of individual power with his unique abilities, Nerona Imu's Omen has a more far-reaching effect that Nika simply cannot imitate. While Imu acts as the final villain in One Piece, Eiichiro Oda created the perfect enhancement for him and his subordinates through Omen and Akuma no Mi, and that's what makes him an incredibly compelling character.

The latest One Piece manga chapters are available to read on Manga Plus.