One piece Volume 115 was officially released in Japan on July 3, 2026. This new volume One piece is the longest in the entire history of the series, containing 13 chapters from One Piece chapter 1167 to 1179. As with every volume of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the series, revealed a lot of new information to us, including key details regarding the Imu Clan.
Thanks to the official release One piece Chapter or One piece Volume 115 on July 3rd, we now know that Nerona Imu is connected to Dracul Mihawk, and this was re-emphasized through the latest PV released for this volume.
One Piece Volume 115 creates a blood connection between Imu and Mihawk through gold/red ringed eyes
Every time a One piece volume will be released, Eiichiro Oda and Shueisha will release a PV for it. One piece Volume 115 was no exception and a new official PV was released alongside the volume on July 2, 2026. This PV was officially unveiled on the official One Piece YouTube account and showcased animated panels from all the chapters included in the volume's release and some beyond. One particular panel that stood out was from One piece chapter 1155, released on July 21, 2025, in WSJ issue 34, where Nerona Imu was seen showing off his powerful, glowing eyes.
Usually Nerona Imu's eyes are colored red One piece Digital color edition. However, for this preview, it appears that Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the series, changed the color tones for Ima. This time, Nerona Imu's eyes are gold and the ring pattern makes them look exactly like Dracula Mihawk's eyes. The interesting thing is that One piece The Digital Color Edition also shows Dracula Mihawk's eyes as red, while the anime shows them as gold.
The man claimed to be a fan of Davy Jones. He knew there was nothing more he could do, so he simply walked away saying 'Just wait. I'll be right back, right here.' — Dialogue displayed on the One Piece Panel showing Imua's golden eyes.
Introduced in the Volume 115 PV, Imu's golden eye color officially establishes the connection and the fact that these are the only two characters in the entire world One piece with golden circular eyes directly connecting them by blood. Mihawk is royalty and that was already set up in the story. Now, with this latest from Oda himself One piece Volume 115, we can connect the World's Strongest Swordsman directly to Nero of the Sky Dragon Clan.
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Nero's Judgment Sword Imu: Nemesis links it to the world's strongest swordsman
Mihawk and Imu are the only two characters in the game One piece the world with this golden ring pattern of the eye is already irrefutable proof of their connection. What makes this even more plausible is the fact that v One piece Chapter 1181, titled “God and Devil” and officially published in Shueisha's Weekly Shounen Jump Issue #22-23 on April 27, 2026, Imu unleashed a powerful sword attack called the Sword of Judgment: Nemesis. This mighty sword was made from Imu's Maki or Omen, and the design Imu conjured up for this sword was exactly the same as Dracula Mihawk Yoru's.
Imu: Omen is my military power. It is the power that resides in all living things.
Imu: Blade of Judgment: Nemesis!
Imu: People crave power. However, if the power they desire is obtained with ease, it leads to corruption.
— Nerona's explanation to Imu about the sign and use of the Judgment Blade, One Piece Chapter #1181
This was a clever way for Eiichiro Oda to demonstrate that Mihawk and Imu are blood relatives. This new sword skill that Imu demonstrated, combined with the gold/red ring pattern, officially established a strong blood relationship between them through the Nero clan.
For those who don't remember, the Nero clan was one of the 20 families that united in battle against the Ancient Empire 800 years ago in the Void Century. Although Imu eventually became king, the Nero clan still exists in the Holy Land as one of the Founding 20.
There are many ideas regarding Mihawk and Imu's blood connection, but the strongest of them all is that Mihawk is Imu's own son. This makes sense looking at their shared eye pattern, but more than that, also the naming pattern Oda used for Dracula Mihawk. The word Dracula literally translates to “Son of the Devil” in Romanian. In One Piece Chapter 1179, which was officially released on April 5, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19, Eiichiro Oda officially introduced Ima as the Devil of the World with the power of the legendary Akuma no Mi, or “Devil Fruit”. If Mihawk's name suggests that he is the son of a devil and Nero Ima is the devil of the world, then it is highly likely that Mihawk is a direct blood descendant, which is further supported by the latest revelation in One Piece Volume 115.
“My name is Dracule Mihawk! It's too soon to die. Know yourself. Know the world and grow stronger. However long it takes, I will wait for you at the top. Strive with all your heart and mind to best this blade. Try to surpass me, Roronoo Zoro!” — Dracule Mihawk introduces himself, One Piece Chapter #52
There may be complications arising from the fact that Nerona Imu is over 800 years old, but it should be remembered that Imu is immortal and as such can have children at any time. With the sky dragons' habit of often taking slaves, Nerona Imu could easily have had a child recently in One pieceand that kid could very well end up as Dracule Mihawk. As we head into the final stretch of the story after the events of Elbaf, Dracula Mihawk's character will be greatly expanded, and it is in this part of the story that his connection to Nerona Imu and his clan will be properly explained.
For now, we can be sure that the two are related by blood, although the exact concrete connection between the two will likely be worked out by Eiichiro Oda later in the series. As Imu continues to fight in Elbaf against Loki and Luffy, fans will get more hints about his abilities, as well as his bloodline and an old battle from the Void Century. A Dracula Mihawk connection may also be teased here, and we absolutely cannot wait for Eiichiro Oda to shape this beautiful story in the future.
All new chapters of One Piece manga by creator Eiichiro Oda are available to read through Manga Plus and Viz Media.
