Chapter 1171 suggests Imu is harmed when bound allies are killed

Polygon reports One Piece chapter 1171 dropped a hint that Imu — the story’s seemingly invincible final villain — can be injured when people bound to them die.

The chapter shows Loki taking the realm’s sacred hammer Ragnir (whose true form is a squirrel) and a legendary Devil Fruit, then killing his father, King Harald, with a massive amount of Conqueror’s Haki. Harald had been under Imu’s control via a Depths Covenant seal, and his death appears to have hurt Imu by proxy. The chapter reiterates that Imu’s exclusive “pact” can bestow near‑immortality, regeneration and the Abyss’s teleporting power, but that performing the Covenant inflicts a cost upon them as well; this helps explain why Imu earlier shrugged off attacks that required combined forces to repel during incidents like God Valley.

The new detail suggests the final conflict may revolve less around striking Imu directly and more around eliminating those bound to them: killing contracted servants could reduce Imu’s strength, a dynamic described in the chapter like a reverse hivemind. Imu’s abilities still aren’t fully explained beyond marking and influencing servants and robbing them of autonomy, but chapter 1171 offers a concrete vulnerability the Straw Hats and their allies may have to learn and exploit when the final battle arrives.

Key Topics

Culture, Imu, Loki, King Harald, Ragnir, Devil Fruit