Garp Exposed A Crucial Detail About One Piece’s Mysterious Final Villain

Details about Imu, the final boss of One Piece, are few and far between, but one salient piece of information has been exposed by none other than Monkey D. Garp himself. The hidden monarch secretly ruling over One Piece‘s world, Imu is an ancient and powerful force that Eiichiro Oda is very slowly bringing out into the open.

One Piece‘s God Valley flashback is among the richest sources of Imu-formation yet, showing the villain in battle against the likes of Rocks, Roger and Whitebeard. Also joining the fray is Monkey D. Garp, surprising his fellow marines by siding with the pirates and hitting Imu with a well-aimed Galaxy Impact. The punch barely leaves a scratch, but it does expose a surprising element of Imu’s personality.

Garp’s Attack Confirms Imu Only Considers 2 People A Threat

A close-up of Imu's eye in One Piece

One curiosity of One Piece‘s God Valley flashback is how Monkey D. Garp openly assaults Imu, the foremost authority of the world, yet remains a marine even in One Piece‘s current timeline. Surely, Garp would be executed – or, at the very least, fired – for such insubordination?

One Piece may yet explain this oddity in a future chapter. Perhaps Garp’s memory was wiped using a Devil Fruit power, or he was given a more subtle form of punishment that isn’t visible at a glance. Looking closer at Imu’s characterization, however, a more likely answer emerges: Imu simply doesn’t consider Garp enough of a threat to bother with retribution.

Based on what One Piece has shown of Imu thus far, they only fear two opponents: Davy Jones and Joy Boy. Everyone else – even heavyweights like Roger – seem inconsequential. Pirate or marine, yonko or vice admiral, Imu remains unmoved.

Certainly, Imu can be ruthless – the villain is shown slaughtering marines who cross their path without a second thought. But the idea of singling out Garp after the battle and arranging for his execution seems, from Imu’s point of view, more effort than it’s worth.

Why would Imu lower themselves to discipline a mere vice admiral who doesn’t even pose the slightest problem? Whether Garp lives, dies, stays in the marines, leaves the marines – Imu simply does not care. The entire issue is beneath their station, and the only enemies worth paying heed to are Davy Jones, Joy Boy, and any individuals who inherit their wills.

What About Imu’s Past Attacks In One Piece?

Imu crossing out Lulusia on a map with a red cross over it in One Piece

One could point to the Lulusia Kingdom incident as proof that Imu does punish dissension. They had the entire land wiped out after it was taken over by the Revolutionary Army. But Imu is demonstrably obsessed with building their own vision of the world, and losing a kingdom disrupted that vision – hence the need for reaction.

It’s the same reason Imu is attacking Elbaf in One Piece‘s present timeline. It’s not a personal vendetta against giants, but a tactical need to have the giants fighting for the World Government. Likewise, Imu attacked Sabo because he discovered the secret of the Empty Throne and, again, risked spoiling the big plan. Cobra, meanwhile, was killed because of his connection to Nefertari Lili – someone Imu clearly has personal history with.

Any potential interference with their plans, and Imu will strike without hesitation. But when some do-gooder marine hopelessly throws a futile punch, showing them the error of their ways is simply not important enough to register on Imu’s radar.

Not caring whether enemies live or die unless their surnames are “Davy” or “Joy” supports the long-standing One Piece theory that Imu is some kind god from ancient times. When even a warrior as strong as Garp is deemed harmless enough to not bother punishing, the only explanation is that Imu exists outside the realm of most mortals.