Of all the Holy Knights introduced in One Piece so far, the one that has caught fans’ attention the most lately would have to be Gunko. Her peculiar design has spawned many theories about Gunko potentially being a traitor or connected to the Revolutionary Army. On the flip side, Gunko’s unique powers have also led fans to suspect a connection to Imu, and the latest chapter of One Piece may have just proved this connection, adding another crucial ability to Gunko and the Holy Knights’ arsenal.
Chapter 1146 of One Piece sees Gunko attack Collun and the Straw Hats accompanying him. Even though Gunko is hit by Usopp’s Skull Exploding Grass at point blank which blows away the entire upper half of her body, Gunko simply begins regenerating much like the Five Elders did on Egghead. So far, Gunko is the only Holy Knight seen to possess this ability which from St. Saturn’s death during the Egghead Arc is implied to have been bestowed by Imu. This unique regeneration, coupled with Gunko’s arrow powers, which mimic the way Imu killed King Cobra, and the fact that Gunko is the only one who has displayed the ability to create the abyss pentagrams suggests that Gunko may have the closest connection to aimu than perhaps any other member of the Holy Knights and maybe even the Five Elders.
One Piece Gives Gunko Another Imu-like Power
Ever since her introduction, many things about Gunko have struck fans as extremely odd. Lack of pants aside, Gunko’s devil fruit ability, which takes the form of arrows, instantly reminded many of the way in which Imu killed King Cobra in Chapter 1085 by piercing him through the torso with a silhouetted arrow-shaped tail of sorts. Gunko was also the one who created the abyss pentagram that summoned Shamrock and herself as well as St. Killingham and St. Sommers to Elbaf, an ability which previously had only been used by the Five Elders on Egghead.
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The Egghead Arc has already confirmed that the Five Elders share a telepathic connection with Imu and even greatly implied that their immortality, regeneration and maybe even their transformations come from Imu. If so, the revelation that Gunko also possesses such regeneration suggests that her abilities may also come from Imu and that she may also share a similar telepathic connection with Imu. Gunko’s regeneration in Chapter 1146 is all but identical to that of St. Nusjuro, with even the same crackling onomatopoeia.
Gunko’s Connection to Imu May Be Stronger Than Fans Think
While this is only speculation, it is possible that Gunko may share a connection with Imu that far surpasses that of the Five Elders. Perhaps Gunko may partly share consciousness with Imu or be a satellite or host of sorts for him. Though Gunko’s official color scheme has yet to be revealed, the color of her eyes could also end up supporting this theory if they do end up being red like Imu’s. In fact, Gunko’s peculiar dual-toned eyes may even be another huge hint towards her split nature shared with Imu, which has also been portrayed through Gunko’s contradictory personality traits and quirks.
Why Gunko in particular was chosen for this is, of course, a mystery, though this may explain why she doesn’t hold the title of a World Noble as indicated by the glaring lack of the “Saint” prefix before her name. An interesting reason for this could be that, as a potential host for Imu, who is very much the “god” that rules over the “saints” i.e., the World Nobles, and the entire world of One Piece, neither Imu nor Gunko, by extension, require the redundant title of sainthood. While it is believed that Imu is one of the first twenty rulers that formed the World Government named St. Imu Nerona, it is possible that Imu cast aside this title when secretly imposing himself as the ruler and god of One Piece.
But of course, this is only a theory for now. It will be interesting to see whether the rest of the Holy Knights also possess similar powers of regeneration, but even so, Gunko will still have plenty in common with Imu. That said, this would also make the Holy Knights infinitely harder opponents to beat, and even as things stand now, One Piece’s Elbaf Arc is seemingly headed for disaster.
One Piece is available to read from Manga Plus and Viz Media.
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