Against all odds, One Piece‘s Elbaf Arc continues to outdo itself, turning up the excitement with every new chapter. The first of these exciting developments was the reveal of the Harley texts and the ancient Jewel Tree Adam mural, followed by the introduction of even more members of the fearsome yet enigmatic Holy Knights. Now, One Piece’s latest chapter has brought the series’ ultimate villain, Imu, to Elbaf, finally confirming one of the biggest theories about a certain member of the Holy Knights in the process.
Chapter 1149 of One Piece sees Imu take over Gunko’s body just as she seemingly recognizes Brook and is about to free him from his constraints. Setting aside Gunko’s history with Brook, the fact that Imu takes possession of Gunko, in particular, may have just confirmed that the two share a deeper connection than any other Holy Knight, something that fans have theorized about ever since Gunko’s introduction on Elbaf. This possession by Imu also sets up the Elbaf Arc for the perfect confrontation between Gear Five Luffy, Imu, and Gunko, who, as revealed in earlier chapters, fears Sun God Nika.
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One Piece Confirms Gunko’s Connection With Imu
Ever since Gunko first appeared on Elbaf, her design immediately made fans suspect a connection to Imu due to the fact that she seemed to be the only individual capable of casting the abyss pentagrams that would summon St. Sommers and St. Killingham to Elbaf, just like how the Five Elders teleported to Egghead. The Egghead Arc heavily implied that the Five Elders derived their immortality and regeneration as well as this teleportation ability from Imu, which is why fans immediately began drawing connections between Imu and Gunko.
Having said that, the similarities don’t just end there, as Gunko’s Arrow-Arrow powers were also reminiscent of Imu’s devilish arrowed tail that pierced and killed King Cobra during the Reverie. Gunko’s split nature was also quite clearly foreshadowed through her split-toned eyes and a myriad of other quirky personality traits, such as her taste in music. For most of the Elbaf Arc, Gunko’s character has quite simply been a collection of contradictions, as seen when Gunko was revealed to be a fan of Brook’s music, particularly his song, New World.
Interestingly enough, this may have actually been a bit of Gunko’s true self leaking through the cracks, as the latest chapter also hints at a deeper history between Gunko and the Straw Hats musician. Clearly, fans were onto something with these suspicions, as the latest chapter all but confirmed a connection between Imu and Gunko. Chapter 1149 raises the inevitable question of why Imu chose to take over Gunko of all the Holy Knights present on Elbaf. Given these many hints laid out across the Elbaf Arc so far, it is too much to be a coincidence. One Piece surely has big plans for Gunko going forward, and who knows, she may even end up having a tragic backstory that puts Kuma’s to shame.
One Piece is available to read on Manga Plus and Viz Media.
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