 One Piece has shocked us once again, and how we see the hierarchy of villains in this series will never be the same, from the reveal of the ancient secret behind the Nefertari family, to the showcase of the terrifying abilities held by Imu and the Gorosei. One Piece is reaching a level of tension beyond anything we've seen before, and I'm excited to talk about these recent events, and of course, I'm in the mood to overanalyze and over-speculate on all things happening, even to the smallest detail of how the Nefertari family's long-held secret could have something to do with Oda's choice of cover page, but we'll get to that later. So we're gonna play a game throughout this video, preaching or reaching. Every time I speculate on something, if you think there's some merit behind what I'm saying, aka preaching, you subscribe. But if you think I'm reaching, let me know by leaving a comment below, and let me know your own wacky speculations as well, because I need to hear any conceivable idea that anyone may have to make sense of what is going on in these recent chapters. And the game starts now. The events of Chapter 1085 began where things ended in the last chapter, and kicking off the intrigue from the get-go, we get greater context as to Cobra's shock, as he stares at Imu who is sitting on what should be the empty throne, and this expression alone might have told us a whole lot more than we initially thought. Let me explain. Quickly dispelling with speculations as to whether Cobra recognized Imu for looking like Lily or the Nefertari family in some way, that's not the case. But this doesn't mean that he doesn't recognize Imu at all, or more rather, at least he recognizes Imu's name. Through Cobra's dialogue, we learn that someone named Imu was one of the original 20 royal families who established what is now the world government, and this immediately gives rise to some very intriguing questions. Is the name Imu a family name for one of the first 20 kingdoms similar to the name Don Quixote, for example, a surname in real-world terms, or is Imu the first or given name of one individual? Because depending on the answer to that question, this could greatly change the level of intrigue surrounding Imu's character. If Imu is indeed a family name, then Cobra's surprise at hearing it is somewhat questionable. I mean I've always assumed that the original 20 royal families would be aware of each other's family names, but Cobra's reaction would suggest that that's not the case. Cobra's response is actually nothing short of astonishment, even questioning whether this is merely a coincidence. So either Cobra knows more about the history of the world government, and knows specifically that there shouldn't be anyone from the Imu family at Marijua, which is even more intriguing and suggests the possibility of the Imu family being subject to some sort of eradication or expulsion, or it's simply the case that Imu is the first name of an individual. And this increases the intrigue tenfold, although a much more straightforward explanation behind Cobra's shock. Because if this figure we see before us is Imu, as in one of the original 20 royal families who left for Marijua, then this individual shouldn't be alive today. After all, based on Cobra's logical assumption, no one should be able to stay alive after 800 years. No one from that timeline should exist right now. Say for anomalies such as through Toki's devil fruit ability. So in this case, Cobra's shock is more than an appropriate response. And the fact that Imu talks in third person addressing themselves as Mu, which by the way has a few meanings that we'll elaborate on later. This also suggests that Imu is indeed an ancient ruler over 800 years old. I'm not sure if you can already tell, but I just honestly love this segment. It has the least amount of action compared to the rest of the chapter's contents, but it steals such a great opening scene that sets the tension that would only continue to increase throughout this section. The biggest reveal of course being when we find out that the Nefertari family are also part of the decline. This completely recontextualizes everything we knew about the Nefertari family. Building on from what was already a head turner in the last chapter, as Imu continues to talk more about the Monica D, alluding to the secret behind the existence of the Polnoglyphs and speculating that everything was part of some larger plan. I would have to say that the most interesting part is that Queen Lily is ascending to be the instigator behind all of these important mysteries. Imu talks about a blunder that Lily made, which is what resulted in the release of the Polnoglyphs and the reason why the world government faced so many headaches, whether that be in the form of the Ahara scholars or the slew of D-Clan members who have raised hell in recent times. A mistake or incompetence on Lily's part, which to me suggests a particular incident occurred and this isn't just solely her decision to not join the world government. And while that may not be so clear, what is clear is that this was no simple mistake, but likely a calculated move on Lily's part. As part of the D-Clan, even her initially having been part of the 20 kingdoms is now cause for speculation. And crazily, a character that we have no visual image of, apart from a shadowy silhouette, is becoming a figure whose importance is starting to rival that of Joyboys. And I do believe that Joyboy and Lily's stories in particular are very closely linked to each other, and I think we've seen a hint of this in this chapter through the little flashback Sabo had of his childhood with Ace and Luffy, where he asked his brothers about both of them having the D-initial in their names. And if you will, I have to stop and speculate here again just for a second, but I'm starting to think that the fact that Ace told Sabo that he could give him the D-initial might in fact be a representation of how one obtains this moniker. Now, I know you may think that that may be too simple, so allow me to put more weight into what this means. It's safely assumed that Joyboy would have been the leader of the D-Clan that opposed what we now know as the Celestial Dragons, and it may be the case that as a sign of allegiance, he bestowed on those who chose to fight alongside him this initial D, alongside its very important meaning. And this is what Sabo's flashback illustrated with Ace representing Joyboy, and Sabo representing Lily in this scenario. An individual simply being allowed to have the D-moniker in their name and adopting it from that point forward. Because if you think about it, those with the D-initial have always been said to be part of a clan or the people of the D, not a family, but a clan. As in, this D-Clan are not necessarily of blood relations. Think of the Kazuki, for example. The individuals with actual Kazuki bloodline are just Odin and his family, but Kinemon and the Nine Scabbards were still considered to be part of the Kazuki clan. And so there could be a similar makeup for the D-Clan, which is what Sabo's flashback may have been hinting at. Maybe it also explains why Nefertari Lily, as someone who was originally part of the 20 kingdoms, later abandoned the world government, apart from speculations that she may have been a double agent, which isn't unheard of, especially as of recent events in the Egghead Island arc. It could be a case where Lily later decided to join Joyboy's D-Clan, being given the D-initial only after swearing loyalty. It could also explain why we have Saul, who's a giant, also with the D-initial in his name, despite obviously being of very different bloodlines. The D-Clan could be a cohesive group of different people across different races that battled evil with Joyboy as their fitting leader. And this would also add more importance to Cobra's last words to Sabo, requesting him to tell Luffy and Vivi that they share the D-initial, and that the path that Arabasta must follow is to support those who will lead the D-Clan to the new dawn. Meaning that Vivi must fly under the Straw Hats flag, Luffy's flag, the Joyboy's flag, and take part in the heralding of the world's eventual dawn. Now there are some holes in this idea which I do admit, such as the Kazuki family, as the family who created the Poneglyphs, who surely has some sort of relationship with Joyboy that influence their decision to close Wano's borders, but then prompted Odin to eagerly prepare for Joyboy's return, why don't the Kazuki family have the D-initial in their names? Or anyone at Zo for that matter, who were entrusted with a road Poneglyph? Or, like the Nefertari family, this could actually be the case where their D-initials are just revealed much later on. Now I'm sure that these questions will be addressed, but if you have some thoughts on this idea, do let me know. Something that this revealed does shed light on, is that it provides further explanation behind the posters that Imu was destroying, why Vivi was included in the likes of Luffy, Blackbeard, and Shirahoshi was a mystery, but it now seems that Imu was specifically dealing with members of the D-Clan and the Ancient Poseidon, which we know to be also closely related to the D-Clan, and with long introduced characters like Vivi being revealed to be a D-Clan member this late into the series. I wouldn't be surprised if more familiar characters are also confirmed to have this initial later down the line, and Shirahoshi has a greater chance of receiving this initial than anyone. At the end of the day, we don't know the family name for Neptune or Otohime and the rest of their family, but if this was indeed the case, then this would introduce yet another race being included into the D-Clan, humans, giants, mormon, but all speculations aside, I think the overall build up and mini-action we got with Sabo standing up against Imu and the Gorosei was a fun little treat. And honestly, I don't remember the last time we had this much terror presented in a one piece battle, which really helps hammer in the seriousness that this scene carries. So of course, we have to discuss Imu and the Gorosei's display of power, and I'd like to start with Imu because I believe Imu is the main reason that this scene is as tense as it is. As a contrast to Luffy, whose lively and quirky style means that his fight scenes always have an element of fun involved, Imu is deliberately portrayed as the exact opposite. And I wouldn't be surprised if we come to find out something along the lines that Imu is indeed just that, a figure who represents the polar opposite of Luffy. We already have a glimpse of this, which I wouldn't call a coincidence, and that is simply the fact that Imu is always presented as an all-black silhouette, even right down to their very attacks. And especially so closely after it was revealed that the secret nature of Luffy's devil fruit turns him into something that is all-white. Okay, I'm sure that there was a much more eloquent way of putting that to illustrate this to you, but I'm just quickly trying to share my thoughts and you get my point about this juxtaposition. Interestingly though, I have also found a very intriguing, albeit speculative, similarity between Luffy and Imu. Remember how Gear 5 allows Luffy the freedom to turn whatever he imagines into reality? Imu might have been showcased to also have this ability in a contrasting way to how Luffy does it. It's Luffy's ability allows him freedom to do anything. I think Imu's ability allows them nothing. Okay, so hear me out. I told you that Imu's third person, self-referential term Mu, has multiple meanings. And importantly so, well, Mu can mean void, but it can also be read as dream. So is Imu's preferred term to refer to themselves? Also a further hint about their ability. Dream, as in similar to Luffy, and they can turn things that they imagine or dream of into a reality, but also being simultaneously void, associating Imu with emptiness or not being bound to anything. And in this way, Imu's ability allows him to be similarly boundless. So in Imu's case, having nothing means having no limit. And this would introduce a really interesting dynamic to make Luffy and Imu perfect counters to each other, where the winner of their eventual clash will be decided on who has a greater imagination between the two and perhaps offers an even more interesting take on the theme of two sides of the same coin that is often attached to the Luffy and Blackbeard rivalry. Imu's attack here also seems to break the fourth wall somewhat. Maybe it's just me, but that arrow shaped attack reminds me of the piercing arrow anime trope which is used when a character's feelings are shattered. So similar to Luffy's recently revealed powers, which seems to break the manga wall, Imu's ability may also be a cheeky play on a manga trope. And this idea also plays well into a detail within the fight scene where it actually seems that the arrow is not coming from the direction where Imu was at all. So unlike the popular guess that Imu is also a zoan devil fruit user and the arrow is in fact a tail, Imu could have sent their attacks from anywhere because of their wildly limitless abilities. But speaking of arrows, I want to talk about the cover page like I promised and how even this might be linked to the decline. Now this is gonna sound crazy, but I also think that the latest cover page could be a hint as to what happened to the decline. So I know that Frankie's sign says departure, which is a word that starts with D. And so we could speculate that departure is what the D initial stands for, but that's not actually where I'm going with this. Instead, something that I want to focus on are actually the number of turtles making their way to the sea. And very interestingly, we can only see eight turtles that are clearly drawn. From the perspective that the artwork has been drawn, it's clear that there are more than eight turtles in this scene, but in terms of the number of turtles we can actually see and count, there are only eight. But why am I so fixated on this? Well, because this is the number of how many families in the story so far carry the initial D. Okay, count this with me. We have the Monkey D family, Goldy, Hortgusty, Marshall D, Jaguar D, Trafalgar D, Rocks D, and now finally, also the Nefertari family as was revealed in chapter 1085, which is the same chapter where Oda chose to feature this cover page. And so the eight clearly visible turtles could be representing the eight known families who are part of the D clan. While those turtles we can't properly see are those other D clan families yet to be revealed in the story thus far. And now while we are on this topic of the D, here's another fun speculation. What if Queen Lily married into the Nefertari family and she actually has a link to another character that we are all familiar with? And that is Law, meaning that her full name that was shortened is actually Nefertari D Water Lily. Apart from the fact that both Law and his sister Lami have names starting with L, meaning it's possible that this is a family tradition which would be fitting with Lily also starting with an L. But the reason why I bring this up has more to do with a popular theory about the Gorosei being immortal. So let me add to that. We know that Law comes from a family of doctors and Law himself is a doctor. So what if this is actually a skill set that was passed down in his family and throughout history the Water family have always been talented doctors, fed the Ope Ope No Mi and forced to perform the immortality surgery to Imu and the Gorosei and this is how they came to be immortal. A slight wrinkle here is that it has been suggested that the Gorosei now weren't the original Gorosei who changed the name of the Nika Devil Fruit back in history. So perhaps this also suggests that the Gorosei aren't immortal. In which case? Maybe then. This is a case where Lily was the original holder of the Ope Ope No Mi and maybe also going by vagabunks theory of Devil Fruits. The Ope Ope No Mi is the manifestation of what Lily desired humanity to be and she was forced to perform the immortality surgery on Imu perhaps even all of the original royalty. But her Devil Fruit was actually only limited to performing it once and maybe even that's the blunder that Imu was talking about. I know that this is getting a bit wild here but I think it's strange that we've been told that the Ope Ope No Mi has this ability to make someone immortal but at the same time killing the user and so unless Oda is planning on killing law then this would give us the perfect opportunity to show us how this ability works through a flashback. Now I have a lot of other thoughts on the Gorosei so I want to dedicate another video on them and I do aim to release that as soon as I can. So make sure to subscribe and have that notification turned on so that you don't miss out on that video. But just briefly, in this chapter the Gorosei's abilities are seen through their silhouettes. Although we only saw a glimpse, the fact that Saturn is now making his way to Egghead Island should get us plenty excited about seeing at least one of the Gorosei potentially revealing his full form that we only saw as a shadow against Sabo and all that's happened here makes me even more excited to come back to the main timeline. While it sucks that another person who knows more about the Will of D in Cobra is dead because this also means it might be another long while before we get extended information about this lore or does it? Because actually this is massive if we consider who Sabo is currently telling his flashback to and that is Monkey D Dragon. Once this flashback is over Dragon may as well be the person who reveals more information about the true meaning behind the D-Clan to the readers. In terms of some other details from this chapter I love the irony in Sabo's comment about how hell is sitting above the whole world. Something I'm super intrigued about is now seeing Sabo's bounty. He was already the world's worst criminal's second in command and now he's just witnessed something that no one outside of the Gorosei and well Wapol have witnessed and lived to tell the tale which has me highly invested into what is going to happen to him and the revolutionaries now that he's become an even bigger threat to Imu and the Gorosei must get rid of. After the last chapter I talked about how Sai and Leo would bring trouble to the Straw Hats if there was somehow found out to be a part of the Grand Fleet but I honestly didn't expect them to proudly announce that themselves which I find hilarious and in retrospect so on-brand with the chaotic energy of Luffy and the fleet. Fujitora once again does things to reach the level of my favorite admiral with him helping to free the slaves even opposing a fellow admiral in your kugu. We also get confirmation that Jabra and Khalifa are part of the CP0 ages and there's some questions there as to what they had planned for Vivi and why but we also see how she and Wapol ended up together. I honestly don't know what Oda is planning to do with Wapol but I gotta admit that he is really stunning to get interesting. I wasn't that big on him back when he was the arc's main antagonist back at Drum Island but I think his new role as an important runaway witness really fits him and I just know that his ability will come in handy down the line. His scene running away and kinderella misunderstanding what's happening provided a much needed comedic moment in a very serious and intense chapter but on a more serious note plot wise Wapol is in an interesting and dangerous space to be right now being with Morgans considering what he knows. The whole world may as well find out about what Wapol knows as we know Morgans is fearless in the name of journalism so I really wanna see how this unfolds and I can't believe I'm saying this but I want to see more of Wapol's involvement in the story. So far I'm just overall glad that Vivi is almost but confirmed to be going back to the straw hat and of course as I've mentioned before this is one of my most highly anticipated reunions with Robin now a part of the crew and of course someone else who is also playing a big part in this arc the hook guy in cross guild crocodile the interactions between these three is something I am really excited to see this chapter really just felt jam packed and of course in typical one piece fashion the answers generated more questions but I like that because the more that these mysteries are revealed the more it really starts to feel like we are getting closer and closer to the end and that saddens me so you know what ease up on the reveals keep teasing me I can be patient but what about you let me know what you think leave a comment below don't forget to subscribe thank you to all our patreons and to our channel members and thank you to everyone for listening to another one of my rambling thoughts this is joy girl and I'll see you again soon