Speculations Imu will be defeated for good at the end of the Elbaf arc

Urouge

Urouge

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#1
#1
For every One Piece arc, the narrative rule is clear and always followed:

1. The arc's main villain is always defeated at the end.

2. When defeated, they always end up knocked out (K.O.).

3. They NEVER return as the villain in the very next arc (if they do return, there is always a gap of at least 3 or 4 arcs).

Higuma: 1. defeated, 2. dead, 3. never returns

Alvida: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. returns after 4 arcs

Morgan: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. never returns

Buggy: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. returns after 3 arcs

Kuro: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. never returns

Krieg: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. returns after 25 arcs

Arlong: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. never returns

Various Baroque Works agents: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. return after 2 arcs

Mr. 3: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. returns after 1 arc

Wapol: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. returns after 16 arcs

Crocodile: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. returns after 8 arcs

Bellamy: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. returns after 11 arcs

Enel: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. never returns

Foxy: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. returns after 14 arcs

Lucci: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. returns after 6 arcs

Moria: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. returns after 3 arcs

Hody Jones: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. never returns

Caesar: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. follows them throughout the emperors saga

Doflamingo: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. returns after 2 arcs

Katakuri: 1. defeated, 2. K.O., 3. returns after 2 arcs

Kaido: 1. defeated, 2. dead, 3. never returns

Saturn: 1. defeated, 2. dead, 3. never returns

The only exceptions are the transitional arcs (where information is often revealed and there is no major primary antagonist) :
such as the Rare Animal Island arc (where we learn more about the Grand Line and the One Piece), the Loguetown arc (where we learn more about Roger), the Reverse Mountain arc (where we learn more about the Log Pose and Raftel), the Amazon Lily arc (where we learn more about Ace’s Vivre Card and the government), the Zou arc (where we learn more about the Road Poneglyphs and the difference between Lodestar and Laugh Tale), and the Reverie arc (where we learn more about Imu).

The second major exception is the Summit War saga, in which Luffy suffers defeats at Sabaody against Marine Admiral Kizaru and at Impel Down against Magellan (the warden of the government prison), ultimately losing to the saga's final antagonist, the one who kills Ace with his own hands during the mission to rescue Ace at Marineford: Marine Admiral Akainu Sakazuki, the future Fleet Admiral and the enemy who embodies the evil of the government.

The Summit War saga (spanning the crew's escape from Sabaody, the mission to rescue Ace, Ace's death, and the ensuing time skip) is often cited as a structural model, given that it occurs exactly halfway through the manga and concludes its first part.

However, when that saga was underway, Kizaru and the Pacifistas were common enemies for the crew for only a few chapters, the same applied to Magellan and Akainu, whom the entire group faced together.

The first narrative structure I described is therefore clearly in play, as evidenced by the distinctly separate one on one battles, making the second narrative logic seen in the Summit War impossible.

This is not at all the case on Elbaf, where the battles are now clearly divided and assigned: Zoro vs. Sommers, Sanji vs. Killingham, and Luffy vs. Imu.

Apart from that one exception, the narrative pattern I outlined earlier is a staple of One Piece's storytelling, it happens every single time.

If we follow that pattern to the letter, the following should happen regarding Imu:

1. Imu is defeated by Luffy at the end of the arc.

2. Imu is knocked out by a finishing blow that leaves him comatose, with his eyes rolled back (showing the whites).

3. Imu does not return for the subsequent arcs, there is typically a gap of at least two arcs before a defeated enemy might reappear as an antagonist and since only two arcs seem to remain (Lodestar and Laugh Tale), a return after that is impossible.

In conclusion, I predict that at the end of the Elbaf arc, Imu will be defeated and knocked out by Luffy, and will not return for the remainder of the manga.
 
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milluki

milluki

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#3
#3
Urouge said:
Imu does not return for the subsequent arcs, there is typically a gap of at least three arcs before a defeated enemy might reappear as an antagonist and since only two arcs seem to remain (Lodestar and Laugh Tale), a return after that is impossible.
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remaining arcs: new marineford war, moon, battle against bb, laughtale, maryjoa raid, return to loguetown
 
Urouge

Urouge

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#5
#5
ShinichiMugi said:
Well,Big Mom wasnt defeated in Whole Cake,they just managed to escape

By the way i think its possible that Imu gets defeated in this arc,altough this would shake the World Government completely,so we will see what would happen right after that
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I’ve identified Katakuri as the antagonist for the Whole Cake Island arc because he was the one positioned as the primary opponent in a prolonged battle within the arc's narrative structure where as Big Mom only had a single exchange with Luffy, a clash of a punch against an elbow strike.

The extended battle we witnessed involving Imu confirms that, narratively,
Imu’s situation much more closely mirrors that of Katakuri, featuring a prolonged fight with multiple exchanges of blows
rather than that of Big Mom, which involved only a single, symbolic clash of elbow against fist.
 
Urouge

Urouge

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#10
#10
NikaInParis said:
It doesn't matter who you identified when Big Mom was the main antagonist.
I can identify Shamrock as the main antagonist of Elbaf but that doesn't make it true.
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I’m referring to the initial text in my first post, where I talk about Kizaru and Akainu.

And you completely misunderstood my second post, because that’s not what I’m saying; I’m talking about a specific narrative structure that keeps repeating, speaking of katakuri.

Read the whole thing before foolishly criticizing off the cuff.
 
Urouge

Urouge

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#13
#13
It’s very simple if you follow Oda’s narrative logic:

There are only three undefeated villains left in the series: Blackbeard, Sakazuki Akainu, and Imu.


Sakazuki Akainu will be defeated by Sabo, Ace’s brother, who will avenge him, during the Revolutionary Army's attack on Mary Geoise. This will likely be shown in a recap flashback or through outside world events between arcs, given that it seems to have already happened.


Imu will be defeated at Elbaf, and Blackbeard will acquire their powers at the end of that arc.

Loadstar will be a transition arc where the Man with the Burn Scar crosses paths with the Straw Hats at sea, just before they reach the island, much like the recurring trope where something crosses their path while they’re sailing the Sunny right before arrival. The Man with the Burn Scar will serve to provide exposition regarding Loadstar, as I explained in my first post, the purpose of any transition arc is to deliver information.


And finally, on Laugh Tale, the final villain will be Blackbeard.
 
Urouge

Urouge

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#15
#15
Toryu said:
Oda has stressed over and over that Imu is on a timer and deteriorating, it's about surviving Imu, not dealing with him definitely

It's basic narrative
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Yes, that’s the current explanation: surviving against Imu for the time remaining before he can no longer stay in the world below, which causes his condition to deteriorate, as evidenced by him coughing up blood right when he arrived.

The implication is similar to the Big Mom situation. She had an arc where her insatiable hunger left her in an abnormal state, until she ate the cake, there was a ticking clock insatiable hunger forcing the crew to flee her territory in the meantime. It’s EXACTLY the same with Imu: his health deteriorates due to his presence in the world below, meaning he can't stay long, which creates a time limit for them to escape Elbaf.

Except that with Big Mom, there was only a single exchange of blows, an elbow against a fist, with Luffy in a panel that wasn't solemn at all, it was just a random panel with one minor, isolated hit that didn't really foreshadow anything major.

But one thing makes me think this is more complicated: We’re looking at a long fight with an exchange of blows spanning *multiple chapters* they are actually fighting, just like in all the end of arc battles I listed. Plus, there was that start of the fight panel: Imu, King of the World, vs. Luffy, one of the Four Emperors. It might look similar, but the situation is completely different. Imu is engaged in a *real fight* that will have a *real conclusion*. It’s not just the Straw Hats fleeing Elbaf while tanking attacks against a ticking clock (a timer determined by the health Imu loses as he coughs up blood).
 
Urouge

Urouge

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#16
#16
Etemenanki said:
Goofy and Loki (and Zoro-Sanji too through beating the 2 Omen buffed Holy Roppo) will nerf him until his time limit will run out -> he will be sent back to Maryjoyce -> someone will be there waiting for his ass
:zehaha:
Imu is cooked
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I explained just below why I see things differently, but I have a second, parallel argument: if this situation plays out as expected, we can recall that Saturn was in the same position, taking hits and trying to escape before being sent back home by the timer on Joy Boy's fluid

yet Saturn was well and truly dead right after that.

If this scenario, which I don't actually believe in, were to happen, one could still argue that Imu will be killed at Mary Geoise by Blackbeard (though I personally think Blackbeard will come to Elbaf).
 
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