This may end up aging worse than milk left out in the sun on a hot summer day. In a week this whole idea could be proven COMPLETELY wrong. But, I kind of want to throw it out there, anyway, just to say I did.
So, Imu has a bunch of cool swords. The Swords of the First 19. And, a lot of people are speculating that they could all have their own, unique powers. Gram could have plant-growing powers, Longinus could have light powers, and so on, just as random examples
But, personally, I think it's pretty likely that they all have the SAME power. Well...."power", sorta, I'll get to it.
Because we've really only ever seen these swords do one thing. Drain the life force out of living things around them.
(Bohu in Chapter 1188)
(Fragarach in Chapter 1189)
Personally, I think ALL of Imu's 19 swords will have this same power. Because it's actually kind of thematically relevant.
Because this isn't actually the first time we've seen something like this before. We've actually seen something pretty similar...with Zoro's sword Enma.
(Chapter 955)
Enma ALSO drained the life force out of Zoro. Requiring MASSIVE amounts of Haki, in order to be used at it's full potential.
Zoro eventually realized that if he wanted Enma to "obey" him, he had to basically give Enma all the Haki he had.
(Chapter 1033)
Imu's swords are likely on another level. Probably requiring even more Haki to be used than Enma did. This might explain the "black flames" they all seem to have. It's a sign that they're trying to feed on Haki.
But, if that's the case...shouldn't Imu be CONSTANTLY drained of his Haki? We know Imu is already on some sort of a time limit, due to his poor health from being in the lower realm, for whatever reason. So, why isn't Imu being drained of HIS life force, in the same way that Zoro was drained of HIS while using Enma? Shouldn't Imu be getting even weaker than he was before so much faster, because he's summoning so many of these high-cost swords?
So, I think there's two possible explanations for what Imu is doing with HIS "Hungry Blades".
One, it's possible that Imu's "life force" isn't compatible with what the Swords need. Imu is using mostly "Maki"/Omen, after all. It's possible that Swords can't "feed on" Maki the same way they can with Haki. So, Imu might be immune to the Swords drawing on his own strength, making them draw on the life force of everything else around them, instead.
Or the second option...Imu has "trained" his swords to act this way. To not feed on their "master", and instead feed on everyone else around them. "Starving" his blades like pets that he then uses to attack his enemies. Like starving a dog to make it meaner to everyone else around them, so they become a better "guard dog". Refusing to sacrifice his own strength to those "following" him. And making the swords take from others, rather than himself. Forcing them to feed "outward", instead of "inward".
So, why would this be important? Why is it important that we see how Imu treats his swords?
Well, because it actually highlights a key difference between Imu and Luffy. It shows us the difference in what kind of King they are.
Luffy would NEVER let someone starve, if he could help it. Luffy has a massive hangup over food, probably stemming from his time being poor and hungry himself as a kid. In fact, in some way, Luffy's real dream is probably to find a way to feed the world.
(Chapter 1049)
So, if Imu IS basically "starving" his Swords, that shows us a key difference in Imu and Luffy's personal philosophies. Imu IS willing to let people (or objects, in this case) starve, if it furthers his own goals. Luffy...would NOT.
And, in fact, this might explain why Luffy hasn't been wounded enough to lose his Gear 5 powerup. Because, it HAS been stated before that while Luffy is in Gear 5, he's releasing massive amounts of Haki in waves.
(Chapter 1045)
Haki that these "Hungry Blades" might be feeding on. So, Luffy probably CAN'T get out of Gear 5, because the Swords are feeding on the massive amounts of Haki he has in this form.
There's probably also some symbolic significance of Luffy getting fed on, right AFTER he just spent so long gourging himself on food preparing for this fight.
So, I think the key to "defeating" these "Hungry Blades" will actually be...to treat them like Enma and give them what they want. I think Luffy (or maybe Zoro or ALL the Strawhats) will likely have to POUR their Haki into these Swords so they can finally be fed.
If Luffy is really all about making sure that no one ever has to go hungry again...I think that probably extends to swords, too. As weird as that may sound. Even Swords deserve to be FED!
Also, this is a slight tangent, but I also want to make a attempt to explain what is going on when Imu "summons" these Swords, too.
Because the Swords that we see around the Empty Throne seem pretty rusty and covered in moss, like they haven't been used in ages and basically discarded. But, the Swords that Imu summons are pristine, like they've been well maintained and cared for.
(Chapter 907)
It's possible the Swords around the Empty Thone are just decoys, fake facsimiles of the real swords that Imu has stored somewhere else. But...that's less fun. So, what else could be going on here?
Well, I think it's possible that Imu actually isn't summoning the physical Swords, themselves. Instead...Imu might be summoning the "Souls" of the Swords. And then having those "souls" possesses the God's Knights weapons.
We already know that the stronger a sword is, the stronger it's "personality" is.
(Chapter 1033)
So, it's not THAT much of a logical leap to say that every strong sword has it's own, unique "soul".
And in fact, this all kind of ties into a idea I have that everything metal on this planet could actually be made up of "nanobots" from the advanced First World that have their own unique AIs. Swords, Pacifista like Kuma, Zoans infused into Weapons, all linked together, somehow, through this "living metal". But, more on that, over here:
https://worstgen.alwaysdata.net/forum/threads/how-ratatoskr-fused-with-ragnir.79074/#post-6593663
https://worstgen.alwaysdata.net/forum/threads/how-ratatoskr-fused-with-ragnir.79074/#post-6594182
https://worstgen.alwaysdata.net/forum/threads/how-ratatoskr-fused-with-ragnir.79074/#post-6594207
https://worstgen.alwaysdata.net/for...r-fused-with-ragnir.79074/page-2#post-6599557
https://worstgen.alwaysdata.net/for...r-fused-with-ragnir.79074/page-2#post-6599775
But, if Swords DO, in fact have "souls", then that means they should be able to do anything that a person a with a could do. And we've already seen Imu use the ability to "possess" another person. Just like what Imu did when he possessed Gunko/Shuri's body.
(Chapter 1150)
So, I think what Imu is doing when he or the God's Knights "summon" a sword is basically the same "possession technique" as what Imu did with Gunko. The First 19 Sword's "soul" inhabits the "body" of the weapon the God's Knights already have. It's not the physical weapon being summoned. It's one Sword possessing the "body" of another Sword.
(Chapter 1189)
The "body" of the possessed sword is changed to reflect the First 19 Blade that's possessing it. Like how Gunko gained wings and a tail when Imu possessed her. Possession changes the physical "body" of the original Sword.
Which would mean that the "soul" or "mind" of the original Sword is being suppressed while it's currently being possessed by the First 19 Blade's soul inside it. Like how Gunko wasn't aware or in any control of what was happening while Imu was possessing her body.
...Does that make sense? No? Well...that's what I'm going with for now. And this being One Piece...I don't think that's TOO crazy of a idea to actually happen.
So, long story short? I think ALL of Imu's Blades from the Empty Throne likely have the same power, to drain life force. And that's because they're all hungry for Haki. So, the way to defeat them is probably just to give them a nice, hearty meal of home-made Haki! Straight from your own body! And these Hungry Blades probably aren't physically manifesting, but instead are probably the souls of the Empty Throne Blades "possessing" the God's Knight's weapons, just like what Imu did when he was possessing Gunko.
Like I said before, this could ALL be proven wrong in the very next chapter. But, we'll see. The Sword-lore is beginning to deepen! And I wouldn't be surprised if we learn a few more things about the true nature of swords, before the end of this arc.
So, Imu has a bunch of cool swords. The Swords of the First 19. And, a lot of people are speculating that they could all have their own, unique powers. Gram could have plant-growing powers, Longinus could have light powers, and so on, just as random examples
But, personally, I think it's pretty likely that they all have the SAME power. Well...."power", sorta, I'll get to it.
Because we've really only ever seen these swords do one thing. Drain the life force out of living things around them.
(Bohu in Chapter 1188)
(Fragarach in Chapter 1189)
Personally, I think ALL of Imu's 19 swords will have this same power. Because it's actually kind of thematically relevant.
Because this isn't actually the first time we've seen something like this before. We've actually seen something pretty similar...with Zoro's sword Enma.
(Chapter 955)
Enma ALSO drained the life force out of Zoro. Requiring MASSIVE amounts of Haki, in order to be used at it's full potential.
Zoro eventually realized that if he wanted Enma to "obey" him, he had to basically give Enma all the Haki he had.
(Chapter 1033)
Imu's swords are likely on another level. Probably requiring even more Haki to be used than Enma did. This might explain the "black flames" they all seem to have. It's a sign that they're trying to feed on Haki.
But, if that's the case...shouldn't Imu be CONSTANTLY drained of his Haki? We know Imu is already on some sort of a time limit, due to his poor health from being in the lower realm, for whatever reason. So, why isn't Imu being drained of HIS life force, in the same way that Zoro was drained of HIS while using Enma? Shouldn't Imu be getting even weaker than he was before so much faster, because he's summoning so many of these high-cost swords?
So, I think there's two possible explanations for what Imu is doing with HIS "Hungry Blades".
One, it's possible that Imu's "life force" isn't compatible with what the Swords need. Imu is using mostly "Maki"/Omen, after all. It's possible that Swords can't "feed on" Maki the same way they can with Haki. So, Imu might be immune to the Swords drawing on his own strength, making them draw on the life force of everything else around them, instead.
Or the second option...Imu has "trained" his swords to act this way. To not feed on their "master", and instead feed on everyone else around them. "Starving" his blades like pets that he then uses to attack his enemies. Like starving a dog to make it meaner to everyone else around them, so they become a better "guard dog". Refusing to sacrifice his own strength to those "following" him. And making the swords take from others, rather than himself. Forcing them to feed "outward", instead of "inward".
So, why would this be important? Why is it important that we see how Imu treats his swords?
Well, because it actually highlights a key difference between Imu and Luffy. It shows us the difference in what kind of King they are.
Luffy would NEVER let someone starve, if he could help it. Luffy has a massive hangup over food, probably stemming from his time being poor and hungry himself as a kid. In fact, in some way, Luffy's real dream is probably to find a way to feed the world.
(Chapter 1049)
So, if Imu IS basically "starving" his Swords, that shows us a key difference in Imu and Luffy's personal philosophies. Imu IS willing to let people (or objects, in this case) starve, if it furthers his own goals. Luffy...would NOT.
And, in fact, this might explain why Luffy hasn't been wounded enough to lose his Gear 5 powerup. Because, it HAS been stated before that while Luffy is in Gear 5, he's releasing massive amounts of Haki in waves.
(Chapter 1045)
Haki that these "Hungry Blades" might be feeding on. So, Luffy probably CAN'T get out of Gear 5, because the Swords are feeding on the massive amounts of Haki he has in this form.
There's probably also some symbolic significance of Luffy getting fed on, right AFTER he just spent so long gourging himself on food preparing for this fight.
So, I think the key to "defeating" these "Hungry Blades" will actually be...to treat them like Enma and give them what they want. I think Luffy (or maybe Zoro or ALL the Strawhats) will likely have to POUR their Haki into these Swords so they can finally be fed.
If Luffy is really all about making sure that no one ever has to go hungry again...I think that probably extends to swords, too. As weird as that may sound. Even Swords deserve to be FED!
Also, this is a slight tangent, but I also want to make a attempt to explain what is going on when Imu "summons" these Swords, too.
Because the Swords that we see around the Empty Throne seem pretty rusty and covered in moss, like they haven't been used in ages and basically discarded. But, the Swords that Imu summons are pristine, like they've been well maintained and cared for.
(Chapter 907)
It's possible the Swords around the Empty Thone are just decoys, fake facsimiles of the real swords that Imu has stored somewhere else. But...that's less fun. So, what else could be going on here?
Well, I think it's possible that Imu actually isn't summoning the physical Swords, themselves. Instead...Imu might be summoning the "Souls" of the Swords. And then having those "souls" possesses the God's Knights weapons.
We already know that the stronger a sword is, the stronger it's "personality" is.
(Chapter 1033)
So, it's not THAT much of a logical leap to say that every strong sword has it's own, unique "soul".
And in fact, this all kind of ties into a idea I have that everything metal on this planet could actually be made up of "nanobots" from the advanced First World that have their own unique AIs. Swords, Pacifista like Kuma, Zoans infused into Weapons, all linked together, somehow, through this "living metal". But, more on that, over here:
https://worstgen.alwaysdata.net/forum/threads/how-ratatoskr-fused-with-ragnir.79074/#post-6593663
https://worstgen.alwaysdata.net/forum/threads/how-ratatoskr-fused-with-ragnir.79074/#post-6594182
https://worstgen.alwaysdata.net/forum/threads/how-ratatoskr-fused-with-ragnir.79074/#post-6594207
https://worstgen.alwaysdata.net/for...r-fused-with-ragnir.79074/page-2#post-6599557
https://worstgen.alwaysdata.net/for...r-fused-with-ragnir.79074/page-2#post-6599775
But, if Swords DO, in fact have "souls", then that means they should be able to do anything that a person a with a could do. And we've already seen Imu use the ability to "possess" another person. Just like what Imu did when he possessed Gunko/Shuri's body.
(Chapter 1150)
So, I think what Imu is doing when he or the God's Knights "summon" a sword is basically the same "possession technique" as what Imu did with Gunko. The First 19 Sword's "soul" inhabits the "body" of the weapon the God's Knights already have. It's not the physical weapon being summoned. It's one Sword possessing the "body" of another Sword.
(Chapter 1189)
The "body" of the possessed sword is changed to reflect the First 19 Blade that's possessing it. Like how Gunko gained wings and a tail when Imu possessed her. Possession changes the physical "body" of the original Sword.
Which would mean that the "soul" or "mind" of the original Sword is being suppressed while it's currently being possessed by the First 19 Blade's soul inside it. Like how Gunko wasn't aware or in any control of what was happening while Imu was possessing her body.
...Does that make sense? No? Well...that's what I'm going with for now. And this being One Piece...I don't think that's TOO crazy of a idea to actually happen.
So, long story short? I think ALL of Imu's Blades from the Empty Throne likely have the same power, to drain life force. And that's because they're all hungry for Haki. So, the way to defeat them is probably just to give them a nice, hearty meal of home-made Haki! Straight from your own body! And these Hungry Blades probably aren't physically manifesting, but instead are probably the souls of the Empty Throne Blades "possessing" the God's Knight's weapons, just like what Imu did when he was possessing Gunko.
Like I said before, this could ALL be proven wrong in the very next chapter. But, we'll see. The Sword-lore is beginning to deepen! And I wouldn't be surprised if we learn a few more things about the true nature of swords, before the end of this arc.
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