In One Piece, powerful characters are either powerful themselves or derive power from some other source.
Let me give you an example. Characters like Luffy and Kaido are actually strong and derive power from themselves. Characters like Buggy, Orochi, and Charloss derive power from others.
Imu is a myth even to the guards of Pangea castle, meaning that his existence is only known by a handful of people. Yet Imu is the most powerful character in One Piece. They are literally the puppet master of the world government.
Imu cannot derive power from the admirals, the gorosei, or anybody else, because Imu controls all of these people. Regarding the admirals specifically, Imu controls them without them even knowing that they are being controlled.
Characters that derive power from other characters usually don't do this. Buggy doesn't control Mihawk, Orochi didn't control Kaido. They just had power because they were leeching off those who were truly powerful.
There is only one thing that can realistically make Imu the shadow ruler of the entire world. And that would be, if Imu was the strongest character in one piece history. In all likelyhood, this is the case.
Let me give you an example. Characters like Luffy and Kaido are actually strong and derive power from themselves. Characters like Buggy, Orochi, and Charloss derive power from others.
- Buggy derives his power from Mihawk and Crocodile
- Orochi derives his power from Kaido
- Charloss derives his power from the admirals
Imu is a myth even to the guards of Pangea castle, meaning that his existence is only known by a handful of people. Yet Imu is the most powerful character in One Piece. They are literally the puppet master of the world government.
Imu cannot derive power from the admirals, the gorosei, or anybody else, because Imu controls all of these people. Regarding the admirals specifically, Imu controls them without them even knowing that they are being controlled.
Characters that derive power from other characters usually don't do this. Buggy doesn't control Mihawk, Orochi didn't control Kaido. They just had power because they were leeching off those who were truly powerful.
There is only one thing that can realistically make Imu the shadow ruler of the entire world. And that would be, if Imu was the strongest character in one piece history. In all likelyhood, this is the case.