The One Piece community is locked in a heated, surprisingly even debate: when the curtain finally falls, will the ultimate antagonist be the unseen sovereign Imu—or the pirate emperor Marshall D. “Blackbeard” Teach? The question has erupted alongside the God Valley flashback, which has seized the fandom’s imagination and pushed long-running theories into the spotlight.
Why the Debate Is Peaking Now
The God Valley Incident has landed like a thunderclap. By assembling legends—Rocks D. Xebec, Gol D. Roger, Monkey D. Garp, and the enigmatic Imu—the flashback reads less like a detour and more like a historical epic that rewires how fans understand power, politics, and prophecy in Oda’s world. With revelations about Celestial Dragon impunity and the machinery that shapes “order,” readers are reassessing who truly stands at the top—and who Luffy must topple for the story to feel complete.
“If we return to the Straw Hats now, it’ll feel like waking up from a dream,” one fan wrote, capturing how the past has momentarily eclipsed the present voyage.
The Case for Imu: The Shadow Above the World
For Team Imu, the logic is simple: to achieve the series’ thematic endpoint—freedom over tyranny—Luffy must defeat the hidden ruler sitting above the World Government.
- Symbolic Final Boss: Imu embodies the institutional oppression that One Piece has critiqued for decades—erasure of history, state violence, and the policing of dreams.
- The Void Century Tie-In: Any resolution to the Will of D., the Ancient Weapons, and the “true history” seems inseparable from Imu’s downfall.
- Mythic Scale: As the puppeteer behind global tragedies, Imu offers a climax that feels civilizational, not just personal.
If One Piece ends as a liberation saga, dismantling Imu’s rule is the keystone act that validates every island-level revolution we’ve seen.
The Case for Blackbeard: The Dark Mirror to Luffy
Blackbeard loyalists counter with a character-driven argument: the final obstacle should be Luffy’s antithesis, a pirate who chased the same dream but abandoned every ideal to grasp it.
- Narrative Foil: Teach mirrors Luffy’s ambition and charisma, but twists them with opportunism, betrayal, and raw hunger for power.
- Escalating Threat: From stealing the Yami Yami no Mi and Whitebeard’s quake power to building a cutthroat empire, Blackbeard has risen by shattering taboos Luffy refuses to touch.
- Pirate King Stakes: If the series ends with a contest for the Pirate King’s mantle and the One Piece itself, a Luffy vs. Blackbeard finale delivers the clearest, most personal payoff.
In this view, defeating Blackbeard isn’t just about victory—it’s about proving Luffy’s philosophy wins without compromise.
God Valley’s Grip on the Fandom
The flashback’s momentum has fans confessing they’re not ready to return to the Straw Hats. The tone is darker, the lore denser, and the sense of consequence sharper than it’s been in years. By stitching together the ambitions of Rocks, the early calculus of Roger and Garp, and the shadow of Imu, Oda has given readers something rare: the feeling that they’re finally watching history—instead of hearing about it.
That emotional charge explains why the “final villain” question suddenly matters more. God Valley doesn’t just inform the future; it demands that the ending tie off the world’s deepest wounds, not only a rivalry between pirates.
Two Climaxes, One Ending?
A growing middle camp argues the answer isn’t either/or. One Piece has room—perhaps needs—for a double summit:
- Pirate Summit: Luffy vs. Blackbeard decides the will and ethics of piracy, the fate of the Yonko order, and who reaches Laugh Tale first.
- World Summit: Luffy vs. Imu (and the World Government) resolves the Void Century, liberates nations, and restores the true history.
Handled sequentially or in braided arcs, this structure would satisfy both the thematic (freedom vs. oppression) and the personal (dream vs. dream) pillars the series rests on.
What Fans Fear—and Hope
- Fear: Cutting away from God Valley too soon, losing the once-in-a-generation tension it has built.
- Hope: That when we do return to the Straw Hats, the story keeps this sharper edge—folding the flashback’s revelations into Luffy’s next moves rather than resetting the tone to business as usual.
What This Means for the Straw Hats
Ironically, the fascination with the past heightens the present stakes. Every Straw Hat embodies a liberated future—Robin’s right to history, Nami’s freedom from exploitation, Sanji’s escape from control, Jinbe’s dream of coexistence. Whether Imu falls first or Blackbeard does, the crew’s dreams demand that both the tyrant and the tyrant-in-waiting be accounted for.
The Road Ahead
- If Oda emphasizes myth and history, expect Imu’s machinery—Ancient Weapons, the Mother Flame, and the erased century—to take center stage, with a world-spanning liberation as the crescendo.
- If he spotlights rivalry and destiny, the path may bend first toward the inevitable Luffy vs. Teach collision—a duel of ideals that crowns a king before a revolution topples a throne.
Bottom Line
The debate over Imu versus Blackbeard isn’t just power-scaling—it’s a referendum on what kind of ending One Piece should have. A final battle against Imu would complete its liberation hymn; a showdown with Blackbeard would perfect its character saga. And if Oda has taught fans anything, it’s that he rarely chooses between heart and history when he can deliver both.
