In 'One Piece 1188', Luffy faces his greatest storm since Marineford

The One Piece manga keeps getting more brutal in the land of Elbaf. The land of giants was invaded by the God’s Knights, and since then, some of the most impressive battles in the series have been unfolding there. Back on the battlefield after several weeks, protagonist Monkey D. Luffy returns to action in chapter 1188 and faces one of his greatest challenges since the Marineford War arc.

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[THE FOLLOWING TEXT CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE ONE PIECE MANGA]

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Eiichiro Oda never stops surprising his readers with increasingly unpredictable twists, but this week he went even further. As we saw in chapter 1187, protagonist Monkey D. Luffy returned to the battlefield and landed a thunderous punch right in the face of the great villain Imu Nerona. However, the manga’s victorious tone didn’t last long, and the tide soon turned in favor of the King of the World.

It became clear to everyone that Luffy’s punch had little effect on Imu, and the villain quickly retaliated with several blows that the Straw Hat couldn’t avoid. It’s been a long time since Oda introduced a villain operating on such a different level from Luffy. Even Kaido, who defeated the protagonist more than once, eventually fell after a fair fight against him. Shortly after that, in Egghead, we saw Luffy take on an admiral and the Five Elders without much trouble, and they only gained the upper hand by fighting as a group.

What we’re seeing now, however, is a complete paradigm shift. Despite showing some signs of battle, neither Luffy’s nor Loki’s attacks caused any meaningful damage to the mysterious centuries-old enemy. It’s worth remembering that he took many of those hits purely on a whim, something made even more evident on the chapter’s final page.

After unveiling his new and unusual “Rubber Genius” form, the Straw Hat charged at Imu once again, but once more he failed to succeed. Jinbe protected Loki from a direct attack by the enemy while Imu recognized Brook after the Esperia incident. Then we see the villain compare Luffy and Joyboy one last time.

“Mu knows that you are not Joyboy. For if you were, you would not be so weak…” 

Wielding Vohu, a black sword so powerful it instantly killed an entire forest, Imu struck Luffy in the chest and impaled him in midair with immense ease. With this shocking cliffhanger, the chapter comes to an end and announces a one-week break. What will become of Luffy? Keep following Omelete’s coverage.

The One Piece manga returns with chapter 1189 on July 26 on MangaPlus.