in a piece Chapter 1179, which was released in Shuisha's Weekly Shonen Jump issue #19 on April 5, 2026, Nerona Emu, the Devil God of the World, officially lands in the Land of the Giants, Elbaf. In the following chapters, Emu displayed the powers of his incredibly powerful Devil Fruit known as Akuma no Mi, and put on an unprecedented display for all fans of the series, showing why he is the true king of the world and the absolute strongest scourge standing in one piece today.
However, series creator Ichiro Oda has yet to show us the full power of Emu's Devil Fruit transformation. Likewise, the climax of the Elbaf arc is lining up Emu's new Devil God form, which first appeared 3 years ago in One Piece Chapter 1085 on June 5, 2023 when Sabo came face-to-face with the King of the World in the throne room inside Pangea Castle.
One Piece Chapter 1085 Officially Set Up Nerona Emu's Silhouetted Devil God Form
in a piece Chapter 1085, which was officially released in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump issue #27 on June 5, 2023, saw Eiichiro Oda officially unveil Nerona Emu's transformation for the first time. This happened when Cobra visited the Five Elders and asked Nefertari about Lily's fate and the meaning of D. Naturally, when Cobra asked these questions, we knew that his fate was sealed. What was really surprising was that the Nerona emu immediately showed itself, and inside a piece Chapter 1085, Cobra officially met his end.
Sabo: Fire Fist: Rook Check!
Nerona Emu: Where did it come from?
Sabo: I want to take you out in one move. After all, I had no way of knowing that hell existed here on top of the world.
— After an exchange between Sabo and Imu shows his true transformation, One Piece Chapter #1085
Interestingly, Sabo, the Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff, was around the throne room at the time and decided to jump in to save Cobra by issuing a powerful Hiken: Rook Check at the Five Elders and Nerona Emu. In doing so, Sabo opened Pandora's Box and gave us our first glimpse of Nerona Emu's true powers. At this moment, Ichiro Oda chose to keep Nerona Emu silhouetted, but we can clearly see that he has transformed into a giant four-legged creature with huge jaws and consumed Sabo's fire. The creature's tail was then used to skewer both Sabo and Cobra, and while Sabo managed to escape, Cobra died. This silhouetted form, officially established by a piece Chapter 1085, Land of the Giants has yet to appear, but the climax of the Elbaf arc has paved the way for it to feature as Emu's final transformation.
One Piece Yonko sets up a new pirate stronger than Luffy
Luffy has become a Yonko, but he's still not the strongest pirate around in one piece.
The Elbaf arc climax of One Piece can see Emu's true devil form 3 years later
in a piece Chapter 1185, Eiichiro Oda begins to conclude the Elbaf Arc's Brook Flashback. With the conclusion of this flashback, the story returns to the main battles and will once again focus on the king of the world, Nerona Emu. Currently, Emu is against Loki and engages him in a high-level battle, which officially began in One Piece Chapter 1181 on April 27, 2026, Shuisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump issues #22-23. At the same time, Monkey D. Luffy is consuming excessive amounts of food to gain full strength and go into battle against Nerona Emu.
“Must eat more! I've never felt this way before! It's so heavy and hard! What's with this guy's hockey?” — Monkey D. Luffy prepares to fight Imu, One Piece Chapter #1181
Luffy will soon be at full power and the flashback will end, this fight is about to extend even further. a piece Chapter 1186 and beyond are expected to feature Luffy and Loki teaming up against the king of the world, Nerona Emu, in a three-way battle. It is this fight that will likely push Emu to the extreme and force him to bring out his true Devil God transformation which he first displayed against Sabo in the story.
That said, expectations should still be natural because in a piece Chapter 1182, issued on May 10, 2026, Saint Somers and Killingham officially confirmed the fact that Nerona Emu's body was not fit to be in the outside world. This is why he is always restricted to the room of flowers inside Marizoa's Pangea castle. As such, the power that Emu can now display is very limited, making room for the Straw Hat Giant victory over Elbaf. If Emu were at full strength, it would be absolutely impossible to defeat him here. In essence, it's a battle against time. If the Straw Hat Pirates and the Giants manage to fend off Nerona Emu's attack, especially after he takes on his full Devil God transformation, June is teased. a piece Chapter 1085, then they can still claim victory here.
“The great emu's body is not meant to sustain outwardly. But even pushing it back, both the power we need and the power we must destroy are here.” – St. Somers tells Emu's timeline, One Piece Chapter #1182
Luffy and Loki Vs Imu will give us a great transformation
a piece Could give us some great changes at the climax of the Elbaf Arc. The first of the lot may be Nerona Emu's full Devil God transformation, which is further supported by following the logic of standard Zoan forms. If Emu is currently in Akuma no Me hybrid form, the full Joanne form can be introduced at Elbaf's climax. At the same time, One Piece could potentially give Monkey D. Luffy a new transformation by allowing him to bring out the “Sun Ring” similar to the Ring of Black Flames on Nerona Emu and the Water Ring seen in One Piece Chapter 1182 by Rain God Zaza.
“The omen is my military power. The power that dwells in all living creatures.” – Nerona Emu tells her Black Flames, One Piece Chapter #1181
Furthermore, there is a hybrid transformation of Loki that we have yet to see. This transformation was briefly teased in One Piece Chapter 1170, dated January 5, 2026, in Shuisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump issues #6-7. Since then, this form has not been seen, but it is only a matter of time to bring it out. Like Luffy's Sun God Nika form, Loki also has a small chance of receiving an Awakened Devil Fruit transformation. Added to that are possible new transformations for Zoro and Sanji, who are set to go against Saint Killingham and Saint Somers, which was confirmed in One Piece Chapter 1182 in Shuisha's Weekly Shonen Jump issue #24 on May 10, 2026.
If all of these transformations make their way to the climax of the Elbaf arc, then we'll be treated to what could be the biggest battle in One Piece history. We'll just have to wait patiently and watch Eiichiro Oda expand the story as Elbaf pushes towards its end.
All the latest chapters of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga are available to read through Manga Plus and Viz Media.
