How does Imu control people in One Piece? Domi Reversi, Abyss, Deep Sea, and Shallow Sea contracts, explained

Imu
Imu (Image Credit: Toei Animation)

One Piece just revealed one of its biggest secrets yet. The mysterious ruler Imu doesn't just sit on the Empty Throne looking scary. They have an entire system of demonic contracts that turn people into puppets. And honestly? It's kind of terrifying when you break it down.

The latest chapters in One Piece have shown us that Imu grants special powers through something called Covenants. Think of it like a deal with the devil, but way more organized. There are different tiers, each one giving you more power but also giving Imu more control over you. The World Government's top officials, including the Five Elders and the Holy Knights, all have these contracts branded on their bodies.


The Three Main Covenants in One Piece

Shallow Sea Mark on Harald (Image Credit: Shueisha)
Shallow Sea Mark on Harald (Image Credit: Shueisha)

The Shallow Sea Covenant is where it starts. This is the entry-level contract that gets slapped on new recruits called Devoted Blades of God. Characters like Shanks and King Harald got this one when they first joined. It's marked by a simple circle with crossbones on its arm. The powers you get from this are pretty basic. You can probably travel through the Abyss and maybe get some regeneration, but that's about it. One Piece hasn't fully spelled out everything this covenant does yet.

Deep Sea Covenant on Harald (Image Credit: Shueisha)
Deep Sea Covenant on Harald (Image Credit: Shueisha)

Then comes the Deep Sea Covenant. This is where things get serious. When you become a full Knight of God in One Piece, Imu personally upgrades your mark by adding a horn-like symbol to it. And suddenly you're immortal. Your wounds heal almost instantly, you stop aging, and you can teleport using those creepy magic circles. But here's the catch. Imu can now control you telepathically. They can literally take over your body whenever they want.

The Five Elders discussing the contracts (Image Credit: Shueisha)
The Five Elders discussing the contracts (Image Credit: Shueisha)

The Abyssal Covenant is the final tier. Only 13 people have either this one or the Deep Sea version at any time. The Five Elders definitely have the Abyssal Covenant, and it seems to be the most powerful. We don't know exactly what the mark looks like yet, but these people get all of Imu's abilities.

They can turn into yokai demons, use Supreme King Haki, and communicate telepathically with each other. But they're also completely under Imu's thumb. Saturn learned this the hard way when Imu just deleted him from existence after the Egghead incident in One Piece.


What is Domi Reversi?

Domi Reversi (Image Credit: Shueisha)
Domi Reversi (Image Credit: Shueisha)

Domi Reversi is Imu's technique for turning enemies into demons against their will. In One Piece, we've seen Imu use this on powerful warriors like Brogy and Dorry of the Giant Warrior Pirates.

Here's how it works. Imu creates an Abyss portal underneath someone, and they start sinking into it. Then Imu flips their hand and spins the victim around. They come out as a mindless demon with crazy strength and immortality. The victim loses their personality completely and becomes a violent monster that only obeys Imu. It's called "the power of god," but it's really just slavery with extra steps.

The creepy part? Once you have two demons standing on either side of someone, that person automatically gets converted to. It spreads like a disease. Rocks D. Xebec got hit with this during the God Valley incident in One Piece, and even someone as strong as him couldn't fully resist it.


The Abyss in One Piece Explained

The Abyss in use (Image Credit: Toei Animation)
The Abyss in use (Image Credit: Toei Animation)

The Abyss is basically Imu's teleportation network. Anyone with a Deep Sea or Abyssal Covenant can summon these pentagram magic circles to travel instantly across the world. In One Piece, we've seen the Five Elders pop up on Egghead using this, and the Holy Knights arrived on Elbaph the same way.

But you need an existing Abyss at your destination to travel there. That's why Harald carved one into Elbaph years ago. And only people with the covenant mark can use it. You can't bring regular humans through with you.

Imu takes it further, though. They can summon weapons like cannons from the Abyss during battle. And they use it to trap people for Domi Reversi transformations.

The only known counter? Supreme King Haki. When Joy Boy's Haki burst out on Egghead in One Piece, it actually forced all the Five Elders back to Mary Geoise through their Abyss portals. So there is a way to fight back against this power.


Conclusion

Bottom line? Imu's covenant system is basically a pyramid scheme where the currency is your free will. The higher you climb, the more powerful you become, but you also lose yourself piece by piece. It's a perfect system for a tyrant who wants to rule the world from the shadows.

Edited by Nabil Ibrahim-Oladosu