One Piece: Imu's latest actions confirm what Zunesha's crime was

In the latest spoilers for mangaka Eiichiro Oda’s beloved One Piece series, fans saw Imu display a terrifying new ability. This power involved taking over Holy Knight Gunko’s body, fully possessing it to the point where her physical characteristics changed. The most notable of these changes was her pupils, which changed to match the concentrically circular style of Imu’s.

Understandably, fans have honed in on this detail for how much of a recurring character design detail it is in the series. Including Imu, three other characters have had a similar design: Dracule “Hawk Eyes” Mihawk, Hakuba (the alter ego of Cavendish), and Zunesha. Arguably, the most notable of these characters is Zunesha for their Void Century origins as an ally to Joy Boy.

However, the One Piece manga has also made it clear that Zunesha committed a grave crime in the past, presumably during the Void Century. This is why it walks the seas of the New World endlessly while carrying the island of Zou, home of the Mokomo Dukedom, on its back. Given that Zunesha was once an ally of Joy Boy, fans naturally assumed their crime was related.

With this latest reveal of Imu’s abilities in Oda’s manga series, fans may have the strongest evidence yet for this being the case. Moreover, it may even give fans an idea of what Zunesha’s crime was exactly and why they seem so accepting of their punishment. It is possible that Zunesha was possessed by Imu and forced to betray Joy Boy in some way, shape, or form.

Zunesha may have been the key to Imu’s victory over Joy Boy in One Piece’s Void Century War

Further supporting this idea is the recent confirmation in One Piece’s Egghead and Elbaph Arcs that the Void Century’s battle was a full-blown war. As a former ally of Joy Boy’s, Zunesha almost certainly fought in this battle on his side. It is even possible that Zunesha defected from Imu’s side to join Joy Boy, which would explain how they were possessed in the first place.

This would also make sense as a means of explaining both Zunesha’s punishment for a crime after Joy Boy’s defeat and their acceptance of it. Imu was able to sentence Zunesha to a punishment for their initial defection. Meanwhile, Zunesha was so accepting of this punishment due to the responsibility and sorrow they felt for betraying Joy Boy.

It’s even likely that Imu’s possession of and forced betrayal of Joy Boy by Zunesha was instrumental in One Piece’s Void Century War. This would further play into how welcoming Zunesha appears to be of their penance. It would also explain why they showed up in Wano when Luffy awakened as the next Joy Boy, wanting to see the wrongs they made righted.

This would also play into the presumed coming “rematch” between Joy Boy and Imu in Luffy’s eventual confrontation with them. By giving Zunesha this motivation to join the rematch, it both completes their character arc and naturally involves the Minks and the Mokomo Dukedom.

Final thoughts

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While the above is speculative, it would fall in line with Oda’s typical writing style. This rings especially true in the sense of the mangaka’s devotion to developing every single character as much as possible. Likewise, the above interpretation of Zunesha’s origins, their in-story actions, and role in the Final Saga would make for an exceptionally well-executed character arc.

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