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In anticipation of the official release of One Piece chapter 1085, which is scheduled for June 5, 2023, fans can already have a first look at the issue. The chapter teased the frightening powers of Imu and the Five Elders, revealed that the Nefertari bear the Will of D., and showed Cobra's murder, as well as Vivi's escape with Wapol.
While Imu still remains a cryptic and mysterious individual, One Piece 1085 finally delved a bit into the former's abilities. The issue highlighted once again Imu's peculiar eyes, which, interestingly, may hint at some tie between the true leader of the World Government and Dracule Mihawk, the World's Strongest Swordsman.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1085.
The shocking connection between Imu and Mihawk's eyes may be teasing something big in One Piece
Mihawk and Imu are guaranteed to play a major role in One Piece's endgame
Imu is the greatest authority in the One Piece world, as the true leader of the World Government and a figure even the Five Elders, the highest-ranked Celestial Dragons, bow down to. Imu's very existence is kept a complete secret, with the Five Elders ruling the World Government as a facade for the public.
While the Empty Throne in Mary Geoise's Pangaea Castle should have no occupant to symbolize equality among nations, Imu sits on it. So far, the leader of the World Government was only seen as a silhouette wearing a spiked crown and possessing almond eyes with red irises and two black circles surrounding the pupils.
Imu might be one of the twenty founders of the Ancient Alliance that overthrew the Ancient Kingdom during the Void Century and erased it from history. Imu can thus destroy an entire island in a few seconds using unknown means. In One Piece 1085, the probable final villain of the series transformed into a dreadful creature and blocked Sabo's Flame-Flame Fruit's attacks.
A true icon of the One Piece series, Dracule Mihawk is the World's Strongest Swordsman, making him a fighter even mightier than the outstanding "Red Hair" Shanks. The two swordsmen have clashed fiercely in the past, giving rise to battles that shook the Grand Line and even Whitebeard considered legendary.
For all intents and purposes, Mihawk's rivalry with Shanks is similar to the one between Whitebeard and Gol D. Roger. To this day, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has only shown a glimpse of Mihawk's capabilities. Even the latter's most casual swings can cut in half icebergs as big as mountains, hinting at the immensity of his full power.
A testament to his Haki prowess, Mihawk achieved a permanent Black Blade, a feat that only "Sword God" Ryuma, an individual who was compared to Joy Boy, could accomplish. Unsurprisingly, Mihawk's presence in the Cross Guild is enough to raise the organization to the level of a Yonko crew.
Since the beginning of the series, Mihawk has been set up as Zoro's greatest opponent and the ultimate benchmark for the green-haired swordsman to surpass. Like Imu, Mihawk has almond eyes with red irises and two black circles surrounding the pupils.
The enigma of the ringed eyes
So far, Mihawk and Imu are the only One Piece characters to bear these peculiar "spiral eyes" with red irises and two black circles around the pupils. In the anime, Mihawk's eyes are yellow to look more like those of a hawk, but in the manga's original coloring they are red like Imu's.
This may be more than a mere aesthetic resemblance. Very similar eyes are in possession of Zunisha, a gargantuan elephant who was once affiliated with Joy Boy and now carries the island of Zou on its back as punishment for an unspecified crime it perpetrated in the past.
Zunisha's eyes have turquoise irises but bear two visible black circles surrounding the pupils. Through these eyes, Zunisha projected a vision into Momonosuke's head, allowing him to see what Beasts Pirates member Jack and his subordinates were doing.
During the Paramount War in Marineford, Luffy was about to attack Mihawk. However, he immediately gave up realizing that the latter would have chopped his arm off. Popular belief is that Luffy unconsciously used Observation Haki, foreseeing his hands getting sliced off by Mihawk's counterattack.
It wouldn't be unheard of, as Zoro also used Haki during the Arabasta arc. Moreover, seeing what Luffy did, Mihawk stated that Straw Hat was unusually calm, and composure is typically required to utilize Future Sight, the highest-known form of Observation Haki. However, chances also are that Luffy didn't use the Color of Observation there.
There's a significant possibility that Mihawk used his eyes to project into Luffy's head a vision of what would have happened if he had tried to hit him. Right after Luffy charges his attack, and right before he has a vision of his arm getting cut off, the scene notably focuses on Mihawk's eyes, just like when Zunisha transmitted a perspective into Momonosuke's head.
Even before actually appearing in One Piece, Mihawk's eyes were hyped as "hawk eyes that could kill with a glance." His first mention in the series is not by his name, but by his moniker "Hawk Eyes." While it's clear that, as a powerful man, Mihawk has an intimidating glare, the fact that the author focuses on his eyes before even introducing the character in the story is intriguing.
Mihawk's original epithet was "The Clairvoyant," i.e., a person who can perceive events in the future or beyond normal sensory contact, using extrasensory perception. The ability to project visions through his hawk-like eyes may be related to that, possibly as the ultimate form of Observation Haki.
He has always been hinted to be an exceptional user of the Color of Observation. True to his moniker, he was able to pinpoint Luffy's movements with extreme precision despite the latter being in the middle of a crowd of several thousands of people.
While this is still unclear, is seems that the other owner of the ringed eyes, Imu, can also project thoughts and visions into other people. When Imu received the Five Elders, the cryptic leader didn't say a word to answer the request about who was to be erased from history in the great cleansing.
The way the scene was portrayed, with Imu not speaking but with One Piece author Eiichiro Oda once again intensely focusing the attention on the latter's eyes, it really seems that the leader of the World Government projected a vision into the Five Elders' heads.
Further ties between Imu, Mihawk, and Zunisha
The red-ringed eyes are not the only common factor shared between the ruler of the Empty Throne and the World's Strongest Swordsman. Imu has control over Black Arrows, while Mihawk's sword is the strongest Black Blade Yoru. The markings on Yoru are identical to those on the Empty Throne. Moreover, both Mihawk and Imu sit on thrones, metaphorically and factually.
While these may just be coincidences or red herrings on Oda's part, they are still intriguing, hinting at some tie between "Hawk Eyes" and Imu. It is possible that the current World's Strongest Swordsman was once Im's bodyguard, or even some sort of relative of the latter.
Imu dwells in the Pangaea Castle, which is based on the "Chateau de Chambord," a palace built by the king of France in the 16th century. Interestingly, Mihawk's clothing and overall design strongly recalls that of musketeers, the elite guards of king of France in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Mihawk's traits are imbued with Christian religious theme, the same that connects One Piece's Holy Knights with the real-life Templar Knights. The all-powerful swordsman might have been a Holy Knight in the past, leaving the group to not be a pawn for the World Government and wanting to fulfill his personal ambition.
As seen in the SBS that shows the childhood appearances of the Seven Warlords, when Mihawk was a child, his eyes were different. Thus, the ringed eyes may be attained through training, or over the course of a long time. Interestingly, Mihawk trained relentlessly in his youth, and it's almost guaranteed that Imu, like Zunisha, is a being who is centuries old.
One Piece chapter 1085 emphasized Imu's ringed eyes once again. When the latter was calm, his eyes had only two circles surrounding the pupils, but then he got enraged and was about to transform the spirals became triple layered. Undoubtedly, Imu's eyes aren't ordinary.
Final thoughts
Rather than hinting at the former's eyes holding some special power, some fans believe that Mihawk's moment with Luffy was probably just the all-powerful swordsman using Conqueror's Haki to intimidate Luffy, forcing him to imagine his hand getting cut off.
So far, Mihawk isn't confirmed as a user of the Color of Conqueror, but he most likely possesses it. Zoro and Shanks are Advanced Conqueror's Haki users, making it unrealistic for Mihawk to not own this ability, as he is the former's final opponent and the latter's greatest rival.
However, Mihawk using Conqueror's Haki on Luffy wouldn't explain the alleged visual powers of other ringed eyes owners, namely Zunisha and Imu. The eyes of these three characters are truly portrayed as unique in the One Piece series.
While the same eye design is shared by many other characters, that's not the same thing. Kaido, Big Mom, and Cavendish/Hakuba only bear spiral eyes temporarily, in moments of particular rage or emotional shock. Their eyes revert back to normal as soon as they calm down.
Instead, Mihawk's eyes are always drawn in their ringed form, even in the most insignificant panels. Imu consistently also has ringed eyes, with them adding further spirals as the leader of the World Government gets mad. It's possible that when Mihawk gets angry, his eyes do the same.
