Joy Boy & Imu Theory: Were They Sworn Brothers?

In Chapter 1189, Imu retrieved the weapons of the 19 kings and prepared to crush Luffy — but before that moment of escalation, there was a quieter, stranger detail buried in an earlier chapter: Imu specifically mentioning that Luffy has two brothers with different names. Why would the supreme ruler of the World Government pause to reflect on a pirate’s family structure? If this theory is correct, it’s because Imu once had brothers of their own — and the parallel to Luffy, Ace, and Sabo runs all the way back to the Void Century itself.

The Theory

The stakes here are enormous. If Joy Boy, Davy D. Jones, and Imu were once bonded brothers who shared dreams and then shattered apart, the Final Saga isn’t just a story about Luffy defeating a tyrant — it’s a story about history repeating, and this generation of brothers finally succeeding where the last trio failed. The “Dawn of the World” that Joy Boy promised would have arrived 800 years ago, had the brotherhood held.

Evidence from the Manga

1. Chapter 1085 — Imu acknowledges Luffy’s two brothers: When Imu encounters Luffy’s wanted poster, they note not just Luffy’s “D” name, but specifically that he has “two brothers with different names.” This oddly personal observation — from someone who views the “D” clan as ancestral enemies — suggests Imu’s interest goes beyond politics. The detail feels personal, as though it echoes something from Imu’s own past.
2. Chapter 906 — Imu’s fixation on the Straw Hat: Imu’s very first appearance shows them holding Luffy’s wanted poster and standing before the massive Straw Hat sealed in Pangea Castle. The Straw Hat is connected to Joy Boy. Imu’s intimate relationship with that relic implies they had a direct, personal connection to Joy Boy — not merely an institutional opposition to the “D” clan.

📌 Key Evidence: In Chapter 1181, Imu’s flashback depicts silhouetted figures that appear to show Joy Boy and Imu together in a moment of apparent closeness or confrontation. The theory proposes that a third figure — Davy D. Jones — exists just outside the panel frame, deliberately withheld by Oda for a future reveal.

3. Chapter 1164 — Davy D. Jones confirmed as a “D” bearer: The revelation of the name “Davy D. Jones” places him firmly within the D clan, making him a natural counterpart to Portgas D. Ace within the proposed brotherhood. Just as Ace carried the “D” while Sabo did not, Davy D. Jones carries the “D” while Imu — a royal — does not.
4. Chapter 1060 — Luffy’s “distant dream”: Luffy reveals a secret dream so outlandish it shocks his entire crew. Gol D. Roger reportedly spoke the same words. The theory argues Joy Boy also spoke this exact dream — first to Imu and Davy, just as Luffy once whispered it to Ace and Sabo around a childhood campfire. It is the founding declaration of each brotherhood.

📌 Key Evidence: Sabo was born into Goa Kingdom nobility — a system built on class separation — yet he rejected it entirely to be with Luffy and Ace. Imu is identified in Chapter 1085 as one of the original 20 kings. The parallel is structural: in both generations, the “third brother” is the one of royal birth who chose the bond over birthright — until something broke that choice.

5. Chapter 1085 — “D” as the name of those they opposed: Imu tells the Five Elders that “D” is “the name of those who stood against us.” This phrasing — us — implies Imu was part of a faction that came into conflict with the D clan. If Imu once stood beside Joy Boy and Davy D. Jones, then the formation of the World Government represents the moment Imu crossed to the other side, exactly as a brotherhood-turned-betrayal would demand.

Our Analysis

What makes this theory genuinely compelling — beyond its structural elegance — is what it does to Imu as a character. The World Government’s supreme ruler has been depicted as coldly omnipotent, almost inhuman. But the detail in Chapter 1085, where Imu takes a personal moment to note that Luffy has “two brothers with different names,” suddenly reads as something far more vulnerable: recognition. Imu may be looking at Luffy’s family and seeing a ghost of their own. The bitterness in Imu calling the D name “vexing” takes on a new dimension if Imu once loved people who bore that name.

The proposed death of Davy D. Jones as a Void Century parallel to Ace’s death is perhaps the theory’s most narratively satisfying element. Ace’s death at Marineford is the wound that defines Luffy — the failure that nearly broke him. If the ancient brotherhood also lost its “Ace-figure” (Davy), and that loss was what tipped Imu from grieving friend into vengeful architect of world domination, then Imu is not simply a villain. Imu is a broken Sabo — someone who chose power and control over grief, rather than choosing to carry the dream forward. That reframing would make the final confrontation between Luffy and Imu extraordinarily personal.

The counter-evidence worth noting is that Oda has not yet confirmed any direct relationship between the three figures, and the panel in Chapter 1181 remains deliberately ambiguous. It is also possible that Imu’s comment about Luffy’s brothers is purely tactical — an intelligence briefing on threats, not a personal parallel. However, Oda’s storytelling consistently layers personal history beneath political conflict, and the structural mirroring between the modern trio and the proposed ancient trio is too precise to dismiss as coincidence. The chapter-by-chapter buildup around Davy D. Jones and the sealed Straw Hat in Mariejoa strongly suggests Oda is leading toward exactly this kind of generational revelation.

Theory Credibility Rating

The structural parallels between the two brotherhoods are too precise and too consistent with Oda’s established storytelling patterns to score lower — but without a direct canonical confirmation of the sworn-cup ceremony between Joy Boy, Davy D. Jones, and Imu, the final star remains withheld until the Void Century is formally revealed.

Source: https://onepiece-latestlab.com/joyboy-and-imu-are-brothers-in-law/