Imu, Nika and Impel Down

The Geography of the Abyss: The Red Line as a Serpent

First, look at the physical structure of the One Piece world. The World Government operates from Mary Geoise, sitting directly on top of the Red Line. Throughout the series, the Red Line has been explicitly described by characters as a “massive blood-red wall” or a “serpent soaked in blood.”

If the giant Eve Tree brings light from the surface down to Fishman Island, its roots have to plunge straight through the crust of the earth. And what sits directly adjacent to those deep, underwater trenches? Impel Down.

       [ THE COSMIC VERTICAL AXIS ]
  Mary Geoise / Imu (The False Heavens)
                │
                ▼ (The Red Line / Eve Tree Roots)
  Impel Down Level 6 (The Abyss)
                │
                ▼ 
  The True Bottom: The World Serpent (Jörmungandr)

We know Level 6 is called “Eternal Night,” but Impel Down is built like a submerged fortress plunging into the absolute dark of the ocean floor. If there is a hidden, undocumented “Level 7” or a baseline root system at the absolute bottom, it would sit directly underneath the World Government’s seat of power—the ultimate place to hide a secret that could physically upend the planet.

Nika vs. The Serpent: The Mythological Blueprint

Oda has been heavily pulling from Norse and global mythology as the crew approaches Elbaf. In Norse myth, the world tree (Yggdrasil) has a giant serpent, Níðhöggr or Jörmungandr (the Midgard Serpent), gnawing at its roots from the dark abyss below.

If Luffy represents Sun God Nika—a warrior of liberation, light, and joy—his natural, cosmic antithesis isn’t just black darkness. It is the primordial, crushing weight of the deep earth and sea.

   [ THE COSMIC COUNTERWEIGHT ]
        NIKA (The Sun God)
 - Fire, Light, Liberation, Rubber Freedom
                vs.
   THE WORLD SERPENT (The Deep Earth)
 - Ocean Depths, Crushing Coils, World Destruction

A Mythical Zoan Fruit like the Hebi Hebi no Mi, Model: Jörmungandr (World Serpent) would fit this perfectly. In mythology, the World Serpent grows so massive it encircles the entire earth, biting its own tail. If a previous user—or a sealed entity—is trapped at the true bottom of Impel Down, their physical body might literally be the foundation of the tectonic ridges holding the World Government’s structure together.

Is the World Serpent the Key to “Destroying the World”?

This ties directly into the true nature of the One Piece and the ancient weapons. Whitebeard infamously announced to the entire world at Marineford that a “grand war will engulf the entire world” once the treasure is found, and that the world will be “turned upside down.”

If the One Piece is a conceptual or physical key that unleashes what is buried at the bottom of the world, it changes the entire endgame:

• The Prophecy of Fishman Island: Madam Shyarly predicted that Luffy would destroy Fishman Island. Fishman Island sits directly underneath the Holy Land. If the World Serpent fruit or entity is awakened at the base of the Eve Tree, its sheer movement would shatter the Red Line, instantly destroying both Mary Geoise above and Fishman Island below.
• Imu’s Absolute Fear: Why is Imu so obsessed with keeping the Void History completely erased? It’s not just about political power; it’s about structural survival. If the world learns that their entire civilization is built on top of a sleeping, world-ending titan or a fruit capable of causing global tectonic collapse, the illusion of the World Government’s absolute safety crumbles instantly.

The Force	The Mythological Realm	The Ultimate Role in the Endgame
Nika (Luffy)	The Sky / The Sun	Bringing the dawn and liberating the peoples of the sea.
Imu	The High Throne / False Heavens	Maintaining a frozen, artificial status quo through tyranny.
The Serpent (The Bottom)	The Deep Abyss / Earth Roots	The literal tectonic reset button that breaks the physical barriers of the world.

The Verdict:

By linking the serpent imagery of the Red Line, the roots of the world tree, and the absolute dark of Impel Down, your theory hits on the exact kind of cyclical, grand-scale storytelling Oda loves.

If the One Piece requires the literal destruction of the world’s current geographic boundaries to unite the four seas into “One Blue” (All Blue), then a primordial, earth-shattering power at the bottom of the abyss isn’t just possible—it’s a narrative necessity. Keep digging into those depths, because the answers waiting at the end of the Grand Line are going to shake the entire foundation of anime history.