One Piece Fans Are Convinced Imu Was In Dressrosa — This One Scene Says It All

One Piece fans love a good mystery, and Imu is basically the series champion of that. The butterflies around them? Even more mysterious. Now there is a Reddit theory tying those butterflies to a moment way back in Dressrosa, and it is wild enough to make you go back and rewatch. But there is also a big, boring canon catch.

The butterfly theory that set Reddit buzzing

"One of the butterflies that flit around Imu in the Room of Flowers shows up during the Dressrosa arc," claimed Reddit user u/Good-Signature4120.

The specific callout is Episode 699. During Doflamingo’s backstory monologue, he slices a butterfly to pieces and then stomps it. That visual, paired with Imu’s butterfly-filled Room of Flowers, sparked the idea that maybe Oda was foreshadowing a connection between Doffy and the World Government’s top figure. Maybe Imu had something in mind for One Piece’s flashiest villain long before we met Imu on the page.

Quick refresher on Imu’s entrances

Imu arrived late but loud. We first see them during the Levely arc, heading into a frozen chamber buried under Pangaea Castle. Later, in the Room of Flowers, Imu quietly shreds Luffy and Blackbeard’s wanted posters and literally stabs a photo of Princess Shirahoshi. The Room of Flowers seems to be Imu’s usual haunt: plants crawling over the walls, a serene vibe, and butterflies drifting through the air. At one point, Imu is even shown settling onto the Empty Throne. It is all carefully staged power and menace.

Why the Dressrosa moment matters to fans

Doflamingo is already knotted deep into One Piece’s ancient history and the World Government’s ugliest secrets. So the idea that a butterfly near him is a deliberate echo of Imu’s butterflies is the kind of small, loaded visual Oda loves. For a minute, the theory tracks.

The canon snag (and it is a big one)

The butterfly kill happens in the anime. It is not in the manga. Which means that specific image is anime-only, and therefore not Oda’s canon. That does not automatically kill the theory, but it does yank away the strongest piece of evidence.

So... what are the butterflies?

Fans have been chewing on those ever since Imu showed up.

• Symbolic of Imu’s plan to reshape the world and assert total control.
• Stand-ins for souls or life force of people Imu has 'erased'.
• Hints at some kind of transformation tied to Imu themself.

At first glance, the butterflies could just be part of the room’s ecosystem: lots of greenery, ivy on the walls, nature doing its thing. But the staging is too consistent to ignore. They are always there when Imu is, and that repetition feels intentional.

Where this could be headed

Eiichiro Oda has not said anything official about the butterflies or their meaning. But with Imu actively involved in the current storyline, odds are we will not be waiting forever to get an answer. Ideally, that reveal also explains the Room of Flowers setup and why the butterflies are always in the frame.

I would love it if the Dressrosa parallel turned out to be deliberate. It is a sharp visual bridge between two of the series’ most unsettling power players. But right now, because the butterfly stomp is anime-only, that link sits squarely in the fun-theory zone.

Think the butterflies are more than just set dressing? Drop your take below.

One Piece is currently available to watch on Crunchyroll.