-Real World-
Egghead Island, Future Island
In the Sky Screen's current broadcast past timeline, Kozuki Momonosuke hadn't been born yet. Meanwhile, on Egghead Island—the location boasting the world's most advanced technology—inside the most critical laboratory facility, the various Vegapunk satellites were already quarreling intensely with each other.
"The Devil Fruit left at Punk Hazzard—I clearly remember it was pink! How could it possibly be a Red Dragon Fruit?!"
The bald elderly man with half an apple hanging atop his head hammered the surveillance monitor with both fists, anger distorting his typically composed features. As a scientist of his caliber, he'd never felt so profoundly wronged. In the past, whatever he stated could be regarded as golden truth by others. People who admired him across the seas—if gathered together—could hold hands and circle Egghead's perimeter ten times over. But now, whatever he said aroused immediate suspicion and doubt.
The short-haired blonde beauty standing nearby covered her pink lips with delicate hands, unable to hide her amusement entirely.
"This is the first time I've witnessed you so genuinely angry. It's truly rare to see someone reduce you to this state."
It was also the first time Stussy had observed her creator lose composure so completely. Although the original Vegapunk possessed rich emotional expressions normally, his mood fluctuations rarely reached such extremes. As for qualifying as a "mad scientist"—he wasn't even remotely that. In her assessment, he represented one of the few genuinely normal people within the World Government's entire organizational sequence.
"There's absolutely nothing amusing here, Stussy," snapped another voice with mechanical precision. "We're discussing the Azure Dragon Fruit's replication. How did it allegedly transform into the Red Dragon Fruit? There isn't even experimental data remaining to explain the discrepancy! This is entirely the main body's fault for inadequate documentation!"
Vegapunk Pythagoras—the number 04 satellite responsible for data management—searched the storage repository with obsessive thoroughness. Tens of thousands of searches through every file, every backup, every fragment of information. Yet he still couldn't locate any references to a "Red Dragon Fruit" in the archives. Even though this satellite represented wisdom and knowledge itself, despite resembling a bucket-shaped robot in physical form, he couldn't suppress profound annoyance. He wanted desperately to curse someone.
When no signs of data tampering appeared in the experimental records, everything seemed straightforward: Vegapunk had extracted Kaido's Lineage Factor and created the Zoan-type Uo Uo no Mi (Fish-Fish Fruit), Model: Seiryu—but the artificial version manifested as pink rather than azure. Because the coloration didn't match the original Azure Dragon, Vegapunk had deemed it a failure and left it stored at the naval base rather than destroying it.
But now the Sky Screen claimed otherwise. Could there be something wrong with the broadcast's content?
With scientific and rigorous methodology ingrained into their very programming, the Vegapunks must first doubt, then systematically question apparent contradictions. Within five years according to the Sky Screen's timeline, the scientific products shipped from this island would prove even more astounding than anything currently achieved. Did superhumans like Homelander genuinely exist in potential future? Could humans truly create gods through technology and bioengineering?
The Sky Screen had previously displayed scenes of Kozuki Momonosuke transforming into a kilometer-long crimson dragon and battling Kaido, the King of Beasts, on Onigashima. Some evidence proved extremely difficult to refute. Even if Vegapunk wanted to explain circumstances to the World Government, facing "proof" hanging permanently in the sky made all protestations useless. Would the Five Elders—those five Celestial Dragons who appeared most honorable on the surface—believe his denials over visual evidence?
"This cursed Sky Screen opposes us at every opportunity!" The short-haired beauty with one eye covered by swept fringe—Vegapunk Lilith, the number 02 satellite—looked absolutely livid. "If we don't produce outstanding results soon, Saint Saturn will freeze our experimental funding entirely! Don't let me discover who controls the Sky Screen, because when I find them, I'll personally drag them out and beat them senseless!"
As the satellite whose primary function involved securing funding and managing finances, Lilith felt most enraged about sponsors threatening to block experimental budgets. That represented all her money being held hostage!
The Celestial Dragons, however, possessed their own perspectives on the funding issue. What exactly was Vegapunk's current capability level? He'd spent tremendous resources developing Pacifista technology but still couldn't achieve mass production. The Seraphim Project proved even more difficult to advance meaningfully. Did Vegapunk genuinely lack the ability to fulfill promises? If this pattern continued, his scientific research achievements would rank below Vinsmoke Judge, Caesar Clown, and even Queen of the Beast Pirates. An embarrassing descent down the hierarchy that nobody wanted to experience.
The Five Elders required powerful scientific and technological achievements capable of shocking the entire sea into submission. Pacifistas designed merely to handle small-time pirate crews? Saint Saturn felt no need to continue investing massive funds in such limited applications.
The Celestial Dragons needed high-end combat power to protect the Holy Land of Mariejois effectively. The second-generation Seraphim called Homelander represented an excellent example of desired results—but Vegapunk hadn't even completed the first generation of Seraphim yet! This development speed remained far too slow. Lord Im lurking behind the throne felt very dissatisfied. Pressure flowed downward: Im pressured the Five Elders, who pressured Saint Saturn, who pressured Lilith. In short, nobody could expect comfortable circumstances when dealing with higher-ranking officials demanding results.
The Celestial Dragons' anxiety wasn't entirely unreasonable. They'd realized through Sky Screen revelations that technological level directly equated to combat effectiveness in modern warfare. Vinsmoke Judge would develop transformation belts in the future—the Five Elders had already contacted him through proper governmental channels. Caesar Clown had created a discount version of the three Marine Admirals—he'd been brought back under Marine control to continue scientific research. As for Plague Queen of the Beast Pirates, although his specific five-year developments remained unknown, Queen shared history with the others as Vegapunk's former colleague. The Five Elders couldn't guarantee the Beast Pirates wouldn't produce revolutionary scientific breakthroughs within that timeframe. Many concerning possibilities existed both now and in approaching futures.
"Whether the technology displayed in the Sky Screen will actually manifest remains inconclusive," observed Vegapunk Edison—the number 03 satellite manifesting as a small robot. "Artificial gods seem far too distant from our current capabilities. This theoretical machine has no concrete foundation whatsoever."
Edison primarily proposed concepts and provided design blueprints. Actually completing experimental products fell to Pythagoras's domain. Regarding the revolutionary invention of Homelander, some satellites wondered if this truly represented organic inspiration from the main body's genius—or if external factors were involved?
Cloning technology itself proved straightforward enough. Miss Stussy standing before them represented Miss Bakkin's clone—living proof of concept. The genuine difficulty lay in replicating Homelander's diverse abilities. Laser emission from eyes could reasonably be attributed to Admiral Kizaru's Pika Pika no Mi (Glint-Glint Fruit). But super strength, super vision with X-ray capabilities, super hearing, heat vision with temperature control reaching the sun's core, super defense, super regeneration, super speed including flight capability, freezing breath—what the hell were all these abilities? Were they all somehow Devil Fruit powers compressed into one being?
What kind of biological organism could contain multiple Devil Fruits simultaneously within its body? Before Marshall D. Teach's appearance in the Sky Screen, conventional wisdom held that intelligent creatures could only host one Devil Fruit at a time—consuming additional fruits caused the body to explode catastrophically. This represented results proven countless times through both scientific experimentation and brutal experience.
Edison didn't question the Sky Screen's authority lightly. After mentally associating Blackbeard with Homelander's demonstrated capabilities, he naturally arrived at a hypothesis: Could it be that future Vegapunks somehow acquired Marshall D. Teach's Lineage Factor for analysis and replication?
As for Joyboy's abilities regarding solar manipulation, Vegapunk had initially dismissed Joyboy as pure legend—mythology without substance. But in recent years, the scientist had been excavating the past systematically, gradually resurrecting ancient technologies through archaeological research. The more he learned about the Great Kingdom that had existed during the Blank Century, the more he had to admit Joyboy's genuine historical existence. The information preserved by O'Hara's scholars hadn't been provided without reason.
The various Vegapunks certainly didn't know that Saint Saturn—one of the Five Elders—was secretly conducting his own Joyboy research in parallel. Neither did Stussy, despite her role as triple agent. If the Sky Screen hadn't exposed certain matters publicly, probably only surviving test subjects would ever know the complete truth behind classified projects.
On the surface, Stussy operated as the Queen of Pleasure Street in the criminal underworld. On the darker level, she served as World Government agent CP0. But her deepest identity remained as Vegapunk's personal spy embedded within governmental structures. The woman felt minimal interest in Homelander's theoretical existence, but significant fascination with Ada—that CP0 descendant revealed in future broadcasts.
"Ada, a survivor of Flevance—her eventual appearance seems inevitable based on the Sky Screen's timeline," Stussy mused aloud, elegant fingers tapping thoughtfully against her lips. "I genuinely want to meet her as soon as circumstances allow. I sense she's not as simple as her surface presentation in the broadcast suggests."
The beautiful spy detected something familiar about Ada—a similar scent, perhaps shared methodology or psychological patterns that resonated across the years separating them.