Chapter 13:Two Geniuses
Vegapunk was born 65 years ago in the Future Country Baldimore on Karakuri Island. As a child, he designed and built several devices in his lab, including robotic animals. He also had hundreds of other ideas, ranging from weapons to experimenting with cellular structures. He once tried to create an in-ground heating system for the island's people using modified animals as his labor force. Unfortunately, Vegapunk lacked the tools and the funds needed to complete his project, but he was able to touch people's hearts.
However, his name wasn't truly Vegapunk- but Applerock.
Applerock was the secret offspring of Jaygarcia Saturn, one of the revered World Elders, and a woman from the lower caste of the society. His mother was a mere shadow in the grand pattern of the world's power structure, a fleeting pleasure for the elder's whims, and once the child grew in her womb, she was cast aside like a broken toy. The stigma of his birth haunted him, a dark secret whispered in the shadows of his soul. He grew up feeling unwanted, a bastard son who bore the name of his mother's lover without the privilege of his lineage. This burden of illegitimacy fueled his insatiable hunger for knowledge and power, driving him to become something greater than the sum of his parts.
He would eventually eat the Brain-Brain Fruit, which caused his brain and head to expand continuously as he acquired new knowledge.
He would be invited to be a seminar based on the rumors of his genius. He would solve problems and smile with pleasure as he got money for his success- a visible display of being loved. However, a corrupting obsession.
Just before he left, a man with cyan-blue hair wearing nothing back blue short-shorts, barefoot, and bare-chested walked into the room. Applerock was confused at the appearance of the newly arrived man.
"This is almost right.," he said, much to Applerock's confusion.
"I think y-you're confused. This is what the current geometry academics say is-," he said before noting the near-naked man ignore him and start continuing from where he left off.
At first, Applerock was perplexed but gradually, he was floored by the sheer gap between their intellect. The professors all were impressed.
"Tell me. You want a scholarship? You can make all the wealth-," one of them spoke before the youth with the carrot sticking out of his head walked away.
"I don't need it. I solved a problem so the science field could improve. Someone can improve on this. I'm just one of the many on the path to figuring it out.," he said as he walked away much to Applerock's confusion.
"Hey! That guy stole parts of our vehicles! He's that lowly thief!," shouted another of the professors as the near-nude man left as Applerock was dumbfounded.
A short while later, Applerock was drinking, having been annoyed at the humiliation of being outwitted. He then stumbled upon a man talking to an older man wearing an odd kind of outfit- large puffy shoes, a puffy jack worn open, and large shades. The younger man was the same near-naked man from before.
"What you're doing ain't sick! We lay low so we don't cause tricks! It's Super annoying! That you keep destroying! Your place in this big game, ya dig.," said the odd man.
"Dad. They rely on faulty logic. Someone's gonna get killed when the hypothesis leads to a faulty product. This helped them out.," the nearly-nude man argued.
"Be smart. Don't be a fart. You can't continue your legacy. If you're associating with that guy that causes instability!," the rapper replied.
"He's of THAT bloodline. It's not in a future generation that everything will be solved. It's here and right now!," argued the young man.
Applerock accidentally tripped, causing both to notice him.
The young man with cyan-blue hair looked over with a smirk, while the older man's gaze sharpened. The tension was palpable as the blue-haired man stepped closer to Applerock.
"He's someone who almost got everyone screwed over. What if that knowledge was used by the World Government.," the young man told the older man.
"We don't need someone out to destroy. Just wait and see the next Joyboy.," said the older man as he picked up Applerock.
"Slick, you're an unrefined rock. You need to improve your knowledge to raise up awareness stocks. Come with me and learn. I promise, you won't crash and burn.," the man spoke much to Applerock's confusion.
Over the next few years, he was secretly taught by him- he learned he was a part of a secret group stationed in Water 7 with knowledge of the rare ship, Pluton. And he was the 38th to carry the name of the founder.
Unusually, he calls Applerock, Vegapunk much to his initial annoyance at the confusion. But it became clear it was a way to divide and conquer in order to spread knowledge as the clan was slowly being picked off and sometimes getting heirs outside the family was needed.
While Applerock didn't know his father personally, the 38th became the closest thing to it. The man with cyan-blue hair, who called himself Vegapunk 38th, pushed him to his limits, challenging him in ways that the stuffy academia of the seminar never could. They'd spend countless hours in the underbelly of Water 7, where the scent of metal and oil mingled with the salty breeze from the sea. Here, the true essence of innovation and rebellion thrived. The 38th taught Vegapunk not just about the mechanics of the world, but the mechanics of power, the importance of knowledge in the face of oppression, and the weight of the legacy he bore.
However, his major flaw was his ability to open his arms to anyone- including an unsavory youth with a triangle-shaped head with a large pointy nose that fused into his upper lip. He also called himself Applerock- apparently, it was a name given to all of Saturn's bastard children. This Applerock was the 777th of the current generation, the kinder Applerock was the 444th. Unlike the other Applerock, he had ulterior motives. One night, Applerock appeared to see the 38th on his deathbed as the 39th rushed to his was the unsavory one who did it after an argument gone sour.
"Damnit! You trusted him too much...I'll inherit your will to spread the message-," he said before the 38th pointed to Applerock.
"You're now Vegapunk Beta the 1st. You'll be the one to bring the truth before things get to the worst. You lack vengeance in how you'll do. Now in Heaven, there's some people I'm off to see to.," he said as the 39th looked at Applerock with contempt.
The news spread that Vegapunk 39th killed his father and that Vegapunk Beta was his accomplice in the murder, but such information was bruised aside when Vegapunk Beta became infamous. This ruined their potential future in the immediate timeframe, forcing them to go on separate paths- while the 39th saw righteousness, he allied with a morally grey crew called the Rocks Pirates. And while Vegapunk Beta was benign, he was also greedy- a habit that the 38th regretted not breaking him out of.
39 years ago, Vegapunk became one of the founding members of the illegal research team, MADS, working alongside Vinsmoke Judge, Caesar Clown, Queen, and Buckingham Stussy. While the other scientists focused on creating weapons of war, Vegapunk pursued peace-promoting products, like the GP Flowers which earned him the Ibel Peace Prize. This led to the Five Elders inviting Vegapunk to meet them in Mary Geoise. This the 39th calling him a traitor as the other Applerock had used the 38th's death to instate himself as a World Noble scientist. After God Valley, the 39th would be forced to go into hiding.
36 years ago, Vegapunk also discovered the Lineage Factor, and that same year MADS team successfully created a clone of Stussy. Queen- or rather Scien attempted to speed up her age to have her way with her, but this led to him breaking up with his lover at the time, Tist. She would end up falling for Vegapunk the 39th.
The 39th said in a vitriolic but secretly intimate tone, "That needs to be tightened up. Otherwise, the valve will shoot out in case things go wrong."
Test, the woman deeply resembled Vega 40 replied, "Oh, and you know everything. You think because you're a genius you can tell me what to do? You're just a child playing with science you don't understand!"
"No, you.," he argued as they then laughed at how immature they were acting.
They then went for a kiss as Vegapunk Beta looked on from afar. He ended up marrying a gold digger for their shared obsession with wealth, leading to a very complicated relationship with his children, ending up with them disowning his name for his association in experimenting on innocent races by turning a blind eye to what was right. The Gold Digger left him when he got "too old" and switched to another lover, ditching him for Clown of all people before ditching him too.
26 years ago, the World Government felt threatened by Vegapunk's discoveries and experiments, especially those tied to Lineage Factor, and ordered his arrest through Borsalino. though Vegapunk brushed off the "arrest" and instead questioned him about the monetary funds he would eventually receive for his research projects, knowing full well that the Marines were interested in having him within their ranks. Borsalino found this amusing and became friends with Vegapunk soon after. MADS was subsequently dissolved, or rather, absorbed, with Vegapunk and Caesar Clown joining the government's research team.
He would continue to work with his remaining staff, Clown, a sadistic and improper scientist who was motivated by hedonism- Beta disliked seeing a potential exaggeration of his negative flaws. He learned the 39th and left his son at Water 7 with Tom, a fellow worker of the secret project.
However, he would seemingly vanish around the time the Roger Pirates went to Laughtale and the crew disbanded.
After going to work for the World Government, Vegapunk became famous for his Devil Fruit research and for discovering that Seastone can counteract the effects of Devil Fruit on the user. In that same year, Vegapunk met with Clou D. Clover at the entrance to Punk Hazard, with Clover requesting Vegapunk's assistance in researching the Void Century. Due to the heavy risk presented by such a task, Vegapunk denied helping. Upon hearing of the death of Clover's brother as a result of his name, Vegapunk remained adamant with his initial decision, although he agreed to remain silent on the matter.
By the time they were reunited, both Test and the 39th looked extremely guilt-ridden and came in to apologize for something they were oddly vague and frightened to talk about. They asked if they met other members of the D Clan, but Beta remained silent out of fear for his life.
They then left for several years. As Beta proceeded to focus on other matters.
Vegapunk worked with a sample of Kaidou's Lineage Factor, extracted from him when he was captured in Punk Hazard, to replicate his Fish-Fish Model: Seiryu Devil Fruit, although the results were noted to be unsatisfactory. The World Government wanted him to give the fruit to them, but Vegapunk considered it a failure and refused, leaving it on the island of Punk Hazard.
At some point, Vegapunk was with Borsalino and while on a trip to deal with a bear attack, encountered a boy named Sentomaru, who had already defeated the bears. Sentomaru revealed he was kicked out of his village and requested a job with Vegapunk. Vegapunk acknowledged the boy's strength and agreed to hire him as his personal bodyguard. Later on, Borsalino agreed to let Vegapunk study the ability of his Glint-Glint Fruit for a future project.
22 years ago, Vegapunk received news of the Ohara Incident at his lab in Punk Hazard, taking note of Robin's Wanted Poster. Several months later, Vegapunk took a trip to Ohara to pay his respects to the late Professor Clover. He came across the lake in the center of the island filled with books, and the realization that this was the final stand made by Ohara's scholars brought him to tears. Vegapunk noticed a group of giants pulling the books from the lake before being approached by Monkey D. Dragon, who had also come to pay his respects. Dragon explained to him that the giants were from Elbaf and that they knew the value of the books. Dragon lamented Vegapunk's refusal to join the Freedom Fighters due to lack of resources, but Vegapunk explained that he felt his abilities were put to better use with the World Government. Though he wished to take the books with him back to Punk Hazard, Vegapunk feared that his superiors would hear about the survival of Ohara's library, so he entrusted them to the giants. A clone of Vegapunk later took a secret visit to Elbaph to read all of the rescued books to carry on the work of researching them. There, he met Jaguar D. Saul, who had led the giants in salvaging the books.
About 16 years ago, to his surprise, Vegapunk the 39th arrived on his doorstep- bleeding profusely while carrying two infant girls who resembled Test. However, Test wasn't with him. His saddened expression told Vegapunk more than a dialogue ever would. His body was also converted into metal much to Beta's shock.
"They're going to be helping the Dawn. I understand what Dad meant. Hopefully, Frank can meet with them. I've done nothing for him to deserve any love from him.," he said before he fainted.
Beta kept their existence secret from Clown, knowing that he'd sell them out for the reward on the former Rocks Pirate. The 39th couldn't turn to Kaido or Big Mom as they were too selfish and Whitebeard was too vulnerable to bear that burden alongside him.
He found that the 40th was outgoing while arrogant while the other child was reserved but amoral, which worried him. As the 39th slept, Beta awoke to see Guernika showing up on his doorstep, barging into his room and grabbing the girls.
"He wasn't careful enough. We've been tracking you and your hideaway. It's only natural we get them from you...since Test is his daughter...and they should see their grandfather.," he said as he kicked the long-skulled man before leaving.
The 39th woke up and dashed after them. The following day, he was only able to get back Vega 40.
Four years ago, Vegapunk was leading chemical weapons tests in his lab on Punk Hazard. His former colleague, Caesar Clown, created an extremely powerful chemical weapon. When Vegapunk attempted to dismiss Caesar for his reckless behavior, Caesar retaliated by detonating that weapon, turning Punk Hazard into a wasteland. The island was closed off after this incident while both Dragon Number Thirteen and Dragon Number Twenty-One were also abandoned. Since Vegapunk had been leading the experiments, he was blamed for the incident.
He would be allowed to move to Egghead, which had much more space to do his research. He would meet with Bartholomew Kuma and his daughter, Ginny with the other Vegapunks staying out of the way while gauging their procedure from afar.
Eventually, Vegapunk Beta would split his skull as it was getting too big and created the Satellites. The 39th gave him a warning-
"Don't take them for granted. A resentful child's grudge is powerful."
He would befriend Vega 40, indulging in her wacky inventions, distractions from the horrible deed of turning Kuma into a cyborg with no mind.
Present
Stella rushed to him to treat his injuries but was pushed aside.
"You're the one who has to tell them... I've always been a delinquent that gets his head into too much danger for everyone around me... You're what they need to hear from to know the truth...," he spoke with labored breaths.
"I'm sorry...I lost Mother Flame...and Punk Records...and I've made a pile of mistakes because I chose to ignore the implications of my actions...I should be the one to die.," said the old man.
Stella cried profusely as he stared at Saturn who had turned into an Ankylosaurus of green color with his tail retracting.
"He's a dinosaur now! Is that something his Devil Fruit can do? It's too strong!," Usopp noted.
"No, this feels different.," Robin responded.
"How is this possible? Devil Fruits of two types in the same body cause internal combustion as the Lineage Factor becomes too unstable. Did you crack the code?," asked the scientist.
"Your modifications made you extremely hard to kill. Eventually, it'll break down. You've been a thorn in my side for years. All because you felt for my kin.," Saturn spoke to the 39th.
"I'd rather live a shorter life with meaning with a bang rather than live forever and stagnant...," the 39th said as he puked out blood.
"Oi, shitty dad!," Franky cried as he rushed to Saturn to attack him, but was kicked away.
"I've always kept you at arm's length...but it's time you learned...you need to live life with no regrets! I am happy you found friends to help your dream! Take care of your sister!," he shouted as his body glowed with a blue light.
"You damn fool," Franky managed to choke out through clenched teeth, his mechanical fists trembling with rage and grief. The revelation of his lineage's concern for him and the impending doom of Vegapunk 39th was almost too much to bear.
Luffy turned around as he looked at Dorry and Brogy.
They nodded as they left the ship and began to high-tale it out of the island...
"You managed to kill several of them. So you're not totally useless.," spoke a calm, self-assured voice.
Suddenly, a black light landed on Sunny, causing the Giants to plummet face-fault, but also...
"This ship is amazing...It's blueprints- it's a ship where sailing around the world isn't possible," said Iceberg as he unveiled the replacement of the Going Merry.
"Hurry and show us!," shouted Luffy.
"This is a message from Franky. If you're going be Pirate King...You have to ride this King of Beasts!"
Luffy smiled as he looked at the impressive sight of Merry's replacement- carrying its will.
"It's so huge and amazing! It could break out of any place!"
Present
uffy opened his eyes, at first he couldn't comprehend it as he felt numb as everything went silent as he looked to see Chopper crying like a child, Nami being held back by Robin and Clisson, and the others forcing themselves not to cry.
Luffy then turned to see the Sunny...a ship meant to sail to the end...a broken-down shamble of burning parts as the figurehead metaphorically cried.
"This isn't the way it's supposed to be. The Sunny isn't supposed to be destroyed.," Luffy murmured with a mix of shock and sadness.
"Ahh...shit, I got dust and splinters on this.," the figure spoke as he was accompanied by five other figures in white clothes.
"Cortez. You took your sweet time.," Warcury replied as he morphed from his boar form to his normal human appearance.
Cortez gave an uncomfortably placid smile as he replied-
"I'll do my best."
He then turned to Luffy who barrelled at him his Gum-Gum Bajrang Gun readied to pummel him.
Cortez grabbed said arm and it immediately began to rot from the moment of contact. Zoro quickly sliced it off before it could spread to the rest of the body while giving an apologetic expression for having done so before Zoro glared at the individual with utter contempt.
"Who the hell is this guy?!," Sanji shouted before he saw Cortez's leg appear to his right- but it was unusual as it was floating in space while the rest of the body remained normal. He was then kicked unconscious despite his eyebrow-switching power-up and use of Ifrit Jambe.
Jinbe used the 1 Million Demonic Brick Breaker strike on him, but it didn't even faze him before Cortez noticed him.
"You have a ton of nerve over-stepping your boundaries. Fish.," he spoke as he readied to use the same move as before, but Clisson managed to kick Jinbe away and gallop away in her hybrid alicorn form as she escorted him on her back in a nanosecond.
"What's going on? What's going on?," asked Usopp as he was flabbergasted at the surreal sight of Luffy hollering in pain as he clutched his missing limb while crying over the Sunny. Sanji was knocked out. Zoro has not fully recovered. And lastly, Jinbe is not an obvious match for the newcomer.
Before anyone could register it, Stella and the other Satellites were shot through their hearts by condensed laser beams of blue energy as Kizaru and Sentomaru stared in stunned disbelief.
The attacker amongst Cortez's group was a small, teen girl with short cyan hair dressed in a white suit but modified to have a silver bikini bottom instead of a skirt while also wearing a silver cape.
"You weren't needed. I could handle it myself.," Cortez said coldly as he looked at the girl.
"Hubris comprised of 50% of Cortez's being. 30% Sadism. 20% Pragmatism. Mission requires Logic. Doing things right away is Super needed for task.," said the girl in a robotic tone.
Sentomaru got to his feet. He rushed to his protectorate and cried thinking back to that day when he first met him.
He was born to unnamed parents 36 years ago on the Grand Line in Mt. Kintoki. As a child, Sentomaru was a violent and ever-hungry delinquent who always caused trouble in his hometown. After the townsfolks banished him to the mountain, he survived on his own. At one point, Vegapunk and Borsalino visited the town, and the people informed that wild bears plagued the town. Vegapunk decided to build a weapon to drive away the wild bears, but he needed to go to the mountain to check on the bears first. Eventually, he stumped upon Sentomaru who beat up the wild bears with the Sumo technique but succumbed to hunger. Impressed with his strength, Vegapunk gave Sentomaru a job as his bodyguard. When he grew up, he joined the Marines. At some point, Borsalino agreed to utilize his Devil fruit abilities for Vegapunk's research on a future project. He also used his ability to entertain Sentomaru.
The girl then shot Sentomaru through the head and heart several times with the same laser beam.
"Kurozumi Sentomaru. Descendant of a branch family of the Kurozumi family of Wano that left due to the discrimination long faced by the clan unlike the majority to inhabit Mt. Kintoki. Former Rear Admiral. Former Captain of the Marines' Science Unit. Services will no longer be necessary. Neither is Jaygarca Applerock Designated Child 444 of the previous generation known more commonly as Vegapunk Beta and even more commonly as Vegapunk. This speaker- Cutty Talos- will be the replacement Science Commander of all Military Production. Execution/Discharge from Duties Commenced. You are outdated and no longer equipped enough to be an asset.," she said as she fired again, shooting Sentomaru right through the right eye.
The 39th glared at Saturn with utter contempt.
"Your own granddaughter...you turned her into a tool.," he snarled.
Vega 40 stumbled towards Talos with tears in her eyes.
"Tal. It's me, your twin. It's been a while...Don't you recognize me?," asked the girl with her voice broken, her eyes pink with tears, and snot going down her nose.
Talos was apathetic as she prepared to charge at her, but this prompted Nami to use Zeus to fire directly at her with lightning, but it overall didn't faze her.
"What kind of sister tries to kill a sister in cold blood?" she snarled.
"Dying...it hurts...Waah...," York cried as she spat out blood.
"A person only dies when they're forgotten...It's through one's accomplishments in life and if they didn't do anything significant enough to be proud of...then it's their final action that will hopefully leave an impact...," Stella said as he struggled to his feet.
"Sorry...Emeth...I'm going to have to override you for a brief moment...," spoke the 39th with labored breathing as electronic markings rang down his body and went up the Iron Giant.
It's eyes then glowed blue-green as it pulled out a knot from its body.
"Damn...We tried everything to destroy it but he was too tough to break...so we left him alone...to think he'd still be functioning...damn robot...," cursed the TessÅ.
"That knot. Is he going to use it on us?," asked the Tanuki in a vaguely feminine voice.
"Don't just pay attention to him. You think you've won, but you've already fulfilled a part of my backup plan. The signal is my brain in Punk Records...and it's in Mary Geoise.
"Mihawk...," Zoro spoke.
Mary Geoise
Umi saw the egg-shaped dome above Mary Geoise as it glowed with the towering top half of Stella's head speaking telepathically to the entire world.
"This is Jaygarcia Applerock...or it's more appropriate to call me Hoheheim Applerock the 444 child of the generation of 65 years ago- child of Jaygarcia Saturn- true name: Hohenheim Ezekiel- one of the 20 Kings who founded the World Government and remains immortal through means that will become clear to those who will look deeper into the subject matter. However, I see myself as Cutty Vegapunk Beta the 1st as I view Cutty Vegapunk the 38th as my true father. It's common in this world for one to dislike your birth parents and find the individuals to find as your true family so it's rare to have birth parents to truly love their own children.
I'm getting off topic. What I am telling you now is something you have to take heed...the future of this world depends on it.," the voice spoke.
Next Chapter: Last Message
Author Notes: While Cortez's massacre of Luffy, the reveal of Saturn's other Devil power, and the cold actions of Talos are highlights of this chapter, the main takeaway is the very complicated relationship between Stella and Vegapunk 39's complicated relationship