July 16, 1503, Age of the Sea Circle
It was just past midnight when Orion finally reached the residence where Vegapunk was staying. Following the scientist's two eccentric bodyguards, he walked into an inner courtyard, where Vegapunk was calmly waiting for him while sipping tea.
"It's good to see you arrived without any trouble," Vegapunk said without lifting his gaze.
In truth, he knew that calling Orion for a private audience would trigger a conflict with Borsalino, yet he had done so anyway, precisely because he wanted to test Orion.
What Vegapunk wished to evaluate was not Orion's identity as a marine—since he had no idea he possessed such a status—but rather his ability to handle unexpected conflicts and his general combat strength.
The reason behind this test was simple: Vegapunk was considering cooperating with Orion, but first needed to determine whether he was competent enough to be of use in his future objectives.
As for the possibility of Orion dying at Borsalino's hands, that was something he did not particularly care about. Even though Vegapunk could not be called a bad person, he certainly wasn't a good one either; he acted solely according to his scientific convictions.
To him, anything that furthered his research was positive, while anything that didn't was unnecessary.
"What do you want?" Orion asked bluntly.
Obviously, Orion understood that the famed scientist's actions were far from innocent, so he did not have the best impression of him. To begin with, the mere fact that Vegapunk worked for the World Government, supplying them with all kinds of advanced weaponry, was something Orion could not tolerate.
The only reason he didn't consider Vegapunk an outright enemy was because Dragon had spoken about him in the past, vouching for him and saying that he might be recruited into the Revolutionary Army in the future, if the necessary conditions were met.
However, the "necessary conditions" Dragon mentioned were impossible to fulfill, since they required the Revolutionary Army to possess research resources comparable to those of the World Government, along with the ability to protect Vegapunk from them.
If they ever met those conditions, it would only be because they had already won their war against the World Government and overthrown the Celestial Dragons—at which point recruiting Vegapunk would be completely unnecessary.
Even so, Orion had no intention of acting with hostility toward the scientist right now, although that was not something set in stone.
Vegapunk noticed Orion's clearly brusque tone but paid it little mind, as his superior intellect had already anticipated all of his actions and thoughts. Even though he wasn't a psychologist, he possessed considerable knowledge of the field due to many years spent studying his clones, and when combined with his mind's ability to capture and process even the smallest details, the result was an inference capability of nearly 99%.
For a normal person, it was impossible to understand how the genius's mind worked; his actions seemed almost like predictions of the future, when in reality he was simply extrapolating information and arriving at logical conclusions.
Vegapunk's brain had surpassed the boundaries of what was humanly possible—it was like comparing the intelligence of a human to that of an animal, a form of thought belonging to an entirely different qualitative category.
"There's no need to get irritated. I have an interesting proposal for you," Vegapunk said as he looked Orion in the eyes for the first time.
Observing Orion's body—covered in various wounds, though none fatal—Vegapunk nodded slightly, thinking that Orion might indeed be useful in the future. At the very least, his combat capability was decent.
Orion walked over to Vegapunk, picked up the teapot on the table, served himself a cup of tea, and sat down across from the scientist. Despite being quite irritated by Vegapunk's attitude, he felt genuinely curious about what he had to say.
Without waiting for Orion to speak, Vegapunk began addressing the matter for which he had summoned him.
"First of all, let me tell you that I know your identity, but don't worry—I have no intention of saying anything about it."
Orion's gaze sharpened, and his muscles tensed. However, Vegapunk ignored the changes in his demeanor and continued speaking.
"To tell you the truth, the reason I asked you to come is because I believe we have a common objective… the Dyna Stones!"
Orion said nothing in response to Vegapunk's explosive statement; he merely narrowed his eyes slightly, waiting for him to continue.
"These Dyna Stones are extremely important for my research, yet because of their properties, the World Government will want to use them for weapon production.
I cannot allow such a valuable resource to be wasted in that manner, so I have no choice but to prevent the Dyna Stones from falling into the World Government's hands."
Orion showed a surprised expression and then smiled.
"Aren't you afraid I might report this to the World Government? After all, I am a vice admiral of the marines."
Vegapunk displayed a disdainful expression as he said,
"Ha! Please don't waste my time with jokes. I already told you—I know your identity… Orion."
The room fell silent for a few moments, and at last Orion crossed his arms and said,
"Very well, what do you have in mind?"
…
The conversation between Vegapunk and Orion extended for a couple of hours, during which they settled on the plan they would follow to obtain the Dyna Stones through a cooperative arrangement.
Vegapunk had come to this island under orders from the World Government, and he had not shown much interest in the Dyna Stones. However, after getting his hands on them and reviewing the research data compiled by Suzanne and the other scientists of Jewel Island regarding their properties, his opinion changed.
That was when he began thinking of a way to "steal" the Dyna Stones before they fell into the World Government's hands, and his mind immediately identified Orion as a potential solution.
In truth, even without Orion's presence, Vegapunk would have found a way to secure the mineral and use it for his research, but his approach was always to choose the most efficient option. Therefore, after deducing Orion's identity that afternoon, he concluded it was worth attempting to enlist his help this time.
Vegapunk naturally analyzed everything around him, and it did not take long for him to uncover Orion's identity. He had noticed certain details that would be utterly imperceptible to someone with a normal way of thinking, and he matched them in his mind with an individual who perfectly fit the collected data.
Vegapunk knew of Orion's existence partly because Orion was part of the Revolutionary Army, but also because he had carried out various feats on a global scale.
For Cipher Pol agents, connecting all the isolated incidents in which Orion had taken part under pseudonyms or without leaving identifiable traces was impossible, but for the famous scientist it was as simple as adding two and two. Vegapunk's thought process was so advanced that it could seem almost magical to a normal observer.
Once Vegapunk uncovered Orion's identity, the rest was easy—he simply created a brief conflict with him earlier that afternoon, without the other marines noticing, indirectly threatening him. His intention was merely to extort him into agreeing to a nighttime meeting, where they could discuss acquiring the Dyna Stones.
Vegapunk had even confronted Orion in the mines while Kizaru happened to be nearby, allowing a natural conflict to arise between them and giving him the opportunity to assess Orion's abilities.
Although neither Orion nor the others realized it, they had been moving entirely within the palm of the genius's hand, and it could only be considered a blessing for the world that Vegapunk was a man interested solely in scientific research rather than committing crimes, for otherwise he would be the most dangerous opponent imaginable.
Furthermore, the current version of Vegapunk was not the same one who existed in the One Piece anime, since at this point in history he had not yet created his satellites to free himself from the burden of his emotions. On the contrary, Vegapunk's current state was rather dangerous: his brain was developing at great speed, and as it grew, his sensations and emotions became increasingly powerful and unbearable.
For example, despite sleeping very little, he felt an overwhelming desire to simply lie down and do nothing—a negative byproduct of his hyperdeveloped mind. It was not only his intellect that increased with the size of his brain, but also his desires and emotional impulses, making him at present a highly volatile individual.
This was partly why he possessed such immense greed—enough to steal a mineral of such importance right under the World Government's nose—and if he did nothing to resolve his personality issues soon, he would undoubtedly collapse.
Of course, Orion had never seen the One Piece anime in his past life, so he could not know that the Vegapunk he had just met was completely different from the one in the original story. Not until he created his satellites would he stabilize and become a more "benevolent" person, though even that label was relative.
In any case, Vegapunk and Orion discussed their cooperation to obtain the Dyna Stones, defining the roles each would play in the process. On one hand, Vegapunk would handle deceiving the World Government with a falsified report stating that the Dyna Stones were not as useful as originally believed.
For the world's greatest scientist, creating fully credible false information to deceive the World Government was no difficult task.
Once the World Government lost interest in the Dyna Stones, Orion would act, secretly extracting the mineral and transporting it elsewhere.
Orion had agreed to perform the extraction work, and he even shared with Vegapunk the plan he had in mind, which the scientist approved after making a few adjustments.
Once the Dyna Stones were excavated and taken far from Jewel Island, Orion would have to give Vegapunk 50% of the obtained volume.
Originally, the scientist had demanded 80% of the total, but after facing Orion's firm refusal, he was forced to lower his demands. If he worked without Orion's help, things would become far more troublesome, and although he might obtain more material to experiment with, the effort simply wouldn't be justified.
Truth be told, 50% was an acceptable amount for Vegapunk, since it was far more than he could ever obtain from the World Government. After all, even though he had a certain degree of freedom, the World Government would be monitoring him closely to see how he used the Dyna Stones.
What Vegapunk wanted was essentially to free himself from this specific surveillance so he could use the Dyna Stones in his energy research instead of having them turned into weapon materials. For that, he needed the World Government to be unable to get their hands on the mineral or learn its true properties.
In the end, both Orion and Vegapunk agreed that it was better to reduce the volume of Dyna Stones they would obtain, but make the extraction process far safer and more effective.
As for the possibility of Orion refusing to give him his agreed-upon half, Vegapunk had no concern whatsoever. He knew Orion wasn't stupid enough to try something like that and earn him as an enemy.
At this moment, although they were cooperating for mutual benefit, they couldn't truly be considered allies or friends, and both maintained an alert posture toward any move the other might make. Neither of them planned to provoke an unnecessary conflict, and that was one of the advantages of cooperation between pragmatic individuals.
…
On his way back to his small apartment, Orion thought about everything he had talked about with Vegapunk that night. With the scientist's help, the pressure from the World Government as they tried to obtain the Dyna Stones would lessen, and his chance of completing the mission would now be much greater.
Now, what he needed to do was have a serious talk with Suzanne in an attempt to recruit her, and if he could, he would gain a major ally in his plan to secure the Dyna Stones.
"Hey, I'm hungry."
Orion, who had been absorbed in his thoughts, looked to the side, where the small girl wearing a Marine uniform far too big for her was standing: Mitsu.
"If you're hungry, why don't you go get something to eat?" Orion said, slightly irritated by the girl's presence.
As part of his agreement with Vegapunk, Mitsu would become his subordinate and help him with the mission to steal the Dyna Stones. She would act as a representative of Vegapunk's interests during the mission, and starting today she would stay with Orion, under his command.
In reality, Vegapunk had a different plan in mind when he sent Mitsu with Orion—he simply wanted to give the little clone a different future.
According to the original plan, she would have been entrusted to Z during this mission, to be trained in his unit as an elite marine. However, Vegapunk wasn't entirely comfortable with that idea. Even though he didn't have a normal father-daughter relationship with the girl, he still felt some affection for her.
Mitsu was the first clone he had successfully created after joining the marines, and the third attempt at cloning high-ranking marine officers. The clones of Sengoku and Garp had failed to even "be born," and only this clone of Vice Admiral Tsuru had succeeded.
Although Vegapunk didn't yet know the reasons behind these failures, he was almost certain it had something to do with the lineage of the two men, or perhaps with the presence of that strange energy in their genes that was very similar to Conqueror's Haki.
The first two failures in cloning marine officers had given Vegapunk a great deal of data, allowing him to further his research into creating the perfect warrior. Moreover, little Gamma—Mitsu—had also been a partial success, since he had managed to genetically modify her to increase her potential and natural physical abilities.
Even so, the World Government had absolutely no interest in Mitsu. To them, she was nothing more than a statistic in one of Vegapunk's reports. What they wanted was the creation of perfect, obedient warriors, and Mitsu was merely a link in the chain toward achieving that goal.
For that reason, Vegapunk decided to entrust Mitsu to Orion, so she would have the chance to grow as a person instead of a mere experiment. In any case, she was not valued by the World Government, so her disappearance wouldn't cause the slightest commotion.
If there was something Vegapunk wanted to avoid, it was for Mitsu to live the same life as the first clone he had created—Stussy.
Although it was true that Stussy was vitally important to him as a double agent within Cipher Pol, he would have preferred that she live a more normal and free life, like Gloriosa, who vanished without a trace after escaping from Guanhao, though according to Stussy's latest report she was currently in Amazon Lily.
Still, neither Orion nor Mitsu knew that Vegapunk's intention was for her stay with Orion to be permanent.
"You are my guardian, you have to give me food. Professor Vegapunk always gives me food," Mitsu said with a serious yet somewhat adorable expression.
Orion couldn't help noticing that she had certain personality traits similar to Hototogisu, though not exactly the same. In Hototogisu's case, she was someone on the autism spectrum, which made many people see her as strange—especially people in this world, who had no familiarity with the concept.
Hototogisu was somewhat socially inept, but she made an effort to learn social conventions, even though she still struggled with her limitations.
On the other hand, Mitsu had a similar personality, but hers was the product of the way she had been raised. She had never experienced a normal childhood inside Vegapunk's laboratories, so she had developed a somewhat blunt and socially unadapted personality that, in certain ways, resembled Hototogisu's.
Even so, Orion could see that Mitsu wasn't a bad girl; despite her rather brusque way of speaking and her complete lack of understanding of what "social tact" even was.
Sighing, Orion decided not to argue with the little girl and simply said,
"Alright, when we get back to my apartment, I'll cook something delicious for you."
"I want hot dogs!" Mitsu declared, her eyes lighting up.
Orion looked at her with a puzzled expression, not knowing why she had asked for something so specific. However, he did have sausages and bread stored in the system's inventory, so he didn't bother contradicting her and simply nodded.
Mitsu clenched her tiny fists with an expression that was undeniably adorable, but almost immediately she seemed to realize that her posture wasn't "professional" enough, and returned to that austere, serious demeanor she believed a mature and responsible young lady should display.
The relationship between Orion and Mitsu improved slightly without much effort, marking the beginning of a long journey together. As they walked back to the apartment, Orion thought about everything he needed to do in the next few days, while Mitsu was simply thinking about hot dogs.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, in the South Blue, Gloriosa was completely restless and irritated in Pacific Kingdom. Orion had sent her through the Space Gate before his confrontation with Doflamingo, and almost a month had passed since then.
During the first weeks she had been delighted to arrive in a new, unknown place, and she had explored the surroundings with great enthusiasm. She had also begun to build friendly relationships with Orion's closest circle, even going as far as introducing herself to his parents as his wife.
However, after spending an entire month in Pacific Kingdom, she had begun to grow restless—because she wanted to see Orion!
She was a young woman in love, and she didn't want to remain separated from her beloved after fighting so hard to find him. Now that he was on the other side of the world, Gloriosa spent her days in a foul mood, pouting and showing her most spoiled and capricious side.
But all of that was about to change, because she discovered the existence of Olive, Orion's pirate wife who could fly!
Immediately, she came up with an excuse for Giolla and asked for permission to go see Olive. The pirate was one of Orion's acknowledged companions, so there was nothing strange about Gloriosa wanting to visit her to get to know her.
Besides, Giolla had noticed the terrible mood of the young Kuja over the past few days, so she simply told her Olive's location and called the sexy pirate to inform her of Gloriosa's upcoming arrival.
Now, Gloriosa was sailing on a small boat to meet Olive, intending to ask her to fly her all the way to the Grand Line!
If Orion wasn't coming to Pacific Kingdom, then of course she was the one who would go look for him!
What the pink-haired girl didn't suspect was that someone else had had the exact same idea, and was now sleeping comfortably inside one of the barrels on Gloriosa's small boat.
...
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