Sadgeo chose to trust this assistant recommended by Orin, who gave him a very reliable feeling.
So after the super-giant Sea King casually suppressed the sea beast weapons, he immediately descended onto the land of Egghead.
Such a colossal creature falling from the sky gave Vegapunk quite a fright.
Only after taking a closer look at this strongest lifeform he himself had created did Vegapunk blink.
"So it's Sadgeo~"
"Long time no see, Dr. Vegapunk."
Sadgeo held down his straw hat and chuckled twice, then followed the other into the underground laboratory.
This was a lab secretly built below with Orin's own funding, its scale no smaller than the place where Sadgeo had been cultivated.
Vegapunk walked ahead with his hands behind his back, sighing with emotion as he went.
He raised his eyes to look at Sadgeo, who was glancing around, and at that face which, according to Orin, looked almost identical to Joy Boy's.
He hesitated for a moment, then finally asked,
"Hey, Sadgeo… have you really thought it through? Becoming the Sun God Nika…"
"As far as I know, that's an identity that carries a heavy destiny."
Vegapunk was a scientist, but unlike Queen, Judge, Caesar, and the others, he leaned toward kindness and justice.
Although he had created many highly destructive inventions—the Mother Flame, the Pacifistas—which were used by the World Government to carry out violence, his original intention had always been to benefit humanity.
And Sadgeo, whom he had personally created—something like half a child to him—Vegapunk still wanted to ask for his opinion in the end.
Even though this was Orin's decision, and he had no room to oppose it.
"Thinking it through…"
Hearing this, Sadgeo took off the straw hat on his head, his gaze dim and unreadable.
"Actually, I've always known that my existence isn't unique in this world, but rather created in imitation of a very terrifying person.
Even my name carries someone else's shadow within it…"
Hearing this, Vegapunk's expression darkened slightly, but he soon heard Sadgeo continue,
"But I don't hate that person, because this sea is truly beautiful, and I've found what I want to do. This sea shouldn't be like this—I need even greater power…"
It could be said to be a fusion of personalities, or perhaps a wish born from witnessing everything on the seas—Sadgeo's genuine desire.
He wanted greater power to change the world he wished to change.
To use absolute power to liberate the entire world!!!
Neither an idealist like Luffy of the D clan, nor a domineering hegemon like Rocks,
He wanted to become a true "King."
"I see… what a shocking ambition~"
Vegapunk stuck out his tongue, his gaze complicated as he looked at the giant before him.
Liberating the world was not something he was hearing for the first time. His friend Dragon had also been striving for this all along, but progress had been slow, constrained by various factors.
But Sadgeo was clearly more daring in both thought and action—and was about to possess power to match it.
"Since you've made up your mind, then come with me."
Sadgeo nodded, glanced at the giant straw hat in his hand, as if bidding farewell to something.
With a wave of his hand, pitch-black smoke gradually engulfed the straw hat, erasing it into nothingness.
He muttered softly,
"If the Sun God cannot let light illuminate every corner…"
"Then what about the Dark Sun God?"
Taking a step that spanned a great distance, Sadgeo lay down inside a massive cultivation chamber. Vegapunk glanced at him, then began a series of complex operations.
Tube after tube of liquid resembling green blood was injected into Sadgeo's body, artificially connecting and resonating.
After several attempts, within the silent laboratory, faint and mysterious drumbeats began to echo…
...
"Even that Sadgeo has arrived at Egghead?!!!"
"Bang!!!"
Upon hearing this news, Sakazuki's eyes flashed with a sharp gleam.
"In that case, what we'll be facing might not only be the Straw Hat crew, but also another Yonko force—Sadgeo's crew. Tell that Rob Lucci to wait until Kizaru arrives before taking action!!!"
Moreover, with two Yonko present, this lineup might truly not be enough to take down Vegapunk.
At the same time, the Elders also made their final decision—especially after receiving the news that Sadgeo had appeared on the Future Island.
There was no way they could do nothing; no matter what, they had to make a trip to Egghead.
Both the World Government and the Marines tried to contact Lucci, telling him to be cautious and not act rashly—because even Orin might already be on the island.
But Lucci had no time to answer the Den Den Mushi.
At this moment, a long wound stretched across his chest as he panted heavily.
"How is this possible…"
An aura of a superior lifeform pressed down on him, making him, a leopard, feel deeply uneasy.
"Is that… a dragon?"
Across from him stood a dragon-man, similar in form to Kaido but more slender and smaller, narrowing her eyes.
She held a black blade in her hand, with drops of blood dripping from its edge.
Kuina, who could rival Zoro, had not remained stagnant during this time.
Having further harmonized with her Devil Fruit ability, she had now become a powerhouse capable of standing on her own. Without Conqueror's Haki, she had further refined her swordsmanship and fruit mastery.
Only then was she able to wound Lucci before her.
And at this crucial moment of the fierce battle, a yellow flash lit up from the distant sea.
"How strange~"
"The ship of the Yonko Sadgeo has appeared here—could it also be for Vegapunk?"
A flash of light passed, and the bloodied humanoid leopard vanished from his spot, the light streaking toward distant Egghead.
Meanwhile, during the final stage of Sadgeo's cultivation slumber, Vegapunk also heard the commotion outside and hurried out.
He hadn't expected the World Government to arrive so quickly.
"CP0… and… Borsalino?!!!"
The moment Vegapunk stepped out of the underground lab, he saw the scene—and that yellow flash had already noticed him.
After a brief silence, the man chose to turn into light and arrived before Vegapunk.
A laser beam began charging at his fingertip, yet after several seconds, it still wasn't fired.
"Borsalino…"
"I'm sorry, Dr. Vegapunk."
The reflection on Kizaru's tinted glasses hid his eyes, leaving only calmness and complexity on his face.
And just as the laser reached its peak charge, a hand both of them had hoped to see pressed down on Kizaru's arm.
"Since you're so unwilling to kill, then don't force yourself, Borsalino~"
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