This island far surpasses modern technology—Egghead.
It lies in the New World (the latter half of the Grand Line, The New World), under the control of the World Government, and hosts Vegapunk's research facilities.
Even at night, the island glowed with brilliance.
"Thump, thump, thump…"
A squadron of alert drones patrolled overhead, scanning the air for intruders and securing the perimeter.
Suddenly, a streak of black-purple light tore across the night sky, plummeting toward Egghead.
Swish!
Only after it landed did the drones react.
"Wooh! Wooh! Wooh!"
Their warning lights flickered crimson, triggering full alarm across the station.
The old scientist in the lab—hair turned white from fatigue, an odd branchlike headpiece jutting from his skull, his tongue lolling—looked up, bewildered.
He stared at the red strobing warnings. Who could have penetrated the defenses and reached the inner sanctum?
"Did the defenses just fail?" he muttered, setting aside his experiment. He glanced toward his clones to see if they'd detected the breach.
But when he turned, his eyes widened.
In the corner, sat a man—calm, smiling, watching him.
"Visiting late at night. I apologize for the disturbance. Vegapunk, genius of the world," the stranger said.
"The Plunderer Shirogai Yamikuro," Vegapunk murmured, expression grave. "A rookie pirate flagged in the 'World-Endangering Threats' file by the Gorosei."
Shirogai stood, surveying the room with a faint grin.
"You seem to have known I would come," he remarked.
Vegapunk's face stiffened. He recoiled a few paces.
Shirogai ignored the reaction. His gaze flicked to the Den Den Mushi monitors lining the walls.
"You underestimated yourself. As the world's greatest mind, your mental defenses should eclipse most. So you surely equipped barriers against external Devil Fruit intrusion and thought detection, didn't you?"
He flicked his fingers, conjuring a black, flickering flame—Amaterasu, the Eternal Burning Flame—which wrapped around Vegapunk's figure. It looked real enough to fool him.
"Impressive illusion," Shirogai said, "I nearly fell for it."
Yet Vegapunk stood unaffected by the flames.
"Shirogai, you are correct," he said calmly. "I sensed you were probing me psychically. Not knowing when you'd arrive, I deployed a false psychic projection to shield my true thoughts."
Shirogai applauded softly, smiling.
"Exceptional. Truly worthy of that title."
With a crack, the doors and windows slammed shut. Red energy currents ignited, connecting walls and floor with ominous crackling.
Vegapunk's projection spoke: "Shirogai, surrender. You are trapped in a confinement cell I devised for powerful pirates."
Shirogai regarded the red currents curiously.
"Trapped? It looks almost ordinary."
Vegapunk's projection narrowed its eyes.
"Don't misjudge it. Even the Four Emperors would struggle to escape. You'll be my first test subject."
Shirogai approached the current.
"You should not have used electricity," he said lightly.
"Do not touch it," the projection warned.
These currents, Vegapunk explained, contained Sea-Stone powder—sufficient to suppress Devil Fruit powers on contact.
"So that's the trick," Shirogai nodded, smiling.
"Yes. Three of the Four Emperors, if captured here, would be powerless. But our data on Red Hair is incomplete. I cannot guarantee this cell could hold him," Vegapunk's voice admitted.
Shirogai glanced back, curious.
"So this cell was originally built for Kizaru?"
The projection hesitated.
"You know too much."
In the monitoring chamber, six Vegapunk clones watched. Among them, Lilith (Evil), blond and suited, blinked in shock.
"He even knows this was meant to imprison Kizaru… who is he?"
Shaka (Justice), wearing helmet #01, responded calmly: "According to the Gorosei file, Shirogai is a Talent Devil Fruit user—he can learn abilities from other Devil Fruit users. He infiltrated via Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit. Perhaps he sensed the cell's suppression of that power."
Edison (Thought), with olive head and rabbitlike features, suggested: "Should we call his main body? He is Emperors level. Though contained, he might escape."
York (Desire), in revealing attire with goggles, turned to others, alarmed: "This is dangerous—should we warn him?"
The clones exchanged tense glances as Shirogai's presence hung over the lab, unbroken and resolute.
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