Video version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXe7A-qDcv0

THE INFINITE POWER SOURCE OF THE ANCIENT KINGDOM

So Vegapunk illustrates to Luffy’s group what his ultimate dream is, wanting to create a world where energy is available to all in the world with no limits. As Jinbe explains, the world has been rife by many conflicts seeking natural resources. This is something we’ve seen firsthand in our adventures with the Straw Hats, such as the struggle over dance powder in Alabasta, or the struggle for vearth in Skypiea. After all, struggles for resources are a tale as old as time, something that the history of our world can show very clearly, as bloody wars have been waged for resources, from things as useful as soil and food, to even things like salt, which we might take as a commodity today, but back in the day were precious enough to becomes sources of conflict. In fact, though obviously there’s much more to it, part of the reason why several countries can live in peace today is because modern technology has made the access and distribution of resources to a larger population that much easier.

Similarly, if energy was readily available all over the One Piece world for all to access naturally, then there could be easier alternatives to such struggles for resources, which would help bring peace in a new era. Of course, much like our world, that alone would not bring world peace, as a systematic change, a change in ideologies and political systems, and so much more is needed to bring forth a new era like this. So in that regard we still very much need a Joy Boy who can dawn in a New Era by overturning the Government and connecting the entire world together through the One Piece. Only then the Dawn of the World will happen as this New Era begins.

However, if Vegapunk’s dream were to also take place during the Dawn of the World, then it would make this New Era an even more peaceful time and pave the path for an age where prosperity can be sustainable in the long term. That is likely in part what Joy Boy’s people tried to do during the Void Century and likely one of the reasons why they developed such advanced technology. In fact we already have a perfect example of this with the precursor of the technology of the ancient kingdom, the civilization of Birka on the Moon.

As we saw in Enel’s cover story, on the Moon they already had quite advanced technology, even if it wasn’t on the same level as what the ancient kingdom would achieve a few centuries later, having developed electricity which powered the automata “karakuri dolls” that aided this civilization. However, there was one fundamental flaw that they ran into, which is that they ran out of resources. This is exactly what Vegapunk is talking about, they didn’t have a sustainable resource that could easily power all of that technology, so without resources they could not keep this technology running for such a long time. Which forced them to return to the planet below and abandon the moon in order to search for resources there. So in other words this was at a time when the people of the Moon did not yet figure out the key to be able to attain infinite resources, but later, their successors, which would become allies and part of the immense kingdom, would be able to develop the technology to access energy from anywhere in the world.

Which is precisely what Vegapunk was interested in, as he believes that the energy that powered things like the iron giant that attacked Mary Geoise is this supposed energy that is accessible from anywhere in the world, but it’s something that he hasn’t yet fully cracked, so he needs to figure out more about this ancient immense kingdom to be able to develop it. However, of course, that got him in trouble with the Government, who now want to erase him to keep his mouth shut. And it makes sense, not only did the Government erase all information about the kingdom for the sake of erasing their ideals, so that they would be forgotten and the people of the kingdom would die with them, but also likely removed this technology from the world because it didn’t benefit them. After all such equal distribution of energy would help make nations more equal, whereas if the Government monopolizes all the wealth and resources, it can much more easily control who gets what, allowing them to stay in power.

This is actually not that different from how things have developed in several historical contexts of our world as well. For example many historians refer to the Middle Ages as the “Dark Ages”, as medieval feudalism and the church at the time restricted development and research for the sake of seizing power, despite previous civilizations, at times of figures like Pythagoras, were able to make great theoretical and philosophical leaps (though some modern historians have questioned such perspective, so it’s not as black and white as it may first sound). This lasted for a long part of the Dark Ages, until that began to slowly change with the Renaissance. Which as the name indicates, “Renaissance” translates to “rebirth”, as the world was reborn after a dark age where it could be illuminated once more, which very slowly started to pave the path for the Era we live in today. This led to the development of modern electricity and the dreams of the likes of Nikola Tesla who much like Vegapunk helped pave the way for modern energy distribution. In that regard art imitates life as the One Piece world is quite similar, with kingdoms in ancient times making great leaps in philosophy and technology, only to be restricted by the ruling powers that would develop, in what would come to be known as a “long night” until the sun could rise once again, finally brining the “Dawn of the World” where the world is reborn in a New Era.

So then, what is this mysterious resource that Vegapunk speaks that could be accessed anywhere in the world? Well, if you’ve been paying attention to what I’ve been saying so far you might’ve started to realize yourself, but we don’t really need to ask ourselves because Vegapunk already explained this a few chapters ago: Lilith told us that the island is powered by fire, with fire being able to become all types of energy. Franky questioned how they were able to get all this fire without natural resources, but Vegapunk clarified they’d been researching for a very long time what can become energy, seeking an undying flame that could power all this technology, so that they’d be able to create their very own… sun.

So once you think about it, it becomes very obvious, as this one thing ties everything together. What other resource is accessible by all in the world, no matter where they are, which could be turned into energy, but the sun itself? Solar power is the key here, it’s an unlimited source of energy that all in the world can access. That is why Vegapunk points and looks to the sky when he refers to this eternal source of energy. This likely connects with the eternal flames and fire that the Lunaria can generate, and their connections to the immense kingdom during the Void Century, but above all else likely ties thematically on one of the reasons why Joy Boy was called the “Sun God”.

Because this sun serves twofold, on one hand it is a symbol of unity and connection, but on the other it is also quite veritably a source of power for all to be equal. After all, for the energy of the sun to be accessible to all in the world that means that everyone in the world must be able to live under the same sun. So all people of the world need to be able to live together under that same sun to be able to access it. So the Dawn of the World, the rise of the sun, is so much more than just a mere ideology, but literally a way to help bring a new era by both furthering new philosophy that leads to peace and equality, but also new technology that can make that a reality.

This could also potentially explain how the iron giant attacked Mary Geoise. I had speculated what if it once fell from the Red Line sinking into the sea, but regardless of where it ended up, perhaps some random landslide or something exposed it to sunlight once more, powering it up once again and leading it to fulfill its mission. However, as we see in the scene Vegapunk illustrated to us, on the day it attacked Mary Geoise it was seemingly cloudy and dark, so the sun being covered could’ve caused the iron giant to run out of the little energy it had left and collapse right then and there.

CP0 AND THE SERAPHIM

Anyway, as we can see the Cipher Pol has come directly to erase Vegapunk, with Lucci, Kaku, Stussy (and Hattori) having landed on the island thanks to the powers of the S-Bear. Notice how all of them wear masks, which we first saw a few chapters ago, which denotes that they are part of the elite agents of CP0. As Oda clarified during a Film RED interview, CP0 spans many members, including common agents such as Spandam, or Blueno or Kalifa as we saw them in Film RED. However among all agents, those wearing masks are the most elite, which include Guernica, Joseph, and Maha (the agents at Onigashima), Gismonda (the one with the red mask), Kaku, Lucci, and yes, even Hattori.

CP0 was able to make landfall thanks to the powers of the S-Bear, the Kuma Seraphim, which is kind of a big deal because it means that the Seraphim still retainsthe devil fruit powers of the original user. Which makes sense because devil fruit powers become mixed with someone’s own bloodline elements, and as we were told Vegapunk was able to make the artificial clone copy of the Uo Uo no Mi Model Seiryuu that Momo ended up eating, by taking a sample of Kaido’s bloodline elements when he was captive in Punk Hazard many years ago. So if they got the bloodline elements to be able to clone the Shichibukai in the form of Seraphim, then that would explain why they have their powers as well. This means that the S-Snake likely also has a cloned fruit of the Mero Mero no Mi, so on and so forth. But what about the Shichibukai who did not have devil fruit powers? Well we already saw this with the S-Shark which was given a copy of the devil fruit powers of Senor Pink’s fruit, which they likely got from his bloodline elements when he was captured by the Marines. Which means that the Seraphim without a fruit were given a fruit that best suits their abilities. So what about someone else who isn’t a devil fruit user like Mihawk? What fruit has the S-Hawk been given? Could it maybe be Mr. 1’s Supa Supa no Mi, as after all Mr. 1 was captured by the Marines up until Impel Down, so they easily could’ve gotten his bloodline elements.

Well we may find out soon, as in a way to combat CP0, Shaka deploys the S-Shark we saw previously, as well as the S-Snake and the S-Hawk. This makes the naming convention of the Seraphim pretty obvious, since as you likely might’ve known, the Shichibukai are all named after animals. Mihawk is the hawk, Crocodile is the crocodile, Doflamingo is the flamingo, Kuma is Japanese for bear, Boa Hancock is the boa, and Jinbe is the Japanese name for “whale shark”. Gecko Moria is a special case as he is named both after the gecko, which is reflected in his final form where he turns into a gecko and one of his attacks, but is also the bat, which in Japanese is called “komori” and can be seen in his name, Gec-komori-a”. Beyond them though there’s also the new members including Weevil, which is obviously named after the weevil, as well as Blackbeard, Law, and Buggy. The latter three aren’t named after animals, as they likely weren’t named with the plan to become Shichibukai right away, but Oda has also given animal themes Teach being a hippo and Law a spotted seal just like the pattern of his hat, though Buggy still lacks one. This brings into question though on if we will see more Seraphim beyond the original seven Shichibukai, but we’ll have to see. Regardless, all of the deployed Seraphim are to be led by Sentomaru, who finally makes his return after all these chapters. In case you forgot, Sentomaru’s official position is being Vegapunk’s bodyguard, so it makes sense that he’d be on the island ready to lead the charge. Luffy did tell Sentomaru that they hope they can meet again one day, but perhaps this time it might be as allies rather than enemies, as Sentomaru is not only someone who respected Luffy as an opponent, but also likely has a stronger allegiance towards Vegapunk than he does to the Government, especially if Shaka trusts him with the Seraphim.

Speaking of all this, there’s also the fact that Kuma is now heading somewhere, which is almost certainly likely to be Egghead. It’s not clear how, but the way he’s rushing makes it seem as if he is panicking to save his daughter, so perhaps Vegapunk sent him some sort of distress signal or was able to provide him with some information in some way. As we’ve previously mentioned, it’s quite likely that Kuma isn’t actually dead, but that his original memory has been backed up somewhere and is now arising again once Vegapunk unlocks it. It’s even possible that just like Vegapunk did with the other punks, Kuma’s consciousness could’ve even been split amongst the Pacifista, potentially even the S-Bear, though that’s to be seen. This would explain why Kuma still has his fruit. We already knew this since Marineford, but if Kuma really did fully die, then supposedly he would’ve lost the powers of the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi, but him retaining them indicates a part of him must still be alive. Which is why now he uses the powers of the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi to send himself flying, likely to Egghead itself.

LUFFY VS LUCCI

Regardless, CP0 gets ready to head for the Labophase, but they are impeded by a laser system that eliminates intruders, being the two lines found around the clouds of the Labophase. Interestingly, the number on them has changed from 66 a few chapters ago to now 72, so what is it indicating?

There’s also the fact that Stussy mentions how Egghead is nostalgic to her, which would indicate that she must’ve come to the island at some point in the past, and by the way she calls it nostalgic, that was seemingly a really long time ago when she was younger. As a reminder, we actually don’t know Stussy’s real age, as even her vivre card had it marked as a “SECRET”, so just what is her connection with Vegapunk?

Vegapunk Stella makes his way back to the Labophase by using the teleporting technology he developed which he also used when coming down to meet Luffy, so Luffy and the others follow after him. However, this results in them crossing paths with Lucci, who unleashes a Rokuougun on Atlas, breaking part of the face. This results in part of Atlas’s body cracking, with the panel on the eye going blank, and exploding as a result. This seems to indicate what we suspected that Atlas is a robot with Vegapunk’s brain inside it. This was very apparent with Edison and Pythagoras, but it’s possible that the likes of Lilith and York are also robots as well, though I still wonder just how exactly can someone like York eat in the place of the other Punks while still providing them with the nutrients.

However this encounter results in Luffy and Lucci finally coming across each other for the first time in two years after that fated battle at Enies Lobby. How will their battle go and how fast will their duel end? We’ll find out pretty soon as we already begin to approach the climax of the Egghead Arc!