Above the core laboratory on Punk Hazard.
The Eclipse hung in the sky like a silent black cloud. Leonora stood at the ship's rail, chin propped on one hand, waving the other casually toward the research institute below.
Tons of top-tier medical equipment, cultivation pods, Lineage Factor analyzers, sterile workstations, lifted off the ground. Under Leonora's control, they floated in steady formation toward the Eclipse's lower bay.
Deep in the hold, Jeno and Chopper were already waiting, heads tilted back to watch the gear sail in. Vegapunk's holographic AI projection hovered beside them, that oversized head still striking even as pure light and shadow.
"Place the cultivation pod against the wall. Leave at least half a meter of clearance for maintenance access."
The holographic Vegapunk spoke with the exacting precision of a career scientist, marking positions on a floating schematic as he talked.
"The interface standard on this sterile workstation doesn't match the Eclipse's power grid." Chopper hugged a stack of manuals, his hoof flipping pages fast as a machine.
"Not a problem."
Jeno walked forward and closed his eyes. The power of the Baku Baku no Mi stirred. Deep in his body, the synthesis factory spun to life. Metal, circuits, and insulation materials were broken down, recombined, and fused in seconds.
He reached into his stomach and pulled out a brand-new adapter, slotting it perfectly into the power socket.
"Done."
The holographic Vegapunk stared at Jeno for a solid few seconds.
"You're telling me, if I describe what we need and how it works, you can just manufacture it inside your body?"
"More or less." Jeno scratched his head. "Complicated stuff might take a couple of tries. But adapters, brackets, mounting hardware... stuff like that's no sweat."
Vegapunk's projection was quiet for a moment. "That is an absurdly convenient ability."
---
Inside the research institute's lounge, the scent of black tea cut through the sterile air.
Ace leaned back on a sofa, sipping from the cup a lab assistant had handed him.
Across from him, the genius whose intelligence allegedly outpaced the world by five hundred years studied the young pirate with a fifteen-seven billion bounty over the rim of his own teacup.
"Frankly, in all my years, I have never dealt with a buyer as straightforward as you."
Vegapunk shook his head, the motion making his giant skull sway. "Ten billion in cash, for a set of equipment and my remote guidance. Even on the World Government's ledgers, a deal like that turns heads."
"Money is the easy part." Ace set his cup down. "What matters is that this setup saves Bonnie's life. And hiring a mind like yours to personally design a pirate ship's medical wing? Worth every beri."
Vegapunk's gaze drifted past Ace to the far end of the room. Kuma stood there, meticulously polishing his daughter's mechanical spider.
"Bartholomew Kuma. Revolutionary Army officer. The World Government has him on file as the Tyrant, a threat of the highest order." Vegapunk took a slow sip of tea. "I never imagined he would board a pirate ship for his daughter's sake."
He adjusted his glasses, a spark of genuine curiosity in his eyes.
"Your Eclipse Pirates are not the mindless killers and looters I've come to expect. You found this island. You found me for Bonnie's treatment. You restrained yourselves from wrecking my laboratory. And you traded for technology instead of just taking it."
Vegapunk leaned forward slightly. "Portgas D. Ace. What are you really chasing out on these seas?"
Ace set his coffee down and let his dark eyes settle squarely on the scientist.
"To burn down the web these people have woven out of privilege and bloodline."
His voice was level, but the weight behind it was absolute.
"The Celestial Dragons. The World Government. All those so-called rules that keep people penned up like livestock, looked down on by self-styled gods. I set sail to kick every last one of them off their clouds and straight into hell."
Vegapunk's eyes narrowed slightly at the declaration. Pure heresy, spoken with total conviction.
He was quiet for a moment, then set his own cup down with a soft clink.
"Drag the gods down from their pedestals..." A rueful sigh escaped him. "A wild idea. Someone said something similar to me years ago. But this world is far larger and more complex than you imagine. Brute force alone won't reshape it."
"If the world's too big..."
Ace seized the opening without missing a beat, tossing out the invitation as casually as a handshake.
"Then come aboard my ship, Vegapunk."
He didn't offer empty promises. He offered the one thing a true scientist craved most.
"The Eclipse Pirates might fly a black flag, but under that flag, no research of yours will ever be branded 'heresy.' No World Government spies will be breathing down your neck about project timelines. That ten billion was just a deposit. Any equipment money can buy, or that we can build, I'll get it onto my ship. On my deck, at least, you won't have to live under the thumb of those five old men."
Vegapunk didn't react with anger or fear. He just smiled, a sad, worn-down smile.
"Portgas D. Ace. You are a genuinely charismatic leader. But I cannot board your ship."
He stood and walked over to a massive window, looking out at the experimental zones barricaded behind anti-air cannons and steel walls.
"Do you know what my dream is?"
He turned around. The light in his brilliant eyes was stubborn, almost fanatical.
"To create a free energy source. Something every person in the world can access. I want to build a world where wars over resources never happen. Where no one freezes or starves to death because they lack power."
"But that dream is massive." He looked down at the black cases stuffed with ten billion beri and shook his head. "The funding, the materials, the most advanced industrial infrastructure in the world... no single nation, no single pirate crew, could sustain it alone."
"Today, you brought me ten billion. What about when my experiments demand a hundred billion? A trillion? What if I need rare ores from across the entire Grand Line?"
He looked up, his voice tight with something between resignation and resolve.
"Only the World Government, with its grip on the world's throat, can feed a research beast that hungry."
"I know perfectly well the World Government is corrupt. I know the Celestial Dragons are cruel. But I have no alternative. I must use their resources to complete my work. Even if it means building their weapons under duress. Even if I am kept a prisoner here. As long as I can get one step closer to that free energy dream, I cannot leave."
"I want to use my science to change this world. From the inside. Slowly. Peacefully."
It was a statement of raw idealism, caught in an ugly reality.
Ace didn't mock him. He didn't push. He recognized the compromise of a pure scientist with the harshness of the world.
"Change it from the inside? That's a fine idea."
He rose to his feet and walked up to Vegapunk.
"But I'll bet everything I own that those five immortal fossils hiding in Mary Geoise will never allow a free energy source to see daylight. Right now, you're just building them the killing machines that keep their boot on the world's throat."
Vegapunk said nothing. A mind like his had already considered that. He just refused to let go of that last shred of hope.
"But I respect your choice."
Ace clapped a hand on his shoulder. "If you won't board my ship, let's change the terms of our partnership."
He tilted his head toward the door.
Carina, the crew's intelligence officer, walked in with a smile and stopped right in front of the legendary scientist.
"Dr. Vegapunk. You'll be guiding Chopper remotely for six whole months. A standard Transponder Snail introduces delays, and the World Government could easily tap the line."
Carina touched the giant forehead with a single finger.
A faint, electric hum filled the air. A broadcast contract sank directly into Vegapunk's brain.
"This is a brainwave communication network established through my Devil Fruit ability." She pulled her hand back, still smiling. "I've set up a private 'research group chat' for you. On this channel, you'll have lag-free voice communication at any time. And more importantly..."
She took a step back. "Chopper. Let's test the vision share."
"On it!"
Down in the Eclipse's hold, Chopper was running a diagnostic on the freshly installed life support pod. The little reindeer focused his mind.
In the lounge, Vegapunk's head snapped up. A flawless, real-time holographic image of the Eclipse's medical bay unfolded in his mind's eye. Through Chopper's actual field of view, he could see the tiny digits flickering on the pod's internal parameter display.
Vegapunk shut his eyes, genuinely feeling the contours of the mysterious communication channel for the first time.
For a man who had devoted his entire life to science, this brainwave transmission, this holographic sharing that shattered physical distance and mediums, its implications far outstripped the Devil Fruit that powered it.
"Fascinating..." He opened his eyes. "What is the principle behind this technology? How does the underlying logic of this broadcast contract bypass physical mediums? And how is the image clarity completely unaffected by distance decay?"
"I'm the user who ate the Chime-Chime Fruit," Carina said with a shrug and a wink. "Not the scientist."
Vegapunk's expression fell. "A pity."
"Ahoy? Doc, can you hear me?" Chopper's bright voice cut into the mental channel. "Did you catch that last visual? Did I wire the condenser line on port three correctly?"
"I saw it perfectly, Dr. Chopper." Vegapunk replied through the link. "The connection is correct. With this vision sharing, over the next six months I'll be able to observe the cell cultivation for Bonnie through your eyes in real-time. This is far more reliable than any monitoring hardware."
"Doc, never mind the condenser for a second." Jeno's voice barged in. "That design schematic you sent earlier is amazing. If I use my Stellar Gold alloy on it, I bet we could boost the performance by another tier."
"Stellar Gold?" Vegapunk asked.
"I'll explain later when we have time," Jeno chuckled. "More importantly, your research on energy systems and Lineage Factor theory... I've been dying to pick your brain about it properly for ages."
Listening to the rare note of humility in Jeno's voice, a genuine smile broke through Vegapunk's stern expression. Pure scientific discourse. He hadn't experienced it like this in a very long time.
Still on the sofa, Ace finished the last sip of his tea.
"Vegapunk."
Ace's voice cut cleanly into the channel, pulling them back from the exchange.
"We're partners now. So know this. The Eclipse Pirates can always be your secret funding base."
He stood, looking at the old man who still dreamed of saving humanity while trapped by reality.
"If you ever reach the point where you can't stand another day under the World Government... or if those five old relics decide to move against you..."
Ace's voice was calm. Unquestionable.
"The Eclipse's door is always open to you."
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