[Upon hearing Vegapunk's words, Luffy raised his brow: "According to you, since the World Government now controls this 'Mother Flame,' then they can instantly destroy any island just by wishing it???"]
[If this is true... then Luffy felt immense pressure!!!]
[A few days ago, Luffy had also read about the Lulusia Kingdom's fate in the newspaper.]
[The weapon capable of causing such consequences is absolutely disaster-level!!!]
[He needed to know that even if disaster struck, at the moment it arrived, he could rely on his Nika form to survive, but what about his companions...?]
[Taking a step back, even if Luffy could use his Nika form to protect his companions by turning them into rubber, but... could he really always be by his companions' side at every moment???]
[What if, at the moment disaster struck, he wasn't by his companions' side???]
[Even... there's an even more terrifying possibility!!!]
[Perhaps even in his Nika form, he might not be able to protect his companions from widespread disaster!!!]
[If they possess enough Mother Flames, the World Government is indeed capable of reaching this level...]
[Vegapunk nodded, then said, "However... the Mother Flame sent to Lulusia was just an experimental product. It is the only one the World Government currently possesses!"]
[Upon hearing this, Nami grabbed Vegapunk by the collar, excitedly saying, "So, the World Government temporarily has no way to continue using that terrifying weapon?"]
["Cough, cough... yes... yes."]
[Vegapunk was choked by his collar and coughed a few times, then explained, "The Mother Flame is a type of energy created, a consumable!!! However... just one Mother Flame can provide 10 years' worth of energy for an entire holy land!!!"]
[Luffy instantly let out a sigh of relief...]
[But he didn't fully relax. Instead, he looked at Vegapunk: "Then what about the technology to manufacture the Mother Flame? Does the World Government possess it?"]
"The technology is known only to me and my clones! They are all my different personalities, so they won't betray me. Moreover, the fusion reactor capable of producing Mother Flame is only here."
[Speaking of this, Vegapunk scratched his head. "But this is also a headache for me. I must leave this place, but I can't take the giant fusion reactor with me~~~"]
[And the large amount of knowledge stored in the 'Punk Records' on the dome, I also can't take away. This is the most troublesome part!!!"]
[He looked up at the facility on top of Egghead, shaped like an eggshell, his face filled with worry~~~]
"Punk Records? What's that?" Luffy shrugged.
"That's all the knowledge stored in my brain. If it were continuously stored in my brain, my head would keep getting bigger, eventually making my actions difficult. Now... that knowledge has been separately stored in Punk Records. This way, I just need to receive signals through the antenna on my pocket."
[As he spoke, Vegapunk pointed at the apple-shaped antenna on top of his head~~~]
"Nani???"
[Upon hearing Vegapunk's words, everyone in the Straw Hat Pirates looked at the apple-shaped cap on Vegapunk's head in surprise...]
[They originally thought this was just a decoration. They never expected it to actually be a brain~~~]
[Seeing the Straw Hat Pirates' reaction, Vegapunk quickly laughed and explained: "No need to be so surprised! I'm a big-brained person who ate the Brain-Brain Fruit, so I can infinitely store everything I've learned in my memory!"]
[Uh...]
"Alright!!!"
[He's actually a Devil Fruit user~~~]
"Hey! This is too amazing!! He can actually store the contents of his brain elsewhere, and even defend against the World Government's surveillance!!!"
[Franky's face was filled with excitement~~~]
[Ever since he ate two research institutes on Ohara, Franky has absorbed knowledge from both Kureha and Vegapunk!!!]
[Compared to the two, Franky clearly felt that this part of Vegapunk's knowledge completely crushed the knowledge that belonged to Kureha...]
[From that moment on, Franky had an incomparable admiration for Vegapunk~~~]
[Luffy looked at Franky, his eyes suddenly lighting up!]
[He looked at Vegapunk and said, "If you don't want to leave the things on this island to the World Government, then I have a way to try~~~"]
"..."
[Vegapunk gnashed his teeth, his expression somewhat grave. "You mean, to destroy this island...?"]
[Although Vegapunk already had sufficient psychological preparation for this kind of thing, he still felt somewhat reluctant to truly destroy this island completely...]
"No!"
[Luffy shook his head, then pointed to Franky. "He ate the Munch-Munch Fruit. He can eat anything in this world except seawater and Seastone!!! And whatever he eats can be used by him~~~"]
"I have a way. If you can't take the things here with you, and you don't want to leave them for the World Government, then why not let Franky eat them all!!! This way, whenever you want to research something, Franky can manifest those things."
"Moreover, after these things are integrated by Franky, he can also obtain the manufacturing methods and theories of these things. This is just like... in the future, if you need help with scientific research, Franky can also become a very good partner for you."
[Luffy expressed his thoughts~~~]
"This way is possible!!!"
[Vegapunk listened to Luffy's suggestion, his eyes widening as he answered~~~]
[But Luffy pointed to the 'Punk Records' on the dome and said, "But what if those things are eaten by Franky? I don't know if that will affect you???"]
"This... I don't know either~~~"
[Vegapunk shook his head.]
[After all, he had never tried such a thing before...]
[So he didn't dare to guarantee what would happen...]
[Luffy thought for a moment, then said: "We can try it boldly! You choose a small, relatively unimportant piece of data from Punk Records for Franky to eat, and then let's see the effect...!"]
[If Franky eats a small piece of Punk Records, and you can still receive signals from Punk Records, then that would be great~~~]
[If Franky eats a small piece of Punk Records, causing you to directly lose this part of your memory, then we will find a way to transport the eggshell device on top of this dome onto our ship! That way, there will be no problem!]
"Good!!! Time is of the essence. Let's hurry!!"
[Vegapunk felt that Luffy's suggestion had no flaws, but he was somewhat hesitant.]
[He had just received intelligence that the World Government's grand fleet was already heading this way. They would probably arrive at Egghead very soon...]
[The ideal state is that he and the Straw Hat Pirates evacuate before the World Government's grand fleet arrives!]
"Alright! So, where do we start?"
[Upon learning of such a heavy responsibility, Franky was very happy. He raised both arms, pointing diagonally at the sky, "Hmm, SUPER!!!"]
"Come! Let me first witness the power of the Munch-Munch Fruit...!!!"
[Vegapunk's technological shoes sprayed anti-gravity, flying towards one direction...]
[Everyone in the Straw Hat Pirates quickly followed...]
[Not long after, they arrived at a place that looked like a scrap recycling station...]
"Uh... what's this situation...?"
[Nami looked left and right suspiciously, seeing piles of scrap everywhere here...]
[Conversely, Franky, Usopp, and Chopper's eyes lit up, and they directly rushed forward!!!]
"Wow!! What a huge robot!!!"
"Hey, hey, hey!! This is too cool...!"
"It's a mecha, right?"
[They looked at the super huge robot sitting in the scrap heap in front of them, like a bunch of teenage boys who had suddenly gotten a toy from a dream~~~]
"This is..."
[Luffy looked at the giant robot in front of him with surprised eyes: "This isn't... modern stuff, right...?"]
"You're right! It's indeed not modern stuff!"
[Vegapunk nodded, then continued to introduce, "It should have been created 900 years ago!!!"]
"Something from 900 years ago... It's really that imposing???"
[Luffy wasn't very specialized in machinery, but he hadn't eaten pork, yet he had seen a pig run, right???]
[He had Franky, this mechanical改造人 (modified human), by his side, and Franky was very eager to learn. Whenever there was nothing to do, he would ask questions about the operation and principles of the Thousand Sunny.]
[This made Luffy now almost a mechanical doctor...]
"Bzzzzzz..."
[Hearing Luffy's surprise, Vegapunk chuckled. "Do you think technology develops faster and faster with time?"]
"Isn't that how it is?" Luffy looked at Vegapunk with a face full of doubt.
"According to normal observations, that is indeed how it is... However... 800 years ago, there was a highly developed country that was destroyed for some reason, and their technology was not inherited..."
["This island you're seeing now was actually built with the knowledge I learned from my technology in that 800-year-old country..."]
[Vegapunk explained.]
"What!!!"
[As soon as these words came out, all the Straw Hat Pirates were once again so shocked their mouths hung open.]
"It's actually... technology from 800 years ago...!?"
[Usopp's eyeballs were practically popping out, and he cried out in involuntary shock~~~]
"So... that's why... I inherited the will of Professor Clover and began researching the history of the Void Century! I feel that if I can thoroughly uncover the history of the Void Century, perhaps I can reach even more technology from 800 years ago!!!"
[Vegapunk said.]
"But this way..."
"Why would a robot from 900 years ago be here???" Luffy thought, feeling very strange~~~]
"In fact, 200 years ago, this robot was unknown to anyone. But one day, about 200 years ago, this robot attacked Mary Geoise for unknown reasons, but at that time, due to insufficient energy, it failed to cause actual damage."
"Originally, Mary Geoise intended to completely destroy this robot, but the scientists at the time had never seen such an advanced technological achievement, so they secretly kept it. Even the World Government doesn't know it still exists..."
[Speaking of this, Vegapunk looked at Franky, "This robot definitely can't stay here. You eat it first, so I can witness the effect of the Munch-Munch Fruit~~~"]
"Alright, Old Man!!!"
[Franky at this moment was like a fan picked by his idol. His excited emotions surged~~~]
[He rushed over and began to eat it in huge bites...]
[And at this moment, Luffy looked at Vegapunk: "Since this robot was created 800 years ago, and it only relied on residual energy and memory to attack Mary Geoise. This actually explains one thing..."]
"What thing?" Vegapunk asked doubtfully.
[Luffy calmly said: "The country that originally created this robot was, if nothing unexpected happened, likely destroyed by the current World Government!"]
[Vegapunk nodded: "Oh, your analysis is very reasonable. Indeed, various signs indicate that during the Void Century, the World Government must have destroyed a huge kingdom. And the methods must have been quite cruel...!!!"]
[After more than ten minutes, the giant robot was completely eaten by Franky...]
"Wahahaha!!! So strong!!!"
[Having fused with the robot soldier, Franky laughed loudly and immediately activated his robot transformation form!!!!]
"Wahahaha!!!"
[After a clanking sound, Franky's body swelled dozens of times, turning into a giant war machine similar in size to the robot he just ate and the robot soldiers of the World Government!!!!]
[Chopper's eyes instantly lit up: "Wow!!! Franky!!!"]
"So... so cool...!!!" Usopp raised his hands high, excitedly jumping left and right~~~]
[Even Zoro and Sanji couldn't help but gape, completely stunned by the scene before them!!!]
"Franky! Strike a pose!!!" Usopp shouted loudly~~~]
"Hmm, SUPER!!!—"
"Hmm, SUPER!!!—"
[Franky in his robot form raised both hands over his head, clasped them behind his back, and pointed diagonally at the sky, "Hmm~~~ SUPER!!!—"]
[Usopp, Chopper, and Brook simultaneously mimicked Franky's pose...]
"He can actually directly transform into a war robot...???"
[Vegapunk was also greatly surprised.]
He asked, "Does he have any other ridiculously strong abilities or something?"
[Franky immediately responded: "Yes! But I can't use it due to energy issues!!! My cola power can't drive it~~~ Right now, in this form, I can only perform some physical actions."]
[Zoro slightly shrugged: "Uh... then isn't he just a giant made of iron armor~~~"]
[Indeed... he still needs 'Mother Flame' as energy.]
Vegapunk stroked his chin, then his face broke into a smile. "Once the second Mother Flame is manufactured, you can let him eat it and try it out! Who knows, he might be able to fully activate this robot warrior!!!"
[Luffy nodded: "Hmm, that's not urgent. Let's go to the fusion reactor! That's something the World Government desperately wants. Let Franky eat it as soon as possible!"]
"Alright, follow me!"
[Vegapunk led the Straw Hat Pirates and Joelle Bonney to the entrance below the dome. He placed his hand on the identity verification panel beside the door~~~]
"Thump!!!"
[A large red cross blocked everyone from the door~~~]
"Huh?!"
[Just then, Luffy's brow furrowed!!!]
[Because four clear and unparalleled killing intents suddenly arrived...!!!]
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