Yes.
In the blink of an eye, the "Hitsuji" standing before Vegapunk and Kuma was replaced by someone else.
It was the mysterious figure whose name now echoed across the seas more than anyone else's.
The 'Star Lord'.
At that moment, it was as if a god had descended out of the void through Hitsuji's body. Even Kuma, who was almost always calm and composed, couldn't hide the shock on his face.
"T-This... could this be...?"
Vegapunk's reaction was even more dramatic. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and his enormous head visibly began turning red...his brain had clearly overloaded.
"The Abyss..." He pointed at the newly appeared Star Lord in disbelief, about to say something...
"Buru Buru!" "Buru Buru!"
...but the ringing of a Den Den Mushi on Kuma interrupted him.
Kuma immediately snapped back to his senses, his expression turning serious.
As mentioned before, to make sure this secret meeting with the Twelve Zodiac remained hidden, Vegapunk had made preparations in advance. Almost all surveillance Den Den Mushi and monitoring equipment on Egghead Island had been rendered useless.
Even the Monitoring Den Den Mushi would only display pre-recorded fake footage. Of course, cutting off all communication entirely would have been suspicious in itself.
So...
"It's the World Government's special Den Den Mushi." Kuma took out the snail. Its shell bore the World Government's crossed-star emblem. His voice grew heavy.
Had the Government somehow discovered today's meeting after all? Even someone as steady as Kuma couldn't help feeling uneasy at the thought.
"Don't panic." Vegapunk, who had finally managed to collect himself, shook his head. "If they'd really found out, they wouldn't be calling. They'd be sending a Government fleet and a Marine Admiral. And Sentomaru would have warned me beforehand no matter what. He's at SSG Headquarters these days, so he would've heard about it first."
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Vegapunk continued, "If the Government is contacting you now, it's probably about your appointment as one of the Warlords."
After hearing that, Kuma nodded thoughtfully. "In that case, I'll step out for a while to avoid exposing this meeting."
He rose to his feet. He first looked over at Bonney before turning to face Star Lord. Kuma didn't understand the science, but he understood what Vegapunk had just said. As long as Star Lord agreed to cooperate and made a breakthrough in researching the true nature of the Lineage Factor, Bonney's illness could be cured.
"Once the two of you have finished discussing things, just let me know the result. Whatever conditions Lord Star Lord has, I'll accept them," he spoke quietly.
Then he removed one of his gloves again.
'Buzz!'
The next instant, his figure flashed away and disappeared.
"..." Watching Kuma vanish, Vegapunk opened his mouth as if to say something. "That guy really..."
In the end, though, he simply shook his head without finishing the sentence. He knew there was no point in Kuma staying. Just as Kuma himself had said, if it meant saving Bonney, then no matter what Star Lord asked for, he would agree without hesitation.
But at this moment, Vegapunk had no spare attention to think about Kuma. He turned back toward Star Lord and finally finished the question that had been interrupted.
"Lord Star Lord." His voice was unusually strained. "The way you've descended here through Lord Hitsuji's body... could that ability be... the Abyssal Sea Contract?!"
By the time he said those words, his voice was almost hoarse.
Behind the Star Lord mask, Roy couldn't help raising an eyebrow. A trace of surprise flashed across his eyes.
Naturally, the reason Roy had appeared here wasn't the Abyssal Sea Contract.
'[Slice-Slice Fruit Lv.4 - The user can switch places with any Slice Clone at any time.]'
That's right. What he had actually used was this Level 4 ability of the Slice-Slice Fruit.
The "Hitsuji" at this moment, meanwhile, was actually back in the Marine Detention Unit dormitory at Marine Headquarters.
It wasn't surprising that Vegapunk couldn't figure it out. No matter how brilliant he was, there was no way he could guess the existence of the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, much less that every member of the Twelve Zodiac was actually a Slice Clone of the same person.
What did surprise Roy, however, was that Vegapunk knew the term "Abyssal Sea Contract." That alone revealed quite a lot.
So...
"The Abyssal Sea Contract is the power that belongs to 'Imu'," Star Lord spoke calmly. "As for the one between the Constellations and me under my command... that's the 'Stars Contract'."
He was clearly very experienced when it came to making things up on the spot.
"The... Stars Contract!?"
Roy watched Vegapunk's eyes widen with shock and uncertainty. But almost immediately, the genius scientist caught another keyword in Star-Lord's explanation.
"Imu?" The name was completely unfamiliar to him. Yet from Star Lord's words, Vegapunk felt as though he had just realized something important.
Then he heard Star Lord continue meaningfully, "You've already sensed that 'it' exists, haven't you? Imu, the master of the Empty Throne, the true ruler of the world, and the one who brought about the Void Century."
Vegapunk froze.
"Imu..." He quietly repeated the name to himself.
Even a scientist said to be five hundred years ahead of the rest of the world could feel the overwhelming weight carried by that single name.
"I never imagined... that 'it' was actually a living being with its own consciousness."
That was because, without the World Government's knowledge, Vegapunk had secretly been researching ancient history for a very long time. After Ohara was burned to the ground, he had visited its ruins to pay his respects.
Later, after learning that the surviving Saul had taken Ohara's books to Elbaf with the help of the Giants, Vegapunk had traveled there as well and read through every last one of them.
From those records, he had managed to glimpse fragments of the truth behind the Void Century and the world itself.
For example, he had discovered that although the Five Elders were publicly presented as members of the current generation of Celestial Dragons, much of the historical information about them was fabricated. Evidence suggested that they had already existed for an incredibly long time.
Vegapunk's original theory was that the Five Elders had somehow obtained a mysterious power in the distant past, one that granted them extraordinary lifespans and the authority to rule the world. But Star Lord's words made him realize a far more terrifying possibility.
The Five Elders, the world's highest authority, had not obtained some mysterious power. That 'power' was itself a living, conscious being. The so-called highest authority in the world was merely an extension of that being's will. The Empty Throne of Mary Geoise truly had a master.
And now, he even knew that master's name. Imu.
"If I remember correctly, among the Twenty Kings who founded the World Government, wasn't there a Saint Nerona Imu?" As the user of the Brain-Brain Fruit, Vegapunk instantly recalled that piece of historical knowledge.
But Star Lord gave no answer.
Roy had his own rough guess about Imu's identity. He didn't believe Imu was one of the Twenty Kings who established the World Government. After all, on the mural deep within the Abyss, the Twenty Kings had all been kneeling before the black figure inside the great tree. Still, until he was certain, he had no intention of making unfounded claims.
What Star Lord hadn't expected, though, was...
"I see... If the owner of the Abyssal Sea Contract is a living being with its own consciousness, then everything makes sense." Seeing that Star Lord wasn't going to answer, Vegapunk didn't press the matter. "No... not the Abyssal Sea Contract. The Stars Contract..."
He muttered to himself, staring at Star Lord with eyes that shone brighter and brighter. By the end, Vegapunk's gaze had become almost fanatical.
"I knew I came to the right person. Your research into the Lineage Factor has already reached this level..." He spoke with growing excitement before immediately turning around. "Please, come with me at once! I'll take you to see that... research specimen."
With that, he turned around, practically trembling with anticipation, and hurried toward the lower levels of Egghead. At that moment, he looked less like the world's greatest scientist and more like a young researcher who had only just stepped into a laboratory for the first time.
Vegapunk led Star Lord into the Research Layer, but instead of taking the normal route, he counted his steps before stopping in front of a smooth alloy wall and placing his hand against it. The wall opened silently. After Vegapunk and Star Lord entered, it closed behind them once more. Beyond it was a massive passageway leading deep underground.
"Scanning fingerprints."
"Verifying retinal pattern."
"Verifying voiceprint and blood sample."
"Monitoring heart rate. Checking for signs of coercion."
Every few steps, another automated announcement echoed through the corridor.
"This is the 'Silent Corridor, ' a special isolation zone within the Research Layer," Vegapunk explained quietly. "Every security measure I could think of is here. Unless it detects my biological signature, even if one of the Five Elders came here, the alarm would activate immediately to protect what's inside."
As they spoke, they soon reached the end of the passage. There stood a gigantic door with no visible seams or cracks. Star-Lord recognized it immediately. It was made from an extremely high-purity block of Seastone.
Then...
"Haa..." Vegapunk took a deep breath. He pressed his enormous forehead against a recessed panel in the door. The instant the Seastone took effect, his body went limp with weakness.
Then...
"15156413154..." Strings of numbers began flashing across the surface of the door, too many digits to count. Vegapunk stared at them, apparently committing them to memory.
Finally...
"43149..." In a weakened voice, he recited an incredibly long sequence of numbers to the door.
'Click.'
The door finally opened.
Star Lord fell silent. He didn't fully understand what had just happened, but one thing was obvious. Whatever authentication process Vegapunk had just completed was probably something only the user of the Brain-Brain Fruit could accomplish.
Still, that wasn't important. Because Star Lord's attention had already shifted to what lay beyond the door.
It was a laboratory. The room contained nothing except a collection of highly advanced scientific equipment and, at its center, a large cylindrical containment chamber. Inside the chamber sat a single box.
"That's it." Vegapunk's voice carried an indescribable sense of obsession. It wasn't an obsession with power. Nor with authority, fame, or even the box itself.
What captivated him... was the unknown.
"About thirty years ago, when I was still conducting independent research at MADS... back then, the Government hadn't started targeting my colleagues and me yet." As he walked over to the cylinder and entered the password, Vegapunk explained quietly, his tone carrying a hint of nostalgia.
As he'd mentioned before, he and several of the world's greatest scientists had once belonged to the research organization known as MADS.
Funded by Du Feld...the "God of Fortune" and one of the emperors of the Underworld… the organization never lacked research funding. Its scientists enjoyed complete freedom in their work, and MADS was famous throughout the seas at the time.
"Back then, we were obsessed with studying Devil Fruits and traveled all over the world conducting investigations. In the ruins of an ancient kingdom that the World Government had destroyed under the charge of 'threatening world peace,' we found something." Vegapunk paused. "Most of what we discovered was extremely valuable... But the most precious items were these."
He carefully removed the box, handling it as though it were the greatest treasure in the world, then slowly opened it. The contents were finally revealed.
Inside lay a long, twisted object. It was only about half an arm's length, its shape gnarled and knotted.
Star Lord recognized it instantly.
It was... a section of a tree root.
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.p*treon.com/darkshadow6395