Chapter 806: Vegapunk
When they realized that a major problem had occurred, the Celestial Dragons immediately panicked.
They had no idea how the battle on Amazon Lily had actually gone, but the fact that their ancestor could no longer be contacted was obvious. Although Uranus was unharmed, it had become a foregone conclusion that it would not return.
Faced with this situation, the Celestial Dragons, amidst their panic, continuously cursed Ian!
No one had anticipated that Ian could appear so quickly on Amazon Lily. According to the feedback from CP intelligence agents, when Uranus was deployed, Ian was still in the New World, seemingly on guard against the already assembled Beast Pirates. But who would have thought that Ian could travel from such a distant place in the New World to the other side of the Red Line in just two hours?
The damage Ian had inflicted on the Celestial Dragons was already countless. To say they hated him to the bone would be an understatement. Originally, according to the plan, after dealing with the alliance of the Beast Pirates, Blackbeard Pirates, and Golden Lion Pirates, the Celestial Dragons would have asked their ancestor to deploy once more to go to the New World and eliminate Ian and his Dragon Hunter Pirates. But now, Ian had struck first instead!
Their most important trump card had gone awry because of Ian. The Celestial Dragons now wished they could devour Ian alive. They used the most venomous language to curse him, thinking that if they could capture Ian, they would surely make him a slave to all Celestial Dragons, forcing him to endure the most horrific tortures in the world.
However, despite their curses, the Celestial Dragons couldn't help but feel a deep unease in their hearts.
Finally, several family heads of the Celestial Dragons stepped forward to calm the crowd, shouting loudly: "Don't panic! Everyone, don't panic!"
After the attending Celestial Dragons quieted down, they discussed among themselves: "Now we must prepare for the worst-case scenario—that the ancestor is dead and the Guide Instrument has been destroyed. But... have you forgotten? We anticipated this situation many years ago and have already made countermeasures, haven't we?"
Reminded by this, the attending Celestial Dragons suddenly came to their senses and excitedly exclaimed: "That's right! We still have Vegapunk!"
Indeed, the Celestial Dragons themselves understood that their trump card, Uranus, might encounter unexpected situations. To prevent this, under their manipulation, they had orchestrated numerous actions through the World Government and the Marines.
Through the World Government, they captured and eliminated everyone worldwide who studied ancient history, to prevent the reappearance of the other two Ancient Weapons, which would become Uranus's greatest enemies. On the Marine side, they had once tried to have the Marines trade the Surgery Fruit with pirates, and even captured Vegapunk through the Marines, making him serve the Celestial Dragons.
Once Vegapunk fell into the hands of the World Government, it was equivalent to falling into the hands of the Celestial Dragons. Under the Celestial Dragons' orders, Vegapunk's research had almost always been related to Uranus. Vegapunk's study of Lineage Factor led the Celestial Dragons to conceive of creating an eternal life form to replace and control Uranus in case their ancestor met with misfortune. As for Vegapunk's research on Artificial Devil Fruits, the Celestial Dragons actually intended to use it to create a new Uranus...
It could be said that over the years, keeping Vegapunk under control was one of the Celestial Dragons' most proud moves.
Because of Vegapunk's genius abilities, the Celestial Dragons had also had him study Uranus for a period of time. Now, even if the Guide Instrument was destroyed, the Celestial Dragons believed Vegapunk could create a new one!
Thinking of Vegapunk, the Celestial Dragons finally felt a bit more at ease.
"That's right, have Vegapunk create a new Guide Instrument to summon Uranus back first!" proposed one Celestial Dragon family head. "As long as we have Uranus in hand, no one can be our opponent!"
"But who knows how that damned bastard Ian killed the ancestor and destroyed the instrument!" said another Celestial Dragon family head. "As long as he's alive, the instrument could still be destroyed!"
"Then have Vegapunk make several more instruments!" a Celestial Dragon slammed the table hatefully. "Let's see how many times he can destroy them!"
"What about the controller?" someone else asked. "Even if we summon Uranus back, without a controller, this Ancient Weapon is just a decoration."
"Hmph, have you forgotten about the Pacifistas?" a Celestial Dragon family head sneered. "Those mindless artificial weapons are precisely the ideal controllers, aren't they? As long as Vegapunk sets the program, they will faithfully execute our orders. Although they won't last long under Uranus's power before being destroyed, they can make up for it with numbers. Isn't that much better than the Kaido from the old artificial Uranus plan?"
"Hmm, that makes sense!" The Celestial Dragons nodded in agreement, but still said: "However, we must also guard against that old man Vegapunk. It would be disastrous if he tampered with the Pacifistas. The Pacifistas used to control Uranus must have self-destruct devices installed inside them, and we must hold the controls!"
"This proposal is good. That old man Vegapunk appears obedient on the surface, but I always feel he's not on the same page as us!" a Celestial Dragon snorted disdainfully. "Several of his projects have repeatedly failed. I've long suspected him. A lowly slave race is always a slave race; we must guard against him possibly rebelling..."
"Very well, it's decided!" a Celestial Dragon family head made the final call. "Now, dispatch CP members to handle these matters, but choose those who are trustworthy. In short, the fact that Uranus has slipped out of our control must not be known to the Five Elders for now. Although our interests have always been aligned with theirs, who knows if they might have heretical thoughts upon learning of this? Until the new Guide Instrument is created, we must strictly seal off the news. Tell the Five Elders that Uranus has already returned..."
Thus, after the meeting ended, the CP intelligence agents secretly controlled by the Celestial Dragons began to act. Although the CP intelligence organization was nominally under the World Government's control, in reality, the vast majority was held in the hands of the Celestial Dragons. They executed the Celestial Dragons' orders even more thoroughly than those of the World Government, always being called the Celestial Dragons' strongest shield. Even the Five Elders could do nothing about it.
Now, they were ordered to secretly transfer Vegapunk from the Marine Science Unit, having him first create a new Guide Instrument...
....................
In the New World, on an island unreachable by Log Pose, security was tight. The island was perpetually shrouded in mist, obscuring everything on it. This was the secret research institute of the Marine Science Unit.
After the massive explosion at the Punk Hazard research institute due to Caesar, the Marine's chief scientist, Dr. Vegapunk, had been transferred to this island to continue his research.
And on the second day after Uranus was deployed, a ship appeared on this secret research base island. Dozens of CP0 intelligence agents, wearing strange masks, landed on the island.
They produced a secret directive from the World Government, which passed the inspection of the island's guards. However, the order was not actually issued by the World Government but by the Celestial Dragons. These dozens of CP0 intelligence agents entered the research institute hidden within the island's mountains and soon found Vegapunk, who was still working inside.
Dr. Vegapunk, hailed as the most genius and intelligent person in the world, had always been hidden by the World Government and the Marines. No one had ever seen his true face.
But in fact, Vegapunk looked like an ordinary person. He had a tall, lean figure and wore a white lab coat, the symbol of his identity as a scientist. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing his powerful hands. Under the lab coat, he wore a striped T-shirt he liked and a pair of gray trousers.
However, Vegapunk always wore a fluffy fur hat on his head. This fur hat left a ring of white fluff on his face, complementing the white beard on his chin and lips.
Vegapunk's hometown, Future Country Baldimore, was always a winter island with freezing weather. Vegapunk had long developed the habit of wearing thick winter clothes. But now, in the research institute, he couldn't wear those winter clothes, so he ended up keeping this winter hat on his head.
"Dr. Vegapunk, please come with us!"
When the CP0 members conveyed the order to Vegapunk, he lowered his head and glanced at Bartholomew Kuma lying on the operating table in front of him.
Pushing up his glasses, Vegapunk's eyes flickered. He looked up at the CP0 agents and said: "Very well, since it's an order from the World Government, I'll go with you. But what about the research instruments I need?"
The leading CP0 member replied: "Doctor, don't worry. Any instruments you need will be transferred along with you!"
"Then fine!" Vegapunk nodded, pointing to Bartholomew Kuma on the operating table. "Take the PX0 Pacifista along as well. It might come in handy..."
The CP intelligence agents suspected nothing and nodded in agreement.
But what they didn't know was that upon hearing Vegapunk's words, Bartholomew Kuma's body emitted a faint beeping sound. A long-dormant command was finally activated at that moment...