One Piece: The Devil Fruit Collector-Chapter 275: True Purpose, Hunting the Five Elders?
Chapter 275: True Purpose — Hunting the Five Elders?
Egghead Island, Labophase.
The guards previously responsible for monitoring and detaining Vegapunk had, without exception, all fallen to the ground.
"Thank you for your hard work, Kuma. Hiding nearby for so many days must have been exhausting, right?"
Vegapunk’s voice came through.
And just as he said — Kuma stood in front of him, "repelling" away the research equipment and data books one by one.
"I promised you I would personally come to pick you up."
Kuma spoke casually. "Moreover, compared to me, Lord Hebi is taking a much greater risk."
Hearing this, Vegapunk’s expression turned serious.
"Indeed."
Due to being monitored recently, he didn’t know the full picture of the plan — he only knew that today was the day Kuma would come to extract him, after he had passed the message previously.
But with his intellect, he could clearly guess the general outline.
"When the traces of The Zodiac are discovered and Saturn happens to be nearby, he will inevitably choose to go there."
"Most of the guards will also set off for Instein Island, and the defense of the entire Egghead Island will drop to its lowest."
This was exactly what had just happened.
The moment Saturn learned that The Zodiac had appeared on Instein Island, he decisively chose to leave. And while many guards followed him, the originally heavily defended Egghead Island experienced a brief gap.
"This way, not only can I escape, but we can even take everything on Egghead Island with us — without worrying about the World Government restarting the experiments using the equipment."
"Whether it’s the design or the execution, it’s a very well-crafted plan."
"Next, we just need to leave and then notify Lord Hebi to evacuate... Are you going to repel this away too?"
While exclaiming in admiration, he noticed that Kuma had already arrived beside the giant ancient robot, Emeth.
"Yes — Lord Hitsuji said that the Boss promised Joy Boy to protect it."
Kuma nodded.
"It and you will be temporarily sent to Neverland, and after a while, you’ll be taken to headquarters..."
"Wait — what?"
Vegapunk was stunned.
"Headquarters?! The Zodiac’s headquarters?!"
With his intellect, he instantly realized what Kuma’s words meant.
"There actually is a headquarters... Where is it? A Sky Island? Or an island hidden by some ability?"
Vegapunk found it genuinely hard to believe. He had, of course, considered whether The Zodiac might have a headquarters. But he truly couldn’t imagine where such a mysterious organization had hidden over the long years without ever being discovered.
To put it bluntly, Vegapunk felt that if The Zodiac’s headquarters truly existed, its level of mystery would likely be second only to Laugh Tale across the entire sea.
But right after asking, he caught another meaning in Kuma’s words.
"What do you mean by sending me and Emeth to Neverland... What about you?"
"I have another mission. I need to make a trip to Instein Island."
Kuma wouldn’t hide anything from his best friend.
"Instein Island?"
Vegapunk was stunned again.
"Are you going to assist Lord Hebi in retreating? No... that’s not right!"
He analyzed instinctively, but realized something was off almost immediately.
"If it were just to assist in retreating, the ability of Lord Nezumi among The Zodiac is clearly more suitable... wait..."
As he muttered, he seemed to arrive at a certain possibility — and his long tongue instantly tensed up.
"You’re not... you guys... could it be..."
He had already guessed it. That unbelievable possibility.
He had originally always assumed that Hebi proactively exposing his identity was merely to buy time and opportunity for Kuma and himself to escape.
But thinking about it carefully—
"If it were still just for retreating, there would be absolutely no need to carry out the plan on the exact day Saturn arrived at Egghead Island..."
Everything was actually very clear.
Only before this, even Vegapunk’s brain would never have thought in that direction.
Because to the world, it was a truly unthinkable idea.
"Yes."
But Kuma just nodded calmly.
He clearly didn’t feel that what he was doing was so-called "rebellious." The Buccaneer race was never bound by the world.
More precisely — what he was going to do next was something he had long anticipated, but never had the opportunity to truly execute.
"Lord Hebi never planned to retreat."
He said softly.
"He told me — The Zodiac’s operation this time is not only to take you away, but even more so to..."
"Hunt the Five Elders."
As the words fell, Vegapunk’s frown deepened.
"Are you confident?"
"You must know — after communicating with your Boss, according to my analysis, the immortality of the Five Elders and that so-called Abyssal Sea Mark are highly likely not Devil Fruit abilities, but..."
He seemed to want to say more.
But Kuma just smiled.
"Vegapunk, I don’t know about those things you mentioned."
"However... I believe in The Zodiac."
"See you later."
He gently patted Vegapunk.
And after Vegapunk’s figure disappeared, he raised his hand and patted the air.
Accompanied by a crisp sound, the entire Labophase of Egghead Island returned to emptiness.
Instein Island.
Beside Saturn, who had descended upon the ruins—
"A— A Five Elder actually came in person..."
The CP0 agents who had been stalling for time were completely shocked.
As agents directly under the Five Elders’ orders, they could recognize from the attire and appearance — this existence before them was one of the Five Elders, the Warrior God of Science and Defense.
But this monstrous posture...
"Is... is it a Fruit ability? The Five Elders are actually ability users too?"
Even the CP0 agents had clearly never heard of such a thing.
But in the next moment—
"Hm?"
They saw Saturn’s gaze turn to them.
And as those beast-like pupils settled on their faces—
"Bugs. Who allowed you to look directly at this old man?"
The CP0 agents instantly realized they had violated a taboo.
According to CP0’s rules, they were not permitted to look directly at the Five Elders.
It was just that Saturn’s form was so alien that they hadn’t recognized the monster as Saturn at first — which was why they had instinctively glanced.
But now—
"W-Wait! Lord Saturn, we stalled this guy for—"
They hurried to explain.
It was already too late.
Bang!
Their heads shattered in an instant.
Blood spilled. Headless corpses fell to the ground.
At the same time, Saturn’s gaze swept across the surrounding sea.
"Fierce Eye: Glare!"
Wherever his gaze reached — whether it was the news ships of the World Economic Journal or other vessels — every Den Den Mushi aboard exploded and shattered in an instant.
The people on those ships barely had time to process what had happened before—
"Fierce Eye: Suppression."
Saturn’s gaze swept the area again, and everyone made a horrifying discovery.
"C-Can’t move..."
Perhaps due to the distance, they were not directly killed by Saturn’s power. But their bodies seemed pinned by something, unable to move a single muscle. Even the ships they rode on were frozen in place.
"Is it that monster’s ability?!"
And even though the live broadcast signal had been cut, the commentator still diligently voiced his guess.
Yes — besides the CP0 agents, most people couldn’t possibly recognize the Five Elders. So in their eyes, what had appeared on the island was a giant monster that had used some ability to immobilize them.
"Just now, CP0 looked very respectful toward him and didn’t attack immediately... So is this monster also someone from the Government? But then why did he kill the CPs?"
They had noticed the CP0s’ reaction, and were utterly baffled.
This kind of monster was on the Government’s side?
But Saturn had no interest in the thoughts of surrounding bugs.
"Quite a few pests... I’ll deal with them later."
He made a calm judgment.
Then he finally turned his gaze to Hebi.
"Truly wonderful... good news comes in pairs."
And he meant it sincerely.
For Saturn, everything today felt very nearly perfect.
First, Vegapunk’s research on the "Eternal Flame" was nearing completion.
And now, right near Egghead Island — where he rarely descended to the lower realm — another member of The Zodiac had appeared.
Moreover, he could feel Hebi’s weakness. The man was indeed heavily injured, liable to die at any moment.
For Saturn, this was a stroke of fortune he couldn’t have dreamed of.
Of course, as a scientist, Saturn possessed necessary caution. Even in this seemingly certain victory, he would not attack rashly.
So—
Tap!
After communicating with his colleagues mentally for a moment, he gently raised the walking stick in his hand and tapped the ground.
VMMM!
Malice identical to Saturn’s own descent surged forth, along with four giant magic circles that appeared out of thin air.
[Detected "Source Energy of Lineage Factor" Creation — Abyssal Sea Contract · Abyssal Magic Circle · Long-Distance Teleportation]
[The contract holder can use another holder as a "coordinate" to perform long-distance teleportation]
And in the center of those four magic circles—
"Saturn, you’ve rendered a great merit."
"Although having all of us descend at once will consume a considerable amount of that Lord’s power, it is worth it to ensure a successful capture."
"What a coincidence, to happen at such a time."
"Capture him and hand him over to that Lord."
Four voices. Four monstrous figures slowly manifested.
There was a monster with the body of a horse and the head of a human, resembling a skeleton — the Warrior God of Finance, Saint Nusjuro. The Evil Phantom Beast: Bakotsu.
There was a giant worm growing sharp mouthparts — the Warrior God of Agriculture, Saint Ju Peter. The Evil Phantom Beast: Sandworm.
There was a giant boar bearing massive tusks — the Warrior God of Justice, Saint Warcury. The Evil Phantom Beast: Fengxi.
There was a giant evil bird with a hideous snake body — the Warrior God of Environment, Saint Marcus Mars. The Evil Phantom Beast: Itsumade.
Yes.
The reason Saturn killed the CP0s and destroyed the surrounding Den Den Mushi was not merely because they had looked directly at his face.
The more crucial reason was that he didn’t want the world to witness what was going to happen next.
After all — the fewer people who knew that the highest authority in the world was "five monsters," the better.
(End of Chapter)
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