"What kind of 'double agent' nonsense is that?"
Doflamingo muttered instinctively.
"So, you're saying Stussy was a spy you planted inside the World Government?"
"That's right!"
"Then Stussy is yours now."
Doflamingo said quietly.
To him, Stussy was just a living compass for Egghead.
Originally, he had planned to use her up and then discard her as a breeding machine, maybe even bond over that idea with the strongest man in the world.
But now, handing her over to Vegapunk didn't bother him in the slightest. Women were always replaceable.
Besides, now that Vegapunk was in his grasp—Stussy wouldn't be escaping anywhere.
"Can I see Stussy and Kuma now?"
Vegapunk asked.
"Don't rush. They're alive. First, help me solve my problem."
After calming Vegapunk down, Doflamingo continued with his questioning.
"First—tell me, can that adorable... I mean, Kaido's Devil Fruit, still be replicated?!"
"Ah! So that black dragon was really the result of eating that Fruit!"
Vegapunk's expression shifted from excitement to regret.
"That Fruit was the result of countless extractions of Kaido's lineage factor, not to mention the immense effort I poured into making it."
"But... I was never able to recreate a second Fruit with the exact same composition."
"You couldn't replicate it?!"
Doflamingo frowned. He could tell Vegapunk wasn't lying.
And this—this was exactly what soured his mood. He had risked incurring the full wrath of the World Government just to capture Vegapunk—for the sole purpose of mass-producing adorable Kaidos.
And now he was being told it couldn't be done?
Was it a limitation of Devil Fruits—or a flaw in human desire?
Looked like Yamato's enhancement would still have to rely on the risky fusion of Kaido's lineage factor...
"What about the Pacifistas?"
As for the Seraphim—Doflamingo was very interested in them, but didn't ask. There probably weren't even blueprints for those yet.
"Huh? How do you..."
Vegapunk began to ask instinctively but caught himself mid-sentence and gave a direct answer instead.
"Pacifistas—lack proper load-bearing materials. I'm still searching for suitable replacements."
"What about this?"
Doflamingo tossed him a square block of alloy.
Based on Judge's recent feedback from tests on Wapometal,
Doflamingo was convinced that this material was likely the key component used in Pacifista production in the original timeline.
"What is this?"
Vegapunk caught the alloy cube. His scientist's intuition immediately sensed something extraordinary.
It looked vaguely similar to the materials Judge had taken with him earlier.
He pulled out a handgun and fired a round directly into the alloy.
Bang!
The metal dented ever so slightly—then, just a moment later, the dent vanished.
"Metal?!"
Vegapunk's eyes lit up with wild excitement.
"With this, the Pacifistas could be rolling off the line in no time!"
"Excellent."
Doflamingo nodded in satisfaction, his expression finally relaxing a bit.
At last, some good news. Mass-producing Pacifistas.
They would render low-tier cannon-fodder tactics obsolete.
Productivity—that was the future.
Suddenly, a screen on one of the monitors caught Doflamingo's attention.
It showed what looked like a junk disposal zone on Egghead.
Piles of discarded machinery lay in heaps, but one object stood out.
A massive iron robot, several times the size of a giant, lay sprawled in the jungle.
Covered in green moss and rust—evidence of age—its waist and abdomen were pierced by a broken weapon.
"You made that thing too?"
Doflamingo pointed at the screen.
"No. It dates back 900 years! Built during the Void Century."
Vegapunk stared at the iron giant, his gaze turning more and more intense.
"Two hundred years ago, it suddenly reactivated and attacked Mary Geoise. No one knows where it came from or why it attacked."
"The World Government defeated it, and I was given the remains to study."
"The Pacifistas were partly inspired by its design."
Doflamingo nodded in understanding. So this thing was from 900 years ago—and eventually ended up in the World Government's possession.
No wonder neither Judge nor Caesar had ever mentioned it during their stay here.
"Can it be replicated?"
Anything capable of actively attacking Mary Geoise—and not getting completely scrapped—must have decent combat power.
"Building it isn't the problem. Powering it is."
"Even with all my technological knowledge, I can't replicate its energy system."
For once, even a genius like Vegapunk looked somewhat defeated.
"There's also the issue of ancient script. Even with the knowledge I gained from Ohara's legacy, I still can't fully decipher it."
"It's hard to imagine what kind of technological glory that era must have possessed!"
Doflamingo nodded in agreement.
After all, both Uranus and Pluton came from the same vanished kingdom. With that kind of tech, nothing would surprise him.
Even though Vegapunk was said to be 500 years ahead of current science, the ancient kingdom existed 900 years ago.
In a world where technological progress depends on archaeology, that's a 400-year gap. Falling short was expected.
Still—energy systems and ancient language issues weren't necessarily unsolvable.
"You might find the energy answer in Pluton. As for the script—the last survivor of Ohara is in my hands."
"?!"
Vegapunk's face was full of shock.
Pluton and Ohara's sole survivor—both in Doflamingo's hands?
Was the World Government completely brain-dead?
After asking a few more critical questions, Doflamingo returned to the ship's cabin.
Business handled. Time to go home and farm the rewards.
As for the drones and workers below Egghead—he'd let Enel handle them. The guy needed to blow off some steam anyway.
...
Time passed.
As one of the World Government's most critical islands, Egghead was naturally under tight surveillance.
News of its sudden silence quickly reached CP0.
Standing before the Gates of Power, Fūzu Fū's legs were shaking uncontrollably.
"What do I do?! Somebody help me! Help me! Please!"
He knew how important Egghead was—too well. And that knowledge only made the fear worse.
He had been in charge of liaison with Egghead. There was no avoiding the blame.
Barely managing to calm his nerves, Fūzu Fū clutched his Den Den Mushi and shuffled into the Room of Authority, trembling with every step.
Moments later—
BOOM!
The gem-studded, luxurious doors exploded outward.
Fūzu Fū shot out like a cannonball, blood spraying through the air, the Den Den Mushi stuck to his head like a lump of dead flesh.
From inside came the enraged roars of the Five Elders.
"Send someone to Egghead! Find out exactly what happened!!! No matter what it takes—bring back Vegapunk!!!"
Vegapunk and the ancient kingdom's legacy—
Those two were losses the World Government could never afford.
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg