Egghead Island stretched out before them, its wide streets bustling with activity. Sephiroth and Bonney strolled casually, exchanging idle chatter. In the distance, a Pacifista of the P-III model emerged, its chest emblazoned with the word "POLICE." The sight made Bonney freeze mid-bite, her eyes widening with recognition. Tears welled up as she dropped her food and sprinted toward the machine. "Dad! It's Bonney..."
The Pacifista turned its head sharply at her voice, its mechanical limbs whirring as it rushed to meet her. "Dad, I miss you so much!" Bonney flung her arms open, ready to embrace the machine she believed held her father's essence. But before she could reach it, a cold, robotic voice cut through the air. "Pirate Jewelry Bonney found, bounty 140,000,000 Berries, immediate apprehension!"
In an instant, a thick, sticky liquid shot from the Pacifista's outstretched hand, wrapping around Bonney before she could react. Trapped in the viscous substance, her body weakened, her adult form shrinking back into that of a little girl. The liquid inflated into a spherical bubble, sealing her inside. She thrashed and punched, but the bubble held firm, unyielding.
The Pacifista extended its arm again, preparing to push the bubble toward Egghead Island's detention center. Sephiroth stepped forward, blocking its path. "Hold on. This pirate is my prisoner. You can't take her. Release her now!"
"Database identity verification passed, Marine Vice Admiral Carl D. Sephiroth..." the Pacifista intoned. "No, I'm a Marine Admiral! Marineford already announced it!" Sephiroth pointed to the rank insignia on his cape, his tone exasperated.
The Pacifista, limited by its simplistic logic, didn't respond verbally but retracted the bubble shield imprisoning Bonney and released her. Its compliance wasn't due to Sephiroth's rank but because he carried an authority chip—a gift from Sengoku—that granted him command over the Pacifistas. Ordinary Marines lacked this privilege; at best, they were exempt from being targeted. If ordered to attack Marines, the Pacifistas would execute the command without hesitation, slaughtering anyone in their path.
Bonney, now restored to her adult form, glared at the retreating Pacifista, her jaw clenched tightly. "Damn Vegapunk," she muttered. "I'm definitely going to settle the score with him."
"What score do you want to settle?" Sephiroth asked, his tone curious.
Bonney remained silent, her gaze fixed on the distance. She couldn't exactly confess to a Marine Admiral that she intended to kill Vegapunk if he refused to restore her father's personality and memories.
Suddenly, a frantic scream pierced the air. "Ah ah ah! Help!!!" An old man clad in a white coat plummeted from the sky, his head adorned with a bizarre apple-tree-branch-like covering and his tongue lolling out. He crashed onto the street with a loud bang, landing just a short distance from Bonney. "Ouch ouch ouch! Did something go wrong with the experimental parameters?" he groaned, clutching his head as he gasped for breath.
Bonney's eyes narrowed, her face twisting with rage. She stepped forward, each word dripping with venom as she spat out his name:
"Ve!...ga!...punk!"
"Bonney! Long time no see. You've grown so much... And Vice Admiral Sephiroth, what an honor. I'm Vegapunk, the genius scientist in charge of this island." The apple-headed old man greeted them with a warm smile.
"You bastard— Wait, what?" Bonney started to demand answers, but stopped short when she saw the strange fruit-shaped covering on his head. "What the hell happened to your head? Last I saw you, it was like a giant lightbulb! Ten meters wide, easy."
Vegapunk chuckled and patted the apple covering. "Ah, yes. It grew too big, so I had to cut it off."
"Cut it off?! Don't talk about something so horrifying like it's a haircut!" Bonney snarled.
Sephiroth tilted his head, intrigued. "Dr. Vegapunk, doesn't removing your head affect your intelligence?"
"Well, yes, a little," Vegapunk admitted. "But what could I do? After I ate the Nomi Nomi no Mi, my brain kept expanding as it absorbed more knowledge. It got to the point where it interfered with daily life—and it's still growing. So I detached my brain and moved it into Egghead Island, creating a data warehouse I call 'Punk Records.' This apple is just a receiver connected to it."
He gestured enthusiastically. "I even made six clones, each embodying different aspects of my personality. The seven of us share experiences and knowledge, which vastly improves research efficiency and lets me tackle multiple projects at once. Imagine—if my brain could link with anyone in the world, it would be like sharing my knowledge with all of humanity. Civilization could advance at an unprecedented rate!"
His eyes gleamed with manic excitement, his face lighting up like a child dreaming of the future.
Sephiroth muttered under his breath, "Sounds like the internet... with Vegapunk's brain as the server."
Bonney clenched her fists, her anger boiling over. "You mad scientist! You'll do anything for your research, won't you? That's why you turned my father into a mindless machine!"
She couldn't hold back any longer. Her body surged with power as she activated the Toshi Toshi no Mi. Her height shot up from 1.7 meters to 3.5, her muscles bulging and her frame shifting from an S-curve to a powerful inverted triangle. With a single yank, she tore a streetlamp out of the ground and swung it through the air, the wind whipping around her.
"Vegapunk! Restore my father's memories, or I'll kill you right now!" she roared.
"Bonney, I understand your anger," Vegapunk stammered, retreating behind Sephiroth. "I'm heartbroken about Kuma too. But I can't restore him right now..."
As he spoke, Vegapunk very submissively hid behind Sephiroth, clearly terrified of facing Bonney's wrath.