The brilliant scientist Dr. Vegapunk has long been renowned in the world of One Piece for his groundbreaking innovations and inventions, which have greatly advanced technology and empowered the World Government’s military forces.
Some of his most notable creations include cyborgs known as Pacifistas, a method for making inanimate objects consume Devil Fruits to gain powers, fully-functioning artificial Devil Fruits, and mysterious humanoid weapons called Seraphim.
Despite Dr. Vegapunk’s invaluable contributions, the World Government now seeks to eliminate him.
This is not entirely surprising given the corrupt nature of the World Government, who will go to extreme lengths to amass power while hiding behind a pretense of justice.
They have no qualms about destroying entire islands and populations that pose a threat. Now, they view even their top scientist as expendable.
Perhaps Dr. Vegapunk’s scientific achievements have simply advanced too far, granting too much knowledge and power beyond the World Government’s control.
Or maybe he knows too many of their secrets. Whatever the exact reasons, the World Government has decided Dr. Vegapunk must be taken out of the picture – even if it means losing their greatest asset.
This demonstrates the ruthless calculus of the World Government, which values no life above its own unchecked ambition. Not even those who have enabled their rise to power are safe.
Secrets, Betrayals, and Clashing Agendas in the World Government
The Straw Hats finally arrived at their destination, only to be attacked by a vicious metallic shark that capsized their ship the Thousand Sunny. They narrowly survived thanks to a mysterious giant robot on the island.
This robot introduced them to someone claiming to be the genius Dr. Vegapunk. However, this was not the real Dr. Vegapunk the Straw Hats knew of, but rather one of his “satellites” – a woman named Lilith the Evil, also known as Punk-02.
It was revealed that the real Dr. Vegapunk had divided himself into multiple personalities and bodies to increase his productivity.
Each of these “satellites” inherited some of his genius intellect and traits. However, Cipher Pol 0 now had orders to eliminate all of the Vegapunk satellites.
The World Government has greatly benefited from the real Dr. Vegapunk’s innovations, which empowered their military might. This includes advanced weapons like the Seraphim and Pacifistas.
There is even speculation he created the island-destroying weapon used by Imu. Despite this, the World Government now wants Vegapunk and his satellites destroyed.
According to CP0, this order may relate to Imu’s weapon. If so, the reasons could be: (1) Vegapunk’s knowledge has become too dangerous, (2) the satellites operate beyond government control, (3) Vegapunk knows too many government secrets, or (4) they want to remove all traces of the ancient weapon’s creation.
Whatever the exact motives, the World Government shows no qualms about sacrificing even its greatest mind for more power.
Dr. Vegapunk’s Perceived Threat
If Dr. Vegapunk did in fact create Im’s devastating weapon, then he likely holds the key to stopping or countering it. He could potentially reproduce the technology or even improve upon it.
This makes Vegapunk extremely dangerous in the World Government’s eyes. Assassinating him may be their attempt to eliminate this threat and risk.
Even if Vegapunk didn’t make the weapon, he likely has critical intel about it that could expose the World Government’s secrets. They have taken extreme measures before to bury dangerous information.
The order to kill Dr. Vegapunk is very surprising for One Piece fans, considering the World Government has greatly benefited from his innovations.
For them to turn against Vegapunk like this, their reasoning must be critical enough to outweigh his valuable contributions.
Based on CP0’s hints, the main fear seems to be that Vegapunk could neutralize Im’s weapon of mass destruction or challenge its power.
If not, then Vegapunk may possess knowledge that could turn the world against the World Government and destroy its reputation.
In either case, the potentially disastrous consequences for the World Government appear to outweigh Dr. Vegapunk’s usefulness to them. Despite enabling much of their military might, Vegapunk has become too much of a liability in their eyes.
This demonstrates the cold, calculated thinking of the World Government, who will readily sacrifice even their greatest ally if needed to maintain power and secrecy.