The Grand Line, Karakuri Island.
As a winter island, Karakuri was blanketed in snow year-round. Animals road with thick fur coats, and the island’s residents bundled up in heavy pelts to fend off the biting cold.
The harsh environnt kept the island from flourishing, and its reputation as a hub of innovation was still a distant dream—until a kid nad Vegapunk ca along.
This pint-sized genius was obsessed with tinkering and studying everything around him. To bolster the island’s defenses and workforce, he invented semi-chanized animals. Under his control, these creatures could fend off pirates, clear land, quarry stone, or aid in hunting with ease.
Determined to improve life for Karakuri’s people, Vegapunk began designing a massive island-wide heating furnace, hoping to tap geothermal energy to thaw the relentless chill.
But funding was a constant roadblock. Rare materials and parts were hard to co by, and even his brilliant mind couldn’t conjure them from thin air. The project stalled, eventually halted by the island’s leaders.
It was just too expensive. Karakuri’s budget couldn’t handle it, and the idea of using tech to ta the Grand Line’s wild weather? Only soone like Vegapunk would dare dream that big.
If this wasn’t his hotown, Vegapunk might’ve ditched the resource-scarce, poorly equipped winter island long ago. But his heart was set on making Karakuri better, and he kept brainstorming ways to do it.
His inventions—gadgets, traps, and weapons—kickstarted trade, bringing in a steady stream of Belly. Impressed, the island’s leaders even funded a dedicated lab for their young prodigy.
Still, Vegapunk couldn’t let go of his heating furnace dream. Without it, Karakuri would never truly thrive.
The leaders, though, weren’t keen on sinking more funds into a costly, ti-consuming project with no guaranteed payoff. They pushed him to focus on marketable gadgets and weapons instead.
Inside his lab, Vegapunk glanced at the assistants assigned by the island’s brass. They were obedient, sure, but spineless—lacking vision or creativity.
Their job was simple: turn his blueprints into functional products for the Future Kingdom’s markets. They weren’t inventors, just cogs in his machine.
"I wish I could recruit so real talent," Vegapunk sighed. "People with wild ideas, bold enough to think outside the box. Scientists who’d spark a brainstorm and push my limits!"
He craved intellectual equals to challenge his ideas and broaden his perspective. Right now, his worldview felt too narrow.
Ever since eating that strange, patterned fruit, life had beco almost too easy. Knowledge poured into his mind effortlessly. After digging through books, he realized he’d eaten a Devil Fruit—one that supercharged his intellect.
He dubbed it the Brain-Brain Fruit, or maybe the Wisdom Fruit.
Thanks to its power, he’d devoured every book he could get his hands on, mastering countless fields. At just 13, he was practically a polymath.
But money, materials, and truly original ideas were still out of reach. His youth and limited exposure held him back from groundbreaking creations.
Genius, he knew, was 99% effort and 1% inspiration—but that 1% was everything. It was the leap from zero to one.
Before the lightbulb, who’d have guessed a filant could glow with electricity? Before his inventions, who’d imagined animals could be chanized?
Vegapunk resolved to set sail once he was older, to roam the world and soak up its knowledge. He’d read every book, recruit brilliant minds, and keep inventing to change the world.
And, of course, transform Karakuri into a spring island—a place where life could flourish, not just survive.
Trade caravans brought him a steady trickle of books from beyond the island, but it wasn’t enough. His learning speed outpaced their deliveries.
The Kingdom had little contact with the Four Seas, but rumors spoke of Ohara in the West Blue, ho to the world’s greatest scholars and the Tree of Knowledge, a library bursting with books.
Once he ca of age, Vegapunk planned to head straight for Ohara, diving headfirst into that ocean of wisdom.
He was also fascinated by Devil Fruits, the mysterious sources of supernatural abilities. But he didn’t have a single one to study, and the island’s leaders would never hand over sothing worth over a hundred million Belly for him to "waste" on experints.
It was frustrating. No matter how smart he was, without funds, materials, or backing, he was a chef without ingredients.
For now, Vegapunk was just a local celebrity in Karakuri, a rising star in the Kingdom. He hadn’t yet caught the World Governnt’s eye.
That would co later, when his discovery of the "Lineage Factor" would stun the world, branding him a scientist 500 years ahead of his ti—and landing him in the World Governnt’s clutches.
...
Karakuri’s growing fa as a gadget hub made it a magnet for the Economic News Agency’s spies. They’d already slipped a Log Pose back to their bosses, pointing straight to the island.
Brook’s Golden Ark was sailing toward Karakuri, guided by that Log Pose, eager to snatch up the budding scientist before anyone else could.
"Brook, is this Vegapunk kid really as incredible as you say?" Silva, the sniper with a knack for tinkering, asked. "Future’s greatest scientist, huh?"
Shipwright Tom, equally curious, leaned in. A genius like Vegapunk could be a ga-changer for their crafts.
The crew’s four main fighters—less interested in tech—cared more about strength. They were still stinging from Brook’s failure to learn Conqueror’s Haki infusion from Vesper.
For now, they focused on honing their Ryuo Haki and Devil Fruit powers. According to intel, only three overlords—Rocks, Vesper, and the Ice Demon—had ever displayed Conqueror’s infusion.
Even Brook was stumped on where to find training for it, unsure if the fighters’ Conqueror’s Haki was strong enough to handle infusion yet.
"Vegapunk’s the real deal," Brook said, his skeletal grin unwavering. "We need him on our crew, even if we have to drag him aboard!"
Brook admired Vegapunk’s genius but feared it. A man who could single-handedly propel the One Piece world’s technology forward was too dangerous to leave unchecked. If they couldn’t recruit him, they’d have to take him out.
The World Governnt’s vast resources paired with Vegapunk’s brain would be a nightmare. But if the Hell Pirates beca the seas’ overlords, their resources wouldn’t be far behind!
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188 Chapters on p@treon/tambeerg
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