Egghead Island is about to get scrambled, and the Straw Hats might end up folding a Gorosei like an omelet before all is said and done. That may be the limit on egg puns here, but it’s not the limit on what’s happening in Egghead. The arc has revealed a lot of crucial information and an even more crucial character, so let’s dive into what’s known so far inside One Piece!
Warning that this article contains spoilers through the Egghead Island arc of the manga, currently in chapter 1094 in the manga. So, catch up on Viz or MangaPlus before reading further!
What is Egghead Island?
One of the final islands before the Grand Line, Egghead Island is just one of the three options after Wano. The Straw Hats chose it after losing out on Elbaph to the Kid Pirates, but it’s doubtful the Kid Pirates could have done much good here. Egghead is the home of Vegapunk, the famous Marine scientist who invents everything from unlimited energy to the Pacifista machines and a Devil Fruit copy.
Egghead is also a remnant of the Void Century, and full of lost technology from the time. Not only does it have Void Century tech littered throughout the island, but some end up coming alive partway through the arc. Just one of the many questions leading Vegapunk to his own eventual questioning of what his bosses are hiding. The island is a fully funded research lab by the World Government, which makes the incident to follow even more ridiculous.
Jewelry Bonney
The captain of the Bonney Pirates finally makes an appearance after all this time, last seen in a flashback before the Reverie. She was trying to break into Marijoa at the time, but seems to have been unable to do that when the arc first starts. The Straw Hats find her in a massive water trap just outside of the island, stuck in a huge orb of water rising from the sea. When they take her in, she’s only in the form of an eight-year-old girl, which leads them to not recognize her.
While Bonney’s Devil Fruit doesn’t have a name yet, it’s able to let her control the ages of herself and others. She’s really good with it too, with attacks like Near Death Experience which ages enemies to bones before bringing them back. Bonney proves to be a great ally to the Straw Hats, and she’s after Vegapunk to have him turn her father back to normal. Her father who just happens to be Bartholomew Kuma of the Seven Warlords.
Doctor Vegapunk
The infamous Doctor Vegapunk finally makes his debut in the series, entering with his eccentric ways and Brain-Brain Fruit. Vegapunk is definitely everything he’s made out to be. A brilliant scientist, Vegapunk’s Devil Fruit allows him to take in as much knowledge as he wants, his brain growing infinitely larger as he does. Naturally, there’s a point where it gets a little too large and he has to find something to do about that.
So he creates six other robot bodies to take care of things, splitting his various emotions across them all. Shaka holds good, Lilith is evil, Edison is thinking, Pythagoras is Wisdom, Atlas is violence, and York holds greed. These all report back to Stella, Vegapunk’s main body, which receives everything as a daily upload.
Cipher Pol 0 Arrives
Of course, it’s not a One Piece arc until things go straight to hell when an enemy arrives. That enemy ends up being Cipher Pol 0. Except this time Lucci, Kaku, and Stussy are the main agents on this mission. They make a terrifying team, but there’s something they don’t expect waiting on them at Egghead. They’re sent by the Gorosei in order to assassinate Vegapunk, guilty of studying the Void Century.
Apparently, the World Government has been sending Cipher Pol teams for quite some time. All of them end up going missing on Egghead though, and even Stella doesn’t understand why. Lucci just knows that they have to destroy him, but that doesn’t go nearly as easy as they think it will since the Straw hats are there too.
Devil Fruit Awakening Fight
This finally brings the first showdown between two Devil Fruit Awakenings. Lucci’s Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Jaguar, and Kaku’s Ox-Ox Fruit, Model: Giraffe are both Awakened. The Cipher Pol members are already dangerous as is, but Awakening gives them an entirely new power that is much more deadly than anyone ever knows. Also, Kaku’s Awakening looks incredibly stupid, because it’s a really long giraffe.
Lucci ends up squaring off with Luffy, who shows him the power of Gear Fifth right off the bat. The two battle all over Egghead when suddenly they find out that things aren’t going as any of them planned. Zoro takes on Kaku briefly too, but they do more arguing than fighting despite how much they have in common. Guess Zoro just hates giraffes for some reason.
Vegapunk Betrayal
Everyone quickly finds out just why none of the other Cipher Pol members have seen much. Turns out, York has been betraying everyone in a deal with the Gorosei to become a Celestial Dragon. Things are foiled when York sets the Seraphim after the Straw Hats and Cipher Pol indiscriminately, which leads to the strangest team-up nobody ever expects.
After Shaka and Pythagoras are killed in the crossfire, everyone flees to the biosphere. It’s here where they learn just how screwed everything is. And that the Navy has reinforcements inbound toward Egghead Island. As if that’s not enough, they now have the Seraphim after them, younger clones of the Seven Warlords genetically spliced with the DNA of Lunarians. They’re terrifying, and the Straw Hats end up going against three, S-Hawk, S-Shark, and S-Snake, clones of Hawkeye Mihawk, Jimbei, and Boa Hancock respectively.
The Seraphim
Seraphim are exponentially more dangerous than the Pacifistas that precede them. These are taken from clones of every Warlord of the Sea, spliced with DNA from King when he was captured. This means they get the incredible resistance to damage, and increased speed, stamina, and strength of Lunarians. They also manage to inherit the Devil Fruit factors of their originals, which means S-Snake holds the Love-Love Fruit as well.
The Seraphim proves to be almost too much for even Luffy and Lucci together to handle. S-Snake even manages to turn Franky and Chopper to stone, but turns them back at Luffy’s request. Turns out the Seraphim get more than just the physical characteristics of their originals, and also get some personality traits. Including Boa Hancock’s unending love of Luffy.
Marines Arrive
Things get bad. Like really bad, when the the Marines surround Egghead Island. They know what they’re there for, and have at least ten Vice-Admirals there to back everything up along with Kizaru, a full Admiral coming to attack them. The Straw Hats are surrounded, and the Navy isn’t going to just let them waltz out of Egghead Island without some kind of resistance. Even if Luffy is an Emperor now, it just earns a direct Admiral confrontation.
That’s not the worst thing waiting on them though. One of the Gorosei, Saint Jay Garcia Saturn, is waiting aboard a ship near the back of the armada. The Elder isn’t very happy he has to be there, but after the past couple of weeks the Gorosei have had, he has to be careful. While the Straw Hats were off in Wano taking down Kaido, a whole lot of big events were happening elsewhere.
Nefertari Lili
The story flashes back to two weeks before the Egghead Island incident, to the still-underway Reverie at Marijoa. After the dissolution of the Warlords of the Sea, Nefertari Cobra tells Vivi he has something to speak with the Gorosei about and receives a private audience with the Five Elders. His reason- an old letter he found dating back eight hundred years, from one of the World Government founders, Nefertari Lili.
Lili was one of the original twenty founders of the World Government but decided not to stay as a Celestial Dragon. Lili instead wrote back to Arabasta that she would be returning there instead of becoming a Celestial Dragon, preferring to live among the people. Except she never came back to Arabasta, and her fate was left unknown.
Imu Reveals himself
No doubt one of the greatest secrets held in One Piece. Until the reveal of Imu, the highest power in the Grand Line and beyond was the Gorosei. This council of five elder Celestial Dragons has the final authority over everything, even the Reverie, so their kneeling in reverence is a BIG deal. Imu is obviously someone that even they have fear of, and it’s even more of a shock when they appear before Cobra, indulging his questions about Lili.
Now that he’s seen Imu though, there’s no hope for Cobra to live. He’s shot once by one of the Elders, told that he can’t be allowed to get out of Marijoa now that he’s seen the one above all. They get ready to finish him off, cocking a pistol to give him one final bullet for the end. Suddenly they’re interrupted by a massive blast of fire, and one of the coldest lines One Piece has ever seen.
The Flame Emperor
Chief of Staff for the Revolutionary Army and the new holder of the Flame-Flame Fruit, Sabo is on a mission. While he first comes upon Jewelry Bonney, who is already in Marijoa trying to find her father, Sabo quickly makes his way into the chamber of the Gorosei just in time to save Cobra from a death sentence. With his arrival comes the most badass line ever- “I didn’t expect to find hell at the top of the world.” It’s such a nonchalant line by Sabo after saving a beloved character from certain death and perfectly sums up his character.
He runs out of the Gorosei chamber after they all immediately let their Devil Fruits loose. It looks terrifying, with only vague shadows making out the terrifying forms they take now. Sabo quickly grabs Cobra and begins to make a run for it from Marijoa since he knows he’s outmatched in this situation. Unfortunately, the Arabastan King knows his time is short, and requests that Sabo find his daughter Vivi to impart a final bit of family history that changes everything.
Nefertari D Vivi
The Nefertari family holds the Will of D, namely the youngest member Nefertari D Vivi, the last surviving member. Cobra leaves this final request to Sabo, to tell Vivi of their heritage. Unfortunately, Vivi was already being held hostage by Cipher Pol 0, thanks to her part in stopping Princess Shirahoshi from being taken as a slave. She knows that something isn’t right in Marijoa, and she aims to bring things down to a level where everyone is on the same playing field.
The person who finds her isn’t necessarily the most reliable though, as Wapol was sneaking a peak into the Gorosei chambers. He sees the entire situation, from Cobra’s murder to Sabo’s flight, and believes that he’s the next one to die. The poor guy is definitely traumatized after everything he saw in there, but he does do one good thing by crashing through the wall of a room where Vivi is being kept. Now bringing her along with him as they run for their lives from the rapidly devolving chaos of Marijoa, he makes a call for help to Big News Morgans. Vivi and Wapol are still floating around with Morgans the last we see them, though will likely find the Straw Hats soon enough.
The Reverie Goes to Hell
Wow, things escalate very, very quickly as the Reverie goes downhill fast. The infiltration by Sabo and Bonney is discovered, leading to a massive manhunt to find them along with soldier mobilization. Then Fujitora shows up at Navy Headquarters, despite his banishment after the Dressrosa incident. He only makes things worse for the World Government. While Akainu is running around like crazy trying to clean up the mess going on, too. Fujitora ends up in a pissing match with Greenbull over their jobs, even though Fujitora sweeps the other Admiral.
Then Fujitora summons an entire meteor using his powers, with the intent to ‘help’ get rid of the intruders. Oh, and the Happosui army along with Tontatta are there with the Dressrosan delegates. They see their chance to cause chaos in the name of the Straw Hat Fleet and jump on it. A meteor falling sends everyone into a panic, allowing Sabo to finish his escape. All while hundreds of slaves also flee on ships from every nation that will let them on. Sabo ends up on a ship bound for the Lulusia Kingdom. Although it unfortunately won’t make it all the way there.
Law and Kid Fall
The two other victors of the Raid on Onigashima find about as much trouble as the Straw Hats, but don’t fare as well. Law ends up in a collision with the Blackbeard Pirates at their destination. Now going into an all-out battle with the Emperor. Despite Law’s Devil Fruit Awakening they can’t win. Bepo even using an advanced Sulong form thanks to a Rumble Ball from Chopper doesn’t go well. The Blackbeard Pirates send the Polar Tang and Law in shambles toward the sea floor. It looks like there’s little hope for rescue any time soon. Hopefully, Bepo is a good swimmer and can get Law out of the situation, but things really look bleak.
Kid meanwhile doesn’t have to deal with anyone nearly as ruthless, but someone possibly even stronger in Shanks. The Emperor is stationed on Elbaph for his base, friends with everyone there who offers their lives for him. Shanks doesn’t want that though, even as Kid approaches with threats of violence and murder. Shanks has some help from some old giant friends to take him out. Dorry and Broggy help him to leap all the way out to Kid’s ship. Here he uses the signature attack of his former Captain Gold Roger, the Divine Departure, to break the entire thing to pieces. Kid ends up falling into the ocean as well, though it’s unlikely Shanks will be as merciless.
Time to Find the One Piece
After taking out the always overcompensating Kid, Shanks makes a declaration he’s been waiting decades for. The Red Hair Pirates are done waiting, and it’s time to go after the One Piece. He knows the name that Luffy has made for himself, and figures that they’re finally at an equal point to start the race. There are a few other people in the running too though, whether some of them want to be there or not. When the Warlords of the Sea dissolved, another great organization came from it in the form of Cross Guild with Buggy, Mihawk, and Crocodile taking center stage.
Look, Buggy didn’t want to be an Emperor of the Sea, but it’s not like he could just say no after all this time. Instead, he takes on Cross Guild with Mihawk and Croc working behind the scenes while he’s the public face. Of course, that public face constantly has a sword and hook pointed at it at all times, reminding it of what will happen should anything go wrong. It doesn’t dissuade Buggy from making a huge announcement he has no business making though, and like that Cross Guild is in the running toward Laughtale.
Sword to the Rescue
A couple of weeks before everything starts going down on Egghead, as the Straw Hats are still recovering from Onigashima, more turmoil starts. In an effort to rescue an imprisoned Charlotte Pudding and others, Koby leads a raid on Fullalead Island but ends up captured. Helmeppo begs Garp and the rest of Sword to help him and finally finds help from Prince Grus, Kujaku, Hibari, and Garp. They had a huge raid, freeing both Koby and all the slaves before Garp made the ultimate move.
The various powers of Blackbeard’s crew are pushing down on them, and it’s up to Koby to stop Avalo Pizarro, with his Isle-Isle Fruit, from smashing the escaping ships. While Garp gives Pizarro a massive knock to the skull with Galaxy Divide, Koby generates an Honesty Impact big enough to crack the entire arm reaching toward them. While he saves everyone aboard the ships, Garp stays behind to ensure their escape.
Garp and Kuzan
This brings Garp into a direct fight with Kuzan, his former protege. Flashbacks show how Garp originally trains Kuzan much like he trains Koby in the present, punching in beached warships with just their fists. No Haki, no Devil Fruits, just one hundred percent raw power from everyone as they punch a warship day and night, leaving massive dents in it. This is what gives Koby his incredible strength, and is one of the first bonding moments between Garp and Kuzan. There’s a lot of emotion as Garp wonders if he went wrong somewhere in training his protege, but Kuzan simply gives him the cold shoulder.
Their battle is vicious but finally ends with Garp seemingly dead on the ground. Kuzan has stabbed an icicle through his chest, but Garp is laughing as he goes, a smile on his face the entire time. There’s no official confirmation as of yet that Garp is dead, but things aren’t looking promising. Then again, Kuzan does have a history of faking death for people, as Jaguar D Saul is also alive on Elbaph despite their encounter. There’s every possibility that Kuzan is also working undercover with Sword, but there’s no telling since he hides everything so well under the chilly exterior.
Kuma’s Flight
Though he returns to the Revolutionaries, Sabo is believed to have caused havoc. Some think he killed Nefertari Cobra after the Gorosei framed him. Eventually he tells his story to Dragon and Ivankov back at base. They note that Kuma got there before him and has been in recovery for some time. Revolutionaries also find that Imu orders an attack on the Lulusia Kingdom testing a weapon known as the Mother Flame. This totally annihilates the entire country and leaves a gaping hole in the sea where it was. Meanwhile, it isn’t long after Sabo returns in the present time that Kuma wakes up. Now he runs, making a mad dash through his guards outside.
He uses his Paw-Paw Fruit to pop himself away, and hurtles fast toward the Red Line. When he eventually hits it, he begins to climb with vigor. Everyone assumes he’s attacking the Celestial Dragons out of revenge, and Akainu faces him down. The two exchange blows, but Kuma isn’t trying to fight so much as to get somewhere else. Though Akainu deals some major blows, Kuma manages to make it to the other side of the Red Line before he pops off again with his powers, flying toward Egghead Island assumedly. That remains to be seen though, as he’s still not quite there in the current chapters.
Buckingham Stussy
Another massive reveal that was saved for this arc, Stussy has been following as a Cipher Pol Agent. Not even recently, but since around the end of Dressrosa, and she was present for Wano. When she comes to Egghead Island, it’s assumed she’s finally going to show off some fighting ability. Instead she’s revealed to be an agent of Vegapunk’s and yet another clone. This time though, it’s a clone of one of the Rocks Pirates known as Buckingham Stussy. She’s originally the mother of Edward Weevil. Turn out, there is every likelihood that Weevil is Whitebeard’s real kid. He and Stussy had a thing way back when they were on Rocks’ crew.
She helps to take down Cipher Pol 0 and restrain them along with the other Straw Hats, meanwhile, it’s time to make a plan. Vegapunk needs to escape, and there are things to be done before that can happen. The Straw Hats split off as the Marines continue to surround them. They use their position in the Upper Labosphere to stay safe. Unfortunately, this also is when Lucci decides to play his hand. He reveals that he isn’t on their side and is instead still working on his mission. Kaku didn’t know that though, which is a real dick move, all things considered.
Zoan Fruit Wills
There’s a really cool piece of lore that Vegapunk drops just around the middle of Egghead Island. It involves the Zoan Fruits, as he says that those types tend to have a will of their own. This allows the Awakening form, which lets the true will of the Fruit out. Unfortunately it also risks the mind of the user. As Vegapunk notes, Zoan Type Devil Fruits have a will that can potentially overpower that of the user, sending them into a stupor that they may never return from.
It’s later revealed that this is what the Jailer Beasts at Impel Down have become. They’re simply Zoan users who lost their own will to that in their Devil Fruit, losing themselves in the process. There’s supposedly no way to come back from this, and Lucci begins to feel his mind slip in the initial battle against Luffy. There’s not really any idea if Luffy has the same danger though, as he and Nika usually seem to be on the same page when it comes to having fun and bringing freedom.
Luffy vs. Kizaru
Luffy, Bonney, Franky, and Lilith make their way out to find the Thousand Sunny, getting things set up to go. The others, including Jimbei and Usopp, go to grab the equipment Vegapunk will need, while the others wait things out in the lab. Lilith uses the Vegaforce, a massive mech suit, to carry the Sunny across the Upper Labosphere to where they need to go, but they’re attacked. Kizaru enters, unfazed by the light barrier since he’s made of pure light, and begins his attack on the Straw Hats in earnest. He even manages to throw Bonney through the screen and down to the lower level, where the Pacifista have been turned back against Sentomaru who is trying to fight them off. Thankfully the Seraphim are still in their cage, otherwise, things would be much worse.
Luffy takes on Kizaru in Snakeman form, and it’s not quite enough to take out the Glint-Glint Fruit user. After a few all-out attacks, Luffy is thrown through the screen and to the ground below. Now Kizaru moves in, disregarding the Sunny as he nears the lab. Of course, Kizaru isn’t ready for the insanity that Luffy is about to unleash. Not even as he’s trying to threaten the other Straw Hats and Vegapunk.
Gear Fifth!
Luffy hits Gear Fifth again. Now taking the entire roof off the Labosphere in his Gum-Gum Giant form to reach the Admiral. Though it isn’t his brightest move to use, Luffy throws Kizaru away from the island and he comes very, very close to hitting the water. Apparently, Luffy didn’t think about how light actually works though. He ends up fighting against Kizaru even more as the Admiral comes back for another round. Luffy keeps the hits coming though, even as Kizaru tries to distract him with Light Clones. All so he can attack the weaker Straw Hats instead.
Gear Fifth takes the edge as Kizaru starts to fall behind. Luffy ends up using the Gum-Gum Star Gun, a massive left hook from Gear Fifth. It goes right through Kizaru’s head like he did to Kaido. Kizaru even mentions seeing stars before finally collapsing to the ground, defeated. Straw Hat Luffy, Emperor of the Sea, has taken down a Marine Admiral in one one-on-one combat! Things are a far cry from when Kizaru brought things crashing down on Egghead Island two years ago.
Zoro vs. Lucci
The other big fight raging through the skies of Egghead. Zoro is taking on Lucci in a no holds barred fight to the death. He’s even using his King of Hell fighting style against Lucci’s Devil Fruit Awakening. Surprisingly the two are pretty evenly matched for quite a while. Of course, poor Kaku is still tied up in the lab with no idea what the hell is going on. So maybe he won’t be too keen on rejoining Lucci after all is said and done at Egghead Island.
Meanwhile, Bonney is holding her own against the Marines on the ground floor. Kizaru unfortunately seems to have given Sentomaru a mortal injury. He still has time to warn Bonney to run before the Pacifista are set loose. She makes her way through the battlefield, de-aging and aging Marines as she goes to keep them off her trail. Of course, all anyone has to say is that Bonney is in trouble. Then everyone jumps to rescue her, especially Sanji. Stella and Atlas also go after them, though not nearly as fast as Sanji can follow a woman. Finally they end up taking control of the Pacifistas back for themselves for a short time.
A Gorosei Enters the Battle
An incredibly short time. Remember how Jay Garcia Saturn was hanging back at the battlefield, just waiting to see if he would be needed? Now that Kizaru is down it really looks like the Straw Hats can make it out. So it’s time to pull off all the stops and not let a single person live. The Pacifista suddenly turns on them once more. Vegapunks realize just what sort of trouble they’re all in as only a Gorosei has higher authority than them. Saturn has turned the tables once more, and he’s about to make sure they can’t turn on him again.
A pentagram appears on the battlefield below Egghead Island, the number five in the various markings all over. Then something comes out in a burst of hellfire and flames, a literal demon walking the earth. The tease of shadows in Marijoa Sabo sees is just the start as the Elder appears in the middle. Six massive legs and a spider body give way to Saturn’s torso. His head now bears two massive ox horns. The Ushi-Oni, a Japanese Yokai with the body of a spider and horns of an ox. It seems to be his Devil Fruit though that’s as of yet confirmed. A Marine even mentions how terrifying it is and earns himself a head explosion. It’s probably one of the gnarliest shows of blood and guts One Piece has.
What Now?
Right from the beginning the Egghead Island Incident has been built up to be a massive, world-changing event. Not too surprising given the amount of hype going into the final saga, but wild considering everything that just went down in Wano. The Straw Hats are about to face down Saturn, and Bonney goes straight in for the fight, stabbing Saturn in the chest although it seems useless. There’s about to be one hell of a fight, and Kuma still hasn’t even entered the picture. The Straw Hats have decided their next destination is Elbaph though, and everyone is excited to finally see the Kingdom of Giants that’s been building up since Little Garden.
The entirety of the Grand Line is due to change after this, so things are going to pop off soon. With Jay Garcia Saturn finally revealing his Awakened Devil Fruit, there may even be the first case of an Emperor killing a Gorosei. The Egghead Island arc is full of surprises so far, and there’s no doubt those surprises are going to keep going as the story heads toward the inevitable conclusion!
