Sig seemed to be walking in another dimension, unseen by anyone, swaggering through the laboratory. However, the researchers and guards who passed by all ignored him.
Finally, standing before a thick wall, Sig frowned and muttered, "Did we go the wrong way? Oh well..."
Sig could sense that his true self was in the room behind this wall.
However, the main entrance should be on the other side. The research institute itself is like a maze, and Sig had gotten lost.
But it didn't matter. Sig reached out and placed his hand on the seemingly thick alloy wall in front of him. Then, a "door" opening line appeared on the wall. With a push from Sig, a door appeared out of thin air and opened.
The half-meter-thick alloy wall did nothing to stop it; although the "door" was half a meter thick, it opened very smoothly...
Sig had observed the "Door-Door Fruit" before, but because the contact time was short and the Sequence was too low at the time, the simulation effect was only superficial, that is, it only played a certain role in restraining the Barrier-Barrier Fruit -Barrier Fruit.
The "secret arts" that Sig is now using are ones he developed in his spare time while in Impel Down — the Secret Art Master —which allows him to create various unique secret arts, and some of them are even learnable!
In the world of One Piece, after Sig created the secret technique, he then manufactured "Artificial Devil Fruit (mushrooms)".
What Sig is using right now is a lower-level ability of the Door-Door Fruit —it doesn't involve space and he can't teleport, but he can "Door Opening" in walls.
The room was dimly lit, a stark contrast to the bright lights outside. Sig had just entered through another door that was directly opposite the main entrance.
In the center of the room, Sig saw the nutrient pod—inside which was his own naked body.
There was another person in the room, who was originally sitting in a swivel chair facing the door, with a very arrogant posture, but...
Hearing the Door Opening behind him, he turned around and glanced at it, then awkwardly turned his chair around.
He had clearly anticipated that Sig would come here, and had even confirmed the approximate time, but he hadn't expected Sig to come in through the wall from the back!
Well, if Sig hadn't gone the wrong way, then as soon as he Door Opening, he should have seen this middle-aged man in a white coat, with messy hair and slightly sallow skin, who was greeting him with an expression that said, "I was prepared."
But now... things are a bit awkward.
But Vegapunk, true to Vegapunk name, silently turned his chair around.
"You really came." Vegapunk completely ignored the fact that he had misjudged the direction, still wearing an expression that said he had expected it.
And they seem quite interested in Sig's current "semi-transparent" appearance.
"You're Vegapunk?" Sig asked directly.
This person...
He didn't have Devil Fruit or any Haki aura, but Sig couldn't read his emotions!
Sig didn't understand the principle behind this either. Logically, only those with Conqueror's Haki or Awakening Devil Fruit ability should have this kind of "privilege".
Does being "too smart" also prevent data from being read?
"Hmm? You don't have any memories of the past? I see..." Vegapunk looked enlightened, as if he had realized something.
Clearly, Vegapunk wasn't on guard against Sig reading his emotions, and he didn't even try to hide his expression!
Judging from his expression, Sig figured that this guy must have tested his true identity before, but at that time, his true identity probably didn't even remember him, and with the hidden hand of "Gungnir," he could only vaguely sense what he had arranged, so Vegapunk's test naturally had no effect.
Vegapunk suddenly realized why he hadn't been able to glean anything from the original entity before—because their memories weren't shared at the time!
"You knew I would come? How long have you been waiting?" Sig asked, then looked at his own body.
He thought to himself, "Does this guy just sit next to my naked body for no reason?"
"I could roughly guess, but I wasn't sure until I saw you... Because I was specifically following 'Shiryu's' information, the Marine Headquarters notified me of his death immediately. After that, I just needed to estimate your flight speed." Vegapunk said matter-of-factly, without any intention of hiding anything.
"How did you know?" Sig asked directly.
"Are you talking about 'Shiryu'? Or your flight speed?" Vegapunk countered, but seeing Sig remain silent, Vegapunk explained, "'Shiryu' is because of this... and this... As for your flight speed, we measured it together two years ago."
As Vegapunk spoke, he pressed a button on the remote control. The monitor displayed footage of Shiryu and Dego's battle, information about the CP0's pursuit of Momousagi's ship being attacked by Sea King, and previous reports of Siegfried's ability to command Sea King...
It was clearly from these events that Vegapunk began to suspect Shiryu!
While none of these are definitive pieces of evidence, with so many suspicious points combined, it's understandable that Vegapunk would suspect Shiryu.
As for the bigger questions, even if Vegapunk didn't say them, Sig had already realized them—when Vegapunk stopped extracting energy from Siegfried and used a strong magnetic field to control the flesh worms he found, Shiryu died in Impel Down not long after...
Sig guessed that Vegapunk had moved a swivel chair here and was waiting for him after receiving this news!
"We have a pretty good relationship?" Sig asked Vegapunk with a hint of amusement.
Actually, there's no need to confirm it. As long as Sig reactivates his body at this moment, he will naturally regain all his memories.
Moreover, Sig didn't think that this guy who had trapped his true form was on good terms with him!
Vegapunk shrugged and said calmly, "It should be considered pretty good, right? There was a slight disagreement. When we were doing research together, you secretly wanted to gain control of the 'Pacifista' and the data on the Artificial Devil Fruit... I also secretly modified some parameters behind your back."
Of course, this is not a major disagreement compared to the achievements we've made together.
Well, to put it simply, Sig was indeed outmaneuvered by Vegapunk!
The clash between the two sides at that time must have been tense, even life-threatening, but Vegapunk talks about it lightly now.
"So you didn't notify the Navy and even waited for me here... Are you planning how to apologize to your research partner for erasing their consciousness and leaving them in a nutrient tank?" Sig stared at Vegapunk and asked.
Although he couldn't directly read his emotions, Sig at least wanted to analyze his thoughts from his expressions.
This guy is definitely a "dangerous element"!
Not only did he trick Sig's main character, but he was also able to find clues and discover Sig's identity from Sig's "almost flawless" performance... All of this made Sig dare not underestimate this scientist.
However, what made Sig hesitate was that Vegapunk seemed to have no intention of hiding his emotions at all—he had blocked Sig's abilities, just like his passive ability, and he wasn't consciously controlling his expressions.
This made Sig wonder: was Vegapunk truly being sincere, or... had his control over micro-expressions become so masterful that he was now completely acting?
Furthermore, Vegapunk didn't inform the Navy of his arrival, and instead simply waited for him, leading Sig to suspect... Could this guy actually want to cooperate with him?