Vegapunk's attitude left Sig somewhat puzzled.
Vegapunk was originally captured by the Navy. He was conducting some kind of secret research with Gage, Queen, and others. It was during this period that the Lineage Factor was discovered. Afterwards, the Navy destroyed the secret research institute, and Vegapunk himself was taken into custody by the Navy...
From this perspective, it seems quite reasonable that Vegapunk is not on the same page as the Navy, and even wants to break away from the Navy.
However, considering Vegapunk's position in the Navy and the research institute, Sig did not believe that his personal freedom was restricted!
Furthermore, Sig believed that since this guy could even trap his true self through a clever scheme, he could definitely get rid of the Navy on his own.
However, judging from the original work, Vegapunk's position is very clear - the ultimate weapon he created even made the Navy believe that the situation at sea had changed, and they were so confident that they abolished the Shichibukai.
And after abolishing the Shichibukai, the first thing they did was issue arrest warrants for all of them...
If it's merely a matter of "some enhancement," then unless Akainu is completely incompetent, his course of action should be to first unite with the Shichibukai to eliminate the Four Emperors, and then deal with the Shichibukai themselves. After all, in terms of the degree of hostility, aren't the Four Emperors more dangerous than the Shichibukai?
However, once Vegapunk's research was completed and the Navy's strength increased, their first priority was to eliminate the Shichibukai before engaging in battle with the pirates. This shows that... the Navy believed their strength was enough to crush the entire sea!
Although Sig doesn't know what the ultimate weapon is, he at least knows that this situation was created by Vegapunk and the Navy working together, which shows that Vegapunk and the Navy are definitely of one mind.
However, there are some strange aspects. For example, before losing consciousness, Bartholomew Kuma sent the entire Straw Hat Pirates away for training in the Sabaody Archipelago. Even after losing consciousness, Bartholomew Kuma protected the Straw Hat Pirates's ship...
It's hard to say that this action wasn't related to Vegapunk. Even if it was Bartholomew Kuma's own will, it must have been accepted by Vegapunk. Otherwise, how could the modified Kuma have accomplished these things?
There were also Artificial Devil Fruit copied from Kaido, which Vegapunk called "failures" and they weren't used to enhance the Navy's strength...
These factors suggest that Vegapunk may be harboring ulterior motives, and considering Kuma's identity as a member of the Revolutionary Army, it raises suspicions that Vegapunk might be engaging in double-crossing!
But looking at Vegapunk himself now, Sig felt... that he seemed to be a purer person, someone who wouldn't bother with any undercover operations.
"An apology? That's what you want, so... I'm truly sorry," Vegapunk said insincerely.
"Are you so sure I won't just kill you? Or have you forgotten that we're enemies?" Sig said, a murderous glint in his eyes.
Sig was clearly annoyed, but Vegapunk was showing composure.
"An enemy? I don't think so." Vegapunk shook his head.
"Oh? This doesn't count as being an enemy?" Sig pointed to his true form in the nutrient tank, paused, and then said, "Are you suggesting this is the result of friendly negotiations?"
"No, I admit we have some conflicts, but I always believe... our conflicts are an outward manifestation of how you and I work together to combat the problems of this world, not a confrontation between you and me," Vegapunk said frankly.
"You were just a hair's breadth away from erasing my consciousness and turning me into a dry cell battery?" Sig's tone was laced with sarcasm.
However, Vegapunk still nodded and said, "Yes, but it's still a little short, so this is not the final solution." His tone remained serious and calm.
Sig ignored him and went straight to his own body...
The translucent Sig then completely entered the nutrient chamber and into his own body.
The next moment...
Sig opened his eyes inside the nutrient tank, and before Sig shatter it, Vegapunk was already operating the system, controlling the flow of the nutrient solution and opening the hatch.
Sig slowly walked out of the nutrient tank. Memories of the past two years and seven months, and those of the previous year and three months, intertwined...
From taking Trafalgar Law to the East Blue, to encountering Garp, to being captured, to having his powers restricted and being sent to a secret research facility, to losing consciousness, to Gungnir Sig awakening, to Impel Down, to patrolling the Marines...
All of this, the two sets of memories, are now completely connected.
Sig had already "remembered" how his power had been restricted before—after being captured by Garp, Sig was "washed" by Vice Admiral Tsuru. Although his will was not shaken, it rendered Sig's mental abilities useless. Then he was directly injected with water-soluble Seastone liquid, which suppressed Sig's abilities to the limit.
In the following year, just as Sig had predicted, he engaged in a battle of wits with Vegapunk...
It's not a battle of wits based on intrigue and trickery, but a genuine, head-on confrontation based on "wisdom."
Vegapunk's brain, surpassing that of humans by five hundred years, was not wasted on scheming and plotting. While most of Sig's abilities were restricted, the only ability that remained undiminished was the wisdom granted to Sig by the "White Tower Path."
This wisdom is not directly reflected in IQ, but in the vast accumulation of information— the Sequence 0 along the White Tower route symbolizes "omniscience".
In theory, if one truly reaches the level of "omniscience," then intelligence becomes something that is no longer needed.
The White Tower route endowed Sig with the ability to receive and understand information, but not with direct intelligence. It didn't provide any advantage in thinking about conspiracies and schemes.
The battle of wits between Sig and Vegapunk wasn't a contest of schemes and tricks, but a true clash of "intelligence," in which Vegapunk ultimately prevailed...
Even though Sig thought he understood the entirety of the "Pacifista Project," Vegapunk trapped Sig with only temporary modifications—modifications that had never been tested before.
Vegapunk showed no mercy; his aim was to erase Sig's consciousness, but...
As Vegapunk said, he did not have "hostility" in the narrow sense, but rather viewed all conflicts as a process of "solving problems".
He did not see Sig as an "enemy," but as a partner in solving "the world's problems." However, in this collaboration, Sig, as a "partner," played the role of "failure" and "trial and error."
Sig finally understood why he had this Psychological Suggestion about "deus ex machina"—it was influenced by Vegapunk. Sig, too, approached it from a problem-solving perspective and came up with his own solution...