Marine Headquarters!
The spacious, brightly lit conference room felt stifling. Every officer ranked Commodore or above had come, and every face was grave.
This was no celebration. Admiral Akainu was dead, and neither his body nor Golden Lion's had been found!
Dr. Vegapunk sighed. "How disappointing. If we could find their bodies, there's a good chance I could extract their Devil Fruit powers. But we haven't heard a thing. Even if we find the bodies now, those powers will surely have passed on!"
Vegapunk was tall and thin. His hair had gone white, and his face was lined with age, but he was still vigorous. His eyes gleamed, and his presence was imposing. He was no kindly old man.
He had all the qualities one expected of a scientist: confidence, forcefulness, and stubbornness. His intellect was far beyond most people's, but he was not an easy man to get along with.
Vegapunk had once researched human cloning alongside Judge of the Vinsmoke Family. That alone showed how far he was willing to go. He dared to touch research forbidden to humanity!
His words rubbed everyone the wrong way. Momonga stood. "Doctor, Akainu's death is a terrible loss for the Marines. We're all grieving. Please, leave him out of your research."
Vegapunk snorted. "Dead is dead. You can wail all you like, but it won't bring him back. At least my work is useful to the government."
Akainu had not been well liked, but many officers had respected him. For Vegapunk to think only of his research at a time like this angered more than Momonga.
Sengoku coughed and stepped in to calm things down. "Enough. As Momonga said, Akainu's death is a grave loss for the Marines. We must choose someone to fill his position at once."
No one objected