" Borsalino, due to the high mobility of his Devil Fruit ability, received a mission from above to be responsible for Vegapunk's security, and he simply couldn't leave his post."
This is also why I hesitated last time you mentioned wanting to visit Vegapunk. The World Government takes Vegapunk very seriously and generally doesn't allow anyone to disturb his research.
Therefore, our naval forces are actually quite dispersed; otherwise, we wouldn't have sent Gion Tokikake to the New World to carry out such a dangerous mission...
"You few should keep the matter of the Vegapunk to yourselves; don't spread it around. It's still top secret!"
Before mentioning Kizaru and the Vegapunk, Garp made a point of looking around, as if afraid someone else might overhear. Only Vic and a few other future pillars of the Navy were allowed to hear this, which shows how important the Vegapunk was.
If someone with ulterior motives were to learn of this information, deduce the location of Vegapunk based on Kizaru's movements, and then kidnap Vegapunk while Kizaru is distracted by a diversionary tactic, that would be a huge bargaining chip, potentially yielding considerable benefits from the World Government.
Although Kizaru is very strong, there are still many ambitious pirates. The World Government has plenty of good stuff; just extorting some Devil Fruit is profitable enough, not to mention pirates with other special purposes.
Therefore, the Three Admirals of the Navy have been scattered for various reasons. Only Akainu is guarding the G-1 Marine Branch base in the New World. The future Admiral candidates, Gion Tokikake, are struggling on the front line. The other veteran vice Vice Admiral are good at defense but not offense. This is the current state of the Navy. It is indeed unable to deter the New World.
Although the old man didn't reveal the exact location of the Vegapunk, Vic knew that the astrophysicist was in Punk Hazard.
The World Government went to great lengths to find a safe and secluded place. Although Punk Hazard is not far from the entrance to the New World, it is one of the first islands in the New World sequence from Fish-Man Island.
However, Punk Hazard is a special island because it has no magnetic connection to Fish-Man Island. This means that after entering the New World from Fish-Man Island, the Log Pose will not point here.
Therefore, most pirates will never encounter Punk Hazard. Only a few will stumble upon it by chance. However, the island's armed forces are not weak. Kizaru alone is the nightmare of more than 90% of pirates.
Furthermore, the forces led by Sentomaru were akin to a dimensional reduction attack against pirates who had just arrived in the New World and hadn't yet regained their Haki.
So this place is still quite secluded. The Straw Hat Pirates only went to Punk Hazard because of the scam phone call; otherwise, they would have gone to Raijin Island!
A scam phone call triggered a series of huge changes. If Doflamingo knew that he was tortured by the Straw Hat Boy and became a prisoner because of this phone call, he would definitely have cut the caller into 108,000 pieces beforehand!
If Kaido knew that his empire in Wano Country had collapsed overnight because of that phone call, he would definitely use his Conqueror's Coating turn the caller into dust. But there are no "ifs" now. Vic, on the other hand, might be able to change things, but who knows how much this butterfly has already changed!
"Don't worry, old man! We know how important this is. After this mission is over, I'll just ask Borsalino to take me there."
By then, I'll most likely be Headquarters Vice Admiral. I should be able to get a meeting with Vegapunk, right? Headquarters Vice Admiral should have that much influence, shouldn't they?
Vic had long wanted to meet the Beelzebub members. He had never seen their true faces before his transmigration, and he felt that the old Beelzebub was even more mysterious than Im.
Even Imu's general outline has appeared. Vegapunk has only appeared once in the animation as a faceless figure in a white lab coat, clearly a scientist.
However, the silhouettes in the anime are not very reliable. Take Kaido of the Beasts as an example. Of course, Vic's desire to meet Vegapunk wasn't simply out of curiosity about what he looked like; he mainly wanted to see the unique technology of this world.
Although the technology in this world is a bit skewed, some of it is truly eye-opening, even more impressive than many of the cutting-edge technologies of his previous life.
Vic will soon be going out on a mission alone, and he doesn't want his warship to only have the most basic functions.
Although he himself doesn't care what happens to him, his mobility is very strong, and even if the warship is destroyed, he will still be free!
However, he wouldn't be the only one on the warship, nor would he be just Rebecca and the few others who could use Geppo. There would also be some junior soldiers responsible for various positions, making it a complete shipboard system.
Therefore, his warships would have to undergo many upgrades and modifications. At the very least, warships couldn't rely solely on sails for navigation; they would need external vessels as well. At least when Vic was preoccupied with the enemy and unable to focus on his warships, his warships would be able to outrun the enemy.
Fortunately, Vic has now eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, so energy is not a problem. Furthermore, in terms of defense and offense, as well as the ability to dive and fly, each additional aspect will improve the soldiers' chances of survival, which is very necessary.
Moreover, these technologies actually exist in this world, and Vic himself could make them, but he still wanted to see if the Vegapunk had more advanced and energy-efficient technologies.
Another point is that Punk Hazard isn't far from Raijin Island, and as the Thunder God, he naturally needs to go there to see what's going on, so making that trip is quite necessary.
"That's right! Once you become Vice Admiral, your status and combat strength will be no less than theirs; you might just be less senior."
It's just to meet with Vegapunk; it's not like I'm running for Marine Admiral. Seniority doesn't really matter. If I accumulate more military merits in the next couple of years, I could definitely get my hands on Marine Admiral position. Keep up the good work, young man! Hahahaha!"
Garp has already acknowledged Vic's strength. Even if his Haki is a little lacking, his powerful Devil Fruit ability can make up for it.
Furthermore, Vic's Haki is growing rapidly, and he will catch up in no time. Moreover, Vic's use of Haki is more refined. Although his total Haki may not be as high, he may not be weaker than them in actual combat. Haki still depends on how the user uses it.
Vic's experience is indeed too limited. It will be another two years before the selection of Marine Admiral is confirmed, which means Vic has only been in the Navy for three or four years at most.
And that's not all. In two years, Vic will only be nineteen. If he is really selected as Marine Admiral, he will probably be the youngest Marine Admiral in history! That would be incredibly impressive!
Keep in mind that when Pirate King Roger was 25, he was just a relatively unknown newcomer on the Grand Line. If it weren't for fate, it would be difficult for someone like King Luffy, who became an Emperor at the age of 19, to emerge from this vast sea.
Being young means being inexperienced and unreliable, making it difficult to gain the respect of others unless one truly accomplishes something extraordinary!
Although Vic has accomplished many great things and will continue to create miracles in the future, he has only been a member of the Navy for a short time, which makes it difficult for him to get past the World Government. However, this time he is only meeting Vegapunk and there are no complicated procedures involved!