Chapters · Final Saga › Egghead

Chapter 1109: Interception

Arc: Egghead · Saga: Final Saga · Released: 2024-02-26

Summary

Vegapunk’s pre-recorded final message begins broadcasting to the entire world. Intercut fragments of the recording show Vegapunk (Stella) and his satellite Shaka debating the rollout: the signal will be forced out at maximum strength through every naval base and every ship’s Den Den Mushi as audio first, with the visual transponder-snail broadcast delayed by a short preparation interval so the snails can be set up for viewing. Satellite Shaka suggests an interval of one hour, but it is rejected as too long — a longer wait would give “those who might not want this message heard” the time to interfere with it — so Vegapunk sets the preparation period to just ten minutes. The world erupts in a reaction montage across Mariejois, Egghead, Dressrosa, Windmill Village, Water Seven, the World Economic Journal HQ, all four Blues, and the Kamabakka Queendom as everyone scrambles to set up screens within ~10 minutes. At Mariejois the Five Elders deduce that Vegapunk — whom Kizaru killed and who “should be dead now” — set the recording to play upon his death. Meanwhile on Egghead, Luffy (Gear 5) keeps fighting Saturn but cannot damage him — every blow simply bounces off and Saturn regenerates — so Luffy claps a giant double-handed “Gum-Gum Dawn Cymbal” and then spins and throws the flattened Saturn away like a discus, frustrated that “nothing I do damages him.” A worried Marine line calls out for “Admiral Kizaru.” Recovering, Saturn says “there’s no time” — “Vegapunk must not be given license to speak” (p13) — and orders a summons (“I’ll make the summons.” — “Good.”), and a bolt of black lightning strikes Egghead — recognized as “the same thing… as when the spider-gramps showed up,” i.e. the arrival of another Five Elder.

New reveals

• The broadcast goes live (audio first). Vegapunk’s message is forced across every ship’s Den Den Mushi and relayed through every naval base in the world at maximum strength; the visual transponder-snail feed needs setup time, so a short interval is imposed before the big-screen broadcast — Vegapunk sets the preparation period to ten minutes, rejecting satellite Shaka’s suggested one hour as too long (pp. 2-5).
• The delay is a setup necessity, kept short. The visual transponder snails “will take time… to be set up for viewing,” so an interval precedes the big-screen feed; Shaka suggests one hour, but it is rejected as too long precisely because a longer wait “will give those who might not want this message heard the time to interfere with it,” so Vegapunk sets the preparation period to just ten minutes to minimize the interference window (pp. 3-4).
• It’s a dead man’s contingency. The Five Elders conclude Vegapunk “set this message to play… in the event of his own death”; “Kizaru killed him. He should be dead now…” (pp. 4-5). His own recorded voice: “I suspect that my death is imminent.” (p. 9).
• Worldwide simultaneity. A montage confirms the signal reaches Mariejois, Egghead, Dressrosa, Windmill Village (East Blue), Water Seven, the WEJ HQ, North/West/South Blue, and the Kamabakka Queendom at once; Morgans clarifies it is a recording made in the past, relayed by the Navy (“look at the clock behind them, fool”) (pp. 5-9).
• Saturn cannot be damaged. Luffy’s Gear-5 barrage does nothing — “So all those punches meant nothing to you, huh?!” — Saturn simply regenerates/bounces back; Luffy: “How come nothing I do damages him?!” (pp. 8, 11-13).
• Gum-Gum Dawn Cymbal. Luffy slingshots back and claps two giant cymbal-hands onto Saturn, then spins the flattened Elder on a fingertip and hurls him away like a discus (“Let’s see you bounce back… from this!!”) (pp. 9-13).
• The black-lightning summons. Out of time, Saturn orders a summons; a bolt of black lightning hits Egghead, explicitly likened to “when the spider-gramps showed up” — a second Gorosei is being called in. Cliffhanger (pp. 13-15).
• New named character: Alice, Iceberg’s secretary at Water Seven, who has already delegated contact of all residents and set up screens in every shipbuilding dock (p. 6).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

Vegapunk (Stella — in the recording) · Shaka (in the recording) · St. Jaygarcia Saturn · Luffy (Gear 5 / Sun God Nika) · Kizaru (referenced — “Admiral Kizaru?!” / killed Vegapunk) · Sabo (at Kamabakka) · Morgans (WEJ HQ) · Iceberg (referenced — his secretary) · Alice (Iceberg’s secretary, Water Seven — first appearance) · Leo (Dressrosa) · Woop Slap (Windmill Village mayor) · Makino (Party’s Bar) · Five Elders (at Mariejois) · Den Den Mushi (ship snails + visual transponder snails) · Buster Call (referenced — Egghead burning) · Egghead · Mariejois · Dressrosa · Water Seven · East Blue (Windmill Village) · Kamabakka Queendom · North Blue · South Blue · West Blue

Notable panels

• Page 1 (cover): Limited Cover Series No. 26 — “Onigashima Sinks.” The skull-shaped Onigashima rock lies on the seabed, a sword still planted in it, fish circling the sunken Wano ruins. Serialized cover story (defer to cover-tracker).
• Page 2: Split-frame: the recording of Vegapunk (Stella) + Shaka on a monitor (“Come now, Stella.”) intercut with present-day ships at sea reacting as the signal hits “every ship’s snail.”
• Pages 4-5: Mariejois — the Five Elders deduce the dead-man’s-broadcast and resolve to silence it; a tight close-up of a scarred Gorosei eye (”….!!”).
• Page 6: Water Seven — Iceberg’s secretary Alice reports she has set up screens in every shipbuilding dock; Windmill Village’s mayor (Woop Slap) balks at paying for a transponder snail.
• Page 7: WEJ HQ — Morgans/staff establish that the feed is a past recording relayed by the Navy, while Egghead “is burning to the ground as we speak” (Buster Call); the four-Blues montage.
• Page 10: Splash-scale Gear-5 attack — Luffy claps two enormous cymbal-hands onto Saturn: “Gum-Gum… Dawn… Cymbal!!!!” (SMACK!!).
• Pages 11-13: Luffy spins the flattened Saturn on a fingertip and hurls him away like a discus; Saturn regenerates regardless; Marines cry out for “Admiral Kizaru.”
• Pages 13-15: Saturn orders the summons; a bolt of black lightning strikes Egghead — “as when the spider-gramps showed up” — closing on the cliffhanger (“To be continued!”).

Open questions raised

• Which Five Elder is being summoned to Egghead by the black lightning, and what changes when they arrive?
• What exactly will Vegapunk’s message say once the visual broadcast begins after the interval?
• Can Saturn be damaged at all, and by what — given Gear-5 simply bounces off?
• Will the Five Elders succeed in jamming/interrupting the broadcast before the visual feed plays?