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During the Egghead Arc, One Piece fans have often criticized Sanji for his inability to protect Dr Vegapunk from his enemies. Despite Sanji’s staunch attempts to save Vegapunk, the scientist was mortally wounded by Admiral Kizaru, and succumbed to his injuries.
With Sanji having promised Bonney that he would bring Vegapunk back safely, the fact that he failed to do so stands out as a major shortcoming, especially as he had received direct orders from Luffy in this regard. On the other hand, given Kizaru’s outstanding strength, Sanji can hardly be blamed for being unable to stop him from killing Vegapunk.
Interestingly, the latest installment of the One Piece manga sheds new light on the connection between Sanji and Vegapunk, delving into the former’s feelings for the scientist’s death. Indeed, One Piece chapter 1123 highlights Sanji’s kindred spirit as the Straw Hat crew’s cook mourns Vegapunk’s sad fate while everyone else celebrates happily.
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Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1123 and reflects the opinion of the writer.
Latest One Piece chapter emphasizes Sanji’s inner torment for Vegapunk’s death
The revelations featured in One Piece chapter 1123
As per the leaks of One Piece chapter 1123, the issue features a flashback that explains and contextualizes the circumstances that led to the Egghead Incident. Two weeks before the present narration, Vegapunk was discussing with Shaka and Pythagoras the alleged disappearance of a massive amount of energy from the Mother Flame’s power station.
Based on that, Vegapunk and the others came to the conclusion that there was a traitor among the satellites. One week later, Pythagoras discovered that the culprit was York, who had been uploading fake memories to the Punk Records database. She also spoke directly with the Five Elders about both the Mother Flame and Vegapunk’s research over the Void Century.
Since York was the satellite body based on Vegapunk’s greed, the scientist couldn’t help but apologize to Shaka and Pythagoras for her behavior. Following the destruction of Lulusia, Vegapunk deduced that the stolen portion of the Mother Flame had been used by the World Government to fuel one of the Ancient Weapons.
To hinder the World Government’s plans, Vegapunk decided to record a message that he would hide inside Emet, the Iron Giant. He then erased his memory and that of the other satellites, so as to prevent York from understanding their brilliant countermove.
With the plan set in motion, Vegapunk sealed his fate. The scientist left himself a note saying that he and the “good” satellites would die soon due to their actions having been leaked to the Five Elders, but that they should embrace that outcome instead of trying to avoid it.
The scene changed to Navy’s attack on Egghead and precisely to the moment where Vegapunk was riding the Vegatank-08 alongside Franky, Sanji, and Atlas. Suddenly, Vegapunk told Sanji to leave him to die, feeling that his death would trigger some important event.
Vegapunk’s brutal demise
Tasked with killing Vegapunk, Kizaru, although reluctantly, carried out his mission. Despite being torn between protecting his bond with the scientist, as well as his friends Sentomaru, Kuma, and Bonney, and his obligations towards the World Government, the Admiral ultimately struck Vegapunk with a deadly move.
With the scientist having already been stabbed by Saint Saturn, this further injury marked his unavoidable demise. While Luffy was dealing with Saturn, Sanji had attempted to protect Vegapunk from Kizaru but was unable to do so as the Admiral quickly intercepted his movements and kicked him away.
Kizaru then conjured a lightsaber and used it to pierce Vegapunk’s body. Luffy unleashed his Gear 5 transformation to stop Kizaru and Saturn at once, allowing Sanji to flee away with Vegapunk, but it was already too late as the scientist was mortally injured.
Did Sanji let Vegapunk die on purpose?
Based on the information available, it seems hard to believe that Sanji intentionally let Vegapunk die. Even though the old scientist asked him to do so, Sanji never agreed to his plan. In fact, Sanji explicitly told Vegapunk that he would ignore such an outrageous request.
Morever, Luffy ordered Sanji to protect Vegapunk and take him away, and Sanji himself later remarked that he considers his captain’s orders to be absolute. It must also be noted that Sanji was visibly upset when Kizaru struck Vegapunk and apologized to the latter for letting that happen.
When Luffy grabbed Kizaru and Saturn, Sanji took Vegapunk away even though the scientist openly complained, asking him to leave him there. He then looked absolutely devastated when Vegapunk’s consciousness slowly faded away as the scientist succumbed to his injuries.
Of course, all this would make little to no sense if Sanji wanted to let Vegapunk die as per the latter’s request. With this in mind, it’s probably safe to say that Sanji tried his best to protect Vegapunk even though he was fully aware of his desire.
The alternative would be that Sanji pretended to be concerned about Vegapunk’s life for no actual reason, especially as he did that even when the two of them were completely alone. Ultimately, Sanji failed to rescue Vegapunk, but that only makes the cook of the Straw Hats a more human and realistic character.
One Piece chapter 1123 truly magnified the depth of Eiichiro Oda’s writing for Sanji, with the mangaka once again emphasizing the character’s empathy and kindness. As seen in the scans, while everyone else is celebrating the future travel to Elbaf, Sanji is standing alone with Vegapunk’s lifeless body, questioning the latter’s motives.
Unbeknownst to the others, Sanji carries the burden of Vegapunk’s willingness to die. The cruel irony is that, while Sanji was unable to stop Kizaru from killing Vegapunk, which led to the scientist’s death, this was exactly what the latter wanted to happen.
Just as in Thriller Bark, when he learned of Zoro’s selfless sacrifice, or in Whole Cake Island, when he suffered for Pedro’s death, Sanji once again ended up carrying a major burden in secret from others. He even had to put a fake smile in front of Jewelry Bonney.
Despite his recurring gags, Sanji stands out in terms of seriousness and complexity. For this reason, he can be considered among the best-written One Piece characters. Perhaps it would have been cooler for Sanji to somehow fend off Kizaru and save Vegapunk, but having him face a situation where a happy ending isn’t possible is better for his character development.
There is much more to Sanji than just being a strong fighter, and chapter 1123 only goes to prove it, especially as the installment concludes with Vegapunk telling the blonde cook that he hopes the Straw Hat Pirates will be the ones to find the legendary One Piece treasure.
Related Links
- One Piece Chapter 1123: Release Date and Time, Where to Read, and More
- One Piece chapter 1123 confirms complete August release schedule
- One Piece chapter 1123 spoilers
- One Piece chapter 1123 raw scans
- One Piece: Why Sanji doesn't hit women? Explained
