One Piece episode 1097: Revolutionary Army's origin explored, Vegapunk discusses his brain, while the CP0 approaches Egghead

One Piece episode 1097, titled The Will of Ohara! The Inherited Research, was released on Sunday, March 17, 2024. This episode centers around Vegapunk, as there is a lot he knows and has to reveal to the Straw Hats and perhaps the rest of the world. He might be the character who gives important bits of information that will reveal secrets about the Void Century. The discussion about the Ancient Kingdom already points to that.

In the previous episode, Shaka revealed that Ohara may have been destroyed because the scholars discovered the presence of the Ancient Kingdom, which was on par with the futuristic city on Egghead Island today. Professor Clover, who had dedicated his life to discovering this secret, lost his life as a result. Despite his death, he was able to achieve some success. Stella, or the actual Vegapunk, also made his first appearance in this episode.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers.

One Piece episode 1097 continues disclosing information about the Void Century

When Vegapunk visited Ohara

A young Dr Vegapunk as seen in the One Piece episode 1097 (Image via Toei)

One Piece episode 1097 opened 22 years ago, at Ohara, West Blue, looking at the destruction in the wake of the buster call. A young Vegapunk was there, with flowers in his hands. His hair was brown, and his brain had not been split back then. When he saw that the books had been saved from annihilation, he felt the people of Ohara had won.

Then, Vegapunk's eyes fell on Giants fishing out the books submerged in the water. As he was about to confront them about their intentions, he stopped in his tracks upon hearing Dragon's voice. He was 33 years old back then and was carrying flowers too.

The two knew Clover and had come to pay their last respects to him. Vegapunk expressed his disapproval of the smear campaign to paint the scholar as a threat to the world.

Dragon informed Vegapunk that the Giants were from Elbaph, not bandits, and understood the books' worth. Their captain, a bandaged man, claimed that Ohara had saved their legacy by sacrificing their lives, and he would not allow it to be erased from the face of the world.

Dragon as seen in the One Piece episode 1097 (Image via Toei)

Dragon was relieved that the World Government had not discovered and destroyed the books. He also disapproved of Vegapunk becoming the government’s lapdog, instead of joining the Freedom Fighters. Vegapunk justified his decision, citing the need for funding.

One Piece episode 1097 then showed Dragon's dismay at the destruction of Ohara and the use of violence against innocent scholars. Despite his aversion to war, he decided to form an army to fight back, honoring Clover's death and the Will of Ohara. Later that year, Dragon joined forces with Ivankov and Kuma to establish the Revolutionary Army, which shook the world.

The man in bandages

Robin as seen in the One Piece Episode 1097 (Image via Toei)

In the present, Sanji was startled to learn that Ivankov was a founding member of the Revolutionary Army. In fact, the rest of the Straw Hats were surprised by the revelations as well. Shaka, who had narrated the story, emphasized that the World Government should not find out about the books of Ohara. He then revealed that Stella had secretly visited Elbaph and studied the texts.

Robin asked Shaka if the Giant with bandages all over his body was Saul. Shaka informed her that her suspicion was correct, and the Giant was now in hiding. Then, Shaka escorted the group to the Control Room and displayed on screen what Luffy's group was up to.

Bonney confronts Vegapunk

Vegapunk's apple-shaped antenna as seen in the One Piece Episode 1097 (Image via Toei)

One Piece episode 1097 then focused on Luffy, Jimbei, Chopper, and Bonney, who were with Vegapunk on the scrap heap at the Fabriophase level. Vegapunk revealed that he was a Brain-Brain Fruit user, and the information he consumed had caused his brain to become massive.

However, he had removed his brain and stored it in the island's Punk Records section. The apple on his head now functions as an antenna, capturing his brain waves. Vegapunk's six clones, each unique in personality and mission, upload their experiences and knowledge to Punk Records daily.

Vegapunk then suggested that theoretically, anyone could access his brain and all of humanity could contribute to Punk Records, creating a vast knowledge repository.

When Jimbei asked what role ideology would play in this hypothetical situation, Vegapunk dismissed him, saying that worrying would only impede scientific progress. Bonney was enraged, accusing Vegapunk of putting science ahead of humanity, to the point that he turned Kuma into a merciless weapon.

Bonney as seen in the One Piece Episode 1097 (Image via Toei)

Ignoring Vegapunk's warnings, in One Piece episode 1097, Bonney used a beam saber she discovered amid the scraps to intimidate him. It ended up attracting a swarm of bugs, and Bonney fainted.

While Bonney was unconscious, Vegapunk inquired about Momonosuke and came to understand that he had eaten a Devil Fruit, which Vegapunk had earlier discarded as a failure. Vegapunk deemed it to be a failure because Momonosuke's dragon form was pink, as opposed to Kaido's dragon form, which was blue.

Luffy then asked about the giant robot, which Vegapunk claimed had been built before he was born and had attacked Sacred Marijoa over two centuries ago.

One Piece episode 1097 ended with CP0, led by Lucci, approaching Egghead to eliminate Vegapunk.

One Piece episode 1096 recap

Shaka as seen in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei)

In the previous episode, Shaka told Sanji's group about the existence of an Ancient Kingdom, technologically superior and far ahead of its time. He theorized that this kingdom was destroyed by twenty kingdoms during the Void Century, which later established the World Government. The study of the Void Century was criminalized to conceal this history and its ideology.

Shaka was questioned by Robin about his source of knowledge. Shaka disclosed that Vegapunk had visited the ruined Ohara soon after the buster call. Vegapunk was acquainted with Professor Clover and his fascination with the Void Century and how he went about collecting related documents. When Vegapunk arrived on the island, he discovered that the Ohara scholars had preserved the books by drowning them in a lake.

Meanwhile, Luffy and Chopper were looking for a cockpit inside the gigantic robot. When that failed, they attempted to find out whether the robot was voice operated. Just then, something like an explosion occurred, and everyone was astonished to see a short old man slowly sink inside the robot while crying out for help. Luffy pulled the man out, who recognized him as Dragon's son. This individual was none other than Dr. Vegapunk.