One Piece's Mother Flame may use nuclear fusion and be Dr. Vegapunk's grave sin

Modified May 04, 2024 03:03 GMT

Despite being on a forced break week by nature of Shueisha’s Golden Week holiday publication break, One Piece fans excitingly saw alleged spoilers for chapter 1114 leak early during this break week.

While these spoilers were relatively scant compared to what fans are used to, they were nevertheless exciting and came from trusted sources within the series’ leaker community.

One of the most exciting aspects of these latest alleged One Piece spoilers was the discussion of the Mother Flame, as well as the Power Plant which allegedly crafts the device.

While its nature is still technically a mystery, a popular theory claims that the Mother Flame’s functionality and one of Dr. Vegapunk’s two sins may be the same in the form of the creation of nuclear fusion.

One Piece set to liken Dr. Vegapunk to another infamous real-world scientist, according to latest theory

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For starters, it’s worth establishing that when looking at the original Japanese release of One Piece, the “Power Plant” Dr. Vegapunk made can be literally translated to “fusion reactor.”

A fusion reactor is a device which creates a nuclear fusion or fission reaction, releasing energy in the form of heat which is used to produce electrical power. It’s worth mentioning that water is often used in this process, and that the latest spoilers claim that the Mother Flame sits in water.

This concept has also been seen in the series, with Vegapunk Shaka suggesting a similar approach to Dr. Vegapunk in the latter’s currently playing pre pre-recorded message to the world. In other words, it’s seemingly established that Dr. Vegapunk has discovered nuclear fusion and fission within the series’ world.

Likewise, it’s suspected that the Mother Flame which Vegapunk York sent to the Gorosei uses energy from the power plant, or the fusion reactor, in the first place. Since the Mother Flame has also been teased to be a flying weapon, it can be likened to the Ark Maxim as seen in One Piece’s Skypiea arc.

This comparison is established via both electricity being a main component to each device, and how similarly the pages where each are used appear in terms of layout.

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As is likely obvious to most One Piece fans, Dr. Vegapunk’s character is clearly inspired by real-life scientist Albert Einstein. This is most obvious in their appearances, but is also established via Dr. Vegapunk’s accomplishments and studies.

Einstein was also known for contributing to the Manhattan Project, overseen by J. Robert Oppenheimer which led to the creation of the atomic bomb, which utilized nuclear fission and fusion.

By inventing nuclear energy, creating a weapon with it, and apologizing to the world for creating a world destroying weapon, Dr. Vegapunk’s story will mirror Oppenheimer’s. The lattermost point of an apology can be likened to Oppenheimer’s infamous “now I am become death, destroyer of worlds” quote.

It’s also worth mentioning that the two atomic bombs Oppenheimer’s research led to the direct creation of were named “Little Boy” and “Fat Man.” With Dr. Vegapunk’s invention being called Mother Flame, it seems to be a reference to the same style of atomic nomenclature. Fat Man specifically was also a nuclear fission bomb, further supporting the theory.

While this is all speculative, it seems more likely than not that the theory rings true considering how often mangaka Eiichiro Oda has pulled from real-world events before. Combined with Dr. Vegapunk already being based off of real-life scientist Albert Einstein, it seems likely that fans will see this theory ring true before the Egghead arc ends.