If a Buster Call is successfully carried out on Egghead Island, it could have resounding repercussions and implications for One Piece’s future,
Things have taken a turn for the worse in One Piece’s Egghead Arc. Chapter 1104, “Thank You, Daddy,” concluded with St. Jaygarcia Saturn ordering a Buster Call on the technologically advanced island. Many fans have joked that he’s upset about the blow he took from Bartholomew Kuma, but he cites the combination of Kuma, Dr. Vegapunk, and Monkey D. Luffy as his reason. Either way, his order threatens to throw the Egghead Arc and the Straw Hat Pirates’ plans for escape into chaos.
The Egghead Buster Call is also alarming for another reason. It might set a precedent for the series where more islands are targeted for destruction due to the uncontrollable actions of the Straw Hats and the increasing threat they pose to the World Government. This is assuming the Buster Call on Egghead wipes out the island as they always do. There are a few things that could prevent Egghead from suffering destruction, but the question to ask is how willing the World Government is to try this again with the next island the Straw Hats visit.
Can the Egghead Buster Call Be Allowed to Succeed?
A few things might suggest the Buster Call won’t go as well as St. Saturn hopes. Most One Piece arcs wrap up with the Straw Hat Pirates earning a hard-fought victory and a happy ending. That usually means the Straw Hats beat their most significant opponents and make it off the island with an ally death toll that can be counted on one hand, if that. In this case, the enemies they must beat include CP0 (namely Rob Lucci and Kaku), Admiral Kizaru and his nine Vice Admirals, and St. Jaygarcia Saturn; alternatively, this arc could end with the crew beating some of this arc’s most formidable adversaries and escaping the rest as they did on Whole Cake Island. Keeping deaths to a minimum would mean ensuring the safety of all their escorts coming aboard the Thousand Sunny, especially Dr. Vegapunk.
It’s Vegapunk’s presence that makes the success of the Buster Call most curious. His safety is one of the most significant stakes in this arc. Even if the Straw Hats and the rest of their allies make it safely off Egghead, the doctor’s death would count as a loss for them. This could also mean saving the rest of the Satellites, but since they’re considered disposable compared to the original Stella body, this might not be the case. In fact, saving the Stella might mean even more than keeping Vegapunk’s core body intact. This would ensure the safety of Punk Records, Vegapunk’s ever-growing brain, which is supposed to be stored in the upper half of the Labophase. If it is, it could be destroyed in the Buster Call if the Straw Hats try to leave, thus resulting in Vegapunk’s death.
The only way the Straw Hats could leave Egghead without doing something about the Buster Call is if Punk Records was somehow moved aboard the ship, which may be possible. It was revealed in the Kuma Flashback that Vegapunk’s head was relatively small only two years ago; compared to how it looked 22 years ago, it wasn’t much longer. Punk Records’ size may have led fans to believe his brain was colossal, but this new evidence suggests it should only take up a fraction of the available space. The brain may have been stored aboard the Thousand Sunny with the rest of Vegapunk’s essentials. If so, then the Straw Hats can leave Egghead and not worry about the Marines obliterating what’s left.
Destroying Egghead would also be a disadvantageous move for the World Government. This is the only place in the world with a Power Plant that can produce the Mother Flame, which they need for use in their ultimate weapon. Unless St. Saturn, as a scientist, can figure out how to synthesize it based on the sample Vegapunk York gifted to the Five Elders, destroying the Power Plant would leave them without the means to recreate their miracle energy source. Then again, since the basis of the Buster Call is to kill Kuma, Vegapunk, and Luffy, St. Saturn may call it off once the Straw Hats escape from the island, thus sparing the Power Plant (or whatever is left of it).
What Can the Straw Hat Pirates Do About the Egghead Buster Call?
The Straw Hats’ best course of action when faced with a Buster Call has always been to escape before they’re caught up in the destruction. It was one of those fights they couldn’t pick because they couldn’t beat their enemies even if they tried. They’ve done it plenty of times, especially when the Marines were involved. If they beat the antagonists who matter before they get away (Lucci, Katakuri, etc.), it’s a win for them.
Egghead could be the first time the Straw Hat Pirates stand their ground against the Marines and win. This would be especially necessary if Punk Records can’t be moved. They must stay on the island to beat Saturn and put the Mk. III’s under Vegapunk’s control again, anyway. The Mk. III’s must attack the warships to ensure the Thousand Sunny can safely leave the future island; if the Pacifistas and the warships fire on them, it will likely be too much to handle.
The Straw Hats will likely be done fighting with Kizaru, Lucci, and the Vice Admirals by time of Saturn’s defeat. At that point, the only ones left to fight would be fodder Marine soldiers and the Warships not sunk or destroyed by the Mk. III’s and the Sea Beast Weapons. Luffy might even remember he can use his Conqueror’s Haki to knock out tens of thousands of soldiers, as he did on Fish-Man Island (he only has 30,000 Marine soldiers to knock out on Egghead compared to the 50,000 Fish-Men he did on Fish-Man Island).
Of course, there’s always the chance the Straw Hats do what they always do and only stay on the island long enough to beat their primary opponents. Even if they beat everyone who is invading the island, the Marines will likely send more soldiers to complete the Buster Call; they would be caught in an endless loop and never able to leave. Either way, St. Saturn’s defeat would more than count for the world-shaking event that is supposed to come from the Egghead Incident. More details on what happens to Punk Records after all this must wait.
Could There Be More Buster Calls in the Future?
St. Saturn’s demand for a Buster Call on Eghead could set up an unfortunate trend in One Piece’s story. The Buster Call used to be a last resort for the World Government. Erasing an entire island and everyone on it was only reasonable if it meant eliminating key targets who could threaten the safety of the rest of the world. In Egghead’s case, St. Saturn wants the island erased to get rid of Dr. Vegapunk (a researcher of the Void Century), Bartholomew Kuma (a Buccaneer), and Luffy (also known as Nika), as this was one too many troublesome individuals in one place.
This means that if all three of these people escape to another island as everyone expects, that new island could become the target of the next Buster Call. Even a beeline for the next destination (Elbaf) will make one more island eligible for being attacked (unless the World Government is that worried about inciting war with the world’s most powerful country). The Egghead Buster Call could be the first of many to ensure these individuals don’t reach their full potential as troublemakers.
Even if Luffy, Kuma, and Vegapunk part ways, the risk of losing more islands may remain. Besides Buster Calls, the World Government is looking into a means of powering their secret weapon, which can leave islands as bottomless pits in the middle of the ocean. This is to say nothing of its potential to raise sea levels and sink more islands. Assuming that the weapon becomes operational at least one more time before the end of the series, there will always be at least one more island at risk of being sunk if not already doomed to that fate. Even if the weapon is never reactivated, the World Government would be just as content wiping out islands with an old-fashioned Buster Call.
There’s also the potential of Luffy and his Emperor-level crew becoming a Buster Call-level threat. Besides the Sun God and the Poneglyph reader, they’ll likely find their way to Laugh Tale and the One Piece. Furthermore, while the Roger Pirates were too early arriving on Laugh Tale, the Straw Hats could be on time, which means they could learn the secrets of the world and apply them in a way that threatens the World Government. This would make it imperative to destroy the Straw Hats at all costs, whether through Buster Calls or the secret weapon. Now that One Piece is in the Final Saga, every island with the Straw Hat Pirates on it is a target for the World Government’s wrath.
