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After ending the Wano Arc, the record-breaking manga One Piece has been on fire. Every chapter of the new Egghead Arc has been a big hit in its own right. A testament to this, even cover stories have become rather interesting.
Cover stories are fully part of One Piece's canon. They are side stories told through the cover pages of chapters, narrating the adventures of several characters after their initial encounters with the Strawhat Pirates.
Recent chapters of One Piece featured a side story called "Germa 66's ahh... an emotionless excursion", which disclosed how the Vinsmoke brothers managed to escape Whole Cake Island.
The latest installment of this cover story, which was included in One Piece chapter 1070, also contained a shocking revelation about MADS, an illegal research team that operated in the past.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1070 and purely reflects the opinions of the writer.
Was Stussy a member of MADS? One Piece chapter 1070 seems to hint at the shocking truth
What is known about MADS?
MADS was an illegal scientific research team that was active at least 24 years before the current narration. The story didn't disclose much about MADS, except that it consisted of a team of prominent scientists who operated together. Their purpose is yet to be revealed to One Piece readers.
MADS members sailed the seas through their ship, which also served as their laboratory. They presented it as a "research lab for peace," even adorning it with a white flag with the word "pacifist" written on it.
This vessel was provided by the underworld's big name Du Feld, who also provided them with the necessary funding for their research. So far, only four members of MADS have been officially revealed: Dr Vegapunk, Judge Vinsmoke, Queen, and Caesar Clown.
The man considered the world's greatest scientist, Dr Vegapunk, has become the head of the Marines' SSG, an eponymous team and project. However, it seems that he is not truly loyal to the World Government.
Judge Vinsmoke is the supreme commander of the Germa 66 army and the king of the Germa Kingdom. Being the patriarch of the Vinsmoke family, Judge is Sanji's biological father.
A cyborg who modified his body with several enhancements, Queen joined the Beasts Pirates and was considered the strongest among their ranks. During the Wano Arc, Queen was defeated by Sanji.
Caesar Clown is an expert on chemical weapons of mass destruction. A former subordinate of Doflamingo and later Big Mom, Caesar has been an antagonist to the Strawhat Pirates during the Punk Hazard Arc.
All of these scientists have been proven to be brilliant researchers in their own right. They are responsible for various scientific accomplishments, including cybernetics, artificial Devil Fruits, gigantification, cloning, and artificial diseases.
For this reason, when they worked together in MADS, the World Government felt threatened by their studies and declared them criminals. This led to the persecution of MADS and its eventual disbandment.
Dr Vegapunk's research and discoverings about the Lineage Factor were considered especially dangerous by the World Government higher-ups, who ordered his arrest. However, Vegapunk and his assistants were later absorbed into the Marines' scientific division.
Who is Stussy?
Stussy is a CP0 agent who first appeared during the Whole Cake Island arc. She has incredible infiltrating skills, pretending to be an underworld businesswoman to cover her work as a secret agent.
Stussy is a masked agent, meaning that within the ranks of CP0, she is one of the most powerful members of the entire organization. A testament to this is the fact that she has mastered the Rokushiki to the point where she can even use advanced versions of several techniques, such as an enhanced Shigan.
Since the Levely Arc, Stussy has been recurringly depicted alongside Lucci and Kaku, seemingly having formed a trio with them. The three masked agents of CP0 have recently been tasked with the mission to kill Dr Vegapunk on behalf of the World Government.
As such, Lucci, Kaku, and Stussy arrived on Egghead Island, immediately starting to wreak havoc on it in search of Vegapunk and his six satellite bodies. Interestingly, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has apparently hinted at Stussy having already been on Egghead Island in the past.
Why One Piece 1070 may have hinted at Stussy being a former member of MADS
The cover story of "Germa 66's ahh... an emotionless excursion" featured the return of the Vinsmoke siblings to the Germa Kingdom along with Caesar after escaping Whole Cake Island.
Though, once they met Judge Vinsmoke, a sudden fight sparked between Judge and Caesar. During their skirmish, they reminisced about their earlier days in MADS.
Featuring this flashback, the cover story included with One Piece chapter 1069 revealed that Du Feld was the financier of the MADS group. Interestingly, the cover story with One Piece chapter 1070 raised the bar of the revelations even higher, disclosing that MADS consisted of five members rather than four.
In addition to the already known four male members, One Piece chapter 1070 introduced a female scientist as the fifth member of MADS. One Piece author Eiichiro Oda purposely refrained from revealing the full identity of this woman, deciding to draw her from behind without showing her face.
However, it seems highly feasible that this mysterious woman is none other than current CP0 masked agent Stussy. The design of the female scientist pictured on the cover of One Piece chapter 1070 is extremely similar to hers.
Both Stussy and the female scientist have slender and gracious bodies and short curly hair. Moreover, like Stussy, the mysterious woman wears a pair of fishnet stockings and a hat. The similarity in their looks is astonishingly evident.
Also, Stussy was perfectly aware of the unique features and defensive mechanisms of Vegapunk's laboratory. She even commented about being on Egghead with a nostalgic tone. This occurrence, which heavily surprised fans, clearly hints that she has already visited Egghead in the past.
The pieces of evidence don't stop here. During the Whole Cake Island Arc, which featured her first comparison in the series, Stussy was shown to have a certain degree of familiarity with Du Feld, who was recently revealed to be the financier of MADS.
Stussy's age is yet to be revealed, but it has been implied that she appears younger than she is. She was shown to be very sensitive about this, angrily scolding someone who brought the matter up. Curiously, the person who talked about Stussy's age was Du Feld, an individual involved with MADS.
One Piece author Eiichiro Oda is no stranger to putting massive red herrings to mislead readers and their theories. However, with all these different clues, some rather telling, the chances of Stussy being the mysterious fifth member of MADS are high.
Final thoughts
With the big reveal on the cover of One Piece chapter 1070, it turns out that the MADS group included another member in addition to the already revealed Vegapunk, Judge, Caesar, and Queen. Interestingly enough, the mysterious person was a woman.
Given the strong pieces of evidence that Oda purposedly left, the fact that the female scientist was none other than CP0 agent Stussy seems rather liable. Possibly, she was a spy the World Government hired to infiltrate MADS to destroy the group from the inside or to retrieve information on their activities.
It's also feasible that she joined the World Government only after the disbandment of MADS. Admittedly, no assumptions can be discarded in One Piece. It may even be possible that Stussy is loyal to Vegapunk and that she has always been plotting against the World Government on the scientist's behalf.
Depending on her future actions, the upcoming chapters will prove if Stussy truly was a member of MADS, as well as where her real allegiance lies. After teasing readers with some lore, Eiichiro Oda will certainly wrap up all the loose ends together.
