One Piece chapter 1062 (Theory): Why the Vegapunk situation may mirror Naruto's Nagato and the Pains

One Piece chapter 1062’s spoilers and unofficial scanlations from throughout the week have made it abundantly clear that Dr. Vegapunk isn’t at all what fans were expecting. After being introduced as a woman in the previous issue, it was revealed that there were many Vegapunks, one of whom may or may not be the true Vegapunk.

This has led many to theorize on whether One Piece chapter 1062 is suggesting that the Vegapunk situation is comparable to Nagato and his Six Paths of Pain in Naruto. While each of the Vegapunk bodies shown so far seems to have some autonomy, the two situations could be similar in that the real Dr. Vegapunk is somehow in charge of the others.

Follow along as this article fully discusses and analyzes whether or not the Dr. Vegapunk situation as of One Piece chapter 1062 is similar to Naruto’s Nagato and the Pains.

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One Piece chapter 1062’s description of the Vegapunks suggest similar situation to Nagato and the Pains from Naruto

Throughout the week, One Piece chapter 1062’s spoilers continuously indicated that there were multiple Vegapunks on Egghead Island. While only three have been formally introduced thus far, a scene near the end of the chapter shows Kaku detailing the existence of six "satellite" Vegapunks, implying that the true Vegapunk controls the others.

However, this is only implied via Kaku’s diagram describing their relationship, with no concrete information on the real Vegapunk’s controlling the others provided. Furthermore, as far as fans know, Kaku could just be assuming that the real Vegapunk is a separate entity, with one of the six potentially being his true form.

Likewise, as far as fans know, Kaku could also be incorrectly assuming Vegapunk to be still alive. This certainly raises plenty of questions about the state of Egghead Island, who the “true” Vegapunk is, and why Kaku, Lucci, and Stussy of CP0 are being tasked with assassinating him.

For arguments’ sake, this article will assume that the real Vegapunk is alive, whether as one of the six satellites or as a separate figure controlling the others. In either scenario, the situation can certainly be likened to Naruto’s Six Paths of Pain based on what fans know as of One Piece chapter 1062.

If Vegapunk is alive and in control of his six satellites, then the situation between him and Nagato is nearly identical. The only major differences might be the lack of shared visual sight and a lack of combat strength and power. However, this isn’t certain, with at least the Atlas Vegapunk showing herself to be capable of considerable feats of strength.

Additionally, the interaction between Vegapunk Shaka and Vegapunk Lilith early on in One Piece chapter 1062 may suggest something similar to shared sight between the 6. As opposed to being able to see what the other Vegapunks see, they may instead have a common database they can access that constantly uploads what the others are experiencing.

This would explain how Shaka was able to tell the expressions and stances of Roronoa Zoro and Nico Robin when Lilith confronted the Straw Hats. As far as fans could tell, he wasn’t in the robot with Lilith, meaning his knowledge of exactly how the Straw Hats were acting must have come via other means.

Continuing from that point, Shaka’s giving orders to Lilith early on in the issue and her apparent subservience might suggest him to be the true Vegapunk. His designation of PUNK-01 further suggests this, as well as his being introduced with a helmet on and from a perspective that shows readers his backside rather than the front.

If this does end up being the case, then one major difference between Vegapunk and Nagato is the former’s actually putting his body amongst his "vessels," for lack of a better term. Whereas Nagato controlled the Six Paths of Pain via a ranged jutsu, Vegapunk may actually be one of his equivalents to Nagato’s Pains. Even in this scenario, the two situations are strikingly similar.

Unfortunately, this is all speculative, with Kaku’s diagram and brief explanation the only concrete info One Piece chapter 1062 offers fans on the matter. While a line from Lilith early on in the issue does provide a clue that there is a main body, there’s no confirmation on who or what this main body may be, leaving fans in the dark (for now) about Vegapunk's true identity.

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