One Piece Episode 1154: The Real Reason Vegapunk Erased His Own Memory on Egghead

One Piece episode 1154 drops a bombshell: as the Straw Hats set course for Elbaf, Dr. Vegapunk falls—and his final pact with Shaka and Pythagoras to erase it all comes to light.

One Piece episode 1154 swings hard: the Straw Hats finally set sail for Elbaf, and Dr. Vegapunk Stella dies. That alone would be a lot. But the real curveball is what we learn right before that death — Vegapunk, along with Shaka and Pythagoras, scrubbed their own memories. Yes, on purpose. And it makes a messed-up kind of sense.

What Vegapunk was really doing

The episode drops a flashback that zeroes in on Stella, Shaka, and Pythagoras. They figure out someone swiped a piece of the Mother Flame — something only a Vegapunk could pull off. Stella initially thinks Lilith did it, but the traitor turns out to be York, who has been secretly feeding the World Government info about Stella’s forbidden Void Century research.

Knowing the World Government would crush him sooner or later, Stella builds a kill-switch plan: he records a message to broadcast to the entire world the second he dies. The message isn’t small stuff — it covers the Void Century, Ancient Weapons, and other knowledge the Government would never allow out in the open.

Here’s where the memory wipe comes in. To keep York and the Government from sniffing out the plan or manipulating it, Stella, Shaka, and Pythagoras erase all memory of the recent events tied to the theft and the broadcast. That way, they can’t leak anything under pressure, and no one suspects they’re hiding a global info-bomb that only triggers on Stella’s death. Stella even leaves himself a written note with a rough outline of what’s coming, plus a pretty clear acceptance that he’s not making it out.

Egghead casualties and who’s left standing

Egghead Island has been brutal for the Vegapunks. With Stella gone, the collective’s knowledge is basically scattered scraps compared to what it was. Only three Vegapunks are confirmed alive now: Lilith, Edison, and York. Lilith and a heavily damaged Edison escape with the Straw Hats, which makes Lilith the last free Vegapunk actually carrying the legacy forward (with Edison assisting). York, the traitor, ends up in World Government custody — and they keep her breathing because she’s the only one who can still produce the Mother Flame.

• Stella - Killed by Kizaru
• Lilith - Still alive and escaped with the Straw Hats
• Edison - Alive and escaped alongside Lilith
• York - Alive and in World Government custody
• Shaka - Killed by York
• Pythagoras - Destroyed during the chaos
• Atlas - Sacrificed herself so the Straw Hats could escape

So... was the memory wipe worth it?

It’s extreme, but it fits Vegapunk’s logic. If the plan is to outsmart the World Government’s control over history itself, removing his own knowledge of the plan is the one move they can’t counter. It’s cold, clever, and very Vegapunk.

If you’re catching up

One Piece is produced by Toei Animation. It’s a shonen action-fantasy adventure that kicked off on October 20, 1999, and it’s still going strong. The show sits at around a 9/10 on IMDb and an 8.73 on MyAnimeList. You can stream it on Crunchyroll and Netflix, and as of now, all episodes are available there.