One Piece is currently in its Egghead Island arc and this arc has been central to the character of Vegapunk. Fans have been waiting for Vegapunk for decades and Oda has finally revealed this genius navy scientist to the fans. Of course, as soon as fans realized that this arc was going to feature Dr. Vegapunk, it became quite clear that Egghead Island would have several majestic inventions featured in it.
One of the many inventions that fans saw was the Mark 3 Pacifista. Fans are very well familiar with the Pacifistas in One Piece, however, the Mark 3 version of this cyborg proved to be on a completely different level altogether.
The Pacifista Project
The Pacifista Project started long before the beginning of Luffy's journey. By this point, the warlord system was already established, as fans know that Bartholomew Kuma was actually a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea by this point. Despite hating the World Government, Kuma, for some reason, decided to give up his freedom and volunteer for the Pacifista Project. This project was led by none other than Dr Vegapunk and it would see him being turned into a cyborg, piece by piece. Why Kuma volunteered for this project remains unknown, however, it is highly likely that this had something to do with his daughter. Perhaps, Kuma's very own secret bloodline that he was hunted for as a kid forced him to do it since he did not want his own daughter to face a similar fate.
Regardless of the reason, Kuma ended up volunteering for this project and Vegapunk started to work on his body. Initially, Kuma retained all of his emotions and senses since Vegapunk did not start with his heart or his brain. The process of turning Kuma into a cyborg started with his hands. Slowly, Kuma started gaining the powers of a cyborg. After his hands, his legs were next and from there onwards, Vegapunk decided to work his way up his body. All of Kuma's personality remained intact until Vegapunk made changes to his brain. This happened shortly before the events of the Paramount War.
When Zoro fought against Bartholomew Kuma, he retained his personality to quite a great degree. However, when Ivankov fought against him during the Paramount War, Kuma was a completely different person who did not even recognize him anymore. Doflamingo then went on to explain that the Pacifista Project that Vegapunk was working on with Kuma was near its completion recently and the person standing in front of Ivankov was not Kuma anymore. This goes to show that the Pacifista Project eventually took away his humanity as well as his personality.
Why Kuma on sacrificed himself for this project will surely be answered in the Egghead Island arc. Fans know Kuma to be a character heavily involved in this arc and surely, answers will be provided to this as the story moves on.
The Upgrades Made On The Pacifista
The Pacifistas became a great source of power for the World Government. Even while the project was going on, the Pacifistas were deployed across various parts of the world by the World Government whenever there was a need to quell piracy and maintain order. This has been seen on several occasions in the story. For instance, the Pacifistas were sent to Sabaody Archipelago when the Super Rookies arrived on the island. Even in the New World, pirates had heard about the Pacifistas and news that they were being worked upon by Dr. Vegapunk. The Paramount War, which was the biggest war at that point in the story, also saw these powerful Pacifistas being deployed. Even strong pirates of the New World had trouble dealing with them and they needed the help of Boa Hancock, who ultimately subdued all of them effortlessly on her own.
While the Pacifistas were taken care of then, it was soon made clear that they weren't the final version of this invention. Vegapunk was still working on the Pacifistas and bettering them with time. After the timeskip, fans managed to see an upgraded version of the Pacifista when Luffy returned to Sabaody Archipelago. Although they looked quite similar to the ones that fans saw before the timeskip, they were indeed stronger. Despite that, Luffy managed to take one down in a single punch while Zoro and Sanji combined to defeat one. The Pacifistas continued to grow with time and they had several upgrades made to them. On Egghead Island, Vegapunk continued to upgrade them and even incorporated some interesting abilities into their bodies, such as the resin from the Yarukiman Mangrove. Eventually, he ended up creating what fans know to be the Mark 3 Pacifista.
Mark 3 Pacifista
The Mark 3 Pacifista were finally introduced to the fans during the Egghead Island arc. These are the much-strengthened version of the original Pacifista that Vegapunk continued to work on even after the events of the Paramount War. Just like the original Pacifista, Mark 3 was based off of the body of the former Warlord of the Sea, Bartholomew Kuma as well. However, their clothes are very different. The outfit of the original Pacifistas war was very similar to the outfit that the original Kuma wears. In the case of the Mark 3 Pacifistas, things are very different. The Mark 3 Pacifista wears a very different outfit, which appears to be bulkier.
However, the main difference between the Mark 3 and the original Pacifistas isn't their outfit. It is their level of strength. The Mark 3 Pacifista is known to be strong enough to deal with New World pirates as well. Their power is great enough to subdue even strong fighters. They are blessed with different abilities, such as the power to produce resin from their hands which acts as the ultimate shield. This resin was seen to be strong enough to stop a bazooka from point-blank range, which is nothing short of staggering. On top of everything, the natural power of the Pacifista is likely much greater than what the previous versions possessed.
On Egghead Island, there appear to be 50 of the Mark 3s, as confirmed by Sentomaru. All of them appear to be under his control at the moment, however, as was mentioned in the story earlier, the hierarchy for the Pacifista sees the Five Elders at the very top, followed by Dr. Vegapunk, then Sentomaru and, finally, whoever has the control chip.
The Mark 3 Pacifista are going to play a very important role in the Egghead Island arc. They will be heavily involved in the Egghead Incident, which is less than a day away now. All 50 of the Mark 3 Pacifista will be fighting for the Straw Hat Pirates and Vegapunk against the World Government and the Navy. However, the tides of the battle could turn at any moment since one of the Five Elders, Jaygarcia Saturn is with The Navy. Given that it was already established that the 5 Elders have the highest order of control over the Pacifistas, both the Seraphim and the Mark 3's could very well turn against the Straw Hat Pirates.