Saturn is dead and has been replaced with Figarland Garling. Since we also now know that Saturn was in this position at least 200 years ago, it’s safe to say that the death and replacement of an Elder Star hasn’t happened in living human memory. But unlike Imu, the Elders are public figures. This isn’t the kind of thing the World Government can just cover up. But they also certainly aren’t going to publish the truth. So, with all the publically known and unknown factors of the Egghead Incident, what’s their official spin?

First of all, why not say Saturn was killed by Straw Hat Luffy? They blamed Sabo for the death of Cobra after all, and that would make for a good narrative parallel in addition to being established as a valid tactic to them. But let’s also examine what happened after they did that: flags of revolt were raised across the world, and “Flame Emperor” Sabo became a symbol of the revolution. What would happen if they give a notorious Emperor of the Sea the “credit” for killing a member of the highest authority in the world? Who have been ruling for every human being’s entire life? Would they really want to admit that a mere pirate, even an Emperor, is capable of killing them? And not only successfully killing one, but escaping afterward? That could give the public ideas – guillotine-y ideas. So how do they make this death look like a tragic isolated incident that was already punished and can’t possibly be repeated?

My theory: They pin Saturn’s death on Dr. Vegapunk. To borrow a beat from Dressrosa, the World Government issues a retraction. The claim that Luffy was holding Vegapunk hostage was false – they misread the situation because it was so unbelievable. The “truth” is that Dr. Vegapunk was colluding with famed criminal Monkey D. Luffy and his crew to revolt against the World Government! He tasked the wicked pirates with protecting him while he made his false claims against the World Government, and when the broadcast was finished, he used a vile weapon of super science to take the life of Saturn. However, law-abiding citizens of the world need not despair. Although they couldn’t protect Saturn, the brave soldiers of the Navy, with particular commendation to Admiral Kizaru, were able to kill Vegapunk in righteous retribution, and stop his seditious plot before it caused even more damage.