diff --git a/crates/mega-evm/src/evm/host.rs b/crates/mega-evm/src/evm/host.rs
index f45c3c0..1422623 100644
--- a/crates/mega-evm/src/evm/host.rs
+++ b/crates/mega-evm/src/evm/host.rs
@@ -439,6 +439,13 @@ impl<DB: revm::Database> JournalInspectTr for Journal<DB> {
     ) -> Result<&EvmStorageSlot, Self::DBError> {
         let transaction_id = self.transaction_id;
         let is_rex4_enabled = spec.is_enabled(MegaSpecId::REX4);
+        // EIP-7702 storage semantics: storage belongs to the original address (delegator),
+        // not the delegate. So `is_created` must be checked on the original address — an
+        // EOA delegating via 7702 is never CREATEd, so its flag is always false. Checking
+        // the delegate's flag instead would mistakenly short-circuit storage reads when the
+        // delegate happens to be a freshly-CREATEd contract in the same tx, corrupting
+        // SSTORE accounting (gas / kv_updates / data_size) on the delegator's slots.
+        let is_newly_created = inspect_account(self, address)?.is_created();
         // REX4+: storage belongs to the original address, not the delegate — do not follow
         // EIP-7702 delegation here (matching upstream revm's sload behavior).
         // Pre-REX4: follows delegation (original behavior).
@@ -457,9 +464,15 @@ impl<DB: revm::Database> JournalInspectTr for Journal<DB> {
             };
             return Ok(account.storage.get(&key).unwrap());
         }
-        // Slot doesn't exist, load from DB and insert
-        let slot = self.database.storage(address, key)?;
-        let mut slot = EvmStorageSlot::new(slot, transaction_id);
+        // Slot doesn't exist. For newly-created accounts, post-CREATE storage is
+        // guaranteed empty (EIP-161 / EIP-6780), so return ZERO without touching the DB.
+        // Querying here would otherwise generate a witness lookup for a slot that has no
+        // meaningful pre-state value — which fails for stateless replay when CREATE lands
+        // on a pre-funded address (its `Loaded` cache status bypasses revm's
+        // `State::storage` short-circuit and exposes the call to the witness backend).
+        let slot_value =
+            if is_newly_created { U256::ZERO } else { self.database.storage(address, key)? };
+        let mut slot = EvmStorageSlot::new(slot_value, transaction_id);
         // deliberately mark the slot as cold since we are only inspecting it, not warming it
         slot.mark_cold();
         // Load account again to bypass the borrow checker and insert the slot
diff --git a/crates/mega-evm/tests/mini_rex/db_error.rs b/crates/mega-evm/tests/mini_rex/db_error.rs
index 10230fd..cd54ac3 100644
--- a/crates/mega-evm/tests/mini_rex/db_error.rs
+++ b/crates/mega-evm/tests/mini_rex/db_error.rs
@@ -135,6 +135,47 @@ fn test_call_with_transfer_db_error_on_inspect_account() {
     }
 }
 
+/// Regression: `inspect_storage` must not query `DB::storage` for accounts created in the
+/// current transaction. Their post-CREATE storage is guaranteed empty (EIP-161 / EIP-6780),
+/// so any DB read returns ZERO at best — and fails outright under stateless replay, where
+/// no witness exists for these slots when CREATE lands on a pre-funded address (its
+/// `Loaded` cache status bypasses revm's `State::storage` short-circuit).
+///
+/// The injected DB is configured to error on every `storage()` read of slot 0 at the
+/// to-be-created address. With the fix, `inspect_storage` short-circuits to ZERO for
+/// newly-created accounts and the error is never triggered, so the CREATE succeeds.
+/// Without the fix, the constructor's SSTORE pre-read would surface `EVMError::Custom`
+/// (mini-rex routes SSTORE through `additional_limit_ext::sstore`, which calls
+/// `inspect_storage` to compute the original/present values before writing).
+#[test]
+fn test_inspect_storage_skips_db_for_newly_created_account() {
+    // Initcode: SSTORE slot 0 = 0x42; STOP. The SSTORE pre-read goes through
+    // `inspect_storage` and is the path the fix targets.
+    let initcode = BytecodeBuilder::default().sstore(U256::ZERO, U256::from(0x42)).stop().build();
+
+    // CALLER's nonce starts at 0, so the top-level CREATE deploys to `CALLER.create(0)`.
+    let created = CALLER.create(0);
+
+    let mut inner_db = MemoryDatabase::default();
+    inner_db.set_account_balance(CALLER, U256::from(100_000_000_000u64));
+    // Pre-fund the future contract address so its DB cache status is `Loaded` rather than
+    // `Vacant` — this is the scenario that exposed the original bug.
+    inner_db.set_account_balance(created, U256::from(1));
+
+    let mut db = ErrorInjectingDatabase::new(inner_db);
+    // The fix means this DB call must never happen. If it does, the test fails.
+    db.fail_on_storage = Some((created, U256::ZERO));
+
+    let result = transact(MegaSpecId::MINI_REX, db, CALLER, None, initcode, U256::ZERO, 10_000_000);
+
+    let res = result.expect("CREATE should not surface a DB error");
+    assert!(
+        res.result.is_success(),
+        "CREATE should succeed without DB::storage being queried, got: {:?}",
+        res.result
+    );
+}
+
 /// When `inspect_account_delegated` fails during STATICCALL (in `wrap_call_with_storage_gas!`),
 /// the EVM should halt with `FatalExternalError`.
 /// This tests a different code path from CALL-with-transfer: STATICCALL has no value parameter