Thriller Bark!
Bartholomew Kuma sat on a broken boulder, holding a den den mushi in his hand.
In front of him lay Moriah, motionless on the ground.
"What?! You said Moriah has been defeated?!"
An angry, low voice came from the other end of the den den mushi.
Kuma responded indifferently.
"Yes! When I arrived here, the battle was already over!"
"The Straw Hat just left this island."
Upon hearing this reply, Satan Saint's eyes on the other end of the den den mushi immediately filled with rage, and he couldn't help but curse.
"Why did that idiot provoke the Straw Hat in the first place?"
"Does he have no proper understanding of himself?"
After a furious curse, Satan Saint adjusted his emotions and asked.
"Is that guy still breathing?"
Kuma glanced at the motionless Moriah and said blandly.
"Unclear!"
Satan Saint replied.
"As long as that guy is still alive."
"Once he recovers, I want him to continue serving as a Shichibukai!"
"Specific measures will be discussed later!"
"If they keep falling one after another like this, the prestige of the Shichibukai title will be gone!"
Kuma responded indifferently.
"Understood!"
With that, he prepared to hang up the den den mushi.
Just then, he heard Satan Saint on the other side add a sentence.
"The deadline we agreed upon is fast approaching!"
"Fire Fist Ace's execution date is also nearing."
"You must complete the final modification before then!"
"This is the final deadline!"
Upon hearing this, Kuma's usually calm expression finally showed a slight ripple.
After a moment of silence, he replied.
"I know!"
"I will keep my promise!"
Receiving an affirmative answer, Satan Saint finally hung up the den den mushi with relief.
However, the moment he hung up, Kuma involuntarily murmured a name.
"Bonney…"
He had promised Satan Saint to be transformed into a human weapon, stripped of his consciousness, in order to cure his adopted daughter, Bonney.
Now that the final deadline was approaching, Bonney was his greatest concern.
"I'll go see her one last time!"
Kuma thought to himself.
Satan Saint did not allow him to meet Bonney, so he only planned to secretly glance at Bonney, considering it his final farewell.
But besides that, there was another matter that concerned Kuma.
He used his ability to instantly move to the coast, looking in the direction the Straw Hat had just left, and murmured.
"I'll go see him too!"
...
On the Sunny!
"Yohohoho…"
"Yohohoho…"
307
"Binks' Sake…"
Brook played his violin, and Uta sang loudly.
Franky, Usopp, and Chopper stuck chopsticks into their nostrils and, along with Karu, danced freely to their singing and music.
The others drank and made merry.
The entire ship was filled with laughter and joy, and the atmosphere was cheerful and harmonious!
Although a banquet had already been held last night, that was to celebrate the return of their shadows.
This time, the Straw Hat's own banquet was to welcome Brook's joining.
Ever since learning about Brook and Laboon's story at the banquet last night, no one had any objections to Brook joining.
However, at a certain moment, the laughter and joy on the ship suddenly ceased.
Everyone's attention instantly focused on a tall man who had suddenly appeared on the deck.
Upon seeing this person, most people were confused.
"Hey! Who are you?! Why did you suddenly appear on our ship?!"
"Is he an enemy?"
"He looks like he has some strength, let me try my new sword!"
Just then, Robin suddenly exclaimed.
"You are… Bartholomew Kuma!"
Robin's exclamation immediately made many people react, their brows furrowing.
And a few who didn't know who this was couldn't help but ask in confusion.
"Huh? Who is that?"
"He's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, like Moriah!"
Upon hearing this, those who hadn't recognized him immediately reacted, and everyone entered a state of alert.
"Are you here to cause trouble?!"
"Are you here to avenge Moriah?!"
"Hey! You! Say something!"
Ever since he arrived on the ship, Kuma had not said a single word, only silently observing these people.
Only then did he say blandly.
"I'm not here to fight you!"
After saying that, Kuma shifted his gaze to Luffy, looking at him and saying.
"I came to see you! Monkey D. Luffy!"
Upon hearing this, the others were all puzzled.
They didn't understand why Kuma wanted to see Luffy.
But they all remained on guard, ready to act at any moment.
Luffy, however, glanced at Kuma, then smiled slightly and said to the others.
"He means no harm, you don't need to be on guard!"
Hearing Luffy say this, although the others didn't understand, they all put away their weapons and returned to their normal state.
Seeing this, Kuma couldn't help but feel a little confused and asked.
"Oh? You trust me that much?"
Luffy smiled, (ceeb) and said.
"I've seen you!"
"A year ago! You secretly observed me in Windmill Village, didn't you?!"
"I noticed you then too, but seeing that you didn't want to be exposed, I just didn't expose you."
Upon hearing Luffy's words, Uta also suddenly recalled, and then followed Luffy's words.
"I remember now!"
"I noticed you then too!"
"I originally thought you were an enemy."
"If Luffy hadn't stopped me, I would have attacked you!"
One day a year ago.
Luffy and Uta were training in a forest when they suddenly detected an unfamiliar presence approaching them.
But because they didn't feel any killing intent from the other party.
So Luffy never made a move.
Instead, when the other party was about to leave, he turned back to look and found that the person was Kuma.
Hearing Luffy and Uta's words, Kuma couldn't help but feel a burst of surprise.
"How could that be?! I should have been very well hidden at that time."
"How did you discover me?"
As soon as he asked this question, Kuma suddenly thought of something and asked in disbelief.
"Could it be that you had already mastered Haki at that time?"
Kuma had only secretly watched for a while and then left, so he hadn't witnessed Luffy and the others using Haki.
Luffy smiled faintly when he heard this and nodded.
Upon confirmation, Kuma instead felt a sense of it being natural and said to himself.
"That's true! Since you set sail, you've created so many world-shaking big news!"
"And the speed of your strength improvement has also shocked the entire world."
"It would seem unreasonable if you hadn't mastered Haki very early!"
As soon as Kuma finished speaking, Uta couldn't help but ask in confusion.
"Why are you looking for Luffy?"
"Aren't you a Shichibukai?"
"The Shichibukai are World Government people, what do you want with Luffy?"
Upon hearing Uta's question, Kuma's gaze remained on Luffy as he spoke.
"This is my last chance."
"So I wanted to see you once!"
Upon hearing Kuma's words, the others all felt bewildered and even more confused.
Only Luffy alone knew what Kuma's words meant.
Kuma was about to have his personality erased, completely becoming an emotionless war machine.
So, by "last time," he meant that once he was fully modified, it would be equivalent to his life ending.
As for why he wanted to see Luffy.
It was because of his bloodline.
As a race defined as evil by the World Government, the Buccaneers.
A legend has always circulated among their people.
Their legend believes in the existence of a liberating warrior who can bring joy to people, the Sun God Nika.
And the drumbeats and dances of the Drums of Liberation are circulated.
It is rumored that Nika has a particularly free fighting style.
The reason Kuma pays so much attention to Luffy is that he has personally witnessed Luffy's fighting style.
A year ago, he came to the Goa Kingdom.
Because when he was with the Revolutionary Army before, he came to the Goa Kingdom once with Dragon.
At that time, he heard from Dragon that Luffy was Dragon's son, so he wanted to see Luffy.
It was during that secret observation of Luffy that he saw Luffy's body, which could stretch and contract freely, and his free and unrestrained fighting style.
Since then, he has been following Luffy.
Up until now, combining Luffy's various performances since going to sea, he has vaguely regarded Luffy as the liberating warrior Nika from their clan's legend!
Although Luffy has not yet shown Nika's form, he still believes it.
After Kuma stared at Luffy for a while, he suddenly spoke.
"Alright!"
"What I wanted to do is done!"
"Monkey D. Luffy!"
"I hope the day I dream of comes soon!"
"Goodbye!"
Kuma said another string of inexplicable words to the others, then planned to use his ability to leave.
But at this moment, Luffy suddenly spoke, calling out to him.
"Wait!"
Called out by Luffy, Kuma temporarily stopped, looked at Luffy, and said faintly.
"What's wrong?"
"If you have questions about what I just said, give up!"
"I will not answer that question!"
Nika is a forbidden existence to the World Government.
If he told Luffy and his crew this name now, it would only bring them trouble.
But to Kuma's surprise, Luffy shook his head and then said.
"I'm not asking you about me."
"I'm asking..."
"About you!"
Hearing this, Kuma was instead puzzled.
He paid attention to Luffy, partly because Luffy was Dragon's son, and partly because he believed Luffy was Nika.
But Luffy didn't know him, so why would he want to ask about him?
Kuma asked in confusion.
"What do you want to ask?"
Luffy looked at Kuma and said slowly.
"You... used to be with the Revolutionary Army, right?!"
Hearing this, Kuma, including the rest of the Straw Hat, were all surprised.
The Straw Hat looked at Kuma with shocked eyes.
And Kuma looked at Luffy with shocked eyes.
Kuma frowned slightly and asked.
"How do you know?"
Luffy smiled and said.
"When I was little, you came to the Goa Kingdom once with my father!"
"I discovered you then."
Kuma's shock grew even stronger upon hearing this.
At that time, Luffy was just a half-grown little brat.
They were still watching from a distance across the coast.
Kuma never would have thought that Luffy had discovered them at that time.
He asked in incredible surprise.
"Did you already have Haki at that time?"
Kuma was very confident that when they observed Luffy, it was very secretive, and it was impossible for ordinary people to discover that someone was paying attention to him.
And for Luffy to say he discovered them, there was only this one possibility.
Luffy nodded again upon hearing this, and said faintly.
"At that time, my Observation Haki was already very proficient."
Although Kuma was prepared, he was still shocked when he actually heard Luffy say it.
He found it hard to imagine that someone could skillfully master Haki at such a young age.
While Kuma was shocked, the rest of the Straw Hat, however, discovered the key information in Luffy's words.
Nami asked.
"Luffy, you just said this Shichibukai is with the Revolutionary Army, and he was with your father."
"So... is your father also with the Revolutionary Army?"
Luffy nodded faintly upon hearing this, and said.
"Yes! He is the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon!"
Boom!
Hearing Luffy's words, everyone's hearts seemed to explode with a bombshell.
Dragon's name can be said to be known to everyone.
But they never thought that such a great figure would be Luffy's father.
Suddenly, everyone fell into deep shock and admiration.
Kuma had now recovered from his shock, and looked at Luffy, asking.
"I was indeed with the Revolutionary Army before."
"What do you want to ask?"
"About your father?"
Luffy shook his head again and said.
"I want to ask..."
"Why you gave up being with the Revolutionary Army and joined the World Government."
"And now you're saying this is your last chance, it sounds like you're about to die."
"What's going on?"
Luffy wanted to save Kuma.
In the original work, after Kuma was transformed into a human weapon, he became a slave of the Celestial Dragons, tortured in every possible way, and completely lost his humanity.
All of this was caused by Satan Saint's agreement with him.
Kuma kept the agreement entirely because of Bonney.
Now that Bonney's illness has been cured, Luffy wants Kuma to abandon that agreement and return to the Revolutionary Army.
After hearing Luffy's question, Kuma was a little confused.
"Why do you care about my problem?"
Luffy made up a reason and said.
"Because you used to stand with my father."
"So I don't want to see you standing on opposing sides."
Kuma did not doubt Luffy's very reasonable excuse.
After thinking for a moment, he replied.
"I have my reasons."
"Although I also admire Dragon very much, for some reason, I had to leave the Revolutionary Army."
Luffy pressed on.
"What reason?"
Kuma shook his head and said.
"This is my private matter."
"Even if I tell you, I won't go back to the Revolutionary Army."
"I have no more chances!"
"It's a regret that I didn't get to say goodbye to Dragon and the others."
"Since you know, if you see them in the future, please help me say goodbye to them!"
After Kuma finished speaking, he intended to leave again.
However, this time, Luffy directly grabbed him.
Luffy said in a deep voice, word by word.
"Tell me!"
"If I can't help you solve it, I won't stop you anymore."
Kuma stared at Luffy quietly.
He saw strong determination in Luffy's eyes.
It seemed that he would not give up until he heard the reason from him.
And what made Kuma feel a little strange was that he always felt that when Luffy was holding him, he looked a little unbearable, as if he knew his fate.
Facing Luffy's persistence, Kuma felt helpless, so he had to tell Luffy about him and Bonney.
However, he did not mention Nika, only talked about how he agreed to the Government's agreement to save Bonney.
After telling the story, Kuma spoke.
"You understand now, right!"
"If I don't join the World Government and act according to their wishes, Bonney will not be saved."
"If I break the agreement, they will definitely go after Bonney immediately."
"So I have no choice!"
"Straw Hat! If you meet Bonney, don't tell her about this.
"She will do something foolish!"
After Kuma said this, he thought Luffy would understand his decision and let him leave.
However, he heard Luffy say,
"If you're worried about Bonney being hunted by the World Government, then…",
"Leave her to me!"