The Straw Hat Pirates, reunited and fully restored after their "two years" apart.
Aboard the Sunny, now coated for submersion, they were heading straight for the undersea paradise of Fish-Man Island... and this happened along the way.
"Wait, so Zoro... you were training at Sue's place?"
"Yeah. I got sent somewhere else at first, but after that... she took care of me right up until recently."
Luffy and the others were giving each other brief reports on how they'd spent the past two years.
Luffy had trained on Rusukaina Island near Amazon Lily, surviving among massive, ferocious beasts alongside Dark King Rayleigh.
Nami had studied various climates, weather phenomena, and related technologies on the wandering Sky Island, Weatheria.
Usopp had survived on the Boin Archipelago while studying and training with all manner of unusual plants.
Sanji had spent his days in the Kamabakka Kingdom alongside Okama King Ivankov and his disciples, as well as Bon-chan, whom he hadn't seen since Arabasta, in a death struggle where both "recipes" and "manhood" were on the line.
Chopper had studied advanced pharmaceutical techniques in the Torino Kingdom.
Robin had broadened her knowledge and trained with the Revolutionary Army, led by Luffy's father, Monkey D. Dragon.
Franky had been in Future Country Baljimore, learning from the various inventions Dr. Vegapunk left behind while further modifying and upgrading his own body.
Brook had been at Gran Tesoro, the floating temple of entertainment on the seas of the New World, pursuing "soul music" that could move and shake people's hearts.
And Zoro... had trained under Pirate Literary Master Sue, now a member of the Shichibukai, in an environment that was sort of Survival training and sort of not, alongside Sue and her daughters.
That same Zoro had now pulled out a suitcase he'd been given just before departure, announcing "Oh yeah, she said these are souvenirs," and was opening it up on deck.
"Souvenirs? Got any food in there, Zoro?"
"There is some, but... doesn't look like there's any meat. Probably wouldn't keep, so she left it out."
The instant he heard that, Luffy deflated with a blatant "Aw, man."
Inside were vegetables and fruits, carefully wrapped to avoid damage, along with processed goods like juice, pickles, rice, and sake. No meat to be found, unfortunately.
According to Sue, who'd prepared it all: 'Somehow the lineup ended up looking like a care package you'd send to a kid living on their own. Not that I've ever had one of those.'
Of course, it wasn't just food. There was plenty of other stuff packed in as well.
"Whoa whoa whoa, this is amazing Zoro, you got all of this!?"
What an excited Usopp was holding were Dials of various types.
And from what Usopp could tell, every single one was different from anything they'd obtained in Skypiea, rare varieties he'd never seen or heard of. Mixed in among them were even new breeds developed by the Golden Lion Pirates' technology division.
For Usopp, who had a side to him as a technician, this was nothing short of a treasure trove.
Behind him, Franky, fellow technician and shipwright, was peering over his shoulder with an impressed "Ohh..." on his face.
"Hey Zoro, is it really okay for us to take these?"
"Do whatever you want with 'em. I've got no use for them, and there's no point in me keeping them. Talk it over with Franky and Nami and divide them up however you like."
Hearing that, Usopp and Franky gleefully began picking them up one by one.
No doubt the brainstorming on how to use them had already begun inside their heads.
Meanwhile, others were drawn to a different kind of "souvenir."
"Are these... books? They all seem to be works by the Pirate Literary Master."
"Yeah, those too... she said I might as well take them since I was heading out. They're all stuff I'd never read anyway, so if there's anything you want, help yourself. ...Oh right, Sue said there was one she wanted to 'hear Robin's thoughts on.' No idea which one, though."
"Oh my, well then... if she insists, I suppose I'll help myself."
"These all look so interesting... Hey Zoro, can I have some too?"
"Me too! Me too!"
Following Robin's lead, Nami and Chopper raised their hands with eager "Me! Me!" calls, each picking up books.
There'd been hints of this side of them back on the Sky Island too, but for the intellectual and cultural crowd, this was their own kind of treasure trove.
And then, just when you'd think that was all...
"Just who... the hell do you think we are!!"
"""WHOOOAAAAAAA!! THAT'S SO COOOOL!!"""
Eyes sparkling like little boys... Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Franky were glued to a Gurren Lagann anime movie being projected from a Dial.
This was separate from the Dials that had sent Usopp into his earlier frenzy as raw materials. These were the broadcast-use variety, normally distributed (or rather, sold) only to large theaters and entertainment facilities, and Sue had generously included them as souvenirs.
No doubt she'd anticipated that certain members of the Crew would react exactly like this.
And there were several more anime-loaded Dials packed in besides.
Alongside Sora, Warrior of the Sea, there were classics lined up: Blade of the Sea Overlord, Magical Girl MagiMagi Lyrica, A Night with a Half Moon, and Pirate Slayer.
All of them, of course, items not available for general sale.
As everyone excitedly picked out their favorites amid the commotion, there was... one man who couldn't get on board with any of it.
"vrburobogeiboBv*V*VAD..."
"Speak human."
Sanji. Looking like every drop of life and expression had been drained from him, Zombie-like.
Not only had Luffy been sent to Amazon Lily and spent two years there, but Zoro too had been at Sue's place, training with her daughters and close aides in yet another environment surrounded almost entirely by women. Apparently there was one man, a childhood friend, but still.
Even Zoro's weary sigh about how "being one of only two guys in a house full of women was kind of awkward" just looked like bragging to Sanji.
He himself had spent two years on an isolated island swarming with countless monsters (Okama), without a single moment of peace. Not day, not night, not in body, not in mind.
And all that time, Zoro had been living comfortably with beautiful women and girls. With all-you-can-eat meals, all-you-can-drink sake. On top of that, they'd even tailored training methods specifically for him, and he'd lived like that for two whole years...
Just... yeah. Sanji was radiating such a dark aura of negativity you'd think some malevolent entity might spontaneously manifest from it.
He was glaring at Zoro with eyes intense enough to suggest his inner monologue ran something like 'If looks could kill.'
Zoro, of course, was calmly ignoring him, having already cracked open one of the sake bottles from the "souvenirs" and started drinking.
While those two were doing their thing, Brook suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Yohoho, now that I think of it... I had a delivery for Luffy-san."
"Hm? What's that, you call me, Brook?"
Luffy had just finished watching the anime. Brook reached into his own luggage and produced a small parcel, about the size you could hold in one hand, along with a letter tied to it.
"I was told to give this to you if I met you. It's... from Uta-san."
"...Uta!? Wait, Brook, you know Uta? You actually met her?"
"Yes. She is, after all, the number one Songstress of Gran Tesoro. I've shared the stage with her several times, in fact. The details should be in the letter, but... she said to say hello."
"I see... so she's doing fine."
A childhood friend, a girl from whom he'd been suddenly separated when they were small.
Remembering the days he'd spent happily with her, her father Shanks, and his companions, all together... Luffy read the letter in his hands.
The contents were nothing out of the ordinary.
So you really did become a pirate, I'm glad you seem to be doing well, come visit Gran Tesoro sometime... and so on. Just a normal letter of catching up and the like, the kind you'd send to a close childhood friend you hadn't seen in a while.
Along with that, what Brook had brought was a Tone Dial with Uta's singing recorded on it. And not just any Tone Dial: it was a top-of-the-line model capable of the highest sound quality, an exquisite piece costing one or two digits more than the Tone Dials available to the general public.
From that shell, the voice of the world's greatest Songstress flowed out and resonated across the Sunny's deck.
Luffy listened with nostalgia, thinking, 'Man, Uta's gotten even better at singing.'
Nami, Robin, and the others who didn't know Uta found themselves captivated by that voice, hearing it for the first time.
Brook felt a surge of pride for the girl who had, if only temporarily, been his colleague.
And Sanji, who had been on the verge of falling to the dark side, found his Soul quietly redeemed.
One way or another... in an atmosphere that had, charitably speaking, settled into a nice harmony, or less charitably, just sort of fizzled out, the Straw Hat Pirates drew ever closer to Fish-Man Island.
...Incidentally, shortly after this, Sanji was overjoyed when he saw a two-shot photo of Uta that Brook had. But the very next moment, upon hearing that she was Luffy's childhood friend, and that the two seemed to be ridiculously close emotionally at that, he once again cloaked himself in a dark aura rivaling a Special Grade Cursed Object.
***
Celestial Dragons are garbage. That much is crystal clear.
...No, seriously, there's nothing else I can even say here...
They blew past the "worst case" I could have imagined like it was nothing. People can be this evil, this ugly, this selfish, treating other people as less than... No, it's no good. No matter how many words I throw at it, I can't express it.
Embarrassing to admit as a "Literary Master," but... that's how thoroughly the World Government was garbage.
The memories carved into Kuma's body.
I had those turned into a book and read them, but... the contents were dozens of times harder to bear than anything I'd imagined, and just getting through the whole thing was exhausting. Mentally.
In fiction, in creative works, I've both read and written stories more gruesome than this.
But when I think about how this actually happened... and that this kind, truly kind Kuma endured all that pain, and that Bonney, and her Mother, who should have been innocent of any wrongdoing, had to suffer through it... yeah...
My daughters and two close aides were reading along with me, and several of them dropped out partway through.
Some left the room because they couldn't bear to watch any more, others stopped reading because they couldn't stop crying...
As for Bonney, she broke down sobbing along the way, but... she kept reading to the very end.
And when she finished... she collapsed from exhaustion and lost consciousness.
She's been moved to the infirmary now and is resting. Her subordinates, and I should probably stick with that term for now, are with her, so I'll leave things in their hands for the time being.
Most likely... Bonney is going to need some time to recover. Learning the truth like that... who knows how deep a wound it left on her heart.
An ordinary person might be crushed by the guilt, even though there's no reason to feel any. That's the kind of past it was.
Especially since Bonney is still just a...
...But, if... even so, if Bonney stands back up...
If she learns the past, accepts it, and on top of all that... still wants to save Kuma...
...Then there's no need to hesitate. I'll cheer her on with everything I've got.
Whether bound by blood or not, the bond between parent and child runs deep and strong. That's something... both my daughters and I know veeeery well.
And honestly, I think that's exactly what's going to happen.
Bonney is a strong kid. I know that much very well too.
So, to cut to the conclusion... my prediction at the time was half right and half wrong.
The half that was right: Bonney properly recovered and came back.
Her spirit didn't break... if anything, her resolve was renewed, stronger than ever.
The half that was wrong: Bonney, who I thought would need a decent amount of time to heal...
"Please... to save my father... lend me your power, all of you!"
...was back on her feet the very next day.
And now, here she was, having stormed into my room with her subordinates... bowing her head.
Adding to what they'd already investigated, what the "memories" made clear was this: Kuma had indeed undergone his final modification at Vegapunk's hands, and as a result, lost both his personality and his memories.
Just as Bonney had said before, you could even say that Kuma, as a person, had died at that point.
But... the process itself had been quite unusual, and that was also a fact.
Since the process wasn't normal, there was a chance, however slim, that some equally "abnormal" method might be able to achieve a partial or even complete restoration. That possibility wasn't zero.
"Then I... don't want to give up. If there's even the slightest chance... even 0.1%... I don't want to give up on saving my father! I won't give up, I won't despair... not until I've done everything I possibly can!"
"..."
"If you need payment, I'll do anything! Anything I'm capable of! So... so please! Lend me your power... to save my dad! So that... so that my dad, who was so kind, can see how much I've grown, one more time!!"
Do I really need to spell out how I, how we, answered that desperate plea?
To be continued...