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"I knew your father."
The words hit Bonney like a punch. Her hands dropped, the pink glow vanishing instantly. Her eyes widened, staring at Mihawk with utter disbelief.
"And I have the answers to your questions."
The silence that followed was so deep, you could've heard a gull fly overhead. Even Gauss froze, his staff still pointed at Bonney, but his attention fully seized by the unexpected exchange.
"Dad..." Bonney whispered, her voice breaking. "You... you knew my dad?"
The tears that neither pain nor exhaustion had managed to draw finally began to form at the corners of her eyes.
Mihawk gave a slight nod.
"Bartholomew Kuma was... a remarkable man." He paused, his eyes never leaving hers. "A man who sacrificed more than anyone ever should. For his family. For his daughter. For you."
The revelation hit Gauss like a thunderclap. His eyes widened in horror and disbelief. How… how could Mihawk know such high-level state secrets? Information about Bartholomew Kuma and his daughter was classified at the highest level. Only top-ranking Marines and World Government leaders were aware of such details.
"Impossible…" he muttered under his breath, his face turning pale. "How do you know that?!"
With a subtle yet precise gesture, Gauss signaled to one of his Marines in the rear. The man, immediately grasping the urgency, slipped quietly into the shadows behind the rocks. HQ had to be notified. Immediately. If Mihawk held that kind of knowledge...
Bonney, meanwhile, hung on Mihawk's every word. Tears now streamed freely down her dirt-streaked cheeks.
"You… you really know?" she stammered. "You know why Dad never came back? You know what happened to him?"
Mihawk nodded slowly, his gaze softening — a change so subtle only Law and Bonney noticed.
"I know his story. The real one. Not the one the Government fabricated." His voice shifted to something gentler, almost paternal. "I know why he agreed to become a Warlord. I know what he gave up to protect you. And I know where you truly come from, Jewelry Bonney."
"SILENCE!" Gauss suddenly roared, his voice booming through the cove. The crystal orb atop his staff now pulsed with blinding light, fueled by his panic and rage. "You're overstepping, Mihawk! That information is—"
But the fallen Warlord didn't even glance at him. His eyes remained locked on Bonney, his hand still outstretched.
"You were just a child," he continued, his calm tone clashing with Gauss's shouts. "You weren't meant to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. You weren't meant to grow up in fear and solitude. Let me help carry that burden."
"MIHAWK!" Gauss exploded, his face twisted with fury. "By doing this, you're starting an all-out war! The World Government won't stand for it!"
This time, Mihawk finally turned to look at him. A faintly amused smile tugged at his lips.
"All-out war? The World Government has quite a bit on its plate, doesn't it? What with the Revolution gaining strength and the chaos in the New World..."
"You underestimate us!" Gauss spat.
"Do I?" Mihawk replied with feigned curiosity. "Tell me, Gauss… have the Seraphim been completed? I admit, I'm rather curious to face my own copy."
Gauss's blood ran cold. How… how could he possibly know about the Seraphim? That project was the Marine's most tightly guarded secret! His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, unable to form words.
Bonney, who had listened to the exchange with growing intensity, turned toward Mihawk. Her eyes, still glistening with tears, shimmered with a mix of hope and heartbreak.
"You… you're telling the truth?" she whispered. "You really can tell me what happened to Dad?"
Mihawk's face softened even more. A smile touched his lips — so rare and unexpected that even Law was left speechless.
'A real smile… from Mihawk,' thought the Surgeon of Death, eyes wide. 'I just witnessed a genuine smile from Dracule Mihawk. No one will ever believe me.'
"I promise you."
Slowly, very slowly, Bonney raised her trembling hand toward his.
"NEVER!" Gauss screamed.
The Vice Admiral raised his staff, the crystal orb atop it exploding in a burst of blinding light. A beam of pure energy surged toward Bonney, ready to obliterate her.
But before the beam could reach her, a wave of Conqueror's Haki of titanic intensity swept across the cove.
The very air seemed to harden. The Marines, caught in the blast of overwhelming willpower, dropped like flies. Their weapons slipped from numb fingers as they collapsed face-first into the sand, unconscious. Even the strongest among them couldn't stand against that crushing pressure for more than a few seconds.
Even Gauss, despite his rank, felt his knees buckle. The beam he had fired fizzled out pathetically, and his staff slipped from his hands, landing in the sand with a dull thud. He collapsed to his knees, gasping, sweat dripping from his brow.
Silence returned to the cove, broken only by the faint moans of unconscious Marines.
Mihawk, perfectly calm, looked down at the Vice Admiral crumpled before him.
"Given the nature of the information exchanged here," he said in a quiet, composed voice, "it's clear I can't let you leave alive."
Pure terror flooded Gauss's eyes. He looked up at Mihawk, and what he saw froze the blood in his veins. In the fading afternoon light, the Warlord's shadow stretched and twisted, taking on monstrous proportions. His golden eyes gleamed like those of a predator, and his face… his face was that of a demon.
Gauss's pupils dilated in raw fear as Mihawk stepped closer, hand reaching slowly for the hilt of Yoru.
The black steel of the massive blade sang softly as it slid from its sheath.