"Gong Xiong is hopeless… he's been completely turned into a weaponized human!"
Captain Zhan Momomaru of the Marine Science Corps shook his head with a sigh.
Even he hadn't known, until this very day, that Bonney and the Tyrant Bear shared a father-daughter bond.
And now, that cruel truth made his heart heavy.
When Sugisawa Yuuto brought Bonney to Egghead Island before, one of his goals had been to help the girl reunite with her father—to restore what the World Government had stolen from them.
But right now… such a reunion seemed impossible.
They were destined never to recognize each other again—worse yet, they might one day stand as enemies on opposite sides of the battlefield.
Even as a Marine, Zhan Momomaru couldn't help but feel a trace of sorrow.
He wasn't alone.
When Bonney's desperate cry rang out across the battlefield, Sabo, Lindbergh, Morley, and Karasu all froze in disbelief.
"What… what did she just say?"
"That girl called the Tyrant Bear her father?"
The Revolutionary Army commanders looked at one another, dumbfounded.
"Wait, are you saying… that girl is Mr. Bear's daughter?" Sabo asked, stunned.
Koala blinked at him. "You didn't know?"
"I had no idea!" Sabo exclaimed.
Koala scratched her head awkwardly. "Ah—well, I actually found out a while ago… and kind of forgot to tell you. But hey, now you know!"
Sabo let out a helpless laugh and shook his head—but the amusement faded from his face a second later.
"What's wrong, Sabo?" Koala asked.
"Mr. Bear… his condition isn't good," Sabo said gravely.
"Yeah," Morley added, face full of grief. "Koala-chan, listen—he doesn't even recognize us anymore!"
"When we went to rescue him, he attacked us," Lindbergh said bitterly.
"The government completely transformed him," Karasu muttered darkly. "He's lost all his memories… all his humanity. If this keeps up, Bonney will be in danger."
Sabo clenched his fists. "How could this happen to Mr. Bear—and his daughter?"
Just as despair began to settle over them—
"Wake up, you idiot!" Bonney screamed again.
And then—
A flicker of light passed through the Tyrant Bear's mechanical eyes.
The massive cyborg slowly raised one of his giant, steel-plated hands… and gently placed it on Bonney's head.
"Sorry, Bonney," he said softly, voice heavy with emotion. "Dad's back."
Bonney's eyes filled with tears. "You're so slow, you big idiot!"
Then she threw herself into his arms, sobbing, laughing, and clinging to him all at once.
"But it's really… really good to have you back!"
Around them, the Fairy Tail girls cheered and clapped, genuinely happy for Bonney.
"That's amazing, Bon-chan!"
"Finally reunited!"
Their joy was pure and heartfelt.
On the other side of the battlefield, however, the top Marine officers stood frozen in disbelief.
"What… what are we seeing right now?"
"He underwent a complete transformation!"
"He was supposed to be a mindless weapon!"
"All of his memories, all emotions—erased!"
"Then how—how can he respond like that now?"
Kizaru narrowed his eyes, his lazy grin fading. "Well, well… this really is something. Don't tell me that crafty Vegapunk left a back door."
"Impossible!" barked another officer. "Tyrant Bear was thoroughly converted by Vegapunk's technology!"
"So far, every version of him has behaved like a perfect weapon!"
"How could a single word—just one voice—reverse that?"
"With Vegapunk's brilliance, there's no way he'd make such an amateur mistake!"
"Unless…"
The roomful of high-ranking Marines exchanged uneasy looks.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Chief of Staff, sighed softly. "It seems the rumors were true… Vegapunk must have already joined them."
Indeed—ever since Sugisawa Yuuto's intervention, countless events had begun to deviate from the original course of history.
Including the transformation of the Tyrant Bear.
Vegapunk hadn't actually erased his personality or memories.
He had sealed them away—hidden within a memory module.
And the key to unlocking that seal… was his daughter's voice.
Now, at Bonney's tearful cry, the sealed memories had returned.
"Ah, so that's it…" Sabo breathed after listening to Koala's explanation. Relief washed over his face.
"Honestly, Koala-chan, you should've told us earlier," Morley huffed, half exasperated, half amused. "You had us worried sick!"
Koala stuck out her tongue playfully. "My bad! I kinda forgot~!"
"As expected of Fairy Tail," Lindbergh muttered with a grin.
"Yeah," Karasu nodded. "All according to President Sugisawa Yuuto's calculations."
At that moment—while nearly every eye on the battlefield was fixed on Bonney and her father—
another reunion was quietly unfolding elsewhere.
"Master Moria~~~!"
Perona, the "Ghost Princess," floated through the air and landed beside Gekko Moria, who was hiding in the shadows, his face twisted with frustration.
Moria turned at the familiar voice. The anger melted from his expression, replaced by surprise—and a hint of joy.
"Perona… you're safe? That's… that's wonderful!"
"Master Moria! You're alive! That's all that matters!" Perona cried, wiping away tears.
When she'd left Thriller Bark, Sugisawa Yuuto had told her he hadn't killed Moria—and she'd been relieved. But later, she'd worried.
Even if Yuuto hadn't harmed him, there were others on that island who might have.
The countless victims Moria had oppressed over the years wouldn't have let him go so easily.
But now—seeing him alive before her—her heart finally felt at ease.
"Thanks to Hoback, I survived," Moria said gruffly.
"Perona, I know what you've been through," he added, his tone softening. "But it's all right now. I'll protect you. Come with me—we'll escape this cursed battlefield and get free from Fairy Tail's control."
He reached out a massive, clawed hand toward her—an invitation and a plea.
But Perona didn't move. Her wide eyes trembled with conflict.
...
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