The cold wind whipped along the coast of Egghead Island, New World. "Achoo! Achoo!" Bonney sneezed violently, shivering uncontrollably in Sephiroth's arms. Drenched and trembling, she resembled a soaked kitten pulled from icy waters.
Sephiroth sighed. His black wings unfurled behind him with a sharp snap. With a few powerful flaps, he soared into the air, carrying Bonney toward the island's interior. The temperature shifted dramatically as they flew—from the biting chill of winter to the gentle warmth of spring. Bonney's trembling subsided as her body gradually warmed.
The island's transformation was courtesy of Vegapunk's genius air conditioning system, converting the entire landscape from a frozen tundra to a verdant paradise. As they descended into the town, a scene of whimsical wonder unfolded before them.
Fish of every shape and size swam through the sky as if it were water. Below, towering sci-fi buildings formed a dense jungle. In their midst, two colossal figures faced off: a ferocious dragon, fangs bared, and a towering robot, poised for battle. The clash began instantly.
The dragon and robot clashed in a flurry of motion, their movements fierce yet strangely harmless. Whenever their bodies collided with the buildings, they passed straight through. The pedestrians below paid no mind, treating the spectacle as mundane.
Bonney blinked in confusion. "Huh?! They're fighting so fiercely, but nothing's getting destroyed. What's going on?"
Sephiroth smirked. "What's there to be surprised about? It's just a holographic projection. Great for movies and... well, other things."
"Other things like what?" Bonney pressed.
"Little kids shouldn't ask so many questions," Sephiroth teased. He flicked her forehead, leaving a red mark on her smooth skin.
Bonney winced and glared at him. "That's enough! Stop flicking my forehead!"
"I like it," Sephiroth said with a grin. "If you don't like it, come hit me." He flicked her again.
"Ahhh! Bastard! Bastard! I'll fight you to the death!" Bonney thrashed wildly in his grip, but her small frame was no match for his strength. She settled for hurling curses at him instead.
Her stomach growled loudly. "Damn it... I'm so hungry... I can't even move anymore..." She clutched her stomach, her face falling.
Sephiroth's smirk softened. "Alright, alright. Seeing how pitiful you look, I'll treat you to a big meal."
"Really?!" Bonney's eyes lit up, her recent torment forgotten in an instant.
"Of course," Sephiroth said. "But first, you need to change out of those wet clothes." He carried her into a nearby clothing store called "FASHION." The automatic doors slid open as they approached. Inside, the store was empty except for an operating console where customers could select their outfits. It was essentially a high-tech vending machine.
"Pick out whatever you want to wear," Sephiroth instructed. Memories of shopping with other girls flashed through his mind, prompting him to add a time limit.
"You have three minutes to pick, otherwise you'll have to keep wearing wet clothes!"
But Bonney surprised him. She didn't hesitate or compare options.
She quickly pressed a few buttons on the console and selected a black combat suit, while Sephiroth readily took out his wallet and paid. Bonney shook the sea stone shackles on her wrists, pouted, and said with some dissatisfaction:
"Hey! Can you take off these shackles on my hands? How am I supposed to put on clothes like this?"
"If you dare to escape, the consequences will be very serious, you know! I'll lock you in prison, give you no food for three days, and I'll also put delicious food everywhere you can see but can't touch, making you stare and crave until you die!" "I know! Stop nagging! I won't run away." Hearing this, Bonney couldn't help but curl her lip.
She weighed the options of escaping and being hungry in her mind, considering how to choose between the two issues. In the end, she decided to eat her fill first before thinking about this profound problem. Escaping was impossible. Given the power gap between them, Bonney trying to escape in front of Sephiroth would only bring trouble upon herself, and...
What made Bonney feel a bit strange was that although the young man in front of her kept teasing her, he didn't seem to have any ill will towards her...? Not only did he buy her clothes, but he was also preparing to treat her to a big meal.
After Sephiroth took out the key and unlocked the sea stone shackles, Bonney went into the changing room and quickly put on a black combat suit full of sci-fi style in less than two minutes. By the time Bonney walked out of the changing room again, she had transformed from the appearance of a ten-year-old child into a woman in her twenties. "Can you please not put the shackles on me anymore?
I'll follow you obediently..." As she spoke, she also affectedly cast a flirtatious glance at Sephiroth. "..." The other party's clumsy behavior made Sephiroth couldn't help but laugh inwardly for a while. However, seeing as the girl had large breasts, long legs, and a perky butt, after pondering for three seconds, he finally nodded and agreed:
"Okay!
If you're willing to be honest and not cause trouble." Hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Bonney's eyes. She muttered inwardly:
Could this bastard Marine be so captivated by my beauty that he's lost his mind? Is that why he's been so nice to me? The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After all, she was a Pirate, and Sephiroth was a Marine.
Their positions were opposite, so there was no reason for him to be so good to her. Unless this guy was lusting after her body... Sephiroth, who had already walked to the entrance of the clothing store, turned his head and glanced at Bonney, who was still standing at the changing room entrance, seemingly in a daze. He said impatiently:
"Hey! What are you spacing out for! Don't you want to eat?"
Hearing this, Bonney quickly followed behind him and walked onto the wide street. "I want to eat that!" Soon, her gaze was immediately drawn to a huge cylindrical machine. She saw a passerby insert a banknote into the machine's slot, and in less than a minute, a steaming hot hamburger was quickly produced inside the food retrieval window.
"Cola, fried chicken, ramen, pizza, hot dogs, pasta, steak..." Bonney quickly walked up to the cylindrical food production machine, raised her hand, and frantically pressed buttons, continuously pressing according to the menu catalog next to it. In a short while, she ordered over a hundred portions of food, costing Sephiroth over a hundred thousand Berries.
As the machine operated rapidly, every steaming hot dish was completed within one minute and placed on the food retrieval window. After taking out the mountain of food and placing it on the nearby dining table, Bonney sat on a chair and began to devour it without restraint, wiping out the food in front of her like a whirlwind.
Sephiroth casually picked up a steak, cut a piece with a knife and fork, put it in his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed it before nodding and saying:
"Hmm... It's a quick-made steak, so the texture is a bit off, and the flavor's just mediocre." Sephiroth tilted his head, studying the plate with a critical eye.
"That said, considering how fast this machine churns out food, it definitely has commercial potential. Could be worth promoting on a larger scale someday." He tapped his fork thoughtfully against the plate.
Swish—! A blur of motion darted past. Bonney snatched the steak from Sephiroth's plate and crammed it into her mouth, chewing with gusto.
"Mmmph! This tastes amazing! Way better than you're making it out to be," she mumbled around a mouthful of meat, already reaching for another bite.
Sephiroth set his utensils down with deliberate calm, his lip curling in disdain. "Eating like that, what taste could you possibly discern! Besides, the steak I make is a hundred times better than this!"
"Pfft, I don't believe you! You're just bragging," Bonney shot back, wagging a greasy finger at him.
"Believe it or not!" he snapped, crossing his arms.