"Magic?"
Hearing Yuuki's answer, Kuma fell silent again. Clearly, he did not believe the explanation.
"You reacted so strongly… because you're worried about your daughter, aren't you?"
Yuuki shook his head lightly.
"As expected, A child is a parent's greatest weakness."
His tone was calm.
Jewelry Bonney—one of the Eleven Supernovas, just like Luffy who would soon set sail—was Kuma's daughter.
More precisely, his adopted daughter.
Her mother was Ginny, who had joined the Revolutionary Army alongside Kuma. She had been captured by the Celestial Dragons, and during her captivity she gave birth to Bonney.
Not long after Ginny escaped from their control, she succumbed to a rare disease known as Sapphire Scale shortly after Bonney was born.
Bonney herself inherited the illness.
In truth, the disease was a side effect of drug experiments conducted by Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, one of the Five Elders who ruled the World Government.
To cure Bonney, Kuma made a bargain with Saturn.
In exchange for the treatment, Kuma surrendered everything—his memories, his will, even his ability to think—and allowed Dr. Vegapunk to transform him into a living weapon for the Marines.
In many ways, the tragedy of Kuma's life had been orchestrated entirely by Saturn.
Yuuki did not comment on Kuma's choice.
The man known across the seas as a tyrant—
Was, in reality, a deeply gentle soul who wished to repair the world with his own strength.
"You're with the Revolutionary Army? No… who exactly are you?"
Kuma's pupils contracted sharply.
He had already suspected something, but hearing Yuuki confirm Bonney was his daughter filled him with both shock and anger.
Very few people knew that truth.
Even within the Revolutionary Army, almost no one knew the full story.
And Saturn would never reveal it.
"I'm not part of the Revolutionary Army you once joined," Yuuki replied calmly.
"I'm not with the Marines or the World Government either."
He straightened slightly.
"If I had to describe myself accurately…"
"For now, I'm a pirate."
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"As for how I know all this—well."
"Magic."
"And magic… is a miracle."
"Miracle…"
For a brief moment, emotion flickered in Kuma's eyes.
"You once shook the Sorbet Kingdom by overthrowing its regime single-handedly."
"They even called it the 'one-man revolution.'"
"And now… you're about to lose even your own self."
Yuuki glanced at Kuma's heavily modified body.
"Quite a pitiful sight."
Still bound in chains, Kuma lowered his head slightly.
Then suddenly—
His restrained hands tensed.
The Paw-Paw Fruit activated.
Instantly—
A ripple of force spread outward from his body.
All the black chains binding him vanished at once.
Kuma rose to his feet.
Then calmly sat down cross-legged opposite Yuuki.
Yuuki raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
He had underestimated the Paw-Paw Fruit.
Even in that situation, Kuma had simply repelled the chains entirely.
Considering the fruit could repel intangible concepts like fatigue and pain, Yuuki's expression grew more thoughtful.
If measured by magical standards—
The Paw-Paw Fruit's power would easily qualify as Underworld-tier magic.
Yuuki shook off the thought and smiled faintly.
"Just as you said earlier—children are their parents' weakness."
"This was my choice."
Kuma spoke quietly.
There was no longer any reason to hide the truth.
More importantly, he wanted to understand Yuuki's intentions.
Yuuki took out Bonney's bounty poster again and glanced at it.
"Oh?"
"Letting a nine-year-old girl set sail."
The bounty poster depicted Bonney as a twenty-four-year-old woman.
In reality, she was only ten years old, and had gone to sea the year before.
If Luffy's debut battle had been against the Arlong Pirates, then Bonney's had been against members of Cipher Pol 8.
Because victims of Sapphire Scale were believed unable to live past ten years old, Bonney had been confined to a castle in the Sorbet Kingdom.
After Kuma made his deal with Saturn, Vegapunk cured her illness.
But the World Government stationed CP8 agents to guard her—effectively holding her hostage.
When Bonney turned nine, she defeated those agents and escaped.
Using the Age-Age Fruit, she transformed her body into that of a twenty-four-year-old and formed the Bonney Pirates, setting out to find Kuma.
But throughout her journey—
Kuma had avoided meeting her.
The reason was obvious.
Kuma stared at Yuuki in astonishment.
The depth of Yuuki's knowledge was beyond anything he had expected.
Now he truly believed Yuuki was not with the Marines, the World Government, or the Revolutionary Army.
After a moment of silence, Kuma spoke.
"What reason is there… to stop a girl from sailing the seas?"
His voice was hoarse.
A faint tremor lingered beneath it.
Yuuki paused.
But the momentary emotion vanished from Kuma's face just as quickly.
He looked directly at Yuuki.
"What exactly do you want?"
"Whether you believe me or not," Yuuki said with a small smile, his tone earnest.
"I still want to invite you."
"No matter how strong you are, you cannot repair or change this world alone."
"I see."
Kuma shook his head and stood.
"Sorry."
"My journey has already ended."
He turned to leave.
Yuuki remained seated, unmoving.
"So, you're placing all your hopes…"
"…on a legend that might not even exist?"
Kuma's father had belonged to the Buccaneer race, a people nearly driven to extinction and enslaved by the Celestial Dragons.
Among the Buccaneers, there was an ancient legend—
The legend of Sun God Nika.
They believed that one day Nika would appear and liberate all slaves.
Because of that legend, Kuma knew the name Joy Boy.
Long before Luffy set sail, Kuma had already seen him once.
And when he learned that Luffy possessed the Gum-Gum Fruit, he had been deeply shocked.
Because in the legend—
The Warrior of Liberation was said to be made of rubber.
Kuma's steps paused briefly.
Then he vanished, repelling himself away from Little Garden with the power of the Paw-Paw Fruit.
Yuuki watched him disappear without attempting to stop him.
"We'll meet again, Kuma."
Yuuki murmured softly as he stood.
He brushed nonexistent dust from his white robe.
"One of the Four Emperors, Red-Haired Shanks, gambled an arm in the East Blue."
"Kuma, the Tyrant, has gambled his hopes for the future on the legend of Nika."
"Even the Revolutionary Army ultimately places its bets on a pirate—Luffy."
"And in the New World…"
"There are countless others waiting for the Drums of Liberation to sound."
Yuuki let out a quiet, mocking chuckle.
"How boring."
He held his grimoire in one hand while the other rested on the wooden belt formed from the Kabbalah Tree of Life.
Originally, he had been somewhat interested in this conversation with Kuma.
But now—
He felt nothing but disappointment.
(T/N: I dunno I didn't remember Yuuki being such an asshole.)
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