"Wow! Another me!"
Jewelry Bonney's eyes lit up as she stared at the lifelike clay doll in Storm's hand.
She wriggled free from Kuma's arms and ran toward Storm, her short legs carrying her forward in excitement.
"Can I see her?"
Jewelry Bonney stood in front of Storm, tilting her face up and looking at him with hopeful, pleading eyes.
"Sure."
Storm casually handed the clay doll to Bonney.
Ever since gaining the ability of the Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit, Storm only needed to touch a target to perfectly replicate their appearance. The Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit's magical ability of "changing appearance," when combined with his original Clay-Clay Fruit, allowed him to create eerily accurate clay replicas of any living creature.
The clay doll 'Bonney' in her hands was no exception.
"Wow!"
Little Bonney hugged her clay doll tightly, spinning around with joy, completely enthralled by the perfect replica. For a brief moment, she lost herself in happiness.
But then, a stray thought resurfaced in her young mind, something Storm had said just moments ago.
She stopped twirling, her brows furrowing.
"Um… what is a 'terminal illness'?"
"Bonney! Don't ask!"
Kuma's voice was sharp, laced with urgency. He had barely recovered from the emotional shock when he heard his daughter's innocent question.
Bonney might not understand what 'terminal illness' meant, but he did.
He turned his desperate gaze to Storm and pleaded in a hushed, trembling tone.
"No… Don't say that!"
Storm glanced at Kuma, completely unmoved by his plea.
Squatting down to Bonney's eye level, he spoke in a calm, unwavering voice.
"'Terminal illness' refers to a disease that will inevitably kill an ordinary person once they contract it."
He extended his index finger, tapping the crystal-clear, gem-like formations on the clay doll Bonney's face.
"As far as I know, the real name of your disease is—Sapphire Scales."
From the moment he stepped into the church, Storm had already noticed it.
On Jewelry Bonney's fair, tender face, several irregularly shaped, hardened scars were forming, a distinct sign of Sapphire Scales.
Under the dim light filtering through the church, those hardened scars shimmered with an eerie, blue gem-like glow.
Sapphire Scales.
Perhaps that was the true origin of her surname.
Her first name was Bonney.
As for her surname, Jewelry it literally meant "jewels."
It was evident that Kuma had taken great care in choosing her surname as if trying to mask the painful truth.
Because as far as Storm knew...
Bonney was not Kuma's biological daughter.
She was his adopted daughter.
That, however, was a long and tragic story…
Storm's thoughts drifted back to Kuma's life trajectory.
More than thirty years ago, when he was only nine years old, Kuma had been enslaved and taken to God Valley.
During the chaos of the God Valley Incident, where the Rocks Pirates clashed with the combined forces of Garp and Roger, Kuma managed to escape after consuming the Paw-Paw Fruit.
But he wasn't alone.
Fleeing with him were two others...
The Okama King, Ivankov…
And Ginny, Jewelry Bonney's biological mother.
Ginny and Kuma were childhood sweethearts.
For over a decade, they fought together in the Revolutionary Army, growing from mere recruits to high-ranking members.
Until one day...
Ginny was captured by the World Government and was forced to become the wife of a Celestial Dragon, eventually giving birth to Bonney.
However, while carrying Bonney, Ginny contracted Sapphire Scales, a disease with no cure.
Deemed a defective product by the Celestial Dragons, Ginny was cast aside and abandoned at sea.
Through unimaginable hardship, she managed to return to her hometown, where Kuma had been waiting for her all these years.
Ginny entrusted her daughter to Kuma… and then succumbed to Sapphire Scales.
From that moment on...
Kuma took on the responsibility of raising Bonney.
Storm exhaled slowly, his fingers tapping against the side of his leg.
How could he put this into words?
Looking at Kuma's past, he could barely comprehend how the man had endured.
And the worst part?
That was only the first half of his life.
In the future, in a desperate bid to cure Bonney, Kuma would sell himself to the World Government.
He would become a Warlord of the Sea, not for wealth or power, but in exchange for a medical treatment plan for Bonney.
And the price?
His body and soul.
He would be transformed into a soulless, mechanical weapon, a tool of the World Government.
An honest man who adopted the child of his first love… only to sell himself into slavery to save her.
Storm found it both tragic and infuriating.
Kuma's life…
Even among the most miserable souls in history, his suffering was exceptional.
That was why Storm refused to call him "Kuma the Tyrant".
Because in his eyes...
Kuma was nothing but a soft-hearted bear.
His past wasn't that of a tyrant.
It was the story of a man who endured everything, without ever fighting back.
And that was what angered Storm the most.
Not that Kuma accepted Ginny's child.
Not that Ginny had given birth to a Celestial Dragon's daughter.
Not even that Dragon, leader of the Revolutionary Army, had completely abandoned one of his most loyal comrades.
No.
The most infuriating thing was...
Kuma never resisted.
Not even once.
Storm clenched his jaw.
When he had first uttered the name Sapphire Scales, he saw the color drain from Kuma's face.
Because Kuma had heard it before.
One year ago, after an exhausting search, he had finally found a doctor who recognized Sapphire Scales.
The doctor explained that this disease reacts violently to natural light.
Even if the patient avoids sunlight or moonlight, the disease will still progress over time.
At that time, the doctor's final verdict was clear...
Bonney had, at most, five years to live.
Kuma had fought against despair, scouring the world for answers.
But in the end, he had been told the same thing...
There is no cure.
The memory flashed across Kuma's mind, sharp as a blade.
His heart felt like it was being crushed under the weight of an inescapable fate.
His mind drifted back to Ginny's final moments...
When she returned from Mary Geoise, her entire body had been covered in blue, stone-like formations.
And now...
Bonney was following the same path.
"So, this disease is called 'Sapphire Scale'?"
Bonney fell silent for a moment, gripping the clay doll tightly in both hands before forcing a smile.
"I thought it was called 'Blue Gem Syndrome'..."
As she spoke, she unconsciously took a step back. When she finally reached Kuma's side, she couldn't hold back any longer. The clay doll slipped from her grasp as she buried her face into Kuma's stomach.
A moment passed.
Then, a faint sob escaped from where her head rested.
That tiny sound seemed to break the dam.
Kuma, who had already been struggling to contain his emotions, finally gave in. Wrapping his arms around his daughter, he held her close as both father and daughter erupted into tears.
"Bonney! My daughter!"
"Dad! I'm going to die! Waaaahhh—!"
Inside the dimly lit church, their cries echoed, lingering in the air like a sorrowful melody.
"Are both father and daughter crybabies? Is this some kind of family tradition?"
Storm sighed, digging a finger into his ear with a look of displeasure.
"The world does not run on tears. Instead of crying, wouldn't it be better to figure out how to find a doctor to cure your illness?"
His words cut through the grief like a blade.
The two, still wrapped in their embrace, suddenly froze.
"…Huh?"
Kuma lifted his head, his tear- and snot-covered face filled with confusion.
"Cure? Didn't you just say 'Sapphire Scale' is a terminal illness?"
Bonney turned her head abruptly, staring at Storm.
"Didn't you say that ordinary people would definitely die from it?"
Storm rolled his eyes.
"And do either of you look like ordinary people?"
He gestured toward Kuma.
"Just look at Bartholomew Kuma's physique. There's no way he qualifies as a normal human."
In the vast ocean, some races were naturally superior to others in terms of physique.
It was an indisputable fact.
Giants were one example.
Fishmen were another.
And then, there was Kuma—a rare member of the "Buccaneers" race, whose physical potential far exceeded that of an average human.
Kuma forced himself to ignore the latter half of Storm's statement.
"Terminal illness or not…"
He wiped his face absentmindedly.
"I've heard doctors talk about 'Amby Lead Syndrome' before. It was said to be an incurable condition that even wiped out an entire country."
"Amber Lead Syndrome," Storm corrected. "And there has already been a case of successful treatment—you just don't know about them."
He paused before continuing.
"As for 'wiping out a country,' you've probably heard of the so-called 'miracle man who saved a nation,' right?"
"The Queen of the Kamabakka Kingdom—Emporio Ivankov."
Emporio Ivankov?!
Kuma's pupils shrank instantly.
That was his best friend!
Back then, he, Ginny, and Ivankov had been slaves who escaped together from the Valley of the Gods!
"Ivankov… he can cure 'Amber Lead Disease'? Or even 'Sapphire Scale'?"
"I don't know if the Okama King's 'Healing Hormones' are effective against Sapphire Scale."
Storm shook his head.
"But the Op-Op Fruit has been proven to cure Amber Lead Disease. That's a fact."
He crossed his arms.
"And beyond the Op-Op Fruit, I can offer you two more options to consider.
"First, there's Dr. Vegapunk, the world's greatest mind. His knowledge of medicine surpasses most people's wildest imaginations."
"Second, Germa 66, an evil kingdom from the North Blue that possesses top-tier bioengineering and cloning technology."
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