Pacifist

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King Becori's forces burn the southern province of Sorbet while the people beg for it to stop. Soldiers report that the people are still resisting, and Becori declares that anyone who disagrees with his edict is welcome to step forward so he can kill four or five of them. He says they are falling to see the greater good and explains that he borrowed the idea from a country in the far east: burn away all trash and leave a beautiful, spotless city to curry favor with the Celestial Dragons. As the citizens scream for Kumachi, Kuma's fury rises. He arrives at the burning settlement, and Becori says Kuma has done enough and will only add to the casualty list, but Kuma's rage has already reached its limit.

At Kuma's church, Bonney is told to stay inside because they cannot let her get caught in the light, but she worries about whether everyone will be okay and says she has never seen Daddy so on edge. Kuma confronts the royal forces, and one priest or soldier warns him not to dare raise arms against the king. Kuma answers with action, releasing a massive paw-shaped blast that smashes through the royal castle and shakes all of Sorbet. The page labels the day as the one that would go down in history as Sorbet's "one-man revolution." Kuma's power becomes the people's answer to Becori's cruelty, toppling the tyrant's policy in a single overwhelming act.

In Mary Geoise, the World Government asks how odd it is that Sorbet seems to have a new king and wonders to whom the crown fell. The answer is Kuma, though he lives in a beaten-down old church rather than the palace. The people refuse to accept anyone else, shouting "Kuma-sama" and "Kumaaa!" until Kuma relents. The previous king, Bulldog, becomes the one who really runs the country, while Kuma calls himself nothing but a figurehead. Bulldog says their old king was not half bad and reminds everyone that although they were poor, their hearts were full. Bonney, meanwhile, trains and runs, saying she wants to sail to the horizon with Daddy by the time she turns ten, and everyone notices how much she resembles Ginny.

Bonney suddenly appears in an adult body, shocking everyone. She says she needs to build stamina so she can go sailing with Kuma by age ten, then looks in a mirror and realizes she has changed. The others shout that she is Bonney and ask whether she ate a Devil Fruit. Bonney has apparently found the Age-Age Fruit, and she experiments by calling for "Granny Time." At first she cannot make herself old, but then she transforms into an elderly version of herself, startling the onlookers with her wrinkles. Bulldog enters and identifies himself as the previous, previous king of Sorbet and Kuma's father's advisor. He says she must be Princess Bonney and notes that she has already met his mother, the old Queen Dowager Conney.

Bad news reaches Sorbet: King Becori is plotting another comeback. A newspaper article calls Kuma an evil tyrant, saying he burned villages and took the throne by force, and the people recognize it as Becori's propaganda and a total smear job. They suspect Becori has the backing of the World Government and will make another bid for the throne. Kuma says he never wants to see Becori's face again and that if Becori attacks he will do all he can, but he refuses to stay in the country because he is sure the government will hunt him as a criminal now. With that in mind, he asks Bulldog to reclaim the title as king so things can carry on as they are.

Kuma also asks Bulldog to take Bonney in, because the church will no longer be safe. Bulldog understands and says he will make her a new home that protects her from every source of natural light. Bonney is heartbroken and tells Kuma she will be lonely, but he promises he will come back as soon as he can so she can be a good girl until then, saying she looks just like her mother. Becori then returns by sea with a Marine-backed armada, shouting that Kuma is the tyrant who usurped his throne and demanding that the Marines shoot him. The narration says that of course Kuma sinks the entire armada, cutting off Becori's comeback before it can begin.

After sinking Becori's fleet, Kuma goes to sea and is branded a pirate. His strength fuels his notoriety, spreading like wildfire and earning him a bounty with a "Dead or Alive" wanted poster for Bartholomew Kuma. Back in Sorbet, Bonney misses him and says she does not care that the people call Kuma a hero because he was her dad first. She tells herself that once she is cured after turning ten, she will become a pirate too. Kuma travels from island to island asking doctors whether they have ever encountered a disease like Bonney's, but they can only say she cannot be in the sun and that it is awful. He carries the doctor's words in his head: his daughter has another five years at best and it will be a miracle if she reaches her tenth birthday.

Kuma's search for a cure takes him across the sea. He reaches the ship of the Revolutionary Army, where the young members cheer, calling him Kuma-chan. Iva and Inazuma have been caught and sent to prison, and Dragon asks how Kuma is holding up after hearing he has been called a king, tyrant, and pirate in recent hats. Some revolutionaries ask whether he would be captain of the eastern forces if he returned, since Ginny's old post should not be taken lightly. Kuma says he wants to return to the revolutionaries but must cure Bonney first. Dragon remembers that he wanted to talk to Kuma about Bonney and mentions a navy scientist named Dr. Vegapunk, though he warns that getting hold of a man like him is usually difficult.

Dragon says there was an accident recently and Vegapunk had to switch labs, leaving security lax around him for the moment. Kuma thanks Dragon for the lead, saying he had come to give up but will not be a stranger if he can cure Bonney's disease; once he does, he will be ready to fight by Dragon's side again. Dragon tells him to go where the winds of fate take him, calling him his friend. Kuma returns to Bonney and proudly watches her training, saying she is amazing. She calls him Daddy, and he says he went easy on her. Then he takes her to the Navy Science Division's Lab 08, later the future location of Egghead, telling her the doctor is only going to take a look before she is cured.

At Lab 08, Vegapunk is amazed by Kuma's body, saying people really do come in all shapes and sizes. He stares at Kuma's huge head and extraordinary physique, asking to study his muscles for scientific progress, while Kuma calmly holds Bonney in his arms. Vegapunk asks whether Bonney is the sick child Kuma mentioned, saying she looks like a cheeky scamp. Kuma explains her Sapphire Scales, and Vegapunk says he can cure her as long as they contain the spread. He proposes a medical method never used before. Bonney asks, "You can?!" and Kuma is stunned by the possibility that the search might finally end.

Vegapunk explains that to be precise he will perform a stem cell transplant. He warns that with the amount of money and effort involved, the procedure will be like making a cyborg. Kuma asks whether Vegapunk is going to turn Bonney into a cyborg, but the scientist says he is simply comparing the cost. Vegapunk then asks whether Kuma is a Buccaneer, admitting he does not have enough samples to explain the special nature of their blood in detail. Kuma says he trusts Dragon, and Vegapunk confirms he works for the government. Then Vegapunk reveals what he really wants: Kuma's blood and permission to use him as the model for a clone soldier project. In return, Vegapunk will waive all the medical expenses for Bonney's treatment.

Kuma asks whether the clone army will make soldiers who look just like him, like Marines. Vegapunk says that is the idea and describes using electromagnetic energy so the bodies can deflect bullets and become heroes who protect the weak and helpless. He dreams of giving them lasers too, saying pirates would be scared speechless and that the clones could end pointless conflict through overwhelming scientific power. Kuma listens and thinks that if copies of him someday save people, maybe he can have a good reason for why he was born. Vegapunk also explains that Dragon warned him about being eccentric but trustworthy, and Kuma accepts the arrangement because he has nothing but gratitude if it saves Bonney.

Kuma says honestly that if curing Bonney requires it, he would have made a deal with the devil himself, and Vegapunk says he is quite the saint. In Mary Geoise, the Five Elders are informed of Vegapunk's clone soldier idea. They call the soldiers weapons, saying a weapon's worth is defined by how many people it can kill, and Saturn decides that Vegapunk is a fool for not making the most of the opportunity. Saturn says that no matter what, he has his own ideas. Vegapunk, by contrast, loves the idea of keeping the peace and laughs that if the soldiers are peacekeepers, they should call them the "Pacifista." The name is born from Vegapunk's idealism even as the World Government prepares to twist the project.

Vegapunk explains how he imagines the clone soldiers. Bonney cheerfully asks whether all the soldiers will look like Kuma, and Kuma wonders if they will be like Marines. Vegapunk says his soldiers will have bodies so sturdy that they can deflect bullets and will become heroes who protect the weak and helpless. With electromagnetic energy and, if possible, laser fire, the project could scare pirates speechless and force endless conflicts to submit before devastating science. Kuma listens and thinks that if clones of himself someday save people, maybe he can have a good reason for why he was born. Vegapunk admits Dragon warned him that the scientist is eccentric but trustworthy, and Kuma accepts because he has nothing but gratitude if Bonney can be cured.

Kuma tells Vegapunk that, honestly, if curing Bonney required it, he would have made a deal with the devil himself. He asks only that Vegapunk save her, and Vegapunk calls him quite the saint. In Mary Geoise, however, the Five Elders discuss the project in colder terms. They say clone soldiers are meant to be weapons and that a weapon's worth is defined by how many people it can kill. Saturn says Vegapunk is a fool for not making the most of the chance and declares that, no matter what, he has his own ideas. Vegapunk still smiles at the thought of peacekeepers and says that if they are keeping the peace, he should call them the "Pacifista." The chapter ends with the peaceful name born at the same moment the World Government prepares to turn Kuma's sacrifice into military power.

No description for this page.

No description for this page.