"Anyway, that's all for today's meeting."
After a long while, Dragon, looking utterly exhausted, finally announced the end of the meeting.
The other officers all nodded in agreement.
When there were too many trivial matters piling up, even Michael started feeling mentally drained.
Sometimes, he thought that having nearly infinite stamina wasn't necessarily a good thing.
That feeling of having a perfectly fine body but an exhausted mind… really wasn't pleasant.
He was about to call out to Jack and Yamato, only to notice that those two had already fallen asleep in the back.
Their sleeping postures were almost identical, and with those matching horns on their heads, anyone who didn't know better might have thought they were siblings.
Just as Michael stood up, ready to wake the two of them—
He suddenly noticed the chair beside him trembling slightly... and floating up into the air.
At that moment, his revolution-filled brain suddenly clicked.
The little Bonney who had been sitting in his arms just moments ago—was gone!
And the food—was all finished!
That could only mean…
This little girl had gone off to find more food herself!
He instinctively turned to look at the nearby Float Float Fruit...
That multicolored, durian-shaped Devil Fruit was now nothing more than a pile of empty shell fragments.
And little Bonney was nowhere to be seen.
"Wait, where's Bonney?"
The moment Michael spoke, everyone around him snapped to attention—
Because some of the items around them were also starting to float before their eyes.
After a bit of chaos and searching, they finally found Bonney under the meeting table, reading a picture book while munching on something.
From time to time, she even let out a series of giggles exactly like Ginny's.
Seeing that the child hadn't wandered off, Michael breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he looked up at Ginny, who was looking a little panicked.
"From now on, you and Kuma will have your hands full!" he said, squatting down and calling out,
"Bonney! The meeting's over! Come on out!"
Hearing that, little Bonney turned her head sharply, then came running out, holding her food and picture book with excitement—
Yes, running.
After all, she was still a tiny little thing, barely taller than the table legs.
"Michael-san! You finally finished working!"
"Tell me, Bonney, did you just eat something really yucky?"
"Σ(°△°|||)︴Eh? How did you know that?!" Bonney's face was full of shock.
"There's nothing your uncle doesn't know! And I also know you're still not full, aren't you?" Michael ruffled Bonney's hair. "Tell me, after eating it, did you feel anything strange in your body?"
"Strange..." Bonney blinked in confusion. "Bonney is a floating person... What does floating person mean?"
"It means… from now on, you have to train well with the power you've gained. That way, you'll be able to help me and your parents too."
"Why am I listed after you!" Ginny muttered, snatching Bonney from his hands. "You little rascal, do you ever think about what you should or shouldn't eat?!"
"Alright, alright, she's just a kid. What would she know?"
"But that was the precious Float Float Fruit!" Ginny glared up. "It could have immediately boosted the Revolutionary Army's fighting power—"
Michael waved his hand.
Even if they gave it to someone else, who knew how much power that person could actually develop?
Besides, the Revolutionary Army wasn't exactly in dire need of another uncertain new combatant.
In fact, letting little Bonney eat the Float Float Fruit might be the best outcome.
After all… Bonney already firmly sat among the top three in raw talent.
In the original story, she had a bounty of 140 million Belly and became one of the Eleven Supernovas—the so-called "Worst Generation"—at just ten years old.
And two years later, entering the New World at twelve, her bounty rose to 320 million Belly. Other than suffering a loss against Blackbeard...
She basically won every other fight.
She even took part in a battle against the Five Elders—and she wasn't just there for show.
Though it's very likely Oda forgot Bonney was a twelve-year-old girl…
Her actual feats proved her extraordinary potential.
Originally, Michael had been considering letting Ace or Sabo eat the Float Float Fruit—
But compared to Bonney...
At twelve, those two were still fighting tigers in the woods.
And based on what was shown in the story, Bonney's combat strength mainly came from her Devil Fruit mastery.
Her Haki, probably due to her age, existed—but not much.
"You might not believe it, but Bonney… is an absolute one-in-a-million genius." Michael shook his head and looked at the still-disbelieving Ginny. "Don't doubt it—I'd bet on it."
"Forget the betting..." Ginny sighed and looked at Bonney. "If that's the case, starting today, you'll begin training to become a proper warrior!"
Seeing the fire burning in Ginny's eyes, Michael couldn't help but shiver. He leaned toward Dragon and muttered under his breath:
"I never realized Ginny was this intense about raising kids."
"As a mother, she's bound to worry about whether her child can survive out here on the seas," Dragon replied, shaking his head. "After all... this is the world we live in."
"Which is why the Revolutionary Army's goal is to make this world one where mothers no longer have to worry if their children will see tomorrow..." Michael's tone grew serious. "But… we'll still let Ginny train Bonney properly. The kid eats so much—exercise will do her good."
"Honestly, Bonney's appetite really seems to take after Ginny… but it also reminds me of Luffy."
Michael turned to Dragon with a knowing smile.
Of course it did!
In the One Piece world, a huge appetite was the mark of a special kind of talent—
A natural manifestation of Seimei Kikan.
No matter how badly you were injured, as long as you ate like crazy and got a good sleep, you'd recover nearly fully.
"Though judging by your tone, you've been watching Luffy quite a bit, huh?" Michael raised an eyebrow.
"You're bold... Luffy's not in Foosha Village anymore—he's at Marine Headquarters."
"That's exactly why no one would ever expect the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon, to show up in Marine Headquarters... What's that saying again?"
"…Hidden under the light."
"Right, under the light's shadow... Though, not every time goes perfectly—I've been caught by the old man a few times."
"…No wonder your tattoo's gotten darker."
"Can we not bring that up?"
Dragon gave Michael a forced smile.
"If we don't bring it up, we can still be good friends."
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Fanfic is finished. 583 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg