New World, Egghead.
"It's rising! It really is an Island Cloud!"
"Quick! Record it! Record the data and the structural changes in the cloud layer!"
"As expected of Dr. Vegapunk! I've spent forty years studying Skypiea's cloud structure and still couldn't reproduce the Stored Emperor Clouds. He only studied them for less than half a year and already succeeded in artificially creating Island Clouds!"
Inside the factory district, researchers stared in awe as Egghead's Research Layer slowly rose into the sky. As the massive Island Clouds covered almost the entire heavens, they couldn't help but praise Vegapunk from the bottom of their hearts.
Among them, one elderly researcher with white hair and a beard was even moved to tears. Whether he was crying because the subject he'd devoted his entire life to had finally been realized, or because he suddenly felt decades of his own hard work meant nothing compared to a genius's flash of inspiration, no one knew.
"That's just how scientific research is," a friend beside him said, offering some comfort. "We spend our whole lives on something that might only save Dr. Vegapunk an afternoon."
Most people, however, had no time to worry about him.
"Isn't it flying a little too high?"
"Yeah... and there are way too many Island Clouds. You can't even see what's up there anymore!"
Soon, several researchers voiced their concerns.
"It's fine. The cloud structure is perfectly stable," another group of researchers immediately explained. "Besides, didn't Dr. Vegapunk say this was only an 'Island Cloud experiment' for the next few days? Whether it's moving the Research Layer or keeping the Island Clouds floating, everything still has to be personally verified by him before it's officially put into use. Until then, nobody is allowed inside for safety reasons."
Hearing that, everyone nodded, their doubts put to rest.
"As expected of Dr. Vegapunk! His safety awareness is amazing!" Everyone sighed in admiration.
Naturally, none of them knew that hidden beneath the enormous sea of Island Clouds, another island had silently appeared atop Egghead's elevated Research Layer.
On that dreamlike island, surrounded by shimmering rainbow light...
"Incredible! Absolutely incredible!"
The Dr. Vegapunk they all admired was currently running around like an old man who had never seen the outside world, his tongue hanging out and his eyes wide with excitement.
"How is this island even put together? An Island-Island Fruit? And these creatures... Ho! This blade of grass is waving at me! Hello! Do you have a name?" Despite already being an old man well past fifty, he looked like a curious child greeting a single blade of grass.
"It's called Bellsprout," a passing Linlin answered casually. "It can't talk, Grandpa, but it can help carry things for you."
"Bellsprout? Thank you for telling me, " Vegapunk instinctively replied before suddenly freezing. "Wait! What's your deal, little girl?!"
His eyes flew open, and his tongue stuck straight out in shock. "What's wrong with your body? No... are you some kind of hologram?" His voice trembled as he bombarded her with questions.
A giant question mark practically appeared over Linlin's head. She didn't dwell on it, though. Instead, she proudly patted her chest. "...I'm not a hologram! My name's Charlotte Linlin! I'm a soul! A soul!"
Vegapunk nodded. "Oh, Linlin. I see, you're a soul. That explains, "
He suddenly sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes somehow widening even further. "Charlotte Linlin? As in... BIG MOM?! No, wait! How can you be a soul? The Soul-Soul Fruit shouldn't be capable of giving a soul a physical body!"
He immediately crowded around Linlin, firing off one question after another.
"Linlin promised Big Brother Hitsuji she wouldn't tell people things so easily! That's a promise!" Feeling that this strange old man was acting rather weird, Linlin hurriedly said that before running off to join the other children.
"...May I ask something?" Watching Vegapunk chase after Linlin and the children with his oversized head, looking exactly like a suspicious old grandpa, Hitsuji couldn't help but ask, "Is Dr. Vegapunk always like this?"
"...He's usually not," Kuma silently glanced at his friend before tactfully distancing himself. "And believe it or not... we actually haven't known each other for very long."
Even so, Hitsuji understood Vegapunk's reaction. The driving force behind every researcher was curiosity, especially for someone like Vegapunk, a super genius said to be five hundred years ahead of the rest of the world. His curiosity had to be extraordinary.
The problem was that, by now, there were very few things left in the world that he 'didn't' understand. Most of the time, he was a calm and wise scholar. But Dreamland Island... without question, everything here was beyond anything he had ever seen before. Given that, his excitement was perfectly understandable.
Besides, the few remarks Vegapunk had casually made earlier already revealed just how deeply he understood Devil Fruits. That alone was enough for Hitsuji to take him seriously.
"Forgive the rude question..." Hitsuji casually looked down toward the Egghead Research Layer beneath Dreamland Island. "But are you certain this place is safe?"
"Yes," Kuma nodded. "After Saint Saturn eavesdropped on my last conversation, Vegapunk upgraded the security systems and completely overhauled the information shielding. This time, just for your meeting, he strengthened the protections another five times. And the route I used to 'push' Dreamland Island here was extremely well hidden. Combined with the help of Vegapunk's ally inside the World Government, who secretly covered our tracks... no one should discover us."
His attitude remained as polite and sincere as ever, almost 'too' sincere. Not only had Kuma concealed the meeting from Saint Saturn, he had even openly told Hitsuji that Vegapunk had an ally inside the World Government.
Hitsuji didn't even need to guess who Kuma was referring to.
Stussy, the Queen of the Pleasure District, one of the Six Emperors of the Underworld. Publicly, she was one of the rulers of the Underworld. Secretly, she was a CP0 agent working for the World Government. And beneath even that, she was a clone created by MADS under Vegapunk years ago. She had always been on Vegapunk's side.
So Hitsuji didn't ask any further questions. He simply glanced at Vegapunk and casually raised a hand.
'Rumble!'
The rocks on the island suddenly rose into the air, forming several smooth slides. Vegapunk immediately threw himself onto one and happily slid all the way back to the other two.
"Amazing! 'Soul Materialization!'" He was still muttering excitedly to himself. "This is officially my three hundred and fourth research project!"
"Ah!"
At the same time, the three of them heard a tiny gasp. They turned toward the sound.
A little girl with pink hair was hiding near the Island Cloud staircase connecting Egghead and Dreamland Island. She was wrapped in a thick black cloak, hiding in the shadows. Even so, strange crystal-like scales could still be seen spreading across her face. She gazed into the distance with longing.
"Bonney?" The moment Kuma saw her, his figure vanished in a gust of wind. The next instant, he appeared behind Bonney, shielding her from the sunlight with his body. "What are you doing here?"
For once, his usually gentle voice carried a hint of urgency.
"I... I just woke up," Bonney lowered her head guiltily. "I saw this island... and when I noticed Grandpa Vegapunk and you weren't there..." She clearly knew she'd done something wrong.
Kuma paused. He looked toward the direction Bonney had been staring. There, Linlin and the children from the House of Lambs were happily playing on the newly formed slides. His eyes softened with sympathy.
"I'm not scolding you, Bonney. What I mean is... you should've called me to bring you up here." He smiled gently. "Do you remember our promise? No matter where I am... if you call for me... I'll always come."
"Mm!" Bonney's gloomy expression immediately brightened.
"Lord Hitsuji, is this Miss Bonney you were talking about?" At that moment, Hitsuji and Vegapunk walked over.
"Yes," Kuma nodded apologetically. "Please forgive my sudden reaction just now."
"Of course," Hitsuji smiled. "I wouldn't mind something like that."
[Devil Fruit User Detected: Jewelry Bonney]
[Devil Fruit Identified: Paramecia - Age-Age Fruit (Lineage Factor). Beginning analysis and recording into the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.]
[Devil Fruit Ability: Age Manipulation]
[Effects by Level]
[LV3: Unlocks the fruit's full abilities. By touching a target, the user can freely manipulate both their own age and others'. Removed years become jewels. Unlock requires 1.1 billion Beli.]
[LV4: Advanced Devil Fruit mastery. Greatly strengthens age manipulation. Can age objects until they decay into dust, or force living targets into a temporary "Near Death" experience, reducing them to white skeletons for a short time. Unlock requires 32 billion Beli.]
[LV5: Devil Fruit Awakening – Distorted Future. Reveals the fruit's true power. Through imagination, the user can transform themselves or others into possible future forms. As long as the user genuinely believes a future could exist, they can manifest it. However, maintaining the transformation consumes enormous amounts of stamina and willpower, and its duration is limited. The closer the imagined future is to reality, the lower the cost. Unlock requires 130 billion Beli.]
[Analysis Progress: 0%]
How could he possibly mind? To be more precise, Bartholomew Kuma and Jewelry Bonney were among the people Hitsuji had wanted to meet most in the entire pirate world. The reason hardly needed explaining. Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit had been one of the prizes at God Valley, a truly top-tier Devil Fruit.
As for Bonney's Age-Age Fruit, Hitsuji considered it potentially even more terrifying than her father's ability. On the surface, it manipulated age. But its awakened ability, 'Distorted Future', was its true horror. In the original story, Bonney had even briefly transformed herself into Nika using this power. It was an ability with genuinely limitless potential.
The only thing that surprised Hitsuji was the note attached to the fruit's entry.
'"Lineage Factor..."' He repeated the words silently to himself.
He already knew Bonney had obtained her Devil Fruit powers in an unusual way. She had never actually eaten a Devil Fruit. Instead, while Bonney was still an infant, Saint Saturn had experimented on her mother, Ginny, causing Bonney to inherit the Devil Fruit's power. In fact, the mysterious Blue Sapphire Scale Disease that afflicted both Ginny and Bonney had originated from those same experiments.
"Lord Hitsuji..." Kuma gently stroked Bonney's head. "Bonney's illness means she can't be exposed to sunlight. Her life force is very weak, so she can't stay outside for long. If it's convenient... perhaps we should continue our conversation inside the Research Layer."
He had already prepared himself to pay any price. But,
"About that..." Hitsuji smiled. "I don't think that'll be necessary." As he spoke, he slowly raised one hand. "It's only the sun. There's no rule saying this island has to have one."
Wrapped tightly inside her black sun-protective cloak, Bonney witnessed a scene straight out of a dream.
A veil of mist slowly spread across the sky above Dreamland Island. Like a thin silken curtain, it gently covered the blazing sun, absorbing its harsh light until it disappeared. Replacing the sunlight, layer upon layer of hazy, rainbow-colored dreamlight poured down through the veil.
Below, the Fairy Tale Forest and the gently swaying Tree of Dreams began to dance in the breeze. At the same time, Dreamland Island itself slowly faded from sight beneath the shimmering curtain.
[Dreamland Creation · Veil of the Hanging Island Sun]
"Wow..." Bonney stood frozen. Her little mouth hung open as her wide eyes reflected the dazzling sky and the dreamlike forest.
But Hitsuji wasn't finished. "And as for your weak life force... that's not a problem either."
He raised his hand once more.
'Tap.'
A stream of rainbow-colored Water of Youth flowed from his fingertips. With a light flick, a single drop flew toward Bonney.
'Plop.'
It landed on her.
"Mm!" Bonney's body trembled.
The next instant, the pale, sickly color of her face visibly faded, replaced by a healthy rosy complexion. She could clearly feel it, her heavy, labored breathing had become effortless.
"I... I don't feel sick anymore!" She looked at Hitsuji with sparkling eyes. "Mr. Sheep Head, you're amazing!"
Hitsuji simply nodded with a smile. "Now go play with your friends, Miss Bonney." He pointed toward the children laughing in the distance. "There are several Dreamland-themed attractions on the island. They've all been very popular lately. I recommend Cake Paradise. I think you'll like it."
Bonney froze. She looked toward the lively group of children. "...Play with them?" A trace of fear suddenly appeared on her face.
She instinctively looked down at herself. Although her vitality had recovered, the blue sapphire scales and jade-like crystals covering her body remained. She didn't care about how she looked, but she couldn't even remember how long it had been since she'd last played outside after becoming sick. She couldn't remember ever having friends. She had always been forced to stay alone in dark corners.
So she instinctively looked toward her father.
"..." Kuma's body trembled ever so slightly. But he simply smiled, suppressing the overwhelming emotions surging inside him. "Go on, Bonney." His voice was as gentle as ever.
With that, Bonney seemed to find her courage. "Okay!" A bright smile spread across her face. She turned around and ran toward the children.
"Oh! Someone's coming!"
"Is she the new friend Lord Hitsuji brought?"
"Huh? Those scales on your body... What race are you?"
"N-No! It's Blue Sapphire Scales!"
"Blue Sapphire Scales? That's a weird race name."
"That doesn't matter! We're one player short for Ghost Tag!"
"The winner gets the biggest slice of cake!"
"Want to play with us?"
"Oh, right! I'm Linlin!"
"I'm Bonney!"
The children became friends almost immediately.
"..." Watching Bonney bravely step onto a flying cloud, her cheerful laughter echoing across the island, Kuma still seemed unable to process what had happened.
"Lord Hitsuji..." He looked at Hitsuji in disbelief. "Why...?"
They hadn't even started negotiating. He hadn't paid any price. So why had Hitsuji already helped them?
"Hm?" Hitsuji glanced at him, looking genuinely puzzled. "Isn't this only natural? Business and negotiations can wait until later. We of the Twelve Zodiac aren't the kind of organization that makes a child stand there watching other children play without letting them join."
As he spoke, he casually adjusted the mask on his face. "And besides... I don't like tragedies."
Those simple words broke the last of Kuma's composure. For years, he had rarely cried. In front of his daughter, he always forced himself to smile. For years, he had also rarely smiled because he had seen too much of the world's darkness.
He had grown used to giving. Used to being asked to sacrifice. Used to injustice.
"Th..." The giant body of the Buccaneer trembled uncontrollably. Behind his glasses, tears quietly streamed down his face.
Before today, his smiles had never truly meant happiness. Now, his tears finally did.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
'(End of Chapter)'
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