Whole Cake Island.
This island is the headquarters of the Charlotte Family. They've operated here for many years, turning the entire island into a fortress, tight as a drum.
Theoretically, anyway.
After all, in the original story, Luffy barrelled all the way into the island's forest before being discovered.
Now, another group of people had quietly infiltrated the island, and no one had noticed their arrival.
This was because they were traveling slowly beneath the surface.
"Hee-haw! Crocodile-Boy, your ability is super useful!" Ivankov laughed heartily.
They were currently moving through a tunnel. Crocodile walked at the very front, his right hand pressed against the rock and soil ahead.
The deeply buried rock and dirt instantly turned into scattering yellow sand.
All the moisture was drawn out, causing the material to instantly weather away.
At the same time, a gentle whirlwind emanated from Dragon, who followed behind Crocodile, softly gathering all the sand and sending the grains to the rear of the tunnel.
Using this method, the group of four easily infiltrated Whole Cake Island.
"A simple matter," Crocodile said with an air of nonchalance, putting on the airs of a big shot. If the environment allowed, he would probably light a cigar.
"However, Dragon, make sure you've confirmed the direction."
"Don't worry," Dragon, behind him, replied calmly. "The current direction is leading us to the town."
They weren't heading directly to the royal palace. They needed to find someone first to clarify the situation inside the palace.
They didn't even know where Kuma was. Rushing straight into the enemy's lair would be suicide.
"Good." Crocodile nodded.
Haki is truly a useful thing!
The biggest gain from this trip, undoubtedly, was learning the method of Haki training from Dragon.
Soon, the four people stealthily reached the area beneath the town of Whole Cake Island, and using Dragon's Observation Haki, they entered the town's sewer system.
The rest was simple.
An innocent resident was instantly abducted by a whirlwind from seemingly nowhere and dragged into the sewer. Before he could react, the sight of three intimidating figures looming before him scared him into shaking all over.
"Kuma! Where is Kuma?" Ivankov grabbed the man and asked in a low voice.
Unlike the anxious Ivankov, Dragon thought more deeply.
Only a few people, even on this island, would know the situation inside the palace.
It was unlikely they'd get much information from this man. It would be better to find a Charlotte Family Officer and then coerce that person to guide them—
"I know! I know! You're here for Prince Kuma, right? I know where he is, so please, don't hurt me!"
The man screamed in terror. "I have my elderly mother and young children at home! Please, I beg you, don't hurt me!"
Huh?
Dragon was completely stunned.
He actually knows?
They just grabbed a random person from a corner of the town, never expecting any useful information. Dragon would have been satisfied just learning the whereabouts of someone who knew where the Charlotte Family Officers were.
But this—they got straight to the point?
It felt... strange.
"Are you serious?" Ginny couldn't help but step forward, asking with a mix of shock and joy. "You really know the whereabouts of Kuma-cub?"
The man instinctively looked up at her, his eyes brightening even in this life-or-death moment.
Wow, a great beauty!
But the instinct for survival immediately overpowered his lesser impulses. He stammered cautiously, "Y-yes, yes. If it's today, everyone knows where Prince Kuma is."
"Hmm?" Crocodile raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Every last day of the week, Prince Kuma holds a free clinic to treat everyone's illnesses and injuries," the man explained carefully. "I, I twisted my back before, and thanks to Prince Kuma's amazing ability..."
"It's Kuma-cub!"
Ginny was so excited she instantly burst into tears. Wiping the streaming tears, the woman joyfully tugged on Ivankov's arm. "Big Brother! That's what Kuma-cub would do! It must be him, there's no mistake!"
These people, they're after Prince Kuma!
Their target is Her Majesty the Queen's husband!
Lunatics!
They are truly a bunch of lunatics!
Her Majesty the Queen will never let them go, they will definitely meet a terrible end!
But me, will I be implicated? The man's heart was filled with terror.
"Wait!" Crocodile keenly noticed something amiss. "Are you saying that guy is free to come out and treat people, and he even used his ability?"
Dragon and Ivankov were also completely bewildered.
"Y-yes," the man, thinking he had said something wrong, paled and stammered. "P-Prince Kuma's ability can d-directly push out illnesses and injuries from the body. It's v-very, very amazing..."
"So," Crocodile glared fiercely at Ivankov, the displeasure in his tone evident. "Didn't you say that as long as that guy uses his ability, he can escape any perilous situation?"
Ivankov opened his mouth, momentarily speechless.
Yes, it should be like that!
Kuma, what the hell are you up to?
"Kuma-cub must have been threatened!" Ginny instantly came up with the most likely reason. "Charlotte Linlin must be threatening Kuma-cub with the people of the Sorbet Kingdom, so he doesn't dare run!"
"Right! That must be it!" Ivankov instantly agreed wholeheartedly.
Wasn't that the very reason Kuma was captured by Charlotte Linlin in the first place?
"Then there's no problem!"
Ivankov immediately clenched his fists, his voice becoming excited.
The people of the Sorbet Kingdom who were friendly with Kuma have already been urgently relocated. Now, Charlotte Linlin has no leverage to threaten Kuma!
The Charlotte Family's complacency with Kuma is now exactly what they needed!
As long as they can rendezvous with Kuma, they've won!
"It better be." Crocodile nodded slightly.
However, finding this man named Kuma and using his ability to leave—why did it feel like there was zero sense of danger?
In Crocodile's original plan, this rescue mission should have been thrilling and exciting, shouldn't it?
Not to mention a fight with the Charlotte Family, it shouldn't be this simple!
It felt like walking into a store, easily picking out the desired item, paying, and leaving.
This...
It was very unsatisfying.
"In any case, you said Kuma is holding a clinic today, right? Now, take us to him!"
Dragon didn't have Crocodile's itch for trouble. Such an easy rescue mission made him breathe a sigh of relief.
What's wrong with easy and quick?
"Y-yes, yes..." The man's voice became somewhat weak. He cautiously said to the group, "Could you please not expose me? Otherwise, Her Majesty the Queen definitely won't spare me."
Dragon didn't hesitate, saying straightforwardly, "Don't worry. We are only here to save someone; we have no intention of harming anyone."
"That's good, that's good!" The man let out a long sigh of relief. "Then follow me."
"Wait," Ginny suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, "You keep calling Kuma-cub 'Prince Kuma.' What does that mean?"
Ivankov's expression changed instantly, but the man had already instinctively replied,
"Her Majesty the Queen's husband, of course, is referred to as His Royal Highness the Prince."
"What... did you say?"
It must be said that the residents of Whole Cake Island had gradually become accustomed to the weekly free medical services provided by the Prince.
In fact, because the results were so remarkable, residents from other islands in Totto Land would flock there on this day.
After all, although the lives of Totto Land's residents were much better than those in other countries in the New World, illness and injury were never absent.
Likely because there were too many people, Prince Kuma limited the number of people he would see during each clinic session.
People understood this. After all, the Prince was only one person and couldn't attend to everyone, and he charged nothing—he was a genuine living Bodhisattva.
But understanding was one thing; every day there was a clinic, people still swarmed in, nearly blocking the clinic entrance completely.
Inside the clinic, Kuma was using his ability with a gentle expression, pushing out the sickness and injuries from an elderly woman's body.
As a red bubble gradually floated out from behind her, the old woman's complexion visibly eased.
She repeatedly thanked Kuma. "I feel much better! Thank you so much, Your Royal Highness the Prince!"
"It's nothing," Kuma just smiled and said. "You still need to be careful in the future. My ability cannot completely cure your cervical spondylosis."
"Yes, yes!" The old woman nodded excitedly. Just as she was about to say more, the people behind her began to urge her on.
Everyone was waiting for treatment; they didn't have time to wait for thank-yous!
"Next." Kuma looked toward the outside of the clinic.
But it was precisely at that moment, as the next patient stepped into the clinic.
A sudden gust of wind erupted.
The crowd was instantly blown topsy-turvy.
"Ah?"
Before Kuma could fully react, a few figures rushed into the clinic from the scattered crowd.
"Kuma-cub!"
A voice that had haunted his dreams suddenly sounded in his ears.
Kuma instantly froze, his body going completely rigid.
Then, a figure directly leaped into his arms.
"Kuma-cub! Kuma-cub! I finally found you!"
Kuma looked down in disbelief. Due to the vast difference in their body sizes, he could only see the top of her pink head.
"Ginny..."
Kuma's voice was trembling, but his hands were trembling even more.
He wanted to reach out and touch the figure in his arms, but he was afraid of shattering this beautiful dream.
How could Ginny possibly be here?
It must be just a dream.
"Hee-haw! Kuma-cub! We're here to save you!"
A voice he hadn't heard in a long time rang out with the happiest tone.
Kuma instinctively looked up, and the large face that met his eyes was Ivankov's.
"Iva-chan?"
"Long time no see, Kuma!" Ivankov chuckled. "Time to go home!"
"It really is Iva-chan! Then," Kuma slowly lowered his head. "Ginny?"
"It's me! I came to save you, Kuma-cub!"
Ginny's tears soaked Kuma's clothes. "I'm sorry! I took so long!"
Kuma-cub, forced to marry that woman, you must have suffered unimaginable torment here all this time!
I'm so sorry! So sorry! It's all my fault for being late!
"Ginny, don't apologize..." Kuma's eyes involuntarily began to heat up, and tears streamed out uncontrollably. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"Waaah! Kuma-cub! I thought I'd never see you again!"
Hearing Kuma's comforting words, Ginny instantly burst into uncontrollable sobs.
Kuma-cub, the gentlest Kuma-cub in the world, is still comforting her first, even after enduring such hardship!
"Alright," Crocodile rolled his eyes, turning back to look at the patients who, after a moment of confusion, had begun to panic and run.
"You can flirt when you get back; there's plenty of time. Kuma, right? Hurry up and use your ability to take all of us out of here."
"That's right, Kuma!" Ivankov quickly added. "We can catch up later; let's get out of here first!"
"Right!"
Kuma instantly awoke from his trance.
He then looked down at Ginny, his gaze becoming incredibly complex.
"Ginny," he looked up at his good brother. "Iva-chan, and..."
He turned his head to look at the unfamiliar Crocodile and Dragon. "Although I don't know you two, I truly thank you for coming to help!"
"In any case, it's too dangerous here. I'll send you away immediately!"
"Yes! Yes! Kuma-cub, let's leave now!"
Ginny lifted her head from Kuma's embrace, quickly wiped her tears, and nodded frantically.
But.
Dragon noticed something strange in Kuma's words.
"Kuma, you said, send us away?"
Ginny and Ivankov instantly froze.
"Kuma-cub?"
Ginny saw Kuma's expression.
It was the same look Kuma wore every time he was about to plunge his hand into the red bubble containing accumulated sickness.
"Kuma-cub!!"
An inexplicable panic instantly made Ginny's pupils tremble. She instinctively grabbed Kuma's trousers.
"What are you talking about? Let's leave together quickly!"
"I'm sorry, Ginny," Kuma actively took a step back, shaking his head, his expression pained yet incredibly firm. "I cannot leave."
"Hey, is this guy serious?" Crocodile immediately frowned, the annoyance in his voice obvious as he looked at Ivankov. "You didn't tell me we were rescuing an idiot?"
What was the point of traveling all this way?
"Why! Kuma! What are you saying!" Ivankov was so agitated that he sputtered. "Right! It's because Charlotte Linlin is threatening you with the people of the Sorbet Kingdom, isn't it? Don't worry, all your acquaintances have been relocated by us! The threat is gone!"
"Really?" Kuma's face visibly brightened. "That's wonderful!"
"See!" Ivankov finally breathed a sigh of relief. "So you can come with us now!"
But.
"I'm sorry, Iva-chan, and Ginny," Kuma merely shook his head. "I cannot leave. I have married Charlotte Linlin."
"That kind of forced marriage means nothing, Kuma-cub!"
Ginny rushed over and hugged Kuma's leg, her face full of hope. "When we leave here, we'll get married right away! A marriage between two people who love each other is the only true marriage!"
"I'm sorry, Ginny."
Kuma merely bent down and gently plucked Ginny off his leg, then pushed her backward.
Ginny staggered backward, staring blankly at Kuma, and then she heard him say,
"Charlotte Linlin is carrying my child. I cannot abandon my unborn child and leave."
"..."
Ginny's body instantly shuddered.
Not only had Kuma-cub married Charlotte Linlin, but that woman was carrying Kuma-cub's child?
How could this be... How could this be...
"I swear, I'm done." Crocodile twitched his mouth.
Ivankov and Ginny kept saying this guy was kind; this is beyond kindness and into idiocy!
"Kuma-cub! The child... we can come back to rescue the child later!" Ivankov grit his teeth. "Just come with us for now!"
But Kuma simply shook his head.
It wasn't just the child.
If he continued to be associated with them, then sooner or later, Iva-chan and Ginny would also be implicated.
"No! No! Kuma-cub!" Ginny was completely distraught, frantically lunging forward to hug Kuma. "Come back with me, please, please come back with me! I'll do anything! Without Kuma-cub..."
"I'm sorry." Kuma only said this.
Then, he raised his right hand. "I'll send you away first."
"Send us away? Where to?"
A voice with an interested chuckle came from behind.
Kuma suddenly spun his head.
A massive mirror was hanging on the back wall of the clinic.
Oh no!
A tall figure stepped out of the mirror.
Katakuri, holding a three-pronged spear, smiled casually. "No one is allowed to leave."
"Wiii-Wiii-Wiii! Big Brother Katakuri told me to keep an eye on you! I didn't expect a bonus catch."
Behind Katakuri, Brûlée, who was only fourteen but already as skinny as a dry branch, peeked out with a cheerful grin.
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