"Really? Did he truly say that?"
Kuma repeatedly confirmed with Dragon through the Den Den Mushi, tears streaming down his weathered face uncontrollably.
This was the first time since Bonney had fallen ill that someone had confidently assured him they could cure her.
CLICK! The call ended.
Bonney put her small hands on her hips and tilted her head with curiosity, asking: "Papa, why are you crying again?"
"Mr. Dragon has found us another doctor. Maybe your illness can get better much faster."
Kuma thought for a moment and didn't make his words too absolute.
What if Kai couldn't treat Bonney either?
He didn't want Bonney to fall into crushing despair after being filled with hope. That would be far too cruel for a five-year-old girl.
At Shimotsuki Village's bustling port, the sea breeze carried the sharp, salty scent of the ocean.
Shimotsuki Koushiro held Zoro's calloused hand and repeatedly instructed him, passing on all his hard-earned overseas survival experience regardless of whether Zoro could understand it all.
"I'll take care of myself, Sensei."
Zoro nodded heavily with reddened eyes.
Then Shimotsuki Koushiro bowed respectfully to Kai: "Please take care of this child."
"Don't worry. Zoro is now my companion too." Kai answered with complete seriousness.
Kai didn't make any grand promises, but Shimotsuki Koushiro felt somewhat relieved.
He could tell that Kai truly regarded Zoro as one of his own, not as a disposable pawn.
That was genuinely good.
Better than Zoro going to sea completely alone.
The magnificent Rayquaza set sail once again.
However, Hawkeye's distinctive figure didn't appear on deck this time. He chose to stay in Shimotsuki Village and wait patiently for the villagers to complete his new ship.
In his characteristically blunt words, he preferred the feeling of traveling alone.
On the ship, Kai designated their next destination with authority.
"Target: Goa Kingdom! Advance at full speed!"
The famous East Blue attraction of Windmill Village was an absolute must-see.
The Rayquaza hadn't been sailing on East Blue's calm waters for long when a gentle breeze suddenly picked up around them.
A piece of crisp paper appeared out of nowhere, swaying gently as it landed precisely in Kai's waiting arms.
Kai unfolded the paper and immediately smiled with satisfaction.
Kuma was about to join his cause.
Kai certainly wanted to obtain Kuma's loyalty.
Setting aside the heaven-defying Paw-Paw Fruit, Kuma's gentle and unwavering loyal personality made him an excellent companion choice.
One phrase described him perfectly:
"The world kissed me with pain, yet I sang back in return."
Born a Celestial Dragon slave, his beloved was tormented and killed by Celestial Dragons, and just when he finally found family love, it was about to vanish due to the Celestial Dragons' accumulated sins.
Such a tragically harsh life experience would have turned anyone else into an antisocial personality at best.
But Kuma still persisted in his noble dream of liberating humanity and overthrowing the corrupt World Government.
Kai didn't hesitate to pull out his Den Den Mushi and dial the number written on the paper.
Puru puru puru... CLICK!
Almost the instant it connected, the Den Den Mushi suddenly took on the appearance of black curly hair and square glasses.
"Hello?" A gentle male voice responded with obvious urgency.
"Kuma? It's me, Kai." Kai smiled with warmth.
"Is what you told Dragon truly accurate?"
Kai could clearly hear the urgent breathing on the other end of the line.
He put on a serious expression: "Have you heard of the Heal-Heal Fruit?"
Kai briefly described the Heal-Heal Fruit's miraculous abilities and promised that if that didn't work, he had other methods available.
After a long, tense silence, Kuma asked: "Then, what's the price?"
He didn't believe there was such a thing as a free lunch in this world.
Kai's smile deepened with anticipation: "Join me. Become my companion."
"Deal!"
Kuma didn't hesitate and immediately agreed without reservation.
Honestly, this condition was much better than he had imagined. He had even been worried that Kai would ask him to betray Revolutionary Army intelligence.
"Then let's meet at Windmill Village in the Goa Kingdom. You should have been there before."
Kai wasn't surprised by Kuma's choice.
In the original timeline, to cure Bonney, he was even willing to be transformed into a cyborg and work for the World Government.
CLICK!
The call ended. Kai was in absolutely great spirits and casually gestured toward the sky.
Soon after, a meteor burning with brilliant tail flames pierced the blue sky and headed straight for the Rayquaza.
Kozuki Hiyori, already accustomed to this routine, skillfully swung Futsu no Mitama and precisely sliced the meteorite into manageable pieces.
Kai casually picked up a piece of warm meteorite and popped it into his mouth, smacking his lips: "Mm, this one has a slightly caramel taste."
The different cosmic energies contained in meteorites had distinctly different flavors.
For Kai, every day brought the delightful surprise of opening a mystery box.
At the same time on deck, Zoro and Sanji were each carrying heavy custom iron plates on their backs, running around the huge ship's hull completely drenched in sweat.
This was their most important training at this stage.
Physical conditioning.
This was the absolute foundation of all strong fighters. Even Borsalino, who was called fruit-dependent, had a monster-level physique.
"Green algae head, I'm a full lap ahead of you!" Sanji grinned with competitive satisfaction.
Having worn the Raid Suit multiple times, although he hadn't fully awakened his exoskeleton, his physical improvement speed had noticeably accelerated.
"Damn it!" Zoro gritted his teeth secretly and quietly quickened his pace.
He decided that today he would do an extra thousand push-ups!
"Now I understand why Kai invited both of them aboard."
Violet sighed in genuine admiration.
Just watching Zoro and Sanji, clearly already at their absolute limits but still running forward without stopping, determined to squeeze out their bodies' last bit of strength, said everything.
They already possessed the entry ticket to becoming truly strong.
Not every powerful person was a natural monster like Charlotte Linlin.
Several days later, Dawn Island finally arrived.
The Goa Kingdom, praised as the most beautiful country in the East Blue, was located on this scenic island.
Even Celestial Dragons had once visited this supposedly perfect place.
But its so-called beauty was built entirely on the suffering of countless poor people.
The King of Goa couldn't stand the sight of poor people, so all the kingdom's impoverished citizens were driven to a slum called "Gray Terminal."
As they say, if I can't solve the problem, I'll solve the people who create the problem.
After throwing all the filth and squalor to Gray Terminal, the nobles in the kingdom could enjoy their spotless city with complete peace of mind.
The entire Goa Kingdom was surrounded by high walls on three sides, with only the side facing the sea left open.
The walls had only one large gate passage, used for periodically dumping garbage and expelling new "trash."
Outside the high walls was a ring of mountains, and on the eastern side of the mountains sat a quiet, peaceful little village.
The village's most prominent feature was the windmills visible everywhere.
Hence the simple name Windmill Village.
Few knew that this obscure little village had produced several important figures and had been visited by many notable people.
Now, new guests had arrived uninvited.
"It's... it's the Beast Pirates!"
A sharp-eyed villager spotted the Rayquaza and shouted loudly to alert other villagers.
The villagers of Windmill Village immediately became tense with worry.
It had been a long time since they'd seen such a major pirate crew.
The last time was several years ago with Red-Haired Shanks.