Chapter 89: The Seven Warlords of the Sea
Inside Vegapunk's lab on Punk Hazard, the atmosphere was heavy, the only sound the low hum of machinery.
Roy slowly turned to Kuma. His expression was suddenly serious, as if he had finally made a long-calculated decision. "You need to temporarily withdraw from the Revolutionary Army. I'll explain it to Dragon."
Both Vegapunk and Kuma turned to him at the same time, their eyes wide with disbelief.
"Withdraw from the Revolutionaries?" Vegapunk frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"I said 'temporarily,'" Roy clarified. "You need a new identity—one that's safe, powerful, and, above all, 'legal.'"
He walked up to Kuma and, in a low voice, said the words that would change everything:
"The Seven Warlords of the Sea."
The air in the lab seemed to freeze.
Kuma's eyes widened, his voice a low rumble. "You want me... to become a Warlord?"
"That's right." Roy nodded, his gaze firm. "This status won't just provide cover for your cooperation with Vegapunk, it will give you the official backing of the World Government."
He spoke with a steady, heavy rhythm. "If the former king of the Sorbet Kingdom ever tries to return and cause trouble, you can intervene and suppress him as a Warlord."
"More importantly," Roy paused, "this status provides a perfectly logical reason for Bonney's treatment. Who would question a father's decision to bow to the World Government... in order to save his daughter's life?"
Vegapunk nodded slowly from the side, deep in thought. "It... is the most stable solution. Operating under the shell of a Warlord would give you freedom of movement and also protect the research we're doing here."
"If you're seen coming to me, it will be dismissed as 'official business.' It's the perfect cover."
Kuma didn't answer immediately. He looked down at Bonney, who was sleeping peacefully on the examination table. She was his weakest point, and also his greatest strength.
Finally, he spoke, his voice low. "I don't care about status. I don't care what the world calls me."
He sighed, a sound like stone grinding. "But if this status... will allow Bonney to live, and allow me to stay by her side... to watch her grow up..."
He looked up, meeting Roy's eyes, his own gaze as steady as a mountain. "Then I'll do as you say."
In this cold room of metal and data, without ceremony or oaths, three men from wildly different backgrounds, each carrying an immense burden, had just made a decision that would shake the future.
A father named Kuma.
A Marine schemer named Roy.
A scientific monster named Vegapunk.
And in this lab, cut off from the world, a new Warlord—one born not of ambition, but in the name of a daughter—was quietly born.
The next day - Holy Land, Mary Geoise
In the grand "Chamber of Authority," the Five Elders were assembled. Morning light streamed in, illuminating the document that had been submitted for their urgent review.
On its cover: "From the desk of Marine Vice Admiral Roy."
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro spoke first, his voice deep. "Roy has submitted a recommendation to fill the vacant Warlord seat... with 'Bartholomew Kuma.'"
The name hung in the air.
Saint Topman Warcury scanned the file, "User of the Paw-Paw Fruit, combat assessment 'Special S-Rank.' He resides in the Sorbet Kingdom's 'Lawless District'... and frequently absorbs the pain of the populace?"
"He has an extreme hatred for pirates," Saint Shepherd Ju Peter added, "or, more accurately, an intolerance for anyone who preys on the weak. He's driven out smugglers and underground organizations, but never takes a Beri. He seems to have no personal greed."
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn snorted. "If Roy says his 'strength is trustworthy,' it means this man would be a monster if he were our enemy."
Saint Marcus Mars set his file down, a sarcastic tone in his voice. "Sorbet Kingdom... isn't that the bizarre country that pays its tribute by sacrificing half its own people?"
"Correct," Nusjuro said. "Kuma lives in that 'lawless' half."
Warcury turned to an appendix. "According to this, Kuma's reason for accepting the Warlord position is to gain government support... for curing his daughter's 'Sapphire Scale' disease."
"The same disease Ginny had?"
"This gives him a clear motive," Ju Peter noted, "and a clear weakness. He's powerful, but he won't be a rogue element."
"A perfect Warlord candidate," Saturn concluded. "Controllable, yet strong."
Mars murmured, his expression complex, "Roy's eye for people is... formidable. It's like... a smarter Garp."
The room was silent as the five exchanged glances.
"Approved," Saturn said finally.
"Allow him to join the Seven Warlords," Ju Peter added, "and authorize Vegapunk to begin medical intervention for the daughter."
"On the condition," Nusjuro added, his voice cold, "that he is under full surveillance."
"Officially, he is a weapon who has traded his service for his daughter's cure," Mars finalized. "If he steps out of line, we strip him of his title."
"Agreed."
The decision was sealed. A new piece, Kuma, had been formally placed on the Warlord chessboard. But this time, it was not a game of ambition, but a father's silent, desperate gamble.
Back on Punk Hazard, Vegapunk looked up from his instruments. "The virus is suppressed. The inhibitors are working. In thirteen days, the first-generation clone-host will be ready for the stem-cell transplant. We'll eradicate the disease before it ever becomes active."
Revolutionary HQ - Baltigo
Monkey D. Dragon stood alone, staring out at the sea, holding a coded message from Roy. The contents were brief, but heavy.
"Bartholomew Kuma, to save his daughter from Sapphire Scale, has temporarily withdrawn from the Revolutionary Army. By my arrangement, he has accepted the title of Warlord."
Dragon was silent for a long time. The other commanders—Morley, Belo Betty, Lindbergh, and Hack—filed into the room, their expressions turning to shock as they read the message.
"What?! Kuma... joined the Warlords?!" Morley shouted.
"Was he forced? Blackmailed?" Belo Betty gripped her flag.
"Or... did he betray us?" Lindbergh whispered.
The air was tense. Then, the communications officer read the last line: "He had no other choice to save his three-year-old daughter, Bonney."
The room went quiet.
"...So it was for Bonney," Hack said, his voice soft.
"That's..." Belo Betty's eyes were red, her smile pained. "That's just like him. He's always been... too gentle."
"He's Bartholomew Kuma," Lindbergh said. "We have to trust him."
Dragon placed the message on the table and looked out at the stars.
"Roy..." he whispered, his expression unreadable. "If this was your arrangement... then I will trust that he will be safe."
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