Would such a powerful pirate save her out of the goodness of his heart?
Bonney absolutely did not believe that pies would fall from the sky.
She forced herself to remain calm, but her slightly clenched fists still gave away her nervousness.
After all, she was just a young girl who had only recently set out to sea. She couldn't keep her cool.
"Straw Hat, what's your purpose in saving me? Go ahead and say it!"
To be honest, it was only because she had run into Luffy and his crew. If it had been any other pirates, even if they did have some purpose, they wouldn't have admitted it directly after being asked like that.
Luffy could see her wariness.
"Don't worry. Didn't I already tell you? Someone asked me to look out for you. I just agreed to that person's request." Luffy said.
"Someone asked you?"
Bonney was momentarily stunned. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, her eyes lit up. She excitedly rushed right up to Luffy, almost pressing against his face. "Was it Kuma? Was it Bartholomew Kuma?!"
Her reaction was so intense and direct that it caught Luffy off guard.
He had only just mentioned it how did she so accurately guess it was Kuma?
"Hey! If you're going to talk, talk. Why are you getting so close?!"
Nami immediately stepped forward, somewhat jealously pulling Bonney back a distance and looking her over with a scrutinizing gaze.
"What is your relationship with that Warlord of the Sea, 'Tyrant' Kuma?"
"He's not a tyrant!" Bonney retorted.
"Right. But how did you guess it was him right away?" Luffy was also a bit puzzled.
Hearing this, Bonney's body trembled with excitement. Her voice was choked with emotion. "Because... because Bartholomew Kuma is my father!"
"EHHH——?!!"
The entire deck of the Thousand Sunny erupted in a unified cry of shock. Everyone's eyes widened to saucers. Even the usually composed Robin showed a surprised expression.
The Warlord of the Sea, "Tyrant" Kuma, was Bonney's father?
This was earth-shattering news!
Bonney looked at everyone's shocked expressions, took a deep breath, and tried to calm her excitement before explaining.
"The specific situation is very complicated. I can't say too much. But Kuma really is my father. I've been looking for him. Straw Hat, how is my father now? Where is he? Why did he ask you to look out for me?"
She fired off questions like a barrage, her eyes filled with longing.
"Even if you ask so many questions at once, I can't answer them all."
Luffy explained briefly.
Not long ago, in the Florian Triangle, the deal he had made with Kuma.
"He told me the news that my brother Ace had been captured. In exchange, he asked me to promise to look out for you if I ever got the chance. As for where he is now he's a Warlord of the Sea, so he's probably with the World Government, right?"
Besides the news, Kuma had also helped him extract his pain and mentioned a man named Rayleigh on the Sabaody Archipelago. Luffy kept that to himself.
Listening to Luffy's words, Bonney's eyes flickered, as if confirming certain guesses she had. Her joy was mixed with deep worry.
But she had confirmed news of her father and knew that he was still secretly concerned about her. That already made her very happy.
"So that's how it is. Thank you, Straw Hat."
Bonney thanked Luffy earnestly. Learning that it was her father's request, her wariness toward the Straw Hats instantly lowered considerably.
On this sea, besides that group of crew members who had taken care of her since she was little, only Kuma would do something like this for her.
The conversation between the two allowed Robin to roughly understand the truth of Luffy's deal with Kuma earlier.
Knowing the news of her father, Bonney looked preoccupied, but her overall mood was much lighter than before.
As Sanji began preparing the banquet food, Bonney glanced at the small boat following behind, carrying her original crew members, and made a decision.
She walked up to Luffy and said seriously, "Luffy, your destination is the Sabaody Archipelago, right?"
"Right." Luffy nodded.
"Then let me come with you!"
Bonney pointed to the boat behind them. "I'll send my original crewmates back. From now on, I'll follow you alone!"
Nami said with some concern, "You alone? It's very dangerous to follow us! The Navy has us under tight surveillance."
But Bonney confidently patted her chest. "Don't worry! I have quite an remarkable ability! I can protect myself just fine!"
"An ability?"
Nami blinked curiously. "Come to think of it, you're an ability user too, aren't you?"
"Paramecia-type Toshi Toshi no Mi user." Bonney said with great confidence. "That's why the Navy finds me so troublesome. I've turned quite a few Navy guys into old men or directly into little kids."
She could make people older or younger?
Nami's eyes immediately lit up.
"Can this ability be used on others?"
As she spoke, a gleam of anticipation flickered in her eyes.
Eternal youth and beauty were every woman's dream—or at least the chance to experience the charm of different ages.
Bonney raised her chin somewhat proudly. "Of course! My ability is very powerful!"
Thus, at Nami's urging, an age transformation show began on the deck of the Thousand Sunny.
Nami was the first to try it.
"Bonney-chan, let me try becoming a few years more mature!"
Bonney reached out and touched Nami with her finger. A strange wave flickered.
Nami's figure seemed to become somewhat more plump. Her temperament became more mature and charming. Even her hair grew longer. She radiated the charm of a mature woman from head to toe.
"You really can change it."
Nami looked at her now longer fingers and her now more bumpy figure, pleasantly surprised.
Seeing this, Vivi was also tempted.
Nami looked so beautiful like this. So this was what she would look like in a few years?
"I'll try becoming a few years older too." Vivi said.
After the ripple passed, Vivi's temperament became more dignified and gentle.
She looked like a princess who had long held a high position graceful and noble, with a few more traces of poise and intellectuality in her brow.
Everyone started playing around.
Robin, smiling, made a different request. "For me, please make me look like I did when I was about eighteen."
"Easy!" Bonney laughed.
A light flashed. Robin's long black hair became thicker and more lustrous. Her skin was tight and full of collagen. Her facial features still vaguely resembled her current appearance, but her overall temperament had changed from a dark-bellied queen to a young girl with a hint of cool charm and greenness.
Long, straight black hair—at first glance, she looked somewhat similar to Merry in her Ruri Form, yet had her own unique charm.
"Oh my, this is a long-lost feeling."
Eighteen-year-old Robin touched her own cheek and let out a soft laugh.
Next, Zoro and Sanji also tried it out of curiosity.
Zoro was turned into an old man with a face full of wrinkles but eyes even fiercer—an elderly swordsman. He had been aged.
Sanji was turned into a little kid wearing a suit, sucking on a pacifier, looking completely bewildered. Everyone burst into laughter.
Franky, Usopp, and Chopper also joined in. The deck was suddenly filled with crewmates at various strange ages, and the sound of laughter and joy was endless.
***
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