stonecrandall Page 128
Page 128
A purple sword aura, condensed to its extreme and almost invisible, shot out like a venomous snake!
The group of pirates charging towards them, their sinister grins still lingering, froze in place as if immobilized. A tiny red dot appeared on their foreheads. The next second, their massive bodies crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
The remaining pirates were utterly terrified. Looking at the four "children" on the deck who were like little devils, and their companions who had aged instantly and been killed in a flash, they had no will to fight left.
With a shout, he scrambled back to his own boat, cut the grappling hook, and fled in a sorry state.
On the deck, Sabo clapped his hands and pouted, "How boring."
Little Robin gracefully adjusted her little skirt.
Little Kuina silently pushed Ziyun back into its sheath, as if she had just casually swatted a fly.
Bonnie gave a smug snort: "Let's see who dares to look down on us now!"
Sitting not far away, Liu Jiu glanced at the four of them casually. Although they had shrunk in size, their strength hadn't diminished much.
However... no one knows who leaked the news.
The ship of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, "Purple Sword," is filled with a bunch of immature children who have no fighting ability whatsoever.
They could even capture one of them and use it to threaten the "Purple Sword".
Regardless of whether the news is true or false, there are always some fools who want to find out.
The result... to their surprise, it was indeed true, but most people still fled in panic.
There wasn't a single one who could fight, even though most of them were notorious pirates.
Several times.
Even though Kuina and the others are in the form of children, they can easily and effortlessly deal with all the invading enemies.
Thus, it began to circulate in a small circle within some pirate communities.
"Have you heard? The 'Purple Sword' ship is incredibly sinister! There are a few little devils on board, and they're terrifyingly powerful!"
"Yes, yes, yes! My brother's brother-in-law, Old Wang's youngest son next door, saw it with his own eyes. His captain was taken down by a little girl in one go!"
"That's not even the most amazing thing. There's a girl who can turn people into old men! It's too bizarre!"
"Really? I heard from some people who escaped that many hands can grow on people's bodies, and it's impossible to guard against them! Some people even had two kidneys removed!"
As a result, any pirate with a bit of insight or good connections could spot the ship flying the Shichibukai "Purple Sword" flag from afar, or even see children on the deck.
Such ships are avoided like the plague, with people detouring around them as if they were plague gods.
This made the journey much quieter.
Bonney seemed to have gotten tired of it too, and before a meal, she finally deactivated her powers and turned Kuina, Sabo, and Robin back to normal.
The three, now back to normal, felt the renewed power within them and all breathed a sigh of relief. Although shrinking was a novel experience, they still found their adult bodies more convenient.
The ship continued its steady and rapid journey toward the Kingdom of Stella.
And it's getting closer and closer.
Chapter 153 Father and daughter meet
The Kingdom of Stella.
It wasn't a lush island, but a coastline shrouded in gray industrial smog, with towering chimneys and steel buildings.
After a long voyage, the outline of an island finally appeared on the distant horizon.
As the ship drew closer, the landscape of the country became clearer, and a sense of oppression grew stronger.
The Kingdom of Stella is renowned for its advanced machinery industry and rare metal mining.
The port was filled with cargo ships, but most of them looked dilapidated. Workers, dressed in oil-stained work clothes, were loading and unloading heavy metal ores and roughly processed machine parts with expressionless faces.
The air was filled with a pungent smell of coal smoke, metal, and engine oil.
On the streets, ragged commoners hurried along, their eyes blank, a stark contrast to the nobles and factory owners who rode in magnificent steam locomotives and were dressed in fine clothes.
This country is mired in deep internal turmoil.
Oppression and poverty spread like a plague.
But the sparks of resistance were also surging beneath the surface, though they were temporarily suppressed by the powerful royal army and the private armies of nobles.
According to information Robin obtained from the G1 branch, Bartholomew Kuma was last sighted in the waters near the Kingdom of Stella.
"Warlord Bartholomew Kuma, where is he? Is he still here?" Sabo looked around, his brows furrowed.
Robin's gaze swept across the port and the distant town, and he said in a low voice, "The atmosphere in this country is very strange. The oppressive atmosphere is strong, and the despair of the people is almost visible to the naked eye."
Kuina's hand unconsciously rested on the hilt of her Purple Cloud Blade; her swordsman's intuition told her that something big was about to happen in this land.
"Let's dock first and find out what's going on."
The ship slowly docked at the pier.
The Kingdom of Stella, a land of steel and suffering.
The deeper the oppression, the fiercer the resistance. Moreover... revolutionary forces have long been secretly sowing the seeds of resistance here.
When the time is right, the flames will spread like wildfire.
The riots finally broke out.
The factory whistles were no longer work orders, but roars of rebellion. Miners raised their pickaxes, workers brandished wrenches, and engaged in fierce street battles with the kingdom's army.
"We are not slaves, we are human beings! We are not slaves, we are human beings! Brothers, charge with me..."
Smoke filled the air, and shouts of battle shook the heavens.
The revolutionary army, operating in secret, quickly intervened and led the group in a chaotic massacre.
The royal palace soon fell.
At the heart of the chaotic vortex lies Royal Palace Square.
A towering figure, as imposing as a mountain, stood silently.
It was Bartholomew Xiong. A Bible was in his left hand, and his eyes held both compassion and determination.
Although he was not in charge, he intervened at crucial moments, using his Paw-Paw Fruit ability to clear obstacles in front of the rebels with a wave of his hand.
He is practicing a different kind of "justice".
The childish yet clear shouts pierced through the noise.
The bear's massive body jolted violently. That sound…
He suddenly turned his head.
At the edge of the crowd, a pink-haired little girl with red eyes was running towards him with all her might.
Kuma's pupils contracted sharply. Shock, disbelief. How could she be here? Shouldn't she be with Vegapunk... having the World Government treat her... her Blue Scale Disease?
Countless questions flooded his mind instantly. What alarmed him even more was that in all these years, the World Government hadn't sent any information about Bonney!
Bonnie threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly.
"Bonnie... your illness?" Xiong's voice trembled slightly, and he gently stroked his daughter's hair with his large hand.
"I'm healed!" Bonnie looked up, her face streaked with tears, but her smile was radiant. "Uncle Liu Jiu brought me out! He even led me to a doctor named Law, who used the power of the 'Op-Op Fruit' to heal me!"
Liu Jiu? Luo? The Scalpel Fruit?
Xiong's gaze passed over his daughter and landed on the calm man standing quietly not far away, along with "Purple Sword" Kuina and others beside him.
In an instant, many fragments connected.
It was the man I met on that ship years ago.
So, he also infiltrated the World Government's territory undetected and took Bonney away. He then found the user of the Ope Ope no Mi (Operation Knife Fruit) and cured that almost incurable disease.
The heavy shackles he made with the World Government for his daughter were quietly broken without anyone knowing.
The immense shock left the "tyrant" speechless for a moment. He looked at his healthy daughter in his arms, then at the man who had given him a second salvation.
The flames of revolution illuminated his complex face.
Stella's old order is collapsing.
And he and his daughter, at a crossroads of fate, reunited in such an unexpected way.
But the road ahead remains shrouded in mystery.
But at least for this moment, the flame of hope has been rekindled in his long-cold and silent heart.
The joy of reunion is fleeting, like a moment of calm in the eye of a storm.
For several days, Bonnie clung to the bear almost every step of the way, as if trying to make up for all the time she had missed over the years.
Even Xiong's usually silent and serious face showed a rare gentle smile. He awkwardly accompanied his daughter, listening to her chatter about her experiences over the years, about Uncle Liu Jiu, about the places she had been, the adventures she had witnessed, and how she always seemed to be a step too late, otherwise they would have been reunited long ago.
However, the shadow always remains.
Kuma knew better than anyone how far the World Government's reach extended and how ruthless its methods. Bonney's "disappearance" and recovery, once exposed, would attract devastating attention.
He couldn't let his daughter fall into that hellhole again, and he couldn't let her take any risks because of him.
The moment of parting finally arrived.
“Bonnie,” the bear crouched down, his massive body appearing exceptionally heavy before his daughter, “you… continue your journey with Mr. Liu Jiu, and ‘Purple Sword’ Guina and the others.”
Bonnie's smile froze instantly. She grabbed the bear's clothes tightly, her little face filled with disbelief and panic: "No! Daddy! I want to stay with you! I don't want to be separated!"
Tears fell like beads from a broken string, large drops rolling down her cheeks.
Bear's heart ached as if it were being stabbed, but he had to harden his heart. He gently wiped away his daughter's tears with his rough fingers, his voice low and firm: "No, Bonnie. You're safe now, that's enough. Daddy... still has things to do."
"Why?! Is it because of those bad people? I'm not afraid of them!" Bonnie cried, clenching her little hands even tighter.
Looking into his daughter's stubborn yet sorrowful eyes, Xiong knew that simple comforting was useless. He took a deep breath, as if making a decision.
“Bonnie,” his voice took on a strange, chanting rhythm, “do you remember? The one your father told you about… that legendary warrior.”
Bonnie's crying subsided slightly; she sobbed and looked at her father through teary eyes.
“The Sun God… Nika.” The bear slowly uttered the name, his eyes shining with an almost religious light, “The warrior who can bring laughter and freedom to everyone.”
Bonnie nodded; she remembered. When she was little, whenever she cried because of her illness, her father would tell her the story of Nika, saying that Nika was good at dancing a very interesting dance that could bring hope to everyone in the world.