Sky Island, Upper Yard.
The morning White-White Sea glowed pale gold.
Six months had passed. The secret base above the clouds was no longer what it had been at the start. The special training islands were battered and pitted. Some peaks had been flattened by fist-force. Some gorges had been split by blade-light. A few forests looked like they had been plowed through by lightning and fire, over and over, until only charred stumps remained.
At the edge of the White-White Sea, the cloud shore was scarred with the tracks of water impacts.
Outside the mechanical workshop, rows of newly modified small flyers sat in silence. The little lunar robots were hauling the last shipment of supplies.
The Eclipse was anchored in the middle of the cloud sea.
Its deep black hull had just finished its final maintenance check. It looked like a giant beast that had been lying low for half a year, waiting only to bare its fangs again.
And today, the seclusion was over.
The Eclipse, medical bay.
Clean white light fell on Bonney's private treatment pod.
Chopper stood at the control console in a small white coat, checking the final data readings one by one.
Law stood off to the side, hands in his pockets.
Kuma stood before the treatment pod. His massive frame blocked nearly half the light.
He had not moved since he first stepped there.
Like a silent mountain.
But the fingers hanging at his sides were trembling faintly.
"Heart rate stable."
"Rejection response stable."
"No new active lesions."
Chopper reviewed the last item carefully, then looked up.
"Dr. Vegapunk, the final data is confirmed."
A moment later, Vegapunk's voice came through the channel.
"Oh. It worked."
"Chopper, you handled it more steadily than I expected."
Chopper's ears twitched.
Normally, he would already be squirming by now.
But this time, he only sniffled quietly.
"It's not over yet."
"There's still one last step."
He raised a hoof and pressed the release button.
Hiss.
The treatment pod slowly opened.
White mist spilled from both sides of the chamber.
Kuma's fingers clenched tight.
Bonney's eyelashes fluttered. She slowly opened her eyes.
She stared at the ceiling blankly, then looked down at her own hands.
The back of her hand. Her wrist. Her arm.
She touched them slowly.
Like she could not believe what she was feeling.
The blue-jade scales that had once shackled her like a curse were gone.
"I..."
Bonney's voice was a little hoarse.
She looked up at the tall figure beside the pod.
"Dad..."
Kuma finally moved.
He stepped forward. The motion was so careful it was almost clumsy.
Bonney braced herself to sit up.
"Am I... done staying in here?"
Chopper lifted his head and said seriously, "The lesions have been cleared."
"You'll still need regular checkups. No reckless behavior. No intense physical activity right away."
He paused, then added, quieter, "But Bonney can leave the treatment pod now."
"You can be in the sun."
"You can eat."
"You can run."
"And you can grow up like a normal kid now."
The medical bay went silent for a beat.
Then Kuma reached out both arms and lifted Bonney out of the treatment pod.
His movements were so gentle.
Gentle, like he was holding a cloud that might shatter.
Bonney froze for a second. Then her whole small body was wrapped in those enormous arms.
Kuma bowed his head and pressed his forehead to Bonney's little head.
He did not sob.
But from those usually gentle, quiet eyes, tears fell in silence.
One drop.
Then another.
"Bonney..."
Kuma's voice was so low it was barely audible.
"You're free."
Bonney had been about to put on her usual defiant expression.
But when she heard those words, her lips trembled. The tears came pouring out too.
"Dad..."
She grabbed Kuma's clothes and said quietly, "You look so ugly when you cry."
Kuma did not argue.
He only held her tighter.
"It's so good."
"Really... so good."
Chopper rubbed his nose.
Law stood beside them and never spoke a word.
He only glanced at the last stable readings on the console, then at Bonney in Kuma's arms.
As a doctor, he knew exactly how difficult this treatment had been.
So he said nothing.
He just pulled his gaze back and tugged his hat lower.
At the medical bay door, Ace leaned against the frame.
He did not interrupt Kuma and Bonney.
Only when father and daughter had steadied a little did he let out a laugh.
"Hey, Bear."
Kuma looked up at him.
Ace lifted his chin toward Bonney.
"Don't hold her too tight."
"She just got healed. If you crush her, Chopper will fight you to the death."
Kuma blinked, then looked down at Bonney in his arms.
Bonney blinked too.
Then she sniffled and suddenly laughed.
"Dad, you hear that?"
"Chopper will beat you up."
The tears on Kuma's face were still wet, but the corner of his mouth moved, ever so slightly.
"I'll be careful."
Chopper immediately jumped up.
"I would not beat up Bear! But, but you really can't hold her too tight!"
The half-year tension that had gripped the medical bay finally broke with that one line.
Ace looked at Bonney and grinned.
"Welcome back, Bonney."
"From now on, if you want sun, you get sun. If you want to run on the deck, you run."
"But the junk food rule is still Chopper's jurisdiction."
Bonney's eyes lit up instantly.
"Meat!"
Chopper immediately bristled.
"No! You just left the treatment pod! No junk food!"
Bonney's face fell.
"Huh?"
She immediately looked at Kuma.
"Dad!"
Kuma was silent for one second.
Then he said, very seriously, "Listen to the doctor."
Bonney's little face crumpled.
"Dad, you changed!"
Ace burst out laughing.
"Ha ha ha ha! Looks like after the healing, your first battle is fighting Chopper for food."
Chopper jumped up, furious.
"That is not a battle!"
Sabo stood at the door, his top hat pressed lightly to his chest.
Watching the medical bay come alive again, the corner of his mouth lifted.
"Welcome back, Bonney."
He looked at Chopper and added, his tone warm but sincere, "You worked hard, Chopper."
Chopper froze. His face instantly went red.
"E-even if you say that, I'm not happy about it!"
He was already squirming uncontrollably.
Outside the mechanical workshop, the low-altitude test range.
Several palm-sized black recon drones were shuttling back and forth along the edge of the White-White Sea.
Jeno stood in the middle of the test range, a pile of blueprints spread at his feet.
His most frequent activity over the past six months had been studying diagrams, swallowing materials, and using the synthesis factory in his stomach to build things.
If a build failed, he recycled it.
Swallowed it.
Built it again.
For him, the fabrication itself was not the hard part.
The real headache was tuning these little gadgets until they were stable enough to keep working through high altitudes, storms, thunderclouds, and chaotic battlefields.
"Wah ha ha ha ha!"
Jeno looked at the flyers in midair and laughed.
"Seventh batch of recon drones. Low-altitude test success rate is way higher than the last batch!"
Carina sat nearby, the macaw Bailey perched on her shoulder.
She watched the small machines darting around and nodded.
"Finally something useful."
"Soon the whole battlefield will be your eyes."
Buggy was squatting not far away.
He had not originally come for the test.
He had just heard Jeno had made a lot of new parts recently and was checking to see if any scrap materials were available for reasonable collection.
"Hey, Jeno."
Buggy squinted at the tail of one of the drones.
"That piece of metal looks pretty valuable."
Jeno did not turn around.
"Don't even think about it."
"Who's thinking about it!"
Buggy immediately jumped up.
"I was just making a professional assessment of battlefield salvage value!"
Carina said slowly, "Translation: he wants to steal it."
Bailey echoed, "Squawk! Thief! Thief!"
"Shut your beak, you stupid bird!"
Right when Buggy was at his loudest, a drone swept past overhead.
The sunlight caught a small component on its tail and gave a brief flash.
Buggy had been mid-rant at Bailey, but his voice suddenly stopped.
He narrowed his eyes.
"Huh?"
Carina looked at him.
"See money again?"
Buggy ignored her and pointed at the drone.
"Jeno, bring that one down."
Jeno glanced at his log.
"Data is normal."
"I said bring it down!"
Buggy declared with absolute confidence, "That flash just now was wrong."
Carina raised an eyebrow.
"Wrong flash?"
"Yes!"
Buggy planted his hands on his hips.
"I have transcendent judgment when it comes to shiny things!"
Carina was silent for a second.
"That sounds less like Observation Haki and more like a money-sickness disorder."
Jeno, however, was intrigued. He signaled the drone to land.
The drone settled onto the test platform.
Jeno casually opened the tail casing.
At first glance, nothing seemed wrong.
Buggy leaned in and pointed at a tiny axle.
"Right here."
"Here?"
Jeno frowned and looked closer.
The next second, his eyes lit up.
At the edge of that axle, there was actually a hairline crack so fine it was almost invisible.
If it had kept flying at high intensity, it would have almost certainly blown apart midair.
"Wah ha ha ha ha!"
Jeno yanked the part out and tossed it into his mouth without a second thought.
Crunch.
Swallowed.
A few seconds later, he opened his mouth and spat out a newly synthesized small component, then installed it directly.
"There really was a problem!"
He looked at Buggy and laughed even louder.
"Red Nose, your Observation Haki is turning into a treasure radar!"
Buggy instantly exploded.
"Who's Red Nose?!"
"And it's not a treasure radar!"
He pounded his chest, radiating pride.
"This is my natural kingly fortune sense!"
Carina propped her chin on her hand and smiled.
"So is it Observation Haki, or treasure sniffing?"
Bailey joined in, "Squawk! Money freak! Money freak!"
"Both of you shut up!"
Jeno rubbed his chin, finding it more interesting the more he thought about it.
"Honestly though, these weird hunches of yours have been pretty accurate these past few months."
"Last time I was making the Seastone folding particle blades, one of the closing mechanisms was a little sticky, and you were the first one to spot it."
Carina nodded.
"And the time before that, when there was a hidden compartment in one of the black market loot crates."
"Standard checks missed it."
"He took one look from a few steps away and said the crate was off, that there was definitely something valuable inside."
Buggy immediately corrected her.
"Not definitely!"
"I sensed the call of treasure!"
Carina ignored him.
"They cracked it open and found it stuffed full of berries."
Bailey tilted his head.
"Squawk! Dog nose!"
"Are you trying to become a roast parrot?!"
Jeno laughed loudly.
"And that time with Caesar."
"A hollow capsule got mixed into the poison gas batch."
"Red Nose picked it up, shook it, and said this one has no soul."
Buggy tilted his head back smugly.
"That's called touch!"
"The touch of a top-tier pirate!"
Carina laughed.
"Your Armament Haki is still entry-level."
"But your Observation Haki is definitely getting stranger."
"Danger, treasure, hidden compartments, traps, defects."
"Stuff other people miss, you keep stumbling onto."
Buggy froze for a second.
Then he planted his hands on his hips, his nose practically pointing at the sky.
"Heh heh heh."
"Finally admitting I'm a genius?"
Jeno grinned.
"Admitting it."
"So from now on, before any new gear leaves the factory, you're going to run your hands over it."
Buggy's smile stiffened.
"Run my hands over it?"
Carina jumped in quickly.
"And inventory checks too."
Bailey flapped his wings.
"Squawk! Mine sweeping! Mine sweeping!"
Buggy's face went pale.
"Mine sweeping is out of the question!"
Carina smiled.
"Find something valuable, and we'll cut you a share based on contribution."
Buggy went instantly quiet.
A few seconds later, he coughed and folded his arms.
"Since you're all begging me so sincerely..."
Jeno clapped him on the shoulder with a laugh.
"Then it's settled!"
Buggy jolted in realization.
"Wait!"
"I didn't say yes yet!"
The area outside the mechanical workshop dissolved into chaos once more.
Not far away, the Eclipse's main propulsion system had already begun its preheat cycle.
Six months of seclusion had finally reached their final day.