Tyrant Bartholomew Kuma

One month later, at a temporary Revolutionary Army base.

"Kuma, I'm going too!"

Ginny stood blocking the doorway with her arms folded and her chin held high.

Kuma was looking down as he adjusted the gloves for his mission. His hands paused for half a second.

"This time it's dangerous."

"Ron said you should cherish the people in front of you."

"...Don't pin everything on him."

"Then have you cherished me?"

Kuma fell silent.

Ever since she met that strange Marine rear admiral, Ginny had been wielding those words like an imperial decree.

She insisted on sitting next to him at meals, going with him on missions, and even moving her chair beside his at meetings.

And Kuma couldn't do a thing about it.

"Kuma."

Ginny suddenly stopped smiling and looked at him in all seriousness. "When are you going to marry me?"

Kuma lowered his eyes.

His Buccaneer Tribe blood was a shackle he had borne since childhood.

He knew all too well how the World Government would treat anyone who knew the truth, and he knew even better how much danger she would face by staying with him.

"I'm afraid."

"I'm not."

"But I'm afraid you'll get hurt."

Ginny reached out and grabbed Kuma's clothes.

"Bend down!"

Kuma obediently bent over.

Only then did Ginny extend a finger and jab him hard in the chest.

"Then you keep being afraid, and I'll keep chasing you. Let's see who gives up first!"

She turned and jumped into the small boat beside them, which was ready to depart, and waved hard at him.

"I'm going to meet our comrades in the south! When I get back, you have to give me an answer!"

Kuma stood on the shore without moving for a long time.

For some reason, the words that Marine had said last time popped into his head.

Cherish the people in front of you.

Three days later, in an abandoned town in an affiliated kingdom.

Ginny arrived at the rendezvous with seven team members. Their agreed-upon signal went unanswered, and the entire street was unnaturally quiet.

"Retreat!"

Ginny's expression changed.

Too late.

Boom!

Explosions erupted at both ends of the street at once, and collapsing brick walls completely sealed off their escape routes.

A row of gun barrels appeared on the rooftops, and black-clad Cipher Pol agents filed out of the shadows.

Farther away, heavy artillery belonging to troops under the government's direct command stood ready, alongside spread-out Seastone capture nets.

This was no ordinary garrison. It was a trap that had been laid in advance.

"The intelligence was leaked!"

Only headquarters and the local contact knew who was on the rendezvous list.

Ginny had no time to think it through. She pushed the youngest team member toward the back alley first.

"Go! Don't look back!"

"Cover the rear! Get as many out as you can!"

She grabbed a gun and fired repeatedly at the rooftops, but the enemy had prepared too thoroughly.

One team member had barely made it across the intersection when artillery fire blasted them off their feet. Another picked up the wounded comrade, only to fall beside a wall moments later.

They were driven deeper and deeper into the ruins.

Meanwhile, Kuma, who had completed his mission and returned to headquarters, suddenly received a call. Ginny's voice came through first.

"Kuma, you have to give me an answer this time!!"

"What answer?"

"Playing dumb, are you? I don't have time to..."

Boom!!

The Den Den Mushi toppled over, and the sounds of an explosion and screams blasted through the line.

Kuma shot to his feet.

"Ginny?!"

Gunshots rang out in quick succession, chaotic and urgent.

A moment later, a bloodstained hand picked up the Den Den Mushi.

"Kuma..."

Ginny was gasping for breath, yet she still managed a little smile.

"Looks like I might not make it back this time."

"Where are you?!"

For the first time, Kuma's voice was so heavy it trembled. Everyone around him looked over.

"It's fine. Just a little problem with the mission."

Bang!

A bullet shattered the brick wall beside her, spraying fragments across her face.

"Ginny!!"

"Tell me where you are, now—!!!"

Ginny bit her lip. She didn't want to drag him into the trap.

But another comrade fell beside her, and a Cipher Pol agent's arrogant shout came from beyond the wall. "Don't kill that woman! Someone up top specifically wants her alive! Capture her and send her to the Holy Land!"

A chill swept through Ginny.

So they had been after her from the very beginning.

At the thought that she might never see Kuma again, she couldn't hold back her tears. At last, she gave him the island's name and the town's location.

The other end of the line fell silent.

Click.

The call disconnected.

At Revolutionary Army Headquarters, the air around Kuma suddenly shuddered.

"Kuma?!" Ivankov jumped up in shock.

Dragon put down his papers. "What happened?"

"Ginny's in trouble."

Kuma took off his gloves and pressed a pink paw pad against his own chest.

Bang!!

He had already shot into the sky, leaving a roomful of stunned people behind.

In the abandoned town.

A scorched Revolutionary Army flag lay amid the rubble.

Ginny leaned against a broken wall, blood from her left arm dripping from her fingertips.

A Cipher Pol agent stepped on her lower leg and raised a pair of Seastone shackles with a vicious grin. "Behave yourself. A nobleman is waiting for his delivery!"

Suddenly, a piercing sound cut through the sky.

Boom!!

The ground caved in, sending dust and smoke more than ten meters into the air.

A towering figure stood at the bottom of the crater.

"Kuma..."

Ginny stared up at him.

Kuma said nothing.

He looked down at Ginny's bleeding arm.

When he looked up again, his face was completely expressionless.

"Revolutionary Army reinforcements! Fire!"

Cannonballs and bullets poured toward him at once.

Kuma raised both palms.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Every cannonball bounced back the way it had come!

Rumble!

The artillery at the front was blown apart by its own fire.

Two Cipher Pol agents charged out, coated in Armament Haki. Kuma softly uttered two words.

"Pressure Cannon."

A paw-shaped shockwave tore through the street. The two men smashed through three walls and never got up again.

Another group tried to drag Ginny away, but Kuma's figure abruptly vanished.

Bang!

The Cipher Pol agent holding Ginny by the hair was struck by a palm and sent flying straight into the sky. In moments, he became a black speck and vanished from sight.

"Kuma..."

"Don't move."

Kuma stood in front of Ginny and raised his palm, repelling every bullet fired at them.

He glanced back.

Ginny and several wounded comrades were all hiding behind the broken wall.

In the distance, the government troops' heavy artillery was still firing.

Kuma leaped into the air, fixed his gaze on the government artillery positions still firing in the distance, and raised his right hand.

His usually gentle face was twisted, and a red light flashed in his eyes.

Air compressed continuously in his palm, forming a paw-shaped bubble that grew smaller and smaller, yet more and more dangerous.

"Ursus Shock—!!"

He thrust out his right hand, and the compressed bubble exploded!

Boom!!

The bubble exploded in the middle of the distant artillery position!

A terrifying shockwave instantly overturned the entire row of cannons. The ground split apart layer by layer, and soldiers and weapons alike were hurled into the air!

Rumble!

Half the abandoned town shook.

Kuma landed in front of Ginny again and raised his palm, repelling the oncoming shockwaves.

When the dust cleared, only a huge, deep crater remained in the distance.

The soldiers on the outskirts who could still move were utterly terrified. They threw down their weapons and prostrated themselves on the ground, begging for mercy.

Kuma paid them no more attention.

He crossed the wreckage and walked straight toward the broken wall.

Ginny still had blood and dust on her face. When she saw him coming, she managed a smile.

"You got here pretty fast."

Kuma crouched down and carefully lifted her up.

The hands that could repel cannonballs were now so gentle, as though afraid of breaking her.

"Kuma..."

Ginny clutched his clothes.

"The others too..."

Kuma nodded.

"I know."

He carried Ginny to the broken wall.

Several Revolutionary Army members were helping one another as they struggled out of the ruins.

"Can you still walk?"

"Yes... There are more people trapped underneath!"

Kuma looked at the collapsed building.

"Leave it to me."

He freed one hand and gently pressed his palm against the rubble blocking the way.

Ginny's eyes slowly reddened. She buried her face in his chest and finally burst into tears.

A few days later, a news story spread across the seas.

[The vicious Revolutionary Army attacked regular government forces without provocation!]

[Bartholomew Kuma caused heavy casualties, and his threat level has risen sharply!]

On his new wanted poster, a new word stood out before his name: Tyrant.

"Tyrant?!"

Ivankov slapped the table, his beard bristling.

"Have those bastards seen how Kuma can't even bear to step on an ant when he walks?!"

Dragon looked at the report, his face grim.

"We still haven't found who leaked the route."

He closed the intelligence report. "Find the mole first. Don't let a second team walk into the same trap."

The government said nothing about the ambush, much less the order to "capture them alive and send them to the Holy Land."

All the blame was dumped on the Revolutionary Army.

As for Kuma, he had no mind to read the paper.

Ever since bringing Ginny back, he had stayed by her bedside.

Ginny had been unconscious for days, and he had barely slept.

Then, that morning, a familiar voice finally called out from the bed.

"Kuma."

Kuma jerked his head up.

"Ginny?"

"I almost died."

Kuma lowered his head. "I'm sorry."

Ginny reached out and took hold of one of his thick fingers.

"So, how much longer are you going to make me wait?"

Kuma was silent for a long time.

At last, he opened his palm and enclosed her hand in it.

This time, he didn't let go.

Marineford.

Ron unfolded the newspaper.

In the photograph, Kuma stood in the middle of the ruins, his gaze so cold he looked like a different person.

"Tyrant?"

Ron chuckled.

"They sure know how to come up with nicknames."

The last time they met, the big guy couldn't even bring himself to arrest fleeing civilians.

And now he had suddenly beaten government troops this badly?

"Tsk."

Ron tossed the newspaper onto the table.

"I wonder which unlucky guy pushed him too far."

Time slipped quietly by, until the year 1509 of the Sea Circle Calendar.

The East Blue, Foosha Village.

A pirate ship bearing a red dragon figurehead slowly sailed into the harbor.

Shanks stood at the bow, letting the sea breeze tousle his red hair.

Benn Beckman leaned against the railing. "You really plan to stay in a place like this for a year?"

"Why not?"

Shanks gave a long, lazy stretch. "We've been running around for half a year. Let's take a break."

"The World Government will never find us here~"

He had completely left behind his status as a knight of the Holy Land.

There were no knights' orders here, no Celestial Dragons, just the sea breeze, taverns, and his noisy crewmates.

"Shanks! Is this the East Blue?!"

A small figure suddenly dashed onto the deck.

The girl's hair was half red and half white, tied into a pair of playful pigtails.

She stepped onto the ship's rail and jumped straight onto the dock.

"Uta! Don't run off!"

"It's so quiet—!"

The little girl spread her arms and ran cheering into the village.

Shanks covered his forehead.

"Oh, no. She's going to run me ragged all day again."