The Hidden Letter

Vegapunk's expression turned even more grim when he saw the underground door illuminated.

He had a backup plan.

Kizaru raised his head.

"Who."

Vegapunk looked at the red permission icon that popped up on the console.

"Satan."

"He left a separate recycling program somewhere I didn't know."

Sabo looked towards the end of the corridor.

"Location."

Vegapunk brought up the map.

"Lower level of the old database."

"That used to be where paper records of failed experiments were stored."

"I later transferred Xiong's letters and old records there because that place had been abandoned and no longer used the normal system."

The dragon looked at the map.

"Now that it's lit up, it means the World Government knows about it."

Vegapunk shook his head.

They don't know the specifics.

"But they know I'll definitely hide something."

Bonney was holding the bear's arms.

"Where is the letter?"

Vegapunk nodded.

The letter is there.

"And the rubbings of the wooden boards that Xiong asked me to keep."

"And a recording I secretly made of him telling stories about the sun."

The bear looked at Vegapunk.

I didn't ask you to record your voice.

Vegapunk glanced at him.

"Back then, it felt like you were saying goodbye every day."

"I have to steal some back for you."

Bonney's tears fell again.

You two kept it from me.

"That's what the bear said."

"Sorry."

Bonney gritted her teeth.

"I'll settle accounts with you after this is over."

The countdown on the Sky Screen is still going on.

[Question time: 3 minutes]

Sabaody Archipelago.

Luffy has already raised his hand.

Choose D.

Nami looked at Robin.

"It should be correct, right?"

Robin nodded.

"A bear will not leave behind just one thing."

"The letter to Bonney is proof of her father's love."

"Old records are proof of a group."

"The story of the sun is a fire passed down from the Buccaneer Tribe."

Chopper wipes away his tears.

"Then you must choose D."

Franky wiped his face.

"This man, even before he was dismantled into weapons, was making way for others."

Marine Headquarters.

The Sengoku looked at the question.

"Navy selects D."

Akainu also spoke up.

"D."

Kuzan said.

"D."

Kizaru raised his hand on Future Island.

I also choose D.

The White Mask agent watched them.

"So what if you get it right?"

"The old database has begun self-destructing."

Vegapunk pressed the console.

A red alert popped up.

[Old database recycling process initiated.]

[External permissions, Saint Saturn.]

[Target items for recovery, special memory carriers, and paper documents.]

Vegapunk cursed.

"He programmed the waste energy lines."

"This is not the island owner system."

Kizaru straightened up.

"Can we stop them?"

Vegapunk's fingers flew across the keyboard.

"Someone needs to manually disconnect it."

Sabo looked at the dragon.

"I'll go."

"Dragon said."

You stay here.

Sabo frowned.

"Teacher."

Dragon looked at the bear and Bonney inside the maintenance bay.

"Satan won't just attack the database."

The person he really wants is still here.

Kizaru shrugged.

"Then I'll go to the database."

Vegapunk looked at him.

"You just supplied energy to the bear, is your body still able to handle it?"

Kizaru raised his hand, and light shone from his fingertips.

"I've been lazy for many years, so let's not be so meticulous this time."

Kuzan walked from the other end of the corridor, still covered in icy mist.

I'll go with him.

Smoker was chewing on a cigar.

I'll go too.

Vegapunk points to the map.

"Use maintenance well Number Three, and avoid the red lines."

That's a self-destruct chain.

Kizaru nodded.

"I heard you."

Bonney looked at him.

Bring the letter back.

Kizaru glanced at her.

"Try your best."

Bonney shouted.

"Not just try!"

Kizaru paused for a moment.

"Good."

"Bring it back."

The countdown on the Sky Screen has reached zero.

[Correct answer: D, all of the above.]

[Additional video footage released.]

The scene returns to the Holy Land.

After Xiong signed the documents, Vegapunk followed him out of the room.

The corridor was long, with people in white standing on both sides.

"Vegapunk said in a low voice."

"You shouldn't have agreed to the memory clause."

"That's what the bear said."

"If you don't agree, Bonney won't live."

Vegapunk suppressed his anger.

"But you'll be used for experiments."

The bear stopped.

"PhD."

When I was a child, my father would hand me a roll of paper.

He said, "If our generation leaves nothing behind, future generations will laugh at us."

I didn't protect the paper back then.

"Later, only this plank remained."

He took the old wooden board from his pocket.

The texture on it has worn away.

Vegapunk stared at the wooden plank.

"Is this writing?"

The bear shook its head.

"I don't know them all."

"My father said, 'This is the road.'"

"When Buccaneer Tribe children reach adulthood, they follow the road to find their companions."

"But the road was burned a lot."

"Vegapunk asked."

You want me to save it?

The bear nodded.

"There's also a letter."

"If Bonney asks me about it someday."

"If I hadn't been able to answer by then..."

Please tell her that I didn't abandon her.

Vegapunk remained silent.

The bear continued.

There's another story.

I can't tell her anymore.

But I want it to live.

"Vegapunk asked in a low voice."

"The Story of the Sun?"

The bear nodded.

My father said that laughter can pull a person up from the ground.

I don't know if that person really exists.

"But I want Bonney to know that there should be people in the world who live like this."

Outside the Sky Screen, Luffy looked up.

He didn't speak.

Chopper looked at him.

"Luffy?"

Luffy held down the Straw Hat.

I want to take the bear with me.

Sanji exhaled smoke.

"Do you even need to tell me?"

Zoro looked up at the Sky Screen.

"Let's see if they can get the letter back."

Future Island old database.

Kizaru and Kuzan have reached the entrance to the lower level.

A red light flashed on the door.

Smoker used his Seastone Jitte to brace the door open.

It's hot here.

Kuzan crouched down and took a look.

"They've started burning paper money inside."

Kizaru raised his hand.

"Then hurry up."

He transformed into light and passed through the crack.

The next moment, Kizaru's voice came from inside.

"This is troublesome."

Kuzan asked.

"How."

Kizaru said.

"There is more than just faith here."

"There is also a small Seraphim Control Core."

When Vegapunk heard this in the maintenance bay, his expression changed.

"Satan hid the core in the database?"

Kizaru's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.

"It's awake now."

In the database, a weapon in the form of a child stands before the flames.

It resembles a bear in appearance, but it lacks the newborn-like reactions of an S-Bear.

It had a number hanging on its chest.

[S-Bear, backup Control Body.]

Vegapunk gritted his teeth.

"This is not my number."

The dragon looked at him.

"Satan's unauthorized modifications."

Vegapunk nodded.

"He copied the chain of control."

Kizaru looked at the small weapon.

"Hey, kid."

"Could I go and pick up a few letters?"

The backup Control Body raised its palm.

The fleshy, ball-shaped palm was aimed at Kizaru.

[Supreme Order: Destroy Bartholomew Bear-related artifacts.]

Kizaru sighed.

"There's no way to slack off now."

Kuzan raised his hand from outside the door, and ice seeped in along the crack in the door.

"Don't hurt it."

Kizaru said.

"I know."

Inside the maintenance bay, S-Bear heard a voice from someone of its kind and turned its head.

Bonney heard it too.

"And a little dad?"

Vegapunk said.

"Not Dad."

The bear looked at the screen.

"But it was also a created child."

Bonney looked up.

"We must save them."

A new notification then appeared in the Sky Screen.

[Hidden Seraphim Control Body detected.]

[The target is currently undergoing a destruction mission.]

[Additional Missions: Save the bear's letter, Buccaneer Tribe wooden tablet rubbing, and Sun Story recording within five minutes.]

[After the failure, the relevant content can only be made public through Xiong's own memories, and the process of making it public will cause secondary mental burden.]

Bonney stood up immediately.

"No."

The bear grabbed her.

"I can handle it."

Bonney turned around.

"Shut up."

You're not allowed to take this this time.

The bear stopped.

Bonney looked at S-Bear.

"Little Bear."

"Can you help it stop?"

S-Bear raised his face.

"Similar."

"Incorrect instruction."

Vegapunk looked at it.

It can sense the control frequency of the same series.

Sabo asked.

Can it provide remote coverage?

Vegapunk said.

"If Bonney grants authorization, and the bear itself responds, we might be able to gain a second."

The dragon looked at the bear.

Is one second enough?

Kizaru's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.

"Enough for this old man to take a stack of papers."

Kuzan said.

"Enough to freeze the fire."

Smoker said.

"Enough for me to seal the door."

Bonney held the bear's hand and placed her other hand on S-Bear's head.

"Dad."

"Little Bear."

"Listen to me."

"Don't let them burn our things."

The bear raised its hand and pressed it on the authentication area of the console.

S-Bear also raised her little hand.

Golden Light descended from the Sky Screen.

[Lineage Factor resonance confirmed.]

[Father and daughter permissions confirmed.]

[Bartholomew Bear's first proactive authorization confirmation since his personality was restored.]

[Temporary overwrite, one second.]

In the old database, the backup Control Body paused its actions for a moment.

Kizaru transformed into light and entered.

Kuzan's ice spread out along the ground.

Smoker rushed into the fire and dragged out the innermost metal box.

The next moment, the backup Control Body raised its hand again.

The impact from his palm was aimed at Kizaru's back.

S-Bear looked up in the maintenance bay and, for the first time, made a clearer sound on its own.

"No, burn it."

New characters then lit up the Sky Screen.

[The backup Control Body has experienced self-deviation.]

Vegapunk stared at the line of text.

"Another one."

Sabo looked at him.

"What, another one?"

Vegapunk's throat tightened.

"Another choice has begun."

The backup Control Body in the database has its palm slightly turned to the side.

The impact grazed Kizaru's side and pierced through another wall.

Kizaru took the metal box outside.

Kuzan sealed the container with ice.

Smoker was panting heavily.

"We got the item."

Just as Bonney was about to let go, the Sky Screen lit up with a second line of light.

[WARNING: The box contains Saint Saturn Relic Observation Mark.]

[When enabled, the reader's location will be exposed simultaneously.]

Kizaru looked at the frozen box.

"That old man really knows how to set a trap."

Vegapunk looked at Bonney.

"If the box is opened, Satan will know who read the letter."

Bonney said.

"Then let the whole world read it together."

The bear looked at her.

Bonney.

Bonney wiped away her tears.

He wanted to know who was reading it.

"Then let him know."

"Everyone is reading it."