Forced Answer

[Countdown to Forced Answer: 10 seconds.]

The red light in the maintenance cabin hadn't completely dissipated yet. Bear stood beside Bonney, his large hands half-protecting her behind him.

Bonney didn't flinch. She looked up at the words on the Sky Screen, her voice hoarse as she tried to speak.

"Satan."

"You answer."

Xiong didn't urge him; he simply placed his other hand on the edge of the control panel, pressing his palm against the still-heating metal plate.

Vegapunk watched the countdown, sweat streaming down his forehead and face.

"Forced Answer has locked onto the target."

This isn't a regular Q&A session.

Sabo stood at the doorway, flames pushing against the ground and outwards, while remnants of CP0 refused to retreat.

What's the difference?

Vegapunk didn't look away.

"Sky Screen used to ask questions that were factual."

"Now the bear is using the right to pursue accountability."

"The person responsible for the target must answer; refusal will also be recorded as part of the response."

Kizaru leaned against the wall, tapping his temples twice with his fingers.

"In other words, Saint Saturn either needs to speak, or he needs the Sky Screen to speak for him."

Kuzan looked at the screen.

He will choose the third option.

Smoker clasped his Jitte together and said in a low voice.

"Kill him to silence him."

Dragon stood in the shadows of the corridor, the wind pressing into the maintenance bay from behind his shoulders, partially scattering the footsteps outside.

He can't kill anyone here right now.

"So he'll kill those who know the answer first."

Bonney turned her head.

"The person who knows the answer?"

The bear tightened its grip slightly, and the metal plate made a very soft, creaking sound.

The person who treated you back then.

Vegapunk paused for a moment, then immediately typed out several commands.

"Medical Records Database, Bonney's Early Pathology Records, Sorbet's Referral Records, Holy Land Transfer Appendix."

A large area of red blocking appeared on the screen.

[Permission denied.]

[The data has been encrypted by the Holy Land side.]

Vegapunk cursed.

"Really."

Sabo turns his head.

Can it be broken?

"Able."

Vegapunk ripped a data cable off the side and plugged it into his wrist Terminal.

"But I need the Sky Screen to suppress the Holy Land's authority."

The countdown on the Sky Screen jumped to three.

[Three.]

Holy Land Mary Geoise.

Saint Saturn stood in the center of the hall, his scepter already embedded in the floor tiles.

None of the Five Elders spoke.

Imu, lurking in the shadows, remained silent.

[Two.]

Saint Saturn raised his head.

"Joelie Bonney's illness was a case of medical malpractice."

The Sky Screen left him no way out.

[Incomplete answer.]

Please answer the question regarding the true source.

Saint Saturn's facial muscles tensed, and the base of his scepter crushed a white stone.

"Her illness stemmed from residual experimental drugs in her mother's system."

On Future Island, Bonney's breathing hitched, and she clutched the bear's clothes.

"My mother?"

The bear turned to look at her.

Bonney.

Bonney didn't look at him; she only looked at the Sky Screen.

Who is my mother?

The text on the Sky Screen continued to appear.

[Further details regarding accountability issues.]

[Related object: Bonney's mother.]

[Name: Ginny]

The dragon's gaze fell on those two words, and the wind whistled softly at the doorway.

Sabo's flames flickered.

Ginny.

Emporio Ivankov's voice came through the Revolutionary Army's communication channel, first as static, then as an out-of-control shout.

"Ginny?!"

"Dragon, can you hear me?!"

The dragon lifted the Den Den Mushi).

"I heard you."

The sound of tables and chairs overturning came from Emporio Ivankov's side.

"That child is Ginny's daughter?"

"Is the bear's daughter Ginny's daughter?"

The dragon did not answer immediately.

Bear looked down at Bonney, his lips moved several times before he finally spoke.

She is your mother.

Bonney turned around.

You know her.

The bear nodded.

"Know."

Bonney's tears welled up, and she reached out to grab the bear's sleeve.

Why didn't you tell me?

The bear's voice lowered.

I want to wait for you to grow up.

"I want to wait until you can stand in the sunlight before I tell you what kind of person she is."

Bonney shook her head vigorously.

Tell me now.

"Dad, tell me now."

The Sky Screen cuts through the silence for the bear.

[Data Access.]

[Bonney, Ginny's mother.]

[Identity: Member of the Revolutionary Army.]

[Follow-up record: Missing.]

[Location of disappearance, following a rescue operation in an Affiliated Nation of the South Blue.]

Emporio Ivankov shouted himself hoarse on the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

"Missing?"

That's not missing!

"She was arrested!"

Sabo looked at the dragon.

"Mr. Long."

Dragon's finger pressed against the Den Den Mushi's casing.

"After that operation, Ginny disappeared from the communication channel."

"We searched for a long time."

She couldn't be found.

Vegapunk looked up.

I've never seen this name on Future Island.

Kizaru straightened up a bit from the wall.

"Because the place she was sent to might not have been Science Unit."

Kuzan continued.

"Holy Land."

The Sky Screen provides confirmation.

Ginny was forcibly taken to the Holy Land by the Celestial Dragons.

[The relevant files have been destroyed multiple times.]

[Residual records are being restored.]

Bonney's fingers gripped the fabric, pressing deep imprints into it.

"Forcibly taken away."

"Who took it?"

The text on the Sky Screen paused for a moment.

In the Holy Land site, Saint Saturn raised his hand, and a man in white immediately knelt down.

"Cut off the old marriage records database."

The person in white pressed their head to the ground.

"Saint Saturn, the Records Library has been captured by the Sky Screen Mirror."

Saint Saturn looked at him.

"Then burn down the original warehouse."

The man in white dared not raise his head.

"The original warehouse is located underground in Pangaea Castle."

"I need Imu's permission."

The air in the hall felt heavy and oppressive.

A sound finally came from the darkness.

"Burn."

The man in white immediately withdrew.

The Sky Screen lit up simultaneously.

[The Holy Land has been detected destroying associated original records.]

[Evidence protection initiated.]

[Public broadcast moved up.]

The bear's paws covered Bonney's back.

"If you don't want to see it, I can block it for you."

Bonney raised her hand and wiped away the tears on her face with the back of her hand.

I think so.

"They took my mother away and made my father carry her for so many years."

"I have to see it."

The bear didn't try to persuade him further.

The scene unfolds.

That's not a laboratory.

It was a town that had just finished fighting. Children were crying by the broken walls, and several members of the Revolutionary Army were distributing food.

A short-haired woman squatted on the ground, stuffing her own dry food into the little girl's mouth while complaining.

"Stop crying, or I'll eat your share too."

The little girl immediately hugged the bowl.

"Don't want."

The woman burst into laughter.

A gasp came from Emporio Ivankov's side.

Ginny.

In the video, Ginny stands up and waves to the distance.

"Bear, do you have any more medicine?"

The younger bear came carrying a basket of supplies.

"Besides."

Ginny grabbed the medicine bag.

"You're just too slow."

"That's what the bear said."

You run too fast.

Ginny turned around and smiled at him.

"Then carry me on your back, Mr. Buccaneer."

Bonney watched the screen, tears streaming down her face.

She's smiling.

The bear's paw stopped on the top of her head.

"She's always like that."

"Laugh when you're hungry, and laugh when you're tired."

Bonney asked, her voice choked with emotion.

Do you like her?

The bear looked down at the screen.

"Like."

On the Den Den Mushi, Emporio Ivankov cried and cursed.

You big, clumsy bear!

You didn't say a word back then!

The bear did not refute, it simply said...

I thought there was still time.

The Sky Screen view continues.

The sound of cannon fire could be heard in the distance.

Ginny looked up, her smile gone.

"Didn't they say the enemy troops withdrew?"

Revolutionary Army members rushed over.

"A World Government vessel has docked!"

"They said anti-government forces were hiding here and they wanted to arrest people!"

Ginny shoved the child next to her away.

"Take the civilians away!"

The bear charged forward.

"Ginny, let's retreat."

Ginny handed him the communicator.

"No, there are still people on East Street."

The bear reached out to pull her.

Ginny patted the back of his hand.

"If you can carry so many people, don't just focus on me."

The screen is shaking.

A man in white entered the city.

The sound of gunfire drowned out the cries.

The Sky Screen magnified the command plaque held by one of the men in white.

[Holy Land Direct Retrieval Order.]

[Target: Ginny, a communications officer in the Revolutionary Army.]

[Note: Live animal brought back.]

Bonney managed to squeeze out a sound from her throat.

"Bring the live animal back."

Sabo's flames climbed up the door frame.

"They came for her from the very beginning."

"Dragon said."

"Ginny is in charge of communications."

"She knew a lot about the Revolutionary Army's secret networks."

Vegapunk's face turned grim.

"It could also be due to her physical condition."

Bonney looked at him.

"What's the meaning."

Vegapunk did not answer immediately.

The Sky Screen provided the answer first.

[After Ginny was taken to the Holy Land, her identity was erased.]

[Over the next two years, I participated in involuntary drug observation multiple times.]

[Drug Name: Jade Scales Adaptability Trial]

Bonney's face drained of color.

The bear's paw rested on her shoulder.

Bonney.

Bonney stared at those words.

"My illness."

"Was it left behind when they used my mother as a test subject?"

The Sky Screen remained perfectly still.

[Yes.]

The maintenance bay was so quiet you could hear the console fans whirring.

In the Holy Land Hall, Saint Saturn, holding his scepter, finally spoke.

That wasn't directed at her.

That's for selecting suitable candidates.

The text on the Sky Screen was immediately added.

[The person in charge speaks.]

[Saint Saturn acknowledges the existence of the Jade Scales Adaptability Trial.]

Saint Saturn's face darkened.

On Future Island, Kizaru clicked his tongue softly.

"I really want to know if he's forgotten he's still being Forced Answer."

Kuzan looked up at the Sky Screen.

He hasn't forgotten.

"He's just always been used to talking like that."

Akainu's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.

"Keep asking."

The Sengoku also spoke up.

"Make him explain the entire chain of responsibility."

The bear looked at Bonney.

"Shall we continue?"

Bonney looked up, tears still on her face, but her voice was much steadyer.

"Continue."

"I want to know how she got back."

The bear's shoulders and back are tucked in.

The Sky Screen image darkens.

[Ginny leaves the Holy Land, four years later]

[Status: Seriously ill.]

[With baby, Joelle Bonney.]

Bonney said softly.

"Mom brought me home."

The bear closed its eyes briefly, then opened them again.

She called.

She said she wanted to go home.

In the Sky Screen display, a Den Den Mushi (a type of Den Den Mushi) opens its eyes.

There's a lot of background noise.

A woman's voice came from inside, intermittent, yet carrying a familiar laugh.

"Bear."

I escaped!