The Person Inside the Door

"It spoke!"

Bonney stared at the Control Body, her grip on the bear unyielding.

S-Bear stood in front of her, his body entangled in the Error Index Red Mark, but his voice was clearer than before.

"It wants a name."

Vegapunk was grabbing his hair.

"Don't rush to name it. A name isn't a sticker. We need to first confirm the origin of the residual personality."

Sabo was stopped by Horne, and the flames bypassed the water pipes.

"Did you hear that? The Evidence-Erasure Tool are demanding names."

Horne drew his sword.

"Failures are not eligible."

Shanks asked in a cold voice.

"Who gave you the right to say that?"

Horne looked up at the Sky Screen.

"Red-Hair, even your own records have been destroyed, and you still want to speak for a failed experiment?"

Shanks tightened his grip on the metal plate.

"Because my records were destroyed, I know what it feels like to have someone else decide my name."

Luffy, holding his Straw Hat, shouted.

"Hey, Number Two, don't hit anyone yet!"

The Control Body's faceplate turned towards the Sky Screen.

"Number Two, Cleanup, Name, Error."

Words fall from the Sky Screen.

[Residual personality fluctuations are increasing.]

[You can try to read it from memory.]

[Risk: During the reading process, False Verification will continue to drag Bartholomew Bear.]

Bonney gritted her teeth.

"Read."

Vegapunk shouted immediately.

"Bonney, reading this will subject you to another memory shock."

Bonney looked up.

"I carried my father's memories."

The bear spoke in the black space.

Bonney, no.

Bonney looked at the bear on the screen Sky Screen.

"Dad, this time it's not up to you alone to make the decisions."

The bear didn't try to persuade him further.

In the dark space, the Red Mark through the crack in the door continued to tug at him, and the Error Index on the ground kept lighting up.

The bear raised its hand and pressed it against its chest.

I can still hold on.

Ka Mi Er lay on Parker's back, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Then I will continue to bear witness."

Parker frowned.

Your wound has reopened.

Ka Mi Er cursed under his breath.

"If it doesn't close, it won't shut even when I'm dead."

Akainu spoke at Marine Headquarters.

"Medic, provide cover for Ka Mi Er outside the Old Archive."

The communications soldier responded immediately.

"Yes."

The Sky Screen transitions into the internal memory of the Control Body.

In the white room, an unnamed child sits on a metal chair, his arms covered in tubing.

The doctor flipped through the files.

"Number Two Adaptation, with stable Azure Jade Scales residue, failed to fuse with the Buccaneer muscle sample."

Another person asked.

What about residual personality traits?

The doctor answered.

"Highly compliant segments were selected from the painful accounts of multiple victims; the final product is still under development."

The child looked up and his lips moved.

What's my name?

The doctor didn't look at him.

"We have enough numbers."

Bonney's breathing became erratic.

He's still a child.

The White Mask prisoner closed his eyes.

"That's how early adaptations are."

The dragon turned around and stared at him.

Have you seen it?

The man with the White Mask's Adam's apple bobbed.

"I've only seen the files."

"Dragon said."

"Keep watching."

The child from my memory was pushed into another room.

An incorrect version of Old Days Index hangs on the wall.

A researcher in a White Robe read aloud.

"The Bearer is the embodiment of royal blood; the Laugher is the Sun Vessel; all may offer themselves."

Vegapunk gritted his teeth.

That's completely wrong.

Robin looked at the text.

"They didn't misinterpret; they chose an interpretation that facilitated the killing."

Akainu said in a low voice.

"Write it down."

The Sengoku period nodded.

"Already archived."

The scene continues.

The children were asked to listen to a story about the sun.

The recording contained fragments of a story that the bear left for Bonney.

The child suddenly looked up halfway through the conversation.

Will the sun come to save me?

The researcher sneered.

"The sun is an order, not a rescue."

S-Bear stood in front of Bonney, his mechanical pupils flashing continuously.

"Sun, save people!"

Bonney touched the crack on its back.

"Yes, the sun is a savior."

Upon hearing these words in the dark space, the Red Mark on the bear's feet receded slightly.

The sound came through the crack in the door again.

"Buccaneer, submit the pain."

"That's what the bear said."

"Pain cannot be submitted to the king."

Red Mark grabbed his arm.

You have suffered for others.

The bear raised its head.

"Just because I'm willing to bear it doesn't mean others can take it away from me."

Sky Screen notice.

[Emotional control is stable.]

[False Verification progress has dropped to 64%.]

Horne stared at the prompt and suddenly spoke.

"Weier, Taluo, kill Ka Mi Er."

Weier lunged out from the side corridor, but Sabo turned to intercept him, and flames blocked the passage.

You can't get through.

Taluo turned toward the outer wall of the Old Archive.

"Then from the outside."

Shanks spoke.

"Red-Hair Segment, obscuring Taluo's coordinates."

[Red-Hair Segment confirmed.]

As soon as Taluo took a step, the Golden Light in the passageway changed, and he returned to his original spot in the side corridor.

Taluo roared.

What did you do?!

Shanks said.

"Just so you can walk a few more steps."

Luffy grinned.

"Shanks, well done!"

Nami grabbed Luffy's shoulder.

"Don't laugh, the Red Mark is up to the brim of your Straw Hat."

Luffy down, and the patterns on the Inner Compartment of his Straw Hat heated up.

"Fine."

Robin looked at the sweat on his forehead.

"The backlash has already started."

Luffy up.

"The bear is inside, I can't let go."

The Sky Screen continued playing "Memory Number Two".

The child was strapped to the experimental table.

The researcher pressed the switch.

Solar Crown Pattern appeared on the child's chest, and the child let out a short cry of pain.

"Laugh."

The child bit his lip.

I don't want to laugh.

The researcher said.

"The Sun Vessel must smile."

In the video, someone is turning up the volume on an old recording.

The sound of a bear telling Bonney a story could be heard.

Nika will save people with a smile.

As the child listened to the recording, tears streamed down his face.

"Help me."

Bonney raised her hand to cover her mouth, then lowered it again.

"Sky Screen, could you send this segment into the False Verification?"

[This can serve as proof against the contrary.]

[Requires confirmation from Bartholomew Kuma himself]

Bonney looked into the black space.

"Dad, did you hear that? He's heard your story."

The bear closed its eyes briefly, then opened them again, its gaze falling on the crack in the door.

"I confirm."

Fragments of memory were sent into the black space by Golden Light.

The sounds coming from under the door began to become chaotic.

"Sun Vessel, Laugher, sacrifice, rescue, conflict."

The bear took a step forward.

"The story of the sun is not a command."

The red hand behind the door recoiled half an inch.

The Solar Crown Pattern on the Control Body's chest also darkened.

Vegapunk shouted.

"Efficient!"

The man in the White Mask raised his head.

"That's not enough. The Throne Backdoor will feed back the painful records of Number Two to the bear."

As soon as he finished speaking, images began to unfold on the ground in the black space.

The cries of children in agony, the wails of Sapphire Scales, the experimental records of the Buccaneer Tribe, and the records of Ginny's imprisonment—all pressed down on the bear.

In reality, a bear's body bends forward.

Bonney cried out urgently.

"Dad!"

The bear braced itself against the ground in the dark space.

"I can hear you."

A voice came from under the door.

"Will the Bearer accept it all?"

The bear looks up.

"No."

Bonney froze.

The bear continued.

I will remember them.

He pressed his hand on the Red Mark on the ground.

"But I don't condone the use of pain on their behalf."

Robin said softly.

This means the Original Index.

Luffy asked.

"What's the meaning?"

Robin looked at the Inner Compartment of the Straw Hat.

"Bearing burdens is not possession, and saving lives does not mean making decisions for others."

Shanks nodded.

"Captain Roger said something similar."

Luffy shouted at the Sky Screen.

"Bear! Don't carry it all on your back, call everyone together!"

The bear heard it.

He raised his hand in the darkness.

"If you're still here, say what you want."

There was a moment of silence through the crack in the door.

Then, a mixed sound came from the Control Body's chest.

"Name."

"Go home."

"No numbering."

Don't burn me.

Bonney's tears fell.

"Did you hear that? They're all here."

Ka Mi Er looked up from the outer wall of the Old Archive.

"Old Archive Gatekeeper Ka Mi Er confirmed that residual testimony from the erased individuals was present within Number Two's body."

Words fall from the Sky Screen.

[The testimony is valid.]

[The identity of the Number Two was changed from Evidence-Erasure Tool to a composite body of victim evidence.]

Horne finally changed color.

"Sky Screen, you've overstepped your authority!"

Akainu opened his mouth.

"This is called archiving."

Sabo looked at Horne.

"Are you still going to kill the witness?"

Horne raised his sword, and the patterns on the blade lit up.

"The Throne's command supersedes testimony."

Shanks' voice drowned out his.

"Then let the whole world see how the Throne plans to kill a child who just wants a name."

Horne did not answer; the sword's edge turned towards the chest of the Control Body.

Vegapunk yelled.

"He's trying to destroy the core!"

Sabo charged forward.

Horne's sword had already fallen.

S-Bear lunged in front of the Control Body, using his body to block the sword's edge.

Metal fragments were scattered all over the ground.

S-Bear intermittent opening.

"Protect, name."

The Control Body's half-face turned towards it.

"You... have a name?"

S-Bear paused for a moment.

"I am S-Bear."

Bonney said, crying.

"No, you can call yourself Little Bear."

S-Bear repeats.

"Little Bear."

A lower voice came from the Control Body's chest.

"Me too."