Kuma and the Marines arrival

It was a spring day. The nave, where prayer is conducted, was brightly lit. The sunlight, which hadn't entered for months, found refuge inside the church, casting an ethereal glow that strangely seemed to glow like precious jewels.

In the middle of the nave was a long table filled with mouth-watering food. Three chairs surrounded the table, on which sat three people.

Bonney stuffed her mouth with grilled meat, seemingly insatiable. The food quickly emptied as her hand moved like lightning from one plate to another.

"Slow a bit, Bonney, there's enough food to eat to your fill." Kuma's big gloved hand rested on her head, ruffling her pink hair.

The little girl looked at the table; the empty dishes had magically been refilled once again.

"So much food!!" Her eyes shone, brimming with happiness, while droplets of drool stained her lips.

"Come on, eat, Bonney." She heard a gentle voice, then felt a touch that carefully wiped the drool off her face.

"Mama!" Bonney said and held the hand that was made of pure white smoke.

She looked at the woman, or rather the silhouette of a woman, as she couldn't pinpoint exactly how she looked, and it pained her.

Something told her that she was her mother. She felt joy for she was beside her, but she also felt fear as she tightened her hold on her arm, fearing that she'd disappear.

From deep within her, an inexplicable pain surged as tears she couldn't control suddenly poured out of her eyes.

"Mama!" She said, her voice quivering. She cried.

Two hands rested on her little shoulders. Bonney, teary-eyed, lifted her head and looked at the gentle smiles cast her way.

"Don't cry, dear. I'm here with you now." The woman seemed to radiate a warmth Bonney had never felt before.

"But… Mama," her tears wouldn't stop, and she didn't know why…

"AGH!!" She wept loudly as if she was releasing something that had been held for too long.

The woman made of smoke looked at Kuma, who seemed to be looking at the window, then like a child, he smiled in excitement as he shook his daughter's shoulder.

"Bonney, he's here!"

She didn't respond, but that didn't diminish Kuma's excitement as he shook her once more.

"He's here, Bonney."

"Nika!!"

"Listen! Can you hear it?"

Bonney, while still weeping, lifted her head at the mention of Nika and looked at the window where her father and mother were looking.

She didn't see anything at first, but once she looked at the floor, her heart pounded. A shadow of a man was cast on the wooden floor. He appeared to be relatively slim, with wild hair, a spear and a sword in each hand, like the legends her father told her.

The shadow jumped and danced a familiar dance. His arms twisted and elongated in a funny way that suddenly brought joy to her heart.

"I can hear it!" she said. Her tears stopped as a smile quickly formed on her teary face.

DON TO TO, DON TO TO, DON TO TO

A rhyme similar to a drum beating spread inside the church's spacious hall.

Bonney smiled. She knew this rhyme that her father used to sing to her.

"Let's go, Bonney!" A large hand quickly wrapped around her and another around her mother.

Kuma ran fast and put them around the dancing shadow, after which, seemingly infected by the joy the shadow brought, Bonney, Kuma, and the woman started doing the same dance, circling the shadow.

"Daddy, Nika is here!!" Bonney laughed, forgetting about the pain that made her weep a few moments ago.

Kuma laughed. "Dance, Bonney."

"I'm dancing!" An immense sense of joy filled her being.

"Hmm, what a strange little girl, crying then laughing. What's she dreaming about?"

Out of nowhere, she heard a man speak. She looked at her parents, who felt like they didn't hear anything, as they danced around in circles.

"Rakyl, you little snake, what did you make her dream of?"

Bonney came to a stop. She seemed to come to a realization.

"Dream…" she muttered, then looked at her father and her mother's silhouette made of smoke. All of a sudden, she felt like crying as a tear fell from her shaken eyes.

"Huh? Snake language again!" She heard him clearer and louder this time, as the world around her seemed to dim. All sounds disappeared except for the man's voice, then everything went dark.

Bonney's eyes snapped open, only to be met with bright golden eyes staring at her, too close to her face.

"You're awake." The young man smiled. He had black hair that reached just above his shoulder, but his eyes frightened her.

"AH!" She screamed. The man scared her. She lifted her right arm, which quickly inflated like a balloon, and swung for the young man's face.

Alexander's eyes widened at her sudden reaction, but strangely he didn't bother to move his head, as the punch smashed him squarely on the chin, sending him flying, crashing against the room's door.

Bonney jumped, standing straight atop her small bed. Her eyes nervously danced around, looking at the shocked unfamiliar faces staring at her.

"Agh!" Her eyes moved to the young man leaning against the door.

He massaged his chin and looked at her. A second passed in silence, then out of the blue, he laughed.

"Ha ha ha!"

"Stand up, Captain, don't embarrass us!"

"Fu Fu Fu." The few men and women burst into laughter.

Bonney's eyes darted around her small pink-decorated chamber. She felt nervous; she didn't know these people or how they got here, but she could at least infer that they didn't mean harm.

"That was a mighty wallop, little girl." Alexander shook his head a few times, then stood up, smiling at Bonney.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my room?" she asked, feeling nervous about the number of adults gathering in her room.

Alexander took a few careful steps so as not to startle the little girl.

"My name is Alexander, and I'm here to help you!" he said while spreading his arms in a placating manner.

"Help me? Why would you help me?" she asked, puzzled.

"It's a long story…" Alexander scratched his head, and he didn't know how to explain it to her.

Hancock, who had been standing on the side, walked to Bonney and lifted the stash of letters they had found.

"You should read this. We found your father's letters…"

At the mention of her father, Bonney's eyes lit up, but she was still suspicious as she slowly took the letters and opened them.

A few minutes passed in silence, which was disturbed by Bonney's sniffles from time to time as she read.

"Where did you find his letters? I had been waiting for months for his writing…" she said, her eyes were red and her hands clutching the letters hard.

Alexander walked to the bed, then sat beside her. "That nurse was a bad person. She had been intercepting your father's letters all this time."

"And the medicine that you had been given is fake. You don't need any medicine. You are, in fact, cured. A year without going out under the sun, and you'll be fine." He sighed. He had seen everything in the nurse's dream. They had been lying to the girl all this time.

So he began explaining what happened in a way a small child could understand, except that he kept the deal her father made with the world government secret. He didn't want to torture her with this revelation.

A few minutes down the line, Bonney's expression changed from suspicion to shock, sadness, then anger as she hopped down from the bed and bolted outside of the room.

She quickly ran through the corridor, appearing inside the nave. She looked around and then stopped in place as she spotted the tied-up Alpha and her assistants.

"Took you long to wake up, little worm," Alpha said, feeling spiteful.

"You were hiding my father's letters." Bonney, feeling angry, walked forward, standing before Alpha and her assistants.

"WHERE DID YOU HIDE THEM?"

Alpha chuckled. "Hide? Why would I hide them? They're torn in the trash where they belong."

"Why would you do this?" Bonney felt betrayed; everything that she had been told was a lie. "When will my father come back?"

"Come back?" the nurse laughed once again.

"Your father will n—" Alpha was about to tell her the truth. She wanted to see her world shatter. Since she had been caught, there was no need to keep secrecy about her mission. But before she could finish, a hand was suddenly placed on her mouth.

"Shut your mouth, wench!" A pair of golden eyes menacingly stared at her.

"Don't rush to your death yet." His hand tightened around her jaw as he slammed her head hard against the stone walls, knocking her out.

Alexander got up. He looked at the other assistants pretending to be asleep. He ignored them for now as he turned around, flashing a little smile at the girl.

"Are you hungry, little girl?"

Bonney, although feeling sad, managed to nod her head.

"Good." Alexander felt relieved. However, a second later, the church's door was pushed open, revealing the figure of a short old woman and a fat man.

A moment passed in silence as Conney looked at him in shock, then abruptly the man beside her shouted.

"PIRATES!!"

He rushed for Alexander, who sighed and smacked the man to the ground with a slap. He'd have to explain everything once more…

Up in the sky.

Days and nights cycled as Kuma flew at extreme speeds few could match, closing in on Sorbet Island. He felt battered and exhausted, supporting various scratches and bruises with some congealed blood around his forehead from when he slammed into the Red Line.

He hoped that his daughter would be safe and for the Kuja pirates to show mercy to an innocent child, because if something happened to her, he didn't know what to do. He'd already lost Ginny—losing Bonney would break him in more ways than anyone could know.

The world knew him as a tyrant, a usurper, a man who kills in cold blood, but behind this layer of smearing was a tragic man who had lost everything—his parents, his freedom; a child bound in chains, his love who one day was abducted and returned only to die quickly, leaving him with a little child.

He felt like sinking in this bitter world, a world that hunted his kind.

His last ray of light amidst this darkness is Bonney, and for her, he made an agreement with the World Government. They wanted him a slave again, a weapon in their hands, once more returning to chains, but this time he did it for his little girl.

A few hours passed, and the dark blue of the night turned into a brightly lit blue sky. He could spot the borders of the island. However, he felt no joy as a sinking feeling settled inside him. Down below, he went past an armada of Marine ships, more than 10 battleships big.

"This can't be good," he thought. The Marine response was quick, which wasn't strange considering that they had to only cross the Calm Belt from Marineford, and they'd be here.

Forgetting about the Marines, he continued flying and getting closer until he was above the island where his flight slowed and dipped down, passing above the forest, then safely landing before the church's door.

A thud was heard as his feet skidded above the paw mark his ability had left on the ground.

Without hesitation, he ran up the few stairs, sweating and heart pounding as his hands rested on the wooden main door. Then he pushed slowly and carefully, his whole being trembling.

A few centimetres opened, and he could hear unfamiliar voices shouting.

"More!"

"More!"

"More!"

"More!"

Once he saw what was inside, Kuma stopped in place. A group of men and women were sitting on the floor, and in the middle was his daughter. He even spotted Granny Conney and Gyogyo smiling on the side.

Beside his daughter was a black-haired young man. He wore an open black shirt over a tight red T-shirt that traced over his well-sculpted muscles.

They were looking at his daughter and the man as they devoured a mountain of what looked like sea king meat, and it seemed that his daughter was winning…

By this point, several pairs of eyes had discovered his entrance.

Kuma unhesitatingly strode in. His feet felt heavy from exhaustion and relief at his daughter's safety.

"Bonney," he gently called.

Bonney paused with a big chunk of meat inside her mouth. She lifted her head and looked, her eyes widened in shock as she spat out what was in her mouth.

"DADDY!!" she called, scrambling to her feet, running faster than she had ever done before. With tears falling from her eyes, she smashed into Kuma's embrace, who bent down on his knees, gently holding her small body.

"I missed you!" she cried in his arms.

"I'm sorry, Bonney. I was kept busy…" It hurt him to lie to her, but he had no choice.

"I know… Granny Conney and Alexander told me…" she replied between a choke and a sob.

At the mention of the unfamiliar name, Kuma looked at the group who was present. They were looking at the scene with a smile, and the young man who had been eating with his daughter lifted his hand, seemingly in recognition of his name.

Bonney squirmed inside his arms and turned to face Alexander and the rest.

"They're not bad guys; they helped me find your letters."

"Letters? What do you mean by finding my letters!" Kuma was perplexed. As far as he knew, his letters should have been safely delivered to his daughter.

"That nurse, Alpha, had been tearing them behind my back. She even admitted doing it." Bonney had a look of anger as she broke free from his embrace, standing between him and the group.

"Don't be angry at them; they helped me…"

Kuma fell into silence. This wasn't what they had agreed upon when he accepted Alpha as the one to keep watch over his daughter. He gritted his teeth in anger and looked at Hancock standing beside the young man named Alexander.

"Let's talk outside, shall we?" He heard Alexander speak, get up, then walk to the door. Kuma looked at his daughter.

"Wait for me here; I'll be back…"

"I know of your deal with the World Government," Alexander said, facing Kuma before the church's ground gate.

"I admit I didn't know about it until I knocked those agents senseless…"

"Why did you come here?" Kuma asked. Why would a big pirate group come to this island, and of all the people he had encountered, his daughter?

Alexander smiled wryly. "If I said it was by chance, would you believe me?"

Kuma looked at him in silence that demanded a full answer.

"Ahh! I hate explaining things." Alexander sighed. He wished he had recorded his talk with Granny Conney, as it took a lot of time to convince her they weren't here to harm the little girl.

"I like to believe that fate had a hand in this by bringing me to this island…" Alexander said, then started telling what happened without hiding anything.

After a few minutes, Kuma relaxed a little. The knowledge he had about the World Government's conduct and his daughter's safety somehow made him believe the pirate's story.

"But you shouldn't have come!" Kuma shook his head.

"The World Government would hunt you now… with full force…"

"A few more battles wouldn't intimidate me, Kuma!" Alexander chuckled. If the Marines kept messing with him, he wouldn't mind teaching them a lesson.

"Battle won't solve anything. I broke the agreement I had with them for treating Bonney, although they had taken what they needed from me. But they won't let me roam free… they will send people after me."

"Hmmm, so you're telling me you sold yourself to treat your daughter?" Alexander looked at the man in a new light. Although he had some information from Alpha, they weren't complete about Kuma's story.

Kuma didn't respond as he turned and looked at the church.

"My daughter deserves everything, even if it means becoming a mindless slave… my existence has brought too much harm…" Kuma trembled.

"Leave this island, return the agents… the Marines are closing in on us… I'll go and hold them off until they can take me away…"

"What about your daughter?" Alexander asked, his eyes looking at the tall man in all seriousness.

Kuma turned around and walked to the forest. "I'm relieved that she's safe. I'll send her letters once I get back, and this time I'll make sure that they'll arrive."

"I can help you… you can join my crew…"

"Thank you… but I've done enough harm. Don't trouble yourself with me, and quickly leave the island."

His steps felt heavy to Alexander as he slowly walked away. He could feel the regret, the exhaustion this man felt. It was a sinking feeling; he was a man against the world, trying to protect his daughter.

Alexander, standing with hands crossed, looked at the church. He could hear the happy voice of the little girl who didn't know that her father was about to leave, and this time it'd be for good, as they wouldn't let him be free again.

Then his eyes started shining an eerie golden glow. It was so intense that anyone would hesitate to look him directly in the eye.

Then everything vanished as quickly as it came. He turned around and entered the church.

The southern part of Sorbet Island.

On a beach that stretched as far as the eye could see, thousands of Marines could be seen climbing a light-steeped rocky hill.

In the lead were Admiral Kizaru and Vice Admiral Gion, Momonga and Doberman, leading the platoons toward the church.

Their walk cut through hills to flat land with sparse vegetation that bordered the forest leading to the church.

"What a hassle…" Kizaru said, adjusting his shades.

"Be serious, Admiral Kizaru. We have a grave matter at hand," replied Gion, also known as Mamousagi.

She was a tall, slender woman with red lipstick and curly black hair tied to the back. She wore a red, short-sleeved, open-collar shirt and brown heels, underneath a marine coat that masked the spider tattoo on her thigh.

"She speaks too much, doesn't she, Momonga?" Kizaru lazily replied without looking back, as he had sensed someone coming from the forest, someone he knew well.

Momonga, under Gion's stare, didn't comment as he swept his red tomahawk hair back, exasperated.

"Doberman, how strong are they?" Gion asked all of a sudden.

Doberman remembered that day more than two months ago.

"Strong, pretty strong. We didn't face Hancock or Alexander, but the three that faced us were able to match me and Onigumo for a while until that green-haired man appeared and almost killed Onigumo if not for Alexander's interference."

"Don't try to fight that Alexander… he's dangerous. Leave him to me; last time won't repeat itself." For once, Kizaru showed a hint of seriousness.

"Hold!" He ordered as Kuma suddenly emerged from the forest.

He walked step by step until he was a hundred meters away from Kizaru.

A silent stare was exchanged between them. Several seconds passed until Kuma spoke.

"Everything is back the way it was before. I'll leave the island with you…"

"The agents?" Kizaru asked.

"Safe. They'll be returned once you leave the island with me. What you need is me, after all," Kuma replied, then looked at Kizaru, who looked at him with a complicated expression his shades couldn't hide.

"I'm afraid this is not how it goes, Kuma. We weren't sent only you after…"

"B-but they are leaving!" Kuma felt flustered; he didn't want to see any more blood spilt on this island.

"They are pirates, Kuma… don't sympathize with them. You hold the title of a Shichibukai."

A few seconds passed in silence as the marine soldiers looked bewildered at their leader.

"Forgive me then." Kuma sighed and lifted his paw.

"I'll hold you here for a few minutes; that's all…"

Without hesitation, he launched a giant paw that went flying toward Kizaru, but before it could reach him, a flying sword attack cut it in half.

Vice Admiral Gion landed facing Kuma and then sent another slash toward Kuma. Since he attacked first, they had to bring him down.

Kuma prepared another paw bubble. He was about to attack, but before he could do anything, a whistling sound echoed. Something extremely fast went past Kuma's head and collided against the sword attack, breaking it without any resistance and piercing the ground.

"What's this?" Gion stared at the spiral-shaped spear that soon turned into red lightning and flew back toward the forest edge.

Kuma turned around and looked at the forest. He felt regret.

"Why didn't you leave?" he shouted desperately.

"I can't leave, Kuma…"

A voice came from the forest, then Alexander stepped out from the tree cover. The moment his eyes landed on the Marines, a burst of Conqueror's Haki was unleashed.

The ground trembled as he walked step by step, bolt in hand. Golden lightning, invisible to most, struck the ground, cracking it open. Then it went to the Marines, knocking most of them out and then to the sea as the sound of waves crashing raged behind the grim-faced Vice Admirals.

"I won't let them separate you from your daughter."

Eyes glowing golden, he looked at Kuma. "There's honour in your sacrifice, and I see honour in my cause too…"

"Today I'll fight for you, Kuma."

The intensity of his Haki increased as he stared at Kizaru.

"You'll pay for this!"

Red lightning flashed as Alexander disappeared from his place and appeared before Kizaru, slashing with a five-meter-long lightning bolt to which Kizaru conjured a yellow sword. Then they clashed.

BOOM!

The battle began.