"...Monkey D.?"
Bartholomew Kuma's eyes widened slightly, as if something had just clicked in his mind.
After all, across this vast sea, the names Monkey D. Garp, the Navy's legendary hero, and Monkey D. Dragon, leader of the Revolutionary Army, were known to everyone from the Grand Line to the New World.
"Heh-heh-heh," Souta Kiryuu chuckled, tossing the wanted poster aside with a grin. "Of course the offspring of Dragon would be strong. The Monkey bloodline is no joke. Garp's an admiral-level hero in the Navy, Dragon founded the Revolutionary Army, and now Straw Hat Luffy rises as one of the new pirate supernovas. That family seems to be blooming across every faction — Navy, Pirates, and Revolutionaries alike."
Kiryuu's teasing tone made no effort to hide the truth of Luffy's parentage.
"He's really Dragon's son?"
Kuma's voice carried a hint of disbelief. Since joining Souta Kiryuu, he had abandoned his old path as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and rarely concerned himself with Revolutionary matters. He'd never been to the East Blue — never even heard of Dragon having a child.
"This brat's potential is no less than Dragon's," Kiryuu said, folding his arms. "It's only a matter of time before he awakens the power of Conqueror's Haki.
And remember when you asked Vegapunk where the synthetic blood for the Mythical Zoan — Sun God Nika Fruit came from? Well, here's your answer: Dragon's son, Monkey D. Luffy, is the current user of that fruit."
Kiryuu spoke casually, his tone indifferent. The truth about the Gomu Gomu no Mi — that it was actually the Nika Fruit — wasn't much of a secret among the Five Elders. For centuries, the fruit hadn't awakened, and so they'd grown complacent.
Luffy had only been at sea for less than a year before vanishing to train for two more, his strength skyrocketing at a ridiculous pace.
By the time the Five Elders moved to eliminate him, he had already awakened — becoming the Sun God Nika.
"What?! Straw Hat Luffy… the Sun God Nika?"
Kuma's eyes went wide in shock. Even Jewelry Bonney froze, her lips parting slightly. She had grown up hearing stories from her father about Nika, the God of Liberation — tales of freedom and joy that had fueled her childhood dreams.
They even used to dance the Dance of Liberation together in his memory.
For the Buccaneer race — Kuma's people — Nika wasn't just a myth. He was their ancestor.
Nico Robin and Trafalgar Law both went silent, eyes narrowing in surprise at the weight of what they'd just heard. The rest of Kiryuu's crew looked confused — few among them knew the true significance of the Sun God.
"Relax," Souta Kiryuu said coolly, resting his chin on his hand. "If the Rubber Fruit hasn't awakened, then he's not Nika. He's just another fruit user for now.
The real Sun God Nika was a failure — eight hundred years ago. In time, my name — Souta Kiryuu, the Dragon God — will echo across the world instead."
His tone hardened. To him, the so-called Sun God was just a relic of the past.
The Buccaneer tribe, once blessed by Nika's light, had been hunted to near extinction — leaving only Bartholomew Kuma alive. Their tragedy was proof enough that divine titles meant nothing in the face of the World Government's cruelty.
"He… he might be the 'Drum of Liberation' from the legends?" Kuma murmured, his voice trembling. He shouldn't have said it aloud — not as a member of Kiryuu's crew.
But for his people, the prophecy of Nika's return had been passed down for generations. He couldn't help but hope.
"Maybe he is. Maybe he isn't." Kiryuu's voice grew low and firm. "But why should we stake our future on a prophecy?
Why rely on fate when we can seize power with our own hands? Roger, Oden — they wasted their lives waiting for a promised savior. I won't make the same mistake."
He clenched his fist, eyes burning with conviction.
"To hell with prophecies. To hell with destiny."
"Papa Kuma!" Bonney grinned, eyes sparkling. "I believe it's Brother Kiryuu who'll truly free this world!"
She once dreamed of the Sun God's miracles — but now, she'd seen Kiryuu's strength with her own eyes. His presence, his power, his will — all were real.
"Paramecia Rubber Fruit awakening into a Mythical Zoan? What the hell does that even mean?" growled Douglas Bullet, the so-called Demon Heir, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Even if he's some 'god,' I'll test his divinity myself."
He cracked his knuckles, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "If every fruit awakening makes you a god, then this ocean's crawling with them. Maybe it's time I slaughtered a few."
"A rookie, that's all he is," said Capone Bege, puffing on his cigar with a smirk. "Even if he's Garp's grandson and Dragon's son, no one just climbs to the top in two years.
Only Souta Kiryuu managed that."
He exhaled a cloud of smoke, eyes narrowing in admiration and disbelief alike.
"That kid dares to call himself a god?" scoffed Enel, sparks flickering around his form. "If he's a god, then one bolt of my lightning will erase him."
"Hmph." The Pirate Empress crossed her arms, her cheeks faintly pink. "That stupid smile of his looks idiotic. Lord Kiryuu's the only one worthy of being called divine."
She pressed closer to him, eyes dreamy, ignoring Luffy's wanted poster completely.
"Let's… not make too big a deal of this," Kuma said with a nervous laugh. "He's just a boy, after all. And he's Dragon's son — my ally's child."
He could feel the tension rising in the room and hurried to calm it down before Luffy gained a shipload of new enemies.
"These supernovas can wait," Souta Kiryuu said, his tone decisive. "Focus on the New World campaign."
With that, the conversation about Luffy ended. Attention shifted back to the real threats — Doflamingo in Dressrosa and Wang Zhi on Hive Island.
Both would be dangerous targets.
To strike at Doflamingo meant risking the wrath of the World Government, since the former Celestial Dragon still had ties within the shadows of Mary Geoise.
And attacking Wang Zhi meant stepping into Whitebeard's territory — which could easily pull the Red-Haired Pirates into the conflict as well.
If that happened, the World Government would surely intervene, seizing the chaos for their own gain.
Hive Island — the so-called "Pirate Paradise" — lay right in the heart of Whitebeard's dominion.
"Understood!"
The tacticians of the Kiryuu Pirates bowed and hurried off to prepare the plans. The fighters, the berserkers — they needed only to await orders.
After dismissing everyone, Souta Kiryuu leaned back in thought. His path to strength was far from over.
Ever since gaining Big Mom's Iron Balloon Physique, he had been studying the path toward awakening his artificial Azure Dragon Fruit.
Now known across the seas as the God-Slayer Souta Kiryuu, his dragon form appeared in newspapers and wanted posters everywhere.
But lately, he had begun to notice strange changes in his draconic body.
With each enhancement of his bloodline factors, his dragon form had evolved — no longer the imitation of a simple Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon, but something greater.
Something divine.
His scales gleamed with metallic luster, his horns hardening into bone-crystal — proof of an evolution beyond the known limits of Zoan transformation.
"I've slain the Mythical Zoan Bone Demon Topman Gust, the Kappa Okubo Riki, and the Oni Beast Gyukimaru," he murmured to himself. "Their blood… seems to catalyze my transformation."
He remembered the first time he tore apart Gust with his bare hands — how the blood had soaked into his scales, strengthening them.
It was as if the abilities of the fallen Mythical Zoans were merging with his own. A process of devouring evolution.
The growth wasn't huge — but it was real.
"Could it be," he whispered, "that as more people know my name… their faith, their will — their belief — feeds this transformation? Strengthening my divine form further?"
The thought sent a thrill down his spine. The world's attention was a force in itself — and perhaps, it was the key to becoming something far greater than any god of legend.
...
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