Chapter 266 – God Valley: Kuma's Past!
The story of God Valley—in Ren's previous life before crossing into this world—was a mystery left untold.
That arc wove together the fates of Bartholomew Kuma, Jewelry Bonney, and Ginny, while linking to other figures within the Revolutionary Army, such as the queen of the okama kingdom, Emporio Ivankov.
It was also the battle that made Garp a legend, earning him the title of Hero of the Marines.
And it revealed the Celestial Dragons' spear—or rather, their violent enforcement organization: the God Knights.
In short, it was one of the most crucial supplementary backstories in the One Piece world.
So then—what exactly happened at God Valley?
It's simple:another of the Celestial Dragons' atrocities.
"The Human Hunting Tournament."
Even hearing that title alone was enough to stir disgust and dread—an instinctive repulsion that made one's skin crawl.
Ordinarily, such a phrase might sound like a bad joke.
But not when it involved the so-called World Nobles—or more truthfully, the scum of humanity.
Given the Celestial Dragons' deranged natures and unchecked authority, turning such cruelty into reality was only natural for them.
They were the self-proclaimed "gods" who stood above all mankind,residing in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise—known to the world as the Domain of the Gods.
To the people beneath them, this divine status was absolute fact,for history had long proven that the Celestial Dragons possessed untouchable privilege.
Even if the truth were monstrous, the world would not dare to act once their authority was invoked.
"Such evil… seems almost deliberate."
That was Ren's quiet conclusion after learning the story—but he wasn't surprised.
The Celestial Dragons were descended from the royal families of various nations,elevated into a separate, exalted race.
Each one held the highest power imaginable—and all were convinced of their superiority, seeing everyone else as subhuman.
Among themselves, however, they regarded one another as equals—a single race united by divine blood.
And like any race,they developed traditions—rituals everyone agreed upon and carried out together.
Over time, these rituals hardened into custom.
Thus was born the Human Hunting Tournament.
Its logic was simple.
Every three years, the Celestial Dragons would select one non-member nation from around the world—usually an island rich in natural resources.
Then they would fabricate a crime.
Perhaps the island's name "offended the gods."Perhaps its people "insulted" a Celestial Dragon. It didn't matter—whatever they decided was blasphemy became gospel.
Once the accusation was made, that nation became the designated hunting ground for the next Human Hunting Tournament.
The World Government would mobilize fleets to blockade the island's seas and borders—and the ones executing this order were the Marines.
Marine warships had carried out this service countless times.
Perhaps this, too, was one of the reasons Aokiji's faith in justice had begun to waver.
After the blockade, Cipher Pol agents or interested Celestial Dragons would move in,eliminating the nation's leaders—kings, nobles, anyone capable of organizing resistance.
Once the country's structure was shattered,the Celestial Dragons would release their disobedient yet "unique" slaves onto the island—as part of the game.
Thirty-eight years ago, during the God Valley Incident,Bartholomew Kuma was one of those slaves.
And then, the Human Hunting Tournament began.
As its name implied,every non-Celestial Dragon on the island became prey.
The "beasts" hunted each other,turning human life itself into a game scored by kills.
Even the Celestial Dragons sometimes participated,starting from negative points to prove their might.
When it was over,the exterminated nation would be claimed by the World Government—transformed into yet another blood-stained "resource island" of the Celestial Dragons.
The Government always boasted that its hundred-plus member nations made up the majority of the world.
But centuries ago, that hadn't been true.
In the days following the fall of the Ancient Kingdom, the world was mostly composed of neutral nations, isolated by sea and silence.
Under the Celestial Dragons' tri-annual hunts, however,those neutral nations gradually vanished—erased over centuries by one "divine disaster" after another.
One by one, they became territories of the World Government, foundations of the Celestial Dragons' dominion.
And so, in time, the Government's claim of "most of the world" became true.
But thirty-eight years ago, at God Valley, something unforeseen happened.
During that year's hunt, the Government presented several priceless Devil Fruits—not ordinary ones, but those marked extremely powerful in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
From what was later revealed, Kaido's Azure Dragon Fruit and Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit both originated from this event.
It had been a grand occasion—so much so that one of the Five Elders, Saint Saturn, personally attended.
No one expected what followed.
Among the slaves cast onto the island was a woman named Ginny—Kuma's former lover, Bonney's mother, and a future Revolutionary Army commander.
Using her ingenuity, Ginny modified a Den Den Mushi and broadcasted the horrors of God Valley to the outside world.
Her message drew the attention of the era's most powerful pirate crew—the Rocks Pirates.
Yes—the same crew that boasted a young Whitebeard, a young Golden Lion, a young Big Mom and a young Kaido.
At the same time, the Roger Pirates also set sail for God Valley—apparently to stop the Rocks.
The looming clash of these two great powers forced the Marines to dispatch the closest officer—a young Garp.
And among the Celestial Dragons present on the islandwere warriors in their own right.
Yes—not all Celestial Dragons were useless parasites.Some were genuine fighters.
They were known as the God Knights—a militant order composed of Celestial Dragons themselves, granted authority to judge even their own kind, and tasked with decisively crushing rebellion or threats to their supremacy.
The six Devil Fruits at God Valley were rewards for the God Knights' internal competition.
Among them appeared a man who would later play a crucial role: Saint Figarland Garling.
In the future, he would execute the seemingly gentle Celestial Dragon seen during the Fish-Man Island arc—Donquixote Mjosgard.
This connected to yet another mystery of the future—and the Donquixote surname itself was a curious hint.
Ren noted it down for later.
In summary—the battle of God Valley was a three-way war:
The Celestial Dragons' God Knights and the Marines under Garp,Saint Saturn's uncertain involvement,the Roger Pirates,and the Rocks Pirates.
The outcome unfolded as known today—but it's worth mentioning that when the God Knights left to protect their masters,the six Devil Fruits were stolen.
Those thieves were the slaves themselves—outcasts of various special races possessing unique talents.
Just like Ginny could modify Den Den Mushi,one of those slaves was none other than Emporio Ivankov.
Using his ability, Ivankov seized two Devil Fruits—and handed one of them to his companion, Kuma.
Yes,the same Bartholomew Kuma now sitting before Ren—a half-blooded descendant of the Buccaneer race.
During the incident,Saint Saturn had called them "a race that once committed great sins against the World Government."
Thus, they were born into slavery—their only options: serve or die.
Yet the Buccaneers possessed an exceptionally strong soul—so strong that even full physical modification couldn't suppress it. Their souls could still command their bodies.
This reminded Ren of Monet—perhaps her own altered state had a similar cause.
As for Ivankov's other fruit,he never ate it. That fruit was the Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Model: Azure Dragon—which was stolen by Charlotte Linlin.
Meanwhile, Kuma, on Ivankov's orders, consumed the Paw-Paw Fruit—and the two began their escape, leading a band of freed slaves.
Remarkably, even right after eating the fruit, Kuma could already repel fatigue itself.
He used that power to save over five hundred lives.
It was living proof that "even a useless fruit can be god-tier when mastered."
In the end,the battle of God Valley culminated in Roger and Garp joining forces—defeating the Rocks Pirates.
Saint Saturn likely fought as well,and in the aftermath, the Rocks crew disbanded.
The Marines' rescue of countless Celestial Dragons earned Garp the title of Hero of the Marines.
However,witnessing the Celestial Dragons' atrocities left scars on his heart.
In the years that followed, Garp repeatedly refused promotion to admiral.
In Ren's view,Garp had immense strength—but lacked the will to change the world.
He knew it himself. That's why he chose to remain a vice admiral—to act according to his own justice.
"If I can't change the world, then I'll uphold my own justice."
That was Garp's creed—and perhaps why he never forced Luffy or Ace to abandon their dreams of piracy. He didn't truly believe the Marines represented righteousness.
After the incident, Kuma and Ivankov escaped.
Ivankov set sail to live freely, while Kuma and Ginny went to the Sorbet Kingdom, setting off a new chain of events.
For many years, Kuma served as a priest—which explained the origin of his famous Bible.
During that time, Ginny proposed to him.
But due to his cursed Buccaneer blood, though he loved her deeply, Kuma refused.
Later, upon reading about Dragon and the Freedom Fighters—the precursor to the Revolutionary Army—Kuma began venturing out to help others.
Then one year, the Sorbet King issued a new decree—splitting the kingdom in half to reduce the Heavenly Tribute.
The northern half, protected by the crown, was home to nobles and the wealthy. The southern half—where Kuma lived—was abandoned to lawlessness.
Ren took special note of this detail. The amount of Heavenly Tribute seemed calculated by population and land area.
No wonder even a great kingdom like Alabasta had to tread carefully.
Eventually, Dragon and Ivankov led the Freedom Fighters to attack Sorbet Kingdom,forcing the king to rescind his policy.
Kuma and Ginny joined them, and over the following decade, the Freedom Fighters evolved into the Revolutionary Army.
During the fire at the Gray Terminal in the Goa Kingdom—the disaster that changed Ace, Luffy, and Sabo's lives—it was the Revolutionary Army who secretly rescued the victims.
Later, Kuma and Ginny separated to pursue their duties for the cause—until Ginny vanished.
She had been abducted by the Celestial Dragons, much like that incident at Sabaody where a man was stolen to become a "wife."
For unknown reasons, the Revolutionaries couldn't intervene.
Two years later, Kuma received word from Ginny.
Stricken with a fatal illness, she wished to say goodbye—but begged him not to come.
Knowing her too well, Kuma went anyway—returning to the Sorbet Kingdom.
He found her encased in stone, near death, and beside her, a small child: Bonney.
He promised Ginny he would care for their daughter. Moments later, she passed away.
Then misfortune struck again—Bonney inherited her mother's disease, Blue Scale Syndrome.
A rare, incurable condition—like a form of progressive paralysis—too uncommon for anyone to research a cure.
Desperate, Kuma searched the world—traveling even to Weatheria and other distant islands.
Finally, he broke into Vegapunk's new laboratory—Egghead Island, the facility that replaced Punk Hazard.
To his surprise, Vegapunk, who already knew Dragon,agreed to help without demanding a single Beli.
But the Government was watching Vegapunk. The meeting was leaked—and Saint Saturn intervened.
Thus began the tragedy that led to Kuma's complete transformation.
In exchange for Bonney's cure, Kuma agreed to become the original clone model for the Pacifista program—PX-0.
It meant surrendering his consciousness, becoming nothing more than a killing machine of the World Government.
For Bonney's sake,he accepted.
That was the full story—the same arc Ren had just obtained from the Pirate King manga through his roulette.
And without a doubt,it was the truth.
Now, with less than a year before his total conversion into PX-0, Bartholomew Kuma had come to Ren—seeking an answer about the future.
(End of Chapter)