Chapter 309: Interspecies Bonds
A sea breeze rolled thick, dark clouds over the city beneath the crown of the Treasure Tree Adam. The once-clear sky rapidly dimmed, and raindrops began to fall, soon becoming a torrential downpour that enveloped the city.
In the city's central district, a group of people huddled under a shop awning, miserably wiping rainwater from their clothes and glaring at the strengthening storm.
"This sucks! My girlfriend came all the way from Atlantis to see me, and now this rain is ruining our date!" a strikingly handsome young human complained, looking at the damp bouquet of flowers and the fancy box holding a chocolate cake in his hands.
Beside him, the other men who had also taken shelter shot him expressions of pure envy and jealousy.
Although many humans now lived in Atlantis, it was still a kingdom primarily of Fish-Men and Merfolk. Therefore, a date coming from Atlantis was, in all likelihood, a beautiful mermaid. The man holding the flowers instantly became the center of attention.
Someone looked at his outstanding features, pouted, and muttered, "Tch. Just a pretty face."
Judging by the looks of the others, this was a popular opinion. You could almost smell the sour grapes in the air.
Just as the men were internally grumbling about this lucky bastard, another young man suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud, grabbing the flower-holding man's leg and looking up with eyes of pure adoration.
"Master! I'm begging you! Please, teach me how to get a girlfriend from Atlantis!"
"???"
"What are you doing?" The man with the flowers was completely baffled. He tried to shake his leg free, but the other man held on with a death grip.
"Master, if you don't agree, I'm not getting up!"
"Let go! This is my best suit! What if you ruin it!" the flower-holding man said, exasperated, but he didn't dare use too much force.
"I won't!"
The other men looked on with disgust. "This guy has no shame!"
The flower-holding man, realizing he was stuck, sighed in defeat. "Alright, alright! I'll teach you!"
"Really?!" The man leaped to his feet, overjoyed.
But just as the "Master" nodded, the sound of several more thuds echoed under the awning. He turned, confused, and saw that all the other men—the ones who had been sneering just moments ago—were now kneeling, looking at him with the same worshipful, desperate eyes.
"Master, teach a class!"
"..."
The man was stunned, but finally, he let out a half-laughing, half-crying sigh. "Fine, fine! I'll share my secrets for wooing my girlfriend!"
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried to the awning of the shop next door, where more men instinctively leaned in, straining their ears. Under the attention of dozens, the man began his grand lecture.
On the street, Kuma, dressed as a pastor and holding an umbrella, passed by the scene. He couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head as he quickened his pace toward the Mist Ship port.
On his shoulders, ten-year-old Bonney swung her legs, watching the crowd of "students," her eyes full of confusion.
She leaned close to Kuma's ear. "Dad, who are they? Should we call Kyros?"
Kuma shook his head, a warm smile on his face. "It's nothing, Bonney. They're just a group of people... in pursuit of love."
On Terra, interspecies relationships had become commonplace. Men like these were not a rare sight.
"In pursuit of love?" Bonney repeated, not quite understanding. She looked back at the shop, overhearing a few snippets of the "lesson."
"...so you have to buy toothpaste for maintaining sharp fangs..."
"...and when you're walking, be careful not to step on her tentacles..."
"...when you kiss, be careful not to get poisoned, pufferfish venom is no joke..."
Bonney's face scrunched up in confusion. "What the heck are they even talking about?"
With a huff, she faced forward again. Kuma just smiled helplessly, adjusted the package of wedding supplies in his arms, and continued walking.
As he entered the central Mist Ship port, a Fish-Man in a pink dress hurried past, nearly bumping into him. She was holding a bouquet and had tentacles instead of legs. Her skin was a healthy yellow, covered in bright blue, ring-shaped patterns.
"Crap, crap! The Mist Ship is delayed because of the rain! I'm going to be late for my date!"
"..."
Bonney's curiosity was piqued. "Dad, is that a Blue-Ringed Octopus Fish-Man?"
"I'm afraid so."
Kuma nodded, his expression complex. He suddenly felt a new wave of respect for that man back at the shop. He'd heard that part of the lecture, too. The man's "advice" matched this Fish-Man's features perfectly.
Love, Kuma thought, truly does give people terrifying courage. To think someone would willingly kiss a Blue-Ringed Octopus...
Compared to that, Kuma suddenly felt that all the strange interspecies weddings he'd officiated recently were actually quite normal.
As Kuma and Bonney were about to board their ship, a voice called out.
"Kuma?"
Kuma turned. A couple, looking to be in their thirties, was walking over. The man was nearly six meters tall, with black wings, short white hair, and brown skin marked with facial tattoos. A pure-blooded Lunarian warrior.
He smiled and nodded. "I knew it was you from behind. You're the only Buccaneer who dresses like a pastor."
Beside him, a woman, just as tall and with a strong, athletic build, was holding his arm. "Long time no see, Kuma!"
As Kuma shifted his umbrella, she spotted Bonney on his shoulders and her smile widened. "And Bonney!"
"..."
Bonney stared, confused. She felt like she'd seen this woman before, but couldn't place the name.
"Long time no see, Alexei, and Lynn," Kuma said, recognizing them.
Alexei, a Lunarian from the 1st Division, and Lynn, a Buccaneer from the 6th Division. An interspecies couple. They had met during the war with the Whitebeard Pirates and, after dating for several years, had gotten married.
The person who had officiated their wedding was Kuma himself.
The woman, Lynn, wasn't bothered by Bonney's blank stare. She just smiled and stuffed a handful of snacks she'd just bought into Bonney's arms.
"Thanks!" Bonney's eyes lit up.
Lynn looked at Kuma's pastor robes and the items in his arms. "Off to officiate another wedding, Kuma? You were dressed just like this for ours."
"Yes," Kuma nodded. "I'm heading to the Second Branch for a ceremony."
"The Second Branch? The giants?" Alexei mused. "I haven't heard about any giants dating. With their sense of time, they usually date for ten or twenty years, don't they?"
Bonney, munching on a snack, mumbled, "It's 'cause the bride's a mermaid from Atlantis. She heard giants date for a long time and was worried she'd get old before they got married, so she forced him to propose."
"Is... is that right?" Alexei stared, stunned.
"Yup." Bonney nodded.
"..."
"Well, we won't keep you!" Lynn laughed, patting Bonney's head before pulling her husband away. "Come visit the Sixth Branch sometime, Kuma!"
"I will." Kuma waved as they disappeared into the crowd. He then boarded the Mist Ship with Bonney. "To the Second Branch, please," he said to the empty deck.
The ship rose smoothly, rain pattering on the transparent canopy above. It ascended through the dark, inky storm clouds and burst through into the bright sunlight above.
High above the storm, the sun shone, casting their shadows long across the deck.
"..."
Bonney walked to the railing. She looked down at the thick black clouds, lit from within by flashes of lightning, and then up at the massive, mountain-sized branches and leaves of the Treasure Tree Adam.
"No matter how many times I see this," she whispered, "it always feels so dreamlike."
Hearing this, Kuma's expression was incredibly complex. He sat cross-legged on the deck, joining his daughter in watching the view.
"Don't be in a hurry, Bonney. You have a very long time now... to see the world."
"Yeah!" Bonney sat down, leaning against his leg, and nodded.
In the sky around them, other Island Clouds came into view, all connected to the massive branches, forming a vast "continent" in the sky. Other Mist Ships passed them, carrying house-sized giants and various Fish-Men and Merfolk.
Their ship finally docked at the Second Branch. Their normal-sized vessel looked tiny and out of place among the mountain-sized Mist Ships already docked.
Kuma and Bonney walked down the wide road, entering a village of small mountains for houses. They were met by the couple and led to the wedding area.
Kuma took his place on a twenty-meter-high podium, holding the new holy book. He had just settled Bonney in the guest-of-honor seat when the ceremony began.
Two figures, one large and one... even larger... walked down the aisle.
The groom was a young giant, over thirty meters tall, with pale white horns, grinning as his friends cheered.
The bride was a Blue Whale Mermaid. She was five or six meters taller than her giant husband, and was being escorted by her normal-sized parents.
In the guest seats, Bonney was stunned. "Whoa... I've never seen a mermaid that big. She's way bigger than Shirahoshi! And... the difference between her and her parents is huge!"
A green-haired mermaid sitting next to her giggled. "The bride is a Blue Whale Mermaid, the biggest kind! She was always worried about her size, but then we moved to Terra, and she met a giant who was just a little shorter than her."
"As for her parents, they're different types of merfolk! Mermaid and Fish-Man children randomly inherit the subspecies of their ancestors! Oh, and by the way, we're mammals, just like you!"
Bonney turned, startled. The green-haired mermaid held out her hand, tilting her head. "My name is Camie! I'm a Kissing Fish Mermaid! Nice to meet you!"
On the podium, Kuma stared at the young giant with ancient blood and the Blue Whale Mermaid who towered over him, momentarily speechless. Even among all the strange couples he'd married, this one was special.
He took a deep breath, opened the new holy book, and his voice, warm and powerful, boomed across the clearing.
"Under the watch of the Archangel of Terra and the Sun God of Elbaf, you are joined as husband and wife—"
Near Terra, a giant-sized Mist Ship cut through the clouds, heading for the Treasure Tree Adam. In its cargo hold, beneath a heavy tarp, a gleaming golden object lay dormant.
At the same time, several figures with black wings landed at the castle. The tall woman in the lead walked into the main hall, approached Louis, and placed a wooden box on the table before him.
"Mission complete. As you willed, we have brought you the Vampire Fruit."
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