Chapter 15: The Bible of Sorbet — The Saint of the Hunting Games
The grey mist on the screen didn't just clear; it dissolved into a haunting, sepia-toned memory of 38 years ago. The heavy mechanical breathing of the current Kuma faded, replaced by the sound of aristocratic laughter and the rhythmic clanking of iron chains.
[System: The Chronicle of the Paw — Bartholomew Kuma's Origin.]
The world watched, paralyzed, as the screen revealed the ultimate horror: God Valley. A "Hunting Game" organized by the Celestial Dragons. Among the thousands of "targets" was a young boy with massive, sturdy shoulders—Kuma. Beside him stood a girl with a defiant grin and a piece of cheese: Ginny.
The Incident: The Fruit of Freedom
The screen flickered with chaotic energy. The Rocks Pirates had arrived, and the God Valley floor was a warzone. Amidst the slaughter, the system zoomed in on two legendary chests sitting in the middle of a burning clearing. The young Kuma, bloodied but determined, reached into the chest.
[Ability Acquired: Nikyu Nikyu no Mi (Paw-Paw Fruit)]
The world watched in awe as a child—not a warrior—consumed the fruit. He didn't use it to kill. As the sky turned a hellish red from the clash of Roger, Garp, and Rocks, Kuma raised his small, padded palms.
The Shadow of the Demon: The Truth of the D.
The screen then panned to a hidden valley where a woman and a young, dark-haired child were cowering. The woman wore the fine silks of a Queen, but her eyes were wide with a terror that only a mother knows.
The Reveal: Rocks D. Xebec hadn't come to God Valley just for conquest. He had come for them. The World Government hadn't just been hunting slaves; they had captured the family of the "Demon" himself to use as bait.
The camera zoomed in on the child's face. The gap-toothed grin, the wild hair, the intensity in the eyes.
> [Whitebeard]: "Wait... that face. Teach?! That was you?!"
> [Marshall D. Teach]: "ZEHAHAHA! I... I remember the fire. I remember the giants fighting. But I never saw the face of the one who saved us. I thought it was a miracle from the heavens!"
> [Rocks D. Xebec]: "Bwahahaha! Look at that! The 'Tyrant' was a nursemaid! That's my boy! Teach! You grew up to be a sneaky one, didn't you?! But you're alive because of that brat Kuma!"
>
The world gasped as the realization hit the Grand Line like a tidal wave. Blackbeard was the son of Rocks D. Xebec. The most hated pirate of the current era was the direct bloodline of the man who nearly ended the world.
The Great Displacement
Kuma stood between the cowering family and a group of God's Knights.
[First Feat: The Great Displacement]
Kuma's paws glowed. With a soft boin, he didn't punch the knights—he pushed the space around the woman and child. They vanished in a blur of light, sent across the ocean to a safe haven before the island vanished from the maps.
> [Rocks D. Xebec]: "Kuma... you quiet brat. I was thinking that the Marines had executed my wife. I went mad searching for them by observation haki. If I had known... I might have thanked you before Garp and Roger ganged up on me!"
> [Gol D. Roger]: "So that's why you were so desperate that day, Xebec. You weren't fighting for a throne; you were fighting a ghost."
>
Life with Ginny: The Church of Sorbet
The scene shifted to the aftermath. The "God Valley" label faded, replaced by the peaceful, snowy landscape of the Sorbet Kingdom. Kuma and Ginny were older now, living in a humble church.
[The Saint's Daily Life:] The screen showed Kuma sitting on a wooden stool, his paws glowing with a soft, warm light. He would touch the elderly and the sick, and a Bubble of Pain—a translucent, pulsing sphere of agony—would emerge from their bodies.
As the sun set, Kuma stood alone in the dark church. He looked at the massive, dark bubble of collective pain he had pulled from his people. Without a word, he stepped into it.
The screen showed his muscles tearing, his veins bulging, and his mouth clamped shut so as not to scream and wake Ginny. He took the pain of the world into himself every single night.
The Global Reaction: A Sea of Tears
> [Random Pirate #90]: "He saved the son of Rocks... and then he spent his life taking the pain of old people? This guy is the real deal."
> [Sengoku]: "SQUEAK! (The lineage of Teach is out... and the Saintly nature of a Warlord is revealed. This is a PR disaster for the ages!)"
> [Sanji]: "Taking that much pain for his lady and his friends... I take back every joke I made about his paws. That's a man."
>
The Transition
The screen began to pulse with a deep, rhythmic sound. The image of Kuma and Ginny laughing in the snow faded, replaced by the current, robotic Warlord.
[System: The Bible is closed. The weapon is active.]
[Next: The Logic of the Paw — Pushing the Limits of Reality.]