Chapter 179 – The Tragic Warlord

South Blue.

Inside a certain tavern…

"Impossible—there's no way this could ever happen!"

A beautiful woman with straight pink hair, wearing denim overall shorts, a white short-sleeve shirt, and brown knee-high boots shot to her feet, her face brimming with shock. If Arton were here, he'd have recognized her at once: the daughter of Bartholomew Kuma—Jewelry Bonney, one of the original Eleven Supernovas.

"Huh? M-ma'am…? What's the matter?"

A waiter was about to serve Bonney her meal when she suddenly sprang up, looking utterly terrified. The startled waiter nearly dropped the plate in his hands.

"Out of my way!"

Shoving the waiter aside, Bonney dashed straight for the tavern's exit. Her abrupt move caught not only the staff off-guard but also her own crewmates. They all rose to their feet in unison. As the waiter shouted, "You haven't paid yet!" the crewmembers hurried after Bonney.

"What's going on, Boss Bonney? Do we really have to leave right now?"

"We haven't even finished stocking up on supplies!"

One of the burly crewmembers ran behind her, calling out.

"Idiot, just keep up!" Bonney snapped. "We can't afford any more delay. I need to get to Reverse Mountain as soon as possible—definitely before that man arrives."

She didn't even look back, her pace growing ever faster. The rest of her crew exchanged glances, puzzled over who this "man" might be.

'Could he be…Bonney's secret lover?'

They all had that thought simultaneously. Yet upon seeing how genuinely anxious she looked, none of them dared ask aloud. Another idea sprang up in each of their minds.

'Could this 'lover' have hurt Boss Bonney?'

Teeth gritted, Bonney stared at the sea looming ever larger up ahead, her heart racing in urgency.

"How could this be? Besides Doflamingo and Moria, even my old man is going to lose his Warlord status?!"

"And he…he actually ends up as a Celestial Dragon's mount?!"

"How is that even possible—he's so strong!"

"What the hell happens in the future?!"

"I have to intercept that guy at Reverse Mountain—no matter what it takes. I refuse to accept a future like that!"

Her fists clenched tight as she stormed onward.

…

Koala: "That can't be right. How could Mr. Kuma possibly end up as a Celestial Dragon's mount? Isn't he a Warlord? Didn't only Buggy and Blackbeard become the new Warlords?"

Belo Betty: "He becomes a Celestial Dragon's mount?! Could it be his identity as a Revolutionary Army officer got exposed? Yet another reason for us to find Arton, I guess…"

Monet: "Huh? So there's an even more tragic Warlord?"

Perona: "Kuma? That's the guy who smacked me out of Thriller Bark! And he meets such a fate, too?"

Boa Hancock: "Three Warlords in a row losing their titles… and now Bartholomew Kuma reduced to a Celestial Dragon's…mount?! How does someone with abilities as bizarre as his willingly accept that?"

Shyarly: "Moria, Doflamingo, Kuma…I've got a bad feeling about all of this. Could it be that Jinbe, at some point in the future, also loses his Warlord status?"

Doll: "Kuma ends up as a Celestial Dragon's mount? Something's off. Still, if Arton said it, no matter how outrageous it sounds, it's probably accurate. But that guy had a partnership with Vegapunk, didn't he? What on earth happens that pushes Bartholomew Kuma to that fate?"

Gion: "The 'Summit War' Arton prophesied should involve Kuma, Doflamingo, Moria, and the rest, right? So maybe something happens afterward that leads so many of them to lose their Warlord titles?"

Kujaku: "Well, if so many Warlord slots are left open in the future, maybe if Arton doesn't join the Marines, he could become a Warlord himself."

Ain: "If Bartholomew Kuma also loses his Warlord title, then even with Buggy and Blackbeard taking new spots, there'll still be one more seat left open among the Seven Warlords. So who else ends up becoming a new Warlord in the future?"

[Of all the Warlords, Kuma can be considered the most tragic. But if we're talking about who's most hurt by the shake-up between old and new Warlords, it isn't actually Kuma. Instead, it's that individual who gave almost his entire life to the Marines—someone I can't help but admire. He's the one who suffers the most.]

Tashigi: "Huh? Arton's talking about…a Marine?"

Ain: "A Marine who devoted his whole life… Wait, could it be—?"

Smoothie: "Well, this is getting interesting. A Marine is the one who suffers the most from the new-to-old Warlord transition? Wonder which unlucky Marine that is."

Whitey Bay: "If Arton actually took note of him, he must hold a pretty high rank in the Marines."

Doll: "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Hina: "…"

When it comes to a changing of the guard for the Seven Warlords, the ones who should be sad or troubled ought to be the Warlords who get replaced—and their crews. But according to Arton's diary, the most pitiful victim is a certain individual within the Marines. Someone who dedicated his entire life to the Marines. Hearing this, many Marines knitted their brows.

"Who is it?"

That same question rose in the hearts of Gion, Ain, and the others.

As though Arton had heard Gion and Ain's doubt, he soon provided an answer in his diary.