Cover Page: Cover Page Request: "Usopp watching Sanji chop vegetables and being reminded of the Usopp Pirate crew." by PN Noda Skywalker.

After Kizaru arrives at the lab, St. Saturn contacts them and blackmails Vegapunk and Kuma with a list of demands to approve of Bonney being cured of Sapphire Scales including that Kuma become a cyborg with no memories, and a member of the Seven Warlords or Bonney will become a slave which Kuma gladly accepts. With a year and a half of treatment, Bonney spends six months with them, and then is sent back to Sorbet Kingdom for the remaining year with a member of CP8 keeping her under observation. Meanwhile, Kuma begins his life as a warlord and is sent an undisclosed mission to Foosha Village.

Kizaru arrives at the lab and complains about how cold the island is, but Dr. Vegapunk tells him that this lab will be the future, and his head is overflowing with so many ideas that he cannot think straight. Kizaru, however, says that this is the reason why he did not notice the Den Den Mushi that was observing him and his conversation with Kuma, which is why he was dispatched. Kizaru even added that Dr. Vegapunk should have been more cautious, which he cannot help but admit.

Dr. Vegapunk talks with Saturn who tells the scientist that he does not want Kuma to be the face of the Marine's clone soldiers because he is a pirate. As such he has his own set of conditions for this deal with Kuma.

Dr. Vegapunk yells that taking away Kuma's free will is the equivalent of killing him and leaving behind nothing but a soulless robot, and deduces that Saturn wants this because the other Warlords do not follow orders. Saturn retorts that Dr. Vegapunk has no right to complain since he is a military scientist, and he sees it as a suitable price to pay for Bonney's medical procedure. Dr. Vegapunk is still outraged, but Kuma tells him to do it as he says he was worried there was no hope for Bonney, but now that this opportunity has presented itself, he will gratefully accept his fate if it means she can live.

Saturn asks Dr. Vegapunk how long Bonney and Kuma's procedures will last, and Dr. Vegapunk says Bonney's treatment will last for six months, but she will need to wait a year before she can step into natural sunlight. Kuma's, on the other hand, will take a minimum of two years, and Kuma is relieved as this means Bonney will be cured by age ten. Saturn then asks Kuma what is to stop him from turning against the World Government once her treatment is complete. Kuma says he will not run, but Saturn insists that Bonney be left in World Government's custody once her treatment finishes, and she will be set free once Kuma’s mind is erased.

Dr. Vegapunk is once again outraged as it means the two will never see each other again, which Saturn confirms. He says that Kuma's modifications will begin immediately and will be an ongoing process as he starts his tenure as a Warlord. After Bonney is cured, any contact between the two will be forbidden so they do not escape together, and he threatens to enslave Bonney if they defy him. Though shocked, Kuma says he will not make contact with Bonney, but he has a request of his own: that Bonney is not told any of this; not her treatment, and not her status as a hostage. He also asks that she be treated in Sorbet Kingdom because it is her home. Saturn does agree to this, but says it makes no difference where she is kept as long as the World Government oversees it.

With that established, Kuma tells Bonney that the two of them will be staying in the lab for the next six months, though he lies saying he is feeling ill himself and needs to be checked, but Bonney was just happy the two could continue to be together. As time passed Kuma and Bonney underwent their respective procedures, all the while they would grow close to Dr. Vegapunk, Sentomaru, and even Kizaru. Once the six months pass, Dr. Vegapunk reveals that the treatment was a success, and after a year of rehabilitation, Bonney will be completely cured. Kuma and Bonney thank him, with Bonney hoping to visit Dr. Vegapunk once she is all better, which he accepts.

Returning to Sorbet, Bonney tells everyone that she will be better in a year, which makes them extremely happy, and it also means that Bulldog and Conney will take care of her again. Kuma prepares to leave and tells Bonney he will not see her again for at least a year, and though Bonney was saddened by this, Kuma offers to write to her, which she accepts. Kuma also says that next they meet they can sail together, which Bonney looks forward to, though she was completely unaware that Kuma was lying the whole time. Just then, a nurse named Alpha (who is secretly a member of CP8) comes in saying she will take it from here, creating a gate and a checkpoint for people who wish to visit. She also visually reminds Kuma what will happen if dishonors the deal he made with Saturn, but he says he will not return. Before he leaves, he thanks Bonney for being born, and she and the others happily send him off.

News of Kuma as one of the Seven Warlords starts to spread after, especially since he obediently obeys every order the World Government gives him. The Revolutionary Army are completely perplexed by this because they know Kuma better than anyone. In the meantime, Kuma writes to Bonney, telling her that he is doing okay and that he is finding interesting locations for the two of them to sail together. He makes his way to East Blue and to Foosha Village just as he receives a new order from the World Government.

Chapter Notes: