Kai walked through the forest, taking out the Den Den Mushi Rocks had given him earlier and smirking slightly.
"Rocks? Haha!"
Casually tucking the Den Den Mushi away, Kai continued walking in silence, lost in thought.
Suddenly, Kai felt something and turned his gaze in a specific direction. He murmured:
"Even with everything changing so much, it's still coming? Interesting!"
With that, Kai vanished in an instant.
Moments later, Kai reappeared next to the Going Merry, and another figure was present.
Kai eyed the newcomer with a cold stare and asked, "Tyrant Bear! What are you doing here?"
Indeed, the person who had appeared was Bartholomew Kuma. Instead of answering Kai's question, Kuma inquired:
"Demon King Kai, where is the Straw Hat boy?"
"Shouldn't you answer my questions before asking your own?" Kai responded calmly.
Kuma shook his head. "I can't disclose my purpose here."
"In that case, there's no need for further conversation. I won't let you find them either!"
In the original story, Kai would never allow Kuma to inflict damage on Luffy and have Zoro bear the brunt of it.
Kai and his crew had come this far and fully bonded as a team. Their partnership was not something to be tested by outsiders.
Hearing this, Kuma narrowed his eyes and regarded Kai silently, the atmosphere around them growing tense.
"I suggest you refrain from attacking me… or you'll face dire consequences!"
With that, Kai's powerful Conqueror's Haki erupted, pressing down on Kuma.
Can't beat Rocks? You think you can handle me, Bear? Even if Kuma is a formidable opponent, Kai was confident in his superiority.
Feeling the overwhelming pressure, Kuma's expression shifted to one of surprise, his eyes betraying a hint of respect.
After a moment, Kuma said calmly, "I won't harm them."
"I know that! If you simply want to use your powers to assist them, I welcome it. But if you're here to test our bonds, then we have no need for that!"
Kai was being straightforward. If Kuma was here to help, he was welcome; if not, his presence was unnecessary.
The partnership among Kai and his crew was not for an outsider to judge!
Kuma looked at Kai with even more surprise, as if he hadn't expected Kai to respond this way.
Kai didn't mince words and directly asked, "How did you know we were here?"
In the original storyline, it could be inferred that the next island after Water 7 was Fishman Island, leading to the assumption that they might come here.
But given that they had just descended from Sky Island and hadn't even seen Water 7 yet, this excuse seemed far-fetched.
Kai scrutinized Kuma and continued, "Let me guess. You must have Luffy's life card. And as for who gave it to you, I'd wager... it's Dragon!"
Upon hearing Kai's words, Kuma's eyes narrowed, and his gaze became more intense.
"Don't get too worked up! It's not hard to deduce you're part of the Revolutionary Army. I won't do anything harmful, so don't be so defensive!"
Kuma stared at Kai for a few seconds before saying, "Dragon told me he met you in Loguetown and mentioned that you are quite an interesting person!"
"So Dragon informed you about my identity?"
"No," Kai shook his head.
"Dragon didn't give me any information about you. As for how I know, that's not your concern!"
"Well..." Kuma considered this for a moment before saying, "Since you're with them, it seems I really don't need to be here!"
"But you should also know that with their current strength, they won't be able to survive in the New World!"
"Huh?" Kai was silent for a moment, contemplating if this was related to the two-year training period.
While Kuma didn't know Luffy's current strength, he assumed it was still at the level when they defeated Crocodile.
Kai, however, knew that they were significantly stronger now, though there was still a gap compared to their future selves two years later.
The improvement over those two years was immense, and it wasn't just their strength. For example, Nami and Chopper had each improved their navigation and medical skills during that time.
Realizing this, Kai guessed, "So what are you implying?"
...
After some time—
Kai remained silent, processing the information he had just received from Kuma.
It turned out that Luffy's two-year training plan was orchestrated by Dragon behind the scenes. Kuma had been tasked with transporting them to various locations that Dragon had deemed beneficial for their growth.
Considering this, Kai asked Kuma, "Can you show me the information you've gathered?"
Kuma didn't respond verbally but pulled out a folded piece of paper from his book and tossed it to Kai.
Opening the paper, Kai's eyes widened in surprise. It contained not only assessments of Luffy and his crew's strengths but also detailed characteristics and a well-planned growth route for them.
Though the strength evaluations were outdated, the other information was highly valuable.
Kai pondered for a moment before asking, "Do you also have permanent record pointers for these locations?"
"Huh?" Kuma looked confused initially but then retrieved a small box from his body.
(#°Д°)!
Seeing Kuma's body open like a locker, Kai's expression turned astonished.
Though he knew Kuma was modified, he didn't realize he had such features!
Kuma said calmly, "I am a modified human, and... I will soon lose my consciousness completely."
"I'm aware," Kai replied.
He knew about Kuma's condition and the reasons behind his modifications.
Kuma had sacrificed everything for his daughter, Bonney, and even after losing his consciousness, he would instinctively act to protect her.
Kuma remained silent for a while, then opened the small box and handed a few permanent record pointers to Kai.
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Power Stones would be appreciated if you liked the story.