Chapter 29: Chapter 29
"Give me a minute. First, I have to make a call," Kong said, pulling out a snail from inside his body.
Yes, he could store living things inside himself—he just had to remember to feed them.
Under everyone's shocked stares, he casually made a call to his crew of escaped prisoners, informing them he'd be traveling with Luffy's crew for a while and giving them a few orders.
"I thought you said you didn't have your own crew?" Luffy asked, confused.
Kong shrugged. "They're just prisoners I broke out of jail to help me get around. I was forcing marines to take me places, but that was too stressful—had to keep an eye on them all the time. At least with pirates, I only had to go, like… two weeks without sleep or something."
"That should have killed you!" Chopper shouted in horror.
"Dying from lack of sleep is for the weak. Sleep is only useful for healing and passing time… and that's it," Kong said with a shrug.
Everyone gave him weird looks—except for Zoro, who nodded in agreement.
"So, what did you guys even come to Jaya for?" Kong asked, rubbing his stomach as it growled in protest. With a sigh, he held out his palm, and from within, some money he had stored emerged.
"I could really go for some meat," Kong said weakly.
"I was hoping we could stay here until the Log Pose reset itself, but it looks like we'll have to find a way to Skypiea," Nami said helplessly, eyeing Kong and wondering just how much money he had stored away.
Luffy, of course, was thrilled about going to Skypiea, and he wasn't alone—Kong was just as eager.
"Here," Sanji said, handing Kong a plate of food. Kong's eyes lit up instantly. If Sanji were a woman, he might have considered marrying him on the spot. Without hesitation, he thanked Sanji and dug in, savoring what was easily the best meal he had ever eaten.
Once satisfied, Kong stepped aside, letting the Straw Hats continue their search for a way to reach Skypiea. Their first objective? Finding information to Sky Island, and to do that they left the ship.
Kong remained on the ship, knowing that the moment he was spotted, the full force of the Marines would likely descend upon the island.
"Why do you want to overthrow the Marines?" Robin asked, staying behind while the others ventured out. She watched as Kong continued eating, still hugging his plate—one serving clearly not enough to satisfy his hunger.
"Luffy and I had two other brothers. Our eldest set off to sea, but when he passed by a Celestial Dragon, they thought it would be fun to blow up his ship." Kong's voice was calm, but there was a deep, unshakable fury beneath it. "I won't let his death be meaningless. Even if it kills me, I will overthrow the World Government."
"That makes finding the One Piece seem easy in comparison." Robin let out a faint laugh, though there was a trace of something unreadable in her expression. Kong simply shrugged,
"That's why I won't do it alone. I'll gather the strongest beings this sea has to offer. And I'll become the strongest being to ever exist." Kong's voice was steady, but the sheer force of his conviction caused cracks to spread across the ship. His thoughts drifted to the future—him storming the World Government, tearing it all down. But he quickly reined himself in, realizing his Conqueror's Haki was spilling out, making it difficult for Robin to stand.
Yet, she didn't fall. In fact, no one on board collapsed under his passive Haki. That alone told him everything—every person here had a strong enough will to withstand his presence.
"…I hope you succeed," Robin said with a small smile,
"That's a real smile, unlike the fake one you had before," Kong said, watching Robin closely. "I know the World Government painted you as some kind of villain, but if you don't mind me asking… why did they put a bounty of 79 million on an eight-year-old?"
Robin's expression faltered for a brief moment. She hadn't expected that question.
"Forget I asked," Kong added quickly, sensing the shift in her demeanor.
Robin shook her head. "No… Have you ever heard of a Buster Call?"
Kong frowned, the unfamiliar term piquing his interest. "Can't say I have."
Robin took a deep breath. "Then let me explain."
A Buster Call was the Marines' ultimate military action, a terrifying show of force meant to completely annihilate anything deemed a threat to the World Government. Whether it was a single target, a pirate crew, or an entire island, nothing was spared.
Robin's home had been one such target.
She was born on an island of scholars, and researchers dedicated to uncovering the lost history of the Void Century—knowledge the World Government refused to let see the light of day. So, they erased it. The entire island was destroyed, wiped off the map in an instant.
Robin managed to escape, but she has been hunted ever since. Labeled a criminal, the World Government placed a bounty on her head at just eight years old—not for any crime she had committed, but because she could read the Poneglyphs, the ancient stones that held the truth they wanted buried.
For years, she had been running, surviving however she could, always pursued by those who wanted her dead.
"Poneglyphs?" Kong repeated, his expression turning thoughtful. "I might need to learn how to read them. It would be foolish to fight my enemy without understanding what they're hiding. So, teach me." His voice was firm, his determination unwavering.
Robin blinked, caught off guard by his request. For a moment, she studied him before a small, genuine smile crossed her lips.
"Sure," she said softly. "I'll do my best."
Kong nodded in gratitude, but Robin had to leave the ship to go collect information. She realized she might be the best person for the task, so she left.
Far away on the Red Line, atop the world itself, lay the Holy Land of Mary Geoise—the heart of the World Government and home to its most powerful figures. A place where decisions that shaped the fate of nations were made in secret.
Within one of its many grand yet shadowed chambers, a figure loomed in silence. Cloaked in darkness, its presence was almost ethereal, an entity that commanded the unseen threads of the world. In one hand, it held a worn, slightly aged photograph—of Kong.
The shadowy figure studied the image intently, as if weighing something beyond the comprehension of ordinary men. Then, slowly, its other hand rose, revealing a crown.
A crown that seemed as though it was meant to rest upon Kong's head.
"My pet monkey." The voice slithered through the shadows, distorted and unnatural, as though it belonged to something not entirely human. It echoed within the grand chamber of Mary Geoise, barely a whisper yet carrying an undeniable weight—an unseen force behind the world's greatest powers.
Meanwhile, at the ocean's deepest abyss, where no light could reach, something ancient lay buried beneath the crushing silence of the sea.
A rusted staff, its once-glorious form now weathered by time, stood impaled into the ocean floor. Deep cracks ran along its surface, whispering of an age long forgotten—an age before the Void Century, before history was erased.
This was no ordinary weapon. It had once been welded by a good, used to fight beside a legend, a being of laughter and liberation. A warrior of the sun, Nika.
Until the day it was forced to betray him.