Chapter 720: Substitute
Hearing Ian’s question seemed to stir up some very unpleasant memories for Bonney, so she said irritably, “Do I really have to say it!?”
“Go ahead,” Ian said with a smile. “Since you’re not afraid of me at all and you’re so casual with me, it shows that deep down, you trust me a lot!”
“Tch!” Bonney heard Ian’s words and found she couldn’t refute them at all. Ian was right; subconsciously, Bonney treated Ian as one of her own, because she knew very well how close Ian was with her cousin Ace. So now, with one sentence, Ian had directly broken through her psychological defenses. She sighed and said, “Fine, telling you won’t hurt!”
“After the World Government captured me, they used my ability to help Marine scientist Vegapunk complete his experiments!”
Bonney’s first sentence stunned the entire ship. How did Vegapunk get involved!?
“What’s going on?” Ian frowned and asked. “How could your ability help with Vegapunk’s experiments?”
“The Pacifista Project!” Bonney spread her hands and said. “Do you think Bartholomew Kuma’s clones were all the same size from the start? When Vegapunk first started, the clones he made didn’t have the corresponding accelerated aging technology. In other words, he couldn’t make these clones grow. If he let them grow naturally, it would take decades for them to become as big as Bartholomew Kuma!”
“So, in the beginning, those clones were accelerated using my Devil Fruit ability!” Bonney continued. “Of course, the Pacifista Project initially didn’t use Bartholomew Kuma’s body either; it used others’. But those people’s bodies weren’t strong enough to complete the full human modification. It wasn’t until later, when the Seven Warlord Bartholomew Kuma was willing to cooperate with Vegapunk, that the Pacifista’s appearance was finalized. Otherwise, the Pacifistas you see today might look like someone else…”
Ian suddenly understood, but then he frowned. He remembered that Germa Group, led by Gaji, also had a clone project, and their clones were produced as adults without any special methods!
When he raised this question, Bonney nodded and said, “That’s true. How should I put it? Vegapunk later mastered this accelerated aging technology too, so my ability became useless after that.”
After all, Germa Group specialized in clone combat, but Vegapunk was different. He had many other research projects that consumed his energy, so it made sense that he mastered the accelerated aging technology later than Germa.
Ian also vaguely sensed that using a Devil Fruit ability to assist Vegapunk’s experiments alone probably wasn’t enough for the World Government to value Bonney so highly. Even after Bonney entered the New World, they relentlessly sent Marine Vice Admirals to capture her. Look at the other Supernovas—which one was pursued like her?
That meant Bonney probably knew about or was involved in other, more significant secrets!
Sure enough, Bonney continued, “After Vegapunk mastered the accelerated aging technology, my Devil Fruit ability wasn’t very useful to him anymore. I thought the World Government might let me go, but then they sent someone to take me away again. This time, they brought me to the Holy Land Mary Geoise…”
“They didn’t make you use your Devil Fruit ability to keep the Five Elders eternally young, did they!?” Whitebeard Old Man suddenly interjected.
Seeing everyone look at him because of this remark, Whitebeard explained, “In fact, the Five Elders is just a title. They are the highest rulers of the World Government appointed by the Celestial Dragons, the World Nobles. But strangely, in all the years I’ve lived, I haven’t heard of any change in the personnel of this generation of Five Elders…”
“Old Man, do you mean this generation of Five Elders is looking for ways to live longer?” Marco asked.
Whitebeard didn’t answer but looked at Bonney. Whether it was true or not, Bonney’s answer would clarify things.
However, Bonney shook her head and said, “Unfortunately, they didn’t take me away to use my ability on the Five Elders!”
Ian and the others were stunned and were about to ask, but then Bonney made a sudden turn, saying, “They made me use my ability on the Celestial Dragons!”
Everyone was almost thrown off by this twist and couldn’t help rolling their eyes. Couldn’t she just say it all at once!
Still, Ian pressed on, “They made you use your ability on the Celestial Dragons? What happened?”
“What else could happen?” Bonney spread her hands and said indignantly, “The target they made me use my Devil Fruit ability on was a decrepit old Celestial Dragon. Even now, thinking about it makes me sick. He looked like he could die at any moment, but when he appeared, he was surrounded by a crowd of young, beautiful women! When that old geezer showed up, the people escorting me forced me to kneel to him. I resisted at the time, but I got beaten badly…”
“…” Ian didn’t know what to say about Bonney’s experience. Ordinary civilians facing a Celestial Dragon would risk death for any resistance. If it weren’t for her ability, Bonney might have been killed right then.
“Later…” Bonney let out a long sigh, as if venting the pent-up frustration of that time, and said, “Later, I had no choice but to change that old Celestial Dragon’s age, restoring him to a young man’s appearance… Actually, I really wanted to turn him into a child, because only children and frail old people have no combat ability, and then I could kick that bastard to death! But I also knew that if I dared to do that, I probably wouldn’t survive…”
“Not just survive—if you did that, your fate might be worse than death!” Ian said to her.
“Yeah, looking back now, I’m pretty glad!” Bonney said. “After turning that old geezer into a young man, I was taken away, locked up, and well-fed. For a while after that, every day, an old Celestial Dragon would come for me to use my Devil Fruit ability on them!”
At this point, Bonney suddenly burst out laughing, clutching her stomach, and said, “But then, you’ll never guess what happened!”
“What happened?” Ian cooperatively played along.
“Those old geezers all died in the end!” Bonney laughed heartily. “Especially the first one I used my ability on. I heard the guards whispering that he died on top of a woman!”
“How is that possible?” Everyone was puzzled.
“It’s simple!” Bonney said. “I changed his appearance to that of a young man, but it was only an external change. It didn’t mean he actually gained the vitality of youth. My Devil Fruit ability doesn’t truly control time. So those old Celestial Dragons, though they looked young on the outside, didn’t have their lifespans extended, and their illnesses weren’t cured or healed. In the end, they still died! That first old Celestial Dragon could have lived a few more years, but because he thought he looked young, he indulged himself, exhausting even his last bit of energy in a short time. How could he not die!”
“Hmph! Serves them right!” Marco and the others spat in satisfaction.
There were countless people in the world who hated the Celestial Dragons…
Bonney also felt very satisfied recounting this experience. She put her hands on her hips and laughed, “Those old Celestial Dragons died one after another, and the World Government people were in chaos. They even interrogated me once. When I told them about my ability’s limitations, the expressions on their faces were priceless! But… there’s one thing that bothers me.”
“What is it?”
“When those World Government officials left after interrogating me, they seemed very disappointed and muttered something like, ‘Still can’t compare to the immortality surgery’!” Bonney said. “After that, I never restored the age of those old Celestial Dragons again. They didn’t kill me, but they kept me locked up. Gradually, the guard strength loosened, and I took the chance to turn into a child and escape from Mary Geoise…”
When Bonney mentioned the “immortality surgery,” Ian’s mind exploded. He finally understood what was going on!
The World Government had captured Bonney to find a substitute for the immortality surgery!