Chapter 30
After the meal, we shift our “base” to the Bonney Pirates’ ship. My little boat was crammed with over fifty people, shoulder to shoulder, but their ship is spacious—a proper pirate vessel.
Nami steps into the captain’s cabin, where I’m poring over a sea chart with Bonney and her hometown friend, Mark. He’s a forty-nine-year-old family man, serving as the Bonney Pirates’ vice-captain, mainly to keep an eye on the 10-year-old spitfire leading this crew.
“How’s our food stock, Nami?” I ask as she walks in.
She rubs her forehead, exasperated. “We’re cleaned out. What’s left on our ship… maybe enough for one day.” She glances at Bonney beside me and corrects herself. “Make that one meal.”
“Hey, no way!” Bonney cuts in before I can respond, panicking. “We just had one good meal! Are we supposed to starve again?”
Nami sighs. “No choice.” She points to a small dot on the chart. “We’ll have to detour to Starfall Island—the one we passed earlier—to restock food.”
I nod. “Guess that’s the plan.”
“Wait, there’s an island there?” Bonney leans over the chart, eyes wide with surprise and excitement.
Mark looks just as shocked. “If we’d known there was an island nearby, we wouldn’t have stooped to robbing food like amateurs.”
I raise an eyebrow at them. “You guys sail these waters and didn’t know about Starfall Island?”
Bonney shrugs, unfazed. “What’s the big deal? We’re pirates. Our charts aren’t as fancy as the Navy’s.” She jabs a finger at the chart and barks at Mark, “Go tell the crew to change course for… uh, what’s it called? Starfall Island!”
“Aye, Captain!” Mark heads out.
——————
Two weeks zip by. The detour to Starfall Island for supplies slowed us down, but today, we finally reach Half-Moon Island.
“Captain! We’re almost at the port!” a pirate with a telescope shouts from the deck.
“Good! Furl the sails! We’re docking as a merchant ship,” Bonney orders her crew.
I tilt my head, puzzled. “Half-Moon Island’s under Kryhiss’s control, right? Isn’t it a gray zone? Why bother posing as merchants? Can’t pirate ships just dock?”
Mark, standing nearby, explains. “It’s a gray zone, sure, and pretty chaotic. But Kryhiss’s crew has the island locked down, with spies all over the towns. The Bonney Pirates are kind of a big deal in these waters. Even if Kryhiss doesn’t know why we’re here, he’ll notice us and keep watch. Posing as merchants lets us slip in without trouble.”
“Makes sense,” I say, nodding. I glance at Bonney. “So, you’ve got a bounty already?”
“Of course!” Bonney puffs out her chest, grinning proudly. “I’m a big-time pirate with a thirty-five-million-berry bounty!”
Mark chimes in, hyping her up. “Our crew’s new, and only the captain’s got a bounty so far, but thirty-five million right off the bat? That’s bigger than a lot of veteran pirates. She’s been turning heads all over South Blue lately.”
Nami jumps in before I can respond, eyeing Bonney. “If you’re that famous, won’t Kryhiss have your wanted poster? You’ll get spotted the second we hit the shore.”
“Oh, that?” Bonney waves her hand dismissively. “No problem!” A faint glow surrounds her body, and then—right before our eyes—she starts shrinking. Her height drops, her figure scales down, and her cropped tank top, which was a bit short before, now fits perfectly. In moments, the tall, confident pirate transforms into a little girl.
She’s still unmistakably Bonney, but she looks even younger than her already-youthful ten years.
“What the—?! You turned into a kid?!” Nami’s eyes nearly pop out.
“Yup!” Bonney checks herself out, clearly pleased. “This’ll work, right?”
I blink, then it hits me. I almost forgot—this bottomless pit has that wild Devil Fruit power. A super-rare ability tied to time, letting her change her age or others’ at will. No wonder she’s so cocky.