Eight years after the God Valley Incident, Kuma is 17 and living quietly in the Sorbet Kingdom. He’s gained respect from the elders by using his powers to remove people’s pain. They ask him to help them during the week, but Ginny, now 21, shuts that down—says he can only do it on Sundays. She’s annoyed they treat the church like a free clinic and don’t even offer payment.
The old folks laugh her off, teasing that her sharp tongue hasn’t stopped anyone from falling for her, since she’s still a beauty. Others stop by just to see Kuma, saying his presence calms them. He’s touched, but Ginny says he spoils them too much. One of the elders says they’d pay if they could, but the Heavenly Tribute makes it hard to survive.
Kuma used his power to heal
Turns out Sorbet’s gotten a new king—Bekori. The guy’s a cold-hearted tyrant who sends sick people that can’t pay the tribute to rot in prison. He doesn’t even feed them. Locals say he cares more about pleasing the World Nobles than protecting his own people. Kuma tells the townsfolk he’ll keep helping with small pains and illness every week. They’re grateful.
At night, after everyone had left, Kuma took the bubble of pain and sickness he’d pulled from the people and absorbed it into his own body. It hurt him, and Ginny hated watching it. While treating him, she cried and told him that no one even knew what he was doing for them. Kuma said he didn’t have a choice—if he didn’t take it in, the pain would just go back to the person it came from. But it made people happy, and that was enough for him. He apologized for worrying her, and they ate dinner together.
Kuma is imprisoned
Five years later, Ginny proposed to him. He turned her down. She was annoyed—she believed she could make him happy. Kuma told her he already was, but the truth was he was afraid. Because of his Buccaneer blood, he thought she might suffer like he and his mother did. He quickly changed the subject, bringing up the Freedom Fighters and how their protests were spreading across kingdoms. The World Government had finally issued a warrant. Kuma mentioned Monkey D. Dragon, said he thought he was cool, and that one day he wanted to set sail and help people. Then he went to pick up some fish that other suitors had brought Ginny, which only annoyed her more.
Three years later, Kuma demanded the return of the kidnapped civilians, but the soldiers refused, saying the law let them do whatever they wanted. Furious, Kuma attacked and was branded a traitor. Turns out King Bekori had split Sorbet Kingdom in two: the north was for those who could afford the Heavenly Tribute, while everyone else was dumped into the “Lawless Area.” Because Kuma stood up to this, he was imprisoned. Ginny and others who tried to help him were locked up too. Kuma realized this setup would only lead to more discrimination, and Ginny pointed out that going against the king meant going against the World Government itself.
Kuma swears loyalty to Dragon
That’s when the Freedom Fighters stepped in. They took down Bekori, scrapped the slave policy, and freed the kingdom. Afterward, Dragon and Ivankov found Kuma and offered him a spot in their movement. With Kuma on board, they reformed the Freedom Fighters into the Revolutionary Army after the Ohara Incident, shifting from protests to full-on rebellion. To survive, they took mercenary jobs helping other uprisings. Dragon trained new recruits himself. Kuma was surprised to learn Dragon used to be a Marine but left because he saw no justice there. Ivankov said Dragon just wanted to help people, and Kuma swore loyalty to him—Dragon accepted.
Eight years later, Ginny, now a captain in the army, was happy to reunite with Kuma’s unit. But soon after, she was captured by an unexpected enemy. Dragon was alerted right away.
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