I'm Not Interested in Devil Fruits

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Baterilla Island, Graveyard.

In front of Portgas D. Rouge's tomb, a bouquet of flowers rested quietly. Occasionally, someone would pass by this unremarkable grave, unaware that the woman buried here had witnessed the final year of Pirate King Roger's life.

The Kuja ship had already departed.

"Take your husband's surname? Is that really a thing?"

The women of Amazon Lily, hearing Giorno's question, seemed confused.

Boa Hancock's two sisters exchanged glances.

Sonia said, "Do women really have to change their names when they marry? That sounds so strange!"

"Even if they do, shouldn't the man take the woman's name instead?" Marigold murmured.

In the culture of Amazon Lily, "strength equals beauty," which actually hides a more complete saying: "A strong woman is the most beautiful woman." Since there were no men in Kuja, this concept had gradually evolved to simply "strength equals beauty." In Mari's eyes, strength was inherently linked to women.

Therefore, for Mari, if anyone had to change their name, it should be the man following the woman's surname... That didn't seem so wrong, did it?

Hancock didn't think it was wrong at all. However, if a man as powerful as Giorno wanted her to follow him and change her name, she could probably accept it.

"Chopper N.A. Hancock," she mused... It might not sound too bad after all.

"It was my mistake, why did I ask you such a question..." Liam rubbed his forehead, and then turned to Robin, who had a secretary-like demeanor. "So, Robin-sis?"

Robin slightly tilted her head, glancing at Bonney, who was sitting silently in the cabin room.

She spoke softly, "Because different islands are often isolated from each other, the cultural traits vary widely. In some places, women take their husband's surname after marriage, but there are also places where they don't. There were even some ancient civilizations that practiced men marrying women and taking their wife's surname..."

"If Kuja allowed men to live on the island, that might be the case here," Robin added, speaking to Hancock.

Hancock asked her, "Do you think I should allow men to live on the island in the future?"

She had yet to officially take up the title of Snake Princess, and there were many island affairs she was unaware of. But since Jolyne became the Kuja Princess, it seemed she had learned many hidden secrets from the former Snake Princess...

Hancock now vaguely understood that Kuja's law of no men on the island had a reason, and Jolyne likely knew the real cause.

Robin gazed into Hancock's stunningly beautiful eyes and shook her head. "I'm not really from Amazon Lily. I... don't feel qualified to give advice on this matter."

"I see. Understood," Hancock muttered. She remained kind to Giorno and Jolyne, not showing the usual arrogance she had with ordinary people. "Thank you."

While they bonded as close friends, Liam kept an eye on Bonney. Since boarding the ship, she had occasionally been staring at him.

Liam smiled, "So, Portgas is the son-in-law of the Ice Cream King, and it's your mother's family name?"

Bonney simply stared at him, saying nothing.

"Also, Rouge and you are...?" Liam did some quick mental calculations but soon gave up. Turning to his Stand, the Stand flashed with white light and spoke to him, suggesting they were about thirty years apart. Liam nodded and asked Bonney, "...What's your relationship?"

Bonney still didn't speak.

"Answer him." Hancock, while chatting with Robin, took a moment to lend a hand.

When Bonney boarded the ship again, Hancock had already injected her with Medusa's venomous snake toxin. Hearing Hancock's command, Bonney obediently answered Liam's question. "Rouge is my... niece."

"Your biological niece?" Liam asked.

"Mm." Bonney nodded.

"That explains it..." Liam tapped his chin, speaking to himself. "I thought so. No matter how strong the will is, it's impossible to defy biological principles, right? Carrying a child for twenty months... Such a miraculous thing, but if you had the help of your Age-Age Fruit, it makes sense!"

The others were left confused, but Bonney suddenly widened her eyes, staring at Liam.

"You— what do you know?!" Bonney exclaimed, instinctively lowering her voice. "No, how could you know?!"

Liam ignored her shock, shaking his head. "After all, the fetus was connected to the mother, and using your Age-Age Fruit repeatedly to reverse its aging still caused irreversible harm to Rouge as a mother..." That's why, shortly after giving birth to Ace, she passed away.

Bonney's face darkened, hiding the sorrow she felt.

Back in her room, Robin closed the door and leaned against it. Liam, sitting in a chair, looked at her in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"The prophecy book?" Robin asked with a smile.

Liam shrugged. "Yeah, the prophecy book."

Robin slowly walked over. "Does that book mention Portgas D. Rouge?"

"Yes!" Liam sighed deeply.

"She sacrificed her body and even her life to extend her pregnancy to twenty months, just to give birth to the child..." Robin sat down opposite Liam, raised her hand, and petals began to swirl around the room, forming two flower clones of her. One went to get the book, and the other began preparing a floral milk tea.

In a soft voice, Robin continued, "B.I.B. just said that Bonney and Rouge are about thirty years apart... If we assume Bonney is seventy, then Rouge would be around forty if she were still alive... If we push this back a little to the age when women are most fertile, this timeline becomes a bit delicate."

"Your Mandarin is pretty good! You understood what it said just now?" Liam grinned. 

Robin gave him a confused look and rolled her eyes. She took the book and floral milk tea from the flower clone, stirring the tea with a spoon as she continued to analyze, "If I remember correctly... At that time, there was one big event that made her so cautious before she dared to have the child."

'Snap,' Liam snapped his fingers and pointed at Robin, praising, "As expected of you! You guessed it right."

He then grabbed the freshly stirred floral milk tea and, without hesitation, gulped it down.

Robin didn't mind, gazing out the window at the sea. "So, the bloodline of the Pirate King still exists in this world?"

"Yeah," Liam put down his cup. "Compared to him, you're just a knockoff Devil Child... Hey, why'd you hit me on the head?"

"I didn't."

"You think I won't notice if you use the Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) to tap my head from behind?"

The Kuja ship sailed off into the distance. A battleship, split in two by B.I.B.'s super-large-scale Rankyaku, was in the nearby sea, and another battleship arrived to inspect the wreckage and assess whether any salvage was necessary.

…

At the S-9 branch base, Rear Admiral Ite received a call from Headquarters, exclaiming in shock, "Giorno? That's the mysterious pirate who stole the Devil Fruit from Caesar's body a few years ago—the one who debuted with a bounty of 100 million Belly, and then had it raised to 150 million Belly?!"

He cursed loudly, "What good is this information now? Don't you know how much we lost? An entire battleship was sunk with one strike!"

On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, the officer at Headquarters silently endured the South Blue branch Rear Admiral's complaints.

In Admiral Sengoku's office, Sengoku sipped his tea and muttered to himself, "One strike to sink a battleship... first he defeated a colonel, now he easily defeats a branch's Rear Admiral... Giorno's growth is too fast!" He tapped his fingers on the desk, then picked up the Den Den Mushi receiver and dialed a number.

As soon as the call connected, the Den Den Mushi screen shifted into a gothic, gloomy style.

(End of Chapter)