Chapter 256: I'd Like to See What She's Up To!
Earlier that day, in the castle kitchen.
"You idiot brat! The salt is ground too fine!"
"Cook the damn eggs! No runny yolks! There are kids on this ship!"
"This sauce is too thick! Do it again!"
Zeff twisted Sanji's ear, his face a mask of culinary fury. "You haven't improved at all since you left my ship! It's a good thing the captain disbanded that stupid 'Chef Adventurers' of yours! You would have brought shame to my name!"
Same old geezer, Sanji thought, wincing in pain. He couldn't fight back. He wasn't strong enough. Not yet.
Just then, he saw a flash of pink from behind the pantry. "Hey! Bonney! That's enough! This is the third time you've snuck in here to steal food! Can't you just wait for dinner?!" He snatched the giant ham from her hands.
"Gimme back!" she cried, jumping for it, but he just held it over her head.
"Stupid Sanji! Meanie!" she pouted, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster's.
"I let you get away with it the first two times," he said, beginning to slice the ham. "But that's it. No more."
He was still lecturing her when she got an idea. A mischievous grin spread across her face, and a strange shimmer surrounded her.
POOF!
In the next instant, a curvy, pink-haired bombshell was standing in front of him, batting her eyelashes. "Sanji-kun~ Can't you just let a girl have a little snack~?"
"OHOHOHOHO—!!!" Sanji's eyes turned to hearts, and a torrent of blood shot from his nose. "A super-hot beauty! O-Of course! Anything for you, mademoiselle!"
"Idiot!" she laughed, snatching the ham back and, with another poof, transforming back into a little girl. "You're so easy, Pervy-Cook!" She stuck her tongue out and ran.
"Why you little...!" he yelled, chasing her around the kitchen until Zeff finally had enough and whacked them both with a giant frying pan.
"Stop messing around in my kitchen!" he roared. "And you, Bonney! Don't abuse your power! Kuma can't protect you forever!"
"Oww!" she cried, rubbing the lump on her head. "I was just hungry..."
"If you're hungry, just ask!" he said, then softened, pressing a few coins into her hand. "Here. We're low on cola for the party. Go into town and buy some. If you get back before the dessert is out of the oven, you can have five pieces."
"Five?! Really?!" Her eyes lit up, and she shot out of the kitchen. She ran past Kuma, who was reading the paper in the hall.
"Going into town?" he asked, a little surprised. "Do you need me to go with you?"
"Nope! This is a secret mission between me and Grandpa Zeff! Besides, I'm not a little kid anymore!" she said with a grin, and was gone.
...
"Five desserts, five desserts~" Bonney sang as she skipped into town. The smell from a nearby bakery stopped her in her tracks.
"Would you like to try some, little one?" a kind, pretty, blonde girl asked, smiling down at her.
"Yes!" Bonney said, pointing at a strawberry cake in the window.
"Good choice. It's my friend's shop. Come on in, you can have a free sample." She took Bonney's hand.
"But... I have to buy cola..."
"It'll only take a second. And they sell it here, for half the price."
A trap? Bonney thought, her guard instantly up. But she looked in the window. The shop was bright and clean, and there were plenty of customers inside, some of whom she recognized from the town. Okay, it's safe. She let the girl lead her to the door.
But... as the girl pushed the door open, the inside of the shop was no longer a bakery, but a swirling, chaotic vortex.
"The shop is real. But any door, in my hands, can become something else," the girl's voice was suddenly cold. "Your vigilance is commendable, but you were looking in the wrong place, little girl. Now, be a good girl and come with me. A very important person wants to meet you."
SLAM!
The door closed, and the street was quiet once more. The empty cola can was the only sign she had ever been there.
"And that's it," Kuma said, his fists clenched. "I waited, but she never came back. I found the can in front of the bakery, but... her presence... it's gone from the island."
The festive mood in the dining hall had vanished.
"Who would dare... to kidnap someone on Crescent Moon Island?" Kuina's voice was like ice. This was a direct provocation. But who? The World Government? How did they get past their patrols?
"It's my fault," Zeff said, his voice thick with regret. "If I hadn't sent her out..."
"Do you have a Vivre Card for her?" Zoro asked.
"I did, but... I lost it," Kuma said, his voice breaking.
"Seal the sea," Kuina said, standing up. "We'll split up and search..."
"No need," Shane's quiet voice cut through the tension. He had been silent until now, his eyes closed. He opened them, and they were cold and hard. "I know where she is." He had already linked his life force to Bonney's with the Contingency Scroll, and he had used the Marauder's Map. Two hours ago, she had been on this island. Now, she was thousands of nautical miles away.
"Zoro, get me the Transponder Snail," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "I'd like to have a word with that old fat hag. I'd like to see what she's up to."
In the Whole Cake Chateau, Big Mom was pacing, a storm of frustration and rage. "Forty hours! It's been forty hours!" she roared. "Perospero! Is that bounty hunter of yours coming or not?!"
"Patience, Mama~" her eldest son simpered. "She has never failed before. She will be here..."
"I can't wait! I need it now!" she shrieked, kicking over a table of sweets.
The next chapter will likely detail the confrontation between Shane and Big Mom.
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