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A truly great doctor doesn't just cure your illness when you are sick; they use their skills to ensure you never fall ill again.
Nightin had been the ship's doctor for Byrnndi World's crew. She had fulfilled her duties perfectly, keeping the entire crew—save for World's congenitally frail brother, Byojack—in perfect health.
Her method was to use medicine to regulate the body, to heal through meditation and balance. That was why she didn't need to confirm anything. A single glance was enough to tell her the severity of Arthur's injuries.
Her expression was grave as she took the hand Arthur offered, carefully examining his condition.
The great hall of the Thunder God Palace gradually fell silent. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the diagnosis.
After more than ten minutes, Nightin released his hand, a look of utter defeat on her face.
"I'm sorry, Captain Arthur," she said, her voice heavy. "Your injury... it's beyond my abilities."
"That's impossible..."
"What did you say?" Shiryu, who had been silent until now, unleashed a wave of killing intent. An overwhelming aura of bloodlust filled the room.
"Stand down," Arthur sighed, waving a hand to calm him.
He knew his own body better than anyone. He was well aware of the nature of the wound he had sustained. To have let an injury like this fester for so long... it was likely beyond any human means to repair.
Nightin, though strong, could not withstand Shiryu's killing intent. Her body swayed, on the verge of collapse. Only when he consciously withdrew his aura did she recover.
"For Captain Arthur to have suffered such a wound... all the ribs near the fist print on his chest have been shattered. His internal organs were pulverized by a powerful, penetrating force. By all rights, it's a miracle he didn't die on the spot—"
Nightin explained, her voice trembling slightly. "—My medical skills are insufficient. I am powerless. All I can do is use medicine to control the condition and keep it from worsening. As for a cure..."
She trailed off, her expression grim.
Arthur was holding on through sheer willpower, which was why he constantly felt the need to sleep to recover his spent energy. The fact that she could even keep the injury from getting worse was a testament to her considerable skill.
"So it's an irreversible injury that cannot be healed by human hands?" Even though he had been prepared for it, a sliver of disappointment still cut through Arthur.
Did this mean that, unless a miracle occurred, he could only wait for his life force to run out and death to claim him?
"How long do I have left?" Arthur asked, his voice calm.
Death was a terrifying thing, but he had long been prepared to face it without fear. He had experienced almost all the wonders a man could in one lifetime. What was there to regret? And yet, when it wasn't an absolute certainty, who would willingly choose to die?
"That's the strange part..." Nightin said.
"...Captain Arthur has clearly suffered such a grievous wound, yet the rate at which his life force is draining is incredibly slow, as if some external, magical power is intentionally slowing it down... I can't be sure exactly how long you can live, but based on your current condition, you can hold on for at least another ten years."
"Ten years?" A smile touched Arthur's lips. He wasn't worried in the slightest.
"Ten years is more than enough. The greatest miracle on these seas is the power of the Devil Fruits. In ten years, can I not find a single fruit that can heal my injuries?"
"Actually..." Nightin hesitated, then spoke again, unable to accept her failure.
"My medical skills are not high enough. If we had the world's number one doctor, Crocus, or that renowned physician from the North Blue—or even Dr. Kureha, who lives in seclusion in a certain country in the first half of the Grand Line... they could at least buy you more time, perhaps even improve your condition."
Even if she didn't want to admit it, Nightin had to speak the truth.
These were, in her opinion, the three strongest doctors currently on the seas.
Crocus had been a companion to the Pirate King, Roger, in his final years. Would he have been invited aboard if his skills were not exceptional?
As for Dr. Kureha, she was simply a monster. She had become famous around a hundred years ago. Having not been seen for a long time, many had assumed she had died decades ago.
But then, a few years ago, around the time of Roger's execution, she had suddenly reappeared. Someone had calculated her age. If she were still alive now, she would be around 120 years old.
For an ordinary person to live to such an age, she must possess some extraordinary ability.
"Then what are we waiting for?! Mobilize all our forces and find these three," Catarina Devon said, her hands on her hips, her tone tyrannical. She was dressed in a flamboyant, fashionable style. "If they refuse, we'll just smash their heads in."
This was the way of a pirate. If you couldn't get it, you took it. If you couldn't take it, you destroyed it.
They would do anything, whether it benefited them or not, as long as it served their purpose.
"Alright. Everyone, prepare yourselves. Then, we will mobilize our forces to find Crocus first. He's on the Grand Line, so time is of the essence," Shiryu said, taking two deep drags from his cigar before slowly standing up.
As the man most loyal to Arthur, his every word and action now carried the air of a great commander. If Arthur didn't already have a better candidate in mind for his first mate, he would have given the position to Shiryu.
"Have Morgans notify the underworld. Issue a bounty," Byrnndi World said, twisting his neck as he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the other commanders, all of whom were ready to carry out their orders without a word.
"Anyone who is confident they can heal Captain Arthur's wound—the Thunder God Pirates will grant them any condition. Anyone who tries and fails... will die. The fearless may apply."
"Nightin, you will stay here and look after the Captain."
They all moved with ruthless efficiency, acting the moment a thought was formed. Each one of them was capable of standing on their own in the New World.
Arthur, though weak and powerless, watched his commanders depart.
The Thunder God Pirates, from their formation until now, had already become incredibly powerful. The strength of his commanders far surpassed that of the top commanders under Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaido.
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Time flew, like a river flowing into the sea, never to return, passing by in quiet tranquility.
Sea Calendar 1503.
A full three years had passed since Arthur's injury.
During those three years, the Thunder God Pirates had mobilized all their forces to search the entire Grand Line for Crocus. But it was as if Crocus had received the news in advance. He had hidden himself somewhere, vanishing without a trace.
The Thunder God Pirates had put out the word: anyone who reported a sighting of Crocus would be rewarded.
In the end, a masked old man had come forward to report a sighting, and the information had been accurate.
But the unknown old man who had claimed the reward was a man of incredible skill. After taking the money to buy some wine, he had disappeared along with Crocus, always managing to evade capture ahead of time.
Now, the two of them had become famous wanted men, their heads coveted by every bounty hunter looking to cash in with the Thunder God Pirates.
In those three years, several doctors from the underworld's black market, confident in their own skills, had also taken the bounty and gone to Raijin Island to treat Arthur.
The result, naturally, was that they were at a complete loss.
They had been cut in half by the enraged Shiryu, and the grass on their graves was now two meters high.
This tyrannical style had terrified anyone else from even daring to go to Raijin Island to confirm if Arthur's injuries were truly as severe as the rumors said.
Later, Arthur had given up the idea of finding a doctor entirely.
An irreversible injury that was beyond human means to repair—he had never thought it could be healed by human hands in the first place.
He began to consolidate all the members of the Thunder God Pirates, to fortify their territory, to recruit new subordinates, and to stabilize the vast domain they had conquered in the New World.
Finally, after three years, everyone in the New World had come to accept the status of the Thunder God Pirates. There were no more mindless provocations or struggles for territory.
And Arthur, he began to set his own original plan in motion...
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