"You bastard, actually slacking off here!"
The salmon fishman Salt-Grill held a wine jug, staggering as he came behind the fishman who was burying his head and smoking opium, shouting sternly.
"Minister Salt-Grill?" The fishman hurriedly got up, the cigarette in his hand flickering with a bright spark.
Wisps of smoke slowly drifted, Salt-Grill lightly sniffed twice, his eyes staring at the cigarette burning between the fishman's fingers as he asked, "What is this cigarette? The smell... why is it so good?"
The fishman quickly handed over the cigarette and didn't hold back his words of praise.
"Minister Salt-Grill, you have to try it quickly, this cigarette must be high-end goods only nobles can enjoy!"
He once picked up cigarette butts left by nobles on the Sabaody Archipelago, and still remembered the taste of noble cigarettes vividly.
To be honest, the cigarette in his hand, whether in craftsmanship or taste, was far better than those noble cigarettes back then.
He guessed, the cigarettes Jotaro gave him were extremely rare even in noble circles.
Salt-Grill took a shallow puff, and his eyes instantly lit up.
"Good! So good! I've never smoked such amazing cigarettes before!"
After indulging for a moment, he looked at the fishman and asked, "Where did you get this cigarette? If Arlong knew that such cigarettes existed in the East Blue, he would stop at nothing to seize its place of origin."
A place that could produce such cigarettes, in Arlong's eyes, would be no different than a huge mountain of gold, capable of bringing enormous profit to their entire pirate crew.
The fishman shook his head and honestly said, "Don't know, it was given by someone from outside the island."
Salt-Grill was shocked upon hearing that, "Someone from outside the island! An outsider landed on the island?"
Under his pressing interrogation, the fishman explained the process of meeting Jotaro.
"Bastard! You actually let him go that easily!" Salt-Grill rebuked immediately, glaring viciously at him.
Salt-Grill's position was much higher than an ordinary fishman, he was the banquet minister of the Arlong Pirates.
He came to Cocoyasi Village this time because Nami had returned, and Arlong needed someone to organize the banquet.
As a mid-to-high-level officer, he naturally knew about Cocoyasi Village's secret activities and had heard rumors of rebellion.
At such a time, the arrival of a stranger made him all the more vigilant.
"We must find that person!" He pressed the fishman's shoulder and ordered, "Quickly gather manpower, find him!"
———
Jotaro followed behind Nojiko, slowly walking into the interior of the cave.
Though the cave looked gloomy, the deeper part was unexpectedly spacious.
The further they went, the wider the passage became.
At the innermost point was a huge stone chamber, rows of man-carved stone beds already packed with people.
The air was filled with a heavy atmosphere of decay and blood.
The wounded were curled up in the corners; many were incomplete, just like the victims of war.
Seeing the scene before him, Jotaro slightly furrowed his brow and silently stood behind Nojiko.
Although there were many people in the stone chamber, aside from some faint breathing sounds, there were no other noises.
Even soft footsteps seemed extremely abrupt here.
"Nojiko, why did you come back so quickly?" Genzo turned around immediately, somewhat surprised.
His gaze swept past Nojiko and focused on the tall, cold-faced man behind her, asking, "Is he the one you mentioned?"
Nojiko lightly nodded. "Mm."
Getting a definite answer, Genzo still felt very uneasy.
Jotaro looked like someone difficult to get along with; he was very worried that the other party wouldn't lend a helping hand.
All under heaven bustle for profit, all under heaven hurry for gain.
Profit is the common driving force behind many people's actions.
Even more so in this world.
Without a heart-stirring benefit, who would spend mental energy to treat dying strangers completely unrelated to them?
There are not so many saints in the world.
Genzo knew this clearly, but even Arlong's protection fee already left them strapped for cash, how could they possibly have extra money to pay for medical services?
If Jotaro only worked for money, then what would they do…
"Let me take a look at them."
Just as Genzo was thinking about how to solve this problem, Jotaro's deep voice interrupted his thoughts.
"What are you spacing out for!" Nojiko pushed Genzo and directly led Jotaro to the place where Doctor Nako was working.
Although the patients repeatedly insisted not to waste medicine on themselves, how could he just watch them die with open eyes?
After the last three doses were used up, Nako was still doing his best to treat the patients.
"Sigh!"
Watching the wounded grow weaker and weaker, Nako's face was full of sorrow, but there was nothing he could do.
This patient obviously had no external injuries, but the actual situation was even worse than those who had lost limbs.
Those people could at least delay with some physical means to stop bleeding, but for this one, he had no idea what the problem was.
The patient was barely conscious by now, yet seeing Nako's expression, he still weakly comforted, "It's okay, I feel much better... Thank you, doctor."
Tears streamed down Nako's face.
"If only my medical skills were better!"
"This is internal bleeding." Jotaro's voice rang out behind Nako.
He slowly walked to the front of the bed, his pale green eyes sweeping over the patient with utter certainty.
Through Star Platinum's meticulous observation, the patient's internal organs had long been damaged under a great external force.
"Who are you?" Nako looked up, confused as he stared at him.
"He's the person I told you about." Nojiko also walked over and asked Jotaro, "Internal bleeding? Is he still saveable?"
"Blood has accumulated in the abdominal cavity and thoracic cavity..." Jotaro paused, his expression turning serious.
Just now he had only looked from the patient's head down and had ignored the most serious problem, the brain.
There was also bleeding under the dura mater and arachnoid of the brain.
Intracranial bleeding but still holding on this long, not bad for a regular person in the pirate world.
In Jotaro's world, the patient would've been long gone.
Seeing Jotaro's expression change, Nojiko asked anxiously, "What's going on? Is there no way?"
With the current level of medical technology, even if Shinobu Kocho were present, she might have no choice but to shake her head in certainty.
However, this was Jotaro.
"I can try... but I can't guarantee 100% success." Jotaro replied calmly.
After all, for him, it was also the first time handling such a situation.
"You brat really have a way?" Nako found it hard to believe.
As a seasoned doctor, he hadn't even figured out what was going on with the patient, and yet this young man already had a solution.
How could he not be shocked?
"Mm."
With a simple reply, Jotaro came to the front of the patient.
His plan was to first use Ripple to stabilize the patient's condition, then use Star Platinum to remove the accumulated blood from the body.
A seemingly simple idea, but actually very dangerous, any mistake in any step could cause the patient to die on the spot.
The risk was very high, yet Jotaro acted without hesitation.
"Star Platinum!"
Using Ripple for precise strikes on wounds had better effect.
Star Platinum floated behind Jotaro, quickly locating the internal wounds.
"Ripple Overdrive!"
Golden Ripple energy surged from Jotaro's fingers, spreading wildly throughout the patient's body via his blood, allowing the internal injuries to recover at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Cell activity was pushed to the limit under Ripple stimulation.
Nako, Nojiko, and Genzo all widened their eyes, staring in disbelief at the scene before them.
Under the dazzling golden sparks, the patient's pale-as-paper complexion was actually quickly regaining redness, as if life had returned.
"This... this is simply a miracle!!"
Nako, after decades of practicing medicine, had never seen such a method and was utterly astonished.
The Ripple on Jotaro's hand slowly faded.
"His condition is temporarily stable, but he's still in danger. Now we must remove the accumulated blood inside his body."
Nojiko asked, "What do we need to do to remove the blood?"
Jotaro didn't reply, but took a deep breath.
'Star Platinum!'
Star Platinum instantly emerged from his body.
Under his control, Star Platinum's figure gradually shrank, entered through the blood vessels, and went inside the patient's body.
"What is this kid doing! Why is he just standing there motionless!" Nako suspiciously stared at him, confused.
Nojiko also found it strange and was about to speak, but upon seeing the sweat gradually appearing on Jotaro's forehead, she stayed silent.
"My Stand has entered his brain." Jotaro turned to remind them, "The next operation is very dangerous. Don't disturb me."
Even at his peak, conducting such delicate operations required intense concentration, not to mention his current weakened state, he had to be even more cautious.
Accumulated blood in the brain is the most dangerous, but Star Platinum could crush the blood clots into substances even smaller than blood cells, allowing them to be carried out of the brain through blood vessels.
As time passed minute by minute, Nojiko and the others stood beside Jotaro not daring to breathe, only exchanging glances.
From their eyes, they all saw the same question in each other's hearts.
Jotaro seemed to be just standing there doing nothing, yet everyone had the illusion that his mental energy was being rapidly drained.
Especially since his cold face was covered in more and more sweat.
"Ah!" Nojiko let out a low cry.
The wound on Jotaro's back had actually started bleeding again.
His attention had long been connected with Star Platinum, completely unaware of his own condition.
Overexerting mentally would only worsen his injuries.
"Yare yare daze…"
After a long time, the sharp glint in Jotaro's eyes finally faded, and he returned from his focused state.
He looked at the others and said, "I think... he should be fine now."
To be safe, he used Ripple again to further stabilize the condition.
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