Chapter 214: You're No Longer the Strongest Man
At the same time,
a massive network of warships, connected by seastone chains, formed a naval camp across the sea's surface.
Staring at the sky-piercing fissure left by the tremor,
Vice Admiral Tsuru's expression changed slightly. "What's going on? Has Whitebeard recovered from his illness?"
Marine Headquarters had long been gathering intelligence on the Four Emperors, including the state of Whitebeard's health.
They had even secretly captured doctors who once treated him, questioning them in detail.
All reports concluded that Whitebeard's condition was critical.
But now, the explosive aura radiating from him felt like he was back in his prime.
Vice Admiral Tsuru let out a helpless sigh. "Did Whitebeard become a player too?"
In the pirate world, the only known abilities that could heal Whitebeard would be the Ope Ope no Mi or the Heal-Heal Fruit.
But given the severity of his condition, surgery was unlikely to succeed—unless someone was willing to perform the Immortality Operation for him.
The Heal-Heal Fruit posed similar risks: the stronger the person healed, the more of the user's life it consumed.
To heal Whitebeard would cost one's life—and there was no reason to make such a sacrifice for a stranger.
Marine Headquarters had also deliberately prevented any such ability users from getting close to Whitebeard.
In this situation, only the Reincarnation Game could explain his apparent recovery.
"That's right. Whitebeard just got a Contract Fruit."
"On Red-Haired Shanks' ship?"
"Crunch—exactly."
Garp casually drank his tea and munched on a donut.
Vice Admiral Tsuru's face visibly darkened. She nearly kicked over her teacup in frustration.
You were there and didn't stop it?
No wonder Marine Headquarters hasn't been able to eliminate the Four Emperors—turns out the so-called Marine Hero is their secret ally!
"Something wrong, Little Tsuru?"
"Nothing. Enjoy your snacks."
…
Aboard the Moby Dick.
"Pops… are you really healed?" Marco asked, shocked.
"Not fully."
Whitebeard shook his head.
One vial of gene therapy wasn't enough for full recovery—but the results were surprisingly good.
Marco immediately pulled out his medical tools and began examining Whitebeard's condition.
His face shifted from grim to disbelieving, then to overjoyed.
The crew of the Whitebeard Pirates all held their breath, waiting for Marco's explanation.
"The damage is... actually improving?"
Marco felt like he was dreaming.
Over the years, the crew had sought out countless famous doctors, but none could cure the damage inside Whitebeard's body.
They could only delay the worsening of his condition or ease the pain.
Even Marco himself—despite being a top-class doctor and user of the Mythical Zoan Phoenix Fruit—was powerless against the damage.
Whitebeard's condition was mostly made up of hidden injuries from extreme combat,
but the greatest cause was the backlash of the Gura Gura no Mi.
The Gura Gura no Mi, a Paramecia-type fruit, could shake the heavens, earth, and sea.
But it didn't allow the user to become vibration itself.
Each time Whitebeard used the fruit's immense power, the shockwaves damaged his own body.
Only his exceptional physical constitution allowed him to bear it.
Any ordinary pirate would have been torn apart by such power.
This was the fruit hailed as the strongest Paramecia in the sea.
As such,
ordinary treatment methods had no effect on Whitebeard.
"Pops!"
"Marco, study this potion's ingredients right away!"
The crew erupted in cheers.
Marco shook his head with a sigh. "I can't analyze it. Even the basic recovery potions we got days ago—I still can't figure out how they work. Let alone something involving genetics."
Genes were a foreign concept in the pirate world—perhaps something akin to bloodlines?
"Hahahaha…"
Whitebeard let out a booming laugh. "No need to struggle. Let's just ask the Game Merchant directly!"
Upon completing five Contract Fruit missions and becoming a player, he now had access to the Game Shop.
Let's see if fate would grant him the chance to meet the Merchant himself.
As he spoke,
Whitebeard's towering figure vanished from the Moby Dick's deck.
When he regained awareness,
he stood in a game store lined with countless shelves.
On the lowest shelf closest to him,
were rows of vividly colored glass bottles—among them, the gene therapy potion that had healed his wounds.
"So you knew I was coming and placed this here deliberately?"
"I have no time for such theatrics."
Behind the counter, Fang Yi sat on a soft chair, gazing at the massive figure before him.
"The lowest shelves always hold low-value items. If I had to arrange everything just because a player walked in, it would waste far too much time."
"Everything is guided by fate. You suffer from pain, so fate selected the item that could heal you. It's that simple."
His tone was calm and gentle.
There was no special emotion in his voice, even though he was speaking to the so-called strongest man in the pirate world.
"A potion capable of healing me cost an entire gold vein to obtain…
And you're saying it's a low-value item? You really are terrifyingly mysterious."
Whitebeard chuckled,
but instead of picking up another vial of gene therapy, his hand drifted toward a bottle of wine.
Fang Yi continued in his role as guide. "That's Centipede Wine. A medicinal brew from a martial arts world. It restores vitality and neutralizes toxins, but won't help with your injuries."
"I see. Even though I heard through Den Den Mushi that you're from another world, it's still amazing to hear you speak of these things firsthand."
Whitebeard picked up two bottles of Centipede Wine. In his mind, a price appeared: 500 reward points per bottle.
"That's insanely expensive. Even the Celestial Dragons probably haven't tasted anything this pricey."
Still, Whitebeard didn't put them back.
He bought both bottles and tossed one to the Game Merchant behind the counter.
"You're a guest from another world, after all."
He tilted his head back and drank the Centipede Wine.
A burning heat spread through his entire body as the medicinal effects activated.
With a hearty laugh, he said, "If you'd accept it, consider this bottle a gesture of welcome."
"I'm honored."
Fang Yi drank it down in one gulp.
Unlike Whitebeard, who radiated with medicinal power, Fang Yi's body gave off no aura at all—
as if he had just drunk plain water.
"A fully healed Whitebeard… that's going to cause a lot of trouble for the Navy, isn't it?"
Whitebeard, having just finished absorbing the potion's effects, spoke with meaning.
"There will be trouble, but not big trouble."
Fang Yi smiled and shook his head. "Garp and Smoker have already become players. Purely in terms of stats, they're stronger than you now."
"Sengoku is preparing to liquidate a large portion of Marine assets. I expect that Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru will all become far more powerful in the near future."
"I'm sorry to say, but right now—you don't even rank in the pirate world's top tier."
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