The night sea was endless.
The Oro Jackson sliced through the still waters, its sails catching moonlight like ghosts. Inside the infirmary, Ginny's breathing grew shallower with every hour. Her sapphire skin shimmered faintly, like stars breaking apart.
Ada sat at her bedside, her gloved hand resting gently atop Ginny's cold fingers. Beside them, the baby slept peacefully, wrapped in Fisher Tiger's spare cloak.
Outside, the crew lingered in silence — none daring to speak too loudly, as though sound itself could break her fragile hold on life.
Perona hovered near the door, whispering, "It's like she's already fading…"
Okiku, kneeling with folded hands, whispered a quiet prayer. "May Kami-sama, guide her gently."
Lilith adjusted a mechanical sensor near Ginny's bed. The readings flickered — heart rate erratic, temperature dropping. "She's stable… but only barely," she murmured. "If we don't find help soon, her organs will crystallize completely."
Ada didn't look up. "We will. One way or another."
Mihawk leaned against the wall, eyes half-lidded, voice low. "You sound like a woman making promises to death itself."
Ada's eyes glimmered in the lamplight. "Then death should learn to negotiate."
—————-
Hours later, a powerful sound echoed through the calm night — the crash of displaced waves.
Bullet frowned. "Something's coming. Fast."
Fisher Tiger turned to the sea. "That's no Marine ship."
A shadow loomed on the horizon — massive, deliberate, cutting through the ocean like a charging beast. Lightning flashed, and the outline became clear. A giant figure aboard a steel vessel, a black cloak whipping in the wind.
Enel's eyes widened slightly. "Well, I'll be damned. Speak of the devil himself…"
The Oro Jackson rocked gently as the other ship slowed beside them. Then a deep voice thundered across the sea.
"ADA!"
Ada stepped onto the deck, her cloak fluttering. "Kuma."
Moments later, Bartholomew Kuma leapt aboard, his enormous frame landing with a soft thud that shook the deck. His eyes immediately searched — and found the infirmary door.
Without a word, he moved past everyone.
Lilith stepped aside, whispering, "She's alive, but—"
Kuma didn't wait. He entered the infirmary, and when he saw Ginny lying there — fragile, shimmering, fading — the giant of a man dropped to his knees.
His enormous hands trembled as they hovered over her. "Ginny…"
Her eyes fluttered open. For a moment, confusion clouded them — then warmth. "Kumachi…?"
Tears spilled from his eyes before he could stop them. He took her small hand carefully in both of his. "You're safe now. I came as soon as I heard."
Ginny smiled weakly, her lips trembling. "You… always come for me…"
Ada stood quietly behind them, her eyes soft.
Kuma turned to her suddenly — and then, without a word, dropped to his knees.
The sound was thunderous. The floorboards groaned beneath his immense weight as the mighty "Tyrant" — the man who had faced fleets and toppled kings — bowed his head until it struck the wooden floor.
"Ada—please."
His voice cracked.
The crew froze where they stood. Even Bullet, who had mocked gods and kings alike, went utterly silent.
Mihawk's golden eyes flickered in disbelief. Never — not once — had he seen Bartholomew Kuma bow to anyone.
Kuma's massive hands clenched against the deck, trembling. His shoulders shook, and for the first time, the unbreakable man wept.
"Please…" His voice was a rasp now, raw and breaking apart. "Tell me there's a cure. Anything—anyone—who can save her."
Tears hit the deck in heavy drops, darkening the wood beneath him. "I'll give my life. My soul. My name. Anything."
He pressed his forehead harder against the floor, his voice trembling like thunder turned to pleading.
"Just… save hers."
Silence swallowed the ship.
Perona covered her mouth, her usual sarcasm gone. "He's… crying…"
Okiku lowered her gaze, eyes soft with pity. "Even the strongest hearts bleed when love is torn from them."
Fisher Tiger stepped back quietly, his expression grave. "A man willing to kneel for another's life… deserves to be answered."
Lilith's voice was steady, though softer than usual. "There's no known cure for Sapphire Scale Disease. The crystallization is irreversible once it spreads to the lungs. It's only a matter of—"
"—Don't," Ada interrupted quietly.
Lilith stopped.
Ada then walked forward, her heels echoing softly across the deck. She knelt beside Kuma, her hand resting on his trembling shoulder.
"Kuma," she said gently. "Raise your head."
He didn't.
"Please," she said again, softer this time. "You don't have to beg me."
Slowly, painfully, he lifted his head — and she saw the agony in his eyes. It wasn't rage or defeat. It was love, stripped bare.
Ada met that gaze with calm determination. "We'll find a way."
Kuma swallowed hard. "You mean—?"
Then, slowly, Ada stood up. "There might be a chance," she said. "A slim one."
Kuma's head snapped up, hope flooding his expression. "Tell me."
Ada stood and looked toward the distant horizon. "There's an island to the north — Drum Island. A winter kingdom with the finest doctors in the world. There's one among them, a woman they call the Number One Doctor. If anyone can stop this disease, it's her."
Fisher Tiger crossed his arms, frowning. "That's halfway across the Line. The currents are brutal this time of year."
Ada's gaze sharpened. "Then we'll break them."
Mihawk nodded slightly. "You intend to risk the ship and the crew on an uncertain cure."
Ada turned to him. "I intend to risk everything for family."
Kuma bowed his head again, tears splashing against the floorboards. "Thank you… thank you, Ada."
Ada shook her head, her tone firm but kind. "Don't thank me yet. Thank me when she's breathing again."
Okiku stepped forward, her tone gentle. "You shouldn't bow like that, Kuma-san."
Kuma looked up, his eyes glistening. "I have nothing else to offer her but my pride. If losing it means she lives, then it's worth nothing at all."
Hiyori bit her lip, eyes misting. "He really loves her…"
Bullet muttered under his breath, voice rough. "Hell, even I'd follow a man like that."
Tesoro crossed his arms, though his eyes softened. "Love makes fools of all of us… but damn if it doesn't make us stronger too."
Perona sniffled, glaring at him. "Shut up, golden idiot. You're crying too."
"I'm not crying—" Tesoro wiped his cheek hastily. "—It's condensation."
The crew couldn't help but smile faintly. Even in tragedy, they found a heartbeat of warmth.
Ada turned back to Lilith. "How long can you keep her stable?"
"Two, maybe three days," Lilith replied. "After that, her organs will harden completely."
Ada nodded. "Then we make it to Drum in two."
Enel grinned, lightning dancing across his shoulders. "Two days? That's easy. I'll power the damn sails myself if I have to."
Fisher Tiger took the helm. "Let's move, then. No storm can stop us."
Mihawk stepped forward, his calm voice steady. "I'll handle navigation. The seas around Drum are treacherous — frozen whirlpools, erratic magnetic waves."
Lilith activated her mechanical compass. "I'll map us the fastest route."
Bullet slammed his fist into his palm. "And I'll clear anything in our way."
Ada looked over her crew — her family — with quiet pride. "Good. Prepare for departure."
——————-
By dawn, the Oro Jackson was alive again.
Fisher Tiger's powerful hands gripped the wheel as the ship surged forward. Enel's lightning coursed through the masts, propelling them at impossible speed. Ice-cold air lashed their faces, but no one faltered.
Below deck, Kuma sat by Ginny's bedside. He held her hand gently, his massive frame hunched in impossible tenderness.
Ginny stirred faintly. "Kumachi… where are we?"
He smiled softly. "Somewhere safe. Captain Ada's taking us to a place with good doctors."
Ginny blinked slowly. "You… always believe the best in people."
Kuma's voice broke. "I believe in you."
Her hand squeezed his weakly. "Then I'll… try to believe too."
Ada watched from the doorway, silent. Her chest ached — a pain she hadn't felt since losing Roger. The same helplessness, the same quiet fury.
She turned away, walking up to the deck.
Mihawk glanced at her. "If we're lucky, we'll reach Drum in 36 hours."
Ada nodded. "We'll make it. We have to."
Lilith looked up from her instruments. "Captain, incoming cold front — barometric pressure dropping fast."
"Storm?"
"Worse," Lilith said grimly. "A blizzard."
Fisher Tiger grinned through the growing frost. "We'll carve through it."
Ada's voice rose, cutting through the howling wind. "All hands, brace for winter seas! No one leaves their post!"
The Oro Jackson thundered into the frozen storm. Ice formed along the masts, waves like walls crashing against its hull — but the ship held.
Enel roared with laughter, electricity illuminating the blizzard. "The gods themselves can't stop us now!"
Hiyori clung to Okiku as snow whipped around them. "He's insane."
Okiku smiled faintly. "But his madness fuels us all."
Ada stood at the prow, her cloak whipping violently in the wind. Her eyes burned through the storm — fixed on one distant light.
"Hold on, Ginny," she whispered. "We're almost there."
By the second night, the storm broke. The sky cleared to reveal the pale peaks of a snowbound kingdom — Drum Island.
Fisher Tiger shouted, "Land ahead!"
Ada's heart clenched in relief. "Prepare to dock! Move!"
Kuma carried Ginny in his arms, wrapped in blankets, the baby tucked safely against his chest.
Lilith and Perona ran ahead, preparing the medical sleds. Mihawk and Bullet cleared a path through the knee-deep snow.
As they reached the foot of the great mountain city, Ada looked up. "This is it. Drum Kingdom — the Island of Doctors."
Kuma's voice was low but filled with desperate hope. "Then please… save her."
Ada met his gaze, her voice steady. "We'll do everything we can."
And as they began their climb through the biting cold, Ginny's faint whisper reached them — soft, barely audible over the wind.
"Thank you… all of you…"
Her sapphire skin glimmered faintly under the snow — a dying light carried toward the last chance the world could offer.