~ Support & Read 13 Advanced Chapters on Patreon!
❁❁❁❁
Dr. Kureha's speed was inhuman.
The moment she had carved away the last of the dead flesh from Arthur's body, her hands flew across a control panel at the side of the operating table.
A transparent glass coffin rose and enveloped him, sealing him off from the world. One by one, plastic tubes connected to the coffin, and a viscous, medicinal liquid instantly flooded the chamber.
—————
Arthur felt the same powerlessness he'd felt when they had first put Sea-Prism Stone cuffs on him. He didn't have the strength to even twitch a finger.
He simply floated, suspended in the strange fluid.
Gradually, the searing pain in his chest began to subside. As the recovery liquid seeped into his wound, the agony was replaced by a cool, spreading sensation.
He did not pass out. He could clearly feel his own healing abilities, stimulated by the liquid, accelerating to an astonishing degree. Arcs of electricity flickered over the wound and, spurred by the constant stimulus of the medicine, new bone and muscle began to grow, bit by agonizing bit.
At this rate, the terrifying, chest-piercing wound would be completely healed in a matter of days. He would return to his peak state.
The medical science of the Drum Kingdom… just how far has it advanced?
Arthur wondered, his eyes wide open in the liquid, an oxygen mask over his face.
The sea was full of so many miracles, unfolding at every moment in every corner of the world. Unless you experienced them for yourself, you could never truly understand how awe-inspiring they were.
'Combined with my own abilities… I'll be back to where I was three years ago, and soon,' he thought, a thrill of excitement running through him.
He closed his eyes, quietly awaiting the moment of his rebirth.
————————————
"Hah."
Kureha put down her scalpel, let out a long, tired breath, and wiped the sweat from her brow.
"Success," she said, glancing at Arthur's submerged form.
"We'll continue with the next surgery after you've recovered. I need to prepare."
With that, she walked out of the room to find some wine in the kitchen.
This medicinal liquid—it was a formula she had spent decades perfecting. It didn't just heal wounds, it could even cure terminal illnesses. Combined with Arthur's own monstrous constitution, a simple wound like this was nothing to worry about.
————————————
Three days crawled by like years.
The snow-capped castle, in the underground operating room.
"KRAK—KRAKK!!"
"SHATTER!!"
"ZZZZZZZZZZZZT!"
The sound of shattering glass ripped through the silence, as if some untamable beast had broken free from its cage. A powerful wave of Conqueror's Haki swept out, accompanied by the sound of a billion birds screeching. The dim basement was instantly flooded with a blinding, purple light.
"HAH-HAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Arthur's wild, unrestrained laughter echoed.
BOOOOOOOM!!
He burst violently through the ceiling of the basement, his elemental body a streak of pure lightning that shot into the sky before reforming into its original shape.
Arthur stood in the air, his body wreathed in thunder, his long, wild hair whipping in the wind.
No restrictions. The ability to use his power without restraint. To him, that feeling was freedom itself.
Though he had only just recovered, and his strength had not yet returned to its absolute peak, he knew that once this brief period of weakness passed, he would once again become the "Thunder Emperor" who struck terror into the seas.
The feeling now—it was like being freed from a cage. A profound, inexplicable sense of release.
"This feeling… it's magnificent," Arthur said, closing his eyes, reveling in the sensation of a healthy body.
After a long while, he slowly descended from the sky, returned to the basement, and put his Pure Gold storage bracelet back on.
"Captain. Any problems?" Shiryu asked, approaching from the distance, a cigarillo clenched between his teeth. There was even a rare hint of a smile on his face.
"You've worked hard these past three years, Shiryu," Arthur said with a nod.
In those three years, while he had been unable to act, it was Shiryu who had handled all matters, big and small, for the Thunder God Pirates. All those who had coveted their territory had been slaughtered without exception. And in doing so, Shiryu had earned the reputation of "the most bloodthirsty man on the seas."
At the same time, Arthur felt a sense of gratitude that he had been able to subdue a man like this, a man who could truly be his right-hand.
"You'll have plenty of time to catch up later,"
Kureha cut in, her voice dripping with impatience. "Let's get on with the 'atypical body' surgery. Once it's done, I want you to get the hell out of the Drum Kingdom immediately. I don't want to see either of you for the rest of my life."
"Oh?" Arthur turned his head. "We're not going to discuss the matter of payment?"
He was in an excellent mood. He didn't mind offering her some benefits.
"What could the Thunder God Pirates possibly offer me?" Kureha sneered. "The two of you leaving my kingdom forever—that is the best payment I could ask for. Now, let's begin."
"Whether you agree or not," Arthur said, his tone leaving no room for refusal, "I rarely make promises. And I always repay my debts."
The two of them, one in front of the other, once again descended into the basement.
The first operating room was a complete wreck, destroyed by Arthur's jubilant breakout. Kureha led him to another.
This new operating room was a world apart from the first. It was filled with a sense of futuristic technology, as if Arthur had stepped into Vegapunk's personal research laboratory.
Everywhere he looked, there were instruments he couldn't comprehend, their design completely alien to the modern era.
Could it be… that the medical arts of the Drum Kingdom were not developed by them, but inherited from somewhere else? The question arose in his mind.
It was the same question he had once asked Vegapunk.
But whether it was modern or ancient, he didn't care. All that mattered was that the "atypical body" surgery was a success, that his plan could be realized.
————————————
"Lie down."
Kureha pointed to a brand-new operating table in the center of the room, surrounded by countless small, mechanical arms.
"Alright," Arthur nodded and compliantly lay down.
"I'll ask you again. Are you sure you don't need anesthesia?" Kureha grinned, a wicked, unsettling expression, like an old witch about to cast a terrible spell.
"What do you mean?" Arthur frowned, suddenly feeling like a guinea pig.
"I mean, this time... things might happen that you find… unacceptable."
"Don't be ridiculous. My very existence in this world is the most bizarre event imaginable. There is absolutely nothing that could happen that I would find unacceptable," Arthur said, his calm, composed demeanor returning.
Perhaps many things could surprise him, excite him, or confuse him. But he knew his will was as hard as iron. He wouldn't flinch even if the Red Line crumbled before his eyes. He would not lose his composure.
He had come to the Drum Kingdom fully prepared for failure. In his mind, there were only two outcomes: success or failure.
At worst, he would leave his life here. There could be no worse consequence than that.
And if you weren't afraid of death, what was there left to be afraid of?
"If you're not afraid, then let's begin," Kureha said. She pulled on a pair of white gloves, and her entire demeanor changed, becoming deadly serious.
Her speed suddenly increased. She swiftly secured Arthur's body, grabbed a scalpel, and with a single, brutal motion, sliced him open—a long, deep cut from his newly healed chest all the way down to his stomach.
She had laid him wide open.
❁❁❁❁
~ 13 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)