Eclipse, Medical Section.
White light streamed from the ceiling panels, illuminating the massive dedicated treatment chamber.
Inside the transparent pod, Jewelry Bonney lay on a soft cushioned bed. The environmental simulator hummed a low, steady rhythm, regulating the air pressure, humidity, oxygen levels, and light intensity to absolute stability. Lines of vital signs pulsed steadily across the glass bulkhead.
Four months had passed since Bonney entered the chamber. The treatment schedule Vegapunk initially estimated at six months was now well into its second half.
"The spread of the Sapphire Scales has slowed."
Chopper stood before the main control console. He wore a custom-tailored white lab coat, his blue nose nearly pressed against the glowing screen. His small hooves rapidly jotted down notes on a clipboard.
"The lesion area has stopped expanding. Cell replacement remains stable. The rejection markers are significantly lower than last week."
Trafalgar Law stood nearby, his hands buried deep in his pockets, his spotted hat pulled low over his eyes. He said nothing, simply tracking the fluctuating data curves on the monitor.
As a surgeon, Law understood the gravity of the setup.
This was not conventional medicine. Cloning devices, Lineage Factor repair, stem cell replacement, atmospheric simulators, and microscopic monitoring of diseased tissue. These were concepts entirely beyond the grasp of standard physicians.
Yet, the one directing this entire medical operation aboard this pirate ship was a blue-nosed reindeer with a bounty of a flat one hundred Beli.
"Shurorororo." Caesar Clown floated near the ceiling, the gaseous hem of his coat drifting lazily. "Since the data is holding steady, we should pump up the concentration of the cell-activating gas. That would cut the remaining treatment time by at least half a month."
"Shut your mouth, you gaseous idiot." Dr. Indigo flipped through a stack of drug records on the steel table, letting out an exaggerated, grating laugh. "Fos fos fos! Your chemical mixing is as crude as a tavern drunk pouring ale. If the patient suffers a secondary rejection, will you take the blame?"
"Who are you calling crude, you afro-wearing hack!"
"I am talking to you, you horned balloon!"
The two scientists leaned in, ready to tear into each other again.
Smack.
Chopper slammed his hoof onto the steel console. The impact was not loud, but the sheer weight of his stare silenced Caesar and Indigo instantly.
"Bonney's condition is stabilizing, not cured." Chopper's chest heaved as he locked his gaze on the two men. "Medicine is not a race. It is not about who finishes fastest. It is about ensuring the patient can actually live a healthy life afterward."
Caesar clicked his tongue, crossing his arms. "Doctors are such a hassle."
Indigo did not argue. He leaned against the table, a strange smirk playing on his lips. "Fos fos fos. The little reindeer makes a fair point. Forcing rapid cell replacement turns the body into a poorly stitched doll. Perfect on the outside, riddled with microscopic cracks on the inside."
Law shifted his gaze toward Indigo. "That does not sound like a philosophy you would follow."
"Hey! I happen to be a genius pioneer in life enhancement!" Indigo hopped up and down, pointing a finger at his own chest.
A crisp, aged voice suddenly crackled through the earpiece on Chopper's head.
"Chopper, retrieve the third set of clone tissue adaptation data."
It was Vegapunk.
Operating right under the noses of the World Government, the brilliant scientist continued to guide the Eclipse research team remotely, his tone thoroughly relaxed.
Chopper immediately straightened his back. "Right away, Dr. Vegapunk."
His hooves danced across the keyboard, bringing up the requested panels.
Vegapunk's voice continued over the comms. "Lineage Factor repair is not merely swapping out damaged bricks in a wall. You must monitor whether the host body recognizes the new cells as its own. If the immune system identifies the replacement tissue as a foreign invader, even a flawless cellular graft will trigger a complete biological collapse."
Chopper nodded, his pen scratching furiously against his clipboard.
Law remained rooted to his spot, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He grasped the anatomical mechanics effortlessly. Thanks to the Ope Ope no Mi, his comprehension of blood vessels, organs, nerves, and tissue structures surpassed nearly every doctor alive. But Vegapunk was discussing something deeper. He was dissecting the very definition of a living body down to its most fundamental building blocks.
Chopper absorbed every word. He did not just record the conclusions. He actively cross-referenced Vegapunk's lecture with his own vast reservoir of medical knowledge.
"So, we cannot judge the success of cell replacement just by the disappearance of the lesions," Chopper murmured, staring at the screen. "We have to observe how seamlessly the new tissue integrates into Bonney's original biology."
He suddenly spun around and trotted over to a nearby bookshelf, pulling down a thick stack of ancient, leather-bound books. The covers were yellowed, the corners chewed by insects, but Chopper had meticulously repaired, numbered, and cataloged every single volume.
Law glanced at the faded text on the top cover. These were not modern medical journals. They resembled pharmacological grimoires from a lost civilization.
"What are those?" Law asked.
"Ancient medical texts from the Torino Kingdom," Chopper replied, carefully opening the top volume. "When Ace took me there, I brought back every medical book we could carry from their grand library."
His eyes practically sparkled in the clinical light.
"These pages hold incredible records of ancient pharmacology, animal metamorphosis, physical enhancement, and drug adaptation. The terminology is completely different from modern medicine, but their foundational ideas are absolutely brilliant."
Caesar let out a mocking snort. "Ancient medicine? What could a bunch of primitive fossils without a single incubation chamber possibly understand about Lineage Factors?"
Before Chopper could retort, Indigo started laughing again. "Fos fos fos! You really are a tasteless gasbag, Caesar. The ancients lacked our machinery, but their methods of observing biological evolution were far from backward."
Caesar's eye twitched. "Whose side are you on?"
"I am on the side of intellect." Indigo smugly tossed a glass vial into the air and caught it.
Chopper ignored the bickering scientists. He spread the heavy book open on the table and pushed it toward Law. "Look at this."
Law leaned in.
The yellowed pages displayed detailed anatomical illustrations of an unknown beast's skeletal structure, surrounded by dense notes tracking physical mutations triggered by specific plant extracts. The writing style was archaic, reading almost like a sacrificial chant.
Law's eyes widened a fraction of an inch as he scanned the diagrams. "This is..."
"Controlled mutation paths." Chopper nodded firmly. "Exactly. They did not use the term 'Lineage Factor', but they spent centuries studying how animal bodies morph and adapt under pharmacological stress. If we synthesize their ancient methods with Dr. Vegapunk's modern Lineage Factor theories..."
Chopper clutched the book to his chest, his breathing quickening. "I can likely upgrade the Rumble Ball even further."
Caesar raised a skeptical brow. "You really think you can fuse primitive scribbles with cutting-edge Lineage Factor science?"
"It is not about fusing them," Chopper stated, his tone dead serious. "These books are not outdated. They simply observe the body through a different lens."
He looked down at the faded parchment, then shifted his gaze to Bonney sleeping peacefully inside the pod.
"If we integrate this knowledge with our current technology, it will not just help Bonney. I will be able to help everyone push their physical limits safely."
Law stared at the small reindeer in silence.
This was the same creature who would melt into a puddle of blushing giggles at a single compliment, and the same one who would roll on the deck in a fit of rage over his pathetic bounty poster. Yet, the moment he stood before an operating table, his entire demeanor shifted. His eyes were entirely unyielding. This was a true doctor, fully committed to pulling his patients back from the brink of death.
Law finally looked away, raising a finger to point at a localized lesion diagram on the monitor. "Right here."
Chopper looked up.
Law kept his tone perfectly even. "If I use my ROOM to conduct a precise excision of that specific tissue, we can bypass the final two months of the treatment plan entirely."
Chopper's ears stood straight up. "You want to surgically strip the diseased tissue away?"
"It is not a crude stripping," Law corrected, his brow furrowing. "It is a microscopic excision. Using a ROOM allows me to separate the rot while ensuring zero collateral damage to the surrounding healthy cells."
Caesar clapped his gaseous hands together. "Shurorororo! A flawless shortcut! Just cut the bad parts out and be done with it."
"No."
Chopper cut him off instantly.
The medical bay fell completely silent.
Law lowered his hand, turning his full attention to Chopper.
Chopper stepped directly in front of the main console. He planted his hooves firmly on the floor, positioning his small body like a shield between Trafalgar Law and the treatment pod.
"No," Chopper repeated, his voice dropping an octave. "Bonney is a patient. She is not a test subject."
Law's expression hardened. "I do not treat my patients as test subjects."
"Then we cannot take unnecessary risks." Chopper maintained absolute eye contact. "Healing is not just about cutting out the bad parts and calling it a success. Her body just stabilized. The new tissues are still learning how to survive inside her. If you force a rapid excision now, even a perfect surgical cut could shock her system into a massive secondary rejection."
Chopper took a deep breath.
"Our goal is not to save time. Our goal is to make sure Bonney can walk out of that pod and live a long, healthy life."
Law stood completely still.
He did not offer an apology. He did not attempt a rebuttal. He knew Chopper was right.
As the Surgeon of Death, Law had a hundred different ways to carve a disease out of a human body. But Bonney's condition was not merely a superficial spread of Sapphire Scales. Her entire biological foundation was currently being deconstructed and rebuilt from the ground up. Taking a shortcut now would only push her closer to the edge of a cliff.
Law slowly pulled his hand back, sliding it deep into his pocket.
"Then we proceed with your original timeline."
Chopper blinked, then gave a firm, heavy nod.
Caesar rolled his eyes, throwing his arms up in exasperation. "How utterly boring. Doctors and their pathetic need to play it safe."
Indigo flashed a highly punchable grin. "Fos fos fos. And that is exactly why you will always be a second-rate gasbag, Caesar."
"You want to go, you oversized Q-tip?!"
The two scientists immediately descended back into a shouting match.
Near the sliding doors, Bepo peeked his head into the room. Having watched his captain back down after a lecture from the small reindeer, he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "My apologies. It looks like Captain got scolded by Dr. Chopper again."
Law slowly turned his head, leveling a freezing glare at the mink.
Bepo froze solid. "I am sorry! I didn't say anything!"
Chopper's cheeks suddenly flushed bright pink. His body began to wiggle and squirm as he rubbed the back of his head. "Shut up, Tra-guy. Even if you listen to my medical advice, it doesn't make me happy, you bastard."
Law kept his face completely blank. "I did not compliment you."
Chopper froze mid-wiggle, his jaw dropping open in shock.
Chaos resumed in the medical bay. Caesar and Indigo shouted over each other, Bepo bowed repeatedly in apology, and Chopper furiously clutched his clipboard while glaring at Law.
Through it all, the environmental pod hummed quietly, keeping Bonney in a state of absolute peace.
Standing completely still beside the pod, Bartholomew Kuma ignored the noise. The massive man looked down at the blue-nosed reindeer, then shifted his gaze toward Law.
"Thank you," Kuma rumbled, his voice incredibly soft.
The shouting in the room ceased for a brief second.
Chopper scratched his cheek, pulling his focus back to the readouts. "Save your thanks for the end."
He looked through the glass at Bonney, his eyes settling back into that fierce, unyielding focus.
"Two more months. I promise I will cure her."