The Divine Physician was slightly stunned.
He seemed shocked by Ace's sudden outburst.
He opened his mouth, just as he was about to say something about the cycle of the heavens.
He was crudely interrupted by Ace.
"I don't believe in fate."
Ace pointed his finger at the azure sky above.
His voice was forceful and resonant.
Every word carried weight.
"If the heavens insist on your death, then I'll punch a hole in the sky!"
"If it's because that medicine can't be found, then I'll turn this entire ocean upside down!"
Ace reached out his hand again.
This time, dancing flames coiled around his hand.
That was his determination. And his promise.
"Come aboard, Divine Physician!"
"Not to make you some ship doctor, but to let you live!"
"The Spade Pirates have never believed in any of that bullshit destiny!"
"Since there are only six years left, then we'll use these six years to create a miracle!"
"Even if I have to snatch you, I'll snatch you back from the hands of the Shinigami!"
Silence.
A deathly silence.
Everyone was stunned by Ace's heroic words.
Musk's mouth hung wide open.
Tears flowed uncontrollably down his face.
He suddenly understood why he was willing to follow this hot-headed captain so devotedly.
Within this man, there was a magic that made people willing to go through fire and water for him.
It was the light known as "freedom."
The Divine Physician looked at the hand burning with flames before him.
Feeling the heat wave hitting his face, his heart, which had been silent for a long time, seemed to throb violently along with it.
Although this was all a script, he had to admit—Portgas D. Ace's charisma was indeed ridiculously strong.
Mordred was ecstatic inside.
But on the surface, the Divine Physician only lowered his eyes slightly, hiding the flash of emotion in the depths of his eyes.
After a long while, he reached out his somewhat pale hand and grasped Ace's burning palm.
He didn't speak; he just nodded gently.
The corners of his mouth curled into a smile of relief.
In that instant, it was as if the ice and snow had melted, and all things were being revived.
"Whoa!"
"Awesome!"
"We have a divine doctor now!"
"To celebrate our new partner joining, let's have a banquet!"
The surrounding pirates instantly erupted.
Cheers echoed through the clouds.
Only Musk squatted in a corner, drawing circles.
"It's over... now I've completely become a male nurse... my career..."
Meanwhile, Bruce Banner, who had been standing aside as background scenery, was rubbing his hands somewhat awkwardly.
He looked at the cheering crowd, then at the expressionless mechanical bodyguard, the T-800.
He weakly raised his hand.
"Um... excuse me."
"The atmosphere is great and all, but..."
Banner pointed at the pirate ship beneath their feet, which was about to fall apart.
Then he pointed at the surface of the sea not far away, where the main ship had a huge hole smashed into it because of Hulk's transformation earlier.
He said with an innocent face, "Shouldn't we first consider how to compensate me for my clinic? And... this ship seems to be sinking?"
Gack—
The cheering stopped abruptly.
Ace's smile froze on his face.
He turned his head mechanically, looking at the Spade, which was gurgling bubbles.
He looked at the keel that had completely snapped because of Hulk's kick.
His face turned pale instantly.
"Aaaaaah!"
"My ship!"
"Quick! Repair the ship!"
"Musk! Stop crying! Go get some wooden planks!"
"You there! Go plug the leaks!"
"Help! We're sinking!"
The originally hot-blooded and touching scene instantly collapsed, turning into a chaotic disaster site.
The Divine Physician stood in the chaotic crowd, watching Ace frantically directing the disaster relief.
Then he glanced at the T-800, who was trying to snap the broken keel back into place with brute force, and Banner on the side, muttering "you must pay me back."
He shook his head helplessly.
Can these people... really help him find the Elixir of Life?
Or rather, following this bunch of idiots, can he really survive these six years?
However, looking at the shimmering sea in the distance, the Divine Physician—or rather, Mordred—had a sharp glint flash in his eyes.
Since he had boarded the ship, the upcoming script would be even more exciting.
After all, what he wanted to harvest was not just the astonishment value from these few pirates, but the entire New World!
"Hey! You, the new male nurse!" Ace shouted loudly while drying the wooden planks with his flames.
"Don't just stand there! Come help pass the nails!"
A vein throbbed on the Divine Physician's temple.
Male nurse? Is he calling me?
Very well, Ace. You've just narrowed your path.
Next time you're injured, if I don't prescribe you two pounds of Coptis, you won't know what a healer's benevolence truly means!
Meanwhile, thousands of nautical miles away, a giant hemispherical device stood quietly among the jagged rocks.
The device was a high-tech silver-white, shimmering with blue light, looking completely out of place in the primitive and desolate surroundings.
It was the Gravity Training Room (Portable Capsule Version) that Mordred had drawn from the lottery earlier.
At this moment, inside the training room, red warning lights were flashing frantically.
An electronic voice broadcasted danger alerts over and over.
"Warning! Warning! Current gravity multiplier: 50x!"
Boom!
In the center of the training room, a young man with a bare upper body was supporting himself with one hand on the ground.
Sweat poured off him like a rainstorm. Before it could hit the ground, it was crushed into mist by the terrifying gravity.
It was Mordred's original body.
Under fifty times gravity—enough to instantly crush an ordinary person into pulp—every muscle on Mordred's body was trembling violently.
Veins bulged like coiled dragons, writhing frantically under his skin.
His bones made a tooth-aching "creak" sound, as if they could snap at any moment.
But his eyes were frighteningly bright.
"Huff... huff..."
Mordred panted heavily. His lungs heaved violently like a bellows.
Every breath felt like swallowing red-hot blades.
"Ten times... is still not enough!"
Mordred gritted his teeth fiercely. A ruthless look flashed in his eyes.
"System! Bump it up to twenty times!"
Buzz—!
As the command was issued, the air in the training room suddenly grew heavy.
As if an invisible mountain had slammed onto Mordred's back.
Crack!
The special alloy floor beneath his feet instantly cracked into fine lines.
Mordred's body sank abruptly. He almost fell flat on the ground.
Fine beads of blood even seeped out of his skin—the result of capillaries bursting under the pressure.
Pain! A pain that pierced to the marrow!
Every cell in his body was wailing!
But Mordred grinned, revealing a set of pearly white teeth. His smile was somewhat ferocious.
"Refreshing!" he growled.
Pushing against that terrifying pressure, he slowly, bit by bit, propped up his body.
Right now, even without relying on those fancy character cards, just based on his original strength, he was strong enough to establish a foothold in the New World!
"Beep! Training ended. Body repair in progress..."
The nozzle at the top of the training room opened. A pale green repair fluid sprayed down.
The wounds on Mordred's body healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
That tingling sensation made him groan in comfort.
Taking advantage of the break, with a thought, Mordred opened the system's virtual panel.
He saw the astonishment value column. The numbers were jumping frantically.
+99! +66! +88!
The balance that had hit rock bottom had actually climbed back to over thirty thousand!
And it was still skyrocketing at an alarming rate!
"Tsk tsk tsk. This kid Ace is really a great guy."
Mordred looked at the long list of contributions from "Portgas D. Ace" in the background.