The woman collapsed for the second time, falling into unconsciousness.
Law had just scanned her condition using the domain of his Op-Op Fruit. He wasn't particularly surprised.
He glanced back at Lafitte's side of the situation.
Under the effect of Lafitte's hypnotic abilities, the once-frenzied villagers now stood frozen in place, as if possessed, unmoving.
"Such a convenient ability…"
Law silently mused at the sight.
Maude stepped forward a few paces, stopping by the unconscious woman.
"Law, treat her first."
"I can, but I'll need a room," Law replied, his gaze shifting past the immobilized villagers to the village at the end of the road.
The sun had set, and the last rays of twilight gradually faded before their eyes.
No moon, no stars.
It was as if the world had been cloaked in a drawn curtain, plunging it into sudden darkness.
Under the veil of night, the distant village's silhouette exuded an eerie atmosphere, like a place shrouded in death. Only the torches in the villagers' hands brought some warmth to this transition from day to night.
"Let's head straight to the village, then," Maude said, glancing at the hypnotized villagers.
With Lafitte's abilities in play, there was no longer any issue of cooperation or resistance.
No one objected as they moved past the entranced villagers.
By the torchlight, they could see patches of green spots on some of the villagers' faces or arms.
These green patches were symptoms of an infection.
Even so, the villagers had gathered in a mob, shouting to burn what they deemed an "ill omen."
Maude shook his head slightly.
Such ignorance…
Soon, they reached the village entrance.
Though they'd only walked a short distance, many areas within the village were already lit up, dispelling the earlier lifeless gloom.
Maude showed no intention of greeting anyone. He picked a random clay-tiled house and pushed the door open.
The house was unoccupied. Though spacious, it was sparsely furnished and appeared dilapidated.
Bailey scurried into the house and rummaged around for a while, eventually finding a few candles in a drawer.
After lighting all the candles, the room was illuminated by their glow.
Maude surveyed his surroundings.
The furniture against the walls, as well as the central table in the main hall, were covered in a thick layer of black dust.
This house had clearly been uninhabited for a long time.
"Law, your Op-Op Fruit abilities should be able to handle cleaning, right?"
The dust was overwhelming, prompting Maude to glance at Law, who was placing the unconscious woman onto a bed.
Hearing Maude's words, Law raised an eyebrow, looking incredulous.
"What, can't do it?"
Judging by Law's expression, Maude assumed that Law's mastery over his ability wasn't refined enough to handle such a task.
Law remained silent for a moment. He had no desire to use his Op-Op Fruit powers to clean a house.
But if he said he couldn't, he could already imagine the sort of remarks Maude would make.
His pride, battered by Maude on countless occasions, managed to hold firm for now.
Law gritted his teeth and replied, "I can."
"Great."
Maude smiled faintly.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Law activated the domain of his Op-Op Fruit. The dust on the floor and furniture coalesced into a single mass before being expelled from the house.
"Impressive!"
Maude gave Law a thumbs-up, his praise unreserved.
"What a practical ability."
Once again witnessing the Op-Op Fruit's remarkable precision and control, Gaya couldn't help but feel envious.
Following Maude's lead, the group regarded Law with admiring eyes.
However, Law found no joy in their praise. Letting out a silent sigh, he handed Kikoku to Bepo before walking over to the bedside, where the unconscious woman lay.
"I'm about to start the operation."
"Oh, we'll just step back a bit," Maude said, taking two steps back.
Lafitte and Gaya followed suit.
They watched with keen interest, waiting for Law to begin.
"…"
Law didn't start immediately. Instead, he lowered his eyelids and said wearily, "I've mentioned before that I don't like having others around during surgery."
"Law, you actually…" Maude began in a tone of mock surprise.
"Hmm?" Law raised an eyebrow, confused by Maude's reaction.
Maude sighed dramatically. "You actually consider us outsiders. How disappointing."
Law instinctively tried to explain. "That's not what I meant."
"Good to hear," Maude replied with a faint smile, gesturing for Law to proceed.
"…"
Resigned, Law sighed inwardly.
"Room."
With a soft utterance, a hemispherical space materialized, encompassing the unconscious woman.
Law raised a finger, and an invisible force lifted her body into the air.
"Scalpel."
With a wave of his hand, Law used his finger like a surgical blade, seamlessly "slicing" the woman's body into precise segments.
To those unfamiliar with the Op-Op Fruit's capabilities, such a macabre sight could hardly be recognized as advanced surgery.
"Consider yourselves lucky. This virus doesn't attack the heart…" Law murmured as he worked, skillfully removing the virus embedded in the woman's tissues.
The Op-Op Fruit's power ensured there was no pain during the procedure—unless it involved the heart, which would trigger intense pain.
Had the virus infected her heart, a patient with low endurance might have died from the sheer agony of the procedure.
Law methodically removed the bulk of the virus before lifting the woman's hat and unmasking her face.
Beneath the hat and mask was a young woman with delicate features, framed by white hair. Her complexion was pale, her eyes closed in unconsciousness.
Without paying much attention to her appearance, Law used his ability to erase the green patches on her face—the final step of the treatment.
Once done, he reassembled her body seamlessly.
The surgery took about half an hour, leaving Law slightly winded. It was his first time using his abilities to treat this particular virus, so the process was less efficient and consumed more energy than it should have. With practice, he estimated he could reduce the time to fifteen minutes and conserve his stamina.
Still, Law's stamina often lagged behind the precision and demands of his Op-Op Fruit abilities.
Having observed the entire procedure, Maude's eyes gleamed with intrigue. Witnessing the Op-Op Fruit's potential firsthand heightened his expectations for Law's growth and reinforced his confidence in their plans.
When the surgery ended, the results were clear.
The woman stirred, her eyelids fluttering open.
Everyone turned to look at her.
The room fell silent.
Dazed, the woman met the gazes of Maude and the others.
For a moment, they simply stared at one another.
Then, her face slowly turned red. She lowered her head, her voice barely audible as she murmured something under her breath.
"M-my 'Crow Mask'?"
"Huh?"
Maude was momentarily taken aback as he looked at the shy, head-lowered woman.
Was this really the same chatterbox from before?
"What's your name?" Maude asked as he picked up the crow mask that Law had casually tossed aside earlier.
The female doctor stammered, "Ma-Maria Parisi-Crito-Riz-Blas-Sk…"
"Stop!"
That name is way too long!
Maude's scalp tingled as he quickly rephrased his question.
"How should we address you?"
"Just call me Philo," she replied timidly.
"Philo, huh? The 'Crow Mask' you mentioned, is it this mask?" Maude asked, holding up the mask.
Philo nodded lightly.
Maude handed the crow mask to Philo.
She took it and slowly put it on.
One second passed.
Suddenly, Philo stood up, her gaze sharp as she fixed her eyes on Maude and his crew.
"Who are you people? What do you want?"
"Huh? My body?"
"It's healed…?"
"What did you do to me? Who healed me?"
Wearing the crow mask, Philo was like a different person. Gone was her previous shyness, replaced by a rapid-fire barrage of questions, her speech as quick as a machine gun.
Once again, Maude's group exchanged bewildered glances.
This Philo… was quite peculiar.
Bailey, his eyes gleaming with mischief, took a few quick steps on his short legs and leapt toward Philo.
He wanted to remove the crow mask to see what interesting change might occur.
Philo's eyes, now devoid of shyness, suddenly turned sharp. She glanced at Bailey out of the corner of her eye and struck at him with her right hand in an awkward stance.
If Bailey didn't dodge, the back of her hand would collide with his cheek.
"Huh, this woman…" Bailey muttered in surprise.
He had assumed she was just a weakling, but she actually had some skill.
With a kick of his small legs mid-air, accompanied by the sound of an air burst, Bailey shifted sideways in the air.
Philo's strike missed. She stared in astonishment at Bailey, who had used Moonwalk to evade her.
Unable to land her hit, she could only watch as Bailey darted toward her. With a sly grin, Bailey reached out and snatched the crow mask off her face, then jumped back to observe Philo curiously.
"Eh?"
The aura Philo exuded as she raised her hand dissipated like melting snow in spring as soon as the crow mask was removed.
"S-sorry!"
Philo crouched down abruptly, covering her face with both hands. Even though her expression couldn't be seen, her timid tone conveyed a strong sense of apology.
Just wearing the crow mask gave Philo a completely different personality.
"Boss, this woman is fascinating," Bailey said, holding the crow mask as he leapt onto Maude's shoulder.
Maude didn't respond, instead taking the mask from Bailey and giving Philo a curious look.
Lafitte and Gaya studied the female doctor with interest.
When she wore the crow mask, her personality became extroverted, even chatty. But without it, she was extremely introverted, stuttering over her words.
Feeling the weight of everyone's gaze, the maskless Philo buried her head in her knees like an ostrich.
While Maude's group scrutinized her, Law showed no interest in the woman. Instead, he examined the spacious house, considering it as a potential place to rest for the night.
After a brief silence, Philo mustered her courage to face their gazes. She needed to clarify something about the plague.
"Was it you… who healed me?" she asked.
"Technically, it was him," Maude replied, pointing to Law, who was still surveying the house.
Following Maude's gesture, Philo cautiously stood and addressed Law. "Sir, how did you do it?"
After a brief pause, she continued, "I… I've been experimenting with various medicines for some time, but no matter how I adjusted the formulas, I could only suppress the virus, never eradicate it."
Law, his face impassive, said, "I have no obligation to explain it to you. Besides, from now on, I'll be handling this plague on Lorre Island."
The implication was clear: her help was no longer needed.
"I want to know!" Philo pleaded, taking a step forward. Her hopeful gaze locked onto Law's deep blue eyes.
Law remained unmoved, coldly replying, "Woman, I've made myself clear. If you're smart, you'll leave."
His indifferent and hostile tone made the shy Philo bite her lip, her eyes welling up with tears.
"What a jerk," Bailey muttered softly.
Hearing this, Law's brow darkened slightly.
Maude ruffled Bailey's head. "How could you say that about Law?"
"Boss, I didn't name names," Bailey replied pitifully.
This brat… digging holes for me to fall into.
Maude's hand pressed harder on Bailey's head, making him wince in pain.
"If Big Sis were here, she'd probably call him a perverted jerk too," Bailey added cheekily.
"…"
Maude's mind briefly flashed to Sunny's image, and he couldn't help but smile.
Law glanced at the bantering Maude and Bailey, adjusting the brim of his fur-lined hat. What else could he do but feel exasperated?
Philo's crow mask would only provoke hostility from the villagers. Even with Lafitte's hypnotic abilities, dealing with an entire village would be too much trouble. Law's solution was simple: let the healed Philo leave and avoid unnecessary complications.
Lafitte seemed to catch onto Law's thoughts and gave him a knowing look. At that moment, Law happened to think of Lafitte's abilities and glanced back at him.
Their eyes met by coincidence.
In truth, Lafitte shared Law's opinion. Since the villagers hated crows and Philo was already cured, there was no reason for her to stay.
However…
Lafitte thought of Maude's fondness for crows and couldn't help but smile wryly. His expression seemed to say: "Give up. With that crow mask, there's no way Maude would drive her away."
Recalling how Maude had saved not just the crow mask but also Philo from the villagers, Law sighed inwardly. What kind of partner have I gotten myself involved with?
The night deepened, and the sea was calm.
A Marine warship approached the waters near Lorre Island.
On the deck, Marines worked together to unload crates of supplies from the ship's hold.
A young Marine, wearing a coat and bearing a cross-shaped scar over his right eye, supervised his subordinates as they carried the crates to the deck.
"Commodore Servis, the aid supplies for Lorre Island are almost all here," a staff officer reported.
"Good work."
The young Commodore named Servis nodded slightly, his gaze shifting toward the island of Lorre ahead.
The impoverished small nation on the island was not a member of the World Government.
In terms of strict jurisdiction, the Navy, as an arm of the World Government, was not obligated to aid this nation.
However, to Servis, helping those in need was his sense of justice.
Thus, upon learning of Lorre Island's plight, he made a special trip each month to deliver critical supplies to the residents suffering from a rampant plague.
Servis stared at the silhouette of Lorre Island under the night sky and murmured, "I wonder how Maria. Parisi. Crito. Riz…"
"Commodore Servis, there's no need to call Dr. Philo by her full name," his adjutant interrupted in time, stopping Servis from reciting the doctor's lengthy name.
"Alright, then. I wonder how Dr. Philo is doing," Servis said, nodding, a trace of concern flickering in his eyes as he looked toward the island.
The adjutant replied earnestly, "Dr. Philo will definitely be fine. She—"
"Something's wrong!"
Suddenly, a panicked voice came from the lookout post above.
Servis and his adjutant's expressions changed instantly as they reflexively looked up toward the lookout.
A Marine responsible for reconnaissance leaned out from the post, his face filled with terror.
"Commodore Servis, a ship belonging to the Maude Pirates has been spotted at the base of the cliffs on the western side of Lorre Island!"
"What?!"
Servis, along with the numerous Marines on deck, reacted with visible shock.
The Maude Pirates—a recent hot topic of discussion—
Why are they here on Lorre Island?
This island isn't even on the Leviathan Island route!
-------
Want to read waaaay ahead of schedule?
Join here: patreon.com / emperorgarus
There are more than 200 advance chapters available for you!