Dr. Kureha had arrived.
The slender, white-haired woman stepped off the cable car, dressed in a matching set of purplish-blue denim pants and jacket, with only a thin white T-shirt underneath. She wore a pale yellow pair of small sunglasses pushed up onto her forehead.
At a glance, she looked nothing like a 117-year-old woman. If anything, she seemed more like a rough-edged, middle-aged punk—her aura was full of unruly defiance.
"Phew—haven't been here in years."
Kureha looked up at the magnificent snow-white castle in front of her, a roguish smile spreading across her face.
"This way, please. His Majesty the King, Minister Marvany from the World Government, and Vice Admiral Kuzan of the Navy Headquarters are waiting inside."
The official who had greeted her respectfully raised a hand to gesture toward the castle gates.
"Let's go, then!"
On the way over, Kureha had already been briefed about the 'Medical Development Cooperation Nation' and the establishment of the Drum Island Medical Academy. Otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered coming—even a king's invitation wouldn't have been enough.
As soon as she stepped into the reception hall, a wave of warmth hit her. Though the climate of the Drum Kingdom was frigid, the royal family certainly didn't deny themselves comfort.
"Dr. Kureha has arrived!"
King Arnold, seated on the throne, secretly sighed in relief. To be honest, he wasn't sure she would actually come. After all, this over-a-century-old physician was a rather unique figure in the country.
Kureha came to a stop roughly five meters in front of Minister Marvany.
"Yeah, I'm here. You're the Minister of Administrative Affairs, right? Go ahead and tell me about the medical academy. If this old lady isn't satisfied, I'll turn right around and go buy some booze."
She was completely blunt, but Minister Marvany didn't mind at all. After so many years in a senior World Government position, he had mastered the art of keeping his composure.
In fact, he wasn't keen on lingering in this cold kingdom either, so he actually appreciated her direct and efficient personality.
"Here's the situation."
Without a trace of impatience, Minister Marvany repeated everything he had previously told King Arnold—this time, in even greater detail.
After listening, Kureha fell silent. To be honest, she was tempted.
Throughout her life, she had been obsessed with only two things: drinking and medicine. Especially the latter—she had devoted her entire existence to it.
From ancient pathogens to modern diseases, she dared to claim she had at least a passing understanding of them all. Her surgical skills were nothing short of divine, unmatched in the entire field of Drum Kingdom medicine. She also had a habit of collecting obscure drugs, all stored in a secret base.
Minister Marvany had just said that the medical academy would become the highest-level medical research institution under the World Government—dedicated to cataloging and researching all known and unknown medicines, diseases, and medical techniques across the world.
If that was true, wouldn't it be a paradise for someone like her?
As for creating a ranking system for doctors worldwide, writing textbooks, and overseeing exams—those bureaucratic tasks didn't really interest her.
Fortunately, she wouldn't be the only one in the academy.
The first step would be recruiting the best doctors within the Drum Kingdom. Those with exceptional skill would be brought into the academy directly, while second-tier doctors would join the World Hospital.
Together, the medical academy and the World Hospital would form the core of the 'World Government Medical Development Cooperation Nation' initiative.
Hospitals within member nations that encountered unsolvable medical cases could apply to transfer their patients. Similarly, doctors from other allied nations could apply to join the medical academy or the World Hospital.
Both the academy and the World Hospital were to be built atop one of the peaks of Drum Island—specifically the mountain to the left of the main peak, where the royal palace was located.
"So, will you accept the position of Dean of the Medical Academy?"
Upon hearing Minister Marvany's earnest inquiry, Kureha didn't put on any airs. She nodded without hesitation. "Sounds good. I'll give it a few years and see how it goes!"
"Excellent. Once Vice Admiral Kuzan finishes building the ice bridge and stairs, our administrative department will bring over the construction materials and workforce."
After finishing his explanation, Minister Marvany beckoned with a wave of his hand. A well-prepared administrative aide promptly stepped forward, holding a document folder in both hands.
"Although the medical academy hasn't started construction yet, the 'World Government Medical Development Cooperation Nation' project has already taken effect from the moment King Arnold signed the agreement. Which means—you are now officially the Dean of the Medical Academy. This is the first research project issued to the academy by the World Government."
He pulled out a report from the folder and handed it to Kureha, who took it and was surprised to find that it was a disease report.
It contained detailed medical records of three patients, along with professional evaluations of the illness, and high-resolution images of both external and internal conditions of the patients' bodies.
"Amber Lead…"
Kureha muttered to herself. This disease was entirely new to her. Instantly intrigued, she became immersed in the report's contents, completely ignoring her surroundings and the people nearby.
Seeing this, Minister Marvany and Kuzan exchanged a knowing glance, both with faint smiles in their eyes.
"By the way, King Arnold, aside from this matter, I also hope to take with me the twenty most outstanding doctors from the Drum Kingdom to assist with treatment work in the Holy Land—Mary Geoise."
"Mary Geoise?!"
"Have the 'Descendants of the Creators' fallen ill?" King Arnold put on a display of great concern.
"No. It's for treating a group of merfolk and fish-men. The higher-ups hope their injuries and illnesses can be healed as soon as possible," Minister Marvany explained.
"I see, very well. No problem at all. I'll send someone to notify them immediately. I'm sure many of our doctors will be quite interested in merfolk and fish-men. Please stay the night—allow me to properly host you and Vice Admiral Kuzan!"
...
Holy Land, Mary Geoise – Top floor of Pangaea Castle.
Imu was lying on a luxurious gold and crimson bed, his gaze lost in space.
He seemed to be staring into space, but in reality, Imu was focused on the latest notification floating across his vision.
That prompt had appeared a few days ago—on January 1st, the day of Roger's public execution. The message was short: 'A new Dimensional Gate awaits activation.'
The instruction manual explained that every year, a new small Dimensional Gate would appear, standing three meters tall and two meters wide. At present, he now had two such small Dimensional Gates—both of them portals leading to unknown planets.
Troubled.
His main planet had only just begun to be organized—everything was still in its early stages. How could he spare the time or resources to get involved with another planet, especially one full of who-knows-what?
What if there were terrifying beings on the other side?
Though his own strength was without question the greatest in this world, the universe was vast. The star map instructions explicitly mentioned unknown civilizations, which meant there were certainly powerful beings out there—perhaps even stronger than himself.
Caution.
It was better to be cautious. At the very least, he should wait until this year's World Conference had progressed to a certain stage. After that, he could send a few Cipher Pol agents to scout things out.
In any case, there was no way he, Imu, would be the first to step through. Risky ventures like this were best left to the underlings.
...
In the second half of the Grand Line—the New World—Route Two's third island was a wintry snow island known as White Aya Trio. It was named for its three main islands, arranged in a triangular formation, accompanied by several micro-islands that could each barely accommodate a hundred people.
At this moment, the easternmost of the three main islands had been seized by a strange race—twenty towering figures, each over six meters tall, all bearing twin horns and mouths full of fangs.
Bloodlust radiating from them, they stomped through the pools of blood, weaving among the corpses scattered across the ground. If they heard any feeble groans, they would walk over without a word and stomp down on a chest, putting an end to the suffering.
"Moria! You'll die a miserable death! There's no way you'll come to a good end! Before long—cough, cough—before long, you scum will all be dragged down to the Underworld!"
Temple, his arms tied behind his back, knelt in the blood-stained snow, his whole body wracked with pain. Tears soaked his reddened eyes as he howled at the figure in front of him, madness and rage mingling in his voice.
Just moments ago, his crewmates—those who had been with him for years—had been slaughtered, one by one, by these monstrous outsiders of the Gecko Pirates.
"Kishishishi~"
Moria sat atop the sturdiest corpse, a greatsword over three meters long stabbed into the ground beside him. Seeing Temple's hysterical outburst, he bared his sharp teeth in a brilliant grin.
"Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. Temple, captain of the War Elephant Pirates—you're a pirate with a bounty of 67 million berries, aren't you? Can't you show a bit of class?"
But at this point, Captain Temple was already drowning in despair. Fully aware he was about to die, he no longer cared what Moria said. All he wanted was to curse him as much as possible before the end.
"Tch. How boring. And here I thought you might be worth something."
Moria rose with a look of disappointment, casually gripped his blade, and pulled it free from the ground. Tilting his head up to the bright sun overhead, he grinned and said: "Still, I do admire the bond you had with your crew. Pirate crews like yours are a rarity these days. So I've decided to give you a spectacular death—one far more beautiful than that of Pirate King Roger."
"Whoa! The captain's going to do a Light Burial again!"
"Hahahahaha! Now this is something worth seeing. No matter how many times I watch it, I always look forward to it!"
The crew of the Gecko Pirates gathered about ten meters in front of Captain Temple, their eyes wide with anticipation, waiting excitedly for what was to come.
"Y-You! What are you going to do?!"
Captain Temple, still kneeling, glared in shock and fury as these people stared at him like spectators at a freak show. At the same time, a massive shadow loomed over him from behind.
A chill gripped his heart. He realized—his time had come.
Just then, Moria swung his massive sword downward. The shrill whistle of the blade slicing through the air made Temple instinctively shut his eyes. Resigned to his fate.
But then—one second passed. Two. Three. Still, there was no pain.
After nearly ten seconds, confusion overcame him. He slowly opened his eyes.
"I'm… still alive?"
"Kishishishi~ Feel the heat of the sun, Captain Temple of the 'War Elephants'!"
Moria stepped to the right, and suddenly, the large shadow that had covered Temple vanished.
[Swish—]
Before he could react, an unbearable burning sensation seared across his back like fire—and then engulfed his entire body.
The rays of the sun, cascading down from the sky, had been transformed into the most merciless torture.
"Aaaaaargh!"
A blood-curdling scream suddenly pierced the air. Gecko Moria, holding a freshly severed black shadow in his left hand, watched with gleeful excitement as Captain Temple gradually turned to ash under the sunlight.
"It's happening, it's happening!"
"Hahahaha, what a great show!"
His kin—those monstrous crewmates—jumped and danced in excitement, occasionally bouncing on their heels like overgrown children.
When the last trace of Captain Temple's figure had completely faded, the shadow in Moria's hand also vanished. He showed no surprise.
"Tch, we really should've tried to catch them alive," one of the Gecko Pirates said with a grin wide enough to split his face. "If we got the whole crew to go through a Light Burial together, that would've been really something!"
"Eh, the dead ones were fine too, but the captain doesn't like cutting shadows from corpses."
"What's so interesting about watching a dead guy turn to ash? The screams before they die are the real highlight!"
As the towering group chattered noisily among themselves, Gecko Moria suddenly barked at them with a grin: "You bunch of idiots! Quit jabbering and search their ship! Anything useful, anything edible—bring it all back to our ship!"
"And dump these corpses into the sea—give the fish a feast!"
"Yes, Captain!"
"Let's go! I wanna see what they've got!"
"Hope there's some booze! Forget the meat, we've still got tons of Sea King meat on board."
Watching them rush off to loot the War Elephant Pirates' ship, Moria turned back toward his own vessel in high spirits.
The sunlight today was too bright for his liking. Unpleasant, really. He much preferred the darkness—but an occasional Light Burial show wasn't a bad way to spend the day.
"Yo~ Finally found you, Gecko Moria~ Bounty: 120 million berries~"
Suddenly, a drawn-out, lazy-sounding voice rang out from behind him. Moria spun around in alarm, gripping his blade tightly—just in time to see a flash of golden light coalesce into a figure about half his height.
The man was wearing a black gentleman's hat, a bright yellow suit underneath, and, most strikingly, a white cloak with the word Justice behind it.
"A Marine?"
Moria's expression darkened. "Judging from that ability just now, you're a Logia-type. You must be the new admiral candidate—Kizaru?"
"Eh~ Impressive~ You guessed it in one go~" Borsalino said with exaggerated surprise, then asked casually, "Well, since you know, how about coming with me quietly? It'll make this mission end a lot faster, and you'll suffer less too~"
"Kishishishi—Don't know why the Marines are suddenly targeting me, but since you're standing right in front of me, let's see what top-tier Logia power really looks like!"
Moria's grin revealed a mouth full of razor-sharp fangs, his eyes glinting with malice as he stared Borsalino down. His greatsword trembled in his grip, eager for combat.
"Tch~ What a pain~ Knew it wasn't gonna be that easy…" Borsalino muttered, taking off his hat and slipping it into his coat pocket.
In the next instant, he appeared right in front of Gecko Moria, his body shining with golden light that reflected directly into Moria's face and eyes.
The intense brightness forced Moria to instinctively squeeze his eyes shut—only to hear a weightless, almost whimsical question whispered in his ear: "Have you ever been kicked... by light~~?"