Erik had no idea how long he'd been unconscious when he finally woke up.
"Where... am I?"
The light above him was soft but unfamiliar. A pale, ivory ceiling came into view, along with an atmosphere that strangely felt like home.
"Am I dreaming?"
Still weak, he slowly turned his head. On his right, he saw a group of men in white coats and masks gathered around a bed. They held syringes and scalpels in hand, busily working on something—or someone.
"What are they doing...?"
Then he saw her—his beloved sister. Her forehead was drenched in cold sweat, and her lips barely moved as she murmured something under her breath.
"!!!"
"Ayala..."
Erik jolted awake, crying out her name. He tried to sit up—but an invisible force pinned him down. As he struggled, a calm yet unfamiliar voice spoke beside him.
"Keep it down. The doctors are treating your sister. If you want her to live, don't interrupt."
Erik turned sharply toward the voice—and the source of the force holding him in place. On the left side of his bed, a figure leaned by the windowsill. He looked unfamiliar... yet something about the red hair triggered a distant memory.
That's right—just before I passed out...
In that moment, Erik fully regained his senses. His eyes widened in disbelief. The pain in his body was still intense, but he pushed through it and sat up.
He looked around. The room was completely unfamiliar—but richly decorated, like a palace. All around him were high-end medical instruments—some he recognized, others he didn't—but it was obvious: they were the most advanced equipment he had ever seen.
He and Ayala were lying in two incredibly luxurious hospital beds.
"Ayala..."
He called out to her again, but this time he didn't move. Instead, he looked at the boy—roughly his age—and asked, voice full of gratitude:
"You saved us... Is this place...?"
"What, already forgot your savior? You were the one begging me to save your sister. As for this place—this is the royal palace of the Drum Kingdom. Those doctors over there? They're the best physicians in the country, and they're examining your sister right now."
"!!!"
Tears welled up in Erik's eyes. Ignoring his pain, he knelt on the bed and bowed his head deeply to Yemu.
"Thank you... Thank you for saving my sister. I swear—I'll repay this debt, no matter what."
But Yemu didn't accept the thanks right away. He glanced toward the busy doctors, then spoke calmly.
"No need to rush. Before you start thanking me, how about introducing yourself? Tell me—why are you here, and what exactly is wrong with your sister?"
Erik hesitated, his expression tightening. He glanced at Ayala, still writhing weakly in pain, then lowered his head.
"You saved my life, and my sister's. I know I shouldn't keep anything from you... but I'm sorry. I can't say more than this. My name is Erik Killmonger. I'm eighteen. That's my sister, Ayala Killmonger—she's twelve. We're from the West Blue. She's suffering from a very serious illness... but please believe me, it's not contagious. I've lived with her all this time, and I've never shown a single symptom."
"I see. Got it."
Yemu didn't press further. Instead, he asked calmly:
"But that means you brought your sister with you, and the two of you came from the West Blue to the Grand Line?"
"Yes."
"I knew I wasn't wrong about you. You're clearly no ordinary person. You must be a swordsman—only a true swordmaster carries that kind of presence. An eighteen-year-old swordmaster... With that kind of talent, it was worth coming here just for you."
At that moment, Erik froze.
Yemu didn't bother with suspense and got straight to the point.
"Then let me introduce myself. I'm Yemu, captain of the Sky Pirates. I'm looking for reliable crewmates right now, and you've caught my eye. I want you to join my crew. So, what do you say? Will you accept?"
A complicated, conflicted look crossed Erik's face, but in the end, he shook his head.
"I'm sorry..."
"Huh!? What, you don't want to be a pirate?"
"No... it's not that. You're willing to pay 100 million Belly to save my sister. That kind of kindness is something I can never repay, let alone ask to join your crew. Right now, I just want to save her. I've already lost everything—I can't lose her too..."
"I see..."
Just then, a weak voice came from the nearby bed.
"Brother... I'm sorry... I've been a burden to you..."
Erik turned in shock toward the bed, and to his amazement, his sister had opened her eyes and was looking at him weakly.
"Th-That's great... Ayala, you're awake?!"
"Hey, calm down. In her condition, she shouldn't be getting too worked up."
Yemu held back the emotional Erik and turned to the doctors.
"So, what's the situation? Is there any way to cure her?"
The doctors exchanged troubled looks, clearly at a loss.
"We're sorry... We just finished an examination. This child's been severely poisoned. With our current medical technology, we have no way to remove the toxins from her body... She probably doesn't have many days left..."
"!!!"
Even though Erik had suspected this outcome before coming, hearing it confirmed still shattered him.
"Why... Why... It can't be like this. If it's poison, there has to be an antidote, right? Please... I'm begging you, doctors, save my sister... I'll pay any price..."
The doctors looked pained.
"We're really sorry, but we're powerless here. We checked thoroughly—if the poison had only spread through her bloodstream, we might have had a chance using a full blood transfusion. But it's already reached her tissues and organs. With our current medical capabilities, there's nothing we can do..."
"What!!"
A sharp, angry voice rang out across the room, drawing everyone's attention to the doorway.
Wapol stormed in, glaring furiously at the doctors and shouting.
"What do you mean it can't be cured? You useless doctors can't even handle a minor illness like this?"
Erik looked at the child who had just entered, stunned. He recognized him—it was the same kid who, along with his older brother, had blocked his way at the port and demanded an outrageous 100 million Belly.
But now, why did he look even more desperate than Erik?
Sure, 100 million Belly was a huge sum—but for a prince of a World Government member nation, it shouldn't have been anything major.
Then he heard something that shocked him—and deeply moved him.
"I accepted 2 billion Belly worth of gold... You useless fools, are you trying to make me give it all back..."