Honggu was startled by Louis's words and shook his head helplessly. "How would I know I'm that strong? Whether I can cure her still depends on a proper diagnosis!"
"You're too modest, Honggu!"
"That's right, Honggu is the best in the world!"
For a while, everyone was confident that as long as Yelena returned, Honggu could cure her.
Shanks looked at Louis with a smile. "Little Louis, do you want to learn medicine from Honggu?"
"With your healing ability, once you master it, you could surpass Honggu and become the greatest doctor in the world!"
Louis shook his head firmly. "No. I'm going to the Grand Line. I won't stay here for long."
Shanks's eyes widened in surprise. Then, as if recalling something, he pondered aloud, "You're going to search for Momola?"
He immediately thought of the ally who had the closest ties to the Moon God of Bal, especially since Louis had Momola's Life Card in hand.
"Yes. I plan to represent my people to meet him, then head straight to the New World," Louis explained.
Shanks blinked in disbelief. Are children today really this daring?
The others were equally stunned. They knew the perilous seas of the New World firsthand. The extreme weather and storms they had just survived were mere child's play in comparison.
The harsh natural laws there pushed pirates to follow the jungle rule to the extreme. Even Supernovas with bounties over 100 million could barely make a ripple.
The top rulers deep in the New World were ruthless, preying on local people and always ready to unleash events capable of throwing the world into chaos.
"Why go to the New World so early?" Shanks asked, puzzled. He acknowledged Louis's courage despite his young age. Planning to sail into territories that even many seasoned pirates avoid was bold.
For a teenager like Louis, venturing into the New World seemed premature.
Louis answered calmly, "To fight monsters, to hone my Haki through combat, and to become stronger with each battle."
He never considered age a limit to sailing. Big Mom had destroyed a Giant Clan village at six years old and dominated the seas afterward. Kaido, Barret, and others were equally formidable.
Louis firmly believed he was no weaker than them. He possessed Conqueror's Haki, a powerful physique, and extraordinary talent. Whatever they had, he had too sometimes even better.
Whatever they could do, Louis could surpass.
He admitted he had no prenatal education and even couldn't write the word "coward."
Everyone was shocked by his words, mouths agape, yet they eventually said nothing.
Shanks, however, seemed reluctant to let such a young ally recklessly enter the New World. He patted Louis's shoulder. "The New World is too early for you."
"I can feel your strength, but if you go too soon, you won't have the time to train your body!"
Louis offered examples from his mind. What he didn't expect was that Shanks would laugh heartily upon hearing them.
"Ha ha ha…"
He only stifled his laughter after receiving a glare from his precious daughter and a subtle look from Louis.
Then, under the watchful eyes of his crew, he patted Louis's shoulder with meaning. "I see. You've been blinded by the aura of others' achievements."
Louis frowned, confused.
Shanks recalled past events, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. "Louis, things aren't exactly as the legends say. Bullet was once our comrade. It trained hard, then set sail when it hit a limit."
"Kaido was the same. Even the most legendary, Big Mom, trained diligently."
"You don't really think she reached her peak only through indulgence and childbirth, do you? Haki doesn't lie!"
"Though she caused a stir after leaving Elbaf, she also trained her body rigorously."
Then, Shanks looked at Louis with a mysterious expression. "Did you know? Big Mom first appeared on a wanted poster after destroying a town. At that time, she was just a chubby little girl!"
"But she didn't appear much afterward. By her teens, she had grown into a tall, beautiful, and charismatic woman!"
"This proves she trained diligently!"
Louis fell into deep thought at this.
Shanks smiled knowingly. He could tell his persuasion no, his teaching was likely to succeed.
His words were mostly accurate; only minor details differed slightly, not outright lies.
Behind him, his crew watched in astonishment as if seeing Shanks for the first time. They realized for the first time that his speech was as formidable as his strength.
At that moment, Yelena, having finished dealing with the poisoned water, reappeared before the group.
But she held something in her hands.
"Louis, Shanks… what is… what is this?" Yelena, likewise a dropout of prenatal education, held up the strange fruit, her slightly haggard face filled with confusion.
The sudden shout made Louis and Shanks turn their heads simultaneously.
Seeing the fruit in Yelena's hands, both snapped to attention.
"A Devil Fruit?" Shanks's eyes widened.
Louis instinctively asked, "A Zoan type?"
Why did he immediately recognize it as an animal-type Devil Fruit?
It was because most of the Devil Fruits Yelena held were blue, shaped like a deer skull, with small antler-like protrusions on either side.
In Louis's fragmented memories, he recalled the Ox-Ox Fruit from the Kingdom of Mag-Drum and CP9's Luke's Cat-Cat Fruit, which shared similar appearances.
Yelena was startled by his words and asked again, "What is a Devil Fruit?"
As the only Devil Fruit user present, Louis paused, then explained concisely and firmly: "It grants people special powers."
He raised his hand, a golden glow rising from his palm as he continued, "After consuming one, some gain miraculous abilities like mine."
"Some gain powers resembling natural disasters."
"And some can transform into beasts."
"The one in your hand should give you the ability to turn into an animal," Louis said thoughtfully, eyes on the antler-like protrusions of the fruit in Yelena's grasp.