"Listen up. Even when I say 'teaching you how to fight,' there are different ways to go about it," I barked, standing firm in the clearing.
"I'm a Marine, so my way is about neutralizing the enemy. That applies to Gin as well. Then there's fighting to protect yourself—that's Robin's specialty.
Others fight to escape or just to stall for time. Personally, for Monet, Sugar, and Olga, I want you to focus on self-defense. Pure survival. Any objections?"
"I'm fine with that," Robin nodded. "I'm not planning on hunting pirates for a living anyway."
"Works for me, sa! As long as it counts as exercise, I don't care which way we swing it," Olga added, stretching her limbs.
"Don't care," Sugar muttered, staring at a butterfly.
"Right. Step one: physical conditioning! All five of you—run laps around this facility until I say stop! Move!" I clapped my hands like a thundercrack.
Robin and Gin took off instantly with practiced ease. Monet followed a beat later. Olga and Sugar, however, stood there with 'you've got to be kidding me' written all over their faces.
"Fine. Whoever comes in first gets their favorite meal for dinner tonight. My treat."
"MEAT! A thick slab of sea-beast steak, sa!!" Olga roared. "Fluffy dandelion omelet rice!!" Sugar screamed.
The two of them bolted after the others, fueled by pure gluttony. So simple, I chuckled, watching them disappear around the corner.
I sat down cross-legged on the dirt to keep watch, but barely a minute passed before the sound of frantic, heavy footsteps approached from the building.
Dr. Luc, Dr. Indigo, and Dr. Acier came sprinting out, waving a stack of papers.
"Krieg-kun! We've done it! We finally have a path!" Acier shouted.
He looked incredible. The mountain of fat he'd carried for centuries was gone, replaced by the lean, scholarly frame of his youth. He'd refined a "Slim Metal" using alchemical principles to flash-burn his own body fat.
He wanted to call it "Alchemy Dieting," but I'd shut that down immediately—no need to attract the wrong kind of attention. "Slim Metal" was boring and safe.
They spread the papers out on the ground, speaking over each other in their excitement. The plan was a four-stage process:
Stage One: Use the Pure Gold lamps to halt the progression of the Amber Lead entirely.
Stage Two: Administer "Drug I," a derivative of the I.Q. plant from Merveille, to grant the body a temporary biological resistance to the lead's toxicity.
Stage Three: Inject a specialized liquid metal developed by Acier designed to "absorb" and attract the Amber Lead particles within the body, pulling them away from vital nerves and into specific, non-essential tissue clusters.
Final Stage: Surgically extract the concentrated clusters.
"We'll have to remove some non-vital tissue and parts of certain organs," Dr. Luc said, his voice trembling with a mix of exhaustion and hope. "But it's the only way to physically purge the lead."
"It's a small price to pay for a life," Indigo added, his usual squeaky shoes silent for once.
"We can start the first human trials within six months," Acier concluded. "We just need the remaining materials."
"Don't lose heart, Dr. Luc. You've found the light at the end of the tunnel," I said, gripping his shoulder. "I'll handle the supplies. Anything you need, put it on a list."
I felt a massive weight lift off my chest. All the gold, the risky raids, and the political maneuvering had been worth it. The people of Flevance—Luc, his wife Lemos, the children like Lami—they were actually going to live.
"Thank God... truly," I whispered.
I was so caught up in the medical breakthrough that I spent the rest of the day in the lab, completely forgetting about the five children I'd sent on "laps."
By the time I remembered them at sunset, I found five exhausted heaps of humanity collapsed in the dirt.
I spent the rest of the night in the kitchen making five different "favorite meals" as a humble apology.
One month later.
"I'm heading out. It might take half a year, so Robin, your 'independence' will have to wait until I get back."
It was time for the "Red Gulls" to return to the North Blue. We stood at the docks of Fausse Island, the Charlotte Angel groaning against its moorings.
"Are you sure you don't need me?" Robin asked.
"Stay here. Watch over the younger ones," I said. "I'm taking Gin and the Task Force, but I'm leaving Sigma here to guard the facility. Once you go independent, you won't be able to come back to the New World easily. Enjoy the peace while you have it."
"Gururu!" Sigma barked, puffing out his chest. "Don't worry, Robin-neechan. I'll keep an eye on the Boss," Gin added, patting his tonfas.
The geography of this world is a headache. To get from the New World (where we are) to the West Blue (where Robin plans to start) requires crossing the Red Line or sailing halfway around the world through the "Paradise" half of the Grand Line.
While my ship can cross the Calm Belt thanks to the Sea-Prism Stone (Kairouseki) plating on the hull, it's still a massive undertaking.
I bid farewell to Monet and Sugar (who expressed her "love" by pelting me with hard walnuts until I reached the gangplank) and gave them a final reassuring pat on the head.
My mission in the North Blue was twofold:
Official: Hunt down illegal pirate syndicates and locate the elusive Donquixote Doflamingo.
Personal: Locate Corazon (Donquixote Rosinante) and Trafalgar Law. I needed to secure the Ope Ope no Mi to ensure the final stage of the Amber Lead surgeries could be performed with 100% success.
The North Blue was calling. And with it, the fate of a certain dying boy and a silent spy.
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