"Well, Zhao, I need your help right now. That's why I came here."
Bruce Banner spread his hands helplessly and gave Helen Cho a bitter smile.
"In your last email, you said you'd found a new method?"
"Yes, Bruce!"
Helen's eyes immediately lit up.
"Not to brag, but I really have done quite a few astonishing things recently."
"Yes, I know. Zhao, you've been creating miracles lately. Even I've heard about it. Some people are even calling you a mutant."
Bruce smiled, but there was obvious anticipation on his face.
"So... what exactly is going on?"
"It all started with that mysterious Devil Fruit shop."
With that, Helen enthusiastically recounted everything to Bruce from the very beginning—how she had witnessed Wade's scarred, cratered face being completely healed, how she had eaten the Healing Fruit herself, and how she had obtained the power to heal others.
"Devil Fruit?"
"A power that lets you heal people?"
By the time she finished, Bruce Banner was completely dumbfounded.
If anyone else had told him this, he would have laughed in their face.
A fruit that could grant superpowers?
That was beyond ridiculous.
It was absurd.
"Bruce, I know. I know it sounds insane. When I first heard about Devil Fruits, I reacted exactly the same way you are now."
Helen looked utterly helpless as she explained.
Seeing how serious and certain she was only made Bruce feel more confused.
Could she actually be telling the truth?
Because no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't figure out why Helen would invent such an outrageous lie just to fool him.
And Bruce knew Helen well. She was serious, rigorous, and grounded. That only made this harder to dismiss.
But Devil Fruits?
It was just too unbelievable.
"How about this, Bruce? Facts speak louder than words. There's no point explaining endlessly."
Helen changed her approach.
"Your body should be dealing with some kind of issue, right? Let me try treating you. What do you think?"
"Of course. That's exactly why I came."
Bruce shrugged, as if it were only natural.
"Today, I'm all yours."
"Bruce, trust me. No matter what's wrong with your body, I'll heal it."
Helen spoke with absolute confidence.
"I've already cured more than ten terminal cases. I don't believe your problem could be worse than those."
"Zhao, I'm getting more and more curious. So... what do I need to do? Do you need to draw my blood?"
"No. No blood."
Helen gave him a small smile.
"I'm not relying on medicine, Bruce. All I need... is your hand."
"My hand?"
"Yes. Your hand."
As she spoke, Helen took both of Bruce's hands into hers and activated her power.
In an instant, Bruce Banner's physical condition became perfectly clear to her.
Bruce stared blankly at her.
He had no idea what she was doing, but he suppressed his questions and let her continue.
"Bruce, your body only has a few minor issues."
Very quickly, however, a puzzled look appeared on Helen's face.
"Your cervical spine and lower back both have problems. Your lungs aren't in great shape either. You've also got nearsightedness and some blood pressure issues, but none of it is serious. As for anything else... I'm not detecting anything."
His neck, his back—those had been recurring issues for years.
Occupational hazards.
For someone in his field, they were common enough.
But that wasn't why Bruce had come all this way.
And he certainly didn't believe Helen had somehow diagnosed all of that just by holding his hands. Those were the kind of issues you could easily guess a lifelong researcher would have.
That didn't prove anything.
"There's nothing else?" Bruce asked, staring at her.
Helen focused again, carefully sensing his body a second time.
Then she shook her head.
"I'm not picking up anything else. Oh, right—I already treated those issues while I was at it."
She smiled at him.
"Your body is basically back to the state it was in when you were twenty, Bruce."
Bruce looked even more lost.
He didn't believe her at all. In fact, what she was saying sounded outright ridiculous.
How could simply holding his hands have healed his body?
That said... he did feel better. A lot better, actually.
"Zhao, are you serious? Sorry, but I'm honestly confused right now."
Bruce rubbed his head, his brows drawing together.
"What exactly is going on here—wait."
Before Helen could say anything more, Bruce suddenly froze.
If his back and neck being healed were subtle enough to miss at first, there was one change he noticed immediately.
His vision.
The world in front of him had become sharper.
Much sharper.
As if he had suddenly put on a pair of glasses.
Everyone knew Bruce Banner was nearsighted.
His prescription wasn't especially strong, so he usually didn't wear glasses in everyday life.
But whenever he was doing serious research—or anything else that demanded real focus—he always put them on.
In his normal day-to-day life, the world had always been just a little blurry.
But now...
Bruce hurriedly pulled out the glasses he always kept with him and slipped them onto the bridge of his nose.
Immediately, the perfectly clear world in front of him turned blurry.
When he took them off again, everything snapped back into focus.
He tested it several more times, just to make sure.
Then his eyes slowly widened in disbelief.
"My eyes..."
"Yes, Bruce."
Watching the stunned look on his face, Helen couldn't help but smile.
"Your nearsightedness has already been cured."
[Author Note]
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