One Piece: Don't Worry, I'm a Doctor - Chapter 444: I Didn’t Say You Were Cured

Chapter 444: Chapter 444: I Didn’t Say You Were Cured

Sengoku groggily surveyed his surroundings.

Once he confirmed it was his own flesh, the anxiety gripping his heart completely faded.

This kid moves fast, huh? Already chowing down…

With a sigh, Sengoku fell silent.

The old man’s mental fortitude was top-notch, no doubt honed by years of experience.

As Vir munched away, Sengoku just watched.

Even Vir had to admit, the old geezer had some serious grit.

This was the first guy who could watch himself being eaten without so much as a flinch. Maybe it was because he knew his body would heal on its own afterward. If so, that would definitely dull the fear.

This trick only really worked on those who didn’t know what was coming.

Vir ate leisurely, piece by piece. Though he wasn’t rushing, he still finished quickly.

Sengoku’s injuries were limited, after all.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for gaining 4% damage immunity effect!]

Seeing the new boost to his damage immunity, Vir cracked a smile.

This Marine trip had been fruitful, if nothing else. His damage immunity was climbing fast.

It had already hit 39%.

The progress could only be described as lightning-fast.

Almost at 40%! A 40% immunity to all damage—lock him up, beat him all you want, and he wouldn’t make a peep.

After eating up all of Sengoku’s various wounds, the old man was fully healed, save for his hand.

Completely, perfectly healed.

But the system’s notification didn’t come, and Vir’s brow furrowed.

What did this mean?

It meant the treatment wasn’t complete enough! It didn’t meet the system’s standard for issuing a reward!

Although Sengoku had acted very calm when he was being eaten, inside that pot with temperatures over ten thousand degrees, he’d been providing negative points by the truckload.

Vir wasn’t worried about the guy lacking any psychological scars.

If the injuries weren’t fully healed, he’d just have to pull out his Vibro-Blade and give it a whirl.

The mood was set, the pot had been sizzling for ages—if he didn’t snag an ability out of this, it’d be a huge loss.

With that in mind, Vir told Sengoku to get up and walk a bit to see if he was healed.

Lying on the ground with a blank expression, looking like a timid bride waiting for her husband to finish, Sengoku gave Vir a surprised glance at the words.

“Already healed?”

He’d seen Vir eat others, practically devouring their brains.

But with him? Just a couple of nibbles at his chest, and picky ones at that.

And now he’s saying it’s done?

That didn’t match what he’d seen.

Half-doubting, Sengoku slowly got up, and he did feel much lighter.

But something was off.

Completely off.

His strength… hadn’t increased at all!

Sure, he felt lighter, and the injuries accumulated over years were fully healed.

But his strength hadn’t budged an inch.

The realization hit Sengoku like a hammer, leaving his mind buzzing.

’Could it be… I haven’t gone through enough, so the strength-boosting method didn’t work?’

’If that’s the case, wasn’t I just roasted for nothing?’

The heat from that wok had nearly melted his brain.

And now he didn’t even get a consolation prize? That was just cruel.

Sengoku’s mentality shattered.

Looking at Vir, he frowned and asked, “Why hasn’t my strength changed?”

No sooner had the words left his mouth—*shunk!*

A long blade plunged straight into his forehead.

Vir, wearing a smile, spoke up.

“I didn’t say you were healed!”

As soon as Vir’s words landed, Sengoku felt an utterly absurd vibration ripple through his brain.

The bizarre sensation instantly spread from his head to every part of his body.

Sengoku’s entire body jolted violently a few times, as if he’d been electrocuted.

With Vir’s attack just now, Sengoku hadn’t sensed the slightest hint of danger.

Having seen Vir use that little knife on Akainu before, he hadn’t stopped him.

But now, the moment the blade went in, he knew he was in trouble.

The instant the vibration started, Sengoku felt an inexplicable, overwhelming sensation.

Akainu’s brow furrowed sharply; he could barely watch.

As someone who’d experienced the blade’s power firsthand, Akainu knew even a stab to the chest was unbearable.

But now, straight to the head…

That could take half your life in an instant.

As expected, it was too much to handle. The sensation seemed to erupt straight from his brain…

And just as he’d feared, Sengoku started trembling uncontrollably the moment the vibration began.

He looked like he was having a seizure, utterly terrifying.

As Sengoku convulsed, Vir kept thrusting the blade in and out.

The old man’s brain was practically being turned to mush by vibration.

At that moment, Sengoku felt an indescribable sensation exploding inside his skull.

And it was intense.

The moment it hit, Sengoku had the urge to scream at the top of his lungs.

The feeling was just too overwhelming, too powerful.

But with his incredible willpower, the old man actually endured it!

That’s right, he endured!

He withstood the Vibro-Blade stabbed straight into his forehead, endured its relentless thrusting.

In that moment, even Vir’s gaze toward Sengoku changed, tinged with a hint of respect.

This old geezer was truly worthy of being the Marine Fleet Admiral.

Vir couldn’t even imagine what he was going through, yet he was holding on.

It was almost unbelievable.

Old man, you’re a beast.

Silently giving Sengoku a mental thumbs-up, Vir didn’t slow down. If anything, he sped up.

The already rapid movements became even faster.

The intense sensation spread through Sengoku’s body in a flash. He froze for a moment, then started shaking even more violently than before!

Seizure: upgraded edition!

The crazed scene made even Akainu and the others take a step back.

Those in the know understood this was treatment; those who didn’t… would think he was mutating.

Absolutely insane!

Treating someone—was it necessary to make them look like this?

Yet Sengoku still endured silently, no sound escaping him.

Now even Akainu couldn’t help but give him a thumbs-up.

But Saturn, standing nearby, frowned deeply. He had to think of Imu-sama’s interests, but this situation…

Could Imu-sama really accept this kind of treatment?

Shaking like that…

Saturn had his doubts.

By now, Sengoku had lost the ability to think, his eyes practically rolling back into his head.

Yet he still didn’t open his mouth.

Under duress, Vir could only add a twist to his probing technique.

The moment his method changed, Sengoku immediately reacted.

The sensation of his mind being stirred overwhelmed the veteran, finally pushing him past his limits.

A triple wave of ecstasy hit him full force.

With his eyes rolling back, he let out a bone-chilling roar skyward.

“Yeeeaaahhh~!”

The piercing cry made everyone around pale in shock. If Shiki had been present, he would’ve nodded in professional approval.

Sengoku’s scream even unleashed a shockwave of air, a testament to how much force he put into it.

After all, he’d been holding back for so long. Now, he was on the verge of losing control, showing faint signs of transforming into his Great Buddha form.

Golden light flickered over his body, teetering on the brink of transformation.

The sight left everyone dumbfounded.

Not only was the sound so soul-shatteringly intense, but he’d even activated his ability?

Had it reached the point where he couldn’t even control his powers anymore?

Just how far gone was he…?

No one dared to imagine. The sheer pleasure in his voice already told them how the Fleet Admiral was feeling.

But pleasure intense enough to make him lose control of his ability? What kind of level was that?

This was getting way too absurd.

Everyone stood there, jaws dropped, watching Sengoku let loose.

Time seemed to freeze in that moment.

After smearing the meat paste onto Sengoku’s arm, Vir stepped back a safe distance.

He left the stage entirely to Sengoku.

A crowd gathered around, staring slack-jawed at the Fleet Admiral howling ferociously in the center.

The scene was, to put it mildly, bizarre.

Time ticked by, and Sengoku’s outburst lasted quite a while.

After a full ten seconds or more, his voice finally subsided, and his rationality crept back into his body.

But as his senses returned, his body inexplicably began to flush red.

He knew exactly what he’d just done. He was fully aware.

The stunned gazes around him felt worse than death itself.

’What the hell… What did I just do?’

’I screamed like that—like that—in front of everyone, and for ten whole seconds?’

[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 1,000,000 negative points!]

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for acquiring Ability: Conqueror’s Haki – Supreme Level!]

The moment the system’s voice rang out, Vir’s expression froze.

He quickly summoned the system interface, and upon seeing the reward before him, he nearly let out a roar of his own.

Conqueror’s Haki!

It was here!

And it was Sengoku’s Supreme Conqueror’s Haki, no less.

Before he could dwell on it, Vir felt an overwhelming pressure threatening to burst out of him!

This was the normal phenomenon of awakening Conqueror’s Haki for the first time, but Vir chose not to release it.

He could feel the sheer power of that pressure all too clearly.

If he let it loose now, his identity would be exposed without a shred of secrecy left.

With his current spiritual power at 22 points, his Conqueror’s Haki would be earth-shattering.

If he unleashed it now, only the Admirals in the room would remain conscious.

No, not just here.

Across the entire Marine base, within a thousand-mile radius, not a single person would stay standing.

Those with weaker strength would have their consciousness wiped out instantly.

Realizing this, Vir was stunned.

He knew his Conqueror’s Haki would be devastating once awakened, but he hadn’t expected it to be this overwhelming. Anyone below Admiral level wouldn’t even have the right to look at him.

Even Admirals, in his presence, were now reduced to lasting only a few minutes.

Though Admirals wouldn’t be knocked out by his Conqueror’s Haki, the pressure it exerted on them was far from trivial.

Their strength would be suppressed by at least thirty percent.

His biggest issue had always been endurance—or rather, the lack of it.

But things were different now. Even if his stamina wasn’t great, Admirals wouldn’t last long against him either, thanks to his Haki infusion.

Now, given enough time to charge up, Admirals were no match for him.

[Electromagnetism] + [Lightning] + [White Flame].

Now, he could even add [Light-Light Fruit] effects (though [Magma] wouldn’t mix).

He could charge until his stamina ran dry, then recover with [Sit-Ups], instantly restoring energy.

Then, [Position Swap] behind an enemy—his supreme Observation Haki ensuring no Admiral could react in time.

An ultra-charged [Thunder bagua] + Whitebeard’s [Conqueror’s Infusion], fueled by 22 points of spiritual power and Supreme Conqueror’s Haki, and topped off with a triple-damage [Charge] effect.

One blow. One silence.

To say it surpassed Garp’s full-power strike wasn’t an exaggeration.

In a surprise attack like that, even if an Admiral reacted and blocked in haste, they’d still end up gravely injured.

A hasty block was as good as no block at all.

Saying they couldn’t last a few minutes wasn’t a joke—Vir meant it.

If he could just shore up his physical shortcomings, the damage of this terrifying strike could climb even higher.

Sengoku’s Conqueror’s Haki was a damn fine addition.

Vir stayed silent, but inside, he was grinning ear to ear.

This was real, tangible power. The long-awaited Conqueror’s Haki, gained from Sengoku of all people, wasn’t half bad.

Sengoku’s Conqueror’s Haki wasn’t much weaker than Whitebeard’s.

With that in mind, Vir suppressed the erupting Haki pressure and the smirk tugging at his lips, turning his gaze back to Sengoku.

At that moment, Sengoku was the living embodiment of “red-faced and thick-necked.”

He was practically glowing crimson.

The only silver lining, perhaps, was that Garp wasn’t here.

If Garp had witnessed this, the scene wouldn’t be so quiet.

Half the noise would be Garp laughing his head off, and the other half would be Sengoku’s scream on repeat.

Though Sengoku was mortified, the changes in his body drew some of his attention.

Yes, he’d grown stronger.

After Vir’s treatment, after his mental breakdown, the consolation prize had finally arrived.

Feeling the surge of power coursing through him, Sengoku’s distress eased slightly.

A comprehensive boost.

At Sengoku’s age, not regressing in strength was already cause for celebration, let alone improving.

Feeling himself back at his peak—and even stronger—Sengoku should’ve been overjoyed. But after what he’d just been through, he didn’t know what expression to make.

Just then, Saturn, who had finished filming and started packing up, suddenly froze.

After a moment of stunned silence, his expression shifted.

He approached Vir and said, “Kid, come with me.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com