One Piece: Global improvement system

301: Medical Genius Trafalgar Law — Mitsu’s Critical Condition

May 26, 1504, Age of the Sea CircleOrion arrived just in time to see Doc Q's attack strike Mitsu in the distance. With his Prism Eyes, he was able to perceive with frightening clarity just how dangerous the mysterious boy's attack truly was, as he could see the changes taking place within Mitsu's body the instant she came into contact with the diseases unleashed by Doc Q.

For that reason, after freezing for a brief instant in shock at seeing Mitsu being attacked, Orion immediately resumed his use of Soru, appearing before his enemy like a specter.

Doc Q was caught completely off guard by Orion's sudden appearance and tried to stammer something out, though in the end Orion never gave him the chance to finish his words.

In Orion's eyes, Doc Q was not someone who could be judged through common sense, because his powers were genuinely dangerous. He had read about the Shiku Shiku no Mi (Sick Sick Fruit) in the great library of Pacific Kingdom together with Robin, and the two of them had reached the conclusion that this was a Devil Fruit they could not allow to continue existing in the world.

For Orion, who was trying to turn the world into a better place, the existence of the Shiku Shiku no Mi represented everything he fought against, since it possessed the power to destroy entire civilizations in mere moments, and in a cruel manner at that.

That was why, now that he stood face to face with Doc Q, the user of that terrifying Devil Fruit, Orion did not hesitate even for a second. Drawing his cutlass in a swift motion, he severed the gloomy boy's head while the latter was still staring at him in surprise, bringing an end to the threat he posed to the world.

At the same time, during that brief instant, Orion also pulled out the large container filled with fruits from his inventory, hoping to immediately obtain the Shiku Shiku no Mi and remove it from circulation, just as he had done before with the Hobi Hobi no Mi.

After eliminating Doc Q, Orion picked Mitsu up in his arms, noticing the critical condition she was in and realizing that he needed to act quickly if he wanted to save her.

"Don't worry, now that I'm here, everything will be fine," Orion said to the worried Perona, who was sitting on the ground in front of him. Then he concentrated his entire spirit and unleashed a massive wave of Conqueror's Haki, which spread rapidly throughout the city of Gourde, destroying the remaining pathogens that Doc Q had released earlier.

Fortunately for Orion, Doc Q's diseases were produced through the power of his Devil Fruit, which meant they could be affected by Haki. Normally, it required at least extremely powerful Armament Haki to negate the effects of the Shiku Shiku no Mi, but Orion possessed Conqueror's Haki, allowing him to go a step further and directly destroy the disease particles Doc Q had spread through the air of Gourde, thus preventing further infections.

Even so, the damage the illness had already inflicted upon the bodies of the people was not negated by Orion's powerful Conqueror's Haki, which meant they still required medical treatment if they wished to recover and avoid eventually succumbing to the devastation caused by the disease.

Once Orion finished dispersing the remaining pathogens in the environment with his Haki, he picked Perona up in his arms as well and ran with the two girls toward the snow dome in the distance, shattering it with a kick as he came face to face with the startled Monet, who had believed they were under attack by an enemy and had already prepared herself to counterattack.

"Young master!"

"Master!"

Monet and Law shouted joyfully upon seeing that Orion had finally arrived to help them, but Orion did not have much time to calmly speak with them, so he simply gave them concise instructions on how to act before entering the Pocket Dimension to treat Mitsu, whose condition was critical.

"Law, I need you to take care of treating the people of this city. Don't worry about the virus in the air, I already neutralized it, just focus on treating their symptoms. I'm leaving the patients in your hands!

Monet, you'll assist Law. Transport the townspeople into the Pocket Dimension, where it'll be easier to treat them. Here, take Shesha with you in case you need to use my Haki in some remote area of Gourde."

The little snake Shesha, who had been coiled around Orion's arm, peeked out from the sleeve of his shirt before leaping onto Monet's neck and nodding its head, almost as though it were saying, "Leave it to me."

"I won't disappoint you, master!" Law declared solemnly while striking his chest as if making an oath, and without wasting another second, he ran toward one of the people lying on the ground to begin his work as a doctor.

Orion nodded in satisfaction at the attitude of his young apprentice, and after leaving a door open in the air so they could freely enter and exit his Pocket Dimension, he rushed toward the personal clinic he had inside his parallel dimension in order to begin Mitsu's treatment.

"Sugar, I want you to go keep Mrs. Toki company. Watch over her for me and make sure nobody gets close to her, alright?" Monet said while gently stroking her little sister's hair, trying to give her a task so she could feel useful while also keeping her away from the treatment process for the infected patients.

After all, even though Orion had told them that the pathogens in the air had been destroyed by his Haki, she feared that Sugar might still become infected through contact with the patients.

Sugar nodded adorably several times before running off without looking back, heading toward the area where Toki was resting, sleeping atop the large bed like a sleeping beauty.

Meanwhile, Monet sighed in relief upon seeing her sister leave the area and began helping Law treat the sick, although her main task was transporting the inhabitants of Gourde into the Pocket Dimension, specifically to one of the areas Orion had prepared with all kinds of medical instruments, which was practically a clinic inside his personal dimension.

She was moving the patients with great care when a voice suddenly sounded behind her.

"Let me help you with that," Hawkins said, and using the powers of his Devil Fruit, he created several straw hands with which he lifted multiple people at once and transported them without difficulty.

Monet looked at Hawkins in surprise because she had not sensed his presence nearby, but seeing that he did not appear to harbor any ill intentions, she relaxed her guard and allowed the blond young man to help her.

"My name is Basil Hawkins, and I'm Orion's newest subordinate. I suppose that makes us allies," Hawkins said while moving patients into the Pocket Dimension.

Orion had brought him over from the alleyway on the other side of the city, although the moment his new boss laid eyes on Mitsu, he had completely forgotten about the existence of his new subordinate—or rather, he simply had no time to think about him.

Fortunately, Doc Q's powers did not work well against people with strong Haki, so Orion himself had not been affected at all by the wave of disease. Hawkins, on the other hand, had not yet learned to use Haki, but his body was tougher than that of a normal person, allowing him to remain standing and assist Monet and Law despite looking somewhat paler and weaker than usual.

"I-I'll help too," another voice suddenly rang out, and Drake appeared from a nearby street, walking with difficulty and clearly in far worse condition than Hawkins.

He had separated from Orion and the others upon arriving on the island, intending to find a ship to travel to the nearest Marine base and enlist, but before he could do anything, the wave of pestilence unleashed by Doc Q had swept through the city, affecting all of its inhabitants—including him, of course.

Drake had watched in resignation as countless innocent people collapsed to the ground, suffering from the symptoms of the disease while he could do absolutely nothing to help them.

Once again, he was completely useless in his attempt to protect the defenseless, and the thought made the passionate, idealistic boy grit his teeth in frustration.

Even so, just like Hawkins, he was not an ordinary person. Not only was his body stronger than average, but his dormant Haki also helped him endure the assault of the illness coursing through his body to some extent.

Struggling with each step, he made his way back toward the coast, hoping to find Orion and ask him to help the people of the city. He knew Orion was unbelievably powerful, so if he wished to, he would surely be capable of saving the people of Gourde.

Still, Drake did not believe Orion would help anyone without a reason, because in his mind Orion was simply a powerful king who had never lived an ordinary life and therefore could not empathize with the suffering of others, though naturally he could only think that way because he did not know Orion at all.

He had already prepared himself to pay whatever price Orion demanded in exchange for agreeing to save the people of Gourde, and he was even willing to become Orion's subordinate by accepting the offer he had rejected earlier.

However, when he reached the coastal area, he found Monet, Law, and another unfamiliar boy already working tirelessly to aid the people of the city, and he could not simply stand by doing nothing, immediately stepping forward to offer his assistance.

"Are you sure you can help? Your condition is pretty bad. There's no need to overexert yourself—if you collapse from pushing yourself too hard, you'll only create more problems for us!" Monet said, not placing much trust in the help the staggering and timid Drake could provide.

Even so, Drake was an extremely stubborn boy, so he ignored Monet's words and began carrying patients with great effort, bringing them into the Pocket Dimension, where Law was now fully dressed in a doctor's uniform and conducting blood tests on one of the patients.

If Orion had read One Piece in his previous life, he would undoubtedly have been shocked to see that three of the future's most famous pirates were currently working together to save the people of Gourde Island.

"Be careful with the patients! They're in a delicate condition!" Law said, lifting his gaze from the small test tube in his hand to scold Drake for the way he was handling the patients.

Drake was exhausted and weak, and he could only nod faintly in apology before turning around once more to search for more patients to transport.

"What a troublesome guy, he should be lying down and resting," Law murmured, though he did not have the luxury of worrying about Drake's situation right now, because he was just about to complete the blood analyses necessary to determine the illness affecting the patients.

He had been studying medicine for as long as he could remember, and he was the son of the greatest doctor in the North Blue. On top of that, he had been accepted as the disciple of Orion, who was undoubtedly one of the finest doctors in the world at present, so there was no way he could fail his two masters!

Orion had entrusted him with curing the patients, and now was his moment to shine. Even though he could not fight like Mitsu or even Perona—who now possessed a powerful Devil Fruit ability—he could support the group with his medical knowledge, and this was the moment to demonstrate everything he was capable of.

Truthfully, Law possessed far more talent for medicine than Orion himself, and there was no doubt that in the future he would become one of the greatest doctors in the world. Even now, the young genius was already displaying a glimpse of the figure countless people would one day recognize as a miraculous healer.

Focused entirely on the blood analyses he was performing, Law looked far more "cool" than he ever had before, although the young genius himself would never realize it, because every part of his being was concentrated on helping the suffering people before him.

At last, Law obtained the result he had been waiting for, discovering what kind of disease Doc Q had used to infect the people. Searching through the vast compendium of medical knowledge engraved into his mind since early childhood, he quickly identified the illness and the method needed to treat it.

Showing a triumphant smile, Law ran toward another section of the clinic that was filled with materials for distilling medicine and immediately began preparing the remedy necessary to combat the patients' symptoms and cure them once and for all.

"I need to produce enough of it, I have to calculate the proportions carefully. There should also be some of this medicine in my master's reserves. We need to begin oral administration and run new blood tests. I also need to prepare blood transfusions for the patients in the most critical condition…"

Law continued muttering a flood of thoughts racing through his mind at incredible speed while his hands worked tirelessly to distill the necessary medication.

Outside, Monet, Hawkins, and the frail Drake were transporting the remaining inhabitants of the city, while Shesha assisted by releasing small waves of Conqueror's Haki stored within his body in order to eliminate the pathogens lingering in the areas of the city Orion's initial attack had not reached.

Everyone was working desperately hard, and before long they would succeed in curing the people of Gourde, thanks above all to the outstanding performance of the young medical genius Trafalgar Law.

…

Meanwhile, Mitsu's situation was far more complicated. After giving instructions to Law and Monet, Orion had gone directly to the operating room where he normally treated patients and began examining the girl's condition.

He quickly realized that multiple diseases were ravaging Mitsu's body simultaneously, so concentrating with absolute precision in order not to harm her, he released small amounts Haki inside her body, destroying the viruses created through the powers of the Shiku Shiku no Mi.

Even so, just as had happened with the rest of the patients in the city, eliminating the viruses inside Mitsu's body did not magically solve the problem, because she had already suffered the effects of the diseases, and several physiological processes were failing at the same time.

Not only had she lost a massive amount of blood, but several of her organs were in critical condition, and she had even lost her sense of sight.

Orion forced himself to remain calm, because he knew he had to stay as focused as possible to avoid a tragedy, since Mitsu's condition was truly delicate at that moment. Pulling out a bag of his own blood that he had prepared beforehand inside his inventory, he began a transfusion for the small clone, and just after connecting the bag, when he was about to attempt repairing Mitsu's internal organs, she suddenly spoke with difficulty, taking him by surprise.

"Orio-n… H-How is P…Perona?" the little girl asked with immense effort, trying to raise her head to look around, though it was impossible because she had lost her sight.

Orion placed a hand gently against Mitsu's cheek and answered in a comforting voice.

"Perona is alright, thanks to you. You managed to protect her!"

After hearing Orion's words, Mitsu showed a beautiful smile, and it was the first time Orion had ever seen so much emotion on her face, which normally remained completely deadpan.

"I'm glad…"

Mitsu began speaking again, but it was difficult for Orion to hear her even with his heightened senses, forcing him to lower his ear close to her mouth in order to catch her words clearly.

"I'm glad… that only a clone like me... ended up getting hurt…"

Mitsu's words struck Orion like a bucket of cold water, because until now he had never once heard her say anything like that. Ever since she had begun living by his side in Pacific Kingdom, she had always appeared cheerful—in her own way—and had integrated into his family without any problems, improving day by day in the way she interacted with others.

However, Orion should never have forgotten that Mitsu was not a normal child. She had grown up as the very first clone created by Vegapunk and his team of scientists for the World Government after they had been forcibly recruited by them.

During the first years of her childhood, she had never been able to experience a normal life, and in many ways her situation had been even worse than that of Stussy and Gloriosa, because at least the two of them had not spent their early years under the direct surveillance of the World Government, which had allowed them to grow up with a bit more freedom—even if they still had not enjoyed anything close to a normal childhood.

Mitsu, on the other hand, had grown up watched over like an experiment by the Marines and the World Government, and she had never received much affection from her creators, which had left her feeling deeply empty.

Even so, at least she had felt that she was important, because she had been the cornerstone of one of Vegapunk and the World Government's most significant projects, and the constant supervision from those around her could be interpreted by a child's mind as a form of attention, which was the closest thing to affection she could obtain.

However, everything changed once Vegapunk's technology advanced by leaps and bounds, leaving her behind as an obsolete model whose usefulness had already been fulfilled after providing the initial data for the next phase of the project to create the perfect soldier in the future.

From that moment onward, she no longer received any "attention" at all and was discarded as an existence without importance. It had only been Vegapunk himself, feeling pity for the little clone, who convinced the Marines to train Mitsu as part of their future forces, because after all she was a clone of Tsuru, one of the most powerful Marines, and had even been genetically enhanced to surpass the original version.

It was during that period, while Vegapunk was traveling with Mitsu to bring her to Marineford and hand her over to the Marines in the hope that the girl might finally be able to live a somewhat more normal life, that Orion crossed paths with them.

Vegapunk met Orion during his mission on Jewel Island, and after seeing the kind of person he was, the scientist decided that Mitsu would be far happier at Orion's side than if she were sent to the Marines, and so he immediately arranged for the little clone to join Orion's forces after coming up with a last-minute excuse.

And just as Vegapunk had expected, Mitsu truly did become happy alongside Orion and the rest of her new family in Pacific Kingdom, although the shadow of her past as nothing more than an experimental subject had never truly left her behind.

The notion that she was merely a clone without identity, destined to be nothing more than a research tool, along with the belief that she was inferior to a real human being, had taken root deep within the girl's mind, and it was not something that could easily be changed.

Now that she stood at death's door, her true feelings had surfaced before Orion for the very first time, stripped of all disguise. At this moment, the little clone who struggled to interact with people or even express her emotions properly was smiling in relief, happy that Perona was safe and that only an unimportant clone like herself would have to die.

Orion clenched his fists tightly upon seeing the girl's beautiful smile and swore that in the future he would make a far greater effort to show Mitsu just how important she truly was to him, and to everyone in Pacific Kingdom.

"Don't say foolish things, Mitsu. You're just as important to me as Perona!" Orion said as he activated his Room and began operating on Mitsu's internal organs.

However, after hearing Orion's words, Mitsu's smile widened slightly, and after coughing up a mouthful of black blood, her heart stopped, and her breathing ceased.

The little clone Mitsu, the self-appointed bodyguard of the group, had suddenly died in this remote corner of the North Blue.