The Going Merry sailed at full speed through raging winds and towering waves, finally arriving two days later at the greatest center of medicine in the first half of the Grand Line.
[The Drum Kingdom]
Goose-feather snow drifted down from the sky as freezing winds howled.
But instead of the backward winter island the Straw Hat crew had imagined, what greeted them was a modernized island.
"Stop the ship! Lower the sails!"
Standing at the bow in the wind and snow, Kuro shouted anxiously,
"Captain Luffy, take down the pirate flag! We absolutely can't approach while flying it!"
"Why?"
Although Luffy was shivering from the cold, the moment he heard they had to lower the flag, he immediately protested like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"That's our symbol! Pirates can't lower their own flag!"
"There's no time to explain! This is a World Government medical district under direct administration!"
Kuro was practically jumping with anxiety as he pointed toward the terrifying heavy cannons slowly rotating along the distant shoreline.
"The Drum Kingdom's defense system is fully automated. Any ship that enters the defense zone flying a pirate flag without prior registration will be blown to pieces by those cannons within three seconds. You won't even get a chance to explain."
"Kuro's right, Luffy. Listen to him."
Zoro folded his arms, his expression stern.
"But..."
Luffy gritted his teeth and looked up at the Straw Hat skull flag fluttering violently atop the main mast.
To a pirate, the flag was their faith. Taking it down was the same as admitting defeat.
But behind him, on the deck, Crocodile no longer even had the strength to cough up blood. The sandification spreading across his chest had already begun showing irreversible patches of necrosis.
Luffy took a deep breath. The icy snow filled his lungs, instantly cooling his overheated mind.
After everything that had happened in the East Blue, he was no longer the foolish kid who charged ahead on nothing but hot blood.
He remembered what Shanks had taught him, that in the face of life itself, there were times when you had to let go of certain intangible forms of pride.
He hadn't understood it before.
But now, he thought he finally did.
"Usopp, lower the flag."
Luffy adjusted his straw hat, turned around, and spoke in a low voice.
"Luffy, think this through..."
"Take it down!"
At Luffy's insistence, the Going Merry lowered its pirate flag and disguised itself as an ordinary merchant ship.
Holding the Reverse Mountain citizenship card that had nearly emptied all his savings to obtain, Kuro spent a long time bowing and scraping with the customs officers at the harbor.
Only after more than ten minutes did they finally manage to enter the Drum Kingdom under the pretense of bringing a family member for medical treatment, allowing this group of people without legal identities to disembark.
It wasn't that the World Government's rules were especially harsh.
The main issue was that there simply weren't many undocumented people left in the East Blue now.
Anyone traveling through the other three seas or the Grand Line needed proper identification.
They found a stretcher, placed the barely breathing Crocodile on it, and ran straight toward the island's largest building.
[Drum First Hospital]
The moment they entered the lobby, the warmth of the climate control instantly drove away the freezing cold outside.
But what they saw left everyone stunned.
The waiting hall, large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people, was packed.
The noise was deafening.
Patients from all over the world were everywhere. Some wore the luxurious clothing of nobles from member nations, while others were obviously wealthy merchants.
The electronic display was filled with scrolling queue numbers.
"Nurse! Nurse! Someone help! He's dying!"
Luffy and Zoro carried the stretcher to the emergency reception desk, shouting loudly.
Blood dripped from Crocodile's body onto the polished marble floor, creating a shocking sight.
Behind the reception desk, a nurse in a white coat frowned and glanced at them.
When she saw the blood-soaked man on the stretcher, with half his body still strangely turning into sand, her expression didn't change in the slightest.
She had seen far too many patients in this hospital.
"Why are you yelling? This is the World Government's First Hospital. Keep your voices down."
The nurse tapped on her keyboard coldly.
"Present your ID card for verification and registration."
Kuro hurried forward with a smile plastered across his face, handing over his citizen ID.
"Miss Nurse, I'm a citizen of Reverse Mountain. This is my... uh... distant relative. He's suffered fatal injuries and could die at any moment. Could you please make an exception and arrange emergency treatment?"
Beep!
The machine scanned Kuro's card, and a line of green text appeared on the screen.
The nurse glanced at it before rolling her eyes without restraint.
"Just an ordinary citizen, and you think you deserve special treatment? Why didn't you just have him treated in Reverse Mountain? The hospitals there aren't bad."
"And the patient doesn't even have an identity registration. An undocumented person, huh?"
She tossed the card back to Kuro with a snap before pointing toward the endless line at the back of the hall.
"Undocumented patients are at the very bottom of the treatment queue. Take your number. There are 241 people ahead of you, all critically ill or seriously injured. Estimated waiting time: two days. Wait over there."
"Two days?"
Luffy's eyes widened as he pointed angrily at the barely breathing Crocodile.
"He won't even last another five minutes! If we wait two days, he'll already be dead! I want to see a doctor! Right now!"
"Security."
The nurse's face darkened as she pressed the alarm on her desk.
"If you're here to make trouble, leave."
In an instant, two security guards over two meters tall stepped out from the corners of the lobby, their gun barrels aimed directly at Luffy and the others.
"Miss, we have money! We'll pay whatever it takes!"
Seeing the situation about to spiral out of control, Nami hurriedly grabbed Luffy and Zoro before they could act. Wincing in pain, she pulled out a thick stack of large-denomination Belly notes and slapped them onto the desk.
"Ten million Belly! If you arrange surgery immediately, it's all yours!"
Faced with ten million Belly, the nurse didn't even look at it.
Instead, the contempt in her eyes only deepened.
"Put away those habits of yours. This is the World Government's medical district, not some lawless black market."
"Money doesn't buy privilege here. Only citizen contribution points and citizen rank determine everything. Cause any more trouble, and I'll revoke your treatment eligibility and have every one of you expelled from the island."
"You bastard!"
Luffy trembled with rage, clenching his fists as he prepared to force his way through.
"Luffy! Stop!"
Kuro was so frightened his soul nearly left his body. He grabbed Luffy tightly around the waist and shouted, "If we fight here, we're all finished! Then he won't have even the slightest chance of surviving!"
He had come here only to complete his mission, not to cause trouble.
Drum Island wasn't part of the performance.
The people here were all World Government citizens.
If things really escalated, he himself might be finished too.
"Damn it..."
Luffy's fist froze in midair.
Looking at Crocodile's face, already beginning to turn ashen, he felt a helplessness he had never experienced before.
In the face of these cold rules, the fists he had always been so proud of couldn't even save a single life.
The other people waiting in the lobby pointed at them, their eyes filled with disgust.
They were all waiting in line.
Why should Luffy get special treatment?
Even now, doctors were still in desperately short supply across the seas.
Any World Government citizen could enjoy free medical care.
But while there were countless sick and injured people, there simply weren't enough doctors.
In a true emergency, you weren't supposed to come directly to the hospital.
Instead, you should first report to the local city hall, where they would arrange emergency treatment through an express channel.
Stabilize the patient first, then wait for full treatment.
That was the proper procedure.
Not coming directly to the hospital.
There were far too many people waiting here.
Just as everyone had run out of options and fallen into despair...
Thump!
The dull sound of knees striking the floor suddenly echoed through the noisy lobby.
Zoro and Nami instantly widened their eyes in disbelief as they turned toward the sound.
Luffy was kneeling upright on both knees upon the cold marble floor.
And the person he was kneeling toward... was Sanji, who had been leaning silently against a pillar, smoking.
"Sanji!"
Luffy lowered his head and bit his lip tightly, his eyes red.
He pressed his forehead deeply against the floor, his hoarse voice filled with unmistakable pleading.
"Please... help him."
He wasn't stupid.
He knew very well that Sanji's identity wasn't ordinary.
Here, only Sanji could probably save Crocodile.
"Luffy! What are you doing?"
Usopp's face filled with shock, though there was something else in his eyes.
Crocodile naturally couldn't be allowed to die.
But the fact that Luffy would kneel and beg someone truly caught them off guard.
Kneeling before a crewmate to plead for help...
That wasn't like Luffy at all.
Sanji's hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly, sending a strip of ash falling to the floor.
His expression remained cold.
Luffy's actions didn't move him.
Ever since he was born, everything he had been taught was that his status alone gave him no special privileges.
His talent, and the recognition that came with his identity, were the only things he possessed.
He didn't hold any position within the World Government.
Under normal circumstances, even using his identity wouldn't let him cut the line here at Drum Kingdom.
If it were Shirahoshi or the others, with their second-class ministerial status, it would have been effortless.
But today was different.
Since they had come here, Shirahoshi had undoubtedly arranged everything already.
They wouldn't be using Drum Kingdom's resources.
Instead, resources from the Holy Land would be brought directly here.
"Since you've already asked me... I don't really have a reason to refuse."
Sanji took a deep breath, tossed the half-smoked cigarette onto the floor, and crushed it beneath his leather shoe.
He raised a hand, strode past the kneeling Luffy, and walked straight toward the reception desk.
"Hey, blond kid, what do you think you're doing? Didn't you hear what I just—"
The nurse was just about to call security again.
Smack!
Sanji expressionlessly placed a pitch-black card, edged with dark gold patterns and bearing the Jaygarcia family crest in the center, onto the scanner.
Beep!
With a soft electronic tone, the screen before the nurse instantly turned a dazzling dark gold.
In the center appeared a line of bold text that would make anyone within the World Government's system suffer cardiac arrest at first glance.
[Identity Confirmed! Fourth-Class Clearance Holder. Descendant of the Jaygarcia Family Bloodline. Saint Jaygarcia Sanji.]
"Th-This... This... How is that possible..."
The arrogance and disdain on the nurse's face froze instantly.
Her pupils contracted sharply, and her legs gave out as she collapsed into her chair.
Looking at the blond young man in an ordinary black suit before her, her lips trembled violently, unable to form a complete sentence.
"Prince... Sanji..."
The bustling lobby instantly fell silent enough for a pin to be heard.
The people who had been waiting to watch the spectacle lowered their heads the moment they saw the crest on the screen, not daring to breathe.
It was the bloodline of gods, standing above all rules.
In reality, the Jaygarcia family didn't actually enjoy any special privileges in other regions.
Even Sanji's fourth-class clearance was something he should have possessed based on his own strength.
But no one present knew that.
In the eyes of almost everyone, bloodline always stood above the rules.
"Enough talking."
One hand in his pocket, Sanji tapped the desk with the other.
"Activate the emergency response plan immediately. Prepare your hospital's best operating room."
"Y-Yes! At once! As you command, Your Highness!"
The nurse scrambled to her feet and frantically pressed the emergency communication button, her voice distorted by overwhelming fear.
"Emergency call! Emergency call! Saint Sanji from Mary Geoise requires immediate assistance! Emergency medical team report to the lobby immediately! Hurry! Hurry!"
In reality, the nurse's announcement caused almost no disturbance within Drum First Hospital.
The emergency communication was intercepted by the already prepared Shirahoshi.
She had no intention of ruining her reputation because of ordinary people.
The medical team she had brought from Mary Geoise immediately appeared in the lobby.
In less than ten seconds, accompanied by hurried footsteps, Crocodile was taken away by the group.
After a dazzling series of professional procedures, Crocodile, surrounded by doctors in white coats, was quickly wheeled through a special elevator toward the prepared ward at the top of the hospital.
Seeing that Crocodile had finally been saved, Luffy let out a long sigh of relief and climbed to his feet.
Looking at Sanji as he turned around, Luffy broke into a wide grin.
"Hehe... Thanks, Sanji!"
Ignoring everyone around them, who had long since been stunned speechless, Sanji walked over to Luffy.
Looking at his carefree captain, he sighed helplessly, took another cigarette from his pocket, and lit it.
"Don't let there be a next time, Luffy."
Even now, Sanji had no idea how many points his actions today would earn from his younger sister and his father.
To be honest, he didn't think he was nearly as outstanding as Luffy.
But for someone like him, who had never really had any ambitions and preferred taking it easy, taking the initiative to do something like this was genuinely difficult.
Perhaps, knowing Shirahoshi was going to make something happen here, he should have prepared in advance and played his own part.
Sigh!
He really didn't know what he was supposed to do.
After all...
He still preferred doing the work of a fighter.
[🎉 Shoutout to Pablo and Ferocious_Beast for joining p@treon. Consider joining to keep the stories going. Thank you very much.🤗]