While they waited for Kuma and the others to arrive, Ginny finally managed to stop sobbing. She was fundamentally not a fragile or easily broken woman. If she were, she never would have been able to drag her agonizingly sick body across the sea, heavily pregnant, surviving unimaginable hardships just to return to her homeland.
"Mansherry, if you please, could you conduct a thorough medical examination on her?" Bardock requested softly. "As for the actual treatment, we'll wait until Kuma arrives to discuss it."
Bardock then gestured for Galdino to use his Wax-Wax Fruit to rapidly construct a secure, completely light-proof hospital room adjacent to the main hall.
Once Mansherry gently guided Ginny into the makeshift ward, the rest of the crew waited quietly in the dim church. Not long after, Mansherry emerged, her large eyes red and brimming with unshed tears.
"Captain... she is so incredibly pitiful," Mansherry sniffled, wiping her eyes.
It was obvious that Mansherry had seen the full extent of Ginny's physical deterioration under the heavy bandages. The symptoms of Sapphire Scales were horrifically macabre. The patient's skin gradually hardened and crystallized into tough, jagged blue scales, inflicting endless, agonizing torment upon the victim as their body slowly turned into living stone.
"Is your Devil Fruit ability capable of curing this specific disease?" Bardock asked, his tone serious.
Logically, the Heal-Heal Fruit was considered an absolute, omnipotent panacea. Bardock was merely asking to confirm his assumption.
"I can definitely eradicate the immediate physical symptoms and reverse the crystallization," Mansherry said, her brow furrowing deeply in concentration. "However... I cannot guarantee that I can completely cure the root cause of the disease and prevent it from relapsing. I'm highly concerned that the moment she is exposed to natural sunlight again, the symptoms will aggressively return."
"Oh? Is the disease truly that incredibly complex?" Bardock frowned.
He knew that Sapphire Scales was the horrific side-effect of Saint Saturn's twisted medical experiments, but he hadn't anticipated that even the miraculous Heal-Heal Fruit might struggle to permanently eradicate it.
"The disease seems to have fundamentally altered her underlying Lineage Factor (DNA)," Mansherry explained, using the advanced medical terminology she had studied. "My current mastery of the fruit's abilities hasn't quite reached the cellular or genetic level yet. I'll need to conduct significantly more extensive tests and verify my findings to be certain."
With that, Mansherry hurried back into the wax ward to continue her meticulous examination of Ginny. Even without actively using her Devil Fruit, thanks to her rigorous studies, Mansherry was already an incredibly gifted and competent physician.
By the next day, Enel was the very first to detect Kuma's approach.
He turned his head toward the southern sky, his eyes narrowing. "There are three of them total. Bardock, the man you've been waiting for has finally arrived."
"Three?" Bardock muttered, rapidly running through the list of potential candidates in his head.
A moment later, his own Observation Haki successfully detected the incredibly dense auras rapidly closing in on the island.
POP! POP! POP!
Three distinct, paw-shaped air bubbles violently slammed into the ground outside the church. As the compressed air dissipated, three imposing figures materialized.
Bartholomew Kuma, Monkey D. Dragon, and Emporio Ivankov. Three of the absolute highest-ranking leaders of the Revolutionary Army had descended upon the Sorbet Kingdom.
They instantly locked onto Bardock and his crew standing outside the church doors. Kuma didn't hesitate for a microsecond. "Where is Ginny?!" he demanded, his usually gentle voice laced with frantic desperation.
Bardock simply pointed a finger toward the heavy wooden doors of the church.
POP!
Kuma vanished instantly. He reappeared directly in front of the doors, aggressively pushing them open and rushing inside, his massive voice echoing, "GINNY!"
Meanwhile, Dragon and Ivankov had already recognized Bardock. Given how recently the 'City of Gold' incident had utterly dominated global headlines, it was impossible for men who closely monitored geopolitical news to not recognize his face.
"You are the explorer who discovered the Golden City... Bardock, correct? I am—"
"You are Monkey D. Dragon, the Supreme Commander of the Revolutionary Army. I know exactly who you are," Bardock smoothly interrupted, smiling faintly. He turned to the massive Okama next to him. "And King Ivankov. Your reputation precedes you."
"Hee-haw! Since we've all skipped the pleasantries, do you mind explaining exactly what is going on with Ginny?!" Ivankov demanded, his massive face tight with anxiety. He shared an incredibly deep, familial bond with Ginny, having always viewed her as a beloved younger sister.
"To put it simply, I came to this island specifically seeking to discuss a matter with Kuma," Bardock explained concisely. "While we were waiting for him to return, we serendipitously discovered Ginny suffering from a terminal illness. Therefore, we 'borrowed' her Den Den Mushi to contact Kuma directly. I honestly didn't expect the two of you to accompany him."
Bardock kept his explanation strictly limited to the facts at hand, carefully omitting any classified knowledge he logically shouldn't possess.
Dragon's intense, tattooed face scowled deeply. At that exact moment, a gut-wrenching, agonizing cry of pure sorrow erupted from Kuma deep within the church. Dragon and Ivankov instantly exchanged a horrified look and immediately sprinted inside.
BZZT!
A flash of lightning illuminated the space beside Bardock as Enel materialized. His eyes were locked intensely on Dragon's retreating back.
"So that man is Monkey D. Dragon? The user of the Wind-Wind Fruit? Another Logia monster..." Enel muttered, electricity violently arcing around his fists. "Bardock. I want to fight him."
Bardock looked at Enel's deadly serious expression. "Dragon's combat strength is absolutely, unequivocally on par with Vice Admiral Kuzan's, if not greater. Are you absolutely certain you're ready for that?"
Enel didn't break eye contact with the church doors. "I won't know until I fight him."
Bardock nodded slowly, a small smile playing on his lips. "Alright then. We'll fight him. Given that Ginny's survival relies entirely on our medical intervention, I sincerely doubt he'll refuse your challenge."