Chapter 88: The Cure for Sapphire Scale
New World - Punk Hazard - Vegapunk's Lab
"FWOOSH—!"
Space twisted, and Roy appeared in the center of the lab, carrying Kuma and the sleeping Bonney. Worried about Bonney's health, Kuma had insisted they travel at top speed, warping across the New World to reach Punk Hazard.
In the lab, Dr. Vegapunk was intently focused on a set of neural sensors when he felt the sudden shift in the environment. He spun around—
"GUWAAAH!!"
The old doctor leaped backward, nearly falling into a console, his glasses knocked completely crooked.
"Roy! Can you please stop appearing like a ghost?! You're going to kill me!" he roared, furiously adjusting his goggles.
Even as he yelled, his hands were expertly flying over a control panel, typing in a code. The lab's surveillance feed instantly froze, wiping the last minute of data and replacing it with a "dummy" loop. It was a process practiced to perfection.
"Relax, Doctor," Roy shrugged, smiling. "Look what I brought you."
He stepped aside, revealing the massive form of Kuma. "A pure-blooded Buccaneer. And the user of the Paw-Paw Fruit, to boot."
Vegapunk's pupils shrank. Then, his eyes lit up with a wild, childish glee, like he'd just been handed the keys to the kingdom.
"He's... he's real?!"
He scrambled forward with a speed unbecoming of his age, circling Kuma, muttering to himself, "The bloodline of a Giant... muscle density far exceeding human norms... bone structure, nerve response time... this is... this is the perfect reference specimen!"
He excitedly reached out to touch Kuma's arm, but a calm, firm voice stopped him. "Doctor."
Kuma spoke, his voice gentle but absolute. "I need you to confirm one thing for me first."
He slowly knelt, his massive hands carefully presenting Bonney—a tiny, sleeping figure.
"My daughter... does she really have... Sapphire Scale disease?"
Vegapunk's manic energy vanished, replaced instantly by a grim seriousness. He leaned in, closely examining Bonney's face. "I'll need a blood sample for a genetic scan. Is that alright?"
Kuma nodded without hesitation, gently placing Bonney on a nearby examination table.
Vegapunk took out a fine, precise needle and gently pricked Bonney's finger—
"Pad: Pain Transfer."
A soft, paw-shaped glow appeared on Kuma's palm. Bonney didn't even flinch as Kuma absorbed the pinprick of pain.
"That ability..." Vegapunk glanced at Kuma in surprise, but quickly returned to his work.
He placed the blood in an analyzer. A moment later, a massive holographic projection appeared, blue data streams cascading down, forming viral maps and blood-cell analyses.
The air in the lab was suffocatingly tense. Kuma stood frozen, his fists clenched, while Roy leaned against the wall, his gaze sharp.
Finally, Vegapunk let out a long sigh, his expression heavy. "It's confirmed. Sapphire Scale. The genetic map is a perfect match for Ginny's case file."
The words hit Kuma like a physical blow. He staggered, his massive frame seeming to deflate.
"In the early stages, it's asymptomatic," Vegapunk continued, "but the virus gradually consumes the patient's life energy. Once it enters the active phase, their life force will be extinguished like a burning piece of paper."
He paused. "Based on Bonney's condition... she has until she's ten. At best."
The room went cold. Kuma looked down at Bonney's sleeping face, so innocent, and felt an icy blade twist in his soul.
"Doctor," Roy suddenly spoke, his voice calm but firm, "you can cure it, can't you?"
Vegapunk nodded. "We can use stem-cell grafting, specialized immuno-induction, and a nano-restructuring system. But... the cost of this procedure is... astronomical."
"It would start at several hundred million Beri. It would strain the budget of an entire Pacifista project."
"That's fine," Roy said, walking to his side. "Put it all on my tab. Just cure her."
"...Are you sure?"
Roy's smile was unreadable. "Just cure her. A... certain someone... owes me a very large favor."
Vegapunk shook his head, but he, too, was smiling. "Alright, then. You'll get your results."
Kuma hadn't moved. He stared at Roy's back, his eyes filled with a complex, swirling emotion. He had never imagined that someone, a Marine Vice Admiral no less, would offer to expend such an immense fortune for his daughter, asking for only a blood sample in return.
In that moment, he understood.
Roy hadn't come for the experiment. He had come... for Bonney.
"...Thank you, Roy," Kuma said, his voice thick.
Roy turned, his gaze meeting the giant's, and just smiled.
In the cold, steel laboratory, a small, steady light had just been lit.
Vegapunk led them through a heavy alloy blast door. Inside was a massive cultivation bay—cold light shone on rows and rows of containment tubes, each holding an unformed embryo floating in green nutrient fluid. It was a silent "life factory."
"This is the first-generation 'PX Project' cloning unit," Vegapunk explained, his voice a mix of pride and clinical detachment. "They were designed as clone soldiers, but these bio-vessels are highly resistant to extreme viruses. They will serve as the perfect 'host' for the Sapphire Scale treatment research."
He took out a high-precision extraction tool. "I'll need your cell sample now, Kuma." He looked at him apologetically. "This might hurt a little."
Kuma rolled up his sleeve without a word. "It's fine."
The extractor hissed as it pierced his skin and muscle tissue, drawing blood and cells. Kuma didn't even flinch.
Vegapunk quickly introduced the sample into the core. The system hummed to life.
"It will take at least two weeks for the clone-host to mature," Vegapunk said, his expression serious. "In that time, I will use inhibitors to slow the disease in Bonney. I will not let it become active."
Kuma just nodded, his gaze never leaving his sleeping daughter.
Roy stepped forward. "Kuma, we should leave Bonney here for that time. Vegapunk can monitor her condition much more stably."
Kuma's shoulders tensed.
"You don't trust him?" Roy asked.
Kuma was silent for a long time. "...No. It's just... I don't want to let her out of my sight again." His voice was heavy with the fear of a father who had already lost too much.
Vegapunk, surprisingly, patted Kuma's leg. "Don't worry. I'll look after her as if she were my own granddaughter. I may be a scientist, but I'm not heartless."
Roy looked out the window at the darkening sky. "Kuma, I have one other suggestion..."
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