It’s fine, it’s fine.
He must have just grabbed the wrong thing.
There’s no way that’s meant for acupuncture.
Whitebeard desperately tried to reassure himself.
But just as he managed to calm down, Vir pulled another tool out of his little medkit…
That’s right.
The base of a rotary hammer drill.
All you had to do was switch out the head—super convenient.
“Alright, our acupuncture session is just about ready to begin.”
Vir affixed the hammer bit to the base and smiled at Whitebeard.
At that moment, Whitebeard’s last shred of hope was crushed.
Great.
Just great.
He was just thinking something was missing.
Turns out, there was still a construction worker left unaccounted for!
In that instant, Whitebeard’s perception of doctors shattered completely.
Yet, no matter how much he resisted, Vir insisted that without this step, he would never reach his peak condition.
He thought about Ace.
He thought about his sons.
To minimize their injuries and sacrifices…
Whitebeard clenched his teeth!
He stomped his foot!
“Bring it on!”
The moment the words left his mouth, Vir wasted no time.
He didn’t want to give Whitebeard the chance to back out.
Without hesitation, Vir powered up the device.
*Bzzzt! Vrrrrr!*
After a quick test run, everything seemed fine!
Time to get started!
Vir jumped onto Whitebeard’s back.
He raised the hammer drill and pressed it against Whitebeard’s head!
This scene left the entire Whitebeard Pirates dumbfounded!
What the hell!?
A hammer bit to the head!?
Was this acupuncture or a skull-shattering execution plan?!
“Pops isn’t gonna die from this, right??”
“You know what, now that you mention it… I’m kinda freaking out too!”
“Relax, relax! Marco’s right there! If Pops kicks the bucket, we’ll just blame him!”
“Shut the hell up, Jozu!”
Despite their overwhelming panic, none of them dared interfere.
Because Vir’s medical skills had already earned their trust.
Vir, on the other hand, wasn’t the least bit concerned about Whitebeard surviving.
This thing wouldn’t actually cause any harm.
At its core, it was still just a needle.
Vir had simply reshaped it into the form of a hammer drill bit.
Even if Whitebeard’s skull got “drilled through”, nothing would happen.
It was all just a visual trick.
But! The sensation wouldn’t disappear!
Such was the power of the System’s tools!
*Clink—*
The drill made contact with Whitebeard’s forehead, letting out a crisp sound.
Vir adjusted its position.
Precision was key—this couldn’t just be done randomly.
Whitebeard, staring at the rotary hammer drill pressing against his forehead, gulped hard.
How many times had he done that today?!
He really didn’t want this!
But with that thing pressed against his forehead, refusal wasn’t an option!
‘Here we go!’
Once Vir found the exact spot, he pressed the activation button!
The drill roared to life!
Whitebeard’s head was instantly forced backward!
The hammer bit rapidly thrusted in and out, pounding against Whitebeard’s forehead!
Normally, this thing was used to break through hardened concrete.
Yet, at this moment, it struggled to pierce Whitebeard’s skull.
Tch.
What a monster.
No Haki, no special techniques—just pure, raw physical toughness holding up against this.
*Bzzzt! Bzzzt!*
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The sound of the drill and Whitebeard’s head slamming against the deck merged into a single, chaotic symphony.
Listening to this, everyone present couldn’t help but frown.
“Uh… won’t Pops brain get scrambled?”
“Is he gonna end up with dementia?”
Doubts surfaced involuntarily.
As for Whitebeard, currently enduring this torture?
His face had turned completely red!
Vir had pushed him to the brink of overheating!
His brain was practically getting blended!
He was about to become Redbeard at this rate!
This thing clearly wasn’t breaking through!
So why the hell was he still at it!?
Whitebeard was on the verge of a breakdown.
Vir, on the other hand, was grinning ear to ear!
Because Whitebeard’s suffering meant the system was going wild with notifications!
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 250,000 negative points!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 150,000 negative points!]
[Ding…]
For the first time, treating Whitebeard had triggered a continuous notification streak!
Not an easy feat!
Vir’s mood instantly skyrocketed!
As for the drill failing to pierce through?
Not a problem at all!
He had simply been holding back.
This thing required manual pressure—the harder you pushed, the deeper it went!
As the wave of negative points subsided, Vir wasted no time!
He stepped onto Whitebeard’s chest and launched himself into the air!
Whitebeard, whose redness had just started to fade, immediately flushed crimson again!
What the hell was this guy planning now!?
No way…!?
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 300,000 negative points!]
The system chimed the moment Vir came crashing down!
With the added momentum, the drill roared like a beast unleashed!
In an instant, it was pressed down with full force!
Power surged explosively!
*VRRRR—CRACK!*
It went through!
It went through!
It went in!
It finally went in!
This immense power had finally broken through Whitebeard’s rock-solid skull!
And then it viciously pierced into his cranium!
Once the skull was breached, nothing could stop it anymore!
Under the shocked and stupefied gazes of everyone, the drill drove straight through!
The sound of drilling echoed in everyone’s ears!
Just as everyone’s jaws were still hanging open—
*Squelch!!*
A strange sound rang out!
Looking again, the hammer drill bit had already successfully emerged from the back of Whitebeard’s head!
“Holy shit!!!! What the hell is this?!”
“Brothers! I’m freaking out! Is this really happening?! IS IT?!”
“Someone explain this! Without comment subtitles, I can’t even process this! It went all the way through! THROUGH!”
Shouts of disbelief erupted.
However, seeing that Marco didn’t react, they also didn’t dare to act rashly.
At the very front, Marco was also staring nervously at Whitebeard, whose eyes were glaring wide in shock.
Old man hadn’t said anything yet.
Nor did he show any signs of distress!
Well… glaring wide-eyed was an unusual expression in itself.
But Pops didn’t seem to be in pain.
Through his father’s expression, Marco didn’t see agony.
Instead… was that a hint of… relief?
This situation left Marco utterly stunned.
His head had been drilled through!
And yet, he looked… comfortable?
Is this really happening?
Something seems off here.
But he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
He had never seen his father in such a state before.
The wide-eyed expression must be from shock.
But that relief… could it be that… this actually worked??
No way!
For real?
Drilling through the head… could cure his condition?
Maybe he should try it on Jozu sometime!
Meanwhile, on Vir’s side—
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 550,000 negative points!]
Whitebeard was truly baffled now.
This situation had completely caught him off guard.
His head… had been drilled through?
But… why didn’t it hurt at all?
In fact… it felt kinda good?
Huh?
What the…
Could it be that he had already adapted to this guy’s methods?
Otherwise, how could he be feeling like this?
The sudden system notification also startled Vir.
550,000 points.
Damn.
A new record.
But this… was only the beginning.
After all…
This needle… still had one more incredible effect that had yet to be triggered.
The Cry Needle.
If it doesn’t make you cry, what’s the point?
Just as Vir thought this, he saw Whitebeard’s face, which had just lost its flush, suddenly turn red again and spread rapidly across his entire body!
At this moment, Whitebeard was holding his breath with all his might!
Soon.
Not just his face.
His entire body began turning bright red!
It was clear that he was holding something back with great difficulty!
Vir watched the scene unfold with a smile on his face.
Ohhh?
Is it coming?
The big moment?
As he watched in amusement, Marco grew increasingly frantic.
What’s going on?
Why does Pops suddenly look like he’s in distress?
What’s happening?
Did the aftereffects finally kick in?
But… this doesn’t look like pain.
If it’s not pain, then what?
He was turning red from holding it in.
With Pops’ strength, how could something make him struggle so much?
What could make even Pops endure with such difficulty?
In all the years Marco had followed him…
He had NEVER seen Pops like this!
What exactly he was going through right now?!
Marco was completely lost.
And not just him.
Everyone else was just as clueless.
They could all tell something was wrong.
But this was their Pops—the Strongest Man in the World!
What could possibly be too much for him to handle?!
None of them understood.
They were equal parts terrified and fascinated.
This… was something that had never happened before!
They didn’t get it.
But Whitebeard knew.
His eyes were already welling up with tears.
A lump was lodged in his throat, barely held back.
The slightest slip—and it would erupt.
He wanted to cry!
HE, the Strongest Man in the World, WANTED TO CRY?!
IMPOSSIBLE!
And this wasn’t just any ordinary cry.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be struggling so hard to hold it in!
What the hell was this?!
If he actually let it out…
His dignity would be GONE!
In front of all his sons…
He’d rather die than let out a single sound!!