Rayleigh looked down at Vir, who had died in his arms.
That blood-soaked face, with an expression of sheer confusion, was impossible to ignore.
What the hell just happened?
Seriously, what?
Can someone please explain this?!
This makes no sense!
How… how did he just die?
How the hell did he die?!
The amount of blood here could’ve killed a hundred of my neighbor’s huskies!
Like, how?!
Did Momousagi actually kill you?!
Since when did she have that kind of power?
If she did, no way she’d still just be an Admiral candidate!
But judging by the force of that impact earlier, Momousagi must’ve been hiding some serious strength.
Otherwise there’s no way Vir would’ve been sent flying like that.
And yet… Vir hadn’t used any offensive moves the entire fight against Momousagi.
That last Lightning Cannon had triple the charge…
Rayleigh was starting to believe it.
To believe that Vir was truly dead.
Because his heartbeat, his pulse, his breath…
They had all stopped.
Even his body temperature was beginning to drop.
Wouldn’t be long now before he became a cold corpse.
Did this kid really screw up that badly?
The situation, while complex, wasn’t all that hard to read.
From the looks of it—
Vir was no match for Momousagi, and tried to escape using his spatial abilities.
But she followed him in.
Then, she slashed him once, causing massive blood loss.
Next thing, he coughed once, and dropped.
Rayleigh was stunned.
His face was full of disbelief.
But the facts were laid bare in front of him.
Vir was dead.
Now, the Marines’ only remaining targets would be the Straw Hat crew connected to him.
And what did that mean?
It meant the old man was back on babysitting duty!
First, he was just leading a bunch of rookies around.
Now?
Now he was their leader, bodyguard, babysitter, tour guide, and nanny!
All because this kid had to go and die on him.
Killed three Celestial Dragons.
Then flopped into his arms.
Kicked the bucket.
And left him with this mess.
This colossal mess!
And the worst part? He had to deal with it.
He’d already decided to help the brat—backing out now wasn’t his style.
Whatever.
Screw it.
He was just an old bag of bones anyway.
If he died, he died.
With that thought, Rayleigh’s gaze toward Momousagi grew sharp and dangerous.
Momousagi met Rayleigh’s suddenly serious eyes—
And her already dazed expression turned even more confused.
She was the one involved, she should understand what happened best.
But she could swear—no one was more confused than she was.
What was Vir even doing?
One dramatic backflip—
And then dead?!
Her Observation Haki picked up on Vir’s life force vanishing—
And she was shocked.
‘What did I do??’
‘I swear I didn’t do anything!’
‘I didn’t even touch him!’
‘He ran into me, okay!?’
And sure, fine, if he wanted to fake it, whatever!
But who the hell fakes their own death like this?!
What are you, made of porcelain!?
Did you overdo your dramatic dive!?
Even the blood loss had her spooked.
Did all the blood in his body just spray out in an instant!?
That’s insane!
But after the initial shock, an indescribable emotion flickered in Momousagi’s eyes.
Vir had sold it.
Even she, the one who’d supposedly killed him, had bought it.
But for a doctor like Vir, this was child’s play.
Heart stopping? Pulse vanishing? Please.
He could even give himself the appearance of a withered corpse if he wanted.
Even if you brought a doctor over now, they’d take one look and say, “Yeah, this guy’s deader than a rock.”
That was the mark of a true professional.
If you’re gonna act, commit.
And if you commit, go all the way.
Leave no room for doubt.
Aside from Momousagi and Rayleigh, the rest of the Straw Hats were completely stunned.
Each of them stared at Vir’s limp right hand and slowly closing eyes.
Their hearts all skipped a beat.
Was Vir… seriously injured?
Even someone that strong couldn’t beat that woman?
Tears welling up in his eyes, Chopper suddenly hurled Rayleigh’s luggage into the water.
He tore through the stunned crowd and ran straight to Rayleigh’s side.
Rayleigh didn’t hesitate to pass Vir into Chopper’s arms.
Then, slowly, he drew the blade from his waist.
A cold glint flickered in his eyes.
Chopper held Vir gently. In Vir’s left hand, he still clutched a photograph.
As his body shifted—
The photo slipped from his fingers and fluttered to the ground.
But Chopper didn’t even notice.
Because the moment he held Vir—
He realized Vir had no sign of life.
Completely, utterly dead.
Chopper froze.
He had only thought Vir was seriously hurt…
But now, Big Bro…
He was dead.
The one he believed to be unbeatable—
Was really gone?
Really, truly gone?
Big Bro… had died.
Chopper’s eyes went hollow.
All light vanished from his gaze.
His arms trembled violently as he held Vir.
His mind went completely blank.
All thought vanished.
Only one voice remained in his heart—
Only the last thing Vir had said echoed in his ears:
Avenge me… Avenge me…
“Big Bro… I have to avenge Big Bro…”
Chopper murmured in a daze, his voice empty.
The others immediately sensed that something was very wrong.
When they saw Vir’s face—pale as a sheet—
Saw his unmoving chest—
They were all stunned.
“What’s going on? Vir… he…”
“No way! That’s impossible! He’s so strong! How could he…”
“Quick! Someone save him! Get a doctor! Chopper! Chopper’s a doctor! Chopper, save Vir!”
Luffy shouted, panicked.
But—
Chopper’s expression had already told everyone the answer.
He was really dead.
No saving him now.
Robin gently took Vir from Chopper’s arms.
Staring at his tightly shut eyes and lifeless face—
Even she couldn’t stop her tears from falling.
But then—!
Chopper suddenly stood up!
Shoved his hand into Vir’s medkit!
The one only Vir was ever able to open.
In a flash—
He pulled out a handful of pills.
Black pills.
The third-generation Rumble Balls that Vir had made for him.
He hadn’t given them to Chopper before because his body couldn’t handle them.
Chopper was still using the first generation.
As he held the pills in his hand, he muttered softly:
“Avenge…”
Everyone was shocked that Chopper could even open Vir’s medkit.
But the moment they saw him shove all the pills into his mouth at once—
They completely freaked out!
—–
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