His tone was filled with doubt.
“Still seems like it! He really is!”
Finally, Nami couldn’t hold back any longer and directly revealed the truth.
“Eh~~!!”
“He’s Mr. 2!”
The entire crew finally confirmed that their two brain cells hadn’t deceived them.
That guy was indeed a Baroque Works agent.
After the initial shock, everyone calmed down.
That said…
Mr. 2 was actually a pretty decent guy.
In this short time, Luffy and his crew had grown quite fond of Bon-chan.
Now, they all felt that he must have been forced to join Baroque Works for some unknown reason.
Their imaginations ran wild.
But Vivi’s next words made everyone tense up.
“Among the faces he just showed you… was my father’s. This means Baroque Works is likely planning another major move…”
Vivi’s face was filled with worry. Her country was already in turmoil, and now the enemy had the ability to impersonate its king. This was definitely not good news.
The possibilities were endless.
Nami could see the distress in Vivi’s heart. She stepped forward and took her hand.
“Don’t worry, everything will be fine. We’re all here to help you. We’ll make sure to fix this.”
Then she turned to look at the rest of the crew.
“Right, everyone?”
Her sharp gaze sent shivers down their spines.
They all nodded frantically in agreement.
Even Vir, who had only recently joined the crew, gave a nod of approval. Seeing this, Vivi felt slightly more at ease.
“Right! That guy was nice and all, but he is still Mr. 2! He can transform into any of us. We need to take precautions.”
Usopp voiced his concern, pointing out the immediate issue they needed to solve.
“That’s easy!”
Luffy quickly grabbed Chopper’s medical kit and pulled out a roll of bandages.
He wrapped a bandage around everyone’s left wrist.
“There! Now we don’t have to worry about him sneaking in!”
Just as the crew was about to praise Luffy for actually having a good idea, he clapped his hands again.
“No, that’s not enough! We need a secret mark under the bandage! That way, no one will know what it is except us!”
“Enmm~ Let’s make an X! This X will be the mark of our bond!”
As he spoke, Luffy had already drawn an X on his own hand.
He raised it proudly for everyone to see.
The crew had no words.
For once, their captain was actually using his brain.
They had nothing to say.
Luffy then went around and marked everyone’s wrist with an X.
Vir watched as Luffy personally drew the mark on his wrist and nodded in satisfaction.
Sometimes, this guy could really be reliable. His brain was surprisingly functional at times.
Before long, the ship was back to full speed toward Alabasta.
At this rate, they would reach their destination soon.
Everyone resumed their usual tasks on board.
Luffy’s group went fishing, Nami took the helm, Zoro trained, and Sanji cooked.
Seeing everyone back in their routine, Vir waved over Chopper, who was happily fishing.
“What’s up, big bro?”
Chopper was still admiring the new design on his arm, absolutely delighted.
This was a mark of their bond! And he had one too!
Vir looked at him and shook his head helplessly. This silly kid could find joy in the simplest things.
Weren’t they already crewmates?
“Come with me. I’m going to teach you how to make a powerful remedy that cures all ailments. This time, I won’t interfere—you’ll handle everything yourself. Opportunities like this don’t come often, so make the most of it.”
With that, Vir turned with a mysterious air and walked toward his room upstairs.
Hearing this, Chopper’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
A remedy that cures all ailments?!
Could such a miraculous thing really exist?!
His master was amazing!
I have to learn this well!
With that thought, Chopper quickly followed behind.
Seeing his enthusiasm, Vir nodded in satisfaction.
Whether it actually cured anything was another matter. After all, if the person wasn’t around anymore, neither was the illness.
Technically, that still counted as a cure.
Inside the room, one side was set up as a workstation.
Various tools for mixing medicines were neatly arranged on the table, and a refrigerator nearby held herbs that Chopper and Vir had gathered.
They were usually stored in there to keep fresh.
Vir pulled up a chair and sat beside the workstation.
He gestured toward another stool, and Chopper quickly hopped onto it, nodding seriously to show he was ready.
“Alright, first step: heating.”
As soon as Vir spoke, Chopper got to work, his face full of focus.
His hands moved quickly, finishing the preparation in no time.
Mixing itself wasn’t difficult—the real challenge lay in researching and testing the formulas.
Seeing that Chopper was done, Vir spoke again.
“Now, I’ll give you the formula. Take notes.”
Chopper immediately pulled out his notebook, waiting attentively.
“Got it, big bro!”
“One tael of Scale Mushroom, half a jin of Bloating Grass, two Yellow-Grain Flowers, three taels of Fathead Tree Fungus…”
As Vir listed the ingredients, Chopper diligently wrote them down, but his expression grew increasingly strange.
If he remembered correctly, Scale Mushroom’s scent alone could knock out an average person. And they were using a whole tael…
Bloating Grass, if consumed, caused unbearable stomach swelling. Half a jin was already a lethal dose! That was about the size of a pregnant woman’s belly!
Yellow-Grain Flower was even worse—one whiff could make an elephant collapse.
And they were using two of them…
What exactly was master trying to make?
Could this really cure all ailments?
Wouldn’t it just outright kill people…?
“You done writing? Then hurry up and get the ingredients! Why are you just standing there?”
Vir’s voice snapped Chopper out of his thoughts.
“B-Big bro… This… this doesn’t seem right…”
Chopper stammered hesitantly.
“What’s not right? These are just the secondary ingredients. I’ll give you the main one later. Just get these ready first. Stop wasting time.”
Vir scolded, making Chopper scramble to fetch the ingredients.
Of course, Vir knew exactly what these ingredients did.
A potent remedy needed to be… well, potent.
And these were just the side ingredients—the real game-changer was yet to come.
A thousand negative effect points worth of Kidney Tonic.
Ace was going to be in for a surprise.
A real shock, in fact.
Guaranteed that the moment he drank it, he’d start convulsing on the spot.
—
TL note: 1 tael = 37,8g. Half a jin = 250g