It had been several days since Rayleigh first reached out.
As soon as the Oro Jackson docked at the port of Fullalead, Roger was whisked away to the infirmary and placed under Sukura's care. It had all happened so suddenly, but they couldn't rule out the possibility that every second counted. The Roger Pirates' own ship doctor joined the examination, and the two medical minds worked feverishly to coordinate their opinions and identify the underlying ailment.
"I never thought a man like him would fall ill," Kanata mused. "Did he pick something up on the journey?"
"I don't know," Rayleigh replied, his voice heavy. "It came out of nowhere."
"If it's infectious, the rest of you who've been on the ship for days might be at risk too. We're waiting on Sukura's diagnosis, but for now, tell everyone to stay put and stay calm."
"Right. And I'm sorry about this. You were the only one in these waters we felt we could rely on."
"Don't mention it. I owe your crew a debt of gratitude."
While the Oro Jackson was a magnificent vessel, it lacked the specialized medical equipment and vast medicinal stores available at a permanent base like Kanata's. Turning to them for help was the only logical choice.
Rayleigh turned his gaze toward the harbor, noticing the state of the surroundings. "The port looks like it's seen better days. Did you come under attack?"
"Apparently, three pirate crews formed an alliance to take me down. I was hoping they'd have some backbone, but they were wiped out at the docks before they could even start. It was honestly a letdown."
"The harbor looks pretty beat up for a 'letdown'..."
"Yeah... well, that was Feyyun's doing."
Squard, Artefa, and Largo—three pirates with bounties over a hundred million—had joined forces specifically to crush Kanata. They had arrived with an entire fleet, only to be utterly decimated by Feyyun, who had simply been trying to fish at the pier. The alliance collapsed instantly. Artefa and Largo were confirmed dead, while Squard reportedly escaped by the skin of his teeth.
Half the port was in ruins, but since Feyyun was the one who had rampaged, Kanata could only sigh. If Feyyun hadn't stepped in, the subordinates might have taken casualties, so Kanata couldn't exactly be angry with her. Still, she couldn't help but feel disappointed in the lack of talent shown by the three challengers.
"We'll get around to repairs soon. We have enough craftsmen for it."
"Your organization has grown quite a bit," Rayleigh noted. "I feel bad adding to your plate, but we really do need the help."
"We look out for each other. That's how it works."
Kanata watched a weary Rayleigh depart before spending several hours buried in paperwork while waiting for the results. Eventually, one of Sukura's assistants arrived to announce that the examination was over. Kanata dropped the pen and headed straight for the medical wing.
Rayleigh and Gaban had clearly been summoned as well; both men arrived at the infirmary with grim expressions. Inside, Roger lay in a hospital bed, fast asleep. The Roger Pirates' doctor was staring at a medical chart, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"Ah, you're here," Sukura said.
"How is he?" Rayleigh asked immediately.
"He's stable for now. This isn't the kind of illness that will take him tomorrow."
Rayleigh and Gaban visibly relaxed, but Kanata noticed the tension remained in Sukura's eyes.
"'For now'?" Kanata repeated. "Is it serious in the long term?"
"The tests revealed a malignant tumor. It has already metastasized to several areas. We can use medication to manage the pain, and surgery could remove some of it, but a full recovery... that's unlikely."
It was what people called an "incurable disease"—something beyond the reach of modern medical science. There was no established treatment, leaving Sukura to move forward through trial and error.
"The only silver lining is that it isn't contagious. If it were, I would have had to quarantine the entire Roger Pirates crew."
"That's a terrifying thought," Gaban muttered, his face pale.
Rayleigh, looking as though he were bracing for a blow, looked Sukura in the eye. "How long does he have?"
"...It's an aggressive, largely unknown condition. I can't give you a definitive answer, but at the current rate... he has two, maybe three years at most."
Gaban and Rayleigh stood in stunned silence, the words echoing in the room. Kanata pressed for confirmation, asking if it was the absolute truth. Sukura looked down at the chart and spoke with total conviction. "I never lie about a patient's condition."
"Three years... at the most?"
"Wait, are you serious?!" Gaban lunged forward, grabbing Sukura by the collar.
"Your own doctor agrees with me," Sukura said, completely unfazed by the aggression. "And as I said, that isn't a certainty. With long-term treatment, we might be able to extend his life slightly."
"I... I see. Sorry." Gaban let go, looking shaken by Sukura's clinical calm.
Sukura adjusted his white coat and continued. "We need to monitor him closely. Roger will be staying here as an inpatient for a while."
"Roger? Staying still just because he's sick?" Rayleigh asked skeptically.
"Yeah, I don't see that happening," Gaban added.
Roger was not the type of man to lie quietly in a hospital bed, regardless of pain or poor health. But if he pushed himself now, he would only shorten what little time he had left. They had to keep him confined, by any means necessary.
"If it comes down to it, we'll have to use Sea-Prism Stone shackles to keep him down," Sukura suggested. "He isn't a Power User, so they'll just be exceptionally sturdy handcuffs to him, but it's a start."
It was a harsh way to treat a patient, but for a man of Roger's caliber, nothing less would hold. Ordinary handcuffs would be snapped like twigs.
With the briefing finished, Rayleigh and Gaban headed back to their ship. Since the illness wasn't contagious, there was no harm in them going ashore, but they needed to break the news to the rest of the crew. They decided that tonight was for processing the shock; the details of their next move could wait until tomorrow.
+++
A week later.
Roger was proving to be a very energetic fugitive.
"There he is! After him! Pin that idiot down!!"
Sukura's roar echoed through the hospital wings. Roger was laughing as he outran the pursuing doctors, making a break for the exit.
"Wahahahaha!! As if I could just lie around and sleep! I was born to live out on the sea and find adventure!!"
Everyone who saw his vigor found themselves questioning the "three years left" diagnosis, but illness isn't always visible. It's the kind of thing that strikes when you least expect it. Roger had already collapsed once, but he clearly didn't let that dampen his spirits.
His resilience was incredible, but for Rayleigh, it was a constant headache.
"Roger... you've been told you have an incurable disease. Do you have any intention of staying in bed?"
"Not a chance! I'm going to live exactly how I want! If I die doing that, then I'll have no regrets!!"
Immediately after shouting this, Roger coughed up a spray of blood and toppled over. Rayleigh, now half-furious, hoisted Roger onto his shoulder and began the familiar walk back to the sickroom.
In just one week, Roger had attempted at least a dozen escapes, each one thwarted by Kanata or Rayleigh. They wanted him to behave, but Roger had no intention of listening.
Back in the office, Sukura sank into his chair, looking utterly drained.
"At this rate, I can't even perform basic treatment or checkups. Do something about him!"
"Easy for you to say," Rayleigh sighed, shrugging. "I can't stop him either. Isn't there any way he can continue his adventure while receiving treatment?"
Veins popped on Sukura's forehead as he glared at Rayleigh. Combining adventure with intensive medical care was a logistical nightmare. While Sukura could manage some of it, he was the head of the Twilight Pirates' medical division. He couldn't simply abandon his post to become a personal doctor for another crew.
"If he comes back to me periodically to restock on necessary medications, it might buy him some time. But he still won't last long, and if an emergency occurs without a skilled doctor on hand, he could die instantly."
"So it really is impossible..."
"...I know of someone with medical skills equal to or greater than my own," Sukura admitted. "If you're that determined, go to them and convince them to join your crew."
Sukura realized he couldn't keep a patient who refused to follow orders. He had tried to help because Roger was Kanata's benefactor, but the man's antics were crossing the line. As a doctor, he didn't want to abandon a patient, so handing him over to a trusted peer was the best solution.
Rayleigh noted down the name of the doctor and their location. "I'll go talk it over with Roger," he said, leaving the room.
"That damn fool of a patient..." Sukura muttered, picking up a Transponder Snail to call Kanata.
After a few rings, Kanata picked up. "What is it? Did Roger escape again?"
"That's been handled. But I can't keep a patient in this ward who won't listen to his doctor. I've told them to find a physician who can handle his case and convince them to join their crew."
"I see... Someone equal to or better than you? You mean Dr. Kureha?"
"That old woman is one option, but I have another person in mind."
Kureha wouldn't leave the Drum Kingdom; she had zero interest in the sea or adventure. The person Sukura truly had in mind was Crocus at Twin Cape.
"Ah, he was a doctor, wasn't he?" Kanata recalled. "Is he really that good?"
"He works as a lighthouse keeper, but he's a doctor on the side. I don't know any doctor better than him. He isn't famous, but his skills are the real deal."
"Is that so? I haven't seen him since I told him about the Rumbar Pirates. Hearing that makes me want to go pay him a visit."
"You aren't exactly in a position to go wandering off right now. By the way, increase my research budget."
"Talk to Jorge about that."
Jorge was still the keeper of the vaults; if anyone wanted more money, they had to negotiate with him, not Kanata.
Just as the conversation seemed to be ending, Sukura spoke up again. "Roger's disease is incurable by normal means, but..."
"But?"
"The chance of a cure isn't zero."
"What do you mean? Is there some kind of special medicine?"
"Not a medicine... There's a rumor that eating a certain Devil Fruit allows the user to cure any disease."
It sounded like a tall tale, but anyone who had witnessed the supernatural power of a Devil Fruit couldn't simply laugh it off.
"They call it the Op-Op Fruit. It's said that in the hands of a true master, it can even grant eternal youth."
"The chance isn't zero, then..."
Knowing Roger, he might choose to live his life to the fullest and burn out rather than struggle to extend it. Even so, since Roger had saved Kanata's life in the past, Kanata felt he should at least be given the choice.
"The Op-Op Fruit... Fine. I'll use every resource I have to find it. If we get it, you'll be the one to eat it."
"...I never planned on becoming a Power User, but very well."
Sukura didn't care for eternal youth, but the ability to treat more diseases was a benefit that outweighed any drawback.
"Well, that's assuming we can even find it. Don't hold your breath."
"I'll be waiting."
Information on Devil Fruits was notoriously scarce. Rumors were often fake, and the chance of finding a specific one was astronomical. They appeared on the black market occasionally, but their authenticity was always suspect. It would take time.
+++
The members of the Roger Pirates were all shaken to varying degrees by the news of their captain's illness.
Among them, the one most visibly affected was the man recently dubbed the "Heir of the Demon"—Douglas Bullet. He had been defeated by Roger countless times, and each time he had returned to challenge him, driven by the goal of ultimate victory. To Bullet, Roger was an absolute, immovable existence.
And that man had been brought down by a mere sickness.
The shock threatened to pull the very foundation of Bullet's world out from under him. Even after the sun went down, he remained alone, training relentlessly to suppress his inner turmoil. Kanata, who happened to be taking a walk while checking the perimeter, spotted him and approached.
"...What do you want?" Bullet growled.
"I saw you while I was walking and got curious. No ulterior motive. Unless, of course, you're looking for a sparring partner?"
Compared to the mountain of muscle that was Bullet, Kanata was small enough to look fragile. To an outsider, it looked like a small herbivore approaching a vicious predator.
Annoyed by the response, Bullet threw a sudden, Haki-clad punch. Kanata caught it effortlessly with one hand.
"Good Haki," Kanata noted. "But your technique is still green, Douglas Bullet."
"Hmph."
As a powerhouse being touted as Roger's successor, Kanata couldn't ignore him. While his current strength was still far from Roger's level, he was likely capable of putting up a good fight against Rayleigh. Despite being younger than Kanata, his growth rate was staggering.
Someday, he might even surpass Kanata, but for now, she still held the upper hand. Bullet wordlessly raised his fists, and Kanata mirrored the stance. Since she had only been out for a walk, she wasn't carrying her spear.
"Show me if you have the strength to back up those words, Witch."
"You're green. You should be able to gauge an opponent's strength by instinct, Heir of the Demon."
The air crackled as their Haki collided, their fists meeting with a thunderous boom.
Kanata won the first exchange of power. Bullet, nursing an arm that was numb from the impact, swung with his other fist. Kanata dodged with ease and countered with a powerful kick to Bullet's midsection, sending him flying.
"Guh—!!"
He managed to block with Armament Haki, but he couldn't kill the momentum. Sliding across the ground, Bullet stabilized himself and charged again, his arms black with Haki as he rained down strikes.
"Did the news about Roger's illness shock you that much? If this is your best, surpassing Roger is a distant dream."
"What do you... know about it?!"
Kanata parried, deflected, and blocked. Unlike Bullet, she was perfectly composed, while Bullet was becoming increasingly predictable as his frustration grew. His reputation for rivaling Roger's strength wasn't a lie, but the wall standing before him was still thick.
He was also clearly unfocused. If he were serious, the destruction would be immense, but neither Kanata nor Bullet had the desire to go that far right now.
"I think that's enough. If we go any harder, the guards will come running."
"Tch."
They ended the bout with no significant injuries, the fight having served more as a session of intense sparring. Haki was a personal thing; it wasn't something you could learn through words, only through the experience of combat. In that sense, Kanata was the perfect opponent. There were very few people on Roger's level, and within his own crew, only Rayleigh could truly push him.
"I can still get stronger," Bullet muttered, as if convincing himself.
"Yes, you can. And if you ever get tired of Roger's crew, you're welcome to join mine."
"Hmph."
Bullet didn't give a straight answer, but he didn't reject the idea either as he turned and headed back to the ship.
***
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