Dr. Kureha's words reignited a spark of hope in Brook. A powerful woman, possessing a monstrous physique, and strong enough to rival a Vice Admiral or even an Admiral...
Wasn't she basically forcing him to pursue Charlotte Linlin? That terrifying body, her jaw-dropping fertility—yet in her youth, Linlin had indeed been quite beautiful.
Or perhaps Vice Admiral Tsuru? In her younger days, she was a stunning beauty with Admiral-level strength, though age had inevitably caught up with her.
But then there was Pure Gold, capable of halting aging and granting eternal youth. Thinking about it this way, his hopes for a fulfilling romantic life might not be entirely lost.
There were also legends of the Ice Witch Clan, whose members remained eternally youthful until the moment of their death. Brook wondered if such a race could withstand his chilling Yomi Yomi no Mi powers.
"I understand now. Thank you for your diagnosis, Dr. Kureha!"
At least there was still hope. Revitalized by this new possibility, Brook regained his usual icy composure and stoic expression.
"That'll be five million Belly!!"
"What?! Why don't you just go rob someone?!"
"Hm?" Dr. Kureha suddenly pulled out a scalpel and pointed it toward Brook's most vulnerable area, moving so fast that even he barely had time to react.
A bead of cold sweat dripped from Brook's skull. This old woman's strength was truly unfathomable.
"How about joining my crew as our ship's doctor, Dr. Kureha?"
Brook swallowed nervously but still extended the invitation.
"A pirate crew like yours could never afford a doctor like me! Do you have any idea how much my medical equipment, rare herbs, and experimental materials cost me over the decades? And you expect me to just leave all of that behind?"
She sneered. "Besides, your little excuse of a ship couldn't fit my supplies even if you had ten of them. Get lost, you little skeleton! Pay up and scram—trying to recruit me, of all people!"
With surgical knives in both hands, Dr. Kureha's intimidating presence made Antonio, who had been standing nearby, hurriedly pull out stacks of Belly to appease the fearsome doctor.
She wasn't wrong, though. She had spent five or six decades establishing herself on Drum Island, accumulating unparalleled medical knowledge. There was no way she would abandon her precious research just to join a pirate crew. Her studies on longevity alone were too valuable to give up.
Her castle clinic alone was worth at least 30 billion Belly, possibly even 50 billion. Only a fool would throw all of that away to set sail with a bunch of pirates.
Forced to leave empty-handed, Brook and Antonio—along with their three pets—resigned themselves to searching elsewhere for a ship doctor. It seemed they would have to look for other candidates and quicken their pace toward the New World.
His first choice remained Charlotte Linlin. He couldn't afford to let anyone else snatch her away first. As for Tsuru, she was likely a Rear Admiral by now, considering she had joined the same generation of elite Marines as Sengoku and Garp.
Here, doctors were held in high regard—famous ones even made the newspapers, becoming renowned worldwide. Take the genius surgeon Dr. Hogback, for example, he was one of Chopper's most admired medical figures.
Many doctors from this kingdom of medicine had little regard for pirates. Their focus was solely on improving their craft. Most pirate ship doctors were self-taught or forced into the profession by tragic circumstances.
After all, no doctor would willingly abandon a stable life of healing and research just to board a pirate ship, where they would only be treating the same group of people over and over. That kind of work didn't allow for much medical advancement.
The art of medicine thrived on a continuous influx of cases—only by encountering and studying a wide variety of illnesses could a doctor refine their techniques and develop better treatments. That's why staying in a medical sanctuary, where patients from all over the world came seeking aid, provided far greater opportunities for growth than following a crew of pirates across the seas.
When you're out at sea, most of your time is spent on the ship—not only being chased by the Marines but also stuck with the same group of pirates day in and day out. Medical skills aren't something you can just pick up from books; without hands-on experience, there's no real progress.
Brook had subtly revealed his pirate identity in front of a few genius doctors, only to be swiftly shown the door. That was when he realized—trying to recruit doctors in the Holy Land of medicine while being a pirate was a terrible idea.
Who in their right mind would abandon a prestigious, well-respected, and highly paid medical career to become a fugitive, constantly on the run from the Marines? How many doctors out there were actually driven to piracy because of personal vendettas, losing everything they had? The idea was ridiculous.
Besides, a ship's doctor is not someone you can force into service. Otherwise, when you fall ill, you're putting your life in the hands of someone who might not be too keen on saving you. It's not like you can just absorb their medical knowledge. Without it, they're as good as useless. What's the alternative? Training one from scratch?
Left with no other choice, Brook turned to Antonio. "Call the others with the Den Den Mushi. Let's just leave."
"You're kidding, right, Captain Brook?" Shakky complained. "We just got off the ship for one day! Even the workhorses on a farm don't get pushed this hard."
They had spent days sailing just to reach this town, and now, before they'd even had their fill of food, drink, and entertainment, he wanted to set sail again?
Brook didn't respond. It wasn't that he wanted to leave so soon, but they were on a tight schedule. They needed to gather enough crew members before heading into the New World.
Silva soon returned, holding the latest newspapers and bounty posters. He handed them over to Brook.
Brook, Captain of the Hell Pirates — Bounty: 200 million BellyRedfield, Combatant of the Hell Pirates — Bounty: 80 million BellySilva, Sniper of the Hell Pirates — Bounty: 20 million BellyShakky, Navigator of the Hell Pirates — Bounty: 15 million Belly
As for Antonio and the fish-man Tom, neither had been issued a bounty—likely because they hadn't fought the Marines. Shakky, on the other hand, had taken down a Marine commander, and Silva had landed a shot on a Marine captain.
Redfield had gone up against a captain and multiple commanders on his own. Honestly, his bounty not breaking the 100-million mark was a bit of an understatement. Just look at Drake—he was a newly promoted Rear Admiral who defected, and his bounty was already over 200 million. Gasparde, a former Marine Commodore turned pirate, had a bounty of 95 million.
It was clear that a bounty exceeding 100 million meant you were nearing the strength of a Marine Rear Admiral. The 100-to-400-million range typically included elite Rear Admirals and Marine Headquarters officers.
Five hundred million and above meant you were at vice admiral level, while a billion marked the threshold of admiral-candidate strength. At the highest level—the realm of the Yonko and admirals—differences in power weren't that vast. Some had unmatched offensive strength, while others had near-immortal durability. Regardless, every one of them had abilities that made them almost impossible to counter, standing at the very pinnacle of their respective fields.
"Waaah~! I got a bounty!" Shakky squealed, hugging her wanted poster like a treasured keepsake. "I knew I was a genius! But 15 million Belly is way too low! Next time, I'm taking down a Marine captain myself!"
She had no idea where Silva had even gotten these bounty posters. She was supposed to be the one gathering intelligence, but instead, the sniper had done it for her.
In reality, she had spent her time on the island indulging in its signature delicacies and shopping for unique outfits. She hadn't even gotten around to collecting any information.
Antonio, watching his crewmates celebrate their new bounties, couldn't help but feel a little left out. Had he really not done anything worth putting a price on his head yet? Maybe he was just... weak?
+100 Chapters on p@treon/tambeerg