And what did the others think?
Someone this good-looking, and he still doesn't like her?
Just what kind of woman does this guy like?!
Bonney had tried to seduce Vir.
Yamato had gotten physically close to Vir.
But clearly, both of them had failed.
Vir hadn't even spared them a glance.
Now, seeing such a stunning older sister one...
They thought Vir might finally take the bait, but nope—he shot her down too.
Is this guy just too picky?
Is there anyone in this world who can get through to him?
Is there a woman out there who can make him show some kind of reaction?
Is this guy just dense? No—he's on a whole other level beyond dense.
But what they didn't know...
Behind them, there was a woman who had managed to make Vir suffer repeated defeats...
Marco facepalmed, unable to bear the sight.
'I should've seen this coming.'
'This guy really hasn't changed at all.'
'But damn, I respect you, man.'
'Not even a hint of personal bias when it comes to treating illnesses, huh?'
Rayleigh, meanwhile, was momentarily stunned.
Vir's words left him both happy and a little pained.
Happy, because his little girl hadn't been swept away by some troublemaker.
But pained because... well, his little girl was probably going to be heartbroken.
Rejected just like that.
She'd probably be heartbroken for a long time.
As for himself, Rayleigh didn't care much.
He was an old bag of bones—his face was thick enough to shrug off Akainu's Meigo without flinching.
Vir throwing a few words his way? Pfft, didn't even sting.
With that thought, Rayleigh glanced at Hancock.
She was looking up at Vir.
Rayleigh didn't see any trace of negativity.
Instead... was that undimmed passion?
What the hell's going on here?
Rayleigh's old eyes widened, filled with disbelief.
Now he was really confused!
What was up with Hancock?
Vir had already spoken so plainly.
Why was she still...?
How could Rayleigh possibly understand the mind of someone lovesick?
Obviously, no one had bothered to explain it to him.
The door suddenly swung open from the outside.
"Empress, I still think something's off. Those Marines are waiting outside..." Elder Nyon said as she stepped inside.
But the moment she saw the scene in the room, she froze.
What's going on here?
Why are there so many people?
And there's even a man!
She was about to let out a shout when she spotted Vir.
She recognized him instantly.
That face left a deep impression.
Handsome from the first glance.
Seeing him, Elder Nyon's heart sank.
She hurriedly scanned the room for Hancock.
She found her, alright.
But what she saw left her dumbfounded.
Hancock's slightly flushed cheeks told her everything.
This can't be happening!
This is way too fast!
Sure, she knew Hancock might fall for someone.
"What are you doing here?" she asked Vir warily.
The old lady was still worried that he might be trouble.
"I'm a doctor." Vir answered casually. "I'm here to treat patients, obviously."
With that, he turned to Hancock.
"By the way, check your back and see if the scar is still there. If it's not fully gone, I'll need to keep working on it."
He still hadn't gotten a prompt from the system.
Vir was starting to worry he hadn't fully healed her.
Hancock snapped back to reality at his words.
She didn't even know if she was healed yet.
What was she even doing?
She had made Vir worry again!
Just as Hancock was about to get up to find a mirror—
A large, full-length mirror suddenly materialized in front of her.
It was Merry, perched on Vir's shoulder, who had taken it out.
She now had storage capabilities.
After all, she was a ship at her core.
She was still processing Vir's words.
Here to treat patients?
And something about a scar on Hancock back?
Could he actually have a way to remove that hideous mark left by the Celestial Dragons?
If... if that was true...
Then the entire Amazon Lily owed him a debt they could never repay!
Seeing Vir produce a mirror, Elder Nyon hurried over.
She also recognized Rayleigh.
Sure, his butt was a bit... prominent.
But it wasn't like she couldn't tell it was him.
If Rayleigh brought these people, they were probably friends.
Hancock's clothes had already been partially disintegrated by Vir's lightning, exposing about half of her back.
It was like she was wearing a backless dress now.
It gave her a unique kind of beauty.
But Hancock had never worn anything backless.
To her, that was taboo.
She stepped up to the mirror, facing away from it.
After all, there were so many people here.
If her scar wasn't gone...
Wouldn't that mean all these people would know she'd once been a slave to the Celestial Dragons?
But then she thought of Vir.
And without another moment's pause, she lifted her long hair.
If he was confident enough to have her try this in front of everyone...
Then he must be absolutely sure.
Whether it was absolutely sure or not, Vir was confident in his treatment.
It was just that the system hadn't given him a prompt yet.
That was what worried him.
But the moment Hancock lifted her hair—
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for acquiring the ability: Petrification (Passive)!]
[Petrification (Passive): Attacks will cause a petrification effect on enemies. If petrification fails, the attack deals 10% additional damage!]
So the system had to see if the treatment worked before giving the reward?!
Meaning even you didn't know beforehand?!
What kind of lousy system are you?!
Shaking his head, Vir turned his attention to the new ability.
And what he saw nearly made his heart stop.
Everyone knows the strongest fighters have badass passive skills.
And now, he finally had a combat-oriented passive skill of his own.
Sure, he'd gained abilities before—
But none had been labeled as passive.
Probably because they weren't combat skills.
Petrification on attack.
If petrification didn't work, he'd deal 10% extra damage.
At his level, 10% was a huge boost.
And most likely, petrification wouldn't work in most cases.
The conditions for petrification were probably strict.
Maybe anyone with Armament Haki could resist it.
But that didn't matter.
The 10% damage boost was already an incredible skill.
This trip was beyond worth it!
Passive skills were the real deal.
This was basically a straight-up 10% boost to his combat power.
That's the power of a strong passive skill!
The moment Hancock lifted her flowing hair...
Rayleigh and Elser Nyon's eyes widened.
From the trembling in their gazes, it was clear.
Their hearts were anything but calm...