"Hey, Vir. There’s no need to take this girl too seriously, right? How about this—let’s just forgive her this time? After the war ends, I’ll bring Jozu for you to treat!"
The moment Marco landed, he immediately spoke with a laugh.
He knew Vir’s personality well.
Usually, Vir was easygoing and cheerful.
But if you pissed him off—
And you weren’t his client—
Or even someone connected to his clients—
He wouldn’t cut you any slack at all.
Marco could tell Vir had already held back once.
If you made him hold back again, he wouldn’t be too thrilled.
You had to give him something in return.
So, Marco offered up his good brother Jozu as compensation.
He knew Vir had a taste for that sort of thing.
But even after he said it—
Vir remained expressionless.
Seeing this, Marco could only sigh in resignation.
’Damn it, Jozu, you’re too weak!’
’He doesn’t even want you!’
After a fierce internal struggle—
Marco glanced at Jina, then finally said the words to Vir.
"Fine... count me in too!"
Marco shouted with grim determination!
The moment the words left his mouth—
It was as if all his strength had drained away.
His face fell, and he slumped dejectedly.
"Ahahahaha! No problem! No problem at all, Marco bro! You’re too kind!! Hahahaha!"
Vir’s attitude instantly did a complete 180.
He laughed heartily, even calling Marco "bro" in excitement.
But Marco felt no joy whatsoever.
For someone like him—a veteran who had followed Vir and witnessed many of his outrageous methods—
He knew exactly what kind of price he would pay.
Yet he still went through with it.
Looking at Vir’s infuriating grin—
Marco had the sudden urge to punch him in the face!
’Now I’ve gone and trapped myself too!’
’Whatever, Old Ray said getting "treated" by this guy gives a decent power boost.’
’Might as well treat it like training.’
But Jina didn’t understand at all.
Didn’t Marco just save Vir?
Why was he acting like he owed Vir something?
And agreeing to let that guy treat him?
She’d just seen Vir’s "treatment" firsthand.
The only way to describe it was horrifying.
Why would Marco pay such a high price?
Jina was utterly confused.
She was about to angrily confront Vir and demand justice for Marco—
But Marco moved fast.
And immediately pinned Jina to the ground.
As they fell, their bodies inevitably made contact.
Marco even had one hand clamped over Jina’s mouth.
It looked way too intimate.
Rayleigh shook his head.
The others also found it a little ridiculous.
But the fact that Marco was willing to accept Vir’s treatment for this girl’s sake—
Earned him looks of respect from everyone present.
Only Yamato was completely lost.
Weren’t we just on the same side?!
How did you just switch sides like that?!
While they were busy being awkward—
Vir paid them no mind.
He pulled out the welding machine he’d bought on Sabaody Archipelago and began setting it up.
Not an arc welder—a welding machine.
Who said only the system could provide one?
This world had them, after all.
Why not just buy one?
No need to get stuck in a fixed mindset.
With the welding machine ready, he immediately got to work on Golden Lion.
The man still hadn’t opened his eyes.
He seemed to be asleep.
According to the instructions, the injection caused minor brain damage.
Drowsiness, drooling, occasional spacing out—totally normal.
And from the looks of it, Shiki was deep in dreamland.
So deep that even the welding didn’t wake him up...
The sound of welding filled the air.
Vir held the skull flap in one hand and the welding torch in the other.
Focused entirely on his task.
The sudden bright light also drew the attention of the onlookers.
Rayleigh, Bonney, and the others who had never seen this before—
Their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
What the hell is he doing?!
Rayleigh even took a couple of steps forward in disbelief.
Only when the blinding light hit his eyes did he finally accept it.
This bastard is really welding!
Has the world gone this insane?
Doctors are welding now?
In all his decades of life, he had never even imagined something !
Always pushing the limits.
Rayleigh silently thanked the heavens that this wasn’t happening to him.
This was beyond ridiculous!
While Vir was busy welding...
Back with Marco and Jina—
The two just stared at each other.
Jina wasn’t pushing him away.
Marco wasn’t getting up either.
He stayed pressed against her.
Touching all the right—and wrong—places.
His hand still covering her lips.
The noise from Vir’s welding finally snapped them out of it.
Jina let out a muffled sound.
Marco quickly pulled his hand away.
Both of them looked flustered.
Their faces slightly red.
"You... why did you agree to let him treat you?"
After a moment, Jina broke the awkward silence with a quiet question.
She didn’t bring up the physical contact...
Hearing this, Marco snapped back to reality.
"I was saving you, okay? That guy is crazy strong!" he quickly explained.
"I got you out of trouble, but that means Vir’s down a patient. He doesn’t care about much, but patients? He won’t let it slide."
But Jina didn’t look convinced.
If anything, she seemed insulted.
That guy doesn’t even know Armament Haki!
How could he possibly beat her?!
Her face was full of defiance.
To stop her from doing something stupid—
He was about to properly explain exactly who Vir was.
But before he could speak—
Jina caught sight of Vir welding her father’s head.
She scrambled to her feet.
Striding over to get a closer look.
Only when she was near did she realize—
He was using the welding instead of sutures!
She stared at Vir in disbelief.
"Do you seriously not own a single normal medical tool?!"
Jina finally blurted out the question that had been burning in her mind.
It had been bothering her for so long.
Now, seeing Vir pull out yet another bizarre device, she couldn’t hold back anymore.
Vir, in high spirits, just grinned and shot back, "What’s not normal about this?"