Now that we're on Drum Island, how could we not visit Dr. Kureha, the hidden boss?
On the way, Antonio kept asking for directions until they finally arrived at a castle clinic perched on the snowy peak of Magnetic Drum. Though the name wasn't exactly inviting—it was called the Witch Clinic—the real shocker was the price list posted outside.
A common cold treatment cost at least 100,000 berries, and more serious illnesses? You'd be bled dry before you got cured. Still, the legend was that this place could treat any disease.
Brook walked right in. There weren't any patients around, just a tall, thin, white-haired old woman drinking alone. It felt just like Shakky's Rip-Off Bar—closed for three years but making enough in one night to survive another three.
Dr. Kureha, clearly tipsy, frowned as she looked at Brook. Something about him threw her off. No heartbeat, no body heat—he was unlike any living person she'd ever seen.
"Dr. Kureha, they say you can cure anything."
Brook smiled as he took a seat across from her. Antonio, meanwhile, hesitated before nervously finding a spot to sit. Memory Seahorse and the Parrot Assistant perched on the back of the Kirin Lion.
"What exactly do you want me to cure?"
Dr. Kureha, already on alert from Brook's eerie, cold aura, studied him with a serious expression.
"I want to know… can I still have children?"
Brook spoke in a calm tone, as if the question had nothing to do with him—like he didn't care at all.
"What's the issue? Kidney failure? Infertility? Or did someone cripple you?"
Dr. Kureha's blunt response made Brook freeze. This old witch had no filter. She was fearless, talking like this to just anyone.
"Neither. I ate the Revive-Revive Fruit. I actually died once—my soul escaped from the Underworld, and my body ended up like this."
Brook didn't hide anything. It wasn't exactly a state secret.
"A Devil Fruit like that exists? That's pretty damn amazing!"
Dr. Kureha marveled at its power, then handed Brook an empty tube.
"What's this?"
Brook looked at the tube, confused. It wasn't medicine or alcohol, and it was completely empty. Did she want to draw blood for a test?
"Didn't you want to check if you can still have kids? Go take this to the bathroom and get me a sample. Or is your little ancestor out of commission?"
Dr. Kureha got straight to the point. She needed to check the root of the problem—literally.
Antonio immediately turned away, pretending he didn't exist, though the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth showed he was barely holding back laughter. Brook, on the other hand, looked humiliated.
"Nonsense! My pillar of jade that holds up the sky, my golden cudgel that bends to my will, my iron spear of unbreakable will—they're all famous for their strength! You might have to wait a few hours for this. Antonio, go get something to eat and come back later!"
Brook quickly sent Antonio away to spare him from feeling inferior in the presence of his captain's 'greatness.'
"A few hours? I'll give you ten minutes at most. I'm trying to clock out early."
Dr. Kureha's words made Antonio rush out, barely suppressing his laughter. Brook's face darkened as he shot a glare at the devilish old woman.
In the end, with a gloomy expression, he trudged toward the bathroom.
"Cheer up! You won't get good results if you're in a bad mood. But hey, maybe it's pointless anyway—you are a dead man!"
Shrimp and pig heart! That's what this was!
Brook stormed into the bathroom, full of despair. He tried recalling his vast collection of 150 terabytes of 'study material,' missing those wonderful teachers who had guided him in his youth. Slowly, he got into the right mindset.
He moved his left hand… then his right… slow and steady, like a train entering a tunnel, like a rocket launching into space. Finally, on time, he emerged with the sample and handed it to Dr. Kureha.
To numb himself, Brook grabbed a bottle from Dr. Kureha's shelf and started drinking. Maybe if he got drunk, he could forget all this embarrassment.
"That's my private stash. 200,000 berries per bottle. Thanks for your patronage!"
Dr. Kureha smirked as she took the sample into her lab for analysis.
Brook downed bottle after bottle, only to realize something horrifying—he couldn't get drunk. The alcohol was completely absorbed and neutralized by his Underworld energy. It turned out that, on top of being immune to all poisons, he had also lost the ability to get intoxicated.
If he couldn't enjoy wine or women, then what was the point of this immortal body?!
Brook wanted to scream at the sky. Immortality might come with all sorts of perks, but he didn't care about those. He only wanted one thing!
A single cold tear slid down his face, making Wuzhu, Memory Seahorse, and Kirin Lion exchange puzzled glances. Did their captain just… pee himself?
Fine. Even if he had no biological children, he could always go the route of King Wen and adopt dozens—no, hundreds—of children to carry on his legacy. After all, what was the point of living for so long if he had no one to rely on?
—
Meanwhile, inside the lab…
Dr. Kureha peered through the microscope, analyzing Brook's 'sample.'
The good news? The little tadpoles were still swimming.
The bad news? The moment the temperature rose, they lost all activity. But in freezing conditions, they became dangerously powerful, capable of freezing other cells. This basically made them lethal.
Without extreme cold, they couldn't survive. But under those conditions, no egg cell could withstand them either. It was a biological deadlock.
Dr. Kureha tested multiple types of cells, but nothing could endure the freezing temperature required for Brook's 'tadpoles' to stay active.
With no other options, she recorded her findings and walked out to deliver the bad news.
—
Brook had just finished his meal when Antonio returned, bringing food for him and the pets.
"Can't handle the low temperatures? So it's basically impossible for me to have children?"
Brook had braced himself for bad news, but hearing it out loud still hit him hard. Was he really going to be left with no descendants? What was the point of this iron rod, then?!
"And don't go around harming women. Your essence is so cold it could seriously hurt someone."
Dr. Kureha's words were another stab to the gut. Was he about to be stripped of even the right to be a man?!
"Am I gonna be a eunuch for the rest of my life?"
Brook's voice trembled. This was a disgrace to all men!
"You could still do it, but every time you do, your partner might die. Unless, of course, she's strong enough to handle it."
Brook latched onto that glimmer of hope.
"So… as long as my woman is strong enough, I can still enjoy my manhood and have children?"
"In theory, yes. But where are you going to find a woman strong enough to survive that? The New World is full of powerful men, but women on that level are nearly nonexistent."
"Then I just need to find someone strong enough! That's all!"
Brook clenched his fists, determined. If such a monstrous woman existed, he'd find her—no matter what.
Dr. Kureha just shook her head.
"You'd be better off giving up now."
---
Dr. Kureha's words rekindled Brook's hope. A strong woman with a monster-like physique and the strength to rival a vice admiral or even an admiral.
Wasn't this basically forcing Brook to go after Charlotte Linlin? She had a monstrous physique, ridiculous fertility, and, to be fair, she was still quite the beauty when she was young!
Or maybe Vice Admiral Tsuru? She was also a beauty in her youth, and her strength was once comparable to an admiral's, though she had weakened with age.
Then again, there was Pure Gold, which could keep someone young forever, essentially making them immortal. If he thought about it that way, maybe his future sex life still had some hope.
There were also legends about a race of Ice Witches, women who remained frozen in time and never aged until death. He wondered if they could withstand the freezing temperatures of his own Underworld powers.
"I understand. Thanks for the diagnosis, Dr. Kureha!"
At least there was still hope. With his spirits lifted, Brook returned to his usual cold demeanor, his face grim as ever.
"Five million berries!"
"The hell?! Why don't you just rob me?!"
"Huh?"
Dr. Kureha suddenly pulled out a scalpel and pointed it at Brook's most precious part, moving so fast he barely reacted in time.
A bead of cold sweat ran down his forehead. Damn, this old lady's strength was no joke.
"How about you become the doctor on my ship, Dr. Kureha?"
Brook swallowed nervously but still extended the invitation, despite the intimidating aura she gave off.
"Hah! Your little pirate crew couldn't afford a doctor like me. Do you have any idea how much my medical instruments, rare herbs, and research materials cost? You expect me to leave behind decades of accumulated resources for a bunch of pirates?"
She snorted, gripping her scalpels in both hands, looking like she was about to cut him up. Antonio, standing beside Brook, was so terrified he immediately pulled out stacks of berries and handed them over, not daring to argue.
Dr. Kureha was right. She had spent fifty or sixty years in this place to reach her current level. Why would she abandon her precious research for a pirate crew?
Her castle clinic alone was worth at least three billion berries, maybe even five. She'd have to be insane to throw that away just to sail the seas with a bunch of outlaws.
Brook and his three animal companions were promptly thrown out. Finding a ship doctor would have to be reconsidered, and they needed to pick up the pace before entering the New World.
His first choice? Charlotte Linlin. Better move fast before someone else got there first. Tsuru should still be a rear admiral, right? She was part of the same elite Navy batch as Sengoku and Garp.
Doctors held incredibly high status in this world. Some even got featured in newspapers, becoming famous worldwide—like Dr. Hogback, the genius surgeon that Chopper admired.
However, the doctors in this medical powerhouse had no fondness for pirates. They pursued medicine to advance their skills, not to patch up criminals. Many pirate ship doctors were self-taught, or they had tragic pasts that forced them to sea.
Otherwise, why would any doctor give up a stable life, treating patients and conducting research, just to join a pirate crew? Being a pirate meant constantly running from the Navy, spending months at sea, and only treating the same few crewmates. That wasn't how medical skills were sharpened.
Medicine needed a constant stream of new cases, detailed observations, and practice. A doctor stationed at a medical sanctuary would see all sorts of patients daily, gaining far more experience than someone stuck on a ship.
Brook had even hinted at his pirate identity to a few skilled doctors, but they all kicked him out immediately. It became painfully clear—finding a doctor in this place was a lost cause.
Who in their right mind would abandon a well-paid, respected position to live a fugitive life at sea? Not every doctor had a tragic backstory of revenge or exile.
And even if they did find someone, trust was another issue. A doctor's role couldn't be forced—if they got sick, their life would be in that doctor's hands. Also, medical skills weren't something that could be absorbed like a Devil Fruit ability. A doctor without knowledge was useless.
With no other options, Brook sighed and signaled Antonio to call their ship via Den Den Mushi.
"No way, Captain Brook, you're leaving already? You barely spent a day on land! Even a workhorse wouldn't be pushed this hard!"
Shakky groaned in protest. After sailing for days, they had finally reached a town, but now they had to leave before they could even enjoy themselves.
Brook didn't respond. It wasn't like he wanted to rush off, but he had no choice—recruiting crew members before entering the New World was a priority.
Hiruba returned just then, holding the latest newspapers and bounty posters, handing them over to Brook.
Brook, Captain of the Hell Pirates – Bounty: 200 million berries.
Patrick Redfield, Fighter of the Hell Pirates – Bounty: 80 million berries.
Hiruba, Sniper of the Hell Pirates – Bounty: 20 million berries.
Shakky, Navigator of the Hell Pirates – Bounty: 15 million berries.
Antonio and the Fishman Tom still had no bounty, likely because they hadn't directly attacked the Navy. Shakky had taken down a Marine lieutenant colonel, while Hiruba had sniped a Navy colonel.
Redfield had even held off a colonel and several lieutenant colonels, yet his bounty was still under 100 million. Meanwhile, X Drake, a former rear admiral who defected, had a bounty exceeding 200 million. Commodore Gasparde, another Marine defector, had 95 million.
From the looks of it, a bounty above 100 million meant roughly rear admiral-level strength. Between 100 and 400 million likely signified a powerful Marine branch rear admiral or an elite headquarters rear admiral.
A bounty over 500 million indicated vice admiral-level strength. Once someone hit one billion, they were at the level of a near-admiral. Admirals and Emperors, on the other hand, didn't have massive power gaps—each of them excelled in different fields. Some had unparalleled attack power, others were endurance monsters, but all of them had abilities that made them nearly impossible to deal with.
"Wow~, I got a bounty! I am a talented woman, after all! But 15 million? That's too low. Next time, I'll take down a colonel myself!"
Shakky grinned, running her fingers over her bounty poster. She was more interested in her bounty than the information she was supposed to collect.
In reality, she had spent most of her time tasting the island's special food and shopping for rare clothes, completely forgetting to gather intel.
Antonio, meanwhile, glanced enviously at his crewmates with bounties. He hadn't even fought in a battle yet.
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