MARINE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE SERVICE

VALERIS ISLAND HQ - ARCHIVES

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE

CASE NO. 2306-4837

ENTRY 25

[REDACTED], 1518

I've thought about burning this journal. Came close to it so many times. The fact that I don't know why exactly is why I'd resolved not to until I've figured it out...and now I think I did.

Going through the past couple entries, I only realized now that I haven't mentioned her name once since that day. All the pages after that are filled with the most mundane trivialities. As if this whole exercise has become something of a chore (which in a way, it had....) A random observation here, a short conversation there. But none of them are really recollections worth keeping.

There is a part of me that just wants to dismiss this on account of my being capricious. Just too tired & overwhelmed to recount everything. To try to preserve something that I know can never fully be expressed in words.

But I think it points to something else. I know it does. Because even now I feel this sense of guilt to even mention her here. To dare put into words how many times she's saved me, sometimes without even knowing it herself. How I will never deserve her.

How much it hurts that we have to hide it.

I think there is a part of me that is still scared, just like she is. And God, I know she is terrified even though she will never say it aloud.

She told me herself once – I alone have the power to destroy her. Destroy us both.

I can't afford to be reckless with it.

It feels wrong even now. Writing about these things when I know it has the potential to hurt her in the long run. But I need to, if but for the sake of my own sanity in the future.

Just in case [REDACTED].

I don't want to look back on my time here with hesitation or regret.

I don't ever want to mistake her as a monster. She is anything but that.

All she has done is give me a reason to live again.

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Lisle Florence's sleek auburn hair appeared duskier than usual beneath the weak, dingy lamplight of her office. The shadows pooled beneath her eyes also did no favors in softening the usual austerity of her features when she finally put down the damn Transponder Snail receiver.

Ah. Vindland Marius squared his shoulders and straightened his posture. Maybe now –

But nope, of course not. Now she had turned her attention elsewhere, scribbling something down in the coffee-stained notepad at her elbow.

The Junior Inspector squinted his eyes as he began to adjust his cufflinks, momentarily succumbing to the urge to fidget in discomfort. God. It was almost as if she were going out of her way to ignore him...which wouldn't even be a surprise as far as recent events went –

"...what do you want, Marius?" Lisle's tone was offhanded as she reached down to flip a page. She had long abandoned the aforementioned notepad in favor of some other folder of documents she'd fished from a drawer.

Finally.

Marius smiled tersely and coughed into his fist.

"Well, I received a call fro–"

"Oh, wait." Lisle swiftly looked up, cutting him off clean at the pass. "Before I forget. Any word back from Commodore Murasaki?"

"No. It isn't that..." The Marine couldn't help but huff out an irritated sigh, his eyes darting sideways to the door. "Two things. A constable from Valeris Island contacted me earlier. They were able to track Renfrey down."

"That old vagrant?" Lisle wrinkled her nose in distaste, and despite his mounting impatience, Marius didn't blame her for it. Renfrey Lassimer – who knew if that was even his real name, by the way – had been one of their most difficult witnesses on this case to date. Wrangling that petulant excuse of a drunk back kicking and screaming into an interrogation room for a followup interview was a prospect neither of them looked forward to in the slightest. "Hmm. Surprised they didn't find him dead in a ditch somewhere..."

Surprised, huh. Marius crooked a brow, quite unable to hide his incredulity. More like disappointed by the sounds of it...

"Yes," he answered meekly instead. "So we'll be able to get a hold of him again, in case we need him to clarify his statement..."

"Mhm." Lisle looked about as disinterested as she sounded. Lashes fluttering lower, she rested an elbow on the desk and tilted her chin against her free hand. "Well. The way things are looking now, that probably won't be necessary."

You don't want it to become a necessity, you mean. The young Marine grimaced. But yeah. I get the sentiment.

Instead, he mustered a diplomatic smile and nodded.

"I know. But just in case –"

"Just in case. Of course, of course. It's always good to have all your bases covered – that's what Tensei-san always says, right? I guess I can't argue with that." She leaned further back into her chair and stretched. "What else?"

Vindland cast another look at the door and lowered his voice.

"I, uh... I received an... interesting request from Hazel Anson."

She hummed as she took up her pen again.

"Go on."

"He wants us to arrange a meeting with Au-... with Dr. Minerva."

Lisle's hand automatically stilled, her expression flattening at the name.

"With Auryn? Why?"

Vindland squinted a little, lowering his gaze in discomfort. Now surely she had to be playing dumb.

"...you know why," he muttered darkly.

This earned an unenthused grunt.

"No, I get that, of course. But...coming from him, it doesn't make any sense, does it...?" A frown surfaced as Lisle trailed off. Vindland fidgeted, suddenly feeling small and insignificant beneath her unseeing gaze. (He hated it when she lapsed into one of her thinking spells, because it never failed to give off the frightfully convincing impression that she was scrutinizing the fuck out of him even while knowing full well that her mind was leagues away.) Then, her jaw gave a curious twitch, her expression suddenly contorting into a spiteful grin. "Okay. We can work with that."

"...hah?" He blinked in confusion.

"What did he give as a reason, exactly?" Lisle's grin widened as she rested her chin atop interlaced fingers. "That it's for the purpose of preparing for his confrontation with the suspect? Something along those lines, eh?"

"S-something... along those lines," Vindland stammered. "Yes."

"Hah!" Lisle sneered, the chair creaking loudly as she threw her weight back into it with a chuckle. "Bastard has a whole lot more backbone than I originally gave him credit for."

Vindland shifted again to hide his disconcertment.

"We should inform Director Tensei of this, shouldn't we?" he ventured.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean?" He widened his eyes. Was she being serious? "I mean... it's unacceptable! A Rear Admiral attempting to leverage his role as an asset over an independent investigation? Any sane person looking at this would be justified in calling it a scandal!"

He cut off short, sputtering, as Lisle erupted into another fit of noiseless laughter.

"Aha... And what do you think Tensei-san will do, exactly?" Her grin widened further, a halting hand coming up when Vindland started to speak up again. "You call it a scandal and maybe you'd be correct in doing so. But it really fucking pales in comparison to the rest of the shit we've been told to put up with, don't you agree?"

Vindland breathed out deeply.

"Look. If you're talking about Auryn –"

"Maybe I am talking about Auryn." Lisle's smile tightened. "Do you take issue with that?"

"Sorry. I didn't mean..." The poison in the Senior nspector's words was latent but palpable. Painfully so. Lowering his chin, Vindland suppressed a small sigh and quietly backed off. Inwardly, he berated himself for having even attempted to broach the subject. "I didn't mean it like that. Let's.... uh, let's just... not go there right now."

Some battles just weren't worth fighting, and experience told him that this was one of them. His... disagreement with Lisle (to put it very mildly) over the assessment of Minerva Auryn's claims had been a point of contention since the start of the investigation.

Secretly, Vindland couldn't help but wonder why exactly Director Tensei hadn't excused Lisle from the case yet. Her bias against (correction: open hatred towards) their own witness was so vitriolic that there had to be some concerns behind closed doors that she could jeopardize the case. That wasn't to say Vindland himself wasn't completely neutral on the matter... but at least he didn't flaunt his opinions so openly!

Lisle huffed out a sigh of her own and nodded, her smile slipping away. She abruptly pushed her chair back and pulled open a drawer.

"So about Anson then," she said, rummaging around. "I'll inform Tensei of this myself. In the meantime, you can instruct the Rear Admiral to pass this message along to her."

He stared in confusion down at the envelope she'd slid across the desk, then slowly raised his chin to meet her gaze.

"To her? As in...?"

"Our dear doctor, of course."

"B-but how can you assume...?!" Vindland gaped at her. "Are you saying we're to go ahead without the Director's approval?!"

"No, you idiot." Lisle rolled her eyes. "It's called streamlining the process."

"But the Director hasn't...!"

"I know Tensei-san better than anyone else. Of course he'll approve this. He understands that Anson is more useful to us than she'll ever be. And what better opportunity is there for us to earn more of his trust, really?"

Lisle leaned over and thrust the envelope into Vindland's unwilling hands.

"It's perfect timing anyways, since I needed to get this sent to her. Orders from the higher-ups, you know. Besides..." she leaned back with another malicious smile tugging at the corner of her lips, "...it'll be fun, don't you think?

"Watching that bitch squirm for once."

──────────────────

"Unbelievable! That turncoat Rakko! I thought he was our friend!"

"Riyu, You really should hold still..." As with all her previous attempts, Shiori's attempt at appeasement was almost laughably impotent in the face of the Mink's rage.

Arisa hid a small sigh as Riyu fought to squirm free beneath the hand the heiress had clamped over her shoulder.

"No, how dare they weaponize my own appetite against me! And then they have the audacity to call me the weasel?! Ta-chan was right! We never should have trusted them! Damn you, Mr. Dots, I'll never forgive –..." Riyu's posture suddenly sagged, her lids fluttering in lethargy and voice losing its gusto as she started to slump sideways. "...never... forgive...!"

"There there," Shiori soothed, propping her friend back up before she could tumble off the side of the bench.

"Looks like the medicine hasn't fully worn off," Shachi piped up from where he stood observing at a safe distance.

"Yeah, don't push yourself, Weasel," Penguin added, unheeding to the exasperated look Arisa shot their way. "You should take it easy until–"

"And whose fault is this all to begin with?!" Riyu jolted awake and would have catapulted herself off the bench at them had it not been for Shiori's arresting grip. "How about I Tsukinowa Kick both of you assholes into the sunset, huh?!"

"Ri-yu! Now isn't the time to be so brash!"

"No! Let go of me, Shiorin! Look at them, they're just asking for it!"

"Let's take things down a notch! I promise you, you don't have the energy for this!"

"Quit... joking... around! Just wait till I get my hands on those... those... –" Riyu started to blink repeatedly, as lethargy encumbered her movements once again. "....pathetic... two-faced... backstabbers...!"

"See now?" Shiori chided, cheerfully pulling her back from pitching face first off the bench.

"No... ugh, I'm fine! I swear...!" Riyu swung her head from side to side with another childish whine. "Aneki! You come over here and slap me as hard as you can! That'll wake me up in a jiffy!"

Arisa and the Hearts sweat dropped in unison.

"No... I don't think that's a good idea..."

"Himuro then! HIMURO! Where are you, ya puny bastard! I know you've always wanted to do this!"

"I mean..." Penguin rubbed the back of his neck and stepped forwards, lips curling in mischief. "If you're looking for a volunteer–"

"NO WAY IN HELL I'M GIVING ONE OF YOU PUNKS THE SATISFACTION-"

"Ri-yu!"

The Hearts sweat dropped again as the two continued to bicker. Arisa pursed her lips and stole a look over to Himuro, who stood further away with his attention riveted solely to his miniature Transponder Snail. He had taken over the call with the elders shortly after she and Riyu had returned from Takanotsume, not letting up once for the entire time. Not while she was coaxing Riyu awake, not even when Shiori had arrived to help keep an eye on Shachi and Penguin.

Arisa herself had initially been grateful for a brief reprieve from the constant barrage of questions from her Uncle...not to mention Uzuki Donabe's interjections, which were unfortunately about as unhelpful as they were frequent. But now that enough time had elapsed for Riyu to recover (somewhat, at least...), the lack of concrete updates from the elders left her restless and on edge.

"Anything from Uncle?" she ventured. As far as she knew, the latest development was a confirmation from Hokyū that Tatsuhito had received orders to immediately return to Hidamari Village. But that had occurred a good while back – when she was still in the process of bringing Riyu back to the mainland – around the same time Shiori must have dispatched Iroha to locate the Polar Tang. Surely something must have turned up since then. At least that was what she would have liked to hope.

Himuro muttered something down to the Snail before lowering it with a slight frown. He opened his mouth but closed it quickly as his eyes skittered over to Shachi and Penguin. Then he let out a sigh and shook his head slightly, almost as if to convince himself of something.

"Nothing so far," he relented.

Arisa shifted uneasily as she followed his gaze back over to the Hearts. Shachi seemed to catch her eye and grinned, which she couldn't help but counter with a slight scowl of exasperation. She deliberately straightened, hoping that her impatience wasn't as blatantly obvious to them as it felt.

Shiori seemed most at ease, despite being the one who was stuck with wrangling Riyu in between her episodes of drowsiness. She only let out a thoughtful hum, looking up at the sky.

"I wonder when they'll be back."

Arisa turned to her warily.

"What?"

"Tatsuhito-kun and the rest of them, you know?" Shiori's smile faded a bit. "It's only been a couple hours, so I don't imagine they could have gotten so far. Especially when taking Tatsusada-kun's health into account."

She was right. They were taking the roundabout path following Yuzu-gawa, so the chances of them having made it to the mountain pass by this point was thankfully close to nil.

"Yeah," Arisa mumbled halfheartedly. "Definitely before nightfall..."

"Hmmm. In time for dinner, you think? I'll need to see what I can arrange if that's the case..."

Himuro scrunched his brows, then shook his head dubiously.

"I don't understand you at all, Shiorin," he grumbled.

Shiori blinked, simultaneously hooking an arm around Riyu's midsection as the latter stirred and commenced her umpteenth attempt to wrestle her way back to her feet again.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly that – how you're able to stay so casual about this whole row!"

"It isn't like there's much else we can do except wait on Iroha!" Shiori insisted. "Besides..." she nodded over to Shachi and Penguin, "...if what these two are saying is true –"

"Oh, yes." Himuro scoffed. He turned and directed his glare to Penguin, who took a step back and raised his hands slightly in a show of mock innocence. "Because they've done so much to show how trustworthy they are!"

Shiori cracked a small smile, and Arisa felt a ripple of unease when she saw Penguin and Shachi nod back to her with knowing looks of their own. In any other circumstance it could almost be construed as a reassuring gesture. The seeming genuineness of that little exchange was what caught her off guard, the implications of which left her feeling bewildered...almost suspicious. A part of her even dared to wonder if the three knew something the rest of them didn't.

Shachi spoke up before she could put any of her suspicions to words.

"Don't worry! The part timer's got it right. Captain isn't looking for any sort of trouble."

His cheery tone irked Arisa more than she expected. Did he really think that all was well between them now... just from a single vouch? Her petition to Misokatsu had been solely for Tatsusada's sake, nothing more. And perhaps one of the most infuriating parts about it was that Law himself knew as much.

Arisa felt her nails sink into the bed of her palm as the knowing sneer etched on the Transponder Snail's face crept into her mind's eye. That man knew exactly what he was doing in forcing her hand!

She shook her head in doubt.

"He sure has a strange way of expressing it, then –"

Everybody stopped short as the familiar drone of a Transponder Snail filled the air. Arisa stiffened in confusion, her gaze darting down to her miniature snail.

Shiori frowned.

"Hey, Himuro. Aren't you already on the line with Hokyū-dono...?"

"Yeah. That can't be from the shrine. It could be Kijibato-dono, or..." Himuro trailed off, a glint of realization kindling in his eyes.

His unfinished thought seemed to occur to everyone else in that moment, and an uneasy silence bloomed as they all stared expectantly at the Snail. Even Shachi and Penguin looked slightly taken aback, though they swiftly recovered their carefree facades.

Arisa shared a look with Himuro.

So if it is Law... then him reaching out at this point clearly wasn't part of the plan.

"Does it even make sense for him to... at this point...?" Himuro mumbled, more to himself. "Or...?"

Arisa shook her head helplessly as the Snail continued to blare .

"Don't know."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Shachi urged, clearing his throat as if to muster a shred of bravado. "Quit being so dodgy! If it is Captain, don't you wanna hear his piece?"

"Yeah!" Penguin nodded, raising his chin defensively. "I'm telling you, we're being upfront about the whole thing! He'll probably confirm it himself – he has no intention of forcing surgeries on the kid, the father... on anyone! You'll see!"

Arisa narrowed her eyes at him and finally reached down to activate the Snail.

"...hello?"

The Transponder Snail's eyes slid open.

"Oi, Murasaki-ya." Just as everyone had anticipated, Law's voice issued past the creature's lips – brisk as usual, though ladened with a palpable sense of urgency this time. "Tell Misokatsu-ya that I'm going to start the brat's operation soon."

"Wait, what?" Arisa felt her heart freeze in her chest. Shiori and Himuro both went very still, with the latter's arresting grip on Riyu slackening while the Mink in question gaped at the Snail with wide eyes. Yet the utter commotion wreaked in the immediate aftermath of the Surgeon of Death's nonchalant declaration was completely drowned out by Shachi and Penguin's combined howl of disbelief.

"HAHHHHHH?!!!"

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A short while prior

There was an analog clock mounted above the entrance to the Polar Tang's infirmary. After staring at it for long enough, Shiro could almost swear that the mechanical rhythm of its second hand was entirely in sync with Tsubu's footsteps as he paced the length of the room like some sort of caged animal.

"Damn it... Why is it taking them so long?" he finally burst out, wheeling around on his heels to glare at the doorway.

"Doubt we'd still have to wait if they'd just let us help from the start," Koshi reflected glumly from where he sat in the waiting area. He shot a sour look over to one of the crew's engineers who'd been left to monitor them. Azarashi, he'd introduced himself as. There was nothing particularly remarkable about his appearance save for the bright yellow newsboy hat shoved down over his twin braids.

Azarashi merely folded his arms, the corner of his lip quirking into a stiff smile. With his eyes completely shaded beneath the brim of his cap, it was impossible to know for sure whether he'd meant to convey mockery or diplomacy in the expression. Perhaps he'd been specifically instructed not to engage...which wouldn't even be totally unreasonable from the Hearts' perspective, considering the open hostility that had been established between them and the Navy doctors.

In fact, that Law had even allowed Dr. Yotsuji to attend Tatsusada's evaluation could be considered enough of a consolation. But of course Tsubu and Koshi weren't having any of it.

"We shouldn't worry," Shiro insisted feebly, catching Koga's eye from where she sat with Mototatsu and Chiyo. She hadn't spoken a word to them the entire time they'd spent waiting, only bothering to share a few murmured exchanges with her husband. Shiro certainly didn't blame her for it. "As long as Dr. Yotsuji is there..."

The anesthesiologist folded his arms defensively.

"At the end of the day, they're still pirates. You should know better than anyone else the sort of despicable shit how they might be capable of."

Azarashi let out an audible snort and folded his arms.

"Koshi..." Shiro began with a wince.

Not this again!

Koshi rolled his eyes.

"Even if you were to disregard malicious intent... tch, who knows what sort of incompetent mistakes they might've made by now?"

Seeing Koga's lips start to quiver, Shiro decided that he'd had enough.

"Why don't we just quit it with all this speculative nonsense?"

He immediately wanted to sink beneath his feet in the stunned silence that elapsed afterwards – the words had come out sounding much harsher than he'd intended. Tsubu stopped short in his tracks, and Koshi gaped at him in utter befuddlement, almost as if he'd only just now noticed Shiro's presence there. Even Azarashi and Mototatsu seemed mildly taken aback.

Shiro tensed, anticipating at least some sort of pushback from his friends. But to his mild surprise, Tsubu's response was strangely subdued – almost sheepish.

"I wasn't the one who said any of that," was all he mumbled as he turned away –

– only to stumble back to avoid collision when Trafalgar Law casually strode into the room with Dr. Yotsuji and Ikkaku in tow.

"Captain!" Azarashi called out, visibly brightening.

Finally...! Shiro bolted to his feet.

Tsubu had nearly tripped himself in his hasty scramble backwards. Clutching at the back of a chair to regain balance, he glared at the surgeon as he breezed by.

"Have the courtesy to knock at least, won't you?" he barked. "Who do you think you are –"

The protest was cut short, likely at the moment Tsubu had noticed the haggard look on Dr. Yotsuji's face. Shiro partially rose out of instinct, feeling his own heart plummet to his stomach. Throughout all his time as his student, he had never seen his mentor look so defeated as he did now.

Mototatsu too had risen from his chair, looking repeatedly between both Navy and pirate doctors with a sort of dogged desperation, as if it were possible to scrounge out the impending diagnosis from their facial cues alone.

"Doctor... Do you know what's wrong with him? Is he going to be alright?"

Yotsuji started to speak, but Law cut him to the case.

"Uni and Clione are taking the brat to the operating theater as we speak," he deadpanned. "He needs emergency surgery."

"Surgery?"

The horror in Koga's voice had very little effect on the pirate captain. He merely shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and pierced Yotsuji with his usual flat, disinterested stare.

"You explain."
Shiro caught sight of Ikkaku lingering behind them next to Azarashi; it was only then that he noticed the large paper envelope in her hands. He recognized it in an instant from his time working at the university hospitals – it was of the same type they'd used to store medical charts.

Beneath the harsh clinical lighting of the infirmary, Dr. Yotsuji's forehead shone with sweat. His voice came out hoarse and unnatural, as if he had to physically compel himself to say the words.

"I'm sorry that it took so long, my lord," he said, bowing his head to Mototatsu. "Trafalgar was able to conduct a more thorough Scan of Waka-sama after intubating him, but... I thought it necessary to get a sono done to confirm at least some of the findings."

A sono, huh?

Sonographic imaging was considered quite rudimentary conceptually speaking; the first World Government approved patent to describe the invention was several decades old – discovered completely on accident when a few Navy researchers bred a special variant of Transponder Snails capable of translating high frequency echoes to crude images. Despite its simplicity and portability, its usage was still disappointingly sparse throughout the four Blues due to a lack of proper trade infrastructure and poor education, especially in more rural island communities. This tended to be the case for most recent medical inventions.

As well-traveled as Shiro assumed the Heart Pirates to be, however, it was no surprise that they'd managed to get their hands on one over the course of their time at sea.

"Here." Ikkkaku stepped up. She opened the large envelope and presented the still. "This is the left side we're looking at."

The three Navy doctors crowded in to see, with Shiro craning his neck to peer over Tsubu and Koshi's shoulders. He furrowed his brow as he examined the image, mentally taking note of all the known artifacts – the shadows cast by the ribs and long, horizontal line demarcating the lung and chest cavity – before zeroing in to the large dark stains taking up the tissue space. The anomalous shadows were considerably darker in shade, almost appearing pitch black against the pale gray contour of its surroundings. It was a sure indication of fluid buildup.

But... this is...!

Shiro stared for a second, rendered speechless in shock.

Can this really be Waka-sama's sono?

"What the hell is this?" Tsubu was the one who aptly voiced their collective thoughts in his usual blunt way. The three of them knew Hachinobe Tatsusada's charts like the backs of their hands. All the past scans had shown artifacts of scarring which had steadily worsened over time, but nothing like this.

"Acute necrosis of the lung," Law spoke up unexpectedly.

Yotsuji nodded tersely and pointed to the scan.

"Yes. The dark regions here indicate where the tissue has gangrenized."

Shiro felt his blood turn to ice.

"But that... that doesn't make any sense!" Tsubu blurted, his face blanching. "We were monitoring him for infections this entire time! Not to mention... all the most recent scans showed no signs of anything like this!"

"You're right in that it isn't from a chronic infection," Yotsuji answered with a heavy sigh. "That much, we know for sure. He showed no indications when Trafalgar first diagnosed him."

"But then how...?" Shiro trailed off helplessly. In almost all cases, pulmonary necrosis developed as a complication to an existing infection.

Could last night's exacerbation have been a symptom of it? And we were just blind to it?

Damn it...!

"So this is what you saw back there, huh?" Tsubu whirled around, jabbing a finger at Law. "Why didn't you mention it?"

The surgeon returned his glare.

"I only brought up what could immediately be addressed."

"How the fuck is that supposed to make any sense?! You should have told us right from the start!"

"And would you have believed me?"

Shiro's stomach churned. The answer to that question was apparent to all of them. Such a claim would have come across as completely preposterous with the lack of tangible evidence, likely causing Tsubu and Koshi to have dug their heels in further. Perhaps even Dr. Yotsuji would have put up more of a fight, suspecting the diagnosis to be a fabrication in order to entrap Waka-sama.

Now with the sonos confirming it, however, nobody could make that accusation anymore.

Though effective, Law's decision was undeniably underhanded – unthinkable, even, in the eyes of your typical Navy-trained doctor – but then again, the man was a pirate. He didn't operate under their rules... and perhaps the most humiliating part of it all was that there was damn well close to nothing they could do about it.

The realization left Shiro feeling nauseous.

"Any... any idea what sort of infection is causing it?" he heard himself question weakly.

Law slanted him a cursory glance.

"It's nothing I've ever seen before," he answered briefly.

"We won't know for sure until we do a biopsy." Yotsuji hesitated, his gaze flickering over to the white-faced Chiyo who sat huddled next to Koga. "Something that may be related, though, is that Trafalgar also found trace amounts of spirocene in his system."

"Spirocene poisoning?" Mototatsu's face darkened.

Shiro's heart sank again. Spirocene was a compound used as the active ingredient for many common herbicides. Though its minimum lethal dosage in adult humans was elevated enough to be considered only moderately as opposed to highly dangerous, the same couldn't be said for small children, much less those who were health compromised like Hachinobe Tatsusada was. Two of the most common side effects from ingestion were fibrous buildup in the lungs and inflammation of the surrounding blood vessels, both of which carried the risk of cellular asphyxia if left unaddressed.

So while the presence of this chemical alone couldn't quite explain Tatsusada's rapid deterioration, the idea that it may have contributed to it wasn't completely baseless.

More than that... Shiro glanced over to Chiyo, who had buried her face into her hands again. Doesn't this put more weight behind Ito-chan's accusation against Shiori-san?

Hidamari Village was primarily an agricultural fiefdom. Somehow, it felt infinitely easier to imagine someone local to the area getting their hands on a common herbicide than a young, inexperienced maid who was under constant supervision...

Yotsuji seemed to read the look on his students' faces. His expression grew solemn.

"I understand wanting to make sense of all of this," he said, shaking his head. "But we can't let it distract us. Not when Waka-sama is in immediate danger."

That's right. We're doctors, not investigators.

We can't afford to speculate.

Shiro stole a look over to Tsubu, half expecting him to push back. But the severity of all the prior revelations seemed to have blunted much of the blond's usual bombastic tendencies. All he offered in response was a brusque nod.

Koga had taken the copy of the scan from Ikkaku and had been staring down at it the entire time. The only sign that she had been listening to the conversation was a slight tremor in her grip around the page when Yotsuji had mentioned the poisoning. She finally looked up, eyes vacant and her lips pressed tightly together.

"Tell me what's going to happen to him."

Seeing the way Yotsuji visibly hesitated, Shiro already had a good idea of what his answer would be even before he uttered a single word.

Emergency resection.

With how quickly the symptoms had progressed and what little they knew of the infection, this was the surest way to minimize spread to the healthier lung.

"At this point..." Yotsuji trailed off again, clenching his jaw as gaze darted over to Law, who now by all accounts appeared more interested in the ceiling light than the topic at hand. "Most of the functional tissue in his left lung is now compromised. Whatever hasn't already necrotized won't last long due to his condition..."

"A total pneumonectomy, then?" Tsubu broke in. "Understood. I can be your first assistant!"

"I can also contribute!" Koshi chimed.

"I'll be second assistant." Shiro started to raise his hand. Catching sight of his mentor's expression, however, he was forced to pause.

That look in his eyes... Could it actually be fear? Doubt?

Dr. Yotsuji was meticulous when it came to controlling his emotions in a professional setting, always doing his best to maintain a neutral, reliable front to ensure peace of mind for his patients. But this...

Shiro had never seen Yotsuji look that way when in the presence of a patient's family.

Wait. Shiro impulsively shifted his gaze over from Trafalgar Law's frowning visage to Hachinobe Mototatsu. He swallowed dryly. So could that mean....?

Law's exasperated sigh tore Shiro away from his own thoughts. He gaped after the pirate as he abruptly turned and began to make for the exit.

Wait, what...?

"Trafalgar." Yotsuji narrowed his eyes after the surgeon. "Where exactly do you think you're going?"

Law stopped to eye them critically from the doorway.

"Scrub room. If you're going to keep hesitating, I may as well get started with the brat's operation."

"Hah?!" Tsubu barked.

Yotsuji only shook his head tiredly as Ikkaku hurried past him to join her captain.

"Don't be ridiculous!" he snapped, stopping the surgeon in his tracks once more. "We still need to obtain his consent!"

Law stilled, directing an icy glare at his audience over his shoulder.

"Get it then," he seethed out from between clenched teeth. "Otherwise you're just wasting time."

Yotsuji's expression faltered again.

"I..."

"Tell them." Law's face darkened, his eyes thinning into knife slits. He turned fuly and nodded in Mototatsu's direction. "You're wasting time. Quit stalling and tell them what needs to happen!"

Yotsuji's fists were shaking at his sides. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

Law scoffed and directed his gaze to the ceiling, letting loose a sarcastic chuckle.

"...and you call yourself a doctor."

"What are you talking about?" Tsubu got out, turning bewildered eyes to his mentor. "Dr. Yotsuji, you are advising an emergency resection... correct?"

Yotsuji only clenched his teeth, still unwilling to say a word. Law sneered a little and pushed away from the doorframe.

"It'd be faster to just pull the plug if you intended to kill the brat from the start." Stopping next to Ikkaku, he fished out two additional pages from the envelope and jutted them out to his audience. "These are the scans of his right lung. Look. If you seriously believe that it can sustain his enlarged heart for long, then be my guest."

Yotsuji slowly looked up and nodded

"Attempting a transplant in the middle of an emergency like this..." he gritted out, sounding as if uttering the words physically pained him "...under any other circumstance, it would be completely unacceptable. But now...!"

"So we have no other recourse than to attempt a transplant....?" Koshi muttered between his breath, sounding dazed. "Here... in these conditions?"

Yotsuji turned and bent his head to the parents.

"Mototatsu-sama... Koga-sama, I'm sorry!" he exclaimed. "You can consider it my failure as a doctor that it had to come to this....!"

"Yotsuji." Mototatsu's voice was quiet, carrying a distinct solemnity which drew Shiro up short. "...that's enough. I understand."

Gently, he detached Koga's white knuckled grip from his arm and set the remaining scans down on her lap.

"My lord..." With how feeble the protest came out, Yotsuji himself seemed aware of his impending decision.

Disregarding it, Mototatsu stood and faced the Surgeon of Death.

"An honest doctor." He spoke the words slowly, with deliberate weight as if to test the way they sounded. "That's what you are, right? What all your patients believe you to be."

Law narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, keeping his silence.

Mototatsu smiled a little and nodded.

"I'll do it," he said simply.

"If it means he can have a chance, I'll do it."

Note: With what we know so far of Vegapunk's inventions and of the like, I figured it safe to assume that there would be some in-universe devices with vaguely parallel capabilities to modern day medical technology (without overdoing it hopefully). So yeah, some things will either be renamed or referred with broader terminology to retain a level of immersion (ex. instead of "ECMO," maybe "bypass" or "extracorporeal circulation"... something to that effect), but some others feel universal enough that I will just leave it as is ("electrocautery knife").

Also bear in mind these details will not have precise one-to-one equivalency with how things work irl. Details will be vastly simplified because it just makes it easier for me when it comes to researching these devices/procedures & crafting a narrative around it all.

Tl;dr – expect MAJOR One Piece Logic(TM) when it comes to how medicine works in this story. Hopefully you can forgive me for that <3

"Sono" – in-universe shorthand I invented for the One Piece version of ultrasound/sonography. I would have liked to use "echo," but thought it might be too confusing since it already refers to ECGs.

"Spirocene" – invented chemical name (...I tried, I really did lol).

I hope this all makes sense!

Thanks for reading & see you next chapter.

-shiba