Pirates: How Many Divisions Do the Five Elders Have? Mother Carmel

"What's wrong with Mom? Is she alright?"

Perospero, leaning on his cane, cautiously poked Charlotte Linlin's arm.

The cane, however, slid away as easily as if it had been poked into an extremely shiny bar of soap.

Perospero lost his balance and fell.

"It's definitely the Smooth-Smooth Fruit."

At some point, Ma Qiao had changed into a white coat and was wearing a stethoscope, looking every bit the seasoned scholar.

"The Smooth-Smooth Fruit? That's all?"

Teach, who had finally managed to crawl out of the rice cake, frowned.

Although he didn't actually memorize the appearance of all the Devil Fruits, he did diligently study the book "Devil Fruit Encyclopedia".

Teach immediately scratched his head, blurting out in a rough and unrefined manner, "Isn't this the 'Lewd Fruit,' ranked less than a hundred places higher than the Penguin-Penguin Fruit in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia... Ah, Brother Ma Qiao, I didn't say you're 'lewd,' I said your fruit is 'lewd'... Ah, no..."

Looking at the disheveled, seemingly simple-minded Blackbeard struggling to stay afloat, Ma Qiao had reason to believe that the guy was taking the opportunity to berate him.

After all, this guy wasn't the roughneck he seemed to be at all; on the contrary, he was a very shrewd fellow with a high IQ.

At least Ma Qiao thought he was much smarter than the meddlesome Hundred Plans Kuro.

Before Ma Qiao could even berate his disobedient underling, Katakuri had already grabbed Teach by the Teach and lifted him up.

"You mean, that's the Smooth-Smooth Fruit? Damn it, that's the fruit I've been searching for all this time!"

Teach was lifted high, struggling with his limbs.

He really wanted to say, "It was Ma Qiao who figured out it was the Smooth-Smooth Fruit, why didn't you go and grab him!"

Is it really skin color discrimination?

Fortunately, Brûlée gently leaned against Katakuri and said in a hoarse voice, "Brother, it's alright, it's all over now."

Katakuri reluctantly threw Teach to the ground.

When he had just come of age and Brûlée was still a child, Katakuri, after reading the "Devil Fruit Encyclopedia," had always wanted to find the legendary Smooth-Smooth Fruit that could restore his sister's appearance.

As a result Katakuri searched the New World but found nothing, while Brûlée, under Big Mom's arrangement, ate the Mirror-Mirror Fruit, losing the opportunity to use the Smooth-Smooth Fruit to repair her appearance and become beautiful.

Of course, Katakuri might have a slight misunderstanding.

The Smooth-Smooth Fruit can indeed restore a person's appearance to a very high degree, even in their perfect state.

Brûlée's facial scars clearly don't fit the definition of "smooth," so they will most likely be repaired.

Ugly is ugly...

The Big Mom and Alvida were both originally very fat.

It's common knowledge that overweight people are often high-potential individuals; they usually have a good foundation, which allows them to achieve a seemingly reborn appearance.

As for Brûlée...

Ma Qiao shook his head, feeling that Katakuri, that siscon, had steered the conversation astray.

Perospero was the same; he got up and banged his candy cane. "Forget all that nonsense, Mom has eaten two Devil Fruits, this is unprecedented, she could die at any moment!"

Teach's eyes darted around, but he remained silent.

The Cheese Minister, Charlotte Mont-d'Or, the Devil Fruit User, took out a book half the thickness of a person and began to flip through it rapidly.

This is an old medical book that records many miraculous and little-known prescriptions.

But no matter how many pages Mont-d'Or turned, he only found the two large characters "feast" between the lines of the book.

"Those who eat two Devil Fruits are beyond cure..."

Mont-d'Or looked at the final conclusion in the book, his face ashen, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Little brothers and sisters, go and cut down that big loquat tree on Fruit Island, let's prepare a coffin for Mom together!"

Perospero, the eldest son, fought back tears and prepared to assign tasks to everyone.

"Wait!"

Just then, Teacher Ma stepped forward without hesitation. "I think Ms. Linlin can still be saved!"

"Ma Qiao?"

Perospero was somewhat surprised, but still said without much hope, "I've heard of you. You're the most knowledgeable male mentor on the sea, a psychologist praised by both the Navy and Kaido, but..."

Perospero didn't finish his sentence, but his implication was clear. "A psychiatrist is considered a doctor?"

"Brother, you don't know this."

Ma Qiao chuckled and waved his finger, "Psychologists, also known as engineers who reshape souls, your mother may be a Soul-Soul Devil Fruit User, but..."

Ma Qiao spread his arms wide, mimicking playing an accordion. "No one understands the soul better than me!"

Relying on the goodwill he had previously gained from Perospero and Katakuri, who were actually the only two heirs to the throne of the Big Mom Pirates, Ma Qiao finally persuaded Big Mom's children not to rush into the banquet, not to rush into distributing gifts, and not to rush into making a coffin for Big Mom.

Katakuri used the power of the Mochi-Mochi Fruit to create a giant psychological treatment room on the spot.

According to Ma Qiao, psychotherapy is a profound science that includes various amazing techniques such as hypnosis, suggestion therapy, and dream analysis.

Of course, all of this requires an absolutely quiet environment.

Apart from Ma Qiao himself and his assistant Tahm Kench, Ma Qiao only allowed Perospero and Katakuri to come in and observe, provided they did not make a sound.

After all, someone still has to pay for the treatment.

There are also informed consent forms, disclaimers, and so on, which must be signed by family members.

As the patient's eldest and second sons, Perospero and Katakuri were the perfect match.

Of course, what they didn't know was that, just like the contract on the Short-Lived Ghost whiskey, or every user agreement they signed on the Big Bird Network, or the "leaveorlife" contract in the Whole Cake Island Church, the informed consent form for treatment also had special legal force.

Apart from the two family representatives, the other children, especially Flampe, who had her hair parted in the middle, had to wait outside.

This is already considered a relatively lenient requirement.

In contrast, at Shurima Hospital, family members can only wait outside the operating room and cannot watch the surgery process.

This advanced medical concept is completely incompatible with the handcrafted, workshop-style medical model of the One Piece world.

Although these makeshift workshops sometimes produce surprisingly good results...

Actually...

So much stuff is involved in a single psychological intervention therapy...

These are all things Ma Qiao made up.

It's mainly about putting on airs.

I've never eaten pork, but I've seen pigs run.

Ma Qiao had a real knack for presenting himself as a master.

Sure enough, as Tahm Kench vomited up sets of rather useless but seemingly complex professional equipment and placed them in the therapy room, the Perospero and Katakuri brothers' trust in Ma Qiao rose sharply once again.

Tahm Kench was also wearing a white lab coat.

Of course, his white coat was actually made from a chef's uniform.

Tahm Kench is very good at handicrafts.

While no one was looking, he quickly licked the jam off his clothes and calmly installed electrodes, tubing, and indwelling needles onto the Big Mom.

On the monitor next to me, a heart rate graph began to appear.

"Mom's heartbeat looks... very steady?"

Perosper knew a little about medicine, but not much. He rested his chin on his hand, looked at the Big Mom's electrocardiogram, then at the Big Mom blowing snot bubbles, and couldn't help but ask:

Is it possible, I mean, just possible, that Mom is actually just asleep?

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Ma Qiao categorically denied it. "Even if your mother is incredibly strong, can she be stronger Pops Whitebeard? Whitebeard could only eat one Devil Fruit, your mother is practically on her deathbed! What you need to do now is shut your mouth, retract that damned tongue, and keep quiet!"

Without hesitation, Ma Qiao injected the anesthetic used at the manatee Momoo farm into the indwelling needle in the Big Mom's arm.

There was no other way; Ma Qiao figured the Big Mom was probably fine, and if he didn't give her a large dose of veterinary anesthetic, he wouldn't be able to handle it if she woke up and Riot Games him.

The reason why the Big Mom experienced no discomfort after eating the Smooth-Smooth Fruit is quite simple.

Although he couldn't explain it in detail to Perospero and the others, Ma Qiao knew that Big Mom had never actually eaten the Soul-Soul Fruit, nor had she ever even seen it.

The Big Mom (presumably) accidentally ate the nun while in Hunger Pangs, and thus naturally gained the Soul-Soul Fruit's power.

This is extremely illogical.

If eating someone grants you their Devil Fruit ability, then Devil Fruit Users would be living in constant fear.

When Blackbeard and his crew later seize Devil Fruits from other users, the world will be even less surprised.

After all, this method is too simple and crude, and there must have been more than one heinous villain in history who tried this.

The fact that the Big Mom gained the Soul-Soul Fruit ability by eating the nun was known only to Ma Qiao, who had an omniscient God's perspective, and to Streusen.

However, it is clear that the Streusen has never considered such a profound yet simple question.

Moreover, his misuse of his position to treat the Big Mom 'Hunger Pangs nearly led to a tragedy, and he has already faced resistance from the Big Mom's children.

Therefore, at that moment, no one else could think of the suspicious points about the Big Mom.

Perospero, instead of showing any displeasure at being rebuked by Master Ma Qiao, obediently curled his tongue.

Katakuri was the same; from the moment he entered the treatment room, he didn't utter a single word, and he didn't even make a sound when he walked.

Ma Qiao nodded with satisfaction to the two family members.

The first step in psychotherapy is, of course, to talk to the patient and inquire about her confusion. Then, language and actions are used to induce a mild hypnotic state in the patient, helping to bring about positive psychological and physical changes, and ultimately achieving the therapeutic goal.

This first step can actually be omitted.

Even if the Big Mom was Iron Balloon or a humanoid monster, being injected with the same dose of anesthetic as a giant Sea Beast would obviously have a fantastic "hypnotic" effect in a short period of time!

However, since it's about putting on airs, it can't be taken lightly.

Ma Qiao took out a Lantern that emitted a ghastly green light, Lantern, and walked to the Big Mom's ear.

To be honest, the way this Big Mom looks now after becoming beautiful does resemble Zhao Yazhi quite a bit.

And Ma Qiao holding up the Lantern is like the old Fahai holding up the golden alms bowl and whispering in Bai Suzhen's ear, "My love for you will never change."

Of course, Ma Qiao would never do that.

What Ma Qiao was telling the Big Mom was... a hellish joke.

There is no Jesus Christ in the world of One Piece, but there are similar prophets and so-called "gods".

Mother Carmel claimed to be a servant of God and used this identity to establish the Sheep's House, where she both sheltered orphans and sold them as commodities, a large portion of whom were sold to the World Government.

Although she committed many evil deeds, this does not mean that Mother Carmel was not devout.

Like many sanctimonious clergymen and fanatical believers in Ma Qiao's previous life, the more wicked and promiscuous he was, the more steadfast his faith became.

Although I caused the little boy to contract syphilis, although I made a fortune selling indulgences, although I used believers' money to buy a private plane, although I gave smallpox blankets to the Native Americans, and although I buried countless bones under the church, I was following God's will to guide the poor, ignorant, and foolish races and lost sheep onto the path of salvation.

Therefore, I am perfect, pure, and devout.

Carmel shared the same mindset.

She was fearless and remorseful about child trafficking, but jokes about God's hell were absolutely unforgivable.

Is the Lantern in Ma Qiao's hand just an ordinary Lantern?

This is Thresh's Dark Passage.

As its name suggests, this lamp has the function of awakening and guiding souls.

As Ma Qiao lit the Dark Passage, he told increasingly outrageous hellish jokes.

From the story of the priest and the little boy, to the prophet's inability to eat waffles because his palms would leak, to the story of the three nuns' confession...

"Enough!"

You should go to hell right now!

An aged voice, like worn-out sandpaper scraping against a railing that hadn't been rusted for decades, echoed.

Charlotte Linlin's lips remained perfectly still, yet her piercing roar echoed throughout the treatment room.

It's alright that Ma Qiao and Tahm Kench had some expectations in mind.

Perospero and Katakuri were startled by the sudden roar.

Perospero's tongue was sticking out, and if Katakuri hadn't sealed his mouth with a mochi in time, the guy would have screamed out.

In truth, Katakuri was equally shocked.

In fact, as a top-tier user of Observation Haki, Katakuri's five senses are extremely sharp.

Although Ma Qiao was only Whisper in the Big Mom's ear, Katakuri could roughly hear it.

If Katakuri hadn't sealed his Kog'Maw with rice cakes under his scarf beforehand, he would have laughed so hard he would have lost decades of merit, and his mouth would have been even wider open.

But despite the laughter, Katakuri had no idea why Ma Qiao was telling jokes to his mother.

Surely you can't be trying to wake your mother up with a joke, can you?

Katakuri attempted to use his top-tier Observation Haki to see into the future, only to find it a chaotic mess.

Then suddenly this angry roar came.

Who exactly is this person?

Katakuri had no idea why his mother's body was making such chilling sounds.

Of course, objectively speaking, the mother's original voice was also quite creepy.

But this voice sounded older and harsher than her mother's!

"Just as I thought!"

At this moment, Ma Qiao waved his hand and took off his white coat, revealing the Uncle Ying suit underneath.

This outfit was worn by Ma Qiao when he killed someone to cover up his crime, and then he had the body cremated and the ashes scattered in a funeral ceremony.

Today it finally came in handy.

"My two brothers, as I predicted, your mother has been possessed by an evil spirit! And this evil spirit has been broken through by my Pure Heart Shangqing Art. You two must come and protect me!"

As he spoke, Ma Qiao threw out the Dark Passage, smashing it hard into the Big Mom's left rib area...

With a series of "duang" sounds, a semi-transparent, phantom-like figure of an old nun slowly emerged.