"Hey sir! Where are you taking me? I'm not a doctor! I can't help you!"
The bald man in the white coat was somewhat helpless. He had just escaped one danger only to fall into another. He had only come to this medically advanced country to find a good doctor to discuss human anatomy, but before he could even find a doctor, he was mistaken for one and tried to be captured and sold. Now, he had been captured by someone else who mistook him for a doctor.
The old man was being held by Vic as they flew through the air. He didn't want Vic to hold him like this, but he didn't dare let Vic let go.
"I'll take you to a warm place. Aren't you cold staying outside all this time?" Vic respected this person quite a bit.
"Are you going to roast me? I'm already very old, my meat is sour, it won't taste good roasted. Why don't you try eating someone else?" The old man's thought process was quite peculiar, and he looked somewhat frightened.
"I eat everything, except people. You're just skin and bones with hardly any flesh on you. Even a wolf wouldn't give you a second glance, so you can rest assured!"
Vic was speechless. He knew that people in this world had some mental issues, but he didn't expect this old man to be a bit abnormal as well.
"I don't like it when you say that. My body is old and worthless, but my brain still has some value. My wishes haven't been fulfilled yet, so I can't die!" The old man was somewhat self-aware; he still had dreams at such an advanced age.
"Alright, I know your dream hasn't been fulfilled, so why did you come to the Drum Kingdom instead of continuing your research?" Vic, somewhat puzzled. This person was also one of the top figures in this world.
The old man seemed resigned to his fate and stopped talking to Vic. Vic ignored him and flew off in the direction he sensed with his Observation Haki.
Drum Island wasn't a very large island. Vic didn't fly for long before landing in front of a large tree whose trunk was glowing. The tree was over ten meters in diameter, and the glow came from the windows in the trunk. It was a large tree that had been hollowed out to make a house.
"Is there a famous doctor living here too?" After landing, Vic put the old man down. The old man, seeing the wooden house, guessed why Vic had come.
"Yes, if even she can't do anything, then I'll have no choice but to seek help from the king of this country!"
Vic's tone was somewhat helpless. He had encountered so many famous doctors as soon as he arrived on the island, but even famous doctors could not necessarily cure Wendy's life. It was not that their medical skills were lacking, but that there was no corresponding medicine to treat her. Vic could only try his luck with this old witch who had lived for more than a hundred years.
Vic said something and walked to the treehouse door, knocked on it, and then took a step back to wait for the owner to open the door. However, after the door was opened, a wrinkled old face glanced out and immediately closed the door again without leaving a word.
Vic was bewildered in the wind. This scene was completely unexpected. He knew that Dr. Kureha's style was somewhat like that of a pirate, and she might even have been a pirate when she was young. However, he was still puzzled by her action of closing the door after just one glance, since they had never met before.
"Looks like this doctor doesn't welcome you! You probably scared her." The old man walked up to Vic with his hands behind his back and said, somewhat gloating.
Vic ignored the old man's quirky humor. Time was of the essence; Wendy's life was in imminent danger, and all he wanted now was a definite answer from Dr. Kureha.
Vic went to the door again and knocked. This time he didn't back down, but stood there waiting. But this time the door didn't open.
"Dr. Dr. Kureha, I have a critically ill patient here who is about to die. I've already seen other doctors, but none of them could help. I've heard that your medical skills are the best on Drum Island, so I had no choice but to come and bother you!"
When Dr. Kureha refused to open the door, Vic could only shout loudly from outside. If he could use force, Vic would have simply demolished the cabin.
"Really? None of the other doctors can cure him?" Vic's shout had an effect. Dr. Kureha, wearing double glasses, opened the door partially and looked calmly at Vic and Wendy, who was being carried on his back.
"Yes, the doctor said it's the Black Death, which disappeared hundreds of years ago. They can't do anything about it. She's been suffering for several days now, and if she doesn't receive effective treatment soon, she'll definitely die!" Vic didn't waste any words and directly explained Wendy's condition.
"The Black Death! Those guys really couldn't do anything about it. It's not that their medical skills were bad, it's just that the medicine was too difficult to obtain. I can indeed treat this disease, but why would I save her? We're not related."
Dr. Kureha's words overjoyed Vic; this old witch really did have a way to cure the Black Death. However, her pirate-like methods were giving Vic a real headache. "You've lived this long, is there anything you can't see through?" he thought.
"I've heard that doctors are compassionate, how can a doctor stand by and watch someone die! Isn't a doctor's ideal to save lives and heal the wounded? Can you really just watch a vibrant life lose its warmth?"
Dr. Kureha cannot force Vic to treat her; these things cannot be forced. Dr. Kureha is not an ordinary doctor who is afraid of death; she is a witch-like figure. Vic can only appeal to her emotions.
"Yes, young lady, saving lives is a doctor's duty. Why ask why? Why expect payment or anything like that..."
"Who are you calling 'little sister'? I'm a 124-year-old beauty! Call me 'little sister' again and I'll knock all your teeth out!"
Before the old man could finish speaking, Dr. Kureha abruptly interrupted him. If Vic hadn't been blocking the doorway, Dr. Kureha's sharp teeth would have almost bitten the old man's bald head.
The old man was so frightened that he didn't dare to say another word and quickly hid behind Vic. This old woman was really not to be trifled with. She was over a hundred years old and still claimed to be a beautiful young girl. She didn't even look in the mirror and see the wrinkles all over her face.
"Dr. Dr. Kureha, what would it take for you to save this person?"
Vic didn't expect this old witch to be without any ulterior motives. This was foreseeable from the original story, where she would rob the patients' families after curing them. Of course, that might just be her way of life; she wouldn't be able to survive if she didn't do it.
"I'm getting a little lonely living here all by myself. After I cure her, you'll have to stay with me on the island for three years. If you can agree to this condition, I'll treat her right now."
Dr. Kureha looked at Vic with a smile, but her gaze was far from ordinary admiration.
"I'm a naval soldier, and I can't stay on the island long-term. Let's find another offer."
Vic's face was grim. He hadn't expected Kureha to make such a request. Whether it was a test or she was genuinely interested in him was hard to say.