"You're only realizing it now? Kureha probably recognized me a long time ago. She's not one to do something that doesn't benefit her. It's just one thing, nothing to me."
Vic didn't care about these things. What was an insurmountable task for some people might only require Vic to show his face. This was a world where the strong were respected.
"You're quite special. I'll send you one when my smart robot is finished, but you'd better treat it well; they're all my family!"
Dr. Tsukimi's intelligent robot is clearly already in its early stages, but it's probably encountered a problem and gotten stuck, which is why it's traveled all the way from the West Blue to the Grand Line to seek help.
Does the West Blue not have doctors? Of course it does, and quite a few at that. It was only in pursuit of perfect scientific principles that he dragged his advanced age across the ocean to come. This spirit is worth learning from, and it's no wonder that he was able to create such humane robots later on.
"Then I'll thank you in advance, Doctor. I'd also like to see just how amazing your most prized work is."
But now that you're getting older, Doctor, you shouldn't eat those sticky foods anymore; they're bad for your stomach. I'm really afraid I won't live to see the day your research results come out!
Vic didn't really want such a pure scientist to die an unnatural death, so he could only offer a subtle reminder.
" Vic, you brat, are you cursing me? I'm perfectly healthy, I could live another twenty years without any problem!"
But are sticky foods really bad for the stomach? I really love eating sticky rice dumplings and glutinous rice balls!
Dr. Tsukimi really doesn't seem to care about losing her teeth at her age; she just loves eating sticky things. Isn't this bound to cause problems sooner or later?
"Doctor! Sticky foods pose no problem for us young people, but older people's digestive abilities weaken considerably. As a scientist, don't you understand that?"
"From now on, try not to eat it if you can avoid it. If you want to eat it, take small bites and chew thoroughly, and don't eat too much." That was all the advice Vic could offer. If fate wanted to take Dr. Tsukimi away, there was nothing that could be done.
"Then I'll listen to you. I'll eat less until I see results, and I must ensure my intelligent robot is successfully launched!"
Dr. Tsukimi listened, but not much. In other words, once the research is successful, she won't have this concern anymore, so she'll probably follow in the footsteps of the moon-gazing person in the future.
Even if you succeed, you can't be reckless, right? Are you making this just for yourself? You need to find ways to promote it! That's how you demonstrate its value!
So you must live well! If you need anything later, come find me. Maybe I can even set an even higher goal for you! That way, you can continue your research on this topic!
Vic thought of the enormous steel behemoth inside the mountain space. He didn't know how intelligent that thing was, but its power was definitely thousands of times greater than the robots created by Dr. Tsukimi.
Dr. Tsukimi was drawn into a fantasy world by Vic's words. He felt as if he had traveled to the future and was seeing his intelligent robots helping countless families, while he himself was carrying out new research projects. He felt that his life was fulfilling and meaningful!
Seeing that Dr. Tsukimi was lost in thought, Vic stopped talking and began his Haki training, nurturing the Black Blade. He decided that he would train in the snow the next day, following the footsteps of nature to comprehend the power of this world.
"This is the previous state! Completely black with invincible defense? If only my AI robot could have that kind of defense, that would be perfect!"
When Dr. Tsukimi came to his senses, he recognized Vic's appearance immediately. The demonic aura he saw shocked him. He even wanted to go up and touch Vic's body, but seeing that Vic had closed his eyes and entered a certain state, he didn't disturb him.
The next morning, Dr. Tsukimi woke up and didn't see Vic. When she went downstairs, she saw the old witch drinking and Wendy lying in bed, Wendy complexion having returned to normal, but Wendy still showed no signs of waking up.
" Dr. Kureha! Good morning! Where did Vic go? He's up so early! I didn't see him as soon as I opened my eyes!" Dr. Tsukimi greeted Kureha.
" Vic! He left early this morning, saying he was going to toughen himself up in the snow and ice. I don't really understand. There's bread there; go eat it when you're ready."
" Dr. Kureha! Has the little girl's fever gone down? Why hasn't she woken up yet?" Dr. Tsukimi asked again.
"It's been dragging on for too long. Your brain needs more time to recover, which should be within the next day or two. Vic asked you about it before, and I've told you again. Can't you come down together? Honestly!" Kureha said somewhat displeased. Dr. Tsukimi awkwardly remained silent and quickly slipped away.
Vic was sitting cross-legged on the ground in the woods not far away, shirtless, practicing his Observation Haki. At the same time, he was also tempering his will. The outdoor temperature on this island could reach minus thirty or forty degrees Celsius, much lower than the temperature in the deep sea, which was a higher level of tempering and had a greater effect on training his will.
Wendy won't wake up anytime soon, and we don't know when the teachers will be able to get here. In the meantime, I'll stay on the island and train hard.
When Vic saw that Wendy's fever had subsided in the morning, he was completely relieved. Although she was still not awake, it was only a matter of time. Vic also resumed his daily training. Vic would not miss such a good training ground.
"Is it already noon? Let's go deep into the forest and hunt some game! We can't just freeload here at Kureha's, can we? We also need to prepare for Dr. Tsukimi's food expenses, so let's use the game to pay for it!" Time quickly passed to noon, Vic prepared to go hunting in the forest.
This island is a world covered in ice and snow, and everywhere you go is white, so the wildlife on the island is not very abundant. There are giant snow hares like Lapahn, snow bears, and reindeer that are not afraid of the cold, as well as some other animals that are not afraid of the cold, but in short, the total number is not large.
After walking for more than half an hour, Vic had reached the depths of the forest. A squirrel heard the crunching sound of Vic's footsteps on the snow and was so frightened that it dropped a large pine cone it was holding.
However, the pine cone changed rapidly as it fell, quickly transforming into a large mushroom covered in spiral patterns, with a red cap and a white stem.
Strangely, the red mushroom had a stem growing from the top of its cap—a truly bizarre combination. Coincidentally, this strange fruit fell right on Vic's head, hit him, and rolled forward. Vic caught the rolling thing in his hand.