Between Two Worlds: Nen and Haki

He bid farewell to Kureha.

With Chopper perched directly on his shoulder, Zane led the group back to the port.

There were no surprises.

The port was already a scene of absolute devastation.

The wounded and dead of the King's Army were scattered everywhere.

"Boss..."

As Zane arrived, Manlong, who was leading the Hunting Team members in clearing the battlefield, immediately stepped forward to greet him and explain the situation.

"Chopper, from now on, you're the Chief Ship Doctor of our Hunting Team. Please take some people and start treating the wounded!"

Having kept an eye on things here with his Observation Haki, Zane already knew the details. Once Manlong finished his report, he lifted Chopper down from his shoulder and gave him a playful pat on the head with a smile.

"Huh? Me, the Chief Doctor?! Damn it, don't think saying that will make me happy!"

In truth, after Zane's affectionate gesture of carrying him on his shoulder all the way there, Chopper's initial anxiety had already blossomed into joy.

Upon hearing Zane's appointment, he was momentarily stunned before twisting his body in bashful delight, his words contradicting his visible happiness.

However, Chopper didn't forget the task at hand.

After his bout of shyness, he quickly organized the ship's doctors to begin treating the injured Hunting Team members.

The King's Army had the advantage of numbers after all.

Even with Manlong leading the charge, the Hunting Team had sustained significant casualties during the clash.

Of course, these casualties were still within Zane's acceptable limits.

If the Hunting Team was to grow, they needed more than just hard training; they needed the experience of constant battle.

Occasional casualties within reason were unavoidable.

After all, Zane wanted battle-hardened subordinates, not a group of infants sheltered by him.

If that weren't the case, he could have easily provided support from a distance using his Observation Haki and Rumble-Rumble Fruit powers.

"Manlong, take a contingent of men and pay a visit to the royal palace."

Seeing Chopper organizing the medical effort, Zane turned to give Manlong his orders.

While Chopper's medical skills were beyond reproach, the current Hunting Team was far larger than before. With so many members, Chopper couldn't handle it all alone.

After Zane explained the situation regarding the Isshi-20, Manlong immediately set off with a group.

The Isshi-20 was a program implemented by Wapol after he became King.

Simply put, it consisted of the twenty most talented doctors selected from across Drum Island.

As a world-renowned medical nation, Drum Island possessed a heritage of exceptional medical knowledge.

Therefore, even if the members of the Isshi-20 weren't quite on the level of Kureha or Chopper, their skills were undoubtedly world-class.

The King's Army had suffered a crushing defeat.

As for Wapol himself, the king had been struck down and carried off by a bolt of lightning.

The royal palace on the Drum Rockies was undoubtedly already in a state of utter chaos.

With Manlong leading his team there now, they wouldn't face much resistance.

"Boss, I've found a Devil Fruit user here. Should I bring him along?"

"No need. Drum Island is Chopper's home, and the country needs someone to manage it properly. Let that fruit user go."

On the deck, Zane hung up the transponder snail, ending the call.

With nothing else to do, he had been keeping an eye on Manlong's activities at the Drum Rockies.

The Devil Fruit user Manlong mentioned was Dalton, user of the Ox-Ox Fruit, Model: Bison.

Though he was currently the Captain of the Royal Guard, in the original timeline, he was destined to become the new king of the Drum Kingdom.

Zane was a man of principle.

While Devil Fruit users were excellent targets for the hunt, he wouldn't just hunt them indiscriminately.

Regardless of whether someone possessed a fruit power, his targets were limited to two categories: the wicked, and those who stood against him.

Someone like Dalton, even putting aside the connection to Chopper, wasn't someone Zane would hunt as long as the man didn't actively make himself an enemy.

Then there was the matter of the Isshi-20.

He had no intention of taking all of them either.

Wapol had not only implemented the Isshi-20 plan but had also absurdly exiled all other doctors from the island.

Thus, Zane had only instructed Manlong to take half of the doctors.

As for the remaining half, he had just contacted Kureha to have her handle the communications with them.

While they waited...

By the time Chopper and the medical team had finished initial treatments, Manlong had successfully returned with ten members of the Isshi-20.

Zane assigned these men to Chopper's medical squad as well.

To put their minds at ease, he had Baby 5 step forward to speak with them.

Specifically, about the benefits, the benefits, and the benefits.

That's right.

Zane's method of reassurance was simple: throwing money at the problem.

The one thing he didn't lack right now was money.

Doctors needed to make a living too.

Once they realized Zane's group wasn't a pirate crew and saw the exceptionally generous benefits offered, the nervous doctors gradually began to relax.

Soon after, they were deep in a heated discussion about medical techniques with Chopper.

It couldn't be helped.

The more talented a person was, the more prideful they tended to be.

This was especially true between colleagues in the same field.

When they learned that Chopper was the ship's Chief Doctor and captain of the medical squad, some naturally felt slighted.

"Competition breeds progress. The atmosphere on the ship is getting better and better."

Zane was more than happy to see this rivalry among the ship's doctors.

It even gave him an idea.

He considered establishing a ranking system within the Hunting Team to foster more initiative and motivation among the members.

*

*

*

The trip to Drum Island had concluded perfectly.

The New Riding the Wind and Waves set sail once more.

Their destination: Reverse Mountain.

The world of pirates was divided by the Red Line and the Calm Belts.

Traveling from the four seas to the Grand Line meant either crossing the Calm Belt or using Reverse Mountain, and the same applied for the return journey.

Periodically, the currents of Reverse Mountain would reverse, allowing travelers to return to the four seas from the Grand Line.

This was how the Krieg Pirates had managed to escape from the Grand Line back to the East Blue when being hunted by Hawkeye in the original story.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The thunderous roar of cannon fire echoed.

A fleet of five or six ships approached from across the distant sea.

These vessels not only flew pirate flags but were also relentlessly bombarding the New Riding the Wind and Waves.

A dense barrage of cannonballs arched through the sky, raining down on various parts of the ship.

Despite its massive size, the New Riding the Wind and Waves didn't lose any maneuverability thanks to its electric paddle wheels.

From the moment the bombardment began, the ship's helmsman skillfully steered the warship through a series of agile maneuvers.

"Why have there been so many pirate attacks lately?"

"It is strange. Given the size of our warship, ordinary pirates should be steering well clear of us."

"Stop your yapping and get ready to return fire!"

Faced with the pirate assault, the members of the Hunting Team showed no signs of panic, quickly moving to their stations.

However, some still found the recent surge in attacks highly unusual.

"Let me handle this!!"

Just as the gunners were about to retaliate, a figure sprinted out from the cabin and leaped onto the railing facing the distant pirate fleet.

"You trashy bastards! How dare you keep interrupting my happy time with the Captain? I'll wipe you all out!"

The one who had emerged from the cabin was none other than Baby 5.

She glared at the distant pirate fleet with a face full of fury.

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