One Piece: Don't Worry, I'm a Doctor

Chapter 377: Chapter 377: Power of Bloodline

A chaotic storm of strange images surged through Kuma’s mind.

So many tangled fragments of knowledge—so many thoughts clashing together.

His face began to flush red.

Meanwhile, on Vir’s side, negative points began to appear.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 200,000 negative points!]

[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 200,000 negative points!]

A considerable number of negative points were continuously pouring out of Kuma.

This made Vir turn his attention toward him.

Negative points meant something—it meant Kuma was regaining consciousness!

But when Vir looked, he was startled.

So red!

What was up with this big guy?

Why was his face so flushed?

Was it an overheating issue? Was he about to short-circuit from too much heat?

But upon closer inspection, it seemed like… he was just embarrassed.

Originally, Vir hadn’t held much hope for Kuma.

After all, the USB drive was just transferring some “learning materials”.

What kind of negative emotions could that possibly cause?

None at all. If anything, people would be jumping from joy.

But with Kuma, negative points actually appeared.

At this point, Bonney also noticed Kuma’s strange condition.

Seeing his flushed face, she reached out and touched his cheek—it was burning hot.

She immediately rushed to grab two ice packs and pressed them against his face.

“Vir! What’s wrong with him? You said plugging it in would fix him! Why is he worse now? His face is on fire!”

Bonney asked nervously.

This really didn’t seem right.

Hadn’t he become a cyborg? How could he still blush?

Now, everyone else crowded around, all staring at Kuma in confusion.

Yeah.

Wasn’t he supposed to be a robot?

How could his face turn red?

Everyone exchanged puzzled looks.

“Don’t panic, this is completely normal. His brain is currently weathering a storm!”

Vir said with an unusually grave expression.

His words made everyone’s hearts clench. Bonney pressed the ice packs even harder against Kuma’s face.

“Hang in there, you dummy dad…”

Bonney whispered in front of Kuma.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 500,000 negative points!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the ability: Buccaneer Bloodline Power!]

[Buccaneer Bloodline Power (Passive): Your physical attributes are permanently increased by 20%!]

Not long after, Kuma’s unconventional “treatment” came to an end.

And in return, he had given Vir an incredibly powerful ability.

The negative points were minimal, but did that even matter? Negative points couldn’t boost strength! Everything Vir did was for the sake of power!

But the ability Kuma provided… was absurdly potent.

Permanently increasing physical attributes by 20%—what did that mean? It was self-explanatory.

For example, If Vir had Imu’s physical prowess right now, he’d be 20% stronger than Imu!

That was a terrifying concept.

This ability was insane!

Kuma, oh Kuma! All the effort to save you was worth it.

This reward is beyond perfect.

The moment the system’s voice rang out, Vir felt his body grow significantly stronger.

The enhancement was palpable.

In fact, the sudden boost was so intense that he momentarily felt lightheaded, as if his body hadn’t adjusted yet.

And right then—

A bright light flickered in Kuma’s eyes.

Bonney was the first to notice.

She stared blankly at the face before her—the same, yet completely different.

After a long silence, she tentatively called out:

“…Dad?”

Her eyes shimmered with hope.

She wanted him to respond.

She wanted him to come back.

“Mmm. Dad will always be here.”

Kuma spoke expressionlessly.

Then, for the first time in so long, a natural smile appeared on his face.

But Bonney froze.

She thought she had hallucinated. The disbelief in her eyes was unmistakable.

“Is it… really you?” she asked again.

This time, Kuma didn’t answer with words.

Instead, he stretched out his massive arms and pulled Bonney into a tight embrace.

In that moment, nothing else needed to be said.

Feeling those familiar shoulders, that familiar hug—

Bonney finally knew.

Her beloved father had truly returned.

“Waaah! Aaaah! Aaaah—!!”

Bonney didn’t speak anymore. She couldn’t.

She was crying too hard to form words.

Tears the size of beans streamed down her face.

Her wails moved everyone present.

Vir silently turned away, gazing into the distant forest.

This kind of scene… he couldn’t handle it.

Must be getting old, he thought. Getting sentimental like this…

Seeing Kuma regain consciousness—seeing Bonney’s father actually saved by that tiny little device—

Everyone was stunned.

Could they ever doubt this guy again? How did he keep proving them wrong every time?

He was a master of everything.

Even with machinery involved, he solved the problem so effortlessly.

So simple.

A Shichibukai was now in his debt.

And Kuma’s strength was no joke.

This guy was too monstrous.

Everyone shook their heads, muttering about how it was impossible to keep up with Vir.

Meanwhile, Jina watched Vir’s back as he stood there, staring at the sky at a 45-degree angle. Her expression was complicated.

He actually cured him.

Now, Jina had no choice but to admit it.

Marco’s words echoed in her mind:

“Never question Vir’s medical skills.”

Did that mean… anything he considered “treatment” counted as medicine?

Even if the patient was a robot?

Jina couldn’t comprehend it.

But she was deeply impressed.

That man, standing with his back to her, was becoming more and more enigmatic.

But… what did that have to do with her?

She just needed to focus on taking care of her Marco.

A full half-hour later, the father and daughter finally separated.

The first thing Kuma did was pat his own head with his palm.

With that motion, a bubble popped out.

It was Kuma’s memory.

During his modifications, even his consciousness had been compressed and stored.

Now, extracting memories like this came easily to him.

And he could do it precisely, removing only what he wanted to discard.

After this, his eyes visibly cleared.

His demeanor returned to normal, his posture straightened, and he looked far more alive.

Holding Bonney in his arms, Kuma slowly walked up behind Vir.

“Vir… thank—”

Before he could finish, Vir raised a hand to stop him.

“Don’t thank me. If anything, I should be thanking you.”

“Now that you’re better, take this little troublemaker and go. If you ever run into something you can’t handle, just call me. I’ll be there.”

Vir’s words left Kuma speechless.

Neither of them spoke after that.

A heavy silence settled between them.

Bonney, still in Kuma’s arms, glanced back and forth between the two.

She had regained her childlike innocence—and the right to be a child again.

After what felt like an eternity, Kuma slowly removed the hat from his head.

With immense gravity, he bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle.

And as soon as that bow ended—

Kuma vanished.

Only his final words lingered in the air:

“Thank you… my Joy Boy.”