The Great Voyage Begins with the Celestial Dragons

"Hmph, abandoning his wife and children to become a pirate, I think he's just a coward!"

Usopp shouted, reciting the assessment he had heard from the village aunties.

"Usopp, you..."

Banchina, panting, pointed at Usopp, when suddenly she felt a wave of dizziness.

Fortunately, Stella reacted quickly and rushed over to support her, preventing her from immediately fainting.

Stella gently massaged Banchina's head, rubbing the pressure points to relax her, and said softly:

"Alright, that's enough."

Seeing that Banchina almost fainted again, Usopp panicked and, at a loss, lowered his head and said:

"Mom, I was wrong..."

That's what he said, but he was still somewhat dissatisfied, and his resentment towards Yasopp had almost reached its peak.

"Usopp, go boil some water. Banchina has been thirsty for so long and really needs your help."

Upon hearing Stella's words, Usopp, who already didn't want to face his mother, ran out of the room and started busying himself.

Inside the room, Stella whispered:

"Alright, Banchina, don't overthink it. Usopp is only doing this for your own good. He was so worried about me today, he ran all the way to the port to look for me..."

Listening to Usopp's performance today, Banchina sighed softly, her expression showing a hint of regret.

Even she herself felt that she had spoken a bit too harshly.

She actually knew everything that Usopp had carried since childhood.

"Banchina, take your time to rest. Remember, you're not allowed to get out of bed. I'm going out to finish some things I haven't done yet, and I'll be right back."

"Go ahead and do your work. Usopp is enough. I can manage." Banchina shook her head.

"Don't worry about that, just get some rest!"

Stella gave a bright smile, waved, and left the room.

Once she was a bit further away from Usopp's house and her Observation Haki confirmed that no one was around, she dialed Luther's number.

"Your Highness!"

"What's the matter?"

At this moment, Luther was relatively relaxed on his way to send Otohime to Mermaid Island.

"Your Highness, if Banchina's condition worsens, may I mobilize your medical resources?"

Stella asked somewhat cautiously; according to the plan, Banchina's death would actually be more advantageous for them.

But people always have feelings, and even though she was raised as a slave from childhood, she couldn't completely let go of them.

"You can contact Olvia anytime, or Quinn can cooperate with you if necessary."

Luther's reply was swift, and its contents deeply moved Stella.

"Your Highness! I will definitely train Usopp well..."

"He's not important, you're the one who belongs to me, the important thing is that you're willing."

Luther chuckled and hung up the phone.

He believed that Stella would not let him down, and he also believed that people with bonds were always easier to control than Avengers.

"Thank you, Your Highness..."

Stella murmured softly, a radiant smile spreading across her delicate face.

She knew that being taken away by Luther was perhaps the luckiest thing that ever happened to her!

With light steps, she walked towards Usopp's house.

……

a few days later.

When the doctors from Eregia arrived at Syrup Village, Usopp went to greet them personally and watched nervously as they entered.

The delegation this time is quite large, consisting of five renowned doctors, each of whom is well-known in Eregia.

Nearly an hour later, the five doctors left the room in silence.

"Doctor, is there anything wrong with my mother?"

Usopp, who couldn't sit still any longer, immediately rushed over.

Stella frowned slightly; even without using her Observation Haki to read minds, she could tell something was wrong from the doctors' faces.

"Let's go outside and talk."

"Aunt Stella..."

Although Usopp wanted to know the result immediately, seeing Stella gently shaking her head, he seemed to realize something, lowered his head and followed her out the door.

Stepping outside, the oldest doctor sighed softly:

“Ms. Stella, the lady inside suffers from hypertensive heart disease. Based on your description and diagnosis, the cause should be the combined effects of longing and overwork.”

"Doctor, Aunt Stella, is this heart condition dangerous?" Usopp asked anxiously.

Stella, seeing Usopp's state, didn't hide anything and explained:

"This is a long-term burden caused by high blood pressure that cannot heal on its own, but it can be alleviated and treated in some ways."

“Ms. Stella, this disease can probably only be cured by going to Drum Kingdom, where there are the best doctors and the most advanced medical equipment,” the doctor reminded her from the side. “Moreover, the current situation is not optimistic; the patient may not live for more than a few years.”

Chapter 240 The Solution, Usopp's Future

"What do you mean? How can you say that Mom won't live for more than a few years!"

Upon hearing this, Usopp exploded.

He wanted to rush up and question her, but Stella stopped him.

The doctor sighed softly and shook his head, saying:

“Actually, hypertensive heart disease is not a serious illness and should not affect normal life. But from your description, the patient is still missing her missing husband, which keeps her on edge. Unless she can let go of that, the situation will only worsen.”

"What...what do we do..."

Upon hearing this, Usopp was so distraught that he burst into tears.

Ultimately, he is still just a child.

"If we completely cure Banchina's illness and strengthen her body, could we improve her condition?" Stella asked after thinking for a moment.

Is this okay?

Usopp was at a loss, and upon hearing Stella's words, he could only look hopefully at the doctor.

The doctor gave a wry smile. "I can't say for sure. We can't treat patients. But theoretically, what you said is correct. If the patient isn't overworked and can recover physically, then being consumed by longing will at most result in depression, which won't have a significant impact. Moreover, the patient has other things to rely on, so the impact will be even lower."

Ultimately, Banchina bears the main responsibility for how she ended up like this.

If she had truly let go of the Jesus cloth, she wouldn't have suffered from heart disease due to the mental strain caused by longing for it.

However, Stella knew this wasn't the time to talk about these things, and simply nodded, saying:

"Okay, I understand! Thank you for coming."

"No, we're still waiting for you to return to the concert hall to perform."

The elderly doctor waved his hand repeatedly, and the other doctors nodded in agreement.

It's worth noting that Stella is quite famous in Eregia.

The title "blonde songstress" is a very high compliment to Stella.

"Definitely, you must come then!"

Stella smiled and exchanged a few pleasantries before bidding farewell to the doctors.

Usopp, who witnessed this scene, couldn't help but feel envious.

He also wanted to be like Stella; if he could, he wouldn't feel so powerless now.

After seeing the doctor off, Stella slowly lowered herself down:

"Usopp, we'd better keep Banchina's illness a secret."

Usopp nodded silently. He was young, but not stupid. He definitely couldn't let Banchina know about this, otherwise it would only put more pressure on her and worsen her condition.

“There are three options now, and I don’t know which one to choose, so I need you to make the decision,” Stella said, looking conflicted.

"There are three more methods!?"

Usopp looked surprised; he hadn't even thought of one method, yet Stella had three.

"There are three possibilities, but each one leads to a different outcome."

Stella first gave them a heads-up before slowly saying:

"The simplest solution is to find Yasopp. With him sharing the burden of Banchina's life, there won't be any major problems."

“Let’s talk about the other two first, Aunt Stella.”

Usopp neither agreed nor refused, but his face already showed a look of resistance.

If that were his only thought, he would risk his life to find the Yasopp.

But things haven't gotten to that point yet, so naturally he doesn't want to go looking for that man.

"Also, you should come with me and leave Xirob Village to experience a new life. Try new things and get Banchina involved in new but not strenuous activities. With you and me watching over her, it will also help alleviate her condition."

If the first one addresses the root cause, then the second one addresses the symptoms.

"Hmm, that's indeed a good idea..."

Usopp said somewhat irritably, as he could tell that this method was not as good as the previous one.

But he'd rather try this.

"Then let's talk about the last method. You might have to work a little harder on this one."