One Piece: The Cryo Doctor on the Straw Hat Ship

The deafening explosion shook the entire town of Shells, the sound waves rippling outwards like a tidal wave.

The shell hit the statue precisely at the waist.

In an instant, the stone statue exploded, and the rubble rained down on the walls and the ground.

"you--!"

Zoro's pupils contracted sharply as he stared intently at V's arm, which had retracted its cannon barrel and returned to its original state.

"...What is that?"

“A little trick by CyberTech.” V flicked his wrist, the metal joint emitting a faint hum.

He looked at Zoro again, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable, penetrating power:

Are we still the same now?

"Are you kidding me?!" Zoro's eyes widened in disbelief. "How could anyone possibly..."

His voice grew weaker and weaker.

He wondered how someone could be so powerful as to fire a shell with their bare hands.

But all of this actually happened right before his eyes.

Don't be fooled by Zoro's handsome appearance and incredible strength in the anime; right now, he's just a greenhorn who's just starting out.

So weak that even when facing Cabaji of the Buggy Pirates, he still got hurt.

Even the finest rough jade needs a sculptor's touch to shine.

V's eyes sparkled, as if she had traveled through time and space to see a scene from the future.

"Zoro, you have the potential to reach the top of the world."

"It would be such a waste to let it be buried in the East China Sea like this!"

Come join us!

"Let's witness, conquer, and reach the pinnacle of the world together!!!"

"........."

Faced with V's formal invitation, Zoro fell silent once again.

But the silence didn't last long.

He quickly raised his head, a strange light appearing in his eyes.

“You just said… I am a piece of uncut jade.”

"People who say things like that are probably very confident in their skills."

"So, you have a way to make me stronger?"

“Of course.” V’s lips curled into a confident smile. “As a prosthetic doctor, this is my duty.”

"Prosthetic doctor? What's that?"

"But... never mind, let's leave it at that..."

Zoro murmured softly, then looked up and said solemnly:

"Okay! I'll join you."

"Whether it's for the real world you speak of... or what you call 'sculpting'."

"only……"

"If I find out that any of you will stand in the way of my ambition, I will not hesitate to cut you all down!!!"

"This is the only thing I will uphold for the rest of my life!!!"

"Hahaha……"

V burst into laughter.

"Wait until you can actually do that before you say such harsh things!"

Max-level prosthetic body + max-level skills + max-level attribute points...

At this point, V might not be considered extremely strong, but he should at least be hard-pressed to defeat anyone below the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

With a flick of his arm, a sharp blade shot out, transforming into a scarlet mantis-shaped blade.

A flash of cold light—

The ropes that had bound Sauron for nearly twenty days snapped.

Zoro, who hadn't eaten properly for a long time, swayed slightly but still managed to stand firmly.

He looked up at V: "So, Captain, what's next?"

"……what?"

V was taken aback.

Luffy, standing next to him, immediately stopped smiling.

He was initially happy about the addition of a new friend, and immediately jumped forward:

"Etc., etc!"

He stood with his hands on his hips, staring at Zoro in disbelief:

"I am the captain of this pirate crew!!!"

"……what?"

This time it was Zoro's turn to be stunned.

He glanced at V's slightly embarrassed smile, and his expression immediately became complicated.

His gaze shifted back and forth between Luffy and V, his features almost contorted in a grimace, as if to say:

"Letting this fool be the captain... do we really have a future?"

Chapter 9 The Little White Mouse, Koby

"Cough cough."

V coughed lightly, his expression a mixture of helplessness and subtle embarrassment.

"Although this guy does seem a bit unreliable... he is indeed our captain."

"Don't let his seemingly silly appearance fool you; when he gets serious, he's actually quite strong."

"That's it!"

Luffy immediately puffed out his chest, put his rubber arms on his hips, and loudly declared to Zoro:

"My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

"One Piece?"

Zoro's ears twitched slightly, and the disdain in his eyes lessened a bit as he began to truly examine the straw-hatted boy before him.

A person who can say such things so frankly is either an ignorant madman or has a determination that should not be underestimated.

"Hmph...that's quite an ambition."

Zoro nodded in agreement, then proceeded to introduce:

"Roronoa Zoro is a three-sword style swordsman."

V then extended his hand to Zoro, formally introducing them:

"My name is V, and I am a prosthetic doctor."

"You're really a doctor?"

Zoro's gaze fell on V's hand, which was covered in metallic patterns. He raised an eyebrow and his tone was clearly surprised.

"If you don't tell me, I'm afraid no one will be able to tell?"

He hadn't forgotten that it was from this very arm that the terrifying cannon barrel and the sharp blade had just emerged.

"Haha~" V smiled slightly, "After all, my original profession is not healing the sick and saving lives."

"V is amazing!"

Luffy jumped to Zoro's side, pointed at Coby who was still clueless, and added enthusiastically:

"Look! Koby's hand got hard because of him! It's rock hard!"

"Hands... hardened?" Zoro blinked in confusion.

He understood every word Luffy said, but when they were put together, they left him completely confused.

At V's prompting look, Koby timidly raised his hands.

The pair of matte, dark gray prosthetic wrists gleamed with a cold, hard metallic luster in the morning light, and a subtle yet clear mechanical hum emanated from the joints as the fingers opened and closed.

"I... I just..." Koby opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but didn't know where to begin, his face filled with embarrassment and unease.

Zoro's gaze swept back and forth between Coby's hand and V's composed expression, and his doubts about this "cyborg doctor" rose to a new level.

However, before he could ask any further questions, a series of hurried and heavy footsteps, accompanied by a roar, abruptly interrupted the brief exchange.

"It's them! Colonel Monka!"

Tap tap tap tap—!

The sound of synchronized footsteps approached like the beating of drums, and a deafening roar shattered the slightly relaxed atmosphere on the playground:

"—How dare they act so recklessly at a naval base! They have some nerve!!!"

The naval base gates were wide open, and squads of naval soldiers in white uniforms, carrying muskets, filed in and quickly dispersed in a semi-circle.

They strode in, surrounding an exceptionally burly officer with a fierce, beast-like face.

The officer's right arm was not flesh and blood, but rather fitted with a huge, gleaming axe blade.

This man is none other than Colonel Monca, the ruler of Shells, known as "The Axe-Hand"!

"It's you bunch of damned bastards who don't know your own mortality—"