Ultimately, they decided to stay.
Before the rest of the Heart Pirates arrived at Lorre Island, the efforts to combat the plague continued relentlessly.
Over the next few days,
Maude and his crew resolved the plague in a second village and then immediately set out for the third.
No one knew when the Navy would arrive on Lorre Island to cause trouble for them.
Before that happened, every moment was precious for Law to treat the infected. Saving even one more patient was worth it.
With their exceptional speed, they reached the plague-stricken third village in less than a day.
As before, they began with Lafitte's hypnosis ability, sending the villagers into a trance, allowing the sick to be brought one by one into Law's operating room.
Days passed in a blur.
Soon, a week had gone by.
Through their concerted efforts, the plague in the third village was nearing its end.
During this time, Law had lost count of how many surgeries he had performed.
He only knew that every day, aside from eating, drinking, and the bare minimum of rest, he spent all his time operating.
Until he physically collapsed from exhaustion, he refused to step down from the operating table.
This grueling, almost torturous workload had indeed brought him significant growth.
His stamina improved noticeably, and his mastery over the Op-Op Fruit became increasingly refined.
Maude observed all of this quietly.
Though Maude's primary motivation for pushing Law to undergo such intense training was to increase the odds of preserving the Op-Op Fruit,
he knew full well that Law's true driving force was his vendetta against the Donquixote Family.
"It's still too early to deal with Doflamingo..."
To claim the title of Warlord of the Sea, one must first dethrone an existing Warlord.
Before the great tidal wave of change that would reshape the world, Maude had no intention of confronting Doflamingo.
The disparity in strength was one reason. The immense shadow behind Doflamingo was another.
Even with the strength to defeat him, any rash move without the right opportunity would risk setting off a chain reaction.
The World Government, for one, would not stand idly by as Doflamingo was taken down.
Thus, Maude had no plans to target Doflamingo in the near term.
And he had no intention of informing Law of this, either.
One sunny day, as the treatment efforts neared completion,
a tall man clad in a pale purple kimono arrived at the entrance of the village where Maude and his crew were located.
The man had short black hair, a ring of stubble around his mouth, and his eyes were perpetually closed. A distinctive "X"-shaped scar marked his left eyebrow.
"Indeed... something's different."
The man nodded slightly. Though his eyes remained shut, his unique perception revealed flickering shadows, like candle flames, representing the life forces in the village.
More precisely, these were the villagers' auras.
The auras were steady and strong—completely uncharacteristic of a plague-stricken area.
Despite being somewhat prepared, the man was still slightly surprised upon "seeing" it firsthand.
After standing at the village entrance for a moment, the man took deliberate steps into the village.
It was quiet, eerily so.
This was his immediate impression upon entering.
Though he passed by dozens of life forces, their owners paid no attention to his arrival.
The vast village paths were utterly silent.
Not even the faintest murmur could be heard.
"Hypnotized, perhaps..."
Though the man was blind, his extensive experience and masterful Observation Haki allowed him to piece together the situation.
After a moment of silence in the village square, the man raised his wooden staff.
"No matter, let's take this opportunity to make my presence known."
With that, he struck the staff's base against the ground.
Boom—!
The sound reverberated like a boulder rolling down a mountainside, spreading across the entire village in an instant.
The hypnotized villagers shuddered as if jolted awake. The vacant look in their eyes gradually gave way to clarity, leaving them confused and disoriented.
A hundred meters away, in a small house where Maude and his crew were gathered,
the thunderous sound reached their ears.
Maude's expression darkened.
The same reaction swept through Lafitte and the others.
Who could it be...?
Signaling to Lafitte with a hand gesture, Maude stepped out of the house first, weaving through narrow alleys until he reached the central village square.
As soon as he arrived, he felt a scorching, oppressive presence lock onto him like sunlight.
"..."
Maude's eyes narrowed as he instinctively looked toward the source, his heart sinking.
"Fujitora?!"
Staring at the towering man in the purple kimono, Maude's heartbeat quickened.
Clang—!
Wasting no time, he drew his blade, Chidori.
Facing a powerful adversary, hesitation was not an option.
Battle or retreat—it was vital to be ready for either.
"Fujitora? Why call me that?"
Issho, gripping his staff and holding it diagonally across his body, turned his blind yet perceptive gaze toward the vigilant Maude.
"And it seems you... know me?"
Through an extraordinary blend of insight and Observation Haki, Issho picked up on subtle hints from Maude's demeanor, piecing together secrets others might overlook.
Though he lacked concrete proof, he trusted his instincts.
Maude's pupils constricted as he chose to remain silent, retreating quickly.
"Run!"
His urgent voice reached Lafitte and Gaya, who had hurried to investigate.
Though they didn't fully understand the situation, they immediately followed Maude's command, halting mid-step before retreating without hesitation.
"..."
Issho silently watched as the trio moved with seamless coordination, making no move to stop them.
Whether or not swords should clash, this was not the time or place.
For now, letting them flee was exactly what Issho preferred.
"The one who's come... is the future Admiral Fujitora..."
Maude's heart raced.
He had braced himself for the possibility of facing Gion, yet it was the formidable future Admiral Fujitora who had arrived to confront them.
Though some of his intelligence on the situation was incomplete, leading him to assume that Fujitora was already part of the Navy, the end result was the same.
Regardless of whether Issho was a Navy officer, he had clearly come for the Maude Pirates.
"Who is that?"
Gaya's expression was unusually grim.
She didn't recognize Fujitora, but she could tell that he was a powerful presence.
The same was true for Lafitte.
Although he didn't know Fujitora's identity, he could gauge the man's strength from his aura.
Not to be underestimated...
"An enemy we absolutely can't handle at this stage!"
Maude's tone was heavy with tension.
Without pausing to explain, they rushed back to the house. They barely gave themselves a moment before grabbing Law—who had just finished a grueling surgery—along with a confused Bailey and Bepo, and bolted out the door, heading straight for the coastline at full speed.
While fleeing, Maude made the deliberate choice not to bring Philo along.
He reasoned that, given her status, she'd actually be safer staying put in the house rather than on the run.
However, Philo, seeing Maude and the others suddenly fleeing, didn't think twice before chasing after them.
Her speed was surprisingly good, just barely enough to keep up with Maude and the crew.
On the village paths, Issho held his wooden staff, tapping it lightly against the ground as he strolled forward at a leisurely pace.
He didn't seem the least bit concerned about the Maude Pirates escaping.
As he walked, he extended his Observation Haki, sensing the vitality that emanated from every corner of the village.
The oppressive stillness from before was gone, replaced by the vibrant, rhythmic pulse of life—like the beating of a heart.
"Pirates, is it?"
Thinking back to what Servis had told him, Issho's pace gradually quickened.
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