Chapter 9: 09 - ROOM for Improvement
"How is it? Can Law's illness be cured?"
Although Rosinante had long known about the miraculous power of the Op-Op Fruit, he was still extremely nervous. After all, Tanaka had only recently eaten the Op-Op Fruit, and he was a few years younger than Law.
"I'd estimate… it should be even easier than peeling an apple."
Facing the two's anxious gazes—especially Law, who usually had the cool demeanor of a lone wolf but was now looking at him expectantly when it came to his own life—Tanaka smiled inwardly. He spoke calmly and unhurriedly.
"Easier than peeling an apple?"
Rosinante looked both amused and exasperated on the surface, but deep down, he felt much more at ease.
"As expected, the doctors who treated me before were all quacks." Law tilted his head back and smirked.
"It's not that their medical skills were lacking. The truth is, I don't actually know how to treat people. I can't even cure a common cold."
"The only reason I said it's easier than peeling an apple is because of the power of the Op-Op Fruit."
Tanaka shook his head, sighing inwardly at the fruit's immense power.
Anyone with even a basic understanding of medical knowledge would instantly become a top-tier surgeon, rivaling the medical prowess of Tsunade, the greatest healer in the shinobi world, after eating the Op-Op Fruit.
Forget about Amber Lead Syndrome— even diseases that were considered nightmares before he transmigrated, like cancer, would be nothing for an Op-Op Fruit user.
Tumors?
Easily removed without harm.
Cancer cells?
Cleanly excised with no damage.
Post-surgical recovery? Surgery risks? Side effects?
None.
Since this was his first time performing surgery on someone, he decided to be extra cautious and activated his Byakugan.
Dual-layered vision.
The Op-Op Fruit allowed him to perceive everything inside a space.
The Byakugan granted him direct sight into Law's internal organs.
Simply put, if he studied a few medical books, he wouldn't even need to learn medical ninjutsu. Just by possessing the Byakugan and the Op-Op Fruit, he could cure 99% of all diseases in both the Naruto and One Piece worlds.
"His eyes…" Rosinante, standing nearby, noticed the change in Tanaka's pupils, deep in thought.
As for Law, he stood stiffly.
He looked indifferent on the surface, but inside, he was panicking.
After all, this was someone younger than him, who didn't even know medicine, performing surgery on him.
How could he not be nervous?
"ROOM."
Tanaka pulled a kunai from his ninja pouch and made a light cut in the air.
Law felt a slight pain in his abdomen. When he looked down, he saw that a small incision had been made, exposing his liver.
Strangely, despite the large wound, not a single drop of blood was spilling out.
"So this is the power of the Op-Op Fruit?"
Coming from a medical family, Law felt his entire worldview shatter.
No wonder Tanaka dared to boast—though he couldn't cure a cold, he could definitely cure his disease.
"This is the source of your Amber Lead Syndrome."
Tanaka pointed at Law's exposed liver, then lightly sliced it with the kunai.
The lead deposits attached to Law's liver were neatly excised without harming the organ itself.
It was as if the lead had grown wings and flown away on its own.
"Hiss—" Law inhaled sharply.
He felt a mild pain in his liver, but before he could process it, he realized that his abdomen had already healed completely—good as new.
Not a single scar remained.
It was as if he had never been cut open in the first place.
"All done. I've removed all the lead from your liver."
Tanaka paused.
Right now, Law was still inside the ROOM. In this space, even if his organs were cut apart, he would only feel mild pain.
However, once Tanaka dismissed the ROOM, the aftereffects of the surgery would surely kick in.
Even though the lead was excised harmlessly, suddenly losing so much of it from his liver would still cause discomfort.
He vaguely remembered that, after eating the Op-Op Fruit, Law had operated on himself—and then immediately passed out from the pain.
Can I temporarily anesthetize him? A thought crossed his mind as he recalled the various techniques Law had developed.
For example, the Gamma Knife, the high-frequency scalpel, and heart shock.
Manipulating gamma rays with his bare hands, generating high-frequency electric shocks—these abilities seemed to come effortlessly.
With that thought, he quickly made a decision.
The development of a Devil Fruit's powers relied on two things: constant usage in battle and creativity.
As long as an ability didn't break the fundamental rules of the fruit, anything could be developed.
Let's give it a try! Tanaka extended his index finger and placed it against Law's abdomen.
Since Law could conjure electricity and gamma radiation in the series, then so could he—perhaps even better.
"Injection · Anesthesia."
As the thought crossed his mind, his Byakugan and ROOM's spatial perception clearly showed blue energy forming at his fingertips, materializing out of thin air like sharp blades before injecting into Law's body.
It actually worked. Noticing the effect, a flicker of excitement flashed through Tanaka's eyes.
Originally, he had prepared a backup plan: if his attempt at modifying the Op-Op Fruit's abilities failed, he would use the Byakugan and pressure point techniques to temporarily paralyze Law.
But such a godlike Devil Fruit obviously wouldn't disappoint him.
Anesthesia? With this fruit, all it took was a simple gesture.
Law looked on, curiosity piqued. "What are you doing?"
"Anesthesia." Tanaka answered bluntly.
"Y-You… You finished my surgery and then thought about anesthesia?!"
Law's eyes widened in disbelief.
Performing surgery first, then applying anesthesia?
Everything he had learned about medicine screamed that this was completely insane.
If this guy wasn't his savior, and if he weren't too weak to fight Tanaka, Law swore he would have punched him on the spot.
"Small details. At the end, with the Op-Op Fruit, the order of the surgery doesn't matter at all."
"Whether I operate first and anesthetize later, or anesthetize first and operate later—The result is the same."
Tanaka waved a hand dismissively, looking unconcerned as he deactivated ROOM and his Byakugan.
Sure enough, after exiting ROOM, Law should have been writhing in pain from the operation.
But instead, he felt absolutely nothing.
"You—!"
Law gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Alright, the surgery is done. Now all that's left is to eat some meat and take a nap."
Tanaka knew that in the One Piece world, people had insane healing abilities.
Especially someone like Law, who carried the Will of D.
Unless they had some incurable disease, injuries like amputations or organ damage could be fixed with nothing more than a meal and a good sleep.
"I—"
Law was about to throw out some insults, but before he could, Rosinante cut him off.
"What he means to say is… Thank you for saving his life. Isn't that right, Law?"
He stared him down.
He might not be a doctor, but he understood the situation well enough.
Regardless of how it happened, the fact remained—Law had been cured.
That was an undeniable truth.
"… Thank you for saving me."
Under Rosinante's intense gaze, Law had no choice but to glare with dead-fish eyes and begrudgingly mutter his thanks.
Of course, deep down, he truly was grateful to Tanaka.
But that didn't change the fact that he still wanted to punch him in the face.