Vir listened to the beautiful chime of the system notification, and the smile on his face grew brighter.
In no time, Aokiji’s facial bones and internal nerves had almost fully recovered. The golden-yellow liquid had been completely absorbed by him, leaving not a single drop behind.
At this moment, Aokiji’s exposed skeletal face was gradually covered as his flesh rapidly regrew. It wouldn’t take long for him to be almost fully restored.
Meanwhile, Vir reached into the nearby sewage broth and fished out everything he needed. Now, all that remained was the installation!
“Alright! We just need to put everything back in! Thanks for your hard work, old man!”
As Vir spoke, he picked up Aokiji’s eyeball, dipped it into the grimy sewage liquid once more, and then handed it to Robin.
“Just put it back in place. Nothing complicated about it.”
“Hold it still after placing it. I’ll handle the rest.”
As Vir spoke, he handed each part to Robin, who, like assembling a puzzle, carefully placed the organs back in their respective spots.
Vir made sure to dip each piece in the liquid to ensure the nerve connections reestablished properly.
From Aokiji’s perspective, however, this was nothing short of a nightmare.
The putrid stench from the liquid was unbearable, so much so that even in his disembodied consciousness state, he felt like vomiting.
Not only did this bastard soak each part, but he even dipped them again right before installation.
Was he even human?
Aokiji was filled with an overwhelming urge to punch someone.
He wanted to give this brat, who kept calling him “old man,” a proper beating.
Just you wait! Just you wait!
Aokiji fumed internally.
But then, his eyes widened in shock.
Vir’s large hands had reached his face.
At this point, Aokiji’s face had been fully reconstructed. Though still a bit lopsided, everything was in place.
Vir first pressed his hand against Aokiji’s bulging eyeball, trying to force it back into the eye socket.
At first, he used one hand, then two, then straightened his back, and finally jumped up to slam it in.
But the eyeball just wouldn’t go in.
Aokiji winced in pain, his mouth twitching involuntarily.
The eye hadn’t gone in, but it had connected to the nerves.
Every press felt like taking a direct hit to the eyeball in battle.
It hurt. It really, really hurt!
And this guy was getting more aggressive! He even resorted to smashing it in!
Aokiji genuinely felt like his eye was going to burst.
And by the looks of it, it still wasn’t going in!
Was this suffering all for nothing?
Just as Aokiji was about to despair, Vir reassured him.
“Seems like your eyeball swelled up from soaking too much. No worries, though! I have a secret weapon. No matter how stubborn, it’ll go in.”
As he spoke, Vir rummaged through his medical kit.
Before long, he pulled out a bottle of lubricant!
Then, without hesitation, he squeezed a generous amount directly onto Aokiji’s eyeball!
Aokiji was stunned.
He recognized the substance, which was why he was so shocked.
And because he recognized it, he was that much more horrified.
Why the hell did this guy carry something like that around?
Wait! What the hell am I thinking?
No, no, no! Shouldn’t I be more concerned about my own eye first?
This bastard actually put that stuff on my eye!
Aokiji snapped back to reality and immediately struggled violently!
Even his real body began to tremble!
If this continued, he might actually break free from the seal.
*Thud!*
A dull impact rang out, and Aokiji quieted down again.
Vir casually set aside the brick he had just used, keeping it handy for future use.
Now, with the lubricant applied, Vir grew bolder!
First, he pressed down fiercely. When that didn’t work, he started slamming it!
When even that didn’t work, he stood up and stomped!
He stomped down hard on Aokiji’s eye while yelling, “Go in! Go in! Old man! Old man! Die! Die! Die!”
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 300,000 negative points!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 170,000 negative points!]
Aokiji was utterly miserable.
Not only did it hurt like hell, but the sheer indignity of it all was unbearable!
This brat was really trying to kill him!
If his organs weren’t so durable, his eyeball would have exploded by now!
After a tense struggle—
With a slick *schlop!*—
It went in!
Fully in!
Vir finally let out a breath of relief as he saw the eye had finally returned to its socket.
With that done, the other eye was easy to handle.
Unlike the first, this one popped right in with a gentle press.
Seeing Aokiji’s mismatched eyes, Vir couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Pfft—hahaha!”
His gloating laughter made Aokiji, who was already miserable, feel even worse.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You’ve earned 20,000 negative points!]
Wow, even this counted?
Impressive, Admiral.
Even a casual slip-up from you is worth that much.
With the major work done, Vir brought out his welding kit.
After hooking the electrical wires to himself and turning Aokiji’s face into steel, Vir handed the welding torch to Robin.
“Huh? You want me to do this too?”
Robin hesitated.
She had seen Vir weld before, but that didn’t mean it was easy!
If she handled it, wouldn’t Aokiji’s face end up full of craters?
Wasn’t he your sworn brother?
How could you make me do something like this?
Robin seriously doubted Vir’s intentions.
“Just do it casually. All you need to do is spot-weld the seams of the face. With Admiral Aokiji’s recovery abilities, as long as it’s slightly connected, it’ll be fine.”
Aokiji: ‘Huh?!’
Vir connected the grounding wire to Aokiji’s face, handed Robin a welding mask, and urged her to hurry up.
Seeing no other option, Robin reluctantly began.
The moment the welding rod touched the steel, an intense burst of heat and light erupted.
Aokiji’s face slowly fused together.
But he was completely dumbfounded.
When Vir first took out the welding kit, Aokiji thought the guy was going to make some kind of support frame for him.
But the moment his face was turned into steel, his heart sank.
Something terrible was about to happen.
And sure enough—
The scorching heat seared his skin.
Though not as hot as Akainu’s magma, he had no defenses or resistance at the moment.
The heat directly burned his face, and it was agonizing!
He involuntarily trembled from the pain.
To make matters worse, Robin’s unsteady hand meant the pain came in sudden bursts, sometimes unbearable, sometimes dull.
Aokiji, who had fought his way to the rank of Admiral, thought his mind was as calm as water and his will as firm as steel.
But today, in mere minutes, he had broken down completely.
That’s right.
Once again, Aokiji had completely lost it!
