Blue Cure
Landon looked at the patient he was about to treat: a ten-year-old girl, blonde, under anesthesia, sleeping peacefully. She could have been mistaken for a sleeping princess awaiting her prince, if not for the bandages wrapped around her head and neck, evidence of deep cervical injuries and damage to her spinal cord.
The doctors had already treated her, and her life was no longer in danger, but his haki revealed that the child was no longer "connected" to the lower half of her body. It seemed that below the neck, she felt nothing and would never be able to walk again.
'I don't have much time,' Landon thought, sensing through his haki the parents in the hallway, talking with the doctor who was about to deliver the bad news.
Landon didn't waste a second. He approached the child, placed a hand on her, and used his fire at the highest possible intensity, targeting the girl's neck and upper back. He focused on the intensity of the flames rather than their volume.
The room lit up with the colors of his fire for a second, then the flames disappeared, and the girl's body began to glow with an azure blue as the flames coursed through her. Landon made the flames appear directly inside the young girl's body, careful not to let the room light up too much. Any manifestation of his powers would have been easily visible through the window, and with the four people behind the door, that wasn't an option.
'Damn it, I should have thought of a cloth or something to cover the window...' Landon cursed his lack of foresight.
Landon felt the physical and mental strain as he pushed himself to his limit.
'Her injury is much more severe than I anticipated. I have to revitalize and reconnect all the nerves in her back together...' Landon estimated the healing time to be a minute and a half, which, given the intensity of his flames, showed just how difficult the problem was.
Landon continued to use his flames at maximum power while keeping an eye on the parents. Normally, he could transform into his hybrid form, making the process much faster and easier, but in this situation, that was not viable.
The flames on his hands grew more powerful and bright, producing a sound akin to a tornado.
His haki suddenly picked up a wave of immense grief and despair from the two parents.
The mother collapsed to her knees, sobbing, her legs giving out, while the father remained motionless, frozen like a statue.
Landon's heart tightened at the sight of their distress. He pushed himself even harder, surpassing his own limits, amplifying his flames beyond their maximum.
His arms began to tremble. He clenched his teeth to stifle the scream rising in his throat.
He watched the girl's healing accelerate, reducing the remaining time to thirty seconds before she would be fully restored.
More and more pressure was exerted on his body as he maintained the intensity of the flames. His muscles threatened to tear under the force applied. He clenched his teeth not only to hold on but also to suppress the cry of pain that desperately wanted to escape.
But Landon held on, continuing the process.
Seven seconds passed, and his right shoulder dislocated in a tearing noise, followed shortly after by the left.
The young boy clenched his teeth even harder as his eyes began wet.
Ten seconds later, his legs gave out. Tears of pain began to stream from his eyes, which were no longer gray-green but a bright orange with flame patterns in the pupils.
Landon was making a monumental effort to hold on. He knew that if he transformed into his hybrid form, the process would become much easier, his injuries would heal almost instantly, and he would feel no pain.
But he forbade himself. His flaming form would be too visible. If he transformed, even partially, the entire room would light up in blue and gold, undoubtedly attracting the attention of those outside. So, he resisted the temptation and persevered in his human form, thinking of the desperate parents standing in the hallway.
The boy's face was red, and it seemed like the veins on his forehead were about to burst. From his hands, which touched the paralyzed girl, a small blue and golden sun appeared directly within the girl's body, making her glow with an azure hue. Landon went to great lengths to ensure this was the only manifestation of his powers.
The flames continued to be maintained and fueled by the young boy, who put all his effort into it.
And a few seconds later, everything stopped. The young girl ceased to glow, the process was complete, and Landon collapsed to the ground, exhausted, trembling, his face red, gasping for every breath of oxygen as if he desperately needed it.
But the girl was completely healed.
Landon lay on the floor for a few seconds, small blue flames escaping from his external injuries, while his internal injuries, such as muscle tears, healed at a rapid pace.
Landon took three deep breaths, and he was as good as new, but completely exhausted. which was problematic because he feel the parents heading toward their daughter's room. He got up as best he could and headed for the bathroom located in the room. He entered and closed the door behind him just as the two adults opened the room door.
"Phew," Landon exhaled, leaning against the door. He sighed and sat down, his back still pressed against the door. Landon closed his eyes for a few seconds, no longer fighting against the fatigue.
-----------------
Landon woke up fifteen minutes later, completely famished, but physically unscathed. His senses gradually returned, heard the bustle in the room behind him, tears, screams, surprise. Gently opening the bathroom door, he saw the girl's mother, tears in her eyes, hugging her daughter tightly in her arms.
The little girl was moving her legs, wiggling them without issue, as if she had never been injured. The young child looked lost and confused, glancing around as men and women in white coats spoke loudly among themselves, looking at her strangely, shocked. Her mother wept as she held her tightly, while her father, stoic, a few tears in the corner of the eyes, and a tender smile.
The doctors were stunned, observing the scene with total incomprehension. One of them approached, looking shaken, and murmured, "This is… impossible."
Without wasting time, they decided to run more scans to understand what had happened and the girl's condition. As they took the child away for tests, Landon stayed back, relieved. He waited a few seconds for them to leave, then set out in search of food to calm his stomach, a small smile on his lips.
*************************************
An entire week passed like this. Landon was beginning to find his footing. He had healed nearly twenty people, always those who couldn't recover on their own or even with the help of doctors, but only from injuries. He made a few attempts in the cardiology, hematology, and other departments where patients with serious illnesses were treated. It was there that he discovered one of his two limits. He found it extremely difficult to heal severe illnesses, which was, to his surprise, much harder than healing a failling organ or a flesh-wounds , even fatal ones.
Smaller illnesses, like the flu, were fairly easy to treat but still required considerable effort. However, more serious illnesses were much more complicated to heal. Landon gradually realized that this was because it required remolding the entire body, removing and recreating each cell, an extremely long and exhausting process.
To heal someone of cancer, it would take him about three hours at maximum power, pushing beyond his own limits for the entire duration, and this was far beyond what he was capable of.
He realized that the problem lay in the healing process itself. The act of destroying and then recreating the cell took much more time than simply healing the cell directly, and he didn't know why this was the case.
The young boy understood that he needed to take control of the process himself instead of letting the autonomous process of the flames do it. Landon could very easily perform the healing himself, but the real problem was that he didn't know what to do next. He didn't know how to cure the disease. To succeed, he needed to know exactly what the disease was doing, what it was affecting, etc. He needed medical knowledge that he did not have.
The second limitation lay in amputated limbs. He could easily heal the stump, but it was impossible for him to regrow the limb unless it was reattached, even slightly, to the wound, something he had confirmed by taking a very big risk.
Two days ago, he had just returned to the hospital after having lunch at a restaurant further away when he saw an ambulance arrive. It was transporting a young man who had had a motorcycle accident on the road. He was in critical condition, with his left arm completely torn and shredded—a horrifying sight. Families, patients, and even some nurses were horrified by the injury.
Landon knew, even with his limited medical knowledge, that to save the boy's life, they would have to amputate him.
The boy, unconscious, needed to be rushed to the operating room for emergency surgery.
Landon didn't know what to do. There were too many people, and he couldn't even get close. Nurses were clearing the way as paramedics transported the boy on a stretcher.
He thought quickly, wondering if he should intervene despite the risks, but Landon couldn't bear to see a young man lose his arm due to a moment of inattention.
He quickly moved to a corner, took off his sweatshirt, placing it on a chair, and grabbed a red nurse's coat nearby, which he put on. He also took a black cloth that he always carried with him.
He closely followed the young man, who was being transported through the hallways by a male nurse and a female nurse.
Along the way, he picked up a stethoscope and hung it around his neck, thinking about how to approach and touch the boy when he realized he recognized the male nurse: brown-haired, always smiling, and very kind, concerned about doing his job well.
Landon had seen him several times talking with other nurses, even knowing his name. The two nurses and the injured boy arrived at the elevator; it was his last chance to intervene.
'Alright, let's go for it...' Landon quickly approached the two nurses.
"Tom, Tom..." he called out to the nurse named Tom, who turned towards him, as did the second nurse.
"Yes?" Tom asked, slightly confused. He was almost certain he didn't know the boy standing in front of him.
"Tom, they're asking for you in the emergency resuscitation room. Dr. Chow needs backup in room 5. I'll take over for you..." Landon said firmly. He had overheard the name Dr. Chow while discreetly listening to conversations in the hallways. Reaching their side, he tapped Tom's hand, which was holding the stretcher, gently but firmly urging him to leave.
"What? But..." Tom began, bewildered.
"Hurry up, they're waiting for you!" Landon insisted in an authoritative voice, while pretending to assess the young motorcyclist's injuries, displaying a seriousness that left no room for doubt.
Still confused, Tom quickly headed towards the resuscitation room.
"You should follow him; Dr. Chow will need extra hands," Landon added to the nurse, with a firmness that brooked no argument.
"We're in a day hospital. Protocol requires the presence of two nurses to move patients in emergency situations," she replied just as firmly. She was a brunette woman, with black eyes, a pretty face, and about 35 years old.
Landon didn't respond. He discreetly placed his hand on the young man's injury and covered it with his cloth. He formed a simple blue flame, concentrating multiple flames into one, and began to heal the wound. He estimated it would take about fifteen seconds to stabilize the boy's arm, preventing the need for amputation, but without fully healing it to avoid raising suspicion. This usually wasn't an issue with patients in resuscitation or in their rooms, but here, his face had been seen, and he was identified with the motorcyclist.
The boy's arm glowed softly, though hidden under the cloth.
The elevator doors opened, and they entered with the stretcher, in silence.
'I'll have enough time, but it'll be close...' Landon thought as he watched the nurse press the button for the first floor.
The nurse turned to him and noticed that Landon, head bowed, seemed to be still examining the boy's condition.
"I've already done a preoperative assessment. He has a muscle injury and torn ligaments in his arm, broken bones with fragments piercing the arm. He might be able to get through it, but they'll probably have to amputate," she said calmly.
She glanced at the injured young man, his uniform stained with blood and torn.
"Poor boy..." she murmured softly.
She thought of her own son, who had recently started motorcycling too.
'Although he could probably handle these injuries without a problem...' She smiled with amusement.
She came out of her thoughts, intrigued by a strange light. Turning her head toward the boy's arm, she saw that the nurse, whom she had never seen before and assumed was new, had his hand placed on the arm, covered by a black cloth. For a brief moment, she glimpsed through an opening in the cloth a sort of azure blue light emanating from the wound. She blinked, but then only saw a wounded arm, nothing out of the ordinary.
"But what the..." she began, confused, but was interrupted by the elevator doors opening.
"Ma'am, I have to go. I just realized I forgot to submit a patient's health report," Landon said as he quickly exited the elevator.
"Wait, at least help me move him to the operating room!" she shouted after the young nurse, who was already more than five meters away from her.
"Sorry, can't wait. Good luck," he replied without even turning back.
"Pfff, these new nurses..." The woman shook her head, then hurried to transport the boy to the operating room.
*************************************
Landon smiled as he thought back to what had happened a few days earlier. Lying on his bed, he relaxed after this first week in his new life, a fairly exhausting week.
"I've made great progress with my Devil Fruit..." Landon had better control over his flames and their intensity. He could even concentrate a lot of his fire into a single point, creating a unique and concentrated flame, which allowed him to heal more discreetly if needed.
And if he wanted to attack, he could project this concentrated flame at a distance, creating an explosion with a half-meter diameter upon impact. It wasn't much, but that was because, for now, he could only concentrate about ten flames into one. His fire was composed of several thousand flames. He knew that in the future, by increasing this limit, he could cause enormous damage.
"Even though I doubt I'll ever reach the level of the strongest humans in One Piece..." Landon was well aware of their power, capable of destroying islands with a single punch or sword slash.
"A furious Whitebeard could destroy this entire city with one punch..." Landon shivered at the thought, glad to be in a world where the level of danger was much lower than in One Piece.
"And it's not just my Devil Fruit that's improved." Raising his hand above his head, he concentrated for a moment before a thin black layer appeared over his entire hand.
He was always pleased to see that his Armament Haki no longer covered just his fist for half a second but now could cover his entire hand with a layer of Haki for up to three seconds.
He trained hard every day in combat and Armament Haki, but what had allowed him to master Haki so quickly were situations where he had to push himself beyond his limits, breaking his mental and physical boundaries.
Like the delicate situations he had encountered at the hospital, but the most beneficial of all was when he healed the quadriplegic girl, breaking his muscles and bones, but continuing nonetheless.
That experience alone accounted for 70% of his progress in Haki, and it wasn't just Armament: his Observation Haki had been pushed to a range of 21 meters, where he could see everything clearly and 26 meters in bluried vision, almost one and a half times more than on his first day in this world.
He knew that Haki was tied to willpower and the mind, and that it was often by breaking these limits, especially mental and sometimes physical, that his Haki could evolve.
"It was really a good week..." he thought before falling asleep peacefully.