Ch 11: Five years

Chapter 11: Five years

A few days later, news arrived that the new king was not the eldest prince—whom Ayaan had never even heard of—but Dalton, the former captain of the guard of the Drum Kingdom and the user of the Bison Fruit.

Upon hearing that the user of the Bison Fruit had ascended the throne, Ayaan reluctantly dredged up the image of the captain from his memory. As far as he could recall, Dalton seemed like a genuinely good person.

Even if his memory was a bit hazy, the joyful expressions of the Drum Kingdom's residents couldn't be faked. It was clear that Captain Dalton had an excellent reputation in the kingdom. This finally put Ayaan at ease—he could now focus on training in peace.

A few more months passed. By then, Ayaan had learned nearly all of Dr. Jack's medical knowledge and left the town to begin traveling around the Drum Kingdom, practicing medicine.

At least for the foreseeable future, Ayaan had no intention of heading to the Grand Line. This was his developmental phase. Having eaten the Baku Baku no Mi, a Devil Fruit with nearly unlimited potential, he had every reason to remain calm and steadily increase his strength.

The only thing that left him a little dissatisfied was his chakra training. At this point, he had already mastered the three Earth-Style ninjutsu his Chūnin teacher had taught him, and had finished learning all the ninjutsu scrolls left behind by his father.

Now, he had no path forward—unless he returned to the Naruto world. But the Naruto world was in chaos, and the energy required to travel between dimensions had yet to be replenished.

And let's not forget—Ayaan was currently considered a missing-nin from Konoha. If he returned, the Yamanaka clan's mind-probing techniques would be the first thing he'd be subjected to.

If Ayaan refused to undergo the Yamanaka clan's mental interrogation, he would be branded a traitor.

So, he had no choice but to continue training his physical fitness and medical skills here in the Drum Kingdom.

Time flew by, and five years passed in the blink of an eye.

Now, on the beach of the Drum Kingdom, a blue-nosed reindeer was scurrying about in a panic. He spotted a large rock by the shore, and his eyes lit up. Hiding behind it, he trembled nervously.

"Little Chopper, come out and try the new Fullbelly Pills I made!"

A young man, about 1.8 meters tall with a boyish face, smiled as he looked toward the mostly exposed reindeer.

"Who would eat your Fullbelly Pills?! They're poison! Poison! The last time a patient took one, it took him three whole months to recover his sense of taste!"

Chopper, still hiding behind the rock, yelled loudly, his eyes bulging and tongue sticking out in protest.

But the moment he stuck his head out, he realized something was wrong. Too late—Ayaan had already flashed in front of him, grabbed his tongue, and shoved the pill into his mouth.

While doing so, he smiled and said, "But that Fullbelly Pill was very effective. Didn't it cure his malnutrition instantly?"

The moment the pill touched Chopper's tongue, his eyes turned red, steam shot out of his ears with a buzzing sound, and he opened his mouth in an attempt to spit it out. But Ayaan quickly covered his mouth with one hand.

After a few moments, Chopper—his face now completely distorted and bluish—finally managed to swallow the pill. Only then did Ayaan let go.

"Gaaahhh! This is disgusting! So disgusting! It's even worse than a Devil Fruit! My tongue is numb—I can't feel anything!"

Chopper, who had been in his reindeer form, suddenly shifted into his hybrid "raccoon" form, horns and all. With wide teary eyes, he began rolling on the ground in agony.

"Well, at least it's nutritious," Ayaan commented with a smile. "Your fur looks shinier already."

"Hmph! Even if you compliment my beautiful fur, I won't forgive you, you idiot!"

Chopper stood up and twisted shyly, blushing slightly from the unexpected praise.

Ayaan smiled to himself, thinking: Not bad, not bad. This little deer is really easy to coax. I'll definitely test the next batch of pills on him too.

This young man was, of course, Ayaan. Over the past few years, he had dedicated himself to studying medicine and training in the Drum Kingdom. By now, his medical skills were considered second to none in the region.

Thanks to his mastery of chakra, combined with the distinct medical knowledge systems of the Naruto and One Piece worlds, Ayaan had been able to study and synthesize techniques from both perspectives, learning at a speed far beyond that of ordinary doctors.

Eventually, in pursuit of greater knowledge, Ayaan had sought out Dr. Kureha—the infamous "witch doctor" who was now over 100 years old.

As Chopper's master in the original story, Dr. Kureha's medical skills were formidable. Though she gave Ayaan a hard time at first, she was ultimately impressed by the Naruto-style medical knowledge he brought with him. In time, she began teaching him her own techniques in earnest.

Ayaan's obsession with medical skills wasn't random. He had his reasons.

He had discovered that the Baku Baku no Mi paired perfectly with the medical profession.

With its power, he could easily transform his own body. If he found anything unsatisfactory or problematic, he could simply "reset" and reconstruct it from scratch.

To Ayaan, Wapol's method of swallowing weapons to gain power in battle was nothing but a short-sighted waste of potential. That strategy might work temporarily—but it didn't showcase the fruit's true capabilities.

When used properly, the transformation powers of the Baku Baku no Mi could allow him to reach the same level of physical prowess as monsters like Kaido or Big Mom!

With his current medical knowledge, Ayaan was confident that if he ever managed to swallow Kaido or Charlotte Linlin and analyze their physiques, he could replicate most of their overwhelming physical strength.

...Of course, that was assuming he didn't get beaten to death by them before completing the analysis.

Thinking about this, Ayaan sighed inwardly.

Why is becoming strong so difficult?

Why can't the Baku Baku no Mi be more like the cheat powers in fantasy novels—where you just eat everything in sight and become a god?

Nope. Here, you have to analyze other people's physiques, then painstakingly modify your own body with the fruit's power. And even then, you only get their potential—not their actual strength!

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