There had always been need of the medical arts. In a turbulent world such as this, it was more than necessary. But even for the fishman who had seen more than he had wanted to during his short time on the earth, the tales of bloodshed dribbling their way throughout the island from Nanohana were scary tales. Fearsome monsters of supernatural power threw the city into a frenzy. It wasn't like these were an old wive's tale, Gil saw for himself the grievous wounds one poor feller sported while he nattered on about the things he had seen. The injured man had made the trip to a nearby village seeking medical aid where Gil had been laying low. The outfall in situations like these proved too much of a stress test for the clinics and hospitals in the area. Apparently there was just not enough staff to deal with the demand for them.

Naturally, this situation interested Gil. He would have a candy store of potential clients, all clamouring to be treated by him. It was funny how racially bound reservations disappeared with desperation. So he made the journey over there, the city known as Nanohana. There was also another reason that he wanted to go, and that was to further his research. It wasn't often that he got to test out the knowledge he had gained through secondary sources out in the real world. There was much that was taboo in the medical world, and the rights of the patients were seen as crucial and often put at the top of the list of concerns. He was even aware that some people chose to turn down treatment because they didn't want it. Maybe the medicine took too much of a toll, maybe the procedure was too painful, maybe they didn't believe in the help they were receiving. The worst reason for Gil had to be when a patient didn't follow direction simply because they couldn't be bothered or didn't care. This annoyed him more than anything. At one point he forcefully tied a sick man to his own bed so that he would have to get some rest instead of going back to work. But now that people were desperate to be treated, maybe they would be open to trying Gil's less 'orthodox' methods.

So the fishman traveled to Nanohana. The destruction of the port town had worsened since he had been here last. He remembered Jackal telling him about a few pirates that had been causing mayhem here, but the place truly was in a state of disrepair. Construction was being carried out on buildings, with supplies being brought in to the city by boat and cart. Injured souls sat outside of homes, their faces sullen. After everything that had taken place here, it was like a small natural disaster had befallen the place.

He would soon find a seaside clinic, with half a dozen people standing outside in various states of disrepair. This looked like it would do nicely. He would nod his head at the man standing at the front of the line before barging into the clinic. The man was about to speak up before he flinched at the sight of Gil's green scales. The place was packed, with injured people laying down on the floor. The clinic staff were rushed off their feet, running from room to room and hurrying their patients through with them. What a busy time to be in the healthcare industry. Gil make sure no staff would be looking before he walked behind the counter and into the back office. He would pluck one of the white coat uniforms hanging up in there as well as a bag of supplies and make his way back out. Slipping it on, the coat would lay awkwardly over the top of his own jacket. He was now the not so convincing image of a medical professional. Before any staff had the chance to see him, he would slip outside.

"Alright, now. It seems we are full to capacity inside the clinic I am afraid. However I am able to visit you at your homes and see what I can do for you there." Gil would croak, attempting to mimic the customer service facade that he had seen used many a time. His own bedside manner left much to be desired as he simply didn't think it was worth the effort. However this time he decided it may be worth it to grease the wheels a bit. A few of the humans muttered between themselves, dubious at the prospect of taking a strange fishman home. However, one young man seemed keen enough, or desperate enough to take the chance. Gil would follow him a few blocks down the seaside street and into his shoddy abode. The man did not look well at all. His left arm was completely bandaged, but it was also soaked in blood. There was sweat dripping down his face and deep circles under his eyes. Gil told him to get comfortable and pulled up a chair. His green hands would go to hold the man's arm, beginning to unravel the bandage. The appendage was a sight to behold. Red, blue and black. It was ripped to shreds. Gil could tell that this injury was a couple of days old just from looking at it. An open wound that hadn't been sanitised and closed properly. It was infected, he could see the dark purple lines beginning to run up and away from the wound itself. It may be hard to believe for someone who didn't know much about medicine, but a wound like this was actually fatal. The blood loss had mostly stopped, it wouldn't be from bleeding out. It would be from that infection finding it's way to his heart.

Gil gagged and wretched. He had something that he had been working on for a week or so now that may prove useful. But more importantly to the fishman, it would create a data point for him to use to track it's usefulness. "Oh... I knew it was bad... What is going to happen to me. Oh god. I need my arm to be able to work. Please doctor, are you able to do something?" The young man was pleading at this point. He had misinterpreted Gil's gagging as a sign of repulsion. "This is going to feel strange and painful. I need you to trust me. If you can put up with the pain while letting me work, then there is a chance to save your arm." What he really needed was for the patient to stay still and not interfere. The patient would nod enthusiastically. His spirit was admirable. In the face of adversity and imminent pain, he pressed on. There was something to be said for the hardy people of Alabasta. But this response was probably because the young guy wasn't prepared for the freakishness that was about to take place.

Gil found a scalpel in his bag of supplies and pulled it out. The patient swallowed hard, expecting to be operated on. But instead, Gil whipped out his leg from underneath the table, planting his foot firmly on the ground before stabbing himself in the thigh and cutting himself open. The young man wailed in confusion. Gil would then throw the scalpel aside and dig his hand into his thigh and pull out a small handful of maggot like grubs. He had been incubating these babies for a while now. He would then sprinkle them onto the man's left arm. The man would wail even louder, attempting to retreat. "Let them work. You gave me your word that you would put up with it. This is all for the sake of saving your arm." Gil croaked. After a shudder, the man would place his arm over the table, watching in horror as the maggots burrowed into his appendage. These maggots were carnivorous, but they only ate dead flesh. This is how he was able to store them inside himself without being eaten. These maggots would be able to strip away dead tissue with a much higher precision than any human was capable of. The only flesh that the man would be left with after they were done was whatever was savable. To be honest, he wasn't too optimistic about being able to save arm, but he didn't care too much when he had the chance to observe a new product of his in action. Gil would lean right over into the wound so his nose was almost touching it. His black eyes bulged, scientific curiosity itch being thoroughly scratched. He would gag again, starting to summon act two from his stomach. "Hmm... I think they've matured a bit too far. Using them while they are younger would be preferable due to their smaller size being about to get into smaller areas."

The poor patient's eyes were dinner plates, the cold sweat turning into a waterfall off his forehead. He was going green with queasiness himself, dry retching at his own wound. "It will take them a minute to do their thing. So, you haven't slept for a while, right?" The human shook his head, the dark rings around his eyes showing this truth. "Not since I got this. I can't get comfortable. It's just too painful." "How about food and water?" He shook his head again. "My stomach doesn't hold it." Gil would get up and find his way to a large bottle of drinking water. He would bring it over to the table. "You're dehydrated. Drink a litre before you go to bed tonight and another two litres tomorrow." The man would nod. That request seemed insignificant in the wake of the maggot invasion. Inspecting the wound further, Gil would note that it was a collection of bullet wounds. Some sort of powerful, high velocity firearm had shredded through. "Can you tell me how you got this?"

"It was that guy." The man seemed hesitant to speak. Gil stared intently at the maggots, watching them chew away at his patient's flesh. They were working magnificently. Gil was pleased that a biological tool that he had been working on was actually able to assist in his work. This truly was a stroke of genius. "What guy." Gil said absentmindedly. "That 'Warhead'. That crazy pirate. His arm, it turned into some sort of spinning gun. And next thing we knew, he was shooting us down." That name was familiar to Gil. Yes, that's right, Jackal had told him about this guy. Some loon of a criminal that was causing a ruckus around here. He had been told about how he had the ability to turn his body into weapons of various kinds. What an awful power for a malicious man to possess. Even Jackal had warned him off this individual. His eyes flicked up, meeting the relived terror that this working class man was going through. He sounded like trouble. More trouble than any sensible criminal would get up to. "... We didn't even do anything wrong! He just turned on us and shot us up!" He whimpered. He certainly sounded unhinged just from his reputation.

"Do you know what he was doing there?" He was beginning to be interested. People such as this man caused trouble for others like Gil, whether it was intended or not. It would be best to educate himself. "Gah I don't know much. I only came to see Captain Uchis. I heard he was taking down this massive guy called Daizo. Damn it, I wanted to see the hero in action. But when I got there, these two pirates came out of nowhere. 'Warhead' and this swordsman girl who floated. I was lucky to make it out with my life, unlike some of my coworkers. Argh I wish every pirate would be caught and hung!" A swordsman girl who floats. It rang a bell. "Mhm. I see. I have an interest in what has been happening here in Nanohana. It seems like you have all been having a hard time around here. I won't ask for any beli for my services, but could you tell me more about this incident and about the other things that have been going on in this town instead?" The man shuddered in response. "I knew you weren't an employee of that clinic. Sure. It's not like I have any choice if I want to get better." And so the young man would start talking while Gil went back to inspecting the injury.

Seeing that the maggots were finishing up their job, he began to pick them out one by one and place them in a bag. He would dispose of them later. Each little grub was full to it's belly. They would be ready to metamorphosise into the next stage of their life cycle. There was beauty in the way that organisms helped each other. Gil had always found it strange how humans would segregate themselves from nature, choosing clean, sterile and devoid of life rather than the wholesome and natural ecosystems that they were born to exist in. If more people had open minds, then less of Gil's methods would be met with such scorn and maybe he would have a better time of practicing his profession publically while traveling place to place. What the man was left with was about two thirds of the original flesh left on his arm. Gil knew that it would be freaky to look at for the man, to see his appendage in such an unnatural state. It didn't look good for him. As it had only been dead flesh that had been eaten, this was what was able to be saved and well, Gil didn't know whether or not he would actually ever be able to function normally again. But this was only good news for Gil. Unknowns were uncharted waters for him, in other words, a potential learning opportunity. Before getting ready for the next stage, Gil would go over to the tap and let the water run. He would do so until his body had been coated using his Pisces Paladin kata with the maximum amount of water he could hold. This could get messy and he wanted to be ready if it did.

Gil gagged a final time, bringing some fluid from deep inside his digestive tract into his mouth. "I'll need you to hold still." He blubbed, his cheeks swelling. Leaning over the patient's arm, he would drool the fluid up and down the arm, drizzling it like honey on top of toast or sauce on top of meat. What he was throwing up on the poor man was a particular strain of microbes. These microbes had been grown in the fishman's own gut with careful monitoring. It was like nurturing a baby. He had to modify the conditions within his own system to be able to house such creatures, but hey, what is a few weeks of crippling intestinal pain and litres of blood soaked faeces to a potential medical breakthrough? He fed them through ingesting specific types of coral which near broke his teeth and scratched up his throat but those, too, healed in time. He was thankful that his body was so adaptable and malleable that it was capable of such intrusions.

This particular strain was one he had found in the dead carcass of a sea king. Upon further investigation, he realised that even while the internal organs lay rotting on the ocean floor, they were somehow being woven back together. Gil theorised that there was something inside these that was still alive while the sea king was definitely dead. Taking a scraping for examination, he found that there was something that he couldn't see with his naked eyes that was healing these organs. Was this the secret to the sea king's long lifespan? Gil attributed these micro organisms with this power. Symbiotic relationships were present all throughout nature but this one was particularly stand out. These microbes would heal the sea king and in return, they would be provided with a cozy home and plenty of sustenance. How exactly they provided such reliable healing services with such strongly patterned behaviours was beyond him but something that he was extremely interested in. He lacked the technology to directly observe the creatures so he could only draw inference from the results that he saw. His best guess was that there was some sort of hive mind network going on, something similar to a colony of ants.

The young man whimpered and closed his eyes, withdrawing into his happy place as he tried to ignore the scene in front of him. Gil would slowly and carefully massage his puke into the man's arm, encouraging the microbes to infest the arm and get to work. He really didn't know what would happen. This was the first time he had put them to use on someone other than himself. But there was no telling what could happen in live experiments, especially with new conditions introduced. Gil watched with wide eyes at something he couldn't see. Gil waited, peering closer at the wound. The discoloured flesh around the infection origin began to slowly change colour from dark purple to a lighter blue. Something was going on. The microbes were reacting to the infection. The blue colour slowly bled up into the man's arm, following the infection through his veins. Yes... It was working! Gil grinned. This blue colour soon reached the end point of the infection, slowing down then stopping. "It is finished already? That was a remarkable speed. Now the microbes will settle down and-" Gil began muttering to himself but he was cutoff by a second, unexpected reaction. The blue in his veins began turning greenish, and it began spreading again. Slowly creeping at first, but beginning to speed up as it flooded all over the arm. "Uaaaargh!" The patient screamed out in pain and clutched at his harm. What the hell was this? The microbes were beginning to run rampant. Having finished their job cleaning up the infection, their behavior had changed. Gil had no idea what was going on but his eyes were glued to the process. As much as he would like to see the end result of this, he decided to attempt to put an end to it.

Gil put his whole hand inside his mouth, deep throating it up to the wrist. His jaw bent in an inhuman way and he pulled on his uvula. At the same time, he held his index and middle finger together and jabbed himself in the stomach. A massive retch would bring up a corrosive alkaline solution from deep within. This was a resource he had discovered way back. If he could apply pressure to his gall bladder just right, he could produce bile from within himself that is strong enough to singe away flesh. He spat for a second time over the arm. He would then quickly follow up by grabbing the scalpel and cutting into the vein, letting the mix into his body. His aim was to kill off the microbes. The man would yell and writhe, forcing Gil to pin him to the ground with his whole weight over the man. He would need to cut along his vein to attempt to stop the spread. After a few seconds of struggling, Gil realised it was a futile attempt. These things were just too well organised. They were actually adapting to the change in pH and pushing through. The first wave that came into contact would die, but then they would divert around another pathway and swarm the incision point. At this point the man's arm was almost as green as Gil's own. The fishman decided that he would have to take extreme measures to make sure that it didn't spread to the rest of his body and potentially kill him.

The arm was now a complete write off. Gil had failed to kill off the microbes and in the process, had caused more damage by cutting along his veins and burning his flesh with his bile. Without bothering to ask for consent, Gil would wiggle his toes, shaping some of the water that covered him into a sharp string. With this string, he would carve through the shoulder joint of the man. He cleanly sliced through the tendons that kept it in place like a butcher pulling apart the shank of slaughtered livestock. Fully detaching the arm, Gil would place his hand over the open wound, temporarily sealing it with the pressure of his jujutsu. "The treatment failed. I had to take your arm off." The man wasn't listening anymore, he continued to wail. Such was the profession of being a doctor. Gil picked up the man's detached arm and slapped him across the face with it's hand. "Get a grip!" It didn't seem to help when the patient's eyes focused on the arm, realising that it had been cut off.

Gil decided that he would need the man to rest. He was in shock right now, and if he carried on like this he would bleed to death. Gil reached into his mouth again and scraped some of the seaweed he had left to decay in there. He would then press it against the man's open wound and wait. After a short while, his distraught flailing would slow and become encumbered. As if he was losing motivation and strength, he lay back. Soon after that his whole body became limp. This seaweed was a variety found on the ocean floor. Gil had discovered a pattern of behaviour exhibited by bearsharks. Even though they were carnivores, they would chew on these plants before leaving to find a submerged cavern. There, they would fall into a deep hibernation where they could conserve their energy. Gil found out that this weed was the cause of this. It actually had paralytic effects. It was so effective at bringing about this hibernation that when decaying, it brought about the look of death to those who took it into their system. This was useful for this situation as it would slow the man's heart rate to the bare minimum to keep him alive, meaning that there wouldn't be so much pressure forcing blood out of the wound. It would also cause him to stop being so active and let Gil patch him up. He would do that, grabbing bandages and a sterile pad, he would close the wound and seal it off. Unfortunately for Gil's patient, he would have to deal with life as a one armed man.

Somethings worked, and others didn't. It was medical science after all, not magic. Gilbard was happy with how things went overall. He had managed to test out an array of his own concoctions on the now paralyzed man. They all performed well, but still had ways in which they could be improved. As always the fishman was on the hunt for ways in which he could improve his practice.

And so the scaly boi left, another satisfied customer laying paralysed in a puddle of blood and bile. But hey, you can't expect life to be 'armless.

The town of Nanohana in it's state of turmoil. Gil was back in it's streets. He didn't like the feeling of the atmosphere. He had ditched the doctor's uniform back at the house and was now covering his head with the hood of his jacket. But he still couldn't escape the wary eye of the residents here. They could smell an outsider from a mile away. Every time they saw a strange face, they now wondered whether this was the person that would end up wrecking their lives. Many homes lay vacant, as those that had the means to uproot had done so, seeking shelter like refugees.

Walking past a corner shop, he would take a few notes off a roll of beli and deposit them in a box, taking a 'News Coo' newspaper in return. He flicked through it as he walked down the street. Pirates causing trouble on Water 7, a supernova causing some sort of fuss... Ah, here we go. 'Swarms of Pirates taking up resident there and committing atrocities of all kinds'. And because of this, the World Government were going to respond with force. Gil could see it now. The Alabastian force wasn't coping with the pirates so the World Government was forced to step in. This island could very well become the front line for the battle between justice and piracy. Law and Chaos. But this was a battlefield that Gil wasn't interested in. In fact, he planned to avoid it at all costs. But he had a feeling that it wouldn't be that easy. Maybe he was already too far gone.

'Villains of the World'. The first two names he didn't recognise. With a bounty like these, he was sure he would have heard if they were on Sandy so at this point, he didn't pay too much heedence. Then came the four names that he was not surprised to see. Bazil and Oceanus. The two dangerous pirates who had been mentioned to him by Jackal. Interestingly enough, Bazil was listed only for death. This meant that he was deemed too dangerous to be imprisoned, and that his death was the only thing acceptable for the World Government. So it had already reached such an extent such as that. Then there was Lina, the girl that he had met on his crazy adventure to Drum Island. But most importantly, was Jackal's poster. He was already considered a meaningful threat on the world stage. And this meant that just being in his presence was condemning. He would be guilty of his crimes just by association. This left the fishman with a difficult choice. Benefit with Jackal's cooperation, or go it alone and avoid all of that trouble. Regardless of which path he chose to go down, he was sure that he needed to take proactive action to protect himelf.

Uchis, Naganori and Sparks were three marines that were the faces of the World Government propaganda. They would be the names that would be toted around as bastions of the free. They were provided here as things for people to hold on to. Uchis was the one he had heard before from his recent patient. He had been here in Nanohana not long ago. Gil certainly didn't want to find out about them in person, nonetheless.

There was a flash a few blocks away and a projector den-den mushi lit up the wall with a moving image. Gil walked over to it along with a small crowd. "... I am one of the three sole pirates worthy of being titled a Super Nova..." It was some red haired man. Gil flipped through the News Coo. Yes, it seemed like this was the man that was talked about in there. This video that he was seeing now must have been some sort of replay or recording or maybe it was just delayed due to being from a different island. There was murmuring going through the crowd, anxious discussions about the implications of this message and bold denouncing of the criminal's behaviour. "I'm challenging yoouuuuu to become a Super Nova!" Well this was a troubling development. He was actively inciting pirates to climb their way up the ladder toward him. This was yet another domino that was being lined up. Gil couldn't remember a time when he had seen such a troubling future on the horizon. It was possible that he had just simply not been receptive enough to notice and that he had developed enough of a social barometer that he was able to pick up on the telltale signs of conflict.

"We, the white stripe pirates will take this challenge!" A loud cheer would erupt a block away. Looking over, Gil could see a group of a dozen rowdy gangsters had drawn cutlasses and flintlock pistols and were holding up bystanders. They forced the people to empty their pockets and began smashing down the doors of local businesses. Gil wasn't shocked. This is what life was like in this poor coastal town now, it seemed. What he didn't expect, was what happened next. "Fire!" A call came from overhead. The sound of twenty rifles resounded in the air and most of the pirates fell down dead where they stood. Emerging from the surrounding buildings were a large squad of marines. One particularly grizzled looking marine stepped forward and picked up one of the scoundrels that still clung to life. Blood dripped onto the marine's white coat. "The World Government will save you, in the name of justice! Hoo-rah!" The rest of the marines joined in at the end, and the crowd soon began to applaud and cheer. The heroes had come to save them. "These villains will be stamped out for good. You have my word, people of Alabasta!" He was very charismatic, Gil had to admit. But what impressed him more than anything was when the marine captain pointed out toward the water, bringing his attention to a small fleet of warships that were sailing in the direction of the port. And so it began. This would be the response to the rising tide of piracy.

Gil slipped away into the shadows. Times were getting dangerous. He would have to think about what he was going to do about it.

~exit~