"Tap."
The tip of his cane sword tapped lightly against the ground. The tall, blind man ignored Savin, whose bones were creaking under the weight of gravity, and instead slightly raised his head, his face covered in cross-shaped scars "gazing" up at the sky.
The moment he arrived in this strange World, something resembling a game interface had flashed through his mind.
[Welcome to the "Marvel Universe", Player Fujitora Issho.]
[Faction: Guardian.]
Strange terms, strange rules. But he had no time to dwell on them, for his Observation Haki, powerful enough to perceive all things, had already "heard" the impending disaster.
He heard the rampaging energy within that man's body, the faint groans of glass before it shattered, and the frantic beating of hundreds of hearts gripped by fear.
As an Admiral, upholding "Benevolent Justice", he could never sit idly by.
And so, he acted.
Now, the aftermath of the explosion had subsided, but a new trouble hung overhead. Those thousands of stationary glass shards, like the Sword of Damocles, hovered above everyone's heads.
"Oh my... what a lot of trouble this has caused." Fujitora muttered to himself, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.
He raised the hand holding his cane sword slightly, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and gave a light wave toward the static starry sky of glass.
"Jingle—"
A crisp, melodious sound, like a billion wind chimes ringing at once, echoed through the night sky of Hollywood.
All the suspended glass shards seemed to be imbued with life. They began to flow and converge, like glistening streams, surging from all directions toward the night sky above the theater.
Small shards chased after larger ones, their sharp edges dissolving upon collision, turning into streams of light.
On the ground, everyone forgot to breathe. They looked up, watching the unbelievable spectacle. Sirens approached from afar, but the Police who arrived at the scene stood frozen by their cars just like the ordinary people, staring at the miracle in the sky.
That brilliant galaxy made of glass swirled, compressed, and condensed in the air. Finally, at an altitude of several hundred meters, it formed a flawless, massive glass sphere with a diameter exceeding ten meters.
Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, and its interior refracted the myriad lights of Los Angeles, looking like a giant crystal plucked from a myth and hung upon the night curtain.
"W-what is that?" A tourist raised their phone with trembling hands, only to find that their hand was shaking too much to even focus the lens.
"Is it God? Or... aliens?"
Fujitora ignored the commotion below. He closed his eyes and used his Observation Haki to "see" the strange city, quickly locking onto a concrete river channel that ran through it.
Leaning on his cane sword, he took another step forward.
"Gravity Blade."
He did not draw his sword, but simply gave a gentle push with the cane sword in his hand toward the direction of the glass sphere.
"——————"
There was no sound.
The massive glass sphere began to drift toward the Los Angeles River on the east side of the city at a steady and elegant speed.
It glided silently past skyscrapers and over intersecting overpasses, and under the stunned gaze of countless people, it moved like a shooting star, yet as slow as a dream.
A few minutes later, a dull, thunderous boom came from the distance.
"Splash!"
A massive splash erupted in the river channel, and the beautiful glass sphere sank to the bottom, never to harm anyone again.
Having done all this, Fujitora turned his attention back to his feet.
He looked "down" at Savin, who was pinned firmly to the ground. The gravity, strong enough to crush a tank, made every bone in Savin's body groan.
"A gambler always thinks they have the winning hand before revealing their hole cards." Fujitora's voice was very calm.
"But your gamble should not involve these innocent civilians."
The tip of his cane sword tapped lightly on the concrete ground.
"Crack."
Savin let out a suppressed groan of pain; he felt his shoulder blade being crushed downward by an invisible force, dislocating it.
This was just a warning.
Fujitora ignored him further and turned to walk toward Happy Hogan, who was lying on the steps, breathing his last.
His Observation Haki had already "seen" the condition inside Happy's body.
Seven ribs were broken, one of which had pierced his lung; his abdominal cavity was a mess, and a large amount of blood was pooling into a deadly pool. The flame of his life was like a candle in the wind.
"This gentleman is severely injured."
Fujitora turned to face the terrified crowd, his voice not loud, yet clearly reaching everyone's ears.
"Is there a Doctor on the scene? He needs immediate treatment."
The crowd finally snapped out of their daze.
"Quick! Call 911!"
"Ambulance! We need an ambulance here!"
Amidst the commotion, a blonde woman in her thirties, wearing a professional suit, pushed her way out.
"I'm a Doctor! Let me see!"
She ran to Happy's side, knelt down quickly, unbuttoned Happy's suit jacket, pressed her ear against his chest to listen, and then checked Happy's eyes; her expression turned grim.
"It's internal bleeding. He's losing consciousness, his pupils are dilating, and his condition is extremely critical!" She looked up and said anxiously to Fujitora.
"His lung might be punctured; he needs surgery immediately! A few more minutes, and it will be too late!"
Surgery immediately? Fujitora frowned. Although he could use his Fruit ability to transport the person to a hospital, the risks involved, and how to explain it to the people of this World, were all troublesome matters.
Just as he was pondering a solution, a timid yet clear female voice rang out from the crowd.
"Um—"
Everyone looked toward the sound.
A girl who looked only sixteen or seventeen was struggling to squeeze out of the crowd. She had beautiful orange-red hair and a figure that was almost too good, creating a strange contrast with her delicate, slightly airheaded-looking face.
She walked up close, looked nervously at Happy lying in a pool of blood, then looked up at the tall Fujitora, and finally turned her gaze to the female Doctor, saying softly but very earnestly:
"If it's just treatment... perhaps I can do it."
The female Doctor paused, then frowned, thinking it was just some young fangirl messing around.
"Young lady, this is no time for jokes. He's dying!"
"I'm not joking."
The girl's tone became firmer. She crouched down, extended her hands, and hovered them over Happy's chest.
The pair of light blue flower-shaped hairpins on her head began to emit a soft glow.
"I reject."
The girl whispered.
Two tiny, elf-like figures wearing small orange outfits flew out from her hairpins, stretching out a golden, translucent shield between them, enveloping Happy's entire upper body.
"Twin Heaven Linking Shield."
The female Doctor and the people around were stunned. What was this? Magic? Or some kind of high-tech they didn't understand?
However, the scene that followed completely overturned their understanding.
Under the shroud of that warm golden light, the depression in Happy's chest was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
His originally paper-white complexion began to regain color. His rapid, weak breathing gradually became steady and strong.
It was as if an invisible pair of hands was, in fast-forward, piecing back together and repairing his broken body, completely erasing the fact of the "injury" that had already occurred from this World.
The female Doctor subconsciously reached out to touch the light shield but was pushed back by a gentle force.
She stared at all this, dumbfounded, her mouth wide open enough to fit an egg.
As a Doctor who had received over a decade of modern medical education, the scene before her was completely beyond her scope of understanding.
This was not treatment at all.
This was a miracle.
For the first time, a hint of surprise appeared on Fujitora's usually calm face. His powerful Observation Haki could "hear" the changes inside Happy's body.
The ruptured organs were healing, the broken bones were reconnecting, and the lost vitality was returning at an incredible speed.
This girl... her ability was very peculiar.
A few minutes later, the light dissipated.
The two little elves flew back into the girl's hairpins.
Happy Hogan coughed violently and opened his eyes. He sat up, looked down at his body, and touched his abdomen and chest, which had been in excruciating pain just moments before.
Completely intact.
Except for the bloodstains and holes in his clothes, he couldn't feel a hint of pain; he even felt more energetic than before the fight.
"I... where am I? Am I dead?" Happy looked around blankly, at the female Doctor, at the tall blind man, and finally at the orange-haired girl crouching in front of him.
The girl gave him a gentle smile, with two shallow dimples on her cheeks.
"Great, you're okay now."