But… after Luffy thought for a moment, he concluded that something was better than nothing. It was, after all, better than having nothing at all.
Luffy decided to try having the bird eat the meat to see if he could indirectly gain strength from it. The bird chirped a few times, then leaned down and ate a piece of the meat. A delicious morsel went right down its throat.
"Hmm?" Luffy wondered. He couldn't feel anything in his human body, only the faint satisfaction of the bird feeling a bit more full. He quickly understood: the bird's eating wouldn't impact his human body's strength or attributes at all. The bird was its own entity; he was just temporarily possessing it, nothing more.
"Huh?" The doctor was surprised because… she watched the bird grab a piece of meat and then dart toward the room, flying over to feed Luffy.
"What?" The doctor was utterly stunned. This was unlike anything she'd ever heard of—like a miracle. She observed the cute little bird tirelessly feeding Luffy at the bedside. Before long, the small amount of meat she had given was all gone. After all, it was only a few grams, nowhere near enough to satisfy Luffy.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!" The bird chirped at the doctor, calling out repeatedly as if saying, "More, more!"
The doctor, amazed, laughed softly. "Hee-hee! Who would've thought? There's such an amusing thing in the world!" She nodded, amused. "Alright, you can have it all!"
The doctor emptied the last bits of meat from the pot, giving it to the bird. It didn't eat any itself but instead flew back to Luffy, delivering every morsel to him. The sight touched her in a way she couldn't quite explain.
Afterward, she went back to the kitchen for a bit. Ten minutes later, she returned, carrying a large pot full of meat. Luffy's heart was practically singing with joy. His plan to get her to feed him through the bird had worked perfectly.
"Eat up!" The doctor continued feeding Luffy. She still didn't fully understand what was happening or why the bird had acted in such a way. But deep down, she sensed that Luffy truly needed a substantial amount of food. Perhaps the bird was so in tune with him that it could hear some of his inner thoughts.
With that in mind, she prepared even more food, bringing it all directly to Luffy. And as she expected, Luffy's mouth opened again and again, chunk after chunk of meat disappearing until the entire pot was empty in minutes.
Luffy felt a surge of satisfaction. He could sense his injuries healing before his eyes—his chest felt hot and alive with warmth, radiating comfort. It was wonderfully hot, practically blazing.
"Yes!" he cheered in his mind.
Then, the bird landed on the doctor's shoulder. "Squeak, squeak, squeak!" It chirped happily, nipping gently at her lips.
"Hee-hee!" The doctor giggled, amused. "You're just too adorable!" she teased, finding the little bird's antics delightful.
The bird chirped more, "Squeak, squeak, squeak!" and started nipping at her playfully from different angles.
"Hey!" she huffed, a bit annoyed. "No nibbling everywhere!" But… the bird had already snuck inside her blouse, darting around joyfully and nipping with enthusiasm.
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T/N:
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