There was a reason behind Ace and Sabo's decision to let Luffy have the day off, and it was more then them being just nice. Hunting was always harder in the snow. Running was harder and the animals always became twice as fierce due to the sudden temperature change. They had both decided that sending Luffy off would be safer. After all Luffy had a knack for always getting hurt and/or eaten before they managed to kill the creature.
Luffy was delighted by this snow stuff. It was a powder but if you stuck your tong out it became water. Plus you could role it into a ball, make tunnels in it and best of all, it made the hills all slippery and fun to slide on. He just decided that it was a mystery powder and left it at that. He loved it! Snow was the best! The only thing he didn't like was the fact the he was having trouble walking, running and jumping but he didn't mind all that much. Who needed to walk anywhere when you could just find a hill and slide down it? It was much faster anyway.
"Alright fine Sabo you were right. A tiger is to much to handle on a day like today." Ace grumbled.
"See, I told you we should go get some nice big gators. They get weaker in cold weather." Sabo said to his annoyed brother.
"Hey I wonder how Luffy is." Ace said smiling.
"Having the time of his life no doubt." Sabo answered and they both started to giggle as they tried to imagine the kinds of things he was doing right now as they headed over to the river.
Luffy stood with his mouth hanging open as he received the biggest shock today had brought him. The river was frozen… how cool was that! He really should have been paying more attention though for had it not been he would be dead right now. On his walk he had discovered a rather steep his and without even thinking he had leaped right on sliding down at an unstoppable speed. Even when he hit the bottom he had kept right on going tumbling and rolling. Of course this was just part of the fun he was having and didn't notice where he was until he had come to a stop, face down on the ice. He had watched fish darted around below him amazed. He wasn't really sure why the river was frozen, but he could guess it had something to do with the snow. Snow really was the best! What Luffy didn't see was huge, hungry gator watching him from just below the ice.
"Alright Ace you know how this works; you trick the gator into coming up and I will ambush it from behind once its out from under the ice." Sabo said to Ace.
"Agreed…wait who's that on the ice…Luffy?" Ace shouted in shock. Sabo looked over equally shocked and they both frantically began to scream.
"Luffy! Get off the ice now! LOOK OUT!"
Luffy looked over a second to late because suddenly a huge gator tail hit the ice where he had been standing; knocking him into the air.
"LUFFY" both Ace and Sabo screamed taking action immediately. Ace ran for the gator while Sabo ran to catch Luffy before he could fall into the icy water below.
"Damn gator." Ace yelled furiously as it attacked him. Another one had come out and attacked Sabo blocking his path to Luffy.
"Shit. There beginning to swarm! Oh-no Luffy!" Sabo cried frustrated as he watched him fall in the water.
"Ace we have to hurry!" With that the boys lunged at the waiting gators.
Luffy was sinking like a stone as usual and he felt so weak and useless. That was normal for when he fell in the water though. What was not was this incredibly cold sensation that he could feel all over his body. It hurt but was also making him feel incredibly tired. The ocean had gained a new power it seemed to Luffy as he blacked out.
Ace jumped into the freezing cold water and began to haul Luffy out.
"Man this was just so stupid and it was all his and Sabo's fault! Just cause they didn't want to take Luffy hunting with them where he would have been safer. What where they thinking when they thought he would be better off on his own." He thought to himself. Now not only might he have drowned but his skin was a pale blue color. He was just so cold. Sabo was waiting the minute he surfaced with two jackets in his hand. One for Ace, one for Luffy. Ace took both and rapped them around Luffy but his skin color did not change. Worse he had begun to shiver uncontrollably. The shivers were getting weaker and weaker by the second. Ace new that was a bad thing. They frantically began to race to Dadans as fast as they could go.
