Author's Note: Welcome back to another chapter of Leader of the Family of D. So I'm glad you all liked the last chapter, and are all ready for another. So here it might be a bit short but the next chapter will be the last one on this island as we move onto Alabasta. So be prepared for the epicness of Alabasta. So without anything else to say, let's get into this chapter.
I don't own One Piece or any crossover elements from other anime's which all belong to the respective owners.
"..." Character P.O.V.
'...' Character thoughts
"..." Attacks
'...' Narrator
Chapter 17: The Castle, And The Fall Of An Unfit King
As the shaking of the island and surrounding waters from Luffy's rage had calmed down fully along with some time passing before the man returned with only a few people, Luffy went outside from his room on the ship with Giyu behind him as he went to jump off of the ship and land in the snow. When Luffy landed in the snow he had heard someone land right beside him, which caused him to turn and look over to see who it was. So when he looked over, he saw it was Sanji carrying Nami on his back, piggyback style.
So as they were about to leave, Luffy spoke out to stop Sanji for a moment.
"Hang on a minute." says Luffy stopping Sanji as he created a cloak of warm crimson fire around Nami in the form of a coat from his phoenix abilities, and with this done he spoke again. "Alright, let's head out." says Luffy as they began walking to follow him except for Zoro, who had stayed on the ship.
- A Bit Later -
After walking for about ten minutes through a snow covered forest, the man who was leading them looked over to Luffy and decided to speak.
"There is one thing I feel I should warn you about." says the man while looking at Luffy, who looked forward as they walked. "The only doctor we have here on this island is actually a witch." says the man causing Luffy to stumble a bit as he decided to look at the man with a bit of a surprised expression.
"Just great." says Agni sarcastically while flapping his black wings a bit to get the snow off them while the fire on his back at all times, flared up a bit to brush some more snow off.
"A witch?" asks Luffy not believing it as he continued. "You've got to be joking around with us. If I'm correct from all the books I read in the past, Drum Kingdom is famous for its doctors." says Luffy surprising the man and the people, who weren't that injured from the lightning following.
"That used to be the name of this place. However, it's not anymore and is still an island without a name." says the man causing them all to be confused a bit as Usopp yelled out.
"AHHH! A bear!" says Usopp screaming out while pointing forward, causing all of them to turn their attention away from the man to look and see a bear walking towards them on it's two feet while holding a pickaxe.
The man leading them through the snow decided to speak and calm some of their worries.
"A hiking bear." says the man calmly as he continued. "He poses no threat." says the man as they walked by each other for him to speak again. "Don't forget to bow, it's proper manners." says the man causing everyone alongside him to bow slightly to the bear, who bowed back in return.
As they continued walking, some of the crew spoke amongst themselves as they walked.
"What do you think Zoro is doing back on the ship?" asks Inosuke wiping snow off his boar head mask while curious.
"Knowing him, probably not only watching the ship but probably swimming in the ice water as a form of training to clear his head." says Giyu with a sigh and a small smirk.
"That sounds exactly like him." says Lily with a small chuckle alongside Nojiko, who too chuckled as they continued walking.
- Sometime Later -
The group continued walking for another fifteen minutes before they all came upon a village, for the man leading them to speak now.
"This is the village where we live. It's name is Bighorn." says the man.
Luffy and the crew looked around the small village the small village and couldn't help but be impressed by the beauty even in the snow. The snow that covered everything truly added to the beautiful sight before their eyes of the people here, who are from a place where it only snows every so often.
"This place is amazing." says Usopp as he admired the sights of the village.
As everyone looked around, Luffy and some of the crew noticed the man go over to the group from earlier and thank them for their help while apologizing for the injuries they received from Luffy. It was here that they all realized that all of those people, who had surrounded the ship were ordinary people that lived in this village.
"Reminds me of times when I used to live in the wild." says Inosuke seeing it while making Sanji perk up at this.
"You lived in the wild?" asks Sanji curious.
"Yea, me and Agni since we lost our parents at a very young age due to the past circumstances like the rest of our fellow generals." says Inosuke while making Agni nod in agreement as he spoke again. "For me the snow was always a calm time." says Inosuke taking on a peaceful expression with a smile as everyone else was surprised by this cryptic and satisfying information.
As he said this, the man from earlier returned to the crew and spoke again.
"My house is over here, you can bring the girl there." says the man to Luffy and the crew causing them to nod, and for Luffy to signal Sanji to follow.
- A Few Moments Later -
As they walked over to the man's house, random people who lived in the village kept coming up to him and thanking him for a number of reasons or talking to him as though he was their leader of sorts. So when they entered the house, the man spoke again.
"You can use that bed over there. I'm going to warm the place up" says the man as they enter the house. "I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Dalton, I am the captain of the island security squad." says the now identified Dalton as he introduced himself causing Luffy along with Giyu, Agni, Inosuke, and Akeno to recognize the man now for a reason.
Dalton is an imposing tall man, with slicked black hair and a goatee. He wears a long, white fur-lined green tunic and has armor plates on his arms. Sometimes he covers his head with a green and white fur lined hat, equipped with ear-flaps against Drum Island's intense cold, and he always wears long boots. He carries his weapon of choice, an extra-large spade, in a sheath that hangs on his back.
So as he said this, Dalton decided to speak again on something.
"Please forgive our...lessen then friendly welcome." says Dalton adding as Luffy looked over a bit and spoke.
"Water under the bridge, just don't do it again." says Luffy as he stood by Nami, who was laying on the bed.
"Can you tell us more about this doctor or witch or whatever she is?" asks Vivi as she spoke again. "Her fever has gone up to 107." says Vivi causing Dalton's eyes to widen.
"How long has she had it?" asks Dalton in surprise.
"It's been several days and it just keeps getting higher." says Vivi informing him.
"We need to get her a doctor, any doctor will do. Where is this witch of yours?" asks Sanji in urgency.
"The witch, you see those mountains out there?" asks Dalton to the group.
"Yeah, I noticed them earlier." says Luffy as he looked out the window now.
"Those mountains out there are known as the Drum Rockies. Look closely, do you see the castle up there on top of the tallest one, the one in the middle?" asks Dalton causing them all to look out the window and up at the mountains. "That castle has lost its king." says Dalton continuing.
"What's so important about that castle?" asks Lily curious.
"That castle is where our land's only doctor lives." says Dalton as he continued. "Dr. Kureha, she's the one who people here called a witch." says Dalton.
"Of all the places, why does she have to live all the way up there?" asks Giyu to himself with a twitch in his eyebrow.
"We need to call her here right now, Nami needs her help." says Sanji.
"I'm sorry but there is no way to contact her." says Dalton surprising everyone.
"You can't be serious?! What kind of a doctor is she?!" asks Sanji a bit irritated.
"Her skills as a doctor are quite impressive actually. However, she is an eccentric old woman. She's nearly 140 years old now." says Dalton informing them while causing their eyes to widen in shock.
"So what happens when people around here get sick or injured? Doesn't she help them?" asks Vivi while looking at Dalton.
"She comes down from the mountain whenever she feels like it. She looks around for patients, she treats them, then...she takes whatever she wants from their houses as payment." says Dalton causing Luffy to chuckle a bit.
"Doesn't really sound all that helpful." says Usopp sipping from a metal cup with hot chocolate in it.
"She sounds more like a pirate." says Luffy with a sigh.
"Dr. Kureha is the only doctor we have but she is a woman I would stay away from." says Dalton as he looks to the crew with a sympathetic look in his eyes as he continued. "All we can do is wait until she decides to come down the mountain." says Dalton.
"That's not going to cut it." says Sanji as he bit down on cigarette a bit to continue. "Nami is getting sicker by the minute, we can't afford to wait that long." says Sanji in frustration at this.
As he said this, Luffy went back over to Nami from the window only to start tapping her cheek as he tried to wake her up.
"Hey Nami, wake up." says Luffy softly as he spoke again. "Nami, time to get up now." says Luffy once more.
"Luffy what are you doing?!" asks Vivi, Sanji, and Usopp screaming.
"Would you idiots calm down for a single moment?!" asks Nojiko, Akeno, Inosuke, and Agni yelling.
Giyu on the other hand, watched with a blank look as sweat rolled down his face as Dalton looked over to him, and he shrugged to the man. Just then, Nami started to stir as her eyes slowly started to open to see Luffy.
"She's awake." says Luffy before he looks to her to speak again with a serious look. "Listen, we can't wait here for a doctor to come down from the mountain so we're gonna have to climb the mountain." says Luffy causing all of the crew members except the pillar generals and Lily to widen their eyes.
"Are you crazy?!" asks Vivi yelling as she continued. "Look at the mountain, it's too high and far too steep for anyone to climb especially with the weather and high altitude!" says Vivi yelling and trying to get Luffy to hear reason as she continued. "And Nami can't move or handle something like that in her condition." says Vivi adding while causing Luffy to sigh as the flames at the fireplace flickered a bit.
He took a deep breath before he spoke.
"You know Vivi, you keep on doubting my abilities to the point that it's starting to become increasingly annoying." says Luffy with a vein popping out on his forehead as he spoke again. "With that being said, we can't afford to wait here any longer nor will I. I refuse to lose my navigator, and I refuse to allow someone to die on me. So, what I say goes as captain." says Luffy putting the emphasis on his position with a small smile while looking at Nami, who smiled back.
"I'm in...your...capable hands...captain." says Nami as she stuck her hand out under the covers.
This caused Luffy to smile before he slapped his hand against hers. As he then turned back to his crew and spoke in his commanding tone now with a serious expression on his face.
"Okay, Sanji, Nojiko, and Akeno. You're all with me." says Luffy causing the three to nod their heads as he spoke again. "The rest of you I want to stay here, as for you Giyu, Agni, and Inosuke. I want you to sniff out that scent of darkness, follow it, and report your findings to me when we return. Once you're all done, come back and get yourselves something to eat, the same goes for you three while your staying in the village." says Luffy referring to his three teammates alongside Usopp, Lily and Vivi causing them all to nod.
With this said and done, Sanji then walked over to Nami and picked her up before he, and everyone else headed outside.
- Outside, A Few Moments Later -
When they were all outside, Luffy took some steps forward away from everyone else to begin transforming.
So when he did so, his body was covered in crimson red flames that soon went to expand a bit. As Luffy's body was covered in a massive amount of steam to the point no one could see him, it soon subsided to show something that shocked them alongside those of the crew, who didn't know about his Dragon Form.
Luffy's Dragon Form is that of a very large dragon. He has black skin, red eyes, a long crimson red mane that has flames coming off it, two arms and legs with notably a circle of crimson red flames surrounding each, he has very large wings and nine very long spiky sharp-scaled tails that can extend. Luffy has two brownish horns of medium length at the back of his head. His wings appear to be featheary in appearance consisting of black skin and a red non-solid matter in the end that disperses into the air as he flies almost like flames. His black legs have a muscular bony red knee-caps, that elongate as shin-guards to his toes, forming large protruding claws. Luffy's arms have sharp scales around his elbow area, and a crimson red pointy scale on top, that elongates to his fingers and forms large protruding claws.
So now, Luffy looked over to Sanji, who was gaping and spoke.
"Alright, stop gawking already and get on. The flames won't hurt you." says Luffy being serious.
This caused Sanji to walk over to Luffy's wing and walk up to where his back was along with Nojiko and Akeno. Once Sanji checked the flames for himself and got himself situated with the other two, he laid Nami down on the mane covered back of Luffy's dragon form. As he laid her down to then sit with the rest of his crewmates, they all could feel themselves sink a bit into the mane slightly before it stopped. Luffy then willed the flames on his mane to cover Nami, so she could be warm even further.
As they were about to leave, Luffy decided to speak to the crew staying behind.
"Okay, even though these people didn't give us such a warm welcome at first and we started on the wrong foot per say, I don't want any of you causing trouble. That being said, if any trouble arises for the people of this village, I want you all to handle it. Protect them and take care of the threat quickly, we don't need these people losing their homes." says Luffy causing his crew that was staying behind to nod their heads.
As he said this, the villagers looked on in surprise at the fact that a pirate was going to protect them, if need be. So as Luffy looked on in his dragon form, he had a thought of his own,
'With that being said, this should be enough to suffice their worries of us. Hmm, after this is all over, maybe I should suggest making this island a territory of mine.' thought Luffy as he looked on a bit.
He then turned to Vivi and spoke with amusement in his voice while it was plastered on his face a bit.
"Like I said, Vivi. I'm more than fit for the position of captain that I hold." says Luffy causing Vivi to be ashamed and a bit embarrassed considering all that she has said so far, as he then spoke to those on his back before taking off. "Hang on you guys." says Luffy as he turned to take flight while his crew took the warning seriously and held on.
As Luffy turned his body to face the mountain, he then raised his upper body a bit. As he did this, his large wings started to flap slowly to then flap quickly as he made the rest of his body jump off the ground and take flight up into the air while making snow all on the ground fly everywhere. Luffy then started to fly off at great speed towards the mountain.
"Wait, he has a Devil Fruit powers? But what kind? I thought he could use lightning only." says Dalton confused now.
"Oh he does but his has a special ability of absorbing other Devil Fruit powers through Devil Fruit Energy." says Giyu with a serious expression.
"Yes, he ate Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Asura which made him a Wrath Human, whose power is stronger by how much anger is given off." says Usopp proudly speaking about his captain as he spoke again. "By the way, is there a place where we can get some food around here?" asks Usopp looking around.
"Yes there is. Follow me." says a man nearby in front of the crowd while leading Usopp, Lily, and Vivi away towards the location.
As the crowd of villagers and some of the crew went to get food, Giyu decided to turn to Agni and Inosuke and speak now.
"Alright, let's get a move on guys. We need to follow that scent of darkness." says Giyu as both Agni and Inosuke nodded in agreement, only for all of them to turn and run off quickly in the direction of their objective.
As the three ran off now, Usopp along with Vivi and Lily were leaving to go get food, but he turned to Dalton to speak now.
"Care to join us?" asks Usopp.
"I don't want to intrude." says Dalton answering.
"Nonsense, come on." says Lily continuing to walk now.
As this was said, Dalton decided to follow along with the remaining members of the crew with some of the villagers going in the same direction as well.
- With Luffy And His Group -
As Luffy took off in the direction of the Drum Kingdom Rockies, he went higher and higher into the air as they got closer to the mountain until he was just a few feet higher than the mountain that the castle was positioned on. It wasn't hard for Luffy to see where he was going in the heavy snow that was falling due to the dragon traits of his devil fruit that greatly enhanced his vision. So after flying for thirty minutes in the sky, the rest of the group on Luffy's back could now finally see the castle on top of the mountain clearly, though the whole group admitted that it was beautiful.
When they weren't that from the castle, Luffy decided to slow down and descend towards the area at the top while being able to admire the snow-covered castle before landing on the ground below. As they landed, the group got off Luffy for him to transform back to his human form in crimson flames. Once this was done, Luffy made sure all of the valuables on his body were secure before he spoke.
"Alright Sanji, hand me Nami." says Luffy causing the cook to gently hand Nami over to him.
As Nami was held by Luffy bridal style, they went to walk up to the castle as Vivi spoke.
"Alright, we've arrived but where is this doctor?" asks Nojiko as she looked around.
"Maybe she's inside." says Akeno looking around herself, as Sanji walked up to the door to knock only for it to open a bit.
"Well the front door is open, maybe we just head in to check if she's home." says Sanji causing them to look over towards the door of the castle and see that it was indeed open.
They all nodded and decided to walk over to the door where Sanji was, and began walking inside to see if they could find the doctor inside.
- Inside The Castle -
As they walked for a bit, they noticed that the entire first floor was covered in snow, all the ledges and stairs had snow on them. It was like the place had been abandoned for days.
"Who the hell leaves the door open if this is what's going to happen?" asks Sanji lighting a new cigarette.
"Maybe that's why." says Akeno looking up to see a nest of small birds on top of the door.
When the others looked up they saw the same.
"Well that explains the open door. They probably keep the door open so the birds can live up there." says Nojiko as Luffy decided to speak now.
"Yea." says Luffy as he looked over to Sanji to speak now. "Keep it open Sanji. No point in closing it." says Luffy as they began to walk again.
As they kept walking for sometime around the castle, Luffy decided to yell out now.
"Hello! Anyone home!" says Luffy yelling out for a reply but none came.
"Dalton said the doctor lived up here in the castle, so where is she?" asks Sanji looking around.
"This is the only castle on the island, so we should be in the right place." says Akeno as Nojiko nodded.
"Yes, we are." says Luffy as they walked up some more stairs while he carried Nami bridal style.
As they walked past some rooms, it was clear that someone had taken up residence inside the castle because some of the rooms looked like they were being used while some were locked. So eventually, the group came upon a room with an empty bed with shelves containing books.
"Alright, let's put Nami down here for now and then figure out where we go from here while I work on Nami." says Luffy as he activated his phoenix abilities again to help slow down the infection on Nami while Nojiko covered her lower body.
"Where is the doctor of this island?" asks Sanji frustrated as he kicked the wall.
"Calm down, Dalton said that the doctor often goes down into the towns on the island to treat patients. So it's highly possible that she is down there right now." says Luffy calmly pointing out as he made a tendril of crimson fire on his back to go over to the fireplace, already filled with wood and light it to start the fire.
"So your saying we came all this way up here for nothing?" asks Sanji causing Luffy to sigh as he spoke again.
"No, just calm down. She is going to have to come back up here. After all, she lives here so we'll wait here for a while. If it comes to it I'll go down and look for her myself along with Akeno." says Luffy causing Sanji to calm down a bit.
"I'll go outside and keep watch." says Sanji before he left the room and headed back out towards the first floor.
So now, the waiting for the doctor would begin.
- Three Hours Later -
It had been three hours since Luffy, Sanji, Nojiko, and Akeno arrived at the top of the castle with a sick Nami to find a doctor to heal her. They had been waiting for three hours for the doctor to show her face but had yet to do so. Sanji was still outside standing in the snow with his eyes closed waiting for the doctor to return to the castle. After an hour, Luffy stopped working on Nami to rest a bit but still looked over her as he used Observation Haki to sense out if anyone was approaching the castle for the past three hours. He hadn't been able to sense anyone coming, only multiple arctic creatures that lived in the forest area below the mountain along with picking up the signatures of his crew across the island.
So as he was continuing to sense out the signatures, he picked up on something as did Akeno as Luffy spoke.
"Finally." says Luffy as he went to get up and start making his way towards the entrance of the castle along with Akeno, as Nojiko stayed to watch Nami for now.
- Front Entrance -
It didn't take them long to get to the entrance, as Sanji picked up on people approaching as well. So soon enough two figures could be seen walking through the snow towards the three present. The first looked human while the second was some sort of animal that was walking on all fours. As they got closer, Luffy could see the figures more clearly now, as one was a woman with a bottle of wine in her hand, and the other was a reindeer with a blue nose and red top hat. So when they got close enough, the woman decided to speak.
"Oh my Chopper, it would seem we have guests." says the woman with a grin.
This caused the reindeer to look at Luffy with narrowed eyes and a growl in his voice causing Luffy to look at him for a moment but turned his attention back to the woman to speak.
"Are you Dr. Kureha?" asks Luffy as he stood waiting for an answer.
"That I am, but you can call me Doctorine. Have you come here for the secret to my youth?" asks Kureha.
"No. I brought a friend and a member of my crew here, who is suffering from an illness." says Luffy as he stood in front of the two.
"That so, huh." says Kureha as she continued. "I don't come cheap you know." says Kureha with a smirk.
"Payment won't be an issue. Just save my friend please." says Luffy causing her to smile slightly as she spoke now.
"Well then, lead the way young man." says Kureha with her hand stretched out.
Luffy nodded before turning around with Akeno and Sanji by his side while leading the other two inside the castle.
- Castle Stairways -
As they walked for a bit, Kureha spoke once again on something she noticed of this group.
"Judging by how you are all dressed, I take it your pirates because Marines usually wear uniforms or something close to their affiliation." says Kureha noticing their appearances.
"You are correct." says Akeno as they climbed up the stairs back to the room.
When they finally reached the room where Nami was at, Luffy opened the door and led them inside. When they got inside, they saw Nojiko reapplying a wet rag to her sister's forehead. So when they did enter, Nojiko looked over to see them as Luffy spoke.
"Got the doctor." says Luffy with a smile towards Nojiko as he stepped aside allowing the doctor to head towards Nami's bed as everyone else came in.
"Now let's see, what do we have here?" asks Kureha as she pressed her index finger to Nami's forehead for a few seconds before she spoke again. "A temperature of 107, my this very serious." says Kureha causing all of their eyes to widen in shock at what they just saw.
"She just…" says Sanji whispering out in shock as the cigarette in his mouth fell to the ground.
"Touched her forehead…" says Akeno equally shocked.
"And was able to get her temperature…" says Nojiko.
"Amazing." says Luffy and the other three at the same time, as Luffy continued. "She has a rash on her stomach as well." says Luffy causing her to pull back the bed sheets and lift up Nami's shirt to see the rash that Luffy spoke about.
"My now, this is something I haven't seen in a while. Though it looks like someone has been keeping it at bay for some time." says Kureha as she turned to the crew to speak now. "Where the hell were you guys at? On some prehistoric island?" asks Kureha a bit sarcastic not really expecting an answer to what she found.
"We were on the island called Little Garden, and Nami here was bitten by the Kestia." says Luffy informing her of this as he spoke again. "I've been using my phoenix based devil fruit abilities to keep the fever at bay for as long as I can until we found a doctor, which was you." says Luffy informing her of this as well as he continued. "Can you help her?" asks Luffy
"Yes I can, it's like you said she was bitten by the Kestia. Though I gotta say young man, you did well in keeping the infection's progression at bay." says Kureha acknowledging that as she spoke again. "So given the infections progression and the spot of the infection, I would say she has been infected for three days now." says Kureha surprising the crew once again.
"You got all of this just by looking at it?!" asks both Nojiko and Sanji screaming out while Luffy and Akeno had their mouths a gap.
"Yes, so I'm pretty sure you all know the pain would have been gone in two days due to the other name it's known by." says Kureha as the crew all remembered.
"Yeah don't remind us. You can treat her, can't you?" asks Sanji hoping that she would say yes.
"What kind of question is that? Of course I can. Even though the Kestia had died out about 100 years ago, I kept the antibiotics just in case. So yes I can treat her." says Kureha causing the four crew members to smile now as she spoke again. "Now get out and let us get to work." says Kureha causing Luffy to become confused.
"Us?" asks Luffy confused as his expression showed it with Dr. Kureha turning towards him to speak.
"Yes, us. Chopper and I." says Kureha pointing to the reindeer while causing them all to look over at the reindeer for their eyes to widen.
The reindeer standing there was no longer what they first saw standing on all fours but instead, there was a small toddler-sized human/reindeer hybrid, who was wearing a red top hat with a sideways medical cross on it.
"That's interesting." says Luffy seeing this.
"So he's either a member of the Mink Tribe or he ate a Devil Fruit." says Akeno walking over to squat down a bit as she spoke again. "So which are you little guy?" asks Akeno studying him with a smile.
This caused the poor little reindeer to jump back in terror and began hiding behind the door frame, or at least tried to. As he had half his body in view of everyone while having half of his face hidden as well causing them all to sweatdrop as Luffy chuckled a bit.
"Well, I guess we'll get an answer later then." says Luffy amused.
"So he's a doctor as well?" asks Nojiko curious.
"Yes, and at the same time he's my apprentice, whom I thought everything I know in the field of medicine." says Kureha as she continued. "Now, get out so we can work!" says Kureha yelling out as she punched Sanji in his face sending him flying.
This action sent Sanji flying towards Luffy, who disassembled into red cubes to avoid being hit while sending Sanji out the door. Luffy sighed and decides to disassemble his whole body now to reassemble outside the room as Nojiko and Akeno hurried out of the door to avoid being kicked out.
"Old Hag." says Sanji and Luffy at the same time, as the captain helped his cook up.
Once that was done, they all sat down on the steps for Luffy to speak again.
"Damn, what a day." says Luffy rubbing his face.
"Yeah, I was honestly starting to think we'd get no help." says Nojiko sadly causing Akeno to put a hand on her shoulder with a reassuring smile.
"By the way, back in there you said something about Mink Tribe, Akeno. Can you explain that?" asks Sanji curious causing Nojiko to look at both Luffy and Akeno now.
"The Mink Tribe is a race like the Fish-Men that exist in the world, well more specifically the New World. To put it simply their a race like humans but with animal features as each individual takes after a specific animal." says Akeno explaining.
"Wow, I never heard of them before." says Sanji in a surprised tone.
"Yea most don't, considering that they are mostly an isolated tribe on an isolated homeland that they rarely leave, only a few have while some live in another territory of the New World." says Luffy informing them of that.
"That explains a lot." says Nojiko as she remembered something she heard from Zoro. "Luffy, Zoro said that you guys have ancestors from each tribe. Is it true?" asks Nojiko, wanting to confirm that.
"Yeah it is, though when it comes down to our Mink Tribe genes, it's a bit harder for us to control." says Luffy confusing Nojiko and Sanji.
"Especially under a full moon." says Akeno remembering herself while causing the two crewmates out of the loop to become even more confused.
"Why is that?" asks Sanji considering on their way to this island, the full moon was out at a point in time.
"Minks have a special transformation called Sulong. It's a form a mink takes upon looking directly at a full moon. This form unleashes their primal animal instincts. The form is so dangerous but also powerful that even pirates of the New World are wary of it." says Luffy explaining this.
"Wait, if this form is something you and the other pillars possess then why didn't you and Giyu transform that night on the ship traveling here?" asks Sanji, who remembered it clear as day.
"Because we have more control over it to the point, we can transform whenever we want under a full moon." says Akeno.
"Precisely. Not to mention for D.'s it's a bit different for us, well the Sulong transformation in general can be a bit more wild and overwhelming not to mention certain conditions need to be met in order for us to transform." says Luffy.
"How so?" asks Nojiko wondering why.
"I'll explain, the moon appears lit only because it reflects the light of the sun. But when the sunlight is bounced from the lunar surface, it causes a slight shift in the wavelength creating what we know as a Blutz Wave." says Luffy as he continued. "So when the moon is full for the requirement of Sulong to be activated, all D.'s need like the Mink Tribe need to absorb at least 17 million zeno units of Blutz Waves." says Luffy.
"Uhh...I'm afraid you lost me there. Zeno's?" asks Sanji a bit lost now.
"Zeno's are a unit used to measure waves of full celestial light from the moon." says Akeno informing them of that.
"Once we have 17 million zenos absorbed by the retinas, for D.'s our bodies respond to a biochemical reaction produced in our dormant Mink Tribe DNA that needs a trigger. That trigger being the full moon, and we transform." says Luffy finishing up.
"I see, so that's it huh." says Sanji now understanding it as he spoke again. "So what's so overwhelming about it?" asks Sanji, who was still not getting that part.
"The power of Sulong can be called upon without the transformation." says Luffy shocking Nojiko and Sanji as Akeno continued for him.
"It's called Wrath State, it's an enraged state that allows the user to access the powers of the Sulong but without the transformation itself." says Akeno as she continued. "It's an extremely difficult state to control. As such, the drawback of not being able to control the form also hurts the user due to the constant eruption of the elevated power found in their and not being able to control themselves, with the growls being let forth in this form being due to pain rather than anger and their want to fight at times." says Akeno informing them of this danger.
"Few have it and few can awaken it, though for Half Mink's it's a very common occurrence. For those that do, it expands not only their physical fighting prowess but also the power in their Devil Fruit. It can take years of practice and training just to have full control over it." says Luffy finishing up now.
After he said this, all was quiet for a bit of time due to the four now being able to relax as Nami was getting the medical attention needed. Though now, Luffy got up and decided to speak for what he was about to do.
"I'm going outside to get so fresh air, why don't you guys get some place warm for the time being." says Luffy as he went to go down the stairway.
- With Luffy -
As Luffy walked out the front entrance into the snow, he looked up at the sky to see the snow still falling as he took a deep breath in. Due to being able to relax while Nami was attended to, he looked around at the castle's exterior design seeing the sheer size and beautiful architecture of it as something at the top caught his attention. It was a Jolly Roger with a simple design that had a skull and crossbones with pink cherry blossom petals around it. So when Luffy saw it, he got a smirk from it.
Luffy then went to go back inside to check if Dr. Kureha was done with Nami. As he was walking up the stairs calmly, he noticed standing at the top was the small reindeer looking at him with a scared look. So as Luffy got closer to the little guy, the reindeer began to back away wary of Luffy for which it confused him. So when Luffy reached the floor level that he was on, he decided to sit on the railing with his back facing the small reindeer with a thought.
'He seems too scared of us, so it's better not to approach him directly.' thought Luffy seeing this.
After sitting for a bit of time with the scared reindeer analyzing him from a few feet away. Chopper finally spoke after a few minutes to ask a question.
"Are you really a pirate?" asks Chopper cautious causing Luffy to turn his head a bit with a smile.
"I am." says Luffy calmly as he continued. "No orders to follow from others, no rules and regulations just the open ocean where you are free and the adventure is always there. The dreams of pirates will never end. To me, that's why adventures exist." says Luffy with a smile as he looked forward again.
"I see. So pirates really go on adventures?" asks Chopper with a look of awe
"Yep, you get to see how amazing the world is, meet amazing people and party as much as you like. It's really a great life to live, truly amazing." says Luffy proudly.
"What's the name of your crew?" asks Chopper.
"The Straw Hat Pirates." says Luffy answering him.
"I see." says Chopper satisfied with the answer.
"Hmm." says Luffy as he turned to speak again. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, it's nice to meet you." says Luffy introducing himself to the small reindeer.
For a few moments, Chopper looked at Luffy's hand before he inched himself over slowly cautiously to touch it before he quickly backed away in fear to speak.
"I'm Chopper." says Chopper introducing himself shyly to Luffy, who nodded.
"So from what I've been told you're a doctor?" asks Luffy while looking at Chopper again, who nodded. "So, how is my friend? Will she be okay?" asked Luffy.
"Yes, the treatment was administered to her so all she needs now is rest for it to work properly." says Chopper from his spot near a wall as he continued. "It will take three days for the bacteria of the infection to fully leave her body." says Chopper causing Luffy to nod but at the same time, he knew they couldn't stay that long.
"So from what I can understand, you ate a Devil Fruit. I can tell by the way you are scared of humans, so you are not a Mink." says Luffy coming to his own conclusion.
"Yes, I ate the Hito Hito no Mi Devil Fruit." says Chopper sadly while confirming what Luffy said.
"Why are you so sad about it?" asks Luffy wanting to know while sensing the sadness in his aura.
Chopper looked at Luffy for a while but didn't say anything causing Luffy to believe it was a sensitive subject, he didn't want to speak about it. Luffy then turned to sit on the railing facing him this time to speak again.
"I ate a Devil Fruit as well. The same kind actually called the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Asura." says Luffy surprising Chopper.
"Really?" asks Chopper surprised by this.
"Yep and the young woman, who talked to you earlier ate one of the same kind as well too." says Luffy informing Chopper as he continued. "Mine is a bit different as I can use the power of other devil fruits but the original power is based off wrath, so I'm basically a Wrathful Man." says Luffy as he brought his hand up to give off red energy of rage that formed itself into Luffy's Jolly Roger.
"So cool." says Chopper as he stared at it with stars in his eyes. "I wish I could do that." says Chopper staring at it.
"Yes it's cool looking but the power isn't all that it seems in some ways." says Luffy stopping and powering the rage down from his hand.
"What do you mean by that?" asks Chopper while he looked up at Luffy.
"There can be good and bad things about such power." says Luffy as he continued. "I'm sure there are some bad things about your powers as well alongside even my own crew members, who possess a Devil Fruit." says Luffy as he saw a pained look flash in Chopper's as the reindeer nodded.
"Don't let it get you down so much. The world and people tend to fear that of which they don't understand." says Luffy as he continued. "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering especially towards those who didn't do anything wrong. With their only reasoning in why is because they are different." says Luffy as Chopper's eyes widen a bit.
"How? How did you know?" asks Chopper with a shaky voice.
Luffy sighed a bit as he spoke now.
"Let's just say, we have a lot more in common than you think alongside some of the members on my crew, and those I've yet to pick up to join right now." says Luffy as he remembered something from his very young past.
- Flashback -
"The spawn of the Revolutionary Dragon is here somewhere on this island! We've already burned most of the island to the ground with the Buster Call! So find the child and kill them before they have a chance to grow and oppose us!" says the first marine in all black with a arm band with Kanji that translates to "Red Dog" for a good reason.
"In the name of Absolute Justice we'll kill them here! As instructed by the Admiral!" says a second marine in all black as the whole group roars and decides to move out.
As they did this, a young Luffy, who was a mere three years old was hiding behind a nearby wall in overwhelming fear. So when they left, the boy decided to run in the opposite direction to get away with tears in his eyes. As he ran to get away from the chaos upon this island, he fell to ground a bit hard so as he stumbled to get up, he saw the bodies of people who had lived on this island with him.
Though the one that caught his eye was the one of his adoptive aunt, who was raising him here. So upon seeing the dead body of a loved one, he cried out in sadness and sorrow while wondering why this had happened to people, who didn't do anything wrong. As he cried it caught the attention of marines, who had now surrounded him while aiming to kill him as well.
"Rah!" says one of the marines in all black aiming a spear to pierce through Luffy.
The moment this happened, the wind picked up violently. As the marine, who tried to kill Luffy had his head severed along with spear broken as all the marines surrounding him were dead too. The next thing Luffy noticed was that someone had wrapped their arms around him while speaking to a couple of others that were with the person.
"Has the Buster Call fleet been taken care of?" asks the voice of a man.
"Yes sir, along with all the marines on the island." says another in a black cloak while making the man nod while he held Luffy.
The man holding Luffy, then decided to pull back his hood far enough to identify himself to the young child as his father, Dragon.
"I'm sorry, Luffy. I'm so sorry." says Dragon hugging his son while knowing this must have been an immensely painful experience for his son.
As he said this, Luffy heard it and then fell unconscious from all of what he had to endure.
- End Flashback -
Luffy sighed a bit as he remembered that. He then felt something coming down from his eyes, only to realize it was tears. Luffy went to quickly wipe away these tears as he spoke.
"So, have you ever thought about being a pirate yourself?" asks Luffy as he decided to drink from the gourd bottle strapped to his waist.
"What?! Did you hit your head on the way up this mountain or something?" asks Chopper as he continued. "No, I don't want to be a pirate." says Chopper.
"Oh come on, it won't be that bad. You'll be a great pirate. We'll go on lots of adventures, travel to new places and see the world on the ocean." says Luffy trying to convince him as he continued. "We'll be great friends and you can call us your family." says Luffy walking a few steps toward him while causing Chopper to run off now.
"Why would I want to be friends with you?!" asks Chopper yelling while running away from Luffy who was chasing him.
"Shishishi! Oh come on! Just think about it!" says Luffy chasing him now.
As they ran across the castle, Chopper opened a door only to yell.
"Doctorine! Save me from this madman!" says Chopper yelling as he ran into the room where Nami was resting with Luffy right behind him.
"Just think about it!" says Luffy as he chased Chopper around the room.
This caught the attention of Akeno, Sanji, and Nojiko, who all heard the commotion and came in the room with plates of food while seeing their captain acting childish as he chased the reindeer across the room with a grin on his face.
"So...what's going on?" asked Nojiko not knowing what to make of this.
"This little guy is joining our crew and will be our doctor." says Luffy as the three looked at the reindeer.
"I did not say anything like that!" says Chopper yelling with a vein popping out on his face.
"Yea yea. Whatever." says Luffy amused as he turned to Dr. Kureha to speak. "Anyway, how's Nami doing?" asks Luffy as he went to sit by here.
"Well her temperature went down several degrees, and she's out of danger for now. But she still needs rest, at least three days of it before the bacteria is fully gone from her body." says Kureha causing Luffy and the others to nod with a smile.
"That's good news." says Akeno as she sat down in the room.
"Yes, it is." says Sanji as he walked up to Luffy and handed him a plate of food. "Here you go, Luffy." says Sanji causing Luffy to take the plate, and thanked his cook.
As they all sat down for a bit from eating, Nojiko decided to ask a question of her own to the doctor on something she had noticed.
"Dr. Kureha, can you tell why Chopper is so scared of us?" asks Nojiko while looking at the woman.
This caused the doctor to sigh as she took a swig from her bottle, before beginning to speak and tell them the story.
- Twenty Minutes Later -
For the last twenty minutes, she had told them Chopper's story. How he started out, to eating his Devil Fruit, to being treated badly by humans on this island. Along with his relationship to a man named Dr. Hiriluk and the late doctor's dream and the sad ending that came to Chopper's story.
"Since then, I've taken it upon myself to teach him everything I know including medicine." says Kureha in a sad voice.
Luffy and Sanji had sad expressions on their faces alongside Akeno with Nojiko wiping away a tear from her eye. They all took the time to sit there and take in what they had just heard. So after a bit of time, Dr. Kureha decided to speak on something.
"So other than that, I can take it your a D. as well right? Along with your friend as well?" asks Kureha to get both Luffy and Akeno's attention along with the two others present.
"Let me guess, the red markings underneath my eyes gave it away?" asks Luffy with a chuckle.
"It did but after a while I've been able to recognize those of your clan." says Kureha as she took another swig from her bottle to speak again. "Not to mention as a doctor, it's your clan's circulatory system that always peaked my interest. Honestly, it's what made you guys some tough bastard" says Kureha.
"Why is that?" asks Sanji wondering about this.
Kureha turned to Nojiko and spoke again.
"You young lady, go over to him and put your ear against his chest and tell me what you find." says Kureha.
This got Nojiko to become confused and shrug a bit as she looked to Luffy, who nodded. As she went over to lean down and place her ear against his chest, she heard a heart but as it was very normal.
"I hear a heartbeat so what're you..." says Nojiko not understanding only to become shocked and surprised by what she heard next. "Wait, that's impossible! Why am I hearing multiple heart beats?!" asks Nojiko shocked as Sanji had wide eyes now while Akeno watched a bit amused while knowing something already.
"Yep, so you figured it out some now. You see, your captain and friend over there along with any others who bear the middle initial of D. in their name also have a circulatory system of seven hearts." says Kureha as she continued. "Most races in this world have something unique about them but unlike some of the subraces of humans found in the world and throughout the Grand Line, D.'s are a bit unique and rank high above the subraces of humans to the point that their able to clash with the other tribes." says Kureha explaining some of what she knew about them as Luffy and Akeno already were aware of this.
As this was said by Kureha, Sanji was about to speak on it but couldn't as his Observation Haki went off to alert him of something nearby alongside Luffy and his other two crewmates as the voice of a panicking Chopper came into the room.
"Doctorine!" says Chopper as he ran into the room in a panic. "It's Wapol! He's back!" says Chopper with anger in his voice but also panic while Luffy got up to his feet and sensed the familiar aura.
"So, he did survive…" says Luffy as he sensed three individuals had made it to the top of the mountain. "Nojiko, stay here and protect Nami. Sanji and Akeno with me." says Luffy as they all nodded for him to then turn and make his way downstairs with his two crewmates behind him.
As they walked down the staircase with serious expression on their face, Chopper and Kureha walked with them. So Luffy wanting to get straight to the point now, decided to speak out to both the reindeer and the doctor.
"Wapol is mine to fight, and for good reason." says Luffy as he built up his rage.
Luffy then went to disassemble in red cubes to get outside faster as Akeno charged lightning around her body with Sanji running himself.
- Outside The Castle -
When Luffy arrived outside to reassemble himself, Akeno appeared next to him on his right side in lightning fast speed along with Sanji hopping down on his left side. Dr. Kureha and Chopper had also arrived outside to see what would happen. So once they were there in the snow, they saw Wapol already standing there in front of them with his two goons a few feet away.
So now, Luffy decided to speak with some anger in his voice.
"You know, when I last saw you at Levely five years ago and on our way here, I still couldn't believe what an utter piece of shit you are. Even now, it still baffles me that you're a king when you act like a child." says Luffy as the rage on his body built up more.
"How dare you speak to Wapol like that! He isn't some lowly commoner, this Wapol! The king and absolute ruler of Drum Kingdom!" says the man in a jester costume on Wapol's left side.
Wapol for his part didn't say anything as he looked at Luffy and Akeno for a few moments. He got an odd sense of deja vu until he finally remembered where he had seen these two. He recognized both of them respectively as the Pillar General of Wrath, and the Pillar General of Lightning from the Nine Demonic Pillar Generals. Wapol was a cocky and foolish man but he knew the danger of those nine, even one alone was enough to drown an entire country in blood.
So now, as the jester wearing man said that, Luffy spoke in an amused but cold tone of his own.
"Hmm? Is that so?" asks Luffy amused with a cold tone in his voice as he continued. "Well in that case, I'll give him the proper respect that he deserves by having my heel planted firmly to his head." says Luffy as he spoke out again to someone else before beginning this slaughter. "Chopper I'm gonna make this very clear to you, your no monster. Not in the slightest." says Luffy to Chopper.
"What do you want us to do, captain?" asks Sanji.
"Be prepared to position the two lackies with their leader. You'll know when to do it." says Luffy giving his orders as he fully unleashed his rage now.
The next thing that happened was Luffy disappeared in pure speed now only to appear in front of Wapol with his left fist covered in Armament Haki along with Rage around it as he buried the punch into the man's gut.
"Hito-Hito: Asura's Pistol" says Luffy punching him with a devastating force as he used the main power of his Devil Fruit.
This sent the man flying up into the air due to the rage induced punch about eighty feet into the sky. Luffy saw this and decided to activate one of his other Devil Fruit powers to intercept.
"Hito-Hito: Asura's Rumble Mode" says Luffy activating the powers of the Goro Goro no Mi with black lightning dancing around his body.
Luffy then disappeared in a flash of lighting to appear in the air a bit above Wapol's back as he charged lightning around his leg with Armament Haki to deliver his next attack.
"Empyrean Downfall" says Luffy as his body turned into lightning to pick up speed in the form of lightning strike accompanied with a thunderclap.
As he did this, Luffy hit Wapol in his midsection with a devastating Haki and lightning-infused kick that sent him barreling down to ground in fast speed along with possible fractured ribs from the force. This got Akeno and Sanji, who were on the ground to take this as their signal to move in.
"Poitrine" says Sanji sending a stabbing kick straight into the chest of Wapol's afro wearing subordinate.
The kick makes the man wince in utter pain from the force of such a blow, as Sanji then went to upper cut the man with kick to the jaw sending him in the air as well. As Akeno was right in front of Wapol's jester wearing subordinate to send an attack of her own.
"Hito-Hito: Raijin's Storming Uppercut" says Akeno sending an uppercut with lightning and storms coming off her punch to the jester's jaw.
This sent the man upwards into the air with his fellow subordinate as their destination was in the direction of a descending Wapol. This made both Akeno, and Sanji move away sensing Luffy was about to fire off another attack.
"Now feel the power of the Thunder God." says Luffy charging a large storm above the area as thunder could be heard with violent flashes of lightning, as Luffy spoke two words. "El Thor" says Luffy as he focused a large cluster of electricity above Wapol and his subordinates, then to use it in sending a huge and powerful lightning bolt crashing down from the sky, frying Wapol and his two subordinates back down into the ground.
This sent the three of them back down to the ground in pain from such an attack, as Wapol's subordinates were unconscious now with the monarch himself still conscious, as he was getting up but struggling. Luffy appeared back on the ground in a lightning strike as he walked calmly towards Wapol while shutting off his Goro Goro no Mi abilities for another.
"Hito-Hito: Asura's Tremor Mode" says Luffy activating the powers of the Gura Gura no Mi now. "Soru" says Luffy as he moved at an extremely high speed to appear in front of Wapol and grab the man by his neck, and lift him off his feet.
Wapol was struggling in Luffy's tight grip, as the straw hat wearing captain himself decided to squeeze harder as he spoke.
"Your nothing but a spoiled bastard and a corrupt king, who didn't have the slightest regard for his own people as they suffered under your foolish rule. You are not fit to be king." says Luffy coldly as he squeezed harder making the man choke up some blood as he continued. "This is for Dr. Hiriluk and the people of this country that you terrorized." says Luffy as he threw Wapol down into the ground hard.
As Wapol tried to lift his head up, Luffy planted his heel firmly into Wapol's head as he focused a quake bubble to his leg to finish this.
"Kabutowari" says Luffy as he focuses his great power into a small, spherical area to perform a concentrated, explosion-like attack with his leg instead of fist.
The quake bubble surrounded Wapol's head to send an explosion-like force through the man's head. The force was enough to make Wapol go unconscious as the pain from this final attack did the job while effectively ending this little battle. Luffy knew the man was still alive but with serious injuries.
- With The Others -
"He beat Wapol...like it was nothing." says Chopper amazed and in awe.
"Heh! The brat had this battle won from the start with his crew. That was no surprise." says Kureha.
"Jeez, Luffy can be brutal." says Sanji seeing this.
"Yes, so brutal~" says Akeno with a blush, as she was enjoying the pain Luffy was dishing out to his enemy.
This got Sanji to look over with a thought as sweat rolled down the side of his face.
'Yea...forgot that Agni said she can be a sadist.' thought Sanji with an inward nervous chuckle.
- Back With Luffy -
As this was said by the four watching. In the end, Luffy decided to kick the man back over to his subordinates, who were conscious now to see what had just happened as Luffy spoke for a final time.
"If I wanted your little king dead, then I would have just finished this by taking his life span. Be lucky I'm leaving him broken and bloody." says Luffy as he continued with an ice cold look in his eyes. "Now, I suggest you leave before I change my mind about killing you all." says Luffy as he turned to walk away with Wapol's subordinates scrambling in pain to grab their broken and unconscious leader.
As Luffy walked back to the castle with Sanji and Akeno at his sides, he spoke for a final time while delivering a message to Wapol's subordinates that would get back to the man himself while grabbing the attention of Dr. Kureha and Chopper.
"From now on, this country is now under my protection." says Luffy as he and his two crew members walked back inside the castle.
The message was clear, Luffy now had the island and it's country under his crew's protection. Wapol was no longer free to come back and do as he pleased here on this island. And now, the Straw Hat Pirates had a territory added into their crew along with Nami recovering now. It was only the start of what was to come as one battle ended with another on the horizon as they drew closer to Alabasta.
Done!, good, bad, don't like it that's on you. So yes, I decided that it would be easier in making Luffy's different Devil Fruit powers sectioned off into modes, so it would be easier on me for writing as he gets more in the future. As such, I decided to add some more information about D.'s here while giving Akeno her time to shine a bit. I also revealed a bit of Luffy's past during the Buster Call and how it translates to how he is now, as it will become a key piece in the story later down the road. So like I said, next chapter will be the end of Drum Kingdom as we finally move into Alabasta, finally. I'm honestly excited to get started in Alabasta as lots and lots of juicy entertaining reads will come from all this along with more information that you'll love to learn. So without anything else to say, please review and I'll see you all for the next chapter.
