Chapter 26: In Search of a Doctor
There was a momentary silence as the three Straw Hats stared out at the man standing on the water. Usopp and Luffy both rubbed their eyes, wondering if what they were seeing was true, but when they looked back, the man was still there, dressed in an eccentric teal and green jester esque outfit and staring right back at them.
"Hi. It sure is chilly today." Despite how strange the situation was, the man only made it stranger with that comment. Luffy and Usopp stared another moment before looking at each other.
"Yeah! It is chilly today!" Luffy said to Usopp.
"Y-yeah! Chilly, chilly! Today's very chilly!" Usopp agreed.
"Really?" The man said. At this, the Straw Hats seemed to realize just how weird this all was as their eyes widened, and in response, the man's eyes widened as well. There was a split second where Luffy noticed the presence of multiple other people very close by and his haki telling him there was something underneath them, but there was no time to do anything about this as a large metal egg-shaped... something suddenly rose from under the water, pushing the Merry back with the waves it created.
"What is that?! A watermelon?!" Luffy asked, holding tightly to the railing to keep from falling back from the harsh waves. Usopp wasn't as lucky and was thrown backward.
"Why is the ship shaking?!" Vivi's voice asked, muffled from the walls seeing as she was still in Namis room.
"Hold the rudder! If anything happens to Nami, I'll gut you all!" Sanji called next, voice equally as muffled.
"Don't tell me this... is a ship?!" Zoro asked in disbelief as he took in the gargantuan metal shell in front of them. Just as suddenly as the metal egg rose from the water, it was now opening, showing them the ship encased inside. A figurehead that looked like a hippo wearing a crown moved into place and a black flag was raised, signaling just what kind of ship this was.
"Crap! A p-pirate ship!" Usopp said in a mixture of fear and worry. This was definitely not something they were looking for right now- especially when one of their crewmembers was dangerously sick.
"Sugoi!" Luffy said in awe as he looked up at the giant ship.
"Just when we're in a hurry..." Zoro said with narrowed eyes and a frown, snow gathering on his head and shoulders.
"Mahahaha! Did our jumbo underwater raid ship, the Tin Tyrant, surprise you?! Mahahaha!" A voice boomed loudly.
"Hey! What's going on?!" Sanji asked in concern as he ran out on deck. He stopped in his tracks when he saw what was happening and took out his matches, lighting a cigarette.
"So? What's going on?" Sanji asked as he placed the cigarette in his mouth, much calmer now as he took in the situation before him.
"The ships being attacked," Luffy said, equally as calm as Sanji. Usopp was surrounded by a group of men with guns, as well as Zoro in the crow's nest. Luffy, who was sitting on the railing, even had two men of his own pointing guns at him, and Sanji- who had only just joined- had guns pointed at him as well.
"Well, I figured as much, from the looks of things," Sanji told him, still calm.
"Are you really pirates? You're strange. Is it just you four?" A voice asked. Usopp cringed as he looked to the speaker, a man with a metal jaw wearing what looked to be a cloak made of a furry hippo and eating meat off of the point of a knife. When the meat was gone, the man continued on to eat the knife itself, not even flinching.
"I find it hard to believe... that a group would only have four people." He continued, throwing the hilt of the knife into his mouth as well. Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji all watched in a mixture of fascination and disgust as the man chewed the hilt and swallowed. Luffy was only interested, tilting his head this way and that as he contemplated whether knives tasted all that good.
"What is that guy? He even ate the knife!" Luffy said.
"Just watching hurts!" Usopp said, sticking his tongue out in disgust, his arms still in the air in surrender.
"Well, no matter. I'll start by asking this... We want to go to the Drum Kingdom. Do you happen to have an Eternal Pose or a Log Pose?" The man asked.
"Nope. Never even heard of the place." Sanji replied. If the guns hadn't been present, you would think this was just a casual conversation being had rather than an attack or interrogation.
"Okay, you're done, right?! So leave! We're in a hurry! We don't have time to mess with you!" Luffy said, annoyed now that his fascination with the metal-jawed man was gone.
"Don't rush life like that! But if you have neither, then oh well. For now, I'll take your treasure and this ship." The man said, still casual as if this was something normal to be demanding.
"Eh?!" Luffy asked, blinking in surprise.
"But first, I'm feeling a bit hungry!" The man swayed on his feet lightly as he spoke and the second he finished his sentence he turned, his mouth widening as he chomped the wooden railing. He ripped the chunk of wood off effortlessly, chewing on it and swallowing as if it were normal food.
"What is this guy?!" Usopp shrieked as he watched, disgust renewed.
"Don't eat our ship!" Luffy barked in anger, stepping off the railing of the upper deck and leaning over it to look at the man.
"Hold it right there! Wapol-sama is currently eating!" One of the men surrounding Luffy ordered, pushing the gun into the side of Luffys head.
"Shut up!" Luffy demanded next, swinging his fists and knocking the two at his sides away.
"Damn that bastard! Fire!" One of the men on the lower deck called. Those on deck immediately began firing, making Zoro grin.
"Should've done that from the very start..." Zoro said, pulling the blanket he had on off.
"Oh? We can have at 'em?" Sanji asked, equally as excited as he took off his scarf.
"No, wait! We can discuss this!" Usopp screamed as he jumped off the upper deck and clung to the mast, climbing down it and using it as a shield from the gunfire on the upper deck.
Sanji didn't have any misgivings about fighting like Usopp did as he jumped into the air, landing behind one of the enemy pirates and kicking him in the head.
"Don't do anything you can't handle!" Sanji called as he slammed the man into the deck. The click of guns drew his attention to the three nearby all aiming his way, but before they could fire he swung his leg at them, knocking them all down as well. Spinning on his hands, he continued to knock down those running at him, clearing the space around him easily. When those with swords started to run at him he kicked them away as well, into the mast that Usopp had been clinging. The long-nosed man wasted no time in moving before the bodies could crush him.
Meanwhile, Zoro was knocking his own group of enemy pirates off the crow's nest before he joined Sanji and Usopp on the deck, swords in hand. He sliced through everyone with no problem, frowning at how easy it was.
"All bark and no bite..." Zoro muttered disappointedly.
"W-Wapol-sama! These guys're-!" Despite the fact that the enemy pirates weren't winning, their Captain wasn't paying the fight any attention. Instead, he was biting into the railing with gusto, oblivious to everyone around him.
"Are you still eating it?!" Luffy screamed in fury as he punched away those in his way, running over to Wapol.
"Say, this ship doesn't taste half bad..." Wapol commented to himself, still ignoring them.
"Hey, you!" Luffy shouted, now much closer to the man. This seemed to finally get Wapols attention as he stopped eating, turning to look at Luffy as the rubber teen ran over to him.
"Fool! You're no match for Wapol-sama!"
"Time to get eaten by the power of the Munch-Munch Fruit!" Luffy ignored the shouting from the pirates, instead stretching his arms out behind him and running headfirst- literally- into Wapols mouth.
"Luffy!" Usopp shouted in both warning and fear. Only seconds after, Wapol closed his mouth over the top half of Luffy.
"W-what is this?" Vivi asked as she walked out on deck beside Sanji, taking in the many downed pirates and Luffys arms that were stretched out in front of her.
"Oh, hey Vivi-chan. Has something happened to Nami-san?" Sanji asked calmly, his arms crossed over his chest as he addressed the woman.
"Huh?" Vivi asked in surprise, not sure why he was so calm seeing as Luffy's whole top half was inside someone's mouth. On the other side of her, Zoro sheathed his swords, looking towards Luffy without even a hint of worry on his face. His gaze followed the rubber arms stretched across their deck, all the way to his Captain's hands which were extended far out above the ocean.
By now, Wapol had swallowed all of Luffy except for his arms, but he seemed to be having difficulties.
"What a hard-to-chew person!" Wapol said in irritation, grinding his teeth together harshly.
"Why, you-!" Luffy's suddenly very loud, very angry exclamation surprised Wapol as his eyes widened. The hands that were out above the ocean began rocketing back towards Wapol at an alarming pace.
"Go flying!" Luffy screamed angrily, his hands hitting Wapol squarely in the face and sending him- as requested- flying through their railing and high into the air. At the impact, Wapol spit Luffy out, the rubber teen landing unharmed on the deck.
Seeing the enemy Captain go flying, Usopp grinned and gave a thumbs-up, Sanji and Zoro grinning as well while Vivi watched with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. The enemy pirates all looked similarly as they watched on with equally wide eyes, their own jaws dropped as well.
"Hey, this is bad! Wapol-sama was sent flying!" The jester-esque man from before exclaimed from the enemy ship.
"This is terrible! Wapol-sama is unable to swim!" The man beside him with an afro shouted worriedly.
"He will surely perish if we don't rescue him before he sinks!" The jester said as the hippo figurehead opened its mouth and extended a ladder to the Merrys upper deck. The enemy pirates wasted no time in using it to get off the Merry and join the rest of their crew on their own ship.
"This isn't over, you! We will make you pay for this!" The jester promised, pointing to them. Despite his words, he didn't look all that intimidating as he delivered them, instead he looked fearful.
"Remember us!" The afro man shouted next, though he looked the same as the jester man.
"We'll get you for this!"
"Please, remember us! Please!" With that last shout, the large ship began sailing away from them towards where Wapol had been sent flying. The Straw Hats watched them sail away, all with different expressions.
"W-what was that just now? They seemed to call him Wapol, but..." Usopp started, pointing weakly to the retreating ship.
"Doesn't matter. Don't worry about it. He's just a moron. That's the only possible explanation." Sanji said with a shrug.
"Have I seen him somewhere before?" Vivi asked softly to herself, ignoring Usopp and Sanji as she tried to remember where she'd seen that man's face before. When she couldn't think of it, she gave up with a sigh, her thoughts wandering back to Nami who was still dangerously sick.
Now that things were calm once more, they all split up again, Usopp and Zoro looking around for anywhere they could find a doctor while Sanji, Vivi, and Luffy all went back to Nami's room. The sun was beginning to set now, the sky changing from its bright blue to pinks and reds.
"Are you sure she's not just hungry? If so, she should eat enough meat for 100 people! Eating meat makes sickness go away!" Luffy asked from where he, Vivi, and Sanji all stood beside Namis bed. The woman looked even worse than before, her face flushed completely red as sweat poured down her forehead despite the cool cloth on it.
"Look you," Sanji chastised softly, hitting Luffys head lightly, not even enough force to register as a pat.
"Come on! Cheer up! Look! Look!" Luffy said, trying to use the tricks he'd used on the children he and the Whitebeards had saved from the facility. He used his rubber abilities to twist his fingers into shapes along with his own face but there was no reaction.
"She isn't laughing... not one bit..." Luffy deadpanned, beginning to sweat nervously. Those tricks had worked without a problem on the children, and they'd just been taken out of hell itself.
"Won't her fever go down if we dump water on her?" Luffy asked next, trying to think of anything at all that could help.
"You idiot!" This time it was both Vivi and Sanji that shouted, and instead of a light hit, the two of them kicked Luffy across the room and into the wall.
"This isn't good. The sun's about to set for today, Vivi-chan." Sanji said, turning to look at the princess and ignoring Luffy who fell to the floor with a thump.
"Yes, you're right. Let's drop anchor somewhere." Vivi agreed softly, a harsh contrast to the yelling from seconds ago.
"We can't navigate at night without Nami-san's instructions." She continued, holding her arm as she frowned down at Nami. Behind her, a picture that was hung on the wall Luffy had crashed into became crooked as it began to fall.
"Yeah." Sanji agreed as the picture fell, the corner planting itself right into Luffy's forehead.
With that decided, they got to work on anchoring the ship for the night, and when it was dark enough that they decided it was time to go to sleep, they all ended up crowding into Nami's room and sleeping there while Sanji kept watch for the night.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The next morning, after everyone was awake and doing their own things, Luffy pulled the chair at the desk over beside Nami's bed and planted himself in it, refusing to leave the navigator's side for even a minute. He continued trying to get a reaction from her, pulling his face this way and that, but she slept on without even a twitch in expression.
"C'mon! This is weird. She won't smile! C'mon, smile, Nami!" Luffy muttered to himself. With how enraptured he was with his current task, he didn't even notice when Zoro joined him in the room.
"What's going on Luffy?" He asked as he walked up behind him.
"Huh?" Luffy asked, turning to look at the swordsman and showing the man his face that had marker all over it, the word meat written across his forehead. With the face he was pulling, it was enough to shock Zoro as the swordsman fell to the ground.
"Quit that! You're creepin' me out!" Zoro yelled with wide eyes.
"Really? Thanks!" Luffy said as he continued stretching his cheeks.
Once all of the marker was rubbed off his face, Luffy settled back down in his seat while Zoro stood against the bookcase beside him. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Sanjis voice traveled into the room from where he was in the crows nest.
"I see an island!" He called.
"Oh! An island! We found an island!" Luffy exclaimed happily as he spoke to Nami despite her being unconscious still.
"Oi, Nami! Good for you! There's an island! You can get better!" Luffy continued, his leg bouncing in anticipation and pent-up energy.
"An island! An island! Island! Island! Island! Island!" He began chanting, his leg bouncing faster and faster as he did, but he refused to get up from the chair as he stared at the navigator. He was the captain, he was responsible for everyone's health and safety. He couldn't just leave her alone, even if there was a cool new island for him to explore just waiting for him above deck.
"Just go look. I got her covered." Zoro finally said, not even opening his eyes to address his hyper Captain. Luffy only stayed in place for a second longer, just long enough to make sure that there wasn't any changes in Nami before he ran off to the deck and sat on the figurehead.
After all, he was the captain, he needed to make sure this new island was safe for his crew. Not to mention, it needed exploring. Zoro would be able to keep Nami safe.
"An island!" He cheered, his grin huge and splitting as he took in the sight of the island in the distance.
"White! It's so white! It must be snow! A snow island, huh?!" Luffy asked. Behind him, Sanji and Usopp were standing, Sanji watching the teen while Usopp had his back to him.
"Hey, Luffy! Just so you know, we're not here to have an adventure! We're dropping by to find a doctor! We're leaving once we get Nami-san looked at! Hey! Hey, Luffy!" Sanji tried reminding the excitable Captain calmly, but quickly realized he wasn't listening.
"Snow is so nice and white!" Luffy said wistfully.
"It's no use. He doesn't hear me..." Sanji said, finally giving up. Beside him, Usopp was shaking.
"H-h-hold on! Is this a good idea?! If there's snow, couldn't there be snow monsters too?! Besides, we're not even sure if people live there or not! Oh, no! My chronic Can't-Go-to-the-Island disease!" Usopp rambled fearfully.
"Snow! I love snow! It's white!" Luffy continued dreamily.
"Guess I'll get us ready to land," Sanji said in defeat.
Luffy continued to watch on dreamily as the island grew closer and closer while Sanji actually got them ready to land. When they were beginning to finally sail inland, Vivi joined the three at the front of the ship, all of them watching the snow-covered land surround them and wondering if they would be able to get the help they needed here.
"All this snow! I'm so happy!" Luffy continued.
"This is really somethin'. What's with those mountains?" Sanji asked, looking at the tall, cylinder-like mountains that dotted the land.
"Say, Luffy. Aren't you cold, dressed like that?" Usopp asked, drawing attention to the fact that Luffy was still in his vest and shorts, whereas they were all in heavy coats and gloves.
"It's 14 (-10C) degrees Fahrenheit right now! That's when bears get ready to hibernate!" Vivi told them in concern, eyeing Luffys bare arms with a shiver.
"Huh? Oh. So cold!" Luffy said, his dreamy look suddenly changing as he began shivering, hugging his arms tightly as snot dripped from his nose.
"Took you long enough!" Usopp and Sanji barked. While Luffy went inside to change, Zoro came out and joined Vivi at the railing, the two watching as they began sailing towards a waterfall. Luffy was quick to come back out in a red coat and gloves, not wanting to miss anything about this new island.
"It's a waterfall of melted snow. We may be able to stop around here." Vivi told them as she leaned over the railing to get a good look at what was ahead.
"So, who's going doctor-hunting? No, I guess people-hunting comes first..." Zoro said, turning to look at Sanji, Usopp, and Luffy from over his shoulder.
Luffy felt the sudden wave of anxiety and fear as he remembered just what they had to do on this island but swallowed it down as best he could, raising his hand with a frown on his face.
"I'm going." The Captain declared sternly.
"Me too!" Sanji said with a raised fist in determination behind Luffy.
"Okay! Have fun!" Usopp said from behind them both, his goggles over his eyes and arms crossed as he said this. Mind preoccupied with the idea of finding a doctor that they could trust, Luffy was too late to notice the swarm of people on the land on either side of the Merry.
"That's far enough, pirates!" A man's voice called, drawing everyone's attention to the people pointing weapons at them.
"Hey, I found people..." Luffy deadpanned.
"But... they don't seem too friendly..." Usopp amended as he looked around them. From the rows of people, a man dressed in green stepped forward to address them, his voice telling them he was the one to have spoken earlier.
"Attention, pirates! Leave this place at once! This instant!" He commanded fearlessly. Luffy could feel the determination, the confidence, as well as the underlying hate and fear in all of the people around them, but he didn't let that stop him.
"We came to find a doctor!" Luffy called to them, trying to explain why they were there.
"We have a sick person on board!" Vivi added.
"We won't fall for that trick, you filthy pirates!" One of the people shouted back without hesitation, not even a hint of remorse in them.
"This is our island! We won't let any pirates land here!" Another one shouted.
"Raise anchor and leave now! Or else we'll blow your whole ship up!" Yet another yelled.
"They really hate our guts. And we've just met, too..." Sanji said with a worried frown.
"Don't talk back!" One of the people yelled, firing a gun at Sanji's feet. The chef easily stepped out of the way of the bullet, and the only thing it did was anger him.
"They're shooting!" Usopp shouted in surprise, wondering how it had gotten so aggressive all of a sudden.
"You didn't just do that!" Sanji roared, glaring furiously at the man that had shot at him. He tried running forward, but Vivi stopped him, hugging him tightly to keep him from getting by.
"Stop, Sanji-san!" Vivi pleaded, her back to the man with the gun. Said man had been momentarily frightened by Sanji's rush forward, but seeing that he wasn't heading his way anymore, he aimed his gun again.
"Bastard!" The man shouted, firing again. Instead of hitting Sanji though, it hit Vivi, the woman falling to the ground.
"Vivi!" Luffy shouted, anger on his face at the fact that she'd been shot.
"Why, you-!" Luffy shouted, turning to yell at the crowd of people as anger quickly began to overtake him.
"Aim!" Without hesitation, the crowd of people all raised their guns, but none of the Straw Hats backed down from the sight as they got ready to fight themselves, Vivi still on the ground.
With a roar, Luffy was about to run forward, much like Sanji had, but the princess quickly jumped to her feet, hugging Luffy like she had Sanji as well and stopping him.
"No! Stop!" She pleaded, surprising them.
"Fighting won't help anything! I'm fine! It only grazed my arm!" Vivi told them before falling to her knees, her hands out in front of her as she addressed the crowd.
"In that case, we won't land here! But could we ask for a doctor? Our friend is suffering from a grave illness. Please help! I beg you!" Vivi pleaded as she bowed her head.
"Vivi," Luffy said in surprise.
"You're not fit to be Captain, Luffy. Not everything can be fixed by acting recklessly! If you start a fight here, what will happen to Nami-san?" Vivi asked, with no expression on her face as she looked to the ground, her wound bleeding onto the deck near her head. Luffy stared, equally expressionless, taking in not only Vivi's wound but her emotions.
"Yeah. I'm sorry. I was wrong." Luffy said after a second of silence. Turning to look at the crowd again, he dispelled his anger. While a lot of it had been his own anger at seeing someone he deemed a friend being hurt for no good reason, he also recognized that a good portion of it belonged to the surrounding crowd and had begun to unknowingly influence him. Letting out a quiet sigh Luffy found his anger making way to annoyance that even after all of this time he still struggled with determining which emotions were his and which were others.
Putting all of that aside for now, Luffy turned his attention back to the crowd.
"Please call a doctor! Please help our friend!" Luffy said, falling to his knees as well and bowing to the crowd like Vivi was, his hat falling to the deck in front of him. He could feel the surprise from the crowd at the display, and while he could still feel doubt and skepticism from many of them, there were a few who seemed to change their view of the pirates at this.
There was another minute of silence before someone spoke up again.
"I will show you the village. Follow me." The man in green from before said, turning and walking into the crowd, presumably towards the village. Elation filled Vivi as she raised her head, smiling happily.
"See! They're helping us!" She said to Luffy, turning her smile his way.
"Yeah! You're amazing!" Luffy said in a completely serious tone. The princess only smiled more at this.
Seeing that their guide was walking away from them, along with the rest of the crowd, the crew decided that Zoro and Karoo would stay behind to watch the ship while Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Luffy, and Vivi would go check out the village. In Nami's case, Sanji carried her on his back.
With this figured out, they hurried off the ship and towards the man in green, following him through the snowy terrain. The rest of the people that had made up the crowd followed around them, still holding their weapons as they did. Since the green man had accepted their plea for help, the rest of the crowd had settled down, their emotions becoming much calmer. It was clear they held the man in high regard, trusting his opinion.
"I must warn you, the only doctor we have here is a witch." The man told them as they walked, surprising them.
"Witch?" Luffy and Usopp asked in confusion.
"You gotta be kidding me. Nothing here makes sense..." Sanji said in near exasperation.
"What is this place anyway?" The chef continued to ask.
"This land does not have a name." The man in green answered, looking forward again as he did.
"A nameless land? Does that really happen?" Vivi asked in confusion. She didn't get an answer to her question when Usopp suddenly screamed out in fear.
"AH! A bear! Everyone! Pretend to be dead!" Usopp shrieked fearfully, falling to the ground and pretending to do just that. Everyone else ignored him though, continuing to walk towards the giant animal.
"A hiking bear. They pose no danger. Don't forget to bow. It's proper hiking manners." The man informed them, everyone doing just that as they passed.
Usopp was still playing dead on the ground.
It didn't take much longer for the group to reach the village they were after and while it wasn't anything all that big or grand, it had its own charm as the people, as well as animals, that lived there walked around.
"This is our village, Big Horn." The man told them, stopping and letting the Straw Hat group get a good look.
"There are weird animals walking everywhere..." Luffy noticed, using his hand to shield his eyes as he peered around.
"That's snow country for ya!" Usopp said in awe.
"Nami-san! We made it to a village with people! It's a village!" Sanji said with a happy smile as he and Vivi walked up beside Usopp and Luffy.
"Okay. Thanks for the help everyone. Those who aren't guards can return to their work." The man that had guided them said, speaking to the crowd from earlier that were gathered around.
"But, will you be alright by yourself, Dalton-san? They're pirates!" One of the men said, clearly not trusting them which was understandable.
"I believe they pose no threat. That's my hunch of many years of experience. You can trust it." The man in green, Dalton, told them reassuringly. Luffy could feel the confidence that filled Dalton, the man truly believing they wouldn't cause any harm.
"What do we do?" One of the people asked as the crowd began talking amongst themselves.
"If that's what Dalton-san says, then..." Another said, trailing off.
"And they don't seem dangerous..." Replied another.
"Yeah..." The first agreed.
"Alright, Dalton-san! We leave the rest to you!" With that, the crowd began to disperse, all of them going back to what they were doing before they had joined Dalton.
"Be ever careful, Dalton-san..." One warned as they walked off.
"Just call us again if anything happens!" A second said. Vivi watched them go in both surprise and confusion.
"They weren't this land's security forces?" She asked Dalton.
"They're ordinary citizens. Come to my home for now." Dalton said, turning and heading off towards one of the homes. Vivi turned to follow, but Usopp had his attention elsewhere.
"Look! Luffy! Another hiking bear!" Usopp said, getting Luffy's attention as well.
"Again?!" Luffy asked, turning to look and spotting the giant that Usopp had claimed to be a hiking bear.
"Gotta bow." Usopp and Luffy said simultaneously as they both bowed. However, what they didn't seem to realize was that this was a person and not a bear.
"Oh, Dalton-san! I heard there were pirates! Are you okay?" The woman that Usopp and Luffy had mistaken for a bear asked as she walked over to the man.
"Yes, everything is okay. There's nothing to worry about." He answered as she passed by.
"Oh, Dalton-kun! I look forward to the election in two days! Everyone says they're going to vote for you!" An old man called as he walked by as well. This seemed to stress Dalton slightly as he began waving his hands in front of himself, sweating a little.
"Y-you can't be serious! I'm nothing but a sinful man!" He replied, Luffy feeling that, once again, he truly believed his words. This made the rubber teen tilt his head in confusion, wondering what Dalton had done for him to believe that, but seeing as his aura was a light blue, Luffy had a hard time believing it.
After a few more short conversations with people that they passed, they finally reached Dalton's home.
"Use that bed there. I'll warm the place up." He told them, gesturing to a bed they could place Nami on.
"I haven't told you my name yet. I'm Dalton, captain of the security squad of this island. Please forgive our heavy-handed welcome. May I ask you a question?" Dalton asked as he set his bag down and turning to look at Vivi. The princess was kneeling on the ground beside Nami who was in the bed while Sanji, Usopp, and Luffy looked around the small home.
"Huh?" Vivi asked, wondering what he wanted to ask her.
"I somehow feel like I've seen you before. You as well." He said, squinting his eyes at her, and then to Luffy as he tried to figure it out. The sudden spike of nervousness from Vivi drew Luffy's attention as he began to listen to the conversation.
"I-it's probably just your imagination!" She said, trying to dispel his curiosity.
"I'm a pirate," Luffy answered bluntly, raising his hand in the air. Dalton turned his attention from Vivi to Luffy, eyes narrowing even further before widening only slightly as he nodded to himself.
"Ah, yes, 11097. I heard you left the Whitebeards to start your own crew." Dalton said, one mystery solved as he frowned at Luffy.
"Yup. I'm gonna be the Pirate King." Luffy said with a nod, taking stock of Dalton's emotions to make sure the man wasn't going to change his mind now that he knew who Luffy was.
"You didn't happen to be paid to come here, did you?" Dalton went on to ask, his emotions changing to wary caution.
"Paid to come here? Who would pay me to come here?" Luffy asked in confusion, wondering where Dalton had gotten that idea. This seemed to be answer enough for Dalton who's emotions calmed, his frown leaving his face.
"Nevermind." He said with a shake of his head.
"Anyway, tell us about this witch. Nami-san's temperature was 108 (42C) degrees Fahrenheit when I checked it just now!" Vivi said worriedly. This was enough to worry Dalton as he looked over to the sick woman, eyes wider than before.
"108?!" He asked in surprise.
"Her fevers gone up for three days in a row," Vivi told him somberly.
"She'll die if it goes up anymore!" Dalton told them, still not believing it was so high to begin with.
"Yes. But we don't even know the cause of her illness, or how to treat it..." Vivi said in response, eager to know where this witch doctor was.
"We need a doctor! Anyone will do! Where is this witch of yours?!" Sanji asked with a frown, just as eager to find the doctor as well. While Luffy didn't quite agree with the 'anyone will do' statement, he was still willing to let almost anyone take a look at Nami if they could help.
Hopefully, this so-called witch would be a good person.
"The witch, huh. Do you see those mountains outside the window?" Dalton asked, not looking at them as he spoke.
"Yeah, those insanely tall-" When Sanji turned to look out the window himself he was met by the face of a dinosaur made of snow that Usopp was hanging off of.
"Snow Dinosaur!" Usopp said proudly with a smile. Luffy's eyes sparkled in awe at the creation while anger filled Sanji.
"Will you take this seriously!" Sanji barked furiously, going outside and smashing the dinosaur. With the shenanigans out of the way and Usopp and Sanji back in the home, Dalton started speaking again.
"Those mountains are known as the Drum Rockies. Do you see the castle at the top of the tallest one in the middle?" Dalton asked.
"Castle?" Usopp asked from where he and Luffy kneeled on the ground sipping tea.
"The castle no longer has its king," Dalton told him as Sanji and Vivi peered out the window, looking for said castle.
"Yeah, there it is," Sanji said, finally spotting it.
"What's so important about the castle?" Vivi asked.
"The only doctor in the land, Dr. Kureha, lives there. People call her a witch." Dalton said.
"What?! Of all the places, why does it have to be so far away?! Then call her here right away! We have a critical patient!" Sanji nearly shouted in frustration. Every time it seemed like they would finally be getting a doctor for Nami, there was always another obstacle to stop them.
"Even if we wanted to, there's no way to contact her," Dalton said with a frown as he continued watching Nami's labored breathing.
"Huh?! And she calls herself a doctor?! What the hell is she like?!" Sanji asked, this time actually shouting. Luffy watched the conversation quietly, eyes darting between Dalton's calm blue aura and Sanji vibrating one.
"As a doctor, she's very skilled. But she's an eccentric old hag. She's nearly 140 years old now." Dalton told him, unperturbed by Sanjis shouting.
"Eh?! 140?! I think she might need help!" Sanji said, his frustration finally simmering down in his surprise.
"And, let's see... She likes pickled plums." Dalton continued as if that was pertinent information.
"What happens when people here get sick or injured?" Vivi asked, wondering how people would get up to the castle if they were in a similar state to Nami.
"She comes down from the mountain when she feels like it. She looks for patients, treats them, then, as payment, she takes whatever she wants from their houses before leaving." Dalton explained to them.
"Sounds like an unfriendly old hag!" Usopp said with a serious face as he held his cup of tea.
"Hey! She almost sounds like a pirate!" Luffy said with an equally serious face.
"But how does such an old woman go down that mountain?" Vivi asked because if she truly was 140 years old, there had to be some sort of easy way for her to get up and down that steep mountain.
"It's an odd rumor... but several people claim to have seen her riding a sleigh through the sky on moonlit nights... And that's the reason why she's called a witch... Some also saw her with a strange creature they'd never seen before..." Dalton said, which only caused Usopp to start freaking out, falling back in shock.
"I knew it! See? It's a Snow Man! It's a snowy mountain, after all! I knew there'd be one! A witch and a Snow Man?! Oh, please never let us run into them!" Usopp pleaded as he twisted around on the ground, holding his head.
"She is the only doctor, but she's a hag I'd prefer to stay away from," Dalton admitted.
"All we can do is wait for the next time she comes down the mountain." He continued.
"You can't be serious..." Vivi said with a nervous glance in Nami's direction. They'd waited too long already, any more and Nami would surely die.
"Dammit! We can't wait for that! Even as we speak, Nami-san is-!"
"Hey! Nami! Can you hear me?" Luffy asked, slapping Nami's cheek lightly and cutting off Sanji's rant as the chef realized what he was doing.
"What are you doing?!" Sanji, Vivi and Usopp all yelled at Luffy. It did the trick though as Nami's face scrunched up and she opened her eyes, Luffy smiling at the sight.
"Oh! She's awake!" Luffy told them happily.
"Hey, the only way to see a doctor is to climb a mountain. We're gonna climb it!" Luffy told her, the woman only looking on in confusion.
"Don't be crazy! What are you doing with Nami?!" Sanji asked, his frustration returning.
"It's okay! I'll carry her on my back!" Luffy said as if it were obvious.
"That'll only make things even worse!" Vivi told him worriedly.
"What's the problem? We need to hurry, don't we?" Luffy asked, wondering whether they all understood the situation or not. It seemed like an obvious solution to him. The doctor they needed to see was on a mountain, so the conclusion that made the most sense to him was to climb said mountain and see them. Why were they making such a big fuss about it?
"That's true, but you can't! Look at how steep and tall it is!" Vivi told him, pointing out the window to the mountains as if Luffy hadn't seen them earlier.
"I can do it!" Luffy told her confidently.
"Maybe you can make it, but it'd be too hard on Nami-san!" Sanji argued.
"But, look! If we fall, we'll land in snow!" Luffy pointed out, which did nothing to help his case.
"Even a healthy person would die instantly after a fall from there!" Vivi barked back.
"Seriously! She's 43 (6C) degrees Fahrenheit over her normal temperature! Do you even get it?!" Usopp asked incredulously, wondering just how much Luffy was understanding about this situation.
"I need to get over this fast..." Nami spoke up, her voice quiet and breathy. It was enough to stop the arguing though as everyone turned to look at her.
"I need to hurry... for Vivi... I'm counting on you, Captain!" She said, pulling a hand out from her blanket and holding it as high in the air as she could get it. She gave Luffy a smile, though it looked just as pained as Luffy could feel she was. Despite this, Luffy grinned back and slapped her hand.
"That's more like it! Just leave it to me!" Luffy told her without a hint of hesitation. Behind him, Sanji, Vivi, and Usopp watched in disbelief that Nami was agreeing to the plan.
Seeing that neither of them would back down from said plan though, they got to work on securing Nami to Luffy's back.
"I can't believe it! Like captain, like navigator!" Usopp muttered.
"Do you even know what condition you're in, Nami-san?!" Sanji asked worriedly.
"Are you sure you'll be okay? It'll take hours to get there!" Vivi asked next, just as worried as Sanji.
"Old guy! Meat! Gimme meat!" Luffy cheered, much happier now that they were finally going along with his plan. Not only that, but they would finally be getting Nami the help she needed.
"Meat?" Dalton asked in confusion, wondering what meat had to do with what they were about to do.
"Alright! I'm coming too!" Sanji declared, standing tall as he said so.
"Listen, Luffy! Don't fall even once, or you can expect Nami to die!" Usopp said sternly, pointing a finger in Luffy's face as he said this to make sure the rubber teen understood how serious he was.
"Eh?! Even once?!" Luffy asked in surprise.
"Wait! Hold still! I need to tie this right!" Vivi said as she tied Nami securely to Luffy's back.
"All set." She said once she gave it one last secure tug.
"Okay, I'm going to wait here. I'd only get in the way." Vivi said as she backed away to face Luffy properly.
"Me too!" Usopp agreed quickly.
"Got it! Okay, Nami! Hold on tight!" Luffy said, smiling at Nami over his shoulder.
"Yeah..." Nami agreed, still breathing heavily as she held on loosely around Luffy's neck. Luffy tried to ignore just how much pain and exhaustion was rolling off of the woman strapped to his back.
"If you're really set on going... I won't stop you. But at least climb up from the other side. There are Lapins on this course. Fierce, carnivorous rabbits. If you encounter a pack of them, you're as good as dead." Dalton informed them.
"Rabbits? But we're in a hurry. We should be fine. Right?" Luffy asked, turning to look at Sanji as he asked this. The chef nodded, confidence filling him.
"Yeah! I'll kick 'em!" Sanji said without hesitation.
"Kick?! You can't be serious! You'd be walking to your deaths!" Dalton said, his worry starting to rise as he looked at the two incredulously. Despite Dalton's strong feeling of worry, Luffy ignored it.
"It's alright! Let's go, Sanji! Before Nami dies!" Luffy called as he began running off.
"What?! Don't say things that could jinx us, you dumbass!" Sanji yelled as he ran after Luffy. Luffy laughed at this, not saying anything else as he focused on getting up this mountain and to a doctor.
Usopp and Vivi stood outside, watching as Luffy, Nami and Sanji grew further away from them. When they weren't even visible anymore, Dalton moved to go inside, telling the two they should go in as well seeing as it was cold and still snowing.
"Oh, that's okay. I want to stay outside." Vivi said, grateful for his request, but refusing to move from her spot.
"Me, too..." Usopp said through chattering teeth as he hugged his arms around himself, the tip of his nose bright red. Dalton watched them for a minute before a smile grew on his face and he closed his door.
"I see. Then I will join you." Usopp and Vivi watched him in awe as he sat cross-legged on the ground in front of his house, but then they smiled and looked back towards where their friends had run off.
"We did have some, long ago..." Dalton said suddenly after a minute of silence. Confused, the two looked at him, wondering what he was talking about.
"Doctors. But they're all gone now, for certain reasons." Dalton elaborated, still looking off down the snow-covered road.
"They were all incredibly skilled... We were even known as an advanced medical nation." Dalton continued, still not looking at them.
"So what happened? Vivi asked curiously, wondering how such a medically developed island could suddenly have no doctors.
"Things for this country quickly turned for the worse. At the hands of pirates." He replied grimly, looking down at the ground as he said this.
"Eh?!" Vivi asked in surprise.
"Pirates took all your doctors?!" Usopp shrieked, guessing that's where the story was going to go.
"That's not exactly what happened..." Dalton said.
"Then what did happen?" Vivi asked, calmer now than before. It made sense now why the town had been so nervous about them though, seeing as they seemed to have some bad experiences with pirates.
"Pirates came, and when they did they started stealing all the children that they could come across." He told them just as grim as before.
"What?!" Vivi asked in disbelief.
"B-but what happened to the doctors?" Usopp asked, wondering what that had to do with the doctors all disappearing.
"Before the attack, the monarchy that existed here until then was appalling. The country's former name was the Drum Kingdom. The King's name was Wapol. He was the worst king possible." Dalton said disdainfully as he glared at the ground. At the sound of the king's name, Vivi and Usopp both stood stock straight, eyes wide.
"Yes! I remember him!" Vivi said softly in realization.
"Wapol?!" Usopp asked, also remembering the man.
"Wait! You know Wapol?!" Dalton asked, looking up from the ground in surprise.
"We don't just know him! He's the pirate who attacked our ship! I got rid of him though." Usopp said.
"But I do recall him saying something about the Drum Kingdom..." Usopp said next, trying to think back to it. It had been such a jarring and confusing fight with Wapol's pirates that it was a little hard to remember exactly what had been said.
"Yes. There's no question about it! I remember clearly now! I met him once at a monarch meeting my father took me to when I was very young!" Vivi told Usopp, forgetting Dalton was there as she said this.
"Monarch meeting?! Just who are you?" Dalton asked, his surprise only doubling as he looked to Vivi. Hearing this, Vivi jumped in surprise as well.
"No, uh, you see... In any case, we met Wapol! Yesterday, on our way here!" Vivi told Dalton, hoping he'd forget about what she'd said.
"Yesterday?! Are you sure?!" Dalton asked urgently now.
"But what's going on then?! He called himself a pirate, not a king!" Vivi said, wondering what that was all about.
"He must be calling himself that as camouflage. Wapol is merely wandering the sea, trying to return to this island." Dalton explained.
"So the people on that ship were kicked out because they were no match for the pirates when they attacked this country?" Vivi asked, she and Usopp still trying to piece together everything they were hearing.
"No match? It's not like that!" Dalton spits out with a scowl.
"When it happened, Wapol's army didn't even try to fight! In fact, the moment he learned the pirates were here, Wapol abandoned the country and was the very first to flee out to sea! There were even rumors that he was paid to let the pirates come and take the children." Dalton said bitterly.
"So that's why you asked if Luffy was paid to come then." Usopp deduced. Dalton nodded with a sigh.
"It is. While it was never confirmed that Wapol took money in exchange for the children, it's still highly likely. When it happened, it threw the entire nation into despair. Is this what the king-" Dalton didn't even finish his sentence when Vivi shouted out in a rage, fists clenched tightly at her sides.
"Is that what the king of an entire country does?!" She shouted angrily to Usopp's surprise. For the most part, Vivi had been calm and quiet during her time with them, so to hear her suddenly so worked up was shocking.
"That's appalling! A king abandoning his people! Selling children!" She said, still glaring and still clearly angry, but her voice was softer now as she held her hands together over her chest.
"Vivi..." Usopp whispered, understanding why she was so angry.
"You're exactly right. But at least Wapol's tyranny is finally over. The remaining people on this island have come together to try and create a new country. So what we most fear right now is Wapol's return... The return of his monarchy. We must avoid that at all costs, while people are still feeling unsure! If we're to create a new, peaceful nation on this island!" Dalton said, full of conviction, fists clenched in his lap and lips thin as he pressed them together.
It was clear to both Usopp and Vivi that the last thing this island needed was Wapol's return.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"It's gotten a little colder. The wind's picking up." Luffy noticed as he and Sanji continued to run. They were going uphill now and as Luffy mentioned, the wind was whipping harshly across their faces as they did.
"So why aren't you wearing shoes?! Just seeing you is painful!" Sanji said, referring to the fact that, even though Luffy was wearing a coat and gloves, he was also wearing his usual shorts and sandals as well.
"This is my police!" Luffy called back to Sanji in his defense.
"Police?! You mean policy!" Sanji yelled, wondering just how stupid Luffy truly was.
"Yeah! Anyway, did you know? People in snow countries never sleep!" Luffy said, changing the subject completely. Sanji didn't mind the change in conversation but was confused about this new tidbit of information Luffy was telling him.
"Huh? Why's that?" Sanji asked curiously.
"'Cause they'll die if they go to sleep!" Luffy answered seriously.
"Don't be stupid! There's nobody like that!" Sanji said, throwing this new information out as another one of Luffy's strange ramblings.
"It's the truth! Thatch told me a long time ago!" Luffy said, thinking back to the chef's many stories.
Then again, now that he thought about it, Thatch had felt an awful lot like a liar when he'd said it.
"Who's Thatch?" Sanji asked, wondering just what kind of person would tell Luffy something so ridiculous.
"He's the chef on Pops' ship! His foods so good! Ah, but I think yours is better!" Luffy said, drooling as he thought about both of the chef's cooking.
"Of course it is!" Sanji said before he realized that he'd just compared himself to the Emperor of the Seas chef. Not that he was taking the statement back, though.
"Anyway, that doesn't explain why that Dalton guy had a bed!" Sanji said, neither of them pausing in their run, even as a giant rabbit jumped out at them, landing in the snow where they had just been seconds ago.
"That's a good point." Luffy agreed, thinking back to the bed. As he did, Sanji ducked as the same rabbit ran up behind them and tried biting the chef, only for him to duck under the attack.
"Maybe it's for when he dies, then?" Luffy suggested. The rabbit that had missed Sanji with its attack had ended up chomping on a tree, sending it toppling down right in front of the two runners, and yet they still didn't let the distraction deter them as they jumped over it effortlessly.
"Yeah, right!" Sanji scoffed.
"Okay, did you know this? Women in snowy lands all have silky-smooth skin!" Sanji told Luffy confidently, smiling as he did.
"How come?" Luffy asked curiously, not having heard that one before.
"Isn't it obvious? Whenever you're cold, you rub your skin for warmth. So you get smooth skin. So women in snowy places have such silky-smooth, white skin!" Sanji told him, dodging attacks as that same rabbit attempted again and again to tackle him.
"How come it's white?" Luffy asked, also ignoring the attacks as he listened.
"Because the color of the constantly-falling snow dyes their skin!" Sanji answered.
"Huh?! You're so dumb!" Luffy laughed, not believing the words for a second even though Sanji felt they were true.
"Like you're really anyone to talk! And..." Sanji barked, pausing in his run only momentarily to lift his leg, and kick the rabbit that was attacking them endlessly.
"...quit being so damn annoying!" Sanji yelled as he sent the rabbit flying.
"What was with that guy?" Luffy asked in confusion, though still not stopping in his running, trusting that Sanji would catch up.
"Hang in there, Nami-san! We're gonna get you to a doctor!" Sanji said, his tone changing completely as he spoke gently to the woman.
"The snow's really deep around here..." Luffy noted, his feet sinking completely as the snow-covered up to his ankles.
"Hey, Luffy! Run more smoothly! You're gonna make Nami-san worse!" Sanji barked, his tone aggressive once more as he addressed the teen. Luffy ignored this comment, but both of them were forced to stop when their path was blocked by tens of giant rabbits.
"They're white and big, so they're polar bears! I'm sure of it!" Luffy said confidently to Sanji. As they all stared at each other, it was the rabbits who made the first move as one of them jumped high up into the air, aiming to use his paws- which had sharp claws on them- to swipe at both Sanji and Luffy.
"You gotta be kidding me! How can it move like that?! What is it, a gorilla?!" Sanji asked, eyes wide as he looked at the hole in the snow where the rabbit's attack had landed.
"No! A polar bear!" Luffy repeated.
"It's a bunny!" Sanji shouted back in anger.
"You're the one who just called it a gorilla..." Luffy said, confused why he was being yelled at for getting the animal wrong when Sanji had just done the same thing.
"These must be the Lapins that Dalton was talking about! This many of them?!" Sanji asked as he had this realization, turning to look back to the Lapins as the one that had attacked stood back up.
"Ahh..." The chef said with a frown as he realized the predicament they were in. Luffy was momentarily distracted by the danger in front of him when he felt Nami's emotions suddenly start to clear up and grow stronger, telling him she was waking up.
"Nami?" He asked, looking to her over his shoulder.
"Nami-san!" Sanji said, surprised the woman was up seeing as she'd been out of it for most of her sickness.
"We have to... hurry to Alabasta..." She said with a pained expression on her face, not even opening her eyes.
"Never mind that, just rest. Don't worry about anything right now." Luffy said with a serious look on his face. Not only could he feel just how horrible Nami felt, but he could remember just how bad of an experience he had back in the facility when he had died. It hadn't been a fun time at all, and he couldn't imagine that Nami was feeling all that different from how he had then.
"When her own life is at risk..." Sanji said with a soft smile as he looked at the woman.
"Nami-san! Hang in there just a little longer." He called to the navigator, full of conviction. Turning to look back at the Lapins, his smile fell to a determined scowl.
"We have to go to that castle where the doctor lives. Get out of our way, you damn bunnies!" Sanji said to them. The one that had attacked earlier straightened at this, preparing itself to attack again.
"They're coming!" Luffy warned as he watched and quietly took in the emotions of Sanji and Nami, as well as the more muted feelings of rage and protectiveness coming from the Lapins.
"Yeah! Listen, Luffy!" Sanji called over the wind. Sanji's words took Luffy out of the emotions as he turned to look at his chef.
"Don't you dare fight." The blonde warned, stepping in front of the Captain and navigator.
"Why not?!" Luffy asked, surprised by the words.
"Idiot! Whether you attack or get struck, Nami-san will feel the whole impact too! She'll die..." Sanji said grimly, hoping Luffy would understand what was at stake here. By the time Sanji was finishing his sentence, Nami was starting to slip off of Luffy's back, worrying the Captain who tried adjusting her safely back into position.
"O...Okay! I won't fight! B-but what do I do?!" Luffy asked when he was sure the redhead wasn't in danger of falling off anymore. However, it was only just in time to see the giant Lapin from before jumping into the air again, aimed directly for Luffy and Nami. To keep from getting hit, Luffy charged forward before the Lapin landed, noticing that the other Lapins were attacking Sanji now.
"Just dodge! Dodge, dodge, dodge, dodge and run!" Sanji yelled as he dodged attacks himself. Unlike Luffy though, Sanji was fighting back with kicks of his own in hopes of pushing the Lapins back.
"But don't retreat!" Sanji said, only frustrating Luffy.
"That's hard!" Luffy shouted, momentarily distracted again when Nami started to fall again. After a few more attempts at kicking, Sanji tsked in frustration of his own.
"Damnit! In this snow, I can't kick properly!" The chef said as Luffy looked at all the Lapins surrounding them worriedly. There was only a second of stillness where no one moved, but then, all at once, the Lapins jumped into the air.
"They're all attacking at once!" Luffy said as he and Sanji split away from each other to avoid getting hit.
"Go into the forest! I'll cover your back!" Sanji called as Luffy ran towards the tree line.
"Okay!" Luffy agreed, Sanji running after him. Behind them, the Lapins began falling into the spot Sanji and Luffy had been in earlier, only to hit snow.
"Go left! We'll head to the mountain!" Sanji called as he turned, Luffy quickly following suit.
"Got it!" Luffy yelled as he caught up to the chef.
"We'll shake them off somehow! It'd take us until night to finish fighting them! These snow mountain animals really are tough! We're at a disadvantage." Sanji said as he looked to the trees at their sides, noticing the Lapins following them through there. Luffy jumped back as a Lapin tried attacking him, but thanks to his haki he was able to get out of the way just in time. Sanji did his best to kick the giant rabbit out of the way, allowing them to continue on unhindered.
"That was close!" Luffy said as he ran past them. As Sanji continued kicking away the Lapins, Luffy looked for some way for them to get out of this situation. After another minute of running, he had his answer.
"Sanji! We can go up from here!" Luffy called back to Sanji who had paused to hold of a larger group of Lapins.
"Good! Head that way!" Sanji called back, not following immediately as he made sure Luffy's back was covered. The captain wasted no time as he ran forward, using a Lapin as a springboard and jumping onto a higher section of mountain. Sanji followed right after, the two pausing to see if the Lapins would be able to follow. Just when it seemed like they were safe, the Lapins all jumped into the air again.
"They're coming!" Luffy screeched as he and Sanji began running again.
"What's with these damn bunnies?!" Sanji screamed in both rage and frustration.
"Anyway, run! To the top of the mountain!" He continued to yell, his voice echoing around them. At this, they both began running as fast as they could through the deep snow in an attempt to get away from the lapins.
"Are they coming?" Luffy asked Sanji who was behind him.
"No, they aren't." Sanji realized as he turned and saw nothing behind them except the trail they'd left behind in their haste.
"Did we lose them?" Luffy asked, still feeling that the rabbits were nearby but not behind them anymore.
"No... we didn't..." Sanji said, turning to look ahead of them now. Luffy turned as well and saw that all of the lapins that had been behind them were now ahead of them.
"They're persistent!" Luffy yelled in surprise. Seeing as the lapins were pretty far ahead of them, the two groups only stared at each other in another moment of stillness. Once again, the rabbits were the first ones to break that stillness as they all began jumping in place, confusing the pirates.
"What're they doing?" Luffy asked as he watched the lapins hop aggressively in place. Sanji stayed silent, watching the lapins carefully and feeling that something was going to happen as a result of this hopping, but not knowing what exactly.
"Are they irritated because they're hungry?" Luffy asked, feeling the muted irritation rolling off of the rabbits.
"No... Hold on a second... Don't tell me... they're-!" The cigarette fell from Sanji's lips as he finally realized exactly what the lapins were up to.
"Those damn bunnies... have really done it...! This can't be happening..." Sanji said, his worry rising fast and making Luffy worried himself as he glanced over to his chef.
"Oi, Sanji. What's the matter? What the heck is going on?" Luffy asked, still not entirely sure what the issue was.
"Hey... we're gonna run, Luffy..." Sanji said, not answering Luffy's question as he turned to face the rubber teen.
"What? Run? Where to?" Luffy asked. After all, all they'd been doing was running, but now those lapins were in their way, so where was there to run?
"Doesn't matter where! Someplace far! An avalanche is coming!" Sanji yelled, his urgency growing as he said this.
"What?!" Luffy shouted, eyes wide as he turned back to the lapins. Behind the rabbits, he could see the snow beginning to roll down the mountain from behind them, growing in both speed and size.
"An avalanche! An avalanche is coming!" Sanji yelled, turning around along with Luffy and running as fast as they could in the opposite direction of the snow. Luffy yelled as he ran, trudging through calf-deep snow in his shorts and sandals.
"Ahh! Those damn bunnies! They'll never get away with this! Dammit!" Sanji cursed, yelling out his frustrations to avoid the terror that was the avalanche behind them.
"Wh-wh-wh-what're we gonna do?! Wh-wh-what're we gonna do, Sanji?!" Luffy asked seeing as Sanji had had some good ideas up until now.
"How should I know?! The first priority is Nami-san! The second is Nami-san! The third is Nami-san! The fourth is Nami-san! And the fifth is Nami-san! Got that?! Protect her even if it kills you!" Sanji yelled urgently.
"Got it! But how?!" Luffy asked, the avalanche only inches behind him. Sanji looked around quickly for anything that could help them, spotting something to their right.
"Over there! That cliff!" The chef yelled, veering towards the cliff he spotted.
"The cliff?" Luffy asked in confusion, but followed regardless, trusting that Sanji knew what he was talking about.
"Run! We need to get as high up as we can! It's coming!" Sanji called. The two only just managed to jump into the air and onto the cliff jutting out as the avalanche swallowed up the ground where they had just been running. The two let out a sigh of relief as they stood up.
"Good, we made... Ahh!" Sanji shouted, turning around only to see more snow headed right for the cliff they were on.
"Oh no! We're not high enough!" There wasn't anything else they could do as the snow barreled into them, sending Sanji, Luffy, and by extension Nami, into the air. Sanji was easily pulled along with the snow while Luffy and Nami were sent high into the air.
"What do I do now?!" Luffy asked, wondering how he was supposed to land without actually landing so as to not hurt Nami anymore.
"Oh, yeah!" He said, suddenly getting an idea as he looked at all the trees being dragged away by the snow as well. Grabbing onto one of the sturdier-looking trees, Luffy stretched his body to his hand and landed as gently as he could onto the trees trunk.
"Sanji! Grab my hand!" The rubber teen yelled, stretching his arm out once more to grab Sanji out of the snow.
"You saved my skin!" The chef said gratefully once he was pulled onto safety as well.
"Yeah, but... even though we won't sink in the snow, we'll go straight down the mountain if we don't do anything!" Luffy shouted as he saw their trajectory.
"What?! Hell no! We've come all this way and were almost at the foot of the chimney mountain! We were just a step away from the doctor! Luffy! Come up with a way to stop this! Dammit, those damn hopping bunnies! Next time I see them, I'll simmer them in a pot!" Sanji ranted. It turned out, however, that they were going to see the lapins much sooner than they expected though as two of them skied by them, using a log as a snowboard.
"What?!" The two shouted in disbelief at the sight. There wasn't much time to be surprised by the reappearance of the lapins though as they began attacking again, trying to swipe them off the tree. More showed up, and Sanji and Luffy did their best to dodge the attacks.
"What are we gonna do Sanji?!" Luffy asked, glancing at Nami to make sure she was still ok.
"There's only one way! Run! What the heck's with them?!" Sanji asked, eyes wide as they tried speeding up their impromptu sled in any way they could while also dodging the lapins attacks.
"Oh no! Luffy! Look ahead! Ahead!" Sanji warned, drawing the attention away from the lapins and to the obstacle that was now in their way.
"Ahhh! A rock! We're gonna crash!" Luffy shouted as they stared at the rock that they were currently speeding towards.
"You can't crash! You're carrying Nami-san!" Sanji barked.
"That's easy to say, but...!" Luffy yelled back, his eyes just as wide as the chefs.
"We're crashing!" Luffy yelled once more, the rock only feet in from of them. He'd barely gotten the words out though when he suddenly felt weightless, a feeling he knew well to mean he was just thrown into the air.
"You have to treat ladies... gently!" Sanji told him, having been the one to throw Luffy into the air. The chef smiled at them even as he crashed right into the rock that had just been in front of Luffy.
"Sanji!" Luffy screamed as he watched his chef fly into the air. Seeing as he was falling now, Luffy stretched his arm out to the rock that had been an obstacle before and used one of the broken trees on it as something to grab onto. Pulling himself to it, he turned to see where Sanji was, noticing that the lapins had crashed as well.
"Sanji!" He called, spotting the blonde in the avalanche, but he was quickly becoming covered in snow.
"Ahhh... That hit me good...! Dammit!" Sanji groaned, voice growing quieter as he both drifted away and became covered.
"You idiot! Don't do stuff like that without telling me!" Luffy shouted as he stretched his other hand not holding onto the tree out towards Sanji's blue glove. He grabbed onto it, but when he pulled it back, Sanji was no longer attached to it.
"Ahh! Sanji!" Luffy screamed, eyes bugging at the singular glove in his hand. He could feel the chef's emotions dulling, and that wasn't any comfort for Luffy as he saw the avalanche continue to make its way down the mountain. Sanji had definitely been hurt by that crash, he'd felt it as much as he'd heard Sanji say so, and now his friend was going unconscious underneath tons of snow.
If Luffy didn't find Sanji fast, Nami wasn't the only one who would be in danger of dying.
Hello everyone! Sorry that this chapter was mostly canon, but there wasn't much to be changed except for the fact that Teach was killed off in the first story, hence he wouldn't be able to attack Drum Island. Instead, it was random bands of pirates who supposedly paid Wapol to take the children. Whatever could that be about, hm?
In any case, I really am sorry that this chapter was mostly canon, but I think the Drum arc is the final one to follow canon as close as I have been.
Oh, I also saw a few questions about whether or not Luffy would call Whiskey to ask her about Nami's illness, and while I did originally debate inserting that interaction in the last chapter I ultimately decided against it. Luffy wants to do everything on his own, without any help from Whitebeard, and so he wouldn't call them about it. I think he would call them regardless if there wasn't any other option, but in his mind they were already in search of a doctor to give Nami the treatment she needed so calling Whiskey wasn't necessary.
One last note, thank you for over 300 reviews, nearly 600 favorites, and almost 700 follows! Not to mention over 60 thousand views! It's still insane to me that there are people out there that were able to get through not only the 100 chapters of my first story, but then liked it enough to follow up with it's sequel story. That takes a dedication that I still don't think I deserve from you all and I hope you all know just how immensely grateful I am to you for your support as well as your criticisms. After all, you can't grow in anything if you don't get both positive and negative feedback in whatever it is you want to better yourself in.
So once more, thank you so much. I'll see you all in two weeks with the next chapter!