Flames On The Ocean

by Tactition101

OC Insert. Daniel Richardson literally has a genie in a bottle. Said genie needs to grant the three wishes of one last human before she is no longer considered a 'middleish' genie. Feeling rather bored, Daniel decides to take a crack at the One Piece world, but instead of a Devil Fruit, he plans on using something a bit more flammable.

2. Get To The Chopper

2. Get To The Chopper!

Story Start: On The Going Merry

Steel rang on steel as Zoro clashed against Daniel Richardson. Zoro was panting heavily as he gritted his teeth, straining against the force Daniel was exerting with every blow, his entire body and machete covered in purple Cloud Flames in order to counter Zoro's immense strength and superior blade.

Thirty minutes in and Daniel was STILL going strong. Oh, he was breathing heavier than usual, and he HAD gotten a few cuts on him, but with his Cloud granted durability they were practically paper cuts instead of sword wounds (not even 'sparring wounds' either). And even though this had been the first time he had ever been in extended combat, the Cloud Flames in his lungs Propagated the air he breathed preventing him from losing his breath during the 'fight'.

Wado Ichimonji hit Daniel's machete on the flat of the 'weaker' blade once again only for the fight to come to an abrupt end as Daniel twisted Wado out of position and a flaming foot slammed into Zoro's chest sending him flying back with a cry of surprise. He flew from one end of Merry's deck to the other, falling to the floor just before he could hit the wall.

"You let yourself fall into my pattern." Daniel said calmly as his Cloud Flames dissipated. Sheathing his machete, he walked over and offered Zoro his hand as he continued "Always remember that just because a person hasn't used a limb in battle for a punch or kick doesn't mean he won't use it."

"Right." Zoro said with a nod before he was hoisted back up to his feet.

"Wow, that was so awesome you guys!" Luffy called out with a laugh. Grinning widely, he continued "I certainly found a strong new crewmate!"

Daniel snorted and said "I'm not a member of your crew Luffy, just sticking with you guys until you reach a shipbuilding island remember?" He then raised an eyebrow and asked "Unless you want to give me back the million beris I paid for passage?"

"NOT A CHANCE!" Nami called out fiercely from where she was resting against the Merry's main mast. A moment later, though she slumped down to the deck, breath turning slightly labored.

Daniel frowned at the sight and walked over as he asked "Are you alright Nami?" (As if he didn't know already.)

"I'm fine, the ordeal on the last island just wore me out is all." Nami said with a tired smile. Turning to Vivi who had joined Daniel by Nami, she held out the Eternal Pose to Alabasta, she continued "Here Vivi, you should probably hold onto this until we leave Drum Island." Turning back to Daniel, she handed him the Adjustable Eternal Pose and said "Can you hold onto this for a bit Daniel, I think I need a bit of rest for a few moments."

"Sure thing." Daniel said, looking at the AEP to make sure they were still going the right way. (Grand Line currents could be weird.) A moment later, he glanced over his shoulder watching as Zoro came out of the storage room with five massive weights on a large 'stick' of metal, making his way for the rear deck. Seeing this, Daniel excused himself from the pair of ladies, walking past Sanji who was delivering a plate of snacks for the two.

Following Zoro to the back deck, he watched the Santoryu user swing the weight up behind his head then forward in the 'classic kendo' motion. Twenty reps in, he crossed his arms and said "That's a lot of weight you're using."

Zoro grit his teeth and as he continued his reps said "If I'd been able to cut through that wax, I wouldn't have held everyone back and you wouldn't have had to burn it away! I'm weak, I MUST become stronger! Until I can slash through stuff like that wax in any stance!"

Daniel frowned for a moment before he stepped in front of Zoro, right arm coated in Cloud Flames from the shoulder down stopping the weight from hitting him. Zoro glared at him but before he could say anything, Daniel stated flatly "If you want to smash something apart using your swords as sharpened clubs, then by all means, stick to strength training. However, if you want to actually CUT something that normally will resist your blade's edge then you're going about this the wrong way."

Zoro carefully set the weight down to the side of Daniel even as he asked "What do you mean?"

Daniel allowed his Cloud Flames to recede as he began with "Keep in mind that I'm not a dedicated swordsman and actually prefer using my pistols so I can't do this trick myself yet, but I have heard of a technique that will allow a swordsman to cut anything or nothing." At Zoro's nod, he continued "It's called 'Hearing the Heart Beat of All Things'. The more technical label is 'Detecting an Object's Vibrational Frequency'. The basic knowledge you need to know in order to use this technique is that EVERYTHING is constantly moving on a microscopic level. Even when something appears to be completely at rest, it's still shifting on a level so small that you have no hope of spotting it with the naked eye. Learn how to sense that object's 'heartbeat', strike it at the right time, and you'll be able to slice through that object like it is nothing more than a sheet of paper."

"I see." Zoro said with a contemplative look. A moment later he cocked his head and said "You know, for someone who says he's not actually a swordsman, you were certainly able to keep up with me like one."

Daniel smirked and said "That's because Cloud Flames are bullshit." Tapping his temple with a finger, he continued "I Propagated not only my body's strength and the durability of it and my Machete's blade, but also my reflexes as well. It was extremely hard to multitask like that on the mental level but from my point of view it made you seem a bit slower than you actually were."

Zoro stared at Daniel for a few moments at that explanation before he shook his head and said "You're right, those Flames of yours are complete bullshit."

Daniel laughed at that only to cut it short as the pair heard Vivi shout "Everyone! Come quick, there's trouble! "

The pair traded a look with each other before they made their way forward of the ship, their pace picking up as Vivi answered Luffy's question of what was wrong with "Nami's come down with a high fever!"

"NAMI HAS WHAT?!" Sanji asked in even greater alarm than Vivi.

Daniel was quickly by Nami's side, hand on her forehead even as he said to the others "Damn it, I was hoping that getting antibiotic shots at Drum Island would just be a precautionary measure. Instead it looks like she really did catch something."

Nami's forehead burned under his hand and he let out a hiss as he said "We need to try to get her fever under control. Until we get to Drum Island there's not much I can do since the first aid kit you guys have is geared towards regular injuries and not disease." Picking Nami up in a bridal carry, he thought to himself 'REALLY wish I could have brought some Penicillin to this world with me, but that needs to be kept refrigerated.'

He had also tried to find out if the 'Five Day Disease' had a real world counterpart in his world but hadn't been able to find anything matching it so he couldn't have brought a cure for it even if he did. And unfortunately, Aenria's wish rules meant that he would have had to use a wish solely for obtaining the cure. Thankfully, this was a problem that was solved 'in story' so while it made Daniel feel like a complete asshole, he focused on the best way to ensure his health was the best it could be so that way he wasn't just as ill as Nami currently was.

Making for the women's quarters with everyone but Zoro following, Daniel said "Sanji, we need a bowl of water with some ice in it to keep it cold along with a towel to soak it in for her forehead. It won't do much but it should at least help keep her brain from cooking itself with this fever."

Sanji saluted and zipped off to the kitchen. By the time Nami was in bed and Daniel was pulling the blanket over her, he was by his side offering the bowl. Daniel took the cloth that was already in the water, wringing it out before placing it on her forehead. That done, he headed for the stairs as he said "Someone make sure that cloth stays cold. I'll be making sure we stay on course for Drum Island."

"Leave it to me." Vivi said, sitting down on the bed with a concerned frown at Nami.

It was a good thing that Daniel didn't spend long below decks, a minute after he took his place at the whip staff the Merry hit a cross current and he had to do a bit of quick correctional steering with Zoro adjusting the sails to get them back on a proper course.

Eight Minutes later, he saw through the open door Nami making her slow way towards him and he said "You really shouldn't be on your feet right now Nami. The more you rest now, the better the shape you'll be in when we can get a doctor to treat you when we reach Drum Island."

Nami reached the door way and leaned against it as she said "I can't stay down below decks...I'm the navigator...I need to be up here to be able to tell the weather conditions...we can't have any delays in getting Vivi back home."

Daniel put a frown on his face and asked "What do you mean?"

Nami was silent for a while, just panting for thirty seconds, but then she said "Three days ago, the newspaper said...that 3,000 of Alabasta's Royal Guard...defected and went to the rebels' side...making the two sides more evenly matched than before...that means that the civil war is about to really kick off soon. We can't waste any time in getting Vivi back home."

Daniel's frown grew as he locked the whip staff and grabbed a chair, bringing it over to the doorway and setting it right outside before moving Nami to sit in it as he said "There, now you're both out where you can not only feel but see our surroundings while not being on your feet."

Both Zoro and Nami huffed at that, him in amusement, her in exasperation. A moment later though, she frowned in confusion and said "That's odd."

"What's odd witch?" Zoro asked not pausing from curling with the large barbell in his left hand that he had grabbed after helping put the Merry back on course. (Evidently it helped him clear his mind better as he attempted to hear an object's heartbeat)

Nami stuck her tongue out at him for the name but then frowned again as she said "Something dealing with the wind...seems to be coming near us but it...doesn't feel like a storm..."

"Do we need to change our course?" Daniel asked. He thought that he had managed to keep the Merry from being where the Cyclone would be given how quickly he corrected their course but given that this was the Grand Line on top of this being a cyclone and not something stationary like a reef...

Nami closed her eyes, either in exhaustion (She was panting hard even while seated) or in concertation. A few moments later, she opened her eyes and looked towards the port as she said "We should be alright...but just in case...call the others out."

"You got it." Daniel said with a nod before he glanced at Zoro and tapped his ears. Getting the message, Zoro quickly put his dumbbell down and clapped his hands over his ears and Daniel covered Nami's. A moment later, he belted out "NOW HEAR THIS! ALL HANDS ON DECK! WE HAVE AN UNKNOWN WEATHER SYSTEM FORMING OFF THE PORT SIDE! ALL HANDS, REPORT TO STATIONS!"

There was the sound of pounding feet and the rest of the crew (Sans Vivi) came rushing out of the lower door.

"Oi, Oi! What do you mean by an UNKNOWN weather system?!" Usopp asked in alarm as he wildly looked around for whatever fresh hell this infernal ocean was about to bring about him and the others.

"She says it's not a storm, but it still deals with the wind so I'm guessing water spout." Daniel said, looking out to where he expected the trouble to come from, eyeing the clouds hoping for that far too short warning he might get if they started changing shape and direction before the colossus he knew was coming arrived.

Nami shook her head just enough that the others could tell it was a negative shake of her head and said "It's not a water spout...those wouldn't be...a problem. Whatever this is...it's bigger than...anything we've seen...yet..."

"Well that's not ominous at all." Sanji muttered, eyes narrowed even as he took out a cigarette and lit it.

The Straw Hats and Daniel all watched the ocean off Merry's port side intently for a minute only to be distracted as Vivi came out of the kitchen and said "I have a request to make." When everyone was looking at her, she continued "I realize this is a lot to ask after being allowed to ride on your ship, but right now, my country is falling to a terrible fate. Therefore, I want us to hurry forward! I cannot afford the slightest delay! I need this ship to continue on to Alabasta at its maximum speed!"

Most of the crew looked up at her with slightly hard expressions but Nami quickly grinned up at her from her chair as she said "Of course! We promised you, didn't we?"

"Heh, wait for it." Daniel said softly to himself, glad to be able to see this in person. Zoro gave a soft 'hm?' when he heard that but didn't actually say anything, barely sparing a single flick of his eyes at Daniel before bringing his gaze back onto Vivi.

Vivi didn't disappoint him as she turned to look at Nami with a smile and said "That's why we must make for best speed to Drum Island, to get Nami cured as quickly as possible, and then continue on to Alabasta!" Nami looked flabbergasted as Vivi turned to look back at the main deck where Usopp, Luffy, and Sanji were as she continued with a grin "That's this ship's "maximum speed", isn't it?"

Luffy grinned and said "That's right! Doesn't go any faster than that!"

"You sure about that?" Usopp asked, continuing with "As the Princess, you have 1,000,000 people to worry about, right?"

"That's right! But that's exactly why we must get Nami well as soon as possible!" Vivi said before she continued "As the Navigator of this ship, we need her in top shape in order to allow us to not only catch every bit of wind we can, but to also avoid any storms that would delay us."

"Well said Vivi-chan! I'm in love all over again!" Sanji said with a grin.

"She's got guts." Zoro said with a smirk.

Nami smiled up at Vivi through her sweat matted bangs and said "Sorry for all the trouble...Vivi."

Vivi moved to lightly hug Nami but she had barely put her arm on the orangette's shoulders before Daniel, who had turned back to port, stiffened and called out "HERE IT COMES!"

Everyone looked at him, then followed his gaze out to sea before as one flinching back as a MASSIVE cyclone of wind appeared out of nowhere, wide enough to lift a cruise liner from Daniel's world into the air like it was a child's toy. It was EASILY a mile wide at its center, a mile and a half where the water was being sucked up.

"WHOA! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?" Luffy shouted as one hand held onto his hat to keep it from blowing off in the wind pouring off and pointing at the meteorological TITAN in alarm.

"It's a cyclone!" Vivi stated with wide eyes.

"IT'S HUGE!" Luffy shouted, actually jumping fifteen feet up then wrapping his right arm around Merry's main mast while the left kept his hat on in order to get a 'better view'.

The few clouds in the area rapidly darkened and grew to cover the entire sky, lightning flashing and throwing up water as it hit the ocean. As this happened, Vivi said almost absently "Amazing, Cyclones on the Grand Line are supposedly impossible to predict." Looking down at Nami, she continued "And yet you sensed it almost a full minute ago. I've never seen such a navigator..."

Nami gave her a weak smile even as her eyes fought to remain open, Nami breathing harder as she fought to remain awake.

Both their and everyone else's attention was caught by a flare of red light as Daniel's right hand caught on fire with his Storm Flames.

"OI, OI! You're not thinking you can burn that thing away are you Daniel?!" Usopp asked incredulously.

"BAKA, YOU'LL JUST BE MAKING A FIRE VORTEX!" Sanji yelled immediately after.

Daniel gave them a look that made it perfectly clear that he thought they were idiots of the highest order. The next moment, he threw the fireball in his hand straight upwards and it shot up into the clouds before exploding outwards, Disintegrating the clouds above them for three hundred yards each direction before continuing to burn for another six miles in the direction that they were sailing where the clouds ended.

"There, no more lightning to worry about." Daniel said flatly before he went back into the kitchen to the whip staff in order to make sure they stayed on course.

As he did so, back on the Main Deck, everyone else was now looking up at the clear patch of sky directly overhead, kept that way by a thin line of still burning flames and Usopp said shakily "Okay, as cool as that is, that's mildly terrifying."

"Uh-huh." Sanji said in agreement with a nod.

Vivi looked up into the sky in amazement. But a moment later, she blinked and looked into the kitchen in bafflement as she asked "Hang on, you said back on Little Garden that you were ship wrecked by a storm, why didn't you just burn that one away like you did just now?"

"Because my 'ship' was basically a surfboard with a motor on it and if I had tried to throw my Storm Flames straight up on it in rough waters I would have fallen into the drink." Daniel called back loud enough for everyone to hear him before grumbling to himself lowly enough that only Vivi, Zoro, and Nami heard "Not that I managed to stay out of it anyway..."

"Oh." Vivi said softly. Well, when he put it that way...

Beside her, Nami weakly chuckled and said "I guess...we don't need to worry...about storms overhead...while he's sailing...with us..."

Daniel apparently had sharp hearing as he called out "Just don't expect me to be able to do anything else while I'm pulling this trick. With how high and far spread they are from me I have to keep most of my focus on the Flames or they'll disappear on us. And someone better get me some pain killers because I'm already getting a headache."

Sanji wound up being the one to give him the requested medicine, along with a tea that would help as well. Daniel made a face at the taste but Sanji's pride in his main talent was assuaged when Daniel told him that it was just because he was a coffee man through and through.

And so the Merry continued on its way, the Cyclone eventually fading away half an hour later. If it was capable of having any feelings, it would have been rather put out that it hadn't managed to sink any ships...

Time Skip: Inside Drum Island Waters

It had been snowing for eight straight hours. The Going Merry was officially within Drum Island's weather sphere. A good thing too, because while Nami's fever hadn't gotten any worse, it hadn't gotten any better either, and with her at 104 degrees Fahrenheit, that was NOT a good thing. Both Sanji and Carue were constantly panicking only to be told off by Vivi who hadn't left Nami's bedside since the Navigator was brought back to her bed when she couldn't remain awake.

Zoro was currently up in the crow's nest, a blanket wrapped around him. Unlike with the storm caused by the cyclone, Daniel was perfectly fine with allowing the snow of the weather sphere to keep falling on the ship. After all, unlike lightning which could start a fire if it hit the ship, the snow wouldn't hurt anything as long as the snow was cleared periodically and it was much easier to Disintegrate the snow on the deck every half an hour or so rather than the clouds miles above them.

Daniel himself was perfectly fine in his very light jacket, his still relatively new for him Storm Flames keeping him nice and toasty as they kept his body running at its new default higher than normal temperature of a hundred and one degrees. In the kitchen, Usopp had a blanket on as well as he kept the Merry on course. Luffy though, idiot that he was, was still in his short jeans, sleeveless vest shirt, and sandals. (Even though all of them had snow on their shoulders and heads.)

As Zoro looked forward with binoculars, Luffy called up "Do you see Drum Island yet?"

"Not yet." Zorro called back. A moment later, he looked around before stopping on something and asked "Oi, you guys, you think people can stand on the ocean?"

"You want to know if people can stand on the ocean?" Luffy asked in confusion.

"If they have a Devil Fruit with the right kind of application they can." Daniel answered with a frown, looking towards where Zoro had been looking. Sure enough, there was the Jesus wannabe that Daniel had been expecting, a blue and green jester suited man with his face being the only exposed skin, wearing a cloak whose front went down to his shoulders, the letter R stitched into the outfit next to the middle button of his jester suit for some reason, and a tall recurve bow for a weapon and a quiver that held some really long arrows, the bare shafts of which were a good two feet over his shoulder with the fletching part adding another foot. Then again, maybe the quiver was made purposefully shorter than the conventional ratio of arrow to quiver length to enable easier draws?

Zoro and Luffy just stared at the man while Daniel glowered at him, right hand moving to grasp the grip of one of his pistols. It was INCREDIBLY tempting to just shoot this bastard right then and there but he wasn't willing to deal with the questions the others would ask about why he just shot a guy he had never seen before when they weren't fighting.

"Hello, rather cold out isn't it?" The sad looking Jester asked.

Luffy and Zoro both gulped for some reason. But before they could say anything, the water under the Jester bulged upwards and Daniel called out "ALL HANDS, BRACE YOURSELVES! WE HAVE A SUBMARINE COMING UP OFF OUR BOW!"

Said submarine rapidly shot up, it's top easily four times higher than the Going Merry's mast. as the metal sides were rolled away revealing a more conventional ship body that was easily thirteen times wider than Merry, a large metal beam with a hippo's head wearing a large crown on the end was raised up to become the ship's prowl. As it did so, men dressed like soldiers in winter gear appeared in two rows on the main deck. A flag unfurled revealing an 'okay' attempt at drawing the skull and cross bones, the skull sticking out its tongue over metal jaws while wearing an elaborate crown.

"Huh, so it's a pirate ship." Zoro mused to himself from the crow's nest.

"Fake pirate's ship maybe." Daniel muttered quietly to himself.

"W-Wow!" Luffy shouted with wide eyes.

Laughter came from inside the ship before the laugher asked "Surprised, aren't you?! This is my Giant Diving Ambush Ship: The Bliking!"

As the voice spoke, the hippo head lowered, the mouth opening to reveal a ladder. Inside were men ready to rush out at them. The soldiers on the deck leveled their rifles at the men on Merry's deck.

Even with guns trained on him, Daniel didn't hesitate and his right hand came up from behind his back with his pistol in hand. It let out sharp barks even as he darted for Merry's main mast for cover and splinters began flying as Cloud Infused rounds slammed into the ship hull directly under the gun aiming Soldiers on the Merry's port side, throwing them away like they had fragmentation grenades going off at their feet. At the same time as he fired his pistol with one hand, he threw a ball of Storm Flames with the other at the prow turned disembarkment tunnel. The red flames slammed into the hippo head and immediately spread throughout its length with a loud roar turning the entire construct to naught but ash within mere moments, sending the soldiers inside the tunnel falling down into the freezing waters with screams of fear.

All of the Soldiers on the Bliking's main deck flinched in surprise at the sight and the owner of the ambushing ship shouted out "WHAT WAS THAT?!"

As Daniel's other pistol joined its counterpart in blasting apart the deck under the Soldiers, (And Usopp joined in sniping the soldiers on the starboard side with Explosive Stars from behind the kitchen entrance) Daniel called out "Captain Luffy, we don't have time to play around with these guys! I recommend punching holes in the waterline of that ship!"

"Right!" Luffy said with a grin, ignoring the bullets that were bouncing off of his body as he sent out a hand to Merry's stem post and rocketing up to stand on her figure head. Immediately after, he cut loose with a Gomu Gatling, throwing his fists across the expanse of water between the two ships angled downwards. The fists slammed into the hull of the Bliking, first dinting then blowing holes into the metal reinforced wood. Given that Luffy had been landing his punches right over the water, the bottom parts of the holes were under the water line and water began rushing into the larger ship. At least the soldiers in the water were swept along with the rushing water back into the ship.

Unable to attack with his swords from a distance but not wanting to be left out of the fight, Zoro ran down the mast then into the fore cannon deck. A few moments later, Merry's forward cannon barked out, blasting a hole into the hull of the Blinking higher than the holes at the water line.

"STOP ATTACKING MY SHIP!" The still not spotted owner shouted as the damage continued to stack up.

Ten seconds after the cannon fired, Daniel finished shooting at the deck under the left side soldiers and his legs erupted in Cloud Flames. He holstered his pistols before he leapt up to the crow's nest, then to the top of the mast where he crouched down before taking a massive leap up into the air. Reaching the same height as the top of the Bliking's mast, Daniel sighted on the ship's starboard metal paddle and raised his hands overhead. Storm Flames roiled in between his hands before he threw them forward.

As the paddle was Disintegrated, Daniel landed on the crow's deck and muttered to himself "That maneuver's turning into my Naval Finisher." Shaking his head with an amused huff, he called down "Luffy, their right paddle's gone, they're dead in the water! Let's swing around and get going!"

"Shishishishi! Sounds good!" Luffy called back up with a thumbs up.

The Merry was quickly brought around the Bliking's starboard side, the owner cursing the Straw Hats out even as Luffy continued punching holes in the ship's waterline and Zoro switched to Merry's portside cannon to keep firing, then to the aft cannon as they put the Bliking behind them. To add insult to injury, Daniel fired a Storm Bullet at the flag Disintegrating it.

As they left Cannon range Zoro came out from the aft cannon deck and said "Well, that happened."

"Yep." Daniel stated, pleased that he had managed to keep Wapol from getting his large mouth on Merry.

Time Skip: The Next Day

Daniel was taking a turn in watching over Nami when he heard Sanji call out "Island Ho!"

Letting out a small sigh of relief, he said "Won't be long now Nami." Taking the cloth from sleeping Nami's forehead, he soaked it in the nearby bowl of water, rung it out, then placed it back on Nami's forehead. That done, he stood up and said "Keep an eye on her for me will you Carue?"

The large supersonic spot billed duck gave a salute along with a quack in confirmation.

Quickly making his way above deck, Daniel spotted the island on the horizon and leapt up to the crow's nest. When he held his hand out to Sanji, the chef handed him the binoculars and as he looked through them the Chef asked "So since you had us come here, I assume you know what to expect?"

"Vaguely. I never actually set food on the island but I know basic information and the usual hearsay that always spreads from places of interest like this." Daniel said, lowering the binoculars and counting off his hand as he said "Drum Island is in the Top 5 when it comes to medical practitioners, their current king did NOT take after his kind and 'the common people first' minded father and is in fact a COLOSSAL asshole, the best doctor on the entire island is apparently terrifying to deal with and almost a century and a half old, and apparently the island has a yeti problem."

Sanji blinked and asked "Yeti?"

"Yep, yeti." Daniel said with a nod before bringing his binoculars back up to his eyes. A moment later, he handed them back to Sanji while pointing and continued "Finally, they stuck the Royal family's castle at the top of the center island."

Sanji blinked again at that then raised the binoculars to his eyes. A moment later, he said "Huh, well that certainly makes a statement. Hate to have been the ones who had to climb up that mountain to secure the method of bringing the materials up there."

"Yeah, no kidding. I could probably burn hand and footholds or even maybe a staircase into the mountain with my Storm Flames but that is still one hell of a climb." Daniel said in agreement.

Daniel then looked down from the crow's nest and his eyebrow twitched as he asked "Has your captain STILL not added layers yet?" The idiot was in sandals, shorts and a vest for crying out loud!

Sanji looked down from the binoculars and gave Luffy an annoyed look and said "No he hasn't. I can't decide whether his rubber body means he's better insulated or if he's just that much of a dumbass."

"Might be a combination of the two, though from what I've seen of him this week I'd put money on it being more of the latter in that combination." Daniel said with a huff.

"Speaking of people not dressed for the climate..." Sanji said, giving his light jacket and glove-less hands a speaking look.

In response, Daniel held up his right hand which erupted in a mix of red and purple Flames as he said "Stormy Cloud, I run hotter than the norm for a human. Still, I'll probably be grabbing my thicker coat before we go ashore just in case for when it turns night time."

Sanji blinked at the Flames before he nodded and said "Right, should have figured the guy able to control fire would have a higher body temperature than normal."

"Actually, Rains run lower than normal, but that's due to their nature being Tranquility." Daniel stated.

"Huh, interesting." Sanji said before he looked back down and shouted "OI LUFFY! GO PUT ON A COAT BEFORE YOU CATCH A DAMN COLD!"

"Huh?" Luffy asked, keeping his body facing forward even as his head turned back and up, then cocking his head almost a full ninety degrees to the right in confusion as he asked "Why?"

'Well, that's not a disturbing sight at all.' Daniel thought to himself.

A moment later, the wind blew a little harder across the ship and Luffy gave a full body shiver before he hugged himself as he said "BRRRR, IT'S COLD!"

"NO SHIT DUMBASS! IT'S -10° CELCIUS!" Usopp and Zoro shouted at him with shark teeth.

Vivi nodded and added "At this temperature, bears start getting ready to hibernate!"

As Luffy went below decks to get a coat and gloves on (and ignoring the facts that his pants didn't reach his ankles AND that he was wearing sandals) Daniel shook his head and thought to himself 'I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't have gone with the Justice League instead.' After a moment, he shook his head again and thought 'NAH, even if Aenria had put in a perfect background into that world's various systems, I'm sure Batman would eventually figure out I was from another dimension and squeezed out every scrap of 'future knowledge' I had.' That and Lex Luther as President would have been a nightmare to deal with.

Eventually, the Merry reached the shore of Drum Island and the crew proceeded to locate a river that allowed them to advance past the high cliff walls of the island shore. At that point, Sanji and Daniel left the Crow's Nest, joining everyone else on the top fore deck. About fifteen minutes later, they reached the end of the part of the river they could travel, the cliffs on either side joining up with a waterfall in front of them.

"It's a waterfall created by the melting snow. I think we can dock the ship somewhere around here." Vivi noted from the prow next to Zoro.

Said swordsman looked back and said "Okay. Someone has to go look for a doctor. Actually, we'd better find some people first."

Luffy raised his right fist into the air and said "I'll go!"

Sanji clenched his fist in front of his chest and said "I'll be going as well!"

Behind them, Usopp crossed his arms and said "Great! Get going!"

Daniel snorted before he gave a sweeping gesture and said "How about we deal with the not so welcoming committee before we find the doctor."

Sure enough, when the others looked, both sides of the cliff were now lined with a couple dozen men, all but one of them holding either a rifle or a pistol, a good number of said firearms already pointed at the Merry as one of them shouted "That's far enough, pirates!"

"Oh, here's some people." Luffy stated causing Daniel to give a small sigh.

"Daniel was right, they don't look very happy to see us." Usopp noted.

A bulky man that Daniel recognized as Dalton thanks to the large Spade on his back as a weapon and the armor plating on his arms steeped forward and said "Pirates, we hereby demand that you depart this shore...immediately!"

"We came here to find a doctor!" Luffy called back.

"We have a sick person on board!" Vivi added as she moved to stand next to Luffy, the better able to 'speak' with Dalton.

"If you could send for a doctor to treat her aboard the ship we won't step foot on your island." Daniel offered as he moved next to her. Even as he did so, his Cloud Flames began to lightly burn at a low simmer under his jacket while at the same time, he began Propagating his reflexes and hand/eye coordination in preparation for what was to come.

"You think your tricks will work on us!? You filthy pirates!" One of the men shouted.

Another on the other side of the cliff shouted "This is our island! We're not gonna let a bunch of pirates land here and invade!"

Daniel twisted his head back that way and called out "I JUST said we'd be willing to let the doctor come aboard the ship in order to NOT land here you dumbass!"

"So you can have a hostage?! How stupid do you think we are?!" the man next to the man Daniel addressed asked, earning shouts of agreement from those next to them.

One of the few men with a pistol then called out "Now, take up your anchor and be gone! Otherwise, we'll blow your ship out of the water!"

Despite himself, Daniel let out a bark of laughter and asked "With what?! I don't see no cannon!"

An instant later, he spun on his foot to face Merry's stern and quick drew his right pistol. The next moment, the pistol barked a sharp retort and a streak of bright purple flew out and slammed into the cliff side fifty feet from the last person in line ten feet from the top. The impact site of the Cloud Round exploded like an artillery round hit it causing all of the men on the cliffs to jerk back in surprise with shouts of fear. When the smoke cleared, there was a twenty five foot wide hole in the cliff face causing multiple men to gulp in fear.

Calmly holstering his pistol, Daniel stated forcefully "Do not make such statements without being able to back them up, otherwise someone WILL call your bluff."

"Daniel, that doesn't help." Vivi said with a frown.

Daniel rolled his eyes before he focused on Dalton and called out "Oi, you with the Spade! If what I heard about Drum Island is accurate, you're Captain Dalton of this country's Royal Guard are you not?"

Dalton's frown grew as he said "I am indeed Dalton, what of it?"

"As Captain of the Guard, you would have escorted your Ruler to the last Reverie right?" Daniel asked.

"I did. Again, what of it?" Dalton asked, eyes narrowing further.

Daniel gestured at Vivi with a raised eyebrow and asked "Do you not recognize the VIP this crew is escorting to her home island?"

"What are you doing?!" Vivi hissed in alarm.

"Standard conflict negation when outnumbered. First show you have a superior show of force, then give them a reason other than survival to stand down." Daniel said equally lowly.

Dalton meanwhile turned his gaze from Daniel to Vivi, scrutinizing her intently for several moments before his eyes widened and he said "It can't be."

"Dalton?" One of the men next to him asked, actually looking away from the ship below him towards his leader.

Daniel crossed his arms and firmly stated "It is. And if a Doctor doesn't treat this ship's Navigator then she won't be able to reach her home island in time in order to stop some REALLY bad things from occurring."

Dalton's eyes narrowed again, staring intently at Vivi who raised her chin slightly, allowing her body language to slip from 'common folk' to 'high born', something that, as the name suggested, you had to be born with to properly pull off. A moment later, Dalton closed his eyes and said "Lower your weapons."

"Dalton?!" Several of the men asked even as the rest immediately lowered the barrels of their weapons to point at the snow by their feet.

"If that woman is with them of her own free will, then I believe we can trust them to act honorably." Dalton stated.

The questioners were confused, but they too lowered their weapons, willing to trust Dalton.

Daniel nodded at this and said "By the way, there IS a pirate ship in your waters that you should be worried about. We didn't actually see the Captain, but he used some kind of loud speaker system and called his ship the 'Giant Diving Ambush Ship: The Bliking'. It flew a flag with a crown on its head, metal jaws and tongue sticking out licking its lips. It was capable of diving underwater and used to have a prow with a hippo head wearing a giant crown that acted as a boarding tunnel until I destroyed it. On its sides were metal star patterns covering the wood of the hull. "

Everyone stiffened at that and their relaxed grips on their weapons tightened again as Daniel spoke. Dalton looked absolutely furious as he asked "Are you sure of the name of this ship you were given?!"

"Ah, the loudmouth on the speaker called it the Bliking." Sanji said with a nod.

"How long ago was it that you encountered this vessel?" Dalton questioned.

"Yesterday. We knocked some holes into it then this guy took out this odd gear like paddle on its starboard side." Zorro said, pointing with his left thumb at Daniel.

"We didn't actually see her sink though, so there's a good chance that they will have been able to make repairs." Daniel warned.

"Thank you for this information, we shall remain on diligent watch for the Bliking and her crew attempting to land at this island." Dalton said before he gestured behind him and said "You may all come ashore. Gather your sick crew mate and I will lead you to our village. These men shall keep watch over your ship."

"I'll get her. I need to grab my pack anyway." Daniel said. More specifically, he needed to grab the lock box holding all of his cash so that way they could pay Kureha in case Nami didn't wind up swiping the armory key from Wapol.

A few moments later, he came back above decks, back pack on his back and Nami held in a bridal carry, decked out in a coat just as thick as everyone else and still just as visibly flushed as before as she panted in her sleep.

Daniel walked over to Merry's port railing, putting a foot on it before his legs erupted in Cloud Flames under his pant legs and he easily leapt across the gap between the Merry and the cliff, both forward and upwards, easily landing in a crouch next to Dalton, who raised an eyebrow. Sanji landed next to him a moment later, having also easily made the jump, Vivi quickly sliding off of his back. Luffy landed last, rocketing up with Usopp on his back.

Daniel glanced back at Zoro with a raised eyebrow but the Swordsman just waved him off saying "Even with these guys watching the ship, one of us should stay behind."

Daniel shrugged at that. He decided against telling Zoro to remain on the ship with Carue since he hadn't come to this world to hold the crew's hands. Keep avoidable damage done by others to both the ship and its passengers to a minimum sure, but he wasn't going to try to stop the crew from being stupid. That would have been a losing battle from the very start after all.

"Oi, gunman, I'll carry Nami-Swan, you got that bulky pack of yours to contend with." Sanji stated.

"It's just got my lockbox, heavier coat, and a few traveling essentials in it now, but alright." Daniel stated, carefully putting Nami on Sanji's back.

With Nami transferred to her new carrier, the Straw Hats plus two followed Dalton from the cliff side into the woods.

A few minutes into the woods, and a quick introduction of those following him to his town, Dalton turned his head towards them and stated "I apologize for the inconvenience, but I should warn you, despite what you might have heard about this island Daniel, our country currently has only one doctor, a witch."

Daniel nodded and said "Dr. Kureha, the 'witch' who is a hundred and forty years old but is as spry as a woman a century younger."

Dalton blinked in surprise and said "You appear rather well informed. Have you perhaps been here before?"

Daniel shook his head and said "Never set foot here a day of my life. But before a storm wrecked my ride forcing me to seek passage with this crew, I made it a point to keep an ear out for any information about the various islands of Paradise. It made not getting in over my head when it was just me easier." Daniel then scowled and said "Which is why I had grabbed my lock box. I was sure we'd have to pay out of the nose for your Ruler to let his doctors treat Nami." He then huffed out a sigh and continued "But if you say this country has only one doctor now then SOMETHING must have changed drastically, and pretty recently too if not even a whisper of a rumor has made its way off the island."

"Ah." Dalton said with a nod as answer to Daniel's last statement. Looking forward again, he continued "Only a few months ago, this country was invaded by pirates. There were only five pirates, but they completely defeated this country. The Captain called himself Blackbeard. They were immensely powerful, we never had a chance. They defeated us before we knew what hit us."

"Seriously?! Just five pirates defeated an entire country?!" Usopp asked in shock, an expression mimicked by most of the others.

Dalton nodded before he stated "But some around here think their attack might have actually been a blessing in disguise."

"What can be good about a country being defeated?!" Vivi asked flabbergasted.

Dalton kept looking forward as he explained "As Daniel apparently knows already, until the attack, this land was ruled by a man named Wapol, and was the worst king ever! After seeing the pirates' strength, the King didn't even bother trying to protect his kingdom, and instead took all of the country's soldiers and fled to sea. They abandoned the nation to its fate! They fled like rats from a sinking ship! Wapol escaped to the sea, and the country lost hope! That their own king would-"

His fists clenched tighter and tighter as he spoke but he was soon interrupted as Vivi furiously asked "How could a king do such a thing!? It's despicable for a king to abandon his people!"

Dalton looked back at her, respect in his eyes as he said "You're right. But now Wool's evil reign is over. This island belongs to those of us who remain! The towns and villages are beginning to recover. Right now, we're united and trying to build a new nation. Which is why we fear Wapol's return more than anything. Until we're able to rebuild our country, the restoration of the monarchy is the thing to be feared most."

"Hmm, I find it odd that such a thing would not have been reported in the newspapers at some point for Daniel to learn about this." Usopp said with a hand to his chin as the group walked.

Daniel let out a bitter bark of laughter and said "The World Government is hardly going to be willing to admit that a mere group of five pirates were strong enough to knock over a country, especially in the Paradise half of the Grand Line where almost everyone are either rookie pirate crews or completely average. And that's even if they found out. I hardly doubt that Wapol cared enough about this place to call for help from the Marines, otherwise he would have been back within weeks of fleeing, not months."

"Daniel's right, this wouldn't have been reported, the World Government would have suppressed the information." Sanji said in agreement.

Everyone was silent at that depressing if accurate statement of non-faith in the World Government keeping the world informed of such matters. However, as another local of the island approached, that silence was broken.

"AH, BEAR! EVERYONE PLAY DEAD!" Usopp shouted as he threw himself to the snow.

The reason for this was the rather LARGE bear walking towards them that was easily three times taller than Dalton, carrying a proportionally sized pick axe by the head like a cane in its left hand.

Said Zoan user explained "A Hiking Bear, they're quite tame. Just bow to him in the mountain-climber manner."

Dalton bowed in example, the visitors quickly doing the same and the bear bowed his head towards them back before continuing on its way.

As Usopp quickly got up with an embarrassed look, Sanji moved to walk beside Daniel, pointing over his shoulder with his right thumb as he asked "Oi Daniel, was that what you meant by a 'Yeti problem'?"

Daniel chuckled and said "Nope, so long as you're polite, those bears won't do anything so they're hardly a 'problem' now are they?"

"Indeed, no one has ever been harmed by one of them, and they will in fact save those in need." Dalton stated. He then glanced back and continued "However, Lapahns can be very dangerous."

Usopp gulped and asked "A-and what are Lapahns?"

"They are a large species of ravenous rabbits, and the most likely source of the Yeti rumors your friend heard about."

Usopp gave a keening wail. Daniel though grinned and said "Maybe we should go find one before we leave, rabbit's good eating if you prepare it right."

"Ah." Sanji said in agreement with a grin.

Usopp apparently didn't agree, calling the pair stupid with shark teeth for even suggesting going looking for one. Luffy of course was all for 'getting rabbit meat to eat'.

Dalton shook his head but didn't say anything, just kept walking.

Scene Change: Bighorn Village

As they entered the village, it was apparent that Dalton was rather well liked, almost everyone they passed calling out a greeting, and even those who didn't gave a wave before going back to their work.

Dalton took most of it in stride, but he became rather flustered when one of the villagers mentioned an upcoming election in two days and that they all planned to vote for him. The former Captain of the Guard held up his hands and denied being worthy for the post they would be voting for, claiming there were too many sins on his hands.

Daniel snickered at him and said "Usually, when it comes to assigning new leaders after the old way of choosing is no longer effective, it's those who have lead others before but don't actually want power which make for the ones best to hold it. More often than not, those people don't let it get to their heads and set a good precedence that their successors have to follow if they want to stay popular with the public."

Daniel's statement was met with agreement from the closest villagers. Dalton still looked flustered but there was a small look of consideration in his eyes. Shortly after that, they reached Dalton's house. Usopp and Luffy stayed outside while the rest entered. Once Nami was settled into Dalton's bed, Daniel pulled out his first aid kit from his backpack. Taking the thermometer out of the kit, he placed it on her forehead. (It was the kind which was a heat sensitive piece of metal that changed colors from one side to the next depending on temperature, marks on the top and bottom for temperature)

When he looked at it ten seconds later, he let out a hiss and said "Damn, her temperature's gone up again, it's at 42°C now."

Dalton's eyes widened as he asked "42°C?!"

"It's been rising steadily for three days now." Vivi explained.

"If it raises any higher, then she will surely die." Dalton said in alarm.

"Yes. But we don't know what's causing her sickness, or how to treat it. Which is why we need to get into contact with this Dr. Kureha as soon as possible." Vivi said with a nod before she continued "I assume you have her Den Den Mushi number?"

Dalton's wince was not encouraging. Daniel raised up his right hand in order to drop his head into it as he said in a tired tone of voice "Oh great, she's one of those doctors, isn't she?"

"Daniel?" Vivi asked in confusion.

"Doesn't maintain a line of contact and lives in a remote area because they're stand offish but will come to town periodically for supplies and will treat people. Their 'payments' for treatment are either reasonable if a bit on the slightly expensive side or they take whatever is in their fancy at the moment. And it's always a gamble whether they're at their place of residence or out 'making the rounds' when you really need their help." Daniel explained, playing up the 'well learned of the world' angle.

Dalton nodded and said "You are correct Daniel." Pointing out his window, he continued "And the Witch has chosen an incredibly remote location to make her home. Do you see the mountain outside that window?"

Everyone looked only to see a large snowman blocking the sight of the mountain, and an equally large snow monster beside it.

"Hyper Mr. Snowman!" Luffy declared happily on his snow man.

"Snow Monster Shirona!" Usopp named his creation.

The pair clapped hands from the shoulders of their creations with a shout of "HEEY!"

Sanji gained shark teeth as he shouted "YOU DOLTS ARE DEAD!"

After Sanji had viciously destroyed the pair's creations with a pair of kicks then dragged the two inside by the backs of their coats, Dalton continued "Those mountains you see are the Drum Rockies. As you can see, there is a castle on top of the central one which is the tallest."

"Ah, I saw it as we approached the island." Sanji said with a nod.

"With King Wapol having fled, the Witch has made that her new home."

"Of all places, why does she live all the way up there?!" Sanji asked.

"Actually, it makes sense." Daniel stated. At all of the conscious Straw Hats' looks of incredulity at his statement, he held up his right hand in the air and said "With it being at the center of the island, she could use whatever method the people of this island have for getting to and from the castle to reach the closest village that has what she needs."

Dalton blinked before he asked to himself "So instead of having a flying reindeer and sled, she's just having her animal run along a line from the mountain top to the rest of the island?"

Daniel gave him a blank look and asked "Are you seriously just now figuring that out? What, did you think she was Santa Clause's older sister?"

Dalton coughed into fist in embarrassment before he said "In my defense, all six of the cables that had allowed access to the castle were destroyed in the pirate attack. However, if she had run a line of her own, then that could explain the eye witness accounts of her sled flying, especially if it was painted white to make it harder to see the line."

Daniel blinked and mentally face palmed as he thought 'Oh yeah, forgot the lines were cut when Blackbeard attacked.'

Not knowing that Daniel was mentally berating himself for forgetting that not so insignificant detail, Dalton continued "Unfortunately, she does not appear to have a set schedule for when she comes down from the castle. However, the towns do spread the word when she comes down. Your best option may be to simply wait here. We'll spread word to the other villagers that you are in need of her services and they'll tell her when they see her next."

Sanji glared out the window at the castle and growled out "But while we wait here, Nami-Swan will..."

He trailed off when he heard a slapping sound and the rest of the people in the room saw Luffy lightly slapping Nami's face, a seemingly bemused Danial watching.

"Oi, Nami, wake up." Luffy said, continuing to hit Nami's cheek.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Sanji, Usopp, and Vivi asked as one with shark teeth.

Daniel inwardly agreed. Shaking her awake would have been better for this but still...

That said, Nami DID quickly wake up and Luffy said "Oh good, you're awake! Listen, you can't see a doctor unless we climb a mountain. SO we're going mountain climbing."

"IDIOT!" Daniel shouted, back fisting Luffy's face hard enough his head was thrown back far enough to lightly tap the wall ten feet away. Even though he had seen Luffy's arm stretch back at the cliff, Dalton's eyes widened at the sight of Luffy's neck stretching so far. When Luffy's head snapped back into position, Daniel continued "Did you not just hear about the line the doctor set up to get up and down the mountain!? Why are you talking about climbing up such a steep and tall mountain when we can just come up with a way to use that?! Even running along the top of the rope would be better than making such a long climb."

"But wouldn't just going straight to the mountain and climbing up it be quicker than going to wherever this cable thing is?" Luffy asked.

"Don't be a dumbass!" Usopp shouted with shark teeth, practically teleporting to Luffy's side and hitting the top of his head with a fist hard enough Luffy's head sunk into his chest up to his eyes. Yanking Luffy back up by the ear, he continued "Even if there was a ladder you could climb, it would be straight up! And that's AFTER you took however long to reach said mountain! Whereas as soon as you reach the cable you'll be going both towards the mountain AND up with every foot you travel along the cable's path!"

"Um, not that I don't agree with what you're saying..." Vivi said, drawing everyone's attention to her. The Princess looked uncertain as she asked "If Dalton is only just now realizing how this Dr. Kureha is getting to and from the castle, would anyone even know WHERE this line is?"

Daniel turned to look at Dalton and asked "Is there a town that she is usually seen at first or last during her visits?"

Dalton scratched at his scalp for a moment before he said "I believe that would be Gyatsa." He then nodded and said "In fact, she used to have a house in a large tree on the outskirts there."

Daniel nodded firmly as well and said "Well, if that tree's large enough to have housed a doctor and everything she would need for her practice, then it's definitely big enough to tie a line large enough for a reindeer and sled to use up to the mountain." Turning his gaze to Luffy, he continued "We get to Gyatsa, we have our way up to the castle."

"We?" Luffy asked with a head cocked to the side.

"I AM the one who brought money to pay the not so good Doctor." Daniel said with a raised eyebrow.

"And I'll be coming with you as well." Sanji said firmly before he looked at Dalton and asked "Oi, how do we get to this Gyatsa place?"

Scene Change: Outskirts Of Gyatsa

'Man, I love my Flames!' Daniel thought with a grin as he shot through the woods, Cloud Flames on his legs to Propagate his speed and a three foot tall wedge of Storm Flames keeping a steady pace five feet ahead of him, constantly Disintegrating the snow ahead of him allowing them to run on solid ground. Daniel was running at the head of a line, Sanji behind him with Nami secured to his back and Luffy behind him. Luffy was going to have her on his back rather than Sanji but Daniel had pointed out that it would be better for him to be at the back in order to catch anyone who fell off the rope and that Nami really should be in the middle of the group. Sanji certainly wasn't complaining about carrying their Navigator...

As Gyatsa came into sight, Daniel pulled a hand drawn map out of his pocket and took a quick glance at it before he turned to the left and went around the village. Ten minutes later, the line stopped at a large tree. And sure enough, tied around that tree was a large white robe that lead towards the mountain.

"Great, there IS a way up. I wasn't looking forward to having to Disintegrate us a way up there." Daniel said. Immediately after, he took off his back pack and slipped out of his light coat, swapping it for the heavier one in his pack and grabbing a water bottle, quickly draining it. Sanji accepted another while Luffy shook his head. Once finished with his bottle, Daniel reached into the pack again and Propagated a pack of hand warmers before handing them out to Sanji and Luffy. He did the same with the much thinner foot warmer packs along with a row of tape from his first aid kit. Handing the tape to Luffy, he said "Here, tape those to the bottom of your feet so you don't have to keep your toes clenched around them."

"Why do you still have those sandals on anyway?" Sanji asked even as he slipped off his left shoe to put the foot warmer inside before putting the shoe back on and doing the same with his right shoe. (And keeping Nami perfectly still as he did so)

"It's my police!" Luffy said with a grin even as he practically mummified his right foot with tape, just leaving his toes free to clench to said sandal's strap.

Daniel rolled his eyes as Sanji looked confused and asked "Do you mean policy?"

Luffy nodded and said "Yeah, that!"

Shoes back on, Daniel grabbed a pair of gloves from his pack and then zipped it back up. (Luffy had used ALL of the admittedly small roll of tape so no need to put it in the pack) Putting his pack back into place, Daniel shifted it a little before he tightened the shoulder straps and buckled the waist strap as he said "Alright you two, there aren't any platforms between here and the mountain top so it's going to be a single run. Are you guys ready or do you need a few more minutes?"

"I'm ready, we need to get Nami to the Witch Doctor quick!" Luffy said with a determined look.

Sanji nodded and said "I'm good, and the idiot's right, the sooner we get Nami-Swan to the doctor the sooner she can start treating her."

Daniel nodded then put a hand on the rope. A quick hop later, he was crouched on the line. Carefully standing up, he took a few cautious steps with arms out before he lowered them as he took a few more sure footed steps. Nodding to himself, he took a few more steps before crouching with one hand on the line and nodded to the other two.

Once both were on the rope, Daniel stood back up, took a deep breath, and then said "Alright, here we go." Again, his first steps were slow. But after five steps, he began going faster, first to a normal walk, then to a jog, then into a 'normal' run for him, then into a sprint. Three hundred feet up the rope, Daniel's arms went behind him as he leaned further forward into his run and the Cloud Flames around his legs flared as he kicked his speed up one last gear and began ascending the line at a respectable twenty miles per hour. A glance back would have shown both Sanji and Luffy keeping pace with him, Sanji easier than Luffy, though the Captain never lost any distance on his Chef.

For nine minutes, Daniel focused on only five things, where he placed his feet, keeping said feet both moving at a constant speed and his Cloud Flames around them, and not only keeping his breathing regulated but also Propagating the Oxygen his lungs took in. He didn't say anything, he didn't look back, and the other two males behind him didn't say anything either, not even to each other.

After nine minutes, the sprinting trio reached the top of the mountain and Daniel ran for five more strides before he curved to the right, skidding to a stop and putting hands to knees as he panted, the Cloud Flames around his legs fading away while he slowly ended the Propagation in his lungs. As he did so, he said "Give yourselves a minute or two to acclimatize to the thinner air guys, we rose up pretty fast."

"Indeed, that was quite the run you three just did." A voice stated.

All three males looked over at where the voice came from, and saw a woman with a rather fit body but an incredibly aged face with a somewhat beak like nose and silvery grey hair. By her side was a reindeer wearing a pink hat hooked up to a sleigh, though it was already slipping out of the harness to the sleigh, looking over the group with nervous intelligence.

"Doctor Kureha I assume?" Daniel asked as he straightened.

"That's right brat. I assume that girl on the blonde's back is a patient you wish me to tend to." The Doctor stated.

Daniel nodded and said "This crew was on Little Garden last and in between transit their Navigator fell ill with an incredibly high fever."

"I see. And 'Their Navigator'? You talk as if you are not a part of their crew." Dr. Kureha stated with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not. But my own means of travel was destroyed in a bad storm so I paid for passage with them until they reach Water 7 or another island with a ship building industry to buy a replacement." Daniel stated.

The 'Witch' hummed at that before she turned towards the castle set into the center of the mountain top and said "Well come on then, let's get her inside and I'll take a look. Chopper, you might as well leave the sled there for now. Given that he said 'fell ill' and not wounded, this shouldn't take much on our end."

"Yes Doctorine." Chopper said, startling Sanji and Luffy.

"Holy crap, did that reindeer just talk?!" Sanji asked with wide eyes.

"He's clearly a Zoan type Sanji." Daniel said, sounding like he saw Zoans on the street every day. That said, knowing that Chopper could speak in full reindeer form and hearing him do so was certainly quite the difference that you had to experience for yourself to believe.

"That's so cool! You can turn into a reindeer!" Luffy said, literally bouncing over to Chopper then around him with glowing eyes.

"BAKA! Your excitement won't make me happy!" Chopper shouted even as he started doing a short prancing kind of dance proving otherwise.

"CHOPPER!" Dr. Kureha barked from the castle doorway.

Chopper eeped and immediately bolted for the castle as he said "Coming Doctorine!"

The trio of males quickly followed the pair inside, taking a moment to look up when they heard chirping. Set at the top of the large door was a nest filled with a trio of young white birds and Daniel said "That's gotta make keeping this place warm rather hard."

Luffy and Sanji nodded but didn't say anything as they followed Chopper and Dr. Kureha up the stairs and into a room that had been turned into an examination room and the Dr. pointed at one of the two beds as she said "Put her there sonny."

Sanji was quick to do so and Dr. Kureha stuck her pointer finger on Nami's forehead. Her brows furrowed the slightest bit as she said "Hm, 42.3°, quite a fever she has." Turning towards Daniel, she queried "You said you were on Little Garden previously."

"That's right." Daniel acknowledged.

Giving a hum, Dr. Kureha proceeded to strip Nami of all of her clothes. Daniel of course had the foresight to spin around the moment she started, Luffy just watched on in worry, but Sanji's jaw dropped and his eyes immediately turned to hearts as he watched. Or at least they did before Dr. Kureha mule kicked him out of the room through the doorway without even looking. Having seen that, Daniel grabbed Luffy and tossed him out after the chef. Then, keeping himself turned away, he asked "You're thinking bug bite transmitted disease Doctor?"

"That's right." Dr. Kureha said before she let out a 'hmph' and said "There we go, Tick on her stomach." She grabbed a pair of tweezers and quickly removed the tick, sticking it in a small jar which she set on the nearby table.

"Which most likely means it's Kestia right Doctorine?" Chopper asked, nudging a stool over to the bed then switching to Brain Point as he looked at the area.

"That's right Chopper. You know what to do." Dr. Kureha stated.

"Right." Chopper said with a nod.

Daniel felt the female of the Doctor Pair clap a hand on his shoulder and he heeded the message and followed her out of the room. Luffy was looking into the room with stars in his eyes while Sanji was leaning against the nearby wall, smoking a cigarette and looking worried.

Dr. Kureha put a hand on Luffy's face and shoved him away before closing the door and said "Alright, bad news first, your friend caught what we call in the medical world a 'super bug' that mostly went extinct 100 years ago. It's called Kestia, named after the tick that spreads it, but it also goes by another name, the Five Day Sickness, so called because after five days the person dies. Most doctors wouldn't have what you need to treat her." Before Sanji and Luffy could do more than gape in horror, the youthful old lady continued "Good news, you brought her to me. I keep the proper medicine for any and all diseases I know about, and I know a LOT of them."

"Then does that means she'll get better?!" Luffy asked eagerly.

"That's right." Dr. Kureha said with a nod.

Luffy threw up his arms and said "Yahoo!"

Sanji grinned and said "That's excellent!"

"Now then, about payment for services rendered..." Dr. Kureha said with a shark's grin.

"Will two million cover it?" Daniel asked as he took off his back pack and unzipped it, reaching in for the lock box inside.

Dr. Kureha blinked, before her grin turned from predatory to straight up amused as she asked "Heard of me before then, have you Sonny?"

"You have quite the reputation, even off of this island Doctor." Daniel said in amusement as he turned away to open the lock box. When it opened, he raised an eyebrow at her since she hadn't answered his question.

The Doctor huffed in amusement and gave a dismissive wave and said "Sure, we'll go with that and call it even."

When Daniel turned back around, he had the agreed upon amount (All non Propagated bills, since he wasn't going to chance she could detect a bill was copied) and the lock box was closed again. Putting the lock box in his back pack, he tossed the folded money to her and Dr. Kureha undid the rubber band holding the money together and quickly ran a thumb over the bills. Satisfied, she refolded the money and stuck it down her shirt as she said "I do so appreciate a customer who knows how the world works."

Daniel huffed out in amusement before he jerked his head in the direction of the room they just left and asked "How soon can this crew's Navigator travel Doctor?"

Dr. Kureha glanced back as well for a moment and said "By its nature, once treatment begins, it takes 10 days to recover from the disease. Even with the medicine, she'll have to stay put for three days."

"WHAT?! BUT WE HAVE TO-GRK!" Luffy started to shout only for Daniel's hand to lance out and literally strangled the last of his words, Cloud Flames brightly flickering across his right hand.

While Dr. Kureha looked at the Cloud Flames in interest, Daniel gave Luffy a flat look and said "First of all, Captain Luffy, keep your voice down, this is a medical facility." Dr. Kureha let out a short bark of laughter at that even as he continued "Second of all, you don't have a Doctor aboard your crew so even if we left right after your Navigator received treatment, if she backslid we'd be up shit creek without a paddle, forced to turn around and come right back here. So either convince one of the two Doctors here to join your crew or wait the three days. Those are your ONLY options."

As Daniel released Luffy's throat, Dr. Kureha said with a raised eyebrow "The youngster's got a point you know. Your friend really could die if her condition gets bad again without a Doctor aboard your ship to look after her. Whatever you're in such a hurry to get to will just have to wait."

As she spoke, the door cracked open and Chopper slipped out. He said a medical term to Dr. Kureha that Daniel didn't understand then switched to reindeer mode and took off further into the castle at a gallop, apparently going to fetch something(s).

Seeing Luffy's gaze lock onto Chopper's retreating form and a grin forming, Daniel immediately dope slapped him and said "Let the guy finish treating Nami before you go badgering him!"

"I've got him." Sanji said, grabbing Luffy by the arm and quickly walking in the opposite direction.

Daniel waited until he was sure those two were gone before he looked at Dr. Kureha and said "Fair warning, that Straw Hat idiot's probably going to convince your apprentice to join his crew by the time we leave."

"Hmph, he's welcome to try, but Chopper's heart has taken quite the abuse by the humans of this island. It will take something truly special for him to trust you guys." Dr. Kureha said with a frown.

Daniel nodded before he frowned and said "One other thing, we apparently ran into the ship of your cowardly former king out at sea yesterday. We damaged his ship but there's a good chance he's going to find this island soon, if he hasn't already."

Dr. Kureha's eyes turned hard and she said "Thanks for the warning."

Daniel nodded, glanced at the door behind them before he turned back around and said "I'm heading back down, the rest of the crew needs to be informed that their Navigator is being tended to and that we need to stay here for at least another three days."

"You know, for someone who seems to be doing his best to help things along, you're sure putting a lot of effort into keeping your distance from this Crew you paid passage for." Dr. Kureha noted.

Daniel shrugged and said "I paid them to take me to a ship building island. Until that destination is reached, I'm just a paying customer. After we reach said island though, well, we'll just have to see."

Dipping his head to the doctor in farewell, he turned and strode down the nearby stairs. As he left, the Doctor reached over to a nearby shelf and grabbed a wine bottle holding fermented sour plum juice. Biting at the cork and pulling it out, the Doctor spat the object back onto the shelf and raised the bottle to her lips as she muttered to herself "Interesting kid."

Daniel meanwhile walked out of the castle to the rope and looked out. As he did so, his eyes erupted into Cloud Flames as he Propagated his eyesight. He immediately gained a scowl at what he could now see and the Flames dissipated before he launched himself off of the mountain top, landing on the cable line and grinding his way down its length.

END