"Yata! We've finally arrived at the second island of the Grand Line! It smells like an adventure!" Shouts Luffy sitting on the head of the Merry. In front of us stands an island covered in lush jungle, with no city or civilization on the horizon. Above the trees, we can see mountains all white and others black, which seem to be the only relief of this island.
"Is this Little Garden?! What is this lush jungle? It looks like it has never been explored?" Said Usopp as he looked around warily, expecting creatures to jump out at us.
"KRAAAA! KRAAAA!" A shrill howl is heard, Usopp and Nami flinch in fear.
"Wha... What is it!" asks Nami as she scans the sky. We all look up to see a strange bird with claws on its fingertips and a jaw full of teeth instead of a beak.
"BAAAM! GROAR!" We turn to the source of the noise and see a giant tiger fall dead on the shore. Nami drastically loses her color.
"It's a tiger! A giant tiger that has just been killed! It is out of the question that we land on this island! We'll just wait for the Log Pose to load!" Argues Nami, with tears in her eyes. I let out a sigh, cross my arms and look at Nami with a blank stare.
"Nami." She turns to me. "The Log Pose takes 1 year to load on this island. " I say in a neutral tone. Sanji drops his cigarette, Nami, Vivi and Usopp lose their colors. Zoro clenches his jaw, fist clenched around one of his swords, and Luffy has his face hidden by his hat.
"Wha... What? You... You're playing a joke on us, right?" Vivi asks as she approaches me, her legs shaking. I shake my head.
"Sorry Vivi, but it's the truth." Vivi falls to the floor and starts to cry.
"That's... That's why Miss Allsunday has... She told us we'd never make it to Alabastaaaa!" She shrieks with grief. "We'll never get to Alabasta in time to stop the rebellion! Crocodile has already won!" Vivi screams as she hits the deck with all her might. I walk up to Vivi and grab her fists, preventing her from getting hurt.
"All is not lost yet." Vivi looks at me with tear-filled eyes.
"And what is this miracle solution?" I smile at her and stand up.
"I sense the presence of the two Baroque Works agents we met at Whisky Peak. They probably have an Eternal Pose to go back to Alabasta." Vivi stops crying and stands up.
"Are you sure?" I nod and point in a direction.
"Yes, and they are in that direction. However, there are four of them, so be careful." Vivi nods.
"Yoch! Sanji! Get some bentos ready for us! We'll explore and blow their heads off!" Luffy asks with a huge grin and jumps up and down, unable to stay put. Sanji heads to the kitchen without waiting.
"I'll take care of it, Captain." Sanji quickly returns with a bento for everyone.
" Wait up everyone! We need to get organized before we go exploring the island and finding the agents!" Says Nami as she sees Luffy, Zoro and Sanji start to jump off the boat. They look at Nami before shrugging their shoulders.
"Explore, find the agents, beat them and get their Eternal Pose. Is that all?" Zoro asks. Nami blinks at the answer.
"Uh huh... Yeah, but..."
"Then everything is ok. Let's go on an adventure!" Luffy yells as he jumps to the ground, followed by Zoro and Sanji. Quickly, they get swallowed by the jungle.
"ARG! What a bunch of idiots! Why do they always have to run headlong!" Nami shouts while stamping her foot. My hand rests on her shoulder and looks at her with an amused expression.
"Come on, don't get upset, they'll figure it out. " Nami gives me a dark look.
"And you! You couldn't have stopped Luffy from destroying that Eternal Pose, if you knew it takes a year to load the Log Pose?!" She accuses me, sticking her finger in my breast. I shrug.
"I'm here as a tourist, have you forgotten? Be grateful that I deign to give you some information about this island." I say with a mischievous smile as I head to the room. Nami grunts an incompressible response as she ruffles her hair.
I go back to my room, grab a notebook and pen, then jump on the railing and turn to the others.
"I'm off to explore the island."
"Huh! What!" Nami begins. But before she can say anything else, I jump up and walk quietly into the jungle. Nami yells at me to come back, but I ignore her.
I pull my little Den Den Mochi out of my pocket and put it on my shoulder.
"Hi, are you ready for a little photo shoot?" The snail nods with a big smile, he was tired of staying in the vivarium.
We walk quietly in the jungle for several minutes, punctuated by my footsteps and the clicks of the Den Den Mochi. We finally arrive in a small clearing full of flowers of all colors, sizes and shapes. I grab my notebook and carefully approach a large blue flower with yellow dots circled in red. I begin to draw it, thinking. Have I seen this flower before? Once I have finished my drawing and taken a picture, I take a piece of wood and gently touch the flower, which immediately closes on the piece of wood with impressive strength for a plant. Obviously, it is carnivorous. I let go of the piece of wood when gastric juices begin to flow down the branch, which dissolves there in a shrill crackling sound. I note this information next to the drawing and move on to the next plant.
I continue to quietly list all the plants in the clearing, listening to the wildlife around me and the volcanoes spewing lava. I finish my last drawing and start to leave the clearing but a T-rex covered with red and orange feathers blocks my way, its drool drips from its large teeth and it lets out a terrifying growl. The snail looks at him with an annoyed look and takes a picture as if nothing had happened. My snails are used to being with me and clearly seeing a T-rex is not the scariest thing they've seen.
"Hey big guy, want to take a ride with me?" For all answer, he yells and runs towards me, mouth wide open.
"You want to play?" I say with a toothy grin while releasing my haki. The T-rex stops right in front of me in a skid, staring at me with wide eyes. Its feathers are erect all over its body from the goosebumps. I jump on him and place myself at the base of his neck.
"Come on, let's go! Show me your island!" I say as I point ahead of us. The T-rex pushes a small growl and starts to advance in the dense jungle.
After a few minutes, we hear a huge boom about 200 yards away and see two giants fighting together with shields, swords and axes. The T-rex starts to back away from this fight. I let him do it, after all this fight does not concern me. We end up in a big plain with huge dinosaurs with long necks, diplodocus if I remember correctly. There are also other smaller dinosaurs, mostly herbivores, but there are a few carnivores hunting or just drinking from the river. I draw this landscape while the T-rex quietly continues its way through the forest, without attacking another dinosaur.
The time passes quietly, half of my notebook is filled with different animals, plants and landscapes. I am sitting cross-legged, leaning against the belly of the T-rex which has fallen asleep, rolled into a ball. We stopped at the foot of a big tree, at the top of a small hill. Giving us a magnificent view of this world full of extinct creatures. It must have been a few hours since I left. I've been absentmindedly following the movements of the others and their encounters with the giants and Baroque Works agents. Fortunately, it seems they were able to defeat them, but they are still injured. I yawn and stand up stretching, the T-rex looks up as it senses my movement.
"You can go back to bed big guy. I'm going home now. Thanks again for the ride." I say as I stroke the carnivore's rough muzzle, which responds with a small growl that might be similar to a purr. I smile and leap into the air, taking the direction of the others, who have started to head towards the ship. I hope they found the Eternal Pose.
I look at the boat below. Sanji and Zoro are currently arguing over the corpses of two dinosaurs, to see who killed the bigger one. I land quietly on the deck.
"Hi everyone! What's up? What did I miss?" I barely had time to finish my sentence when Luffy tackled me, knocking me backwards onto the deck and nearly knocking over my snail.
"Stella! You're finally here! Where have you been?" Luffy asks with his eternal smile, I laugh as I ruffle his hair.
"I went to explore the island and draw a little." Luffy's eyes light up.
"You're drawing?! Can I see?!" I pull out the notebook and hand it to him.
"Yes of course, but be careful with it. Okay?" Luffy nods briskly, gently takes my notebook and starts flipping through it with Usopp and Sanji over his shoulder. I stand up, dusting off my clothes and checking on my snail. He is currently staring at Luffy with a wary look on his face, obviously he didn't like being shaken.
"Wouaaa! You draw too well Stella!" Usopp raves as he brings his nose close to my drawings.
"Yes Stella-chan, you have a real talent! You are really amazing!" Sanji confirms. I smile softly.
"That's nice boys but it's not a talent, I just learned to draw over time." I walk away as I approach Nami and Vivi.
"So? Did you find the Eternal Pose?" Nami nods as she pulls out the Elernal Pose, which has a plaque on it with Alabasta's name.
"Yes, it was Zoro who found it when he got lost in the forest." Zoro has his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.
I didn't get lost! It was the others who left the path." The others shake their heads in annoyance and I understand that this is not the first time he has gotten lost. A small click echoes in the direction of Zoro, who has his arms crossed, his cheeks puffed out like a child and is sulking in his corner. I smile at my snail, who winks at me. He loves to take compromising pictures of the people around him, including me of course. Zoro frowns and looks around to find out where that little noise is coming from. He finally looks at me and sees my little companion. At the same time, he is clearly visible with his blue shell with a purple gradient and silver arabesques running across it.
"What is this thing?" The Den Den looks at him with squinted eyes before turning its head. "Hey, don't ignore me bug!" I bite my lips to keep from laughing and say mischievously.
"This is Aoi, he likes to take pictures of everything around him. Don't mind him." Zoro glares at the little animal.
"He better not take my picture, or I'll give him to the Cook to cook!" He threatens, pointing at him. Aoi hides in him shell and looks at me with teary eyes. I hide my mouth with my hand so that my amused smile can't be seen.
"Zoro, don't tell me you're afraid of a little snail? ~" Zoro scowls and crosses his arms, turning his head away.
"As if he could scare me." He mumbles as he walks away. Aoi comes out of his shell with a big smug smile, I roll my eyes with an amused grin. He likes to make fun of humans, it's his little pleasure. Of course it works better when I'm with him, because he knows that nothing will happen to him. I feel a presence near me, turning my head, I see Luffy's puzzled face only an inch from my shoulder, staring at Aoi.
"What is this? Does it eat?" Aoi's eyes bulge with fear and he goes to hide deep inside his shell. My hand lands on Luffy's face and pulls him away from my shoulder.
"No, this is Aoi, one of my Den Den Mochi. He can call from a short distance and take pictures. And you better not hurt him, that's clear." I say seriously. He blinks before flashing a big smile.
"So cool! I want one too!" He says as he hops around me, it draws the attention of the others.
"Is that a Den Den Mochi? I've never seen one of this color before, it's beautiful." Said Vivi. Hearing the compliment, Aoi slowly comes out of his shell but seeing that Luffy is still there, he turns to me. I caress his shell encouraging him to come out.
"Let me introduce you to Aoi! He and Mura are two Den Den Mochi photographers that I took with me. I think you will see them often, I want to make a photo album of your adventures. What do you say?" Everyone smiles at my idea, except for Zoro who always pouts.
"That's a great idea! I want Mura to be with me!" Luffy exclaims. I cross my arms and look at Luffy.
"No way are you touching one of my babies. If you want one, you have to find it yourself. Is that clear?" I say as I look at Luffy darkly. There's no way he's putting his hands on them, he could hurt them or worse. The captain puts on a disappointed and sulky face.
"It's not fair! Why can't I have it?" I squint my eyes.
"Have you ever had a pet?" He blinks and points to Kaloo, who answers with an indignant squeak.
"No, that doesn't count, since it's Vivi's." Kaloo nods proudly before realizing that I consider him just a pet, he lets out an even more indignant squeak.
"But heuuuuu... All the other animals I've met were just there to be eaten." I roll my eyes and cross my arms.
"Then it's dead, get yourself a Den Den, but don't touch mine." Luffy sulks even more.
"Don't sulk Luffy, I'm sure we'll find some Den Den Mochi in Alabasta." Tries to reassure Vivi. Luffy continues to glare at me but seeing that I don't let go, he finally sighs.
"Fine, I won't touch your snails." I breathe a sigh of relief and smile at him.
"I'm counting on you, Captain." He shrugs and his smile quickly returns.
"Yoch! We're casting off! We need to get to Alabasta fast so I can buy a snail photographer!" He takes a blow on the head from Nami.
"No! We're going there to save Vivi's kingdom!" The group begins to set the ship in motion to leave the island. We come out of the jungle and see two large presences on either side of the river.
"Oh, look at the giants! They've come to say goodbye!" The two giants stare at the horizon as we pass by them.
"You will soon learn the reason why all the men who landed on this island never then reached the next." Say the two giants. "You have shown courage to protect our honor. It is now up to us to help you." They raise their weapons, ready to fight.
"Look! Straight ahead!" Nami shouts, pointing to something huge breaking through the surface of the water.
"This time you're going to have to let our friends pass Gobe-isles! I swear it on the gods of Erbaf!" In front of us, a Sea King (goldfish), blocks our way. Hmmm... We would need a large aquarium for this goldfish.
"Somebody take the helm! We need to change course!" Nami shouts in total panic.
"No! We have to go straight! Do you agree Luffy?!" Asks Usopp to Luffy, who is the only one who is relaxed.
"Well yes, of course! " The boat continues its course straight towards the mouth of the goldfish, which closes it with a sharp blow on us, plunging us into the dark. My eyes twitch and I slowly draw Seima, the blade glowing softly in the darkness.
"Stella." Luffy's voice echoes in the darkness. I frown.
"Yes, kid?"
"Trust them." Even in the dark, I can hear his smile. I clench my jaw and sheath Seima. Suddenly, everything shakes around us and a circle goes around the boat making a huge hole in the fish, allowing us to fly into the sky.
"YOUHOU! WE ARE FLIGHTING!" I breathe a sigh of relief, reassured that we got out safely. Otherwise, I would have had to punch a hole in the fish myself and leave the crew behind. The ship landed on the water with a big splash, knocking everyone to the ground.
"That was so cool! Let's do it again!"
"NO!" Everyone retorts.
We head for Alabasta under the songs of Luffy and Usopp on the land of the Erbaf giants. I watch them with amusement. Nami is sitting on the ground, quickly joined by Vivi. I start to approach them but my attention is drawn to something else.
" ... 2603... 2604... " Zoro is counting something at the back of the ship, I glance at the girls who have been joined by Sanji. Seeing that they look okay, I walk over to Zoro. He is shirtless, sweating, lifting a steel bar with a multitude of weights on it, contracting and rolling all the muscles in his back and arms. This sight would probably have titillated any girl, but it doesn't make me hot or cold. I lean against the wall as I watch him work out.
"Shit. I need to progress faster. I need to get strong enough to successfully slice through steel!" I smile and see tangerines above me, I pick one, throw it up and down in my hand a few times before throwing it towards Zoro, who gets it in the head.
"Huh! What?!" Says Zoro as he sees the tangerine roll across the floor. He puts his weight down, picks it up and turns to me. "Can I ask what you're doing?" Pointing to the tangerine as if that will explain everything. I shrug and smile mischievously.
"You say you want to slice steel but you can't even dodge a tangerine." He raises an eyebrow.
"What does that have to do with it?" I roll my eyes, take the tangerine from his hands and start peeling it.
"When you learn observation haki, you'll also have weapons haki, at which point slicing steel will be very simple." I eat a tangerine wedge and hand one to Zoro who takes it and gobbles it up.
"Maybe. But I'm not going to stop other workouts just to focus on yours." I eat another tangerine wedge.
"You know... Brute strength isn't everything, look at me. I'm a fucking stick in comparison to you, but I beat you to the punch. Miwalk is muscular but he's not a mountain of muscle, yet he's the best swordsman in the world." Zoro frowns as he looks at the new tangerine wedge in his hand before eating it.
"What would you advise me to do?" I swallow the last piece of fruit while looking up at the sky.
"Do what you think is best. The most important thing is that you stay alive and have fun." I say as I return my gaze to him with a soft smile. Zoro stares at me before smiling back.
"COME QUICK! NAMI IS BURNING UP WITH FEVER!" We hear Vivi scream, totally alarmed. We rush to the deck and see Nami collapsed on the floor. Shit! I jump over the stairs and fall to my knees next to Nami's body. My hand lands on her forehead and feels like she''s burning up.
"Stella-chan! Is Nami going to die?!" Sanji asks in tears. I give him a dark look, definitely not amused.
"I don't know about that right now! But don't EVER say things like that again, Is that clear?!" I say as I yell at him. I pick Nami up, quickly bring her into the bedroom and lay her down gently on the bed before starting to undress her.
"Uh... S.. Stella? What are you doing?" Usopp asks with a red face, Sanji is no better. Only Luffy is unperturbed, eyebrows furrowed.
"Get out of my way if you mind, but I need to check him out. " I take off his shirt and begin to remove his bandage from his shoulder.
"Maybe it's the Grand Line climate? There are a lot of sailors getting sick from climate change." Vivi asks. My eyes roam carefully over Nami's body.
"That may be the case, but we have just left a prehistoric island. It's an environment untouched by civilization, a humid climate with a multitude of bugs and plants that can be toxic or carry disease. So, we need to check that she hasn't been bitten by something." I frown as I see a small red mark on her stomach.
"Shit! Nami! Nami can you hear me?!" Nami groans and slowly opens her eyes, she looks at me with difficulty struggling to keep her eyes open. "Nod your head if you understand what I am saying." She slowly nods her head. "Okay, does it hurt when I press here? Or an itchy feeling?" I ask as I scratch the red mark. She frowns, nods again and slowly closes her eyes. "Nami! Stay with us! Does it hurt here?" She shakes her head. "Itchy?" She nods her head. I swallow with difficulty.
"Shit!" I stand up, rubbing my hair in frustration.
"Stella! What the hell is going on?! What's wrong with her?!" Everyone asks. This is the first time they've seen me lose my temper.
"She got stung by something, a plant or an insect. At best she's poisoned, at worst she caught a disease on this island." Everyone paled.
"How is it better that she is poisoned than that she caught a disease?" Vivi asked with her hands in front of her mouth as she looked at Nami.
"Poisons don't change too much from era to era, but that's absolutely not the case with insect-borne diseases. They evolve with their hosts, so they are much more complex. There are insect-borne diseases that are not treatable today, unlike poisons, all of which have a treatment. Unfortunately, there's not much I can do about that right now." I look around at the others with a serious expression.
"WHAT?! NAMI IS GOING TO DIE ?! WE MUST FIND A DOCTOR !" Luffy screams in total panic.
"No... We can't..." We hear Nami whispering before she stands up with great difficulty. I support her and let her lean on me while wrapping my arm around her waist.
"Vivi... Look in my desk drawer... There's a newspaper..." Vivi walks over to the desk and finds the journal. I rub Nami's back with her head against my neck, the heat she gives off proves her fever has risen again.
"Oh no..."
"What is it, Vivi? Is it about Alabasta?" Sanji asks. Vivi has her hands clutching the newspaper, almost tearing it apart.
"Yes... There are more than 300,000 soldiers of the royal army who have gone over to the rebel side! With that, the balance of power is completely reversed!" Nami groaned slightly.
"The situation in Alabasta is getting worse and worse... This paper is three days old... I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I didn't want to worry you more..." I frown, even though I understand the principle, I don't like where this conversation is going.
"Anyway, you need to see a doctor Nami, because otherwise..." Usopp begins before being interrupted by Nami trying to pull away from me.
"I'll be fine Usopp... Stella must be mistaken, I just got sunstroke or something. It'll pass on its own." I give her a glare, which she deftly avoids as she gets up and starts to leave. "We continue on the road as planned... Straight to Alabasta. But it was nice of you to worry about me." My dark look intensifies and I cross my arms until out of the room, I click my tongue in annoyance. If she doesn't want my help, too bad for her. Vivi who has fallen to the floor and stares at the newspaper with a blank look before crumpling it up.
"If I don't do something to stop them, it will be the end of Alabasta! And Crocodile will have the run of the country! I've got to get home soon! Otherwise, that's over a million of my subjects going to kill each other for nothing!" I frown at this dramatic situation, Alabasta is a country I like. I know the history of its country and its royal family, and the choice they made centuries ago. It would really piss me off if Crocodile was responsible for its destruction, I'll have to have a chat with him if I get the chance.
"A million! That's a lot!" Says Luffy, I agree with him.
"HO! WE GET OUT OF HERE! WE NEED TO GET TO WORK!" We hear Zoro yell outside and we all run out of the room. My eyes immediately fall on Nami who is standing leaning on a railing, looking out to sea. The air pressure has changed, a sign of an incoming tornado.
"Nami? What's going on? The sea and wind seem calm." Sanji asks.
"The wind... The wind is coming from the front... I'm sure of it." I raise an eyebrow, obviously even sick as a dog, she is able to sense air flows. Which is an indispensable gift to navigate on the Grand Line. Luffy approaches Nami, puts his hand on her forehead and quickly withdraws it.
"OUCH! You're burning up! I changed my mind, let's get a doctor!" Declares the captain, holding his hand. Nami frowns.
"It's my normal temperature! Stop fooling around and go hoist the sails." I roll my eyes at this lame excuse, as does Luffy who gives Nami a flat stare, a sign that he doesn't believe her.
"You're not fooling anyone Nami, so stop fighting. We're going to find a doctor. Right captain?" Luffy nods, crossing his arms.
"Yes. No discussion. Captain's orders!" Nami frowns, she was about to say something but Vivi walks out of the room looking grim.
"Listen to me, I have a favor to ask. I know I'm just a passenger, but I have to get back to my country at all costs. There is not a moment to lose! That's why I would like us to reach the kingdom of Alabasta at top speed!" I clench my jaw, clench my fists, and begin to look at Vivi with hostility, as does the rest of the crew, except for Nami.
"Of course Vivi! We promised you!" Said Nami with a big smile.
"So, in that case, we need to start by finding an island with a doctor. We need to heal Nami before we continue to Alabasta! So let's go full speed ahead!" I breathe a sigh of relief, Luffy immediately regains his smile.
"Shishishi! Of course Vivi! We'll go faster when Nami is healed!"
"Thank you all and thank you Nami for everything you did, you can rest now." Seeing that Nami is starting to sway on her feet, I approach her and put my hand on her shoulder. She lifts her head a little and looks at me with an apologetic expression.
"From... Sorry... I shouldn't have ignored you... I think I'm at the end of my rope..." Her legs give out from under her but I catch her easily in my arms.
"HAAAA! WHAT IS THIS!" Luffy screams as he points to the left. A huge cyclone just appeared in the middle of the ocean, but luckily we were able to change direction thanks to Nami's directions.
"Holy cow! That was a close call!" I carry Nami like a princess and head to the room.
"Everyone to your stations! Head south in search of a doctor." Luffy yells behind me as I enter the room. Nami is breathing with difficulty in my arms, I lay her down gently and tuck her in with the thick blanket, then pull out the medical kit and get out everything I need.
"Nami, hold on. Those idiots won't get far without you. So don't let go of anything, okay?" I ask a Nami who barely managed to groan a response. I sit down on the chair next to the desk, resting my elbow on it and my head resting in my palm, looking at Nami. Aoi looks at me with concern, it's not often he sees her partner like this.
"How is she?" Vivi asks as she enters. I look at her before shifting my gaze to Nami.
"Worse and worse, she's stable, but I don't know for how long yet." Vivi tends to Nami as best she can. A sigh escapes my lips, I get up and start to walk out of the room.
"Keep an eye on her, will you?" Vivi nods as she focuses on Nami. Outside, the guys are watching the ocean, a cold wind is pushing the ship, a sign that we are approaching a winter island.
"Guys! Get out the jackets and blankets. The temperature is about to start dropping."
"Oh really? Yet the temperatures are still good?" Said Usopp, looking up at the sky.
"Believe me, the snow will fall soon, especially don't change course. Because this snow means we are close to a winter island."
"Really?! You all heard it! We will not change direction." Luffy declares. I nod and head back inside to warn Vivi.
"It's going to be cold soon, so get out a coat for yourself and an extra blanket for Nami." I say nodding to my closet as I pull out a large white coat with a white fur lining for the sleeves and the edge of the hood.
"Okay, thanks." I give her a soft smile.
"You're welcome, princess." I also pull out a warm outfit for Aoi and the other snails, as I seriously doubt this ship is insulated. Aoi has turned into a ball of white fur, with just her eyes sticking out. I smile with an amused expression and go out again. I go to stand at the bow and look out at the ocean. I hope the island isn't far away, but more importantly, I hope we find a doctor who has knowledge of prehistoric diseases. I know someone who might know, but she left without giving me her Den Den Mochi number, so I don't know where she is, or if she is still alive. I let out an umpteenth sigh.
The hours pass and as I expected, big snowflakes fall on the ship, bringing with them a drastic drop in temperature. Zoro is in the crow's nest looking at the horizon in search of the island. To keep myself busy, I'm making snow Den Den Mochi with Aoi as my judge, I'm on my sixth snail when we hear Zoro shouting.
"Did you find the island? " Luffy asks from the bridge.
"Um... No. But do you think it's possible to walk on water?" Zoro asks. Luffy and Usopp look at me, I shrug.
"Yes it's possible, there are demon fruits that make you elastic, so walking on water isn't the weirdest thing.
"Yes... Logical." Usopp replies. I take the opportunity to scan the area and feel a presence in front of us and several underwater. I eclipse it, as it smells like an ambush.
In front of the ship, there is a guy with a light blue and dark green checkerboard outfit, on his shoulders a thick white fur cape and on his back a bow and quiver. Zoro, Luffy and Usopp look at this strange guy walking on the water.
"It's not hot today, is it?" The guy asks.
"Uh... It's true that it's a little cool..." Luffy begins.
"A little?! It's icy! I'm freezing..." Usopp continues.
"Really?" Finishes the guy. In my corner, I facepalm at this situation that makes no sense. Suddenly, a huge Easter egg-shaped submarine appears in front of the Merry, nearly knocking him over.
"What the hell is this thing?!" Luffy yells at the appearance of the submarine. The egg opens revealing a huge metal ship with a hippo head. I look at the vessel warily. A hippopotamus? Seriously... The ship is quickly invaded by dozens of men with guns pointing their weapons at the boys. From my side, I watch all this from the fruit trees, hiding my presence.
"What's going on up there?!" Sanji yells as he exits the girls' room, having just returned 10 minutes ago to bring Nami some chicken broth. He is immediately targeted by five men.
"Ba... As you can see, our ship has just been stormed." Says unnecessarily Luffy without being worried, which is normal since he is made of rubber. A round man with a square jaw lands on the ship eating a piece of meat on a knife.
"Hmm... Here comes a fourth larron, the others must be hiding on board." Says this guy as he eats the rest of the meat with the blade of the knife. I grimace at the sight, you can tell he has good teeth. "Well, it doesn't matter, I'm asking you anyway... We want to go to Drum's kingdom, do you have an Eternal Pose? Or, failing that, a simple Log Pose?" He says as he swallows the rest of the dagger. The others wince, wondering how he could eat that thing without dying.
"No, we don't have one and we've never heard of the Kingdom of Drum." Sanji responds by crossing his arms, more or less relaxed.
"Will that be all? In that case, you can leave." The guy looks at Luffy as he finishes his bite.
"Don't be in such a hurry kid, life is long... If you don't have any of these instruments, I'll settle for your treasures and the boat."
"Huh?! What?!" The oaf opens his mouth wide and bites into the boat, eating the wood as if it were potato chips. Poor Merry, he really doesn't deserve to end up as an appetizer cracker because of some glutton who was passing by.
"HAAAA! WHAT IS THIS MONSTER!" Usopp screams as he tearfully watches his boat being devoured.
"HEY! YOU! Stop eating our Boat!"
"Don't move! We don't disturb his highness Wapol during his meal!" Shouts one of the guards, but he is silenced by a punch from Luffy.
"FUCK YOU! "
"Did you guys see that?! Fire at will." Immediately, all the guards start shooting at the rookies. The boys easily get rid of the invaders. As for me, I dodge the bullets that inadvertently come from my side. On my shoulder, Aoi has fun immortalizing this little fight.
"HE! Aren't you almost done eating our boat?!" Luffy yells as he rushes at the big guy.
"Ha ha ha! The unfortunate one! He doesn't know who he's dealing with! His highness Wapol ate the fruit of the glutton, he'll only take one bite!" Shouted the guards. So this guy is a noble? Wapol? That name means absolutely nothing to me. But he ate a devil fruit so he must have some power. Luffy arrives in front of the king, ready to put his fist in his mouth. Except he gets eaten almost entirely, leaving only his arms out, arms that extend far behind Luffy.
"Mh? What's that rubber band? Damn, that's not easy to chew. " Vivi storms out of the room drawn by the sound of gunfire.
"Wha... What's going on here?" Luffy's arms come rushing back and throw the king into the horizon.
"Go look somewhere else if I'm there!" Luffy yells as he comes out of the fat man's mouth during the impact. Seeing that their king has fallen into the water, the soldiers leave the ship to go find their sinking leader.
"That's it! Get the hell off our boat and don't let us see you again!" Usopp yells as he throws snowballs, but he goes to hide behind Zoro when the soldiers glare at him. I wait until they're out of sight to come out of hiding.
"You did well for a first ambush, however the Merry took a lot of damage." I say as I look at the damage done by the morfale, Usopp is crying his eyes out looking at the damage. I place my hand on his shoulder in support. "Cheer up Usopp, we are counting on you to keep this crew afloat." He nods his head as he cries into his arm. The boys begin to clean up the mess while Vivi and I head back inside.
"How is Nami's condition?" I ask Vivi as I approach the navigator.
"It's not getting any better, her fever keeps rising." Her forehead is burning, I frown. The fever is way too high.
"We need to cool her down quickly, or it could cause damage. Bring more ice and a basin of water, please."
"I'll be right back." Vivi runs out of the room. Nami is breathing with difficulty and is sweating. The ambient cold cools her slightly but it's not enough.
"Hang in there Nami, there is an island not far from here, we should reach it in about 1 day, but without you they might take a little longer. So have faith in them, they will manage to find a doctor." Nami's eyelids flutter a little and she opens her eyes with difficulty.
"You... Are you sure about this?..." She asks, looking at me with tired eyes. I give her a small, reassuring smile as I nod my head.
"Yes, we're not too far away now. How are you feeling?" She looks up at the ceiling for a little while before answering.
"Tired, I can barely move and think." I stroke her hair to comfort her. She closes her eyes again, moaning a little.
"Why do you do this all the time?..." She asks weakly.
"Doing what?" I say softly, she opens her eyes and looks at me.
"Stroking our hair, you do it all the time..." I freeze as I look at her, before relaxing as I continue to massage her head.
"I... There was someone who used to do this to me all the time when I was little... And I liked it... I felt safe when he did it..." My gaze is vague, immersed in my memories.
"Who is this person?" I close my eyes and take a deep breath to relax my throat that was starting to tighten.
"My... My older brother..." My voice goes a little off the rails as I say it. Nami looks at me, scanning my face which must be very expressive.
"What happened to him?" I take another breath and open my eyes, my gaze is plunged into Nami's hazel eyes.
"He died..."
"How? " I shake my head and look at the ground.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to tell you... It's... A little too personal..." Nami looks at me with sad eyes.
"Me too... I lost a family member when I was just a kid..." I lift my head and look at the redhead. "She was killed by a fish-man, Arlong, while she was protecting my sister and me. But that didn't stop Arlong from ruling our island like a tyrant for over a decade. It's only because of Luffy that my island is free now... Just like me. I owe him so much..." Her eyes slowly close, a sign that she is tired. "I... I trust him completely..." She says before falling into a deep sleep. A small smile forms on my lips.
"And I'm sure he'll take you to the other side of the world." Vivi returns with Sanji in tow with a bucket of ice and a basin of water.
"We brought what you asked for, Stella. I brought extra towels."
"Thanks Vivi." I pull back Nami's blanket and lift her up so she's pressed against my breast.
"We're going to lower the temperature of his whole body. Vivi, take a towel, dip it in water and wrap ice around it, then rub it all over his body." Vivi hesitates a bit.
"Are you... are you sure about this? Isn't it better for her to be as warm as possible?" I shake my head.
"I've thought about it and I'm sure she's not poisoned, but sick. This disease developed in a stable tropical environment, which is a hot and humid environment. But if Nami keeps her body cold, it will probably keep the disease from developing until we find a doctor."
"How do you know it's not poison." Sanji asks.
"Think about it, this island has plants that can produce acid or poison violent enough to kill a dinosaur or large animal quickly. It took Nami several hours before she showed symptoms, which is more like an incubation time. But since Nami is not a large animal, the disease acts much more violently." Vivi and Sanji look at each other before nodding. Her clothes are removed, after Sanji is put outside, and her entire body is wiped down, bringing her temperature down bit by bit. When she finally reaches 39°C, it is already dark outside.
"Go to bed Vivi, I will keep an eye on her."
"Are you sure? I can handle more than this, you know." I look at the dark circles under her eyes. I shake my head with a small smile.
"Go to bed, it's not like I'm alone anyway." Indeed, everyone is fast asleep on the bedroom floor. They refused to leave the room, they all wanted to stay here. Vivi looks at me but seeing that I don't let go, she nods, grabs a blanket and goes to snuggle with Kaloo.
The night is quiet and only the ticking of the clock disturbs the night silence.
I hope we will find the island tomorrow.
Thank you for reading this chapter! It's really nice that more and more people are following this story. I already know how the story will end. It will be in two parts, before and after Sabaody. Let me know in the comments how you like this adventure, and what could make it better, like the writing style, etc. If there are any translation mistakes, tell me, I'll make the corrections quickly.
See you soon!