This is the 18th chapter. I don't own the series of One Piece.
Island Where Snow Lives!
Winter Island
After Ventus, Sanji, and Luffy are making their journey towards the castle while having some trouble with the pack of Lapahns along way and tried to survive from the avalanche, Wapol and his group manage to track them down when they manage to find them.
"I see them, up ahead, Wapol!" Chess shouts, pointing at the Straw Hat pirates. "Just a little further."
Wapol and his group were heading to their direction which they're faster than the three as they block their path, stopping them in their tracks. However, they don't have time to deal with them because Nami is very sick, and she needs to have a doctor for medical treatment.
"What the...Who are you guys?" Luffy asks.
"Is that who I think he is?" Sanji asks the young Dragoon with his serious expression.
"Yeah, that's Wapol. And he brought Chess, Kuromarimo, and Musshuru with him." Ventus nods seriously without looking at the cook.
"I've had enough of you Straw Hats, I'm getting rid of you for good this time." Wapol declares, look at the young Dragoon. "And you! You've brought so many humiliations upon me! I'm gonna make you pay! I'm gonna chew you into a little pieces and spit you out!"
"You're welcome to try, tin-man, but the result stays the same, just like you lost your throne when you abandon your homeland and your people." Ventus remarked, pointing his lance at him with a scowl, making Wapol and his men growled.
"Move it." Luffy ordered.
"I don't think so." Wapol refuse. "Why would I-AAAAHHHH!"
Ventus interrupts when he breathes fire at the White Walkie, making it frightened while forcing Wapol and his men flying by kicking them off as they crashed into the snow while the White Walkie ran.
"Thanks, Ventus." Sanji thanked him. "Now with that out of the way, let's get going."
With that, Luffy, Sanji, and Ventus continued to head towards the castle. Wapol and his men merged out of the snow as they look at them with anger.
"You're not getting away for what you did, you brat!" Musshuru shots with anger. "Once I get out of this snow, you're gonna rule the day you humiliated me!"
"I have no intention of making it easy for you and your friends, you throne-stealer!" Wapol shouts, but they're ignoring them while continue to head towards the castle as he come up with the idea. "Chess, I've thought up a new law to celebrate my return, write this down."
"Right." Chess complies as he brought out his quill and book.
"Anyone who ignores the king will be executed!" Wapol declares, watching them keep walking when Ventus stops.
"Do you think we give a damn about your stupid law?!" Ventus growled, turns to them with anger. "Laws don't mean anything to us because we're pirates. We do whatever we want, and we don't listen by the likes of you."
They didn't like Ventus' statement which he's right that they're pirates, and they don't listen to any rules or any laws at all.
"I'm warning you, if you ever get in our way or even try to lay a finger on my crew, you won't get any remorse from me!?" Ventus warns them with a threat, leaving Chess and Kuromarimo feeling intimidated by his tone.
Ventus then turns back to his crew as he walk towards the castle while Sanji and Nami follows. Wapol and Musshuru however, had enough of him which they're not taking his warning for granted.
"Those three are guilty and that brat have insulted the king!" Wapol shouts with anger, points at the Straw Hat pirates. "Chess! Kuromarimo! Musshuru! I want them to be punished immediately! Deal with the unconscious one first since she ignoring me the most!"
They then got out of the snow as they charge after them.
"What did he say?!" Luffy demands as he, Ventus, and Sanji turned to see Wapol's group charging after them.
"I've got the woman on his back." Chess told them.
"Just don't get in my way, that brat is mine." Musshuru commented rudely.
"I'll take the man." Kuromarimo added with a smirk, readied his fist as the spikes revealed itself. "Marimo's Surprise"
"Shade Dance" Musshuru rapidly fires the concentrated bullets of spores at them with his hair.
"Cyclone" Ventus fires a wind bullet at the spore, causing an explosion when the young Dragoon leaps through the dust with his lance. "Rising Drive"
Ventus then twirls his lance and slam them up in the air, causing them to scream in pain.
"Sky Rave" Ventus descends down towards Musshuru, impales him in the shoulder as he screams in pain while the young Dragoon slams him down.
"Concasse" Sanji then leaps high into the air and starts flipping over rapidly to gain speed, then he brings his heels of his feet down to their heads, sent them flying towards Ventus. "Ventus, coming at you!"
"Right! Dragoon's Storm" Ventus then leaps up in the air with his wind channeled on his lance and the spirit of the dragon charges with him, spins his body around to form a tornado while slashing at them.
Chess and Kuromarimo crashed down into the snow, resulted in a big mess when they're bloodied and wounded with slash marks. Ventus lands on the snowy ground as he, Sanji, and Luffy rush towards the Durm Rockies to get to the castle.
"Well that didn't take long, we should get there without any problems." Sanji stated. "We don't have time to deal with these clowns. We got Nami to take care of and she needs a doctor."
"Right, they better don't follow us." Luffy said seriously.
"Just be on your guard, there's no telling what's going to happen in the middle of the snow." Ventus told them.
Sanji and Luffy agreed to his suggestion as they continue to head towards the Drum Rockies. Chess, Kuromarimo, and Musshuru sat up while watching them heading to the castle which they underestimated the Straw Hat pirates, including Ventus because he's gotten stronger the last time they fought him a few months ago. Wapol can tell they're strong, but he comes up with a plan as he spoke.
"It's time they learn, what a battle in the snow is like." Wapol muttered as he smirked.
After a while of running, they're looking back to see if Wapol and his group are following them which they're far behind. Luffy thought that they're not following them, but Ventus manage to get a scent as he noticed the mouth is wide open, causing him to breathe fire at the mouth. Wapol came out of the snow with a loud scream when he felt his mouth is burning up as he ran towards the snow, tried to cool his mouth down.
However, Chess, Kuromarimo, and Musshuru leap out of the snow from behind which left them wide open.
"Damn! They're here too?!" Sanji cursed with a scowl.
"Here's what a snow battle is really like! Snow Powder Makeup! The white disguise!" Kuromarimo stated with a smirk.
"This girl is extremely weak that just one shot should be enough." Chess added, aiming his arrow at Nami.
"We underestimated you and your damn crew, but it won't happen the third time!" Musshuru shouts.
"You guys just don't learn." Ventus said with annoyance as he and Sanji readied their fighting stance.
Just as they're about to fight, the pack of Lapahns jumped in Wapol's men's way and knocked them down before the fight could even start as they crash down into the snow.
"Is that-"
"Yeah." Ventus nods with an answer.
"Lapahns?!" Wapol exclaims with shock.
"Did those things protect them?" Kuromarimo questions.
"That's impossible! Lapahns never form bonds with humans, they're nothing more than a wild beasts!" Chess stated.
At first, the Straw Hat pirates were confused when the Lapahns save them from Wapol's men, but when they saw a scar on its face, they remembered that the adult Lapahn is the leader and the one that Ventus save.
"I see..." Ventus muttered when the Lapahns raised their arms. "Thanks guys!"
"I've seen weird things, but this is one of them." Sanji stated. "Right now, we don't have time to stand around here, let's get going!"
"Right!" Ventus and Luffy agrees in unison as they rush towards their destination.
The Lapahns remained behind to give the Straw Hat pirates time for them to get to the castle which Wapol didn't like for being ignored as he spoke.
"Don't let them get away!?" Wapol shouts with an order as Chess, Kuromarimo, and Musshuru rushed after them, but the pack of Lapahns won't let them as the rest of the Lapahns revealed themselves out of the snow while blocking their path, ready to fight. "What the hell are those stupid bunnies doing standing there?!"
Soon as Ventus, Sanji, and Luffy continued heading towards the Drum Rockies, the blizzard has gotten worse as time pass. They're slowing down because of the strong snowstorm and it's not easy to get there either.
"Damn! First, those damn bunnies cause the avalanche! Then, Wapol and those idiots pick a fight! And now this!" Sanji yelled in frustration. "Can't this get any worse?!"
"The snowstorm isn't making anything easy, but we're close, I can smell it!" Ventus informs him, turned his head to Luffy. "You're gonna make it Luffy?!"
"Yeah!" Luffy confirms. "We need to find the doctor! Nami isn't going to hold much longer!"
"How close are we Ventus?!" Sanji questions.
Ventus then turn back to the snow as the storm blows the snow away, revealed the mountain which it's way up high to get to the castle.
"The mountain? Very close." Ventus answered with deadpan expression. "But climbing up to the top? That's another story."
Sanji's face went pale when he saw the mountain that tall which it's way up high while Luffy simply tried to put a brave face which he's still shivering in the harsh storm.
"This is it...It's tall and straight up." Luffy muttered.
Ventus then pull something out of the dimension gallery pouch which it took a while, manage to pull the rope out of the bag and it's long enough for tying up more than one person.
"Where did you get that rope?" Sanji asks curiously.
"I didn't, Anna manage to grab hold one of those ropes from the ship." Ventus told him. "She wants to hold on to it in case if we need it. I guess this is one of them."
"Guess being around with Anna has its perks." Sanji said with a smile. "And it looks like its the right time to use it."
With that, Ventus starts working on tying the rope around their waist, the young Dragoon, then Sanji, and Luffy last while tie the sash tighter do Nami won't fall off and making sure the rope is good and tight.
"In case if any of us are starting to fall off, we'll have to grab hold of the rope while try to hold the mountain." Ventus explains. "So that way, we won't fall off in the snow or worse."
"Right." Sanji nods in confirm as he turned to the mountain. "So, can you fly us up there?"
"No, but I've got an idea." Ventus said as the wind blows on the ground. "I'm going to use my wind magic to get us up there, but I won't use it for too long because I'll be exhausted if I use it too long. The rest, we'll have to do it the old-fashion way."
"That's fine, it's better than climb all the way up anyway." Sanji stated.
When Ventus generated enough wind magic, they're starting to float up slowly.
"Tornado" Ventus unleash tornado on the ground as they fly straight up.
Meanwhile, the avalanche buried the sleigh along with mountain rams, but it mostly buried Vivi and Usopp which it's not enough to kill them when she regained her consciousness.
"What happened?" Vivi groaned as she widen her eyes, getting up. "The avalanche...it must've buried us."
She then look around to find Usopp.
"Usopp!" Vivi called his name, but notice his long nose is sticking out, meaning that he got himself buried in the snow. It caused her face paled with shock along with white eyes and shark-like teeth as she quickly dug him out of the snow. "There you are, Usopp. Come on now, wake up! You're got to wake up!"
Usopp is starting to come around with a grunt.
"He's still alive." Vivi muttered, relieved to see Usopp is regaining his conscious as she starts digging him out of the snow. "I'm going to get you out of there, Usopp! Just hang on a little bit longer!"
Just as Vivi clear the snow, she grab hold of Usopp's nose as she dragged him out of the snow. She then starts shaking him and spoke.
"Come on, Usopp! Please, just wake up! Snap out of it!" Vivi begs, stops shaking him while try to pat his face.
"Just give me a few more minutes here, Vivi." Usopp complains, regaining whatever was left of his consciousness. "I was in the middle of such a lovely dream, we were in a world far away from here, sitting on the field of flowers with a beautiful river flowing next to it."
"You're cruising over to the afterlife, Usopp! You need to get it out of your dream! Now, wake up!" Vivi yelled with panic, patting his face harder than, crying as she did.
Usopp suddenly screamed, surprising the Vivi before he continued to be in his dreamland and making her more panicked when she's shaking him.
"Ah, look at the Usopp pirates, all 74,000 of them, they're such good brave warriors." Usopp muttered, still on lala land.
"Okay, get up now, you have to wake up! Do you hear me?!" Vivi begged, crying which she got no respond. Frustrated, she's got no other choice but repeatedly slapping Usopp in the face while calling his name.
It took a while for Vivi to get him to snap out of it, but he's finally back in reality.
"Oh, wow! You save my life, Vivi! I was almost a goner there for a second! I'm lucky to be alive! That was a close one! Really, so close!" Usopp exclaims as the two walked their way to the village. Zooming out of Usopp's face, it's completely and ridiculously swollen. "Except that, my face fells kinda swollen. Why is that?"
"Oh, it's the cold. That happens, it's an unfortunate side-effect in this snowy area." Vivi replied nervously, avoiding eye contact with him because of the fact she caused his face to be swollen while saving Usopp from dying. "What matters now is figuring it out where we are and what to do next."
As they continue to walk, something was coming out of the snow below Vivi, causing her to stumble back and Usopp to panic.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH! MONSTER!?" Usopp yelled in fear, thinking that it was a monster, but it was actually Zoro, who was also the victim of the avalanche.
"Whoa, that was a close one. Why do I feel like I dreamed about a field of flowers?" Zoro muttered with a question. He then wrapped his arms around himself, shivering in the cold and not noticing his crew. "Hit by an avalanche in the middle of a training session, not exactly an ideal workout, but I guess it is kind of like swimming in snow."
"Zoro?" Usopp called him, earned his attention over to him and Vivi.
"Oh, hey Vivi. What's up?" Zoro said, looking at Usopp which he doesn't recognize him because of his swollen head. He first gave him a weird look but noticed the long nose which he instantly knew the swollen head is a certain sniper. "Oh, it's you, Usopp. What are you guys doing all the way out here in the snow?"
"THAT'S EXACTLY WHERE WE WERE GONNA ASK YOU!?" Vivi and Usopp yelled at him in unison with white eyes and shark-like teeth.
Meanwhile back on Wapol's side in the forest, Wapol and his group manage to beat the pack of Lapahns.
"Take that you stupid bunnies!" Wapol mocks with a laugh. "You pathetic creatures got exactly what you deserve for going up against the King! Still, it annoys me that I had to expend so much of my power against the pack of overgrown rabbits!"
"There was no helping it, sir. They are the fiercest animals in Drum Kingdom." Chess told him, leaving Wapol growled as he spit on the snowy ground.
"And you're next! Ventus!?" Wapol yelled at his name.
Winter Island, Bighorn
Meanwhile, Vivi, Usopp, and Zoro are trying to find a village that's nearby after the swordsman filled them in as to why he left the Going Merry.
"Winter swimming?" Usopp asks.
"Yeah, that was the idea anyway." Zoro answered. "But after swimming in the river for a while, I had no idea where I was anymore. So, I'd start walking around doing some strength training workout."
"Dress like that in a cold weather. Your real stupid, aren't you?" Usopp stated with deadpan expression.
"That isn't the point. Now, would you shut up and give your coat, Usopp." Zoro demands for a coat to get warm.
"Not a chance." Usopp refuse quickly.
'Maybe Nami's sick from the mentally exhaustion of dealing with people.' Vivi mentally thought, guessing of the navigators sickness.
"Then how about your shoes!"
"Nope."
"Just one, then!"
"I said no. You did this to yourself."
When they got to a village, which was Bighorn, there was a fight.
"Look at that, guys, there's some people over there." Vivi said, earned their attention.
"Huh?" Usopp said, looking around the area. "Uh hey, look at those buildings, they seem familiar, don't they?"
Vivi then look at the village been buried by the avalanche, realizing that the buildings are the same which its Bighorn.
"You're right, Usopp, this place is Bighorn." Vivi stated with shock. "We just came back. It looks a lot different buried in snow though."
In Bighorn, Wapol's men are losing because of the villagers, Dalton, Shanise, Anna, and Ivan. Though, they're only knocked out and not killed because Wapol's soldiers were easy to get taken down. Ivan uses his acrobatic skills to dodge and counter with his baseball bats, Anna can block and counter with her twin blades, rushes after the soldiers while given the villagers a hand, Dalton used his Devil Fruit power to swipe them with his spade with ease, and Shanise swung her axe, cleaving the soldiers with sheer strength and force.
After the fight is over, Wapol's soldiers were knocked out and defeated, leaving the villagers roared with cheer in victory.
"Alright, gather your shovels and find the villagers, some of them are buried in the snow!" Dalton ordered.
With that, the villagers start digging the snow to get them out because some of them didn't made it out of the avalanche. Anna notices her crew are here, but also noticed Zoro isn't wearing anything warm.
"Zoro, would you mind telling me why are you dressed like that?" Anna asks with a glare, leaving Zoro flinched.
"Ah well...the funny thing is...I went winter swimming..." Zoro stuttered nervously.
"And where is Karoo?" Anna inquires, tapping her arm impatiently.
Zoro knew that getting onto Anna's bad side is never a good idea when Ventus warned him before, he faced Nami and Ventus before, but with Anna, that's a different story.
"I'm waiting." Anna told him, making him snapped out of his thoughts.
"I don't know..." Zoro answered, but made it worse when Anna approached closer.
"Are you telling me you're doing your stupid winter swimming and leaving Karoo on the Going Merry alone?!" Anna growled with anger, leaving Zoro in big trouble since he made a terrible excuse.
Anna then starts beating Zoro silly with her fists, leaving Usopp and Vivi flinched with fright along with Ivan. Shanise couldn't help but sighed, had a feeling this would happen because of Zoro's foolishness. Some of the villagers are scared of the ranger which neither of them wants to face her wrath while Dalton looked them curiously, but he'd rather not get involved.
After Anna finished beating Zoro, leaving him in bruises and some bumps on his face, she lend him a coat, gloves, and boots from Wapol's soldiers while turning to him.
"Next time you pull a stunt, it won't be Ventus or Nami you'll be facing." Anna warned him.
"Right." Zoro groaned in pain, take a mental note of never get on her bad side.
With that, the villagers and Dalton went back on digging the snow to find the rest of the villagers while Shanise, Anna, and Ivan give them a hand. Usopp and Vivi leave Zoro alone as they head over to the pile of snow, helping the villagers.
Winter Island
Half an hour has passed and they're nowhere near the top of the mountain. They're probably half-way, but they couldn't see the castle and it's hard to tell because of the snowstorm. Ventus is losing strength, he could barely climb up, but he still held his grip while using what's left of his strength. Sanji can tell because the young Dragoon used up too much mana and he's at his limit of using his wind magic since they were slowing down, even when they land on the mountain, they have to climb up the old-fashion way.
The snowstorm is getting much colder and harsh which Sanji and Luffy can feel it. Ventus can feel the cold, but he's not bothered because of his warmth and his metabolism rate that can keep his temperature in check.
"How much further?" Sanji shouts with a question.
Ventus then use his Dragon Sight to get a better look, notice the snow at the top of the mountain which its further up.
"Further!" Ventus answered. "Just hold on a little longer!"
Sanji may not like the answer, but he and Luffy kept climbing. Both Sanji and Luffy are getting colder as time passed, in fact, they're getting frostbite. Even with their gloves and shoes on, their hands and feet are so cold they're bleeding from all this climbing. Ventus is getting worried about them and supported the two in any way possible. However, the young Dragoon is trying to hold them with his every bit of his strength while climbing. Luffy lost his footing as he was about to fall off, but Sanji quickly grabs hold of the rope to stop him from the falling as the rubber Captain grabs hold of the mountain and climbs up again.
When they finally got to the top of the mountain, the Straw Hat pirates look up to see the castle which its a big one. Ventus lied down to his knees to rest a bit from all of the climbing, Sanji and Luffy look at the young Dragoon with worry.
"Come on, Ventus! Don't give up on us! We made it this far, we have to get Nami to the doctor!" Sanji shouts, tried to get Ventus to keep moving.
"Sanji...Luffy...Take Nami and get to the castle...Dr. Kureha should be there..." Ventus ordered them, panting heavily with exhaustion. Sanji and Luffy were about to protest his selfishness, but the young Dragoon won't have that. "Listen to me! She needs her more than I do. Now take her...And get going!"
Sanji and Luffy were about to argue, but seeing that there's no point on trying to convince him. They did as they were told and went to see Dr. Kureha. Just when they turned their backs on him, Ventus is starting to lose conscious, the snow he was on at the edge of the mountain slipped off the edge. Because of that, Ventus is also falling.
"VENTUS!" Sanji and Luffy shouts in unison with horror as he was caught by someone. Using the last of his strength, Ventus looked up to his savior and caught the scent of a certain reindeer he's very familiar with, it's Tony Tony Chopper. After that, he blacked out.
That's it for the 18th chapter.