A/N: I am, finally, alive! I'm sorry everyone, I forgot my password here for almost like, three or four months-which is very stupid of me. I'll now continue this story, so please enjoy!

Recap in Chapter 54…

"An avalanche!?" Usopp hesitated, feeling Luffy's trembling and thrashing arm on his hold. He gritted his teeth, ignoring the woman who gave them one last look of worry and pity before going away. What a nice timing it had, making sure that Luffy is to be in danger, or worse… Dead.

"What should we do…!?" Nami's voice broke at the end, closing her eyes shut as she sobbed lightly. It was too much, all of it. These problems… Why were they piling up one by one the moment Luffy was in grave danger? Was it too much to ask that they want their Captain to be well soon?

The door was slammed open once again. But this time, it was a blessing.

The sound of the door suddenly banged open to the point it could have broke made the others flinch, revealing someone who they didn't expect. Really, who would want him at a time like this?

Usopp's eyes widened and gasped in fear, Nami trembled as she momentarily lost her strength on her legs, falling on the ground with a thud as she almost lost hope of having her Captain live. Meanwhile, Vivi decided to snap out of her unnecessary trance and stood up, hoping she can be of help when the need arises. Sanji… He gritted his teeth in anger, his face filled with darkness and frustration. The grip on his Captain tightened before shielding the thrashing male with his body, protecting his Captain from him.

"Get away, Blackleg Sanji."

"What are you doing here…" The blonde growled, not letting the man have a glimpse of Luffy's anguished face. Of all people, why did they have to meet a marine? Someone dangerous, to boot…

"Smoker!?"

With a huff of the marine's cigarette in displeasure, he took a step forward in the room and immediately went forward towards where Luffy is. Sanji immediately reacted and lifted his left leg, swiveling it towards the man's face when, to his surprise, Smoker merely stopped his attack with the defense of his arm. As if it was a button for both Nami and Usopp, they both shook away the fear and shock, positioning themselves in front of Luffy's body. Kureha didn't try to react too much, but seeing how every person in the room so tense affected her, she couldn't help but glare at the unwanted visitor.

Smoker, for a while, looks at the reindeer near Luffy's side but returns his gaze towards Sanji. He's not in the mood to question anything at this rate, he's been flying and rushing for who-knows-when the moment Luffy called him about being sick after he questioned the male's slightly heavy breathing and faint groans. He was about to scold him about how reckless he is and almost gave bad news to the sick pirate when something hit him.

Luffy rarely gets sick. Heck, the man's too stupid to ever catch one. A fly-even if it's kestia- shouldn't affect him that fast, even get him to the point of slowly losing strength in a horrifying rate.

Good thing that he followed his instincts and went ahead of his crew to be able to 'apprehend' the Strawhat quickly, inconspicuously as well, to make things better. They might be rivals, but he'd rather not have Luffy die from something they could have healed. Besides, they're both time travelers-not to mention people who are important in the future.

Smoker would rather die than say it out loud, but he prefers Luffy as the Pirate King instead of some wicked pirate. The man did become who he wanted, but Luffy had never hurt innocent civilians nor provoke a fight first.

"I chased you damn Strawhats-" Nami bit her lip, clenching her fists around her sole weapon. "Now, if you want to finish whatever you need to finish, then let me take that Strawhat so I can beat him back to his senses." Smoker's face had a mixture of urgency and annoyance, and really, how can they believe such words from a person who's out for their captain's blood ever since they met? It makes Sanji want to scoff out loud, laugh, and beat him instead of saying those things that are almost unbelievable.

"W-why would you even help our captain!?" Usopp spouted out of disbelief, his mind half at the thought of avalanche coming towards them and half at Luffy's well-being. "You're just going to get rid of him the moment you get your hands on him!"

A sigh left Smoker's lips, "Heard there's an avalanche coming down." That seems to increase the adrenaline in the Strawhat Pirates' veins, much to their displeasure. "You have two choices. One, let me have Strawhat for a while and have him come back to life with less problem on your hand. Or two, reject me and have Strawhat slowly die from mental stress along with his disease." The ground rumbling with some of the furniture and hanging designs fall, if possible, could have driven the three insane and with how short their time is to answer Smoker's words. "I just need all of you to leave for a while and then come back in when I say so."

"Well?" The pregnant silence excluding Luffy's groans and grunt was all they could hear inside, tensed to the point they might be able to physically cut it with a knife. The stampede outside made it worse, reminding them how they have to speed up unless they want to die with Luffy inside the wooden house.

The first choice basically screams danger; they don't want to hear in the news tomorrow that their captain finally got apprehended by the marines. Most probably dead by the hands of the person they had no choice but to trust. Just imagining coming back in with their Captain dead in any way sends shivers down their spine, even slightly making them puke in horror. But the second choice sounds crueler, letting Luffy die in a torturous way along with them.

Finally, Sanji answers.

"If something happens to our captain, we'll hunt you and give you a painful death."

Smoker merely scoffs.

OPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPO

"It's coming, and it's not slowing down at all!"

"Crap, this whole town's going to be buried!"

"Run for it!"

The people, due to panic and fear, most probably forgot about the fact that Dalton couldn't move, kneeling in a critical state with his injuries. However, Dalton knew that he can't blame them. People will and surely secure their lives and loved ones first, especially when you see a stampede of people with dread on their faces, affecting and urging you to join in amidst the frenzy. His mission is not done yet, a voice whispered at the back of his mind-screaming at him to stand up because he can see them, hear that so-called king.

'How despicable…' He bitterly gazed with his vision seeing red how selfish Wapol is, ignoring the doctors' scream for help as he rode Robson, running away with Chess and Kuromarimo with his dear life.

How can he call himself a king, when he does not know how to treasure his citizens? Did he ever think that no king can be called as one without people to protect, that he is despised by everyone who he calls his?

If he's going to die, then he'd rather bring Wapol and his loyal subordinates along.

OPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPO

Silence.

The whole town brimmed with snow, muted after it had fallen on the poor people that didn't have any chance to escape the avalanche. If it had been painted, it was sure to look like an unsettlingly serene landscape, with the roof of the houses that got buried only to be seen along with snowfalls. It didn't last long, however, when crunching sounds can be heard by Wapol's overlarge mouth, slowly rising from the piled snow above him. In a moment, he stops, only to abruptly gulp the snow he had been eating before proceeding to get away from the hole he had made and vomiting his comrades he ate to protect them.

Coughing, "You three taste like bad syrup!" Wapol grimaced, trying to spit out the taste he took in. After the sting went away, he scowled with his veins popping up on his face in rage. "This must be their doing!"

Chess stands up from being disgorged just a while ago, disorientation engulfing his whole face. "Come again, your majesty?" Meanwhile, Kuromarimo steadily tries to stand up as well beside his confused comrade.

"They said Strawhat and his crew were climbing the mountains right now, did you forget!?" He fumed, clenching his fist to the point they could've seen it turn white if he didn't wear black gloves. "Then it's obvious, isn't it!? They've been waiting up until the mountains until we'd show up so they could have their revenge!"

"Ahhh! Of course!" Kuromarimo and Chess exclaim in surprise as if a bulb popped out above their head, lighting up at the same time. "So it was them who caused the avalanche just now!" Kuromarimo adds, both of them sitting on the dented hole Wapol made, listening to whatever their 'king' let out.

"Is it true all the ropeways to the castle are gone now!?"

"Yes, according to the villagers, your majesty."

"Then we'll climb up the mountain too!" Wapol decides, gritting his teeth as an ominous look sets itself on his features.

"I'll teach them what winter warfare is all about…!"

Oh, only if they knew…

OPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPO

"Agh, for the love of…"

A certain lost swordsman shivers, half-naked with his glorious bare chest displayed for no one in the vicinity to see. His black pants, doing nothing to stop the frigid air from the attack of possible hypothermia, is all that he wore. The fact that he had been buried by the snow due to the avalanche makes it all worse, not to mention not getting the fish he chased after in the freezing water.

And of course, getting lost after that.

"A random avalanche on top of this freezing cold? Talk about a bad stroke of luck…" He shakily mutters, wrapping his arms around himself to find even a bit of warmth.

How is he not dead?

Looking around to at least find a random shelter or better, someone who can lend him help, he spots a crowd of civilians looking troubled. Raising his feet that feels as if it's already frozen, he strides towards them with his body unconsciously curled. Approaching the nearest male civilian who's holding a gun and clothed with a winter coat, he stops on his tracks. "Yo, what's going on?"

When the male turns, Zoro gets greeted amusingly with a shocked look that soon morphs into one of worry. "What's going on with you and your half-naked body!?" Seeing that Zoro impatiently looked at him, the male shook off his worry and pointed at the black-coated men that seem to block the people's way, their guns and swords displayed to threaten them-or worse, kill them. "The avalanche buried Dalton…" The bearded man grits his teeth, "But these bastards won't let us dig him out of there!"

"Beat it, peasants! Dalton's already dead so deal with it!" Zoro raises his eyebrow despite the cold, running a memory lane to see if he can even remember them and making sure that Luffy won't scold him after if he does something reckless.

"As if Dalton could die that easily!" The people fought back, hastily as each second, Dalton might really die the longer they just stand there. "And you're his former subordinates, don't you have a shred of compassion!?"

"We're servants to one man only, and that's King Wapol!" The man pauses, "Any who goes against his majesty's will is as good as dead!" His scowl turns into a smug grin, raising his gun to threaten anyone who comes close to them at all. "If you've got any complaints, feel free to step forth!" Mockingly, he lets out a little laugh as the people could only look at him with furious looks on their faces. "Or do you not even have that much courage now that your precious Dalton's dead?"

His ego soon deflates, however, as Zoro abruptly charged at him, backfisting the man's face in mid-air to the point his face almost flew to the side, much to everyone's surprise.

'Screw it.' Zoro thought as takes the man's coat and wears it, despite the chaos he made in the background. He lets out a sigh of pleasure, only for a while, as he soon makes a small mischievous grin before looking at the group of men that ran towards him with their weapons raised at him. "I'll just call this 'self-defense' if Luffy asks later."