One Piece - Tales of the Pirate King

Disclaimer: One Piece is property of Eiichiro Oda. I am not Eiichiro Oda

Chapter 11 - Victory in Drum Castle

"Captain~!"

…

"Captain~! Stop~!"

A small blur of brown with a pink top, then one fair-skinned with red clothes, and right behind one mixing dark and white

"Please captain~! Don't eat the witch~!" - Elijah called out, Luffy ignoring him completely, his eyes focused on the strangely screaming meat in front of him

Then a heeled boot appeared in front of Luffy, his head separating from his shoulders from the kick and leaving a stunned Elijah to shriek as the flying head of his captain fell on his hands

That was how Elijah and Luffy met the actual witch of Drum Kingdom, an elderly woman of only one hundred and thirty-nine years of age, and still going strong, dressed in a pink midriff baring shirt and low-ridding purple pants with yellow lines on both sides, named Kureha

Needless to say, she was quite displeased with the crew for moving so soon after being threated, and even more that they were hunting down her assistant, even if only one of them was truly malicious about it

And even then, malicious might be a stretch, as Luffy's stomach growled loudly

"Hey~, miss witch, is there any meat here?" - Asked the teen, receiving a snort from the woman as Elijah sighed behind him, having put his head back in place

"Go back to your rooms, you both. Chopper will take a plate for you lot" - Right after, she glared: - "And what are you waiting for? Now!" - She spoke, completely ignoring Luffy's whine for meat, poking him with her heeled boots before he realized that his meal would come for him, if and only if he were in the right place

Kureha blinked, as the teen virtually disappeared, Elijah not even fazed and turning back the way he came from. Just on the edge of his hearing, as he turned a corner, he heard the witch chuckling: - "Heh, how lively. He's the one, I bet"

The dark-skinned man didn't know what she meant, and was too tired and cold to think about it; all he had was a white tank top, and all he wished was to dive back into the warm covers of his bed

Naturally, he was completely unable to fall asleep

The words of the witch Kureha repeated themselves on his mind, the man unable to find out what it was or deduce a reason for the comment

At least he didn't miss the soup brought by Chopper, full name Tony Tony Chopper, an adorable reindeer person, as he angrily stated after Luffy called him a tanuki, the teen soon asking: - "So, how does that work?"

"Devil Fruit" - Was the clipped answer, the boy soon attending the waking Valentine, who stared in wonder at him

"So~, fluffy~!" - Elijah snorted and turned away, not daring to risk her wrath at being caught acting so girly, but Luffy, naturally, didn't care. In fact, a hand passed on Chopper's head that did not come from the blonde: - "Hmhum, really fluffy. Say, Chopper, want to join my crew"

"Of course" - Muttered the bomb man, Chopper's chin striking the floor, the boy so surprised he stopped his struggles, being caught in Valentine's vice-grip

The reindeer himself could only stare in shock, but soon recovered: - "Eh!? D-do you have any idea of what I am!?"

"None whatsoever" - Admitted Luffy: - "But you seem like a good guy! Besides, we need a good doctor on my ship to treat Gin; we'd like to stay here for as long as he need, but we're on a time limit"

Chopper blinked: - "Your ship? Are you… are you pirates?"

"Shishishishi, yup! I'm gonna be the Pirate King!" - Laughed Luffy

And the reindeer stare changed from shock, to surprise and confusion, to awe: - "So cool~!" - He said, ignoring Valentine's snort of amusement, the blonde releasing the boy and allowing him to sit on her bed

His face soon turned contrite, however: - "But… I can't… I mean, I'm not exactly human and…"

"Psh, so? No one here is human, except maybe Gin, and only technically" - Explained the teen, turning one of his arms into red: - "I'm Luffy, captain of the 'Straw Hat' pirates, and a candy man, thanks to a Devil Fruit too; and both Val and Eli have Devil Fruits too"

Chopper fidgeted in place, thoughts warring in his head. On one hoof, he really, really wanted to go with the pirates; it'd be half of his dream come true, the second being finding the cure of all diseases while travelling the world. On the other, it was an intimidating prospect, being both an outlaw and having to explain to Doctorine he'd be saying goodbye

His loyalty to Doctorine won out, in the end: - "Aw, don't make that face. You're thinking of saying no, right?"

Both cute boys pouted, the smaller one nodding despondently: - "I- I have a debt to Doctorine. She took me in when no one else would and- and taught me everything and-"

"Meh, don't worry. We'll find a way to convince you soon, shishishishi" - And Chopper could only stare, his mouth moving but no word coming out, fascinated with the certainty of the statement and feeling his heart flutter. They wanted him! They actually wanted him to be their crewmember!

If not for the fact he had already refused, he'd have done one of his silly dances, not that he admitted he danced nor that they were silly

The apparent contradiction was also completely ignored

"Now, now, what is that of you? First trying to eat my reindeer, now trying to kidnap him?" - Suddenly, the witch herself appeared, drawing a squeak of 'Doctorine!' from Chopper, but Kureha only snorted and went on her way, calling: - "Chopper! Do remember to check the medicine of the kestia patient!"

"R-right, Doctorine!" - And so, the child moved to take care of Gin

A few minutes later, Luffy, Elijah and Valentine were making plans. They needed to inform the crew that Gin would need ten days to fully heal, and the captain had to convince Nami to part with, at minimum, three quarters of her treasure to pay for the treatment, according to Kureha

They doubted she, Kureha, truly needed all that money, but she seemed as greedy as their tangerine-haired navigator, so the crew decided not to argue and risk raising her prices

And, even if it was expensive, it was to treat a super rare disease that only appeared in Little Garden, as far as they knew; the price was one Luffy was more than willing to pay. If Nami was…

Then a visibly intimidated Chopper appeared with Gin, 'the Ogre' staying only for a moment to mention: - "Chopper smelt Wapol; he's climbing the mountain"

"That fatass can climb the mountain?" - Questioned Mister Five, baffled, Luffy frowning and standing up: - "Let's make him need to climb it again, crew"

He didn't forget he bit the Merry, nor that he ordered his mates executed for having more important things to do than deal with his tantrums; he reminded Luffy of Goa's nobility, arrogant and ignorant of the real world, living in their gilded towers and ivory cages

And so, after the crew found their coats and assorted winter clothing, they found themselves on the gate of the castle, to the raised eyebrow of the witch doctor and her reindeer: - "Yes?"

"Wapol hurt our ship. We're gonna hurt him back" - Stated Luffy, an eyebrow raised in turn, a silent challenge

One that Kureha took without hesitating: - "Blondie is in no condition to fight until I say otherwise"

Shrugging her shoulders, Valentine glibly declared: - "Okay for me, I'll just wait in one of the windows for an opportunity to dive bomb an idiot. Try to solve this outside, boys!" - Drawing laughter from the witch, who in turn also declared: - "Don't whine to me when you get hurt, blondie! Ka ka ka ka!"

And so, the white hippo of Wapol, being ridden by the man himself and his two bootlickers, surged from the side of the mountain, the man happily crying out: - "Wah! Drum Castle! How good it is to be back- eh?" - And displaying his lack of attention to his surroundings again, he finally realized three things

One, the door to his old castle was open, which meant it was filled with snow, which he'd have to order to be cleaned, to his annoyance, as he didn't like to deal with peasants. Two, there was… one, two, four, five people and a reindeer in front of the open gate, including the damned witch doctor, Kureha

Three, and most important, was that Drum Kingdom's flag was missing, instead a Jolly Roger with cherry blossoms was in its place, on top of his castle

"Kureha! You damned witch, where is the flag of my castle!?" - He bellowed

"That old, ugly thing? Ka ka ka!" - Laughed the dame: - "I burned it! This castle is now the grave of doctor Hiluluk, Wapol! Now, be gone! Goodbye!"

More quietly, she whispered, as she turned her back to the king in a show of disrespect: - "Boys, don't disappoint me now; a lady should not need to fight"

Cracking his knuckles, Luffy spoke, as Gin spun his recently repaired tonfas and Elijah cracked his knuckles: - "Yosh! Sure thing, lady!"

"You think you can order me around, don't you!? Well, you borons, I say, this castle is mine! And only my flag can fly on it!" - And so, he ordered: - "Chess, what did I eat this morning?"

The jester, that the 'Straw Hats' recognized as the look-out of the submarine that attacked them, pulled a clipboard and said: - "Gladly sir; you ate two salted cannons and a side portion of cannonballs, and upon entering the village, you ate two well-cooked and one raw house, alongside a few snack trees and a climbing bear"

"Just what the hell are you!?" - Asked, baffled, Gin, stopping his motion to stare in confusion

"Maaaaaaahahaha! I ate the Munch Munch Fruit, which makes me a munching human! Now, behold! Munch Munch Factory!" - And then, Wapol… twisted

"Gross" - Muttered Luffy, seeing the man stretch and grow in size, until he was shaped like a house, with cannons for arms

"Now, behold! As I shoot down that ugly flag!" - And he tried, he really did. But Luffy was faster

First Chopper gasped and growled in anger, then he gaped, as Luffy appeared on top of the castle, holding the flag to stop it from flying away and stabbing it back in place: - "You! Do you have any idea of what this flag means!?" - Luffy himself didn't, it was just a pirate flag

But just a pirate flag meant the dreams and hopes of someone, and he'd never allow that to be trampled

"Who cares? It's just a pirate flag!" - Wapol, however, didn't believe in that: - "I'll just shoot it down a-"

"Shut up!" - Which, naturally, pissed off the captain: - "You dare fly under a pirate flag without knowing its meaning!? You dare attack a pirate flag while having no purpose yourself!?"

"Elijah, Gin! Stop the bookends from getting on the way! Wapol is mine!"

"Eh!? But you're still sick!" - Chopper raised the question, looking worried at Gin, Kureha grabbing him by one of his antlers and pulling him close

"Strong men heal fast. You believe he's on the first day of his sickness, right? Well, he's on his third, and will probably be fully healed in two more" - She explained as she released him, drawing a baffled 'eh!?' from her reindeer: - "Just watch, Chopper, the power of a true pirate"

And he watched. He watched as Gin, feeling better than he had since his fever started, deftly evade the arrows fired at him and ploughing through the Chess, the archer, slamming into him with his tonfas and burying him with a single blow into the snow

He watched Elijah, also evading the thrown balls from Kuromarimo, the second man, with an afro and an orange outfit, before ducking under a 'Marimo Surprise' and simply delivering a light blow with his knee, Chopper's eyes widening as said knee exploded and launched Elijah's opponent flying out of the mountain

"C-Chess! K-Kuromarimo!" - And it was only the start of the ex-king's misfortune: - "Wapol~!" - "Gah~!"

"Candy Candy Pistol!" - The man didn't even move in his own defence, too shocked with the swift defeat of his advisors, and was punched right on his big fat face, launched backwards and only not falling from the mountain because of his hippo thing, which did fly away down below. That was in spite of the king being as big and as heavy as a house, a pair of cannons and who knew how much munitions

"Y-you~… bah~!" - With the… warcry, Wapol charged, firing a cannonball forward to force his opponent to move out of his way; Luffy ignored it completely, punching it in mid-air and making it detonate, before delivering another punch with his other hand, Wapol having charged through the smokescreen believing his opponent out of the way or incapacitated somewhat

Instead the king only received a blow on the door of his strange form, followed up by another, again, on his face. What followed was a complete beating, as Luffy ping-ponged Wapol, punches and a few kicks bouncing the fat king around

An explosion of snow and fire distracted Luffy long enough for the king to bellow again, charging straight to his castle, Wapol having fired straight down to run away, laughing all the while: - "Mahaha! Y-you're strong, I'll admit, but once I enter the armoury of Drum, and eat all its weapons, I'll become invincible! Mahahagh~!"

Of course, Valentine had something to say, jumping straight down and slamming on him at a still lovely and svelte ten thousand kilograms, her heel kick actually missing but sending him flying forward

"Hey, captain, can I deal with him? Pretty please~?" - She asked, spinning her now open umbrella gently

"Hm? Well, I suppose if you want to feel like you're earning your place… you know you don't need to, right?"

Valentine chuckled softly and answered, even as she kicked away an attempt of attack from the king. The kick, weighting also ten thousand kilograms, struck the lower jaw of the wide-open mouth of Wapol, and sent him flying back, Kureha and Chopper duly moving aside to let him pass: - "Oh, I know, captain~"

Grinning maliciously, she declared: - "But I love~ a good fight, and since you denied me one against you in Little Garden, I'll take this one right now" - And she charged, reducing her weight to glide over the snow

Wapol himself had recovered from the kick, in spite of the tremendous pain he felt on his entire body, and was hastily trying to unlock the door of his armoury. He accelerated in his attempts, sweating as a sickly sweet and venomous voice called his name, but couldn't, as the lock, exposed to the elements, had frozen solid

Then a kick connected to his back, and all his efforts proved unnecessary, as he flew straight through the doors

Valentine herself, while a little dizzy, was grinning like a maniac. She always loved to get herself in a good fight, even if normally duty forced her to simply 'snipe' her targets like a distressingly precise meteor, but now? Now she could go all out; Valentine could actually fight, rather than kill

She was looking forward for it, especially as Wapol was now inside his vaulted arsenal: - "Come now, Wapol~; you're in your arsenal now~!"

No answer. Entering the room properly, she saw the king, staring blankly with a rather weird smile on his face, with wide eyes, at his mostly empty arsenal, only possessing some cannons and one or two guns, rather than the veritable arsenal he boasted about: - "I- we-"

"W-we t-took the guns with us. T-they're on the ship"

"Kyahahaha! Seriously!?" - Naturally, Valentine laughed; clutching her stomach and trying to not fall on the ground: - "How can someone be so dumb! Kyahaha~!"

"Now~… bye bye, baby!" - One advantage of her fruit was that she had the proportional strength implied by her weight. So, if she was moving one thousand kilograms, she had the force behind the movement to successfully move one thousand kilograms

Thus, her next kick, aimed at a cannon, actually lifted the object, the weapon flying at Wapol who took it on his forehead, waking him from his stupor: - "I-I still have the cannons!"

Another cannon interrupted him, the siege equipment soon was chomped on, caught in mid-air and gulped down, Wapol coughing, having not munched on it. Valentine, realizing that maybe giving him more weapons might not be a good idea, decided to kick him instead

The door on Wapol's stomach opened, and a cannon poked from it, firing and striking Valentine, drawing a scream: - "M-my clothes! Kya~!"

The woman, still weighing roughly ten times more than normal, easily resisted the impact; her clothes, however, were still clothes, and so she now had a massive hole on her coat and dress, both torn by the blast and exposing her belly

Glaring, she hissed: - "You're dead~" - And the next cannonball, fired by Wapol as he laughed, flew over below her

Ignoring Luffy question from outside, Val jumped over the shot, using the explosion to fly high, before calling out: - "Ten Thousand Kilo Press!"

Slamming down, Wapol didn't evade this time, actively lifting his arms, trying to shoot her out of the skies and missing, the blonde falling too fast to hit and instead delivering a double kick on his big head

"Now be gone! Ten Thousand Kilo Flick!" - And demonstrating great agility, she spun in place, a backflipping kick that flicked Wapol into the wall: - "I said, be gone!" - Not stopping, she jumped and delivered a flying kick, still weighing roughly ten thousand pounds and sending Wapol through the stone wall that previously stopped him

Luffy felt a sweat drop from his head. And that's all without knowing to properly fight, apparently: - "She's been raring to go for a while, hadn't she"

"She's quite a sadist, yes. Hard to believe her dream is to be a simple chocolatier" - Agreed Elijah

The smokescreen raised by her knocking Wapol through the wall faded, the blonde frowning and all three males looking away, to not stare at her exposed skin, drawing a snort from Valentine. How cute

"Anyone saw where Wapol went?"

His nose twitching, the reindeer Chopper finally averted his gaze from the destruction the supposedly concussed woman inflicted: - "Eh, he went straight up! He's still-" - "Shut up!"

Wapol hastily closed his mouth and hugged the wall. Unfortunately, he was still in his house-like form, and thus easily visible, somehow in the highest floor of the castle and trying to fit into a door

"There you are~! Mister Five, I need a lift!" - "Everyone stand back!" - And they did, Luffy jumping into another floor, Gin jumping outside, and Chopper, transforming into a musclebound and somewhat furry form, grabbed Kureha and followed 'the Ogre'

Elijah then exploded, sending Valentine to the rooftops of the castle, and drawing a squawk from Wapol as the blonde was suddenly above him, kicking out from the top of the castle to divebomb the ex-king: - "Ten Thousand Kilo Press!" - The floor caved in, the way giving up from the impact of one ten thousand pounds weighing lass

"Gah~!" - Unfortunately, Wapol already entered the door he wanted, through the knockers showed that in his rush he broke through it. Jumping high with reduced weight, Val soon saw her opponent and blinked; he had somehow turned into a… bucket?

"What?" - "Ahah! Now, behold, Slim-up Wapol!" - And then he twisted, again, having apparently eaten himself and turned himself into a slimmer version of himself: - "… What" - Instead of fighting, however, he ran away

"What. Wait! Come back here, you coward!" - Valentine gave chase, passing through the corridor, and getting an unpleasant surprise on the way. Do remember Wapol ate three cannons, and even if he hadn't them for arms, that didn't mean he lost them

"Tongue Cannon!" - Turning his tongue into one of said cannons, he fired it at the blonde, who slid on her knees, bending enough her head rubbed on the floor and making her lose her hat, the cannonball flying over her: - "Maha, ha~?"

Realizing he missed, he gulped loudly, and ran again as she stopped to recover her hat, the blonde again pursuing him: - "I'm starting to get annoyed!"

Then the blonde realized why he was running away, her instincts alerting her of a trap, and desiring to end this, simply stepped on it; she entered the last room he entered, which, from the windows and the roof, she deduced to be on the top of a tower, where a massive cannon with seven openings on its barrels rested

"Maaaaahaha! Behold, the ultimate weapon of Drum Kingdom! The Royal Drum Crown Seven-Shot Tin Tyrant Cannon!" - He laughed proudly, imagining himself now undefeatable, as all he had to do was fire it

Pressing the trigger mechanism, Wapol stared as blankly as when he had seen his almost empty arsenal, as the cannon failed to fire; he again moved the mechanism, and a snow-white bird revealed itself from one of the barrels

The bird cried out in annoyance at the king, as the firing mechanism was chewing on her nest while attempting to fire. Not that Wapol cared; the important thing, from his point of view, was that his devastatingly lethal cannon was non-operational

"I'll have you executed!" - He cried out, pointing one fat finger at the bird, and gulped, as Valentine suddenly appeared in front of him, one hand on her umbrella, the other in a vice-grip that crushed Wapol's windpipe: - "Now, what do we have here~"

Wapol struggled, but it was no use; it was impossible for the man to break a ten thousand kilograms' grip on his neck: - "A cowardly, cad of a king, a pirate and bandit of the high seas, and most importantly, an enemy"

"You're lucky, you know that? The 'Straw Hats' bring the best of you into the world, otherwise, I'd drop you from this tower and jump right behind to crush your skull" - She spoke, smiling brightly, as if she wasn't just threatening him with death: - "Instead, I'll just send you away"

"Ten Thousand Kilo Flick!"

A rumble was heard, and Chopper, joined by Elijah, looked up, Kureha long back inside to protect herself from the cold. Out of a window, the shape of Wapol flew by, falling further away than even Kuromarimo, flying down the mountain. Gin, who was busy pushing Chess down, snorted, and deciding to make it a competition, slammed his tonfas with as much strength as he could

He still didn't quite managed to get her reach, in spite of being on the edge of the mountain and Valentine closer to the centre, which send a frightening thought on his head. He'd might lose his position as one of the strongest of the crew

Then again, they could just add another member to said position

This time, there was no celebration for the victory. Or rather, there was, but it was very subdued, much to Luffy's confusion, who never realized that a commemoration could be solemn and cosy, rather than a happy party

Still, Wapol was now arrested and locked with Seastone shackles, since he fell, luckily enough, right in front of a recovering Dalton, as the man and an army of peasants prepared to march against Drum Castle, Usopp, Zoro, Igaram and Vivi travelling with them

Kureha insisted rather… violently, on a complete check-up on both Dalton, who had been impaled thrice, and on Valentine, who admitted to have felt a little dizzy during the conflict, the witch rather annoyed with the blonde for actually fighting, and with Luffy for letting her. Still, no actual medical treatment was needed for the blonde, so she did not further raise her price

And Chopper, stared in wonder at the hyperactive captain, and his more tranquil crew, with exception of the long-nosed individual, who seemed as vivacious as Luffy and wanted a legitimate party to start, to the combined amusement and annoyance of everyone else. He had a debt to Doctorine, true, but he also had a debt to Luffy's crew now, for saving doctor Hiluluk's flag and kicking Wapol's fatness away

The cannons were arrayed outside, and the news already were spreading through the kingdom, when the reindeer boy gained enough courage to talk with Kureha: - "Doctorine?"

The witch was drinking from one of her bottles of plum wine, and looked at Chopper with a fondness he rarely saw, normally aimed at a patient who truly thanked her: - "Go"

"Eh!?" - "Oh, my little apprentice, so grown, already wanting to see the world" - "D-Doctorine!?"

"Ka ka ka ka! Did you forget I knew of your little pep talk with that monkey!?… I'll never forgive you Chopper, for abandoning me… but I recognize that your place isn't here"

"The world is a large place, and I don't know everything; go, Chopper, explore the brave new world we live, and create the panacea you and your father always dreamed about!"

"D-Doctorine… Doctorine, thank you!" - And the little boy hugged his mother in all but name, bawling, for once Kureha not minding the wet feeling. Let the boy cry; he was saying goodbye, after all

Of course, she wasn't going to tell him to never mention what just happened. She'd just make him forget about it by scaring the crap out of him

She had a reputation to maintain, after all!

Not even the solemnity of the liberation of Drum Kingdom, now nameless, could stop Luffy from celebrating having gained a new crewmember

Chopper was prodded a little by Usopp, who was really curious about what the reindeer boy was, and the dark-skinned teen found it fascinating, the idea of a Devil Fruit being eaten by an animal never once crossing his mind, thus being rather impressed with Tony Tony Chopper, born a reindeer with a blue nose, who ate the Human Human Fruit and thus making him a reindeer human rather than a human reindeer

And so, while a drink was shared between the members of the crew, Chopper, refusing the alcohol out of his responsibility as a doctor and the fact he was underage, soon went inside to grab the tools of his trade, and say a last goodbye to Doctorine

Instead, he found himself screaming his little head off, as said Doctorine chased him while throwing every form of weapon and armour and whatever else she could put her hands on

Grabbing Doctorine's sled, he hastily linked it to himself, and ran, shouting as soon as he caught sight of the crew: - "Jump inside~! Fast~!"

And Luffy, without even asking, soon pushed all of them into the sled, drawing squawks and squeaks of surprise, Gin's more because he was able to push everyone into the sled, and Chopper's because, even with Valentine weighting only one kilogram, seven normal people was still quite heavy

Soon the crew found themselves ridding down a thick white rope, the crew realizing how doctor Kureha gained her reputation of a witch. The reindeer drawn sled would appear to fly through the air, the rope Chopper rode being practically invisible in the snow

Cannon fire ensued, as the crew finally found themselves back on the crew, Nami cooing at the cute little reindeer boy that was apparently the crew's new doctor, said doctor watching in wonder at the backpack Elijah pulled from deep within the sled, containing the equipment he wanted to pick and was unable because of Doctorine's… violent reaction

And then, light from the castle. The ones present had seen, the cannons and holophotes being positioned outside the castle, but now they were seeing them perform their function

And Chopper wept, as his father's hard work, his dream of making cherry blossoms bloom in the winter island of Drum, flourished

The hard work of Hiluluk, his panacea to heal a nation's heart, was a powder that would bond with snow, painting it pink. And now, years after his death, and after production hidden from Chopper's eyes, Kureha said her real good bye, firing the powder, and turning the Drum Rockies into giant cherry blossom trees

And from within the tallest of said trees, only Dalton, and only barely, as he thought of that incredible princess that only now he recognized, heard the mutters of Kureha: - "Good bye, my reckless son…"

AN: And yay! Two chapters in a month!

I'm particularly happy with this one. Oh sure, Luffy didn't get his oportunity to kick ass, but I was able to give the other crewmembers said chance; the end result was the Valentine vs Wapol fight, as what Gin and Elijah passed though does not count

To the reviewes Bobboky and sudhush, thank you for the loyalty, and for dealing with my slow updates; next one will be the entrance to Alabasta, and Elijah's oportunity to shine, and here's a hint: they do meet Ace, but a little later than in canon

Of canon differences, not many; the most important was that the main fight had different participants, and that Wapol will have a very hard time making his Evil Drum Kingdom like in canon; in fact, he'd be lucky to not get executed, considering now there's undeniable proof in the hands of Alabasta that he was a pirate, even if for only a few months

And I added a little fluffy scene, between Kureha and Chopper, a warm goodbye between the two that I felt wouldn't add much, since Doctorine still would say her more vicious goodbye, if only to ensure said warm goodbye stayed firmly between only the two

Oh yes! And Wapol's arsenal. I mean, sure, the king could have left it behind, but it seemed like the type of thing Wapol wouldn't forget about while escaping; he'd need to arm his crew, so why leave behind the massive arsenal Drum Kingdom supposedly have? Bad enough to forget his massive seven-shooter...

Nothing more to add, I believe; this chapter was ready on Monday, so I'm really excited to finally publish it, and I hope you all like it!

Peace!