"So," Dr. Kureha said dryly, eyeing the two headless corpses half-buried in snow, "it seems you've met Wapol before, young man."
Luffy stopped mid-step.
He turned, looked at her, then glanced back at the bodies as if they were mildly inconvenient debris.
"Yeah," he said plainly. "That fat bastard ate my ship, tried to steal our treasure, and thought it was a good idea to do it twice."
He started walking again, hands in his pockets, boots crunching against the snow.
"I already beat him once. Him showing up here means he slipped past my crew on Bighorn…"
He paused. His eyes sharpened.
"…and that pissed me off."
Kureha laughed and took a long swig from her bottle.
"Well, I won't complain. Kings are a nuisance anyway."
She tilted her chin toward Chopper.
"But I imagine my little friend there might have something to say."
Chopper stood frozen, staring at the bodies. His hooves trembled slightly.
Luffy walked over and gently placed a hand on the top of Chopper's hat.
"Sorry," he said quietly. "I took your revenge."
Chopper flinched.
"But someone like you," Luffy continued, voice calm and steady, "doesn't need to stain his hands with garbage like that."
Kureha's lips curved faintly.
"Revenge eats people alive," Luffy added. "I've seen it. You don't need that weight."
Chopper swallowed, then nodded—small, hesitant, but real.
Before anyone could speak again, Luffy's head tilted.
"…Huh."
Everyone looked at him.
"I sense a group coming this way," he said. "A lot of people. Some floating. Some flying."
He frowned. "And my crew's with them."
Sanji stepped beside him, cigarette hanging loose. "Flying?"
Luffy shrugged. "That's what it feels like."
Kureha snorted. "They used my rope system."
Both men turned to her.
"There's a pulley cart attached to a rope I tied from my old house down the mountain," she explained. "That's how the reindeer and I travel."
Luffy nodded. "Makes sense."
Five minutes later, metal scraped against ice.
A boxy rail cart emerged from the snowpath, rattling to a stop. One by one, figures stepped out.
Luffy's muscles tensed when he saw a uniform—then relaxed.
Green hair.
Three swords.
"…Zoro," he said.
The crew followed behind him, battered but upright.
"Yo, Captain," Zoro greeted, hands in his pockets.
Luffy stared. "Weren't you guarding the ship?"
Zoro shrugged. "I went for a swim. Trained a bit. Got lost."
Luffy sighed. Deeply.
"Of course you did."
Zoro continued, unfazed. "Ran into soldiers. Fought. Met this guy named Dalton. Heard Wapol was coming here."
Dalton limped forward, bruised but standing tall.
"So," Luffy said, folding his arms, "how did Wapol get past all of you?"
"It's not our fault!" Yosaku protested. "He vanished in the snow!"
Johnny nodded. "Dalton said it's their fighting style. They hide inside snowbanks."
Luffy grunted. "Figures."
Vivi pushed through the group, eyes anxious. "Nami?"
"She's safe," Luffy said instantly. "Resting. Doctor's treating her."
Relief spread like warmth through the group.
Zoro scratched his head. "By the way… something flew off this mountain earlier. What was that?"
Luffy answered casually, "The king."
Zoro blinked. "Oh. Okay."
Dalton froze.
"…You defeated Wapol?"
"Yep."
Dalton stared. So did the villagers spilling out behind the cart.
"And his men?" someone whispered.
Luffy pointed behind him. "Dead."
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
"Chess and Kuromarimo…" someone gasped.
Luffy clapped his hands once. "Anyway—Usopp! I found a new friend!"
He turned.
Pointed.
"…Huh?"
Nothing.
Chopper was gone.
Kureha chuckled. "He hates crowds."
A shout erupted.
"HEY! SOMETHING'S OVER THERE!"
Villagers spun. Guns rose.
Behind a tree—blue nose, shaking antlers.
"A monster!"
"A yeti!"
"Shoot it!"
Chopper froze, terror flooding his eyes.
The click of gun hammers echoed.
The air cracked.
Thunder rolled.
Every gun stopped working.
Metal smoked. Barrels warped. Powder fizzled uselessly.
Luffy stood between Chopper and the villagers, lightning crawling across his shoulders, eyes flat as winter stone.
"Lower your weapons," he said quietly.
No one moved.
He took one step forward.
"This," he continued, voice calm and terrifying, "is my friend."
Another step.
"He is a doctor. He saved my navigator."
Snow began to rise around his boots.
"And anyone who points a weapon at my friends…"
Electricity snapped loudly.
"…is my enemy."
Silence swallowed the mountain.
Dalton swallowed hard. Then slowly lowered his weapon.
One by one, the villagers followed.
Chopper stared at Luffy's back—small, shaking, disbelieving.
Luffy turned slightly, not looking at him directly.
"You're not a monster," he said. "Never were."
The wind carried the words.
And for the first time on Drum Island, fear began to melt.