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Suspended high above the snowy cliffs in the mountain cable car, the four passengers stared across at the girl perched at the edge of a perfectly round opening in Drum Mountain's sheer rock wall.
The wind howled, snow lashing in sheets across the void.
From this distance, they could clearly see the girl flinch at the sight of them.
Pointing toward her, Liam frowned: "On a column-shaped cliff face like that… would there normally be a cave there?"
It was the very same peak from the manga, the one Luffy had once climbed inch by inch, Nami on his back, Sanji gritted in his teeth.
Dalton's eyes narrowed in disbelief. "Is that… Ross? What is she doing here?"
Kureha gave a sly smile. "No wonder the Doctor Hunt squads could never catch her. She's been hiding in a place like this."
"But… how is that even possible?" Dalton's voice wavered between doubt and worry. "Ross is just a frail little girl. How could she scale Drum's icy peaks, in the middle of snow and storm?"
The cable car creaked and swayed as it continued its slow climb toward the palace at the summit. From the round hole in the cliff, Ross could be seen panicking, her body shifting as if preparing to bolt deeper inside.
"Since you all know her," Liam said casually, "Why not call her over and just ask?"
"Huh?" Dalton blinked, still trying to process when Giorno suddenly leapt from the cable car in a single, effortless bound.
"Wait---!" Dalton's chest tightened. Below was only a sheer drop into the howling storm. A slip here meant certain death. But then his eyes widened in shock.
Giorno, suspended in the frigid air, moved as if the sky itself were solid beneath his feet. Each step echoed with a sharp crack against the void, his form striding swiftly toward the round cave carved into the cliff.
With a final bound, he landed soundlessly at the entrance. His tall frame towered over the opening, half-blocking the light, shielding the girl within from the furious winds outside.
"…"
The girl, no older than fourteen or fifteen, stared in stunned silence, jaw slack, frozen on the stone floor as though the very laws of the world had been rewritten before her eyes.
'Impossible. He's flying!'
Ross trembled, her eyes wide as she watched the tall man who had crossed the raging storm as though the sky itself obeyed him.
But he wasn't even looking at her.
"This cave…"
Liam's sharp gaze swept across the entrance. The rim of the hole was smooth, unnaturally so, an immaculate circle etched into Drum Mountain's sheer cliffside. The darkness stretched inward in a flawless cylindrical tunnel, too perfect to be natural.
"W-Who are you?" Ross stammered, instinctively retreating deeper inside.
Without answering, Liam reached out, seized her by the shoulder, and pulled her with him as he leapt into the storm.
"Ahhh!" Ross screamed as the void yawned beneath her feet.
But Liam did not fall. His steps hammered against the sky itself, Geppo. The air cracked crisply with each stride, solid beneath him as he carried the terrified girl clinging to his arm.
She twisted, desperate to look back, only to see the perfectly round opening in the cliff shimmer, then collapse into nothingness. By the time her eyes focused, the wall was seamless stone again, cold and eternal as though the cave had never existed.
"Well, what do you know," Liam muttered with a faint chuckle. "Fate has a sense of humor."
Snow whipped in frenzied spirals around him, but he strode across the sky unfazed, pacing back toward the climbing cable car.
Inside, Dalton's heart pounded. The moment Giorno had leapt away, reckless and fearless, he had considered whether to make a sudden strike, take down the woman, Jolyne, before she could respond.
But one glance at her had stopped him cold.
Her expression was calm. Posture unshaken. Eyes steady and unblinking, as if daring him to try.
Dalton had seen war. He had seen killers. He knew that look. Even if her bounty was lower than Giorno's, this woman, this pirate worth three hundred million Belly, was no less dangerous.
Whoosh!
The cable car swayed violently as frigid air rushed in. Liam stepped in through the snowstorm, still carrying the girl, and set her down unceremoniously onto the wooden floor.
"Ross!" Dalton hurried forward, steadying her small frame.
"…?!" Ros rubbed her sore backside, then froze at the sight of the massive bull's head looming before her. "Ah!"
Her panic faded when recognition struck. "Dalton San…"
Relieved, she scanned the cramped cabin. Her gaze landed on Kureha, who sat with folded arms, and a bit of fear slipped from her. The trembling in her knees steadied; she forced herself to stand on her own instead of crumpling.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack," She scolded weakly.
"I thought you were the Doctor Hunters…" She brushed bits of snow from her cloak, trying not to meet anyone's eyes.
But her gaze betrayed her. It darted quickly, toward the tall, striking young man whose presence pressed against the cabin like a weighted silence. Even seated, his frame seemed too large for the space.
The beautiful woman at his side leaned in as he murmured something only to her; she blinked in surprise, then followed his glance toward Ros.
Ross swallowed hard.
"I still can't believe it," she whispered, her voice thin, almost lost to the storm outside. "He actually walked through the air… I, I thought I was done for this time, really finished. But… lucky me, I guess…"
Though her words trembled with relief, her wary eyes never stopped watching him.
Dalton asked gently, "All this time, over the past year, you've been hiding inside those caves? But how? How could you survive in a place like that?"
"That's my business," Ross snapped, her voice firmer than expected. "I don't intend to tell you."
"It's the Pipe-Pipe Fruit," Liam interjected with a laugh. "A Paramecia-type Devil Fruit. Lets you carve tunnels through anything, stone, ice, even metal. You can even turn objects into tunnels."
Ross seized on the explanation without hesitation, chin raised. "That's right. With the Pipe-Pipe Fruit, I can dig a passage anywhere and climb right up. You really are dumb, Dalton. Guess you really are just a bull."
"…" Dalton's bovine eyes widened. "A Devil Fruit user…? All this time?"
Liam narrowed his gaze, studying her carefully. "So you're telling me she's been studying medicine here for more than a year, crossing an ocean to reach this frozen wasteland… and none of you even realized she had the powers of the Pipe-Pipe Fruit?"
His eyes slid between Kureha and Dalton.
"When she arrived," Kureha said, her gaze shifting to the swirling snow beyond the cable car windows, "This kingdom had already begun expelling its doctors. She's lived in the shadows ever since. The fact she's alive at all is a miracle."
Dalton lowered his head, shame tightening his jaw. His deep voice grew hushed. "I… I thought you'd already left this country long ago."
Ross gave no reply.
A Year and a Half Earlier
Drum Kingdom. In a snow never ceased.
Commander Dalton trudged across the endless white, his heavy steps sinking into the frost. His grief was etched plainly on his countenance.
'What kind of fool banishes every doctor, the wealth of his own nation? What kind of king would…'
The bitter wind lashed at Dalton's face, dulling his fury, but never stilling it.
A sudden rustle broke the silence. His instincts flared; horns burst from his head as he spun around, just in time to see a small figure tumble into a snowdrift.
The girl scrambled back to her feet, cheeks flushed with cold, yet smiling as though snowstorms were nothing more than an adventure.
"Who are you? I've never seen you here before," Dalton asked, wary.
"My name's Ross!" She replied brightly. Thirteen, maybe fourteen, she carried a small pack and a strange eagerness in her eyes. "This is Drum Kingdom, right? Just like the rumors said, it's freezing! I came here to study medicine!"
Dalton's fists clenched, the heavy truth pressing down on his shoulders. "...I'm sorry."
Confusion flickered across her face, until disappointment crept in. But instead of turning back, she ignored his words and ran straight toward the castle.
Dalton remained behind, staring at the patch of snow she had stumbled from. His chest squeezed with unease.
Why… were there no footprints where she appeared?
The Present
And now, as the storm raged outside, Dalton understood. The girl had left no footprints because her Devil Fruit had hidden them. Beyond reason, beyond explanation, like all Devil Fruits.
Robin's soft voice broke the silence. "Knowing this country had closed its doors to doctors, why didn't you choose another place to study?"
"Exactly," Liam agreed, leaning forward with interest. "The world doesn't begin and end with Drum Island. There are plenty of places with advanced medicine, right, Granny?"
"Naturally," Kureha replied dryly, her fist snapping out toward Liam. He dodged with a grin. She sniffed in mock irritation. "The world's vast. Drum's medical science is famous, true, but only here in this corner of the Grand Line. Don't think it's everything."
Her sharp laugh rang out, full of irreverent confidence. "As long as people fall ill, there'll be doctors who rise up to treat them. That's the natural way. Why, I hear there's a place in South Blue where herbal medicine is incredibly advanced…"
Liam and Robin exchanged a quiet glance.
Ross lowered her head, silent for what felt like an eternity. Finally, she whispered, her voice cracking, "My homeland… is sick."
Both Liam and Robin snapped their attention toward her.
(To Be Continued…)