The icy wind screamed across Drum Island's shore as the Going Merry groaned at her moorings, snow piling thick across her deck. The world was blindingly white and eerily silent—except for the crunch of hurried footsteps moving away from the ship. The Straw Hat Pirates pressed toward the mountain town of Bighorn, breath fogging in the cold, urgency in every step.
It had started back on Little Garden. Nami had brushed off her symptoms at first, but her fever rose fast, draining her strength by the hour. Vivi, the Alabasta princess in hiding, had recognized the danger immediately. "It's probably the climate," she said grimly. "On the Grand Line, sickness from extreme weather shifts can strike anyone. Even infamous pirates die from it." Her voice faltered, clearly wishing she didn't have to say it.
Vivi had shown she was more than just a capable princess—she was a friend. Even after learning that 600,000 soldiers had defected to the rebels in Alabasta, she still put Nami's health above all else, not just for the journey's sake, but because she cared.
But salvation didn't arrive quietly. As they neared the icy island, a grotesque figure blocked their way—Wapol, an overweight man casually eating a knife. "Hey! We want to go to Drum Kingdom. Do you have an Eternal Pose or a Log Pose?" he asked pleasantly enough… before trying to eat their ship.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for the monster trio to send him, his crew, and their giant vessel flying.
But even setting foot on a nearby winter island brought no relief. Its militia stormed toward them, weapons raised. "STOP RIGHT THERE!" "TURN YOUR SHIP AROUND AND LEAVE NOW!" Mistrust and fear were plain in their eyes.
Before they could react, a 'warning shot' whizzed past Sanji—far too close for comfort. That alone was enough to ignite the Straw Hats' fury, but just as Sanji tensed to strike back, Vivi stepped between him and the soldiers. "Wait, Sanji!" she pleaded. But her words were cut short as another bullet tore through the air and grazed her. She cried out in pain.
"YOU JERKS!" Luffy roared, his face twisting in rage as the crew began bracing for a fight. Tension cracked through the air like thunder. But once again, Vivi pushed herself up, blood on her arm, and threw herself in front of Luffy.
"Stop! We can't fight them! My wound is nothing—just a scratch!" she insisted, before falling to her knees in the snow, bowing low in desperation.
"We will not step on your island, but please send us a doctor! Our navigator is very sick and won't survive if she doesn't see one! Please help us!" When Luffy's defiance became obvious on his face, he received Vivi's ire even as she continued bowing. "Luffy! You are a failure as a captain! What will happen to Nami if you get us killed here?" Thankfully, that got through to him as Luffy calmed down and apologized. "You're right, I was wrong." He joined Vivi in her bowing "Please call a doctor, please help our friend."
a broad-shouldered man with a cold gaze and warmer judgment stepped forward—Dalton. He called off the attack, and said "I'll take you.. ot the village, come witth me" and without a word, the strawhats could not hide their happiness as they finaly had hope that Nami would be okay but then Dalton dampered their mood "But i should warn you... there is only one doctor in this country... and she is a witch"
As they marched, Dalton spoke of a kingdom shattered by cowardice. "This country has no name," he said, loosening his grip on a massive polearm. "Just a few months ago, pirates attacked us. Since then, we've grown wary of outsiders. Please forgive our hostile reception. But I must ask... you look familiar. I have a feeling I've seen you before." His voice carried quiet suspicion.
Vivi responded quickly, her heart racing and her voice tight. "I-It must be your imagination! B-But tell us more about this witch."
By that point, the Straw Hats and Dalton had reached the royal guard quarters. There was a silent understanding among them all: questions could wait. Getting Nami settled was the priority—and that's exactly what they did. She now lay in a warm bed near the fire as Dalton pulled out a thermometer to check her condition.
"Her temperature is... 107 degrees!?" Dalton said aloud, the usually stoic man unable to keep the worry from showing in his voice and on his face. "If it goes any higher, she will die!" he added bluntly.
"Yes, we know that. Her fever has been rising for three days, but we don't know the root cause of her illness," Vivi replied, frustration and concern lacing her voice.
Sanji could no longer contain his frustration, his jaw tight and his eyes burning with a mix of fear for Nami and anger at the delay. His hands twitched toward his lighter out of habit, but even the thought of a cigarette couldn't steady him. Every wasted second felt like a nail in his own chest. "Just tell us where this doctor is!—the witch you talked about. Where is this witch doctor!?"
Dalton pointed outside the window. "The witch... You see those mountains out the windo—"
But then his expression shifted.
Sanji, puzzled, moved to see for himself. "Which mountai—"
His voice trailed off as his face twisted into that special mix of disbelief and "I can't believe I sail with these idiots!" One look, and you could tell two people were about to get kicked straight into next week.
"It's a Super Snowman!!!"
"It's a Super snow monster Shirora!!"
Because Luffy and Usopp, in the middle of a full-blown medical emergency, decided it was the perfect time to build two absolutely enormous snow statues—so massive they completely blocked the mountain view.
"IF YOU TWO DON'T STOP SCREWING AROUND, I SWEAR I'LL SERVE YOU A BOOT SANDWICH—STRAIGHT UP YOUR SNOW-SCULPTING ASS!!!" Sanji exploded, veins popping and everything.
Before Usopp or Luffy could even climb down, they heard a distant voice.
Well—it wasn't that distant, considering even the people inside the house were now wincing from the volume.
"-SAAAN!"
The Voice that started as adistant sound stopped being a distant sound in real time if that was possible
"DAAALTOOON-SAAAAN!!!"
And then they saw it.
An orange blur. No, a missile. No, wait—a human missile. Charging directly at them like the world's most aggressive carrot.
"Hinata-chan..." Dalton sighed like a weary father, leaving Vivi blinking in confusion, silently wondering who on earth this Hinata was to make him sound so exasperated.
"HEY! WAIT A MINU—" Usopp's warning was tragically late. The blur barreled straight through the snow statues like a bowling ball from hell, reducing both masterpieces to powder and planting Usopp and Luffy flat on their backs in a puff of cartoonish snow-dust.
"Hinata-chan..." Dalton let out a sigh as he stared at the new arrival in his house
"What the hell..." were the only words Sanji managed, and the exact same expression was plastered across Vivi's face. They both stared at the source of the chaos, struggling to understand how that tiny body was responsible for this much chaos.
The culprit stood there, bouncing lightly on his heels, wearing an obnoxiously bright orange hoodie that looked like it was designed to start avalanches. The oversized hood was tugged over his messy mop of orange hair, and a pair of too-big earmuffs clung to his head like they were holding on for dear life. His scarf was half-wrapped, half-dangling, and his gloves didn't match—one was striped, the other had a cartoon face stitched into it. Snow clung to his sleeves and knees, and yet his grin could've melted every icicle in sight. He looked like winter had tried to dress him and given up halfway through.
"Dalton-san! I finally nailed that footwork with the staff—!" He stopped mid-sentence as his eyes scanned the room. The excitement drained from his face, quickly replaced by nervous confusion. "Dalton-san... who are these people?"
Dalton rubbed his face like a man bracing for impact, the deep lines on his brow tightening as if he were silently counting to ten before trouble hit. His voice came out with the long-suffering tone of someone who already regretted the next five minutes. "These here are pirates..."
The color drained from the boy's face. In a blur of panic, he zipped behind Dalton with the kind of speed that left even sanji impressed "WHAT!? ARE THESE THE SA—"
Dalton cut him off, grabbing his head and dragging him back around like a misbehaving puppy. "No, they aren't the same pirates that attacked us. And stop being scared all the time, Hinata-chan. Be a man, will you?"
Watching Dalton—normally a wall of stoicism—act so animated with anyone was strange enough. But before the crew could even comment, their chance was stolen by two voices still brushing snow off their backs.
"HEY! Are you the one who wrecked our priceless snow masterpieces!?" Luffy and Usopp bellowed in perfect, melodramatic harmony, like two divas whose grand performance had been upstaged.
"I-I-I'M SO SORRY!" the boy yelped, bowing so hard his forehead nearly left a dent in the floor. He stayed there, frozen, then tilted his head mid-bow with a puzzled blink. "I-I'm really sorry! I think? I did something bad right? But I was running so fast I didn't see anything! What did I break!?"
Usopp looked ready to unleash a full theatrical tirade—complete with finger-wagging and unnecessary reenactments—but Sanji already looked like he was about to ignite a frying pan with pure rage.
"CAN YOU GOOFS JUST SHUT UP! HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN NAMI IS SICK!?
Sanji was ready to go on his own tirade before the boy's eyes drifted toward the bed. His smile vanished. In a flash, he rushed to Nami's side, placed a hand on her forehead, and instantly recoiled. "Oh crap! She's burning up!"?"
The Straw Hats might have worn somber expressions—had they not been too stunned to react. Their initial outrage at someone yanking the blanket off Nami was swallowed whole by confusion as they watched the strange boy dart around her like a malfunctioning compass, checking her hands, feet, neck, and face. Words escaped them entirely, as the boy practically began vibrating in place with sheer panic.
"Oh crap, oh crap! She might have the same thing that I had!" he exclaimed, as if trying to recall a medical diagnosis from a half-forgotten nightmare.
But then, before anyone could say a word, the boy did the unthinkable—he gently lifted Nami's blanket and pulled her shirt up around her navel. Sanji's cigarette nearly snapped in half. His eye twitched, his teeth clenched, and his leg started to rise on instinct.
"HEY! GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER, YOU LITTLE—"
"OH NO!!" the boy yelled, his panic somehow doubling as he stared wide-eyed at Nami's stomach.
The room froze as everyone followed his gaze.
Purple marks. Ugly, unnatural blotches spread faintly across Nami's navel.
Vivi's breath caught in her throat, her hands curling into trembling fists at her sides as a cold dread coiled in her stomach. Luffy's usual carefree expression had vanished, his wide eyes fixed on the marks with an uncharacteristic heaviness, like the sight alone weighed him down. Usopp swallowed hard, his mind racing between denial of the severity of these marks and the creeping fear of what this meant. Even Sanji, who was halfway through a furious outburst, went silent—his rage eclipsed by a gnawing, helpless worry. The temperature in the room dropped further—not from the snow outside, but from the shared, unspoken realization that this was far worse than they'd imagined.
"W-What is that?" Vivi asked, her voice trembling as though saying the words might make the sight vanish. Her eyes darted to Nami's face, searching desperately for any sign of reassurance that didn't come.
"Yeah, what is that?" Luffy echoed, but witout his usual thoughtless curiosity—his tone was lower, tighter, as if the answer might change more than just their day. He reached a cautious hand toward the marks—
Only to be shoved back so hard it made him almost crash into the wall behind him—a burst of unexpected force from the wiry boy that left everyone momentarily stunned he even had that kind of strength.
"DON'T TOUCH THAT! YOU MIGHT GET IT TOO!" he shouted, his panic now operating at a level of intensity previously thought biologically impossible. He looked ready to combust from stress alone.
Dalton was the first to try to calm him down. "Hinata-chan, don't panic!" and by god Dalton tried but he failed spectacularly because the boy didn't even acknowledge Dalton. Instead, he began yanking off his jacket and his earmuffs, still vibrating with panic. "Oh man, she doesn't have the same thing I had—but this looks worse!"
Without warning, he tugged Nami upright with one swift motion, startling everyone.
"Wha—" Nami groaned, barely conscious, as her eyes fluttered open.
In one fluid motion, the boy twirled her like he was flipping laundry and slipped her into his jacket—despite it being clearly too tight and ill-fitting for her frame. Her arms stuck out awkwardly and the zipper refused to go all the way up, but he didn't even flinch as he put the earmuffs on her.
"H-hey, who ar-" "I need to keep her warm! This isn't good, this isn't good at all!" Nami tried to talk but she just did not have the strength to talk as the panicked boy kept talking mostly to himself, his hands hovering like he was trying to look for leaks to plug in a sinking ship.
Then, without warning, he grabbed both of Nami's hands—crisscrossed them—and in one impossibly swift motion, had her flipped onto his back in a makeshift piggyback. It was so fast and fluid that everyone in the room blinked like they'd missed a frame of reality for even Nami did not have time to widen her eyes.
"Hey! What are yo—" Sanji started first, not liking what he was seeing, while Luffy stepped forward instinctively.
But both were too late—no, rather they were too slow. The boy didn't even acknowledge them, muttering under his breath in a frantic rush, "Hang on, you're gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay," like saying it enough times might make it true. Utterly consumed by his distress for Nami's safety, he dropped into a running stance, and in the next heartbeat exploded forward like a cannonball, blasting past them and out the door in a blur of orange and raw panic.
Snow kicked up in his wake like he'd just set off a mini blizzard indoors. Luffy and Sanji spun where they stood, coats flapping wildly in the gust—Luffy looking impressed like he'd just seen a racehorse, and Sanji looking like he'd just been personally disrespected by the weather.
"Did that just happen?" Sanji muttered, his voice low and edged with disbelief, as though his brain had refused to belive that could happen to him and was struggling to reboot. He blinked twice, processing the blur of events, and then his eyes snapped wide open in shock. "That did not just happe… THAT BOY JUST TOOK OFF WITH NAMI!"
"WHAT!?" Usopp and Luffy yelled in unison—Usopp's voice cracking like a snapped slingshot, Luffy's sounding like someone had just told him meat was banned—while Vivi clapped her hands over her mouth in disbelief, eyes darting as if checking whether she'd actually just seen that happen.
They bolted for the door, boots pounding against the floorboards, but before they could even burst outside, a sudden gust of snow blasted inward, swirling around their legs. It carried with it a high-pitched yell—shrill, urgent, and echoing across the frosty expanse. The sound sliced through the air and straight into their nerves, sending a shiver down their spines for reasons that had nothing to do with the cold. For a moment, they all froze, caught between alarm and disbelief.
"OKAY! WE FOLLOW THE SOUND!" Sanji barked looking like hell would freeze for Sanji to stop his pursuit
Luffy and Usopp nodded—Luffy crouched, coiled like a spring and ready to sprint, while Usopp stood stiff as a board, chin up in a show of false bravery, even as his knees knocked so loudly they could've been mistaken for castanets in the wind. "I'd have had that shrimpy back by now," he declared with all the conviction of a man making excuses, "but my 'knees too weak in winter' disease is acting up. I'll let you two make up for my absence just fine!" He clearly had no intention of actually setting foot in that kind of cold, but was committed to the bit like his life depended on it
"Wait!" a deep voice rumbled, cutting through the chaos like a dropped anchor. Dalton stepped in front of them, his imposing frame filling the doorway, a wall of muscleand unshakable authority. Snow still clung to his coat from when he came in, and his eyes held a calm certainty that made them pause. "There's no reason to dash off blindly into the snow," he said, his tone steady but firm. "I know where he's going."
Relieved as they were to hear this, their worry over their crewmate being taken hostage by that strange boy overrode any sense of politeness. "Then what the hell are you waiting for? That brat JUST took off with Nami! She might not even survive the cold—god knows what that little pervert wants to do to her!" Sanji exploded.
Dalton's jaw tightened at the accusation, his expression darkening for just a moment before smoothing over. It was clear he didn't appreciate Sanji's words—or the insinuation toward Hinata—but he swallowed any sharp reply, choosing instead to speak with a calm authority that brooked no argument. "Hinata-chan is not that kind of boy. I've known him long enough to stake my word on it. Trust me—your friend's well-being is all he's thinking about right now. He lives with the witch—the only doctor in this country—and if anyone can help her, it's that witch."
Surprise flickered across their faces at the unexpected news, but it was quickly eclipsed by the growing worry for Nami and the lingering skepticism toward the strange boy. "Be that as it may, he's still just a shrimp and now he is lugging Nami through this brutal cold when she's already sick. If he's not careful, she might die before she even reaches the doctor!" Sanji snapped, each word sharper and louder than the last as his anger mounted, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became and his reasoning clearly struck a chord with the rest of the Straw Hats as their own expressions tightening into a collective, heated glare, their eyes dark with the same mix of fear and fury.
None of it was lost on Dalton, who simply sighed, the sound carrying both patience and resignation, before lifting one gloved hand to point toward the window. "You see those mountains…"
Every Straw Hat turned to follow his gesture—and their eyes landed on one of the most unusual sights they'd seen yet: a chain of towering, drum-shaped mountains rising out of the snowy horizon.
"…Those are the Drum Rockies. Do you see the castle on the highest peak?"
The crew all nodded silently.
"That," Dalton continued, his tone leaving no room for doubt, "is where she lives The witch Dr Kureha. And that is exactly where Hinata-chan is taking her.,,"
Neither Luffy nor Sanji waited another second—they bolted toward the castle, snow crunching underfoot. Behind them, Dalton's voice boomed as he looked at them running with an impressive speed "Hinata-chan went this way to save time, so it can't be helped—but be careful! There are Lapins on this path!" Luffy, not breaking stride, yelled back, "We'll be fine!!" more then confident in himself and Sanji
"Will they be fine?" Dalton asked as he looked at their rapidly disappearing figures, not sure about any of them—including Hinata.
"Aw, no need to worry about those two," Usopp said confidently. "They'll catch up to that shrimp in no time. I've seen them do too many impossible things not to believe it."
Vivi wasn't far behind in adding her two cents. "Yes, those two can handle themselves. The only question is whether they can catch that boy before he drops Nami. It's Nami's strength I'm worried about. I hope they get to him before any mishap and then take Nami to the doctor in time."
Dalton's skepticism was clear as day. "I don't know… Hinata-chan was a freak athlete even before he ate his Devil Fruit."
Usopp froze. "Eh, don't worry Dalton! They'll ge—WAIT. DEVIL FRUIT!?" His voice cracked so hard it could've snapped icicles off the eaves, and Vivi's eyes went wide.
XXXXXX
Call Sanji arrogant, but he really didn't think it would take long to catch that shrimp. "Seriously! Where is that shrimp?!" he barked between breaths. They had been running as fast as they could, but there was still no sign of him. Sanji knew Hinata was fast, and Luffy was no slouch on his feet… Speaking of feet—
"Why do you have no socks on?! Looking at your feet is hurting me!" Sanji snapped, glaring sideways.
"Well, it's my police!" Luffy replied without missing a beat.
"You mean policy, you dumbass," Sanji shot back, rolling his eyes.
The wind was picking up, stinging his cheeks and cutting through his coat, and Sanji decided he was far too cold to bother with Luffy's regular nonsense. "How have we not seen that shrimp yet!? There aren't even any tracks! I refuse to believe someone's that fast with my Nami on their back—unless it's me," he growled, half in disbelief and half in stubborn pride.
And it looked like their luck had finally turned around, because for the first time in a while they heard the shrimp's voice again echoing through the snow:
"UWAAAAAAA!"
Their relief at finally having a sign of the small-sized boy was short-lived, because the scream was horrifying to their ears. The worst thought hit them all at once—what if something happened to Nami? "We need to hurry!" Sanji barked, his tone like a gunshot in the cold air. "Right!" Luffy shot back without hesitation, his voice sharp with urgency.
They rounded a snowbank—and there he was. The boy they'd decided to call a shrimp, shrieking his head off like a fire alarm with legs, sprinting through the snow with Nami strapped to his back in a lopsided piggyback. Certaainly not as fast as he was when he had bolted with Nami in front of them and left them in dust, and here he was doing the most pitiful excuse for parkour imaginable: hopping onto low snow mounds, sidestepping baby Rabits like they were puddles, and yelping every time one so much as twitched an ear. To Luffy and Sanji—who had no idea what Lapahn were —they looked like harmless fluffy snow bunnies being playful. But to Hinata, it was apparently the stampede from hell, and every bounding hop was another omen of doom.
"GET AWAY, YOU FLUFFY DEMONS!" Hinata yelled over his shoulder, legs pumping furiously. "I don't care that you are supposed to be cute rabbits!. You look like nightmares and your teeth are nightmares!" He weaved left, narrowly missing a bunny lunge. "I'VE SEEN DOCUMENTARIES, OKAY!? THIS IS HOW PEOPLE DIE!"
Luffy skidded to a halt, eyes sparkling. "Whoa! He's playing tag with snow bunnies!"
"SNOW WHAT!?" Sanji barked, still running as he was visibly fuming. "THOSE THINGS AREN'T EVEN HALF HIS SIZE AND HE'S SCREAMING LIKE THEY'RE SEA KINGS!"
"UWAAAAAA! ONE OF THEM LOOKED AT ME FUNNY!" Hinata hollered, vaulting over a knee-high drift like it was a fortress wall.
Sanji's eyebrow twitched. "I'm going to catch him… and then I'm going to kick him for Running off with my Nami...making me run in this cold!"
And Sanji would have—if one of the baby rabbits hadn't suddenly turned its red eyes on them, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth as it lunged straight at Luffy. The attack was so fast Luffy barely had time to blink before Sanji's boot connected squarely with its face, launching the creature skyward so hard and so high and so far that it vanished into the snowy air within a second
"Oh no!"
The shrimp-boy yelled to no one in particular as the other two rabbits now turned their red eyes on Sanji and Luffy, lunging at them—only to share the same fate as the first. This time Luffy joined in, sending one flying with a grinning punch while Sanji's boot rocketed the other skyward. In seconds, both baby rabbits disappeared into the sky like snowflakes in a storm.
"Oh no! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?
By now both Sanji and Luffy were getting sick of the constant yelling from this ridiculous boy who had, for all intents and purposes, kidnapped Nami. Sanji wanted to kick his ass on principle alone, and he would have—if not for the absurd sight unfolding in front of them.
The shrimp-boy was now running backwards...just as fast as he'd been running forward, his voice echoing and his figure disappearing right before their eyes. "This cannot be happ—OH MY GOD IT IS HAPPENING!" Sanji blurted, incredulous. "SO COOL!" Luffy cheered, entirely unbothered as usual. Luffy's ability to stay himself no matter how dire the situation wasn't helping Sanji's blood pressure as they both picked up speed.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU SHRIMP!" Sanji roared, his voice echoing across the snow.
"Yeah! And when you do, give back Nami and join my crew!" Luffy shouted right after, grinning like this was a recruitment drive.
"LIKE HELL HE WILL! NO KIDNAPPER OF NAMI IS GOING TO JOIN OUR CREW!" Sanji bellowed back without missing a stride.
"KIDNAPPING! I DID NO SUCH THING!" Hinata yelled outraged and his outrage pissed Sanji even more as he and luffy finally began closing distance
Hinata's boots skidded over the snow as he kept that ridiculous backwards sprint going, head swivelling just enough to keep Luffy and Sanji in his sights while somehow not tripping over a single drift. Every step looked like it should send him sprawling, yet his feet kept finding perfect placement, adjusting for the uneven snow without jostling Nami an inch.
"TURN AROUND! YOU WILL DROP nAMI YOU SHRIMP!" Sanji barked, vaulting over a snowdrift without breaking stride.
"NO! That wastes seconds!" Hinata shot back, weaving between two low mounds while still facing them. "And seconds are important when you've got—AHHH!—two crazy pirates chasing you!"
"HOW IS HE NOT SLIPPING?!" Sanji barked, teeth gritted as his breath came in visible bursts.
Luffy's grin only widened. "Because he's cool!" he said like it explained everything, before suddenly stretching his arms forward. "Gomu Gomu no— GRABING-NET!"
Hinata's eyes went wide. 'WHAT! Oh no oh no oh no—'
Luffy's arms shot forward like twin ropes, aiming to snatch him. Hinata ducked low in one fluid motion, pivoted into a sliding crouch that carved a path through the snow, and sprang back up without breaking pace. One of Luffy's hands slapped into the snow where Hinata had just been, sending up a spray of white.
"NO TOUCHING! I'M BUSY!" Hinata yelled, voice cracking under the strain, but his legs moved with that same uncanny rhythm—springy, controlled, impossible to predict. He twisted his torso just enough to shield Nami from the wind, his balance never faltering even as he weaved between two jagged drifts.
Sanji narrowed his eyes. "Fine! If rubber boy can't grab you—" He kicked off with a burst of speed he was known for, intent on demonstrating just why he was the fastest among the Strawhats, closing the gap fast.
Hinata's brain screamed at him: Turn, turn, turn! But he'd been running backwards for too long thinking that the moment he shifted his body, he'd lose a step, and they'd be on him. 'I'M SO STUPID! I SHOULD HAVE NEVER STARTED RUNNING BACKWARDS! ALL SO I COULD LOOK AT THEM KICKING THOSE RABITS!'
"Gotcha—!" Sanji lunged—
Hinata finally twisted forward mid-stride, body snapping into a sprinter's form, and the second his feet found the proper angle—
FWOOOSH!
In a blink, the gap between him and the Straw Hats tripled.
"WHAT—?!" Sanji's jaw dropped. "Was he holding back!?"
"COOOOL!" Luffy's voice was almost drowned by the wind as he tried to pump his legs faster.
Hinata didn't look back. "SORRY, TOO COLD FOR SMALL TALK!" His voice was already echoing from far ahead.
He bolted across the slope, dodging rocks, weaving through dips, each step cushioning Nami as though he'd trained for this exact mission his whole life. His strides lengthened, body low to cut through the wind, every bounce timed so her head never snapped back.
Then—
He froze mid-gallop. Literally—boots locking into the snow with a squeal, body stiff, eyes going wide. The snow puffed up around his feet from the sudden stop, and Nami's hair swayed forward with the momentum.
Right in front of him stood a wall of massive Lapahns—towering over him like furry bouncers—with the angry baby rabbits from earlier gathered at their feet, still sporting fresh boot and fist marks. Their red eyes glowed like they'd just been told bedtime was cancelled.
Hinata's trembling finger shot toward Sanji and Luffy, who were just rounding the slope. "THIS—IS—ALL—YOUR—FAULT!" he yelled, whipping around to glare at Sanji and Luffy like they'd personally declared war on bunny-kind. "YOU KICK-HAPPY SWIRLYBROW GUY!—AND YOU, THE MEAT BRAIN RUBBERBAND!"
Sanji's eyebrow twitched even as he closed the distance. "What did you just call me?"
Luffy grinned like he'd just been complimented. "Meat-Brain Rubberband… I like it!"
Hinata turned back toward the Lapins, shifting Nami's weight on his back like a sprinter adjusting before the starting gun. "I know you guys are strong so you can handle this.."
Sanji was having none of that as he reached his hand out just about ready to grab Nami off him "Hell no! you are not taking my Nami anywhere!"
XXXXXXXX
"I don't know… Hinata-chan was a freak athlete even before he ate his Devil Fruit."
Usopp froze. "Eh, don't worry Dalton! They'll ge—WAIT. DEVIL FRUIT!?" His voice cracked so hard it could've snapped icicles off the eaves, and Vivi's eyes went wide.
Before Dalton could answer, a voice called from across the snow-packed street.
"Hey, you people talking about Hinata-chan?"
A pair of bundled townsfolk trudged up, cheeks red from the cold, each balancing a basket under one arm. One of them, a short woman with frost on her scarf, looked around expectantly. "He was supposed to fix my porch railing this morning. Said he'd be here before lunch."
Another man—older, with a lined face and a coat patched in three places—gave a small laugh. "He's late? That's a first. Kid's always running everywhere like he's got the wind at his back. Could've sworn I saw him at the market at dawn."
The woman sighed but there was no real irritation in her voice. "Probably got distracted helping someone else again. That's Hinata-chan for you, never charges a coin for it either.""
More villagers drifted over, drawn by the conversation. No one said it outright, but the way they traded fond glances and chuckled at his name spoke louder than words to Vivi. These weren't casual mentions for they carried the easy familiarity of people used to seeing him every day, someone woven into the rhythm of their lives. Protective eyes lingered on the them—on Vivi, on Usopp—as if silently weighing whether they were friend or foe to their boy.
Dalton straightened slightly, his tone easing into something more certain. "It'll be fine People. Hinata-chan is just doing something important for me. He'll keep his promises, we know that don't we?"
The reassurance was solid enough to scatter the small crowd. One by one, the villagers turned back to their errands, crunching off through the snow with baskets and tools in hand, though a few still glanced back with a faint furrow of concern.
When the last of them had gone, Usopp leaned in toward Dalton, lowering his voice like they were trading state secrets. "Alright, I need details. What's this about a Devil Fruit? Please tell me it's not something that makes him explode or turn into a rabbit or something, because that'd be—"Dalton's gaze lingered on the distant ridge where the castle loomed before he answered. "We don't know the full details yet." He folded his arms, the leather of his gloves creaking. "But from what we can tell… the more panicked and scared he is, the faster—and just… more athletic—he becomes."
Usopp's eyes went wide, then narrowed in outrage. "Fear makes him faster?!" He grabbed his head like the universe had personally wronged him. "That's— that's my perfect Devil Fruit! I've been training my whole life for that power!"
He jabbed a finger at the air as if accusing fate itself. "And he just… gets it? No effort? No years of professional cowardice?!"
Vivi hid a small smile, though the concern in her gaze lingered. "If that's true… and he's running from Luffy and Sanji right now… then he's probably pushing himself harder than ever."
"Exactly. And that's saying something—Hinata-chan was a freak of an athlete long before he ever touched that fruit. Nobody in this village could catch him. Not me. Not the militia. No one."
Dalton's mouth curved ever so slightly—not a smile, but the ghost of one. "If he's running scared right now… not just from the fear of being caught, but because he's afraid for your friend—then trust me. Whatever speed your friends think it would take to catch Hinata-chan? It's not even close. They'd have to run like their lives depended on it. Because, for better or worse, that's what Hinata-chan does even when he isn't scared. He lives for the moments he surprises himself… and every one of those moments has come from limits he's refused to accept."
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The Lapins pawed at the snow, their long ears twitching like warning flags. Steam puffed from their nostrils as they lowered themselves to pounce. Hinata crouched low, eyes darting between them, Sanji, and Luffy—each one a different kind of threat to his survival and Nami's chances.
The center of everyone's concern, Nami had finaly woken up "Y-you're lucky I a-am so w-e-weak kid, or you would b-be in trouble"
Hinta's eyes suddenly gained a sharper edge, like a cornered animal finally deciding to fight back and bite back "That is right Nami-san, you will soon be not so weak, I will make sure of it."
Sanji was almost on him. He closed the gap in three furious strides, close enough to hear all of it and getting pissed over Hinata thinking what he is doing will save Nami, Hand already swinging forward to snatch the "shrimp" by the collar. "Game over, kid—"
Hinata's head twitched like a startled rabbit himself, and suddenly—bzzt!
Thin, jagged red streaks of light started crawling over his cheeks, like lightning painted across his skin. The faint sound of static buzzed in the air, snowflakes sizzling as they drifted too close. His knees bent deeper, muscles coiling tight.
"What the hell—?" Sanji's eyes widened, his hand looking like it's hanging frozen in midair even though it is closing distance.
Luffy's jaw dropped. "Oooooooh."
Even the Lapins froze mid-step, their red eyes flicking between each other in some silent animal language that probably translated to: That doesn't look normal.
And then—
BOOM!
Hinata exploded upward like a launched cannonball. The snow beneath him blasted out in a perfect circle, sending a frosty shockwave over everyone in a ten-meter radius. Red streaks trailed behind him like comet tails, zigzagging wildly in the air as if even the light couldn't keep up.
Everyone craned their necks— and if Ussop and Vivi had been there, Dalton's words which were hard to imagine, would suddenly start making sense
"HOW IS HE DOING THAT WITH MY NAMI ON HIS BACK!?" Sanji yelled, shielding his eyes from the glare of the streaks.
"SO COOOL!" Luffy shouted again, bouncing on his heels like an overexcited kid at a fireworks show.
Even the Lapins broke rank to hop higher—trying to match him—but their leaps barely cleared half the height. One particularly ambitious bunny tried a double-kick off its buddy's back… and still fell short, landing in a puff of snow with a sulky glare.
From below, it looked like Hinata just… kept going. Up and up until the red streaks shimmered against the white sky, and for a second he seemed to flicker—like heat haze—before vanishing into the blinding snow above, in the direction of the castle.
And just like that, he was gone.
A heavy silence fell over the field, broken only by the soft, ominous thumps of angry Lapin feet turning back toward their remaining targets.
Luffy grinned. "Guess they're all ours now."
Sanji lit a cigarette with a snap. "Tch. Fine. But when I see that shrimp again, I'm turning him into stew."
The Lapins' ears shot up. The baby rabbits hissed. And then the whole snowy world seemed to lurch forward as the horde charged—straight at the two remaining Strawhats, left in the snow with Sanji feeling like a giant idiot and ready to get over his embarrassment by making use of the oversized rabbits in front of him.
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Author's note:- Hope you enjoyed the chapter, Leave a review, If you have any criticisms, voice them, I hope you like the devil fruit reveal, I think those of you who read it are already getting an idea of what kind of character Hinata is going to be in the one piece world, see you next time.