While Luffy and the others headed for Drum Mountain to find a doctor, Vivi and Usopp learned some things from Dalton.
Vivi was curious why such a large country had only one doctor. Dalton told her that long ago, this had been a nation with highly advanced medical science, but for certain reasons, many doctors had left.
Several months ago, the country had been attacked by pirates and was destroyed—annihilated by a crew of just five pirates.
Hearing this, Vivi and Usopp were shocked. That just five pirates could wipe out a country seemed utterly impossible to them.
Dalton added that the captain of that five-man crew called himself Blackbeard, and his group possessed tremendous power. They had destroyed this country in an instant.
Though the country fell, some said this was actually beneficial.
Vivi and Usopp were skeptical. How could a country being destroyed by pirates be beneficial?
Dalton, sitting on the snow, sighed and explained the truth. The person who had ruled this country before was a terrible king—brutal, unfeeling, and utterly depraved.
This country was once called the Drum Kingdom, and the king's name was Wapol.
Upon hearing the name Wapol, Usopp and Vivi immediately remembered the man who had attacked their ship at sea.
Dalton asked if they knew Wapol. Usopp claimed Wapol was the pirate who attacked their ship and boasted that he was the one who drove him off.
Vivi also said she had seen Wapol once as a child when she accompanied her father to a council of kings.
Hearing that Vivi had attended a kings' council, Dalton found it strange and was about to ask her identity, but Vivi deftly changed the subject.
A country was destroyed, yet its king was still alive and had become a pirate. Vivi found the whole thing bizarre. But Dalton knew that "pirate" was just Wapol's current identity; he was lurking in nearby waters because he wanted to return here.
At first, Vivi had thought the people on Wapol's ship were soldiers who had fled the island after losing to the pirates who attacked the country. Unfortunately, Dalton gave her a cruel, harsh truth.
When the pirates attacked, the king's army had no intention of fighting.
Upon realizing how strong their attackers were, they were the first to abandon the country, fleeing to the sea under the leadership of their king, Wapol.
A country protected by soldiers who fled without a fight, ruled by a king who abandoned his people—that was why it fell so quickly.
"How can a king of a country act like that?!" Vivi exclaimed furiously after learning the truth.
Usopp had never seen Vivi express such emotion, even when she was shot. But upon hearing that King Wapol had fled with his army in the nation's hour of need, leaving his people behind, she became outraged. Clearly, in her heart, a king should never be like that.
Now, Wapol's tyrannical rule was over, and the town's revival was proceeding smoothly. The citizens who remained on the island were preparing to unite and build a new home.
Currently, the people's greatest fear was Wapol returning with his army to reclaim power.
After the country's destruction, life on the island was unstable. They had to prevent this from happening; it was necessary to establish a new, peaceful nation here.
As they talked, the large, imposing woman they had seen earlier with a physique like a yeti walked back over. Usopp mistook her for the Yeti again and immediately bowed.
The woman informed Dalton that the Witch Doctor had apparently just left for the neighboring town.
Hearing this, Vivi and Usopp were shocked. Wouldn't that mean she and Luffy's group had just missed each other? By now, Luffy and the others were halfway up the mountain and had unfortunately run into a large pack of carnivorous rabbits.
After a brief discussion, Vivi and Usopp decided to go to the neighboring town to find the Witch Doctor. Dalton decided to take them to the town called Cocoa Weed.
On the way, Dalton apologized to Vivi and Usopp. "Please forgive this country that doesn't even have enough doctors."
Vivi could clearly feel the deep, heavy love for his country in Dalton's words.
Unfortunately, Luffy, Tom, and Sanji were too fast. Even if they wanted to catch up, Usopp and the others couldn't.
So they decided to find the Witch Doctor in the neighboring town and ask her to return to her castle quickly.
Regrettably, by the time Dalton brought Usopp and Vivi to Cocoa Weed, the Witch Doctor had already treated a young boy in the town and left for another.
They heard her next destination was a town named Casta, a city in the north near a lake, where ice skating was very popular.
Just as Dalton was about to take Usopp and Vivi to Casta, a man originally tasked with patrolling the coast returned injured. He reported that Wapol had returned with his army and had defeated the coastal patrol.
Dalton learned that after landing, Wapol had attacked the village where he lived—Big Horn Village—and the situation there was now dire.
After docking his ship, Wapol had spotted another pirate ship anchored in the distance—the very one they had encountered yesterday.
Still bearing a grudge over yesterday's events and wanting to tear the Straw Hat crew to pieces, Wapol found the ship empty. Knowing Luffy and the others were still on the island, he immediately ordered his men to track them down.
Following the footprints in the snow, Wapol concluded the Straw Hats had gone to Big Horn Village. He led a large force there with great fanfare.
Poor Miss Goldenweek was left all alone on the ship. Although Wapol's men didn't board the Going Merry to search, she was terrified and decided hiding was her best option.
Arriving at Big Horn Village and not finding the Straw Hats, Wapol let his men run amok in the small town, burning, killing, and looting—committing every evil imaginable.
The once peaceful village quickly became a living hell, filled with cries of agony. Wapol even ordered his men to burn the village houses because he liked to eat fire-roasted buildings. He declared everything in this country was his snack and asked his subordinates if he wasn't great.
Wapol's underlings were all yes-men, praising him and saying that as king, of course he was great.
Upon learning Wapol was in Big Horn Village, Dalton rushed back there.
In the past, Dalton had been one of Wapol's subordinates and had committed many crimes himself. He understood that someone burdened with sin like him couldn't represent justice. He just wanted to settle things with Wapol.
When the people of Cocoa Weed heard about Big Horn Village, they were enraged. Everyone who could fight took up weapons and headed there, wanting to protect the country they had worked so hard to rebuild.
As outsiders, Vivi and Usopp felt it inappropriate to interfere too much in this country's affairs. After borrowing a map from the villagers of Cocoa Weed, the two set off for Casta to find the Witch Doctor.
But when Usopp asked Vivi if they were going the right way, even Vivi, looking at the map, grew uncertain.
Usopp, calling Vivi a princess, told her to quickly figure out their bearings. She tried to show him the map, but Usopp confidently told her that with snow everywhere, he couldn't make heads or tails of a map.
Vivi thought they should see a signpost for Casta along the way and told Usopp to keep an eye out.
Usopp puffed out his chest and said to leave it to him. But as he said this, the signpost pointing to Casta was already behind him. In other words, riding on the sled as he was, no matter how hard he looked now, he would never see that sign.
Dalton, having eaten the Ox-Ox Fruit, transformed into a charging bull upon nearing Big Horn Village. In his bison-man form, his running speed on snow surpassed that of a white horse.
Arriving at the village, Dalton had reverted to human form. The moment he saw Wapol, standing on a large hippopotamus and giving a speech, he didn't hesitate. Drawing the shovel-like weapon from his back, he leaped up and brought it down hard on Wapol's face.
Wapol had been boasting about swallowing all the Straw Hats and taking his men back to the castle on Drum Mountain when Dalton's strike connected.
Though the blow split Wapol's face open, the wound was so deep it looked like his head had been cleft in two. But for the medically advanced Drum Kingdom, such an injury was nothing.
In no time, with treatment from his doctors, Wapol's facial wound was completely healed, as if nothing had happened.
To ensure his own survival, Wapol had callously kept the country's twenty finest doctors by his side, serving only him, and had driven all other doctors out of the country.
Dalton called this behavior a crime—taking all the sick people in the country hostage. In this nation, the ill were forced to submit to Wapol's tyranny, and the citizens lived in misery.
Though Dalton had received much care from the previous king—Wapol's father—he held no hope for the incompetent, despotic Wapol. He was determined to kill Wapol no matter what.
Using the wild bison form of the Ox-Ox Fruit, Dalton easily dodged bullets. Wapol's men fired at him, but none hit their mark; instead, many were knocked down by him.
Jes and Morgrey, like Dalton, were once Wapol's subordinates. Either of them was a match for Dalton in strength, and they knew his character well—he was too honest and kind.
Knowing Dalton would never stand by and let villagers die, Jes didn't shoot his arrows at Dalton but aimed instead at the villagers who had just arrived to support him.
Sure enough, seeing Jes attack the villagers, Dalton immediately ran in front of them, using his body to block the arrows.
Struck by three arrows, Dalton quickly lost strength and collapsed. Just as Wapol was about to seize the chance to finish off Dalton and the defiant villagers, the earth shook violently. A massive wave of snow surged from the mountain not far away.
Clearly, a major avalanche had occurred.
Judging by its force, it would likely destroy the entire village. Wapol and his men, caring nothing for the other villagers, immediately fled.
Meanwhile, Usopp and Vivi had gone the wrong way and wound up deep in the mountains. Just as they were doubting their direction, a massive avalanche came rushing toward them, making their jaws drop in shock.
As for Zoro, while swimming in the sea, he swam and swam and somehow got lost. After climbing back ashore, he had no idea where he was.
Snowflakes drifted from the sky. Shirtless, Zoro shivered violently from the cold. As he walked, he encountered an old woman riding a sled pulled by a reindeer.
Zoro intended to ask the old woman to borrow some clothes and give him a ride to a nearby town. Seeing her expose her midriff in such cold weather, he bluntly called her a weird old lady.
The old woman then crooked her finger, beckoning him over, warning him to watch his mouth unless he wanted trouble. The next moment, Zoro, his nose almost frozen, was sent flying by a kick from the old woman.
The old woman declared she was in her vibrant 130s, then drove her sled off, telling the reindeer to go and ignore this weirdo, leaving the kicked and fallen Zoro lying alone on the ground.
Having been kicked for no reason, Zoro muttered about what a nasty old hag she was. He thought about going after her to settle the score, but a cold wind blew, making him shiver all over. He decided to do some exercise to warm up.
After training for a while, Zoro felt much warmer. Before he could enjoy it, he was buried by the sudden avalanche at the mountain's base.
As for Luffy, when he jumped from Tom's glider, he grabbed a nearby broken tree trunk, stood on it, and skied down the mountain, avoiding the avalanche's direct impact.
After pulling the deeply buried Sanji from the snow, Luffy found Sanji gravely injured and unconscious. Wanting to get Sanji to a doctor, he headed for the summit once more.
Sanji was indeed severely wounded. Caught in the avalanche at its peak force, he had taken the impact head-on. Most of the ribs in his chest were broken, and he was hovering on the brink of death.
Carrying Sanji toward the summit, Luffy also saved the scarred, right-eyed Lapin—the one Sanji had kicked earlier, which had also been caught in the avalanche—pulling it from the snow.
As Luffy, carrying Sanji, neared the summit, he was blocked by Wapol and his crew.
Having escaped the avalanche, Wapol suspected the Straw Hats had deliberately caused it to attack them.
So Wapol decided to show Luffy what real snow tactics were. Taking a shortcut with his men, he quickly caught up to Luffy.
Luffy told Wapol to get out of the way, but Wapol laughed arrogantly, calling Luffy an idiot and saying the Sanji on his back looked like he was about to die.
Knowing Sanji needed a doctor's treatment urgently, Luffy tried to ignore Wapol and his men, attempting to walk around them. But Wapol wouldn't let him off so easily.
Infuriated that Luffy treated him like air, Wapol immediately ordered his subordinate Jes to note down a new law he'd just thought of: anyone who ignores the king shall be executed!
Then Wapol ordered his men to kill the severely injured Sanji first. This enraged Luffy. While dodging their attacks, his movements became sharper, jostling Sanji on his back, who coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.
This made Luffy realize what he should be doing right now. Though furious at Wapol's vile actions, his veins bulging on his forehead, breathing heavily like an ox, he immediately turned and ran toward the summit with Sanji.
As Jes shot arrows at him, he called Luffy a coward. He didn't know that if Luffy weren't so concerned about Sanji's critical condition, he would have punched him into the sky long ago.
Running and running, Luffy glanced back and noticed Wapol's group had disappeared. He wondered where they went when a huge mouth appeared right in front of him.
Using the snow as cover, Wapol and his men had secretly flanked Luffy, launching a surprise attack from the front and sides.
Luffy hurriedly jumped into the air to avoid Wapol's bite, but Jes and Morgrey attacked from left and right—one shooting an arrow at Sanji on Luffy's back, the other wearing spiked gloves, also targeting Sanji.
Seeing he couldn't dodge both attacks, Luffy panicked. In that critical moment, two Lapins leaped out, knocking Jes and Morgrey away.
The Lapin leader, whose life Luffy had saved, helped him in this desperate moment. It even turned and struck a pose for Luffy, flexing its arm muscles, giving a low, somewhat friendly growl.
With a pack of Lapins hindering Wapol and his men, Luffy was finally able to take Sanji to find the doctor.
These carnivorous rabbits had always been at odds with humans in this snow country. That they were now willing to help a human shocked Wapol and his crew.
Some time later, though the Lapins were numerous and troublesome, they were ultimately no match for Wapol's group and were all knocked down.
After dealing with the rabbits, as Wapol's men were about to pursue Luffy, they accidentally spotted a figure seemingly hanging upside down from a thick rope high in the distance. Someone immediately exclaimed, "Lord Wapol! Look over there! Someone's up there!"
"Are you seeing things? Who would do such a thing in this terrible weather?!" Wapol's men looked up. Hundreds of meters in the air, they could indeed vaguely make out a person hanging upside down from a thick rope.
"That person... seems to be carrying someone on their back, Lord Wapol!" Jes, as an archer, had far better eyesight than the others and could vaguely distinguish that the hanging figure had another person on their back.
"Is that guy insane?!" Wapol's underlings, hearing Jes, were so shocked their jaws hit the ground. They had never imagined someone would hang upside down from a rope hundreds of meters up, in blizzard conditions tens of degrees below zero, while carrying another person and climbing. Such madness didn't seem like something a normal person would do.
"Wait... Could they be trying to get to the doctor? If so, then the person on that rope is also one of the Straw Hats! They all deserve to die!" Wapol tilted his head, stroking his iron chin. He remembered encountering Luffy's crew at sea yesterday and knowing they were looking for a doctor. Combined with the fact that the person Luffy was carrying was clearly gravely injured—and would surely die without a doctor—and the information he'd gotten in Big Horn Village that his former castle was now occupied by the Witch Doctor, Kureha... a sinister smile spread across his lips.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
T/N :
Support me and Access 25 chapters in Advance on my P@treon: [email protected]/GodFic