[Suggestion: You're thinking too much.]
Tomioka's gaze lingered for a moment on the line of text that had abruptly appeared. The almost blunt denial made him realize that his earlier vigilance and suspicion might indeed have been a bit excessive.
A flicker of embarrassment, an emotion rarely seen on his face, quickly passed. He instinctively cleared his throat, trying to cover up his momentary lapse.
He looked at Dalton, stiffly changing the subject: "You said before... this country no longer has a name. What did you mean?"
After a moment of silence, as if to make up for something, he looked at Dalton and added very seriously, "You... are a good person."
"Huh?"
Dalton was taken aback by the sudden, out-of-the-blue remark, completely bewildered. The solemn expression on his face stiffened for a moment, and he could only vaguely respond, "Uh... thank you?"
Usopp and Vivi, who were nearby, also cast confused glances, not understanding why Tomioka was suddenly acting this way.
Dalton shook his head, deciding to ignore the strange interlude and refocus on Tomioka's question. His eyes once again clouded with shadow, and he explained in a low voice, "The name... the country's former name, with the royal family's escape, has become a name in vain. Before, a group of pirates called Blackbeard attacked this country."
He clenched his fists, his knuckles white from the effort.
"And our king... he not only failed to protect his people, but instead... fled from the battle." Dalton's tone was filled with suppressed anger. "But... now that I think about it, it's probably for the best that he ran."
He looked up, his gaze sweeping over the simple yet warm furnishings of the wooden house, as if he could penetrate the walls and see the villagers outside, fending for themselves in the snow and ice.
"That man, Wapol. He's a tyrant who harms his people! Under his rule, this country knew only oppression and fear. Now that he's gone, even though people are struggling, they can finally rely on their own hands to fight for a better future."
"Wapol?!" Vivi exclaimed in surprise, her eyes wide with shock.
"Are you talking about that... Wapol who looks like a white bear, has a huge mouth, and can eat anything?"
Dalton suddenly turned to her, his pupils constricting: "You... you've seen him?!"
Usopp also jumped up, pointing in the direction they had come from: "Not just seen him! On the sea on the way here! That guy even tried to steal our ship's supplies, and Luffy and Zoro sent him flying! He said then that he was going back to some Drum Kingdom..."
"Damn it!!" Dalton slammed his fist onto the nearby wooden table with a loud bang, making the flames in the fireplace flicker a few times.
His chest heaved violently, the muscles in his face contorted with anger. "That bastard... he actually dares to come back?! Does he still want to trample this land and torment its people?!"
Just then, the wooden door was pushed open with a bang, and a villager rushed in, panting, his face filled with urgency and a hint of hope:
"Mr. Dalton! Mr. Dalton! I... I heard the witch appeared! Someone saw her in the neighboring Cocoa Village!"
...Meanwhile, in Cocoa Village, covered by heavy snow.
Zoro pulled his cotton coat tighter, exhaling white mist, and walked along the snowy street with an annoyed expression. He looked around at the almost identical white houses and branching paths, his brow furrowed in a knot.
"Tch... where did those idiots Luffy and the others run off to?"
He muttered in a low voice, his tone very certain, "They definitely walked in this direction, no mistake..."
Then he stopped a passing villager and asked gruffly, "Hey, have you seen a pirate wearing a Mugiwara?"
The villager was startled by his fierce gaze and repeatedly waved his hands: "Pirate!!? No... haven't seen one!" Then he quickly walked away.
Zoro clicked his tongue, continued forward, looking around, and said, "Everyone's sense of direction is so bad..."
Just then, the door curtain of a small restaurant next door was pushed open, and a tall figure emerged, followed by a reindeer with a small bundle on its back and a conspicuously blue nose.
"Chopper, let's go, let's go, the food here is just so-so." A strong, somewhat lazy and picky female voice rang out.
It was an old woman wearing sunglasses and a jacket. Her gaze casually swept over the area and immediately fixated on Zoro, who was about to walk past her.
She walked up to him with interest, unceremoniously scrutinizing Zoro from head to toe, her eyes seeming to penetrate his thick clothes.
Zoro felt completely uncomfortable with this sudden scrutiny, stopped, and asked irritably, "Hey, old woman, what are you looking at?"
Dr. Kureha, in front of him, was not angry at all; instead, her lips curled into a playful smile: "With such serious injuries, you must have at least two or three broken ribs, right? And you can still wander around like nothing's wrong, kid, you've got some skill."
Zoro was stunned, subconsciously touching his chest. His injuries were completely hidden by his clothes, how did this old woman see them?
"Could it be..." Zoro narrowed his eyes, with a mix of suspicion and expectation, "You're a doctor, aren't you?"
Dr. Kureha, hearing this, gently lifted her sunglasses, revealing her eyes, and her smile deepened: "Hmph, you guessed right. Otherwise, how could I tell your broken-down condition at a glance?"
Zoro's eyes instantly lit up, and he no longer cared about his attitude, hastily asking: "That... Doctor!? Have you seen a pirate wearing a Mugiwara, and a woman with orange hair? We're together!"
"Wearing a Mugiwara? Orange-haired woman? Haven't seen them. What, are you a pirate?"
"Oh, yeah." Zoro answered straightforwardly, then began to explain: "We have a sick crewmate and some injured people on our ship, so we came to this godforsaken place looking for a doctor."
The blue-nosed reindeer nearby, who had been secretly staring at Zoro since the beginning, seemed to have its eyes light up even more when it heard the word 'pirate', filled with curiosity.
"Coming here to find a doctor?"
Dr. Kureha scoffed, her tone a little sarcastic, "You've picked a truly peculiar place. On this Winter Island, abandoned by the king, doctors are an incredibly rare commodity now."
Da da —
Just then, a rush of footsteps and jingling bells came from the end of the street. Two sturdy white sheep with huge curved horns were seen pulling a simple sled, speeding towards them.
Several figures were sitting on the sled.
From afar, Usopp on the sled spotted the green-haired Zoro, and then his extremely penetrating voice rang out, filled with surprise:
"Zoro!! How are you in this village?!"