The sled, a sheep-drawn carriage, skidded to a halt in the snow of Cocoa Village, kicking up a spray of powder.
Tomioka jumped down from the carriage with Vivi and Usopp, his gaze immediately drawn to Zoro standing at the entrance of the restaurant, and at the same time, he also saw the extraordinary old woman in front of Zoro, as well as the extremely conspicuous blue-nosed reindeer behind her.
"Dr. Kureha?" Dalton spoke first, his tone carrying confirmation and a hint of imperceptible respect.
Dr. Kureha pushed up her sunglasses, her gaze sweeping over Dalton before landing on the large group of people behind him, her tone carrying a lazy, teasing note: "Oh, Dalton, what are you doing? Such a big commotion, running around with a bunch of new faces."
Vivi immediately realized that the person in front of her was the doctor they had been desperately searching for!
She eagerly stepped forward a few paces, pleading: "Are you Dr. Kureha? Please, my friend is very ill, critically so, please help her!"
Dr. Kureha raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised, her gaze sweeping over Zoro, Vivi, and Tomioka, who had just disembarked: "It seems you're all together, huh? Quite a lively bunch."
Before she finished speaking, the reindeer, which had only been peeking out curiously, seemed startled by the sudden increase in people and quickly hid completely behind Dr. Kureha's legs.
It only dared to peek out half its head and those big eyes, cautiously observing these unfamiliar humans, especially the green-haired fellow with three swords and the pale-faced, black-haired man.
However, in the next instant, Dr. Kureha's gaze locked firmly onto Tomioka, who had just gotten his footing.
Her lazy expression vanished instantly; she didn't even wait for Tomioka to answer any questions, but lunged in front of him in a single stride, moving with a speed unbefitting a centenarian.
One hand immediately went to Tomioka's forehead, while the other unceremoniously pulled open his collar, and she leaned down to press her ear against his chest.
"!?"
Tomioka was completely unprepared for the other party's direct actions, his body instinctively stiffening slightly, but feeling no malice in her movements, he forcibly suppressed the urge to retreat.
After only a few seconds, Dr. Kureha suddenly lifted her head, her face becoming unusually serious, and she spoke in an almost commanding tone: "Boy, don't just stand there, lie back down!"
She pointed to the crude sheep-drawn carriage.
Tomioka was intimidated by the certainty and urgency in her tone, coupled with a hint of uncertainty about his own physical condition deep down, so he actually didn't argue, silently climbing back into the carriage and lying down.
Usopp and Vivi on the side watched, dumbfounded.
Dr. Kureha made no secret of her actions, her fingers moving quickly and precisely over Tomioka's chest, abdomen, and arms, pressing and examining. Her brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and her expression grew increasingly grim.
"This is..."
She mumbled to herself, finally stopping her movements, and looked at the crowd that had gathered around, her voice heavy, "The orange-haired girl you mentioned just now, I haven't seen her, I don't know her condition. But..."
Her gaze returned to Tomioka's face, carrying an air of authority: "Your friend here, his condition... is very dangerous."
"What?!" Vivi exclaimed, looking incredulously at Tomioka, who lay there expressionless, and said:
"How could this be... Mr. Tomioka, he... he just looked a little feverish, his body has always been so robust!"
Tomioka immediately spoke up in rebuttal, his voice still steady, but with a hint of imperceptible weakness: "I'm fine. It's just... a slight fever."
Upon hearing this, Dr. Kureha shook her head vigorously, as if she had heard something ridiculous:
"Fever? Your temperature is ridiculously high, but that's just the most superficial problem!" Her voice rose a few octaves, carrying the unique severity of a doctor, "All these injuries on you, it hasn't been long, has it? Every single one almost reached the core! And recently, you must have overexerted yourself again, causing all these dormant old injuries that hadn't fully recovered to fully relapse!"
"And your body has truly suffered a lot, boy... what exactly have you been through?"
Old injuries... overexertion... Tomioka's pupils contracted slightly. Dr. Kureha's words were like a key, instantly opening the door to his memory palace.
Fragments of the final moments of the Infinity Castle battle flashed through his mind: Kibutsuji Muzan's destructive attacks, the excruciating pain of his right arm being severed, the moment his body was violently thrown like a rag doll... and the burning sensation of life being consumed when he forcibly activated his Demon Slayer Mark.
He fell silent. He could no longer argue. Compared to the physical pain, he understood the weakness stemming from his very life force better than anyone else.
Zoro, standing nearby with his sword, also grew serious. He asked in a deep voice: "Doctor, in his condition... is there still hope?"
Dr. Kureha's serious expression suddenly melted away. She lifted her chin, revealing an incredibly confident, even slightly wild smile, her eyes behind her sunglasses seemingly sparkling:
"If it were anyone else, facing a body so utterly ravaged, they would probably be helpless. But––"
She deliberately drew out the sound, pointing her thumb at herself.
"––He met me, a genius doctor who is 139 years old and still young! So naturally, I can still salvage the situation for him, at least I won't let him just inexplicably continue to collapse!"
"That's great! Tomioka!" Vivi was immediately overjoyed, tightly gripping Usopp's arm beside her.
Usopp also let out a long sigh of relief, patting his chest and saying with lingering fear: "You scared me... I didn't expect it, Tomioka, you quiet guy, to be hiding such serious injuries! That's really scary!"
Tomioka, lying in the carriage, saw the concerned looks of everyone, and a warmth flashed through his heart, but more than that, he was unaccustomed to being the center of attention.
He averted his gaze and spoke again softly but firmly, bringing the conversation back to the original purpose:
"Thank you. But, we have another companion, named Nami. She has a high fever, and her condition is also critical. Can you save her too?"
Dr. Kureha paused at his words, then her smile became more genuine: "You're in this state yourself, and you're still thinking about your companion? Hmph, not bad. No problem, a doctor's job is to cure illnesses. Where is she then?"
Dalton quickly added: "She and two other companions set off from Big Horn Village and went directly to the castle."
"The castle?" Dr. Kureha stroked her chin, and after less than two seconds of thought, she waved her hand decisively, "That's easy then! We'll just go back to the castle and wait for them! Since their destination is also the castle, they'll eventually arrive."
She jumped off the sheep-drawn carriage and shouted to Tomioka and Zoro: "Let's go, boys! You,"
Then she pointed to Tomioka, "the big patient. You," then pointed to Zoro, "the small patient, come back to the castle with me!"
Usopp quickly pointed to himself and Vivi: "What about us? We want to help too!"
The other party didn't look back, her voice carrying on the wind: "You two are perfectly fine, why come along? To cause trouble? Stay in the village and wait, don't delay my treatment!"
Zoro also shouted to Vivi and Usopp: "Hey! You two go back to the Going Merry and wait! We'll bring Nami and this guy back once they're cured!"
Although Vivi was still very worried, she knew this was the best arrangement. She nodded vigorously and responded loudly: "Okay! We're counting on you! Please be careful!"
Dr. Kureha had already started walking towards the castle, the blue-nosed reindeer still trotting closely by her feet, occasionally looking back curiously.
Tomioka got down from the sheep-drawn carriage, took a deep breath of the cold air, and followed. Zoro, with his sword on his shoulder, also walked at the very end.
In the snowstorm of Drum Island, the three groups of the Straw Hat Pirates dispersed in different directions.
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