On the vast sea, the Going Merry sliced through the waves, galloping steadily toward unknown waters.
However, unlike the usual atmosphere filled with laughter, a heavy low pressure hung over the ship. Everyone on deck had their brows furrowed, and their moods were far from pleasant.
Even Luffy, usually the most playful and restless of the group, sat quietly in his special seat at the bow. He gripped his knees, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the empty horizon, praying for the silhouette of an island.
Inside the cabin, in Nami's room.
Viktor sat by the bed, his hands glowing with the soft green light of the medical ninjutsu, Mystical Palm Technique. Fine beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he focused entirely on channeling chakra into Nami's body to suppress the ravaging virus.
"Her temperature is temporarily stable at $39^\circ\text{C}$... but if I stop the chakra flow, it will rebound immediately."
Viktor withdrew his slightly trembling hands and let out a long breath. Beside him, Vivi held a wet towel, gently dabbing away the cold sweat from Nami's brow. Looking at Nami's pained, flushed face, Vivi's eyes reddened with sympathy.
"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Viktor," Vivi whispered.
"It's nothing. I'll go change the water." Viktor picked up the basin and stood up. "I'll leave her to you."
Just as Viktor stepped out of the room to get hot water from the galley—
Splash—!!
The calm sea suddenly churned violently. A behemoth broke the surface beside the Merry without warning. It was a giant submarine of bizarre design, looking like a massive tin barrel or an oversized tin can.
"What's that?!" Luffy stood up, alert.
Before anyone could react, the submarine's hatch swung open, and a crowd of soldiers in white fur coats, brandishing flintlocks, swarmed onto the Merry's deck. Leading them was a corpulent man with a tin-plate lower jaw, looking remarkably like a hippo. It was the former King of the Drum Kingdom, the Munch-Munch Fruit user—Wapol.
"Ma-hahaha! I'm starving!!"
The moment Wapol stepped onto the ship, he opened his exaggeratedly large mouth and bit down hard on the Merry's railing.
Crunch! Snap!
The hard wood shattered in his mouth like crisp crackers.
"Mm~ Tastes average. A bit seasoned." Wapol swallowed the railing and pointed arrogantly at Luffy and Zoro, roaring, "Listen up, brats! Hand over all the treasure on this ship and that Log Pose! This ship looks tasty too—it belongs to me now!!"
"You bastard! That's the Merry!!" Usopp screamed in fury.
At this moment, the entire crew was anxious to the point of combustion because of Nami's illness. Their nerves were frayed to the breaking point. This intruder had accurately crashed right into the muzzle of their collective rage.
Creak.
The cabin door pushed open. Viktor walked out, carrying the basin of fresh hot water. He glanced at the broken railing, then at the fat man still chewing on wood chips and shouting.
In an instant, Viktor's black eyes turned ice-cold. A suffocating killing intent erupted without reservation.
"Where did this trash come from..." Viktor's voice was low and saturated with fury. "Who gave you permission to make noise in front of a sickroom?"
"Huh? And who are you? I am the great—" Wapol turned his head, ready to mock the man carrying "foot-washing water."
However, his vision blurred.
"Body Flicker."
Viktor's figure vanished into thin air. A split second later, a sharp wind pressure slammed into Wapol's face. Carrying the full weight of his rage, Viktor appeared directly in front of him.
His body leaped into the air, and his right leg whipped out like a lash—a powerful spinning kick trailing afterimages.
"GET LOST!!!"
THUD!!!
A dull impact followed. The kick landed squarely on Wapol's boasted tin-plate mouth.
"AAAGH!!!"
Wapol let out a shrill scream. Several bloody teeth, accompanied by saliva, went flying. His bloated body was sent sailing off the deck like a cannonball, tracing a long arc through the air.
SPLASH!
A massive plume of water erupted as Wapol plunged into the freezing sea.
"LORD WAPOL!!" his subordinates shrieked in terror.
"OUT OF THE WAY!!"
Following close behind was an impatient Luffy. He didn't even bother with the foot soldiers; he stretched his arms far back and aimed them at the giant tin submarine. "We're in a hurry!!!"
"Gum-Gum—Bazooka!!!"
BOOOOM————!!!
His palms slammed into the tin hull. The massive impact sent the entire submarine and the crew of the Tin Plate Pirates flying like a baseball hit for a home run.
"What kind of monsters are these people?!"
"What a horrible feeeeeeeling!!!"
Before the Tin Plate Pirates could even finish announcing their names, they turned into a twinkling star and vanished into the distant horizon.
"Hmph. Pathetic."
Viktor carried the hot water, not a single drop spilling from the basin. He gave a cold glance in their direction before turning back toward the cabin.
Just as the crew finished swatting away these suicidal flies, a cold wind blew past.
"So cold..." Usopp shivered.
Everyone looked up. In the gray sky, white snowflakes began to drift down like goose feathers. The temperature over the sea plummeted.
"It's snowing..." Vivi ran to the bow. Through the dancing snow, she could faintly see the silhouette of an island covered in white. The towering peaks looked like giant white cylinders.
"It's a Winter Island!!" Vivi turned back excitedly, shouting to the others. "Only a Winter Island would have this climate! An island like that—a medical powerhouse—must have a doctor!!"
"Heh-heh-heh! Awesome! Nami's gonna be okay!!" Luffy hopped onto the bow, pointing at the snowy island. "Full speed ahead!!"
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