At the entrance of Big Horn Village, the wind bit like a blade. After a brief and tense discussion, the decision was made: to save Nami within the three-day limit, they had to scale the sky-piercing Drum Rockies immediately and find the "Witch" residing in the castle at the summit.
"I'm going too!" Zoro declared, wrapping himself in a borrowed green coat.
"Denied," Sanji rejected him mercilessly. "Going up there would only make the rescue harder. And besides..."
"You'd definitely get lost in the snow," Usopp added, twisting the knife.
"What did you say?! How could I possibly get lost on a mountain with one straight path up!" Zoro roared in fury.
But under the weight of the collective mockery and Vivi's pleading eyes, Zoro finally yielded, looking utterly disgruntled as he stayed behind with Usopp and Vivi to guard the Merry.
The climbing team was ready to depart.
"Alright! Leave Nami to me!" Luffy, wearing his iconic red vest with his bare arms exposed, puffed out his chest. Though snot was running from his nose due to the cold, he reached for the stretcher.
"Wait a minute!" Sanji and Vivi shouted in unison, stopping him.
"Are you an idiot!" Sanji pointed at Luffy's beet-red arms. "You're wearing so little that your body temperature is way too low! Nami-san is already burning up; if she's pressed against a block of ice like you, it'll get worse! She'll freeze!"
"Ah? Then... what should we do?" Luffy sniffled, looking lost.
"I'll do it."
A steady voice rang out. Viktor stood there, tall and reliable in a thick black wool coat and a scarf. He walked to the stretcher and knelt down gently.
"Come here, Nami."
Viktor carefully hoisted the unconscious Nami onto his back. He quietly channeled chakra through his body, specifically controlling Fire Nature chakra to distribute it evenly across his skin. Instantly, his back became a comfortable "heater."
Nami, whose face had been contorted in pain from the fever and the chill, felt the warm, broad back and her brow instantly unfurled. She let out a comfortable murmur and instinctively nuzzled into the crook of Viktor's neck, like a kitten finding a fireplace.
"Mm... so warm..."
Seeing this, Sanji—who had just been lecturing Luffy—instantly crumbled. He bit his handkerchief, tears flowing like wide noodles in a waterfall of envy. "Damn it!! I want to be a heater too!!"
Viktor ignored the cook's resentment, adjusted his hold on Nami, and stood firm. "Let's go. Destination—the summit of Drum Rockies."
Midway up the mountain, the wind and snow were ferocious. The snow reached their knees, making every step an ordeal. Viktor carried Nami in the middle of the formation, with Luffy clearing the path and Sanji guarding the rear. Above them, Klay the crow circled as a scout.
As they entered a grove of withered trees buried in white, the atmosphere turned lethal. The howling wind seemed to stagnate.
"Caw!! Master, enemies ahead!!" Klay's urgent alarm rang out from the sky.
Fwhoosh! Fwhoosh!
The snow around them exploded as massive white creatures burst from underground, blocking their path. They were built like bears, covered in snow-white fur, but possessed long rabbit ears and crimson eyes flickering with bloodthirsty rage.
The carnivorous, violent rabbits—Lapahns. Dozens of them surrounded the group, forming a literal wall of white fur.
"What are these? Big bunnies?" Luffy tilted his head.
"Lapahns. Violent creatures native to Winter Islands," Viktor frowned, his Sharingan scanning the area. "There are too many... we can't waste time here, and we can't make too much noise, or we'll trigger an avalanche."
Their priority was saving a life. Just then, Klay fluttered down to Viktor's shoulder, looking incredibly confident.
"Caw caw! Master! Leave this minor scene to the great Klay-sama! I can understand their language and communicate with them! Let me resolve this with diplomacy!"
Viktor raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You want to negotiate? Fine, give it a shot."
With permission granted, Klay felt his image grow taller. He puffed out his chest and flew before the menacing Lapahns like a high-ranking diplomat. He cleared his throat and let out a series of squawks that sounded like "caw caw" to humans but carried a different meaning to the rabbits:
(Listen up, you low-level long-ears! Make way for the great Klay-sama immediately! Or we'll roast all you red-eyed rabbits and eat you! Caw!)
The air went silent. The lead Lapahn, the largest of the pack, stared expressionlessly at the arrogant black bird fluttering in the air. After three seconds of silence, the lead Lapahn reached down and rapidly rolled a snowball larger than a basketball. It aimed at the black dot in the sky.
Whiz————THWACK!!!!
It was a perfect pitch, comparable to a pro athlete. The snowball hissed through the air and struck Klay squarely in the face.
"Caw?!"
Before he could even scream, Klay was knocked out of the sky by the sheer kinetic energy. He plummeted like a downed satellite, head-first into a snowdrift next to Viktor. Only two skinny bird legs remained visible, twitching twice before going still. He was out cold.
"Hahahaha!! Klay got flattened!!" Luffy pointed at the legs, doubling over with laughter.
Viktor's face was covered in black lines as he rubbed his forehead. "...It seems your diplomacy is a bit too 'aggressive.' Negotiations have failed. Move out, Luffy, Sanji. Keep it quick, and keep it quiet! Don't trigger an avalanche!"
"Understood!!"
The enraged Lapahns roared and charged, moving like white lightning across the snow.
"Perfect for a warm-up!" Luffy shouted, his arms turning into a blur. "Gum-Gum—Gatling!!"
Bam-bam-bam-bam! Countless fists flew out, sending the lead Lapahns flying with stars in their eyes.
"These bunnies can take a hit," Sanji muttered, cigarette in his mouth and hands in his pockets. His long legs traced elegant arcs in the snow. "Mouton SHOT!!"
The kick carried powerful wind pressure, striking three Lapahns in their jaws and collarbones, snapping withered trees as they flew back.
As for Viktor, he carried Nami with chakra attached to his soles, walking over the slippery snow as if it were level ground. Facing several Lapahns attempting to ambush him, he didn't even need to use his hands.
Hum—
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun in the wind and snow, perceiving every attack trajectory. A tilt of the body, a duck of the head, a slide. Viktor danced on the edge of a blade, evading claws and bites by mere millimeters.
"Don't get in the way." Viktor's eyes sharpened. Utilizing an opening during an evasion, he delivered a chakra-enhanced side kick, burying a Lapahn into a snow pit.
Despite their advantage, the Lapahns were numerous and incredibly fierce. As the fight went on, Luffy started getting a bit too "hyped."
"Gum-Gum—Magnum Pistol!!!"
To knock back a particularly large Lapahn, Luffy stretched his arm back dozens of meters and fired. However, the Lapahn dodged nimbly. The punch, laden with terrifying strength, slammed squarely into the towering cliff face.
BOOOOM!!!!!
A massive roar erupted like a thunderclap. The entire mountainside shuddered violently, rocks cracked, and the echo vibrated through the valley.
Viktor's movement froze. His face turned pale as he looked up at the nearly vertical peak and the thick, precarious snow hanging at the top.
"Luffy, you idiot!! I said keep it quiet!"
"Ah, sorry!"
The next second... Rumble rumble rumble...
A low, guttural roar sounded from deep within the earth. Then, the white canopy at the summit began to collapse. It was the wrath of nature. A flood of white despair poured down with world-ending momentum, instantly swallowing the panicked Lapahns and surging toward the Straw Hats!
It was a massive avalanche!
"Waaaaah! Avalanche!!" Luffy's eyes nearly fell out.
"You idiot Captain!!" Sanji yelled, wanting to kick him.
Facing the white tsunami, Viktor looked at the unconscious Nami on his back and panicked. If they were swept away by an avalanche of this scale, Nami, in her weakened state, would surely die!
Hum!!!
The Three-Tomoe in Viktor's eyes spun frantically, nearly merging into a circle. "Come to me!! We can't outrun it!!" Viktor roared at Luffy and Sanji.
He stopped holding back. His hands became a blur of seals. The chakra in his body surged like boiling lava.
Horse-Dog-Dragon-Rat-Dog-Boar-Snake-Tiger!
"STOP RIGHT THERE!!!"
Viktor's chest swelled as he faced the oncoming avalanche and exhaled:
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!!!"
FROOOOOM————!!!!
A concentrated line of fire erupted, instantly expanding into a towering sea of flames! The massive wall of fire collided violently with the white flood of snow midway up the mountain.
Ssssssss—!!!
The collision of ice and fire triggered a massive steam explosion. White vapor instantly filled the forest like a rolling sea of clouds. Vast amounts of snow were vaporized by the high temperature, and the avalanche was forcibly halted for a moment by the wall of fire.
The invincible momentum of the snow was suppressed. But... there was too much snow. It was the accumulation of an entire mountain.
Cough, cough!!
After holding it for a moment, Viktor felt his chakra hit rock bottom. The hollowed-out feeling of exhaustion hit him. The sea of flames flickered and died.
"Damn it... not enough chakra..."
Seeing the subsequent wave of snow pressing down again, the exhausted Viktor grit his teeth. He turned around, facing away from the avalanche, and pulled Nami tightly into his embrace.
"Luffy! Sanji! Protect your heads!"
The next second... BOOM!
The figures of the three men and one bird were completely swallowed by the violent white torrent.
A long time passed. The avalanche stopped. The original forest had been leveled, leaving only a thick, silent snowfield.
Behind a distant tree, a small reindeer with a blue nose and a pink hat was hiding. Its eyes were wide, frozen in shock.
"What... what kind of monsters were those..."
"A human who can breathe fire..."\
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