Dalton, stunned, saw hope in Zoro and Silk's arrival. Their timing was uncanny—saviors not just for Cocoa Weed but the entire island. Sent to another village, their presence was a stroke of luck.
"Zoro's sense of direction finally paid off," Silk said, serious.
"Not lost. Meant to come here," Zoro grumbled, unfazed by the enemies.
Dalton felt ashamed, relying on outsiders to fix his failure. Gratitude overwhelmed him, but regret gnawed deeper. He prayed for their safety.
Silk's drawn sword signaled hostility. Chess and Kuromarimo stepped forward, shielding Wapol. The duo stood firm, eyeing the trio—Wapol, Chess, Kuromarimo—ignoring the few remaining soldiers as negligible threats.
"Who are you?" Wapol sneered. "Not defying me, are you?"
"Do you know who this is?" Chess barked.
"Drum Kingdom's king!" Kuromarimo added.
Silk blinked, surprised. Zoro shrugged. "King? Thought he was a pirate."
"Pirates, sure, but only to hide his status," Chess said.
"Wapol-sama would never be a filthy pirate," Kuromarimo scoffed.
Silk's brow twitched. Zoro sighed, sensing her spark. She loved pirates like Luffy—free spirits—not scum like these, preying on innocents. Wapol's crew, acting like the despised Morganias, insulted the very idea of piracy.
Her face darkened, scanning the wreckage: collapsed homes, devoured rubble, bloodied villagers. Her eyes burned with unmasked hostility. "Horrible… Why? You're their king, aren't you?"
"Exactly!" Wapol crowed. "As king, I do what I want. That's Drum Kingdom!"
"Stop," Zoro said. "Talking's pointless."
"Yeah," Silk agreed, realizing dialogue was futile. Their path was clear: stop Wapol here. Swords raised, they faced the enemy.
Chess and Kuromarimo smirked, underestimating them. "Just hobbyist pirates," Zoro snorted. "No challenge."
"Defy Wapol-sama? Beg, and he might spare you," Chess taunted.
"Nope, death penalty!" Wapol roared. "For interrupting Dalton's execution!"
Chess and Kuromarimo braced. Silk and Zoro shifted stances. "Bow and fists, huh?" Silk asked.
"No problem," Zoro replied. "You?"
"Barely worth it."
"Got those gunmen too," Silk noted.
"Don't care. Not scared," Zoro grinned, his beastly gaze unnerving the soldiers.
Chess fired an arrow at Zoro, who sliced it midair and charged Kuromarimo. Snow slowed him, but he relished the challenge. Kuromarimo met him, blades popping from his gloves. "Surprise Marimo!"
"Ox Thrust!" Zoro countered, three swords flashing.
Their clash was swift. Zoro's triple blades overwhelmed Kuromarimo's punches, leaving countless cuts. Blood sprayed as Kuromarimo collapsed, allies stunned.
"How?!" Chess gasped.
"Keep parlor tricks for parties," Zoro said, sheathing one sword without looking back.
Chess aimed at Zoro, but Silk's wind-blade—Kama Itachi—sliced his arrow. Another swing sent a second gust, slashing Chess's stomach. He flew back, half-buried in snow, motionless.
Wapol's elite, equal to Dalton, fell effortlessly. His scream echoed as soldiers recoiled, lowering their guns in fear.
"So easily?!" Wapol shrieked.
"Just the boss and grunts left," Zoro said.
"Can't forgive them," Silk growled. "Let's end this."
"First time I've seen you this pissed," Zoro muttered, following.
Their casual approach terrified the soldiers. Wapol barked, "Shoot! Don't let those hippos near!"
A captain rallied the men, who aimed with trained precision. Silk plunged her sword into the snow, gripping it tightly. "Haaa!"
Wind swirled around her blade. She swung upward, launching a gust that stirred snow into a blinding veil. The soldiers lost their target, panicking.
Zoro burst through the snow wall, swords flashing. Screams followed as he cut through, relentless but restrained. Blood sprayed, soldiers fell, too scared to resist.
Wapol wailed. Silk stepped before him. "Don't come closer, monster!"
"Did you attack towns like this as pirates?" she demanded, sword pointed.
"Of course!" Wapol snapped. "I'm king! I do what I want, eat what I want. Defy me, die!"
"People like you," Silk said, raising her sword, wind coiling, "make innocents live in fear!"
"Wait!" Wapol screamed. "Drum's a World Government state! You're picking a fight with them!"
"This isn't Drum Kingdom anymore," Silk shot back. "You abandoned it."
"I'm gonna die!" Wapol howled.
A voice stopped her—Chess, clutching his wound, rising with Kuromarimo. Both glared. Silk paused, turning. The soldiers were down; only these two and Wapol remained.
"Wait!" Chess gasped.
"No one touches Wapol-sama!" Kuromarimo vowed.
"Still fighting?" Zoro asked.
"Why go this far?" Silk said.
"You don't get it," Chess growled. "Politics don't need heart."
"Wapol-sama's tyranny has purpose," Kuromarimo added.
"Not to me," Silk replied, readying her sword.
Their ideals clashed. Wapol's rule—oppressive, cowardly—was unfit. Silk and Zoro aimed to stop him. Zoro, though reluctant to play hero, was sharp, his swords steady.
Their ease overwhelmed Wapol's crew. Even Dalton, their greatest threat, had fallen quickly. Chess and Kuromarimo, standing again, were no match.
"Flee, Wapol-sama!" Chess urged.
"We'll handle them!" Kuromarimo added.
"Right, I'm out!" Wapol turned to flee on Robson, wary of betrayal but seizing the chance.
As he moved, something darted past Robson. Chess and Kuromarimo's eyes widened in dread. "Why?!"
"Wait! Even we can't—!"
Too late. A force struck from behind, knocking Zoro, Silk, Chess, and Kuromarimo to the snow. The landscape shifted.
Zoro coughed, struggling to breathe. Purple spores drifted in the air—not snow. Poisonous, they'd inhaled them. His cough worsened; blood stained his palm. "What…?"
"What the hell?!" Wapol shrieked.
Silk's face paled, breathing labored, eyes shut. Zoro's own strength faded, blood spilling from his mouth. Poison, he realized. Chess and Kuromarimo writhed, equally helpless.
Wapol, untouched, panicked. A tall, pink-haired man with a bob haircut approached, grinning childishly—Musshuru, Wapol's older brother, long absent from the kingdom.
A Noko Noko Fruit user, a "Mushroom Man," Musshuru generated toxic spores. His attack had felled everyone, friend and foe alike. His childlike mindset—pure but reckless—made him dangerous, unmindful of collateral damage.
Wapol, relieved yet furious, yelled, "What're you doing, brother?! Using poison here?!"
"Sorry, sorry! Cold makes me pee a lot. Got delayed," Musshuru laughed.
"Not the point! What if it hit me?!"
"I told you, don't use it carelessly!" Wapol fumed. "It spreads too easily!"
"Easy or not, which is it?" Musshuru teased.
"Don't use it 'cause it spreads easy, idiot!"
"Chill, I got the enemies," Musshuru said.
"We're leaving! I'll get poisoned staying here!" Wapol turned Robson toward Drum Rock. "Brother, hop on! To our castle!"
"Call me Big Bro!" Musshuru leapt onto Robson, and they fled.
Chess and Kuromarimo begged, "Wait, Wapol-sama…"
"Help us…"
"Figure it out yourselves!" Wapol shouted. "I'm heading to the castle!"
They collapsed, abandoned. Robson sped off, leaving the poisoned behind.
Zoro, fighting unconsciousness, saw Silk unmoving. "Silk, you alive? Get up. Can't sleep here."
His own body betrayed him. Breathing grew harder, his chest tight. Consciousness slipped despite his will. "Damn… pathetic," he muttered, blacking out.
All fell silent, spores dissipating. Minutes later, twenty men in surgical attire—masks, gloves, sunglasses—approached from Musshuru's direction. Unfazed by the carnage, they silently observed the fallen, their thoughts unreadable.
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