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Chapter 102: Down the Mountain
At the castle gate.
Luffy, Ganyu, Sanji, Zoro, and Vivi—who was carried on Luffy's back, wrapped in several layers of thick fur coats with only her face visible—were all ready to depart.
Although Vivi's complexion remained slightly pale, her breathing was steady, and her eyes had regained their usual liveliness. Clearly, under Dr. Kureha's treatment and Chopper's attentive care, her condition had improved significantly.
However, their path was blocked by a single person.
The "Witch" doctor, Dr. Kureha, stood alone at the castle entrance. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she leaned against the heavy doorframe. Her expression was unfriendly, her gaze sweeping over the group before fixing on Vivi upon Luffy's back.
"I told you, didn't I? Without a doctor's supervision, a patient must make a full recovery before leaving this place."
Her presence was imposing, and her tone was tough; her words seemed to drop the already freezing temperature by another few degrees.
Luffy, however, wasn't the least bit intimidated. His eyes darted around mischievously before he pointed behind them, where Chopper was hiding, wearing a small backpack he had packed at some unknown point.
"That's why we're taking Chopper with us!"
With Chopper, a doctor, accompanying them, the patient could naturally be "discharged" early.
"Oh?" The displeasure on Dr. Kureha's face vanished instantly. Her gaze shifted past Luffy and landed on Chopper.
The two stared at each other in silence for a long time.
She remained quiet, so Chopper couldn't hold back and spoke first.
"Doc... Doctor Kureha, I... I want to go with them... to the sea..."
After speaking, as if afraid of a harsh refusal, Chopper hurriedly lowered his head. Because of this, he missed the look of relief and satisfaction that gradually filled Dr. Kureha's eyes.
No one knew that this woman, who had lived for over a hundred and thirty years, was instantly transported back to a snowy day many years ago.
...
"Kureha, do I only have three or four days left?"
"Accurately speaking, 5:30 PM in four days is your time of death. However, with my medical skills, I can keep you alive for another three weeks."
"Three weeks... that should be enough. If I can die the moment this island is bathed in cherry blossoms... that sounds... not bad."
"I've told you countless times! Making cherry blossoms bloom on an eternal winter island is impossible! Idiot! Fool! Quack!"
"If you want to do something, you can definitely do it! Kureha, just you wait and see. You will definitely see it—the day this island is covered in pink cherry blossoms! But... before that, I have a favor to ask you... Please, take Chopper in. After I die, there will be no place left for him in this country..."
"...Idiot. Why would I agree to such a troublesome thing..."
.....
A long silence passed.
Dr. Kureha snapped back from her memories. Then, under the watchful eyes of the group, she turned and walked into the warehouse.
Before long, footsteps echoed again.
Dr. Kureha reappeared at the doorway, but this time, she held a rifle in her hands.
The group looked at each other, confused about what this eccentric doctor intended to do.
"The old lady sure is polite. Is she giving us a gun as a souvenir before we leave?" Luffy blinked, scratching the back of his head with a look of mixed surprise and regret. "It's a pity none of us on the ship really use guns as weapons..."
"No one holds a gun like that when giving a gift. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, she's loading bullets into it, isn't she?" Zoro narrowed his eyes, sensing something was wrong.
"Correct. She not only loaded the bullets but has also chambered a round and aimed at us. The next step is probably..." Ganyu spoke faintly, sounding like an emotionless narrator, though a hint of amusement was hidden in her eyes.
This witch doctor has chosen the exact same farewell method as in the original story, she thought.
BANG!
As soon as she finished speaking, a loud gunshot rang out, and a bullet flew straight toward them!
"Run! The doctor has gone crazy!"
Sanji's eyes widened. Instinctively, he grabbed the blue-haired maiden's slender wrist and pulled her along as he bolted outside.
"Watch out, Miss Ganyu!"
Ganyu let him pull her along, running out with him.
Luffy and Zoro reacted just as quickly. Although they didn't quite understand the situation, seeing Ganyu leave meant they naturally followed suit.
Only Chopper was half a beat slower. He stood frozen in place, looking up at Dr. Kureha with wide, teary eyes.
After living together for so many years, how could Doctor Kureha shoot at him?
"You bastard!"
Dr. Kureha seemed thoroughly enraged by Chopper's dazed reaction. She abruptly raised the muzzle, aiming directly at Chopper, her voice filled with anger.
"You think just because you leave, I won't be able to survive on my own?! Don't flatter yourself!"
Before her words even settled, she pulled the trigger again.
The bullet practically grazed the top of Chopper's head. The scorching airflow from the high-speed rotation blew away a few tufts of fur from the brim of his hat.
The shot struck the snow behind him, exploding into a crater and showering Chopper with snow.
A few severed reindeer hairs slowly drifted down before Chopper's stunned eyes.
His eyes instantly filled with terror as he looked at Dr. Kureha in disbelief.
Dr. Kureha slowly pulled the trigger again, gritting her teeth.
"What exactly can you do out at sea? Survive on fantasies like that quack?"
Whoosh!
Another bullet flew toward Chopper at high speed.
This shot was aimed directly at him.
Fortunately, the successive scares had frightened Chopper back into his four-legged reindeer form. He scrambled out of the castle in a few bounds, roaring back over his shoulder:
"It's not a fantasy! Dr. Hiriluk's research is complete!"
Saying this, he rushed to the edge of the cliff, only to see Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and Ganyu jumping off the cliff one after another.
"Wait! You can't jump there! Down there is—"
Chopper's scream cut off abruptly.
He saw a rubber arm suddenly stretch up from below the cliff, wrapping around his stomach like a rope and forcibly dragging him down.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Chopper let out a string of terrified, distorted screams, his four little hooves kicking helplessly in mid-air. He thought he was about to be smashed into a reindeer meat patty along with these people.
However, the anticipated sensation of free-falling and being crushed to pieces didn't last long.
Instead, he soon felt his body make contact with something hard, flat, and cold.
No, it wasn't an illusion.
Chopper slowly lowered his head. In his vision lay a set of transparent, ice-colored steps. Looking down, these steps connected one after another, extending all the way from the peak to the foot of the mountain, forming an icy staircase.
The scene was incredibly spectacular.
"Why is there an ice road here?"
Chopper was dumbfounded, his brain short-circuiting.
For years, he had gone down the mountain with Dr. Kureha every so often, but he had never seen such a path before.
"That is, of course, the work of the beautiful and charming Miss Ganyu's Devil Fruit ability!"
Sanji, with hearts in his eyes and hands clasped over his chest, shouted in an exaggerated tone, his admiration and excitement overflowing.
Zoro, looking utterly disgusted beside him, covered his ears.
"So it was Ganyu," Luffy said, punching his palm as if suddenly enlightened, laughing. "I was wondering why a road suddenly appeared. Not having to climb down is so convenient! Shishishi!"
"What?!"
Zoro and Sanji were startled, shouting in unison.
"You didn't realize? Then why did you drag us down with you just now?"
"You idiot! Don't do something so dangerous with Princess Vivi on your back! Let me carry her instead!"
The two were furious.
"So it's Ganyu's ability..." Chopper's expression relaxed slightly as he nodded subconsciously.
But a few seconds later, he suddenly realized the magnitude of it. His eyes, which had just calmed down, went round with shock again. "Wait! How is this possible?!!"
It was said so lightly, but creating an aerial staircase hundreds of meters long, strong enough to support multiple people out of thin air...
Isn't this ability a little too terrifying?
Seeing the little reindeer looking so shocked he might crack apart, Ganyu couldn't help but purse her lips in a gentle smile.
She didn't explain directly. Instead, she raised a hand, palm facing upward, and lightly grasped at the falling snow.
In an instant, a marvelous scene unfolded.
The snowflakes dancing chaotically in the air seemed to be suddenly endowed with life and will. They changed their trajectory in unison, like iron filings attracted to a magnet, converging toward Ganyu's pale palm.
Countless snowflakes swirled, compressed, and condensed above her palm. In the blink of an eye, they formed a perfect sphere the size of a fist, emitting a soft, ice-blue glow.
The sphere seemed to contain terrifying power within, pulsating with cold light.
Then, with a slight movement of her fingers, the ice sphere silently disassembled, turning back into countless finer ice crystals. Like a dandelion blown by the wind, they drifted away lightly, merging back into the surrounding blizzard.
This gathering and scattering, a scene like something out of a dream, left everyone present mesmerized and completely immersed in the beauty of it.
═════ To Be Continued ═════
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