"Ha Shiro… are you feeling any better?"
Nami gently began bandaging Ha Shiro's "wounds," while Vivi let him rest on her lap, offering him a soft knee pillow.
Of course, Ha Shiro wasn't actually injured at all. His back was only covered in black gunpowder residue, and his clothes were blown apart. If anyone wiped him with water, the truth would come out—but thankfully, there was no water around.
So Ha Shiro lay there peacefully, utterly satisfied under the attentive care of the two women. As for the battle happening elsewhere? Not his problem. Luffy and the others were more than enough to handle it.
But quiet, easy moments never lasted long. Before he could enjoy it properly, both Luffy and Zoro returned, having already finished their fights. Sanji arrived a little later—late enough to be fashionable—but he did bring back the permanent pointer.
With the help of Nami and Vivi, Ha Shiro returned to the ship.
Soon after, with the heartfelt farewell from two newly-bald giants, the Straw Hat crew broke through the attacks of the island-eater beast and successfully sailed away from Little Garden.
The giants hadn't added much to Ha Shiro's physical strength, but they had rewarded him with a special power—the strength of a giant.
"This 'giant power' really comes with some explosive techniques… I wonder if the system's version works the same way?"
Ha Shiro opened his Status Panel.
Host: Ha Shiro
Occupation: BarberDevil Fruit: Hair-Hair Fruit (Paramecia)Abilities: Rapid Growth, Hair Absorption, Free Extension, High-Quality Imitation, Hardening, Hair Needle, Control, Hair Puppet, Hair Armor, Second Form(More abilities yet to be developed)
Physical Strength: 28,996 / 32,029
Six Powers (Rokushiki):
Tekkai (Iron Body): Proficient (1,565 / 10,000)
Kami-e (Paper Art): Advanced (530 / 5,000)
Soru (Shave): Proficient (7,586 / 10,000)
Rankyaku (Tempest Kick): Proficient (7,687 / 10,000)
Shigan (Finger Gun): Proficient (9,506 / 10,000)
Geppo (Moon Step): Proficient (1,106 / 10,000)
Haki:
Observation Haki: Advanced (69 / 10,000)
Armament Haki: Awakening Possible
Conqueror's Haki: Unawakened
Giant Power: Special power—controlling a giant-form to unleash massive explosive strength.
Special Attribute: Charm ???
"This giant power… honestly I can't use any of it yet. Without awakening my fruit ability, I can't tap into the form at all. And what's with this 'Charm' stat? No explanation? Whatever…"
He stretched.
"I'll trim Vivi's hair later."
But when Ha Shiro reached the two women, he noticed Nami's expression had become visibly pale.
"Hey—Nami? Are you okay? Your forehead is burning!"
Ha Shiro panicked. He lifted her into his arms and rushed her to the bed, immediately starting physical cooling techniques.
"Damn it… without Chopper, this is bad. Our next stop should be… hopefully we get there soon. Until then, I can only use the old-fashioned method."
The simplest method Ha Shiro could think of was inducing sweat—sweating would lower the fever.
"Ha Shiro, I'm fine… Vivi's kingdom is waiting for us. I can't slow everyone down now…"Nami tried to sit up but swayed.
Vivi looked at the newspaper, worry clouding her face.
"Don't push yourself," Ha Shiro said firmly. "Right now, the only thing you need to do is rest. And Vivi—don't worry. Leave everything to me."
Ha Shiro carefully wrapped Nami in a quilt, lifted her into his arms, and walked toward the back of the ship.
"Nami, is this the right direction?"He checked the permanent pointer.
"Yeah… that way. But it looks like it might soon shift toward—"
"It's fine. Leave the rest to me."Ha Shiro smiled gently.
Then, with a deep breath, the long hair on his back burst outward, growing madly—expanding and twisting until it formed huge rotating fan blades.
"Everyone, hang on tight!"
The massive hair-fans spun wildly, and a violent wind roared behind the ship.
The Merry shot forward like it was flying.
—But the burst of speed didn't last. The effort quickly drained Ha Shiro, and the ship slowed again.
Just then, Wapol and his men attempted to hijack the ship—but were dispatched instantly by Luffy and the others.
"Ha Shiro, are you okay?"Nami asked weakly, seeing his pale face and trembling arms.
"It's fine… I can keep going."
He pushed himself again. He knew this pace wouldn't last, but he forced the fans to speed up once more.
This wasn't an act—using such enormous fan blades devoured his stamina at a terrifying rate. Even with his enormous endurance, he had to stop several times, his recovery barely keeping up.
"Come on… faster… just a little faster!"
He coughed up blood—clear evidence of pushing himself beyond safe limits.
"Ha Shiro, please… don't push yourself anymore. I'm really okay. You don't have to do this…"Nami's voice trembled, half distressed, half moved to tears.
"Ahem… it's fine. We're almost there—look."
A snow-covered island appeared on the horizon.
"Finally…"
Ha Shiro exhaled in relief—and promptly collapsed.
But the islanders were far from welcoming. Only after Vivi and Luffy pleaded were they allowed to land.
Unfortunately, this country had no doctors.The only person skilled in medicine was the "witch on the mountain."
Thankfully, someone pointed them toward her location.
"Luffy, come on. We're going to find the witch on the mountaintop. You clear a path."
"Okay! Leave it to me!"
"I'm coming too."Sanji joined without hesitation.
"We have to move fast—Nami doesn't have much time."
Holding Nami in his arms, Ha Shiro forced himself upright and began the long climb.
"Damn… my stamina is drained. If I weren't so exhausted, I'd just use Soru to sprint up the mountain…"
He tried to recover what strength he could while pushing forward.
On the path upward, they encountered the notorious carnivorous rabbits.
"Damn… I'll take Nami first. You guys stop them—we can't afford delays!"
Ha Shiro shifted Nami onto his back and sprinted toward the mountain peak.
But then came the worst obstacle—the sheer, vertical cliff.
Before he could climb, the mountain above them rumbled.
An avalanche.
"Seriously?! NOW?!"
He had no time to dodge.Ha Shiro covered Nami with his body as tons of snow crashed down.
"Damn it… I have to move… I have to keep moving…"
Half-frozen, trembling violently, he dragged his body up the mountain step by step. His hands tore open, leaving streaks of fresh blood across the ice.
The wind howled, slicing into him like knives.
"Ha Shiro! You okay?!"Luffy arrived, Sanji slung across his back.
"I'm fine… let's go… once we get up there, Nami will be saved."
Thanks to Luffy, the rabbits blocked several of Wapol's soldiers, clearing their way.
The climb was brutal.More than once, Ha Shiro nearly lost his grip and fell.
But together, they pushed on—and finally reached the top.
"Haah… we made it…"Ha Shiro stared at the castle and breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Chopper…? Perfect…"
That was his final thought before he completely blacked out.
When Ha Shiro awoke again, he found himself in a warm room inside the castle. His entire body was wrapped in bandages. Luffy and Sanji were asleep beside him.
"Ahem… where am I? And Nami—where's Nami?!"
Panicked, Ha Shiro forced himself up and searched the castle halls.
He found her quickly—resting comfortably near the elderly "witch."
"Nami! Are you okay?"
"Thank you, Ha Shiro… I'm fine now."Nami hugged him tightly, her expression pained as she looked at the injuries covering his body.
"It's okay…"
Right after saying this, Ha Shiro collapsed and sank into deep sleep.He was exhausted beyond measure; his stamina was completely spent.
"This boy is unbelievably tenacious," the old witch muttered. "His body was pushed far past its limits, yet he still woke up just to check on you…"
Hearing that, Nami couldn't hold back anymore.Tears fell silently as she clutched Ha Shiro's sleeping form.