"Both of you..."
Sanji stared blankly at Luffy and Tom, the hostility he had felt towards the people on the shore finally fading from his face.
At the same time, Zoro removed his hand from the hilt of his sword, and Usopp put away his slingshot.
The previously tense atmosphere quickly dissipated. The people on the shore who had been aiming their guns at them, seeing the two who had been so fierce moments ago now humbly lowering themselves to plead for help, hesitated for a moment before lowering their weapons as well.
It was clear that, having recognized Luffy and the others truly meant no harm to the island, they finally agreed to let them come ashore. The leader even said he would take them to the village.
Vivi smiled as she spoke to Luffy and Tom. "That was amazing."
Luffy, still lying on the ground, looked up with an unusually serious expression. "So this is the bearing of a princess?"
As Tom stood up, he looked at Vivi carefully for the first time. After Luffy finished speaking, she gave him a confident, composed smile tinged with resilience. So this is a princess...
Soon, under the guidance of the leader named Dalton, they set off for the island's village.
On the way, Dalton told them this country had only one doctor, known as a witch.
"A witch?"
"What kind of place is this? It's absurd." Usopp and Sanji were unimpressed.
A witch... is she a woman even scarier than Nami? Tom thought as he carried Nami on his back, following the group.
But her medical skills must be excellent. Otherwise, she couldn't possibly treat everyone in the country alone.
Holding this thought, Tom unconsciously quickened his pace. However, the snow was deep, each step sinking in deeply, and snow had begun to fall from the sky. No matter how much he wanted to hurry, it was impossible.
Vivi asked Dalton the country's name, but he revealed a surprising fact: this fallen kingdom no longer had a name.
Before landing, with little Miss Goldenweek's help, the gunshot wound on Vivi's shoulder had been simply bandaged, so she could move without much trouble now.
As they walked, Usopp suddenly screamed in terror, "A bear! Everyone, play dead!"
After shouting, Usopp flopped face-down into the snow, lying as still as a corpse.
But Dalton said it was just a Hiking Bear, not dangerous. They just needed to observe the mountain-climbing etiquette: bow when it passed by.
"Why does a bear carry a hiking pole?" Tom stared, dumbfounded, at the large bear walking upright, a hiking pole in its left hand.
"Hey, fisherman, focus on carrying Nami-san. Don't get any ideas about that bear," Sanji cautioned, seeing Tom's keen interest.
As for Usopp, having played dead without understanding the bear's nature, he was now left lying comically in the snow. He only remembered to get up after everyone had moved ahead.
Meanwhile, Zoro, left to guard the ship, removed the splint from his ankle. The injury was mostly healed, and he decided it was time for some proper training.
So, in the snowy, freezing weather, Zoro decided on a mind-clearing winter swim.
Karoo, on the deck, was bundled in a thick cotton coat and even had one of Miss Goldenweek's jackets wrapped around him, yet he still shivered violently. Seeing Zoro strip off his upper clothing in this cold, he squawked in alarm.
What shocked Karoo even more was that the shirtless Zoro then jumped from the ship, plunging into the sea.
Karoo was stunned. After a moment with no sign of Zoro resurfacing, a frantic thought struck him: in this cold, could Zoro have frozen to death in the water?
In a panic, the duck...
Miss Goldenweek came on deck to find not a soul in sight. The large ship felt empty with just her. A cold wind blew, making her shiver.
After a moment's thought, she went to the kitchen to brew herself some green tea, deciding to have a quiet cup alone.
Back on the path to the village, Tom learned more about the witch doctor from Dalton.
It turned out this witch was 140 years old. Upon hearing this, Luffy and the others were genuinely surprised.
Sanji's mind immediately conjured an image of a decrepit, toothless old crone. He questioned if she was even physically sound, suggesting someone that old might not even be able to move.
But Dalton said this doctor, who loved pickled plums, was still very lively. When she was in a good mood, she would come down the mountain, seek out patients, give diagnoses, and then take anything she wanted from their homes.
"What a nasty old hag."
"She's practically no different from a pirate." Usopp and Luffy gave precise evaluations of the witch doctor's methods.
In the distance, among the many peaks of Drum Mountain, the tallest, most prominent summit held a castle with no king. The person known as the witch, Dr. Kureha, lived there.
Strange rumors circulated about her on the island: that on moonlit nights, she would ride a sleigh pulled by an unseen creature, cackling weirdly as she descended from the sky.
Usopp figured the creature with the witch must be a yeti. After all, it was a snowy mountain. He boasted he'd guessed the island would have such things, but never imagined the witch would be with a yeti. He was so scared he sat hugging his head, almost rolling on the ground, shouting that he hoped they wouldn't run into her.
Despite being the island's only doctor, the people wanted nothing to do with her. They had no way to contact her; they could only wait for her to be in a good mood and come down to treat them.
Therefore, Dalton suggested Luffy and the others first return to the village with him and wait for the witch doctor to descend next time to treat Nami.
By now, they had arrived with Dalton at a village called Toto Land.
The village was busy, with people coming and going and some strange animals running in the streets—quite lively.
As Dalton dismissed the villagers, he asked some to continue guarding the coast and the rest to return to work. However, the villagers were worried about leaving Dalton alone with the pirates.
Dalton assured them, saying with certainty that his years of intuition told him Luffy's group meant no harm, and asked them to trust him.
Vivi found it strange that these armed people didn't seem like a regular defense force, but ordinary citizens. Was there no national army? Were the people organizing patrols themselves?
"Hey, lousy fisherman, we're at the village. What are you standing there for?" Sanji called to Tom, who was staring motionlessly at the impossibly high Drum Mountain in the distance.
"I don't want to go into the village," Tom said to the group, Nami still on his back.
"What are you talking about? Once we're in the village, we can let Nami-san rest properly while waiting for the doctor to come down," Sanji said, walking toward him. "We're in no mood for your nonsense right now."
"I'm not messing around! I've thought this through carefully!" Tom said earnestly to Sanji. His earlier silence had been him pondering what to do.
"So if you're not going to the village, what do you want to do?" Sanji asked, seeing Tom was serious.
"I'm taking Nami to find the doctor. She doesn't have time to rest." Carrying Nami all this way, Tom could clearly feel her breathing growing weaker over time. This was not good.
"You know where the doctor lives, right? Look at that mountain. It's five thousand feet high. Do you really intend to carry Nami-san up it?" Sanji asked, his voice low.
"Exactly. That's the plan. It's the fastest way to get the doctor to treat Nami!" Tom declared firmly, looking again at the towering peak.
"Can you really carry her up? Those cliffs and the height aren't something an ordinary person can climb," Vivi said, walking over and pointing at the sheer, towering mountain.
Indeed, Vivi's concern was justified. Climbing a steep, five-thousand-foot peak in a blizzard was incredibly difficult.
"Don't worry. It's fine," Tom said.
As soon as he spoke, Vivi worriedly countered, "Even if you carry her, her condition could worsen during the climb. And even if you do get her up there, it would be a tremendous burden on her. Don't forget, she's a patient with a body temperature six degrees higher than normal!"
"That's exactly why I need to take her to the doctor as fast as possible. And we can't be sure the doctor will come down today. If she only comes down in a few days, Nami might not last through the wasted time waiting," Tom argued.
Their argument had drawn attention. Dalton approached and asked Vivi, "You said her fever is at 42 degrees?"
Seeing Vivi nod, Dalton's expression turned grave. "If her body temperature rises from 42 degrees, she will certainly die."
"If it weren't like this, I wouldn't be in such a hurry. There's no room for negotiation anymore. I have to do it," Tom said, leaving no doubt about his decision to carry Nami up that cloud-piercing mountain.
Seeing Tom's resolve, Sanji said, "Then let's hear the captain's opinion."
But when Sanji went to find Luffy, he discovered Luffy and Usopp had, at some point, wandered off to play in the snow.
"This is Mister Super Snowman!"
"This is the Snow Yeti, Siro-nyu!" Luffy and Usopp proudly showed off their snow sculptures—one a snowman with a crooked nose and eyes, the other a dinosaur-like creature. They high-fived, clearly pleased with their work.
"I'm gonna kick you two to the ends of the earth!" Sanji's face darkened. He kicked their creations apart.
"If we don't climb, we can't find the doctor. So what's the problem with him carrying Nami up?" Luffy asked Sanji, scratching his chin after hearing about the argument.
"Don't talk nonsense! Nami-san is that weak, and you still want to make her go through that?" Sanji said urgently.
"It's fine. If he's carrying her, we can all rest easy," Luffy said with a smile. "Even if he didn't, I was thinking of taking Nami to find the doctor anyway."
"But what if he slips and falls? Both he and Nami would die on the spot," Vivi said to Luffy.
"If we fall, there's snow to land on, right?"
"Besides, I'm not afraid of falling from heights. I have a way to get back to the ground safely." Luffy and Tom's replies nearly made Vivi lose her composure. "Stop making it sound so simple! I don't think you understand the situation at all!"
Just as Sanji was about to say more, Usopp shrieked, "Look! The Hiking Bear is back! Everyone, bow!"
"What, the bear's back?"
"Of all times..."
"What a troublesome bear." Luffy, Sanji, and Tom, hearing Usopp, hastily turned and bowed.
You four are idiots. Vivi thought, sweatdropping as she watched them.
A moment later, they realized it wasn't a bear at all, but a very tall woman carrying a basket, whose walking posture just happened to resemble a bear's. She even greeted Dalton. "I heard pirates came. Is everything alright?"
Seeing their reaction, Dalton was now completely convinced they were not evil people. He assured the woman everything was fine.
"Anyway, given Nami-san's poor condition, I'm against you doing this," Sanji said to Tom.
"Nami isn't as fragile as you think." Tom decided he needed to wake Nami and let her have a say, or Sanji wouldn't let it go.
"What are you trying to do to Nami-san?"
"Why are you head-butting her?" Sanji and Vivi cried out, seeing Tom bump the back of his head gently against Nami's.
"How else do I wake her up?" As Tom said this, Nami began to stir. Her beautiful face was flushed with fever. With her head resting on his shoulder, she opened her eyes to see Tom, who then told her he was taking her to the doctor.
I have to get better quickly! Nami glanced at Vivi and said weakly, "Okay... I want to get better soon too."
Just that simple sentence left her breathing heavily, proof of her frail state.
"Nami-san!" Seeing Nami's agreement, Sanji said no more.
"Then I'll set off now." As Tom prepared to head for Drum Mountain with Nami, Luffy walked over. "I'm coming too."
Luffy looked excited, clearly interested in the journey. It was to be expected; asking him to stay put quietly was impossible.
With two people, they could watch out for each other. Just as Tom and Luffy were about to leave, Sanji called out, "Wait. I'm coming too."
"If he and I are going, that's enough. Why are you following?" Luffy asked.
"Precisely because it's just you two going, I have to follow." Sanji looked at Luffy and Tom, took a drag from his cigarette, and told the blunt truth.
Usopp and Vivi, seeing the three actually head for Drum Mountain, were invited to Dalton's home.
Before they left, Dalton offered a sincere apology. Though worried, he did not stop them. They shouldn't have welcomed them to the island that way.
He admired their resolve to climb the towering Drum Mountain in the blizzard and kindly warned them to be careful of an animal called a Lapin.
"We'll find the doctor to treat you soon," Tom said as he carried Nami, walking with Luffy and Sanji toward Drum Mountain.
"I trust you." Nami's head rested on the man's shoulder. Into his ear, she whispered these almost imperceptibly soft words before falling unconscious again, a faint smile on her lips...
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T/N :
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