Chapter 94: Demon on the Snowy Mountain? Clay's "Diplomatic Accident"!
At the entrance of Big Horn Village, the cold wind was biting.
After a brief and tense discussion, everyone decided to treat Nami within the three-day time limit.
They had to immediately carry her on their backs and climb Drum Mountain, which pierced the clouds, to find the "Witch" doctor living in the castle at the summit.
"I'm going too!" Zoro said, wrapped in a borrowed green coat.
"Rejected," Sanji refused mercilessly. "You going up there will serve no purpose other than making the rescue harder. Besides..."
"You'll definitely get lost in the snow," Usopp added.
"What did you say?! How could I possibly get lost on a mountain with a straight path!" Zoro roared.
But under everyone's collective teasing and Vivi's pleading eyes...
...Zoro ultimately could only stay behind with Usopp and Vivi to guard the going merry, looking disgruntled.
The mountain-climbing team was ready to depart.
"Alright! Leave Nami to me!"
Luffy was wearing his signature thin red vest, with both arms exposed.
Although he was freezing and his nose was running, he still thumped his chest, wanting to carry Nami on the stretcher.
"Wait a minute!"
Sanji and Vivi stopped him in unison.
"Are you an idiot!" Sanji shouted, pointing at Luffy's red arms.
"You're wearing so little, your body temperature is too low! Miss Nami is already running a fever; if she's pressed against an ice cube like you, her condition will worsen! She'll freeze!"
"Ah? Then... then what should we do?" Luffy sniffled, looking bewildered.
"I'll do it."
A steady voice spoke up.
Tatsuya was wearing a thick black wool coat and a scarf, looking tall and reliable.
He walked to the stretcher and knelt down gently.
"Come on, Nami."
Tatsuya carefully placed the unconscious Nami on his back, then quietly circulated the Chakra within his body.
Under his precise control, fire-attribute Chakra was evenly distributed across his body's surface.
This instantly turned his back into a comfortable "heater."
Nami, whose expression had been pained due to high fever and intense cold, immediately relaxed her furrowed brow upon contact with that warm, broad back.
She let out a comfortable murmur and instinctively nuzzled into the crook of Tatsuya's neck, like a kitten finding a fireplace.
"Mmm... so warm..."
Seeing this, Sanji, who was just lecturing Luffy, instantly broke down.
He bit his handkerchief, thick tears streaming down his face, his expression full of envy and jealousy:
"Dammit!! I want to be a heater too!!"
Tatsuya ignored the chef's resentment, adjusted his posture, and held Nami steadily.
"Let's go. Destination—the summit of Drum Mountain."
...
Halfway up the mountain amidst the wind and snow.
The snow here was already past their knees, making every step exceptionally difficult.
Tatsuya carried Nami in the middle of the group, Luffy blazed the trail ahead, Sanji covered the rear, and Clay the Crow circled in the air, acting as a scout.
As they marched into a withered forest covered in white snow, the atmosphere suddenly turned grim.
The howling wind seemed to have come to a standstill.
"Caw caw!! Master, there are enemies!!"
Clay suddenly issued a sharp warning from the air.
No sooner had he spoken...
Crash! Crash!
The surrounding snow suddenly exploded as a group of giant white creatures burrowed out from beneath, instantly blocking their path.
They were as large as bears, pure white all over, but with long rabbit ears and fierce, bloodthirsty glints in their red eyes.
Carnivorous, violent rabbits—Lapahns.
And there were dozens of them, forming a dense white wall of flesh.
"What are these? Big bunnies?" Luffy tilted his head.
"These are Lapahns, violent creatures unique to Winter Islands," Tatsuya frowned, his Sharingan scanning the surroundings.
"There are too many... We can't waste time here, nor can we make too much noise and trigger an avalanche."
After all, their priority right now was to save someone.
Just then, Clay the Crow on Tatsuya's shoulder flapped his wings and flew up, calling out confidently:
"Coo-coo caw-caw! Master! Leave this small scene to the great Lord Clay!"
"Lord Clay can understand their speech and communicate with them! Let me resolve this through diplomatic means!"
Tatsuya raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
"Oh? You want to negotiate? Fine, go ahead and try."
Having received permission, Clay suddenly felt his image grow taller.
He puffed out his chest and flew before the fierce Lapahns like a diplomat.
He cleared his throat and let out a series of "caws" that sounded like noise to outsiders but held a different meaning for the Lapahns:
"Coo-coo caw-caw! Coo-caw... coo-coo caw!"
(Listen up! You lowly long-eared creatures! Make way for the great Lord Clay! Or else we'll roast and eat all you red-eyed rabbits! Caw!)
The air suddenly went still.
The largest Lapahn leading the pack stared expressionlessly at the arrogant black bird flying in the air.
After three seconds of silence...
The lead Lapahn silently bent down, its giant claws quickly rolling a snowball larger than a basketball on the ground.
It aimed at the black dot in the sky.
Whoosh—Splat!!!!
It was a perfect throw, comparable to a professional pitcher's.
The snowball, whistling through the air, struck Clay squarely in the face.
"Caw?!"
Clay didn't even have time to scream before the massive kinetic energy knocked him straight down.
Like a downed satellite, he plunged headfirst into the snowdrift next to Tatsuya.
Only two thin bird legs were left sticking out, kicking twice before going completely still.
He had fainted.
"Hahahaha!! Clay got flattened!!" Luffy pointed at the pair of bird legs, laughing uncontrollably.
Tatsuya's face was lined with frustration as he helplessly facepalmed.
"...It seems your diplomatic language was quite aggressive."
"Negotiations failed. Let's do this, Luffy, Sanji."
"Remember to finish it quickly, and... keep it quiet! Don't cause an avalanche!"
"Roger!!"
At this moment, the enraged Lapahns roared and charged en masse, their speed so fast they were like white lightning on the snow.
"Perfect for a warm-up!"
Luffy shouted, his hands instantly turning into afterimages.
"Gomu Gomu no Gatling!!"
Bang bang bang bang!
Countless fist shadows blasted out, and the Lapahns in front were instantly sent flying, seeing stars.
"These rabbits can really take a punch."
Sanji, with a cigarette in his mouth and hands in his pockets, swept his long legs in an elegant arc through the snow.
"Lamb Shot!!"
This kick, carrying strong wind pressure, precisely struck the chins and collarbones of three Lapahns, sending them flying and snapping several withered trees.
As for Tatsuya...
Carrying Nami, with Chakra attached to his soles, he walked on the slippery snow as if it were level ground, his figure flickering unpredictably.
Facing several Lapahns trying to ambush him, Tatsuya didn't even need to free his hands to attack.
Hum—
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun in the snowstorm, perceiving all attack trajectories.
Sidestep, duck, slide.
Tatsuya was like a dancer on a knife's edge, evading the Lapahns' claws and bites by mere millimeters every time.
"Don't get in the way."
Tatsuya's gaze sharpened, and using a gap in his evasions, he delivered a Chakra-infused sidekick that sent a Lapahn into a snow pit.
Although the three held a decisive advantage, the Lapahns were too numerous and extremely fierce, coming one after another.
As the fight went on, Luffy got a bit "hyped."
"Gomu Gomu no Magnum!!!"
To knock away a giant Lapahn, Luffy stretched his arm back dozens of meters and then blasted it forward.
However, the Lapahn nimbly dodged.
Consequently, that punch, packed with terrifying strength, slammed solidly into the towering cliff wall nearby.
BOOM!!!!!balance
A loud crash, like a bolt from the blue.
The entire mountain shook violently, rocks cracked, and echoes vibrated through the valley.
Tatsuya's dodging motion suddenly froze.
His expression changed drastically, and he looked up at the nearly vertical mountain above and the thick, precarious snow at the summit.
"Idiot Luffy!! I told you to keep it quiet!"
"Ah, sorry!"
The next second...
Rumble rumble rumble...
A low roar, as if coming from the depths of the earth, resounded.
Following that, the white snow at the summit began to collapse.
It was the wrath of nature.
A white torrent of despair poured down with world-destroying momentum, instantly swallowing the panicked Lapahns and sweeping toward the Straw Hat crew!
It was an overwhelming avalanche!
"Waaaaah! An avalanche!!" Luffy was so scared his eyes nearly popped out.
"You idiot Captain!!" Sanji was so angry he wanted to kick him.
Facing the white tsunami close at hand, Tatsuya looked at the still-unconscious Nami on his back, feeling frantic.
If she were caught in an avalanche of this scale, Nami, in her weakened state, would definitely die!
Vrum!!!
The Three-tomoe in Tatsuya's eyes spun frantically, nearly merging into one.
"Get over here!! We can't dodge it!!"
Tatsuya roared at Luffy and Sanji.
Holding nothing back, his hands turned into afterimages as he quickly formed hand signs. The Chakra in his body surged like boiling lava.
Horse-Dog-Dragon-Rat-Dog-Boar-Snake-Tiger!
"Stop for me!!!"
Tatsuya's chest swelled high, and facing the oncoming avalanche, he opened his mouth and spat out:
"Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction!!!!"
BOOM—!!!!
A line of fire condensed to the extreme erupted, instantly expanding into a towering sea of flames!
The massive wall of fire and the white avalanche torrent collided violently halfway up the mountain.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle!!!
The collision of ice and fire triggered a violent steam explosion.
White steam instantly filled the entire forest, churning like a sea of clouds.
A vast amount of snow was instantly vaporized by the high temperature, and the avalanche ahead was forcibly halted for a moment by the flames.
The avalanche's unmatched momentum was slightly suppressed by the flames.
But... there was too much snow.
It was the snow of the entire mountain.
Cough cough!!
After supporting it for a short while, Tatsuya felt his Chakra bottom out, and a hollow sense of weakness washed over him.
The sea of fire began to flicker and die out.
"Dammit... not enough Chakra..."
Seeing the subsequent avalanche pressing down again, the unable-to-support Tatsuya could only grit his teeth.
He quickly turned around, facing away from the avalanche, and held Nami tightly in his arms.
"Luffy! Sanji! Remember to hold your heads!"
The next second...
Boom!
The figures of the three people and one bird were instantly swallowed by the violent white torrent.
...
After a long time.
The avalanche stopped.
The original forest had been leveled, leaving only a thick, silent snowfield.
And behind a tree in the distance...
A small Reindeer with a blue nose and a pink hat was hiding behind a tree trunk.
Its eyes were wide, and it was already stunned.
"What... what kind of monsters are they..."
"Humans who can spit fire..."
Loving Book So Far Check Out 80+ Chapters In Advanced At Pa Treon:
patreon.com/FicTonic1