As the clinic's doctor raced around doing triage on the flying humans, a group of city guards entered the clinic with several injured fishmen in tow.
"Nurse Guppy, contact the other clinics in town to send help! We can't handle this patient load by ourselves!" The doctor exclaimed.
Then Brook walked inside with a familiar fishman slung over his bony shoulder.
"Oh, if it isn't Cherry, Chopper, and Cabernet!" Brook said, seeing the three of them. He turned to a pretty nurse and asked "May I see your panties?"
The nurse turned around and let out a little yelp as she saw him and slapped his skull.
"Weren't you with Zoro, Brook? Where did he go off to?" Cherry asked.
"I may have accidentally taken my eyes off of him for a moment and he wandered off. Although, I don't have any eyes! Yohoho!" Brook said, roughly tossing the fishman, Hammond, onto an empty bed.
Cherry scanned the island with Life Sense and caught Zoro quickly leaving the periphery of her range.
"Hmmm?" Cherry hummed in thought, bringing out her booklet of vivre cards.
She opened it up to Zoro's page and found that the edges had become a bit singed.
"Did you come into contact with something poisonous when you were with him?" Cherry asked.
"He fought against an octopus merman with poisoned swords. Why?" Brook asked.
"Because I'm pretty sure he has been poisoned. It's either that or he caught a really nasty disease." Cherry explained calmly.
"What?! Zoro's been poisoned?!" Chopper exclaimed. "I have to go help him!"
"Well, he was leaving the island when I checked just now. So he's probably headed towards that Sea Forest. I'm sure he'll be able to tough it out until you get to him." Cherry spoke nonchalantly.
Chopper cast one last regretful look at the multitude of people who needed tending to before turning away and rushing to find Zoro. Although he was a doctor and had the resolve to help anyone in need, he was the Straw Hat crew's doctor first and foremost. Not to mention there were already professionals here doing their best.
Cherry turned back to Brook and whispered "I haven't had a chance to interrogate most of these pirates yet. Ask them and try to find out why Vander Decken is trying to send them into the palace, would you?"
Brook gave an 'Okay!' gesture to show he understands and went to work questioning the pirates. Some of the poor sods who weren't entirely aware of their circumstances due to their injured states believed he was the personification of death, come to take their souls to the underworld or hell or wherever else. Brook used that misunderstanding to great effect and perhaps took it a little too far, but he seemed to be having fun so Cherry left him to it.
Not long after, Brook approached Cherry and whispered to her "It seems that they were captured and enslaved by someone called Hody. They were instructed to open the palace gate and let this Hody fellow inside."
"Hody again?" Cherry could see the inklings of a conspiracy happening on Fishman Island.
'Is it a coup d'etat, then?' Cherry pondered.
*Thud!*
A loud sound was heard as another flying pirate collided with the wall of the clinic outside.
"Oops, I got distracted. I'm sure he's fine…" Cherry scratched her head with a bit of embarrassment.
Although it was annoying, she didn't bear these men any ill will. It was clear that they were forced into this even just judging by the injuries they had sustained. The testimony they gave to Brook only acted as further evidence to that conclusion.
"Guess I should try to let them know. I've never tried to do this from that far away though…" Cherry said, sitting down on the floor and focusing.
…
"Pururururu Pururururu!" The baby den den mushi on board the Thousand Sunny started ringing.
"Hm? Is someone calling me?" Franky asked no one in particular.
"Gacha." Franky picked up the receiver. "Hello? You've reached a pervert!"
"Franky, have you seen any of the royal family down around the Sea Forest? Big merman with a bigger orange beard and a crown, perhaps?" Cherry's voice came through.
"No, can't say that I have?" Franky rubbed his chin with a small mechanical hand poking out of his larger mechanical hand.
"Well, spread the word to any of the others that you can. Some guy called Hody is attempting a coup d'etat or something, he's a real bad dude. Try to warn the royal family since they're the most likely targets." Cherry explained.
"Sure thing! Anything for a fellow SUPER PERVERT!" Franky shouted in acknowledgement.
"I'm not a-" *Click* Franky hung up before she could finish protesting.
"Was that one of your friends calling, Franky?!" Den called out to him.
"Yeah! She said that some guy called Hody was trying to kill the royal family or something!" Franky called back nonchalantly as he came back outside.
"WHAT?!" Den shouted in horror.
…
"What happened to you, Hachi?" Nami asked him, helping him up.
Her feelings towards the octopus fishman were conflicted to say the least, but she couldn't deny that she was concerned for him seeing him in this sorry state. She had found him half dead on the shore of fishman island with arrows sticking out of him.
"N-Nami…! You and your friends, they need to leave fishman island quickly! H-Hody… The New Fishman Pirates are plotting something really bad… He's too strong for you guys to handle…" *cough cough* Hachi warned ominously.
"Let's get you to a doctor first!" Nami said, trying to get him to his feet. "Damn it, why don't I have one of the boys here when I need them!"
"Just l-leave me Nami, I'm done for…" Hachi said weakly.
"Get you ass up, you bastard! Why are you making me do all the work!" Nami shouted at him angrily.
Hachi, slightly terrified of the feeble human woman for some reason, did his best to push himself up to his feet. It wasn't easy with all his blood lost and his exhaustion, but he managed that much at least.
Nami for once in her life cursed her own vanity, wishing she had taken Cherry up on the offer to join her training sessions. She might have lost some of her softness by packing on some muscle, but she was paying for it now when it actually mattered.
Luckily they came across a few good samaritans who could carry him the rest of the way to the doctor. Even from that short exertion Nami was feeling the burn, though.
"You need to lose some weight, damn it!" Nami complained.
"It's all muscle, though…" Hachi muttered, feeling thoroughly body shamed.
"I'm not paying for your treatment! You got my favorite pair of jeans all bloody!" Nami kept laying into him.
Hachi decided to just keep his mouth shut and let her get it out of her system.
They passed a small pile of human pirates lying out of the closest clinic.
"What the hell is going on?! Why are there so many people getting beaten, slashed, and stabbed?!" The doctor exclaimed seeing Hachi brought in.
Nami paid no mind to the man as she noticed Cherry sitting in the corner with her eyes closed and her lips silently moving.
"What are you doing?" Nami walked over and asked her.
Cherry opened her eyes and made eye contact with her. "I was just talking to Franky."
"... Sure, whatever. Hachi got jumped by some guy called Hody." Nami said with a sigh.
"Hody Hody Hody. Getting real sick of hearing his name today." Cherry complained as she stood up. "I'll get you up to speed on everything I know so far. Things are probably going to get annoying."
Nami palmed her face. "Why does this happen everywhere we go?"