"Annoying…" Cherry muttered.
As interesting as a whole country sitting atop the back of a giant elephant was, the presence of said elephant's overpowering vital energy made it impossible to pick up anything else with her Life Sense. It was akin to trying to locate the sunspots on the surface of a star with your bare eyes… well, for a mortal anyway; Cherry could do that with her enhanced eyesight easily. The point was that, for the time being, she'd have to rely on her observation haki and physical senses.
'It's just a low level technique anyone can use, after all…' Cherry thought. 'However spiritual senses are only unlocked when body cultivators transcend their physical limits in the 7th realm. Should I rush my next breakthrough? I'm pretty close to it as is, and I think that second dyna gem can push me to perfection if I mix it with a pill carefully…'
"It looks like this place was attacked, and recently too." Jinbe observed the broken steel portcullis on the ground past a damaged stone gatehouse.
"And whatever did that probably left this trail of destruction in their wake through these trees too." Franky added.
"I don't like this. I need to find my crew." Law said, his worry clear on his face.
None of this boded well, so they hurried along the path of destruction, hoping to find some sign of what had happened here or someone they could talk to.
"HELP!!!" a voice came from the tree, followed soon after by the sound of something large charging through the brush and dark laughter. "Come 'ere, little squirrel~! We just want to ask you a question~!"
"That's funny, because I have a question for you two as well~" Cherry spoke from behind the man and woman riding a big crocodile, chasing a woman with squirrel features.
""What-?!"" Both of them tried to turn their heads to see who spoke to them, only to suddenly lose consciousness after hearing a crack of electricity.
Cherry punched the crocodile's back after zapping the two Beast Pirates, causing it to halt in its chase. The squirrel woman didn't stop running, but did turn to see what happened to her pursuers.
*boof*
She ran into something big, but too soft to be a tree. She rubbed her head and looked forward, then up at the face of Jinbe.
"Sorry about that. Are you okay?" Jinbe offered a hand.
She scooted backwards away from him. Jinbe's large teeth and unusual blue skin didn't put her off so much as the fact that he was a stranger with unknown intentions. Her own people had their share of intimidating figures as well.
"Do be more careful not to scare her, my good man." Brook said, walking into view.
"AHHHHHH?!" The squirrel woman screamed at the sight of the talking skeleton and took off into the trees again, even more confused and frightened than before.
"Idiot, you should have let her calm down before showing your skinless mug to her!" Nami rapped his skull with her knuckle.
"Go easy on him, Nami. He didn't even ask to see her panties, and that has to count for something." Cherry said, dragging two unconscious beast pirates in her wake. She handed the two off to Jinbe for safe keeping. "I wonder what Kaido's Beast Pirates are doing here, though? Normally only minks have access to those vivre cards, right?"
"That should be the case. Perhaps they caught a mink out adventuring in the world…" Law guessed. "Let's follow the squirrel woman. She might lead us to more people."
"Right! There might be injured people who need help as well!" Chopper said.
That was an extreme understatement, in hindsight.
They saw a city littered with half-dead minks, toxic gas flowing around the buildings like a river of death.
"Shuroshuroshuro! Koro is certainly effective, isn't it?" Caesar chuckled. He started choking after Cherry's hand clutched his jugular.
"This is one of yours, is it? I hope you didn't make it without making an antidote as well?" Cherry aske darkly.
"Y-yesh, of course I did! Do you think I'm an a-amateur?!" Caesar squeezed out. "It's not like I'm the one who released Kuro here!"
"Chopper, put him to work on that antidote. Law and I'll start with first aid." Cherry released Caesar and Chopper nodded seriously. This was no time for idling.
Cherry grabbed Law's hand and he felt a warmth surge into him and flood his body. "That'll keep the poison gas at bay, so just do your doctor thing without worry."
"How does that work?" Law asked, not that he didn't believe her. He'd seen stranger things from this woman than that claim. He didn't waste time, though, as these people were Bepo's people. He plunged himself into the ominous gas and marveled at how he didn't feel the effect of the poison in the slightest even though he breathed freely.
"Magic." Cherry smirked at her non-answer. Law rolled his eyes.
Cherry's form flickered and reappeared in brief instances next to each of the dying minks. She moved so quickly that it created after images giving the impression she was in dozens of places at once in a wave of Cherrys.
The amount of vital energy she was giving each wasn't enough to save their lives, she didn't have the time to waste with each of them with untold numbers of people in need of help. However, it would be enough to extend their lives long enough for the real doctors to help them.
Law focused on moving the patients to more easily accessible positions with his devil fruit and doing triage work on the ones with the worst injuries.
Cherry tapped the head of a jaguar mink and was about to vanish again when the man grabbed her hand.
"Please… you have to save them, Duke Dogstorm and Cat Viper! They endured the worst out of any of us! They cannot die!" He begged.
Cherry felt a bit incredulous that whoever those two were could be more deserving of her help than the scattered children in the streets. Still, she didn't know the circumstances and didn't have the time to argue with the jaguar man. She grabbed his collar and hoisted him over her shoulder like he was a sack of potatoes rather than a critically injured patient.
"You can point me towards them, but I won't abandon the people who are in between here and there." Cherry compromised.
"That's.. fine.. but hurry…" the jaguar man accepted. He was in no position to negotiate anyways.
Cherry continued her work, moving in the direction that the jaguar man indicated that this Duke Dogstorm and Cat Viper were. "I'm Cherry by the way. With the Straw Hat Pirates."
"Straw Hat… I see… I'm Pedro with the Guardians, thank you for saving us… and twice in two days as well…" Pedro said.
"Twice?" Cherry asked, feeding more vital energy into him so he can make himself useful in a minute.
"The newspaper… something the Straw Hats did drew the attention of our attacker away from us… and now here you are tending to our wounded… What is this strange sensation…? I can feel my breathing getting better and my wounds don't ache as much?" Pedro said, his words slowly coming more easily as strength returned to his exhausted body.
"Magic." Cherry gave him the same answer that she gave to Law.
"It's wonderful magic…" Pedro said, almost having to fight to stay awake. He was oddly quite comfortable in this position that should be anything but.