here's a new chapter enjoy:)
Somewhere in Alabasta
"Miss All-Sunday…" A man frowned towards the woman that sat in a couch nearby.
The man had a long, thick, dark green pelted fur coat worn over bright orange, black-striped button up vest. Underneath the vest was a long-sleeve peach shirt with a blue colored scarf around his neck. His nape-length black hair was neatly slicked back, though a long stitched scar stretched across his face just above his nose. A large gold hook also rested at where his left hand should have been.
"What is it, Mr. 0?" Miss All-Sunday asked nonchalantly, flipping through the book she held in her hands.
"Contact Mr. 2 and tell him to head to Little Garden," Mr. 0 clenched his fist, glaring at the den den mushi on the table.
Miss All-Sunday glanced up at him, "What do you want him to do?"
Mr. 0 smashed his fist into the glass table in front of him, shattering it.
"Tell him to find Mr. 3, and end him!"
Usopp stared at the direction where Little Garden had disappeared to, his eyes were filled with awe, "One day, when I finally can call myself a great warrior, I'll visit Elbaf and see the warriors with my own eyes!"
"Isn't he optimistic…" Nami sighed, watching Usopp dance around on the deck with Carue.
Nami glanced at Vivi who sat beside her on the ship's deck, staring intently at the eternal pose that pointed towards Alabasta.
Nami reached out a hand to clasp her shoulder reassuringly, "Don't worry Vivi, we'll definitely make sure you get back home safely."
Vivi smiled back at Nami, "Yes, with this, I can finally stop the war back at my home before it escalates any further."
She looked down at the eternal pose again, "No matter what, I have to go back and deliver the news to my people and stop this meaningless war."
"And don't forget kicking Crocodile's ass," Zoro grinned at them while swinging a metal pole with giant weights at the end on the deck.
Nami shook her head at him, "If only you had just kept your mouth shut…"
"Oh shut up, it's not like our goal has changed or anything," Zoro grunted without slowing down his swings.
"What are you doing, Mr. Swordsman?" Vivi tilted her head at him.
"I need to become stronger, I wasn't able to unlock my haki at all back there despite all the danger I put myself into…" Zoro huffed in disappointment.
Nami sighed, "You're actually serious about that?"
"Why not?" Zoro raised an eyebrow at her, not slowing down his swings.
"Because the thought of it is already crazy!" Nami groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Zoro turned back to concentrate on his swings, "Then I guess I just have to be crazy too."
Without warning, Sanji burst out from the men's quarters, "We got trouble!"
"What now?" Nami wrung her hands in exasperation.
Sanji pointed towards the room, "Luffy's down with a really high fever!"
"WHAT?!"
Everyone immediately dropped what they were doing and rushed past Sanji into the room, crowding around the gasping and sweating Luffy.
"What happened? What's wrong with him?" Vivi asked worriedly.
"He seemed fine a few moments ago, but when I came in to wake him for lunch, he was already sweating and gasping." Sanji explained.
Nami placed a hand on his forehead, "Not good… The fever's really high… Get him some wet towels and blankets!"
"Right away!" Usopp dashed out of the room.
"What's wrong with him?" Vivi asked again.
Nami shook her head, "I'm not sure myself… It could be from the climate change but I highly doubt it knowing him… It might be poison, or some disease that he caught back on Little Garden…"
"He's going to be ok, isn't he?" Zoro frowned, worry obvious in his eyes.
"I can't say for sure… I don't enough medical knowledge to know what's wrong with him…" Nami furrowed her brows.
"What do we do?" Sanji wrung his hands in the air.
Usopp returned with a bucket of water and towels in his hands, a couple of blankets were slung under his arms as well.
Nami dipped a towel in the cool water and wiped the sweat off his brow, "We'll need to get him to a doctor… There's doctors in Alabasta right?" Nami turned towards Vivi.
"There is… But it'll take at least another week to reach there from here… I don't know if he can wait until then…" Vivi frowned.
Nami stuck a thermometer in Luffy's mouth, grabbing the blankets from Ussop and throwing it over Luffy. She pulled out the thermometer and glanced down at it in shock.
"It's at forty degrees! This isn't a joke at all!"
"Forty degrees?! Isn't his life in danger then?!" Vivi cried.
"Luffy's going to die?!" Usopp cried, running around the room.
"QUAACKK!" Carue ran beside Usopp in a panic as well.
"That monster is actually in danger?" Sanji gasped.
"Tch… And you talk to me about being strong…" Zoro gritted his teeth.
"Shut up! All of you! You're making it worse!" Vivi yelled at them.
Nami grasped the eternal pose in her hand, shoving it towards the guys, "All of you, make yourselves useful and get outside to check we're still on course. Unless we call for you, don't come back inside here!"
Everyone except Nami and Vivi marched out of the room obediently.
Nami turned her attention back to the groaning Luffy, "This isn't good, if we don't take him to a doctor soon, he might not make it…"
Vivi gritted her teeth, "Where can we get a doctor all the way out here?"
Nami unfolded a map she pulled out from her pockets, spreading it open on the floor.
She pointed to a position on the map, "This is our current estimated position, if this map is as accurate as I think it is, there should be land towards our south perhaps a few days away."
"We might be able to find a village there to find a doctor!" Vivi gasped, brightening up.
Nami nodded, "But we will have to make haste, I know Luffy is strong, but even I don't know how long he can hold up with that high of a fever… But if we change course now, it'll mean taking a longer time to reach Alabasta…"
Vivi frowned, "He's in more danger right now, we can take the detour."
Nami gritted her teeth as she contemplated on her next actions. Making up her mind, she stood up again and got a newspaper from the drawers in one of the desks, handing it to Vivi.
"What's this?" Vivi raised an eyebrow at Nami.
"Read the first section…"
Vivi glanced down at the newspaper, reading through the section that Nami had pointed out silently.
"What?" Vivi gasped, her hands trembling.
"It's as you saw… The situation is becoming worse…"
Vivi swallowed, "This can't be… half of the six hundred thousand strong Royal Armed Forces of Alabasta has switched sides to join the rebels?"
Nami nodded gravely, "The civil war is now at a critical phase… Whatever we decide to do now would be the turning point of the war…"
"But… What about Luffy? We can't just leave him like this…" Vivi gritted her teeth, glancing at the still gasping Commodore.
"That's why I'm leaving this decision to you, we can continue on our way towards Alabasta or change our course to those islands to find a doctor."
Before Vivi could respond, Luffy reached up a hand to grab Vivi's wrist, drawing shocked gasps from both girls.
"Don't change our course… We already promised Vivi… To take her back home…" Luffy gasped.
"Luffy… You're really sick now, you may even lose your life…" Nami chided him softly.
Luffy sat up from the bed, pushing away the blankets and setting aside the wet towel.
"Luffy, what are you doing?" Vivi grabbed his wrist as he tried to stand up from the bed.
Luffy pulled his wrist away, walking unsteadily to the door, "I'm fine… There's no need to worry about me… Just maintain the course for Alabasta…"
"LUFFY! GET BACK HERE!" Nami yelled at him, storming towards him to bar his way. "I'm not letting you walk around when you're like that! Get back in bed!"
"I told you… I'm fine…" He tried to push past Nami but she grabbed his arm, shoving him back towards the room.
She poked a finger at his chest, staring straight into his eyes, "Did you not hear me? I said I'm not letting you walk around when you're this sick, so unless you want me to tie you to the bed, get your ass back in there."
Nami puffed her chest and crossed her arms, not moving an inch from in front of him.
Luffy sighed, looking past her shoulder at the door, "You guys can come in…"
Nami raised an eyebrow before turning towards the opened door, all the boys standing there scratching their heads in embarrassment.
"Don't tell me all of you were just listening in at the door…" Nami shook her fist at them.
"We were all worried about him too!" Usopp held up his hands defensively.
"Then who's making sure we're still on the right course?!" Nami threw a pillow at them.
Zoro smirked confidently, pointing towards a cloud, "Don't worry, I've made sure we have been heading straight for that cloud over there."
"Why that cloud in particular?" Nami raised an eyebrow at him.
Zoro puffed his chest, "That was where the pose was pointing to before."
"CLOUDS MOVE AND CHANGE SHAPE, YOU KNOW?!" Nami threw another pillow at him, smacking him right across the face.
"Alright… Since everyone's here… I'm saying that we continue… towards Alabasta…" Luffy wheezed. "We need to make sure… we get Vivi back home… in the fastest speed possible…"
Luffy tried to walk out of the room again but Nami stretched an arm in front of him, stopping him, "Right now, whether we go to Alabasta or not is not your decision to make. Our mission is to escort Princess Vivi to where she needs to go, so it's up to her to decide whether we continue on our course or not."
Everyone turned to look at Vivi who had the newspaper clutched firmly in her hands.
She glanced at everyone, stopping briefly at Luffy before returning her gaze back to the newspaper in her hands.
"Right now, the situation in my country is dire. With the desertion of the Royal Army, the rebellion has escalated to a phase where a million of my people may be killing each other for no good reason. In order to stop this, I need to get back home as soon as possible and stop Crocodile from achieving his goals."
Vivi looked up at the Marines, she could see Nami looking away with a conflicted look in her eyes.
Luffy was grinning at her, though sweat poured down his head, "Of course! Don't worry… about it, Vivi! We'll… definitely get you back home… in time!"
"That's why I ask of you to change course towards the nearest island to find a doctor for our Commodore. He's the only one that can stand against a Warlord, right?" Vivi smiled.
Everyone else brightened at that.
"You bet, we probably don't stand a chance even if we get there," Nami grinned.
"Heh, though it pains me to say so, I'm still not strong enough," Zoro grasped his sword.
"Well said, Vivi, I've fallen for you all over again!" Sanji smirked.
"Change course! Change course!" Usopp yelled, already running out of the room with Carue chasing after him.
"Vivi…" Luffy frowned. "I'm really fine…"
"Enough of that, you heard her! Turn this ship south!" Nami yelled, the rest rushing out to obey.
"Guys… I'm… really… fine…" Luffy felt his knees buckle as he collapsed, two sets of hands reaching out to catch him before he could reach the ground.
"Really, what a stubborn Commodore we have," Nami huffed, hoisting Luffy back into his bed with Vivi supporting his other side.
"I guess that's how he became so strong," Vivi chuckled, pulling the blankets over him.
"Thank you," Nami smiled at her, wetting another towel to put on Luffy's head.
"It's nothing, even I wouldn't want to see him suffer like this," Vivi smiled sheepishly.
"I'm sorry… for the trouble…" Luffy gasped weakly.
"Hush now, just focus on resting. You can repay us by beating up Crocodile once we get there," Nami grinned at him.
"Shishishi… I guess I can… live with that…" Luffy returned the grin.
The ship sailed south steadily, they had relocated Luffy from the men's room to the girls' room on the account that it had more space, ignoring Sanji's jealous protests. Both Nami and Vivi took turns to watch over Luffy while kicking out the constantly pleading Sanji to be let into the room with them. A day passed by without incident as the ship sailed to colder waters, snow falling from the sky.
Sanji was moping about the deck as usual, mumbling about how if he had been the one who fell sick instead, he could be inside the room with the girls and receiving their undivided attention and care.
Usopp was experimenting on new types of bullets on the deck while Carue watched over his shoulder with interest.
Zoro was on lookout duty as he scanned the horizon with a pair of binoculars, looking for any signs of the island.
"Hey…" Zoro called out from the crow's nest, getting the attention of the others on the deck.
"What? You found the island?" Usopp looked up hopefully, already abandoning his project.
"No…" Zoro glanced into his binoculars. "But do you think a person can stand on water?"
"What the heck are you talking about you shitty swordsman?" Sanji frowned up at him.
Zoro pointed a finger straight ahead, "How do you explain that then, you ero-cook?"
Usopp and Sanji turned their heads towards the prow of the ship, spotting the said person that was standing on top of the water casually.
He was wearing a checkered jester-like green-blue costume with a white cape tied around his shoulders. He had thick wavy lips and his face seemed to be stuck in a permanent sad expression. A large bow and a similarly large quiver of arrows sat prominently on his back.
A few minutes passed as both parties stared at each other.
"A cold day today, isn't it?" the strange man remarked suddenly.
Both Usopp and Sanji glanced at each other, shivering.
"Yeah, now that he said it, it's freezing…" Sanji frowned.
"Yes, it's snowing and everything too…" Usopp nodded.
Both parties resumed staring at each other in silence.
Suddenly, a large, round vessel exploded out of the sea, causing Merry to shake uncontrollably among the crashing waves.
"What the hell is that?!" Sanji yelled, clinging on to the railings.
"Is that a watermelon?!" Usopp screamed, tumbling on the deck.
"What the hell is going on outside?!" Nami yelled inside the room, holding on to the bed to make sure Luffy doesn't fall out of it.
"Is it an earthquake?" Vivi frowned, similarly clinging on to the bed.
They clung on desperately for the next few seconds as the ship finally calmed.
Luffy cracked open an eye, frowning, "What's… going on?"
"I don't know, it might be an undersea volcano erupting underneath us… But I don't think there's any in this region…" Nami gritted her teeth, wetting another towel to put on his head.
"I'll… Go see…" Luffy began to sit up.
"No! We already told you not to move!" Vivi protested, pushing him back down on the bed.
"You stay here," Nami pointed a finger threateningly her Commodore. "I'll go check."
"Nami… wait…" Luffy began, but Nami had already rushed outside.
"What's wrong?" Vivi asked, dabbing the sweat off his brow.
Luffy gritted his teeth, "I hear… many voices… outside…"
"Voices? Like how you heard Igaram's?" Vivi froze.
Luffy nodded weakly, "There's a lot… of people outside…"
Vivi glanced towards the door worriedly, "Why would there be a lot of people outside in the middle of the ocean?"
Luffy sat up suddenly, tossing the blanket aside.
"Luffy! We already told you—"
"They drew their weapons…" Luffy glared at the door, standing up from the bed.
"But, you're still sick!" Vivi protested, reaching out a hand to stop him.
Luffy side stepped the reaching arm, glancing at her, "I'm a Marine… I need to protect my crew."
Before Vivi could protest again, Luffy had already disappeared from her sight, the doors leading towards the deck hanging wide open where they were closed moments before.
Luffy found himself on the deck of the ship, surrounded by rifle wielding soldiers. All of his crew mates on the deck had at least three soldiers pointing their rifles at them.
"What's… What's going on?!" Luffy demanded, wheezing.
"Luffy!" His crew frowned upon seeing him, worried the soldiers would turn on him as well.
Two soldiers stepped towards him with their rifles drawn, pointing them at his head.
"This is a Marine ship… All of you… should know what it means… to draw your weapons here…" Luffy frowned at the soldiers.
"Mahahahaha, of course we do! We're pirates after all!" An overweight man with tin plates on his cylinder-shaped jaw stepped on the deck.
He had dark violet hair that was partly covered by a hippo cape worn over his shoulders. Tin plate armor covered his upper body while a pair of purple and orange shorts were held up by a brown belt around his waist. Brown thick gloves covered his hands which he used to hold on to an exquisitely carved knife that had a piece of meat stabbed on top of it.
He opened his mouth wide and munched down on the meat, snapping the blade of the knife inside his mouth.
"He ate the knife too?!" Sanji gasped.
"Urgh… it hurts just to see it…" Usopp grimaced.
"I am Wapol, King of Drum kingdom. You guys don't happen to have an eternal pose that points there, do you?" The overweight man glanced at the crew.
"Nope, never even heard of that place," Sanji spat at him.
"Now could you all please leave?" Nami pleaded hopefully.
"Oh there's no need to rush, if you don't have it, we'll just take all the money you have," Wapol frowned at them.
Spotting Nami, he smirked and pointed a finger at her, "And while we're at it, I'll take the girl too."
"What…" Nami gasped as the soldier closest to her grabbed her by the arm, pulling her towards their ship.
Before the soldier could take another step, he felt an excruciating pain coming from his left shoulder. Looking down, he realized there was a finger embedded inside his shoulder. Nami gasped as Luffy pulled out his bloodied finger slowly, turning to regard the still confused soldiers.
"I will… only say this once… Get off my ship…" Luffy wheezed painfully.
"Maaaahahaha, you don't look so good, are you sure you should even be standing around?" Wapol laughed.
"Luffy…" Nami winced, seeing him swaying unsteadily.
"I will not ask again…" Luffy frowned.
"Mahahaha! Men! Get rid of them!"
"Guess we have to fight huh," Sanji spat.
"Should've done so from the start," Zoro unclasped his sword.
"Can't… Can't we talk about this?" Usopp glanced nervously at the rifles pointed at him.
Without warning, explosions rocked the pirate ship behind them.
Everyone turned to see fire spewing out from Wapol's ship with the crew frantically scurrying about to put it out.
"What's going on?!" Wapol demanded.
"Your Majesty! A Marine battleship is coming towards us! We need to leave!" The man who was wearing the jester costume shouted from the ship.
"Damn it! It doesn't matter, we have hostages here!" Wapol turned back to look at the Straw Hats, only to find all of the soldiers subdued on the ground. Each of the Straw Hats stood between him and their Commodore protectively, weapons drawn.
"I suggest you take your men and leave now," Nami waved her staff at him.
"You damn Marines…" Wapol gritted his teeth.
"Your Majesty! We can't take more of this bombardment! We need to dive, now!" Another man with an impressive afro on his head shouted.
"Tch… I'll not forget this!" Wapol shouted, opening his mouth wide and swallowing all his men before running back to his ship.
"Did he just… eat his own men?" Sanji stared wide-eyed at the departing pirate.
"Devil… Fruit…" Luffy wheezed, holding on to the mast for support.
"What kind of Devil Fruit would let him eat his own people?!" Usopp gasped.
Hearing no answer, they turned to find Luffy collapsed on the ground, sweating profusely.
"Luffy!" They yelled out in shock.
Zoro rushed to his side, pulling his arm over his shoulder just as Vivi burst out on to the deck.
"What's going on?!" Vivi gasped at the pirate ship that was still in the midst of bombardment.
"Questions later! He's hyperventilating!" Zoro yelled, pulling Luffy back into the room.
Nami rushed forward to hold the door for him, "Hurry! His condition is getting worse!"
Zoro grunted as he carried Luffy into the room, carefully placing him back on to the bed.
"We'll take over from here," Nami shooed Zoro away as Vivi tried her best to wipe the sweat off the Commodore's head. "In the meantime, go flag down that Marine ship, there's bound to be a doctor on board."
Zoro rushed out of the room without complaint, immediately yelling at the others to signal the Marine ship for help.
"Tch… They got away…" Smoker grunted, watching the pirate ship dive back down into the sea.
"You don't suppose they might be the organization we were talking about?" Tashigi asked.
Smoker took a drag of his cigar, frowning, "Perhaps… They seem too well equipped for a bunch of no-name pirates."
"Captain Smoker!" A marine yelled from the deck. "The ship in front is requesting for help!"
"Huh, figured they might have run into some complications. Steer the ship towards them!" Smoker ordered.
"Aye, sir!"
"Captain Smoker," Zoro grunted, saluting as Smoker stepped on to the deck.
"At ease, what's going on here, Commander?"
"Luffy's down with a really high fever," Sanji explained. "He's in desperate need of a doctor right now."
"Tch… Tashigi, call our doctor here." Smoker frowned. "Where is he?"
Sanji pointed towards the door with a finger.
Tossing his cigars aside, he rapped loudly on the door before entering, furrowing his brows as soon as he saw Luffy in the bed.
Nami and Vivi stepped aside as he approached.
"Who is he?" Vivi whispered.
"Captain Smoker, a friend of his, we met him back at Loguetown," Nami whispered back after saluting him.
"Luffy," Smoker called out, kneeling beside the bed.
Luffy cracked open an eye, grinning when he spotted Smoker.
"Hey… Smokey…" Luffy gasped weakly.
"This isn't like you at all…" Smoker frowned, not used to seeing Luffy being so vulnerable.
"Hehe… Sorry…" Luffy coughed.
"Captain Smoker! I brought the doctor!" Tashigi barged into the room with an elderly bearded man in tow.
The doctor immediately went to Luffy's side, opening his bag and proceeded to check on him.
"What's wrong with him?" Smoker furrowed his brows.
"It seems like he has contracted some sort of disease…" The doctor frowned.
"What kind of disease? Can you cure him?" Nami stepped forward.
"That's the problem…" The doctor sighed. He pulled Luffy's shirt back to reveal a nasty bite mark on his left shoulder.
"It seems he's been bitten by some kind of poisonous insect, but the symptoms he's showing are like none that I've ever seen before…"
Smoker frowned, turning to Nami, "Where did you go before this happened?"
"It's an island called Little Garden…" Nami answered shakily.
"Little Garden?" Tashigi raised an eyebrow.
Smoker cursed under his breath, "It's an island that's stuck in the prehistoric age, isn't it?"
Nami nodded firmly.
"That would explain it…" The doctor gasped. "This is probably caused by an insect that has probably been extinct in the rest of the world… Even if I do know what it is, I doubt I have a cure for it right now…"
"Is there nothing we can do to save him?" Vivi gasped.
The doctor scratched his chin, "There's nothing that I can do short of alleviating his pain… If we can't bring him somewhere with better equipped facilities… I fear his life may be in danger…"
"Damn it, where's the nearest Marine base?" Smoker turned to Tashigi.
"At least a week's sail away, sir…" Tashigi frowned.
The doctor shook his head, "I'm afraid that would take too long…"
"We can continue on our original course southwards... There's an island nearby that should only be another day's sail away. If there's a town there, I'm sure there's medical facilities as well." Nami suggested.
Smoker crossed his arms, "If that's the case, we'll have to make sure we get him there fast. Tashigi, steer the ship south, we're escorting them there."
"Aye, sir!" Tashigi rushed out of the room.
"And you," Smoker gestured with his chin at Vivi. "I take it you're Nefertari Vivi, the missing princess of Alabasta?"
"Ye… Yes…" Vivi stuttered, not expecting the Captain to address her so suddenly.
"You guys will have to explain what's going on to me later," Smoker nodded his head at Nami. "Continue your course towards those islands."
"Aye, sir," Nami saluted as Smoker stepped outside the room, leaving the doctor to take care of Luffy.
"So you're telling me… You didn't actually get kidnapped by this… Baroque Works, but instead infiltrated it as an agent?" Smoker raised an eyebrow.
He was leaning against the main mast of the Going Merry as Vivi stood in front of him, nodding firmly. The doctor and Nami remained inside the room with Luffy while the rest of the crew busied themselves with staying on course.
"And this organization is causing the civil war in your country just so they can take over Alabasta?"
Vivi nodded again.
"And the leader of said organization is none other than the Warlord, Crocodile, himself?"
"Exactly," Vivi confirmed.
Smoker scratched his chin, "This is more serious than I thought… I'll have to report to Headquarters about this… This is definitely bad enough that his position as a Shichibukai would be revoked."
"What are they going to do about it?" Zoro raised an eyebrow, leaning against the railing on the deck.
Smoker glanced at the sky, thinking for a while, "They'll probably want us to go check it out first and send evidence of his criminal activities. Once they have confirmation of his treachery, they'll revoke his status as a Shichibukai and he'll become a wanted criminal again."
"Tch, so in the end, we'll still have to get our hands dirty huh?" Zoro frowned.
Smoker shrugged, "They do need to maintain the reputation of the Warlords, they don't just give those positions out to anyone, you know. So unless they have concrete proof, the World Government would still let him keep his position."
"Not much of a choice for us then...," Usopp grimaced.
Smoker nodded, "The position of a Shichibukai is considered to be prestigious after all."
"So we're still going to kick that guy's ass, right?" Sanji commented offhandedly from the crow's nest.
"Heh, most probably," Smoker grinned. "Once Luffy gets better, we'll head directly for Alabasta."
"Speaking of which, I see land ahead," Sanji pointed towards the horizon.
"LAND HO!" A marine shouted from the battleship sailing alongside Merry.
A snow covered island came into view, several drum shaped mountains that reached towards the sky protruded out proudly.
"Make preparations to land then," Smoker grunted.
Both ships sailed into the river leading inland, dropping anchor near a waterfall.
"Alright, my men will watch the ships, let's move Luffy out and find a town." Smoker ordered, already preparing to disembark.
The Straw Hats scurried to obey, tying Luffy's sleeping form on Sanji's back. As the Marines prepared to land, a horde of men suddenly appeared on the shore, armed to the teeth.
"Marines? What are they doing here?"
"Did they come here because of those pirates?"
"A little bit late of them, don't you think?"
"I'm just glad it isn't more pirates…"
A hulking man wearing a long, white fur-lined green tunic with a matching fur cap that covered his ears stepped forward from the crowd.
"Marines, have you come to aid us?" The man reached out his hands, palms facing upwards.
"Aid you?" Smoker raised an eyebrow. "What happened here?"
The man frowned, "So you didn't come here because of the pirate attack?"
Smoker crossed his arms, "We did come across a bunch of pirates some time ago, but we fought them off. Not sure if they were the ones you're talking about…"
"I see… At least we'll have one less pirate to worry about…" The man shrugged before raising an eyebrow at Smoker. "So if I may ask, if it isn't for the pirate attack, what business do you have with our country?"
Smoker jerked a thumb towards the gasping Luffy, "We have a crew member that's really sick and we need medical facilities not found on our ship."
The man nodded in understanding, "I understand… Unfortunately, we only have a single doctor in this country and she's a bit of a witch."
"Oh, someone like Nami then?" Zoro smirked.
Nami frowned at him while Sanji smacked him on the head, "Don't call Nami a witch you stupid swordsman!"
"Damn ero-cook," Zoro glanced away.
"What do you mean by 'witch'?" Smoker asked, ignoring the scuffle behind him.
The man sighed, "I'll lead you to our village, then you can see it for yourselves."
The Marines glanced at one another before finally stepping off the ship.
The man had introduced himself as Dalton, the captain of the island's guards while he led them towards their village. He explained that a few months ago, a pirate crew of five had attacked their country and had destroyed the country without breaking a sweat, thus they now stationed guards along the shore line to guard themselves against any other pirates that might come along.
"Destroying a country with only five people?" Vivi gasped.
"Indeed," Dalton frowned. "The captain of the pirate crew was known as Blackbeard."
"Blackbeard?" Smoker scratched his chin. "Never heard of him…"
"It doesn't matter now, we finally rebuilt what was destroyed and now we protect ourselves from other pirates." Dalton grunted just as the village came into view.
He led them into one of the house in the village, setting down his things.
"You can use the bed over there, I'll heat up the room in a moment." Dalton gestured towards a bed in the corner.
Sanji dropped Luffy on top of the bed while Nami threw a blanket over him.
"Can you tell us more about this 'witch'?" Vivi asked as Dalton started the fire.
"If you look out the window, you should be able to see those mountains." Dalton gestured with his chin.
"You mean those cylinder-shaped things?" Sanji frowned.
"Yeah, they're called the Drum Rockies. And if you look at the tallest one in the middle, there should be a castle right on top of it."
Smoker frowned at Dalton, "Don't tell me…"
Dalton nodded, confirming his fears, "It's as you thought. Dr. Kureha, the only doctor in this whole country, lives at the very top in that castle."
"Tch… Of all the places she could be…" Sanji stared up at the mountain from the window.
"I guess we should call her down here, then?" Usopp scratched his head.
Dalton sighed, standing up from the fire place he lighted, "As much as I would like to, there's simply no way to contact her at all."
"What?! And she calls herself a doctor?!" Zoro gritted his teeth, glancing at Luffy.
"Well… Her skills as a doctor is undeniable, but she somewhat has a screw loose in her head… She's almost a hundred and forty years old after all."
"How is she even still alive?!" Nami frowned.
"So what happens when anyone else needs a doctor?" Vivi asked.
Dalton scratched his head, "Well… She comes down from the mountain whenever she feels like it, finds patients to treat, then takes whatever she wants from them as payment."
"Sounds like what a pirate would do to me…" Smoker frowned.
"Pirate or not, as long as she can get Luffy better, it doesn't matter," Nami gritted her teeth.
"How does she even get down from there?" Vivi narrowed her eyes at the mountain.
Dalton crossed his arms, "According to some people, she supposedly rides down the mountain on a sleigh on moonlit nights, that's why people call her a witch."
"Tch… Isn't there anyway we can get her to come here?" Smoker gritted his teeth.
"Unfortunately no… I'm afraid you'll just have to wait for her to come down the mountain…" Dalton sighed.
"And how long is that going to take?" Nami frowned.
Dalton scratched his chin, "She only recently came down yesterday… So I doubt she would actually come down anytime soon… If I had to guess, probably another three days or so…"
"We can't wait three days! He already has a forty degrees fever!" Usopp yelled.
"Forty-two degrees now…" Vivi gasped when she checked the thermometer in Luffy's mouth.
"Forty-two degrees?! That's not good… He really needs medical attention right now..." Dalton bit his thumb.
"Isn't there anything we can do?" Nami cried.
"This… Short of climbing up the mountain itself… There's no other faster way…" Dalton frowned.
Sanji clenched his fist, "If he climbs up the mountain in this condition, no doubt he'll die…"
"How is it possible that there's even only a single doctor in this whole country in the first place?" Smoker furrowed his brows.
"Luffy!" Zoro yelled out, causing everyone to turn towards Luffy, who now sat up straight on the bed, blankets tossed aside.
"What do you think you're doing?" Nami cried, trying to push him back down on the bed.
Luffy stopped her with an upraised hand, "I just… have to get up… that mountain… right?"
"What are you planning?" Smoker stepped in front of him.
"I can… reach the top… with Geppo… by myself…" Luffy gasped, pushing himself off the bed only to stumble forward.
"You idiot," Smoker caught him before he fell on the ground. "Is there a path up the mountain?"
"Not that I know of," Dalton shook his head.
"I guess we have no choice then," Smoker grunted, hefting Luffy over his shoulders.
"What are you doing?!" Nami demanded.
"I'm gonna carry him up the mountain," Smoker deadpanned.
"What?" Vivi widened her eyes.
"You heard me," Smoker grunted. "Someone help me tie him on my back."
Usopp took up a length of rope while Sanji held Luffy steady on his back.
"You can't be serious!" Nami protested.
"Do you know what you're doing?" Dalton frowned.
"I'm a smoke man, I can just propel myself up the mountain once I reach the bottom of it." Smoker grinned.
"I'm coming along too," Sanji stepped in front of him.
Smoker frowned, "What are you going to do?"
"There's a species of extremely violent and carnivorous rabbits on the path towards the mountain, if you come across a pack of them, you're done for," Dalton warned.
"There you go, you could use an escort, I doubt you can fight them off with Luffy on your back, can you?" Sanji grinned.
"If that's the case, then I'm coming too." Zoro stepped towards them.
"Tch… Fine, but you'll have to pull your own weight, ya hear?" Smoker narrowed his eyes at them.
"Of course," Both Sanji and Zoro grinned.
"It didn't use to be like this…" Dalton frowned, watching the three men running off towards the mountain.
"What do you mean?" Vivi turned to him.
"This country used to be a prosperous one, until the late king died and his son took over. That was when his tyrannical rule began…" Dalton explained. "There used to be a lot of doctors on this island, but that damned Wapol wanted to monopolize the trade and chased out all the other doctors off the island except for his own."
"Did you say Wapol?" Usopp gasped.
Dalton lifted an eyebrow at him, "What? Do you know him?"
"We ran into a pirate called Wapol just some time ago, right before we came here!" Usopp frowned.
"You met Wapol here?!" Dalton gasped.
"So he's supposed to be the king of this country? Did he get chased out by the pirates that came a few months ago?" Vivi tilted her head.
Dalton gritted his teeth, "Most definitely not! That accursed man… He didn't even try to save this country when the pirates invaded, he took his men and escaped to the sea faster than anyone else!"
Vivi's eyes grew wide at this, "And he calls himself a King?!"
"That's why some of us saw the pirate invasion as a blessing… With it came the end of Wapol's tyrannical rule." Dalton clenched his fists. "However, if what you said about meeting him near this island is true… Then there's a relatively high chance he might return again."
"What do we do?" Nami frowned.
"I can only prepare for the worst…" Dalton grabbed his weapons from the corner of the room, walking towards the door. "You're welcome to stay here for as long as you like, I have to go prepare the guards."
The three watched Dalton go before turning to each other.
"What do you think?" Usopp nodded towards the door.
"I don't like this one bit," Nami said sternly.
"It doesn't seem like anyone wants Wapol to return either…" Vivi bit her thumb.
"Shall we go organize a resistance then?" Nami grinned.
The other two grinned back, nodding at each other.
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And cut. that is it for this chapter hope you guys enjoyed and see you in the next chapter 🤣
chapter 16:What It Takes To Be A Doctor