A tense, volatile hostility hung in the air.
"We're here to find a doctor!" Luffy shouted first towards the shore, pushing down his Mugiwara, his voice exceptionally clear at this moment.
The crowd on the shore stirred, and a rough voice, filled with undisguised rejection, roared back: "Pirates! Get out! We won't fall for it! If you don't leave now, we'll blow up your ship!"
Sanji lit a cigarette and frowned, saying, "What's with this... Is this how you treat guests on a first meeting?"
The moment he finished speaking!
Bang!
A crisp gunshot suddenly broke the silence of the snowy day! A bullet whistled, shooting towards Sanji's feet!
However, at the same time as the shot, Tomioka's figure had already vanished from his original spot.
The next instant, he appeared at the very front, his left thumb pushing open the tsuba, his Blade not fully drawn, but using only a small exposed section of the blade to precisely block forward!
Clink!
A faint, crisp sound, the incoming bullet was deflected by the side of the blade, sending up a spark, and falling into the sea.
Tomioka stared coldly in the direction from which the shot had come, his voice steady, yet carrying a chill: "We haven't done anything yet. You shouldn't be shooting like this."
"You bastard!!" Sanji's anger instantly ignited at the sight, and he almost charged off the ship.
Usopp opened his mouth and shouted, "They shot! They're shooting at us!"
On the shore, another nervous villager, seeing his comrade's attack had no effect, subconsciously raised his gun, aiming at Tomioka, who stood at the very front.
Tomioka's gaze instantly locked onto him.
A cold aura, mixed with some ferocity from the high fever he still hadn't recovered from, pressed down on that villager.
"I don't like it," Tomioka's voice showed little fluctuation, he just said with annoyance: "Being pointed at with weapons like this. We are just here to find a doctor."
The villager's hands began to tremble under his gaze, and he could barely hold his gun steady.
"Tomioka! Don't start a conflict with them!" Vivi rushed forward anxiously, spreading her arms to block the line of sight between Tomioka and the villager. She turned back to Tomioka, her eyes full of pleading, "We're here seeking medical help, we can't resort to violence!"
Tomioka naturally understood this principle. He reined in his aura and nodded slightly: "I know, I just don't like being pointed at like this."
His words contained more a sense of helplessness.
However, fear sometimes overrides reason.
Bang!
Another gunshot!
This time, the bullet didn't shoot at Tomioka, but at Vivi, who was facing away from the shore, earnestly trying to mediate!
Luffy reacted the fastest; his body instantly stretched, and he suddenly blocked behind Vivi!
Thud!
The bullet hit Luffy's rubberized chest and was directly bounced away!
Luffy's normally somewhat foolish face showed an expression of genuine, extreme anger. He sharply turned his head, glared at the crowd on the shore, and roared, "You!! What do you think you're doing!!!"
This completely ignited the powder keg!
The villagers on the shore were also frightened by the successive incidents and Luffy's terrifying appearance, and even more nervously raised their guns, and in an instant, all the dark muzzles were aimed at the Straw Hat!
"No! Luffy! Not like this!" Vivi suddenly turned around, hugged the about-to-erupt Luffy, and used all her strength to stop him.
She then made a move that surprised everyone: facing the hostile gun muzzles on the shore, she unhesitatingly knelt down on the thinly snow-covered deck!
"Please!"
Vivi's sincere voice spread through the wind and snow, "We won't come ashore! Is that okay? We only ask that you call a doctor for us! Our friend is sick... She's really in pain right now! We have Berries on our ship, we can pay any fee!"
She looked up, then quickly turned back to Luffy and shouted, "Luffy! If a conflict really breaks out, what will happen to Nami's illness?!"
Luffy looked at Vivi's anxious face, then turned his head to look in the direction of Nami's room in the ship's cabin, and the anger on his face quickly subsided as if extinguished.
"Mm! I was wrong! Sorry!"
Then, under everyone's gaze, he took off his Mugiwara, solemnly placed it on the deck, and like Vivi, unhesitatingly knelt down towards the villagers on the shore who had just shot at them!
"I'm sorry! I was wrong!"
Luffy shouted loudly, his voice filled with the pure resolve of putting everything aside for his comrades, "Please call a doctor for us! Please save my friend!!!"
The Mugiwara lay quietly on the deck beside him.
At this moment, time seemed to stand still.
On the shore, all the villagers holding guns were stunned. The anger, fear, and vigilance on their faces gradually gave way to bewilderment and wavering.
These pirates... seemed a bit strange.
The tense atmosphere quietly melted like ice and snow. The gun muzzles slowly began to lower, one by one.
In the silence, an exceptionally tall and burly man, dressed in heavy snow gear, stepped out from the crowd.
He had been silently observing until now.
His gaze swept over Luffy and Vivi kneeling on the deck, over the tense and wary Usopp, and over Zoro, Sanji, and Tomioka, who were standing by gravely.
Then he turned to the still somewhat bewildered villagers behind him and said in a deep voice, "I trust them. Leave it to me." The villagers seemed to trust him deeply; hearing this, they all breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "We'll listen to you, Dalton."
The man named Dalton then turned to the Straw Hat, his tone much softer: "I'll take you to the village. Follow me."
He paused, then added, "However, don't get your hopes up too high. I don't know where you heard the news... This country now only has one doctor."
"Huh?! Only one doctor?!" Usopp exclaimed, "We weren't tricked, were we?!"
Vivi and Luffy, however, exchanged a smile and stood up. Luffy picked up his Mugiwara and put it back on his head, his face returning to a brilliant smile as he said to Vivi:
"Hehehe! Vivi, you're amazing!"
Vivi wiped the snow from her face and also smiled... Led by Dalton, the Mugiwara stepped onto the land of this winter island. They followed Dalton along the snowy path towards a village nestled at the foot of a mountain.
The signpost read 'Big Horn Village'. The village was covered in thick white snow, and wisps of smoke curled from the chimneys of wooden houses. Some villagers watched curiously from a distance, while those who had been holding guns dispersed.
Along the way, many villagers greeted the man kindly, calling him Mr. Dalton, with trust in their eyes.
Vivi asked curiously, "Mr. Dalton, those people just now... they weren't the country's guard, were they?"
Dalton walked ahead, answering without turning his head, "They weren't, they were just ordinary folk who picked up weapons to protect their homes."
His voice carried a hint of heaviness, "Come to my house first, let the patient rest."
The group followed Dalton to a wooden house. He pushed open the wooden door, gestured for everyone to enter, and unstrapped the strangely shaped, giant shovel-like weapon from his back, leaning it against the wall.
Then, he turned around and faced the Straw Hat, saying solemnly, "I'm very sorry for the way we treated you on the shore just now."
Dalton took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over Nami, whom Sanji had carefully placed on the bed, and continued, "Many things have happened on this island recently. My name is Dalton, and now, I am responsible for protecting this island and its people."