Chapter 169: Something More Terrifying Than Pirates Is Your Own King!
Oh no.
Now, let's shift to the other side of the story.
While Ralph remained unconscious in the castle's sickbed, and while Lufia and Sanji were chasing rabbits on the snowy mountains, the remaining members of the Straw Hat crew in Bighorn Town were about to face...
Wapol had arrived.
The former king, who had been driven from his throne, stormed into the unprepared village with his royal guards and the "Doctors 20" team, like a swarm of Pirates.
For the Straw Hat crew, Wapol was a nuisance.
But for the residents of Drum Island, Wapol's return meant the descent of hell once more.
"Hurry! Get inside! Lock your doors and windows!"
Dalton stood at the village entrance, shouting at the panicked villagers.
The former captain of the royal guard now had a grim expression, the veins on the back of his hand bulging as he gripped his round, shovel-like greatsword.
Nami, Vivi, Zoro, and Usopp stood behind him.
The shirtless swordsman, who had gotten lost while winter swimming, was now wearing a thick coat borrowed from the villagers.
"Mr. Dalton," Vivi watched the growing black dots on the distant snowy ground—Wapol's army—and recalled the fading memories of her childhood.
"What kind of person... is that Wapol?"
Dalton remained silent for three seconds before speaking.
His voice was low, suppressing anger:
"The Drum Kingdom was once a nation renowned worldwide for its medical expertise. We had the best doctors and the most advanced medical technology."
"Then Wapol ascended the throne. He issued a new decree to monopolize the nation's medical resources. He established the 'Doctors 20'—only these twenty doctors were permitted to practice medicine in the entire country. All other doctors were either arrested and executed or driven into exile."
Usopp gasped sharply:
"Only twenty doctors?! For the entire country?!"
"The entire country."
Dalton nodded.
"Through this method, Wapol not only consolidated his rule but also ruthlessly exploited the people. The cost of a single medical visit became ten, even a hundred times what it once was. The poor could no longer afford treatment and were left to die. The wealthy would bankrupt themselves, only to receive a token 'grace from His Majesty.'"
"And Wapol himself, with the power of the Baku Baku no Mi, was like a bottomless pit of greed, endlessly devouring everything in the Drum Kingdom."
Hearing this, Vivi's face flushed red with anger, veins bulging on her forehead.
As the princess of Alabasta, she had been taught from a young age that royalty should care for their people.
Hearing of Wapol's tyranny, her fury nearly burst from her chest:
"As a king... how could he impose such rule on his own country?! What does he take the people of this nation for?!"
Dalton continued with a heavy expression:
"Even worse, when the Blackbeard Pirates attacked, Wapol decisively fled overseas in a submarine with his royal guards and the Doctors 20. He abandoned the entire country to the Pirates."
Nami recalled the villagers' deeply ingrained wariness and fear of Pirates when they first landed on Drum Island.
It was easy to imagine that the Blackbeard Pirates would not be as "reasonable" as they were.
"Even so," Dalton said with a bitter smile, "most of the people still believed that perhaps those Pirates had 'saved' them. If not for the arrival of the Blackbeard Pirates, they might still be under Wapol's rule."
These words left everyone in silence.
More terrifying than Pirates was their own king.
"Are those the guys we need to cut down?"
Zoro recalled the skirmish at sea, flexing his wrists.
"I already disliked him when we first met!"
He had swum through the winter waters and didn't have his swords with him.
He planned to seize a few from the enemy.
Dalton looked at the approaching army and took a deep breath.
"But don't let your guard down. The reason Wapol has been able to tyrannize Drum Island for so many years without being overthrown by its people is because of the formidable combat strength of his subordinates."
As soon as he finished speaking, "Ha ha ha ha!!"
A nauseating laugh echoed from the distance.
Wapol, riding a long-haired hippopotamus, pointed at Bighorn Town:
"What a small world! You Pirates dare to set foot in my country? I'll have you all executed!"
The battle began.
Zoro was the first to charge.
Though wearing an ill-fitting coat, he took down several royal guards in just a few moves and seized their sabers.
Even with stolen sabers, a master swordsman is still a master swordsman.
Snowflakes swirled, cold steel flashed, and the soldiers in the front row of the royal guard fell simultaneously, their chests slashed open with deep wounds, blood staining the snowy ground.
"Usopp!"
Zoro shouted without looking back.
"Got it!"
Usopp hid behind cover, his slingshot drawn taut.
"Sure-Kill: Smoke Star!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several pellets exploded among the enemy ranks, dense smoke instantly obscuring their vision.
The royal guard fell into chaos, with coughing and cursing rising all around.
"Perfect chance!"
Nami raised her Clima-Tact and ambushed a soldier, who convulsed and collapsed.
Vivi wasn't idle either.
She drew her Peacock Slashers. The princess of Alabasta was no mere decoration.
Her days undercover in Baroque Works had given her ample combat experience.
Working in tandem with Dalton's frontal assault, the two of them took down seven or eight enemies together.
In just one brief clash, a large portion of Wapol's royal guard had fallen.
"Did... did we win?"
Usopp peeked out from behind cover, a look of joy on his face.
But Dalton's expression remained grave:
"Don't celebrate too soon. Wapol's true trump cards... haven't made their move yet."
Before he finished speaking.
Whoosh—!!
A piercing whistle tore through the air.
Usopp didn't even see what it was, instinctively throwing himself to the ground.
The next second, an arrow thicker than a spear grazed the top of his head and thudded into the wooden wall of the hut behind him, its shaft vibrating with a hum.
"Wh-what?!"
Usopp's face turned pale.
The smoke cleared.
Two figures emerged from behind the army.
The one on the left stood nearly three meters tall, with a ridiculous sausage-like mouth, holding an enormous bow.
The size of the bow made it resemble a siege crossbow more than a regular bow.
Former Drum Kingdom strategist, Chess.
The one on the right sported an exaggerated afro, wore boxing gloves on both hands, and wore a frivolous smile.
Former Drum Kingdom official, Kuromarimo.
Wapol's right-hand men.
"Tch."
Zoro spat and assumed his Three Sword Style stance.
"Finally, two decent opponents."
Chess said nothing, merely drawing his giant bow.
The bowstring emitted a teeth-grating creak as three specially crafted arrows were nocked simultaneously.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!
Three arrows fired at once!
Not aimed at Zoro, but at Usopp!
"Usopp! Leave it to me!"
Zoro roared, swinging his swords.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Three crisp sounds rang out as the three arrows were sliced apart.
Seizing the opportunity, Kuromarimo moved.
He didn't charge at Zoro, but instead rushed toward Usopp.
"Afro Attack!"
With a strange laugh, Kuromarimo plucked a clump of hair from his exaggerated afro, rubbed it a couple of times, and the hairball swelled to the size of a basketball, crackling with static electricity as he hurled it at Usopp.
"What the heck is that?!"
Usopp clumsily rolled out of the way.
The hairball hit the ground, but there was no explosion, no smoke—nothing happened at all.
Just as Usopp was wondering what the strange effect of this attack was, Kuromarimo plucked three more clumps of hair and threw them all at once.
Usopp dodged left and right, but the snowy ground limited his movement.
One hairball grazed his pant leg and immediately stuck to it.
"These hairballs carry a strong static charge."
Kuromarimo laughed triumphantly,
"Once they stick, you can't shake them off, and they'll interfere with your movements~"
"Oh no!"
Usopp tried to pull off the hairball, but as soon as his fingers touched it, it stuck to his hand, making things even worse.
His dodging movements became awkward, and the second and third hairballs struck him in succession.
His legs and back were now covered in fuzzy, static-charged balls, making his movements clumsy and sluggish.
"Usopp!"
Zoro wanted to go to his aid, but Chess's arrows rained down like a storm, forcing him to focus entirely on defense.
"My turn~"
Kuromarimo closed in on Usopp, cracking his knuckles inside his boxing gloves.
Thud!
A heavy punch landed in Usopp's abdomen.
"Ugh!"
Usopp doubled over, feeling as if his insides had been rearranged.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three more punches in quick succession.
Usopp was beaten back step by step, finally slamming into a wall and sliding to the ground.