The militia were stunned by Dalton's appearance and slowly lowered their guns.
Snow continued to fall, and the once chaotic riverbank sank into an eerie silence.
Dalton gradually returned to his human form. His face was pale as paper, and the way he looked at Luffy now carried unprecedented gravity… and even a trace of awe.
He knew that punch had been held back.
Otherwise, with the force capable of shattering mountains and stone, there would now be a gaping hole in his chest.
On this brutal sea where the strong devoured the weak, strength was the only passport.
The young man before him possessed power great enough to destroy this entire country.
Luffy stood on the snow-covered ground, staring coldly at the militia who had already lowered their weapons.
"Have you all calmed down?"
Dalton forced himself to stand straight and gave Luffy a deep bow.
"Honorable warrior… please forgive their offense."
His voice sounded weak.
"This country has been hurt too deeply by that tyrant."
"They only… only wish to protect the last bit of light within this frozen land."
He turned his head and glanced at Wapol, who was still trembling on the deck.
A trace of self-mockery flashed in his eyes.
"Since you have brought him here, that means he is already your prisoner. As long as he does not interfere with this country again… your request is acceptable."
Dalton looked back at Luffy, his tone sincere.
"I will take you to the only doctor left in this country. Please follow me."
Luffy's expression softened slightly, and he nodded.
"Thanks. We appreciate it."
Drum Island.
If the first half of the Grand Line was a mad labyrinth, then Drum Island was the coldest ice chamber within it.
Icy winds howled down from the several-thousand-meter peaks of the Drum Mountains, carrying fine shards of ice that sliced across sea and land like blades.
Amid the raging snowstorm, a group of people marched deeper into the island.
Dalton walked in front.
Behind him followed Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp.
Sanji walked close behind them, a cigarette clenched between his teeth as he carefully carried the tightly wrapped Vivi on his back.
At the very end trudged Wapol, his hands locked in thick iron chains, his expression dark and unwilling.
"Hey! Dalton, you traitor!"
Wapol's iron jaw had turned bluish from the freezing cold. As he stumbled along, he shouted at the man ahead.
"How dare you ignore your king! Look around you—this is my Drum Kingdom! My kingdom! Have you forgotten who your king is?! With just one order from me—"
"Shut up, Wapol."
Dalton didn't even turn around.
His voice sounded hoarse and hollow in the snowstorm.
"There is no Drum Kingdom anymore."
"In a country where even doctors were slaughtered… in a country whose king abandoned his people and ran away… this nation no longer has a name."
"Mahapopopopo! Nonsense! As long as I'm alive, this place will always—"
Before Wapol could finish, a terrifying sense of danger suddenly shot up his spine.
Ronan, who had been walking beside him, abruptly stopped.
At that moment, the snow swirling around Ronan seemed to be pushed away by an invisible force.
Ronan slowly turned his head.
Within those deep, still eyes flashed a frightening streak of killing intent.
Crack—
Without warning, the ebony staff in Ronan's hand swept backward.
"AAAHH!!"
Wapol screamed as the massive impact sent his fat body sliding five or six meters across the snow before slamming violently into a frozen boulder.
"Understand your position, Wapol."
Ronan's voice was calm, but cold.
"You are now our memory-alloy processing factory. A prisoner."
"If you dare speak another word of nonsense… you won't like what happens next."
Wapol clutched his head desperately as cold sweat dripped from his iron chin into the snow.
Looking at Ronan, his throat felt as if it had been strangled.
He knew that man wasn't bluffing.
Those eyes weren't meant to intimidate—they were the eyes of someone who truly would kill.
The only reason he was still alive was because he still had value.
Wapol finally shut his mouth.
Not long afterward, Dalton led everyone into Big Horn Village.
"You can use this bed."
Dalton pushed open the wooden door of a stone house. The interior was simple but relatively clean.
He quickly walked to the fireplace and struck the flint.
Whoosh!
Orange flames rose in the hearth, and warmth instantly spread throughout the freezing room.
Sanji carefully laid Vivi down on the bed.
Her normally fair cheeks were now flushed with an unhealthy red from the fever.
Cold sweat covered her forehead, and her breathing was rapid and shallow.
Nami rushed forward and covered her with two thick blankets, then placed a cold, wet cloth on her forehead.
"My name is Dalton. I'm the captain of the island's defense force."
Dalton turned and bowed deeply to the group.
"Please forgive our rudeness at the river earlier. In a nation destroyed by tyranny, we must remain wary of every unfamiliar face."
"We can talk about that later."
Sanji clenched his fists, his eyes fixed anxiously on Dalton.
"Tell me where that doctor you called the 'witch' is!"
Dalton pointed out the window.
Through the frost-covered glass, the most iconic sight of Drum Island could be seen.
To the north of the village stood three massive drum-shaped mountains rising straight from the ground.
They had no slopes.
Their sides were sheer cliffs nearly ninety degrees vertical.
Hidden within the blizzard, the tallest peak in the center pierced straight into the clouds.
"Those mountains are called the Drum Mountains," Dalton said quietly.
"At the very top of the highest one… there's a castle."
"What about that castle?" Nami asked.
"The person who lives there is Dr. Kureha."
Dalton's eyes carried both respect and helplessness.
"She is the only doctor left in this country. Because of her eccentric personality and strange medical skills, everyone calls her the 'Witch.'"
"What?! All the way up there?!"
Sanji jumped to his feet, pointing angrily at the towering mountain that rose thousands of meters into the sky.
"Then bring her down here immediately!"
"That's impossible."
Dalton shook his head.
"We have no way of contacting her."
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