"Please tell me the coffee is ready. I don't even care about the caffeine, but my hands are about to freeze over," Mayando whined as Rocks rolled his eyes. Despite Zeff's extensive skills, the ancient coffee maker was by far the most used device in the kitchen. As he emerged onto the deck, he thanked whatever gods that were looking down on them that they had picked up winter gear after dropping off Sakazuki's family.
While making a detour to Fish Man Island added a couple of months to their journey, Sakazuki made it quite clear that he wouldn't be joining them without ensuring the safety of his parents and kid sister. While Rocks certainly didn't love the idea of putting off his plans for so long, he had to admit that the slow rate of growth for his Haki after his return from death would have led them to where they were anyways. Not to mention, with his family safe and sound, the kid seemed to be pretty excited for a life of piracy.
"When are we arriving, captain?" Sakazuki asked, the green patchwork coat he wore indicating what his level of fashion sense was.
"We should be seeing the coast any second, don't piss yourself, kid," Rocks said sarcastically as he handed a steaming cup over to the shivering Mayando.
"Wow, I might live long enough for us to dock," Mayando said with clear disdain for the weather that they found themselves in. "Where's Zeff at? Can he kick up a campfire or something?"
"Zeff's doing a special job for me. He'll be back on the ship within a day or so. Ah, there it is," Rocks said as he pointed over the bow of The Fancy.
The sheets of ice that they had been cracking through along with the falling snow made it clear where they were, but Rocks couldn't help but be a little comforted by the confirmation of seeing the coastline of their intended destination, a feeling that he hoped would become less necessary the more experience his teenage navigator got. The dark, jagged cliffs were quite an unwelcoming sight, and he could see Mayando grip the wheel tighter as they carefully approached the nearest dock.
Despite the harsh and unappealing environment compared to so many other parts of the world, Rocks knew that Drum Island held quite a few valuable secrets underneath its rough exterior. As they pulled in and Mayando began the process of dropping anchor, Rocks approached the gangplank, though he paused as he noticed Sakazuki following behind him.
"Stay here with Mayando, Sakazuki. I have some business to attend to with an old friend, and Zeff needs the day for the task I gave him. Keep an eye on the ship and get us ready to set out tomorrow, we need to get to Water 7 as soon as possible," Rocks said as he turned around and began descending toward the docks. Sakazuki sighed and looked back at Mayando, the fish man teenager laboriously dumping the anchor into the sea while he cursed heavily.
With every step he took, the crunching of the snow beneath his boots grew louder, and he found himself walking toward a steep mountain that he did not look forward to climbing. The village that he passed through was peaceful and tranquil, an environment that he was certainly not accustomed to being in. He enjoyed the gentle stroll for as long as he could, eventually sighing and channeling Haki into his fingertips as he faced the massive, steep cliff that his destination sat on top of.
The next hour or so was one of the more frustrating for Xebec, with the frigid winds whipping against his face like dozens of small knives. Despite the exertion that the climb was causing him, he continued to push forward, using the pain in his body as motivation. In the past few months, he had regained a significant portion of the strength from before he had died, but it was still only a small portion of what he knew himself to be capable of. Unleashing Conqueror's Haki in anything other than minuscule bursts was still exhausting, and Zeff's Armament Haki dwarfed his at the moment.
Fortunately for him though, the peak of the cliff he had been arduously climbing was finally in sight, and he picked up his pace as the excitement allowed him to have a final burst of energy. Pulling himself onto the peak with a grunt of exertion, he fell into the snow on his back, panting heavily as the Haki fading from his fingertips immediately made them go start to go numb from the cold.
While he was tempted to remain laying down forever, the frigid temperature forced him to stand on his feet. Turning around, he couldn't help but laugh aloud as he took in the sight of what appeared to be a partially dilapidated castle.
"Of course that witch would live somewhere like this," Rocks said with a shake of his head as he started to trudge through the snow. The isolation of the caste from the rest of the village seemed like it would be an inconvenient place for a doctor to live, but nothing about the old friend he was going to visit was normal or convenient for that matter.
The massive, garish doors that stood before him began to open as he came close to them, and he smiled widely as a slender woman in a purple top that exposed her midriff with matching pants, the apparel nonsensical for the environment that she lived in. Upon looking at his face and recognizing her guest, she matched his smile as she took of her glasses.
"You have got to be the healthiest looking dead man I've ever seen…Davy D. Xebec," Dr. Kureha said with a cackle that matched up with the witch nickname that she had become so associated with.