The sight of the giant had single-handedly turned the tide of battle, and the cheers from the survivors on the beach were deafening. He had destroyed the Bliking and punished the tyrant Wapol. Now, before everyone's eyes, Wapol, his two lackeys, and his hippo mount crashed headfirst into the rocky shoreline, hitting with a bone-jarring thud. The impact was severe. Even with their Devil Fruit abilities, the trio was completely incapacitated, lying motionless in the rock crater.
Princess Vivi stood on the Going Merry, waving frantically at Doctor Kureha. "Doctor! We have patients on the ship! They're in critical condition. Please, come take a look!"
"Chopper, you stay here and tend to the other patients. I'll go to them. I'll call for you if I need you," Kureha instructed, her tone brisk and professional.
With a nod, she boarded the Going Merry. Below deck, she found Nami and Sanji, both unconscious. She quickly examined their injuries, and her diagnosis matched what the Sky Screen had predicted. They were infected with the Kestia parasite. It was an ancient ailment she hadn't seen in ages. Most doctors on the Grand Line wouldn't even know how to diagnose it, let alone treat it. The Straw Hat Pirates were incredibly lucky to have stumbled upon her.
"This ship has no medical equipment. We need to go back to Drum Castle. I can treat them there," she declared.
Hearing her confident words, Usopp carefully wrapped Nami in a blanket and hoisted her onto his back. He left the perverted cook, Sanji, for Igaram to handle. It was better for Zoro, with his famously terrible sense of direction, to stay and guard the ship. If he got lost in the snow, he would be fine, but Sanji might die.
Igaram, a man of incredible strength, easily lifted the unconscious cook and hoisted him over his shoulder. With Wapol and the Pirate crew defeated by the giant, Princess Vivi's safety was no longer in question. He was free to help.
When the group rejoined the patients on the beach, the sight of two more injured people for the doctors to treat was disheartening. Kureha had to return to Drum Castle, leaving only Chopper to manage the chaos. Dalton, his body wrapped in bandages, offered a solution. "There are doctors among Wapol's crew. They are valuable medical talents. We must pull the living ones from the sea and let them atone for their sins by helping us."
Luffy, unable to help with the salvage operation, put on a thick coat and began assisting with patient transport. Nami and Sanji weren't the only ones who needed to go up the mountain; several others on the coast were seriously injured and required advanced medical equipment for things like amputation. Chopper was already running out of bandages and disinfectants. The supplies on the sled were not nearly enough for the sheer number of wounded.
The few elderly people and women who had hidden in town began to help the less severely injured. Children who were skilled at navigating the icy terrain with sleds stepped up to transport the seriously wounded. Everyone worked together, a united effort to survive this tragedy.
Eren, still in his giant form, had no choice but to take on the salvage work himself. After all, it was his power that had sunk the Bliking . The Attack Titan reached into the water, his massive hands carefully grabbing the survivors floating in the wreckage. He opened his mouth wide and placed the survivors inside. At first, they were terrified, thinking he was going to devour them. But when they saw that the giant kept his mouth open, a spacious cavern, they realized he was just using his mouth to transport them safely.
His arms, several meters long, delved deep into the frigid water to pull out the submerged sections of the Bliking . Many crew members had been trapped inside the sinking ship. The more he could find, the more people he could save. Eren made no distinction between soldiers and doctors; he rescued everyone he could. If he ran out of room in his mouth, he'd place them in his hair. There was always a spot on the giant's body for a person.
After more than ten minutes, Eren gave up the search. Anyone who hadn't been found by now had surely drowned. He returned to the beach, his massive figure causing the onlookers to scramble out of his way. The Attack Titan squatted down, and the survivors slid down his arms, a mix of Wapol's soldiers and doctors. The doctors in their distinctive pink uniforms immediately began helping with the injured, while the soldiers of the Royal Guard gathered together and knelt, awaiting their judgment.
"Eren! Luffy and the others are already on their way to Drum Castle," Zoro called out. "If you take them up there with your giant body, it'll save a lot of time! Nami and Sanji's illness can't be delayed!"
Eren nodded and stood, his gaze fixing on the group in the distance. He took one massive step to catch up. The earth trembled with each of the giant's strides, and the patients on the ground could feel the tremors. Each footfall sent up clouds of snow and left a massive footprint in its wake.
"Mom, why isn't the giant wearing any clothes?" a little girl asked her mother.
"Hush, dear. He's our benefactor," the woman whispered, pulling her husband closer. "Without him, your father would have been killed in that explosion." Her husband had lost an arm, but he was alive, and that was all that mattered.
It took only a few minutes for Eren to catch up to the group. "Get the seriously injured on my body! Doctor, you come up too and show me the way," Eren rumbled, his voice a deep, resonant echo.
"Eren, I'm going up! Pick me up!" Luffy shouted, holding a patient in one hand and a burly man on his shoulder. He used his rubber body to bounce high into the air, landing safely in the giant's open palm.
"Be careful with the wounded!" Usopp yelled. He and Igaram cautiously made their way to the other palm. Why bother with a sled when they had this incredible transportation method?
With the seriously injured and Kureha on board, the giant took off towards Drum Castle. Along the way, they were confronted by a dozen or so angry Lapins. Eren simply kicked a few of the massive rabbits out of his way. The remaining Lapins, sensing they couldn't possibly win against a twenty-meter-tall giant, wisely scurried out of the way.
They soon arrived at the base of the mountain. Eren knew he couldn't simply walk up; Drum Castle was at least a thousand meters high. "Hold on tight! I'm climbing!" he announced. He covered his fingers and toes in a hardened, crystalline material. With a mighty groan, his hardened fingers dug into the rock face, and his toes found purchase as he began to climb. Luffy and the others marveled at the feat.
During the climb, the giant continuously released small amounts of steam from his body. The high temperature instantly vaporized any snow or ice on the mountain, preventing him from slipping and keeping his human passengers from freezing. Eren's climbing speed was incredible. He conquered the thousand-meter-high mountain in less than five minutes, a truly breathtaking feat.