Chapter 91 Hegemony! The Glory of Splitting the Sea
In the early morning, a thin mist shrouded the sea like a veil in the small garden.
Thanks to the Permanent Pointer that Sanji, disguised as "Mr. Prince," stole from the Baroque Works messenger.
The Straw Hat crew no longer needed to wait a long year on this ancient island to record the magnetic field; they had already set sail.
A huge shoreline.
The Blue Oni Dorry and the Red Oni Brogy, these two giant warriors from Elbaf, stood there like two lighthouses.
We are bidding farewell to these tiny humans who have formed a deep friendship despite a brief encounter.
"Hahahaha! Although we only spent a short time together, you are truly pirates with the spirit of warriors!"
Dongli's hearty laughter dispelled the surrounding morning mist.
"Giggle! There's a big, troublesome creature in the waters ahead, but since we're friends..."
Brogy swung the chipped giant axe in his hand:
"We'll clear the way for you! Go ahead with confidence!"
Luffy stood on the Going Merry, waving his hands vigorously and shouting:
"Dear uncles!! Thank you for the meat!! When I become the Pirate King, I will definitely come to Elbaf to see you all!!"
On the second deck.
Viktor stood by the railing and bowed deeply to the two towering figures on the shore.
This is not only a sign of respect for the strong, but also a way of expressing gratitude for last night's unreserved and powerful "teaching session".
The Merry sailed slowly out of the bay, braving the wind and waves, preparing to enter the deep waters of the open sea.
Sudden.
"Boom—!!!"
The once calm sea began to tremble violently, as if some enormous creature was awakening in the depths of the ocean.
Immediately afterwards, the seawater burst open, and huge waves surged.
A colossal shadow, hundreds of times larger than the Going Merry and capable of blotting out the sky, burst forth from the water with an oppressive, suffocating presence!
It was a goldfish that was so huge it was completely illogical—the Island Eater!
Its mouth was wide open, bottomless, almost like a moving black hole.
Deep within that terrifying throat, one can even see undigested island remnants and enormous trees.
"Waaaaaah!!"
Usopp was so frightened his eyes popped out of their sockets, and he clung tightly to the railing:
"Is...is that a monster?! Is that a goldfish?! We'll be eaten like snacks!!"
"This...this kind of creature..."
Nami stared at the enormous mouth that seemed capable of swallowing everything, her face ashen, and the sea chart in her hand fell to the ground.
"This is no creature a sailboat can fight! Turn the rudder!"
"That damn goldfish!"
Luffy pulled his straw hat down low, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to fight: "How dare you block my way!"
"Don't worry, Captain."
A hand blocked Luffy's path.
Viktor stood behind him and said softly:
"Let them have the stage. Someone wants to show us... what true 'power' is."
shore.
Dorry and Brogy looked at the giant goldfish that had devoured their companion who had gone to scout ahead, and raised their tattered greatsword and axe, which had survived a century of battle.
The wind howled around them.
"Nothing can stop our friends from moving forward!!" Donli's voice boomed like thunder.
"We've been fighting for a hundred years, and our weapons have long since reached their limits; they could shatter at any moment..."
Brogy continued, his eyes burning with intense fighting spirit:
"But let's deliver this final blow to our friends!! This blow is called 'Faith'!!"
Buzz—!!!
Two terrifying auras erupted without reservation at this moment.
That was the domineering aura of a giant, a pure and unparalleled warrior's will.
Red and blue air currents swirled and condensed wildly around their weapons, distorting the surrounding air and even causing the waves to flow backwards due to this aura!
"That is…" Zoro's pupils contracted as he watched this scene, as if he had seen the ultimate in swordsmanship.
"Watch closely!!"
The two giants simultaneously unleashed a deafening roar:
"The Spear of Elbaf—"
They simultaneously swung down the weapons that carried a century of glory.
"Hegemony!!!!"
boom------!!!!!
The world lost its color.
A massive shockwave, interwoven with red and blue spirals, transformed into a pillar of light capable of piercing the heavens and the earth, roaring out with an overwhelming and destructive force!
"Huh?!"
The giant island-eating monster didn't even have time to let out a scream.
The beam of light pierced through its massive body in an instant, creating a huge, transparent hole in it.
Immediately afterwards, the beam of light, undiminished in momentum, with earth-shattering power, forcefully "cleaved" a straight passage through the vast sea ahead!
The seawater rolled back to both sides, forming towering walls of water.
That passage leads straight to the heavens, as if to the end of the world.
"Wow...that's amazing..." Usopp and Sanji were completely stunned.
Viktor stood on the deck, his three-tomoe Sharingan eyes spinning wildly, trying to capture the energy flow of that instant.
His mouth opened wide instinctively as he stared intently at the gradually dissipating beam of light.
"They don't have the abilities of a Devil Fruit..."
"There's no fluctuation of chakra either..."
Viktor muttered to himself, a storm raging within him:
"Pure physical strength alone, combined with that kind of willpower called 'Haki'... can actually cause destructive power comparable to, or even stronger than, a Tailed Beast Ball?"
"Is this... the ticket to the new world?"
...
We bid farewell to the giants and crossed the sea passage that had been cleaved open.
The Going Merry sailed towards Alabasta amidst the unpredictable weather of the Grand Line.
On the deck, everyone was still immersed in the shock of the "Overlord" attack, excitedly discussing the power of the domineering aura.
"I want to learn that too! It's so cool!" Luffy waved his fist.
"That's a technique belonging to giants; you can't learn it." Zoro wiped his sword, his eyes filled with longing.
Just then.
"Clatter".
A soft sound.
Nami, who had been standing to the side reading the newspaper, suddenly dropped the newspaper from her hand.
Then, to everyone's astonishment, she suddenly fell backward and crashed heavily onto the deck.
"Nami-san?!"
Vivi, who was closest, was startled and quickly ran over to help Nami up.
However, the moment Vivi touched Nami's skin, she gasped in surprise:
"It's so hot!! Nami-san's body is so hot!!"
At this moment, Nami's face was flushed, her breathing was rapid and painful, and she had lost consciousness. Her body twitched slightly in Vivi's arms.
"Nami!!" Luffy and Sanji rushed over.
Whoosh!
A blur flashed by.
Viktor instantly appeared beside Nami. He swiftly placed two fingers on Nami's pulse, while simultaneously sending a wisp of chakra into her body to sense her pulse.
A few seconds later, Viktor's face turned extremely pale.
"His heart was beating abnormally fast, and his body temperature was at least 40 degrees Celsius and was still rising."
"There's a strange bacterium running rampant in my body... Damn it, it must be an ancient virus from that ancient environment in the Little Garden."
"Virus?!" Everyone was shocked.
"Victor! You know ninjutsu, right?"
Luffy grabbed Victor's arm anxiously, his eyes full of pleading:
"Please save Nami like a magician! You're the first mate, you must have a way, right?!"
Viktor gritted his teeth.
He cursed himself inwardly for being an idiot.
Because he was so focused on fighting and training his Haki, he completely forgot about the plot in the original work where Nami would contract the deadly "Kestia" virus!
"System! Exchange for medical ninjutsu!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Victor opened the system store.
[Ding! 2000 Ninja Points consumed to exchange for the Ninjutsu: Palm Healing Technique (Rank A).]
Although he spent all his savings in one go, he didn't even blink.
"I'll give it a try."
Viktor shouted, and his hands instantly glowed with a soft green light.
He placed his hands on Nami's forehead and chest.
Palm Immortal Technique, activated.
Green chakra flowed continuously into Nami's body, repairing the cells damaged by the virus and forcibly suppressing the organ failure caused by the high fever.
"Huff... huff..."
Under the effect of the Palm Healing Technique, Nami's previously contorted expression of pain eased slightly, and her rapid breathing became more even.
"That's great! Is healed?!" Usopp asked in surprise.
However, Viktor withdrew his hand, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his expression still grim.
"No...it hasn't been eradicated."
Viktor watched the green light in his hand gradually dissipate and said anxiously:
"Ninjutsu can only repair the damaged body and temporarily suppress the symptoms. But I can't directly kill these endless viruses."
"This acute, pathological high fever and severe viral infection... requires specialized antibiotics and medications."
Viktor raised his head, looked at the crowd, and said decisively:
We need a doctor!
These words struck like a bolt from the blue.
The ship was deathly silent.
All eyes turned to Weiwei.
All they have is a permanent pointer to Alabasta. If they go looking for an island with a doctor now, it could delay the time needed to save the country.
The lives of a million people, and the lives of their companions.
Vivi looked at Nami, who was in pain in her arms, and then at the permanent pointer in her hand that pointed to her homeland.
Her hands were trembling, and her lips were bitten until they bled.
But the next second, the princess raised her head, her eyes filled with tears, yet she made a decision with unwavering resolve:
"Luffy-san! Victor-san!"
"Change course immediately! Search for an island with a doctor!"
"Nami-san is my friend... I can't abandon her!!"
Upon hearing this, Luffy grinned, and even though his eyes were full of anxiety, he still nodded heavily to Vivi.
"Yoshi!!"
Luffy rushed to the bow of the ship and shouted:
"Full speed ahead!! Go find the doctor!!!Chapter 92 The Attackers of the Gluttony-Gluttony Fruit, the White Iron Pirates
On the vast ocean, the Going Merry is cutting through the waves, steadily speeding towards the unknown sea.
However, unlike the usual cheerful atmosphere, a heavy, oppressive atmosphere hung over the Going Merry.
Everyone on deck had a furrowed brow, and their mood was anything but pleasant.
Even Luffy, who usually loves to play around and can't sit still for a moment, is now sitting obediently in the VIP seat at the bow of the ship.
He gripped his knees with both hands, his eyes fixed on the empty sea in the distance, hoping to catch a glimpse of the island.
Inside the ship's cabin, in Nami's room.
Viktor was sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands glowing with a soft green chakra light—the glow of the medical ninjutsu [Henjutsu Palm Technique].
Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as he focused intently on slowly channeling chakra into Nami's body to suppress the rampant virus.
"The body temperature has temporarily stabilized at 39 degrees... but if chakra is not continuously supplied, it will rebound soon."
Viktor withdrew his trembling hand and let out a long sigh.
Vivi, standing nearby, was gently wiping the cold sweat from Nami's forehead with a damp towel. Looking at Nami's pained and flushed face, Vivi's eyes reddened with heartache.
"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Victor," Vivi said softly.
"It's alright, I'll go get a fresh basin of hot water." Viktor picked up the basin, stood up, and walked outside. "You can have this."
Just as Victor stepped out of the room to go to the kitchen to get hot water...
"Splash—!!"
The once calm sea suddenly began to churn violently.
A colossal object burst from the side of the Merry without warning.
It was a giant submarine with an extremely bizarre shape, resembling a huge iron barrel or a tin can.
"What is that?!" Luffy stood up alertly.
Before anyone could react, the submarine's hatch opened, and a large group of soldiers dressed in white fur coats and carrying muskets rushed onto the deck of the Merry.
The leader was an obese man with a brittle chin who looked like a hippopotamus.
It was none other than Wapol, the former king of the Drum Kingdom and a user of the Gluttony Fruit.
"Hahaha! I'm hungry!!"
As soon as Wapol boarded the ship, he opened his exaggeratedly large mouth and bit down hard on one side of the railing of the Merry.
"Crack! Crunch, crunch!"
The hard wood was chewed to pieces in his mouth like a crunchy biscuit.
"Hmm~ the taste is just so-so, a bit old-fashioned."
Wapol swallowed the railing, pointed arrogantly at Luffy and Zoro on the deck, and roared:
"Men! Hand over the treasure on this ship, and that Log Pose! This ship looks delicious, it's mine too!!"
"Damn it! That's the Going Merry!!" Usopp yelled angrily.
At this moment, everyone on the ship was extremely anxious because of Nami's illness, and everyone's nerves were on edge.
This guy who suddenly appeared just happened to walk right into the line of fire.
"Squeak."
The cabin door was pushed open.
Viktor came out carrying a freshly filled container of hot water.
He glanced at the broken railing, then at the obese man still chewing wood chips and making a scene.
In an instant.
Viktor's black eyes instantly turned icy cold, and a suffocating killing intent erupted without reservation.
"Where did this trash come from..."
Victor's voice was deep and filled with anger:
"Dare to make a scene at the ward entrance?"
"Hmm? And who are you? I am..."
Wapol turned his head, about to mock the guy carrying the foot-washing water.
However, he only felt a blur before his eyes.
"Instantaneous Movement Technique".
Viktor vanished into thin air.
The next second, a sharp gust of wind swept over them. Viktor, filled with rage, appeared before Wapol.
His body leaped into the air, and his right leg lashed out like a whip—a powerful spinning kick that left a trail of afterimages!
"Get out of here!!!"
"Bang!!!"
A muffled thud.
That kick landed squarely on Wapol's proudly large mouth.
"ah!!!"
Wapol let out a shrill scream as several bloody teeth flew out along with his saliva.
His obese body was like a cannonball, kicked off the deck by this terrifying force, tracing an arc in the air.
"thump!"
A huge splash of water erupted, and Vapol fell directly into the icy sea.
"Lord Vapol!!" his men cried out in terror.
"Get out of the way!!"
Closely following behind was Luffy, who was already impatient.
He didn't even bother to fight the grunts; instead, he stretched his arms out behind him and aimed them at the huge metal submarine.
"We're in a hurry!!!"
"Rubber rubber—rocket launcher!!!"
boom----!!!
He slammed both palms hard against the metal of the submarine.
The immense impact sent the entire submarine, along with the entire White Iron Pirates crew aboard, flying like baseballs.
"What kind of monsters are these people?!"
"This feeling is awful!!!"
The White Iron Pirates didn't even have time to finish saying their names before they transformed into a bright shooting star and disappeared into the distant horizon.
"Hmph, utterly pathetic."
Viktor held the hot water in his hands without spilling a single drop.
He glanced coldly in that direction, then turned and walked back into the cabin.
Just as everyone finished dealing with this group of clueless trash like swatting flies.
A cold wind blew by.
"It's so cold..." Usopp shivered.
Everyone looked up.
In the gray sky, pure white snowflakes fell like goose feathers.
The temperature on the sea surface dropped sharply.
"It's snowing..."
Vivi ran to the bow of the boat, and through the swirling snowflakes, she could vaguely make out the outline of an island covered in white snow on the sea ahead.
The towering snow-capped mountains looked like rows of white pillars.
"It's Winter Island!!"
Vivi turned around in surprise and shouted to everyone in the cabin:
"Only Winter Island has this kind of climate! A medical superpower like that must have doctors there!!"
"Hehehe! Great! Nami is saved!!"
Luffy excitedly jumped onto the bow of the ship and pointed at the snow island:
"Full speed ahead!!"Chapter 93 The Princess's Dignity! Killing alone cannot save lives.
The Going Merry broke through the ice floes and slowly came to a stop on the bank of a snow-covered river.
The cold wind howled, and the heavy snow fell like a white curtain, shrouding the whole world in a desolate and frigid atmosphere.
"Quick! Bring Nami down!"
Before the group could even catch their breath, and had just jumped off the boat carrying the feverish and unconscious Nami, they were immediately surrounded by a group of people who had been lying in wait on the shore.
Those were dozens of guards dressed in heavy winter clothes and carrying long guns.
The leader was a tall man wearing a green overcoat.
At this moment, he had already activated the power of the Ox-Ox Fruit, transforming into a half-human, half-buffalo form, with the large sword in his hand gleaming coldly.
It was Captain Dalton.
"Pirates?"
Dalton exhaled a white breath, his eyes filled with disgust and wariness, and roared:
"You are not welcome here! Get out of here right now!"
"Get out of here if you don't want to die! Pirates are all plunderers! They only bring disaster to this country!"
The surrounding guards also raised their guns, the dark muzzles pointed at Luffy carrying Nami and the others beside him.
Hey! What are you doing?!
Seeing that the other party was pointing a gun at the sick Nami, Luffy was instantly enraged.
He didn't care how many people there were; he clenched his fists, his muscles tensing.
"My companion is sick! And you bunch of bastards... how dare you block my way! I'm going to beat you all to a pulp!"
With just one punch, he could send this group of people flying.
"Buzz—"
At the same time, Viktor, who was standing next to him, slowly raised his head.
Beneath the hood, his scarlet Sharingan eyes, adorned with three tomoe, slowly rotated, appearing particularly eerie in the icy snow.
"I apologize, everyone."
Viktor took a step forward and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
That face, which usually wore a gentle smile, was now devoid of any warmth, replaced by a chilling indifference.
"We have important things to do and don't have time to play house with you."
"If you don't want to let us through... we'll have to use pirate methods to get through."
The atmosphere instantly became tense, on the verge of exploding.
Zoro sighed. Although he didn't want to bully the weak, he silently gripped the hilt of his sword.
Sanji took a deep drag on his cigarette, his eyes sharp.
Usopp, holding the shivering Clay, hid behind him, somewhat at a loss.
Just as the two sides were about to go to war.
"Click".
A young guard, overwhelmed by nervousness and intimidated by Victor's murderous aura, involuntarily pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
A crisp gunshot shattered the silence of the snow-covered plain.
The bullet whistled out and headed straight for Vivi, who was standing at the front.
"Um?!"
Viktor's eyes narrowed, and his Sharingan instantly detected the trajectory of the bullet.
He was about to draw his sword to block, but it was too late.
However, something unexpected happened.
Vivi did not dodge.
"Pfft."
The bullet grazed her arm, and bright red blood instantly stained her white sleeve, dripping onto the snow as glaring red spots.
"Weiwei!!"
Seeing Vivi injured, Luffy flew into a rage, his fist clenching back as he yelled, "You bunch of bastards!!"
"Stop! Mr. Luffy!"
Vivi suddenly reached out and firmly pressed down on Luffy's arm, which was about to attack.
"Vivi? What are you doing! They shot you!" Luffy shouted in confusion.
Vivi did not explain.
Despite the excruciating pain in her arm, she knelt heavily on the cold snow, facing the group of men who had just shot at her.
"Thump."
Her forehead was buried deep in the cold snow, her posture extremely humble, but her voice was incredibly firm:
"Please..."
"Please save my friend."
"I don't blame you for firing... We will never hurt you... and we will never plunder this village…"
Weiwei raised her head, her eyes filled with tears, yet radiating a moving power:
"Please let a doctor see her...please!"
The wind and snow seemed to stand still at that moment.
The entire venue was deathly silent.
Luffy froze, his raised fist hanging in mid-air.
Zoro froze, his hand slowly loosening its grip on the sword.
Viktor's hand, which was resting on the hilt of his sword, froze in mid-air.
He looked down at the figure kneeling in the snow, at the drops of blood falling onto the pristine white snow.
Those scarlet pupils contracted slightly, and his heart was deeply moved.
Is this... a princess of a country?
When attacked, they do not choose to fight back or run away, but for the sake of their companions' lives, they unhesitatingly abandon their dignity and choose to bow their heads.
"I see..."
Viktor muttered to himself, the murderous intent in his eyes receding like a tide:
"Having the courage to bow down for the greater good...that's harder than simply killing."
"Killing is not the way to save lives."
Viktor loosened his grip on the sword hilt.
He stepped forward, stood behind Weiwei, and bowed slightly, lowering his head as well.
Please.
Luffy looked at Vivi, then at Nami on his back.
He seemed to understand something, and that simple, primal instinct made him suppress all his anger.
Please!
Luffy imitated Vivi, shouting loudly and bowing his head deeply:
"Save my comrade!!"
Please!
Seeing this, Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp immediately followed suit and bowed their heads in pleading.
Looking at this group of pirates who clearly possessed great strength, yet were willing to bow down for a comrade, and at the girl with a bleeding arm but sincere eyes.
Dalton's hardened defenses were finally shattered.
He deactivated his bison form, sighed, and his gaze softened:
"Come with me... I'll take you into the village."
...
Big Horn Village, at Dalton's home.
The fire in the fireplace was burning brightly, driving away the cold outside.
After a brief examination, Dalton looked at the red spots on Nami's body and his expression turned extremely grim.
"This is… Kirstia."
"An ancient pathogen, also known as 'five-day disease'," Dalton said in a deep voice.
"If she doesn't receive timely treatment, this persistent high fever and organ failure will kill her within five days… It's already the third day, isn't it? If we don't act quickly, she won't live more than three days."
"Then call a doctor quickly!" Luffy shouted anxiously.
Dalton shook his head, a look of pain and helplessness on his face:
There are no doctors left.
"This country... was once known as a medical superpower."
"But that tyrant Wapol, in order to make everyone submit to him, banished all the doctors in the country, leaving only 'Doctor 20' to serve him."
"Now that Wapol has escaped... there are no doctors left here."
"How could this be..." Weiwei covered her mouth.
"but."
Dalton then shifted his focus, pointing to the towering, cylindrical snow-capped peak outside the window that seemed to pierce the sky:
"There is one exception."
"In the castle on that highest mountain peak lived the country's last and only doctor."
"Everyone calls her 'the witch'—Dr. Kureha."
Dalton looked at the unconscious Nami:
"If it were that witch with extremely high medical skills... perhaps she could cure this disease."Chapter 94 The Demon on the Snowy Mountain? Clay's "Diplomatic Accident"!
At the entrance to Big Horn Village, a biting wind was blowing.
After a brief but tense discussion, everyone decided to save Nami within the three-day time limit.
They must immediately carry her up the towering Drum Mountain to find the "witch" doctor who lives in the castle at the top.
"I want to go too!" Zoro said, wrapped in a borrowed green coat.
"Rejected." Sanji refused without hesitation. "Going up there will only make the rescue more difficult; you'll serve no purpose. Besides..."
"You'll definitely get lost in the snow," Usopp added insult to injury.
"What did you say?! How could I possibly get lost on a straight mountain path?!" Zoro roared in fury.
But amidst everyone's unanimous criticism and Vivi's pleading gaze...
In the end, Zoro could only stay behind with Usopp and Vivi, looking quite annoyed, to guard the Going Merry.
The mountaineering team is fully prepared and ready to go.
"Alright! I'll take care of Nami!"
Luffy was wearing his signature thin red vest, with his arms exposed.
Although his nose was running from the cold, he still patted his chest and wanted to carry Nami on the stretcher.
"Wait a minute!"
Sanji and Vivi stopped him in unison.
"Are you an idiot?!" Sanji yelled, pointing at Luffy's bright red arm.
"You're dressed so lightly, your body temperature is too low! Miss Nami already has a fever, if you stick this ice pack on her, her condition will worsen! She'll freeze!"
"Huh? Then... what should we do?" Luffy sniffled, looking completely bewildered.
"I'll do it."
A steady voice rang out.
Viktor, dressed in a thick black woolen coat and scarf, looked tall and reliable.
He walked to the stretcher and gently squatted down.
"Come on up, Nami."
Viktor carefully carried the unconscious Nami on his back, then quietly mobilized his chakra.
Fire-style chakra was evenly distributed across his body surface under his precise control.
This instantly turned his back into a comfortable "heater".
Nami, who had been in pain due to the high fever and the cold, instantly relaxed her furrowed brows when she touched that warm, broad back.
She let out a soft murmur and instinctively snuggled into Victor's neck like a kitten that had found a fireplace.
"Mmm...it's so warm..."
Seeing this, Sanji, who had just been lecturing Luffy, instantly lost his composure.
He bit his handkerchief, tears streaming down his face, his expression filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment.
"Damn it!! I want to be a heater too!!"
Ignoring the chef's complaints, Victor adjusted his position and steadily supported Nami:
"Let's go. Destination—the summit of Cigu Mountain."
...
Halfway up the mountain, amidst wind and snow.
The snow here is already above knee-deep, making every step extremely difficult.
Viktor carried Nami in the middle of the group, Luffy led the way, Sanji brought up the rear, and Clay the crow circled in the air as a scout.
As they walked into a grove of bare trees covered in snow, the atmosphere suddenly became somber.
The howling wind seemed to have stopped.
"Gah gah!! Grandpa has an enemy!!"
Suddenly, Clay in the air sounded an urgent alarm.
The words had barely left his mouth.
"Splash! Splash!"
Suddenly, the surrounding snow exploded open, and a group of huge white creatures emerged from under the snow, instantly blocking everyone's path.
They are as large as bears, pure white, but have long rabbit ears, and their red eyes gleam with a fierce and bloodthirsty light.
Labang, a carnivorous and ferocious rabbit.
Moreover, there were dozens of them, densely packed together, forming a white wall of flesh.
"What's this? A big rabbit?" Luffy tilted his head.
"This is Laban, a ferocious creature unique to Winter Island." Victor frowned, his Sharingan scanning the surroundings.
"There are too many... We can't waste time here, nor can we cause too much of a disturbance and trigger an avalanche."
After all, their primary task right now is to save lives.
Just then, Clay, the raven on Viktor's shoulder, suddenly flapped its wings and took flight, cawing twice with a confident air:
"Gurgle, gurgle! Sir! Leave this little matter to me, Lord Clay!"
"Lord Clay can understand them and communicate with them! Let me resolve this through diplomatic means!"
Viktor raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised:
"Oh? You want to go and negotiate? Okay, then go and give it a try."
Having received permission, Clayton felt his image had become much more impressive.
It puffed out its chest and flew like a diplomat to the group of fierce-looking Labang.
It cleared its throat and then emitted a series of sounds that, to outsiders, sounded like "caw," but to the Labang people, they had a different meaning:
"Goo goo gao! Goo ga... goo goo ga!"
(Listen up! You lowly long-eared creatures! Get out of the way of the great Lord Clay! Or we'll roast you all red-eyed rabbits and eat you! Hahaha!)
The air suddenly became quiet.
The largest bird in the lead, Laban, stared expressionlessly at the arrogant black bird soaring through the air.
After a three-second silence.
The leader, Laban, silently bent down, and his two huge paws quickly rolled a snowball bigger than a basketball on the ground.
It aimed at that black dot in the sky.
"Whoosh—smack!!!"
That was a perfect throw, comparable to that of a professional pitcher.
The snowball whistled through the air and struck Clay squarely in the face.
"Huh?!"
Before Clay could even scream, the bird was smashed down by the immense kinetic energy.
Like a shot-down satellite, it plunged headfirst into the snowdrift next to Viktor.
Only two thin bird legs were sticking out; it kicked twice, then remained completely still.
She fainted.
"Hahahaha!! Clay got smashed flat!!" Luffy pointed at the pair of bird legs and burst into laughter.
Viktor's face darkened, and he helplessly rubbed his forehead.
"...It seems your diplomatic language is quite aggressive."
"Negotiations have broken down. Let's do it, Luffy, Sanji."
"Remember to finish this quickly, and... keep it quiet! Don't trigger an avalanche!"
"learn!!"
At this moment, the enraged Labang herd roared and launched a collective charge, moving with incredible speed, like white lightning on the snow.
"Perfect for warming up!"
Luffy shouted, and his hands instantly became afterimages:
"Rubber rubber—Gatling gun!!"
Bang bang bang bang!
Countless fist shadows were unleashed, and the first few Labangs were instantly knocked flying backward, seeing stars.
"These rabbits are pretty tough."
Sanji, cigarette dangling from his lips, hands in his pockets, his long legs tracing an elegant arc across the snow:
"Lamb Shot!!"
The kick, imbued with powerful wind pressure, struck the three Labangs precisely in the chin and collarbone, sending them flying and crashing into several dead trees.
As for Viktor...
He carried Nami on his back, his feet imbued with chakra, and moved with effortless grace on the slippery snow, his figure elusive and unpredictable.
Victor didn't even need to free his hands to attack the several Labangs that were trying to ambush him.
Buzz—
The three-tomoe Sharingan spun in the wind and snow, discerning all attack trajectories.
Turn sideways, lower your head, and slide.
Viktor danced on the edge of a knife, narrowly avoiding Laban's claws and bites every time.
"Don't get in my way."
Viktor's eyes narrowed, and taking advantage of the opening while dodging, he delivered a side kick imbued with chakra, sending a Laban flying into a snowdrift.
Although the three had an absolute advantage, the number of Labang soldiers was simply too large, and they were extremely fierce, advancing wave after wave.
As the fight went on, Luffy got a little "high".
"Rubber, rubber—a large-caliber pistol!!!"
In order to knock away a giant Laban, Luffy stretched his arm back dozens of meters and then slammed it out.
However, the Laban nimbly dodged it.
And so, that punch, imbued with terrifying power, slammed solidly into the towering cliff face beside them.
"BOOM!!!!!"
A deafening roar, like a bolt from the blue.
The entire mountain trembled violently, rocks cracked, and the echo reverberated through the valley.
Viktor's dodging motion suddenly froze.
His expression changed drastically, and he looked up sharply at the almost vertical mountain above him, and the thick, precarious snow piled on its summit.
"Idiot Luffy!! I told you to keep it down!"
"Oh, I'm sorry!"
The next second.
Rumble rumble rumble...
A deep, rumbling sound, as if from the depths of the earth, arose.
Immediately afterwards, the white snow on the mountaintop began to collapse.
That was nature's anger.
A white torrent of despair poured down, carrying a destructive force that instantly engulfed the panicked Laban and swept towards the Straw Hat crew!
That was a massive, overwhelming avalanche!
"Whoa! An avalanche!!" Luffy was so scared his eyes almost popped out.
"You idiot captain!!" Sanji was so angry he wanted to kick someone.
Faced with the white tsunami that was so close at hand, Victor glanced at Nami, who was still unconscious behind him, and felt extremely anxious.
If Nami were caught in an avalanche of that size, she would definitely die in her weakened state!
Buzz!
The three tomoe in Viktor's eyes spun wildly, almost merging into one.
"Come over here!! There's no escaping it!!"
Victor yelled at Luffy and Sanji.
He held nothing back, his hands moving in blurs as he rapidly formed hand seals. The chakra within his body surged wildly like boiling magma.
Noon-Dog-Dragon-Rat-Dog-Pig-Snake-Tiger!
"Stop right there!!!"
Viktor's chest swelled high, and facing the oncoming avalanche, he opened his mouth and spat out:
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!!!"
boom------!!!!
A line of fire, condensed to its maximum, erupted forth and instantly spread into a raging sea of fire!
The massive wall of fire collided violently with the white avalanche torrent halfway up the mountain.
Hiss hiss hiss hiss!
The collision of ice and fire triggered a violent steam explosion.
White steam instantly filled the entire mountain forest, like a churning sea of clouds.
The large amount of snow was instantly vaporized by the high temperature, and the avalanche ahead was blocked for a moment by the flames.
The avalanche's unparalleled momentum was slightly suppressed by the flames.
But... there was too much snow.
That was snow covering the entire mountain.
"Cough cough!!"
After holding on for a short while, Viktor felt his chakra instantly depleted, and a feeling of utter weakness washed over him.
The sea of fire began to flicker and then died down.
"Damn it... I'm running out of chakra..."
As another avalanche loomed over him, Viktor, unable to hold on any longer, could only grit his teeth and grit his teeth.
He quickly turned around, facing away from the avalanche, and held Nami tightly in his arms.
"Luffy! Sanji! Remember to cover your heads!"
The next second.
Boom!
The figures of the three people and the bird were instantly swallowed up by the raging white torrent.
...
a long time.
The avalanche stopped.
The original forest has been leveled, leaving only a thick, silent snowfield.
And behind the trees in the distance.
A little reindeer with a blue nose and a pink hat is hiding behind a tree trunk.
Its eyes widened; it was completely stunned.
"What...what kind of monster is that...?"
"Humans who can breathe fire..."Chapter 95 Climbing Freehand! The Witch's Castle atop the Snow Mountain
After the avalanche, the snowfield returned to a suffocatingly silent state.
Only the cold wind whipped up the snowflakes on the ground, emitting a mournful wail.
"Puha!!"
A hand suddenly burst through the thick snow, and then Luffy's head, wearing a straw hat, popped out.
He was panting heavily, his face red from the cold.
Not far away, another snowdrift was also pushed aside.
Viktor, holding Nami tightly in his arms, struggled to climb out.
His black overcoat was soaked, and his face was as pale as paper.
That "Great Fire Annihilation" attack against the avalanche had almost drained his chakra.
He immediately looked down at Nami in his arms.
Fortunately, because he used his body as a shield at the last moment, Nami was not affected by the impact.
Her face was still flushed from the high fever, and although her breathing was rapid, it was still relatively steady.
"Phew... I'm still alive."
Viktor breathed a sigh of relief; the feeling of exhaustion had almost made him collapse to the ground.
"Hehehe! I survived!"
Luffy brushed the snow off his straw hat, put it on with a grin, and then looked around but didn't see Sanji.
"Sanji!! Where are you?!"
Ignoring the cold, he frantically dug through the snow like a groundhog.
Finally, he pulled Sanji out from beside a tree that was half buried.
"Clay!!" Victor shouted in a hoarse voice.
"puff!"
A sharp bird beak first emerged from the snowdrift in the distance, followed by Klein's dark figure emerging in a disheveled state.
It thrashed its body wildly, scattering snowflakes everywhere:
"Giggle!! I'm here, grandpa! I almost froze into an icicle! Giggle!"
However, a terrified scream came from Luffy's side:
"Sanji!! Wake up!! Hey!!"
Luffy shook Sanji's body, but found that the other man was unresponsive. He was so frightened that tears streamed down his face: "Viktor!! Sanji is dead!! He's not moving!!"
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Viktor forced himself to move over, summoning the last bit of chakra in his body, and placed his fingers on Sanji's neck to examine him.
"How could he just die like that..."
Viktor sensed it and frowned:
"His spine was hit hard... During the avalanche, he took the brunt of the impact with his body. He passed out from the pain and shock."
Luffy burst into tears of joy and immediately hugged Sanji. "That's great!"
The current situation is dire.
Nami has a persistent high fever, and Sanji is seriously injured and unconscious.
Only Luffy and Viktor, who had run out of chakra, remained.
To make matters worse, the winding mountain road that led to the summit had been completely destroyed by an avalanche.
At this moment, all that remained standing before them was the towering, cylindrical stone mountain thousands of meters high—Cigu Mountain.
That's the only way.
"We have to climb up!"
Luffy did not hesitate at all.
He tightly bound the unconscious Sanji to his back with rope, gritting his teeth as he stared at the towering mountain peak:
"We must save them!!"
"Should we climb up..."
Viktor carried Nami on his back and secured her with a scarf.
He tried to refine chakra, wanting to absorb it from the rock wall in a ninja way, but his body was already empty.
"Oh..."
Looking at this despairing height, Viktor gave a bitter smile:
"It seems... we can only use the most primitive method."
There is no way out.
"Let's go!!"
Luffy roared and, ignoring the cold, charged towards the rock wall with both hands and feet.
He had no claws, so he could only use his fingers to forcefully insert into the crevices of the cold, hard rock.
Viktor followed closely behind.
Although it doesn't have the abnormal physique of the Gum-Gum Fruit, nor the boost from chakra.
But with his honed ninja taijutsu and iron will, he gripped the crevice in the rock and climbed upwards step by step.
Clay flapped his wings below, occasionally acting as a fulcrum to assist Viktor.
And behind the shadows of the trees below.
A little blue-nosed reindeer was hiding there, silently raising its head.
He stared in awe at the two tiny black dots in the snow, which looked like ants but were slowly moving upwards.
...
Halfway up the mountain.
The wind howled like a knife, and the temperature had dropped to tens of degrees below zero.
Luffy and Victor had long since lost feeling in their hands and feet, and were moving solely on instinct.
"call--!!"
Suddenly, a violent crosswind struck without warning.
Luffy slipped, and the rock he was standing on cracked.
"ah!!"
Luffy lost his balance and fell backward, about to plunge into the abyss.
"brush!!"
A hand, frozen purple, grabbed Luffy's ankle at the last second.
Viktor gripped the crevice in the rock with one hand, his fingernails snapping and bleeding profusely.
With his other hand supporting the weight of both Luffy and Sanji, he was like a taut bow.
"Gah!!"
Clay also flew up desperately, grabbing Luffy's collar tightly with his mouth and flapping his wings frantically to help share some of the weight.
"Huff... huff..."
Veins bulged on Viktor's forehead as he gasped for breath, a roar born of reaching his physical limit.
"Hold on tight... Captain!!"
"We're almost there! Don't... fall now!!"
Luffy hung upside down in the air, looking at Viktor's hand above him, which was frozen purple, and his eyes welled up with tears.
He suddenly used his waist strength to grab the rock face again.
"Oh!! Absolutely not!!"
...
A hellish climb that lasted several hours.
When the sun sets and night falls.
Two hands covered in blood finally reached the very edge of the top of Cigu Mountain.
Luffy was covered in blood, and his fingernails were curled up.
Viktor had also pushed his will to its limit, clinging to life by sheer willpower.
The two climbed over the rocks and fell onto the snow in front of the castle.
My vision is already blurred.
Before they completely lost consciousness, they saw a strange blue-nosed creature (Chopper) and a white-haired old woman (Dr. Kureha) dressed in stylish punk clothes and holding plum wine, standing at the castle gate watching them.
"Help..."
Luffy and Victor collapsed simultaneously in the snow, their last lingering thoughts still murmuring:
"Save...our comrade..."
"Gahhh!!"
Clay, who flew up, was also exhausted.
It wept bitterly, then collapsed to the ground in front of the two of them, repeatedly banging its head against the snow.
"Gaga! Please!! Save these old men!!"
Dr. Gureva raised an eyebrow, looking at the wounded soldiers on the ground and the kowtowing crow.
"Oh? A talking crow?"
She crossed her arms, a look of surprise mixed with amusement on her face:
"This is truly a rare guest."
Little Chopper, standing nearby, stared wide-eyed and hid behind Kureha.
...
I don't know how much time passed.
warmth.
This was Nami's first feeling after regaining consciousness.
She slowly opened her eyes and found herself lying on a soft, large bed, the firelight from the fireplace illuminating the room.
"Are you awake?"
Nami turned her head and saw a little reindeer with a blue nose that walked on two legs, hiding behind the door frame and peeking at her.
However... this guy completely dodged in the wrong direction.
It left its body exposed and hid its face behind the door, thinking that this way no one could see it.
Nami blinked and spoke weakly:
"That's... a raccoon dog?"
"asshole!!!"
Upon hearing those two words, Chopper instantly bristled, leaping out from behind the door and roaring while waving his hooves:
"I'm a reindeer!! Not a raccoon!!"
"Huh?!" Nami covered her mouth in surprise. "It can talk?!"
Just then, a fragrant aroma of wine wafted over.
"You seem to be in good spirits, young lady."
The door was pushed open.
Dr. Gureva, a 130-something-year-old "witch" with a hot figure and wearing a crop top, walked in with an air of nonchalance, holding a bottle of plum wine.
She walked to the bedside, looked down at Nami, and adjusted her sunglasses:
"Want to know who I am? Want to know my secret to staying young?"
"No... I don't want to..." Nami shook her head subconsciously.
"Now that you're awake, let's talk about medical expenses."
Kureha grinned, a smile that sent chills down Nami's spine:
"in addition..."
Gureva pointed to the room next door, her tone softening slightly:
"Those two men who carried you up this snow-capped mountain with their bare hands... are still fast asleep like dead pigs."
"What a bunch of idiots who do crazy things