Drum Island

Bang!

Entering the first-floor cabin, Lina casually tossed a small bag of treasure onto the table.

"What's this?"

"The haul from just now."

Nami glanced over at the mention of treasure. Curiosity compelled her to open it. Her intuition told her it was something good. She untied the knot and lifted the lid. As expected, a captivating golden light met her eyes.

"Wahaha~" Nami immediately stood up, her eyes sparkling with a golden light, even more dazzling than the treasure.

Lina paid it no mind and walked over to the side, picking up a cup from the table to pour himself some water.

"It's for you."

"Really, Lina! I love you!"

Heh, happy when there's money, but acts like a jerk when there isn't. Lina put down his cup and gave her a sidelong glance. Unexpectedly, Nami turned and gave him a big hug.

???

Lina had just finished his workout and came in, his upper body bare. Feeling Nami press against him, a strange ripple went through him.

He looked at the table. It was only a bag of treasure, worth less than ten million Belly.

This alone earns me a hug? Lina couldn't help but think of the hundreds of millions of Belly in his personal vault.

i-have-a-plan!

"Nami," Lina said, a mischievous grin suddenly appearing on his face. He smoothly put his arm around Nami's waist and said slyly, "I mean, my personal vault still has a little savings..."

"Hm?" Nami looked up at him, feeling the arm around her waist.

A black line appeared above Nami's head, followed by a punch.

Duang!!

And so, a tearful figure lay on the ground, backside to the sky. "I didn't even say anything yet..."

"I knew you'd say something nasty. Dogs can't help but bark."

Nami shot him a look and said irritably, "That Drum Island you mentioned earlier, if we look at the map, we should reach the nearby waters tomorrow."

"Ah, got it."

Lina's expression turned serious as he withdrew his playful demeanor. He got up and sat next to Nami, picking up the sea chart to take a look. "Tomorrow we'll enter the range of Winter Island's climate. Get ready with warm clothes so you don't catch a cold."

"Mm. Oh, right, what is Winter Island?" Nami replied, then asked.

Lina: "..."

"Are you planning to take over my Navigator position as well?"

Lina glanced at her sideways, his look of disdain undisguised. How is it that the logistics person is becoming capable of everything?

He was even helping with the cooking now. The wolverine undead was a fusion of Sanji and Kuro. Not bad, their cooking skills were quite good. Unfortunately, they lacked brains and were taken by Sanji to help out.

Nami just chuckled sheepishly and waved her hand, "Ha... haha..."

"Dinner's ready, everyone!"

Sanji's voice came from the second-floor living room. Lina picked up the blue shirt draped over the back of the chair, buttoned it up, and went upstairs with Nami.

"Today's lunch is very generous."

"Ah, thanks to Lina's undead. We hunted a small Sea King this morning."

"Wahaha, there's so much meat!"

"To celebrate Lina catching a Sea King, I'll go get the last barrel of sake."

Zoro's lips curled up as he got up and headed for the warehouse downstairs. He always found excuses to drink.

When they left Little Garden, they left a barrel of sake for each of the two Giants. The dozen or so barrels of sake Zoro bought in Loguetown now only had one left.

But fortunately, they would reach Drum Island tomorrow. They could buy more then. Lina took the opportunity while everyone was gathered to mention their plan to resupply at Drum Island.

"Eh, Drum Island?" Vivi blinked, looking up at Lina.

"What's wrong, Vivi? Is there a problem with that island?"

Drum Island was only about four or five days' journey from Alabasta, barely considered a neighboring country.

Vivi had never been there, but she had heard stories. A ridiculous incident that once shook the world had occurred there.

[The Doctor 20 Incident!]

Vivi slowly explained to everyone, "The Drum Kingdom was once a country renowned for its medical skills.

"Until one day, the king there selected the twenty most outstanding doctors willing to obey him, and then killed or exiled all the others..."

"Why would he do that?" Nami asked, putting down her cutlery.

Her thumb clenched the cutlery in her hand, and Vivi's expression suddenly turned ugly. Gritting her teeth, she spat out a few words from between clenched jaws:

"Because that scumbag King Wapol has a disgusting hobby of watching his citizens beg him on their knees for treatment, finding amusement in it..."

The small room was filled with people, yet an eerie silence hung in the air for a moment.

Crack!

"Wapol? Was that what that guy called himself just now?" Sanji lit a cigarette and asked calmly, as if confirming with Lina and Zoro.

"Probably, I don't remember."

"It was him. He's already at the bottom of the sea, feeding the fish."

"Nani!! So you three just quietly, without a word, sank a king to the bottom of the sea, you bastards!"

Nami yelled furiously, then slowly sat down with a helpless sigh. "Forget it. It's good that it was done quietly. There shouldn't be any trouble."

"Eh? What's going on?" Vivi looked confused.

This conversation made it sound like something incredible had happened.

"What is this Wapol guy! Let's go beat him up while we're at it!" Luffy stood on a chair and stomped his foot on the table, shouting in anger.

Everyone else: "...So slow."

"And stop standing on the table, you idiot!"

Duang!

***

The next day at noon, the overcast sky was somewhat oppressive, with large snowflakes falling, making visibility at sea very poor.

Nami and Vivi both wore thick clothes and warm earmuffs. They had even specially tailored a warm coat for Speedy.

The wind at sea was strong, and combined with the severe cold, it was bone-chilling. Even Nami, uncharacteristically, wore thick trousers.

It was quite boring.

Only two people on the ship were having a blast.

"Look at this, Luffy!"

"Aiya! Darn it, take this, Usopp, Gum-Gum Snowball!"

"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute, using your powers is too much!"

Bang!

"Ugh..."

On the lookout platform, an undead falcon broke away from the flock and, flapping its wings, flew towards the back of the ship.

"Looks like we're almost there." Putting down his dumbbells, Lina followed the falcon back to the lookout platform.

Gazing out, the sea was a vast expanse of white. The heavy snowfall obscured all his vision, and he could only vaguely make out a small black dot.

It took a while for the island's appearance to gradually become clearer. The entire island was almost covered in snow, with towering, giant white peaks and cylindrical mountains standing tall.

"Approaching the island, everyone!"

"Here we come, here we come, Winter Island adventure!"

At this moment, in Drum Island's Big Horn Village, the white snow on the streets had been swept to the sides and piled up.

A panicked figure ran on the clean road, making crisp dada da sounds.

"Bad news! Pirates are here again!"

"Quick, go notify Dalton!"

"Everyone, get ready to fight!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In an ordinary residential house, violent knocking disturbed a large man who was eating.

"What is it?" The big man wasn't angry; he just got up and shouted, his voice steady and deep.

The response was a panicked, hurried cry: "Bad news, Dalton, pirates are here again!"

Upon hearing this, the big man Dalton frowned. He quickly grabbed the oval-shaped double-edged greatsword leaning against the wall, opened the door, and rushed out.

"Find a few people to notify the nearby villages! Everyone else, grab your weapons and follow me!"

Dalton shouted with a grave expression, charging towards the coast at the forefront.

"Yes!"