The Fruit's Restlessness

At the coast of Drum Island, the Merry slowly pulled in. The temperature was already close to zero.

"Wahaha! An adventure in a snowy country!"

Luffy jumped off the ship and plunged both feet straight into the snow, raising his hands and shouting excitedly.

"Luffy, are you really okay wearing so little?" Vivi hugged herself and huddled up as she asked with concern.

Everyone was bundled up in thick down jackets. Only Luffy was dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, along with a pair of huge sandals.

No, there was another oddball...

"Brr, it's a little cold."

"Then put some clothes on, you idiot Green Algae Head!" Sanji couldn't help cursing when he saw Zoro bare-chested.

"Let's go winter swimming for a workout!" Zoro grinned, then plunged headfirst into the sea with a splash.

Just looking at it hurt...

Lina couldn't help clicking his tongue. He was definitely serious about training, but even he had to admit he couldn't compare with Zoro. That guy really trained like he was trying to kill himself.

He summoned Mr. 1 and a dozen fish-man zombies. Mr. 1 had now been reduced to a ship guard.

After swimming for a while, Zoro couldn't help climbing ashore, shivering.

"I really thought you weren't human." Lina controlled a zombie to toss Zoro's clothes down from the ship.

There was no road along the coast. Maybe there had been one before, but at least now it was nowhere to be seen. The snow came up past their calves, so they picked a direction and set off.

They had only just gone a short distance when shouting came from behind them, in the direction of the Merry.

"Pirates, get out of here!"

"Hey, I'm talking to you! Can't you hear me?!"

"Leave now, or we'll make you!"

A crowd of villagers surrounded the Merry on the shore, all pointing their guns at the "people" aboard. But no matter how much they shouted, the others didn't respond.

Bang!

Thinking the negotiations had failed, one of the villagers couldn't help firing a shot at the deck.

"Zzz—zz!"

But in that instant, Mr. 1 sprang into action and shot forward, swift as lightning. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of the villagers.

"So fast!"

Dalton was startled. He abruptly sidestepped in front of the villagers, drew the oval-shaped blade from his back, and blocked the descending chainsaw.

Clang!

"What terrifying strength!"

Feeling the immense force in his hands, Dalton was secretly alarmed. The next moment, he was knocked back more than ten meters, his feet carving two deep furrows through the snow.

Dalton's expression turned grave. Without hesitation, he transformed. Short black fur sprouted and covered his body in the blink of an eye, while two horns grew from his temples.

Zoan-type: Ox-Ox Fruit: Bison Form!

As the Chainsaw Devil pressed in, Dalton charged straight at him. The blades collided, sending sparks flying.

"Even after transforming, Captain Dalton can't overpower him?!"

"What kind of monster is that?!"

Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, the Blade Devil appeared beside Dalton in an instant, its long blade glinting coldly as it prepared to strike.

"Lina, wait—"

The Blade Devil's blade stopped at Dalton's chest. Staring at the cold gleam in front of him, he couldn't help swallowing.

Before Luffy could speak, Lina had already stopped controlling the zombies.

The other zombies also stopped what they were doing and stood motionless where they were.

"Phew... That was close. What's wrong?" Luffy looked at Lina, puzzled. Since when did Lina attack civilians?

"Ah, sorry. My body feels a little strange." Lina closed his eyes wearily, took off his glasses, and rubbed his temples.

It wasn't hard to tell from their clothes that they were all civilians. If he hadn't stopped in time, he would have nearly slaughtered them.

"I've got a bit too much bloodlust. That's on me." Lina crouched down, scooped up some snow, and rubbed it over his face.

Ever since he'd collected the Blue Ogre and Red Ogre in Little Garden, he'd felt the power inside him stirring restlessly. Even his mood had grown a little irritable.

Nami reached out, patted his head, and gently rubbed his blond hair with a reassuring smile. "The important thing is that nobody got hurt."

Looks like I need to train my temperament, too, Lina thought to himself.

He stood up, put his glasses back on, and his expression returned to its usual gentleness.

"Are you all right?" They went over, and Lina helped a villager to his feet.

"Th-thank you." The villager still looked bewildered.

Only then did Dalton react. "It's all right. Who are you?"

"Hehehe, we're pirates." Luffy grinned and pointed at the Merry. "That's our ship."

"What?!"

The villagers, who had just relaxed, immediately tensed up again and pointed their guns at them.

"Put your guns down." Dalton's steady voice rang out. The villagers looked at each other in confusion for a moment, then lowered their weapons.

Dalton knew that if the other side had wanted to attack, he would already have had his heart pierced. He couldn't help glancing at the Blade Devil, still motionless where it stood.

"My name is Lina. I'm a member of the Straw Hat Pirates' support crew."

Lina stepped forward with a smile. "We'd like to go into the village and restock some supplies. Of course, we'll pay. We won't cause any trouble."

"I understand. My name is Dalton."

Dalton looked at the man in front of him, whose smile was gentle, then turned and called for the villagers to head back. "Come with me."

"Hehehe, let's go." Luffy adjusted the straw hat on his head and dashed excitedly ahead.

Lina and the others followed Dalton toward the village, chatting casually along the way.

"Vite Wine?" Zoro naturally wouldn't pass up a place that sounded like it had strong liquor.

"Yeah. It's a liquor unique to Winter Islands. Drum Island has it too."

As Dalton explained, the liquor's main ingredient was potatoes. They distilled it repeatedly to produce alcohol stronger than 95 percent. Since the climate on Winter Islands wasn't suitable for most plants, they diluted the liquor and mixed it with various roots and tree bark.

"That sounds pretty interesting."

Lina smiled and wrote "Vite Wine" in his little notebook.

Above it were other products unique to frigid regions, such as "Scarlet Salmon" and "Sable Fabric."

Along the way, Dalton also told them about Drum Island's king, including how Blackbeard had attacked the country a few months earlier.

But King Wapol had gathered his army without opposing him, abandoning the country and fleeing instead.

"Come to think of it, we've met that Wapol before."

"Where?! When did that happen?!"

Dalton looked at Zoro in astonishment. His expression darkened as he gritted his teeth. "So he still doesn't intend to leave this country alone."

"Uh... We already fed him to the fish."

"Hmm???"

"We ran into him at sea. He tried to rob us, I think?" Sanji rubbed his chin, uncertain.

"I see."

Dalton's feelings were complicated, but it was for the best, so he didn't dwell on it.

"Come to think of it, does that mean your country has no doctor now? What do people do if they get sick?"

"No, there's still one doctor in this country. People call her... the Witch."

"The Witch? Sounds pretty cool."

"You have some strange interests," Dalton said, looking at Luffy oddly.

"Speaking of which, let's go visit that doctor."

Lina spoke up. "Zoro, your wound needs to be treated again."

During Zoro's earlier fight with Hawk Eyes, his chest had been slashed by a huge cut. None of them knew medicine, so they'd only been able to bandage it up.

Now that there was a highly skilled doctor here, they should get her to treat it properly.

"Huh? It's just a little wound, so—"

Wham!

"Ow! Damn it!"

"Quit acting tough, idiot!" Nami, the ship's tyrant, punched Zoro.