The Fruit's Restlessness

On the coast of Drum Island, the Merry slowly docked. The temperature had already dropped close to freezing.

"Wahahaha, an adventure in a snow country!"

Luffy jumped off the ship, his feet sinking directly into the snow. He raised his hands and shouted excitedly.

"Luffy, are you really okay wearing so little?" Vivi asked, hugging herself and curling up, unable to help but express her concern.

Everyone else was wearing thick down jackets, but Luffy was in short sleeves and shorts, plus a pair of extremely casual slippers.

No, there was another oddball...

"Hiss, it's a bit cold."

"Then put on some clothes, you idiot green-haired punk!" Sanji couldn't help but curse loudly as he looked at Zoro, who was bare-chested.

"Let's do some winter swimming for training!" Zoro grinned, then plunged headfirst into the sea with a 'plop'.

Just watching him made me feel the pain~

Lina couldn't help but click his tongue. He was definitely serious about training, but compared to Zoro, he truly felt inferior. Zoro trained with a desperate intensity.

Summoning Mr. 1 and about a dozen Fish-Man undead, Mr. 1 had now been relegated to guarding the ship.

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

"I really thought you weren't human." Lina, controlling the undead, tossed Zoro's clothes from the ship to him.

There was no road at the coast. Perhaps there had been one, but it was impossible to see now. The snow had already covered their calves. The group casually chose a direction and walked.

Just as they had walked a short distance, shouting came from the direction of the Merry behind them.

"Pirates, get out of our land!"

"Hey, we're talking to you! Didn't you hear us!"

"If you don't leave, we'll get serious!"

A group of villagers on the shore had surrounded the Merry, aiming their guns at the 'people' on the ship. But no matter how they shouted, there was no response from the other side.

Bang--!

The villagers, believing negotiations had failed, someone couldn't help but fire a shot at the deck.

"Screech--screech--!"

However, at that very moment, Mr. 1 suddenly sprang forward, moving like lightning. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before the villagers.

"So fast!"

Dalton was startled. He abruptly shifted his stance to appear in front of the villagers, drawing the large oval sword on his back to parry the incoming chainsaw attack.

Clang--!

"What terrifying strength!"

Feeling the immense force transmitted through his hand, Dalton was inwardly shocked. The next moment, he was sent flying over ten meters, his feet gouging two deep furrows in the snow.

Dalton's expression turned serious. He no longer hesitated and transformed. Black short hair rapidly grew, covering his body in an instant. Two horns sprouted from his temples.

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

Facing the encroaching Mr. 1, Dalton charged head-on. The clash of blades sent sparks flying.

"Captain Dalton can't even match him after transforming?!"

"What kind of monster is this!"

Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, the Blade Devil instantly appeared beside Dalton. His sword flashed with a cold glint as he prepared to strike.

"Lina, wait..."

The Blade Devil's sword tip stopped at Dalton's chest. Looking at the cold glint before him, he couldn't help but swallow.

Before Luffy could speak, Lina had already controlled the undead to stop.

The other undead also ceased their actions, standing frozen in place.

"Phew~~, that was close. What's wrong?" Luffy looked at Lina, feeling a bit confused. When had Lina ever attacked civilians?

"Ah, sorry. My body feels a bit strange." Lina closed his eyes tiredly, taking off his glasses and rubbing his temples.

Judging by their clothing, it was easy to tell they were all civilians. If he hadn't stopped himself in time, he would have almost slaughtered them.

"My killing intent was a bit too strong. It's my problem." Lina squatted down, scooped up some snow, and splashed it on his face, rubbing it.

Ever since he took in the Blue Ogre and Red Ogre at Little Garden, he felt a restless surge of power within him, which also made his mood somewhat irritable.

Nami reached out and placed her hand on his head, rubbing his golden hair. She smiled and comforted him, "It's good that nothing happened."

It seems I need to cultivate my state of mind as well, Lina thought to himself.

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

"Are you all right?" The group walked forward, and Lina helped a villager to his feet.

"Th-thank you." The villager's face was still filled with bewilderment.

Dalton finally reacted, "No harm done. Who are you people?"

"Hee hee hee, we're pirates." Luffy grinned, pointing at the Merry. "This is our ship."

"What?!"

The villagers, who had just begun to relax, tensed up again and immediately aimed their guns at the group.

"Put your guns down." Dalton's calm voice cut through the air. The villagers looked at each other in confusion for a moment before lowering their muzzles.

Dalton knew that if they had intended to attack, his heart would have already been pierced. With that thought, he couldn't help but glance again at the Blade Devil who remained motionless.

"My name is Lina, and I'm a logistics member of the Straw Hat Pirates."

Lina stepped forward with a smile. "We hope to resupply in the village. Of course, we'll pay and won't do anything strange."

"I understand. My name is Dalton."

Dalton looked at the man with the gentle smile before him and turned to call the villagers back. "Follow me."

"Hee hee hee, let's go." Luffy adjusted the straw hat on his head and eagerly ran ahead.

Lina and the others followed Dalton towards the village, chatting idly along the way.

"Vite Wine?" Zoro, naturally, wouldn't pass up a place that clearly served strong liquor.

"Ah, this is a special winter island liquor. Our Drum Island is no exception."

According to Dalton's introduction, the main ingredient of this liquor was potatoes, distilled to over 95% alcohol. Due to the winter island environment not being suitable for most plant growth, the liquor was diluted and then mixed with various herbs and tree bark.

"Sounds quite interesting."

Lina smiled slightly and jotted down 'Vite Wine' in her small notebook.

Above it were other unique products of frigid regions like 'Scarlet Salmon' and 'Sable Fabric'.

Along the way, Dalton also spoke about the king of Drum Island, and even mentioned how Blackbeard had attacked the country a few months prior.

However, King Wapol had gathered his army, but instead of confronting the enemy, he had abandoned his country and fled.

"Speaking of which, we've already met that Wapol."

"Where?! When?!"

Dalton shot Zoro a surprised glance, his expression turning grim as he gritted his teeth. "As expected, he still doesn't plan on letting this country go, does he?"

"Uh... he's already feeding the fish in the sea."

"Huh???"

"We encountered him at sea. He tried to rob us then, I think?" Sanji mused, tapping his chin uncertainly.

"Is that so?"

Dalton's mood was complicated, but since it was beneficial and harmless, he didn't dwell on it.

"Speaking of which, doesn't your country have any doctors now? What happens when someone gets sick?"

"No, this country still has one doctor, known by the people as... the Witch."

"The Witch? Sounds pretty cool."

"Your interests are quite strange," Dalton said, looking at Luffy with a peculiar expression.

"Since we're here, let's pay a visit to that doctor."

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

Zoro's chest had been slashed by Hawk Eyes during their previous fight. None of them knew medicine, so they had only been able to bandage it simply.

Now that there was a highly skilled doctor, it was definitely better to have them treat it.

"Huh? This minor injury is nothing..."

Thwack!

"Ouch, you bastard!"

"Stop pretending, idiot!" Nami, the ship's tyrant, punched Zoro.