Dr. Kureha, The Method

"Mr. Dalton... are you all right?"

"Th... this is the Slayer rumored to have killed countless people? He's so strong... even Mr. Dalton..." Looking at Rody, who stood with his hands in his pockets and one foot on Dalton's chest, his expression indifferent, the residents of Drum Island were filled with fear.

"Urgh..." Dalton let out a pained groan as Rody lightly pressed down on his chest. Enduring the intense pain throughout his body, Dalton looked at Rody and spoke with difficulty. "What is your purpose in coming to Drum Island?"

"Take me to see the king of Drum Island. As for my purpose, you don't need to know." With his hands in his pockets, Rody looked down at Dalton coldly.

"N... no. Someone like you, if you want to see that brutal king Wapol, you must state your purpose. Otherwise, even if I die, I won't take you there!" Ignoring his severe injuries, Dalton looked at Rody and spoke heatedly.

"Oh? Do you think I was asking you? Or do you think I need you to lead the way?"

"Hmph, fool who doesn't know his place." With that, Rody pulled his hands from his pockets, preparing to kill Dalton using the method he had thought of and see whether he could obtain the Devil Fruit Dalton had eaten.

"Wait!"

"Please wait, Mr. Rody!"

One voice came from Vivi, while the other came from an elderly woman emerging from the forest, tall and thin, dressed rather boldly in light clothing and carrying a bottle of alcohol in her hand.

"Vivi, you know him?" Nami asked Vivi in confusion.

"I vaguely remember him. I think I saw him when I was little." Vivi rested her head on her hand as she slowly recalled.

"It's the witch, Dr. Kureha!"

"Dr. Kureha!"

"Dr. Kureha, hurry and leave! You're the only doctor on the island who still practices medicine. Nothing must happen to you! It's too dangerous here!" the Drum Island residents cried out in panic.

The residents of Drum Island were even more frightened than when Dalton had been kicked away by Rody, showing just how important this doctor named Dr. Kureha was to Drum Island.

"Shut up! Listen up, you idiots! Even if I'm the only doctor on this island who can practice medicine, I'm still free!" Dr. Kureha took a swig from the bottle in her hand and shouted irritably at the residents of Drum Island.

"Th... this..." The Drum Island residents were immediately cowed by Dr. Kureha's fierce presence.

"Hey, granny, you're really energetic. You don't seem like an old person at all," Windfire Wheel said in surprise as he looked at the spirited and hot-tempered Dr. Kureha.

"Heh... hehehe. I don't know what race you are, but do you want to know the secret to staying young forever?" Dr. Kureha asked with a smile.

"Ah, no need. I'm only over two hundred years old—I'm still young," Windfire Wheel hurriedly said, waving his hands.

"Ah, exactly. I'm only 139 years old myself, still a young single aristocrat. Ah... hehehe."

"139 years old?" Nami, Carmen, and the other women stared at Dr. Kureha in shock.

"Grandma Dr. Kureha, you're really 139 years old? That's unbelievable. If you hadn't said so, we never would have been able to tell."

"How rude. How can you call me grandma? I'm in the prime of my youth—a single aristocratic lady!" Dr. Kureha said unhappily.

"Lady Dr. Kureha, that fellow Windfire Wheel is a machine person, unlike us. His lifespan is similar to that of giants, so he still has a long time to live."

"My name is Mike, and I am Lord Rody's butler. Lord Rody and everyone aboard the ship are still young, so they have no use for your secret to staying young for now. However, I am indeed no longer young. If Lady Dr. Kureha truly possesses the secret to staying young, please do tell me. Whatever Lady Dr. Kureha needs, so long as I have it, I will not be stingy. I do not ask to live to Lady Dr. Kureha's age and still be so spirited and full of vitality. I only ask to live a few more years, so that I may have more time to serve Lord Rody. Please," Mike said to Dr. Kureha with a sincere expression.

"Heh... hehehe. Of course I can tell you the secret to staying young. But Captain Rody, could you please show mercy and spare Dalton's life? I'll lead everyone to Wapol's castle. How about it?" Dr. Kureha said with a smile as she looked at Rody.

"Dr. Kureha, this..." Dalton immediately looked at Dr. Kureha anxiously, wanting to say something, but a glare from Dr. Kureha stopped the words he had been about to speak.

Looking at this old woman who still dressed so fashionably despite being over a hundred years old, Rody smiled. "Haha, you're quite interesting. You're already over a hundred, yet you still have such personality. Unlike some old fogies, rotten wood steeped in decay. Fine, lead the way."

"Heh hehehe... What a rude fellow. I already said I'm a lady."

Drum Kingdom Castle

Conference Hall

On the luxurious throne sat a fat, ugly man with purple hair and an enormous mouth. This man was Wapol, king of Drum Kingdom. At that moment, Wapol grinned broadly and said, "Moo hahahaha! That's right, I just came up with another very interesting law."

Below the throne, Cromalimon, the Drum Kingdom official with an afro, flattered him. "Could it be that King Wapol has come up with another brilliant idea? As expected of King Wapol—you always think of new laws. That's truly amazing."

"Moo hahahaha, you really know how to talk. The new law I just came up with is..." Just as Wapol was about to tell his official about the new law he had thought of, a Drum Island soldier rushed into the conference hall in a panic, interrupting Wapol before he could explain it.

"R-reporting, King Wapol! We just received word that the Slayer Rody, with a bounty of 50 million Beli, has landed on Drum Island. He is currently heading toward the kingdom castle and is almost here!" the soldier reported to Wapol with a panicked expression.

"Wh... what should we do? I've heard of this Slayer! They say he's already killed tens of thousands of people. Everywhere he goes, he carries out massacres. He's a bloodthirsty monster! He's almost at the castle already—quick, think of something!" Wapol asked the official Cromalimon in panic.

"King Wapol, the Slayer is nearly at Drum Castle now. We definitely can't run away."

"I have thought of a way, but I don't know whether it will work," Cromalimon said gravely.

"Tell me!"