Wapol's Nemesis

After the Going Merry left the tornado behind and sailed forward for some distance, the temperature suddenly began to drop, and snowflakes started falling over the sea. Zero and Vivi were in the cabin looking after Nami, while everyone else remained on deck, keeping an eye on the course ahead.

Zero felt rather helpless at this moment.

Although he had grown far stronger than when he first arrived in this world, his abilities were not well-rounded. Aside from his max-level Conqueror's Haki being a standout, his other skills could only be useful in battle, and that was all. When faced with a situation like Nami's, he became extremely passive.

He considered that if he got another chance to choose a skill, he should pick some medical or knowledge-based support skills. Even if they were not leveled to the maximum, they could still be useful and keep him from being completely helpless in certain special situations.

Of course, if Zero knew the location of Drum Island, he could simply have the Going Merry sail in that direction. However, the original story never specified its exact whereabouts, so that option was impossible. There was another way: raise his level to a very high point, or rely on max-level Observation Haki. With both combined, even without the plot telling him where Drum Island was, he could roughly calculate its position. But for now, that was impossible as well.

He looked at the unconscious Nami, and a sense of powerlessness rose within him.

At that moment, Luffy on deck suddenly spotted a man in clownish clothes standing on the sea. He was so startled that he thought he had seen wrong. The others looked over as well, all wondering what was going on.

The next moment, a ship rose to the surface beneath the man's feet, sending up surging waves. The Going Merry rocked violently from the disturbance, and everyone grabbed the railings to avoid being thrown into the sea.

"Hmm?"

Inside the cabin, Zero sensed the situation on deck through his Observation Haki. Seeing Nami looking uncomfortable from the shaking, anger immediately surged within him. After telling Vivi to take good care of Nami, he headed straight up to the deck.

By the time Zero arrived, he happened to see the Straw Hat Pirates fighting the strangely dressed enemies on the other side. Among those enemies was a round, plump figure who looked very familiar.

Zero recognized him. He should be Wapol, the former king of Drum Island who had eaten the Gulp-Gulp Fruit!

When Zero had watched this part of the story before, he had not felt much about it. But now that he was experiencing it himself, their appearance seemed far too noisy.

So Zero said nothing and directly unleashed his Conqueror's Haki!

Boom!

Conqueror's Haki instantly descended upon the Going Merry's deck. Luffy and the others were unaffected, but Wapol's subordinates rolled their eyes back and collapsed one after another. Seeing this, the people on the opposing ship shouted for Wapol to get aboard immediately. But in the next instant, Zero grabbed Wapol by his clothes and lifted him into the air!

Wapol struggled desperately, but he could not break free. His subordinates wanted to come rescue him, but they were terrified of Zero's strange power. For a moment, no one dared speak.

"Tell me, do you have any doctors on your ship?"

Faced with Zero's emotionless question, Wapol initially wanted to deny it. But when he met Zero's gaze, fear suddenly welled up inside him. He obediently admitted that his ship had twenty doctors. Everyone was immediately delighted, feeling that Nami might be saved.

However, when those twenty doctors entered the cabin and saw Nami's condition, the situation still did not look optimistic.

Although they could tell that she had fallen ill due to some kind of insect bite, they said their ship did not have the proper medicine to treat her. They could only head to nearby Drum Island, where there might be a slight chance of saving her.

Afterward, Vivi and the others asked about Drum Island's location, but they shook their heads and said they were not sure. This angered Zero so much that he directly hurled Wapol toward the distant sea!

On the opposing ship, Wapol's subordinates panicked. They hurriedly gathered the doctors back aboard and sped off in that direction.

After this encounter, they still did not know Drum Island's exact location, but they now knew there might be medicine there that could save Nami. They pulled themselves together and decided to keep watch for the island along the way.

By the next day, although Nami still had a persistent high fever, Sanji brought good news from the deck—

A winter island had been spotted ahead!

Furthermore, based on the clues given by the twenty doctors, they quickly confirmed that the winter island before them should be Drum Island!

The most obvious feature of Drum Island was its towering pillar-like mountains that reached into the clouds. Since it snowed year-round, the island was blanketed in white, bearing the unmistakable characteristics of a Grand Line winter island.

Just as they were about to land on Drum Island, Zero suddenly ran onto the deck with Nami in his arms under everyone's puzzled gazes.

Zero: "This is Drum Kingdom. I can roughly determine where the doctors are, and Nami's condition cannot be delayed any longer. So I want to go ashore first! Is that okay, Luffy?"

Roronoa Zoro: "Zero, can you manage alone?"

Zero: "Don't worry. Leave it all to me!"

Luffy: "Then go! We'll come find you and Nami later!"

Sanji had originally wanted to accompany him, but when he remembered that Zero could run through the air while he would only slow him down, he could only remain behind with everyone else in regret.

Thus, Zero agreed on a meeting place with them, then leaped into the sky. Like an arrow, he rapidly moved through the air. Before long, everyone could see only a tiny black dot in the sky.

At that moment, Vivi looked in the direction Zero had left and suddenly felt as though he was shrouded in a layer of mist. Not only was he immensely powerful, but he always stepped forward when the Straw Hat Pirates were in danger. He was far more composed than Luffy and the others.

She could not help asking Sanji beside her, "Sanji, do you know where Zero actually came from?"

Sanji shook his head and looked toward Luffy.

After all, Zero had been following Luffy from the very beginning. Even Roronoa Zoro had joined later. So in this matter, Luffy had the most say.

Luffy: "Zero? I ran into him by chance out at sea. I thought he was really strong, so I invited him to become our companion. Who knew this guy would turn out to be this amazing? Hahahaha!"

Everyone: "..."

The Straw Hat Pirates then realized that they had barely ever heard Zero talk about his background. They could not help sighing at how little they truly knew about him.

In the end, Luffy said, "I don't care what secrets Zero has. All I know is that he is my companion now, and he always will be. I'll always trust him!"

Everyone exchanged glances and nodded, as though they all deeply agreed with Luffy's words.

Afterward, everyone prepared to head onto Drum Island and reunite with Zero and Nami as quickly as possible!

Little Red Sparrow: "Chirp!"

Luffy: "Huh? Little Red Sparrow, why are you here? Didn't Zero take you with him?"

Little Red Sparrow: o(╥﹏╥)o