In just a short while, before anyone on the ship could react, the Flying Nimbus had already stopped above Drum Island.
"We... have we arrived?" Usopp asked, somewhat bewildered.
"Yes!" Xia Chen nodded, then turned to the group and said, "I'll use the Flying Nimbus to dock the ship on the shore of Drum Island, then you'll have to figure out how to get to the island yourselves!"
"Find me on the highest snow-capped mountain in the middle after you get to the island!"
After saying that, Xia Chen walked up to Nami, squatted down slightly, and said to her, "Get on, I'll carry you to see the doctor!"
"Okay!" Nami nodded and then leaned against Xia Chen's back. Nami only had a slight fever and was in pretty good condition overall.
"Well then, see you in a while!" Xia Chen said to everyone before carrying Nami on his back and jumping off the mountain. He then used Geppo to fly towards the snow mountain.
"Damn it! Why can't I learn Geppo? If I could learn Geppo, I could carry Nami on my back!" Sanji said, clenching his fists in frustration.
"Tch!" Zoro, who was standing nearby, let out a disdainful laugh upon hearing this.
Even if you learn Geppo, do you think Nami would let you carry her if you and Xia Chen both knew Geppo?
These words were like a sharp blade piercing Sanji's chest, leaving him frozen in place. It wasn't until a minute later that he regained his composure, then slowly lit a cigarette and took a drag.
"Now that Nami has been taken away by Xia Chen, there's nothing to worry about. You can rest for a while!"
"Miss Vivi can relax a bit now, you don't have to worry about Alabasta all the time, so would you like to eat something to unwind?" Sanji said solicitously to Vivi with heart-shaped eyes.
Weiwei ignored him, but held her chin with one hand, thinking, and then asked doubtfully, "What did Xia Chen mean when he just said that you will find a way to get to the island by yourselves? Is it difficult to get to the island?"
Just as Vivi finished speaking, the sound of a boat entering the water could be heard; they had already stopped in the waters near Drum Island.
" Xia Chen probably just said that casually, right? What's so difficult about getting to this island?" Usopp shrugged.
"By the way... don't you guys feel a bit cold?"
!!!
Half a minute later, everyone was back on the deck, all wearing thick clothes.
"Phew~~"
"Why is it suddenly so cold?" Luffy asked, his body huddled up, nose running, his voice trembling.
"This island must be a winter island, so the waters around here are also very cold!" Vivi analyzed.
" Xia Chen isn't referring to this weather, is he? What's so difficult about getting to the island?" Sanji said with a faint smile.
"Let's not delay, let's go upstairs and find Xia Chen and the others!"
"Bang!"
Just as Sanji was about to move, a bullet grazed his forehead, and at the same time, a voice rang out.
"Hands up!"
Meanwhile, on the other side!
Xia Chen had already arrived at the castle atop the snow-capped mountain. Even though they had landed, Nami was still clinging to Xia Chen's back and hadn't gotten off.
Xia Chen didn't pay attention to this detail. He arrived at the castle gate, which was open, so Xia Chen went straight in.
With Xia Chen's Observation Haki, he could clearly sense an aura in one of the rooms. However, he couldn't discern the specifics, so he didn't know whether it was Chopper or Dr. Kureha.
A minute later, Xia Chen arrived at the door of a room and gently knocked. The door opened shortly after, revealing an older woman who looked somewhat aged but exuded vitality.
Xia Chen smiled brightly at the old woman in front of him and said, "Sister, the person on my back is sick. Could you please treat him?"
Dr. Kureha's eyes narrowed.
"That kid knows how to handle things!"
Xia Chen sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Nami who had already fallen asleep, and reached out to touch her forehead.
"It won't go down that quickly, it's only been a short time," Kureha said to Xia Chen as she walked in from outside. Then she sat down on the stool next to him, picked up a bottle of wine from the table, and started chugging it straight from the bottle.
Xia Chen looked at Kureha with gratitude in his eyes, took out several barrels of wine from his System Space, placed them aside, and said to her, "Thank you for your help, sister. Consider this wine a token of my gratitude!"
Hearing Xia Chen call her "sister" again, Kureha gave him a satisfied look and said, "Why are you being so polite? We're family, no need for formalities!"
"Huh??" Xia Chen was stunned when he heard Kureha say that. Was the power of calling her "sister" really that great?
Having read the original work, he naturally knew the two phrases Kureha often used.
One of the sentences was, "Do you want to know my secret to staying young?"
Another thing I said was, "I'm only 139 years old!"
Considering that she always affectionately slaps anyone who says she's old, Kureha is someone who is very conscious of her age.
So the first thing Xia Chen did when he saw her was to call her "sister," and things went much more smoothly than he expected. Kureha started treating Nami without saying a word.
Now she's even saying things like "we're family, so let's not talk like that" to Xia Chen Xia Chen, which shows just how satisfied she is with him!
As for whether Xia Chen, a 16-year-old, would feel uncomfortable calling a 139-year-old grandmother "sister"?
In comparison, Xia Chen could only say, absolutely not!
In his past life, he called everyone over 20 years older than him "elder sister" and everyone else "younger sister," a habit he had long since developed!
"By the way, how did this little girl get bitten by Kestia? Didn't that kind of insect become extinct more than a hundred years ago?"
"Did she run around naked on the Ancient Island?"
"Well..."
Xia Chen said somewhat embarrassedly, "I wouldn't say I was streaking, but I did take a stroll around the Ancient Island!"
Kureha was surprised to hear this.
"How is that possible? Judging from her physical condition, it's only been a few hours since she was bitten, and you arrived here in just a few hours? When did Ancient Island appear in this area?"
"Maybe it's even further away!" Xia Chen said with an embarrassed smile.
"Hmm?" Kureha narrowed her eyes, gave Xia Chen a deep look, and then said nothing.
She wasn't someone who was interested in other people's affairs, as long as the other party didn't have malicious intent. Having lived for so many years, she considered herself to have a certain ability to judge people. She only sensed goodwill from Xia Chen, not malice!
That's enough to know!
Just then, a voice rang out from outside the door.
"Dr. Kureha, I'm back!"
Upon hearing this voice, Xia Chen's lips curled up slightly.
Finally, we'll get to see the tanuki on their future ship—a pet, a mount, a hand warmer, and emergency food all in one!