The Going Merry glided through the icy slush of the harbor, the towering, drum-shaped mountains of the island looming over them like silent titans. The snow fell in heavy, thick curtains, muffling the sound of the ocean, but it couldn't muffle the sharp crack that suddenly split the air.
BANG!
A bullet was shot in the air as a warning.
"Whoa!" Luffy yelped.
The crew rushed to the railing. On the snowy docks ahead, a line of men stood behind makeshift barricades. They were wrapped in furs, holding rifles with shaking but determined hands. Their faces were hard, etched with fear and anger.
"GET OUT!" one of the men screamed, his voice raw. "WE DON'T WANT PIRATES HERE! LEAVE THIS ISLAND IMMEDIATELY!"
Sanji stepped forward, holding his hands up to show he wasn't armed (though his legs were deadlier than any gun). "Wait! Please! We're not here to raid you! We have a sick person on board! A lady! She has a high fever, she needs a doctor!"
"WE DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" another islander shouted, leveling his gun. "THAT'S WHAT THE LAST PIRATES SAID BEFORE THEY BURNED OUR VILLAGE! GET LOST, OR WE SINK YOU!"
Vivi bit her lip, desperation rising. "Please! She's dying! It's Kestia! She doesn't have time for us to argue!"
Another shot rang out, splashing into the water near the hull. They weren't listening. Fear had made them deaf.
Ben stood behind the group, watching the standoff. They're traumatized, he realized. Blackbeard did a number on this place.
"Captain," Ben said calmly, placing a hand on Luffy's shoulder. "They won't listen to pirates. But they might listen to their own."
"Their own?" Luffy asked, tilting his head.
"The doctors," Ben said. "Wapol's doctors. The Isshi-20. Get them on deck."
Luffy's eyes lit up. "Oh! Right! HEY! OLD GUYS! COME OUT HERE!"
The door to the cabin opened, and the twenty terrified doctors shuffled out. They looked at the angry mob on the shore, then at the pirates.
"Speak to them," Ben commanded gently. "Tell them who you are."
The lead doctor, a man named Tamegi with thick glasses, stepped to the railing. He squinted through the snow. He recognized a man in the front row of the militia.
"Negikuma?!" Tamegi shouted, his voice cracking with disbelief. "Is that you?!"
The man on the shore lowered his rifle. He stared. He rubbed his eyes.
"Tamegi-sensei?" the militia man gasped. "Is... is that you? And... Kuromarimo? All of you? But... Wapol took you! We thought you were dead!"
"We were captured!" Tamegi yelled back. "These pirates... they saved us! They rescued us from Wapol! And they have a sick friend who needs help! Please, let us dock! They are good people!"
A murmur went through the crowd. The guns lowered. The hostility didn't vanish entirely, but the wall of fear cracked.
"They... saved the Isshi-20?"
"If Tamegi-sensei says so..."
A tall, imposing man walked through the crowd. He wore a green outfit that resembled a bison, and carried a heavy spade on his back. His presence silenced the murmurs.
Dalton.
He looked at the doctors, then at the Straw Hats. He saw the desperation in Vivi's eyes, the fierce protectiveness in Sanji's stance, and the goofy confusion on Luffy's face.
"Lower your weapons," Dalton ordered. His voice was deep and authoritative. "Let them dock."
The Going Merry pulled alongside the icy pier.
As the crew disembarked, Dalton stepped forward. He looked at the ragtag group that called themselves pirates.
"I am Dalton," he said stiffly. "I apologize for the reception. We have... reason to be wary of pirates."
"I'm Luffy!" the captain grinned. "Nice to meet ya, Bull-Guy!"
Dalton's eyes drifted to Vivi. He paused. A flicker of recognition passed through his stoic gaze. He remembered a meeting of kings, years ago. The Reverie. A small, blue-haired girl who had shown more dignity than most adults when Wapol had slapped her.
"You..." Dalton whispered. "Princess... Vivi?"
Vivi bowed her head. "It has been a long time, Dalton-san."
Dalton's demeanor softened instantly. If a Princess was traveling with these pirates, they were certainly not ordinary raiders.
"Come," Dalton said. "My house is not far. It is warm. We can talk there."
Ben has already placed Nami inside his suitcase. It has a magical climate control system. She's stabilized at a comfortable temperature.
Rest of the crew remaining on the ship.
Nico Robin was sitting at a small table on the deck, steam rising from a fresh cup of coffee Sanji had prepared before leaving. She was reading a book, a thick blanket draped over her legs. The ship itself seemed to be protecting her; the wind around the deck was calm, diverted by invisible barriers Ben had placed on the Merry..
Beside her, Karoo the duck was shivering violently, despite the warming charms.
"Quaaa."
Zoro, Dorry, and Brogy stay on the ship to guard it. After Luffy's party left, they went into the training room to fight with each other.
The landing party—Luffy, Ben (carrying the Nami-suitcase), Sanji, Usopp, and Vivi—followed Dalton into the snowy village.
---
Dalton's home was simple, sturdy, and thankfully warm. A fire crackled in the hearth. The villagers crowded the windows, curious about the strange group.
Ben placed the suitcase gently on a table, ensuring Nami wasn't jostled. Luffy immediately sat down and fell asleep, sitting upright, snoring a snot-bubble growing and shrinking with his breath.
"Why do you hate pirates so much?" Vivi asked gently, accepting a cup of hot tea.
Dalton sighed, staring into the fire. The shadows danced on his scarred face.
"A few days ago," he began, his voice heavy, "a pirate crew attacked us. The Blackbeard Pirates. Five men. Just five men... and they destroyed our nation."
Usopp gulped. "Five men... destroyed a kingdom?"
"It was absolute devastation," Dalton nodded. "But that wasn't the worst part. When the pirates attacked... our King... Wapol..."
Dalton's fist clenched so hard his knuckles turned white.
"He fled. He took the country's best doctors—the Isshi-20—and sailed away to save his own skin. He abandoned his people to the slaughter. He left us to die."
The room was silent, save for the crackle of the fire and Luffy's snoring.
"He took the doctors," Sanji muttered, smoke trailing from his lips. "To ensure no one else could be healed. Despicable."
"He is a coward," Dalton spat. "A disgrace to the throne. If he ever returns..."
"About that," Ben said.
He stood up, brushing a speck of lint from his coat. He looked at Dalton.
"He is here," Ben said calmly.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the other suitcase—the one containing the brig. He set it on the floor and flicked the latches.
"Accio Wapol."
A figure flew out of the suitcase, expanding mid-air from action-figure size to full human size. It landed on the floor with a heavy thud.
It was Wapol.
But he looked... different.
He was wearing his ridiculous tin jaw, but his eyes were vacant, confused. He looked around the room, saw Dalton, and blinked.
"Dalton?" Wapol mumbled. "Where... where is my lunch? I'm hungry."
Dalton stared at his former King. He looked at Ben. "You... captured him?"
"I did more than that," Ben said. He walked over to the confused Wapol and patted him on the head, like one might pat a slow dog.
"I removed his Devil Fruit," Ben announced casually.
The silence in the room was absolute.
Vivi dropped her teacup. Sanji choked on his smoke. Usopp's eyes popped out.
Even Dalton, a man who had seen much, looked like he had just been told the sky was made of cheese.
"You... removed...?" Dalton stammered. "But... that's impossible. A Devil Fruit is part of the soul! The user dies if..."
"I'm a very good surgeon," Ben smiled, a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "He's alive. He's healthy. But he's no longer a devil fruit user. He's just... a man. A rather stupid, gluttonous man with no memory of the last week."
The Straw Hats, who had seen Ben do impossible things daily, just nodded.
"Classic Ben," Usopp whispered. "Stealing souls before breakfast."
Dalton looked at Wapol. The tyrant who had terrorized the country. The man who had eaten the kingdom's resources. Without his power... without his army... he looked pathetic.
"So," Ben said to Dalton. "He's yours. Do what you want with him. Execution? Prison? Exile?"
Dalton looked at Wapol. His hand drifted to the sword at his hip. He trembled.
But then, he let go of the hilt.
"No," Dalton said, his voice hard. "Killing him is too easy. And it would make him a martyr to some fools."
He grabbed Wapol by the collar of his hippo-fur coat.
"You're going to work," Dalton growled at the former King. "You're going to cut wood. You're going to shovel snow. You're going to rebuild every house Blackbeard destroyed. You will labor until your back breaks, just like the people you enslaved."
Wapol blinked. "Work? But... I'm hungry."
"Then you'll earn your food," Dalton said, shoving him toward the door where two villagers were waiting, looking shocked but ready to take custody. "Get him out of my sight."
Dalton turned back to Ben. He bowed, deeply and sincerely.
"Thank you. You have done this country a service we can never repay."
"Don't mention it," Ben said. "Now... about that doctor?"
---
Dalton straightened up. "Right. Dr. Kureha. She is the only doctor left who isn't one of the Isshi-20. She lives there."
He pointed out the window.
Far in the distance, rising like a jagged tooth into the sky, was the highest of the Drum Rockies. A sheer, vertical cylinder of rock that pierced the clouds. On the very top sat a castle.
"That is the old Royal Castle," Dalton said. "Dr. Kureha took it over. She is called a witch by villagers. She comes down to the villages sometimes, but mostly... you have to go to her."
Sanji looked at the mountain. "That's... a vertical climb. In this snow?"
"It's impossible," Usopp said, shaking his head. "We can't climb that. It would take days. She doesn't have days."
"There is a ropeway," Dalton said, "but it's broken. The only way is to climb."
Luffy woke up. "I can climb it! I'll carry Nami!"
"No, I will do it." Sanji argued.
Ben walked to the window. He looked at the mountain. He estimated the height. 5,000 meters? Maybe more.
"Climbing is tedious," Ben said. "And cold. And inefficient."
He opened the window. A blast of freezing air rushed in.
"What are you doing?" Vivi asked.
Ben pulled out his wand. He pointed it toward the harbor, where the Going Merry was docked.
"Accio Carpet!"
Meanwhile, on the Going Merry...
Nico Robin was enjoying a chapter on ancient history in the West Blue. She sipped her coffee. It was peaceful.
Suddenly, the rug she was resting her feet on—a nice, ornate Persian rug Ben had 'created' a few days ago—yanked itself out from under her boots.
"Oh?" Robin blinked.
The rug didn't just move. It rolled itself up slightly, flapped its corners like wings, and shot into the air. It did a loop-de-loop around the mast and rocketed toward the village.
Robin watched it go. She took another sip of coffee.
"Magic," she murmured. "How convenient."
Back at Dalton's House...
A minute later, a streak of red and gold fabric zipped through the open window, hovered in the middle of the room, and unrolled itself with a flourish. It floated about a foot off the ground, rippling gently.
Dalton's jaw hit the floor. The villagers outside, peering through the window, screamed.
"A... a flying carpet?" Vivi whispered. "Like in the fairy tales?"
"Standard transportation for the discerning wizard," Ben said, stepping onto the rug. It dipped slightly under his weight, then steadied. "Much smoother than a broomstick. And heated."
He placed the suitcase containing Nami securely in the center.
"Sanji, Luffy. Hop on."
Sanji, looking skeptical but trusting Ben, stepped onto the carpet. "It feels... fuzzy."
Luffy, however, went berserk.
"SUGEEEEEEE!" he roared, jumping onto the rug and sitting cross-legged. "IT'S A MAGIC CARPET! YAHOO! WE'RE GONNA FLY!"
Ben looked at Usopp and Vivi. "It's a bit crowded with three plus the patient. I'll be back after dropping these three."
"Alright!" Usopp said. "We will wait."
"Good, stay here with Dalton", Ben said. "Dalton is a nice guy. I'll return before you know it."
"Hang on," Ben commanded.
He tapped the carpet with his wand.
"Up."
The carpet surged upward, floating out the window.
Luffy grabbed the tassels like reins.
"YAHHOOOOOOOO!"
The carpet accelerated. It shot up into the snowy sky, leaving a trail of sparkles behind it. It banked hard, avoiding a tree, and began the steep, vertical ascent toward the castle in the clouds.
Vivi and Usopp watched from the window as their friends became a small dot against the massive white mountain.
"He... he really is a wizard," Dalton whispered, still staring at the empty space where the carpet had been.
"Yeah," Usopp sighed, grabbing a cookie from the table. "You get used to it. Eventually."