[Suggestion: You're overthinking it]
...
Giyu's gaze paused on the suddenly appearing line of text. The straightforward denial made him realize his earlier speculations about Dalton and the nearby villagers had indeed gone too far.
They probably aren't like the people from Whiskey Peak...
A rarely seen expression of embarrassment flashed across Giyu's face. He subconsciously cleared his throat lightly, trying to mask his momentary discomfort.
He looked at Dalton and awkwardly changed the subject: "What did you mean earlier... when you said this country no longer has a name?"
Then, as if trying to make up for something, Giyu looked at Dalton and added very seriously:
"You're a good person."
"Huh?"
Dalton was taken aback by the sudden "good person card," completely baffled. He could only scratch his head and respond to Giyu: "Uh... thank you?"
Usopp and Vivi nearby also cast confused glances, with Vivi even being somewhat amused by Giyu's words.
"Giyu, what are you even saying!"
"...It's nothing."
Dalton shook his head, ignoring the strange little moment, and brought his attention back to Giyu's question about the country.
A shadow fell over his eyes as he explained in a low voice:
"The name... the previous name of this country exists in name only."
"A few months ago, this country was destroyed by a group of pirates. That's why... the villagers are so wary of you."
He clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white from the force, then looked into the distance as if recalling vivid scenes from the past:
"It was a pirate crew with only five members. Their captain was called Blackbeard. For ordinary people like us, there was no way to resist them - they were as powerful as monsters."
Usopp nearby felt shocked, holding out his hand and counting: "Five? Five people!? Five people defeated an entire country's military?"
"No."
Dalton lowered his head, his expression growing darker, his voice filled with suppressed anger: "The king knew he couldn't defeat those pirates, so he immediately abandoned his country. He fled faster than anyone else."
"He escaped to the sea and even became a pirate himself."
When Vivi heard that a king would abandon his country, her eyes widened in anger, as if loudly condemning the act on behalf of the citizens here: "Is this something a king should do!! This is outrageous!"
Dalton raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the simple yet warm furnishings of the wooden house, then looking through the window at the villagers outside chatting animatedly in the snow.
He suddenly said with a sense of relief: "But... some people think this is actually a good thing. That former king was called Wapol."
"He established countless policies that harmed the citizens. Under his rule, this country knew only oppression. Now that he's gone, this island belongs to everyone. Now all the people are united, dedicated to building a new country."
"Wapol?!" Usopp exclaimed in surprise upon hearing the name, then began describing the pirate who had destroyed part of the Merry:
"You mean that guy... the one who looks like a white bear, has a huge mouth, and can eat anything?"
Dalton whipped his head around to stare at him, pupils constricting sharply: "You've seen him?!"
Usopp also jumped up, remembering the Merry, and pointed in the direction they came from: "More than just seen him! When we were coming here, we ran into that guy in a stretch of sea. He tried to steal supplies from our ship, but Luffy and Zoro knocked him flying! But he said at the time he was returning to some Drum Kingdom..."
"And that guy damaged the Merry! Damn it!!"
"Damn it!!" Dalton slammed his fist onto the nearby wooden table with a loud bang, making the flames in the fireplace flicker violently.
His chest heaved slightly, the muscles on his face contorted, and he looked in the direction Usopp pointed.
"That bastard... He dares to come back?! Does he really intend to set foot on this land again and torment everyone?!"
Just then, the wooden door burst open with a crash. A villager rushed in, panting heavily, her face filled with urgency and a glimmer of hope. She had heard earlier that Dalton was looking for a doctor:
"Mr. Dalton! Mr. Dalton! I heard... I heard the Witch Doctor has appeared! Someone saw her descend in the neighboring Cocoa Village!"
........................................
Meanwhile, in Cocoa Village, blanketed by heavy snow.
Zoro tightened his padded coat, his breath forming white puffs in the air, as he walked irritably along the snow-covered street. He glanced around at the nearly identical white houses and branching paths, his brow furrowed into a knot.
"Tch... Where did that idiot Luffy and the others run off to?"
He muttered under his breath, his tone utterly certain: "I definitely saw them heading this way, no mistake about it..."
Then he stopped a passing villager in front of him and asked gruffly, "Hey, have you seen a pirate wearing a straw hat?"
The villager, startled by Zoro's fierce glare and the mention of pirates, immediately waved his hands frantically:
"A pirate!!? N-No, I haven't seen him!" and then hurried away.
Zoro made a sound of disgust and continued forward, scanning his surroundings. "Every single one of them has such a terrible sense of direction..."
Just then, the curtain of a small restaurant nearby was pushed aside, and a tall figure emerged, followed by a reindeer with a small pack on its back and a conspicuously blue nose.
"Chopper, let's go, let's go. The food here is just average," said a woman's voice that sounded vigorous yet carried a hint of laziness and pickiness.
The speaker was an old woman wearing sunglasses and a jacket. Her gaze swept casually and immediately locked onto Zoro, who was about to walk past her.
She walked up to him with interest, unabashedly looking him up and down, her eyes seeming to see through his clothes to his injuries.
Zoro felt intensely uncomfortable under this sudden scrutiny and stopped, asking irritably, "Hey, old woman, what are you looking at?"
Dr. Kureha, instead of getting angry, grinned with an amused smile and pointed at Zoro's body. "With injuries this severe, you've broken at least two or three ribs, right? And you're still wandering around like nothing's wrong. Kid, you've got some skill."
Zoro froze, instinctively touching his chest.
His body was completely concealed by this thick cotton coat—how had this old woman seen through it?
"Could it be..." Zoro suddenly seemed to think of something, narrowing his eyes as he asked with a mix of suspicion and anticipation, "Are you a doctor?"
Dr. Kureha lifted her sunglasses slightly at his words, revealing her eyes as her smile deepened. "Hmph, you guessed right. How else would I see through your tattered condition at a glance?"
Zoro's eyes instantly lit up, forgetting all about manners as he urgently asked, "Then...!? Have you seen a pirate wearing a straw hat and a woman with orange hair? We're together!"
"Straw hat? Orange-haired woman? Haven't seen them. What, you're a pirate?"
"Oh, yeah."
Zoro answered straightforwardly, then began gesturing animatedly as he explained: "Our crew has sick and injured members. We came to this Demon place specifically looking for a doctor."
The blue-nosed reindeer nearby had been secretly watching Zoro since earlier. When it heard the word "pirate," its eyes seemed to brighten even more, filled with curiosity as it gazed at this green-haired man with three swords at his waist.
"Coming here looking for a doctor?"
Dr. Kureha sneered, her tone carrying some sarcasm. "You've picked quite the special place. On this island, doctors are incredibly rare these days."
Clip-clop—
Just then, rapid footsteps and bell sounds came from the end of the street. Two sturdy white reindeer with massive curved antlers were pulling a simple sled, charging forward at high speed.
Several figures were seated on the sled.
From afar, Usopp spotted the conspicuous green-haired figure standing in the middle of the road from the sled, and his voice rang out as he shouted to Zoro:
"Zoro!! What are you doing in this village?!!"