Two sturdy bighorn sheep pulled the sled swiftly across the snowfields of Drum Island toward the coastline.
Usopp clung tightly to the sled, his body swaying violently with each bump. "Hey, hey! Is it really okay to go this fast?! And that Wapol... has he really come ashore already?"
Dalton, driving the sheep-drawn sled, didn't turn back, his voice low and certain: "No mistake. We've had lookouts stationed along the coast. The message came back quickly - they've already made preparations."
He first gazed into the distance, then turned back to look at Usopp and Vivi with some heaviness in his expression:
"Actually... you didn't need to come. This is... this country's own battle. You only need to retrieve your companions... there's no need to get involved."
Vivi's blue hair streamed in the wind as she stared at the increasingly clear coastline ahead, her tone resolute: "I can't stand by and watch a nation's people suffer under that tyrant again."
Her nails dug slightly into her palms as the shadow of Crocodile in the distance seemed to overlap for a moment with the Wapol they were about to face.
Usopp finally managed to steady himself. Hearing Vivi's words, he quickly patted his chest in agreement: "Exactly! This was once such a remarkable medical kingdom! Now that guy has made it difficult to even find a proper doctor!"
As he spoke, he subconsciously touched the small bag slung across his body containing his slingshot and various ammunition.
"Don't worry! With Captain Usopp here! I've even defeated high-level Baroque Works agents who've eaten Devil Fruits!"
Hearing the unwavering support from the two behind him, Dalton's tense expression softened slightly, forming a smile that wasn't exactly relaxed: "Well... thank you. With your help, this country... will definitely be able to drive that pest out completely."
"Hahahahaha! No problem! Leave it to me!" Usopp immediately became smug upon hearing this, as if victory was already in his grasp.
Vivi sighed helplessly at his behavior and reminded him: "Calm down, Usopp. Wapol isn't someone to be taken lightly. We mustn't be careless."
...
The sled soon rushed to the coastline, and the group quickly disembarked, taking in the situation before them.
The familiar massive warship was moored at the shore, but more notably, Wapol was riding a hippopotamus draped in white fur, leisurely descending the stairs extended from the warship.
Behind him, fully armed soldiers filed out in an orderly manner, quickly forming ranks along the coastline. The firearms in their hands were clearly much more sophisticated than those held by the villagers.
"Oh ho ho!"
Wapol drew out his tone, his gaze sweeping over the former citizens standing ready for battle before finally settling on Dalton,
"If it isn't my former Royal Guard captain, Dalton? What, bringing so many people here to welcome your king back to his country?" He deliberately emphasized the word "welcome," filled with mockery toward Dalton.
But Dalton on the other side remained stern-faced, not responding to his taunts, simply staring fixedly at him.
Behind Wapol, two familiar figures appeared—his most loyal subordinates. One was Krogh with his explosive hairstyle and boxing gloves, while the other was Chess, dressed like a clown and holding a longbow.
Just then, the standoff was broken by a gunshot.
A villager standing close to Wapol, his eyes burning with rage, could no longer endure the return of this so-called king. He aimed directly and pulled the trigger!
The bullet shot toward Wapol!
"Hmph!"
Krogh reacted swiftly, stepping forward in a flash and swinging his glove to precisely deflect the incoming bullet.
He then charged ahead, his other hand clamping down like an iron vise on the villager's head, lifting the man completely off the ground. The captured villager struggled frantically, his legs kicking helplessly in the air.
"Well done, Krogh!"
Wapol laughed triumphantly, eyeing the other villagers who now watched with fear and hesitation. "When we return to the castle, I'll see to it you get a promotion and a raise!"
He then turned to Chess beside him and asked, "Is my castle still intact?"
Chess raised his binoculars, gazing at the silhouette of the castle atop the snowy peak in the distance, and replied expressionlessly, "Completely undamaged, Lord Wapol."
"Let him go!"
Dalton's furious roar erupted through the air. Watching a villager treated so brutally right before his eyes, the rage in his heart exploded completely.
"This country no longer needs scum like you, who only bring harm to its people, to ever return!!!"
Amid this roar, Dalton's body rapidly transformed. His frame swelled, his head morphing in an instant into a black bull's head, his hands now covered in fur.
Transformed into a minotaur, Dalton pushed off with his feet, blasting a shallow crater in the snow. He charged toward Krogh like a frenzied wild bull, unstoppable and fierce!
"What?!" Krogh hadn't expected Dalton to be so fast. In a panic, he hurled the villager in his grasp like a sandbag at Dalton, trying to block the attack.
Dalton sidestepped, catching the villager securely on his back before gently setting him down. Without a pause, he closed in on the man with the explosive hair, his fist driving forward with relentless force toward Krogh!
"Bam!"
Krogh quickly crossed his arms to block, but the bull-like strength sent him stumbling backward, each step leaving deep footprints in the snow.
"You bastard!!!"
"Whoa!!" Usopp was stunned by Dalton's sudden transformation and stammered, "Uncle Dalton... is actually this powerful?!"
Vivi kept her eyes fixed on the transformed Dalton and explained to Usopp, "That's the power of a Zoan-type Devil Fruit. It grants the eater immense strength, speed, and recovery, especially when transformed into a beast or hybrid form—their physical abilities are enhanced in every way."
Usopp nodded, only half-understanding, then suddenly recalled a certain rubber man who was always fighting and muttered, "Luffy ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi, but when he fights, it feels like he's as tough and strong as a Zoan user..."
"It's completely different in nature. Luffy's body can stretch and extend like rubber, clearly the ability of a Paramecia-type fruit." Vivi shook her head, but her attention remained fixed on the battlefield.
After forcing Krogh back with one strike, Dalton immediately locked his target onto Wapol.
He let out a deep roar like that of a real wild bull, then shouted at Wapol: "This country! Now that you're gone, everyone is rebuilding properly! Striving for a better tomorrow!!"
"Why don't you just stay out at sea and be pirates as you were!!!"
Then Dalton took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down while hoping the other side would just leave.
"I'll give you one more chance. Leave now, and we can still avoid a fight."