A Land Without Doctors:

-x-

Luffy, Y/N, Usopp, Sanji, and Vivi were led through the snow towards the village. Y/N was carrying Nami on his back while Sanji was walking next to him carrying Ms. Valentine. Both of the sick women were wearing full length pajamas under heavy winter coats. Nami's coat was one that she had bought for herself, it had a white, yellow, and orange plaid pattern. Ms. Valentine was wearing one of the spare coats Y/N had bought in Loguetown, it was solid golden color and was big on the blond agent due to it being a man's coat.

"There is one thing I feel should warn you about," said the bull-like man with the goatee and the heavy green coat. His name was Dalton an he was the Head of Security on the island. "The only doctor we actually have here is a witch." The Straw Hats, Vivi, and Ms. Valentine were being led by Dalton and another dozen men as an escort. It was clear that the inhabitants of the island didn't trust pirates.

"Huh... a witch?" Usopp repeated.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Sanji grumbled as he carried Ms. Valentine across the snow. "Everything about this island is messed up."

"Well we're desperate," Y/N replied. "Witch or not, if she's a qualified doctor, we'll go see her. Who knows, she and Nami might get along famously." One of Nami's elbows was driven into Y/N's shoulder. "Ow... I thought you were unconscious. On your island you were known as a witch, that means you and the witch have that in common."

"What do you call this crazy place anyway?" Sanji asked.

"Actually, this land still doesn't have a name," Dalton admitted.

"An island without a name?" questioned Vivi. "I didn't know that was possible."

Dalton didn't answer, so their journey to the village was silent with the exception of numerous feet crushing the snow. Usopp eventually broke the silence when he let out a loud scream.

"AAAAAAHHH! A BEEAAAARRRR!" the sniper screamed. "Hurry everyone, play dead!" Usopp flopped to the ground and acted like he was dead, but he was the only one.

The rest of the group kept walking towards the odd bear. It was walking on its hind legs, was covered in grayish-white fur, and was using a pick axe as a walking stick.

"It's a Hiking Bear," Dalton explained. "He poses no threat. Don't forget to bow. It's proper manners." The group bowed the Hiking Bear and the bear bowed back while it walked passed in the opposite direction.

Y/N glanced to the side at Usopp who was still playing dead, "Should we just leave him there?" he wondered.

"He'll come after us eventually," Sanji reasoned.

"Hey Usopp," Y/N called over his shoulder as they walked off, "you'd better come with us or an abominable snowman will find you alone and eat you."

Usopp was instantly on his feet and was practically running after them. Dalton kept walking but wondering if it would be a good idea to tell the pirates that there was an abominable snowman on the island.

-x-

"Nice, that's much better," Zoro commented as he stared at the stitched up cuts that were on both of his legs. He was barefoot but was still wearing his long light blue winter coat. He was sitting on a box that he'd brought up onto the main deck. "Heh heh!"

"Quack," Carue quietly quacked as he stood on the deck wrapped in a blanket and watched the crazy swordsman.

"Finally I can start training seriously," said Zoro. "I was getting sick of that modified training I had to do with my stupid injury. Staying and guarding the ship is boring as hell." Zoro pulled off his coat and tossed it to the side, leaving him shirtless while revealing the scar he'd gotten on his chest from Hawk Eye Mihawk. "Maybe some ice-water swimming will clear my head a bit."

"Mr. 5... that guy's crazy..." Ms. Goldenweek whispered as she and Mr. 5 stood on the other side of the deck and watched the insane swordsman in shock. On Little Garden he'd attempted to cut his own feet off so he could 'fight', and now he was planning on taking a swim when the water was FREEZING!

"Are you really that stupid?" Mr. 5 bluntly asked Zoro. "The second you dive in there you'll be frozen solid."

"You're just jealous that you can't swim," Zoro retorted.

"Um... if you're intent on catching hypothermia... would you mind if I borrowed your coat?" Ms. Goldenweek requested as she stood there bundled up in blankets and eyed the swordsman's coat that was just lying there on the deck. "At least until your friends get back and chip you out of the block of ice you're bound to end up frozen in?"

"I want it back when I return," Zoro told her.

Ms. Goldenweek threw off her make-shift blanket cloak and grabbed Zoro's light blue coat and put it on. It was really big on the small Officer Agent. The bottom of the coat dragged on the ground and her short arms only went halfway through the long sleeves. "It'll do," she resolved.

Mr. 5 watched as Zoro dove off the Going Merry and into the freezing cold water and then began a take a casual swim.

"Idiot," Mr. 5 muttered, he'd never understand that swordsman.

-x-

"This is the village where we live," Dalton explained to the Straw Hats and Vivi as they walked through a small village. There were about twenty small houses that were made out of brick and had cone-shaped stone roofs. "It's called Big Horn."

"Look at all the weird animals walking around everywhere," Luffy commented to Usopp as they stared at a ram with long curled horns and a furry white hippo with a bunch of boxes strapped on top of it.

"Well yeah, this is snow country," Usopp pointed out.

"We finally made it to a village," Sanji announced to Nami and Ms. Valentine, "We're here."

"Thanks for the help everyone," Dalton called out to the guards that had escorted the Straw Hats to Big Horn with him. "If you're not a guard, you can return to your work."

"Are you sure you'll be alright here by yourself?" one of the guards asked Dalton. "They are pirates."

"I believe these people mean us no harm," Dalton replied. "That's my hunch anyway, you can trust me on that."

"If Dalton says they're alright, I guess we should believe him," one of the guards said to another.

"Alright Dalton, we'll leave them to you," another guard resolved, they all went their separate ways and left Dalton alone with the Straw Hats.

"You mean those men weren't real soldiers?" Vivi asked Dalton.

"No, they're just ordinary citizens," Dalton told her. "Come to my house for now." Dalton started to lead them off towards one of the houses.

"Hey, look over there Luffy!" Usopp exclaimed, "It's one of those Hiking Bears!"

"Another one?" questioned Luffy as he looked where Usopp was pointed. The two of them quickly bowed to the 'bear', who turned out to be just some fat lady in a heavy coat, Y/N and Dalton both sweat-dropped when they saw Luffy and Usopp bowing.

"Hello Dalton!" the bear-lady said in greeting. "I heard that some pirates landed on the island. I hope everything's alright."

"Everything's fine," Dalton reassured her. "There's nothing to be worried about." Luffy and Usopp gave each other an odd look and stood up.

"Just wanted you to know Dalton, I'm looking forward to the election in two days!" an old man called out. Dalton seemed to be really popular in this village. "Everyone I've talked to has said they're going to vote for you."

"I'm just an ordinary citizen," Dalton replied dismissively. "I'm not worthy."

"You can be humble when we're at this house of yours," Y/N told Dalton, "we've got two really sick people here and the cold isn't good for them."

"Right, of course," Dalton agreed as he led the Straw Hats to his house.

"..." Vivi silently stared at Dalton. She was the Princess in a monarchy, and here was a man who was going to be elected democratically for something.

-x-

"You can use the bed over there," Dalton offered once they'd reached his house, "I'm going to warm the place up." He went to the fire place and started to light a fire.

Y/N and Sanji placed Nami and Ms. Valentine down on the single bed that was in the corner. They removed their coats leaving the two in a pair of light blue and light yellow pajamas. Vivi pulled up the blanket and tucked the two sick women in, then knelt down in front of the bed while Y/N sat down and leaned back against it. Sanji stood off to the side not wanting to crowd the bed.

"I guess I should introduce myself," Dalton commented as he removed his weapon and set it down on a chair. "My name is Dalton. I'm the Captain of the Island's Security Squad. Please forgive our... less than friendly welcome."

"Excuse me, but can I ask you a question?" Dalton asked Vivi, causing the Princess to look at him in surprise. "It's just that... you look familiar to me for some reason."

"Uh... no, I just have one of those faces I guess," Vivi quickly answered. "Anyway, can you tell us more about this doctor... or witch if that's what she is?"

"Nami's fever's gone up to 107," Y/N added, "the other one's at 106 point something."

"How long have they had it?" Dalton asked in surprise.

"This is the third day and it's still going up," Y/N explained. "We've determined that it was caused by some infected bug bites they got on the last island we were on."

"They're likely to die if it gets any worse," Dalton remarked.

"We know," Y/N admitted, "that's why we're so desperate for a doctor."

"We've got to find a doctor as soon as possible!" Sanji exclaimed. "ANY doctor will do. Where's this witch of yours?"

"Do you see those mountains outside the window?" Dalton asked.

"Yeah, I noticed them earlier," Sanji replied. He looked towards the window and frowned then he saw the head of a badly made snowman in the middle of it.

"SUPER MASSIVE SNOWMAN!" Luffy called out from where he was perched on the shoulder of his snowman. It once again showed Luffy's lack of artistic talent.

"AND THE SNOW BEAST, SNOW-ZILLA!" Usopp added as he sat on his giant snow dinosaur. It was expertly crafted right down to the scales and teeth.

"GET IN HERE BEFORE I KILL YOU!" Sanji shouted at them from inside Dalton's house.

"Those mountains out there are known as the Drum Rockies," Dalton explained once Luffy and Usopp had come inside. The mountains certainly lived up to their name, they were large and cylindrical in shape, they looked like huge rocky drums. "Do you see the castle on the top of the tallest one? The one in the middle? That castle has lost its King."

"Castle?" Usopp repeated as he and Luffy knelt on the floor and drank some warm hot chocolate.

"This is good," Luffy remarked as he drank the warm drink.

"Yeah, I see it," Sanji said as he and Vivi stood and stared out the window at the snowy white castle on top of the mountain.

"What's so important about the castle?" questioned Vivi.

"That castle is where our land's only doctor lives," Dalton told them. "Dr. Kureha. She's the one who people here call a witch."

"Of all places why does she have to live on top of a mountain?" Sanji complained. "We need to call her here right now. We need her help."

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid there's no way to contact her," Dalton apologized.

"You can't be serious!" Sanji exclaimed.

"Sanji... if they could call her down, they would've done it already," Y/N pointed out from where he was calmly sitting against the bed. "What I'm concerned about are her medical skills."

"Her skills as a doctor are quite impressive actually," Dalton admitted. "However, she's an eccentric old woman. She's nearly one hundred forty years old."

"A hundred forty?" Sanji repeated. "No wonder she doesn't get around much,"

"Oh and one more thing, she likes pickled plums," Dalton added unnecessarily.

"Then what do you do when people are sick or injured?" Vivi inquired. "Doesn't she help them?"

"She comes down from the mountain whenever she feels like," Dalton replied. "She looks around for patients, treats them, then takes whatever she wants from their houses as payment."

"She doesn't sound like a very nice lady," Usopp commented.

"She sounds like a pirate," Luffy stated.

"How is a woman as old as she is capable of getting down that mountain?" Vivi asked.

"It's an odd rumor around here," Dalton answered. "Several of the villagers claim they've seen her at night, riding a sleigh of some kind through the sky. They see her silhouette when the moon is full. That's the reason she's thought to be a witch. There are others that say they've seen her with a strange creature. A creature that none of them recognize."

"GAAAHH! IT'S THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN!" Usopp screamed. "OH NO! OH NO! I DON'T WANNA RUN INTO IT!"

Everyone ignored Usopp's screaming as Dalton continued, "Dr. Kureha is the only doctor we have. But she's still a woman I would prefer to stay away from. All we can do is wait for the next time she decides to come down the mountain."

"We don't know how long that'll take though," Y/N finally spoke up, he'd been content to just listen to Dalton's story about the witch doctor. "If the doctor won't come to us, we'll go to her."

"What? You can't climb up that!" Vivi exclaimed.

"These past few days have been torture," said Y/N. "I've had to watch their condition get worse and worse, there was nothing I could do to help them but wait until we spotted an island. Now there is."

"Y/N, those mountains are huge!" Sanji told him. "You can't climb it."

Luffy got up and walked over to the bed, he shook Nami awake. "Hey Nami, Nami, wake up." Nami's eyes slowly opened and she stared up at the faces of Luffy and Y/N. "Here's the thing, the only way to see the doctor is to climb the mountain. So we're gonna have to climb the mountain."

"Are you crazy?" Sanji demanded, "What about Miss. Nami and Miss. Valentine? How do you expect to get them up there?"

"Luffy, I can trust you with anything right?" Y/N asked his brother.

"Of course," Luffy immediately answered.

"Then can you carry Nami on your back and make sure she gets up to the doctor?" Y/N requested. "You're the only one I'd trust with that. The second Ms. Valentine set foot on our ship, she became my responsibility, so I'm gonna carry her."

"Carrying them up there will just make them sicker!" Vivi attempted to reason with the usually rational Y/N. "I know you want to help them, but you're being too reckless."

"We need to hurry right?" questioned Luffy. "The faster we get up there, the faster they get to see the doctor."

"Do you two even see how steep and tall that mountain is?" Vivi demanded as she pointed out the window at the tall cylindrical mountain that went straight up.

"Right now, the only thing keeping me from climbing that mountain is you," Y/N almost growled. "Nothing is going to stop us from getting up there. If you're not gonna help, get the hell out of our way." At the look Y/N gave her, Vivi stepped behind Sanji, too intimidated to argue with the determined First Mate.

"I need to get over this thing, and quickly," Nami thought to herself. "We need to hurry, for Vivi." Nami slowly pulled her arm out from under the sheets, catching everyone's attention. She gave Y/N and Luffy a thumbs up sign. "I'm counting on you guys."

"Don't worry Nami, just leave it to us," Luffy reassured her, "You too umbrella lady."

"I promise, we'll get you up the mountain or die trying," Y/N vowed.

Ms. Valentine's eyes were opened and she saw that both the Captain and First Mate were now focused on her. "Thank you," she whispered.

"If you're so insistent on going, then I'm coming too," Sanji decided.

-x-

A few minutes later, Nami and Ms. Valentine were once again bundled up in their winter coats. Nami was on Luffy's back while Ms. Valentine was on Y/N's.

"Listen Luffy!" Usopp lectured the Captain, "you can't fall even once or Nami will die."

"No even once?" questioned Luffy.

"Hold still Luffy, this has to be tight," Vivi instructed as she knelt down in front of Luffy, they had used a pair of swords and some spare sheets from Dalton's house to secure Nami and Ms. Valentine to Luffy and Y/N's backs. The swords were tied to their backs with the bed sheets and served to keep Nami and Ms. Valentine tied to their back.

Vivi stood up once it was done, "I'm going to stay back here," she told them, she cast a slightly timid glance at Y/N, "If I came with you guys, I'd only get in the way."

"Yup me too!" Usopp added, he knew his own limitations... and he was scared of snow monsters.

"Let's go," said Y/N, as he trudged off in the direction of the mountain, Luffy and Sanji quickly followed after him.

"Wait!" Dalton called after them, "If you go that way you'll run into Lapins! They're fierce carnivorous rabbits that hunt in packs!"

"..." Luffy, Y/N, and Sanji just kept going. They weren't going to let a bunch of over-grown rabbits stop them from reaching the doctor.

Dalton could only stare after them in surprise.

-x-

"Are you sure they'll be alright?" Dalton asked a little bit later as he stood with Usopp and Vivi in the village. Luffy, Y/N, and Sanji were already long gone. Usopp and Vivi's noses were turning red from exposure to the snow and the cold.

"It's not those three we need to worry about," Usopp said.

"Nami and Ms. Valentine are the ones in trouble," Vivi added, "I just hope their strength can hold out long enough. They're getting sicker by the minute."

Dalton turned and made to go back inside his house, but stopped when he saw that both Vivi and Usopp hadn't moved. "Why are you standing there?" he asked. "Come on inside, it's cold out here."

"That's really okay, I want to stay out here," Vivi insisted.

"M-m-me too!" Usopp said with a shiver.

Dalton smiled. He was touched by the devotion these pirates showed for their comrades. "I see," he said, he closed the door to his house and then sat down in the snow outside of it. "Well in that case I'll join you." Vivi and Usopp stared at Dalton and smiled.

It was silent until Dalton eventually spoke, "We did once have some here on this island. Doctors. However, all of them left some time ago for some reasons. They were very good at what they did while they were still here. We were even well known for the medicine that was practiced on this island."

"So what went wrong?" Vivi asked.

"A few months ago we suffered a vicious attack," Dalton explained. "Our country was destroyed by pirates."

"OH MAN!" Usopp exclaimed. "THE WHOLE COUNTRY?"

"So that's the reason you acted that way when we showed up," Vivi realized.

"Yes, after the attack the word 'pirates' still terrifies everyone on this island," said Dalton. "I'm sorry about the way we treated you. Their group as small as well, only five people. Their Captain called himself Blackbeard."

"WHAT?" Usopp shouted. "DID YOU SAY BLACKBEARD?"

"Yes," Dalton answered. "Their power was so incredible they destroyed our country faster than you would believe. Have you heard of him?"

"He's got powers of the Dark Dark Fruit," Usopp replied, "and probably said something about Fate."

"He did," Dalton admitted. "How do you know?" Vivi looked curious as well.

"Blackbeard cut Y/N's eye out to get those powers," Usopp explained, "he nearly killed him. And that was without the powers of a Devil Fruit. With them, he's gotta be a monster."

"Well... there are some here that actually believe that the 'monster' was good for the country," Dalton told them.

"What could possibly be good about that happening?" questioned Vivi.

"THAT'S CRAZY!" Usopp exclaimed. "Who would say something like that anyway?"

"Thank you," said Dalton with a small smile. "I agree. But they have their reasons. The King who ruled here before the attack was a horrible man. His rule was despised by all his citizens. Our country used to be known as Drum Kingdom. Our King's name was Wapol. He was the worst King imaginable!"

Usopp and Vivi distinctly remembered the fat man that come out of the water in some kind of submarine and had attempted to EAT the Going Merry. Thankfully, Luffy got rid of him.

"NOT WAPOL!" Usopp shouted.

-x-

Dr. Kureha:

-x-

"You know Wapol too?" Dalton inquired. Usopp seemingly knew everyone, first Blackbeard, then Wapol. Luckily Usopp was the humble sort and he didn't let it go to his head... wait a minute...

"Of course, I'm a very popular pirate!" Usopp bragged. "I know everyone that calls themselves a pirate. That Wapol character tried to eat my ship, but I took care of him. He should've known better than to mess with Captain Usopp!" Usopp stopped boasting and looked thoughtful for a moment, "But now that I think about it... he did say something about heading for Drum Kingdom."

"I remember him quite well," Vivi added. "I'm sure I met him once in a monarch meeting my father took me too. I was still very young then, but I remember it 'til this day."

"A monarch meeting?" Dalton repeated. After Usopp's story, it was hard to tell which one was telling the truth. Were they both compulsive liars, or were they both telling the truth. But then, not for the first time, Dalton had the feeling that he'd seen Vivi's somewhere before. "Who are you?"

"Oh... I... uh..." Vivi stammered.

Usopp, being the better liar, came to her rescue, "The point is we do know Wapol," he resolved. "We ran into him yesterday on our way here."

"Yesterday?" Dalton repeated. "Are you sure about that?"

"But he said he was a pirate," Vivi recalled. "He never said anything about being a King."

"He's just calling himself a pirate as a part of his disguise," Dalton explained. "In truth, Wapol is only wandering the seas, trying desperately to return to this island."

"So... Wapol and the people who were on the ship with him were kicked off of the island because they were no match for the pirates?" Vivi asked. "Is that what happened?"

"That's not it," Dalton's voice became cold and spiteful, almost a growl. "When we were attacked... Wapol's army didn't even try to fight! The second he learned how strong the pirates were, Wapol grabbed his cronies and ran like a coward. He was the first one to abandon the country and flee out to sea!" Vivi started shaking through Dalton's angry story. "After that, the country fell into despair. We were left behind be our King!"

"WHAT SORT OF KING WOULD DO THAT TO HIS COUNTRY?" Vivi demanded, angry at Wapol's cowardly behavior. "A King abandoning his people? That thought of it makes me absolutely sick!" Usopp stared at the angry Princess in surprise.

"You're exactly right," Dalton agreed. "The only good that came out of this though, was the end of Wapol's tyrannical rule. The people who were left on this island have come together now, we're trying to create a new country. So what we fear most right now is the return of Wapol and his followers... the return of his brutal rule. We can't afford for him to come back now with the country so unstable. It would be the end of us. We want to build ourselves a new peaceful nation on this island."

-x-

Luffy, Y/N, and Sanji ran through the snow towards the Drum Rockies. Y/N had taken point while Sanji and Luffy were flanking him. SHWOOO! The three Straw Hats and the two sick women they were carrying ran through a cold wind as they continued on their journey.

"The wind's picking up," Y/N observed. "And it's getting colder. If our Navigator were conscious she'd tell us we're about to head into a snow storm."

"Luffy, why aren't you wearing any socks?" Sanji asked as he ran alongside Luffy and looked down at Luffy's feet. The rubber pirate may have been wearing a winter coat, but he was still wearing shorts and sandals. "I feel cold just looking at your feet."

"That's our police," Luffy replied.

"It's policy," Y/N corrected him, "Luffy and I don't wear socks."

"Yeah, but at least you're wearing boots," Sanji pointed out.

They kept running and didn't notice the big white rabbit that was crouching behind a tree watching them.

"So anyway, did you know that people in snow countries never sleep at all?" Luffy asked. "Because if they do, they'll freeze to death."

"Don't be an idiot," Sanji scolded him. "Everyone has to sleep some time." Another white rabbit was watching from further along their path.

"It's the truth!" Luffy insisted. "Someone told me a long time ago!"

"RAAAAAHH!" One of the white rabbits lunged at the three pirates. It had white fur, red eyes, sharp teeth, and claws. SWISH! But it only came up to Sanji's knee and they easily avoided it.

"Who Usopp?" Sanji asked.

"No, I heard it in the tavern in my village," Luffy explained.

SHUNK! The rabbit that had charged them, pulled its head out of the snow and growled at the pirates at they kept running and ignored it. "Grrrrr..."

"Then explain this, what does that Dalton guy have a bed for?" Sanji questioned.

"I guess that's a good point," Luffy admitted. "Hey! Maybe it's his death bed."

SWISH! Another small white rabbit lunged at the pirates with its teeth bared. But once again they avoided it. CHOMP! The rabbit kept going and ended up biting the trunk of a tree. CHUNK! The tiny rabbit bit clear through the trunk causing the tree to fall into the path in front of Y/N, BOOOM! But Y/N, Luffy, and Sanji paid the tree no mind and just leapt over it, Skish! The angry rabbit glared after them as they kept running.

"Luffy, you're not supposed to fall asleep if you've been buried in snow," Y/N corrected his brother. "I was there when Yasopp told you that story, he was really drunk. That was the day I conned him out of a hundred thousand berries."

"Did you know this, women in snow countries have skin that's as smooth as silk," Sanji supplied.

"How come?" Luffy asked.

"I'll explain it," Sanji offered. "When you get cold, you rub your skin to warm it up right?" Skish! Y/N jumped over the white rabbit that charged at him. "It's always freezing cold in snowy countries like this one..." Whish! Sanji ducked out of the way of another vicious white rabbit and continued speaking, "...so the women keep rubbing their skin all that time," Skish! Luffy dodged a third rabbit while Sanji jumped over a fourth one. It could've been the same two rabbits but the three pirates didn't care enough to check. "And so it becomes all white and silky smooth."

"Okay... but then how come it's white?" Luffy inquired. Skish! Whish! They dodged another two of the vicious tiny rabbits.

"Because..." Skish! Sanji ducked a rabbit that was attempting to take off his head, "the snow. It's constantly falling all over." Skish! Skish! Whish! Skish! Over and over again the rabbits charged, but the Straw Hats kept dodging. Y/N was getting irritated and a tick mark would've been seen on his forehead if it weren't for his cowboy hat covering it up. "So it dyes their skin all white."

WHAP! Instead of dodging the next rabbit, Y/N reached out and caught it. The angry white rabbit growled in his face. "GRAAAAAHHH!"

"You're getting annoying!" Y/N growled back at the rabbit. "If you keep this up, we'll be having rabbit stew when we get back to the ship!" Y/N roughly threw the rabbit away from him and it landed in a soft pile of snow. SKOOSH!

"What was with those things?" Luffy wondered. The rabbits stopped charging and Y/N, Luffy, and Sanji continued running in peace.

The kept running and it got colder and the snow got deeper.

"Just hang on a little longer Miss. Nami," Sanji called out some time later. "We'll get you to a doctor."

"The snow's getting really deep up here," Luffy remarked as his sandal encased feet plunged into the deep snow and were then pulled out over and over again.

"Luffy, would you try to run more smoothly?" Sanji requested. "You're jostling Miss. Nami. Look at how Y/N's running."

But Y/N suddenly stopped, causing the other two to stop too. They all stared in surprise at what was in front of them.

"GRRRRRR!" growled a giant white rabbit, it was as big as a fully grown bear, had long pointy ears, long whiskers, and extremely sharp teeth and claws. The one rabbit was backed by a herd of over twenty bear-sized rabbits.

"What are those things?" Sanji wondered.

"They're big and white, so they must be polar bears," Luffy reasoned.

"These must be those Lapins that Dalton guy tried to warn us about," Y/N realized. "If I hadn't been so impulsive he probably could've told us how to avoid them. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Sanji reassured him. "You were just trying to get Miss. Nami and Miss. Valentine up the mountain safely. I can't fault you for making them your primary concern."

-x-

"The snow's really starting to pick up, huh?" questioned Usopp as he and Vivi stood in Big Horn and stared at the Drum Rockies. It was snowing hard now, it had gotten a lot colder, and was very windy.

"Nami, please be okay," Vivi thought to herself.

Dalton sat in front of his house, "Tell me something, who are you guys?" he asked.

"Why do you ask that?" Usopp asked.

"A group of ten people sailing the Grand Line without a doctor is incredibly reckless," Dalton pointed out.

"Our Captain's still working on filling up the crew," Usopp replied. "But with a Brave Warrior of the Sea like me on board, there's nothing to fear from anyone or anything."

"Oookay," Dalton agreed.

"Even though we're very brave... we're still looking for a ship's doctor," Usopp continued. "I was hoping we would find one here on this island, but what I wasn't expecting, was that the doctor here would be a witch living in a castle."

"Well she's all we have," Dalton said. "You guys certainly seem to be different than the pirates we're used to."

"Hello Dalton!" called out the bear-lady from the last chapter, Usopp once again bowed to her. "I was looking for you."

"What can I do for you?" Dalton asked as he stood up and addressed the bear-lady.

"I heard the newcomers were looking for Dr. Kureha," said the bear-lady.

"Yes, but the friends of the two sick women have already taken them up the mountain," Dalton told her.

"Oh, that's too bad," the bear-lady replied. "Because I heard that the doctor's in Cocoaweed right now."

"SHE'S WHERE?" Vivi, Usopp, and Dalton all yelled at the same time, startling the bear-lady.

Usopp's loud shout could be heard throughout the village. "SO NAMI AND THE OTHERS ALREADY PASSED HER?"

-x-

"Ooooh... ooooh..." Chess was sitting up the crow's nest of the Bliking keeping a look out. The submersible attack ship was currently floating on top of the water instead of under it. Chess was peering through a pair of binoculars when he saw a small white island in a distance. "WAPOL COME QUICKLY!"

"What is it now?" Wapol demanded. "How you found that pirate's ship yet?"

"No that isn't it Wapol," Chess answered as he lowered his binoculars. "At long last we've returned home! How many long months have passed wandering the sea? THAT'S OUR HOMELAND! IT'S DRUM KINGDOM!"

"IT TRULY IS!" Wapol exclaimed, "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

-x-

"There's a ship approaching from a distance," Mr. 5 observed from up in the crow's nest of the Going Merry. "It looks like the one that attacked us yesterday."

Ms. Goldenweek and Carue stood on the deck as Mr. 5 climbed down. "Ms. Goldenweek, you and I are under no obligation to defend their pirate ship from attacks," Mr. 5 pointed out. "Especially against a crew that large."

"QUACK!" said Carue.

"Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to fight off that many without causing damage to this ship," Mr. 5 told the duck. "If you're so worried, go find the idiot swordsman and tell him what's happened. Ms. Goldenweek and I will leave the ship and watch from a safe distance away. If they find an empty ship, they'll assume we're all on the island. Maybe they'll leave it alone so they can go ashore and find us."

"Quack," Carue reluctantly agreed. He waddled over to the railing took a look at the freezing cold water, then dove in, SPLASH!

"Let's go Ms. Goldenweek," Mr. 5 instructed. He and Ms. Goldenweek quickly left the ship and never heard Carue's cries from the water.

The people of Drum Kingdom were all oblivious that the thing they'd been dreading was upon them. King Wapol and his men had returned.

-x-

In Cocoaweed, the village next to Big Horn, a cry rang out.

"WAAAAAAHHHH!" The cries came from a small brown haired boy wearing a yellow coat that was currently inside a restaurant called 'Stool's'.

"Come on, we've had enough of this crying already," one of the customers inside the restaurant complained. "Just make him stop, it's driving me nuts!"

"Uh, yes, I'm sorry," Stool, a man who wore a green and purple winter hat over his long brown hair, and a light blue sweatshirt and an apron over it that said 'fire STOOL', apologized on behalf of his son. He walked over to the boy and crouched down in front of him.. "Hey Tamachibi, what's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?"

"WAAAAAAHHHH!" Tamachibi just kept crying.

"Please stop crying and tell me what's wrong," Stool told his son. But when the boy just continued crying, the man became irritated. "You're upsetting the customers! Tamachibi, say something! If you don't stop crying, you're going to go to your room."

A woman stood outside Stool's restaurant, civilians murmured and whispered as they stared at her.

"It's the witch," someone whispered.

"And she's got that weird monster with her again..."

The 'witch' turned and glared at the civilian that had called her companion a monster. The 'monster' in question looked a lot like a reindeer with a thick brown coat of fur, hard hooves, and strong antlers. But it had a blue nose, wore a pair of purple slacks, and a pink top hat with a white 'x' on the front of it on it's head.

"WWWAAAHH!" came Tamachibi's continued cries from within the restaurant.

"That's it!" Stool scolded his son, "I've had enough of this!"

"Well, well," commented the witch Dr. Kureha as she patted her reindeer on the back. "Doesn't sound like a very nice father in there. If a crying I crying uncontrollably, chances are something is wrong and he doesn't know what. Heeheeheehee!" Dr. Kureha let out a witch-like cackle and approached the door, "Stand back, Chopper," she warned her reindeer. WHAM! The old woman drove her fist into the wooden door and broke it clear off of its hinges and into pieces. The broken pieces of the door fell to the floor and everyone in the restaurant turned and stared as Dr. Kureha stood in the doorway.

Dr. Kureha wore black high-heeled cowboy boots, tight purple pants with a jagged pink design going up her left leg, a short purple blazer with yellow stripes going down the arms, and a white t-shirt with cherry blossom petals that bared her midriff and exposed her pierced navel. From the neck below the woman looked like she was in perfect shape and looked like a woman in her mid-twenties. But above the neck Dr. Kureha had long whitish-gray hair, a wrinkled face, a crooked witch-like nose, and wore a pair of glasses. She was clearly a very eccentric old lady.

"So sorry about that," Dr. Kureha apologized as she stepped over the remains of the door and walked into the restaurant.

"It's... you..." stammered Stool.

"Are you kids happy?" Dr. Kureha asked as she stood in the middle of the restaurant with her pet blue-nosed reindeer, Chopper, standing behind her. "Heeheeheehee!"

"YAAAAAAHHH! DR. KUREHA!" the occupants of Stool's restaurant shouted as they dove away from the woman.

"Anyone want my secret to staying young?" Kureha offered.

"NO! WE'RE FINE, THANK YOU!" the occupants all chorused together.

"I can't believe she's really a hundred forty years old," a man remarked. SHUNK! Dr. Kureha threw a fork and it embedded in the wall next to the man's head, causing him to let out a shriek of terror, "YAAAAH!"

"I'll have you know I'm only a hundred thirty-nine!" Kureha corrected him.

"WWWAAAAAAHHH!" Tamachibi whined.

"Shall I treat the boy?" Dr. Kureha asked Stool.

"Wait... what? He's fine!" Stool insisted as he hugged his crying son. "He isn't sick, or hurt, or anything! Really!"

"Oh, well then, excuse me... Doctor," Dr. Kureha apologized sarcastically. With that she turned and headed for the door, "Let's go Chopper." The pink-hatted reindeer turned and obediently followed behind her.

"Wait! Please come back!" Stool called after them. His son's health and safety was at sake, he'd risk dealing with Dr. Kureha's eccentricities if it meant his son would be alright.

-x-

Clink! Chopper placed a bowl with water and a rag in it on a chair, Dr. Kureha had laid Tamachibi down on a table and was looking over the boy.

"It's my hands," Tamachibi told the doctor, his voice was laced with pain. "They hurt!"

"Your hands?" Dr. Kureha repeated, "Alright... how's this?" KREK! Dr. Kureha poked Tamachibi's leg and there was a strange crunching sound. The boy let out a howl of pain.

"GAAAAAAHHHHH!" Tamachibi cried while the occupants of Stool's restaurant shouted at Dr. Kureha's rough treatment of the boy.

"You see?" Dr. Kureha asked the boy. "Now you've forgotten all about your hands hurting."

"WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?" Stool demanded.

"Are you happy?" Dr. Kureha asked her unmoving patient. "You're happy. Good. Now stay nice a quiet."

"HEY!" Stool shouted at Kureha.

"And you should calm down," Dr. Kureha advised. "I only touched his leg and I did it very lightly." Dr. Kureha adjusted her glasses then pulled down Tamachibi's blue pants revealing his green underpants, and purple and swollen knees. "He has pain in his hands and legs, he doesn't have a fever, the swelling on his legs is from a festering inflammation... and it doesn't look good. By now the bone is surely infected." Dr. Kureha called out to her reindeer/assistant, "Chopper, bring me some antibiotics.".

"Uh... Doctor... is he gonna be alright?" Stool asked Dr. Kureha.

"They key to curing this disease is curing it before it can get to strong," Dr. Kureha explain as she pulled a scalpel out from her black medical bag. "Don't worry, he'll live. However, he did almost die."

"WHAT? ALMOST DIED?" Stool shouted in alarm.

"We're going to do a little operation, okay?" Dr. Kureha asked, even though she was going to do it anyway.

"WAIT! AREN'T YOU GOING TO USE ANY ANESTHESIA?" Stool yelled.

"This is the anesthesia," Dr. Kureha replied as she lifted the boy up off of the table. KONK! Chopper had just returned with the antibiotics in time to hit Tamachibi on the head with his antlers, it didn't hurt the boy, but it was hard enough to knock him out.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Stool screamed.

With the boy unconscious, Dr. Kureha quickly tended to the swelling on his knee and administered the antibiotics.

"There, all done," Dr. Kureha announced as she stood up and put her medical supplies away. Tamachibi was now unconscious on a soft couch with both of his legs bandaged. "That's it for the treatment, or the part you need me for anyway. The rest is up to you. Just make sure he rests, and keep his legs tightly bandaged." Whip! Dr. Kureha tossed stool a roll of bandages. "Once they're bandaged keep them iced down. You understand?"

"Yes," Stool answered.

"Now about my fee," said Dr. Kureha. "I'm all out of trash bags and toilet paper. So I'm taking all of those that you have, along with all your food and Plum Wine. In addition to that, I'll be taking fifty percent of this restaurant's assets." Stool stared wide-eyed while Kureha addressed her reindeer, "Chopper, take it all to the sleigh."

"THIS IS OUTRAGOUS!" Stool exclaimed. "YOU CAN'T TAKE HALF MY ASSETS!"

"Don't even think about giving her all that!" one of the spectators called out. "It's too much!"

"It's ridiculous, she's crazy!" another complained. The occupants of the restaurant all murmured and complained about Dr. Kureha's high fee, it didn't seem to be getting to her, but Chopper looked like he was getting angry.

"How dare you take advantage of a sick person!" one civilian called out. "You should be ashamed!"

"YOU AREN'T A REAL DOCTOR AT ALL!" the civilians all chorused. "YOU'RE JUST A WITCH!"

"VRREEEN... VREEEN..." Chopper growled in the defense of Dr. Kureha.

"It's alright Chopper," Kureha told the reindeer. "They're just a bunch of blabbering children."

"Old lady!" Tamachibi woke up and called out. "The pain... it's all better now... thanks so much!" The boy smiled while Stool and the other occupants of the restaurant looked on in surprise.

"Well, it looks like your son just gave me a nice tip," Dr. Kureha commented. "I'll reduce my fee to forty-nine percent."

"Uh... I'll pay your price," Stool agreed, his son was okay, that meant the doctor had cured him. That was all that mattered. "Thank you."

Dr. Kureha and Chopper left the restaurant, the blue-nosed reindeer had barrel, rolls of toilet paper, and a black case all strapped to his back. "Hey kid!" Dr. Kureha called back to Tamachibi. "This happiness you feel, don't you ever forget it."

"Um... okay!" Tamachibi agreed with a smile.

"HEEHEEHEEHEE!" Dr. Kureha cackled as she left with Chopper in tow.

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!