A ship spirit!?
Hearing Merry's self-introduction, everyone froze for a moment, their faces filled with confusion and disbelief.
Only Robin, with her vast knowledge, frowned slightly before speaking up to explain.
"A ship spirit? Isn't that a creature that only exists in legends?"
"You know about it, Robin?"Nami, who had already formed an intimate bond of sharing sleep with Robin, immediately asked in curiosity.
"Mm…" Robin nodded gently, a hint of astonishment and doubt blooming in her eyes.
She had indeed read about such things in books before, but had always regarded them as nothing more than sailor's folklore—stories passed down by word of mouth.
Yet today, she was seeing one with her own eyes!
Robin immediately explained to everyone:
"According to legend, if a ship is cherished and cared for by its crew over a long period of time, a special kind of life can be born."
"Because of how it comes into being, people call it a ship spirit."
"However, in the books I read…"
"Ship spirits usually only appear in heavy fog or during special crises—either to warn the crew or to help them overcome danger."
"That's why ships that possess a ship spirit are said to always arrive safely at their destination."
"But…"
Robin turned her curious gaze toward Merry.
Although Merry's appearance matched the descriptions of ship spirits almost perfectly, her way of acting felt completely unfamiliar to Robin.
"Heehee~"
As if she had guessed what Robin was thinking, Merry suddenly wore a mischievous smile.
"There's no 'but' at all~"
Little Merry spread her arms wide. A pitch-black Shadow Ball abruptly condensed in her hand, which she then hurled forcefully toward the sea.
The Shadow Ball, brimming with Ghost-type energy, traced an eerie arc through the air before plunging into the ocean that had only just calmed down.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, the strange Shadow Ball detonated, scattering ghostly energy across the entire surface of the sea.
Only then did Little Merry smile sweetly and explain to Robin and the others:
"Because now, just like everyone else, I've already been to the Pokémon world too!"
"With Red's help, I'm really strong now!"
Even though she was only level 10, Merry was filled with confidence.
After all, in this pirate world dominated by Normal-types, a Ghost-type like her had a truly unique advantage.
"Another one!?"From the back of the crowd, Smoker's heart tightened as if pierced by an arrow.
Watching Merry, just like the others, become Red's Pokémon and gain mysterious new powers…
Smoker felt as if heavy snow had suddenly begun falling over his head.
Snow drifting, cold winds howling—a sorrowful melody meant only for losers echoed in his ears.
He looked up in shock and exclaimed,"It's snowing~"
At his words, everyone on the deck looked up as well, reacting in disbelief.
"It really… is snowing?"
…
…
About half an hour later.
Luffy and Zoro, who had finally woken up, emerged from the cabin one after the other.
"Sanji, is the food ready? I'm starving!" Luffy, still not fully awake, hurried the ship's only cook the moment he stepped outside.
But after taking just one step onto the deck, a wave of icy air swept over him, instantly snapping him awake.
"Wah!!! It's snowing!?"
Seeing the thick layer of snow piled up across the Going Merry's deck, Luffy—wearing only a short-sleeved shirt—completely forgot about the cold. He dashed forward and dove straight into the snow.
"Hey! Luffy!" Usopp, who was pushing tools and shoveling snow on the deck, frowned when he saw Luffy crash into the pile of snow he had worked so hard to gather.
"You idiot! Not helping is one thing, but why are you making things worse!?"
"Hehehe!" Luffy suddenly popped his head up from the snow, then casually tossed a snowball straight into Usopp's face.
"You bastard, Luffy!" Having worked all night and even crafted snow-clearing tools, Usopp erupted in rage.
He threw down his snow shovel and, using the most agile fingers in the Straw Hat crew, swiftly packed a snowball and counterattacked.
"Hey! You two!?" Sanji, cigarette in his mouth, leaned aside and barely dodged a flying "stray shot."
Before he could raise his head again, another snowball came flying straight at him and smashed squarely into his face.
Hiss—
The lit cigarette was instantly extinguished by the icy snow.
The next moment, a blazing heat erupted from Sanji's body. The surrounding snow instantly turned into boiling water and evaporated into the air.
Way more effective than any snow-clearing tools.
"You bastards!!!"
Because his anger made his body burn too hot, Sanji couldn't even form a snowball.
But that didn't mean he was out of options.
He lifted his leg high, then fiercely swung it toward Luffy and Usopp.
In an instant—a scorching gust of wind swept across the deck, flinging most of the snow into the air and straight toward the two of them.
Under the intense heat, the snow rapidly melted into water and drenched them with a loud splash.
A cold wind followed, instantly freezing them solid into two lifelike ice sculptures.
Sanji calmly lit another cigarette. As smoke curled upward, he turned around leisurely and said:
"This… is art."
A thin layer of ice, however, was hardly enough to restrain someone as strong as Luffy.
He quickly broke free.
Usopp didn't stay trapped for long either.
The moment they escaped, the two immediately trained their firepower on Sanji.
Compared to Usopp's near-perfect accuracy, Luffy's aim was terrible—probably because the freezing temperature had stiffened his rubber body. Almost every snowball of his went wildly off course.
Soon enough, Smoker—who was shoveling snow elsewhere—and Zoro, who had also just woken up, both got hit by stray snowballs.
On the deck of the Going Merry, a snowball war without gunpowder officially began.
Meanwhile, on the second level of the ship.
Wrapped in thick winter coats, Nami, Vivi, and Robin sat around a round table, sipping hot tea while quietly watching the men play below.
Seeing this, Nami sighed and shook her head.
"Seriously… when will these guys ever grow up?"
"Hehe~""I think they're kind of fun like this."
Watching the cheerful atmosphere onboard, Robin rarely dropped her facade and smiled from the heart.
Perhaps Merry's words earlier had touched her.
For a moment, Robin found herself genuinely wanting to join such a carefree group.
Unfortunately…
Her identity as the Devil Child, as well as her work under Crocodile, made it impossible for her to simply abandon her past and truly become part of the Straw Hat crew.
"By the way…" Vivi set down her teacup and asked curiously, "I haven't seen Merry since earlier…"
"Luffy and Zoro are awake now, and Usopp's back too. Isn't she going to meet them?"
"Oh, right~"Nami smiled knowingly."Merry said she wants to surprise them, so she told us not to tell anyone yet."
"Haha… Isn't a ship spirit supposed to be formed from the crew's emotions?"
"That sneaky, playful personality of hers—one look and you can tell it comes from Red!"
"Red?" Vivi tilted her head in confusion.
Nami, however, wore a mysterious smile.
"Do you really think Red became this ship's vice-captain just because of his strength as a Trainer?"
"Don't be fooled by how calm and mature he looks—his ideas are more outrageous than all of ours put together!!!"
"Oh? Really!?"
"Wow, I didn't think I was held in such high regard in your heart, Nami."
At that moment, a voice dripping with teasing irony suddenly echoed above Nami's head.
Her heart jumped. "Ah!"
She quickly looked up toward the source of the voice.
There she saw Red descending from the sky, lightning crackling beneath his feet, landing right beside her and looking at her with amused eyes.
"Ha… haha…"Nami laughed awkwardly, stood up at once, and gestured to her chair.
"Vice-Captain, I've already warmed the seat for you! You can sit anytime!"
"Heh~"
Red chuckled lightly but did not sit on the chair still carrying Nami's scent.
Instead, he reminded her:
"Now's not the time to relax and drink tea."
"Get ready, Nami."
"From the air, I just spotted an island directly ahead on our course."
…
…
Drum Island was a winter island located in the first half of the Grand Line, enduring icy, snowy weather all year round.
Because its mountains resembled drums, it earned the name "Drum Island."
Originally, it was a medical superpower renowned across the world.
Countless nobles from various kingdoms showed it great respect, all in hopes of borrowing the expertise of its legendary doctors.
Thanks to its top-tier medical knowledge, Drum Island never lacked resources—even as a winter island where food production was difficult.
However, everything changed after Wapol took the throne.
In order to better secure his rule and force the people to worship him, Wapol ordered the arrest of every doctor in the country.
In the end, he kept only the twenty most skilled doctors, appointing them as his personal physicians and granting them the title:
Doctors 20.
As for ordinary citizens—if they wanted medical treatment, they had to agree to conditions so expensive they would lose everything.
They had to enter the royal palace and beg Wapol to allow Doctors 20 to treat them.
Over time, Wapol seized all the wealth accumulated by previous kings for the people.
While the citizens' lives grew harder by the day, the royal elites indulged daily in feasts and debauchery.
If Blackbeard hadn't suddenly invaded Drum Island and scared Wapol into fleeing…
There was no telling what would have become of the nation.
But when Wapol fled, he took Doctors 20 with him—leaving the people without even the chance to sell everything in exchange for medical help.
That said, another tale circulated among Drum Island's citizens…
Whenever someone in a family fell seriously ill, a witch would appear.
She would descend from the sky on a sleigh pulled by a reindeer, take all the family's wealth—
And take away all of their illnesses as well.
What the citizens didn't know was…
This wasn't a legend at all, but a true story experienced by many.
…
…
"Eh!? Doctorine! Something strange seems to be happening at the harbor!"
On a cable line extending from Drum Island's tallest peak, a reindeer pulling a sleigh suddenly turned its head. A small, cute blue nose came into view—as it spoke human words.
On the sleigh behind him sat an elderly woman with a wrinkled face but an unexpectedly slender figure. Hearing this, she instinctively looked toward the harbor.
Thanks to their position on the cable line, they could clearly see a pirate ship flying a black flag approaching Drum Island from the nearby sea.
"Pirates!!!"
Screeeee—!!!
The reindeer abruptly stopped, his hooves grinding loudly against the cable.
"Dammit, Chopper! Are you trying to throw me off here so you can inherit my medical knowledge!?"
"Don't be stupid—keep dreaming!!!"
Bang!
Nearly sent flying by inertia, Kureha swung her fist and smacked Chopper on the head.
"Ah!"
Chopper yelped in pain and reverted to his small childlike form.
Turning back with tears in his eyes, he protested:
"No, Doctorine!"
"It's pirates… pirates!!!"
Chopper excitedly pointed a hoof toward the harbor.
In the distance, the pirate ship had nearly docked.
A defense force organized by Dalton stood ready, guns drawn, facing the incoming vessel.
"They seem to be in trouble," Kureha said after taking a swig of liquor.
"Who? That pirate crew?" Chopper asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"Heh~"
Having already recognized the Straw Hat flag, Kureha sneered, clearly mocking Chopper's ignorance.
But the next moment, she sat back onto the sleigh and said:
"Let's go, Chopper."
"The patients in Hill Town are still waiting for treatment."
"Emergency care time is precious—we can't waste it here."
"Oh—right!"Chopper suddenly remembered, transforming back into reindeer form.
After one last curious glance at the harbor, he dashed off along the cable line.
…
…
Meanwhile, at Drum Island's harbor.
The defensive troops stood ready, guns aimed at the Going Merry.
At the very front, Dalton held a simple loudspeaker and shouted:
"Pirates! You are not welcome here!"
"Turn your ship around immediately and leave this island!"
(End of Chapter)