One Piece: The Cryo Doctor on the Straw Hat Ship

Chapter 148 Where is Elsa? (Seeking monthly votes~)

Two days later, in the eastern part of Apayado territory.

Morning light filters through layers of giant vine leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground and clouds.

The air was filled with the unique fresh scent of Yuntu, mixed with the smell of freshly turned soil.

In a newly established temporary camp, hundreds of Shandians are busy at work.

The elderly whittled the collected cloud wood into stakes, the women wove canopies from the tough cloud vines, and the children ran and played happily in the camp.

Although their clothes were still simple, everyone's face radiated an indescribable glow.

It was a kind of glory that came after four hundred years, finally returning to one's homeland.

"Look, Brother Webber! Isn't that the 'Tree of God' that Grandpa told us about when we were kids?"

A young prospective soldier pointed to a giant tree in the distance that required ten people to encircle, his voice trembling with excitement.

He was referring to an ordinary tree, but for him, who had never actually landed in Apayado, it was the most spectacular "tree" he had ever seen.

Weber did not answer.

He stood on a slightly elevated cloud-covered rock at the edge of the camp, arms crossed, gazing at the scene before him with a complex expression.

More than twenty Shandian warriors stood behind him.

These were the main forces who had previously participated in the resistance against Enel and the attempt to reclaim their homeland.

Although they had many bandages on their bodies, the wounds underneath had almost completely healed.

"Really... you're back."

A middle-aged soldier with a scar on his face murmured, his rough fingers unconsciously stroking the broken shell knife hilt at his waist.

"Four hundred years of exile... four hundred years of fighting... I never thought I would return in this way."

His voice was soft, yet it was like a needle piercing Weber's heart.

"What is this?" Another hot-blooded young warrior slammed his fist on the tree trunk beside him, causing leaves to fall in a rustling sound. "We fought desperately, so many of our people died, and in the end..."

"Is it because Lanqi and the clan chief 'agreed' to a request from a Qinghai person that we are able to stand on this land?"

"We didn't take it back! It was given to us as charity!"

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

Weber remained silent.

His gaze swept over the several clearly newly built cloud houses in the center of the camp.

That was a temporary residence that V had prepared for the Shandian chieftain Calibor and the injured Lanchi and Aisha.

Three days after the talks, a heated debate broke out among the Shandians.

A group of people, represented by Chief Calibor and Lanchi, believed that V's "cooperation" proposal should be accepted.

"We've been in exile for four hundred years! Must we continue in exile?!"

The old but firm voice of the clan elder still seemed to echo in my ears.

"This land is right before us. Our children can grow up safely here, and our elders can pass away peacefully here... Isn't this the goal we've fought for for four hundred years?"

"As for the conditions of cooperation..." Kalibo paused for a long time, his eyes, which had seen many hardships, sweeping over every soldier present. "That V was right, there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world."

"You have to pay for what you want."

The opposition was mainly composed of young fighters such as Weber.

"What's the price?! What exactly are these 'loyalty' and 'reform' he's talking about?!"

Waver recalled his impassioned question: "Make us warriors under their pirate crew? What's the difference between that and becoming Enel's slave?!"

Lanqi's voice was frighteningly calm.

“Enel treats us like ants, killing us at will. But V… he needs our power, so he will give us power.”

“More importantly,” she looked at Elsa, whom she was protecting behind her, “Elsa ‘heard’ his ‘voice’—it was genuine goodwill, at least for now.”

Aisha nodded timidly at the time: "V-brother's 'voice'...is very warm."

Finally, after a full day of intense debate and painful choices, the Shandians reached a fragile consensus:

Accept V's cooperation proposal.

In exchange, the Shandians will undergo V's so-called "power enhancement modification" in batches and promise to provide combat support to the Straw Hat Pirates when needed in the future.

The first batch of people to undergo the transformation included Chief Kalibo, Lanchi, and three other warriors who were the most seriously injured in the battle.

"They 'sold' themselves."

Weber suddenly said in a low voice, his voice full of bitterness.

Soon, it will be the agreed-upon time for Lan Qi and the others to return.

However, time passed little by little.

As the morning light gradually turned into the intense heat of midday, and the clouds and dust rose in a misty haze, those figures still did not return.

"It's been almost five hours..." a soldier whispered, "Could something have happened to them?"

"Shut up!" Weber snapped, his eyes equally cold and hard.

He was prepared that if Launch and the others didn't return, he would do anything to find that Straw Hat Pirates guy and get to the bottom of it.

However, before he could finish speaking...

The clouds in the distance suddenly churned.

Several figures gradually emerged from the hazy mist, slowly walking towards the camp.

Weber's pupils contracted sharply.

The person in the lead was none other than Lan Qi.

She was still wearing that Shandian-style short outfit, but on her bare shoulders, arms, and waist, there were faint, light silver patterns, as if light was quietly breathing beneath her skin.

Following closely behind was the clan chief, Kalibo.

The elderly man is no longer the hunched and frail person he once was.

At this moment, his back was straight, and the wooden cane that had accompanied him for decades had been replaced by a cane that gleamed with a cold metallic light.

The staff is covered with fine patterns, resembling a long, slender sword, with an ice-blue crystal embedded at the top, occasionally flashing with a cold light.

The other three soldiers who went with him also appeared one after another.

All their scars have disappeared, replaced by silver patterns similar to Lanqi's, either distributed on their arms or wrapped around their calves.

“That is…” The soldiers behind Webber were stunned.

The people in front of me were both familiar and unfamiliar.

What was familiar were the face and eyes, but what was unfamiliar was the aura of technology and power that emanated from him, a aura that seemed out of place in this world above the clouds.

Lan Qi stopped a few meters in front of the crowd.

Her gaze swept over Weber's tense face, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

“Weber?” she said softly, her voice still the same, but seemingly calmer. “We’re back.”

Weber and the others immediately surrounded them, asking anxiously, "How...how did you all end up like this?"

Lan Qi smiled slightly, feeling the new power surging within her, and easily asked, "Isn't this good?"

Weber's gaze swept carefully over everyone, his expression complex. After a moment's hesitation, he replied, "...It's not bad..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly seemed to remember something important, and with a start, he cried out in alarm:

"Wait a minute—where's Elsa!?"

"Why didn't that little girl come back with you?"

Chapter 149 The Regulator, Aisha (Seeking monthly votes~)

at the same time.

Inside the dwelling place of the gods, in a huge room that Enel had cleared out to use as a temporary laboratory, a cold and precise atmosphere permeated the air.

Around the room, several server arrays, each three meters tall, stood like silent giants, their indicator lights flashing rhythmically like a constellation of stars.

Thick coolant pipes climbed along the wall, their dark green liquid flowing at an astonishing speed, emitting a low gurgling sound as it quickly carried away the heat generated by the equipment.

In the center of the room, a uniquely shaped mechanical chair sits quietly.

The chair body is made of matte metal with cold, hard lines, and the backrest and armrests are covered with tiny interfaces and sensor contacts.

Several flexible data cables extend from behind the chair, connecting to the surrounding server array.

"Don't be afraid."

V's voice was gentle and calm.

He held Aisha's little hand and guided this Shandian girl with special Observation Haki step by step toward the mechanical chair.

Elsa bit her lower lip nervously, her small hand trembling slightly in V's palm.

She was dressed in a simple Shandian-style short outfit, her bare feet treading carefully on the cold, smooth ground.

Although her sister Lanqi and her grandfather the clan chief told her not to worry, the unfamiliarity she felt when facing these "machines" she had never seen before still made her instinctively uneasy.

“What are these…?” Aisha asked softly, her clear eyes scanning the flashing indicator lights and flowing pipes around her.

“They are ‘auxiliary devices’.” V stopped in front of the mechanical chair, half-squatting down to be at eye level with Aisha. “Like a warrior’s weapon, a navigator’s compass.”

They can help you better manage your abilities.

“My… ability?” Aisha blinked.

“Those ‘sounds’ you heard, right?” V smiled slightly. “That’s a very special talent. In Qinghai, people call it Observation Haki.”

"And yet you were able to cover the entire Sky Island with Observation Haki at such a young age and without any training..."

"Your talent is a rare gem, even in a sea of ​​powerful individuals, and is worth nurturing with all our might."

"Am I really that amazing?" Hearing V's affirmation, little Aisha looked up in surprise, her clear eyes filled with unbelievable excitement.