One Piece: The Cryo Doctor on the Straw Hat Ship

The entire Straw Hat crew disembarked and headed towards the interior of Drum Island.

Soon, the group arrived at a small village near the shore.

However, the "whiteness" of this island covered in snow does not seem to be as pure and flawless as its appearance suggests.

"Get up! Stop playing dead!"

"Hurry up and get out of here! Do you want to get whipped?"

"Waaaaah~ Husband~!"

"Daddy, Daddy..."

The fierce shouts and children's cries, mixed with the cold wind, came from the center of the village.

The Straw Hat group, who had reached the edge of the village, stopped and looked in the direction of the sound.

A group of civilians dressed in thin clothes were being driven forward like livestock by a group of armed and uniformly dressed people.

The man in the lead was dressed in fine clothes, but his expression was arrogant and fierce. He had a thick, frizzy head of hair, and the whip in his hand cracked loudly in the air.

The whip was about to strike a little girl...

Just then!

"Hey, you're such a grown man, how can you bully a child like that?"

A hand suddenly grabbed the long whip in Cromarímon's hand.

Nami quickly picked up the little girl who had closed her eyes in fear and took her away.

"Huh!? Who are you people!?"

Cromarimon, the official in charge of the Drum Kingdom, looked up and asked angrily.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the entire village froze, and even the wind and snow seemed to pause.

"We are pirates who are passing by."

V's voice was as calm as ice, and his eyes were just as cold as ice.

He gripped the whip with slightly firm metal fingers.

Crash—

The steel whip handle groaned under the strain on his fingers, and fine cracks appeared on its surface.

Cromarimon's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively tried to pull the whip back, but felt as if it were welded shut by iron clamps, unable to move an inch.

The guards behind him, armed with muskets and swords, immediately raised their weapons and aimed them at the Straw Hat crew.

"Pirates!?"

The villagers gasped in terror and instinctively shrank back, but dared not move in fear of the guards.

Not long ago, their country was invaded by a group of pirates. Knowing that they were no match for them, His Majesty the King took the lead in fleeing with the kingdom's high-ranking officials, plunging their country into anarchy.

However, just a few days ago, the current king of the Drum Kingdom, Wapol, suddenly returned, recaptured the castle, and re-established his rule.

Instead of offering any explanation for his previous escape, he intensified his oppression of the people, forcibly conscripting civilians into unpaid labor under the pretext of plundering wealth and rebuilding castles.

The official Cromarímon was sent by Vapol to this village to forcibly conscript laborers.

"Pirates!?"

Cromarimon was initially startled, but then a sinister smile appeared on his face:

"Hmph, so they're just a bunch of ignorant pirates!"

"Perfect timing! His Majesty the King is currently short of manpower for the castle reconstruction. Since you've delivered yourselves to his doorstep, let's all take you in as laborers!"

He suddenly waved his hand and roared at the guards behind him:

"What are you all standing there for?! Take down all these arrogant pirates! Anyone who dares to resist, kill them without mercy!"

The guards responded in unison and pulled the triggers in unison. The muskets roared, and lead bullets rained down.

But the next second—

At almost the same time, Zoro and Sanji made their move.

"Three-Sword Style: Demon Slash!"

"Crushed!"

Blade flashes and kicks tore through the wind and snow, shattering or kicking away the incoming lead bullets.

With their combined efforts, not a single bullet could cross the line; they were all blocked.

Usopp seized the opportunity to pick up the sniper rifle and opened fire on the guards in the distance.

The specially made ammunition precisely pierced the guards' bodies, creating brilliant bursts of blood.

Nami's drone also took off at the opportune moment, circling the sky to search for any remaining fish.

The battle started quickly and ended even faster.

Cromarimon felt a blur before his eyes.

In less than ten seconds, all the guards behind him collapsed to the ground groaning.

"Rubber rubber—pistol!"

Just then, Luffy's fist followed closely behind, spanning more than ten meters, and slammed into Cromarimon's face.

"Ah!" Cromarimon screamed as he flew backward and plunged into the snow, with only his two twitching legs sticking out.

The villagers stared in disbelief at the scene until V walked up to the little girl being protected by Nami and knelt down.

"Don't be afraid." He gently brushed the snowflakes from the girl's face with his heated metal fingers, his voice unusually gentle.

"Can you tell me what happened here?"

The girl stared at him blankly, shook her head, and whispered, "The king... the king took everyone away, and now only old people and children are left in the other villages..."

Before she could finish speaking, an angry voice suddenly came from the other end of the village:

"What...what are you trying to do?!"

"Let go of that girl!!!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.

A burly man with broad shoulders and a thick back stood at the edge of the village.

However, when he stepped out of the snowstorm and came into everyone's view, everyone was stunned.

Because the figure clearly had a human body and limbs, but its body was covered with fur that only animals have.

Chapter 69: You led them here (Please read on!)

"This is... a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user!?"

Zoro instinctively gripped the long sword in his hand.

However, just as he was about to assume a fighting stance, the little girl who had been leaning against V suddenly ran away and rushed straight towards the strange figure.

"Chopper, you're finally here!!!"

The little girl threw herself into Chopper's warm and soft chest.

"Mia, are you alright?"

Chopper gently patted the girl's shoulder with his palm.

However, after noticing the wary and fearful looks from the villagers around him, he ultimately did not linger his gaze on the girl for too long.

Chopper looked up warily at V and the others.

Who are you?

"Could they also be pursuers sent by Valba!?"

"Pursuers?" Luffy tilted his head and grinned. "We're not pursuers, we're pirates!"

"Pirates!?"

Chopper's eyes trembled slightly.

Influenced by his adoptive father, Hiruluk, he developed a fondness for pirates, who embodied adventure and rebellion, from a young age.

One of his dreams was to go to sea and become a pirate.

Chopper paused, "You guys...you're really not Wapol's people?"

"Of course, my name is Monkey D. Luffy."

"He's going to be the Pirate King!"

Luffy grinned widely and pointed at V and the others.

"And they are all my partners!"

"Chopper, they really aren't bad people."

The little girl who was rescued by the Straw Hat crew also chimed in:

"Thanks to them, otherwise my dad would have been taken away by those bad guys!"

"I see." Chopper blinked his round eyes, his antlers trembling slightly in the wind and snow.

However, at that moment, Mia's father, who had broken free of the ropes, suddenly ran over quickly.

"Mia!!!"

The man frantically held the girl in his arms, as if he were afraid something might happen to her.

Chopper's open mouth suddenly froze.

He looked around at the villagers, only to see pairs of eyes filled with terror.

“…………” Chopper pursed his lips, a strange sense of grievance welling up in his heart.

But a moment later, just before his tears completely flowed, he suddenly turned around and ran into the natural curtain of wind and snow.

"Chopper!"