After reading the newspaper article, Sanji, who had been extremely worried, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it wasn't what he had imagined.
"Let me take a look," Leo said as he reached for the newspaper in Vivi's hand.
He examined the photograph printed on the front page—an image of Velis clashing with Crocodile. From the picture, it was clear that Velis had used field magic. She had bound most of the dust particles together and then vaporized them with flames, forcing Crocodile into close combat.
As a result, his legs had nearly been broken.
Velis's body, made entirely of pure magic, was so durable that even Crocodile couldn't break through it quickly. At best, he could attempt suppression, exile, sealing, or destruction. But those methods weren't effective in such a short encounter.
Still, Crocodile was nothing short of impressive. Even though he was caught off guard due to the lack of information, Velis had only managed to drive him away. Capturing or killing him was nearly impossible.
Leo folded the newspaper and turned to Nami. "How long until we reach Drum Island?"
"Ahem... less than half a day," Nami replied. She coughed lightly and glanced at the log pose on her wrist before continuing. "Sailing has been smooth lately, and we're already getting close."
"Good. Once we find a doctor, we head straight to Alabasta," Leo nodded, not noticing Nami's strange behavior.
He had been observing her for days now. Ever since the magical markings had been engraved onto her, she had grown much stronger. Perhaps nothing serious had happened this time.
For now, his focus was on recruiting Chopper and rushing to Alabasta. He was especially eager to meet a certain black-haired boy with the marks of Madara on both cheeks.
The moment he first saw that scene, he'd wanted to beat up the author for how things played out.
But now that he had entered the story as a variable, maybe things would play out differently.
Thinking along those lines, Leo took the lead and stepped out of the cabin.
"I wonder if Zoro's strayed off course again," he muttered to himself.
Oddly enough, the air outside felt warmer than before. Just a moment ago, it had been a little chilly.
Bang!
Suddenly, Nami collapsed onto Vivi, who had been standing next to her. Caught off guard, Vivi had no time to steady herself and was pulled down along with Nami. Her head slammed against the deck with a dull thud.
But Vivi didn't care about herself. She immediately turned to check on Nami's condition.
"Us!!"
Everyone who hadn't yet exited the cabin heard the noise and turned around in unison, exclaiming in shock.
Damn it!
How could this happen? Everything had seemed fine just moments ago!
Leo didn't waste a second. He instantly appeared beside them, helped Vivi up, and then carried Nami to her bed inside the cabin.
The rest of the crew gathered anxiously around them. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Leo.
After all, he was the one serving as a part-time doctor, and in Nami's current condition, he was their only hope.
"Her temperature is over 40 degrees Celsius. This can't go on," Leo muttered as he checked her forehead. "Step back. She needs fresh air now."
He gently pushed everyone away and then cast a constant life spell on Nami.
He didn't use healing magic—not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't.
His healing spells were designed for battlefield trauma—for injuries, not illnesses. Diagnosing and treating disease required a trained doctor. Using magic without knowing the cause was risky—it was like casting holy light on a shadow creature. You never knew whether you were healing or killing.
"Will… will Nami die?" Sanji stood frozen, a cigarette dangling from his lips. Tears and snot ran down his face as he asked hoarsely, "Is it possible, Leo?"
Leo gave him an annoyed side-eye.
"Don't be so dramatic," he snapped. "We're almost at Drum Island. She'll be fine."
He removed the log pose from Nami's wrist and handed it to Vivi. "Besides, I'm here. What are you worried about?"
After reassuring Sanji, Leo turned to Vivi, his tone more serious now.
"You're the only one on board with some proper knowledge of navigation," he said. "Please take us to Drum Island."
Although Leo could have teleported there with Nami, the problem was the permanent log pose. There was only one onboard, and if he left with it, the rest of the crew would be lost at sea.
Without Nami's navigation skills, they'd have no chance of reaching Alabasta safely. The Grand Line's unpredictable weather could kill them.
"Don't worry. Leave it to me," Vivi said with determination as she checked the log pose. "Everyone, follow me! Our course has drifted—we need to adjust the rudder immediately!"
"Move it! Now!" she shouted.
Everyone except Leo scrambled into action. As the only one still acting as the doctor, he remained by Nami's side.
Even though Leo said she'd be okay, everyone was filled with anxiety. In the past, injuries had been no problem—Leo's magic healed them in moments. But now, Nami wasn't improving at all.
That fact alone made her illness all the more terrifying.
The Going Merry surged forward across the sea.
Without any manual control, a transparent layer of wind magic enveloped the ship, enhancing its speed and stabilizing its course. The vessel moved faster than it ever had before.
At some point, snow began falling from the sky. The cold wind bit into their skin, numbing their senses.
"It's freezing out here!"
Leo peered out at the crew standing on deck, shivering in their thin clothes. Slapping his forehead in frustration, he waved his hand and summoned thick winter coats for everyone.
"Put these on! Winter Islands aren't like anywhere else!" he shouted.
The Grand Line's geography meant that places like Drum Island were locked in perpetual winter. The blizzard wouldn't stop unless Leo used high-level environmental-altering magic—and that would draw too much attention.
The crew gratefully accepted the clothes and bundled up quickly. They had been on their way inside to change anyway, but something outside had caught their attention and stopped them in their tracks.
A man was standing on the ocean surface.
He approached slowly, as if taking a leisurely walk across the water. "It's really cold today," he said casually.
"Yeah," Usopp and Luffy replied in unison. "It suddenly got freezing."
"Oh, it's definitely cold," the man continued with a slight grin. "Must be the snowstorm."
Suddenly, a massive submarine ship rose up from beneath his feet. It was several times larger than the Merry. The waves surged violently, causing the Merry to tilt backward and drift sideways with alarming force.
"What the hell is that?!" Luffy cried out, grabbing the railing with one hand and holding his straw hat down with the other. "Is that… a watermelon?"
Inside the cabin, Leo quickly stabilized Nami's bed as the ship rocked. His brows furrowed as he looked outside.
Wapol.
He hadn't expected to run into that clown here—not with this timing. He had thought, given the changes he'd already made to the timeline, that Wapol wouldn't appear.
But not only had Nami fallen ill just like in the original story, Wapol also showed up at the same time.
Was this fate? Or was the world correcting itself?
Ãdvåñçé 60 çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn (Gk31)