The man did not move, when the ocean exploded.
Metal burst upward from beneath the surface in a violent surge of foam and spray. A massive wooden hull enforced with steel tore through the sea directly under the standing figure.
The Merry rocked violently as a black submarine breached, its iron body glistening with seawater. A royal insignia, that was painted along its side, gleamed mockingly in the sunlight.
The man standing above it leapt lightly backward, landing atop the rising conning tower with ease.
His name was Chess and he was one of Wapol´s strongest retainers.
His sharp features twisted into a sneer.
"You took the bait," he called down coldly.
Cassandra's jaw tightened.
Of course, how could that not have been a trap.
The sea settled, as the submarine finished surfacing, dwarfing the Merry with sheer bulk. Cannon ports lined its sides. Hatches opened.
A lot of armed soldiers in thick winter cloaks assembled on the railing of the submarine. They even boarded the Merry and pointed rifles at the Straw Hat Crew.
From the largest hatch a rotund figure stepped forward, cape fluttering dramatically behind him.
Wapol
He threw his arms wide.
"Wahahahaha! Tremble before the great King Wapol!"
Snowflake emblems decorated his coat. His crown gleamed absurdly in the sunlight.
"Pirates trespassing in my waters without tribute!" he declared loudly. "This vessel is now mine!"
Luffy blinked.
"…Who are you?"
Wapol gasped dramatically. "WHO AM I?! You ignorant peasants! I am the sovereign ruler of Drum Kingdom!"
He leapt from the submarine deck onto the Merry without invitation. The wood creaked under his weight.
Chess and another large figure with an afro named Kuromarimo followed smoothly behind him.
Sanji sneered at the people. "You can't just board someone's ship."
Wapol ignored him completely.
He walked along the deck, tapping the railing with his knuckles, inspecting the wood like livestock at market.
"Hm. Decent craftsmanship."
He leaned forward and bit into the railing.
CRACK.
Wood splintered violently as his jaw grew to a ridiculous size and tore through the ship's side.
He chewed thoughtfully.
This was his Devil Fruit ability, after eating the Baku Baku no Mi.
He can eat anything and either make new things with the materials, or integrate them into his body.
This ability could even fuse two people into one body.
"Mmm. Solid oak. Not bad."
The deck went silent.
Luffy's smile vanished.
The bite mark gaped openly, where the railing had been.
Wapol swallowed and licked his lips.
"Perhaps I'll take the mast next."
Cassandra's hand slid slowly toward her sword.
Sanji's eyes darkened.
Bartolomeo stepped protectively in front of Vivi.
But Luffy was furious.
The Merry was a gift and also part of his beloved crew.
When Luffy moved forward, the soldiers that pointed rifles at him shot without warning.
To their surprise the bullets didn´t kill the boy with the straw hat.
They bounced of his body and shot back hurting them.
The eyes of Wapol´s men widened in shock at this spectacle.
These shots were the start signal for the rest of the crew.
Sanji, Cassandra and Bartolomeo were way to strong for these soldiers.
They easily dispatched them.
Cassandra disarmed ten soldiers, before they surrendered.
She looked at them with a cruel and wicked smile, sending shivers down their spines.
Luffy was still walking calmly.
His shadow fell over Wapol.
"That's our ship," he said quietly.
Wapol looked down at him with annoyance.
"And?"
Luffy's arms stretched backward.
Wapol opened his massive jaw and bit down on Luffy chewing him like a gum.
The wind shifted.
"Gomu Gomu no—"
Wapol blinked seeing the stretched arms of the boy, he tried to eat.
"—Bazooka!"
Both rubber fists slammed forward with explosive force, striking Wapol square in the stomach.
The impact thundered across the deck.
The king's eyes bulged.
Wapol spit out Luffy and rocketed upward into the sky, spinning violently.
"WAAAAAAHAAAA—!!"
His voice faded into the distance.
A tiny shiny speck on the horizon.
Then gone.
Silence.
Chess stared upward in disbelief.
Kuromarimo blinked slowly.
"…His Majesty," Chess muttered.
Luffy cracked his knuckles.
"Don't eat our ship."
The officers slowly turned back toward the crew.
For the first time they looked uncertain.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The sea gently rocked the Merry beside the surfaced submarine. The only sound was the creaking wood where Wapol had bitten the railing and the distant fading echo of his scream somewhere far beyond the horizon.
Chess stared upward, unmoving.
Kuromarimo scratched his head in panic.
"Oh no the majesty can´t swim" the large man muttered.
Chess looked at him still paralyzed from the shock. "Should… shouldn´t we like, go get him?"
Luffy shrugged. "He deserved it."
Sanji exhaled smoke. "Eating our ship huh. What a waste."
Below deck, Nami coughed weak and rough.
The sound cut through the tension.
Cassandra stepped forward.
Her hand rested lightly on the hilt of her sword.
Chess' eyes shifted to her immediately.
She didn't raise her voice, but the temperature on the deck got even colder.
"You attacked us," she said evenly.
"You damaged our ship."
"You delayed us."
Her thumb pushed the guard slightly.
A thin metallic sound rang out, as the blade moved half an inch from its sheath.
"What will you do now?"
Kuromarimo got angry.
Chess forced a scoff. "You think you can threaten the royal army?"
They insulted her and cursed her for her insolence.
Cassandra didn´t move.
A big pulsing vein formed on her temple. She was absolutly seething with anger and annoyence.
All the insults, curses and slogans about how great king Wapol is and how strong his soldiers are, were thrown at her, while they boldly retreated back to their ship.
Cassandra had never seen such audacity in person before.
How people this stupid could live this long, was beyond her.
When all soldiers were back on the submarine, they set curse to follow their king.
They still threatened the pirates saying, that they will surely meet again.
Kuromarimo and Chess heard a sniffle and looked to the side.
Their a bunch of soldiers were almost naked, sniffeling from the cold.
"What happened to your clothes?," Kuromarimo asked surprised.
One soldier answered tears streaming down his eyes.
"This evil swordwoman took them all."
Then he sneezed and snot ran down his face.
Both officers of Wapol´s army looked shocked.
"What an evil woman," both said.
The submarine was gone.
It also dissapeared behind the horizon, just like Wapol.
For a moment, the world was quiet again. but the gentle calm from before was gone.
The air had changed.
The wind bit.
Luffy shivered. "It got cold fast…"
Sanji handed him a heavy coat from the captured supplies. "Put it on before you freeze, idiot."
Dark clouds rolled across the sky, swallowing the sun. The sea turned a dull steel gray.
A single snowflake landed on the deck.
Bartolomeo held out his hand. "…Snow?"
Another followed.
Then dozens.
"Look guys I got mantles for everyone," Cassandra said with a happy grin.
"Oh you are a life saver," Nojiko and Vivi said, while quickly putting them on.
Even the ever robust Luffy put one on.
Within minutes, white drifted across the Merry as the temperature dropped even more.
Nojiko tightened her grip on the helm. "Wind's shifting north. We're entering winter waters."
Vivi helped Sanji carry blankets and spare mantles below deck. "Nami's getting worse."
Below, Nami's breathing had grown shallow. Her skin flushed unnaturally red against the pale light filtering through the porthole.
Vivi adjusted the cloth on her forehead.
"Hold on… we're close."
Above deck, Bartolomeo tried to repair the part of the ship Wapol ate, but he wasn´t a carpenter.
He just hammered some spare planks on the hole, to cover it up.
It wasn´t pretty and didn´t look very sturdy, but it would do for now.
Cassandra stood at the bow, coat fluttering in the freezing wind. Snow gathered in her hair, but she didn't seem to notice.
Her eyes were fixed forward.
At first it was just a pale smudge on the horizon.
Then the clouds parted slightly and tall mountains appeared in the distance.
Towering white spires rose from the ocean like frozen fangs, their peaks lost in the storm clouds above. Snowstorms spiraled down their sides in endless curtains of ice.
A kingdom carved from winter itself.
Bartolomeo stared in awe. "That place looks… hostile."
Luffy grinned. "It looks awesome!"
Sanji came back up the stairs, his expression serious now. "We don't have time to admire it."
The wind howled harder, as the Merry approached the coast. Ice floes drifted past the hull, bumping softly against the wood.
Nojiko carefully guided the ship between them.
"Shallow waters ahead," she called. "We'll have to dock manually."
Vivi emerged from below deck, worry written across her face. "Her fever's still rising."
For once, Luffy didn't smile.
"Then we go faster."
Cassandra nodded once.
"Yes."
The Merry slid into a narrow snow-covered harbor. The shoreline was silent. No movement could be seen in this snow covered little town.
Only a fierce wind swept powdered snow across empty ground.
Sanji jumped down first, boots crunching into thick snow.
He turned and looked back at the ship.
"We need to find a Doctor as fast as possible," he said firmly.
Cassandra stood at the railing of the Merry.
She watched the village for any hostile movement.
Her breath was visible in the frigid air.
She knew it wouldn´t be simple to find a Doctor here, but she couldn´t quite grasp why.
The Going Merry creaked softly against the ice.
Ahead, the snow-covered land stretched toward the towering mountains of Drum.
Smoke rose from the town.
No voices carried on the wind.
Only the storm answered.