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[35 Chapters in Advance on Patre.on]

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Chapter 35: The Feeble Monster I

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"The winter Island..." Capone remarked, seeming very irked about something. It was so cold that he couldn't light up his cigar anymore.

"Wow," Laffitte eyed the Island with a bit of fascination, "Those mountains... I wonder what will happen if we bring them down on the Island?"

"Huh?" Capone's face twitched in speechlessness, "Everyone will die? And we won't get what we're here for?"

"Aghh, so annoying, but they could function as lunch, ai?" Laffitte changed the subject, remembering what they were there for. 

His eyes were on dozens of penguins on the ship. Once they got near the Island, they were faced with a storm of flying fish, most of which settled safely on the ship.

That was followed by dozens of odd frog-like penguins jumping on the ship to have lunch, feeding upon the flying fish. Their squawking was never-ending.

Soon the ship docked on the Island's port, and only then did Capone summon his subordinates back inside of his body, "Aghh, why am I even doing this?" Capone also followed along with Laffitte with a bit of complaining.

"Hmm, I wonder?" Laffitte released a grin as he side-glanced at Capone.

"What's with that ugly grin you clown??" That knowing glance drove Capone mad as he yelled.

"Says you fatty." Without waiting for a response, Laffitte jumped out of the ship and started running away much to the dismay of many locals passing by.

Like everyone else, they were wearing very heavy clothing, winter clothing due to the coldness of the Island.

The snow seems to be a constant on the Island, making it hard to move about which is why the locals were using all types of animals for transportation.

"Hoi!!!" The nearest town wasn't too far off from the port, but the two still had to walk quite a bit to reach it. However, they were stopped at the town's gate from passing through.

More than a dozen people gathered before the gate with all types of very primitive weapons, eyeing the two with wariness. If their appearance spoke of anything, it was that they're some kind of psychopaths.

In the lead was an elderly man, barely able to hold himself up with a cane, "What brought you here?" His tone wasn't kind.

"To..." Before Laffitte could speak, Capone smacked him, shutting him up as he spoke himself lest the psychopath says something that would make things harder than necessary.

"We've heard of the Drum Kingdom's specialty. It is very famous out there for having some of the best doctors in the Grand Line, and I don't like to hire them all to save a friend." Capone got right to the point.

It was left to the locals whether they would believe him or not as the elderly asked, "And where is the said friend?"

"He is inside of me..." And then there was a long silence before Capone decided to clarify, "He's with me. You just can not say it. I will not expand upon that any further."

"I see... Please do not bring this kingdom's people any more suffering than they're already going through, and be careful, the king isn't kind." The elderly person pointed out before he and his people dispersed.

There was an air of surrender in the town. Everywhere they went, it was the same until they decided to visit the elderly person again who is apparently the mayor of the town.

"Ahem ahem..." They found him seated right in the open next to a wooden house, just chilling on his own.

His name was Bayron, and he was quite friendly, more friendly than any other person in the town, perhaps he didn't care about life anymore.

He told them just about everything they wanted to know. The kingdom was once ruled by the royal family of Drum Island. 

It once had a kind ruler and many of the greatest doctors on the Grand Line. However, when the king died, his son Wapol came into power, and things took a turn for the worse. 

Wapol issued that the twenty best doctors had to work exclusively for him (the Isshi-20), while the rest of the doctors were banished or killed, to ensure that his subjects would be absolutely loyal and grovel at his feet for medical attention.

The only doctor still out of his control is Kureha, an extremely elderly doctor who works on Drum Island. 

She is also referred to as a witch by some people because of her longevity, reaching 139 years of age! Her medical expertise is also unmatched, complemented by her peculiar personality, made her quite the oddball.

Luckily for the duo, they were informed that she lives right on the outskirts of this town, Gyasta. 

The pair were free to roam around however they want because the town didn't seem to have any soldiers roaming about, no protection whatsoever. 

That's why the townspeople saw it in themselves to protect the town, because if they don't, who will? Their cruel selfish king that they hate and despise with all their heart yet fear all the same?

On the outskirts of Gyasta, there is a huge tree that serves as Kureha's home and also the place where she performs her medical examinations.

"Stay away!!"

The two found themselves standing before the place, a bit stupified as they eyed the toddler-sized human/reindeer hybrid, a cute piece of cotton that drove certain words out of Laffitte.

"Hello cute little thing! Have you ever been set on fire? It feels nice I swear!" Laffitte even took the trouble of crouching down with a sweet smile... Well, he thinks it was a sweet smile.

The reality was that every hair of the little reindeer stood up in alarm at that sweet genuine smile, leaping away in fear only to end up getting caught by someone he trusts.

"Now that's rude, hehe," Holding the little hybrid reindeer was what appeared to be a middle-aged lady adorned in pants with a pink design on the left leg and a blazer with a yellow line along the shoulders and down each arm. 

Her clothing was a stark contrast to her age as she was further attired in a white shirt with a pink cherry blossom on the front and green sleeves and borders.

"He's a bit odd, so excuse his weirdness, but if we may ask, where is Dr, Kureha?" Capone took the lead, knowing that Laffitte may make things worse, and he indeed did.

"She's right before you." The lady responded.

"No way? Isn't she an old hag?" Laffitte questioned in disbelief.

Before Laffitte can react, he found her crouching right before him, eyeing him directly with murderous eyes, "And who told you that??!"

"The old man in the town?" Laffitte answered with a bit of confusion, finding her eyes a bit attractive, specifically that I'm gonna murder you if you don't answer look.

"Oh, well, I'll have a talk with him later," Her murderous look vanished as she stood up, asking, "And what might you two want??"

"May we enter from the cold first?" Capone asked, drawing a curious glance from Kureha, but at last, she allowed them inside.

"Fifty Million Beli to help someone wake up, but also create some kind of drug or anything to basically counter what they're doing." The moment they entered, Capone got right to the subject.

"You either have a lot of explaining to do, or you can show me the patient." Money wasn't on her mind, she was mostly curious though the money may certainly help the people of this land quite a bit.

Kureha wasn't too surprised when Capone's footwear opened up like a gate, allowing two tiny individuals to walk out, carrying a certain someone on a medical bed.

The tiny individuals soon started getting bigger and bigger until they became human-sized.

Kureha couldn't help it, a bit of shock manifesting on her face as she laid eyes on the patient. She could only see his face because the rest of his body was hidden under a blanket, but that was enough to tell her a lot.

"He's hot," Kureha remarked.

And Laffitte agreed, "I know right? I told him something similar when we first met."

Kureha completely ignored him because she was pretty sure what she meant by hot and what he meant are totally different things.

"Yeah, his body is very hot... It's very active despite being almost completely skin and bones... His regeneration capabilities are... Well, miraculous to the point he should be fine on his own in just about two months."

And all it took her to come to such a conclusion was a bit of touching and smelling, "Hmm, very odd." Kureha started stroking her chin in deep thought, "How?" She questioned.

"Overusing his Devil Fruit," Capone responded as he took out his cigar and took a long smoke.

"Hmm, It's indeed very odd, but I won't prey any further," Kureha smiled as she held the still afraid reindeer a bit tighter, closing his ears in the process, "Forget about the money, Kill the King."