"You need a Log Pose to travel through the Grand Line."
At that moment, everyone on the ship stood awkwardly on the deck.
Igaram stared at them in shock. "The weather, ocean currents, and everything else along the Grand Line change in ways that don't follow common sense. Regular Log Poses and compasses can't find the correct direction here. A Log Pose, however, permanently points toward a specific island and never changes direction."
The reason he explained so much was that he had discovered that these people…
didn't even have a Log Pose?!
Nami said awkwardly, "We just entered the Grand Line. How could we possibly have one of those?"
Then she angrily added, "What about you? Aren't you the captain of a kingdom's guards? Why don't you even have a Log Pose pointing toward your own country?!"
"Of course I have one! It's just…" Igaram sounded a little embarrassed. He spread his arms, showing everyone his oversized hospital gown. "It's just that I was so excited when I heard I was leaving that I came straight here wearing this hospital gown!"
"Hey, hey, you're not blaming me, are you?" Sanji moved closer with an unfriendly look. "You should've followed us yourself. If you couldn't keep up, you should've stayed in the whale's stomach."
"All right, all right. Either way, we should find somewhere to stop first and see if there's a Log Pose," Ben Tennyson said helplessly. "Come to think of it, I should've warned you about this."
"Right, Ben. You came from the Grand Line. You should've told us about this sooner," Luffy said, poking Ben.
"Give me a break. I passed out from swallowing seawater while saving you, you helpless landlubber. By the time I woke up, you were already charging toward the Going Merry. When was I supposed to say anything?" Ben rolled his eyes at Luffy, then tapped his watch.
"Anyway, I'll fly up and take a look around."
Ben transformed into Stinkfly and flew through the sky, buzzing like a giant fly.
After flying around for a while, he returned. When he reached the deck, he said in Stinkfly's form, "There really is an island nearby, but it seems to be a Winter Island."
"Because the climate on the Grand Line is so unstable, some places maintain the same climate all year round. A Spring Island is an island where it stays spring all year, while a Winter Island remains in winter year-round," Igaram explained, knowing that everyone had just come from the East Blue and might not know what a Winter Island was.
"Come to think of it, could the Winter Island nearby be the Witch Country?"
"The Witch Country?" everyone asked at once.
The moment they heard that name, they became interested in the country.
Sanji was especially excited. He imagined women dressed as witches, holding magic wands and casting love spells on him, and completely lost himself in the fantasy.
"I've heard a little about it. It isn't a country of witches. It's a country cursed by a witch." Ben rolled his eyes when he saw Sanji's expression. He knew exactly what Sanji was thinking.
"A country cursed by a witch?" Luffy asked at once. After hearing the story about the witch, he temporarily put Callet's affairs out of his mind.
"I don't know the details. I've never been there either." Ben shrugged.
Igaram also shook his head. "I don't know much about it. It's an extremely isolated country and completely unsuitable for human habitation. It's the most unusual of all the Winter Islands. The temperature there is cold enough to freeze a person solid."
"What?" Nami was filled with resistance at the thought. She had a demon's body, which could recover almost endlessly, but if she were frozen solid, she would be no different from anyone else. She might even have it worse, since a demon could remain alive inside the ice forever.
So she didn't want to visit the island. Igaram didn't want to go either, because he thought their priority should be reaching Alabasta—or, more accurately, rescuing Princess Vivi.
Usopp didn't want to go either. His thoughts were similar to Nami's. Getting involved with Callet was already troublesome enough. If they provoked a witch along the way, things would become even more complicated.
But Luffy, Ben, and Sanji all wanted to go.
Luffy was an adventurer by nature. After hearing about a place like that, how could he call himself an adventurer if he didn't go?
Ben believed that an icy island like this had to contain rare and unusual creatures. He also hated being bored and had a strong spirit of adventure. Though he was young, he had no interest in simply following the usual rules.
Sanji's first reason was similar to Ben's: he wanted to find rare creatures that might fill his stomach. His second reason was that he wanted to meet the shrine maiden on the island!
With the vote tied at three to three, the six of them turned their eyes toward Zoro.
Zoro had been leaning against the ship. He didn't really care whether they went or not, but under everyone's gaze, he said, "Don't we need one of those Log Poses? If we don't go, are we supposed to pick a random direction and sail across the sea?"
If he had to choose, Zoro would naturally choose to enter this "country cursed by a witch." He had come to the Grand Line to challenge powerful opponents, whether that opponent was Callet or some witch.
If the opponent happened to be a skilled swordswoman, that would be even better.
"Four to three! Let's go!" Luffy shouted excitedly.
"Wait!" Seeing that they were about to head toward that so-called Witch Country, Nami hurriedly said, "You forgot that one person still hasn't voted!"
Everyone looked at her as if to say, What are you talking about?
Nami put her hands on her hips and said confidently, "You forgot the Going Merry! The Going Merry is our partner too. Of course we have to ask for its opinion before we go!"
?!
Everyone was stunned by Nami's words. Usopp immediately understood what she meant and stepped forward.
"That's right! There's also the Going Merry! The Going Merry is our partner too. I won't allow you to leave it out!"
If they held a normal vote, it was hard to say what the Going Merry would choose. But Nami had been the first person to think of it. How could the Going Merry bear to sail in a different direction from Nami?
That meant they wouldn't have to go to that so-called Witch Country.
They still wouldn't know where to go next, but if something happened in the Witch Country, they could lose a great deal of time.
That was how Usopp saw it.
"He has a point!" Luffy suddenly looked enlightened. "All right! Then the Going Merry can cast the deciding vote!"
A ship was going to vote?
A ship had no hands and no mouth. How could it vote?
That didn't trouble Nami. She walked to the bow and said, "Going Merry, you can hear us, right? If you agree with me, sail to the left. If you agree with those stupid men, sail to the right."
The Going Merry had a certain degree of self-awareness, which everyone knew. For example, it had previously created a protective barrier to shield them. Its intelligence might not be enough for it to sail on its own, or perhaps sailing by itself used too much energy. Either way, Nami still had to control it whenever they traveled across the sea.
But moving a little…
That shouldn't be a problem.
Sure enough, after hearing Nami's words, the Going Merry suddenly moved under everyone's expectant gaze. The bow turned slightly, and the direction it turned was—
Left!
"Look! The Going Merry went left! That's the direction I chose! I knew it was the right one!"
Nami cheered. Usopp and Igaram also nodded, while the others wore deeply disappointed expressions.
"Wait, doesn't that make it a four-to-four tie?" Ben muttered.
"As the one who has contributed the most here, the Going Merry naturally gets two votes!" Nami laughed with her hands on her hips.
"All right. Since that's settled, we won't go to that Witch Country. After we sail for a while longer, Ben, you can fly up and take another look around."
"Got it." Ben yawned and spoke in a bored voice.
They had thought they were going to miss the Witch Country, but after sailing for an entire day, they saw nothing but the vast open sea. There wasn't an island anywhere nearby.
Nami wanted to keep going, but circumstances no longer allowed it.
Igaram suddenly collapsed onto the deck again. His forehead was burning hot, and it seemed he had developed a high fever.
"He had only just recovered from a serious illness. Then he was exposed to the sea wind on the ship while already in poor condition, so he developed a high fever," Nami guessed.
She had spent many years sailing alone, so she knew a fair amount about these things. But she was still nowhere near being a doctor.
"He's already taken some medicine, but it doesn't seem to be helping," Sanji added.
"This guy's body is so weak. Can someone like him really be the captain of a kingdom's guards? I'm starting to question Callet's standards," Zoro said casually from the side.
Looking at him, Nami, Sanji, and Luffy couldn't help saying:
"You're seriously heartless!"
"You green demon!"
"Kibutsuji Muzan!"
"Hey, hey, forget the other two. What does Kibutsuji Muzan have to do with this?" Zoro coughed.
"Let's keep it down. It looks like we have no choice but to go to the Witch Country," Ben said calmly. "At the very least, we need to find a doctor."
At the mention of the Witch Country, Nami and Usopp still didn't want to go. Usopp quickly said, "We've been sailing for a whole day. We should be far away from that island by now, right?"
"No. I went to scout the area not long ago," Ben said. "Although it looks like we've been moving in one direction the whole time, we don't actually know which direction we're going without a Log Pose. So we haven't really traveled very far from where we were before."
After hearing that, Nami and Usopp could no longer object. They sighed.
"All right. But let's be clear: after we reach that country, we're only looking for a doctor and a Log Pose. We are absolutely not doing anything unnecessary."
"Don't worry!" everyone promised.
Ben continued, "Actually, I have some more information about this country."
"What?" Everyone leaned closer.
Ben said, "This island used to be famous for producing doctors. It was called Drum Island, and the kingdom on it was called the Drum Kingdom. It was already a Winter Island back then, but for some reason, after a certain day, the environment became worse and worse. The temperature kept dropping until it became cold enough to freeze people to death."
"After this change occurred, many people came to investigate. Some of them even discovered the truth. But when they came back, they were all deeply disappointed, and every one of them refused to talk about what they had found. They only said that there was an 'Ice Witch' in the Drum Kingdom."
"An Ice Witch? She must have something to do with demons, right?" Nami asked. "That should fall under the Black Order's responsibility. Why haven't they dealt with her?"
"I don't know. The legend of the Drum Kingdom has spread far and wide, so the Black Order couldn't possibly be unaware of it. But they never sent any powerful members to investigate. Some people say that the Ice Witch left after casting the curse. Since the Black Order couldn't find her, they had no way to lift the curse."
Ben explained, "In any case, this Ice Witch must be an incredibly powerful demon. She might even be a high-level demon."
"A high-level demon…" Usopp shuddered.
High-level demons were terrifying beings on the same level as the strongest pirates. If there really was one in the Drum Kingdom, weren't they walking straight to their deaths?
"Relax. Scholars from many other countries have come here, and even ordinary people have been fine. Are we really less capable than a bunch of bookworms?" Ben said confidently.
"Why are we worrying about that? Aren't we only going there to find a doctor and a Log Pose?" Nami folded her arms and gave the order. "Now that we've decided, let's go!"
They would get there quickly, find what they needed, and leave these waters as soon as possible.
Ben transformed into Stinkfly again and guided Nami from the sky, while Luffy and the others put on extra-thick clothing. They were fully prepared to head to the Drum Kingdom.
However…
Even after putting on layer upon layer of thick clothing, the moment they set foot on the Drum Kingdom's land, they still felt a cold so intense it seemed capable of freezing their bones.
The Going Merry stopped in the surrounding waters. It was an extremely strange sight. Ahead of them was a vast stretch of snow, but the sea less than two meters away was still relatively warm, with the current continuing to flow.
"This… This is way too cold." Usopp had wrapped himself up like a polar bear. Shivering, he hugged himself with both arms. "The temperature must be around fifty or sixty degrees below zero by now, right?"
After stepping off the ship, it felt as though they had entered another world. Usopp wasn't the only one struggling. Everyone else looked just as miserable.
Since Igaram was sick, they left him on the Going Merry. With the Going Merry protecting him, they felt completely at ease.
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