Drum Island was not actually that far from Loguetown.
However, ordinary ships had no way of reaching it directly.
Without Seastone-coated hulls and steam-powered engines, normal vessels simply could not cross the Calm Belt.
They could only take the long route through Reverse Mountain into the Grand Line—
and even then, they had to choose the correct route.
Generally speaking, pirate crews entering the Grand Line for the first time did not possess Eternal Poses.
And since the first half of the Grand Line had seven different routes—
once you chose one, you had to follow it all the way to the end.
Holy Light
Karl and Ain lounged comfortably in reclining chairs beneath the sunlight, enjoying a peaceful sunbath.
Meanwhile, Tashigi sat nearby carefully maintaining Yubashiri.
Nelson quickly walked over to Karl and lowered his voice.
"Vice Admiral Karl."
"There's an iron-plated ship at the nine o'clock direction."
"It's flying a pirate flag, but Marine Headquarters has no record of them."
"My guess is they're newly formed pirates."
"Should we capture them?"
Karl removed his sunglasses and glanced at Nelson.
"How far are we from Drum Island?"
"About an hour by sea."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"There's no need for me to handle this personally, right?"
Nelson confidently straightened his posture.
"Don't worry, Vice Admiral Karl."
"I guarantee the mission will be completed."
"Your Majesty, this is bad!"
"The Marines are charging straight toward us!"
"What should we do?!"
The obese Wapol snorted disdainfully.
"So what if they're Marines?"
"I'm the king of a World Government-affiliated nation."
"I paid my dues!"
"But…"
"King Wapol…"
"We're currently the Bliking Pirates…"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of explosions suddenly rang out.
Wapol immediately panicked.
"Dive!"
"Hurry and dive!"
"It's too late!"
"The Marines are already here!"
The Bliking Pirates were wiped out with almost no effort.
Wapol and several of his subordinates were quickly brought before Karl.
"You say you're the king of Drum Island?"
"That's right!"
"Now release me immediately!"
"Otherwise I'll file a complaint against you!"
Karl sneered coldly.
"What nerve."
"You actually dare impersonate the king of a World Government-affiliated nation?"
"That's an additional crime."
"Nelson."
"Throw him into a prison cell and send him to Impel Down."
Wapol's expression instantly changed.
He never expected Karl to show him absolutely no respect.
He hurriedly changed his tone and began pleading.
"Sorry!"
"I was joking!"
"But I really am the king of Drum Kingdom!"
Afterward—
Wapol began recounting everything that had happened recently.
After the Blackbeard Pirates invaded Drum Island—
Wapol realized he could not defeat them.
So he abandoned the kingdom's citizens and fled with the nation's upper officials, becoming the very first people to escape the country.
Because they fled in such haste, they failed to bring a Log Pose.
As a result, Wapol and his men could only drift across the sea under a fake pirate flag, calling themselves the "Bliking Pirates."
Wapol had always intended to return to Drum Island one day and continue enjoying the authority of a king.
And then—
they encountered Karl.
Afraid Karl wouldn't believe him, Wapol opened his mouth absurdly wide and pulled out an official document from inside his body—
proof recognized by the World Government confirming his identity as king.
Karl clicked his tongue.
"A king abandoning his own citizens first thing…"
"You really are a wonderful ruler."
Seeing Karl's attitude soften slightly—
Wapol immediately grew arrogant again.
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Well, I am the king after all."
"Everyone in Drum Kingdom can die."
"But I absolutely cannot."
Even Ain burst out laughing from anger.
Karl himself looked somewhat speechless.
"Throw him into the sea."
"Yes, sir!"
Wapol froze.
"Hey!"
"What are you trying to do?!"
"I'm the ki—"
"You dare look down on me?!"
"I'll swallow you whole!"
Wapol exaggeratedly opened his mouth and lunged toward Nelson.
Just as he was about to swallow Nelson—
Nelson kicked him directly between the legs.
!!!
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
"IT HURTS!!!"
"You XXXXX! ********!"
Wapol clutched his crotch and rolled across the deck screaming miserably.
Nelson snorted coldly and immediately cuffed him with Seastone handcuffs.
"Overestimating yourself."
The moment the cuffs were locked on—
Wapol instantly went limp.
Several Marines had to help carry him away due to how ridiculously fat he was.
"Don't!"
"Please don't kill me!"
"As long as you spare me, I'll give you all my money!"
Nelson sneered.
"How foolish."
"If we kill you, your money becomes ours anyway."
Wapol: "Are these really Marines?!"
"One, two, three—heave!"
SPLASH!
Wapol was thrown straight into the ocean, sending waves splashing everywhere.
And for a Devil Fruit user—
there was only one possible outcome.
"Vice Admiral, it's done."
"That guy said he was rich earlier."
"Take some men and search his ship."
"Don't leave behind anything valuable."
"Yes, sir!"
After Nelson left with his men—
Karl turned toward the doctors dressed in white nearby.
"You're Wapol's doctors?"
The doctors exchanged glances.
Finally, an older man stepped forward.
"No."
"We can hardly even be called doctors anymore."
"We were merely Wapol's tools for making money."
"He forced you?"
"That's right."
"Six years ago, Wapol initiated the 'Doctor Extermination Plan' in Drum Kingdom."
"He expelled nearly every doctor in the country."
"Only the twenty of us remained."
Karl rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"So what are your plans now?"
"We're returning to Drum Island."
"To become real doctors once again."
Ain tugged lightly at Karl's sleeve, signaling him not to make things difficult for them.
Karl gave her a reassuring glance.
"I'm Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Karl."
"I just so happen to be heading to Drum Kingdom as well."
"You can travel with me."
"Thank you!"
"Thank you so much, Vice Admiral Karl!"
"Y-You're Marine Hero Karl?!"
The younger doctor who recognized Karl looked extremely excited.
Well—
"young" was relative.
The guy already had a receding hairline.
"Vice Admiral Karl…"
"I once read in the newspapers that you possess the Holy Light Fruit."
"They said no matter how severe someone's injuries or illnesses are…"
"As long as you release holy light, you can heal them."
"Is that true?"
Karl smiled faintly.
"It's true."
"But I'm the only person in the world with this ability."
"So don't worry."
"I'm not stealing your jobs."
After Nelson emptied out all of Wapol's wealth—
the Holy Light continued sailing toward Drum Kingdom.
Soon enough—
they arrived.
Drum Island was named after its mountain peaks, which resembled giant drums.
Of course—
it was also known as a Winter Island.
Because snow covered the land all year round.
As far as the eye could see—
everything was white.
The doctors aboard the ship looked emotional.
After drifting at sea with Wapol for so many days—
they had finally returned home.
"So this is Drum Island?"
"It looks freezing…"
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