Chapter 48
Drum Island (1)
After the celebration ended, the crew bid farewell to the giants and set sail once more on their journey toward Alabasta, unaware that reaching it would not be as easy as they had thought.
Everyone was busy preparing for departure, the ship moving in perfect harmony under Nami's precise commands. The first day passed peacefully, then the second, and the days that followed seemed ordinary and calm to the crew: a vast sea, steady winds, and a ship cutting confidently through the waters.
But on that day, something unexpected happened.
Nami suddenly collapsed, gravely ill.
The crew gathered in a hurry, carrying Nami to her room. Her body was drenched in sweat, her temperature frighteningly high, and her face flushed from the intensity of the fever. Pain gnawed mercilessly at her weakened body—a subtle yet cruel illness, almost like paralysis.
Everyone gathered inside Nami's room, worry hanging heavily in the air.
Vivi was trying to care for her with everything she could, but there was no response. Nami did not wake up, and her labored breathing showed no sign of calming.
Zoro and Arthur stood at the end of the room near the door, silent, watching the situation cautiously.
Meanwhile, Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji stood beside Nami's bed, concern clearly written on their faces.
At that moment, a vein bulged on Sanji's forehead.
Suddenly he leapt toward Arthur and grabbed him by the collar with force.
"Don't you have an elixir? A miracle cure? Whatever it's called! Give one to Nami right now!"
His voice was filled with anger and agitation.
"I can't."
Arthur's reply was cold, calm, and completely without hesitation.
The moment Sanji heard that, his anger grew even more intense. He released Arthur's collar, then in a single motion spun around and delivered a powerful kick toward Arthur's stomach.
Arthur noticed the attack before it was completed.
In his eyes, Sanji's kick was slow—something he could dodge even while asleep.
But he smiled calmly… and did not move.
He took the blow directly, his body stepping back several paces until he was pushed outside the room.
It was not because of Sanji's strength, but because Arthur deliberately stepped back so the fight would move away from the room where Nami lay.
Zoro stepped forward to stop the fight, but Arthur waved his hand reassuringly, and Zoro quietly stepped back.
Arthur spoke in a steady voice:
"Sanji, you misunderstood me. It's not that I don't want to give Nami a healing potion… it's that I don't have any right now. I've run out."
The potions had not truly run out, but Arthur was no longer able to produce any at the moment.
He had already produced three potions in a single day—the absolute limit.
If he could sacrifice part of his body in exchange for another potion, as he had done before, he would have done so without hesitation. But the evolution of the system had prevented that.
Under normal circumstances, he could produce two potions per day. However, producing three forced him to wait an entire week before he could obtain another potion.
Only two days had passed… and he still had five more days to wait.
And above all, the potions healed a person regardless of the severity of their injuries—even if their head had been separated from their body. As long as they still had a breath of life left, the potion could restore them.
But illness?
The potions could not cure disease unless the patient was truly on the brink of death.
Only then could the potion be used safely.
And Nami was not one step away from death.
She was still fighting, still strong, still alive.
If Arthur used a potion now, Nami's body would explode completely.
"Damn you, you bastard! Where did you waste all the potions you had?!"
Sanji's anger intensified, as if he were about to explode.
It was not really his place to ask such a question—he was neither the creator nor the discoverer of the potions—but he asked anyway.
Although Arthur could have easily ignored the question, he answered:
"I gave them to the giants."
Most of the crew had stepped outside the room to see what was happening, leaving only Vivi and Karoo with Nami.
When Sanji heard Arthur's calm reply, his anger and contempt only grew stronger.
"Why did you give the last of them to those giants?! If you hadn't done that, we could have treated Nami now without worrying!
You idiot… you bastard who doesn't think about his friends! Didn't it occur to you that someone in the crew might need those potions later?!
You wasted everything on stupid giants we don't even know, and now Nami is going to die because of you!"
Anger boiled inside Arthur.
At that moment, he truly wanted to leap at Sanji and tear his head from his body.
But he restrained himself… with all the strength he had.
He breathed heavily, then spoke in a low but sharp tone:
"Nami is the one who asked me for the potions, and I only fulfilled her request.
And now… are you done with your childish tantrum?"
He paused for a moment, then looked at the others behind Sanji.
"Everyone… we need to make a decision now, before it's too late."
Everyone listened. Vivi stepped out of the room to understand what was happening.
Arthur looked at her and smiled calmly.
"From the beginning, our main destination has been Alabasta… Vivi's homeland.
Sailing there was already dangerous even with Nami as our navigator.
Now, with Nami sick, the danger is even greater… for the crew, for the ship, for everything.
Right now, we have no navigator.
And without a navigator… we won't reach Alabasta."
Before he could continue, Zoro spoke while looking at him steadily:
"We should treat Nami first… before going anywhere."
Arthur smiled calmly and replied,
"Yes, just as Zoro said… treating Nami is our priority. But what do you think, Captain?
Should we continue toward Alabasta and hope to find a doctor there, or head toward another island?"
Vivi looked at Luffy, a gentle smile forming on her lips despite the worry in her eyes.
Then she spoke before Luffy could even answer.
"We need to treat Nami first. Without her, just as Arthur said, we will perish at sea for nothing.
Even if we try to sail toward Alabasta, there's no guarantee we'll reach it in the first place.
And even if we do… I can't guarantee that there will be a doctor capable of curing Nami there.
Everyone knows Alabasta is in the middle of a war right now."
She paused for a moment, then continued firmly:
"So… saving Nami must come first."
Luffy smiled, as if the decision had never been complicated for him from the start.
"Alright, it's settled!
We'll sail as fast as we can until we find an island where we can treat Nami."
Luffy moved immediately, as though his words alone had restored life to the ship.
The crew rushed into action, and the ship set sail once again, carrying with it a single hope: saving Nami.
---
Vivi was caring for Nami inside the room, with Usopp and Luffy helping as they tried desperately to reduce her fever.
Outside, Zoro and Arthur handled navigation and kept watch over their course, their eyes never leaving the horizon.
After some time had passed, Zoro and Arthur noticed something strange.
A person… standing on the surface of the water, completely motionless.
The two exchanged a surprised glance.
Arthur immediately grabbed the helm and stopped the ship before it could collide with the mysterious figure.
Luffy and Usopp hurried over to see why the ship had stopped, only to freeze in place when they saw the sight.
The man stood calmly on the water with unnatural steadiness, staring silently at Luffy's ship without saying a word.
Heavy seconds passed…
Then suddenly, the water beneath his feet began to move violently.
The ship shook strongly, and the crew nearly lost their balance.
Everyone noticed something massive rising from the depths of the sea.
The tremors intensified, and concern for the sick Nami grew stronger.
But Arthur and the others soon noticed that Sanji had entered Nami's room, which eased their worry slightly.
Then a massive submarine rose before them, emerging completely from the sea.
Its hatch opened, and a fat, round-bodied man appeared, holding a knife with a large chunk of meat skewered on it.
He was eating without the slightest concern.
He jumped onto the ship and stood directly in front of Luffy.
"Ahem… does any of you know how to get to Drum Island?"
Luffy answered simply:
"No. This is the first time I've heard of that island."
The fat man sighed sadly, then shoved the knife and the meat into his mouth together and began chewing.
The crew exchanged bewildered glances.
The man turned toward one edge of the ship, opened his mouth wide…
and took a huge bite… out of the ship itself.
The crew could no longer tolerate it.
Luffy immediately jumped toward him, but several men blocked his path.
At the same moment, Zoro and Arthur leapt forward, and the battle erupted.
Only a few seconds passed before Luffy, Zoro, and Arthur had knocked down all the men.
The fat man shouted angrily:
"You bastards! Do you know who I am?!
I am King Wapol!
And you damn pirates… will die!"
Before he could finish his sentence,
Arthur drew his massive black sword, leaped toward him at terrifying speed, and shoved the blade into Wapol's mouth.
Arthur smiled calmly… a cold, devilish smile.
"Swallow this if you can, you damned bastard."
The sword began to slide deeper and deeper into Wapol's mouth.
Wapol smirked dismissively and clenched his teeth, trying to devour the sword—
but he couldn't even scratch it.
He tried again and again,
but the blade continued pushing further inside his mouth.
Sweat began to drip from Wapol's forehead despite the freezing cold around them.
He muttered muffled, incomprehensible words around the sword.
Arthur didn't care what he was saying.
He smiled gently… then thrust the sword forward with force.
The blade burst out through Wapol's stomach,
and his body was torn apart in a grotesque and indescribable manner.
He collapsed dead on the spot.
Wapol's men were all severely injured by Luffy and Zoro,
but those who faced Arthur… had died.
Arthur lifted his sword, Wapol's corpse still hanging from it,
then twisted the blade and tossed the body into the ocean without hesitation.
Despite the brutality of the scene,
no one spoke.
Luffy and Zoro were already used to seeing Arthur kill without hesitation.
Usopp was frightened… but silent.
Arthur returned the sword to the Weapon King Bracelet.
Then he jumped into Wapol's submarine, with Zoro following behind him.
The two searched for any food, drink, money, medicine—anything useful.
Before long,
the submarine had been completely stripped.
They left nothing behind.
The two returned to the ship carrying treasures and various supplies.
Luffy threw Wapol's men into the submarine and left them there,
then the ship set sail once more.
While the crew was busy examining the loot,
Sanji's voice suddenly rang out, filled with panic:
"Guys!
Nami's condition is getting worse…
I think she…
might not survive."
---
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