"BOOM!"
A stream of blood mist suddenly fell from the sky, blasting a deep trench in the snow and cutting off the pursuers.
Hiluluk skidded to a halt, nearly injuring himself again. "Whoa! What the—"
"Yo, doctor." Rhett's lazy voice came from above. "Busy morning, isn't it? Out for a jog?"
Hiluluk looked up and saw a black-haired man sitting on a throne made of blood mist, looking down at him.
"Who are you?" Hiluluk scratched his head. "Are you one of Dr. Kureha's new patients?"
Rhett: "..." Am I really that unknown???
The castle gate swung open. Kureha walked out, a cigarette in her mouth. "Idiot. This is 'Mist Lord' Rhett."
"Mist Lord?" Hiluluk's eyes lit up. "That great pirate, the Emperor of the Sea?" He suddenly leaned close to Rhett. "Buddy! You don't look so good! Want some of my miracle medicine?"
Rhett looked at the suspicious green liquid being offered to him. His mouth twitched. "...No, thank you."
The soldiers in the distance were already kneeling. "L-Lord Mist Lord! We were only following orders..."
Rhett glanced at them. "Scram."
Rhett waved his hand carelessly. "Interesting... Come inside."
Rhett really liked this man. He was one of Oda's most successfully written characters. Back when Rhett was still a little kid, this story had made him cry. Damn you, Hiluluk, for making me cry.
"When does a man die? When he is shot through the heart with a bullet? Or when he is stricken with an incurable disease? No. A man dies when he is forgotten." — Hiluluk
Rhett: Doctor Hiluluk, sob~
---
Inside the castle hall, Hiluluk was looking around like an excited child. His suit was actually quite impressive. The cherry blossom skull emblem on his chest shone in the firelight.
"Everyone! Allow me to introduce myself!" He stood in front of the fireplace, gesturing animatedly. "I am Dr. Hiluluk. My dream is to save this country with my medical skills!"
Kureha rolled her eyes, but she quietly handed him a roll of bandages.
"See this emblem?" Hiluluk pointed to the cherry blossom skull on his chest, his eyes sparkling. "This is the symbol of the 'Miracle Cherry Blossoms'! One day, I will make the entire Drum Kingdom bloom with cherry blossoms!"
As everyone knew, birds of a feather flock together. Perona and Laboon also believed that anyone who could be friends with a doctor as skilled as Kureha must also be a very skilled doctor.
Perona floated in the air, her big eyes sparkling as she stared at Hiluluk. "Wow! A friend of Dr. Kureha! You must be a super amazing doctor too, right?"
Laboon waddled over to Hiluluk and tugged at his pant leg with its small fin. "Woo woo" (The doctor is so amazing!)
Hiluluk was a bit embarrassed by the enthusiasm of the two little ones. He scratched his head. "Hahaha! I still have a long way to go, actually! But —" He suddenly crouched down and pulled out two small bottles from his worn white coat. "Want some of my special immunity-boosting medicine? I developed it myself!"
The bottles contained a pink liquid that bubbled suspiciously in the firelight.
Perona and Laboon looked at each other and simultaneously reached out their small hand and small fin. "Yes!!"
"Wait!" Kureha snatched the bottles away. Veins bulged on her forehead. "Hiluluk! Are you giving children medicine with unknown side effects again?!"
"It's not a laxative!" Hiluluk argued proudly. A sun seemed to be glowing behind him. "This time, I added strawberry flavor! I also drank it myself. It tastes like strawberries, and it has no effect at all! Ahahaha!"
Little Perona and little Laboon simultaneously covered their eyes with their small hand and small fin. They felt that at this moment, Hiluluk was just so brilliant and so confident.
Enel commented, "What is he getting so fired up about? Taking medicine that has no effect? Why is he so proud of that?!"
The moment before, Hiluluk had been glowing like the sun. The next moment, he was lying flat on the ground.
"I want it to work too! I'm trying so hard, damn it."
Lena looked at this unreliable Hiluluk and walked up to him. She gave him a gentle smile.
Hiluluk looked at Lena with tearful eyes. "Thank you for your encouragement. I will keep trying. I believe that when the cherry blossoms bloom all over this country, the people's illnesses will be cured. The sickness of this country will be healed. It will be reborn with new life."
Lena smiled politely, a little embarrassed. Then she quickly stepped past Hiluluk. She first grabbed Perona, who was floating in the air, and brought her behind Rhett. Then she turned around and saw Hiluluk staring at her.
She gave him another awkward but polite smile. Then she came back again, picked up the stunned Laboon, and retreated to Rhett's side.
Hiluluk lost all color. He shattered into pieces like glass. But in an instant, the color returned.
"Hey~!!! Was that a little whale?!"
Rhett showed his signature shark teeth. The blood mist behind him exploded into exaggerated wave shapes. "Hey, hey! You quack doctor, your reaction time is so slow it could go around the Grand Line! Laboon has been bouncing around here for ages and you just noticed?!"
Hiluluk wasn't scared at all. Instead, his eyes lit up as he lunged at Laboon. "A whale that can live on land?! A medical miracle!" Laboon slapped him in the face with its tail. Hiluluk was flattened against the wall like a starfish.
"Woo!" (Pervert! Get away!) Laboon puffed up its cheeks and hid behind Lena's skirt.
"Hahahaha!" Rhett slapped his knee, laughing. "Serves you right! Who told you to touch Laboon?!"
Kureha walked over, a cigarette in her mouth, and grabbed Hiluluk by the back of his collar. "Idiot. That's a whale that ate a Devil Fruit." She shook her head in disgust. "Now, explain —" Suddenly, a bunch of suspicious mushrooms fell out of Hiluluk's pocket. "What are these poisonous mushrooms doing here?!"
Hiluluk broke out in a cold sweat. "Ahaha... those are newly developed... um..."
"THWACK!"
Kureha smashed a bottle over his head. "You went to the back mountain to pick poisonous mushrooms again?! It took me three days to save your life last time!"
Rhett tilted his head and looked at Hiluluk's medical kit, which had a skull and cherry blossoms on it. "But..." His blood mist suddenly rolled up Hiluluk's medical kit. "I am actually very interested in your 'miracle pills.'"
The medical kit opened. Colorful pills rolled out, emitting a strange smell.
Laboon curiously sniffed them. Suddenly, it sneezed. "Achoo! This is... this is..."
Everyone: "!!!"
Laboon: "...a really bad smell!"
Hiluluk jumped up in surprise. "Success! My medicine can make a whale talk!"
Laboon: "...I could always talk, you idiot."