Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Douglas meets Zoro
As Douglas felt the presence of the newly arrived people, he also observed that they were being confronted by the villagers and Dalton, which was normal since they had been attacked by pirates not too long ago. Now, they were extremely cautious. Kureha, who had finished eating, then stood up.
"Chopper, let's go," Kureha said to Chopper, who immediately finished his meal. This made Douglas look at them with a knowing expression—they would most certainly go over to the town and start treating patients. But Kureha would also rob them of most of their valuables. His look was noticed by Kureha, who became angry.
"Do you have a problem with how I conduct my business, brat? That's how I fed you growing up," Kureha said to Douglas as she pulled his ear.
"Awwww, come on, Doctor, I'm not a kid anymore," Douglas complained, while Ace smirked at the scene.
"You're too young to talk back to me," Kureha said as she slapped the back of Douglas's head. After that, she left the castle with Chopper, leaving Ace and Douglas alone.
"Hey, wanna go to the sea? I'll show you my boat," Ace said, inviting Douglas.
"Not really. I don't care about your boat," Douglas said bluntly, which made Ace livid once again. This began an insult battle between the two. It culminated in their usual sparring, which they took outside of the castle, where the heavy snow suddenly stopped falling.
"You have a convenient Devil Fruit ability—you can stop the snow without even doing anything," Douglas commented on Ace's usefulness.
"Yeah, Logias are the strongest type of Devil Fruit. They give you immunity to normal attacks and let you control elements," Ace said as he summoned fire.
"You seem too confident in your Devil Fruit ability. Be careful with that mentality, 'cause that's the exact reason why I managed to kill the pirate you were hunting," Douglas said, reminding Ace once again that Douglas was not only incredibly strong but also extremely smart and cunning.
"And despite being strong, you seem to be overly cautious of others, seeing that you're not even showing your true face to the public when you fight," Ace said, pointing at Douglas, who was still wearing his disguise.
"Being confident is great, but you should also know your capabilities and limits. It allows you to come up with a plan that can turn any situation in your favor," Douglas said to Ace.
"Who cares about plans? I'll just beat them up," Ace said.
"See, this is where I disagree with you. I'm a relatively normal person, and I managed to beat you up. But if I were an opportunist like the man you were hunting, and if he managed to beat you and surrender you to the Marines, what do you think would happen? Think about that before you act. Every action you take—whether you like it or not—will cause a chain reaction that could lead to an outcome you won't like," Douglas said, which made Ace fall silent. His actions had all been driven by anger since he learned Teach killed Thatch, and not once had he considered the possibility of losing. But if what happened was similar to what Douglas said, he knew the outcome would always lead to war.
Seeing that Ace was deep in thought, Douglas called out for Mudang. He then left Ace alone outside the mountain, wanting to look at the Going Merry—the most famous ship that had made numerous people cry, including himself.
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As Kureha and Chopper were walking, they noticed that the snow had stopped falling, which made them know that Ace was outside the castle. This prompted them to think that Ace and Douglas were sparring once again.
"Those kids are annoying," Kureha said, while Chopper just sped up. He wanted to finish the treatment of those in need, plus he also wanted to watch the end of the fight between Ace and Douglas, as it was something that he would always admire. Seeing two strong people fight always inspired Chopper to become stronger, which made him train like Douglas does.
As the two of them were walking, they saw a person they had never met before, covered in blood, carrying two passed-out people on his back. If Douglas or even Ace were here, they would instantly recognize that the person was Monkey D. Luffy, but despite Kureha and Chopper not recognizing who Luffy was, they immediately went and helped him, as Luffy suddenly passed out in front of them, clearly reaching his limit.
Kureha immediately boarded Luffy, Sanji, and Nami onto the sleigh that she was riding and immediately ordered Chopper to turn back, which made them climb the mountain once again.
Chopper was in a full sprint, like it was a race, causing them to reach the top of the summit after only thirty minutes of traveling. This was also due to the mountain not having visibility issues from a snowstorm. When they arrived, Ace, who was still outside thinking, looked at them and immediately approached as he saw that the sleigh was dripping blood.
When Ace approached and carried one of the patients, he instantly recognized who it was, which made him become frantic and look concerned.
"Doctor, will they be alright?" Ace then asked.
"Don't you know me by now? I'm the greatest doctor one could offer," Kureha replied, as she noticed the concern on Ace's face, which she did not question, as there was a more urgent thing to address. They took the patients in as they would begin the treatment.
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Meanwhile, Douglas was staring at the green-headed figure that was shivering in front of him. It was Zoro, who was not wearing anything except for his pants, in the cold weather of Drum Island.
Zoro was also staring at Douglas with a weirded-out expression, as the mask that Douglas was wearing was strange, and not many people would find it funny or interesting. The only reason why the citizens of Drum Kingdom were not weirded out by his costume appearance was because he saved them, but if that weren't the case, they would have a similar expression to Zoro.
"Oi, weird guy, do you know where I could see the port here?" Zoro asked, shivering.
"Come, I'll bring you to your ship," Douglas said, as he took his coat and gave it to Zoro.
"Ahhh, thank you. You're a surprisingly kind person despite having a weird appearance," Zoro said, as he took the coat while also boarding Mudang.
"You should never trust someone just based on their appearance, as looks can be deceiving," Douglas said, which made Zoro nod.
Both Zoro and Douglas then began talking as they introduced themselves to each other, and Zoro learned that Douglas was a doctor, prompting him to ask for help, thinking that Nami was still sick and had not yet received the medical care she needed.
"Can you treat my friends?" Zoro then asked.
"Don't worry, your friends are in good hands," Douglas said, as he sensed Doctor Kureha and Chopper with three presences he did not recognize in the castle, with Ace standing near one of them.