On the snowy Drum Island floating amidst the sea—
As Ron and his crew stepped onto the island, a familiar voice echoed in his mind:
[Ding! The system has detected that Drum Island meets the conditions for a sign-in. A sign-in reward awaits. Would you like to sign in?]
[Sign-in successful. Rewards obtained: Vitality +10. Healing Skill upgraded to Level 2.]
Ron checked the updated attributes of his Level 2 Healing Skill. There wasn't much difference aside from one key change—it could now be used twice a day instead of just once.
"What heavy snow," Robin commented, pulling her white coat tighter around herself.
"Yeah. It's not even winter yet. Why is it snowing so much here?" Kuina brushed off the snowflakes accumulating on her hair.
"It probably has to do with the island's unique geography," Conis suggested as she adjusted her hat.
"The visibility ahead is so poor. I hope this snowstorm ends soon," she added.
Ron, brought back to his senses, chuckled. "That's an easy fix."
He snapped his fingers. A faint ripple emanated from him, spreading out across the entire island. In an instant, the swirling snowstorm ceased, and countless snowflakes froze mid-air, suspended as if time itself had stopped.
The entire Drum Island was now encased in a mesmerizing dome of snowflakes.
"What... what is this?"
Chopper, who was outside collecting firewood near a wooden cabin, looked up with a bewildered expression.
Dalton, a Zoan-type Ox-Ox Fruit user, strode briskly into the castle.
Inside Drum Kingdom's castle, the current king, Wapol, a user of the Munch-Munch Fruit, frowned impatiently as he reclined on his throne. Beside him, a woman fed him delicacies, one bite at a time.
"The snowstorm outside suddenly stopped!"
"Isn't that a good thing?" Wapol asked dismissively, closing his eyes to continue enjoying his meal.
"No... but the way the snow looks is strange."
"Strange?" Wapol opened his eyes slightly. "What's so strange about snow?"
"You'll understand if you come outside and see for yourself."
Reluctantly, Wapol rose from his throne and followed Dalton to the castle entrance perched atop the towering Drum Rockies.
What he saw made his eyes widen in shock. The snowstorm hadn't just stopped—it was frozen in mid-air, with countless snowflakes hanging motionless in the sky.
"What in the world is going on?!"
Back in the forest, surrounded by the snow-covered landscape, Ron and his crew continued their journey.
Robin glanced at the countless suspended snowflakes, then turned to Ron, who was clad in a black coat, his short black hair tousled by the breeze. His black sword hung casually at his waist. "Won't using your abilities drain your stamina?" she asked.
"For me, making objects float doesn't consume much energy. It's the control that's more demanding—the bigger and heavier the object, the greater the strain," Ron replied with a smile.
"I see," Robin nodded thoughtfully.
As they walked further, a group of massive carnivorous rabbits, the Lapahn, appeared ahead of them.
One of the rabbits lunged at them, baring its fangs.
Yet the group acted as though they hadn't noticed, continuing forward as if the creature didn't exist.
A nearby villager, witnessing this, couldn't help but shout out a warning. However, before he could finish his sentence, the Lapahn that had pounced on them was sent flying backward in an instant.
The villager's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw what had happened.
Standing there, with a black steel vest and a red bandana, was a Dugong. It had its right fist extended forward, and the Lapahn was already sprawled unconscious on the ground.
The remaining Lapahn, undeterred, charged toward the group en masse.
The Dugong, with a flash of movement, vanished from its spot, leaving behind only a dark blur. Seconds later, the twenty or so Lapahn were all lying unconscious on the snowy ground.
The stunned villager could only gape at the unharmed Enzo. He gulped nervously, muttering, "Incredible… just incredible…"
Enzo, stood with its back to the villager, its body trembling slightly. Its little tail wagged bashfully, clearly flattered by the praise.
"You're still dawdling? Hurry up!"
From a distance, Bonney, now in the form of a young girl, stood with one hand on her hip, yelling impatiently. "We're leaving without you!"
"Coming!" Enzo called out, quickly catching up.
As Ron and his group disappeared into the snowy horizon, the villager, still in shock, murmured to himself, "Just… who are those people?"
The arrival of a mysterious group on Drum Island quickly reached the ears of King Wapol.
"Dalton, send men immediately to capture these outsiders," Wapol commanded without hesitation.
"Your Majesty, shouldn't we at least confirm their intentions first? Taking action so rashly might—"
Wapol shot Dalton a vicious glare. "I am the king! The king's orders are absolute! As of today, my decree is that outsiders are to be arrested on sight. Do you have a problem with that?"
"...No, Your Majesty," Dalton replied, suppressing his disdain.
"Then what are you waiting for? Go!"
Though his heart protested, Dalton bowed his head and reluctantly led the royal guards to apprehend the group of outsiders.
Outside a small wooden cabin, Dr. Kureha stood with a bottle of plum wine in hand, staring at the snowflakes suspended mid-air.
"Well, now, this is something I've never seen in over a hundred years of life. Ku-hahaha!"
"How do you think it's happening?" Chopper asked curiously, clutching an armful of firewood by her side.
"Who cares? There's no shortage of bizarre things on this ocean."
Wearing sunglasses and dressed in denim, Dr. Kureha took a swig directly from the bottle before turning to head back inside.
Just as the duo prepared to retreat to the cabin, a sudden flash lit up the distant sky.
A dark slash, stretching over a thousand meters, flickered for a moment before vanishing.
Dr. Kureha and Chopper turned their heads sharply.
In the distance, the towering Drum Rockies came into view. To their shock, a massive mountain appeared as though it had been sliced diagonally by a giant blade. The upper half, with a smooth and gleaming cut surface, began to slide downward.
"Eh?!?!" Chopper's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Dr. Kureha's expression was no less astonished.
The upper half of the mountain, along with the royal palace perched upon it, slid off the mountain. In the stunned silence of the entire Drum Kingdom, the enormous structure crashed to the ground.
The earth trembled violently, and the shockwave scattered the floating snowflakes in all directions.
As the dust settled, all eyes in the kingdom turned to the mountain, now sheared in half. The once-grand royal palace had been obliterated in an instant.
Everyone in Drum Kingdom stood frozen, their minds unable to process what had just occurred.
The royal palace of Drum Kingdom was gone.
The tyrannical King Wapol… his fate unknown.
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