27 Chapter 8

As the house started to warm up, Dalton turned to look at Vivi, "I'd like to ask you something. I feel like... I've seen you before."

Markus looked over in time to see Vivi twitch before unconvincingly saying, "Y-you must be imagining things. I'm sure we've never met before. M-more importantly, can you tell us more about this witch?"

Vivi finished checking Nami's temperature and when Dalton saw it he was shocked, "A temperature of 42°C?! If it gets any higher she'll die."

Vivi nodded while she, Sanji, and Markus looked concerned. Luffy and Usopp had stayed outside. Vivi spoke for the group, "Yes, but I'm afraid we don't know what the cause of her disease is or how to treat it."

Sanji added, "It doesn't matter if this Doctor's a witch or whatever as long as she can't cure Nami! So just where the hell is she?"

Markus crossed his arms over his chest and listened as Dalton answered Sanji, "From the window, you should be able to see mountains."

Sanji turned to look. Right outside the window were an ugly-ass snowman and a Godzilla-like snowman made by Luffy and Usopp respectively. Seeing the two idiots playing around while Nami was in such a bad state infuriated Sanji. He immediately shouted, "That's it! I'm kicking both your asses!"

A short time later, Luffy and Usopp were inside sipping hot tea while their snowmen were returned to piles of snow outside. Dalton continued where he left off, "Those mountains are called the Drum Rockies. Perhaps you can see the castle at the top of the tallest mountain in the center. Presently it's a castle with no king."

The three intelligent people in the room looked out the window. It was a little hard to distinguish but the castle could be seen, if just faintly. Dalton crossed his arms over his chest and spoke again, "Dr. Kureha, the lone doctor in this entire country whom people call a witch, lives in that very castle."

Markus squinted at the mountain looking for something. Sanji moved closer to the window and sighed, "Well, we better call her then! This is an emergency."

Dalton shook his head, "As much as I would like to, there is no way to contact her."

Sanji was upset, "What?! And she calls herself a doctor?!"

Dalton just shrugged. He was long used to Dr. Kureha's oddities, "Her skill as a doctor is undeniable. But she's a bit of a kook and almost 140 years old to boot."

Vivi had to ask, "Then what do the people of this country do when they're sick or injured?"

Dalton explained the situation, "Well, she comes down from the mountain whenever she feels like it, finds patients to treat, and afterward she takes anything she wants from their home as payment."

Vivi was full of questions, "How does this old granny even get down from the mountains?"

Dalton sighed, "According to certain eyewitnesses, she supposedly rides down on a sleigh on moonlit nights. That is why people call her a witch. Others have reported seeing a most bizarre creature traveling with her."

Usopp fell on the ground and started roaring cowardly things that Markus just ignored. He knew who the 'bizarre creature' that Dalton was referring to was. Chopper, the soon to be doctor on the ship. As he thought about things, Luffy was busy waking up Nami and getting yelled at by the others. It was eventually decided that Luffy and Sanji would take Nami up the mountain to get the doctor to help her. Markus heard the conversation and smiled. It was time to change things up again, just a bit. The doctor and Chopper weren't at the castle when Luffy arrived. They'd come down from the mountain to do their work.

With Luffy making the decision and Nami agreeing, she was tied to his back. He and Sanji were going to take her up to the top of the mountain to get treated. Markus opted not to go, along with Usopp and Vivi. After Luffy and Sanji took off, Dalton looked to the remaining three people, "We should go inside, it's quite cold out already."

Markus smiled at Dalton, "It's fine. I think we'd like to stay outside a little longer. Right guys?"

Vivi and Usopp agreed. See their actions brought a small smile to Dalton's face and he chose to stay outside as well. He sat down and got comfortable. After a moment of silence, he started to explain why there were no doctors on the island anymore. Markus didn't pay much attention until Dalton talked about the pirate attack on the island. A few months ago the island was attacked and destroyed by Blackbeard. He destroyed the entire country alone while the four people with him just stood off to the side.

Markus sighed. Though he didn't really desire the Yami Yami no Mi as much as he did the Goro Goro no Mi, he had to admit that it was one hell of a powerful Devil Fruit. If it fell out of the sky and landed in his lap, he'd eat it instantly. But hearing that even months ago Blackbeard already had the fruit, just proved that there was no chance in hell for him to have gotten to if first even if he wanted it. Blackbeard had it before he'd even awoken on that island in the East Blue. Even if he wanted it right this moment, he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against Blackbeard. He was far too powerful with that Devil Fruit to aid him. Even if his Analysis showed Blackbeard as a level 1, he still wouldn't attack the man. Analysis didn't take into account the abilities of Devil Fruits! The proof was easy to come by, he just needed to look at Luffy.

The conversation continued with Dalton explaining about Wapol being the ex-monarch of the ex-Drum Kingdom, at which point Vivi almost gave away her secret yet again. They learned about everything that happened, including Wapol abandoning the country the moment he heard how powerful the invading pirates were. Markus tuned out anymore talking and waited. He knew Dr. Kureha was in the neighboring town and chose not to say anything. He couldn't explain how he would know such information. Additionally, Luffy and the others needed more trials.

Since Little Garden, he'd been thinking about it. Ever since he hooked up with Luffy, he'd been stealing a lot of the fights away from him and the others. They needed those fights and tribulations to become as strong as they had. If he continued to do so, eventually Luffy and the others would become far too weak and either end up useless or dead. Markus didn't mind fighting tough guys and earning loads of experience but he also didn't want to become the crew's babysitter. Eventually, he would like to head off on his own and he didn't want the crew to die the moment he was gone. They'd become his friends, after all. So he decided that as long as a really big quest reward wasn't on the line, he wouldn't interfere in some of the things they had to go through.

Taking Nami to the castle on the top of the mountain wasn't something he had to interfere in. He could just sit here and interfere by getting Dr. Kureha to head back to the castle sooner. So he waited while listening to the banter between Dalton and the other two. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait for very long before a bear of a woman came up to them, "Dalton! You were looking for the doctor weren't you?"

Dalton nodded, "Yes, but they've already..."

"Good! Because she just came down to the neighboring village!"

Markus grinned, this was what he'd been standing out in the cold waiting for. He turned to look at Dalton, "Point me in the right direction. I can get there extremely fast."

Usopp nodded, "Right! Markus is the fastest among us! If he goes he can get there in the blink of an eye!"

Dalton nodded, "Sorry, it was my mistake. I heard she came down just yesterday so I thought it would be a few more days before she came down again."

Markus waved it off, "Stop wasting time, just point so I can go!"

Vivi spoke up, "Why don't you just go after Luffy and Sanji? They couldn't have gotten far!"

Markus looked at Vivi, "Maybe, maybe not. Those two are strong and fast. They could be halfway up the mountain by now. It'd be better to just meet them at the top instead of searching around for them. Besides, there's no way to tell if they went in a straight line or had to take a detour because of animals."

Markus turned back to Dalton. He sighed but pointed in the exact direction Markus needed to go. Markus nodded as thanks and instantly vanished. As he ran the snow parted and a wake formed behind him from the sheer speed he was moving at. Wherever he passed by the wind picked up and snow went flying leaving behind a cleared path. He moved at his maximum speed to get to the next town before Dr. Kureha left but just to be on the safe side, he kept his Observation Haki at max as well. The distance wasn't all that far and with his speed, he arrived in less than two minutes.

As he arrived at the new town he looked around with his eyes and his Haki until he found the two he was looking for. Walking out of a pub was an older woman with a reindeer at her side. Seeing Dr. Kureha in person brought a smile to his face. No matter who you were, you had to admit that Dr. Kureha looked great for her age. That didn't mean she was physically attractive but given that she was 139 years old, alive, and still more than strong enough to knock people like Sanji around, she was clearly in excellent health.

Dr. Kureha was a tall slender woman with long wavey gray hair, a slightly long pointed nose, and a wicked grin on her face. Aside from not looking her age, she also didn't dress her age. She wore purple pants and a jacket with orange flames decorating them along with a pink belly shirt. The shirt exploded the surprisingly smooth skin of her stomach along with her belly piercing. Shave off 110 years and she'd likely become an extremely attractive woman. He grinning thinking about that.

Next to her was a small reindeer wearing shorts, a backpack, and a large pink hat with a white X on it that looked like a crooked white doctors cross. One of his antlers was being held on by a piece of metal and nails. Markus couldn't remember how he broke it but he knew it had something to do with the old doctor that had helped raise him after he ate the Hito Hito no Mi. After looking the two of them over, he approached Dr. Kureha, "Dr. Kureha?"

The old woman looked at Markus with narrowed eyes. People didn't usually come looking for her unless it was bad, "Yes."

Markus smiled politely, "Sorry to both your but it's a bit of an emergency. A friend of mine is sick and in urgent need of a doctor. We were told you would be at the castle so my friends left to go find you there. When I found out that you were here I ran directly over from Big Horn to ask you to return to the castle as soon as possible to meet them there."

Kureha looked Markus over for a bit before grinning and laughing, "I don't come cheap."

Markus nodded, "So I've heard."

She looked down at the reindeer, "Come on Chopper."

He turned to watch as Kureha and Chopper went over to a sleigh. Chopper was tied up to it and Kureha rode in it. The two of them took off at a brisk pace. Markus stood where he was and watched them leave. Once they were out of sight, he moved along the same path they took. He moved at a slower pace to stay behind them, he'd thought of a good idea and wanted to follow through with it when he saw the chance. If he ever went out on his own he would need a good doctor, who would be better than the one that taught Chopper? He just needed the right bait.

He had an idea of what that bait could be too. He just hadn't met the bait yet technically. He'd find his chances as long as he paid attention. As he followed behind them they suddenly came to a stop. He stopped as well and watched to see what was going on. He was surprised when he saw Zoro wearing nothing but a pair of pants walking up to the sleigh. He couldn't hear what was being said but the next moment, Kureha had viciously kicked Zoro in the head and sent him flying.

Though seeing Zoro was surprising, it also wasn't. Zoro was notorious for getting lost. He was probably doing something stupid to train and lost his way. Markus watched without interfering and waited until Kureha and Chopper had left. Once they were gone he approached Zoro and looked down at him with a grin, "Now you're getting your ass handed to you by old ladies? I think I need to up your training."

Zoro looked up at Markus and shuddered, "N-no I don't think that's necessary."

Markus held his chin in his hand and then smiled as he thought of something wicked, "Tell you what. I won't 'train' you until you're black and blue if you can get to the town of Big Horn." Markus turned and pointed in the proper direction, "It's that way. Usopp and Vivi are there right now. I'll ask them later if you made it there or not."

Zoro looked in the direction Markus pointed and smirked, "That's all? Easy."

Markus just chuckled and started to walk away. Zoro was always in denial of his terrible sense of direction. As Markus was walking Zoro called out, "Wait! It's so cold! Let me have your jacket!"

Markus just called out, "Better get a move on, Zoro."

Zoro grumbled and started walking. Markus glanced back and resisted the urge to facepalm. Zoro was already walking in the wrong direction. He bent over and gathered some snow and compacted it into a ball so tight it turned into a smaller ball of ice. He threw it at Zoro with a significant amount of force and nailed him in the back of the head. The impact knocked Zoro off of his feet and slammed him face-first into the ground. Zoro flipped back up instantly and yelled, "What was that for?!"

Markus pointed at the town once again, "That way idiot."

Zoro looked in the direction he was walking and the direction Markus pointed, "That's not the way you said before!"

Markus just glared at him. Zoro twitched and started walking in the direction Markus pointed this time. Markus watched him walk for a few moments before turning around and taking off to catch back up with Kureha and Chopper. They hadn't gotten too far ahead of him. When he caught up to them they'd just started up a massive thick rope that led to the top of the mountain and near the castle. He stopped and stayed where he was for the moment. As he waited, he heard a loud rumbling sound back in the direction he'd come from.

Curious, he crouched down before leaping into the air to get a better view. He soared more than fifty feet into the air. What he was surprised him. He'd completely forgotten about this incident. There was a massive avalanche rolling down the mountain and heading directly toward Big Horn. Gravity quickly caught up to him and pulled him back down to the ground. After landing, he looked up the rope and couldn't see Kureha or Chopper anymore. Since they were no longer on the rope, he hopped onto it and started running up it. Thanks to how thick and wide it was, he had no issues staying on top of it.

He jogged along the rope until he reached the top of the mountain. If Luffy hadn't been in such a rush things would have gone a lot easier for them. Still, trials and tribulations make people stronger. This would make Luffy stronger. Markus had no intention of participating in the fights on this island. For starters, the enemies were just too damned weak to make the effort. Chopper and Luffy could deal with them, he'd just watch. It didn't take long for him to arrive at the top of the mountain and see the castle in its full splendor... or what was left of it.

He found a spot off to the side and changed into his workout sweatsuit. He decided he should spend some of his free time trying to get a little stronger. Once he was dressed, he opened his status to see what he should focus on trying to increase.

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Name: Silvers D. Markus

Age: 16

Class: Noob Pirate

Level: 35

Exp: 1,496,400/1,531,250

Hit Points: 1,090/1,090 (+61/minute)

Willpower: 1,400/1,400 (+74.2/minute)

Strength (STR): 126

Vitality (VIT): 109

Agility (AGI): 112

Spirit (SPT): 140

Wisdom (WIS): 69

Charisma (CHA): 50

Luck (LCK): 46

Attribute Points: 10

Belly: 1,579,100

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He'd left the ten attribute points alone for the time being. He'd spent them later on something he felt needed to be increased. From what he'd seen, he shouldn't have any issues in combat for quite some time. He was pretty certain he could pound Crocodile and Enel into the ground with his current strength. If he was being arrogant, well he was about to work out to get stronger so he figured that made up for it. For his physical skills, his Strength was already pretty good. He decided to focus on his Vitality and Agility. It was time for him to run until he dropped, or Luffy arrived, whichever came first.

He took off at his maximum possible speed under the strain produced by the outfit. No matter how strong he grew, the suit seemed to counter it with more weight and a restrictive nature. While wearing it, he felt like he did back when he first started out on the island. It only took a few minutes for sweat to build and become annoying. After every lap around the castle, he checked for signs of Luffy finally showing up. He only managed a few laps before he saw marks in the snow from Luffy being dragged into the castle. He came to a stop and changed back into his usual clothing. It was time to get to know Dr. Kureha a little better and make her an offer she likely couldn't refuse.