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Drum Kingdom, an island on the fourth magnetic route of the Grand Line, was a land of perpetual winter.
Its snows never melted, its cold biting and unnatural.
Perhaps it was because of this harsh weather that so few travelers ever came here. Outsiders knew of its masterful medical arts, but few understood their true extent.
Before the island's highest, sheerest cliff, Arthur and Shiryu did not leap.
Instead, they stepped onto the great iron chains that stretched from the peak to the ground below, walking them as if they were tightropes.
Snow covered the chains, and the blizzard obscured the view. From a distance, it looked as if the two men were walking on air.
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Inside the ancient castle at the mountain's peak, it was as warm as spring.
A fire roared in the hearth, making the temperature within a world apart from the frozen landscape outside.
In a study on the top floor, an old woman sat. Her face was old, yet her eyes crackled with a vibrant, youthful energy. She was flipping through a tome that looked impossibly old.
Across from her sat a middle-aged man with a peculiar, cross-shaped hairstyle.
Dr. Kureha and her dear friend, the man who would one day become the adoptive father of the Straw Hat Pirates' doctor, Tony Tony Chopper—Hiriluk.
"Still chasing that pipe dream, Hiriluk? A Medicine that can cure any disease... such a thing doesn't exist," Kureha said, her tone dismissive as she took a deep swig from a bottle of plum wine.
Her tongue was sharp, but in her heart, she supported her friend, if only for the unwavering conviction that drove him—a conviction that refused to bend even in the face of death.
It was more than a decade ago now.
Hiriluk, once a notorious thief, was dying from an incurable disease. He'd given up all hope and was just waiting for the end.
But then, whether by divine intervention or pure chance, one night the sky above the Drum Kingdom erupted in miraculous fireworks.
They looked like something from a dream—pink cherry blossoms blooming under the moonlight, impossibly beautiful. After witnessing those cherry blossoms, Hiriluk's terminal illness was somehow cured.
"For a man who's devoted his life to his Jolly Roger, nothing is impossible, Kureha!" Hiriluk said with a confident grin. How could he abandon his dream over a few discouraging words? Every man who sailed the seas lived by that conviction.
"If you want to waste your time, be my guest," Kureha said, a smile in her eyes, though her expression was one of pure disdain.
She took two hard gulps of her wine, then froze, as if she had suddenly discovered something.
Her head tilted slightly as she looked out the study's clean window.
From where she stood, she had a perfect view of the iron chains stretching down to the mountain's base.
Two figures were walking along them, one after the other, moving so lightly they didn't cause even the slightest tremor.
Kureha might've been old, but her eyes were still sharp. Even from several hundred meters away, she could make out their faces clearly.
The man in front was striking—his expression cold and detached, his eyes gleaming like diamonds with an unsettling intensity, as if the whole world was beneath him.
He moved with dangerous confidence, radiating power. The second man wore a longsword at his hip and carried himself with rigid discipline. Behind his calm exterior lurked something predatory—an eagle's piercing gaze that seemed to see right through everything.
These two didn't belong anywhere near the Drum Kingdom.
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"What is it?"
Hiriluk asked, seeing Kureha had suddenly gone silent. He followed her gaze down the mountain. "Huh? Two people are coming up? Are they here for medical treatment?"
His mind was completely focused on his research. He had no interest in the affairs of the outside world and no idea who was approaching.
"Two rather troublesome figures have arrived," Kureha said, her brow furrowing tightly.
"I hope they're not here to cause trouble..."
How could she not know of the man in the lead, the one who had thrown the seas into turmoil these past few years? For such a person to suddenly appear here—it could not be a good thing.
Just then, the two men on the chains below, as if sensing her gaze, looked up, their eyes meeting hers through the window.
A faint, indifferent smile touched Arthur's lips. His voice carried across the hundreds of meters. "A troublesome figure... I'll take that as a compliment. As for whether I'll cause trouble—that depends on your cooperation."
His voice echoed directly into the castle. And then, in a flash, the figures of Arthur and Shiryu vanished from the chains, crossing the remaining distance in an instant before vaulting through the open window and landing silently in the study.
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Kureha remained seated in her lounge chair, unmoving, a book in one hand, a bottle of wine in the other. Hiriluk was dumbstruck, staring at the two uninvited guests.
Arthur, for his part, ignored Hiriluk completely, his eyes sizing up the living fossil of an old woman before him.
Shiryu stood at his side, his hand on his sword, silent.
Neither side spoke.
After a full minute, the master of the castle, Dr. Kureha, was the one to speak first. "I know you. The captain of the Thunder God Pirates, Thunder Emperor Arthur. A brat of the D. clan. Are you here to learn the secret of my eternal youth?"
She asked the question with a grin, casually taking two sips of her plum wine from behind her small sunglasses.
"Eternal youth? I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I'm not interested," Arthur scoffed.
What was eternal youth? On these seas, he knew of at least five ways to achieve a long life.
"Not even interested in eternal youth?" Kureha looked slightly surprised.
"There are only five ways you could have lived this long," Arthur began, his voice a low, analytical drawl.
"One: the bloodline of a giant. They live several times longer than humans. But you're obviously not a giant."
"Two: the bones of the Millennial Dragons from Warship Island. Legend has it they can grant immortality. But dragons themselves grow old and die—so immortality is an exaggeration. Still, there's no smoke without fire. The bones can likely extend one's lifespan."
"Three: Pure Gold, created two hundred years ago by the scientist Myskina Acier. It can greatly slow one's life force... And I'm afraid I have to tell you, all the Pure Gold in the world is now in my hands."
"..."
A flicker of shock crossed Kureha's face, but it was quickly replaced by a mischievous smile. "And you're telling me this? Aren't you afraid I'll spread the word? The World Government is quite determined to get its hands on Pure Gold."
"I've never bothered to hide it. If the World Government wants it, let them come," Arthur sneered.
What would happen if word got out? People would try to kill him and take it, or he'd kill them first. If they sent their strongest fighters, Arthur would be more than happy to welcome them.
"Cocky little brat..." Kureha muttered, taking a lazy sip of her wine. "You mentioned two other methods. Why don't you share those?"
"Four: Certain Paramecia-type fruits that manipulate time, such as the Age-Age Fruit or the Slow-Slow Fruit."
He knew their drawbacks were significant.
They could manipulate the age of others, but the years they had lived were still gone. Once the ability was removed, the victim would likely turn to dust.
"And the final method..."
Arthur said, his eyes narrowing, "—is the one the World Government's offering five billion berries for. The Op-Op Fruit. Most people don't know about the Perennial Youth Operation, but you... you'd know about it, wouldn't you?"
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