BLACKBEARD PIRATES!?

All the residents who were present cheered for Luffy's decision, while Dalton remained shocked and confused.

"Just hang those flags in the harbor and in towns all over the island," he added, prompting Dalton to reluctantly nod.

"Fine, we'll hang them," Dalton replied, causing Luffy to smile and nod. "Hopefully, this will help us prevent any further attacks," Dalton said, perplexing Luffy who looked at him with confusion.

"Another attack?" Luffy asked, tilting his head to the side and giving the new king a puzzled expression.

"Oh right, Luffy and the others went ahead to take Nami to the doctor. So you don't know why Wapol became a pirate," Usopp said from his position on the floor near Nami's bed.

"Yeah, it seems a powerful pirate by the name of Blackbeard attacked this country with his crew, and instead of defending his country, Wapol withdrew his troops and left after seeing Blackbeard's strength," Gem calmly explained as he leaned against a corner of the door.

"Blackbeard?" Luffy asked with a confused expression. "I've never heard of a pirate by that name," he added before he started to ponder.

"Blackbeard, with a name like that, sounds like they're challenging Oyaji (Whitebeard)," Luffy thought to himself. "Is this why Ace is in paradise?" added Luffy in his head.

"Dalton said that the pirates only have five members, but all of them are very strong," said Usopp, fear clear in his voice.

"Don't worry about them; if they try anything again, I will finish them off," said Luffy, reassuring everyone. Luffy then looked at Nami and asked, "How are you?" Nami looked at him and smiled before answering.

"I'm feeling better, captain," she said in a voice that didn't sound sick anymore. "We should really go and bring Vivi to her home," she added, causing Luffy to nod in agreement.

"You, boy," the doctor called out before turning to Dalton. "Dalton, do you happen to know where the armory keys are?" Kureha asked, causing Dalton to look at her with a surprised expression before answering.

"The armory? Why do you need to go in there?" Dalton asked from his position on the bed.

"That's none of your business right now," Luffy answered, taking another sip of his plum sake.

"Wapol always carried the key with him for safety," Dalton replied. "And in this case, the key probably flew into the sky with his body," he added, causing Luffy to laugh nervously before speaking.

"Oops," said Luffy with a slight smile.

"Well, that's too bad," said Dr. Kureha.

"Zoro, cut the door," Luffy said to his vice captain.

"Captain, umm," Zoro said, causing Luffy to look at him. "I don't have a sword with me," he said, causing Luffy to sigh before speaking.

"Of course not," said Luffy before he turned to Gem and spoke. "Gem, blow up the door," said Luffy, causing Gem to nod and look at the doctor, waiting for her to lead him to the intended door.

"Good," Kureha replied before she turned to the group of villagers and spoke. "You all come with me; I have something you need to do," she said, scaring the villagers before they reluctantly agreed and followed her and Gem out of the bedroom door to the armory. As the group exited, Luffy turned to Nami and spoke.

"Nami, get ready to go," said Luffy in a commanding tone, attracting everyone's attention.

"Luffy, we can't just leave! She needs to rest!" Vivi shouted as she stood up from her chair.

"I know, but we will have a doctor on board," Luffy replied calmly, ignoring the fact that Vivi had just shouted at him.

"Doctor?" Zoro asked with a confused look on his face. "Who will be our doctor?" he asked.

"Our doctor is right there," said Luffy, pointing at Chopper.

"W-what?" Chopper said in surprise while looking at Luffy. "I can't join your crew," he said in a sad voice.

"Sure you can; that would be great fun," Luffy answered with a smile.

"I can't... I'm not human! I'm a deer with horns and hooves!" Chopper shouted, while Luffy watched with a smile still on his face.

"Maybe I want to be a pirate, but I can't be one of you! I'm not human! I'm a monster, and I can't be a pirate or your friend, and I can't join your crew!"

Everyone in the room looked at the little deer with sad faces. The girls in the room restrained themselves from running and hugging the poor little man.

"I just wanted to say thank you. I really appreciate you inviting me to join your pirate group. That's very nice, so thank you, but I'll be staying here for now. And if you guys want, you can come back here again," Chopper couldn't finish his sentence, being cut off by Luffy's voice.

"Oh, shut up and let's go," Luffy replied with a smile on his face, causing Chopper to start crying loudly before he ran out of the room.

"Most people don't make new friends by telling others to shut up," thought Zoro as he looked on with a smile.

"Alright, let's wait outside," said Luffy before he jumped out the window and onto the cloud he had summoned earlier. Luffy then put his hand into the cloud, took out a medium-sized chest, and opened it.

When he opened it, everyone saw that it was filled with transponder snails of all sizes. Luffy took one and threw it at Dalton before speaking.

"If you need me, just press the button with the straw hat," Luffy said, causing Dalton to look down at the snail and see several buttons to press before finally spotting the one with the straw hat on it.

"Thanks for everything," Dalton said, a smile on his face as he watched Luffy's crew jump out of the window one by one.

"No need to worry," replied Luffy. When everyone was in the clouds, Luffy gave a mental order to lower himself to the ground, and then the clouds began descending onto the snow-covered ground below them.

"Nami, are you sure you're okay?" asked a concerned user.

"I'm sure," she replied with a thumbs up. "I feel fine," she said with a big smile, which caused her sister to smile as well. When the cloud was about 1 meter above the ground, it hovered in a position that allowed everyone to step onto it.