Chapter 23: The Eccentric of Whiskey Peak
Whiskey Peak, the so-called "Town of Celebration."
Existing as the first island beyond the Twin Capes, this place was a town literally welcoming "newcomers" to the great sea route, the Grand Line. It was sustained by bounty hunters from various locales deceiving, capturing, and turning over fledgling pirates just entering the Grand Line to the Navy in exchange for bounties.
While the terrain was hardly ideal for agriculture, there were at least enough food provisions to get by on a basic level. The town specialized in alcohol brewing, using their liquor to inebriate pirates into dropping their guard before making their ambush a matter of routine.
However...
"Oh, over a 100 million...!? Why is someone that big lurking in a place like this...?!"
"How should I know! If they're calling her the 'Witch,' then it must be that worst criminal from the West Blue that's been making headlines lately! We absolutely can't lay a hand on her!"
These were merely bounty hunters preying upon overly boisterous pirates at the entrance. They never imagined having to deal with a bounty exceeding a 100 million. While exceeding 10 million would already constitute a sizable rookie around these parts, 300 million was utterly beyond the pale.
After docking in the evening to stay the night, securing lodging, and confirming their guest's face at the inn, there was no mistaking her identity.
In another building, a small group gathered, all clutching their heads.
"This is no joke...that monster who fought evenly with a Navy admiral, there's no way we could handle her."
"We might be able to get a handsome informant fee from the Navy just by telling them she's here..."
She had repelled escorts, slain a Celestial Dragon. The Navy was undoubtedly pursuing her relentlessly to save face, providing ample incentive to buy any information at premium prices. However, the terrifying prospect then became retaliation.
"She even managed to flee from that Buddha, Sengoku. If she retaliates against this town after we've captured her, what then?"
"At that point, we'd have no choice but to abandon this town and flee, wouldn't we...?"
"Self-preservation comes first."
Truthfully, pirates seldom arrived frequently enough for bounty hunting to be more than a mere side gig sustaining the entire town.
Swarming the island with pirates routinely would be one matter, but there simply weren't enough notorious crews in this era to warrant concern.
"So it's settled then. Recklessly antagonizing her could spell the town's utter destruction."
"No objections."
Heeding their instinctual sense of impending crisis, not a single voice of dissent arose against abandoning any planned ambush on Kanata's crew.
…
The next day, while most of Kanata's crew remained aboard awaiting standby, she disembarked with a small contingent to rest at an inn.
Fundamentally, with food supplies running scarce in town, there was little surplus to peddle outsiders. Beyond the excess liquor produced exceeding local consumption needs, little else remained available for purchase.
Naturally, the crew's resident alcoholics eagerly bought up plenty, although George calculated and acquired only enough supplemental stock for nautical necessities before returning aboard.
In the meantime, Kanata's group went to recruit the doctor Crocus had mentioned, following directions provided by the locals.
"Well now, I wonder what sort he'll turn out to be."
"As far as I'm concerned, any amusing character will do fine by me."
"They did say he's an eccentric. Specifics went unmentioned, but we'll take him if it's manageable."
Accompanied by Junshi and Kuro, Kanata headed for a sizable building located slightly removed from the town proper.
Ordinarily, as a doctor one would expect him residing within the town itself. But perhaps its outskirt location related to avoiding entanglement with the locals' bounty hunting sideline.
Well, the precise reasoning mattered little to them.
"This should be the place."
Whether purpose-built as a hospital or private residence, the building's scale seemed excessively large for the latter possibility alone.
Knocking promptly summoned the pitter-patter of someone scampering over before a cute voice accompanied the door opening.
"Yes, who might you be?" A pink-haired girl dressed as a nurse greeted them.
One of the staff, Kanata presumed, explaining they had business with the resident doctor.
"With the doctor? If you're not an injured or ailing patient, I can't let you meet him."
"So that's his policy, is it...although truthfully, we're here for his son. Does he have one?"
"His son?" She briefly grimaced before forcing a smile. "I'll go fetch him..." Her elongated vocal tone faded as she retreated inside. After waiting a short while, a white-haired, scruffy-looking man with baggy eyes emerged.
Towering over two meters tall yet quite slender, his gaze conveyed menace despite his seemingly indifferent demeanor.
"You're here for me, I take it. If you're not patients, leave."
"That won't do. We're searching for a ship's doctor, you see."
"A ship's doctor? Why would you come to me for that?"
"Crocus from the Twin Capes recommended you, suggesting you might be willing to join my crew."
"Hmph...and what's in it for me?"
Scrutinizing the three intently with mild disdain, his eyebrow twitched when Kanata replied, "I can grant you most reasonable requests."
"...Is that so? Then let me ask, have you ever encountered Devil Fruit ability users?"
"More times than I can count. I myself am one as well."
Effortlessly crafting ice with her right hand, the man grasped it to examine from various angles while she allowed the harmless indulgence.
Seemingly satisfied after thorough inspection, he released her hand to begin scribbling frantic notes.
"It appears you're interested."
"Indeed, more than sufficiently so it seems. I am a doctor who views Devil Fruit ability users as my patients."
"Ability users as patients, you say?" Kanata raised a suspecting eyebrow.
"Or perhaps better phrased as them being possessed. Merely consuming a disgusting fruit robbing one of the ability to swim - how does one describe that besides an affliction?"
Ah, now Kanata understood. A true eccentric, this one.
Devil Fruits granting extraordinary abilities were hardly commonplace even along the Grand Line, let alone readily available. Attempting acquisition would entail astronomical monetary investments even for nations and militaries, to say nothing of private individuals indulging such hobbies. For a lone man to be doing so placed him squarely into eccentric territory.
"If you'll allow me to dissect some ability users, I'll join your crew."
"I won't allow that regarding myself, but if you encounter adversarial ability users from now on, I can have them delivered alive and docile for your...studies. Will that suffice?"
"...Very well. So long as you can neutralize them without allowing resistance, I have no issues."
After instructing them to prepare while retreating inside, the noises of shouting, screaming, and shattering objects sporadically emanated from within.
He eventually reemerged carrying no luggage, curtly gesturing for assistance with, "A bit of help here."
"Hey, I've got a bad feeling about this..." said Kuro.
"As do I. May we depart?" Junshi glanced at Kanata.
"Of course not." She refused.
Despite sharing the same foreboding premonition, the trio reluctantly followed him inside.
Befitting its hospital nature, the interior remained impeccably sanitary, that distinct medicinal odor assailing their nostrils the deeper they ventured following his beckoning.
Within, including the earlier pink-haired girl, several individuals cowered beneath desks, averting their gazes with indecipherable expressions upon making eye contact with Kanata. Faint whimpered pleas of "I wish they'd just go already" could be overheard.
(Aside from the father, the son...doesn't seem terribly welcomed here, does he?)
Plodding noisily towards the rear, a white-haired man identical to the earlier one but bearing a beard sat in a chair - presumably the father.
His foul countenance certainly appeared hereditary, Kanata idly mused while shifting her focus towards his son.
"So, what did you need assistance with?"
"I'm leaving to take to the seas. There's no prospect for medical advancement on this dreary island. Traveling to Drum should provide ample opportunity to study superior medical techniques. Can you give me passage?"
"Acquiring an Eternal Pose to guide us there is possible, if not immediately available."
"In other words, workable." He turned towards his father. "Any objections, old man?"
"Like I care what you do anymore, idiot son."
"Crocus, you meddling..." he muttered under his breath.
When Kanata inquired their names, the son sighed about how Crocus had failed to provide even that much information before introducing himself as Sukura and his father as Crates.
"I wish to advance medical science. Piddling around treating patients accomplishes no progress."
"Yet doctors still remain necessary, brat. You'd simply abandon the sick and injured to their own devices?"
"You alone are sufficient for that role father. I'm taking to the seas."
"For your Devil Fruit research, is it? And what benefit does studying such things truly provide?"
"Because they're patients. Nothing more, nothing less. Curing any illness or injury requires advancing medical science. What's so wrong with that?"
Glaring at each other, Crates finally relented with a dismissive "Do as you please" before returning to review case files.
Sukura snorted derisively and led them away to another room filled with various chemicals and equipment after exiting.
"All of these will need transporting. It may take some time, but that won't be an issue, correct?"
"Of course. Take whatever is necessary - our very lives could depend on it."
Medical supplies especially - falling ill without recourse could prove disastrous. They would undoubtedly need to resupply consumables in town as able too. In any case, manpower seemed required.
"I'll handle packing the pharmaceuticals and equipment myself. The rest like clothing can simply be stuffed away haphazardly."
Kanata turned to her crew. "Junshi, return to the ship and bring four or five others to assist with loading cargo."
"We should call Feiyun too. This sort of labor is best suited to her capabilities."
The giantess Feiyun could transport volumes far exceeding normal human capacities, sparing Junshi from needing to constantly shuttle between ship and hospital.
Hastening out, the three immediately set to work with Kanata and Kuro packing personal effects while Sukura handled the chemicals and equipment into improvised crates.
Although they could have worked in silence, as prospective crewmates it seemed prudent to inquire:
"So for you, ability users are patients?"
"That's correct. Many fools prattle nonsense about being 'rejected by the sea' or 'cursed,' when it's simply an illness like any other deserving scientific scrutiny."
"You have solid grounds for deeming it an illness, then?"
"Grounds? None whatsoever. Yet how does one describe anything besides an affliction when consuming a single fruit robs you of the ability to swim?"
His ultimate ambition, he revealed, centered around developing a way to extract Devil Fruits from their hosts while still alive - essentially severing the "possession" to revert them back to their original state.
While such technologies could undoubtedly endanger Kanata herself down the line, the prospective benefits vastly outweighed any personal risk. Feasibility notwithstanding, it certainly piqued her curiosity.
"I see...very well then. See that we're properly equipped for your duties as the ship's doctor."
"Your understanding is much appreciated. Also, for as long as I am this crew's doctor, I alone will treat any injuries or illnesses uncompromisingly. I refuse to indulge patients disregarding my expertise."
"Then we shall enforce that policy stringently."
Deferring to subject authorities seemed wisest. Many fools failed to grasp this simple wisdom, understandably questioning experts they found untrustworthy.
But with Crocus's personal endorsement vouching for his medical prowess, Kanata judged Sukura reliable on that basis alone.
He certainly seemed eccentric as forewarned, but remained tolerable within reason.
"Our crew includes a giantess as well. Can you provide medical care for her?"
"A giantess, you say? My treatments primarily cater to humans, but...no, as your ship's doctor I suppose I must learn to treat her kind as well. Some supplemental research may be required."
"That much I can accommodate."
Anatomical divergences aside, giantfolk still comprised humanoid physiology at their core. Inevitably, visiting their homeland would reveal further insights into their unique biological nuances.
Yet other potential recruits could expand their crew's racial diversity even further down the line. They would cross that bridge when reached - so long as maintaining proper decorum, whether human, fishman, or otherwise mattered little.
"More racial variety only increases my sample pool."
Each race likely harbored endemic illnesses exclusive to their kind. For Sukura, the broader ailment spectrum available for his studies, the better.
Ultimately it took until nightfall to finish loading all cargo for Feiyun to transport back aboard ship in bulk.
With a ship's doctor successfully procured, George seemed visibly relieved. The earlier concerns over Sukura's purported "eccentricities" faded once witnessing the extent firsthand and realizing it remained reasonably manageable.
While outwardly blasé over gaining a shipboard medic, George himself could easily become one of Sukura's designated "patients" before long.
Acquiring Devil Fruit abilities to increase one's strength often proved temptingly commonplace when braving such hazardous seas.
"In any case, we've successfully recruited a ship's doctor. One less concern weighing us down."
"Indeed milady. Illness could potentially decimate our entire crew - it warranted utmost priority to address."
While the medically-renowned Drum Kingdom had become one potential destination by happenstance, slight detours mattered little compared to their overall objective.
Acquiring an Eternal Pose to guide them forward remained the present necessity, prompting George to ask Kanata about their next island destination.
"Any information on our next stop?"
"Strangely, it seems no one knows much about it."
Being the closest islands, those initial seven held enough activity between them avoiding any longstanding necessity to voyage further ahead in the past.
Previous travelers had indeed ventured onward, yet apparently lacked any means of setting a return course from Whiskey Peak's position - a quandary easily solved by already possessing an Eternal Pose.
"A one-way trip, huh?"
"Little reason to return otherwise. Perhaps as a home base, but..."
"Who'd want to base themselves in a town like this one? Better we keep forging ahead while being hunted."
"A wise decision," Kanata acknowledged while sipping her glass of amber liquor.
They would embark the following morning. With no opportunity to significantly restock provisions, obtaining new rations upon reaching the next island would prove imperative. Consulting Sukura about any pharmaceutical needs would be prudent as well given his professional expertise.
"Did you at least learn the next island's name?"
"Ah, yes. Apparently it's called 'Little Garden.'"
Its peculiar moniker surely hinted at the island's underlying nature, although they would simply have to see for themselves upon arrival.
Kanata topped up her glass of amber liquid again to enjoy the moonlit view awaiting their predetermined lights-out time to conclude the evening.
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