Chapter 133: Adventure in a Nameless Country

Arc: Drum Island · Saga: Alabasta · Volume: 16

Summary

Opening narration (p. 1): over a snowfield, Dalton’s voice declares “This country… …has no name.” — and bystanders react with disbelief (“A country without a name?” / “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”). A panicked townsman shouts “AAAAH!!! A BEAR!!!” but a calmer voice reassures: “It’s not dangerous. Don’t forget to bow — it’s a mountaineer tradition. That’s just the hiking bear.” The cover-spread (pp. 1-2) shows Luffy and Nami riding a sled through the snow, anchor-rigged, mountains behind.

The Straw Hats reach the Snow Village — Big Horn (p. 5), a settlement of cone-roofed snow houses below the towering Drum Rockies, populated by strange animals walking around — including the ram-horned hiking bear and big-horn sheep. Luffy is overjoyed (“Nami, we’re in a village! With people! We made it!!! A village!!!”). The villagers are nervous and an armored squad confronts the new arrivals; a large armored man, Captain Dalton, stands the squad down — “They’re not real soldiers… they’re all civilians. They mean us no harm. Trust me. I feel it in my gut.” (p. 6). Villagers reference “the election in two days” and tell Dalton “everyone says they’re voting for you.” (p. 6).

In a warmed sickroom, Dalton properly introduces himself: “My name is Dalton. I’m the protector of this island.” (caption: Captain Dalton — Drum Island Civilian Guard, p. 7). Dalton recognizes Vivi (“I have the feeling… I’ve seen you somewhere before.”, p. 7) — Vivi deflects (“It-it must be your imagination.”, p. 8). Dalton reads Nami’s thermometer: “Her temperature is… 107.6 degrees!!?” — Vivi/Sanji explain the fever has been “rising steadily for three days” (p. 8). Dalton’s verdict: the cause is unknown, no treatment is available, and “if it goes any higher, she’ll die.” (p. 8) — establishing the arc’s medical kill-clock. Sanji demands a doctor: “Look, we just need a doctor. Any doctor! Where’s this witch!!?” (p. 8).

Dalton points out the window to the Drum Rockies (pp. 9-12): atop the highest peak sits a castle — “a castle without a king” (p. 10) — and there lives “the only doctor in this country, Dr. Kureha, whom people call ‘the Witch’” (p. 10). Kureha is described as wildly eccentric: “nearly 140 years old” and “still kicking” (p. 11); she “looks for the patients, treats them, then takes whatever she wants in compensation, and goes home” (p. 11); she “comes down the mountain whenever she feels like it” and “likes pickled plums” (p. 11); and folklore claims that “on moonlit nights, she rides a sleigh through the sky… and comes down the mountain” (p. 12), accompanied by “a strange beast unlike anything they’ve seen before” (p. 12) — hence the Witch nickname. The villagers prefer to wait for her to descend rather than seek her out (“we don’t like to get involved with her if we can help it”, p. 12).

Nami wakes (p. 13) — Luffy is at her bedside calling her name. Luffy resolves: “the only doctor around here lives on top of a mountain. So we’re gonna climb it.” (pp. 13-14). Despite protests that the steep peak is impossible to scale and that the climb could kill even a healthy person — let alone Nami, whose “temperature is nine degrees higher than normal!!” (p. 14) — Luffy insists: “It’s okay, I’ll carry her on my back.” Nami, half-conscious, gives him her trust: “I’m counting on you. I have to get better right away.” (p. 14). Luffy declares “Leave everything to me!!” (p. 15). Sanji insists on coming too (“I’ve had it! With our captain, and with our navigator!!” — “Then I’m going too!!!”, p. 15), and Vivi joins (“Me too!!!”, p. 16). The rest of the crew (Zoro, Usopp, Karoo) will wait at Big Horn.

Dalton warns the climbers (p. 16): on one side of the mountain are lapins — “vicious flesh-eating rabbits. If you encounter a pack of them, it’s certain death!!” — and advises starting the ascent from the other side. Luffy shrugs it off (“Rabbits? We’re in a hurry. We can handle them.”) and Sanji adds “I’ll kick ‘em!!!”.

The chapter closes on the country’s history (pp. 17-19). Dalton reveals: “Only a few months ago, this country was… defeated by pirates!!!” — “There were only five pirates. They were immensely powerful… The captain called himself Blackbeard.” The Straw Hats are stunned (“BLACKBEARD!?”). Dalton continues (p. 18): the land was called the Drum Kingdom, and “the king’s name was Wapol!! He was the worst king ever!!!” — and “some around here think it was a blessing” that the kingdom fell, because Wapol’s tyranny ended. The name Wapol triggers a violent recognition-shock in the Straw Hats — “WAPOL!!!? …I REMEMBER NOW!!!” (p. 19), implying they have encountered Wapol off-island before.

Page 19 — Storyboard Presentation #17 (backmatter): Oda’s rough-pencil storyboard of vol. 16 page 57 — the Drum-village sickroom scene.

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters present: Luffy (pp. 1-2 cover-sled, p. 5 village-arrival joy, pp. 13-15 bedside resolve + decision to climb, pp. 16-19 mountain prep + Wapol recognition-shock), Nami (pp. 1-2 cover-sled, pp. 8-9 feverish in sickbed, p. 13 wakes, p. 14 “I’m counting on you”, p. 15 “give me some meat!”), Sanji (pp. 4-12 sickroom — “where’s this witch!!?”, p. 15 insists on joining the climb, p. 16 “I’ll kick ‘em!!!”), Vivi (pp. 5-8 village-arrival + Dalton recognizes her, pp. 14-16 joins the climb), Zoro (p. 4 mid-winter swim training, p. 5 village; stays at Big Horn), Usopp (p. 4 shivering, pp. 11-13 reaction shots; stays at Big Horn), Karoo (p. 4 QUACK! shiver; stays at Big Horn), Dalton (pp. 5-19 — introduces himself, reads Nami’s fever, narrates the history of Kureha, Wapol, and the Blackbeard conquest).
• Mentioned (not appearing): Dr. Kureha (described in full by Dalton, pp. 10-12 — the Witch, the only doctor, ~140 years old; does not appear in person), Wapol (named as the deposed worst king ever, p. 18; does not appear), Blackbeard (named as the captain of the five pirates who conquered Drum, pp. 17-18; does not appear).
• Crews/Groups: Straw Hat Pirates, Blackbeard Pirates (the five pirates who defeated the Drum Kingdom — named via their captain, Blackbeard), Drum Island Civilian Guard (Dalton’s militia).
• Locations: Drum Kingdom (the nameless country / former Drum Kingdom), Big Horn (the Snow Village), the Drum Rockies (mountain range), Grand Line.
• Fauna: the hiking bear (ram-horned mountain bear, pp. 1, 5), big-horn sheep/rams (p. 5), lapins (flesh-eating rabbits, p. 16, named not shown).

Open questions raised

• Where have the Straw Hats met Wapol before? Page 19 — they recognize the name with a shock (“I REMEMBER NOW!!!”). The chapter does not show the prior encounter. (Forward-canon: Wapol was the cannon-fired king they crossed paths with at sea between Whisky Peak and Drum.)
• Who is the strange beast that accompanies Dr. Kureha? (p. 12) — neither shown nor named. Forward-canon: Tony Tony Chopper, Kureha’s reindeer apprentice and the future Straw Hat doctor.
• Will Luffy reach Dr. Kureha in time to cure Nami’s fever? The 107.6-degree fever is fatal if it rises further; the mountain-climb is the chapter’s identified solution-vector. Forward-canon: yes — the climb to the castle is the spine of the next several chapters.
• What is Wapol planning now that his kingdom has fallen? Wapol is named as the deposed worst king ever; the chapter does not show his whereabouts. Forward-canon: Wapol returns to reclaim his throne, becoming the arc-antagonist.
• How did a crew of only five pirates — Blackbeard’s — conquer an entire kingdom? (pp. 17-18). The chapter gives the feat without the mechanics. Forward-canon: Blackbeard’s early-career power and his eventual multi-fruit mystery.
• Why did Dalton recognize Vivi? (p. 7) — “I’ve seen you somewhere before.” Vivi deflects. The chapter does not explain the connection.
• Will Dalton win the election and rule the nameless country? The villagers favor him, but the election is “in two days” — and Wapol is still at large.