Kureha led Luffy and the others into the adjacent room. "This is where you'll be resting. Be mindful of hygiene; don't make a mess."
She finished speaking and was about to leave.
Just then, Luffy transformed from his obedient demeanor back to his usual mischievous self.
With a leap, he appeared before Kureha and boldly invited, "Old hag, why don't you become our ship's doctor? We just happen to need a doctor, and I don't want to see my nakama suffer from illness anymore."
Kureha froze for a moment, then her eyebrow twitched. She immediately delivered a flying kick that sent Luffy slamming into the wall. "What did you call me? 'Old hag'? I'm only 140 years old, in the prime of my beauty, and I still have plenty of youth left. How could I possibly go out to sea with you pirates? Don't even dream about it."
Sanji and Zoro's mouths twitched wildly, and they took a few steps back, fearing the old woman would hit them too.
Luffy stood up as if nothing had happened, dusting himself off. "You don't want to? Sigh, where's my doctor~?"
Just as Luffy was about to say something more, a clatter of bottles and jars sounded from the next room.
Kureha immediately exploded, "Chopper~ What are you doing?!"
Everyone rushed to Nami's room.
"Hahahaha~ Nami, you're awake!" Luffy was the first to rush over and hug Nami like an octopus when he saw her awake.
Nami weakly said, "Get off me, Luffy. I don't have any strength right now."
Kureha instantly appeared beside Luffy, grabbed him with one hand, and directly kicked him away, gnashing her teeth. "Your nakama just woke up! What are you doing?!"
Then she placed her hand on Nami's forehead. "38 degrees. Looks like your fever's gone down a bit. It's passable."
Nami looked at the old woman, who was drinking sake while taking her temperature, and asked, "Old hag, who are you?"
Kureha replied, "You should call me 'big sister.' I'm only 140 years old; still very young. My name's Dr. Kureha. You can just call me Dr. Kureha."
As Luffy and the others arrived, Chopper, who had been unconscious for over ten seconds, woke up. The moment he awoke, he immediately ran to Kureha's side, clinging to her pants and refusing to let go.
"Boohoo~ Dr. Kureha, she's so scary, that sick woman is so scary," Chopper whimpered, looking pitifully at Kureha.
Luffy's eyes lit up when he saw Chopper, and he immediately pounced on him. "Haha~ Little raccoon dog, you're a doctor too, right? How about becoming my nakama?"
"I'm a reindeer, not a raccoon dog!" Chopper dodged Luffy's pounce and then ran out.
"Don't run! Be my nakama!" Luffy chased directly after him.
Sanji, seeing Luffy's antics, figured the kid was about to cause trouble again, so he also chased after them.
Zoro's eye twitched at the sight of the troublesome trio.
Time moved to the next day, and heavy snow fell outside the castle.
Kureha walked over with medicine. While giving Nami the medicine, she checked her temperature with her hand.
"Hmm~ Temperature's normal. After you take these medicines, you'll be fully recovered," Kureha told Nami.
Luffy and Chopper were standing obediently at the door, being punished. Their antics yesterday had turned the entire castle upside down, and they had ultimately been disciplined by Kureha.
However, they didn't get beaten for nothing. Through their playful antics, Luffy had learned Chopper's story. After passing by the house where Hiruluk used to live, the two had a fight, and after the fight, they became good friends.
Shin'ya looked at Kureha, who was checking Nami's condition, and cautiously asked, "Big Sister Kureha, we also lack a ship's doctor. Chopper's your apprentice, isn't he? How about letting him join us?"
There was no other way. Without Luffy carrying Nami to seek medical treatment, Shin'ya feared that Kureha wouldn't feel comfortable letting Chopper go, so it was better to ask.
Kureha put the medicine back in the medicine box, looked at the wind and snow outside the window, and sighed. "Sigh~ If you want Chopper to come out to sea with you, you'll have to invite him yourselves. He has a wish, and if it can't be fulfilled, he won't go out to sea."
Shin'ya's heart stirred with excitement. There was a chance! He asked, "What wish? We'll figure it out."
Kureha looked at Shin'ya strangely. "I've read your bounty poster. If you can make cherry blossoms bloom that won't freeze in winter, I think he might agree to join you."
She continued, "He hopes Drum Island can be covered in cherry blossoms. That was Chopper's foster father's dying wish, and Chopper has always wanted to fulfill it."
Then, Kureha found a seat, took out sake from her waist, drank a few sips, and gradually fell into reminiscence.
Kureha slowly began, "Chopper was originally part of a reindeer herd, but because his nose was blue, he was always disliked, though not driven away."
"However, one day while searching for food, Chopper ate a Devil Fruit — the Human-Human Fruit — and turned into something neither human nor reindeer. Just like that, the herd drove him away. What's laughable is that humans also treated him as a monster; whenever Chopper appeared, they would attack him with guns."
Everyone who heard this had tears welling up in their eyes, including Luffy and Chopper himself, who were standing at the door being punished.
Chopper's eyes were teary, and he looked pitifully at Kureha. "Boohoo~ Dr. Kureha~"
"One time, while Chopper was looking for food, he was ambushed and injured by a gun, falling into the snow. Just as he was about to die, someone appeared and saved him."
Sanji took a puff from his cigarette and slowly exhaled. "Who was it?"
Kureha took another sip of sake and sighed. "That was the person who later took in Chopper, his foster father, Hiruluk, a quack doctor."
"He took Chopper back, taught him to speak, taught him to read, gave him a name, and even taught Chopper medical skills — though he wasn't much of a doctor himself."
"Was Chopper's name given by his foster father?" Nami asked with a sob.
Kureha nodded. "That's right. Hiruluk said his antlers were very powerful and could easily knock down trees, so he named him Tony Tony Chopper."
"That was the first time Chopper felt cared for, but unfortunately, not long after, Hiruluk contracted a terminal illness. By the time he discovered it, it was already in its late stages, completely incurable."
"But he wouldn't give up. One time, while searching through medical books again, Chopper saw a mushroom with a skull drawn on it, so he asked Hiruluk what it meant."
"Hiruluk, however, told Chopper that the skull symbolized powerful strength — meaning omnipotence."
"But Chopper misunderstood. He thought it meant a panacea, a medicine that could cure any disease."
"Another time, when Hiruluk came to me, begging me to adopt Chopper, he ran off by himself. He searched in the mountains for three days, and Hiruluk searched for him too. Just when Hiruluk thought Chopper had left for good, Chopper returned."
"Chopper came back with the mushroom from that book, covered in injuries. Hiruluk knew Chopper had misunderstood, and he himself only had half a day to live. Whether he ate the mushroom or not, he wouldn't live to see the next day."
"To prevent Chopper from eating it, Hiruluk ate it all at once. Right after that, the king's men arrived, claiming there was a patient no one else would treat. Hiruluk knew it was a trap; this country no longer tolerated him."
"To keep Chopper from worrying, Hiruluk told him he was leaving to find omnipotent power. Before he left, he asked Chopper not to resent those who hurt him, to someday save this country, and to fill it with red flowers. Then he sent him to me."
Dr. Kureha put down her sake bottle, looked at the flames in the fireplace, and sighed softly. "Later, when Chopper understood what death was, he always believed he had killed Hiruluk. Even later, when he studied medicine and learned the truth, that even without the mushroom, Hiruluk wouldn't have survived, he stopped blaming himself."
"If you want Chopper to join you now, you need to save this country and make it bloom with red flowers."
Luffy, who had been listening at the door for a long time, didn't understand much, but he caught the last two sentences: to get Chopper to go out to sea, they had to resolve his emotional burden.
Luffy immediately picked up Chopper, went to Kureha, and eagerly asked, "Old hag~ How do we save this country? Tell us, and we'll do it!"
Kureha laughed. "It's actually very simple. This country's always been ruled by the Wapol family. They won't let the people here learn medicine. If anyone gets sick, they either pay a fortune in Berries or wait to die."
Luffy slapped his forehead, excited. "So we just have to kill the Wapol family, right?! That's easy! We already caught them when we came here. I'll go kill them right now!"
Saying that, he put Chopper down and prepared to run out.
"Don't be so reckless, Luffy." Shin'ya immediately pulled him back and asked Kureha, "If we kill Wapol, are you capable of managing this country?"
Kureha kicked Shin'ya, annoyed. "What are you talking about? You want a 140-year-old woman to manage a country? Look at my age!"
Nami awkwardly interjected, "Um~ Big Sister, didn't you say you're still young and in the prime of your life?"
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