"Hey, reindeer! Where'd you hide? Get out here!"
Luffy was searching high and low for Chopper, who had gone into hiding, not pausing for a moment.
"Did you guys meet the doctor here? What's she like?"
"How to put it? She's just a terrifying old hag. Best not to provoke her if you can help it, or you'll be in for bad luck."
Zoro and Tom were hanging out, chatting idly.
"Whoever they are, if they cause me trouble, I won't let them off!"
Zoro declared with great force to Tom beside him. The moment the words left his mouth, Dr. Kureha walked over, asking the villagers who grew slightly flustered at her appearance, "Are you all happy?"
As Kureha rarely interacted with the villagers in the past except for occasionally going down the mountain to treat people, many were still fearful of the woman known as the "Witch."
Seeing Dalton was severely injured and still needed further treatment, Kureha had the villagers carry the wounded into the castle.
"You're that nasty old woman from back then!"
The moment Zoro saw Kureha, he remembered walking naked in the snow, meeting her, and then being sent flying by a kick from her.
But before Zoro could even begin to vent his anger, Kureha punched him, leaving a large bump on his head and sending him face-down into the snow, temporarily unable to get up.
With Zoro's example fresh in their minds, the villagers didn't dare to dawdle. They quickly brought the injured into the castle, not wanting to end up like Zoro.
"Didn't I warn you?"
Tom said to Zoro, who had just gotten up, the bump still prominent on his head. "But the way you got beaten just now was really funny, hahahaha!"
Clang! Bang! Thwack!
An enraged and embarrassed Zoro immediately started fighting with Tom, who was still laughing heartlessly.
Chopper was now hiding on the castle roof. He remembered the words Dr. Hiriluk once spoke to him when he took him to the shore to look out at the boundless sea.
"Chopper, you must go out to sea one day. Then you'll understand how small your troubles are."
With little Chopper perched on his shoulder, facing the vast, endless sea, Hiriluk held out a hand and made a circle the size of his thumb for Chopper. "The island you were born on is only this small in the whole world... no, even smaller. It's true."
Perched on Hiriluk's shoulder, Chopper looked at the deep blue, boundless sea and felt yearning for the mysterious ocean for the first time.
Not just once, when Chopper heard Luffy's invitation to set sail, he wanted to agree immediately. But he held himself back forcefully. He was afraid that one day, if Luffy and the others came to dislike his blue nose, saw him as a monster again, and stopped accepting him, what would he do?
Rather than that, Chopper would rather stay on this winter island and say goodbye to Luffy and them right here.
Doctor, is this okay? Is this how it ends...
Sitting on the high castle roof, Chopper glanced at the skull flag with three cherry blossoms hanging above, fluttering in the wind. As his thoughts wandered, Luffy, who had somehow climbed up without him noticing, grinned mischievously at him. "Found you."
Chopper was so scared his face turned pale. He turned and ran, and thus their chase began again.
After his fight with Zoro, Tom wanted to find a place to rest. Then he saw Nami and Sanji by a wall, not sure what they were doing, and curiously walked over.
It turned out Nami wanted to sneak away while Kureha wasn't paying attention to her, but Sanji felt Nami's illness wasn't fully cured yet and it was best to stay for three more days.
"Stinky fisherman, you came at the right time. You try to convince Miss Nami too, tell her not to be reckless."
Seeing Tom approach, Sanji said to him.
Hearing Sanji's words, Tom's first reaction was: "Are you bullying someone again?"
"I'm not doing anything like that!"
Nami unceremoniously knocked Tom on the head and said with great determination, "Don't say any more. If we don't escape now, we'll have to wait 110 days before we can head to Alabasta."
"Isn't your sickness not better yet? What's the hurry?"
Tom said to Nami, "You know this, right? Alabasta not only has a rebellion of a million people, but also a Warlord of the Sea causing trouble. Things definitely won't be resolved simply. If you're not in good condition, it's easy for problems to arise."
"Miss Nami, I think he's right. Shouldn't you get your illness treated properly first?"
Sanji also agreed with Tom.
"Don't you want to make Vivi worry even more?"
Nami knew Vivi was the most anxious one; she probably wished she could return to Alabasta right now.
"That's not hard. I have a way to put Vivi at ease for a couple more days. Don't worry about it."
Tom said to Nami with great confidence.
"How do you plan to do that?"
Nami asked Tom. Sanji was also curious about Tom's idea.
"I'll knock her out, let her get a good two days' rest too."
Tom said truthfully. He figured if Chopper really refused to sail with them, this was the only way.
"You idiot!"
"Stinky fisherman, if you dare be that rough with a lady, I'll kick you to death!"
Nami and Sanji, hearing Tom's so-called "good idea," almost lost their minds.
Just as Tom was about to say something else, the stone wall behind Nami was suddenly kicked through with a crash, startling the three of them so much their jaws dropped. "You two are patients too! Get back to your sickroom!"
The patients Kureha referred to were Nami and Sanji.
Tom stared blankly as Sanji, with his injured back, was dragged back to the castle by his foot by Kureha. He asked the dumbfounded Nami beside him, "Do you still want to run?"
"I think I'll go back to the sickroom first. That's better for everyone."
Nami never expected Kureha, nearly one hundred and forty years old, to still be so vigorous, kicking a hole through the thick stone wall. It was truly terrifying.
The sky gradually darkened as evening crept in.
Luffy was still searching for Chopper, who was hiding who-knows-where.
Usopp was outside the castle playing in the snow, rolling snowballs, building snowmen, having a great time. Zoro sat in the snow with a sulky look, a bump on his head.
After being dragged back by Kureha, Sanji, undergoing her treatment, seemed to be subjected to inhuman torture, emitting continuous screams of agony. Tom, standing outside the door, felt his heart palpitate with fear, thinking the perverted cook was suffering some inhuman torment.
Not only Tom thought this; the villagers standing outside shared the same thought, some even turning pale with fright.
Earlier, while treating the injury on Sanji's spine, Kureha knew his condition had worsened again and had to administer a rather harsh treatment. Now he was lying face-down on the treatment table, feeling so "good" he was almost unconscious.
After finishing with Sanji, Kureha, holding a bottle of plum wine, asked Dalton, who was resting in a sickbed, where the key to the castle's armory was.
Dalton told Kureha the armory key was on Wapol's person, but Wapol had been sent flying who-knows-where by Luffy.
Thus, getting into the armory was quite a headache.
"As for a key, I picked one up before."
Tom, when he went to catch the hippopotamus-rabbit the second time, had unintentionally picked up a key in the snow. But when he tried to take it out now, he found the key had disappeared at some point.
"Don't look for it. The key is with me."
Nami pulled out a key and said to Tom.
"Why is the key I picked up with you?"
Tom quickly realized and righteously accused Nami, "You female thief, your larcenous nature never changes."
"What nonsense are you spouting? I was just keeping it safe for you. What if you lost it?"
Nami said to Tom with a perfectly straight face, as if stealing the key from him was for his own good.
"Oh, so that's how it is."
Tom was enlightened and said to Nami very seriously, "But you still stole my stuff."
"That's not the point!"
Nami waved her hand at Tom. The truth was she stole the key thinking it was for some treasure vault, but it seemed now the key was most likely for the armory.
"Is the key in your hand really the one for the armory?"
Kureha asked Nami.
"It should be. You can take it and try."
A sly smile appeared on Nami's pretty face as she began negotiating terms with Kureha. "Could our crew's treatment fees be waived? Also, I want to be discharged immediately."
"You dare negotiate with me? Quite bold."
Kureha walked over to Nami and snatched the key from her hand. "Originally, I planned to take all the cargo and money on your ship as payment. But if this key is genuine, I can waive your treatment fees. However, since I am a doctor, I cannot agree to the other condition. You still need to rest here for two days."
"Wait a minute! If that's the case, I'm not handing the key over to you for free!"
Seeing Kureha take her key but not agree to her terms, Nami tried to get it back, but Kureha wasn't about to return it.
"One steals, the other robs. You're quite alike."
Tom thought since he was the one who found the key, and the owner was gone, who it belonged to should be his decision.
Bonk! Thwack!
Nami's lovely eyebrows twitched. In an instant, she gave Tom two iron-fisted punches. "Don't just stand there leisurely spouting irrelevant nonsense!"
"Nami, you really should stay a couple more days. Let her examine you properly."
Vivi, seeing Tom's miserable state, was so shocked her jaw dropped. She felt it was better to let Kureha cure Nami's illness first and couldn't help advising.
"Don't worry. I don't feel like I'm going to die at all."
Nami said to Vivi with a smile. But Vivi didn't think that was grounds for discharge and was about to persuade her further when she heard Kureha, who had reached the room's doorway, say:
"Listen well, little girl. I'm going downstairs to take care of something, leaving the room for a while. In other words, I won't be here to monitor you. There are my coats in the cabinet at the back of the room. Also, that young man's back treatment is finished."
"Did you hear that? Absolutely do not leave this place."
Kureha had already confirmed with Dalton that the key she took from Nami was indeed the armory key. After speaking to Nami, she called all the able-bodied men out of the room, leaving only Tom, the others, and Dalton inside.
"Was she saying to take a coat and Sanji and escape now?"
"I think that's what she meant too."
Both Nami and Vivi understood the meaning behind Kureha's words. Tom asked Nami, "You really won't stay for more treatment?"
"Let's set sail. The moon is full tonight, isn't it a perfect time to depart?"
A faint smile appeared on Nami's face as she said to Tom.
It was a full moon. The round moon hung diagonally in the sky, its soft light spilling onto the earth, as if the whole world was soaked in a dreamlike silvery-gray hue.
Chopper had been chased by Luffy for so long he didn't notice it had gotten dark. He was now somewhat tired from running and was hiding on a remote upper part of the castle. He looked up at the big, round moon in the sky, his feelings complex.
Snow fell incessantly from the sky. At some point, the surroundings had grown very quiet. Chopper thought Luffy and the others had stopped looking for him and had already left. He felt a bit disappointed. It seems they really left. That's fine. I was actually fantasizing about setting sail from here...
"Hey, reindeer! Come be a pirate with us!"
Luffy's shout reached Chopper's ears, startling him. No way, he's still looking for me?
"Luffy, give it up."
Usopp, building a snowman, tried to persuade Luffy. "You've been desperately searching for him, pestering him. He just doesn't want to come out."
"He simply doesn't want to be a pirate."
Zoro also said to Luffy.
"Wrong! You've all got it wrong!"
Luffy pointed at Zoro and Usopp. "I just want to take him with me!"
"So this is just your own wishful thinking!"
Hearing Luffy's words, Zoro immediately got exasperated.
It's not that I don't want to go...
Chopper, sitting on the castle roof, peeked out and looked down at Luffy and the others, an expression of yearning on his face. Then he shook his head violently. No, I can't go. I'm not the same as them.
Thinking this, Chopper's eyes grew firm, as if he had resolved himself. After climbing down from the castle, he went to where Luffy was. At that moment, Tom, carrying Sanji on his back, happened to come out with Nami and Vivi.
Seeing Chopper standing not far away with his head bowed, Nami called out softly, "Tony?"
Luffy, seeing Chopper, said excitedly, "Reindeer! Come be a pirate with us!"
"It's impossible!"
"It's not impossible! You'll be really happy!"
The exchange between Chopper and Luffy left Usopp utterly confused; he couldn't understand what the two were talking about at all.
"Because... because I'm a reindeer! I have hooves! And a blue nose!"
Chopper mustered his courage, raised his head, and said to Luffy and the others.
Nami, looking at Chopper's lonely, solitary figure, remembered something Kureha had said to her earlier: "Do you have the power to heal his heart?"
"So what? None of us here mind that."
Tom said to Chopper. "Besides, I plan to get a pet too. You wouldn't be the only animal on the ship in the future. There's already a duck sailing with us. So why can't you sail with us?"
"I'm different! Even though I really want to be a pirate... I'm not a human's companion. And I'm a monster! I can't become your partner!"
Chopper gave Tom a grateful look and said to Luffy and the others, "So I'm really thankful to you all. Thank you for inviting me. But I'll stay here."
Having said that, Chopper forced a cheerful smile for Luffy and the others and said in a deliberately bright tone, "You can come visit me someday when you're in a good mood..."
Before Chopper could finish, Luffy raised both arms high and shouted at the sky, "Enough already! Come with us!"
Shadows. Flakes of snow fell from the sky. The silvery moonlight shone on the earth. On the white snowfield, next to the originally lonely, antlered black shadow, seven more shadows appeared.
And not far away was a simple grave marked by a tree trunk, a black top hat placed upon it, as if someone was watching over them.
Luffy and the others all looked at Chopper with smiles. Only Zoro said to Luffy, "Inviting someone and telling them to stop being so long-winded... who invites people to join like that?"
The tears welling in Chopper's eyes finally couldn't be held back and streamed down. In his emotional state, even his nose ran, and he couldn't help but let out a loud cry. "OOOOOH!"
In that moment, Chopper truly resolved to set sail with Luffy and the others. Before leaving, he wanted to say farewell to Kureha.
While waiting for Chopper to return, Usopp, who had idly built another snowman, asked Nami, "Is your physical condition really okay now?"
Nami smiled and answered, "No problem. I feel great."
"Let's go say goodbye to the old hag doctor and Mr. Dalton too."
Luffy sat on a snowball, rolling it around playfully.
"No. Let Chopper say goodbye to Dr. Kureha himself. They've relied on each other for six years. They must be reluctant to part and have a lot to say. Let them have some time alone."
Nami said to Luffy and the others. "Dr. Kureha might look fierce on the outside, but she's actually kind-hearted."
Zoro expressed doubt about Nami's words, muttering quietly, "Is that really true?"
Usopp asked Nami if they were really leaving. Nami answered very definitely, "Of course. Once Chopper is back, we go down the mountain immediately, set sail, and head straight for Alabasta."
With Chopper joining, Vivi felt somewhat more at ease about Nami's illness. At least with a doctor on board, it would be more convenient if anything happened.
Luffy, hearing Vivi and Nami discussing a doctor, felt a bit strange, but he was soon called by Usopp to help prepare the cable car for the descent and didn't get a chance to ask more.
Zoro, not seeing Tom, asked Nami where he was.
"That idiot said he wanted to check the armory, look for some useful things."
Nami, remembering Tom telling her he was going to the armory after Chopper went to bid farewell, sighed and lightly rubbed her forehead. "I'd better go call him back now, so we don't get delayed when it's time to leave."
While Nami went to find Tom, Chopper found Kureha.
When Dalton told her that Nami and the others had already run off, Kureha wasn't surprised at all. She had expected things to turn out this way.
Kureha saw Chopper and asked him where he had been, telling him to come downstairs and help move the cannons.
"Dr. Kureha, listen to me."
Chopper said to Kureha. "I'm going to be a pirate. I'm going on an adventure with them."
"What did you say?"
Kureha turned around, as if she hadn't quite heard Chopper clearly for a moment.
"I'm setting sail. I'll become their partner as the ship's doctor. I'm going to see the world with them."
As Chopper said this, his eyes were full of anticipation. He truly yearned for the adventure to come.
"What foolish nonsense are you saying!"
Kureha's face darkened instantly. She said to Chopper, "Listen well. You are my only assistant. Who taught you your medical skills? Do you feel no gratitude towards me at all?"
"That's not what I mean! I'm extremely grateful to you, Dr. Kureha!"
Chopper never expected Kureha's reaction upon hearing he wanted to set sail to be so intense, as if she were genuinely angry. His tone weakened. "Because I met the doctor and you here, I love this place."
Hearing Chopper say that, Kureha seemed a bit pleased and told Chopper to stay, saying such a luxurious castle wasn't something he could find just anywhere.
"Being a pirate isn't as easy as you think. One careless move and you lose your life."
Kureha tried to persuade Chopper.
"That's okay too."
Chopper had already made his resolution, which is why he could say this.
"Stop being so willful! I've never heard of a reindeer going out to sea!"
Kureha's tone became stern again.
"That's right! I am a reindeer!"
Hearing Kureha say that, Chopper's temper flared too. His voice rose slightly. "But I'm also a man!"
This was the first time Kureha had seen Chopper openly contradict her. In her heart, she understood she would part with Chopper tonight. Though filled with a hundred kinds of reluctance, she didn't show a trace of it. Instead, she said to Chopper, "You certainly dare to boast."
Putting the bottle of plum wine in her hand on the table, Kureha picked up a nearby knife, hammer, and axe, saying to Chopper, "If you want to leave this place, you'll have to defeat me first!"
"Dr. Kureha..."
Chopper had originally wanted to bid Kureha a proper farewell. He never expected things would end up like this. Just as he was feeling deeply saddened, Kureha directly threw an axe at him.
Looking at the sharp axe embedded in the castle wall, Chopper retreated a few steps in fear.
"A crybaby like you dares call himself a man? Don't make me laugh!"
Kureha hefted a large axe with one hand, looking quite imposing.
"Dr. Kureha, but they..."
Chopper remembered the scene when Luffy invited him. He looked at Kureha with reluctance in his eyes. "Please understand..."
But Kureha didn't want to hear Chopper's words at all, directly told him to shut up, and began relentlessly throwing axes, hammers, and swords at him. "I absolutely will not allow you to be so willful! I won't permit you to make this decision on your own!"
Seeing the sharp weapons flying towards him, Chopper was so scared his eyes nearly popped out. He immediately turned and ran. Kureha, holding several weapons, chased closely behind. "Chopper! Get back here!"
A number of people were originally following Kureha's instructions, moving the cannons outside. Then, when Chopper fled through the area, they unfortunately got caught up in the chaos. Seeing Kureha madly throwing weapons ahead, they were scared into continuous screams.
Zoro and the others, staying outside, were wondering why the castle had suddenly become so noisy when they saw Chopper come out pulling a sled.
Chopper looked back at Kureha, who was still chasing him. "I'm sorry, Dr. Kureha. I want to see more of this world."
"What good will going to sea do? Do you want to live in a fantasy like that quack doctor?!"
Kureha shouted at Chopper as she chased him.
That's not true! That wasn't a fantasy! The doctor's research was completed!
Hearing Kureha say that, Chopper indeed got a bit angry. Pulling the sled, he shouted to Zoro and the others not far away, "Everyone, jump on! We're going down the mountain!"
Luffy and Usopp had just finished preparing the cable car when they saw Kureha throw a large spiked iron ball on a chain towards them. Their jaws dropped in shock. Then, without hesitation, they jumped into the sled Chopper was pulling and headed down the mountain.
Elsewhere, after finding a few things he thought would be handy, Tom was told by Nami it was time to go back. But when they came out, the area outside the castle was completely empty of Luffy and the others. Only Kureha stood there alone.
Following Kureha's gaze, Tom and Nami saw, amidst the swirling snowflakes in the mid-air, a reindeer pulling a sled heading down the mountain. One person seemed to have missed getting onto the sled and was hanging onto the back, swinging back and forth. The silvery full moon hung beside them.
"Hey! What are you doing? We're still here!"
Seeing Luffy and the others had just run down the mountain like that, leaving them behind, Tom and Nami were so shocked their jaws hit the ground.
"Miss Nami! Jump down! I'll catch you!"
Sanji, his eyes turned to hearts, had just shouted this to Nami, who was still at the summit of Drum Mountain, when he accidentally fell off the sled.
"Sanji!"
Luffy was about to say something to Tom and Nami when he saw Sanji fall and urgently stretched out his arm to grab him.
"What do we do now?"
"Getting down from here shouldn't be hard."
Just as Tom was about to take Nami down the mountain, they heard several deafening booms of cannon fire. Looking up, he and Nami witnessed a scene of unforgettable beauty in their lives.
Cherry blossoms... were truly blooming on this winter island, locked in eternal cold...
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T/N :
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