Above the castle, Kureha and Nami stood watching the four people playing below.
"Chopper looks so happy~" Nami remarked suddenly.
"Yes, Chopper is very happy. I haven't seen him like this in years!"
Kureha fell silent for a while, lost in thought.
After some time, she quietly said, "Take Chopper away!"
Nami turned to Kureha and, after a long pause, responded, "Okay!"
...
Evening~
In a room in the castle.
"Mother Kureha, I want to join Kai's crew and set sail with them!"
"Oh, I see!" Kureha replied nonchalantly.
Chopper looked puzzled by her flat tone, tilting his head in confusion.
"Doctor Kureha, you...agree?"
"Of course! Why wouldn't I? It's just..." Kureha slowly stood up.
"Just?"
"It's just that as my assistant, daring to leave me like this means I'll have to deal with you myself. I'll turn you into a dead reindeer!"
=͟͟͞͞=͟͟͞͞(●0ꈊ0● |||)!
Kureha retrieved various weapons from her surroundings, and her entire presence seemed to exude an extremely intimidating aura, at least from Chopper's perspective.
"Hey, Chopper, you better...run!!!"
"No!"
Chopper quickly transformed into a form with enhanced leg strength and dashed outside while shouting.
"Ah~"
A terrified voice echoed from inside the castle, drawing everyone outside's attention.
As the sound grew closer, a reindeer appeared, performing an impressive drift before sprinting towards them with a frightened look.
While running, he shouted, "Mother Kureha is going to kill me~"
"Huh?" Everyone turned, bewildered, as Kureha, fully armed, appeared in front of them.
Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ノノ!
Luffy and Zoro's expressions turned to sheer panic as if they had just seen a ghost.
Seeing this, Kai burst out laughing and said, "Everyone, get ready to run!"
"Run!" Luffy was the first to yell, sprinting towards the sleigh. The others quickly followed suit.
They all arrived just as Chopper grabbed the rope, tied it around himself, and slid down.
The sleigh glided under the moonlight, resembling a legend from an old tale!
Kureha stood by the cliff, watching quietly as Chopper drove Luffy and the others away.
At some point, Dalton appeared beside her.
"Must we say goodbye like this?"
"Fool! Do you think I need to cry? After all, I'm only one hundred and thirty years old, right?"
Despite her words, Kureha's eyes were already welling up with tears, shimmering under the moonlight.
"Chopper, you must be happy!"
...
Thanks to Chopper, it wasn't long before everyone reached the coast where the Merry was docked.
"Um?"
"Vivi, um...is that Karoo ?" Kai pointed at a frozen duck in the sea and asked Vivi, who was nearby.
"Ah? What did you say?" Vivi turned around, her face flushed from the recent excitement.
Kai repeated his question.
"Karoo!!!"
...
"This silly duck, did it slip and fall?" Zoro mocked, looking at the swiftly moving man.
Kai shot Zoro a curious glance. If he remembered correctly...
"Yeah, yeah!" Chopper nodded beside them. "It said it thought a guy named Zoro fell into the sea and went to save him!"
Before he could finish, a shadow appeared behind Zoro, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki.
"So it was you, you bastard!"
After Nami knocked Zoro, she approached Chopper and asked in surprise, "I didn't know you could understand animals, Chopper!"
"I'm an animal, so it's natural for me to understand them!"
"Sugoi!"
"Even if you say that, I'm not thrilled~"
"You're clearly happy!" Luffy and Usopp said contemptuously from the side.
"Bang!"
At that moment, a cannon fired, followed by a series of cannon blasts. Everyone turned towards the sound.
They saw explosions occurring one after another in the sky above the highest mountain on Drum Island.
After the explosions, a stunning scene unfolded!
The white snow on the entire island slowly turned pink, glowing brightly under the moonlight.
"Ouch~~"
(✧∇✧)!
Chopper stared in awe at the scene and whispered, "Is this...cherry blossoms?"
"Mother Kureha, thank you!"
...
"Chopper, Chopper! Stop dazing and come play quickly!" Kai called, hugging the dazed Chopper. He then pointed to Luffy.
"Look, Luffy's got chopsticks stuck up his nose—it's hilarious~ Want to try it too?"
Kai handed Chopper two chopsticks.
"How could I..."
"Oh, Chopper, the chopsticks you picked aren't as long as mine. You're not doing it right! Hahaha..." Luffy laughed, watching Chopper with chopsticks up his nose.
"Tch~ It's just my first time and I'm not used to it yet. Once I get the hang of it, I'll be able to use them better than you!" Chopper retorted.
"Idiot! How is that possible? I'm a rubber man. Even if you practice for ten thousand years, you'll never match me, hahaha!"
Kai sat on the railing, quietly enjoying the scene and the atmosphere on the ship.
"This is great! Days like this are the best!"
"Why don't you join in and stick chopsticks up your nose too?" Nami asked, sitting next to Kai.
"Forget it, that's not for me! How can I do such a thing with a face as handsome as mine?"
"You're quite full of yourself!"
"Of course! So far, I've never met anyone more handsome than me!" Kai said proudly.
"That's true!" Nami agreed, nodding since she'd never seen anyone more handsome.
After a brief silence, Nami suddenly said, "Kai, thank you!"
"Huh? What's this for?" Kai turned to her with a puzzled look.
"Thank you for everything you did for me while I was sick. I really..."
"Ah!"
Nami held her forehead in pain and looked at Kai.
"Why are you playing with me?"
"Don't you see what you're saying? We don't need to thank each other. We're partners, after all."
"Partners... just partners?" Nami murmured softly.
"Huh? What was that?"
"Nothing! Yes, we're partners!"
"I'm going to have supper with Vivi! Are you coming?"
"Eating late night snacks is the quickest way to gain weight and it's bad for your health!" Kai said seriously. Then...
"Add me to the list!"
-------------------------------
Power Stones would be appreciated if you liked the story.