steampikachu

[steampikachu]

Chapter 5: Adventure in the Country of Sand! The Monsters That Live in the Scorching Land

(episode 97)

The crew continued their journey through the desert, heading to Yuba. Soon, the heat was starting to get to them. "Burning up," Luffy panted, using a branch as a cane for support, "Sweat won't even come out."

"Quit moaning so much, Luffy," Nami reprimanded, as she waved her hand by her face, "You'll only tire yourself out." His only response was a loud moan. "Guess he's not listening."

Chopper was no better; in fact, Zoro had to pull him on a small sled, because he couldn't walk. "I can't go on. I can't take hot weather. I'm fine in cold weather, though."

"It's 'cause of all that fur," Usopp groaned, walking the same way as Luffy; with a stick. "You should take off that animal suit."

Chopper turned to him with a glare. "What was that, you jerk?!" He suddenly turned big, as Zoro was unable to pull him. "Don't make fun of reindeer!"

"Monster!" Usopp screamed in terror.

"Chopper! Don't turn big!" Zoro glared back. "Or else I won't pull ya!"

Chopper didn't notice him, as his confrontation with Usopp continued. "Who're you calling a monster, Humongo-Nose?!"

"D-don't be stupid!" Usopp shook with fear. "I-I'll have you know this nose-"

"Just turn back already!" Zoro shoved Chopper down by his head, making him small again.

"No more fighting!" Venus scolded. Ace walked with them, not saying a word.

"You don't seem to be having a hard time, Vivi-chan," Sanji noticed.

"I was born and raised here, so it doesn't bother me that much."

"But what's with all these hills?" Usopp griped. "I figured a desert would be more flat."

"This is a very old desert, so some sand dunes here are over 300 meters high."

"Th-three hundred meters?" He heaved. "No wonder it's like climbing mountains."

"It's too much," Luffy panted, "It's so hot."

"Just one drink, Luffy," Nami ordered, "Just one mouthful." However, he slurped up so much, his cheeks puffed out. "Don't drink so much!" Nami raged, as she and Usopp simultaneously punched the back of his head, making him spit it out.

"Let me have some too!" Usopp added. "That was 13 mouthfuls just now!"

"Hold on!" Sanji cut in. "You just had some! I'm next!"

A tussle broke out with all four of them. "Stop fighting!" Vivi exclaimed worriedly. "You'll only waste strength!"

"But she started it!"

"It's your fault!"

"Yeah! This is because of you!"

-

That night, the crew set up camp by some dunes, with a pair of tents and a campfire. "So hungry," Luffy groaned.

"Don't be so greedy!" Sanji scolded. "It's still raw! Don't eat that! Nami-san! Just a minute, it'll be ready soon!"

"Oh, looks pretty good!" Usopp smiled through shivering.

"Get away, you!" Sanji ordered at Luffy.

"Oh, come on!"

"Cheapskate! Let us eat!"

"Get away!"

A shivering Nami turned to Vivi in confusion. "It was so hot during the day! What's going on?!"

"With nothing to block out the temperature, the desert scorches during the day, but falls below freezing at night. The desert is fraught with unpredictable dangers."

Chopper admired the beautiful sky, as he sat by a tent with Usopp. "Oh! Look at all those stars!"

"Didn't you see stars on your winter island?"

"Winter island skies are always covered with thick snow clouds, so I've never seen this many stars before!"

Usopp shivered miserably next to him, unable to enjoy it. "I don't have the luxury of looking at stars right now."

"Cold weather doesn't bother me!"

To his chagrin, Usopp started snuggling his cheek in his fur. "That's because you wear such a warm suit!"

"Hey, you! Get away! Go hug Venus!"

"I don't wanna make her uncomfortable!"

"Just back off!"

"I can't help that you're so fluffy."

At that, an angry Chopper turned into his large form again. "Quit making fun of reindeer!"

"Monster!" Usopp screamed.

"Chopper, don't turn big," Zoro sleepily reprimanded, "We need your warmth."

"Yahoo!" Luffy jumped in, and hugged a small, delirious Chopper with Usopp. "So warm!"

"Come closer!"

"See? Warm, isn't it?"

"Yeah!" Chopper agreed.

Vivi suddenly heard chattering teeth, and turned to see the young witch shivering terribly, while sitting on the ground. "Venus-san, why don't you join them? You sound like you're freezing."

"I d-d-don't want to b-b-be a b-b-burden."

"I'm sure they won't mind," Ace assured, "Though if you'd like, I can keep you warm."

Venus' eye widened, her mind racing, as her cheeks turned red. Portgas D. Ace was offering to... snuggle with her? For the whole night? Should she say yes? What if she does something stupid? It did sound nice; curled up in his arms, her head on his chest, with his fire powers keeping her warm. However, her shyness ultimately took over, and she shook her head. "Oh, uh... th-thanks, but... th-th-that's okay. I'll just, uh... yeah, uh, th-thanks, though."

"No problem," He smiled kindly, as Vivi stifled a giggle.

At that, Venus began crawling to her crewmates, and wondered where to lay. Settling with Luffy's back, she carefully grabbed Usopp's hand, and began slowly lifting his arm up to rest underneath, hoping he wouldn't notice.

She stopped when he turned to see her. "Venus-chan? You okay?"

"Y-y-yeah. J-just a l-little chilly."

"Oh, here." Usopp raised his arm, and held her as close to himself as he could, and to Luffy's back. "This feel better?"

She nodded, not noticing a blush flaring up on his face. "It does, thanks." Her head landed on his shoulder, and she immediately drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

Usopp watched, as her back moved up and down rhythmically with her calm breathing. She was so sweet when asleep; and so darn cute.

"It must be a real surprise for you." Ace turned to Vivi at her observation. "I mean Luffy-san. I was surprised too, at first." She turned to them, as Chopper tried to push everyone away, deciding he wanted space; Venus was still asleep, so Usopp was trying to keep her undisturbed. "Maybe it's that he isn't captain-like, or that normal pirate captains are respected by their crewmates; but this afternoon, a simple drink of water caused that big fight. But... but you know..." The boys finally fell asleep, with Venus cozy under Usopp's arm, and her head between his and Luffy's. "The longer I've been with them, the more I've come to understand."

Ace smiled at her observation. "That's how Luffy does things."

"Eh?"

By now, Venus and Usopp's temples were rested against each other over her hood. "He hasn't changed a bit since he was a kid. Despite how he seems, people always gather around him. Even though he's my little brother, he has a mysterious charm to him."

"Oh, you already knew."

"He and I do go way back. But thanks." He became curious at her intentions, as one of Chopper's front hooves was in Luffy's open mouth. Venus' nose was less than an inch away from Usopp's.

"Eh?"

"You were worried that I was concerned, right?"

"Yes. But it looks like I didn't need to worry after all." They began stargazing without a word.

-

"Whoa! I found a shrimp!" Luffy announced early the next morning.

"So this is a shrimp?!" Chopper asked excitedly. "Wow!"

After laying a still sleeping Venus gently on the ground, using his backpack as a pillow for her, Usopp approached them with skepticism. "Shrimp don't live in the desert!"

"See?!" Luffy held up his discovery.

"Oh, you're right! Is it a "desert shrimp"?"

"It looks yummy!"

"Hey, now! Are they edible?!" Usopp asked eagerly.

"Probably! Crawfish are edible, after all!"

"I've never seen a real shrimp before!" Chopper exclaimed.

Vivi stepped out of her tent, and stretched her arms; she panicked at what he was holding up. "Stop, Luffy-san! Throw that away!"

"No! That'd be a waste!"

"That's a scorpion! It's small, but it's very poisonous! You'll die if it stings you!"

"Oh, it's not edible?" Luffy frowned calmly in disappointment, as Usopp and Chopper tensed up. "How boring. You can have it."

Usopp jumped back when he held up the scorpion to him. "Don't give it to me!"

"Then I'll throw it away." Luffy tossed it behind his back.

"I'm sorry," Vivi said, "I should've mentioned it earlier."

"That's for sure!" Usopp agreed.

They turned to Chopper when he appeared to be on alert. "What is it, Chopper?" Luffy looked down at him.

He jumped up on a rock for a better view. "Something's... coming."

"Something? What?" Usopp asked cautiously, as they began hearing the sound of whistling.

Ace emerged from the other tent, and turned to where the sound was coming from with a smirk. "Oh? Is the wind picking up?"

Vivi watched the horizon carefully; it seemed like there was a group of tornadoes. She then gasped in horror. "Everyone! Hide behind the rocks!"

"What?" Luffy blinked obliviously.

"A storm! A sandstorm is coming!"

"Oh?" Ace watched calmly.

"Whoa!" Luffy exclaimed, as the ground began shaking. "Cool!"

"Venus-chan!!" Usopp grabbed her from in front of the tent, and yanked her behind the rocks with him, Luffy, and Chopper. He had also grabbed Burton's carrier in his haste.

"Again?! Deserts are nothing but storms!" Luffy exclaimed.

"I forgot to mention it, but sandstorms are one of the desert's dangers!"

Usopp cried out in terror, hold Venus tightly, as she slept like a corpse through the commotion. "Mention these things sooner!"

-

When daytime came, the crew's campsite was rendered to a sandy mess. Ace rose from being submerged, and ran to Vivi in concern. "What the hell was that?!" Zoro started to wake up, while Chopper did as well..

"Can't people get some rest?!" Sanji griped from laying next to Nami.

Usopp rose up from the sand, then pulled Venus up close by, as Luffy sat up. Venus yawned, and groggily blinked her eye open. "What happened?"

After recovering, they were on their way. "Hey! Sanji! Let's have a lunch!" Luffy decided. "A Pirate Boxed Lunch!"

"Not yet. Not until Vivi-chan says so."

"Come on, Vivi!" Luffy grinned towards her with hope. "Let's eat! I'm out of strength!"

"But we're only one-tenth of the way to Yuba, Luffy-san."

"You're so dumb! Haven't you heard of this proverb?: "If you're hungry, eat"!"

"You liar!" Usopp puffed in exhaustion, as he walked with a stick. "Quit making stuff up!"

"All right," Vivi agreed with the captain, "Then what do you say we take a break at the next rocks we find?"

"Alright! Rocks!" He cheered, and stopped in front of the crew. "Guys! Let's hurry to the next rocks! Whoever wins rock-paper-scissors has to carry everyone's stuff!"

"Quit deciding things!" Usopp scolded.

"Shouldn't the loser carry the stuff?" Sanji pointed out.

Luffy held his fist in the air. "Alright, here goes! Rock, paper, scissors!"

"Hold up now!" Vivi tried to stop him, but the game commenced anyway.

"Hey! You went after!" Zoro exclaimed.

"Woohoo! I win!" Luffy cheered.

"Idiot," Nami griped.

As agreed on, they loaded their stuff on the sled for Luffy to pull along. "H-heavy," He panted, "So heavy. And hot. I won rock-paper-scissors, so why me?"

"It's because you won," Sanji replied, "Now shut up, and haul."

"Don't drop it now!" Nami added, and he groaned loudly in response.

Vivi turned to Venus, who was still holding her small pet carrier. "Venus-san, why don't you put Burton with our stuff?"

"I... I'm more comfortable carrying him myself," She replied warily, "I can't risk him falling over."

Using his goggles, Usopp looked over the horizon, and saw what Luffy was anticipating. "Rocks spotted a small ways ahead!"

"For real?!" He exclaimed happily, before barreling past everyone. "Break time! Food!" He sped off out of sight, leaving a cloud of sand behind.

"Whoa! He's fast!" Usopp gawked.

Up ahead, Luffy quickly slowed to a foot-dragging walk, and was relieved when he was under the rocks spotted. "Shade!" He flopped down in exhaustion. "Feels so good!" Out of nowhere, the sound of birds in distress rang through the area; Luffy sat up in curiosity, and went to investigate, leaving the crew's luggage. After turning a corner, he gaped in surprise; before him was a flock of strange birds with swirled cowlicks laying in the sand, as if they were hurt. He quickly approached the closest one, and dropped to his knees, picking it up in concern. "Hey! Say something! I'll go get you a doctor!" He set it down, and ran back where he came, still leaving everything behind. "Bad news!"

"Huh? He's coming back!" Usopp pointed out.

"There's a lot of hurt birds that can't move! Chopper!"

"Right!" He immediately sat up from his personal sled, and ran up to him in determination.

"Alright! Let's go, Chopper!"

"Yeah!"

"We gotta help the birds!"

"Birds?!" Vivi's eyes widened. Crap! "Wait, Luffy-san! Don't tell me these birds are-!"

He stopped running, and turned back. "Eh?"

-

When they arrived on the scene, Luffy screamed in terror; the sled was empty! "All our stuff is gone!" Zoro exclaimed.

"We've been had," Nami lamented.

"It's the truth!" He insisted. "There really were dying birds here!"

"I'm sorry. I should've mentioned it earlier. Warusagi birds are "desert bandits" that trick travelers, and steal their belongings."

"What?!" Luffy gaped.

"Birds playing dead?!" Usopp fussed. "That's dishonest!"

"Yes, that's how they are," Vivi choked up with guilt.

"They tricked me?!"

"Luffy!" Sanji grabbed him by the collar. "Is that all you can say for yourself?! There were three days of provisions in there! And you just had to let some damn birds steal everyone's stuff smack in the middle of this desert?! How're we supposed to cross the desert without food, or water now?!"

"It's not my fault. They tricked me."

Sanji leaned close to his face in fury. "Is your brain less than a bird's?!"

"Say what?!" Luffy glared in offense.

"Stop it, you two!" Zoro ordered.

He went to intervene when they kept it up, but Ace's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "There's no use. At times like this, it's best to let them have it out!"

Zoro pulled his headwear back with a smirk. "Yeah, huh?" He then sat on a rock close by. "Let's take a short break. This heat is what has them fuming. I'm sure we'll manage, food-wise. It's nothing that'll kill us. Let's just put it out of our minds."

"Yeah," Usopp agreed tiredly, "Just thinking makes me thirstier."

Luffy and Sanji were in their fight, then they spotted something up ahead: Warusagi birds, drinking their water, and carrying their bags! Luffy began running like mad after them. "Give us our stuff back!"

"Luffy-san!" Vivi called after him. "Don't chase them!"

"That idiot," Sanji griped.

"Hey, you!" Nami called after. "Will you be able to come back?!"

"Come back, Luffy!" Usopp shouted, but it was no use.

He just kept going. "Stop! You can't get away from me!" His pace started slowing, due to the heat, as the birds started flying. "Get back here!" They flew higher and higher, until he couldn't reach them. "Get back here!" He was startled when all of a sudden, giant plants with sharp teeth shot out of the sand! "What are these?!" He leaped away from their jaws, but one caught him, ignoring his kicks and punches, before retreating back into the ground. After a few seconds, its severed head resurfaced, along with him. "What is this thing? A mystery desert plant? Neat!" He beamed.

He turned around at a strange groaning, and watched in confusion; a furry-saddled camel was keeping itself from getting eaten by another plant! "What are you doing?" He then started laughing, as it struggled. "That's funny!" The camel then glared at him. "Huh? You want me to help you?" It nodded in confirmation. "Gum-Gum... Pistol!" He leaped up, and his punch popped the plant, so the camel ran up to him. "Good thing you didn't get eaten!" He laughed, before getting angry again. "Those birds got away, while I was beating these guys up! The desert sure is full of strange creatures!" He then turned back to the animal he rescued. "Hey, camel. What're you doing out here all by yourself?" It turned away, now on alert. "What's that?" He watched in the same direction, and a hole sunk in the dune. "Did you find something?" After a moment of nothing, the ground started rumbling, and before them, something huge started emerging. "What the-?!"

-

Usopp watched the horizon, as he attempted to fan his face. "What's taking Luffy so long?!"

"Yeah," Chopper agreed, as he laid face-up on the ground, "Do you think he got lost?"

"He has a horrible sense of direction, but always has to run off!" Nami complained.

"And there are so many desert dangers he doesn't know about," Vivi added.

"Y'know, isn't he hungry from not eating anything?" Sanji pointed out.

Everyone was silent, before Zoro stood up. "He's such a lost cause," He griped.

"You can say that again," Sanji agreed, following suit.

"Sorry," Ace gained their attention, "For my little brother's ineptness. I apologize for the trouble."

Suddenly, Usopp was on alert at the sound of familiar crying. "Venus-chan!" She was sitting on a rock, with her face in her hands; he frantically ran over, and knelt down in front of her in concern. "What's wrong?!"

"M-m-my spell book was in my backpack!" She sobbed. "My first one ever, and it's gone!" Usopp pulled her into a comforting hug, letting her cry in his shoulder.

"Spell book?" Ace quirked a brow in confusion.

"She's a witch from a Devil Fruit," Nami explained.

"Ah."

"Don't you already know the spells from it?" Zoro asked.

"Well, p-pretty much yes, but... it's special to me. It's the first spell book I've ever had; Mr. Rauru got it for me when I was first starting out."

"That damn idiot!" The chef seethed. "How dare he make Venus-chan cry! Let's go find him, so I can tear him apart!"

As he comforted her, Usopp saw Zoro and Sanji heading out where the captain ran off. "Good luck finding him!"

"Yeah."

He then turned back to Venus. "A-at least Burton's still here," He tried to cheer her up.

"Yeah," She sniffled, "I'm glad I held his carrier myself. Those nasty birds would've eaten him for sure." When he held it up for her, she smiled, and stuck her finger inside for him to prod at affectionately. "Thank goodness you're safe."

Just then, Chopper quickly sat up at some rumbling. "What's that?!"

Everyone watched the horizon, as Usopp protectively kept Venus close, as did she with the carrier. "What's this rumbling?!" Using his goggles, while she held onto his waist, he looked ahead at the huge sand clouds, as they heard a familiar laugh. "Another sandstorm?! No, wait! That's-!" He looked on in shock, as Luffy was on a camel, running towards them. "Luffy?!"

"No... it couldn't be!" Vivi exclaimed.

"Why is he on a camel?!" Nami questioned.

"So?! What's that chasing him?!" Sanji asked frantically.

Zoro tried to look, but the sand behind them was too thick. "I can't really see! But it seems more like something's in the sand!"

Behind them, a giant, purple lizard emerged! "It's huge!" Usopp screamed.

"A Sandora Dragon!" Vivi shouted in shock.

"A what now?!" He exclaimed.

"They're the largest of the reptiles living in the desert, and they wait under the sand for their prey! They have sharp claws and fangs, but they hardly ever use them! The reason being that they tend to swallow their prey whole, because they're so large!"

Ace watched calmly from the shade. "He really does have a gift for attracting trouble."

"Setting aside the camel for a moment..." Sanji started.

"What star was he born under to be able to attract trouble like this?!" Zoro finished, before they went into action.

"Hey! Camel! Stop!" Luffy commanded.

"Luffy! Is it too much for you?!" Zoro asked frantically.

"We'll lend a hand!" Sanji added.

"Yeah! I brought some meat! Here goes, lizard! Gum-Gum..."

"Tatsu..."

"Épaule..."

"Whip!"

"Maki!"

"Shoot!"

All three attacked at once, everyone gaping in shock, as the giant lizard collapsed, now dead. "Y-you didn't have to go that far," Usopp cried with sympathy, as a wide-eyed Venus stared on.

"When they're fighting, you almost pity the monsters," Nami remarked. Just then behind them, another lizard popped up! "There's more?!"

"I forgot to mention it, but but Sandora Dragons hunt in pairs!"

"Mention these things!" Usopp, Venus, Nami, and Chopper reprimanded Vivi simultaneously.

Ace turned, and saw the predator before him, barely reacting. "Ace!" Nami exclaimed.

"Look out!" Vivi shouted.

He calmly stood to his feet. "What a nuisance. You wanna play?" It roared at him in response. "Oh, okay. If that's what you want." At that, he leaped into its mouth; when trapped inside, he released some flames, effectively cooking it from the inside, before emerging safely.

Everyone stared in awe, as it collapsed behind him, charred and smoking. "Wow, Ace!" Venus began swooning. "That was amazing!"

"Thanks!" He beamed.

Usopp rolled up his sleeve, and flexed his arm. He frowned in disappointment, as he poked at his bicep; too spindly. Damn.

Before long, using a rock as a stove, Sanji was cooking Sandora meat for everyone. "Check it out! These rocks are natural frying pans!"

"So, what's with the camel?" Zoro asked Luffy.

"I dunno," He replied through a mouthful of meat, "It was getting eaten by a mystery plant when I was chasing the birds."

"It doesn't seem to be a wild camel," Nami remarked.

"No," Vivi added, "It even has a saddle."

Chopper walked over in interest, thinking he looked familiar, and the camel perked up in recognition. "I knew it!" He smiled brightly.

-

The previous day...

After Sanji ditched him to approach dancer girls, Chopper started looking for some shade in Nanohana. 'This is bad,' He thought, 'I'm starting to have symptoms of heat stroke.' His vision was turning blurry. 'I need to go somewhere where it's cool.' Next to a building was a trailer; and the door was open. He sneaked inside, and laid on the wooden floor, feeling relaxed with a wide smile. 'Ah! That feels nice! I think I'll take a nap, until Sanji comes back. Is that okay? Is it? I guess it is. '

Just after he fell asleep, the door was shut behind him. "Is it closed?" The driver asked his co-worker.

"Yeah. Let's go."

"We don't want anyone finding it." Once he was onboard, the stagecoach started moving.

With Chopper inside.

When he woke up, he was alarmed at the rumbling movements, and the closed door. "Huh?! Where am I?!" He peeked out through the curtain, and saw a pair of mysterious men driving the coach; he quickly retreated when one of them looked his way, but thankfully, he didn't seem to see him. He turned small again, as he started to panic. 'Huh? Huh? Who're they? Where am I?' His eyes widened when a cabinet opened from a bump, and rifles fell out in front of him. "Rifles!" He accidentally shouted. When the same man peered in, he hid between two crates.

"What's wrong?"

"Thought I heard a voice. It's nothing."

When the curtain was closed, he began backing to the doors. 'I dunno what's going on, but they seem dangerous! I should probably get out of here quick!' He crashed into the doors when the coach suddenly stopped. "Oww!"

"Good work. That took a while."

"Yeah. The weapon store guy really raised his prices, that greedy bastard."

"It can't be helped. They're in huge trouble if they get found out too."

"Where's Koza?"

"Inside."

"We got a bit of food too. It's in the back."

"Got it."

The camel that pulled the coach yawned in boredom, watching the man approach the trailer. The man was surprised at what he saw; a reindeer laying on the floor, wearing shorts, a hat, and a backpack. "What is this?" Chopper tried to stay still. "They went, and bought a whole deer?"

As they talked to "Koza", Chopper managed to slip away, before another man looked in the trailer. "Hey! Wasn't there deer meat here?"

"Huh? Are you sure someone didn't haul it out already?"

"C'mon, do better checks, will ya?" He griped, before the camel nudged his back. "What?!" The camel hung its tongue out in parchment. "Water? There's some in that trough! Drink that!" It smiled in satisfaction, as it walked off with a green tarp over its back. "Hey! Let's get the rest out of here! Gimme a hand!"

"Right!"

Chopper stayed still under the tarp, as the camel strolled through the town casually, then stopped in the desert. Chopper peeked out cautiously, as the camel stared. "A-am I safe now?" It nodded in confirmation. "Whew! Thank you! But why did you help me?" He listened, changing back to small form, as it responded. ""I got no reason. I'm cool, ain't I?"" Chopper laughed nervously. "You're so strange!" He then jumped down, and waved in farewell, as it walked off to another town. "Thank you so much! He's a little strange, but he's a nice guy! I feel like I'm going to see him again! Still, who were those people? Oh well. Now which way is Nanohana?" He sniffed the air, before grimacing in disgust. Perfume. "This way." He headed in that direction. Hopefully Sanji has calmed down by the time he finds him.

-

He listened to it grunt. "Oh! Good for you!"

Luffy walked over, still eating. "Huh? You know each other?"

"Yeah! He gave me a ride when I escaped from Katorea!"

Usopp sat up from laying on the ground. "That's great! We can ride it?! That'll make things easier!"

"Yeah, that'll be a real help!" Sanji agreed. "Looks like it could carry two or three people!"

"Camels do go hand-in-hand with deserts!" Zoro added.

Luffy prepared to jump up. "Then I'll be the first one!" To his confusion, it bit his head to keep him down. "What was that for?!"

""I am a freedom-loving, hard-boiled, compassionate camel!"" Chopper translated. ""Thanks for helping me out of that pinch. I can give you a lift, but no men allowed!""

Usopp, Luffy, and Sanji started beating the camel in anger. "This guy's a punk!" Luffy griped.

"Yeah! You let Chopper ride you!" Usopp added.

""I'm manly!"" He translated, as it flashed a confident grin.

The beating continued as soon as it stopped. "Quit being stupid!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Why you-!"

Nami managed to stop them, and started comforting him. "I'm so sorry! My crewmates are so ill-bred!" She petted its head, to its delight, as it knelt down. "You're a good boy! What should we call you?"

"Idiot!" Luffy voted.

"Moron!" Sanji added.

"Doofus!" Usopp voted.

""Lashes", it is then!" Nami decided, already on the saddle.

"Uhh, that's the weirdest one of all," Zoro remarked.

"Okay! Get on Venus, Vivi!"

"No, I can still walk!" The princess kindly declined.

"Just get on," Nami insisted, as he knelt back down, and Vivi complied. "Venus! Hop to it!"

"Yeah, whatever," She grumbled somberly, finishing her meat; she couldn't help but smile when Lashes nudged her face, her tears being wiped away. "Thanks." She climbed on between Nami and Vivi with Burton's carrier on hand.

"Hey you, what's the big idea?!" Usopp raged in jealousy.

"Pervy camel! Pervy camel!" The boys griped, aside from Ace, who stayed quiet, as Lashes stood back up with the three girls.

Nami pulled her white hood back over her head. "Now we should make a little better time!" She looked back at Vivi, who was behind Venus. "We need to get to Yuba as fast as we can to talk to the rebel army!" She whipped the reins. "Giddyup, Lashes!"

At her command, he ran off, leaving the boys behind. "Hold on!"

"Wait, the boys!" Venus exclaimed, but was unnoticed, as she held the carrier tightly.

"Hurry, guys!" Nami ordered. "If you get separated, you'll never leave the desert alive!"

"Quit being stupid!" Usopp shouted angrily.

"I like this side of Nami-san too!" Sanji gushed.

"After them! Hurry!" Zoro urged.

"That pervy camel has Venus-chan!" Usopp added.

"He has Nami-san, and Vivi-chan too!" Sanji raged.

"Get on, Chopper!" Zoro ordered.

"Yeah!"

"Wait for us!" Once Chopper was on the sled, they began a mad sprint in Lashes' direction.

[steampikachu]

[steampikachu]

[steampikachu]

Chapter 4: Erumalu, the City of Green, and the Kung Fu Dugongs!

(episode 96)

On the ship after Ace was invited on, Vivi sat downstairs, deep in thought, when Sanji came in. "Tea's ready. Come on up to the kitchen."

"Thank you, Sanji-san!"

In the kitchen, Usopp and Luffy began goofing off, with a laughing Venus as the audience across the table. "Heya! I'm Captain Rice Ball Usopp!" The sniper had stuck his finger through his onigiri rice ball, to look like his nose. He moved his hand to a snowman made of rice. "Oh! And who are you?!"

"I'm a riceman!" Luffy beamed. The "riceman" had a pair of forks for arms, a sausage for a nose, and meatballs for eyes.

As Venus laughed, Sanji whacked the two with frying pans. "Quit playing with our food!" He scolded, Venus grimacing in surprise, as Ace couldn't help but smirk. "If you got free time, go wash dishes, or something! Geez!" He grumbled. "I need to finish our packed meals before we cross the river!" He rolled up his sleeves, and began his work.

"Need a hand?" Ace asked, to his surprise.

"No, no," Sanji replied, "You are a guest on board. Just sit back, and relax."

Ace's smirk turned into a warm smile. "All right."

Sanji glanced to his left, and to his frustration, Luffy and Usopp were washing the dishes in the mop bucket from swabbing the deck. "Don't wash the dishes in that mop bucket!"

When he felt a gaze on him, Ace turned to his left; Venus was looking straight at him, elbow on the table, her cheek on her knuckles, and a lovestruck grin on her face, as she ate. "H-hi. Venus, right?"

"Mm hmm," She nodded.

Usopp watched her, as he and Luffy were forced to the sink. Through his scrubbing, he tried to push away his feelings of jealousy; why couldn't he be the one she's fawning over? Ace seemed nice, and he was definitely a cool guy, but he didn't know her like Usopp did.

Outside, a serene Chopper was laying on the stairs. "What a nice breeze!" The "breeze" came from Zoro swinging a giant barbell just a foot away.

Holding her teacup, Vivi walked up the stairs, as Nami was by the prow. "Nami-san, I'd like to land the ship here for a moment."

"Eh? What for?"

"I have an important task for Karoo."

"Karoo?"

After docking, the crew, sans Zoro and Ace, stood on the ground, as Vivi gave Karoo a letter. "Karoo, I want you to go to Alubarna Palace on your own, and deliver this letter to my father. I've written down everything Igaram and I learned about Crocodile, and Baroque Works' schemes. And that I've returned to Alabasta alive with supportive friends." Karoo began to feel nervous. "Can you do it? You'll have to cross the desert on your own." He saluted with a confident quack, before she put the letter in his coat. "Listen. You have to drink your water with care in the desert."

"Karoo! Good luck!" Luffy beamed.

"Now let my father know this kingdom can be saved!" With another quack, Karoo sped off, briefly stopping for a sip, before continuing. "Drink your water with care!" Vivi watched, as he disappeared over the dunes. "Karoo... thank you."

"I knew Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords, was in this country," Ace remarked, "But a pirate trying to steal a kingdom? Sounds like a bad joke." He turned, and leaned back against the railing. "A pirate dropping anchor in one spot, and settling down? Don't tell me he's trying to usurp the throne."

"Alright!" Luffy pumped his fists up, as Sanji and the girls climbed back on the Merry.

"Hold on!" Usopp shouted from the rope ladder. "I'm not on board yet!"

"Me neither!" Venus added from the ground.

"There could be another side to this takeover thing," Ace continued, as Usopp helped Venus up.

"Another side?" Zoro asked.

"Some sort of deeper goal."

"We're finally here!" Luffy announced.

"We're finally going into the desert!" Chopper added. "I bet it'll be hot."

"It gets over 50 c in the daytime!" Nami informed, as she walked down the stairs, now in a more covering, white cowl-neck robe.

"Eh?! It does?!" Chopper slid down the rail.

"What happened, Nami-san?!" Sanji exclaimed in shock upon seeing her. "Where did your dancer outfit go?!"

To his despair, Vivi was in a dark blue robe with white pipelinings on the hood, and down the front, while Venus was in a black robe with a cowl hood bearing a silver Wiccan symbol on the collar, and a spike-hemmed cape with dark purple lining. "Aah! Not you too, Vivi-chan! Why are you dressed like that?!"

"In the desert, any exposed skin will wind up terribly sunburned!" Vivi explained.

Sanji perked up when he saw the shortest girl; she didn't look any different from before. "Venus-chan! I-"

"Here's yours, Venus-san," Vivi handed her a black robe, and she pulled it on.

"Thanks! It looks great!" The bottom front of the hood was kept together with a silver Wiccan symbol on the front, while the back had a spiky-hemmed cape with a dark purple lining. Over her shoulders was a capelet-like layer of black.

"No, Venus-chan!" The chef cried out. "Change back!"

She turned to him with a bemused look, as she pulled the hood over her head. "Sorry to burst your perverted bubble, but I'd rather not get sunburned, thank you very much."

A depressed Sanji laid on the floor. "This is terrible... my dancer girls..." He started rolling in circles.

"Put this on, Luffy-san," Vivi handed him some new clothes.

"Okay! Thank you!"

"Let's get ready to disembark," Zoro took charge.

"Yeah," Usopp agreed.

"Okay! Let's land!" Luffy announced.

An annoyed Venus yanked Sanji up by his own clothes. "On your feet."

Zoro was about to haul up the anchor, when he saw something float up. "What's that?" On the shore, as everyone watched, a group of strange creatures resembling seals with turtle shells jumped up and looked ready to fight. "Turtles?"

"Aren't those seals?" Luffy asked.

"Kung Fu Dugongs!" Vivi exclaimed.

"They're kinda cute," Venus smiled a little.

""If you wanna come on shore, you'll have to beat me first!"" Chopper translated the leader's threat. ""Or else go back to the other shore, cowards!" Is what he says."

A confident Usopp stood on the railing. "I can't sit by quietly, when someone calls me a coward! Let's do it!" He leaped towards the Dugongs.

"Wait! Usopp-san!" Vivi called after him, and within seconds, he was defeated. "Kung Fu Dugongs are strong!"

"Usopp-kun!" Venus' eye widened in horror. She was wrong; they weren't cute at all!

"Stay back, Venus-san!" Vivi kept her from jumping in.

Luffy managed to easily defeat another. "One is winning over there!" Nami pointed out.

"Winning is bad too!" Vivi exclaimed.

Luffy watched as his opponent stood up, then to his confusion, bowed before him. "Huh?"

"It's a Kung Fu Dugong rule that if someone loses, they become the winner's pupil!" Vivi explained.

"That's very martial arts-ish," Zoro remarked.

The rest of the Dugongs gathered around Luffy. "The number of pupils just went up!" Vivi gawked.

"Alright, everyone! After me! Stance!" On Luffy's command, they all held out their right flippers. "No! Like this!" They copied his pose accurately. "Yeah! Now go like this!" They continued to follow his movements, as Venus began sneaking over. "That's it! Like this! Like this! Like this! Like this!"

"Usopp-kun?" She hauled him back to the ship while the Dugongs were distracted.

"Alright! Let's set out for Yuba!" Luffy announced.

"Hold on, now!" Zoro noticed them all lined up behind him in groups. "Are you bringing them with us?!"

"You can't, Luffy!" Nami scolded.

"The Dugongs can't cross the desert," Vivi said more gently.

Their hearts swelled when two of them hugged Luffy's legs, like they were begging him not to leave. 'So cute...' They turned away to talk privately. "I don't know why, but I feel like we're doing something very sad."

"Me too," Vivi agreed, "What should we do?"

"I know!" Chopper chimed in, and began sniffing everyone's bags. "Let's see here..."

"What're you doing?" Sanji asked.

"Here!" Chopper held out a chicken leg to the Dugongs. "You can have this! So stay here, okay?" He screamed in terror when they crowded right to him, and he began getting carried away. "Help!"

"Chopper!" Usopp exclaimed in concern.

Before long, after an attempted theft on Luffy's part, the crew made their leave, with the Dugongs waving in farewell. "See ya!" He waved back, while walking backwards.

"Hey now, Luffy!" Nami glared. "Do you understand the current situation?!"

"They said they were coming with me, so why couldn't we let them?"

"We couldn't go to any city with that big of a group! You're so dumb! Honestly! We would've been in big trouble, had Chopper not persuaded them!"

"Yeah!" Chopper agreed. "They kept saying, "We'll accompany you!" They really would've come, if we hadn't given them food!"

"Sheesh!" Sanji griped. "Thanks to you, our food supply's gotten a lot smaller!"

"He knows how to cause trouble," Ace remarked.

"That's for sure!" Suddenly, Vivi stopped at the top of a dune, with Zoro, Usopp, and Venus catching up. Before them was a city that seemed to have been overtaken by a sandstorm. "What's this, Vivi-chan?" Sanji asked.

"Is this the town of Yuba?" Luffy added.

"No..." Vivi replied, "This is Erumalu. It used to be known as the City of Green."

Luffy looked on curiously. "City of Green?"

Vivi turned to the group with a serious face. "The sight of this town explains everything. What the Baroque Works organization has done to this country. What the people of Alabasta are going through."

"Wow!" Luffy exclaimed in awe at their surroundings, as they trekked on. There was merely dried-out trees, and buildings peeking out of the sand. "There's nothing here at all!"

"Yes," Vivi agreed, "It's a ghost town now, but up until just recently, it was a thriving city full of greenery!"

Zoro lightly kicked a tree trunk, and small pieces broke off. "This place was?"

"Rain was always scarce, but even so, the city was able to manage by saving every last drop of rainwater it could. But for three years now, not a single drop of rain has fallen in any part of this country."

"For three years?!" Sanji asked in shock.

"That long?!" Chopper added.

"But even without rain, what about the river we just crossed?" Zoro pointed out.

"Yeah!" Usopp agreed. "Couldn't they just pipe water in from that big river?"

"The answer to that is up ahead," Vivi replied, and they kept walking, "Never in the thousands of years of Alabasta's history has the rain stopped completely. But there was one place where the rain fell more than usual: Alubarna, the capital. The city with the king's palace. The people called it the King's Miracle; until what happened that day, at least."

"Dance Powder?!" Nami guessed in surprise.

"You've heard of it?" Luffy asked her.

"Yes. It's also known as Rain-Summoning Powder."

"Rain-summoning?" Chopper asked.

"I'd only heard stories about it, but a researcher in a country where it doesn't rain created it. By creating a misty smoke from it, and letting it rise into the sky, you can artificially cause it to rain. That's what Dance Powder is."

"That does sound like a miracle," Venus remarked.

Luffy suddenly pounded his fist in his palm. "Oh! I get it! You mean that mystery powder! I ate some a while back! It tastes really bad!"

"It isn't food," Nami sneered, as she passed by him.

"It's for making rain," Zoro followed her.

"What?!" Luffy exclaimed in frustration. "You think I'm lying, don't you?! Hey, you!"

"Hold on!" Usopp chimed in over the captain's fussing. "Venus-chan had a point earlier. Wouldn't something like that be perfect for this country?"

"As the name suggests, the country that developed Dance Powder was almost happy enough to dance at first. But there was a big catch: the neighboring country had a drought. Understand? Dance Powder quickly and artificially matures clouds that would normally grow into rain clouds further downwind, and causes them to rain. So-"

"Oh, I get it!" Usopp cut in. "It steals rain that would've normally gone to a neighboring country!"

"Eventually, war broke out between the two countries, and many lives were lost as a result," Nami continued, "Ever since, the World Government has put a worldwide ban on the production, and possession of Dance Powder."

"Powder that can bring both happiness and dread when used," Usopp remarked.

"When all that Dance Powder was brought into the port town, Alabasta was in the middle of a strange weather phenomenon where rain fell nowhere but in the town where the king lived."

"Hold on, Vivi!" Luffy angrily interrupted. "That means your dad is the bad guy here!"

"You idiot!" Sanji bonked him with a heel to the head, and kept at it. "He was framed! Vivi-chan's father would never do any such thing! Never... never..."

"Of course, my father had nothing to do with it, but at around the same time, a massive amount of Dance Powder was found inside the palace."

"They even had people working inside the palace?" Zoro asked.

"What's this road, Vivi-chan?" Sanji noticed a visible path before them.

"This was a canal that used to bring water in from the Sandora River." The crew were surprised at that. "Someone destroyed this canal too. With its canal gone, the City of Green could no longer secure water. As if praying, the people continued to wait, but rain never came." Chopper dropped a pebble down a well, but there was a thump rather than a splash. "Ever since the Dance Powder incident, distrust in the king grows daily."

"And it's all how Crocodile planned, huh?" Zoro guessed.

"And then the fighting finally began. To escape the fighting, the exhausted people abandoned the city, and left for other oases in search of water." Vivi suddenly stopped walking. "And then... the City of Green withered away."

After some silence, as a stronger breeze blew by, everyone was on alert at a strange sound. "Huh? Is that someone's voice?!" Nami exclaimed.

"Is it the rebel army?!" Chopper asked.

"Don't tell me Baroque Works has been following us!" Usopp glared.

Everyone waited, ready to fight, but no one came out. "No, it's just wind," Ace said.

"It has to be someone's voice!" Luffy insisted.

"It's coming from all directions!" Usopp looked every which way cautiously. "What do we do, big brother?!"

"There's no danger. It's just wind blowing across the town, and echoing off old buildings."

"What if it's a ghost?" Venus asked around, with too much interest.

"Don't say that!" Nami scolded.

Vivi listened carefully, as her hood blew off her head. "It's as if... it's as if the city of Erumalu is crying."

Suddenly, a small tornado formed, and was heading right for them. "Here it comes!" Before they could move, the tornado blew right through them.

"Hold on, Venus-chan!" Usopp held her close protectively, as she pulled her hood down with one hand, and kept Chopper safe with the other. They braced through the whole thing, as Luffy noticed something unusual: darker trails of sand. The small storm then ended as soon it it began, so they were able to relax. "Whoa, what was with that wind?" Usopp wondered aloud.

"It's like it came out of nowhere," Venus added, as Chopper jumped out of her arms.

Luffy turned, and saw a man laying on the ground. "Someone collapsed!" Nami pointed out, as he made an urgent beeline.

"There are still people in this city?!" Vivi exclaimed. Everyone followed the captain, but they soon stopped; it was a long-withered skeleton in a cloak. She dropped to her knees, and softly touched the skull. "What did my father... what did the citizens of this country ever do? These people have worked so hard to live, being natives of a desert island who are forced to fight with nature. Yet he destroyed their lives!" She started to cry, now doubting her father. "What gives him the right to do that?! What?!" Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji approached an abandoned temple. "All the while, as one of the Seven Warlords, he pretends to be a hero of the people! No one realizes he's deceiving the entire country! I..." She was oblivious to a now angry Luffy drawing his fist back. "Can't let him get away with this!" He suddenly punched a hole through the wall, sending the temple crumbling.

The rest turned to see it falling to the ground. "Geez, you're such kids," Zoro griped. As Ace helped Vivi bury the poor soul, topping the makeshift grave with a branch, the trio came marching back.

"Vivi! Let's get moving!" Luffy ordered, and cracked his shoulder. "I'm itching to do this now!" Venus and the boys followed him, as he started walking again.

"Let's go to Yuba!" Vivi turned to Zoro and Nami.

"That's where the rebel army is, right?" The former asked.

The princess stood straight in determination. "Yes. I'm going to persuade their leader to stop the rebellion."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Persuade?"

"All of Alabasta's calamities are Crocodile's doing! I'm going to tell him the truth, and have him stop the pointless shedding of blood!"

"Got it." With that, Zoro went to catch up with the rest.

Vivi looked back at the grave, then followed the crew deeper into the desert.

[steampikachu]

Chapter 3: The Heroes' Reunion! His Name is Fire Fist Ace!

(episode 94/95)

In Nanohana, the crew came across a salesman with an interesting, yet suspicious offer. "A solid-gold apple?!" Chopper gaped.

"1,000 years of life?!" Usopp gawked. "For real?! For real?! You found it in some ancient ruins?!"

"Yep, sure did!" The salesman claimed. "It's a legendary artifact of an ancient civilization!"

"One bite, and we can live 1,000 years?!" Chopper exclaimed.

"Yep! It's the truth! I give you my word!"

"Awesome!" Chopper and Usopp gushed together.

"I see you have very sharp eyes! In that case, I'll part with it for the one-time price of 1,000 berries!" He winked.

"1,000 berries?! You got yourself a deal!"

Nami punched them both to the ground. "Honestly, now! What're you thinking?!"

Venus had a closer look, and raised an eyebrow. "Smells weird." The salesman started to panic.

"Yeah, I wouldn't take him seriously if I were you." Zoro pulled a curtain back, revealing another man painting an ordinary apple gold.

"Hey! Let go!" Usopp fussed, as Nami dragged him and Chopper away. "I was about to live 1,000 years for only 1,000 berries!"

"Quit wasting time, and look for Luffy!" She ordered. "We're done shopping, so we leave for the next town the minute we find him!"

"Where did Luffy run off to, anyway?" Zoro wondered aloud.

"Shut up, you two!"

"Wait, Nami!" Venus ahead of him to catch up to the navigator. "I haven't found a spell book on sand yet!"

"Wait for the movie!" She retorted angrily.

"Monkey D. Luffy?" Everyone's attention turned to a woman addressing their captain.

She was talking to a tall, black-haired young man with a purple Jolly Roger tattoo on his back bearing a white beard, and wore an orange hat. "He might be here in town. I've been looking for him for a while now."

"Hmm. Never seen him. Oh, but if you're looking for someone, ask at the restaurant up ahead," She suggested, "The owner there knows a lot of people."

"Much appreciated," He bowed respectfully, "The restaurant, huh? I was just feeling hungry, anyways."

The crew watched, as he made his leave. "Who's that?" Chopper asked. "He looks incredibly strong."

"Why's he looking for Luffy?" Usopp wondered aloud.

"Maybe he's a bounty hunter?" Nami guessed.

"No, he's not," Zoro replied, and kept his eyes on him. Specifically, his tattoo. "That mark..." Everyone turned to him. "As a former pirate-hunter, there's no way I wouldn't recognize it." Before he could clarify, Venus noticed him tense up, and step back. "No... it couldn't be!"

"Zoro?" She turned to him in concern.

He watched a certain spectacled, short-haired woman reprimanding a sword salesman. "It is her!"

Tashigi, from Loguetown.

-

"I didn't realize you were Roronoa Zoro, and a pirate. You... you lied to me! A rogue like you can't be allowed to own a renowned sword! I'll collect your sword, the legendary Wado Ichimonji!"

-

"What is that woman doing here?!" When she turned in his direction, he panicked, and ducked behind a giant vase.

"Are you okay, Zoro?" Venus asked.

"What're you doing?" Nami approached him with Usopp and Chopper.

"Why're you hiding?" Usopp added.

Zoro didn't answer, as he kept watching her. That woman spells nothing, but trouble! Dammit!

Venus' eye widened, and leaped down behind the swordsman, when an all too familiar face approached the Marine. "Hey, Tashigi."

Smoker stood behind her, lugging unconscious pirates on his shoulders. "Captain Smoker!"

He threw the large men to the ground. "Small fry pirates. They thought they could act like big-shots around me, so I took care of 'em."

"Even in such a distant land, your distaste for pirates is unfaltering!" She remarked.

"If you have time for pointless chit-chat, have the royal army take 'em!" He ordered.

She quickly straightened up. "Y-yes, sir!"

"There doesn't seem to be any word yet of Straw Hat Luffy having come to this country." The crew listened in from behind the pot. "But don't let your guard down. They will show up; I'm sure of it."

They ducked back into hiding. "Smoker? That's the Marine captain from Loguetown!" Nami whispered.

Usopp put his hand over his mouth. "Are you saying he followed us all the way here from Loguetown?!"

"It would seem so," Zoro grimaced, "And then there's that man. Things could get ugly quick. Where is that idiot?!"

-

Back at their former meeting spot, Vivi was waiting with Sanji and Karoo. "Where could Luffy-san have gone?"

"Geez!" Sanji griped. "He's always such a high-maintenance captain!" He perked up at the crew approaching. "Oh! Nami-san, Venus-chan!"

"Hey, now! This is bad! It feels like we'll be in big trouble if we don't get moving quick!" Usopp said.

"Big trouble?" Sanji asked.

"The Marines are here," Nami clarified.

"The Marines?!" Vivi exclaimed.

"And a strange man!" Chopper added.

"Let's just find Luffy as quickly as possible, and leave town!" Nami ordered.

Zoro turned to his right, and his eyes widened. "Hey! Hide!"

They were confused, but did so nonetheless. "What for?!"

"What is it?!"

"Get back here!" They heard the familiar shouts.

"The Marines!"

"There seems to be a big commotion!" Usopp remarked.

"Don't let him escape! After him!"

"Some idiot pirate must be running around town or something," Sanji assumed nonchalantly.

"Idiot pirate?!" Everyone exclaimed simultaneously.

"Get back here, Straw Hat!"

They all turned, and saw a familiar face run past. "It's you?!"

Luffy stopped upon spotting the crew, and smiled happily. "Heya! Zoro!" He saw them peeking around the rubble, and made a beeline, to their dismay. "Oh! Is that where you guys are?!"

"You idiot! Go get rid of them first!"

"There's the Straw Hat crew! Over there!"

"Eep!" Venus squeaked.

"So, what should we do now?!" Usopp asked nervously.

"We have to run, obviously!" Nami retorted.

"Hurry! To the ship!" Vivi added, as they gathered everything they needed.

"What're you doing?!" Luffy ran past them. "Let's get back!"

"Hey, you!" They followed after him.

"Stop!" The Marines ordered.

"Don't let them escape!"

"Fall back!"

"Captain!"

Venus panicked, and hid amongst the crew when Smoker joined the chase. "Straw Hat is mine!"

"Yikes! Yikes! Here he comes!"

"White Blow!"

"Uh oh!" Luffy ran faster when a smoke-riding fist was heading right for him.

"There's no escape!"

"Heat Haze!" A fiery blaze stopped Smoker's attack, surprising the crew into stopping, Luffy gaping in shock.

"You, huh?" Smoker glared.

"Give it up." The man grinned confidently, as fire billowed from his body. "You may be smoke, but I'm fire. A fight between your power and mine would never end."

"He had Devil Fruit powers?!" Zoro exclaimed.

"Who is he, anyways?!" Usopp wondered aloud. "Why is he helping us?!"

"Ace?!" Luffy gawked.

He turned back to him with a smirk. "You haven't changed a bit, Luffy."

"Ace?! Is that you, Ace?! You ate a Devil Fruit?!"

"Yep! The Flare-Flare Fruit!

"Captain Smoker! We're securing the perimeter!"

Ace stood between the crew, and the Marines. "Anyways, we can't chat like this! I'll catch up! You guys run! I'll hold these guys off! Go!"

"Let's go!" Luffy immediately complied.

"Yeah!" Usopp followed with the rest.

"But, Luffy!" Nami exclaimed.

"Who is that guy?!" Sanji asked.

A small smile grew on Venus' face after she glanced back at Ace. "He's kinda cute."

"Not the time for that!" Nami raged.

"I don't get it," Smoker glared, "Why are you helping Straw Hat?"

Ace smirked pridefully. "It's natural for a big brother to worry about his bungling kid brother."

"What? Brother? You mean to say-?" Ace defiantly ignited some more fire. "Move, Portgas D. Ace!"

He didn't move. "I'm afraid that's a no-can-do." The Marines stepped back when his whole body burst into flames.

"Wait, Luffy! Who is he?!" Nami asked. "Is he an acquaintance of yours?!"

"Yeah!" Luffy beamed brightly through his sprint. "He's my brother!" The crew would only gape silently in shock, as they ran behind him.

"Brother?!"

Ace summoned an entire wall of fire before them, blocking their path. "Fire Fist Ace," An undercover officer remarked.

"To think you're Straw Hat's brother," Smoker remarked, and prepared a counterattack. "White... Spark!" That sent the billowing flames spinning in the air, creating a fire/smoke twister.

The crew looked back at hearing the concerned citizens, and saw the twister. "What in the world is happening?" Chopper asked.

"It's a fight between flame and smoke?!" Usopp exclaimed.

"He did say he ate the Flare-Flare Fruit," Sanji recalled.

"But Luffy!" Nami said to the captain. "Is it true that guy's your brother?!"

"Yeah! His name's Ace!"

"You having a brother isn't that surprising, but what's he doing in the Grand Line?!" Zoro asked, lugging a barrel.

"Ace is a pirate! He left the island three years before me to find the One Piece!"

Everyone stared in surprise, before remembering what they were doing. "A-anyways, let's hurry back to the ship!" Nami ordered. "Let's escape before anyone comes after us!"

"Yes, Nami-san!" Sanji agreed, and the sprint commenced.

Luffy was running backwards, as he kept watching. The twister turned into a ball of smoke, spitting out large embers. "Still, I never thought I'd see Ace in a place like this!"

"The path splits into two!" Usopp pointed out.

"Usopp, left!" Nami commanded. "Hear me, guys?!"

"Yes, Nami-san!" Sanji complied, as Luffy slipped off to the left. "I'll follow you wherever you go!"

"Enough, pervy cook!" Zoro exclaimed with annoyance.

"Cool!" Luffy kept watching, oblivious to being alone again. "The fireball's gone even higher!"

Meanwhile, the rest made it to the Merry. "Hurry, and load the stuff!" Vivi urged. "We're leaving right away."

"Hurry!" Usopp ordered. "Set the sails!"

As everyone scattered, Chopper turned to Vivi, now small again, as they both lugged small sacks. "S-say, are we leaving again just after we finally reached the island?"

"Yes. We only stopped by this town to get what we're going to need. Now we're going to head up the river into the interior of Alabasta. Our next destination is Erumalu, the City of Green."

"Erumalu?"

"Hurry!" Zoro pulled the anchor up.

"Pick up the pace!" Sanji pulled the sail down.

"All set!" Usopp readied the rudder.

"Okay! Let's set sail!" Nami announced.

"Uh, guys?" Venus spoke up, stopping everyone. "Are we missing someone?"

"Yeah," Nami confirmed, "We're missing approximately one person."

"That moron!" Zoro complained.

"I-is it really okay to set sail without Luffy?" Chopper asked in concern.

"The Marines will be all over the harbors," Nami replied, "We need to hide the ship first."

"There should be a cave ahead that's hidden from view!" Vivi said.

"So we'll wait for things to cool down, then look for Luffy," Sanji decided.

"Yeesh!" Usopp griped. "He's always, always causing trouble like this!"

Zoro groaned in irritation. "He's a real reliable captain."

Venus sat cross-legged on the prow, her cheeks blushing just a bit, as she rested one on her knuckles. "I hope Ace will be with him when we find him; he's dreamy."

Usopp rested his biceps on the deck railing, sulking after hearing her. His feelings of jealousy were pushed away by a familiar hand grabbing the side rail. "I'm back!" Luffy launched himself on deck, knocking Sanji and Chopper down.

"Sanji-san! Tony-kun!" Vivi exclaimed.

"Oh, come on!" Usopp stared in surprise.

"Not again," Zoro facepalmed.

"You guys okay?" Venus looked back from the prow.

Luffy laughed, as he sat up. "Sorry 'bout that, Sanji, Chopper!"

An angry Sanji shot up, and had him by the front of his vest. "Do you not know how to learn your lesson?! I oughta gut you whole!"

"Yeah!" Nami agreed. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused?! Try to act somewhat like a captain!"

He looked up at her, his smile gone. "Sorry."

Venus slid down to the deck eagerly. "Hey, is Ace with you?"

"Oh, that's right! Ace!" He looked over the side he came from.

"Ace?"

"I guess he's not," Venus frowned in disappointment.

"Your brother was with you?" Zoro asked.

Usopp approached them with concern. "Is it okay to just leave him there?"

"I guess he'll be okay!" Luffy beamed. "Ace is strong!"

"He's strong?" Chopper asked in awe.

"Yeah! He hadn't eaten the Flare-Flare Fruit a long time ago, but I still never beat him in a single fight! He's real strong, Ace is!"

"Amazing!" A starry-eyed Venus swooned.

"There's a flesh-and-blood person you could never beat?!" Nami exclaimed.

"I guess the big brother of a monster is an even bigger monster," Usopp remarked.

"That's right! I lost all the time!" Luffy laughed. "But I'd win now if I tried!"

"I assume that's another groundless claim," Zoro snarked.

Behind him, a certain someone shot up. "Who..." Ace landed on the railing. "Can win what now?!"

The crew was quiet for a moment in surprise. "Oh! Ace!" Luffy beamed. "This is the crew I was talking about!"

"Oh! Thank you all for taking care of my little brother!"

"Eh? Oh, not at all," They bowed.

"He might be a bit much for you to handle too, but..."

"No, not at all."

"Take god care of 'im."

"It's our pleasure!" Venus almost floated over, her hands clasped together.

"Enough!" Nami yanked her away.

"You probably have lots of catching up to do," Sanji guessed, "Why don't you come in? I'll make some tea."

"No, uhh, that's okay," Ace kindly turned him down, "Don't do it on account of me." Grinning widely, he pointed his finger to Sanji.

On cue, he flinched in surprise when his cigarette lit up out of nowhere. "T-talk about unexpected," Usopp commented.

"That's for sure," Zoro agreed.

"I would've expected him to be as reckless as Luffy," Usopp continued.

"No, this sensible man can't possibly be Luffy's brother!" Nami added.

"He's a nice guy who cares about his brother!" Zoro exclaimed.

"Brothers can be so wonderful!" Chopper cried.

"He's so handsome," Venus gushed.

"The sea is just full of surprises," Sanji remarked.

"Come now, everyone!" Vivi intervened.

"See!" Luffy beamed. "Aren't these guys neat?!"

The fun moment was interrupted by a horde of ships approaching them, all bearing a certain Jolly Roger with wings and swords. "Baroque Works!" Vivi exclaimed. "Those are the Billions' ships!"

"Fire Fist Ace, and Straw Hat Luffy!" One of the agents shouted. "Don't think you can get away!"

"We'll show you what Baroque Works' Billions are made of!"

"Those guys again?" Luffy asked calmly.

"Luffy," Ace caught his attention, "I'll clean them up."

"Eh?"

At that, he jumped down on a small boat tied to the Merry, and sailed off. "What's he going to do?" Nami wondered aloud.

"Especially in that little boat," Usopp added.

Zoro watched with crossed arms. "Let's see how skilled this Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates really is!"

"Here he comes! Fire Fist Ace!"

"Just try to get past five of our ships, if you can!"

With a smirk, he leaped straight up off his boat. "He jumped!" Nami exclaimed.

He flipped through the air effortlessly, arms straight out like a bird. "F-fire!"

"Shoot him into the ocean!"

Ace flew over one of the ships, and landed back on his boat after it reemerged. "Fire Fist!" He launched a giant fireball, annihilating every one of the ships, and tipped his hat up with a smirk.

"Whoa!" The crew looked on in awe, Luffy smiling brightly.

"Woohoo!" Everyone cheered.

"Ace is one of us now!" Usopp exclaimed, hiding his jealousy.

"Cheers!" He, Luffy, and Chopper clinked their mugs together.

"Who said I was joining you?"

Ignoring his rejection, the three downed their beverages. "Here's to delicious drinks!" Usopp changed the reason.

"Cheers!"

"Don't worry about it!" Nami happily assured him. "They're always looking for an excuse to drink to!"

"Medicine is horrible!" Everyone laughed, before Luffy turned to his brother.

"Ace! Are you sure you won't join us?"

"I'm chasing a certain man." Ace downed his own drink. "His name's Blackbeard."

"Blackbeard?!" Usopp exclaimed.

"He's the pirate who attacked the Drum Kingdom!" Vivi recalled.

"He used to be a member of the Second Division of the Whitebeard Pirates, one of my men. But he committed the worst possible sin on a pirate ship: he killed a crewmember, and jumped ship. So, as the commander, I gotta find and get rid of him."

"So that's why you're chasing after him?" Usopp asked.

"I came here, because I caught word that Blackbeard was seen in Yuba."

"Then your destination is the same as ours!" Nami realized, Vivi and showed him a map of Alabasta, pointing to Nanohana.

"We've just entered the Sandora River." Her finger moved to their upcoming destination. "First, we'll land at Erumalu, then head into the interior of Alabasta to reach Yuba here!" She pointed to an X by Yuba. "The leader of the rebel army is in Yuba."

"I see. So you're headed to Yuba next."

"I'll follow Nami-san, Venus-chan, and Vivi-chan wherever they go!" Sanji swooned.

"Get lost, Love Cook," Zoro grumbled.

"Say what, you-?!"

"A-anyways!" Nami cut in, before a fight could start. "It looks like we can travel together for a short while!"

"Yay!" Venus cheered.

"Yeah, yeah!" Usopp agreed. "His brother is more than welcome here!"

Luffy laughed happily, and held his mug out. "Let's have a fun time, Ace!"

"Yeah!" Everyone tapped their mugs together in celebration.

[steampikachu]

Chapter 2: Off to the Desert Kingdom! Find the Rebel Army

(episode 93)

"Well, we're finally here," Nami approached Vivi, who was watching the island silently, "I'd tell you not to be too eager, but I guess that's asking too much. But do you have a plan for stopping the rebellion?"

Vivi glanced at her. "I do have a plan, but there's no guarantee it will make things stop." Nami frowned sympathetically, as did the boys behind her.

"So hungry," Luffy groaned, as he chewed on his sandal, with an equally weak Chopper close by.

"So hot."

'Please! Don't make a hasty decision!' Nami thought.

Before long, Merry docked by the island, ready for disembarking. "So this is an Alabasta city?" Usopp asked. It was bustling with citizens carrying pots, and had many round-topped buildings.

"Food!" Luffy beamed.

"Listen, guys!" Nami ordered. "Use self-control, and try not to act on instinct too much!"

"Yes, Nami-san!" Sanji happily obliged.

Just then, Zoro noticed a certain someone missing. "The guy who needs to hear that the most is already gone."

Luffy. "Food place!" He charged in, leaving everyone behind.

"Get back here!" Nami shouted angrily, but went unnoticed.

"He's all instinct," Usopp remarked.

Vivi watched him hopelessly. "What should we do?"

"Don't worry," Sanji assured, standing straight up, "Find where the most commotion is, and he'll be there."

"You got that right," Usopp agreed.

"Ugh!" Nami groaned in frustration with a facepalm. "I wish he'd at least realize he has a bounty on his head! Especially in a big country like this!"

"I hope I get a bounty soon," Venus remarked sadly.

"Why do you want one?!" Nami raged.

Venus glared up at her. "Because! Before I left Loguetown, Mr. Rauru said when I get my first bounty and wanted poster, he'll hang it up in the bar!"

Nami butted heads with her. "That's not important!"

"It is to me!"

"Enough!" Zoro separated them with a push to their foreheads. "Forget about him," He took over, as Chopper strapped his bag on his back, "Let him do whatever." He started climbing down the rope ladder. "Let's just eat first. We can think after that."

Chopper hopped down after him, as Venus started climbing down. "Yeah, I'm starving."

"They're all the same," Nami grumbled.

"Karoo and I can't go with you," Vivi said to her.

"Eh?"

"Huh?" Usopp turned to her. "Are you not feeling good?"

"I'm too recognizable here," She replied.

"That's for sure," Zoro agreed.

"Don't worry!" Sanji beamed. "I'll go shopping for you too, Vivi-chan!"

When Karoo suddenly quacked in terror, the trio still on the Merry turned to him. "What is it?" Vivi asked, and he pointed to a ship bearing "Mr. 3" on one side, and a sculpture of his topknot at the prow. "Mr. 3's ship!"

Usopp looked on tensely. "That creep didn't kick the bucket after all?!"

"There's no doubt about it!" Vivi friwned. "His ship runs on the power of his Wax-Wax Fruit!"

"The bastard's here?" Sanji glared from the ground.

"This is bad," Zoro remarked, "He's seen our faces."

Usopp turned back to the crew, smiling confidently through his nervousness. "It's alright! I have an idea!"

-

Later on, the crew were walking through Nanohana, with everyone covered by a large green tarp, except Sanji and Chopper. "There's no telling where he is, so we have to move without standing out."

"I think we're standing out quite a bit," Nami griped.

Usopp peeked out of the front, and after deciding the rubble was a safe place, he stopped, and uncovered himself. "Alright! You can come out, guys!" He announced.

"We've been long out," Zoro pointed out, as he, Nami, and Vivi were indeed revealed. "Wait, where's Venus?"

On cue, she lifted the tarp up to observe the area. "Is it safe?"

"Yep! Looks like nobody noticed us!"

"If so, it's a miracle," Nami remarked.

Sanji turned to the princess. "Vivi-chan, we're safe from view for a little while now." He was concerned when she didn't answer, and appeared to have a thousand-yard stare. "Vivi-chan?"

She flinched harshly. "Yes?! Yes? You were saying?"

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry. I just felt a little relieved, so... at the very least, from what I've seen of this town, things still seem all right. I probably can't rest easy," Her hands clenched into fists under the tarp. "But I think I'll make it in time."

"Yeah, it does seem like a peaceful town," Nami agreed.

"Hey, Vivi." She turned to Zoro when he addressed her. "You said you have a plan for stopping the rebel army, right?" She nodded in response. "What will you do now? What should we do?"

"Eh?"

"If you think you're gonna make it in time, it'd be better to act quick."

"Th-that's true, but the agreement was only to bring me to Alabasta-"

Nami cut her off with a knock to her forehead. "Come on now! Are you still saying that?"

"Nami-san?!"

"We traveled this far together. We can't just leave you now."

"Yeah, Vivi!" Usopp agreed. "Don't act so distant!"

"Plus I'm interested in this Warlord of the Sea!" Zoro added.

"You don't have to mention that!" Nami glared, before turning to Vivi. "Anyways, stop thinking that way!"

"Not to mention people are out to kill all of us, but me," Sanji reminded.

"Sanji-san..."

"So there you have it!" He beamed.

Nami's expression turned dark. "And besides, if this country gets destroyed, we won't get our reward for bringing you here. Understand?"

"Y-yes."

"Very good, then!" Nami brightened up, as Venus facepalmed.

"Go to hell," Zoro grumbled.

"Thank you, Zoro! I haven't forgotten about your debt to me, either!"

"Wh-why, you-!"

"Even if I'm a ghost, I'll still come for my money!"

"You lousy-!" Vivi watched the argument silently.

"You'd better pay the 400,000 berries you owe!"

"400,000?!" Venus exclaimed.

"It's gone up!"

"It'll go even higher if you're not quick to repay!"

"Thank you," Vivi almost whispered.

"Hey, Usopp! Say something!"

"Forget it!" He refused.

"Nami-san is in the right!" Sanji butted in.

"Say what?!"

An irritated Venus decided to fully intervene, and stood between them defiantly. "Stop thinking with your wallet!" She glared up at Nami. "He's not paying your stupid debt!"

"Thank you!" Zoro huffed with relief. At least the witch had his back.

"He is too! Mind your own business!" Nami glared back.

"There are more important things than money!"

"Don't ever say that taboo!"

-

"Northwest of this city is an oasis called Yuba," Vivi said after the arguments ended, "That's where the rebel army is based. I'd like to go there first to stop the uprising. But to get to Yuba, we'll have to cross the desert. For that, we'll need to stock up on the necessary food and water here, but if Mr. 3 is in town..."

"Oh," Sanji chimed in, "In that case, it's no problem. He hasn't seen my face."

"That's right!" Venus beamed.

"You've met almost none of them so far!" Nami added.

"And one other," Zoro looked down at their newest crewmember.

"Oh, yeah!" Nami agreed. "Chopper too!"

"That'll be perfect," Sanji turned to the reindeer, "We'll have a lot to carry. I'm counting on you!"

"Right!" He nodded confidently. "Got it!"

"Hey, now," Usopp stepped up in concern, "You gonna be okay?"

"It'll be okay!" Chopper assured. "I wanna do what I can!" Usopp leaned back in surprise when he shifted into Walk Point. "There's no problem like this, right?"

"Alright!" Usopp gave a thumbs-up. "Now that's a human reindeer!"

"In that case, your help is appreciated," Vivi added.

"Leave it to us!" Sanji beamed.

"I've listed everything we need," Vivi brought out a small paper, "Oh, and we'll need some clothes too."

"Clothes?"

"Ordinary clothes, so we won't stand out."

"Ah."

"And perfume!" The navigator chimed in.

"Yes, Nami-san!"

"No thanks," Venus grimaced, "None for me, please."

"Food and water!" Zoro ordered.

"Tabasco!" Usopp added.

"Who cares about you!"

"Hey!" Venus snapped angrily. "I do! Just go already! We can't waste time!"

"Yes, Venus-chan!"

"Still," Nami grumbled after Sanji and Chopper left, "Where could that idiot be, and what is he doing?!"

Venus leaned against the wall. "He oughta turn up eventually. All we can do is wait until Sanji and Chopper come back, so we can blend in." She then gasped, catching everyone's attention. "Oh no!"

"What?!" Nami was on alert.

"I forgot to ask Sanji and Chopper to look for a book on sand spells!"

The furious redhead started pulling on her pigtails, as Vivi could only watch in concern. "Will you get your damn priorities in order?!"

"Ow! Stop it!" She shoved her away, and rubbed her aching scalp. "I need to learn as much as I can! You know that!" She tightened her hair bands, but her pigtails had become crooked from the attack.

"How do you even know there is a sand book?!"

Venus pulled her first spell book out of her backpack. She had kept her purse safe in the Merry. "Here's how," She showed the back, "See right here? A list of all the spell books, by Toribia Hekate." She pointed to a title for a book with spells involving heat and soil underneath the first. "This here is what I was talking about!" Underneath it were titles for spell books involving wind/clouds, water/cold, light/shadows, and plants/bubbles. "I need to find them all, in order to become the best."

Nami looked over the list, before rolling her eyes. "Just look out for it. And don't cause any more false alarms."

Venus sneered silently, as they returned to waiting. Didn't she realize how important it was for her? "Hey, Venus-chan?" Usopp caught her attention. "Your hair is getting loose."

"Yeah," She pouted, "Figures."

"I can redo it for you, i-if you want," He offered.

"Thanks," She smiled, and sat in front of him, her back to him. And she sat pretty closely.

Usopp hesitated for a moment, not knowing exactly where to start. He caught the faint scent of lemon from her shampoo and conditioner; even without perfume, she smelled good.

Being gentle, he took one of her pigtails, and pulled the band out, letting that side flow down. It reached the bottom of her ribs; getting an idea, he started twisting the strands into a partial braid parellel to her line, trying not to think about how soft her hair was. "I-i-it's not too tight, is it?" He nervously asked.

"Nope," She replied, keeping still, "It's nice and secure. Though it does feel different; what're you planning?" She joked, and giggled lightly.

"Y-you'll see. But I know you'll like it."

"I trust you." He blushed deeply, as he secured the band on the shorter tail. With that, he began working on the other side to make it even.

After tying the second tail, he leaned back to marvel at the result. To his delight, they both came out perfectly even; and more importantly, they looked adorable on her. "Done!"

Venus fished her mirror out of her purse, and had a look at the front, and the sides. "Wow, they look great!" She shook her head, and giggled. "Very secure!" She absently laid one hand on the back of her head, and was surprised at what she felt. "Are these braids?"

"Sorta," He shrugged.

"Wow, you're great at this!" She beamed, and turned around to hug him. "Thanks, Usopp!"

The stunned sniper patted her back. "Y-y-you're welcome." Just then, they saw Sanji and Chopper returning, with a horde of bags in tow.

-

"Wow!" A delighted Nami, whose short hair was in an updo, a reluctant Vivi, and an embarrassed Venus were now donned in traditional outfits to blend in, as were the boys. Though the girls' were... different from them. And they had yet to see Venus in hers. "This is wonderful! I love these kinds of clothes!"

"I know I asked you to shop for us, Sanji-san, but aren't these outfits for dancer girls?" Vivi nervously asked.

"Come, now!" Sanji gushed, as Zoro and Usopp chowed down. "It looks marvelous on you!"

"I asked for commoner clothing-"

"Dancers are commoners too!" He insisted happily.

"But we're gonna cross a desert-"

"Don't worry! If you get tired, I'll carry you!"

Vivi turned away with a smirk of defeat. "There's no getting through to him."

Sanji then turned to the boys, now condescending. "But compared to them, you two clearly look like bandits."

"How're you any different?!" Zoro sneered through eating a chicken leg.

"Chopper!" Usopp turned to the traditionally-clothed reindeer, who was holding his nose while laying on his back. "What're you doing?"

"The smell is killing me."

"That reminds me, where did you go?" Sanji asked.

"Various places!"

"Is he not feeling good?" Nami asked.

"Oh, the perfume's gotten to him."

"Perfume?"

"Oh, right!" Vivi remembered. "Tony-kun has a sensitive nose!"

Nami sniffed herself on her arm with a smirk. "Oh, this."

"Some of it can be rather strong."

"Like this?" Nami spritzed some more on her neck.

"Stop!" Chopper screamed.

"Mellorine love into the abyss!" Sanji swooned.

"What're you, an idiot?" Zoro grumbled, earning an unnoticed glare from the cook.

The witch stayed hidden behind the rubble; Sanji saw her peek out for a brief second. "Hm? Venus-chan!" He swooned, and glided to the wall. "Let me see you in all your beauty!"

"Forget it."

"Hey, short stack!" Zoro turned to where she was hiding. "What's the holdup?"

"I feel ridiculous."

"Don't be modest, Venus-chan! I'm sure you look lovely!"

"Come on!" Nami glared in her direction. "Just quit being stubborn, and get out here already!"

"Fine." She hesitantly stepped out to let everyone see her, standing stiffly with her hands in fists with a frown. Like Nami and Vivi, she was in a dancer outfit; it consisted of a black tie-front, cap-sleeved top, and a dark blue skirt that was quite short in the front, yet went down to her ankles in the back, with a black spiky-hemmed waistband with purple trimming, and a thin, black choker with a silver moon on the front. She still retained her black, knee-high buckled boots under the skirt.

"See? You look titillating!" Sanji gushed, ignoring Zoro's side-eye, but was responded with a grunt of embarrassment.

Nami rolled her eyes. "At least it's in your style. Quit moping."

Usopp timidly stepped up to her, as her gaze stayed on her feet. "Um, V-Venus-chan?" She looked up at him, as he touched his pointer fingers together. "I think you look amazing."

She finally smiled, shyly fiddling with the waistband. "Really? Oh, th-thanks. I guess it isn't so bad."

"Why couldn't you have said that earlier?!"

Usopp ignored Nami's angry shout. "In any case, we've accomplished our first goal of gathering supplies!"

"Yes," Vivi agreed.

"We're going to a place called Yuba, was it?" Nami asked.

"Yes, but first is a trek through the desert. It will likely be much more difficult than you imagine right now. There's no telling what might happen. One wrong step in this burning land, and there's no guarantee you'll survive. I'm still a little uneasy, and unsure about taking you to such a place, but I want to return peace to this kingdom! So I, I ask you again! Everyone! Please lend me your help! I beg of you..." She trailed off, and stayed quiet.

"You finally said it." Vivi looked up at Nami, who was giving a wink, and a thumbs-up. "We've been waiting for it!"

"There's no telling what happens on the sea either," Sanji smirked, as Zoro stood up, "Right, Vivi-chan?"

"Yeah!" Zoro agreed. It'll be no different from before!"

"Yeah!" Venus cheered.

"I can't wait to see the desert!" Chopper said to Karoo.

"Alright, guys!" Usopp announced. "Whadya say we get going to Yuba now?!"

"Yeah!" The crew pumped their left fists in the air.

Vivi watched them, feeling choked up. "Everyone..."

"Don't we seem to be missing someone?" Usopp asked after a moment of silence.

"Luffy!" Everyone exclaimed at once.

[steampikachu]

Chapter 1: Set Sail for Alabasta! A Ballerina on the Ship!

(episode 92)

A couple days after recruiting Chopper as the ship's doctor, the journey was smooth sailing. "There's no mistake," Nami looked over the map with Vivi, "This ship is heading to Alabasta."

Vivi looked over the horizon up ahead. "I'll be there soon."

On the lower deck, Usopp, Chopper, and Karoo were fishing on the railing, while Zoro slept by the mast. "Luffy! Don't lie!" Sanji reprimanded. "Tell me what you know." Luffy avoided eye contact, so the cook knelt down, and tried to force it. "Hey, why are you looking away? Look me in the eyes!"

Luffy kept it up, waving his hand in front of his face. "Well, seriously... I don't know anything."

"Then let me ask you something: how did enough food for 8 people, which I carefully divided so that it'd last until we get to Alabasta, disappear the other night?" Sanji was frustrated when Luffy kept averting his gaze to everywhere but him. "Stop fighting, it's pointless! You've got a horrible poker face." He squished his cheeks, resulting in a belch. He straightened up, then blinked in fake surprise. "Hey, you have something around your mouth."

"Ah! Shoot! Food crumbs?!"

"See, it was you!" Sanji's kick sent him flying across the deck, crashing into the wall. "Geez." He then looked up where Nami and Vivi were standing, now wearing a pleading face. "Ahhh, Nami-san, you saw it, right? The large rat trap is no longer good enough. Please buy a lockable refrigerator."

"Well," She frowned reluctantly, "I'll think about it, since it can be a life or death issue."

"Hm?" Sanji turned around at the sound of chewing, coming from the fishing trio.

"Well!" Usopp acted painfully casual. "We'd better catch something for Sanji-kun."

As Karoo quacked, Sanji approached them. "Hey, any luck fishing?"

They all tensed up nervously. "W-well..."

That was enough proof for the chef; they were just as guilty as the captain. He calmly put his hands out, and bashed their heads together. "I feel good," Chopper muttered, as they collapsed on deck.

"Seriously, I can't take my eyes off these guys for a moment," He grumbled.

Later on, Luffy joined into the fishing with Usopp. "Ahh," He moaned when his stomach growled, "I'm starving. The fish aren't biting at all."

"Luffy! It's your fault!" Usopp glared. "It's because you even ate the bait! If we don't have bait, the fish won't bite!"

"You ate it too!"

"Well... I only ate the stuff on the bait box cover."

Behind them, Vivi walked up casually. "Luffy-san, Usopp-san. Have you caught anything?" Upon hearing some frantic quacking, she pushed them aside to look, and screamed in terror. "Ahh!" Karoo was being used as bait! "Karoo! Oh no!"

"I wonder if we can catch a shark or something?" Luffy wondered aloud obliviously.

"I wanna catch a Sea King," Usopp added.

Vivi leaned back, now angry. "What're you two... doing to Karoo?!" She smashed their heads together.

After they fell back on the deck, a pair of shiny, black boots approached them, after seeing Karoo tied up. "Luffy," Venus scolded, buttoning her black shorts, "Did you eat the bait again?"

"He did," A blushing Usopp whined, averting his eyes from the hem of her cropped sweater, and the high waist of her denim shorts.

"You did too!" Luffy snitched.

"Only what was on the cover!"

Venus sighed, and shook her head. "Let's hope a miracle happens then."

"Sorry, Venus-chan," Usopp frowned sadly as she walked away, before he glared at Luffy, "Thanks for getting me in trouble."

Just then, as they sat back up, something appeared over the horizon. It was a strange, green smoke billowing from the ocean. "What's that?"

Usopp stared on in confusion. "What the heck is that?"

"Looks like green mist," Venus remarked.

"I wonder if it's like cotton candy," Luffy mumbled weakly.

"I'll go get Nami-san!" Vivi ran up the stairs, and burst into the kitchen. "Nami-san, there's a problem! Come right away!"

After following her outside, Nami saw the strange sight ahead, but was calm. "Ahh, don't worry. It's nothing; it's just steam."

"Steam is coming up from the sea?"

"Yeah. It's a hot spot."

"What the heck is that?" Luffy asked.

"It's an area where magma is produced," Nami replied, "There's an undersea volcano underneath that area."

"I see."

Chopper looked up at her innocently. "A volcano, even though it's undersea?"

"That's right. There're more undersea volcanoes than above ground ones."

"Whoa," Usopp listened in awe.

"I don't really care," Luffy pouted, "Since it's not food."

"With the volcano like this, a new island will be born here over thousands, or tens of thousands of years."

"You're so cool, Nami-san~!" Sanji swooned.

"Tens of thousands of years," Luffy muttered, "I wonder if I can live that long."

"Well, you're a human," Usopp pointed out, "So you should try dying sometime before that."

"I wouldn't wanna live that long anyway," Venus remarked.

As they continued fishing, Sanji approached them. "Have you caught anything?" He asked through Karoo's frantic quacking.

"Oh, hey Sanji. I'm hungry. Cook something."

"With what?" She challenged with a quirked brow.

"You guys're hopeless," He sighed, and rolled up his left-side sleeves, "I'll go search the storage thoroughly, to see if there's anything left."

Just as he disappeared into the kitchen, the Merry began passing through the steam. And it was not pleasant. "Ahh! It smells of sulfur!" Usopp griped, as everyone coughed.

"We can't see anything! There's steam everywhere!" Luffy exclaimed.

"It stinks!" Venus complained.

"Bear through it," Nami said, "We should be through it soon."

As they sailed through, another ship was approaching. "Mr. 2, Bon Clay-sama!"

"What is it?!" He barked, clad in a pink and blue ballerina outfit with a pair of white swans on the back of his coat.

"There's smoke at 12 o'clock!"

"It doesn't matter! Cut through it!" He smiled evilly. "At any rate, unless we take care of Mr. 3, I'll be in danger!" He fretted.

"Yes, sir! We're going in!" They sailed straight into the steam.

"What is this foggy thing?"

"We can't see ahead!"

"Ah!" Everyone screamed in terror.

Within minutes, they emerged from the stinky steam. "We got through!" The two men panicked when suddenly, the chair their leader sat in was empty! "Ahh! Mr. 2, Bon Clay-sama is gone!"

"Look for him in the cabins!"

"We can't find him!"

"Can't be!"

"Mr. 2, Bon Clay-sama!"

Luffy and Usopp gawked when their lines suddenly caught something. "Whoa!"

"Hey!" Venus perked up. "You got something! Reel it up! Huh?"

Holding onto a frantic Karoo, was a man wearing a ballerina dress and shoes, and a swan coat. "Shoot! Why did I jump on a duck that I suddenly came across?!"

The three looked at each other in confusion. "Is he a human?" Luffy asked.

"Dunno."

"Probably," Venus shrugged, "He looks human."

He was staring at them, equally befuddled, when his arms slipped. "Oh?! Ahh!" He fell into the ocean, Luffy and Usopp watching his struggle. "Help me! Please! I can't swim!" He then submerged underwater.

"Ballerina Man!" She frantically pushed past the two boys, and dove in.

"Wait, Venus!" Usopp called out. "You can't swim either!"

"Venus!" Zoro whipped his shirt off, and jumped in after her.

"I thought I'd die," He panted after being rescued, as Venus recovered close by. "Well, I'm really swanny. To think I was saved by pirates, who are total strangers. I will never forget your kindness for the rest of my life!" He bowed before them. "Also, may I have a cup of warm soup?"

"We don't have it!" Everyone, except Venus and Vivi, shouted angrily.

"We're the ones who're hungry!" Zoro added.

He looked up to Vivi gazing down at him. "Oh, hey you! What a cutie! You're my type! I wanna eat you! Smooch!"

He blew a kiss at her, but she grimaced in disgust. "What a weirdo."

"So you can't swim, huh?" Luffy grinned.

"That's right. I ate a Devil Fruit."

"Me too!" Venus beamed.

"Really? What kind of fruit?" Usopp asked him.

He stood on his pointe-shoed feet. "Well... since there's no need to rush until my ship comes to pick me up... in lieu of entertainment, I'll show you." Luffy grinned in anticipation, as did Venus. "This is my power!"

Everyone was in shock when he suddenly pounded Luffy's face in, before Zoro drew his swords. "What're you-"

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" He held his hands out, his voice suddenly different. "I just told you, that this is entertainment!"

Zoro's eyes widened. "What?!"

"Gimme a break!" His face looked exactly like Luffy's!

"Ah?!" The captain sprang to his feet, and smiled brightly. "That's me!"

"Surprised?! Surprised?! Surprised?!" He danced before them, and laughed. "If I touch my face with my left hand..." He demonstrated, and his face and voice were back to normal, "See?! I'm back to myself! This is the power of the Clone-Clone Fruit I ate!"

"The voice too," Nami remarked, as Usopp gaped.

"The body was also the same," He added.

"A-amazing!" Luffy exclaimed, as he touched everyone else's faces with his right hand.

"There!" He posed after finishing. "Well, for that matter, I don't have to knock you down. Now, look!" When he touched his face, he turned into Usopp! Venus laughed in amazement, as her eye lit up. "All I have to do is..." He turned into Zoro next. "Touch faces with my right hand." He then turned into Chopper. "As you can see, I can..." He then became Nami. "Mimic anyone! Bodies too!"

He opened his robe, making Venus and the boys gape in shock. "Ahh!" Venus quickly covered Chopper's eyes before he could look too long.

The real Nami swung a punch to his head, abruptly ending the act. "Ouch!"

"Stop it!"

"Hey, are you all right?" Luffy asked.

"Ow, ow, ow." The delirious man pushed himself up. "Well... sorry, but I can't show any more of my power."

"You're amazing!" Luffy encouraged, as Usopp whistled. "Do it more!"

"Ahh, well, if you insist, I guess I'll show more."

"Yeah! Show it! Show it!" The four cheered.

Nami and Zoro watched in annoyance. "Gee, he's actually into it!" Nami glared.

"Hey, Mr. Ballerina!" Venus raised her hand. "Do me next! Me next!"

"As you wish, girlie!" With one touch of his right hand, a clone of her in his outfit stood before them, pigtails and everything. "Ta-da!"

"Awesome!" She cheered; however, her smile vanished when he gripped his closed coat with a mischievous look. "Eek!" She scrambled over, and quickly held it closed with a glare. "Don't even think about it!" She seethed.

"Just kidding!" He laughed, as she sat back down, and reverted back to normal. Usopp sighed in relief to himself; he wasn't ready to see that much of his crush yet.

Nami held a furious Zoro back when he tried to charge in for the prank. "Don't!"

"Furthermore, I'm equipped with a memory feature!"

"We wanna see! We wanna see!" They cheered, along with a newly happy Venus.

"Here we go!" To their delight, he changed into many faces, one after the other.

"Ah!" Vivi gaped at one that looked familiar. She knew that black, curly hair, and small beard anywhere; her father!

"Spin! Spin! Spin!"

"How stupid!" The swordsman griped.

"Spin! Spin!"

He stopped, and posed before his audience. "So how was my secret talent?! I usually never show it to others."

"Cool!" They cheered, as Vivi stared at him suspiciously. Why did he look like her father for a moment? Did he encounter him before?

They jumped up, and started dancing with him in a line, arms linked around shoulders. "Gimme a break! Gimme a break!"

"Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!"

"Oh, whatever!" Nami complained, and turned to the ocean.

"That's my ship!" He suddenly exclaimed. Approaching them was a white-wooded ship donning a swan prow, and a pink sail.

"Amazing! Amazing! He's..."

"Whoosh!" They stopped when he leaped gracefully on the railing by her. "It's already time to say goodbye? What a shame."

"What?!" The four exclaimed.

"Please don't go!" Usopp begged.

"Don't be sad! Journeys are always accompanied by farewells." He looked back at the group. "But don't ever forget this: Friendship... has nothing to do with how long we've known each other. Don't cry!" He jumped on his ship when she was close enough.

"See you again!" Luffy called.

The ballerina turned to his crewmates. "Now, let's go guys!"

"Yes, sir! Mr. 2, Bon Clay-sama!"

The Straw Hats gaped in shock upon overhearing. Yikes! "Mr. 2?!" Usopp exclaimed.

"So he is..." Vivi remarked, "Mr. 2, Bon Clay!"

"Vivi!" Luffy turned to her in surprise. "You didn't know his face?!"

"No, I've never met Mr. 2, and Mr. 1, as well as his partner. I don't know their powers either." She backed into the wall, and slid down to the floor. "Though I've heard of rumors. Mr. 2 is... a ballerina with a large frame, who talks like a woman. He always wears a swan coat that has "Bon Clay" on the back."

"You should've noticed!" Zoro, Usopp, and Luffy reprimanded.

"What's the matter, Vivi?" Luffy asked.

"Among the faces that he showed from his past memory... from his memory," She choked up in fear, "I saw my father's face; the face of Alabasta's king, Nefertari Cobra."

"If, for example, you could mimic a king," Zoro started, "You'd be able to do quite bad things too."

"We let a troublesome guy slip away, huh?" Usopp remarked.

"Then he's our enemy?" Chopper asked.

"He's certainly quite a problem, if he's on our enemy's side," Nami observed, and approached the boys, "If he realizes that we're the enemy, if he transforms into one of us using his memory from earlier, we won't be able to trust our own friends."

"Really? Huh?"

"Listen, Luffy-"

"Well, hold on," Zoro cut Nami off, and laid a hand on the catain's shoulder, "It's true that his opinion doesn't have any basis, but he's right about us not having to be scared of him. We should consider ourselves lucky that we got to see him now, because we can figure out counter measures."

Just then, huge waves sent the Merry rocking, sending most of the crew running to the back, as something huge emerged before them. "Something came out!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Sea Cat!" Vivi gaped.

"It's a sea monster!" Usopp and Chopper screamed.

Zoro wielded all his swords. "It's the first meal in 4 days!"

"It's a meal!" Luffy glared in its direction.

"It's a kitty!" Venus gushed.

At the front, Nami checked the Log Pose. "We're on the right track. I hope we get there pretty soon."

"It's a meal!" Luffy repeated angrily.

The giant cat leaned away, fearing the hunger in their eyes. "Whoa, it backed away!" Zoro pointed out.

"Have the ship go back! Go back!" Luffy commanded.

"W-w-w-w-w-we can't!" Usopp stammered.

Just then, Sanji burst out of the kitchen. "Ah! Don't let it get away! Capture it without fail!" He joined Luffy and Zoro in glaring daggers at their prey, sleeves rolled up. "How should I cook you, cat monster?!"

Vivi grabbed a broom, pulled Venus back, and swung the three into the railing. "No!"

The cat swam back down into the ocean, free from harm. "Vivi!" Luffy glared. "You jerk! What're you doing?!"

"W-why, Vivi-chan?" Sanji whimpered.

"You can't eat it!" She scolded. "Sea Cats are a sacred animal in Alabasta!"

"You should've told us sooner!" Luffy complained.

"There sure are many kinds of creatures in the sea!" Chopper remarked.

Usopp shuddered behind him from the encounter. "Being scared of things like that... you've still got a long way to go." He jumped up with sudden confidence, one foot on a cannon. "Okay then! I'll tell you a story about when I bravely fought Sea Kings in the Calm Belt."

"Fought Sea Kings?!"

"Big Ones! They were this big!" He held out his arms.

"O-our food got away," Luffy lamented.

"But don't worry," Vivi tried to assure him, "You'll be able to stuff yourself soon."

"Really?!" He brightened up. "What cat will appear this time?!"

"No cats!" Venus scolded.

"Vivi!" Nami called for her. "The wind and weather seem to be becoming stable."

"Yes," She agreed, "We've entered Alabasta's climate area. A Sea Cat appearing is also the proof."

"And what we see behind us," Zoro smirked, "Is probably also proof of Alabasta being close."

They all turned to look; turned out, a horde of ships was all spread out. "There're so many ships!" Luffy exclaimed. "When did that happen?!"

Usopp looked closer with his goggles. "Hey! They all have the Baroque Works' symbol!"

"Its employees have started gathering. They're probably Billions; the Officer Agents' subordinates."

"Which means that our enemy is at least 200," Nami remarked.

"On top of that, they are 200 elites of Baroque Works. They're far from those bounty hunters in Whisky Peak."

Usopp frantically cranked to raise the cannon. "Should we fire at them while we can?!" He wiped his brow after the cannon was ready. "Let's get on it already!"

"It's quicker if we go there, and beat them up!" Luffy argued, before his stomach growled. "No, wait! We have to eat first!"

"Idiot!" Zoro smirked confidently. "Don't bother. They're small fries."

"He's right," Sanji agreed, "If we lose our real target, that'll be it. There're only 9 of us."

Later on, the crew were tying white cloths on their left wrists with a plan. "Anyway, tie it tight," Zoro urged, "Our enemy this time has too many mysteries."

"I see," Vivi tied Nami's for her.

"If we check this, we don't have to doubt our friends," The navigator concluded.

"Does that Clone-Clone Fruit guy really become so similar when he transforms?" Sanji asked, tying his own cloth with his teeth like the swordsman.

"You've no idea!" Usopp replied. "It's not "similar". It's "the same"! It's too bad! You should've seen it. We even danced with him. Oh!" He turned to a struggling Venus, and tied her cloth on her wrist for her. "There we go."

"Thanks, Usopp-kun," She smiled sheepishly.

"I'm not interested in a male ballerina."

"Knowing someone like that is among our enemy, we can't carelessly act alone," Zoro said.

"Hey, what should I do?" Chopper asked.

"Ahh... do what you can do," Usopp replied, "You don't have to do anything anymore. It's okay to run into the enemy you can't defeat!"

Sanji gave him a skeptical look, as he helped Karoo out of his tangled mess. "Aren't you telling that to yourself?"

"What I can do, huh?" Chopper muttered, then smiled confidently. "Got it!"

"I can see the island now!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Let's stop at the town called Nanohana," Vivi suggested, "We have to hide the ship."

"All right!" Luffy agreed. "At any rate, no matter what happens..." He held out his clothed wrist, "This thing on our left arm is the sign of our friendship!" They all formed a circle with their left fists. "Well then, we'll land! To a restaurant! Oh, and to Alabasta."

"It's a side note?" The rest of the crew griped.

Vivi touched her cloth, as she silently watched them discuss. "The enemy this time is an assassination gang, Luffy," Nami pointed out.

"Yeah, it is."

"Be careful about acting on instinct, okay?"

"You're right. I got it." Vivi smiled to herself through Luffy's assurance. "Yeah! That's right! Yeah! Got it!"

[steampikachu]

Chapter 14: Goodbye, Drum Island! I'm Going Out to Sea!

(episode 91)

Now on the Merry, the crew were able to see the amazing sight better. "Whoa!"

"It's beautiful."

"Yeah," Vivi agreed with Nami.

"Cherry blossoms, huh?" Zoro smirked.

Usopp was concerned when Chopper sat on the railing, not saying a word. "Hey, is Chopper okay?" He whispered.

"Let's leave him alone for now," Nami suggested.

"He's experiencing what it's like to set out on a journey as a man," Sanji said.

"Yeah," She agreed, "He's about to leave the island he spent his entire life in."

"I'm leaving, Doctor, Doctorine," He whispered, "My adventure... is finally starting."

"Venus! We finally have a doctor!" Luffy started smacking her back repeatedly in excitement. "We finally have a doctor! A doctor!" He was oblivious to her falling over, until a few smacks hit air. "Huh? Venus?"

She was laying face-down on the floor. "That'll do, Luffy. That'll do."

"Sorry," He grinned sheepishly.

Later, while they were sailing away, he watched as the captain entertained Venus, and the rest of the guys with sticks up his nose, and keeping his mouth open. "This is a joyous day!"

"The moon is out, and the cherry blossoms have bloomed," Zoro beamed.

"Chopper!" Usopp called. "Hey, Chopper! You son of a gun! How long are you gonna be in a daze like that?" He pulled him over to join them. "Drink!"

"What?"

Sanji knocked Usopp over, smiling at Chopper. "Come here, and sing!"

"What?"

"Here, stick these chopsticks up your nose!" Luffy offered.

"What?"

"Guys, lay off already," Venus ordered, "He just joined us."

"Really, what a grand nighttime view of cherry blossoms," Sanji remarked, "How could we not have a party at a time like this?!"

"The madness will become normal," She smiled sheepishly at Chopper, before enjoying the view herself.

Nami's hands on his shoulders startled him. "Are you surprised? You made friends with some really crazy guys, huh?"

He looked up at her in awe. "Friends..."

"That's right," She nodded, "They're over the top, but since you're one of us now, you'll have to get used to it, as Venus said." He smiled at that.

"Karoo!" Vivi fussed over her hypothermic duck. "What were you doing, frozen in the river?"

Zoro laughed. "He probably slipped, or something. He's a clumsy one!"

"Quiet, Mr. Bushido!"

Chopper looked over him, and listened on. "Yeah... yeah. He says that the guy named Zoro was swimming in the river, and disappeared." Vivi gaped in surprise at that. "He thought Zoro was in trouble, so he jumped into the river, and got frozen."

"So it was your fault!" Nami swung a punch to his head.

"Ow..."

"Tony-kun, you can understand what Karoo is saying?"

"Yes. I'm an animal by nature, so I can talk with animals."

"You can talk with animals?"

"That's incredible, Chopper!" Nami praised. "To be able to do that, along with your medical skills!"

He gasped, then began feeling embarrassed. "Dummy! Praising me like that wouldn't make me happy! You jerk!"

"He sure looks happy," Luffy remarked at his dancing, and his smile.

"By the way, Nami," Zoro spoke up, "What do you mean by "medical skills"?"

"Chopper is a doctor," She replied, "A first-class one with all the medical skills hammered into him by Dr. Kureha." He blushed at that.

"What?!" Zoro's eyes widened. "Chopper! You're a doctor?!"

"Incredible!" Luffy gaped.

"No way!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Good Lord!" Nami glared at Luffy. "What did you think Chopper was when you asked him to join us?!"

"A seven-form transforming, interesting reindeer," He replied.

"Emergency food," Sanji added.

"What?!" Chopper flinched in horror.

"We're not eating him!" Venus ordered.

"Ah, darn it! I forgot to bring my medical tools, since I left in a hurry!"

"Can't be." Nami picked up a blue backpack with a white X matching his hat. "Then what is this?"

"What?" He gasped. "My bag!"

"It was in the sleigh."

He stared in confusion. He didn't remember putting it there. "How come...?"

"How come?" Nami asked. "Didn't you prepare for the trip by yourself?" After a moment, it hit him. He teared up; Kureha must've put it on the sled beforehand. "After all, she knew everything you were thinking. What a wonderful person she is."

"Yeah..."

"Ah! I got snot on the chopsticks!" Luffy exclaimed. "Hey, Chopper, you try it too!"

"Geez... when you're reminiscing," Nami griped, "Right, Chopper? Chopper?" She looked down, and sure enough, he was sticking chopsticks up his nose. "Don't!" Venus laughed, as he joined them.

"Okay, guys!" Usopp announced, holding out a barrel mug. "Attention!"

"You bastard!" Zoro fought with Sanji.

"Well, I'd like to introduce our new friend to you!"

"Sanji! Go!" Luffy cheered.

"Tony Tony Chopper!"

"I..."

"He'll be our ship's doctor. To celebrate his coming on board- hey! Listen to me, you jerks!"

"I..." Chopper watched, as the chaos kept going on. Through the chopsticks, a smile grew. "I've never had this much fun before."

"Yeah!" Nami beamed.

"Let's toast to our new friend!"

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered. "Cheers!"

-

"Amazing!" Chopper admired the ocean by the prow with Luffy. "The sea is huge!"

"Of course! And the ones who go on adventures on that huge sea are pirates."

"I see! Pirates are incredible after all. Hm?" They both looked up at a shadow, and there was a giant eagle flying overhead. "Whoa! What's that?!"

"It's a seagull."

"There isn't a seagull that big," Nami noted.

"Hey! Seagull!" Luffy waved.

"What's going on?" Venus emerged from hers and the navigator's room, dressed in a new outfit, and high twintails. "Eek!" Her eye widened when the eagle turned around, and made a beeline for the ship.

"Ahhh! It's coming!"

"See? I was right. It is a seagull."

"Now's not the time to discuss that!" Nami shouted. "It's coming because you called it!"

"Amazing!" Chopper beamed. "It's a great adventure!"

The eagle swooped in, the girls ducking down for safety, and grabbed Luffy right off the prow! Nami straightened up, and saw he was gone. "Hey, where's Luffy?"

"Hm?" Chopper turned back.

"Yahoo!" Luffy cheered, now in the eagle's mouth.

"Hey!" Nami watched fearfully. "Don't become bird food!"

"Ahh! It's terrible!" Chopper ran to the back of the ship. "A bird ate Luffy!" He ran in circles around Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji, as they calmly played cards. "This is no time for playing around! Luffy's in trouble!"

"Oh, is Venus-chan awake?" Usopp asked casually.

"Luffy's in trouble!"

"Did he say he wanted our help?" Zoro asked calmly.

"No, he didn't."

"Then there's no problem. Don't worry about it."

"But..." He looked up, and saw the eagle flying back.

"Gum-Gum..." Luffy twisted his arms into a helix, and grabbed its beak, "Propeller!"

"Amazing," Chopper watched in awe, as he sent the eagle, twisting its neck, falling to the ship... right on the card game.

Luffy pulled himself out from under his catch. "Hey, Sanji! I've got some meat! Huh?" To his confusion, they were all sprawled out on the deck. "What? Are you guys sleeping?"

"It's your fault!" Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji shouted together angrily.

"How are you gonna fix this situation?" Usopp demanded. "I had a good hand!"

"Really? Sorry."

Holding Usopp back, Sanji caught sight of the eagle behind the captain. "Whoa! That's huge!"

"Now we can have some decent meals," Zoro smirked.

"Is this edible?" Usopp asked.

"Hey, nice catch!" Venus praised, as she joined them.

"Thanks, Venus! Hm?" Luffy turned to their newest member. "What's the matter, Chopper?"

"Yeah..." He nodded, awestruck, "Well... pirates are... pirates are incredible after all!"

"Yeah?" Luffy beamed. "Incredible, huh?"

"Hey, you guys!" Nami butted in. "This ship is arriving at Alabasta soon. We don't have time to play around! Move it!"

"All right," They solemnly complied.

Venus knelt down to his level, as they gathered at the right-side stairs. "Don't piss her off," She warned in a whisper.

"Gotcha," He nodded, and turned to Vivi, "So, what's Alabasta?"

"It's the country that Vivi's father governs," Nami replied.

"A rogue named Crocodile is trying to take over Alabasta right now," Usopp added.

"I hear that Crocodile is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea," Sanji chimed in.

"Seven Warlords of the Sea?"

"They're the pirates authorized by the World Government," Nami informed.

"Pirates are authorized by the Government?"

"Yeah," Usopp replied, "They're overwhelmingly strong. And they crush other pirates one by one. So the Government authorizes them to crush pirates."

"Crocodile, huh?" Luffy beamed. "I can't wait to see him."

"Crocodile is a hero in Alabasta, because he crushes the pirates that attack towns," Vivi added, "But that's only his public face. Behind the scenes, he is pulling strings to cause a civil war in Alabasta, in order to take over. No one has noticed it." She began to feel tense. "The citizens, my father; no one."

"All right then!" Luffy punched his palm. "In any case, all we have to do is beat up that Crocodile, right?"

"Yes. If we can first stop the civil war, and expel Baroque Works."

"Baroque Works?" Chopper asked.

"Ahh," Usopp put his hand behind his head, over the back of his goggles, "Yeah, you don't know about either of them, do you? To be honest, I can't quite understand either. Baroque Works has a complicated system."

"The system itself is simple," Vivi said, "First at the top, there's a boss, Crocodile; in other words, Mr. 0. There're 12 agents, and one animal who receive orders from the boss directly. Each of the 12 agents operates separately as a pair with a female agent. Mr. 1, and Ms. Double Finger. Mr. 2 doesn't have a partner, though."

"Mr. 3 is the candle man we met in Little Garden, right?" Zoro asked.

"Yes. He was paired up with Ms. Golden Week."

"Oh, that girl," Nami recalled.

"Mr. 4 is paired up with Ms. Merry Christmas. I don't know much about these two either."

"And that snot guy!" Luffy chimed in.

"Mr. 5, right?"

"Snot?"

"Yeah, his snot is a bomb," Usopp clarified.

"Mr. 5's entire body is a weapon," Vivi added, "Ms. Valentine has the powers of the Kilo Kilo Fruit."

"It's that woman who can change her weight freely, right?" Zoro confirmed.

"From Mr. 1 through Mr. 5, they're called officer agents. They all have the powers of a Devil Fruit; and they work only on really important missions. For Mr. 6 through Mr. 13, their job is fund raising for the company by leading the employees at the entrance of the Grand Line."

"Come to think of it," Sanji remembered, "There was a strange monkey and chicken."

"They're Mr. 13, and Ms. Friday. They're a punishment squad; their main job is to punish those who fail missions. Other than these people, there're 200 subordinates called "Billions" under the officer agents, and 1,800 subordinates called "Millions" under the frontier agents. This is the secret crime syndicate, Baroque Works."

Venus blinked deliriously, as Usopp counted on his fingers. "My head hurts."

"That means... 1,800 plus 200, so..."

"There're 2,000 subordinates?!" Chopper exclaimed.

"2,000?!" Usopp gaped.

"All right! I understand it very well now!" Luffy grinned. "In any case, all we have to do is beat up that Crocodile, right?"

"I'm sure you don't get it at all!" Usopp griped.

Zoro smirked. "If Baroque Works' last big job is to take over Alabasta..."

"The rest of those "officer agents" will all be..." Sanji continued.

"Gather in Alabasta," Nami finished.

"Yes," Vivi nodded.

"I see. Then in any case, we'll beat that Crocodile guy-"

"That's enough," Sanji scolded at his one-track mind, "You keep your mouth shut!"

"Oh yeah?"

[steampikachu]

[steampikachu]

Chapter 13: Hiriluk's Cherry Blossoms! Miracle in the Drum Rockies

(episode 90)

"I will make cherry blossoms bloom. Once my invention is complete, this country will be saved! I'll save this country as a doctor one day."

"Humph! Didn't you mean "destroy the country"? This is a winter island, where it's bitter cold year around. Cherry blossoms won't bloom here."

"They will! I was a hopeless thug, and dying, but I lived on after seeing those cherry blossoms. I was able to have a profound change of heart. Every human in this world can be saved! There's no disease in this world that can't be cured." Chopper sat atop the castle, away from the crowd, as the exchange ran through his mind. "I raised this skull towards all the diseases! This is a symbol of the belief that nothing is impossible! By raising this, I'll fight just like pirates do! Chopper, go out to sea someday. If you do, you'll understand very well how small your problems are."

He somberly watched the flag billow in the wind. "Doctor... I..." A pair of hands grabbed the ledge nearby. "Hm?"

Luffy. "I found you!" He pulled himself up, and started chasing him again. "Hey, monster! Come with us!"

"Hm?" Vivi and Usopp turned back when Dalton fell to his knees.

"Ah!" Vivi ran to him, with Usopp and Venus close behind. "Are you all right, Dalton-san?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just felt a little drained. That's all. I'll be fine if I get some rest."

"Hey, you guys!"

"Hm?" Zoro turned.

"Ah! D-Dr. Kureha!"

"Hm?" Zoro tilted his head in confusion.

"Are you happy, brats?" She pointed back to the castle. "Take the injured guy to the medical ward."

"Ahh!" Zoro realized. "You're that damn old hag!"

Kureha took him out with one punch, and one kick. "And anyone else injured too!"

"Y-yes, Ma'am!"

"Don't dilly-dally! Do you want the same experience as this man?!" As they worked, with Venus being escorted inside, she turned to Usopp. "You, Long-Nose."

"Huh?"

Earlier on, she had seen him lend his coat to Venus after she had lost hers. "Take care of your little girl. She's not that bright."

He blushed, as he nodded. "I-I will. B-b-but she is bright!" He stammered.

Inside the castle, Nami and Sanji were huddling out of sight. "Nami-san, you should have your sickness treated all the way."

"Quiet!" She whispered. "If I don't escape from here now, our departure for Alabasta will be delayed by two days! Do you wanna see Vivi keep suffering?!"

"Stop grumbling, you two; and get back to the medical ward!"

"Ahhhh!" They screamed when Kureha suddenly kicked a large hole in the wall, just above their heads.

As Zoro sulked on the ground, Usopp started rolling a big snowball, as if he wasn't shivering in his overalls, and snow pants. "I-I-I'm Usopp~! C-C-Captain Usopp~!" He sang to himself through his teeth chattering, and breath shaking.

"Get your jacket back, moron," Zoro ordered, "Venus is in bed."

"N-n-no! W-w-what if she n-n-needs it later?"

The swordsman rolled his eyes, as the bump on his head pulsated. "Your chattering teeth are getting annoying. And I'm not giving you mine."

The residents listened fearfully, one even covering his ears, as a screaming, strapped-down Sanji's back injuries were worked on. "As I thought, his injuries have gotten worse, since he overexerted himself." She walked out with a bottle of plum sake, and downed it. Nami, Venus, and Dalton looked on from their respective beds, with Vivi sitting on Nami's. "Now, Dalton. Where's the key to this arsenal? You know where it is, right?"

"Key to the arsenal... why do you need such a thing?" Nami perked up.

"It's none of your business."

"That key was... always carried by Wapol from long ago," Dalton recalled, "So if it's still the case, it flew off with Wapol into the sky."

"What?! Is that right?! Oh, darn."

"Doctorine," Nami addressed her.

"Hm?"

"About the treatment fee for our crew, would you make it all free? Also, would you discharge me right away?"

"Did you ask just for the heck of it, knowing it's all impossible? As my fee, I'll take the entire cargo and money on your ship. And you'll stay here, and rest at least for two more days!"

"Nami-san, she's right!" Vivi said. "You should be treated all the way!"

"I'll be fine, since I don't feel like I'll die!" Nami assured.

"For now," Venus muttered.

"That can't be a reason!" Vivi protested, but to her surprise, Nami pulled out a key on a ring, twirling it on her finger. "Ah..."

"You need the key to the arsenal, right?"

"What?!" Dalton sat up in shock. "Why do you have that key?!"

"Is that the real one?" A surprised Kureha asked. "How'd you get it?!"

"I stole it."

"What?!"

Kureha leaned into Nami's face. "You've got guts dictating terms to me like that. You really are an unbelievable girl."

"You have no idea," Venus smirked.

"Okay then... you don't have to pay my fee." She snatched the key away. "But that's all." She pulled her purple blazer on over her cropped t-shirt, and headed out of the room. "I can't accept the other term as a doctor."

"Wait a sec!" Nami glared. "If that's the case, I can't give the key to you! Give it back!"

Kureha stopped, and pointed right at her. "Listen, girl. I have to leave this room now, to take care of things. There's a drawer chest with my coat in the back room. And it's not like I'm posting guards; also, that young man's backbone treatment is already complete. But listen, don't you dare escape!" She turned to the men standing around. "You guys, come with me. I need you for heavy lifting."

"Yes, ma'am!" They followed her out of the room, the door closing behind them.

"She told me to wear her coat, take Sanji-kun, and escape using this chance," Nami claimed.

"Yeah," Vivi agreed, "That's how it sounded to me too."

"Hm?" Dalton eyed them suspiciously.

"Oh boy," Venus mumbled.

-

Later, Chopper panted, as he sat on another section of the roof after losing Luffy. "I sure ran around a lot. Night came before I even knew. I don't hear voices anymore; looks like they're gone." He thought about the offer given to him. "This is for the best. I can't leave this place." He looked up at the sky. "It's a full moon tonight."

"Hey!" Luffy called from the ground. "Reindeer!"

"Hm? No way! They're still looking for me!"

"Let's be pirates together!"

"Hey, Luffy," Usopp frowned sympathetically, "Just give it up. He hasn't shown up, even after all our efforts to find him."

"He doesn't wanna be a pirate," Zoro added.

"That's not true!" Luffy insisted. "I wanna take him with us!"

"Like I said, that's what you want, right?!" Zoro shouted.

Chopper listened from the rooftop. 'It's not that I don't wanna go.'

"Reindeer! Come out, reindeer!"

Chopper started to reconsider, but shook his head, urging himself to ignore the calls. 'But I won't go. I can't go! I'm not like those guys!'

"Hm?" Luffy looked back at the footsteps, and perked up. "Reindeer!"

Usopp and Zoro watched curiously, as the girls, Nami now wearing a black coat, dragged Sanji out the door. "Tony-kun!" Nami saw Chopper, as he stood silently.

"Hey, let's be pirates together! Okay?!" Luffy offered again.

"It's not possible."

"Yes it is, since it's fun!"

"Hey, you don't make sense," Usopp scolded.

"But..." Chopper suddenly glared at them. "But I'm a reindeer! I have antlers, and hooves! I even have a blue nose!" Nami watched with sympathy, remembering Kureha's words. "Can you guys heal the scar in his heart?" "It's true... that I wanna be a pirate, but... I'm not even a human! I'm a monster!" Venus' eye teared up; memories of being called so ran through her mind. "I can't become your friend! So... I just came to say thank you. I do appreciate you guys. Thank you for asking me to join you." Everyone listened on. "I'll stay here, but..." He smiled. "One day, if you feel like it, stop by agai-"

"Shut up!" Luffy cut him off, with his fists pumped in the air, startling Venus. "Let's go!" As Chopper started choking up, everyone smiled... except an injured Sanji, and a bemused Zoro.

"You don't ask people to join you by telling them to shut up," Zoro lectured, before Chopper started to cry.

As he put a snowball on top with Venus' help, Usopp turned to the navigator. "Hey, Nami! Are you really okay?"

She gave a thumbs-up. "I'm fine! I'm feeling great!"

"There!" Usopp announced. "To commemorate our reaching here, I built Snow Queen V!"

"Hey, let's go say goodbye to that old lady doctor, and acorn pops too," Luffy suggested, rolling along on a snowball.

"Zoro!" Venus exclaimed when he kicked the bottom snowball.

"Hey, how dare you kick Snow Queen V!" Usopp shouted. "How disrespectful!"

"Don't be silly," Nami turned Luffy down, "Let him be alone with Doctorine. He lived with her alone for 6 years. It'll sure be a tearful farewell. Doctorine acts like that in front of us, but she actually is a kind person."

"Hmmm, really?"

"Then we're really leaving here without saying anything to her, huh?" Usopp asked.

"Of course. Once Chopper comes, we'll go down the mountain, and set sail immediately... to Alabasta!"

"Yes!" Venus cheered.

"You're fine with that too, right, Vivi?"

She smiled from her place knelt by Sanji. "Yeah, if a doctor comes with us."

"A doctor?" Luffy glided over.

"Okay then, I'll get the ropeway ready." Usopp started to walk off. "Hey, Luffy! Give me a hand."

"I didn't realize there was a ropeway," Luffy followed him, "That's amazing!"

Zoro grabbed Venus' wrist when she went to follow, noticing the bandages. "Hold on. What happened to your fingers?"

She looked downward. "Well..."

-

From the harsh climb, the fingertips of Venus' gloves were starting to wear out. Inevitably, when she grabbed on, she slid back down, her fingers suffering the same fate as his. "Ahhh!" She screamed in pain, leaving shorter trails, before quickly tightening her grip on the mountain.

"Venus!" He shouted through clenched teeth.

"I'm fine!" She cried. "Keep going! I see the top!"

-

"I see. You'd better not use your powers for a while."

She turned away sheepishly. "Little late for that."

-

When Wapol wasn't looking, Venus went to work in sculpting a crude snow decoy in her likeness. 'Let's hope this'll keep him busy, so I can take care of him,' She thought to herself. To finish it off, she stripped out of her coat, and put it on the decoy.

She grimaced when he ate the whole thing, coat included, in one huge bite.

-

He couldn't help but smirk. "You're just as reckless as Luffy sometimes."

She giggled. "Well, I'm not helpless, y'know."

Inside the castle, the men were lugging cannons out of the arsenal room, per Kureha's orders. "Now, hurry up and take them out! Once they're outside the gates, line them up!"

"Dr. Kureha! What are we taking so many cannons out of the arsenal for?"

She smiled, cluing them in that she had a plan up her sleeve. "Just hurry up, and take them out!" The still-bedridden Dalton looked up when she walked in. "Oh? It seems there are some patients missing."

"They escaped... disobeying your order."

"I see. What am I going to do with them?" She griped, and drank more sake.

"Doctorine! Doctorine!" An ecstatic Chopper burst into the room, and panted at the door. "I have something to talk about with you!"

"Chopper, where have you been? Go downstairs, and help them take the cannons out."

"Listen, Doctorine! I'm gonna be a pirate!" He announced. "I'm going with them!"

"What?!"

"I'm going out to sea. I'll join them as a ship's doctor, and travel around the world!"

There it was; her plan was setting into motion. "Don't be ridiculous!" She shouted angrily. "Now, listen. You're my only assistant! Who do you think taught you medicine?! Or are you saying you don't feel any gratitude towards me?!"

"Th-that's not true! I do appreciate you, Doctorine! I also love this land where I met Doctor, and you!"

"Humph! Then you can stay here. You can't live in a fine castle like this, no matter where you go." He stared on sadly. "Pirates are good for nothing! You'll end up dead in no time."

"That's okay!"

"Don't talk so cocky! I've never heard of a mere reindeer going out to sea."

"That's right, I'm a reindeer!" He glared. "But I'm a man too!"

His argument rendered her silent for a moment. "You sure talk big. In any case, I won't allow it. If you wanna leave that bad, you have to get through me first!"

Poor Chopper felt betrayed. "Doctorine..." An axe stuck into the wall right by his head, making him jump away.

"A crybaby like you is a man?!" She grabbed another. "Don't make me laugh!"

"Doctorine...but they... understand."

"Shut up!" The other axe was thrown dangerously close.

Kureha grabbed more weapons, including a spiked mace. "I won't allow you to have your way!" He backed out of the room, and ran like mad down the hall. "Come back, Chopper!" She ran after him, chucking the weapons. "Wait!"

The commotion was noticed by the men readying the cannons. "It seems noisy."

"Well, no matter what's going on, we'd better take the cannons in this arsenal outside the castle, or Dr. Kureha will throw a spear or something at us."

"Don't be silly."

"Wait!" They turned, and saw her running furiously after Chopper. "I won't let you escape! Chopper! Come back!" They dodged spears when he ran through them.

"What's going on?" Zoro wondered aloud. "It's noisy inside the castle."

"Gee, how thoughtless," Nami remarked, "Why can't they be quiet when others are saying farewell?"

He dragged out a wooden sleigh, and changed into a traditional reindeer form to pull it. "I'm sorry, Doctorine! But I wanna see the world!"

A spear made him look back; Kureha was still after him. "What do you think someone like you can do at sea?! Are you gonna live a fantasy, just like that quack did?!"

'You're wrong!' He thought through his sprint. 'It wasn't a fantasy! Doctor's research had actually been completed!'

"Hey, he's coming," Zoro pointed out, "Hm?!"

"What?!" Nami exclaimed. "What's going on?!"

"She's chasing him!" Venus gaped.

Usopp peeked out from the elevator. "Hey! The ropeway is rea-hm?"

Chopper was running towards them. "Everyone! Get on the sleigh! We'll go down the mountain!"

"What?!"

"Ooh, sounds fun!" Venus perked up, before a mace was thrown their way, landing in the snow.

"Hey, look. What the heck is that?" A Gyasta resident pointed at the full moon.

"Ah! That's the witch's sleigh!"

Chopper was running along the ropeway, pulling the loaded sleigh behind him. "Hold on, Luffy!" Venus held his hands tightly, ignoring her sore fingertips when he was on the verge of flying out. Kureha watched him go, as her mind flooded with memories of the good times they shared.

"What was that?!"

"It was Dr. Kureha's reindeer."

"The ones on the sleigh were those pirates!"

"What happened up there?!"

"What the heck happened to Wapol? Is Dalton-san okay?!"

"Yahoo!" Luffy cheered, after they had leaped down into the forest. "That felt good! Hey, do it again!"

"You idiot!" Nami scolded. "We're setting sail right away!"

"I-I thought I'd die," Usopp panted.

"That was awesome!" Venus exclaimed.

"Hm?" Sanji woke up. "Where am I?!"

"Ah, Sanji-san!" Vivi sighed in relief. "You came to?"

Now outside, Dalton watched Kureha look on, feeling concerned about the events from earlier. "Was it okay to bid farewell like that?"

She chuckled lightly. "A pet I was taking care of is being taken in by someone else. That's all." He could tell that she was staying strong through the reindeer's departure. "I don't like... tears." As her eyes contradicted her last statement, Dalton smiled warmly.

She turned to walk past him, whacking his sore chest. "Ow!"

"Come with me! We have to prepare a flashy send-off!"

"Ouch..."

As Chopper ran, he remembered a significant time for Hiriluk. "I finally did it... this is it. I've waited for this reaction for 30 years." 'Doctor! It wasn't just a fantasy, right?!' He thought through his sprint. 'Your research was completed then, right?! Or was that a lie too?' "I did it, Chopper! My research succeeded!" 'Did you lie, because I'd be sad if you died without saying so? "Nothing is impossible for the man who raised a flag with a skull!" Please say it again, Doctor!'

At the castle, all the cannons were readied, one by one. "Are you ready, young men?!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Fire!"

Dalton was confused, as the cannons were fired on her command. "Dr. Kureha! What in the world?"

"Just shut up, and watch."

Every town nearby noticed the noise, but didn't know what was going on. "Dr. Kureha! We shot all of them!"

"Light them up!" On cue, as the townspeople stared, the sky lit up.

Down the hill, the crew had stopped their sleigh ride, Chopper back in his small form, to see what was happening. "Amazing," Nami beamed.

"Yeah," Zoro bluntly agreed.

Venus stared in awe. "It's so beautiful."

Chopper was completely silent. "This is the answer that I found spending 30 years." He recalled Hiriluk's words.

Dalton smiled at the result. "What a fantastic sight this is."

Kureha chuckled. "I can't understand what that idiot was thinking."

Chopper began tearing up, as the snow gradually turned a soft pink. "Doctor! Doctorine!" His soft cries turned into full-on sobs; the Drum Rocky now looked like a huge, majestic cherry blossom tree!

Kureha teared up again, as she heard him from high up. "Now, have a safe trip, my stupid son."

[steampikachu]

Chapter 12: When the Kingdom's Rule Ends! The Flag of Faith Flies Forever!

(episode 89)

"He's not here!"

"Which guy?"

"That guy!"

"That guy?"

"That tin bastard!"

"Ahhh! That bastard! I'll find him right away, and finish him off!"

"Little girl?"

"Shh."

"What's going on here? What have they done... to my castle?!"

"Doctorine."

"Hm?"

"He called me... his friend."

-

When Wapol wasn't looking, Venus went to work in sculpting a crude snow decoy in her likeness. 'Let's hope this'll keep him busy, so I can take care of him,' She thought to herself. To finish it off, she stripped out of her coat, and put it on the decoy. 'Okay, perfect.' She hid across the room behind her hiding place, and shivered at the freezing breeze. 'This better work.'

"Aha! There you are!" Wapol found the decoy. "I'll chew you up, runt!"

She grimaced when he ate the whole thing, coat included, in one huge bite. 'I shoulda thought this through a little more.' She shivered again, her top not providing nearly enough coverage.

Bundled in a spare coat, Nami headed for the door, determined to leave. 'This is no time to be in bed, resting! I should get out of here while Doctorine isn't around! I couldn't take being stuck here for three days.'

"Huh?" Wapol looked up at a door opening, and grinned evilly upon seeing her.

'Nami?' Venus blinked in confusion.

"I got lucky! Looks like I can leave without a problem." She stopped at the railing upon noticing the man below. "Wh-who's this guy?!"

"You must be one of the Straw Hats!"

Nami stared in shock. 'He definitely looks like a bad guy!' Since she was sleeping, she missed the whole attack on the Merry. "No, that's not true at all!" She lied. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about!"

"What?!" His eyes widened in surprise. "I'm wrong?! Really?!"

"That's right! I'm a navigator who's just passing by here!"

'What is she doing?!' Venus thought.

"Oh, I see."

"Well then, see ya." With that, she began walking down the pathway.

"Okay!"

Noticing the look in his eye, she prepared an energy ball, and without a word, shot it right at him; she stifled giggles when he crashed into the wall.

"Hey! Who did that?!" He demanded after recovering. "Show yourself!" He glanced around the room, but didn't see the culprit.

Venus stayed silent, trying to keep her teeth from chattering as she hid. She needed to get it together, in order to defeat him. She couldn't fight while shivering like a Chihuahua.

Upon hearing footsteps, he remembered Nami; that fibber was sneaking away. Behind her back, he shimmied up a pole, and jumped down on the next floor.

'Uh oh,' Venus' eye widened. Her distraction wasn't enough.

"Hm?!"

"Liar!" He started running towards her.

"No!"

"You idiot! Wait!" Venus watched helplessly from the first floor.

"Don't come this way! Go away!" She jumped down a trapdoor at a staircase, and to her relief, her pursuer was stuck.

Wapol kicked his legs, as he struggled to free himself. "Did I gain some weight recently? Then I'll do this: Munch Munch Factory! I'll eat myself!"

Nami watched in shock, as his jaws dislocated, and ate up his own body! "Ah! What's that?!" She backed away, as his tin jaws bounced down the stairs like a ball. "H-he turned into a bucket!"

"Miraculous bone structure shaping technique, complete!" His mouth released the rest of his body; all of a sudden, he was much skinner, and taller. "Slim Wapol!" His threatening eyes stayed on Nami. "I won't let you escape."

"No!"

She ran for the door when he leaped towards her; she was pinned face-down to the cold floor. "I'll eat you first!"

"I found you!" Suddenly, a single kick from Luffy sent Wapol back to the wall. He looked on in confusion, as he approached Nami, joined by Venus. "Huh? Was that he that skinny before?"

"Nice one!" The young witch praised.

Nami turned to him, and noticed something wasn't right. "Ahh!" She shot up, and clocked him on the head. "Luffy... why is my jacket all beaten up?" She calmly patted his shoulder.

"Ahh!" He screamed.

"How much do you think I paid for this jacket?! It was 28,800 berries! And that's the price after I talked them down!"

"I'm sorry, but that guy shot a bomb at me! I couldn't help it!"

A mischievous, scheming smile grew on her face, and she put on a facade. "Geez... but oh well. I'll forgive you. I didn't expect it to come back in good shape when I let you borrow it." He stared on in confusion. "As payment for the damages, you owe triple that amount plus some."

"Triple?!" Venus exclaimed angrily.

"The total is 100,000 berries. Consider it a loan."

"Ahh!" He exclaimed. "Don't tell me you expected this to happen!"

Nami's chuckling was abruptly interrupted. "He's not paying it!" Venus glared.

"Oh, yes he is!" Nami retorted.

"You're being ridiculous! I have a sewing kit! I'll fix it for you!"

"No, Luffy's the one who damaged it! He should compensate me for it!"

"It's an ugly jacket anyway!"

"What'd you say?! Wait, why aren't you wearing one?! What happened to-"

"That's it, you bastards!" Wapol indirectly ended the argument. His eyes widened when he saw Venus between them. "Hey, wait! I thought I ate you! You tricked me, you little runt!"

"You can keep the jacket," She deadpanned.

"Darn! His body sure is made tough," Luffy remarked.

He whipped his hand back to point at the large door behind him. "Look! Believe it or not, this is the arsenal! I'm the only one who has the key to this room. Naturally, there are a wide variety of weapons in here. When I eat them up, and make them part of my body using Munch Munch Shock, you'll witness a horrific human weapon!" He laughed evilly. "Now, be prepared. The door will open! It'll be scary! The key to that horrific door is-" He went to grab the key, but to his dismay, it wasn't on the ring anymore. "Gone!" He stared at them in irritation. "No, this isn't over yet."

Luffy was on alert when he made his escape. "Ah! He's running away! Wait!"

"Stop!" Venus glared, running with him.

Wapol ran up the spiral staircase, with the two close behind. "I've got another trump card."

Now alone, Nami analyzed the "misplaced" key in her hand. "Oh, it's just a key to the arsenal. It would've been nice if it were a key to a treasure room. How disappointing."

"Nami-san!" Sanji came fast-crawling over from the door. "Good! You're safe!"

She knelt down in concern when he stopped at her feet. "What happened?! Why're you crawling like that, Sanji-kun? Are you all right?"

As he blushed, his eyes turned into hearts. "Nami-san, you're that concerned about me?!" He started leaning his face towards the small bit of cleavage peeking out from her shirt. "If I get enveloped in that warmth..."

"Don't!" She smacked his head back down.

"Nami... -san." His limbs fell limp.

"Wait! Wait, wait!"

"Dammit!" Wapol burst through the trapdoor, now with ease. "The upper levels are full of snow too!" He trudged through with irritation. "I won't let them get away with this! I won't! I'll make them experience how great the king is!" He shoved a door open, and stomped inside. "The power of Drum is my power," He muttered, "The power of Drum is my power. I'll use the ultimate weapon of the Drum Kingdom." He walked to a purple tarp, and yanked it off, revealing a huge, mechanical cannon with a crown on top. "The Tin Titan Royal Crown Seven Barrel Cannon!"

As he laughed evilly, Luffy and Venus made it to the room. "We've now cornered you!" Luffy announced. "Be prepared!"

"Give up!" She glared.

"Humph! It's you who are cornered, Straw Hats! Time to get blown away!" Wapol pulled the lever on the cannon... but steam blew out of the bottom. "Huh...?" He glared, and yanked it up and down in frustration.

Venus quirked a brow. "We're waiting."

"Shut up!" A small family of chirping Snow Birds hopped out of the cannon's mouth, the mother following her two chicks out. "A bird's nest...!" He gawked.

"Snow Birds!" Luffy beamed.

"So cute!" Venus gushed, before they both started laughing, and pointing at the cannon.

"How dare you make fun of me!"

-

By a windowed tree close to Gyasta, some of the citizens from Big Horn gathered where a white rope was tied to the trunk. "I'm surprised to see a rope connected to the castle from a place like this."

"A young man in town found it by accident."

"This place used to be Dr. Kureha's house!"

A mushroom-shaped gondola was riding along the rope, with Usopp, Vivi, Zoro, Dalton, some residents, and the Twenty MDs on board. "This is a great view!" Zoro remarked.

"Yeah," Usopp agreed, "Hey, isn't this a little overcrowded?"

"We can't let Dalton-san go alone when he's injured!"

"We'll fight too!"

"W-well I get it," Usopp stammered, "But we'll never get there like this!" Dalton panted through his pain, as Vivi watched on in concern. "Paddle! Paddle harder!"

"Dalton-san, don't push too hard," Vivi urged.

"Wapol..." He glared ahead, recalling his arrest for calling the "king" out. "To hell with status! To hell with the king!"

-

In the castle room, Wapol glared up at the mother bird. "I'm the king! I'm the king of the Drum Kingdom! I'm the king!"

"No!" Venus shouted.

He was about to eat the bird, prompting her outburst, when Luffy's hand stopped him. "This is it for you." His grip tightened. "It doesn't matter, if you're a king, or God. It doesn't matter who's great, or who's not great! After all, I'm a pirate."

Wapol laughed behind his hand. "It does matter, Straw Hat! The Drum Kingdom is a member of the World Government." His legs began weakening. "Now listen. This is a world-class offense!"

"Like I said, that doesn't matter, either!" Luffy grinned. "This is my own fight!"

"Y-you damn Straw Idiot! I'll digest you!"

He opened his massive jaws, but Luffy's stretchy fingers kept them from closing. "Try and eat me."

"Not yet! Munch Munch Shock! Tongue Cannon!"

"Ah! His tongue became a cannon!" Luffy exclaimed at the sudden transformation.

"Disappear!"

"Ahh!"

Chopper saw the explosion from down below, but kept his worried feelings hidden.

-

"Dalton-san!" Vivi exclaimed when he coughed up blood. "Please hang in there! What should we do? Dalton-san! Dalton-san!" She cried. "Dalton-san!"

"I'm... I'm all right," He panted.

"Dalton-san."

His breathing rate was still heavy. "I'll make sure... to end this country! To hell with history!" He fell to his knees, remembering when the horrid doctor hunt first started. "To hell with state control!" He recalled Hiriluk showing relief that the Twenty MDs were actually healthy. "What's wrong with wishing the country to have a heart?!"

Everyone noticed him pull something out of his jacket. "D-Dalton-san, what're you-"

They were taken aback when he wielded a link of red dynamite sticks bearing ominous skulls and crossbones. "Dynamite!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Listen, everyone. When we get to the castle, once I get inside, lay on the ground."

-

"Are you worried about him?" Kureha asked the quiet Chopper.

"I'm not worried about him at all!" He replied with determination. "He's a pirate!"

Wapol laughed evilly at the new, smoking hole in the roof. "What an idiot! He let his guard down!"

Venus gaped in horror, but smiled when an unharmed Luffy landed right behind his back, grabbing his shoulders. "Actually, that's you."

"W-what?!"

"One, two..."

"What?! What're you gonna do?!" Luffy spun himself tightly, before planting his feet on Wapol's hips. "Hey, let me go!"

"Gum-Gum..." Luffy aimed him upward, "Blowgun!" On cue, he launched him through the very center of the ceiling, knocking the top off. From where he was stuck, Hiriluk's flag almost mocked him from how it blew proudly in the wind. "Stay here." Ignoring Venus' protest, he began climbing up the roof through the hole from the cannon.

"Doctorine," Chopper continued watching.

"Yeah, it seems... that it's finally come. The end of a long nightmare."

"End," Chopper almost whispered, as his mind took him away again.

"This country is sick right now. Its citizens, king, and the government too, are all sick. People suffer from a sickness of the heart. I'll definitely save this country, using medical science one day."

"Get out of here, quack!"

"Never come back!"

"Run, Chopper!"

"Whoa!"

"Ahh!" Wapol screamed when he climbed up the roof.

Luffy punched his hands together. "You'd better be prepared if you're gonna meddle with someone else's skull flag! Gum-Gum..."

"Ahh! Hold on a sec! I'll give you status, and a medal!"

"Gum-Gum-Gum-Gum-Gum-Gum..."

The fight was noticed from the gondola. "Look! There's someone on top of the castle!"

"Witchy-Witchy..." Venus stood further down, but close enough, preparing to give some surprise assistance.

"Doctor," Chopper muttered, "The kingdom is... the Drum Kingdom is... about to fall!"

Wapol screamed in terror when his hands were launching back like rockets. "Then, I'll make you vice king!"

"Bazooka!!"

"Ball!!"

The combined attack sent Wapol flying; Luffy chuckled, as he watched with a wide grin. Then, he realized that he hadn't attacked alone. "Huh? Venus!" He beamed. She returned the gesture, before they shared a high-five. "Yeah!" He cheered with her.

Nearby, the gondola finally arrived on the top of the mountain. "Alright then!" Usopp hopped out once it slowed to a standstill. "I'll go check. Don't worry. You can come back later." Zoro ignored him, as he disembarked. "Ahh, Zoro's going ahead of me again!" He raged. "Serious power, activated!" He ran further ahead of him, not about to be second-fiddled again. "Venus-chan!" By the time they were out of the elevator, Usopp was hiding fearfully behind Zoro.

"Hey, let go!"

"Alright! I got your back!"

Zoro tried to push him off. "Hey, if you're scared, you can come later!"

"Hm?" Luffy looked down, along with Venus, who perked up.

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I'm not scared!" His legs shook. "Because I'm-"

"Luffy, wait!" She called out, but it was in vain. He was already jumping down with an angry battle cry. "Ugh!" She facepalmed, and began to run down to meet them.

"What?!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Luffy!" Zoro gawked.

During his fall, Luffy recognized who he was aiming for. "Ah?! Zoro! Usopp!" Inevitably, he crashed right into them.

Meanwhile, Vivi left the elevator to join the group. "Ah!" Before her was the boys buried in snow, delirious. Luffy straightened up, and laughed sheepishly.

"What'd you do that for, you jerk?!" Zoro shouted.

"Oh, it's you guys! Since I recognized the clothes you're wearing, I thought you were one of them. So you guys came up too." He turned to the sniper, who stood up clumsily. "Usopp, didn't you say you couldn't come up?"

He laughed with confidence. "Don't be silly! If I see a mountain in front of me, I climb it. I'm that kind of guy. But coming up this cliff was quite an adventure."

"We came up by ropeway," Vivi clarified, and he deterred in disappointment, "Luffy-san, are Nami-san, Sanji-san, and Venus-san okay?"

"Yeah, they're fine now," He grinned.

"Ahhh, I'm glad to hear it!"

"Now, get it together," Usopp continued, but was ignored, "We were also attacked by a huge condor on our way! Man, was I surprised."

"I'm glad," Vivi smiled, ignoring the sniper.

"But then I was like, or maybe I should say," Usopp karate-chopped the air with a battle cry, "Just what you'd expect from me." As he stretched his tall tale out, he was ignored.

"So," Zoro turned to Luffy, "What were you doing on top of the castle?"

"I was beating the crap out of the king," Luffy replied, "Venus too."

"Usopp-kun!"

Speaking of which. "Venus-chan!" Usopp exclaimed cheerfully, as she ran out of the castle, and up to him. "Thank goodness you're okay! I- wait, where's your coat?"

She glanced down at herself sheepishly. "I-it's a long story."

-

When Wapol wasn't looking, Venus went to work in sculpting a crude snow decoy in her likeness. 'Let's hope this'll keep him busy, so I can take care of him,' She thought to herself. To finish it off, she stripped out of her coat, and put it on the decoy.

She grimaced when he ate the whole thing, coat included, in one huge bite.

-

"Well, you can't go around like that! Here, take mine."

"R-r-really?" She smiled gratefully through her shivers, as he took it off, and handed it to her. "Thanks!" She pulled it on, and hugged herself. "Still warm," She giggled.

"Oh, come on!" Zoro raged. "You give her your coat, and not me?!"

"She needs it."

"So did I!"

"She needs it more."

At the elevator, Dalton came staggering out, and up to Luffy. "Then as I suspected, the one who flew far into the sky earlier was Wapol! You beat him?!"

"Yep! Me and Venus! Why?"

Dalton stared in awe, as Usopp and Zoro argued. "So what about his top two men?"

"The reindeer beat them up."

"Those two... a reindeer did?"

"Oh yeah!" Luffy raised his hand to the sniper. "Usopp, listen! We found a new friend!"

"Hm?" He turned away from the argument. "What?"

"Reindeer," Dalton muttered in awe, "Reindeer...?" Upon turning, he saw Chopper hiding ineffectively behind a tree nearby. "Blue nose..." He recognized him as the creature he allowed to escape after Hiriluk's death. "You are that reindeer... I see. You've been fighting all this time since then!" He collapsed to his hands and knees in a bow directed to him. "Thank you. Drum will definitely..." He teared up, "Definitely be reborn." Chopper watched silently with caution.

The residents filed out of the elevator. "Ah!"

"Wh-what's that strange creature?!"

"A-a reindeer? No..."

"That's a... m-m-m-mons..."

"Hey, stop it!" Dalton ordered.

"Ahhh!" Usopp screamed in terror. "It's a monster!"

"Usopp!" Venus scolded, as Chopper gaped, then ran further into the woods.

Luffy ran over, and punched his head. "Don't call him a monster! He's the new friend I was talking about!"

"What?! That thing is?!"

"He got shocked, and ran away!" Luffy started going after him. "Wait! Monster!"

"Enough with the monster talk!" Venus yelled after the captain, as he ran off.

"Reindeer!" Kureha and Dalton smiled as they watched. "Hey, wait! Hey! Reindeer! You're my friend! Hey! Reindeer! You're definitely my friend! Hey! Wait!"

"Doctor... this is for the best, right? This is..."

"Wait! Reindeer!"

"No way I'd wait!"

[steampikachu]

Chapter 11: Zoan-Type Devil Fruit! Chopper's Seven-Form Transformation

(episode 88)

"You can't break it! The skull mark is a symbol of faith!"

"Luffy!"

"It's a direct hit!"

"He must've been blown away! Such an idiot!

"See? It didn't break!"

"What?! Can't be... he's stupid!"

"I don't know who the heck this pirate flag belongs to, but since this flag is a person's pledge to risk his life, it's not raised as a joke! This flag isn't something you can just break, while laughing foolishly!"

'Incredible... so this is... a pirate!'

-

"This is a symbol of the belief that nothing is impossible! I will save this country as a doctor! By raising this, I'll fight just like pirates do!"

"What are pirates?"

"Pirates are incredible guys at sea. It's cool to be a pirate! There're tons of incredible guys at sea! Chopper, go out to sea someday."

"Hey, reindeer!" Luffy snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"I'm gonna beat up these guys now. What do you wanna do?"

"I..."

"What're you saying? You damn idiot! If you wanna protest that bad, stay there forever to protect it!" He aimed a cannon at him.

Sanji immediately leaped into action. "Why don't you stop... right there!"

"Hmm?!"

Sanji was running into battle, when there was a terrible crack. "Ow!"

"Sanji!" Venus exclaimed in concern. "What's wrong?!"

"Looks like his backbone gave out," Kureha noted, as he tried to fight anyway, "That's just natural. You're moving around too much! Stop, doctor's orders!" She kicked him in his back, sending him to the ground, and kept him down with her foot.

Wapol laughed mockingly. "What're you idiots doing?! Just stand there, and watch! I'll blow him to bits, along with that flag! Time to get blown away, Straw Hat!"

"Stop it!" Chopper raged, charging back in.

"That's the idea!" Luffy praised, as he worked on fixing the flagpole. "Get him, reindeer!"

"Wapol-sama! Watch out!" Chopper nailed a punch to... Kuromarimo's face.

"Go, Chopper!" Venus cheered.

"The little brat is showing his guts as if he's a fully grown man," Kureha remarked.

"Chessmarimo" laughed mockingly, and simultaneously. "Sorry. I won't let you lay your finger on Wapol-sama!" A furious Chopper shrunk back down to his small form. "Really, there are some strange creatures in this world. Seems like you're that yeti the citizens got worked up at one time." Kuromarimo both pointed at him. "You must really have spent your whole life disliked by everyone. You poor monster. Why's a loner like you trying to save this country? Don't make me laugh!"

"Shut up!" He snapped. "Even if I don't have friends, I can still fight! As long as Doctor's flag exists, I will-"

"You do have friends!" Luffy yelled from above, and readied his arms. "I am your friend!" He launched himself down, and crashed right in front of the evil trio, knocking them off their feet.

"Straw Hat!" Chopper exclaimed. Luffy chuckled, as he adjusted his hat. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm just fine, since I'm a rubber man."

"A rubber man?!"

"Chessmarimo" regained their footing. "Hey, reindeer. Can you finish that guy?"

"Someone like that is a piece of cake."

"Then it's decided; my opponent is the annoying mouth!"

Speaking of which, Wapol stomped up behind him. "How dare you, Straw Hat, flying around like that!"

"I won't hesitate any longer!" Chopper vowed.

"You can take me down?!" They exclaimed simultaneously. "Huh, you monster?!"

"How dare you..." Sanji struggled through his pain. "Old hag! I will fight..."

She pressed down harder on his back. "Shut up, and watch! If you keep moving around, you won't be able to walk on your own anymore."

"If you can't fight, then I will!" Venus decided, and started to march out.

"N-no!" Sanji protested, weakly grabbing her booted ankle. "Venus-chan, don't!!"

"I can't just stand back, and watch!"

"Stay here, little girl," Kureha ordered.

"B-but I-"

"Don't worry; when push comes to shove, my reindeer can handle things."

She stayed quiet, before standing aside to observe.

"My name is Tony Tony Chopper! It's a name that the world's greatest doctor gave me! Even if Doctor forgave you, I won't forgive you for laughing at how he lived!"

"Chessmarimo" approached him. "I'm the one who'll show no forgiveness! I'll stomp you!"

"Stop talking simultaneously!" Venus shouted. "You're not fooling anyone!"

Chopper pulled a small, yellow ball out of his blue bag. "Rumble Ball!"

-

"Dalton-san! Dalton-san! Wake up!" Vivi begged. "Please! Dalton-san!"

"Vivi," Usopp watched nervously.

"Hey! Dalton-san! Dalton-san!"

Out of nowhere, someone felt his heart. "Dalton is still alive."

"The Twenty MDs!" A resident exclaimed.

"His body's frozen. That's all."

"Will you leave him in our care?"

Everyone looked on in awe. "Hey, there are doctors," Zoro remarked, "I thought I heard that there weren't any doctors in this country."

"These guys're called the Twenty MDs, and they exclusively work for Wapol," Usopp clarified, and narrowed his eyes, "In other words, they're bad doctors!"

"That's right! We can't trust you! Leave Dalton-san in your care when you gave in to Wapol, to the king?!"

"What're you going to do to Dalton-san?!"

"If you want to save him, just do what we say!" One of them removed his sunglasses. "We are still doctors. Even though we were forced to give in by Wapol, and his men's power, we've always worked to advance our medical research, for the patients in this country!" More shades were removed, as the residents were still cautious. "It was because a certain quack taught us not to give up. We can't lose any more... stupid men like him!"

-

"The effect of the Rumble Ball lasts 3 minutes," Chopper said, "I'll take you down in 3 minutes!"

"3 minutes?!" Chess and Kuromarimo laughed tauntingly. "You can't defeat me at all, much less in 3 minutes!"

"3 minutes?" Luffy beamed. "That's amazing!"

""3 minutes? That's amazing!"" Wapol mocked him.

"W-will 3 minutes be enough?" Venus asked worriedly.

Kureha chuckled, now sitting on Sanji's back. "Shut up and watch. We'll be able to see something interesting."

"Dammit! Let me fight too!" He struggled.

"Rumble!" Chopper broke the ball with his teeth.

Chess and Kuromarimo readied a pair of flaming arrows. "What... did you say you could do?! Marimo's Snow Melting Arrow!"

As they were shot, Chopper prepared to change form. "Walk Point! Leg Boost!" He resembled a regular reindeer, as he charged in.

"Whoa!" Luffy watched in awe.

"Humph! Just a transformation?! I was expecting something more! In other words, you have the powers of a Devil Fruit. Zoan-type, just like Dalton! A reindeer human, huh?!"

"Heavy Point! Weight Boost!" He changed into his large form. "I'm a human reindeer!"

"Same difference! I know everything about the three-form transformation you Zoan-types use." They each held two large, wooden mallets. "Marimo's Super Surprise Quattro Hammer! I've seen all your forms. Looks like you're a power fighter like Dalton. But there's no way you can..."

"Jumping Point! Jump Boost!"

"Outpower me!" He changed into a new form, with a humanoid body, a reindeer head, and large triceps, as he leaped out of the mallet's shadow.

"He jumped!" Sanji exclaimed. "He can really jump!"

"Whoa!"

"What?! What's that form?! Wasn't his "human-animal form" the little reindeer from earlier?! How impudent!"

"Guard Point! Fur Boost!" He changed into a large furball with a head and hooves, shielding from a mallet whack, and was sent rolling up to the castle.

"Again?!"

"Whoa!" Luffy continued watching.

Chopper stood on his hooves, and poked his head out. "Can't be... I hit him dead on!"

"It won't work!" He defied them.

"I was sure that Zoan-types had a limit of three forms. What the heck are you?"

"The Rumble Ball is a drug that messes up the wavelength of the Devil Fruit's transformations. During my 5 years of research, I found 4 more transformation points. 3 transformations plus 4."

"Seven-form transformation?"

"Sev-" Luffy gawked.

"What's the big deal with the number of transformations?!"

"A..." Luffy's eyes lit up. "A seven-form transforming, interesting reindeer!"

"What's the matter with him?" Kureha snarked.

"Looks like his happiness exceeded its limit after hearing seven-phase transformation," Sanji remarked.

"You bastard," Wapol loomed over him, "What happened to your fight against me?!"

"To hell with seven-phase transformation! I won't be deceived by such a sham!" Chess and Kuromarimo leaped in the air.

"It's not a sham!" As Luffy continued watching, Chopper bounced up to them. "Arm Point! Arm Boost!" He became a humanoid with a reindeer head again, only now with much thicker arms. They were shocked when he broke all of their mallets effortlessly. "Let me tell you one thing. My iron hooves can smash even rocks!"

"Amazing!" Luffy gushed.

"How impudent, you bastard!" The pair complained. "This'll show you! Marimo's Surprise... Quattro Axe!" They each wielded a pair of huge axes. "Snow Splitting Blade!" The attack left merely a cut on his left shoulder, and struck behind him.

"Hey, the castle wall got hollowed out!" Sanji noticed.

"Tsk! He dodged it! Then, how about... this?!" They charged up to him, swinging their axes. "Omnidirectional Snow Splitter!" Chopper jumped, ducked, and changed forms to dodge them. "What happened to your high spirits from earlier?! You can't win if you just keep dodging, you know!"

Chopper managed to leap into the air. "Brain Point! Brain Boost!" He landed away from them. "It's not that I was just dodging." He began o prepare for a super-analysis. "I was looking for your weak spot."

"What?!"

"This will finish you. Scope!" His held his front hooves together into a diamond, and analyzed his enemy.

Luffy gulped. "A-a beam! He'll definitely shoot a beam!"

"He won't, you idiot!" Sanji exclaimed.

"Shut up! It's definitely a beam! I don't care what anyone says, it's a beam!" Wapol was getting angrier by the minute at being ignored, as Venus facepalmed. "What else could it be?! It's a beam!"

"How can you know?! Huh?!"

"I just know! It's a beam! Beam!"

"Then what kind of beam?!"

"I should use this chance."

Chess and Kuromarimo charged in. "You were looking for my weak spot?! So what?!"

Wapol began sneaking into the castle, oblivious to a certain witch noticing. She turned to look up at the sky. 'A full moon. Perfect.' Stealing the opportunity herself, she began sneaking in as well after him. Kureha turned to her when she started inching away. "Little girl?"

"Shh." She cautiously walked in the castle without a word.

Kureha narrowed her eyes in her direction. 'She's as reckless as the boys!'

"I don't have a weak spot! You're a transforming idiot, who can't even attack! You're the one who'll be finished!"

Once they were right in front of him, he stopped. 'I found it! His jaw!' He then disappeared into the deep snow on the ground. "Where'd he go?!"

"Hoofprint..." He burst out, back in Arm Point, "Roseo!" He nailed a punch to Chess' jaw, sending them flying back, an ultimately defeating them. He shrunk down to Brain Point, and brushed off his hat. "3 minutes."

"All right, reindeer!" Luffy cheered. "You're pretty good, reindeer! Amazing!"

"Shut up!" Chopper smiled with embarrassment, as Luffy laughed.

-

Back in the village, Dalton woke up surrounded by... the Twenty MDs! "Dalton-san!" They all murmured.

"In any event, let's go up the mountain," Vivi decided, "Usopp-san, Mr. Bushido!"

"Huh?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"I can't just sit around, and wait! I'm worried what happened to Luffy-san and the others in that big avalanche! Nami-san has a very high fever! If anything happened-"

"You're worried about Nami," Usopp cut her off, "On top of that, you're worried about Dalton-san as well as Alabasta, right?" She stare at him silently. "Vivi, calm down! You're carrying too many burdens on your shoulders!"

"What?"

"Nami is with Luffy and Sanji, as is Venus-chan," He clarified, "I'm sure they're okay. They'll be fine! I believe in them!"

'That's right,' Vivi thought, 'He's right. Usopp-san believes in his friends. That's why he can be so calm.' "Thank you, Usopp-san. I-"

"For you, it's just that you're afraid of going up the mountain, isn't it?" Zoro confronted, poking his forehead.

"B-but I heard that there're things like a yeti, and bear-bunnies there!" He stammered, his legs shaking.

"Then say so from the start! Aren't you worried about Venus, at least?"

"Sh-sh-she's fine! She's with Luffy and Sanji!" Vivi frowned in disappointment. So much for that. "It'll be fine," Usopp assured, "It's Luffy we're talking about. He'll make it work. I can't help it if I'm scared! Any problem with that?!"

"Dalton-san!"

"W-wait!" Against the doctors' orders, Dalton staggered outside with a sled for a crutch.

"Ahh!" Usopp perked up. "Dalton-san!"

"Dalton-san!" Vivi turned with a smile.

"Would someone please tell me who the heck this guy is?!" Zoro exclaimed.

The doctors, plus some citizens, filed out after him. "Dalton-san! You can't!"

"Get out of my way! We can't let Wapol in the castle! Never!"

"Don't tell me they're heading to the castle!" Vivi fussed.

"In your condition... that's reckless!" Usopp scolded.

Dalton glared in their direction. "When will I fight, if I don't fight now? If Wapol goes back to being the king, this country will become rotten forever!"

"There's no way you can fight in that condition!" A resident protested.

"We're no match for them either."

Dalton straightened himself through the pain. "I will settle this! No matter how dirty I have to play!"

He started stumbling off, only for a bold Usopp to stand in his way. Through the silence, he turned away, and knelt down. "Get on my back. I'll take you to the castle." Dalton stared in shock. "You don't need to be modest! I don't wanna waste your determination; that's all."

"Usopp-san," Vivi watched from the crowd in awe.

Usopp struggled, as he kept true to his word, dragging himself with Dalton through the village. "Hold on, okay? I will take you... to the castle now."

"Usopp-san," Vivi grew concerned.

"Hey, Usopp-kun. I really don't think this is going to work."

"It'll work!" He insisted, though he was starting to perspire. "I'll take you there! You're gonna fight for the country, right?! You're gonna settle this, right?! Don't worry. I'll definitely take you there!"

Zoro facepalmed at his obvious struggling. "Geez... that moron." To Usopp's chagrin, Zoro lifted Dalton over his shoulder with ease. "We just have to go up the mountain, right?"

"Zoro..." He glared, and started kicking him. "You jerk! You jerk!"

"Ow! Ow!" Zoro griped. "What're you doing?!"

"Usopp Punch!"

"Look moron, you can impress Venus some other way."

"Hey!" He was pushed away, and spun his arms to stay upright, before he stomped ahead indignantly, his shoulders hunched. "I was just about to use my serious power!" He complained.

"Yeah, I know," Zoro snarked.

"Serious Power!"

"Whoa, amazing, amazing."

Vivi ran after them, gaining a resident's attention. "Wait! If you're willing to go that far to get there," They all stopped, "There's a ropeway to the castle."

"Can't be. There's no rope connected to the castle anymore."

"There's one. Someone has reattached a white rope from a big tree at the edge of Gyasta to the castle!"

"Gyasta?" Usopp asked.

"That's the name of the town that Dr. Kureha headed last," Vivi reminded.

-

"Hey, Luffy!" Sanji called to him.

"Huh?"

"Where is that guy?"

"That guy?"

"He's not here!" Sanji exclaimed.

"Which guy?" Luffy asked obliviously.

"That tin bastard! He's disappeared!"

"Ahhh!" He glanced around frantically. "Ahhh! Ahhh!"

"He came up on the haired hippo," Kureha recalled, "He wouldn't go down on his own."

"When on Earth did he-?"

"While you're fascinated by the transformations, of course!" Sanji glared.

"That bastard! I'll find him right away, and finish him off!"

"Don't tell he got into the castle from somewhere," Sanji frowned, before panicking. "In that case, Nami-san will be..." When Luffy ran inside like mad, he crawled after him. "That bastard! If he lays his hands on Nami-san-"

"Hold it!" Kureha ordered, but was ignored.

"I'll gut him 100 times!"

She sighed in exasperation. "Geez, does he want to die?"

"Doctorine."

"Hmm?"

Chopper pulled his hat brim down over his eyes. "He called me... his friend."

"Where're you, you annoying mouth?!" Luffy demanded.

In the room, Nami felt her forehead. "Seems like my fever is coming down quite a bit. At this rate, it's likely that I can go back to the ship soon." She then shot up. "What am I doing?! This is no time to be in bed, resting here! Vivi is waiting for me!"

Downstairs, Venus was unnoticed, as she spied on Wapol from behind a large snow mound. "What the heck is going on here?!" He demanded. "Is this really my Drum Castle?" She glared silently. "What have they done to my castle? They won't get away with this!" He growled. "I will chew up every single one of them!"

[steampikachu]

Chapter 10: Vs. Wapol's Corps! The Power of the Munch Munch Fruit!

(episode 87)

"It's him!"

"Huh?"

"Doctorine! There's a problem! He's... Wapol's back!"

"Is that so."

"Ahh! That bastard! That annoying mouth!"

-

"Look! Everything is as it used to be! This is my castle. We're restoring the Drum Kingdom!"

"Just a moment, Wapol-sama!" Chess interrupted. "On top of the castle..."

"Hmm?" There was a flag bearing a skull and cherry blossom petals. That wasn't there before. "What's that strange flag? What happened to the Drum Kingdom's flag?!"

A laughing Kureha stepped outside with a furious Chopper. "I burned that thing."

"So you show yourself, Dr. Kureha! The last survivor of the doctor hunt!"

"This castle is no longer yours!" She stood her ground. "This isn't a place for rotten brats like you! Leave this country! The Drum Kingdom has already died out!"

"What'd you say?!"

"Wait!" Luffy ran outside, catching everyone's attention. "I'm gonna beat the crap outta him! Gum-Gum..."

"W-Wapol-sama!" Chess stammered fearfully. "It's Straw Hat!"

"Ah!"

"... Pistol!" Kureha and Chopper watched in shock, as Wapol was sent flying back.

"Wapol-sama!" Chess and Kuromarimo screamed in terror. Unfortunately for the heroes, they grabbed his legs before he could fall too far. "That was close," Chess remarked.

"How dare you bastards..." They turned to see an angry Luffy. "Over and over again... how many times do you have to be in our way?!"

Sanji joined them outside, and sneered in distaste. "Hmm? Why are they here?" His eyes widened at the next witness. "Venus-chan!"

"I'm not missing this."

"Since I had someone injured with me then, I ran, as there was no other choice," Luffy recalled, before smiling, "But this time... I don't have to hold back anymore!" He laughed mischievously.

"Hmm, you bastard!" Chess glared. "How dare you suddenly attack Wapol-sama, the king of the Drum Kingdom!"

"That's right!" Kuromarimo added. "He's the king! How dare you do such a thing to his Excellency, the most excellent ruler of all the citizens on this island!"

"Who cares!" Luffy stretched his cheeks out. "You guys tick me off!" He stuck his tongue out.

"Hey, young man," Kureha addressed him, "You know them?"

"Yeah, I do! He's that annoying mouth! The annoying mouth pirate!"

"That annoying mouth?"

"He keeps getting in my way!" Luffy stomped his feet.

"He ate part of our ship, and attacked our friends!" Venus added.

"I won't let him get away with it anymore!"

"Before that, aren't you cold in that getup?" Sanji asked.

"Huh?"

"See?"

"Didn't they say he was the king?" Luffy asked after a moment. "He isn't a pirate?!"

"That's what you just realized?!"

"Humph! What an idiot!" Kuromarimo smirked. "It seems he finally realized his rudeness. Wapol-sama is the king of the Drum Kingdom. When we met you before, he was temporarily a pirate for his own reasons. That's all."

"He's done being a pirate, and is going back to being the King of this castle, and country," Chess added.

"Hey, this place is cold!" Luffy shivered.

"That's what I've been saying!" Sanji exclaimed.

"It's 50 degrees below, you know!" Chopper added.

"We don't care about his reasons!" Venus snapped. "You're no king! You're just a big bully!"

"Venus-chan!" Sanji silenced her with a hand over her mouth.

"They're making light of us!" Chess glared, before Wapol hauled himself up. "Wapol-sama!"

"I'm really mad now... Straw Hat! I'll bite you off!" When Wapol looked up, his target was gone.

"Um, could you hold on a minute?" Sanji requested casually. "Luffy went to get some clothes."

"He's gone?!" Wapol raged.

"Let me ask you guys a question." Sanji and Venus turned to Chopper. "He... stretched earlier. His arm..."

"Yeah, he stretches," Sanji confirmed, "It's because he's a rubber man."

"Wh-what's that?"

Sanji smiled widely. "It's a monster!"

"Yep!" Venus added just as jovially. Chopper looked at them silently, taking their answers in.

"To sum up, the rebel old hag, and some of the Straw Hats are in this castle," Wapol observed, "Once we eliminate all of them, there won't be anyone else impudent enough to defy me."

"Precisely," Chess agreed, "This will become the bright day of the Drum Kingdom's restoration."

"I'll start with you, Dr. Kureha!" Wapol chose. "You've got quite the nerve settling in the castle during our absence, and even flying a strange flag!"

"I made this castle Hiriluk's grave. I wasn't really interested in such a run-down castle, but this reindeer insisted on flying Hiriluk's flag up there."

"I raised this skull towards all the diseases!"

"Skull..."

"This is a symbol of the belief that nothing is impossible! I will save this country as a doctor! By raising this, I'll fight just like pirates do!"

'Doctor fought to save this country,' Chopper thought, 'By raising that flag. This castle is where Doctor died. He died trying... to save this country. So this place is... this place is Doctor's grave!'

Wapol laughed mockingly. "Grave?! That stupid doctor's?!" He suddenly stopped after a moment. "How dare you violate my sacred castle with that scum doctor's flag! Burn down that flag already!"

A furious Chopper started to change form. "I won't let you make it inside this castle."

"Hmm?!"

"Never!"

"Wapol-sama... he is-"

"That's right!" Kuromarimo cut him off. "From that time... the monster, that followed the stupid doctor!"

"That flag... is Doctor's faith! So I won't let you take it down! Never!"

"Show them no mercy!" Wapol ordered. "We're going into the castle! Take down every single one of them!"

"Are you gonna fight too, old lady?" Sanji asked, making Venus perk up in worry.

"Old lady?" She landed a kick to his head. "If they're more than you guys can handle, I'll give you a hand."

"Appreciate that," He muttered.

"Wapol-sama! Please leave them to us! We'll clean up the small fries right away!" Kuromarimo launched an afro at Kureha.

"Doctorine!" Chopper exclaimed.

Thankfully, Sanji blocked it off with his leg. "Hey, hey, hey, you with the afro. What kind of brother are you, throwing an afro at a lady?"

"Hey, you're getting it now," She smirked.

"You fell for it."

"Huh?" Sanji turned to his leg, and tried to shake it off, but it stuck to his pants. "Ah! What?! I can't shake it off! What's this afro?! Static electricity?!"

"Exactly!" He laughed evilly.

"Ahh! Dammit! Come off! Dammit!" Sanji started becoming frustrated.

"Ohhhhh, it's cold! It's cold!" Luffy griped. "Clothes! Clothes!" He burst into the room, waking Nami from her slumber. "Clothes! Clothes! Clothes! Where're the clothes?!"

"What's going on outside?" She asked while sitting up. "It seems noisy."

"It's cold outside! Where're my clothes?"

"I didn't ask that," Nami frowned, "I asked what was happening outside."

Luffy dug through a chest. "Ahh, it's a fight."

"I see. You guys're okay, right?"

"Yeah, so stay in bed."

"You can use my clothes," She offered.

"What? Your clothes're ugly."

"They're cooler than yours," She retorted.

"Really? Well, I guess it's all right if they're warm." He pulled on Nami's orange/yellow plaid jacket, and ran back out. "Alrighty!" He closed the door behind him.

"Oh," Nami laid back down nonchalantly, "I wondered what the fuss was about."

"That bastard! I'll beat up that annoying mouth!"

"Dammit!" Sanji was still shaking his leg. "What's with this afro?! It doesn't come off! It doesn't come off!"

Kuromarimo laughed evilly, and plucked off a small hairball from his own head. "There're lots more coming!" When he squished it, it grew much bigger. "Marimo's Static Cling!"

He chucked two at him, and they stuck to his right arm, and left side. "What the hell are these things?! They're damn gross!" The one shifted to his left arm. "Hey, reindeer! Don't just watch! Help me!"

"Okay!"

"Take these off quick! They're really gross! On top of that, they're plain! Too plain!"

"That's what you're focusing on?!" Venus exclaimed angrily.

"Stay away, Venus-chan! Don't let them touch you!" She jumped away.

When Chopper tried to help, the situation didn't improve. "Ahh! They're now stuck on me! I'm giving them back to you!"

"Ah! Don't give them back to me! Keep at least one!"

"No! They're gross!"

"They're gross to me too!"

"Stop it!"

"Don't give them to me!"

"Ahh! Stop it!"

"What the heck are you guys doing?" Kureha sneered, as Venus facepalmed.

"Humph!" Kuromarimo scoffed. "They know nothing about teamwork."

"I'll tell you one thing," Chess remarked, "Despite their plain look, those Static Marimos burn flashily."

Sanji's eyes widened at the flaming arrow ready to be shot. "Hmm?! Oh no! He's going to burn these afros!"

"Here you go!" Chopper gave them to him, and booked it.

"Okay... hey! Where're you going?!"

"Decoy plan!"

"D-decoy plan? Am I the decoy?!"

"Check mate!"

"Sanji!" Venus yelled when it was fired.

"Ah!" It hit the afro on his right leg, igniting it. "Ow! Ow! Snow! Snow!" He tried to throw snow on the ember.

Meanwhile, Chopper began going after Chess, swinging a missed punch at him. "Move!" Wapol pushed Chess away, and opened his huge jaws to successfully chomp down.

"Wapol-sama!"

"Darn it!" Sanji griped, as Venus gasped.

"Chopper!" His legs kicked helplessly between Wapol's teeth.

"Whoa, this is really warm!" Luffy rejoined them, now ready to battle effectively.

"Luffy!"

"Huh?"

"Grab my leg from there!"

"Your leg? Sure!" He stretched his arms out from where he stood, and grabbed his right leg. "Like this?"

"Okay then! Don't let your hands go!"

"Hmm? Got it!"

"Armee de l'air Assault... Gum Shoot!" He launched him into Wapol, letting a now small Chopper fly out of his mouth. Wapol flew back from the hit, sending Robson into the sky.

"Alright, guys!" Venus cheered, as Kureha drank some sake.

Sanji confidently smoked a cigarette. "That was okay, I guess," He smirked.

"Th-thank you," Chopper stammered, "You guys're amazing."

"Ah! Hey, Luffy! You jerk!" Sanji glared. "Isn't that Nami-san's jacket?!"

"Yeah... look! He's still alive, though the hippo flew away."

"Take it off!" Sanji pulled at it. "You jerk!"

"Knock it off!" Venus separated them.

"Wapol-sama, are you alright?" Kuromarimo asked.

"They're stronger than we thought," Chess remarked, "We underestimated them!"

"I can no longer let them live! Those bastards!"

"What?!"

"I'll show them... the true power of the Munch Munch Fruit!"

"Wapol-sama!"

He pushed himself up, now furious. "I'll show them... Munch Munch Factory!"

"Oh, he stood up!" Luffy noticed.

"Would a normal person stand up after taking that attack?" Sanji wondered aloud.

"He's tough!" Venus remarked.

"Chess! Call out what I ate today!" Wapol ordered.

"Yes, sir!" He brought out a booklet. "Well... you ate one butter-sautéed cannon, and one raw cannon on the ship. Also cannonball and gunpowder salad, as well as a toasted house in the village."

"What kind of stuff do you eat?!" Luffy exclaimed.

"When it comes to omnivores, this guy takes the cake," Sanji remarked.

"Wait and see. Food soon becomes my blood and flesh."

Chopper watched with caution. "He's gonna do something!"

Suddenly, a chimney started growing out of Wapol's head. "Huh?" Luffy leaned his head closer.

"What's that?"

"Weird," Venus quirked a brow.

"Munch Munch Shock!" To everyone's surprise, he transformed into a house with a face, and cannon arms. "Wapol House!"

"A house?!" Sanji exclaimed.

"Sweet!"

"Don't get swept up!" Venus ordered.

"It's too soon to be surprised. Now this is the king's technique!"

"Ahh!" Chess and Kuromarimo tensed up.

"Munch Munch Factory!"

"Ahh!" Luffy stared in shock; Wapol ate his subordinates!

"What the-? He-he's eating his own men!"

"He's eating his own people!"

"This is weird!" Venus grimaced. Wapol danced back and forth, sounding like a robot, with steam shooting out of the chimney and cannons, before standing in place.

"He stopped moving," Chopper remarked.

"Feast your eyes on this! Come out, miraculous union!"

"Huh?!" Luffy gaped.

"What?!" Sanji exclaimed.

"Union?!" Venus leaned her head closer.

The door on his torso began slowly opening, as everyone tensed up. "I am the strongest warrior of the Drum Kingdom." It was Chess, and Kuromarimo, with the latter on top, and the former on the bottom "Chessmarimo!"

The group stared in boredom. "Well, isn't that just one riding on the other's shoulders?" Sanji pointed out.

"Sweet!" Luffy admired them.

"What's sweet about it?!"

"Don't let your guard down," Kureha ordered.

"Hmm?"

"If they really were weak, a stupid act like exiling doctors would've been stopped by the citizens."

"R-right," Venus nodded, and readied herself.

"The Drum Kingdom's Constitution, Article 1: "Those who don't do as the king wishes should die." That sums up this country! It's because this country is my country, and this castle is my castle. Of all the flags, don't fly that quack's flag! It will ruin the castle!" To Chopper's horror, Wapol shot straight at the flag! Venus gasped in horror, her hands over her open mouth.

Luffy noticed the flagpole starting to fall from the hit. "A pirate flag. Hey, reindeer. That flag..."

Chopper watched with despair, as Hiriluk's words ran in his mind. "Nothing is impossible for the man who raised a flag with a skull! That what I told you, right, Chopper?!" After some silence, he began charging at the attacker. "You bastard, you attacked Doctor's flag!"

"Chopper!" Venus called out in vain.

He turned big, and pounced on Wapol. "Doctor... tried to save even you!"

He went to punch him, but he heard Hiriluk's voice again. "Chopper... Don't hold a grudge against humans. This country is sick right now. The king also suffers from a sickness of the heart."

"Hmm?" Wapol watched in confusion, as he continued to hesitate.

"Why? Doctor, a guy like him isn't worth saving!"

"Chopper?" Venus watched in concern.

"I... I won't hit you... so leave this country!"

"What're you saying, Chopper?!" Kureha shouted. "You think he'll just listen to you?!"

"But... after all..."

"Humph!" Seeing an opening, Wapol shot him away with one of his cannons.

"Chopper!" Kureha watched in horror, as he landed in the snow on his back.

On top of the castle, Luffy had ripped off one of the jacket sleeves, and tied it to the flagpole, securing the flag where it rightfully belonged. "Hey, annoying mouth!"

"Huh?!" Luffy defiantly gripped the pole by the flag. "Straw Hat!" Chopper watched in surprise from the ground.

"You were a fake pirate, right? You don't know what this pirate flag means, because you were fake pirates who didn't even risk your lives!"

"That guy..." Chopper muttered.

"What that flag means, Straw Hat?" Wapol laughed tauntingly. "Stupid pirate flags have no meaning!"

"That's why you're hopeless!"

"What'd you say?!"

"A pirate flag isn't something that you can raise as a joke!"

"What an idiot! If it weren't for a joke, there's no way I, the king, would raise it! Don't put that stupid flag back up when I take it down!"

He shot another cannonball, to Chopper's horror. "Dodge it! Watch out!"

"You can't break this flag!"

The cannonball hit its target, resulting in another explosion. "Luffy!" Sanji exclaimed.

"It's a direct hit!" Kureha remarked.

"He must've been blown away!" Wapol grinned evilly. "Such an idiot!"

However, he and the flag were still intact. The latter was ripped at the edges, but was still alright, as he held the portion of the pole broken back off. "See? It didn't break."

Wapol glared angrily. "C-can't be! He's stupid!"

"I don't know who the heck this pirate flag belongs to, but since this flag is a person's pledge to risk his life, it's not raised as a joke!" He glared daggers at their enemies. "This flag isn't something you can just break while laughing foolishly!"

Chopper watched him in awe, as the three were physically taken back. 'Incredible... so this is... a pirate!'

"It won't break... never," Luffy vowed, "The skull is a mark of faith!"

[steampikachu]

Chapter 9: Hiriluk's Cherry Blossoms, and the Will that gets Carried On!

(episode 86)

"Hey!" A frustrated Chopper had locked Luffy in another room with a caged door. "What're you doing?! Why am I in here?!"

"It's because you're pestering me!"

"Like I said, just join us!"

"This is exactly what I mean by pestering me!"

"It's fun to be a pirate!"

"I've had enough! Just rest in there for a while!"

"Hmm?"

"Your injuries actually aren't that light either." Chopper backed off, then walked away with a huff. "Geez, what's his problem?" Just then, he realized: the key was gone! "Huh?" To his horror, the door opened, with a chuckling Luffy holding the key. "Why?!" The chase commenced again.

"Wait!"

"What is this guy?! When did he steal the key?!"

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait! Wait!"

Chopper skidded to a stop, letting Luffy crash through the wall, as he sensed something was off. "This smell is..."

"Huh?"

He glared with fury. "Wapol!"

-

"When he found out that Hiriluk had only 10 days to live, Chopper got quite upset." Kureha hung her head low. "Well, that was only natural. But he took action in his own way."

Chopper frantically ran through the woods. "I'm gonna die. I will make cherry blossoms bloom in this country!" He crashed into a tree, startling himself out of his thoughts. "This is a symbol of the belief that nothing is impossible!" He thought back to one particular moment.

"A lot guards have been absent recently, What's going on?" Hiriluk and Chopper eavesdropped from behind a wall.

"Well, they're out picking mushrooms at the request of the Twenty MDs."

"Mushrooms?"

"They said there's some mushroom that can cure anything."

"Mushrooms?" Hiriluk pulled him down by one of his antlers. "Ah!"

"Hmm?" Dalton turned behind his back, but didn't see him.

"Idiot! They'll see us!" Hiriluk scolded.

"Doctor, about what they said..." At the home, Chopper scoured through the books, creating a mess; he flipped through a particularly thick one, before finding a certain page. He slammed it shut, and ventured outside with determination, holding it under one arm. "I will never shoot you!" He remembered that encounter, then another. "Don't ever come back here!" He stayed quiet through his trek.

While he was gone, Hiriluk returned to the home, staring silently at the mess. 'I did a terrible thing to you.' He went straight to work. 'At least see my cherry blossoms. They'll be my last big work.' Chopper didn't turn back at the explosion, and along the way, he bowed to a Hiking Bear. "Well... here we go again!" Another explosion.

He stopped at a hill, and to his surprise, there was a herd of reindeer.

His herd.

A weakening Hiriluk panted on the ground. "Dammit! I don't have much time left!"

Changing into a form more closely resembling them, Chopper walked through the herd, paying no mind to the leader leering at him. Inevitably, he headbutted him away a few feet. He charged in again, but a motivated Chopper fought back. 'Nothing is impossible for the man who raised a flag with a skull! That's what I told you, right?!' He was launched away again. 'I will fight! Just like pirates do!' Chopper finally ran, ultimately losing them.

At a cliff, he looked around with a telescope, before stopping at a tree. There was a red mushroom growing by its roots. "I found it! The Amiudake Mushroom. That's the one! But..." He glanced back. "How do I get across?" The ravine was much too wide, and deep for him. However, the herd found him again, and the leader was glaring with a vengeance. What to do?

Hiriluk coughed on the floor, with a broken vial in front of him. "Dammit!" He panted. "I'm close... so close!" He turned to the door when the knob turned, before it opened. As he stayed in bed with a gun pointed, a certain someone staggered in, beaten and battered.

"Doctor... I'm sorry... I lost one of your precious books."

Hiriluk stared in shock; Chopper was bleeding badly, his left eye was bruised and swollen, his left leg appeared broken, and his left antler was missing. "What... happened to you?"

"Mushroom..." He weakly held up a red mushroom. "Medicine."

Hiriluk jumped out of bed. "That's an Amiudake Mushroom!" His gun dropped to the floor. "You... got it for me?"

"Please live. Please live, Doctor. I wanna be a doctor. Please teach me how to be a doctor." Hiriluk dropped to his knees. "I'll fight too... just like pirates do!" He was lost for words. "Do you think a reindeer can become one too?"

A sobbing Hiriluk suddenly held him close. "You can! You can! You can! You can be a great doctor."

"Doct- I can't breathe."

He cried in Chopper's shoulder. "Because you have such a kind heart." Chopper smiled through the embrace, and started crying with him. "You idiot!"

-

"Chess! Kuromarimo!" Wapol called. "Is the doctor hunt going well?!"

"Yes, sir," Chess replied, "Most of the doctors have already been exiled."

"Most?"

Dalton listened on with anger. "There are two that we haven't captured yet. That's Dr. Kureha, and the quack, Hiriluk."

"What'd you say?!" Wapol seethed with fury, before an epiphany came. "Oh, yeah! I've come up with a good idea!"

"Hmm?" They both looked up.

"Send an official notice to the citizens. The Twenty MDs have all... fallen ill," Wapol ordered, as Dalton glared silently.

-

"Does the Amiudake Mushroom soup... taste good?" Chopper asked.

"Ahhh!" He screamed. "Darn, this tastes terrible!"

"What?!"

"This isn't something that any living thing can eat!"

"Oh no," Chopper's head hung in shame.

"Don't be so down," Hiriluk grinned in assurance, "Good medicine doesn't taste good. This means it's working. Thank you, Chopper." He chuckled, as the reindeer smiled widely. "Huh?!"

"Hmm?" Chopper noticed him staring in shock at something behind him. "Huh?" He turned to look; the spherical vial's contents were bubbling, and turning pink. "What's that?"

"I did it."

"What?"

"I finally did it." He stood, and walked to the table. "This is it! This reaction, I've waited for it for 30 years." He turned back around. "I did it, Chopper! My research succeeded! I wasn't wrong! I wasn't! I wasn't!" He burst outside, and screamed with joy. "I can now make cherry blossoms bloom on this winter island!" Chopper watched, and smiled widely, before he was sent to bed. "Listen. I'm going out, but you stay put, and rest here."

"Okay."

"See you later!"

Chopper watched him disappear behind the door. 'Doctor was happy. I cured a human disease!' He giggled with ecstasy, but then looked up when Hiriluk came back in. "Hmm?"

"You'll be able to become a great doctor. I'll guarantee it." With that, he left again. "Do you know... that the entire country is a madhouse right now?" He asked Kureha.

"Yeah, I know. About the Twenty MDs falling ill, right? Ridiculous! So what brought you here today?"

"Actually, I have a favor to ask-"

"Ahh, I refuse," She cut him off.

"I haven't asked anything yet!"

He handed over a small bag tied at the top, containing pink powder. "What's this dust?"

"That's my 30 years. That's the medical science that I've finally completed! It's an all-purpose medicine that can cure this country's sickness of the heart."

"You've lived 30 fruitless years," She snarked, "Good work. So, why are you showing it to me?"

"There isn't enough dust. I don't have much time left, either; I want you to make cherry blossoms bloom in my place.

"Ridiculous! Why do I have to-"

"And one more thing!" He got in her face. "Please teach medical science to Chopper. He wants to become a doctor."

"That's enough! Why would I-"

He was on his knees at that point. "He's a reindeer, and a monster, but he'll certainly become a good doctor!" He bowed in pleading. "He's a nice guy with a kind heart. He risked his life to make medicine for me! Please! Help him become a doctor!"

"What nerve you have!" She glared. "You want me to take care of your stupid research, and strange pet?! You should know that I'm not someone who'll sympathize with a man just because he's not long for this world! Get out of here!" She kicked him out, then his bag, and shut the door.

"Yeah... I know. We've known each other for a long time." He laughed weakly. "I'm counting on you."

"It's not like you, Hiriluk," Kureha remarked, "Throwing in the towel already."

"I don't have that much time left."

After a moment, her eyes widened in realization. "That idiot! He wouldn't!"

-

"What do you mean?!"

"The Twenty MDs fell ill!"

"Who'll treat this country's sick people?!"

"At least give us access to medicine!"

"Talking to us won't do anything!" The guards turned down concerned citizens. "Even doctors get sick!"

"Out of my way!"

"Ahh! Hiriluk?!"

He was running in, carrying two lit-up bombs. "Out of my way! Out of my way!" He chucked the bombs at the guards, just in time or them to explode.

They coughed from the thick smoke. "That bastard is crazy!"

Suddenly, he had a gun pointed in his face. "Take the ropeway out," Hiriluk ordered, "Take me to the castle."

-

Chopper was surprised at the door bursting open. Kureha. "Where's Hiriluk?!" The panicked reindeer began running all over the room in fear. "You don't have to run away! I know about you!" To her chagrin, he didn't stop. "I'm asking you where the quack went!"

Chopper hid feebly behind the table. "D-Doctor got better, so he went to the town."

"Got better? He doesn't get better." She walked up to him, hands on her hips. "He can't be cured with the current medical science."

"That's not true! Look at this!" He held up half of the mushroom. "He's fine now, because he ate this!"

Kureha gawked in horror. "That's... an Amiudake Mushroom!"

"This is an all-purpose medicine! So he's fine now! Doctor said that he felt full of energy too!" She glared. "I will learn to be a doctor from Doctor." Suddenly, a punch from Kureha sent him flying into the wall. "What was that for?" He demanded angrily, then was thrusted up, and thrown into a cupboard.

"You stupid reindeer! That mushroom is..." She choked up, and tears started falling. "That mushroom is... extremely poisonous! Once you eat it, you'll be dead within half a day!"

"What?" Chopper looked back, now terrified.

Kureha collapsed down to sit on the floor. "That's why that idiot..."

"That can't be true. I looked it up in a book... though I lost that book. It's a mushroom that can defeat diseases!" 'That's why I raised this skull towards all the diseases!' "That's right! There was a skull right next to the Amiudake Mushroom picture!" He remembered, as Kureha was silent with despair. "Doctor also said he got better! There's no way he'll die! You're a liar!"

-

"Paddle faster! Hurry up!" Hiriluk commanded. "Seconds count!"

-

"He was happy about your thoughts," Kureha recalled, "The skull in the book indicates poison."

"That's a lie!" Chopper glared.

"That's not a lie! Remember it!" She snapped. "There's no medicine that can work for all the diseases in this world. That's why doctors exist!"

"That's not true!"

"Listen. You can't save people just by being kind! If you want to save them, then learn medical knowledge and skills! Without skill, you can't save anyone!" Chopper started sobbing right then and there. "You idiot." She calmly picked up her sunglasses from the floor.

-

"Wapol-sama! Hiriluk is heading to this castle!"

"So he got tricked!" Wapol laughed. "What an idiot!"

'Is he serious?' Dalton thought. 'Why? What for?'

-

"He'll no longer come back to this house." Kureha grabbed a bottle of plum sake. "Looks like he decided the castle is his graveyard."

-

"Take me to the patients!" Hiriluk ordered. "I came to save the Twenty MDs!" But to his confusion, his would-be patients stood around in front of him, in perfect health. "What?"

Wapol laughed evilly, as he sat on Robson in the middle of the horde. "You idiot! You still don't get it?! It was a trap! As you can see, the Twenty MDs are just fine! You came here to die, Dr. Hiriluk."

'Why did he come here?' Dalton thought.

"Guards, ready..." They all pointed their guns at him. All the while, Chopper was making a mad dash for the castle.

"So that was all..." Hiriluk fell to his knees in relief, "Good. So none of them are sick? I was convinced... that this was a national crisis." Tears fell into the snow. "So it was just a trick."

"Humph!" Wapol scoffed. "If it really was a national crisis, I wouldn't want someone like you! Pay no attention. Execute him!"

"Don't bother," He held his hand out. "You guys can't kill me."

"Huh?"

"Hey..." He looked up at Wapol, feeling weaker and weaker, "When do you think a person dies? When a bullet from a pistol pierces his heart? No... when he's attacked by an incurable disease? No... when he eats a deadly, poisonous mushroom soup? No!" A determined Chopper walked up the ropeway, as Kureha stayed in the house. "A man dies when people forget him." Dalton felt choked up, as Hiriluk casually poured a concoction into a vial. "Even if I disappear, my dream will come true. The citizens' sickness of the heart will be cured as well. Why're you crying, Dalton-kun?"

"I wonder," He paid no mind to his tears streaming down his face, "If it's the same for a country."

Hiriluk smiled. "Yeah, if there's someone to pass it on to."

"Hey, hey, Dalton! What're you crying for?" Wapol demanded, but went unanswered.

"Soon, a monster will come here," He continued, "He's my son. Don't hurt him." He became quiet, as blood leaked from his mouth. 'Don't worry, Chopper. Your mushroom can't kill me.' "I had... such a good title!"

"Goodbye, quack," Kureha downed more sake in despair.

He confidently drank up the vial. "Thank you, Chopper! " Right after... he exploded! His hat flew down, and landed in front of Chopper on the snow. He stared at it in horror; he was too late. He couldn't save him.

As the shell-shocked Dalton and the guards looked on, Wapol laughed heartlessly. "He blew himself up! What an idiot!"

Hearing him, Chopper started seething with anger. He then grew into his large form, with a roar of fury, and trampled up to the castle.

"Ahh!"

"What's that?!"

"It's a monster!"

"Shoot him! Shoot him!"

"Ahhh!" He roared dangerously.

"Wait!" Dalton blocked his way without harming him, turning into his bull form, and pinned him to the ground. "Leave... leave here! When you can't even defeat me... you can't possibly defeat them!" Tears of regret continued falling. "For laughing at Hiriluk's death, I apologize!" Chopper eased up at that. "Without enough power, you'll just die in vain. Don't sacrifice yourselves any longer for this country. Please..."

"Huh?" Wapol watched, as Chopper walked down the ropeway. "You let him get away, Dalton."

"Shut up! You still don't get it? The only man who tried to save this sick country has just died. When everyone gave up and despaired, a kind doctor who tried to save this country died!"

"So what if someone like that dies?" Wapol dismissed heartlessly.

"I saw the path that this country should take. It should die out. As long as we stay here, it won't be rebuilt, because, even if medical care progresses, even if the research on medicine continues," Dalton glared in the king's direction, "There's no medicine that can cure fools!"

"I let you have your say," Wapol growled, "You made me really angry!"

-

"Please!" A sobbing Chopper begged outside of Kureha's house. "Please teach me to be a doctor!" He was waving Hiriluk's flag, with his top hat hung on a stick close by. "I'll become the all-purpose medicine! I'll become a doctor who can cure anything! I'll cure even a country! Because... because... there's no disease in this world that can't be cured!"

Kureha watched for several seconds, as he cried wordlessly. "Call me... Doctorine."

-

At the castle, Dalton was thrown in the dungeon. "I won't... die. I will carry on his will."

-

Venus blinked tears out of her eye. "That's so sad."

"So for the 6 years since then, Tony-kun has been studying under you," Nami almost whispered.

"Yeah. I taught him everything I know."

"Doctorine! Doctorine!"

"Ahh!" Luffy glared from a window up above. "That bastard!"

Wapol. "I've finally returned!"

"That annoying mouth!" Luffy raged.

"Now, we're restoring the Drum Kingdom!"

Chopper burst into the room, resembling a normal reindeer. "Doctorine! There's a problem! Wapol is back!"

Kureha smiled calmly. "Is that so."

[steampikachu]

Happy April Fools Day! And Happy Birthday Usopp!

I didn't do any justice for Usopp, I was running out of time for him, and it was midnight.

I wanted to combine both April fools and Usopps birthday, and knowing they change outfits constantly, I wanted to give him somthing else to wear.

[steampikachu]

ⓘ You can Bite your Friends.

[steampikachu]

Chapter 8: An Outcast's Dream! Hiriluk the Quack!

(episode 85)

After escaping the crazed trio, Chopper analyzed the bacteria from Nami's ailment under a microscope. "Day 3. Prognosis, the bacteria were reduced by 30%."

"There you are!" Suddenly, Venus burst into the room with Luffy, startling him into almost dropping his vials. With pure luck, he was able to catch them all with 3 of his limbs, and his antlers, but he wound up in an awkward position, standing on one hoof. Venus cringed, waiting for glass to break, but relaxed when it didn't happen. "Phew."

"Whoa!" Luffy beamed. "You're amazing! Just as you'd expect from a monster!" His grin turned mischievous. "But what happens if I do this?" He walked over, and poked at his furry belly. "Poke, poke."

"What?!" The ticklish reindeer struggled to stay balanced. "What're you doing?!"

"Luffy, stop it!" Venus glared.

He continued poking at him, before stopping and laughing. "So funny!"

"Shut up! Go away!"

Luffy leaned in eagerly. "Won't you become my friend? I really, really like you!"

One of his front hooves wobbled, as he stared in surprise. "Y-your friend?"

"Become a pirate!"

"Please?" Venus held her hands together.

After setting the empty vials down, Chopper backed away nervously. "I'm not interested in pirates at all. And I never wanted a friend!"

Luffy walked closer to him. "If you become my friend, my other friends will all be happy!" Unfortunately, the chase started again. "Wait!"

"Why would I wanna become your friend?! Don't insult me!"

Chopper ran like mad, but he slipped, and fell down the snowy stairs. Luffy laughed, after he caught the vial with his back hooves. "You're definitely funny! I'll definitely make you become my friend!"

In the one room, Sanji approached Nami's bed with a platter featuring a hearty meal. "In order for you to get a healthy smile back, I prepared an exceptionally nutritious dish."

"Thank you, Sanji-kun."

Sanji blushed, as his smile grew. "Though you're still painfully beautiful, even after what your body's been through."

"Good Lord!" Kureha glared from the doorway. "When did you use my kitchen without asking?"

"Madam, the roast over there is for you. It's high in protein, and is good for rejuvena- Ahhh!" He was suddenly kicked to the window, spilling the platter.

"I'm not a "madam". I'm a sparkling single, and still youthful."

"You're still 139 years old, right?" Nami asked with an exhausted smile.

"Doctorine! Help me!" Chopper ran into the room, with Luffy close behind.

"Wait! Hey! Wait!" Luffy called. "Wait!" Chopper burst through the wooden door, which the captain then crashed into. To ward him off, Chopper broke it down with rolling barrels, before hiding behind Kureha's legs. "Wait! Wait!"

"Luffy!" A panting Venus, still exhausted from the mountain climb, staggered into the room. "Wh-why... do you... run so fast?"

"Aren't you supposed to be resting, little girl?" Kureha scolded.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I just- Hm?" She looked up, and stared at the tall woman before her. "Oh!" She quickly straightened up like a soldier on duty, and began talking a hundred miles an hour. "Ma'am, m-my name is Tempeste G. Venus, I want to be the greatest witch in the world, and it would be an honor to learn from a real, old witch like you!" Nami's eyes widened, as Venus quickly bowed respectfully, oblivious to Kureha's annoyance growing. Crap. "Uh, p-please!" She finished with a wide, pleading grin.

It quickly disappeared when Kureha leered down at her with anger. "Did you just call me an old witch?"

"Y-yes? You are one, aren't you?" Nami facepalmed. She was in trouble now.

"No, you little brat!" Her eye widened, as she jumped back. "Watch your mouth! I'm a doctor, and am still in my youthful 130's!"

"S-sorry," She squeaked fearfully, before slumping over in defeat. "I can't believe I climbed up here for nothing," She lamented, trudging back to her bed, "I could've stayed in the village with Usopp, and Vivi."

"Quit your whining."

"Venus-chan, I made this nutritious dish for you," Sanji approached her with another platter.

She perked up immediately. "Oh, looks great! Thanks!"

"Hey, Nami, Sanji! This guy's gonna join us, and become our friend!" Luffy announced, as Venus ate.

"Oh, really?!"

"I didn't say that!" Chopper glared.

"You did," Luffy claimed.

"I didn't!"

"You did!"

"Be quiet, both of you!" Kureha ordered, but was unnoticed.

"Wait! Wait!"

"Friend, huh? How deep a meaning that word has to him. To ask without knowing that..." She turned away from the three. "There was one man whom he opened up to when he was alone. The man's name was Dr. Hiriluk. He was a quack, who gave Chopper a name, and called him son."

-

"Hold it!"

"Did you find him?!"

"No! We can't find him!"

"That darn quack, Hiriluk! We'll catch him, no matter what! Those're Wapol-sama's orders!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Yes, sir!"

As the soldiers ran off, a certain man hid behind a building. When they were gone, he laughed mockingly, before coughing in his hand. When he drew it back, there was blood. "Dammit!"

"You can't go on like this!" A woman fussed over her ill husband. "Let's call a doctor."

"No. There aren't any doctors in this country, except for the Twenty MDs, who belong exclusively to Wapol."

"We'll beg Wapol and call the MDs. I'll go."

"You don't have to." An intruder burst into the house through the wall. Before them, stood a tall man with white, cross-like hair, a tall top hat, and a bag bearing a Jolly Roger with cherry blossom petals. "I'll examine him."

The man's eyes widened. "Hiriluk!" He frantically bolted upward. "N-no thank you! Please don't! A bunch of people you treated ended up getting worse!"

"Don't be modest." The woman pulled their daughter back, as Hiriluk brushed himself off. "I just developed a wonderful all-purpose drug yesterday." He set the bag down, and zipped it open. "You're lucky." The man whimpered fearfully when he set a pistol aside. "Hmm? It's not what you think. This is a tranquilizer gun; I use it when the patient's pain is severe."

"I-I'm gonna get the guards!" The woman booked it outside.

"Please leave!" The man begged, as Hiriluk grabbed a syringe. "If you want money, I'll pay!"

"I don't take money from sick people. I just want to help you."

"Don't! Stop it! I've got a family!" The concoction was injected into his neck, and his skin suddenly turned green. "Croak! Croak, croak! Croak, croak, croak!" He leaped out through the window, and hopped away like a frog. "Croak! Croak! Croak, croak! Croak!"

Hiriluk watched him in confusion. "Hmm? This is strange. Did I use a wrong ingredient? I thought frog extract would work. Guess it was a failure; oh man. S-sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Hiriluk!" The guards arrived. "Are you there?!" In a panic, he jumped out the broken window. "Hold it!"

"Hold it!"

He mad a mad dash for the bridge, where he saw something strange, and stopped. "Hmm?"

Kureha was sitting on the bridge, chugging down plum sake. "Are you happy, young man? The doctor hunt has come to the final stage. I hear that you and I are the only doctors left in this country." Hiriluk approached her. "Wapol is trying desperately to catch us. Even if that wasn't the case, you're already an outcast in this country, since you're the worst of the quacks."

Hiriluk passed her by, before stopping. "I won't get caught by some doctor hunt. I'll save this country using medical science one day."

"Oh? Didn't you mean to say "destroy the country"?" She jested.

Just then, the soldiers caught eye of them. "There're people on the bridge!"

"I'll see you around, quack."

"I don't wanna see you again, you thieving doctor." Hiriluk managed to slip away, and bore through the snowy wind in the woods. "I'll never get caught! I'll save as many sick people as possible! Hmm?" A strange, humanoid figure covered in fur caught his eye, laying behind a tree. He approached the figure in concern, and noticed his bleeding wound. "You've been shot? We need to stop the bleeding right away, or you'll die!" He growled, but Hiriluk was undeterred, as he opened his bag. "Don't worry. I'll save you!"

"It's a yeti! Shoot him to death!" The villager's commands ran through his mind, as he continued glaring without a word.

"I just made an ointment that even works on broken bones 3 days ago. You're lucky."

"Don't let him get away!"

"Kill him!"

"Shoot him!"

"What are you? You don't look like a human. Oh, yeah," Hiriluk remembered, "You're that yeti that people have been talking about." He took out his tranquilizer gun, which scared his new patient into punching him away with child-sounding yells.

"Yeah! It hit him!"

"It wasn't enough! Finish him!"

He panted heavily, watching the man he knocked out, before he started to walk away. "H-how dare you." Hiriluk sat up deliriously, now angry. "Who do you think... I am?! Hey ! Wait!" The creature turned back, and to his shock, the man had stripped all his clothes off, and had his arms up in surrender. "I will never shoot you!" He stared quietly. "My name is Dr. Hiriluk! I'm a doctor!" Now dizzy from the sedative, the creature collapsed in the snow.

-

Later, back in his small form, the reindeer woke up, and glanced around at his surroundings. He was in an enclosed room resembling a cave, with clothes drying on a clothesline, medical vials on a shelf, and a sleeping man wrapped in a blanket. He himself was in a comfy bed, with bandages covering his wounds; when he felt the ones on his head, he blushed at his stomach growling. He turned, and was surprised to see a baguette with a glass of milk. As he began eating, tears streamed down his cheeks. "That was Chopper and Hiriluk's first encounter," Kureha recalled.

"So what happened to the reindeer taken in by Hiriluk?" Nami asked, as Sanji poured some coffee.

"What?! You can talk?!" Hiriluk exclaimed. The reindeer nodded, before hanging his head down. "Why did you stay quiet for 3 days?"

"I thought you'd hate me if I talked. When I talked to humans the other day, they shot me, because it's strange for a reindeer to speak."

"You speak, so what?!" Hiriluk scoffed. "I can speak too, a lot better than you can." He screamed in terror when one of his vials started bubbling. "Get out of here! Chopper!"

He perked up at that. "What?"

The resulting explosion knocked them outside the high-up room, and they fell in the snow. "Dammit! It failed again! Hey, are you okay, Chopper?!" He sat up, but a rock to the head sent him right back down. "Hmm? Well, you aren't okay to start with, I guess." He chuckled, before he was knocked down by a rock.

"Why are you calling me Chopper?"

"You're Tony Tony Chopper. After all, you're a reindeer, and have the antlers that could chop down trees. That's a cool name, isn't it? That's what I'll call you."

"Chopper..." He giggled with joy.

The two regained their footing, and walked through the woods. "Listen, Chopper. Always observe patients, and give them proper treatment. Doing so will save people's lives." They gazed at the village from the cliffside. "Let's go! Patients are waiting for me today, once again."

"Get out of here, quack!"

They were thrown out of a house after a treatment failed. "I thought lizard eyeballs would work."

"Never come back!" They ran from another home.

"Go away!"

"Run! It's the guards! Chopper! We'll use the decoy plan!"

"What's that?!"

"Take care!" With that, Hiriluk kicked him back into the angry mob, and ran further ahead.

He landed in front of the horde of guards, who gawked at him. "What?"

-

"You almost got me killed!" Chopper raged through a scuffle.

"Oh yeah?! You failed to die once already! You clumsy blue nose!"

"Don't call me blue nose!" They soon fell back, panting in exhaustion. "Doctor."

"Hmm?"

"This is... the first time I've fought with someone."

Hiriluk chuckled. "Makes sense. To fight, you have to have an opponent." He stood up, and walked to the counter. "Then, is it your first time for this as well?"

Chopper looked up when a pink hat bearing a white X was tossed to him. "Hmm?"

"I'll give it to you. It's a gift, as a memento of our making up."

Chopper sat up, with the hat in his lap. "A gift? Making up?" Tearing up, he put it on, and his ears and antlers jutted out of the sides of the top. It was a perfect fit. He walked over to Hiriluk, who examined a vial filled with blue liquid.

"We both go through hardships as outcasts, don't we? But don't hold a grudge against humans. This country is sick right now; both the citizens and the king suffer from a sickness of the heart. People would probably say that you can't treat a sick country, but that's not true." He held out a bigger vial with the blue concoction inside. "Once my invention is complete, this country will be saved!" Chopper stared at the vial, as the blue started turning pink. "There used to be a master-thief in a country in the far west. He had a serious heart disease. He went to see every possible skilled doctor, and got treated by them, but no one was able to cure him. After being told he'd die, he passed by a mountain while frustrated and unsettled. There, he saw a sight that he had never seen in his life: Cherry blossoms! He saw vivid cherry blossoms all over the mountain! And then, he went to see another doctor, and was shocked, because he was told: "You're completely healthy"."

"What?"

"He was cured! It was indeed a miracle! Don't you think? But this was unmistakably medical science! By being emotionally moved, some sort of change happened in this man's body!" Hiriluk set the vial down, and walked to the opposite wall. "In other words, there's no disease in this world that can't be cured. No matter what anyone says about me, I'll save this country as a doctor! That's why I raised this skull towards all the diseases!" He presented a black flag bearing the same skull with cherry blossoms as on his bag.

"Skull," Chopper stared in awe.

"This is a symbol of the belief that nothing is impossible! I will save this country as a doctor! By raising this, I'll fight just like pirates do!"

"Hey! Reindeer!" Luffy called out. He stood outside a room, where Chopper hid behind some crates. "Join us, and become our friend! Hmm? Whoa!" He perked up at some fruit on a table. "That looks delicious!" He eagerly ran over, and started gobbling up an apple. "It's cool to be a pirate!"

Chopper listened quietly, as he was taken back.

"Doctor, what are pirates?"

"Pirates? Pirates are incredible guys at sea. They have large, well-trained bodies, and eyes like an eagle. Their voices are like a thunder splitting the sky!"

Luffy accidentally ate the platter, which he then pulled back out, before he continued feasting. Chopper peeked out from behind a crate; he sure didn't match the description he remembered hearing. "Are you really a pirate?!"

"Hmm? Yeah, I am." Luffy swallowed. "Like I've been saying, join us! It's fun to be a pirate! Pirates sing too."

"What? Th-they sing?"

"Yeah. And they dance too!"

"You call that being a pirate?!"

"That's right! And they go on lots of adventures!"

"Adventures? So pirates go on adventures then?"

"Of course! Pirates risk their lives to go on adventures! You can meet lots of amazing people!"

Hiriluk and Chopper admired the ocean from a cliff, the latter sitting on the former's shoulders. "It's cool to be a pirate! There're tons of incredible guys at sea! Chopper, go out to sea someday. If you do, you'll understand very well how small your problems are. This island that you were born on is like this compared to the world." He used his thumb, and pointer finger to form a circle.

"Really?"

"No, it's smaller! Like this!" He shrunk it down. "It's true!" They laughed together. "Your future lies beyond that sea!"

"The good times passed in the twinkling of an eye." Kureha narrated, "And..." She drank some sake. "The time to bid farewell... comes for everyone."

"It took one year. Now your treatment is complete." Hiriluk removed Chopper's bandages. "Your injuries are completely healed, Chopper."

"Yes!" He beamed. "Thank you, Doctor!"

"Well then," He turned away, "Take care."

"What?" Chopper stared in confusion.

"Now, leave!" Hiriluk forced him outside. "Live as you please! I'm busy with my research!" He closed the door on him. "I no longer have any moral obligation to take care of you!"

Tears of despair welled up in his eyes. "Doctor! I'll never cause any trouble! Please let me in!" He pounded on the door. "I'll massage your shoulders everyday! I'll make you tea, and clean the house! Please! Let me stay!" Hiriluk tried to stay strong, memories of the two together flooding his mind, as he kept his back on the door. "I don't have any friends! I have no place to go! Doctor! Doctor! Doctor! Doctor!"

A loud bang frightened him into opening up. "Chopper!" He looked down at the ground far below.

"Look at this, Doctor," His forehead was bleeding from under his hat, "I'm injured. Hey, Doctor! Look at this!" To his horror, Hiriluk brought out a gun, and cut his cheek with one shot. "Why... Doctor?"

"Go... to the sea! Anywhere!" He continued shooting at him. "Don't ever come back here!" He panted, as the crying reindeer ran out of sight.

Realizing what he just did, he let the gun drop down to the ground, before he started sobbing. "Forgive me, Chopper!"

The three watched silently, as Kureha handled the fireplace, still silently thinking back.

"I'm gonna die." Hiriluk showed the blood he coughed up in his hand.

Kureha laughed. "Yeah, you will."

"Tell me! How many more days do I have?"

"Oh? If you're asking me to examine you, I refuse. You don't have the money to pay my fee."

Hiriluk pointed his gun in her direction. "Tell me!" He demanded.

She turned to sneer at him, before he was knocked over. "You can't kill a person with a tranquilizer gun!" She tossed it to his head. "I'll tell you. You'll die at 5 PM on the 10th day from today. You won't have to suffer anymore." They were oblivious to Chopper spying through a window.

He sat up with a grunt. "10 days. That'll be enough. In 2 days... in 2 days, I'll complete the research I've continued for 30 years. I will... make cherry blossoms bloom in this country!"

"Cherry blossoms? So the research you've continued for 30 years was about making cherry blossoms bloom? The miracle cherry blossoms that saved you, a master thief, long ago?"

"That's right!"

"What?" Chopper's eyes widened. That story was about him?

"You're a fool. This is a winter island, where it's bitter cold year round. Cherry blossoms won't bloom here."

"They will!" He insisted. "I was a hopeless thug, and dying, but I lived on, and was able to have a profound change of heart. Every human in this world can be saved! I'd like to prove it here in Drum, the land where I was born!"

"Listen. What you're trying to do isn't medical science, or any science. Even if the cherry blossoms bloom, it will do nothing to human bodies." To her shock, he threw the door open to leave. "Hiriluk!"

He closed it behind him, and trudged through the wind to find the reindeer. Chopper! We're alike. So I will at least teach you before I die, that there's nothing impossible in this world, and that you can do anything too!

"But the story of these two doesn't have a happy ending."

"I'll show you... the miracle cherry blossoms!"