Dalton led them through the snowy streets of Bighorn, his breath forming white clouds in the frigid air. The town looked peaceful but worn, like a place slowly healing from old wounds.
"This island has been through hell," Dalton began, his voice heavy with memory. "Our former king, Wapol - the man you threw into the sea - he was a tyrant."
Rouge walked beside him, hands stuffed in his pockets. "Let me guess. Power went to his head?"
"Worse than that." Dalton's jaw clenched. "He banished all but twenty doctors from the island. If you got sick, you had to beg him for medical help. And he'd make you grovel for it."
Vivi's face twisted with disgust. "That's horrible! A king should protect his people, not exploit them!"
"Then a pirate named Blackbeard showed up," Dalton continued. "One look at that monster's power, and Wapol fled without even trying to fight. Coward ran straight to the sea."
Luffy tilted his head. "Blackbeard? Never heard of him."
Rouge's expression grew thoughtful. "Trust me, you don't want to meet that guy anytime soon."
They reached a small building where Dalton gestured toward the towering peaks in the distance. The highest mountain was topped with what looked like a castle.
"There's only one doctor left on the island now - Dr. Kureha. The townspeople call her a witch, but she's the best doctor you'll find anywhere."
Sanji lit a cigarette, shivering slightly. "So how do we get up there? That mountain looks impossible to climb."
Dalton pointed to a series of cables running up the mountainside. "There's a ropeway, but it's been damaged. We can't use it right now."
Rouge rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We don't have much time. Nami's condition might be stable for now, but..." He turned to Luffy, who was already preparing to carry Nami on his back. "Whoa there, rubber boy. Wait."
"But Nami's sick!" Luffy protested.
"And if you take her climbing in this cold, she'll only get worse," Rouge said firmly. "Her condition is manageable for now thanks to my spell, but exposure could kill her."
Rouge looked around at the crew. "Usopp, think you can fix that ropeway? Take Zoro and Sanji with you - four hands work faster than two."
Nami managed a weak smile from where she sat bundled in blankets. "That's right, Luffy. I'll be okay for a little while longer."
Luffy's face scrunched up with worry, but he nodded reluctantly. "Hmm... but I'm staying here with you."
○○○
Meanwhile, on a ship anchored behind one of the smaller peaks, Wapol paced angrily across the deck. His subordinates, Chess and Kuromarimo, watched nervously as their captain worked himself into a rage.
"That red-haired bastard!" Wapol snarled, remembering the explosive spell that had sent him flying. "I'll show him what happens when you mess with royalty!"
He started marching toward the edge of the ship, ready to swim to shore, when both his subordinates grabbed his arms.
"Boss, calm down!" Chess pleaded. "That guy is dangerous!"
Kuromarimo nodded frantically. "You saw what he did to you! We need a better plan!"
Wapol took several deep breaths, his anger slowly cooling into calculated fury. "You're right. We'll go to my castle and use the cannons there. I want that red-haired freak blown to pieces!"
His lips curled into a cruel smile. "Let them come to me. I'll be ready."
○○○
Two hours later, Usopp wiped sweat from his brow despite the cold. "There! The ropeway's fixed. Should hold our weight just fine."
The mechanism creaked as they tested it, but held steady. One by one, they made the treacherous journey up the mountain, the wind howling around them as they rose higher into the peaks.
The castle loomed larger as they approached, its ancient stones covered in snow and ice. Dalton went ahead, hitting a large bell twice.
The massive door creaked open, revealing a tall, elderly woman with wild pink hair. Despite claiming to be 139 years old, she moved with the vitality of someone a quarter her age.
"Oh, Dalton! What brings you here?" Dr. Kureha's sharp eyes scanned the group behind him. "And who are these people?"
"Doctor, their navigator is sick and needs medical attention," Dalton explained.
Kureha's gaze settled on Nami, and her expression grew professional. "I can see that. Get inside before you all freeze to death."
Rouge stepped forward with a polite bow. "Hello, Doctor. I'm Rouge, and thank you for seeing us. And this is our captain Lu..."
Before he could finish, Luffy jumped forward enthusiastically. "I am Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"
Rouge chuckled and gestured to the rest of the crew. "Well, there you have it. That's Mosshead," he pointed at Zoro, "his lover Curly Brows," Sanji's eye twitched dangerously, "our runaway Princess," Vivi looked indignant, "Long Nose over there," Usopp protested loudly, "and your patient Nami-san."
Tick marks appeared on everyone's heads simultaneously.
"ROUGE!" "FREAK", they all shouted in unison.
Kureha observed the chaos with amusement. "You guys are quite a lively group." Her expression grew more serious as she looked at Luffy. "But a D, huh?"
Luffy just laughed carelessly. "Hehe!"
Kureha observed with amusement. "What happened to her?"
"It started after we left Little Garden," Rouge explained. "Probably prehistoric insects. High fever, chills, the works. I used a spell to treat the symptoms, but they keep coming back."
Kureha raised an eyebrow. "A spell? A wizard, you say? More like a Devil Fruit user, I'd guess."
Rouge grinned. "Got it in one."
Usopp whispered loudly, "Is she really 139 years old?"
Sanji nodded, impressed. "She looks pretty lively to me."
Luffy bounded forward cheerfully. "Oba-san, please heal Nami!"
WHAM! Kureha's kick sent Luffy flying across the room. "What did you just call me, you brat?! I'm a young lady!"
"CHOPPER!" she called out.
A small figure appeared in the doorway - blue-nosed, clearly not entirely human, but undeniably adorable. "Yes, Doctorine?"
The creature took one look at the strangers and immediately ran away, hiding behind a corner with only his antlers visible.
Luffy's eyes went wide with excitement. "OHHH! SUGOI! A talking tanuki!"
"I'm a reindeer!" came an indignant voice from around the corner.
Sanji's eyes lit up with a different kind of interest. "Hmm, a talking raccoon... I wonder what reindeer tastes like..."
Vivi clapped her hands together. "Oh my god, it's so cute!"
Kureha ignored the chaos. "Chopper, prepare the medical room. We have a patient."
○○○
An hour later, Kureha emerged from the medical room looking satisfied. "She'll be fine. It was a 5-day disease - nasty bug from Little Garden. Good thing you brought her when you did."
Vivi sagged with relief. "Thank God..."
Rouge nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Doctor."
"Now, let me introduce you properly to my assistant," Kureha said, calling the reindeer over. "This is Chopper. He's a doctor too, though he's still hiding behind my leg like a child."
What followed was pure comedy. Sanji and Luffy immediately began chasing the poor reindeer around the castle, with Sanji shouting about "emergency food" and Luffy trying to convince him to join their crew.
"STOP CHASING ME!" Chopper wailed, running in circles.
"But I want you" Luffy called out, still in hot pursuit.
"I don't want to be eaten!"
Dr. Kureha watched the chaos with amusement before sitting down with the others. "That little guy has quite a story," she began, and proceeded to tell them about Chopper's tragic past - how he'd been rejected by both reindeer and humans, until Dr. Hiriluk took him in and taught him to dream of helping others.
The touching story was interrupted by a loud BOOM from outside.
Rouge looked up calmly. "And there they are."
Vivi jumped. "Who?"
"Wapol. I guess somebody fished him out of the ocean." Rouge's tone was almost bored.
Dalton immediately went on alert, reaching for his weapon.
Rouge held up a hand. "Actually, I have an idea. Zoro, Sanji - want to capture him for me?"
Zoro looked skeptical. "Why would we do that, freak?"
Sanji crossed his arms. "Yeah, what's in it for us?"
Rouge's smile turned calculating. "Nami-san, do you want to make a lot of money?"
Nami's eyes immediately lit up. "Yes! Why are you asking? Is there a bounty on him?"
Sanji sputtered. "We're pirates! We can't collect bounties from Marines! Did you get sick too, freak wizard?"
Rouge chuckled and leaned close to whisper in Nami's ear: "Billions."
Nami's eyes transformed into berry symbols. "OOOOHHHH! Rouge onii-san, you're amazing!"
Sanji bristled. "Oi! Don't get so close to Nami-san!"
She turned to the others with frightening intensity. "Sanji! Zoro! Capture him! I'll give you extra money whenever you want it!"
Sanji's demeanor changed instantly. "HAI, NAMI-SAN! I'll beat that bastard into paste!"
Zoro was intrigued despite himself. "Rouge, why don't you capture him yourself?"
Rouge smiled innocently. "Well, he's weak and no fun at all."
A tick mark appeared on Zoro's forehead. "HUH?!"
Nami's sweet voice turned dangerous. "Zoro... what are you still doing here?"
"Tch." Zoro stomped toward the door.
Vivi looked around in confusion. "What just happened?"
Usopp patted her shoulder. "Rouge probably figured out how to make money off Wapol somehow."
"Usopp," Nami said sweetly. "Are you saying something?"
"NO NO! I was just telling Vivi how great you are!"
○○○
The battle outside was brief but spectacular. Wapol had eaten a cannon and transformed his arms, firing at Dr. Hiriluk's flag that flew over the castle. But Luffy stood firm, protecting the memorial with his body.
When Wapol tried to eat Chess and Kuromarimo to gain their abilities, he found them already unconscious.
"Oh, we were looking for you," Zoro said casually, standing over the fallen henchmen.
"Luffy, can you capture him?" Sanji called out. "Rouge and Nami want something from him."
"Hmm, okay!" Luffy punched Wapol, but the former king managed to fire more cannons before running toward the castle.
That's when Chopper finally reacted. The little reindeer's transformation was incredible - using his Rumble Ball invention, he shifted through multiple forms and decisively defeated Wapol.
Afterward, Chopper immediately ran to hide from Luffy again.
Luffy dragged the unconscious Wapol back inside. "Rouge, what are you going to do with him?"
Rouge's grin was predatory. "I'm going to use his ability to create mixed metals and sell them whenever we stop at islands. It'll take time, but..." He gestured to Nami, who already had beries in her eyes.
"Looks like she's definitely healed," Zoro observed dryly.
Rouge chuckled. "That was quite a show though." He looked at Luffy seriously. "You got pretty banged up out there. Maybe I should teach you about Haki later."
"You mentioned Haki before," Sanji said, suddenly interested. "Can Luffy learn it too?"
"Anyone can learn Haki. With proper training, you'll all be about forty times more powerful."
Usopp and Nami's eyes filled with stars. "Can we learn it too?!"
Kureha, who had been listening, nodded approvingly. "You know about Haki, huh? Impressive."
"Do you know Haki too, Kureha-san?" Usopp asked.
"In the New World, you can't survive without Haki. But here in the first half of the Grand Line, only some people know about it."
"New World?" Nami asked.
"The second half of the Grand Line. That's where the true monsters live."
Rouge studied the old doctor carefully. "Sounds like you have quite a bit of experience yourself."
"What do you expect after 139 years?" Sanji said without thinking.
WHAM! Another kick sent him flying.
"You should never discuss a woman's age!" Kureha scolded.
"Kureha-san, why don't you join my crew?" Luffy asked suddenly.
She laughed. "I'm too old for that now."
Usopp muttered under his breath, "She just admitted she's old."
Kureha glared at him but sighed. "You should be careful out there. But why don't you take Chopper? He's a doctor - my apprentice. I've taught him everything."
"OHHH, he's a doctor!" Luffy's eyes lit up.
"Didn't you know that?" Nami asked incredulously.
"I thought he was a talking monster," Luffy admitted.
"Backup food," Sanji added, earning another kick from Kureha.
"There he goes again," Usopp sighed. "Why is he acting like that?"
Rouge smirked. "Maybe he has some weird fetish."
Usopp and Zoro burst into laughter while Sanji sputtered indignantly.
Kureha chuckled. "You should try to convince Chopper to join. As I told you, he's scared of being treated like a monster."
"I've already decided - he's coming with us!" Luffy declared.
○○○
As they prepared to leave, Rouge approached Dr. Kureha one last time. "Doctor, were you part of the Rocks Pirates?"
Her eyes sharpened with interest. "Oh, you know about them?"
Rouge nodded. "A little bit."
"No, I wasn't part of them, but no one knows the real truth about him" she said simply.
Thats when Chopper finally worked up the courage to ask if he could leave, Kureha flat out refused.
Rouge sighed. "Why are old people so complicated?"
"You brat just ruined my plan!" Kureha said with a tick mark, but her eyes were fond.
"Doctorine..." Chopper said tearfully.
Kureha looked away. "You should go, Chopper. See the world - that's your dream, isn't it?"
"Now go before I change my mind and follow my original plan."
As they descended via the ropeway, the most beautiful sight awaited them. Dr. Kureha had arranged for the villagers to fire cannons into the sky, releasing Dr. Hiriluk's final creation - artificial cherry blossoms that fell like snow across the winter island.
"It's beautiful," Vivi whispered.
Chopper wiped his eyes, but he was smiling as he watched his new adventure begin.
The Going Merry set sail once more, now with a new doctor aboard and Alabasta calling in the distance.
☆☆☆☆☆☆
Author Notes:
So, this one's a bit late, but I tried to wrap up the whole drum island arc in one chapter, and due to that, it's also getting a bit bigger chapter. But we got CHOPPER, hehe.
About haki, I'll clear it right now, rouge knows about 3 types of haki, but he only has observation haki, which he'll train them later.
Also, I'm reading manga again to create these chapters, so that's a win for me.
Why don't you guys feed this story with stones so everyone gets a taste of it. And I'll use them to snap and erase the memories of one piece for you all so you can read it fresh 😉