Hiriluk had been the kind of man who couldn't walk past a sick person without stopping to help, and he had raised his adopted son to share that same compulsion. When Chopper learned that the Straw Hat Pirates were seeking him out to treat a disease, every instinct as a doctor—even a trainee doctor—demanded that he step forward. In his mind, patients took priority over everything else, including his own safety.
"Doctorine, let's not leave," Chopper said firmly, his small frame radiating unexpected determination. "If the Sky Screen isn't deceiving us, then Straw Hat Luffy and his crew need my medical expertise. If we hide now, we'd be abandoning our responsibility to save lives."
Dr. Kureha nearly choked on her plum wine, torn between laughter and exasperation. She reached out and smacked the little reindeer on his head with her gnarled hand.
"Don't you dare lecture me about medical ethics, you little furball," she grumbled, though her tone carried more affection than irritation. "Wait until you achieve something worth bragging about before you start giving me lessons. And another thing—I taught you everything you know about medicine, but that Sky Screen spent forever talking about Hiriluk while barely mentioning me. Talk about playing favorites!"
Chopper's face flushed bright red beneath his fur, his hooves fidgeting nervously. "You're embarrassed about that? The Sky Screen calling me the future... you know... it's really embarrassing!"
The praise from the ethereal display had overwhelmed the modest reindeer, especially the references to his future relationship with King Dalton and his medical achievements. Such grand predictions felt impossibly distant from his current reality as Kureha's apprentice.
"The Sky Screen didn't give us a precise timeline for their arrival," Kureha observed, settling into her chair with resigned determination. "We'll wait here. I must owe you something from a previous life to get mixed up in all this chaos."
Despite her complaints, the ancient doctor had no intention of abandoning her apprentice. Whether their decision would prove fortunate or catastrophic remained to be seen, but she would face whatever came alongside Chopper. The promise of witnessing history in the making—possibly even immortality—held considerable appeal for someone who had already lived far longer than any normal human.
She understood that Chopper's desire to become a pirate stemmed from Hiriluk's influence, but the naive reindeer didn't grasp the true cost of such a life. The freedom to sail the seas came with constant danger, persecution, and the weight of carrying a bounty on one's head.
The Sky Screen had revealed that Chopper would serve as ship doctor aboard a pirate ship destined to change the world—a crew whose captain might become the next Pirate King. The name "Monkey" stirred something in Kureha's memory, a fragment from old newspapers she'd read years ago, but the connection remained frustratingly elusive.
The witch knew her own name had appeared in the Sky Screen's revelations, marking her as Chopper's first teacher. This association would inevitably draw unwanted attention, but Kureha had weathered countless storms in her long life. She had been alive when Gol D. Roger was still an unknown pirate, and she had watched his rise and fall from the shadows. Time had taught her that all things—both glorious and terrible—eventually passed.
Offshore Waters of Drum Island
The Going Merry cut through the increasingly frigid waters, her crew able to see the snow-covered peaks of their destination in the distance. The Sky Screen's recent revelations had filled everyone aboard with urgent desperation.
"You stinking men better row harder!" Nami shouted from her position wrapped in blankets near the cabin. "I don't want to die yet, and none of you can navigate without me! Put your backs into it!"
The navigator had transformed into a terrifying taskmaster, her usual greed replaced by the primal fear of death. Every symptom described by the Sky Screen matched her current condition perfectly, and the five-day timeline for Kestia fever felt like a countdown to her doom.
"Nami's really scary when she's sick," Usopp muttered while pulling desperately at his oar. "Good thing she's too weak to hit us right now."
"Stop complaining and row faster!" the sniper added, directing his frustration at Luffy, who was characteristically unhelpful in their current crisis.
The Going Merry relied primarily on wind power, but the crew had broken out every available oar to supplement their speed. Zoro and Igaram had both joined the rowing effort, their powerful frames adding significant momentum to their approach.
The ship's design limited their options for additional speed, forcing them to rely on human effort alone. Every minute counted when lives hung in the balance, and the crew pushed themselves beyond their normal limits in their race against time.
As they neared the shore, a group of armed citizens emerged from the tree line, their muskets trained on the approaching pirate ship. The residents of Drum Island had learned to shoot first and ask questions later when it came to uninvited visitors flying the jolly roger.
"Why are pirates coming to our island?" one man called out, his weapon trembling in nervous hands.
"Leave now or we'll shoot!" another added, though his voice betrayed more fear than conviction.
"Why waste time talking?" a third citizen interjected harshly. "Just shoot them! There's never been a good pirate yet!"
The island's recent trauma was evident in their hostile reception. The Blackbeard Pirates had rampage Drum Island not long ago, their brutal raid leaving scars that would take years to heal. King Wapol's cowardly abandonment of his people had left them defenseless against the marauders, who had burned homes, stolen treasure, and murdered innocents before sailing away to terrorize other islands.
If the full-strength Beast Pirates had attacked instead of the early-stage Blackbeard crew, nothing would have remained of Drum Island but ash and bones. The difference between a rising pirate group and an established Emperor crew was measured in the complete destruction of entire nations.
A familiar figure emerged from behind the crowd of citizens—Dalton, the former captain of the royal guard, his green coat distinctive against the white snow. He studied the pirate flag on the approaching ship carefully, comparing it to the images shown on the Sky Screen.
"Are you the crew of Straw Hat Luffy?" he called out, his voice carrying across the water.
The timing seemed too convenient to be mere coincidence—the Sky Screen had just revealed future events involving the Straw Hat Pirates, and now they appeared exactly as predicted. Still, Dalton couldn't afford to take chances with his people's safety. He needed confirmation before lowering their defenses.
Ironically, Wapol's decision to imprison Dalton might have saved the former guard captain's life. If he had been free during the Blackbeard Pirates' raid, his heroic nature would have compelled him to fight the invaders directly. Marshall D. Teach wouldn't have hesitated to kill anyone who stood in his way, regardless of their Devil Fruit abilities or noble intentions.
"Are we that famous already?" Luffy asked with his characteristic grin, standing proudly on the Going Merry's figurehead. The captain's selective attention meant he had missed most of the Sky Screen's detailed revelations about his crew's future.
"We are the Straw Hat Pirates," Usopp called out, taking charge of the negotiations. "Two of our crew members are seriously ill. Please let us pass—we need medical attention immediately!"
The sniper's concern for Nami was evident in his voice. Their navigator had become the crew's emotional anchor, her practical nature balancing out their more chaotic tendencies. Without her guidance, their journey would have ended in disaster long ago.
"Trust in the Sky Screen's revelations," Dalton announced to his people, his authority carrying weight even after his imprisonment. "This Luffy will become Chopper's nakama in the future. Everyone, lower your weapons and clear a path."
The former guard captain's reputation among the citizens remained sterling despite his recent incarceration. His word carried enough influence to overcome their fear and suspicion, and the muskets slowly lowered as the crowd stepped aside.
Just as the Straw Hats prepared to beach their ship, the ocean beneath them erupted in a massive displacement of water. A enormous submarine burst from the depths, its bulk dwarfing the Going Merry and nearly capsizing the smaller ship in the resulting waves.
The submarine's hull was covered in distinctive white metal plating, and a grotesque hippopotamus figurehead adorned its bow. Every citizen of Drum Island recognized that repulsive sight immediately—it was the Bliking, flagship of the exiled King Wapol's pirate crew.
The deck teemed with armed guards and pink-uniformed doctors, but the most prominent figure was unmistakable. Wapol himself stood at the ship's prow, his purple hair and corpulent frame making him instantly recognizable to his former subjects.
"My people, have you missed me? Your great King Wapol is back again."