The infirmary was quiet, save for the crackling of the fireplace and the rhythmic drip-drip of the IV antibiotic. Outside, unlike the gloomy, blizzard-choked atmosphere that usually plagued Drum Island, today the weather had broken. The high, arched windows of the castle let in beams of brilliant, blinding sunlight that warmed the stone floor and illuminated the dust motes dancing in the air.
Dr. Kureha stood over the bed, peering at a thermometer with one eye closed. She hummed a low, scratchy tune, smelling faintly of plum wine and antiseptic.
"139 years of medical genius," she muttered, pulling the thermometer away. "And I still haven't found a cure for impatience."
She looked down at Nami. The navigator was awake, sitting up slightly against the pillows. Her skin was no longer the angry, burning red of the Kestia fever. It was pale, clammy, but cool.
" The fever has subsided," Kureha announced, tucking the instrument into her low-slung belt. "The antibiotic has neutralised the bacteria in your blood. You're lucky, girl. Another twelve hours and your organs would have been soup."
Nami let out a long breath, slumping back. "Thank god. So... I'm cured?"
"You're stabilised," Kureha corrected sharply, flicking Nami's forehead. "Your body has been through a war. You need rest. Three days of bed rest, minimum. Then light activity. Then—"
"We don't have three days," Nami interrupted, her voice weak but firm. She sat up, wincing as the room spun slightly. "We have to leave. Today. Tonight."
Kureha crossed her arms. "Do you have a death wish? Or are you just stupid?"
"My friend..." Nami looked toward the door where Vivi had been keeping vigil earlier. "Her home... Alabasta... it's in danger. Every hour we waste here is an hour a civil war gets closer. I can't stay in bed while a kingdom burns."
Kureha stared at her. She saw the resolve in the girl's eyes. It was the same stubbornness she saw in Hiriluk. The same stubbornness she saw in that rubber-brained boy.
"If you leave now," Kureha warned, "the fever could relapse. The stress of sailing, the cold... without a doctor to monitor you and administer the follow-up doses, you'll be back at death's door."
"Then we'll take a doctor with us," Nami said instantly.
Kureha paused. "Oh?"
"Chopper," Nami said. "Your assistant. He's good. He treated me alongside you. If he joins our crew... he can treat me on the ship. We need a doctor, Kureha-san. Not just for me, but for... well, look at my captain. He fights people by headbutting them. We need a doctor bad."
Kureha's expression softened, just a fraction.
"He can treat you, yes," Kureha admitted, her voice dropping lower. "His skills are excellent. Better than he knows. But... Chopper has scars that medicine can't fix."
She poured herself a drink from a flask. "He's terrified of humans. He's been hurt, rejected, and called a monster his whole life. It is very hard to treat that kind of injury. You can try to ask him... but don't expect him to say yes. He thinks he doesn't belong anywhere but this cold, empty castle."
With a swirl of her coat, Kureha turned. "I'll go prepare your next dose. Don't move."
She swept out of the room. Nami sighed, sinking back into the pillow. She stared at the high stone ceiling.
"Chopper..." she whispered. "A reindeer doctor. Can we really convince him?"
The door slammed open.
"NAMI!"
Luffy burst in, bringing a gust of cold air and an excessive amount of noise with him. He was grinning so hard his eyes were shut. Following him were Usopp, Vivi, Sanji (carefully balancing a tray of soup), and Ben.
"Luffy-san!" Vivi scolded. " She's recovering!"
Luffy ignored her. He ran to the side of the bed, throwing his hands in the air.
"GUESS WHAT!" he roared. "WE GOT A DOCTOR!"
Nami blinked. She looked at Luffy's beaming face. She looked at Ben, who gave her a subtle thumbs-up. She looked at Usopp, who was grinning smugly.
"He..." Nami started, a smile tugging at her lips. "He said yes?"
"Yeah!" Luffy laughed. "The Reindeer! He's joining the pirate crew! It's gonna be awesome! He transforms into a huge monster!"
Nami let out a laugh of pure relief. She shook her head. Of course he did. Kureha said it was impossible. She said he was too scared. And Luffy just... walked in and smashed that wall down in five minutes.
"You're amazing, Captain," Nami whispered.
"Shishishi! I know!"
"Soup, Nami-swan!" Sanji swooned, setting the tray down. "A restorative consommé with healing herbs from the castle garden!"
Nami took a sip. It was warm and perfect. "Thank you, Sanji-kun. Listen, everyone. If Chopper is coming... and if the treatment can continue on the ship... we can leave. We leave tonight."
Vivi gasped. "Really? Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," Nami said, her eyes determined. "Let's get this show on the road. Alabasta is waiting."
The room erupted in cheers (quiet ones, after a glare from Sanji).
"Great!" Ben said, clapping his hands. "That gives us the afternoon for final preparations. And... for the Grand Launch."
"Launch?" Luffy asked.
"I told the crew on the ship to come up," Ben said, checking his watch. "They should be here any minute. Everyone needs to be here. I have something special to show you."
---
By late afternoon, the snow had stopped, leaving the sky a crisp, piercing blue. The air was thin and freezing, but the sun was bright.
The entire Straw Hat crew—plus their newest, shyest member—was gathered on the snowy plateau outside Drum Castle.
It was a strange assembly.
There were the giants, Dorry and Brogy.
There was Zoro, shivering but refusing to admit it.
There was Robin, wearing a fur coat, looking elegant and bored.
There was Karoo, frozen into a duck-sicle.
And there was Chopper, hiding behind Ben's leg, peeking out at the giants with wide, terrified eyes.
"Okay!" Luffy shouted, rubbing his full belly (Sanji had made a farewell lunch). "What is it, Ben? Is it a meat cannon? Is it a robot?"
"Better," Ben said.
He ran away from the group, trudging through the knee-deep snow until he was about a kilometre away, in the centre of a wide, flat clearing. The crew watched from the distance.
Ben reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, metallic object. It looked like a model toy. A silver cylinder with fins.
He placed it gently on the snow.
He stood back and raised his hand. Green magic flared around his fingers.
"Command T: Expansion."
VWOOOOOOOOM.
The air was displaced violently. The tiny model surged upwards. It grew. And grew. And grew.
Metal groaned as it expanded. The shadow it cast lengthened until it covered the entire terrace.
When the light faded, a Rocket stood on the snowy plain.
It was colossal. Standing over fifty meters tall, it was a sleek, silver needle pointed at the heavens. It didn't look like the rough, industrial rockets of the real world. It looked like something out of a sci-fi fantasy. The hull was etched with glowing blue runes that pulsed rhythmically. The thrusters at the base were massive, silent, and ominous.
"WHAAAAAAA?!" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper screamed in unison, their jaws hitting the snow.
"IT'S HUUUUUUGE!" Luffy yelled. "WHAT IS IT?!"
"A rocket!" Usopp shrieked. "Ben built a huge Rocket!"
Even Robin lowered her book, her eyes wide. "That... is advanced technology."
"GABABABA!" Brogy laughed nervously. "That is a very big spear!"
Ben walked back to the group, looking satisfied. The scale was perfect.
"This," Ben announced, gesturing to the silver tower, "This is the rocket which will take our satellite to space."
"Okay!" Luffy jumped up and down.(He didn't understand a thing, he just wanted the rocket to blast off.) "Make it fly! Make it go whoosh!"
"Countdown sequence initiated," Ben said. He tapped his wand against his throat.
"Sonorus."
His voice boomed across the mountain range.
"T-MINUS TEN SECONDS."
Luffy and Usopp joined in, screaming the numbers.
"TEN!"
"NINE!"
"EIGHT!"
Ben raised the Elder Wand. He began to weave a complex spell in the air. A massive, translucent dome of magical energy materialised around the base of the rocket—a containment ward to stop the blast heat from affecting the area they were standing on.
"FIVE!"
"FOUR!"
"THREE!"
Chopper covered his ears. Zoro watched intently. Robin smiled.
"TWO!"
"ONE!"
"LIFTOFF!"
Ben flicked his wand. A signal was sent to the rocket's core. The Arc-Reactor ignited the thrusters.
Instead, a beam of pure, concentrated blue light erupted from the thrusters. The gravitational repulsors kicked in.
THRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM.
The sound wasn't an explosion. It was a deep, resonant vibration that shook the bones of everyone watching. The snow around the base vaporised instantly.
The rocket began to rise. Slowly at first, majestic and heavy. Then, faster. And faster.
It tore through the sky, a streak of silver and blue fire. It pierced the clouds in seconds, punching a hole through the grey cover to reveal the blue beyond.
"GO! GO! GO!" Luffy screamed as the rocket flew higher.
The rocket ascended higher and higher, becoming a streak of light, then a star, then a speck.
And then... it was gone.
It had breached the atmosphere.
The crew stood in silence, staring at the empty sky. The trail of blue particles slowly drifted down like glitter.
Luffy kept staring. He squinted.
He waited.
And waited.
"..."
He turned to Ben. "Hey, Ben."
"Yes, Captain?" Ben asked, looking proud.
"When is the KA-BOOM?"
Ben blinked. "The what?"
"The BOOM!" Luffy mimed a massive explosion with his hands. "It's a giant firework, right? Like the one at the party? When does it explode and make pretty colours?"
Usopp nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Where's the earth-shattering kaboom? I was promised a detonation!"
Chopper looked up, confused. "It... doesn't explode?"
Ben sighed, rubbing his temples. "No. It doesn't explode. If it exploded, that would be a failure. It's a satellite. It stays up there. Forever. Quietly."
Luffy's face fell. It crumpled into a mask of devastating disappointment.
"It... doesn't... boom?"
"No boom," Ben confirmed.
"BOOOOOOOOOOO!" Luffy and Usopp shouted, giving Ben a double thumbs-down.
"BORING!" Luffy yelled. "It's just a flying metal stick! I wanted fireworks!"
"You call yourself a wizard?!" Usopp jeered. "Where's the spectacle?! Where's the drama?!"
Chopper, seeing his new friends booing, decided to join in to fit in.
"Booooo!" the reindeer squeaked. "We want boom!"
Ben stared at them. He had just achieved a feat of engineering that surpassed the greatest minds of the century. He had launched an orbital platform using magic and repulsor tech. He had changed the world.
And his captain was booing him because it didn't blow up.
"You people," Ben muttered, shaking his head, "have no appreciation for science."
He turned to Robin. "At least you understand, right?"
Robin chuckled. "It was very... efficient. But I admit, a little explosion would have been festive."
Ben groaned. "I'm going back to the castle."
He turned and walked away, grumbling. "Next time I'll build a nuke. See if they like that."
---
The excitement of the launch faded, replaced by the hustle of departure.
They returned to the castle. The sun was setting, casting long purple shadows across the snow.
Chopper was in his room—or rather, the corner of the library he slept in. He was packing his blue backpack. He packed his medical books (the ones Ben hadn't scanned), his pestle and mortar, and a few bandages.
He looked around the room. This had been his home for six years. Since Dr. Hiriluk died. Since Kureha took him in.
He felt a lump in his throat.
"I'm really doing it," he whispered. "I'm becoming a pirate."