His office - as the others like to call it - isn't really an office. It was a clean water storage room, no need for good lighting in here until Chopper came. Usopp said he would work on it, but he hasn't gotten around to it yet.

In the thick honey tone of light from his dimming lamp, Chopper sat at the edge of the shadows - a grimace pulling at his face. In front of him, sitting on its side, was the answer to all his questions. The poor lighting made the lines swirling its exterior look deep and haunting, its many pours like eyes boring into his soul, and even made its dark blue skin glossy - slimy.

It looked surreal at night, but then again, it looked surreal during the day too. A normal strawberry isn't blue - let alone the size of his head - this was the very definition of surreal: A Devil Fruit.

Chopper huffed through his nose, feeling his eyebrows dip lower over his tired eyes. He's kept it hidden this long, but he can't keep carting it around in his backpack, especially on the ship with that suspicious woman on board. It's been a week since she just suddenly appeared on the Marry and at first everyone thought she was back for Mouse. But, surprisingly, the woman only wanted to join. Of cause Luffy - being as dense as he is - let her stay, Sanji was already calling her pet names, and Nami got paid to like her; but Chopper shouldn't have a say in the matter because he, along with Ussop, was charmed by her power almost immediately. Besides, when Mouse screamed and everyone went running, she didn't look scared or afraid - she looked happy. Unbelievably happy. Though, Zoro still holds her from the woman since she came aboard.

During the week the woman, Robin, though mysterious in every way possible, seemed very mundane. She was quiet and kept to herself. Occasionally when she's on deck reading and Zoro and Sanji start their usual fighting, Chopper catches her chuckle hidden behind her hand. He's even seen Mouse walking up and talking to her without a hint of fear - he honestly thinks they could talk all day if Zoro stops pulling her away mid conversation.

But, the relations of Robin and Mouse were also none of his concerns at the moment. Right now., he has to figure out what to do with his next big project since the Rumble Ball. He could hide it in one of the water barrels but the risk factor of someone drinking from it is too high - besides, how would a saltwater fruit do in freshwater? Would it react like a fish and just die?

He can't risk it, he has to think of something else.

Looking around the barren room, Chopper sighed. There was no other option. His "office" held no cupboards or drawers, not even a bed. His gaze fell to his desk - it's wasn't even a real desk, just three barrels sat together to hold up a thin wooden plank. But, the more he looked at it, the more he found the answer to his current dilemma. Taking the fruit into his hands, the rough texture itched his pads but he ignored it and held it to his chest. With his other hand, he lifted the thin board and peered into the three barrels. Two were filled with water and one was empty from what he could see. Carefully, he lower the fruit into the empty one and replaced the board.

He sighed. Well, that took care of one problem.

Behind him, his timer dinged - startling him. One hand flew to his heart while the other clamped around his mouth, silencing his shriek into his palm. He let out a deep breath and chuckled to himself.

"Get a grip," he breathed.

Hopping from is stool, Chopper grabbed the lamp and walked across the room. On the floor in the far corner, was an entirely separate set up. With various glass mixers and tubes, Copper concentrated on the one beaker sitting on a top plate with bubbling purple gooze. He switched off the gas flame and carefully picked up the heated beaker. The glass wasn't hot despite its steam, but if Chopper touched the syrup like substance, he'll be burned for sure. Taking a dropper, Chopper took some of the purple and dabbed it onto a glass slide. Lighting a match, Chopper placed a flat candle under his microscope stage and added the slide over the light. Adjusting the magnification, Chopper looked through the microscope.

"Woah…" he whispered.

In his microscope, Chopper could see the doughnut shaped blood cells and white blood cells but instead of their usual red and white, they were dyed purple. Earlier in the day, Chopper had asked Sanji for whatever food die he had and in order to mix the dy with the blood without compromising his sample, a chemical reaction had to be issued. When blood is heated with a dry, it'll stain - but being able to see the cells better wasn't Chopper's only reasoning for wanting to stain the blood. Whatever isn't biological will not stain, so the oxygen in the blood cells but even they were a light pink.

What surprised Chopper of his finding was how many blood cells actually carry oxygen. The cells that carry oxygen are pink while the ones that carry little to none are dark purple. The ratio between pink and purple cells was one to ten. There was little oxygen in this slide. But it wasn't over. Not only were numerous cells not holding oxygen but white blood cells seemed to be low as well, in fact, Chopper watched in amazement as something not pink or purple but a translucent square ate a defective red blood cell, then as he looked around, he found more foreign squares eating the unoxygenated cells.

He sat back, amazed yet mortified at the same time. This was some of the blood sample he took from Mouse just before they left Alabasta - the odd squares eating the cells were Devil Fruit plant cells.

Speechless, Chopper adjusted the slide to shed light on a different potion and leaned in. Immediately, his smile fell.

"Oh my stars…"

Under the magnifying glass, Chopper found more pink dyed blood cells but they were misshapen and deformed, not only that, but they held a blackish purple dot right in the center. He watched with shock as plant cells circled around the infected blood cells, the circle growing smaller and smaller until all the cells involved morphed into one large plant cell - which immediately started to divide.

Chopper sat back once more but horror overshadowed wonder at his discovery. Mouse, despite her healthy looking outward appearance wasn't healthy in the slightest. Blood cells don't have organelles or a nuclei to help themselves heal which means they can't hold viruses, infections, or bacteria - any outside things that can cause harm to the body. But, nothing is stopping the body from harming itself. Inside the misshapen cells were purple dots that were almost black - just seeing that they were stained purple is already alarming because that means they are biological.

Chopper's seen these types of deformed and dotted blood cells before - that case didn't go well, he ended up dying - and what's equally surprising is actually seeing the Devil Fruit present in the blood. Chopper's looked at his own blood before and Luffy's and neither had this type of symptom from their fruits.

His heart raised and he was worried, but Mouse's power seems to be hard at work in correcting her biological error. Is that how she's able to heal so quickly - did the plant cells take over her white blood cell's job and add its own rules?

Chopper stared into the glass longer, watching with a blank mind as more plant cells attracted more deformed red blood cells - but then he fell back as a single thought entered and crossed his mind. He crawled on his elbows away from the microscope and lamp light, trying to hide in the shadows from his own mind but nothing could stop it now.

She's not a weapon… She's not a weapon!

Breathing hard, Chopper scrambled to his feet and rushed for the door. Mouse was outside, on watch just like every night, he can't wait a second more to tell her his findings - to tell her the true reason why the World Government is looking for her.

Bursting through, the door slammed against the wall, but before Chopper could call to the lookout post, he froze upon seeing Mouse and Robin sitting on a deckchair. A book in Robin's lap and a surprised look on both of their faces, they stared back at Chopper.

Painting, Chopper watching Mouse slip from Robin's lap - a guilty look in her eyes as she avoided Chopper's gaze - but he didn't mind whatever it was they were doing. Instead, his mind went blank - momentarily losing his panicked thoughts - as his eyes scanned her up and down.

Chopper closed his mouth, breathing hard through is nose and felt his eyebrows lower once again. His head tilted and he sudden grew very confused.

Did Mouse seem… taller?