Ch. 41- Healing
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard, Monkey D. Aika, Kumi, Kovar, and Monkey D. Star © Me
Shade © Gakuto1991
Aika's eyes were wide with awe as she looked at her older half-brother, standing on the tower while holding Hiriluk's pirate flag. In fact, she was so in awe, she was almost in tears. She always thought that Luffy was an inspiring person...but this? This just blew her away.
"Spoken like a true pirate captain," Brook said.
"...A symbol...of faith...!" Aika whispered.
"That's right, Aika," Chopper said. "Our flag is the symbol of faith...our convictions. As long as we have that, our faith will never die. It's never to be raised as a joke...do you understand?"
"...I understand," Aika nodded.
"Good," Zoro said as he ruffled her hair. "You keep that up, and you'll be sure to be a proper pirate when you get big. 'Kay, kid?"
"Mm!" Aika nodded, again. "I will!"
"Good girl," Sanji praised.
"Hey, reindeer guy!" Luffy called, causing Past Chopper to look up at him. "I'm gonna kick these guys' ass! What are you gonna do?!"
"...M...me...?" Past Chopper whispered.
"You moron!" Wapol shouted as he aimed his cannon at Luffy, once again. "If you're so determined to protect that rag, I'll blow you away along with it!"
"Damn you...!" Past Sanji cursed as he tried to rush at Wapol...only for Kureha to kick him right in the back, causing him to scream in pain before he hit the ground.
"Why did she do that?!" asked Usopp.
"Because Sanji wouldn't lie down," Chopper said with a glare.
"She didn't have to hit my back, though," Sanji muttered.
"You'd probably do more harm than good anyway, Crap Cook," Zoro smirked.
"Watch it, Moss-head!" Sanji barked.
"Shh! Guys, something's happening!" Nami said.
"Mahahahaha!" Wapol laughed. "What are you idiots doing?! Well, just sit there and watch! I'll blow him to smithereens, this time!"
"Watch out, King Wapol!" Chessmarimo shouted, causing Wapol to look down and see Past Chopper about to punch him, only for the hodgepodge man to block him.
"Stop right there!" Past Chopper shouted while Chessmarimo grinned.
"All right!" Luffy cheered. "Go get 'em, reindeer guy!" He then planted the flag post back into the tower he stood upon.
"Hahahahaha!" laughed Chessmarimo. "You don't think I'd let you touch King Wapol so easily, did you?!"
Past Chopper growled as he shifted back into his Brain Point form.
"But you're definitely a strange animal," said Chessmarimo. "You must be that monster that the people of the island used to be afraid of, so much. You poor thing...I bet you had a lonely life, despised by everyone, didn't you?" He then burst into laughter. "So why bother risking your life for them?!"
"Shut up!" Past Chopper shouted. "So what if I don't have friends?! I can still fight! As long as the Doctor's flag is still up, I-"
"You DO have a friend!" Luffy called as he grabbed onto the tower and then jumped back in order to stretch them out. "Right here!" He then used his Gum-Gum Rocket to shoot himself toward the ground. "IT'S ME! I'M YOUR FRIEND!"
"WHAAAAAAT?!" Wapol questioned...as Luffy crashed into him and Chessmarimo.
"...Thank you, Luffy," Chopper whispered while Blizzard placed a gentle paw on his shoulder, causing him to look up at the wolf-dog with a smile on his face.
"Straw Hat guy!" Past Chopper cried while Luffy stood in the snow. "Are you okay?!"
"Shishishi!" Luffy snickered. "Don't worry about me. I'm made of rubber, after all!"
"R-rubber?!" Past Chopper questioned.
"Hey, reindeer guy," Luffy said as he looked to Chessmarimo. "You can handle that guy, right?"
"Huh?" Past Chopper muttered before he looked to Chessmarimo, as well. "Who, him? Yeah, I can take him! No problem!"
"Good," Luffy smirked as he looked at Wapol. "That just leaves you and me, Big Mouth!"
"Damn you, Straw Hat!" Wapol cursed. "Stop bouncing all over the place like a ball!"
"How can he stop bouncing when he's made of rubber?" Aika asked.
"Yeah, rubber's bouncy!" said Kumi, causing the others to laugh.
"I'm done playing around with you!" Past Chopper shouted.
"You're going to fight me, then, huh?!" Chessmarimo asked. "What a joke! Fine then, you little freak! Just try it!"
All the while, Past Sanji was trying to get in on the fight, but Kureha had pinned to the ground with her foot.
"My name is Tony Tony Chopper!" Past Chopper declared. "I was given that name by the World's Greatest Doctor! He might have forgiven you for mocking him...BUT I NEVER WILL!"
"Heh!" Chessmarimo smirked. "You'll pay for this, monster!"
That's when Past Chopper pulled out a familiar yellow ball in his hoof.
"Rumble Ball!" he exclaimed. "This is a special drug I made that lasts for three minutes! That's all the time you have left!"
"Three minutes, you say?!" Chessmarimo questioned. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah, right! As if someone like you could defeat me!"
"Three minutes, huh?" Luffy asked. "Cool!"
"Three minutes?" Wapol repeated. "Impossible!"
Soon, Past Chopper chomped the Rumble Ball and the fight had begun. Chessmarimo attempted to shoot him with flaming arrows, but he used his Walk Point and Heavy Point to dodge the attacks. Chessmarimo ranted on about how Past Chopper only had three forms of transformation...but was soon shocked when he saw the human-reindeer's Jumping Point form, which allowed him to leap over the four-armed soldier's four giant hammers with ease. In fact, it almost looked like he was flying.
"Whoa!" Aika exclaimed. "What is that?!"
"That's one of my old transformations, Jumping Point," Chopper answered. "It causes the muscles in my legs to grow, giving me the power to jump super high!"
"Super high is right!" Franky agreed while lifting his sunglasses. "Look at him!"
"But wait, Chopper," Kumi said. "Do you still use that form?"
"Not anymore," Chopper replied. "Now, I just need the Rumble Ball for my Monster Point form and nothing else."
Soon, Past Chopper was using his old Guard Point form, which wasn't as big as it is now, to block one of Chessmarimo's hammers.
"What?!" Chessmarimo questioned in disbelief. "This is impossible!"
"It won't work!" Past Chopper shouted.
"Zoan-type Devil Fruit users should be limited to just three transformations! So how can you have more than three?!"
"The Rumble Ball allows me to modify the transformative powers of the Human-Human Fruit! After 5 years of research, I discovered four other transformations!"
"Seven forms of transformation?!" Chessmarimo asked in shock. "Grrr...who cares how many forms you have?!"
A pause...but then Luffy's eyes began to shine with that usual enthusiasm he had whenever he saw or heard something cool.
"Seven stages of transformation?!" he asked. "That's...SO COOL!"
Chopper couldn't help giggling at Luffy's compliments. That was the first time anyone ever called him "cool" before. However, while this was going on, no one seemed to notice that Wapol was shouting at Luffy to fight him.
By now, Chessmarimo was getting furious and was trying to show Past Chopper that he wasn't intimidated, but Past Chopper soon transformed into his Arm Point form and shattered his hammers with his hooves of steel, saying that they were strong enough to shatter boulders into smithereens. That's when Chessmarimo had decided that he had had enough and was about to cut the transforming reindeer with his four axes, and he did manage to hit Past Chopper in the shoulder, as well as cut a hole into the castle wall, but Past Chopper wasn't intimidated, either. He just used his different transformations to dodge Chessmarimo's attacks.
"Damn, look at you go!" Usopp exclaimed. "You're on fire, Chopper!"
"But how come you just kept running away?" asked Aika.
"I wasn't running away," Chopper said. "I was trying to find his weak spot."
Soon, Past Chopper returned to his Brain Point form and put his hooves together, like he was looking through crosshairs. The Straw Hats couldn't help chuckling when they heard Luffy shouting about how he thought that the reindeer was going to shoot some kind of laser beam at his foe. Chessmarimo tried to argue that he had no weak points, but as he attempted to attack Past Chopper one last time, the reindeer disappeared, and then reappeared right underneath him in his Arm Point form.
"Hoofprint...ROSEO!" Past Chopper shouted as he punched Chessmarimo in the jaw...causing a hoof-shaped bruise to appear under his chin before he collapsed on the snow. Soon after, Past Chopper returned to his Brain Point form while pulling on the rim of his hat.
"Three minutes, exactly," he said.
"WHOO-HOO!" Luffy cheered. "ALL RIGHT, HE DID IT!"
"All right!" Usopp cheered, as well, as he picked Chopper up and gave him a noogie. "You did it, Chopper! Way to go!"
"Nicely done, little buddy!" said Blizzard.
"You fought well," Robin smiled.
"Yohohohoho!" Brook chortled. "Nicely done!"
"Sh-shut up!" Chopper exclaimed, blushing happily. "Like saying that will make me happy, jerks!"
"Uh...hey," said Aika. "Where'd Wapol go?"
The Straw Hats looked up and saw that Wapol had indeed disappeared.
"Huh?" Luffy muttered as he looked around. "Hey! Where'd Big Mouth go?!"
"He climbed up the mountain on that White Walkie of his," said Kureha. "There's no way he can't get down from here on his own."
"But...when did he sneak away?" Luffy asked.
"When do you think, you idiot?!" Past Sanji questioned. "You were too busy being distracted by that reindeer!"
"That damn Big Mouth!" Luffy cursed as he snorted through his nose. "I'll find him and kick his ass!"
"Wait a minute," Past Sanji said. "What if he snuck into the castle while we weren't looking?! That means Nami's in trouble!"
"AAH! YOU'RE RIGHT!" Luffy cried before he ran inside. "Hang on, Nami! We're coming!"
"Dammit!" Past Sanji cursed as he began to crawl into the castle. "If that fatass puts one hand on Nami, I'll Julienne him!"
"Wait! Get back here!" Kureha shouted.
Since Luffy was faster than Past Sanji, it didn't take him long to find Wapol, who, for some strange reason, had slimmed down some. According to Nami, it was because he actually ate himself, which didn't seem to make any sense, but the Straw Hats decided not to ask about it further. However, Luffy didn't seem to care about that, for he kicked the now slim king off of Past Nami, whom was pinned to the floor and about to be eaten.
"Phew! Made it!" Luffy sighed in relief. "...Hey...was he always that thin?"
"AH!" Past Nami shrieked before she bopped him on the head.
"OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Luffy questioned.
"...Luffy," Past Nami said as she gave Luffy a very scary glare. "Do you mind telling me what happened to my coat before I murder you?"
"GAH!" Luffy gasped. "Uh...well...you see, I...err...umm..."
"Do you know how much that coat cost?!" Past Nami questioned. "28,800 Berries! And that was AFTER haggling!"
"I'm sorry!" Luffy apologized. "But...he was throwing bombs at me and I...I...uhh...!"
"Oh, well," Past Nami sighed. "It's fine, Luffy. I mean...I kinda knew you'd rip it up, somehow, if I lent it to you." She then turned away...with an almost wicked gleam in her eyes. "But in exchange...you're going pay me back 3 times its value, plus interest. That means you owe me 100,000 Berries...heheheheheh...!"
"WHAT?!" Luffy questioned. "I bet you planned that all along, didn't you?!"
"Oh, boy..." Nami muttered, embarrassed and ashamed of herself.
"You were gonna shake him down for 100,000 Berries, huh?" Zoro asked.
"That's cold, Nami," Franky added.
"Well...I didn't realize what he had been through!" Nami replied.
"Hate to say it, Nami," Usopp began, "but that's NOT an excuse. He did save you, TWICE, here."
"...You're right," Nami said. "I guess I sounded pretty ungrateful, huh?"
"You can talk to Luffy about it once we find him," Robin answered. "I'm sure he's mad at you, but still..."
"Yeah," Nami said.
As the memory went on, Wapol boasted about how he was about to open the door to the castle armory, saying how he was going to eat them all and become a human weapon, capable of killing all who opposed him...except for one thing: he didn't have the key.
"I swiped it off him," said Nami. "I thought it was the key to the treasure vault."
Seeing no way to fight, Wapol made a run for it while Luffy gave chase after him. He eventually caught up with him, only to find himself facing a large, Gatling-gun-like cannon in the shape of a hippo wearing a crown and sunglasses. Wapol called it the Ultimate Weapon of the Drum Kingdom. Just as he pulled the lever to fire it, though...nothing happened.
"...Well, that was anticlimactic," Brook said.
"What happened?" Aika asked.
Wapol tried to shoot the cannon, again, but still, nothing happened. Not even a squeak was made. However, they soon found out why: it was the same snowbirds that Past Chopper had been trying to protect, now nestled inside the cannon. Wapol was so enraged, he actually yelled at one of the birds and prepared to eat it...only for Luffy to grab his mouth.
"Listen here, Big Mouth," Luffy said. "Whether you're a king or even a god, I don't give a damn, and do you know why?!" He then grinned at him. "Because I'm a pirate!"
"Yeah! You tell him, Big Brother!" Aika cheered.
"A...a pirate?!" Wapol questioned as he struggled. "You think that my status doesn't matter, boy?! Mahahahaha! You're a fool, Straw Hat! The Drum Kingdom is a member of the World Government, therefore by attacking me, you just committed an international crime!"
"I don't care about that, either!" Luffy shouted. "I'm still gonna kick your ass!"
"It's just as Luffy said," Robin said. "He's a pirate. He's already committed a crime just by being one."
"But Wapol left his kingdom," said Chopper. "Therefore, he's not a king anymore. That means the World Government can't help him."
Having had enough of Luffy's "insolence", as he put it, Wapol tried to eat the rubber-man, only for his fingers to stretch. When that didn't work, he attempted to shoot Luffy with his tongue cannon, and at first, it looked like that did it...until it was revealed that Luffy managed to dodge out of the way by jumping behind Wapol. Then, he began to wind his whole body up while holding the false king with his arms, then shot him through the ceiling with his Gum-Gum Bowgun, where he got stuck in the roof. There, he saw the flag of Dr. Hiriluk still flying in the wind. Soon after, Luffy appeared in front of him.
"If you're not willing to put your life on the line," he started as he punched his fists together, "then don't ever touch the skull-and-crossbones!" He then stretched his arms way back, preparing a Gum-Gum Bazooka attack.
"No! No, wait!" Wapol cried. "I-I'll give you title medals! How about a seat in my court?! I...I'LL EVEN MAKE YOU VICE KING!"
"Why does that sounds familiar?" Aika asked, remembering when Luffy defeated a certain mad scientist.
"GUUUUUUM-GUUUUUUUUUM...BAZOOKAAAAAAA!"
WHABAM! Luffy struck Wapol with both barrels, sending him flying away...and soon after, the memory faded to black.
"That was a fight?" Zoro asked. "Pfft! Please, that was a joke."
"Yeah, Luffy wiped the floor with that guy!" said Kumi.
"Tell me about it," said Blizzard.
Soon, the memory returned, showing Luffy outside of Drum Castle at night, where a full moon was shown. Past Usopp was making a snowman while Past Zoro, who was wearing a coat that was from one of Wapol's flunkies, sat nearby.
"Hey! It's you guys!" Aika exclaimed.
"Yeah, Dalton brought us on the ropeway," said Usopp. "Your brother almost attacked us because he mistook us for Wapol's crones."
"HEY!" Luffy called out. "REINDEER~! COME ON, LET'S BE PIRATES TOGETHER, OKAY?!"
"Jeez, Luffy, give it up, already," said Past Usopp.
"Yeah, he obviously doesn't have any interest in joining us," said Past Zoro. "Leave him alone, already."
"No! You're wrong!" Luffy shouted. "I want the reindeer to be a pirate with us!"
"JUST BECAUSE YOU WANT SOMETHING DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE ALWAYS GOING TO GET IT!" Past Zoro shouted.
"Luffy sure was determined to have you join him," said Blizzard.
"What can I say?" Chopper asked. "He couldn't take no for an answer...but I was happy that he wanted me to join so badly."
"Then why didn't you say yes, at first?" Aika asked.
"...Because...I thought I didn't belong with him," Chopper said, sadly. "I thought that a reindeer like me would never fit in with humans."
"Well," Robin began, "I'd hardly call of us 'human'."
"Yohohoho!" Brook chortled.
"Yeah, look at me!" Franky exclaimed, flexing his mechanical arms. "Do I look human to you?!"
"But then I realized that Luffy didn't care," said Chopper. "Whether you're a human, a reindeer, a robot, or whatever! Luffy would always accept you...no matter what."
"...That's why we love him so much," Nami whispered.
"Oh! Look!" Aika exclaimed as she pointed at the memory, and at that moment, Past Chopper finally appeared, and not long after, Past Nami (wearing a different coat) and Vivi came out, dragging an unconscious Past Sanji.
"Tony?" Past Nami asked in surprise as he noticed him.
"Hey, Sanji?" asked Brook. "How come you were passed out, anyway?"
"I, uh...had to have some surgery done on my back," Sanji answered. "She didn't knock me out, though, so..."
"Yeah, that sounds like Doctorine," Chopper muttered.
"Hey! Reindeer guy! There you are!" Luffy exclaimed. "Hey, you're gonna come and be a pirate with us, okay?!"
"...I can't!" Past Chopper answered.
"Sure you can, reindeer!" Luffy argued. "It's a whole lot of fun!"
"That's not a very good argument!" Past Usopp shouted.
"It sounds like a good argument to me," said Aika.
"You would say that," Kumi muttered.
"I can't," Past Chopper repeated. "I'm not a human! I'm a reindeer! I have antlers and hooves, don't you see?! ...I EVEN HAVE A BLUE NOSE!" He then paused for a moment. "...Okay...maybe I do want to be a pirate...but I can never be one of you! I'm not human! I'm a monster! I can't be your friend and I can't be a pirate on your ship! You see?!"
Luffy only stared at him while Past Chopper sighed.
"...I...I just wanted to say...thank you," he said, looking like he was trying to fight back tears. "I appreciate you asking me to join your ship...it was nice. Thank you." He then gave a forced smile. "I'm...I'm going to stay here, for now...but if you wanted to, maybe you can stop by here again and-"
"SHUT UP!" Luffy yelled as he threw his arms in the air and his hat flew off his head. "LET'S GOOOOOOOOOO!"
'You're not alone, anymore...Chopper...'
A pause...but then Past Chopper's eyes welled up with tears before he soon let out a loud sob.
"I still don't see how he made friends with you by telling you to shut up," said Zoro.
"I think Luffy said that because he was trying to tell Chopper that he didn't care if he was a reindeer or not," said Nami.
"Mm," Chopper nodded. "He was trying to show me that he'd accept me, no matter what."
"Luffy wouldn't care if you really were a monster," said Blizzard. "He wanted you to join him...and he got you."
"Yeah...he did," said Chopper with tears of happiness in his eyes.
The memory shifted, and the Past Straw Hats were standing outside, waiting for Past Chopper to come out. For some reason, though, they heard what sounded like terrified screams coming from inside the castle.
"What the hell is all that noise?" asked Past Zoro.
"Jeez, people can't be so rude," said Past Nami. "Can't they have a nice, peaceful goodbye?"
"If only they knew," said Usopp.
"Knew what?" Brook asked.
"3...2...1..." Nami counted down before she pointed at the castle door...where they saw Past Chopper in his Walk Point form, pulling a sleigh behind him...while running away from Kureha, who was holding a spiked ball mace!
"WAAAAAAAHH!" Aika and Kumi shrieked. "SCARY!"
"HOLY HELL!" Franky shouted. "WHAT WAS SHE DOING, TRYING TO KILL YOU?!"
"She didn't take my goodbye very well!" Chopper answered, worriedly.
"TALK ABOUT NOT TAKING THINGS WELL!" Blizzard shouted.
Soon, the Past Straw Hats, in their panic, all climbed into the sleight as Past Chopper ran by.
"RUN FOR IT, GUYS!" Luffy cried.
"LET ME IN!" Past Zoro shouted as he jumped aboard.
"WAIT FOR ME!" Past Usopp screamed as he ran after them. "WAIT FOR ME, DAMMIT!"
"SHE'S RIGHT BEHIND US!" Past Nami shrieked.
Thankfully, the group managed to make it to the ropeway, just as Kureha hurled the mace at them, only to miss. As Past Chopper ran down the ropeway and their silhouette passed by in front of the moon...it almost looked as if they were flying through the night sky.
"Wow...!" Aika whispered in amazement. "That's amazing!"
"That was one way to say goodbye," Robin mused.
"Yeah," Franky began, "but there's a fine line between that and wanting to murder someone!"
Soon, the group had made it down the mountain and were now at the island's shoreline, preparing to board the Merry...but as they were about to leave, they heard several explosions, which caused them all to turn and look back at the Drum Rockies, which looked so small in comparison to when Luffy was up close to it. At that moment, a huge cloud of pink had formed at the mountain's summit...and pink snow began to rain down from the sky above.
"Whoa...!" Kumi gaped. "Do you see that?! It's like a-"
"A giant cherry blossom tree...!" Aika whispered.
"It's...it's beautiful...!" Blizzard said in awe.
"It's...impossible...!" Brook added.
"...My Father made those cherry blossoms," said Chopper. "He wanted to make cherry blossoms bloom in a winter land...and even after he died, he made it happen."
"So that's where the name Sakura Kingdom comes from," Robin smiled while Franky was trying his hardest not to start bawling.
"Oh, cool~!" Luffy exclaimed as he watched from the sleigh.
"Yeah," Past Zoro agreed.
"...Wow...!" Past Nami whispered as she admired the cherry blossom snowflakes. As for Past Chopper, he stood there, staring up at the mountain...before he began to whimper as tears formed in his eyes. Then...the dam broke loose, and he began wailing as his tears fell at full force.
"...That will always be the best night of my whole life," Chopper said. "That night, I realized something...scars can heal."
The Straw Hats all smiled at their doctor, who sniffled as he wiped his eyes. However, as they continued watching...Aika seemed to spot something in the shadows of the trees nearby. She gasped, recognizing the six glowing red eyes, just before the shadow vanished.
"SHADE!" she cried as she pointed.
"What?!" Zoro questioned as he drew his swords. "Where?!"
"Gone, now!" Aika replied.
"Don't tell me that mutt was here this whole time!" Franky shouted.
"But that's impossible!" Sanji said. "We would have sensed him, by now!"
"That means that Shade isn't able to be detected by Observation Haki," said Robin. "He must have been watching us, the whole time!"
"So what does that mean?!" asked Usopp, worriedly.
"...He's probably gone to report to Kovar," said Nami.
"Just what I wanted to hear," said Usopp with dread.
"What are we gonna do if he comes back?!" Chopper asked.
"Don't worry," Zoro said. "If he does decide to attack us again, this time, we'll be ready."
"...I hope Big Brother's okay," said Aika, worriedly.
"He'll be fine, Aika," said Blizzard. "That is...if he's still fighting."
XXX
Shade soon materialized in the black void as he bowed before Kovar, who turned upon acknowledging him.
"Master," Shade said with his bowed.
"Well, Shade?" Kovar inquired.
"It seems that the Straw Hats will not heed our warning," said Shade.
"Ha!" Luffy laughed. "I told you!"
"Don't get so cocky, Straw Hat," said Kovar. "They've only made it so far...but sooner or later, they'll have to stop. Let's see how much longer they'll last...and as for you..." He then brought his head down toward Luffy, who gasped as he tried to look away, only for Kovar to grab his face with his tail and force his head to turn to him. Then, the dragon's eyes went wide as they flashed red, causing Luffy's eyes to turn white. He grunted as he clenched his fists...but then, he opened his mouth and began to let out a blood-curdling scream.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Next time on One Piece: The Fire Within!
Aika: So that's how Chopper joined you guys!
Usopp: Yeah, and there are more memories to come.
Vivi: If the Boss is in Alabasta, that means that all the officer agents will be meeting together, soon.
Luffy: Shishishi! Sounds fun!
Bon Clay: Behold the power of the Clone-Clone Fruit!
Chopper: Hey! It's Bon!
Aika: ...Who?
Sanji: Oh, no, not that guy...
Luffy: *has an X mark on his wrist* From now on, this mark on our left wrists is a sign of our friendship!
Next time: The Marks of Friendship
Review, please!