This chapter takes us quite far back in time, so don't get confused when you start reading. Also, this chapter kind of signifies the end of part one and the beginning of part two because this is chapter 9 out of 17.

The chapter title also refers to a whole bunch of things, so see if you can pick up on all of it :) For now, enjoy!


~Ignorance is bliss~

Exploring new islands was one of Chopper's favorite things. Ever since he was little he had wanted to go out and see the world. He had wanted to see countries where it didn't snow everyday, and he wanted to see countries that didn't even know what snow was. Of course, as Chopper would come to find out after having left Drum, or as it was now called; Sakura Kingdom, he didn't do too well with heat. But he still liked Alabasta. The country had Vivi after all. However, he greatly preferred setting foot on some of the colder islands. He didn't need snow, but heatwave after heatwave was just a bit too much for him.

Arriving at a Summer Island that was just about to change from spring to summer was not exactly Chopper's preferred situation, but the excitement for a new island was still high, and Chopper could live with the heat for now. The first day was mostly fun. Luffy had an almost drowning experience, but Zoro had saved him before he'd even gotten water in his lungs, so all was well. It was the second day which started all the action.

Chopper had been accompanied by Usopp in his herb search, as he had found this island rich in medicinal plants and wonders, and who knew when they'd come across something like this again? They had been out for maybe an hour or two, when Sanji had suddenly appeared and told them that Luffy was ill. Chopper's mind had been in a state of panic the whole way back, but as soon as he entered the Sick Bay, where Luffy was lying weak with Zoro by his side, all uneasiness disappeared. He was no longer the young and slightly inexperienced reindeer. He was now a doctor with the skill to cure his captain.

Chopper never made an attempt to throw people out of the Sick Bay. There was no point after all. Chopper worked fast and efficiently, never slacking in any analysis or tests, and after dinner he called the crew to the sick bay. Usopp was the first to speak.

"How bad is it?" Chopper thought about how to best go about this.

"It's not too bad," he lied, "for now, but if we don't treat him... he'll be dead within a week."

As Chopper told them of the illness, and they slowly tried to figure out how best to go about it, the little doctor withheld information. He had told them that Luffy was in mortal danger, and that he didn't have all the ingredients to make the medicine, because that was something they could change, but... He decided to keep some things hidden. What the illness actually did to Luffy's body was something they couldn't change until they cured him, and them knowing would probably do more harm than it would do good, so Chopper said nothing.

That same night Chopper researched and was only once interrupted by Zoro who asked about the illness. Perhaps he had noticed how Chopper had actually told them nothing about it. So the doctor gave Zoro a name, and told him of its origin, yet he still didn't tell him anything. He was glad when Zoro stopped asking questions. The swordsman was definitely the last person Chopper wanted give this kind of information to.

The next morning Chopper devised a plan with Sanji. They had two objectives. The first one was obviously to gather all the ingredients in time, but the second one was just as important. They needed to keep Zoro safe. Chopper had seen it from the moment Sanji had brought him and Usopp back to the Sunny. Zoro's expression had changed, he seemed to be thinking more than usual, and Chopper knew that should the slightest threat appear before them, Zoro would try to cut it without even thinking about his own health. As the doctor he could not let that happen. Whatever Zoro had done back on Thriller Bark had messed his body up in a manner Chopper had never seen before, and he was far from healed.

As expected, Zoro protested a bit when he was told to stay on the Sunny, but Sanji dealt with it flawlessly, and that appeared to be that. As Luffy joined them, Zoro's protective instincts set in, and he appeared to have noticed that the sun mark on Luffy's wrist had grown.

"Relax," Chopper had said, almost commanded, and Zoro's shoulders seemed less tense, "The mark will grow in size until he's healed, but the mark itself is not harmful." That was another lie. The mark was most definitely harmful, but if Zoro, or anyone else for that matter, ever found out, Chopper couldn't trust that he would stay sane. Especially not if he told him why it was harmful. No, this was better kept between Chopper and Luffy when they eventually got some time alone.

The morning sun came around and people slowly left the Sunny, and soon the only people on the ship were Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Chopper. Zoro had apparently disappeared into the crow's nest after having had a conversation with Usopp, and when Sanji left to give him some food, Chopper took the opportunity to tell Luffy about his illness.

"Luffy," Chopper started and his captain looked at him with a sweet smile. For reasons Chopper didn't quite understand, Luffy seemed healthier than last night. "It's gonna get worse," he said, not wanting to keep him from the truth, "As time goes on, the pain will get worse, the fever will increase and the mark will grow."

"But the mark isn't harmful?" Luffy questioned and tilted his head. Chopper looked down feeling guilty.

"It is..." He confessed, but Luffy's smile didn't falter, "The mark will be the most painful part... Have you ever been burned?"

Luffy looked like he remembered something horrible before answering: "Yes."

"That's what it'll feel like," Chopper said and Luffy looked at the mark, "It'll feel like your skin is constantly on fire. You can't feel it now because it's small, but before long, the mark will grow rapidly. It'll be about two days before you're healed and by that time the mark will cover your whole arm..." Chopper stopped talking when he heard Sanji approach. He could have said more, but he was sure that Luffy was putting it together. The pain would be intense, and while it wouldn't do any physical damage, it could drive him to the brink of insanity. Pain was always worse when you had no way of getting rid of it.

As Sanji entered Chopper gave Luffy some more water and urged him to always drink whenever he was feeling the slightest bit thirsty. Another thing the venom did to the victim was increase body heat. It would make the victim sweat, but they wouldn't feel as warm as they normally would and that lead to easy dehydration. Of course, Chopper was keeping the sick bay very cool, but he could only do so much to easy Luffy's pain before he had the medicine.

And then another complication occurred. Luffy was finally sleeping again, and Chopper was just changing the cloth on his forehead, when the ship suddenly moved as if something had hit it. Chopper ran to deck and found that they were under attack. Zoro was the first to fall, and with the help of Sanji, Chopper got him inside. The doctor felt bad about having to leave Sanji all by himself, but unlike Zoro, Sanji didn't sustain any old injuries which could act up.

Chopper carefully placed Zoro on the bed opposite Luffy, and was immensely grateful that Luffy wasn't awake to see his first mate having fallen in battle. Chopper didn't even think twice about doing a blood transfusion, and only cleaned the wounds before starting the process. He stitched Zoro up as he had done so many times, but he couldn't help blaming himself for not being more stern with Zoro. He should never have let him fight in the first place.

Chopper was surprised when Usopp was the next person to enter the Sick Bay. At first the sniper just looked at the situation before him, but to surprise Chopper even further, Usopp just told Chopper to stop blaming himself. Before leaving the Sickbay, Usopp had a brief conversation with Luffy who must have woken up at some point, and promised to save him no matter what. Chopper was so thankful for Usopp's sudden optimism.

But as Chopper was now alone with a conscious Luffy, the strawhat captain was eyeing the swordsman, and he looked just as worried as Zoro had looked when Luffy had first fallen ill. Chopper decided not to speak. He had nothing to say, not really. Luffy could recognize battle wounds, and as oblivious as he might seem sometimes, he could always see when his friends were in prime condition and, of course, when they weren't.

Even if Sanji and Chopper had been the ones to actively act based on the state of Zoro's health, it was not uncommon for Luffy to give his first mate an extra look or two. He even stole less food from Zoro's plate during meals, even if Zoro himself hadn't noticed. Chopper knew that Zoro was too focused on the fact that Sanji was more prone to avoiding fights than ever before, and since he always let Luffy do whatever he wanted, he never noticed the small things the captain did in the shadows.

Chopper heard Luffy sigh, and turned his attention to his captain. Luffy was staring at the ceiling now. He had a hand on the sun mark, possibly trying to ease the pain which was now beginning to make itself noticed. It still wasn't too bad, according to Luffy. The mark was still small enough for Luffy to completely cover it with his hand, but Chopper knew that by the next morning that would no longer be the case.

"Not good enough..." Luffy muttered under his breath, and Chopper found himself too scared to ask what Luffy was talking about. Instead he applied some paste to the sun mark, and Luffy drifted off into a quiet sleep.

Chopper then went to the kitchen where he knew Sanji would be, and found him slumped over in a chair. His injuries weren't the worst, but it would definitely be kinder to just let Sanji sleep through the treatment. Not wanting to separate the crew, Chopper carried Sanji inside the Sick Bay.

Chopper had his hands full. If anyone had asked him how much he'd be doing just this morning, Chopper would have expected most of his time being spent on waiting. But now Luffy was ill, Zoro was battling death, and Sanji was injured and overworked. Chopper really wanted someone to come back. He didn't need help, he just needed company.

In the middle of the night his wish came true. Though Nami and Brook did arrive with a pack of bloodthirsty wolves chasing them, so there was that complication to deal with. It was strange though. These animals were hardly conscious. It was like they were in a state of distress, which Chopper couldn't understand where came from, and he couldn't even communicate with them. They just screamed. It was saddening and puzzling at the same time.

They ended up moving the Sunny to get away from the wolves, and Chopper immediately tended to a wounded Nami. He didn't show his concern, because Nami kept insisting that it wasn't too bad, but Chopper was definitely worried. It was normal for them to get hurt and Chopper had on many occasions tended to all of them in the span of one day, but... That would always be after some super incredible battle that normally only occurred in heroic tales. But this. An illness and some fights against some mediocre pirate crew who should not have posed even the slightest threat to them. This was something which concerned Chopper. Were they this bad off if Luffy fell? Moreover, Chopper didn't like Luffy's new techniques. They had bad drawbacks, but if the enemies continuously got stronger then Luffy would have to keep using them. No. Chopper definitely didn't like this.

Thankfully, though Nami and Brook had had their fair share of troubles, they had both collected the ingredients they had been tasked with.

Brook went to bed not long after and Chopper followed suit. He was so tired and after having checked up on Luffy and Zoro one last time, he let sleep envelop him once more.

Chopper awoke to the sound of a crash and he was instantly alert. Another attack? He stumbled out of the door, ran through the kitchen and set his eyes on the deck. Apparently there was no danger, and he found Nami, Sanji and Brook on deck examining something. As there was nothing to be afraid of Chopper felt sleepiness come back to him again, but he didn't just want to go back to his bed.

He was confused though. Why was there a deer on the deck? And what was it holding in its mouth?

"What are you guys doing?" Chopper asked, wanting to get some information about the situation.

"We got a message from Robin-san and Franky-san," Brook answered, and Chopper looked at the deer. Had they used the deer to deliver a message?

"How did you get the message?" Chopper pressed, because the broken mess of leaves and stuff was also a concern.

"They must have shot it towards us using this," Sanji answered and gestured to the pile. So it probably wasn't the deer.

"Then... What's up with that deer," Chopper pointed to it, and saw as they were all shocked when they found out that there was a deer on deck.

And this is when the next complication came into play. The deer was no doubt holding Usopp's belongings. It was his bag and his goggles. The four of them rummaged through his bag, but found only the things he had brought with him to begin with as well as the herbs which Chopper needed for the medicine. Brook suggested that he might just have used the deer to deliver them the ingredients faster, but Sanji pointed out a big flaw in that logic. Usopp's bag contained his weapons as well, and why would he ever walk around a scary jungle without anything to protect himself with?

Chopper decided that speculating was useless and this deer looked more sane than the wolves from last night so he just asked. He almost wished he hadn't. Long story short, Usopp had been taken by the very pirates who were still somewhere on the island. Apparently they had a base set up in the north, just like Robin and Franky had told them, and Usopp had been taken there, but not before he had had the chance to send the deer to the Sunny with the ingredients needed for Luffy's medicine.

The four of them just stared at each other for a while, and Chopper ended up closing his eyes for a moment. He just wanted this ordeal to be over with. How would they rescue Usopp? They had two downed crew mates, two injured crew mates (one of which was also severely sleep deprived), a skeleton and a doctor reindeer. All the odds were against them. And then someone screamed.

Chopper's eyes snapped open as he turned to look towards the Sick Bay. And then Luffy screamed again and Chopper ran to him, quickly ordering the others to stay put. He rushed to Luffy's side and found his captain writhing in pain, trying to scratch the mark off of his arm, leaving nothing but bleeding red wounds. The always strong Captain was crying and screaming, and Chopper did his best to ease his pain. He gave him sedatives strong enough to put him asleep and he covered the mark, which was now the size of Luffy's forearm, with his home made paste. Luffy eventually calmed down, but he was still in pain, and Chopper had to restrain his arms to keep him from scratching his skin off.

Luffy's screams had woken Zoro up, and now Chopper was faced with another horrible situation. He had to explain to Zoro why his Captain was in so much pain that he was screaming and crying. He didn't want to. He didn't want to admit that he had lied, and he didn't want to worry Zoro by telling him that it would get worse than this. After all, there was still a day until Luffy could be healed.

"Please don't," Chopper decided to plead and he could see Zoro's dissatisfaction clearer than his wounds, "You can't help him." Chopper presented him with the hard truth and Zoro made a face Chopper had never seen him make before. He looked weak, pained and, more shockingly, he looked sad. He wasn't about to cry, but somehow Chopper would have preferred if he had.

Chopper decided to not leave the Sick Bay again. Not unless something grave happened. He dared not leave Luffy alone. There was no telling when he'd wake up and have another fit. As it happened, when Luffy woke up the next time, he was in less pain. The sun had been down for almost an hour, and though Luffy looked like he was as far from comfortable as he could be, at least he wasn't screaming.

"Chopper..." Luffy breathed weakly and Chopper was instantly by his side.

"What do you need," the little doctor asked softly, trying to stay composed.

"How many are on the ship?" Chopper couldn't make sense of the question, nor his captain's expression.

"The three of us and Nami..." Chopper said slowly. Though he didn't know the details, Sanji and Brook had left at some point to rescue Usopp.

"Sanji?" Luffy asked again, and Chopper didn't want to bring Usopp's situation into this. His captain was already suffering with his illness and first mate severely injured. He didn't need to know that his best friend had been captured by pirates who were far from their friends.

"He went to help Usopp," Chopper said as it was technically true. Sanji was helping Usopp escape... or something like that.

Luffy closed his eyes. Chopper didn't know whether it was because he was in pain or because he was thinking.

"Chopper..." Luffy said again, and the doctor sensed the shift in tone. Right now he wasn't talking to his friend Luffy, nor his patient. No, he was talking to the captain of the strawhat pirates.

"Yes?"

"What do you think of our situation?" Luffy asked without looking at him.

"I don't like it," Chopper answered truthfully. It was like Luffy was the only one he could be truthful to...

"Why?" Luffy pressed, and Chopper was slightly confused. Wasn't it obvious? They were falling apart! They were weak and broken! Everything before them should have been easily dealt with, yet for some reason every time they seemed to overcome one problem, two more appeared. It was illogical. It was something that shouldn't have happened. Something no one wanted to happen... And then Chopper understood. He understood something he should have understood long ago. Something he had been lying to himself about, because he had wanted to remain blissfully ignorant. He had wanted to spare himself from the horrible truth that just waited to be exposed.

"We're not ready..." Chopper looked at the ground. It was as simple as that. Chopper knew it, Luffy knew it, Zoro probably knew it too.

"So tell me," Luffy continued, sounding weirdly calm, "Where is Sanji?"

Chopper gritted his teeth. He had to tell him: "Usopp got captured. Sanji and Brook went to rescue him."

Luffy's eyes widened, and had it not been for the restraints, he would have shot up from his position on the bed. With the mention of Usopp in danger, Luffy had gone from captain to worried best friend in less than a second.

"Easy," Chopper tried to calm Luffy, but his captain's eyes were watering now, and he started crying silently.

"Why..." He whispered under his breath. Chopper knew he wasn't asking him, so he didn't respond. He just hugged his captain as he let out his sorrows.

At some point Chopper must have fallen asleep, because he suddenly woke up to the morning sun shining through the small window in the door opposite the kitchen entrance. Luffy was sleeping as well, but this time Zoro was awake. He was awake and sitting up, looking at Chopper silently. Chopper slowly made his way to the swordsman and did some check ups. They exchanged no words.

Zoro's wounds weren't as terrible as they had been when he'd woken up at Thriller Bark, but that didn't mean that it wasn't bad. If he moved too much he could still reopen the wounds and he was sure that just moving in general would be painful. Chopper suspected that the only reason Zoro hadn't actually moved yet was because Luffy was in this room.

After Chopper had reapplied the bandages, he told Zoro not to move and tell him whenever he was in pain. It was the same old song, but Chopper needed to say it. He felt guilty enough as it was, and giving doctor's orders was kind of relieving. It was like he was actually doing something. And then Nami walked in.

"I made breakfast," she said and looked at her crew mates. She had a single plate of food in her hands, and she gave it to Zoro, "I promised Sanji-kun that you would eat all of it, so you better do it." Zoro looked mildly annoyed, but started eating anyway.

Nami then lifted Chopper up and carried him out of the Sick Bay. He wanted to protest, but he knew exactly what she was doing. She was saving him from himself. He'd been in the Sick Bay for almost a whole day and it was getting to him, because there wasn't actually much that he could do. Nami sat him down by the table, gave him some food and ordered him to eat. He obeyed, but glanced to the Sick Bay.

"Zoro will let us know if anything happens," Nami reassured him and Chopper forced himself to smile at her. She looked tired. She must have been on watch last night, since there was no one else. And then Chopper remembered something. Something good.

"Robin should have gotten the flower by now," he said slowly. He dared not think about what would happen should Robin have failed.

"Yes," Nami smiled tiredly and took a sip of the coffee she had made for herself, "She could be back any minute."

They were silent while Chopper ate the rest of his food. Nami wasn't really doing anything. It seemed that she sometimes just zoned out, and came back to reality just to take a sip of her coffee. It was nice though. Even though it was just the two of them sitting together, exhausted in both mind and body, it was like they had created an illusion of peace. Even after Chopper had finished his breakfast, he decided to stay for a little while. He wanted the whole thing to be over and done with, and this atmosphere almost made it seem like that was the case. Almost... The empty seats and the lack of laughter was a painful reminder of the truth that was Usopp's captivity, Zoro's injuries and Luffy's illness.

And while Chopper was wishing to whatever God may exist that this was all over soon, it got worse. There was a sound from deck and this time it certainly wasn't Robin and Franky just wanting to communicate with them. They both ran outside and looked towards the beach. They had company.

There were around fifty people on the beach, perhaps more, but that didn't matter. Chopper and Nami were extremely outnumbered, and it wasn't just the number of enemies that was worrying. It was the fact that they had catapults with them as well. The Sunny had already taken a direct hit, but since the first shot, they hadn't fired. They had probably just wanted to get their attention.

The group of pirates were all standing behind a woman. She was tall and had long black hair which flowed gracefully in the wind. She bore no weapons nor any armour, yet it was clear that she was not only the strongest of them here. She was also their leader. She wore heeled sandals, much like the ones Nami liked to wear, shorts that went down to her knees, yet not covering them and tight shirt with sleeves. All of her clothes was white, except for the coat hanging on her shoulders, which was black as the night. Her skin was slightly tanned, she had a long face and big eyes. Through human eyes she was probably quite beautiful, and on her lips she wore a deep red lipstick and a cunning smile.

"If you surrender now, we'll let you live," she told them. Though she was far away she wasn't yelling, but the force in her voice was enough for her offer to reach them, and Chopper watched Nami's fist clench from the corner of his eye.

"You expect us to believe that?!" Nami shouted and the pirate captain shot them a cunning glance.

"Well," She said nonchalantly, and closed her eyes for a second, before opening one eye to look at them, "I'll let everyone but you live," Nami took a step back in horror, "You had the nerve to injure my beloved son after all."

Nami gasped horrified, and Chopper could see as she tried to stop herself from shaking.

"Such a shame too," The captain said and licked her lips, "You're such a pretty little thing. I would have loved to devour you."

Chopper didn't know what to do. If they tried to fight they would lose, but if they didn't fight Nami was surely going to die, and even if they kept their word and didn't kill he rest of them, Chopper was sure it'd be much worse. They could run, but where to? They couldn't enter the island, and if they tried to sail away, they undoubtedly get fired down before they even got to turn their ship away.

Chopper felt his breathing quicken and there were tears forming in his eyes. What could they do? How could they make sure everyone would survive? There was no way out of this. No way for them to fight through this by themselves. It was Nami and Chopper against all these people.

Help! Was all Chopper could think at the moment. Help! He didn't know who he wanted to help them. Robin and Franky who should have been back by now? Sanji and Brook who were trying to save Usopp? Usopp who had been captured? Zoro who wasn't even strong enough to stand? Luffy who was in so much pain that he was more likely to hurt himself than anyone else? Nami who was just as scared as him? His inner courage which he had yet to find or maybe... Chopper checked his pocket. One. Two. Three rumble balls. He could do it. If he charged at the beach and swallowed them all at once. The waters separating the Sunny and the beach would keep Nami and the others safe. He would only hurt their enemies. It was risky. It wouldn't last for long, but it was their best shot.

"Nami..." Chopper said, and she looked at him. The tears in her eyes threatening to fall at any moment now, "I have a plan... You won't like it."

She looked worriedly at him, and slowly seemed to understand what he was saying.

"No! There has to be another way!" She screamed, but Chopper looked sadly at her. They both knew there was no other option if they wanted everyone to survive.

Chopper took the first rumble ball and transformed into his jumping point. With one last look at Nami he jumped towards the crowd of pirates, and they looked ready to fight. He landed close to one of the catapults and decided to take them out first. If they couldn't attack the Sunny, maybe Nami could get away safely. He transformed into his strong point and destroyed as many catapults as he possibly could before he was inevitably surrounded. He wanted to get to the last one before he took the remaining rumble balls, but then there was a clash of thunder and Chopper smiled slightly. Nami had gotten it first.

Chopper prepared himself for what was to come, and took the last two pills. The last thing he saw was the smirk on the pirate captain's red lips.


I think I answered many questions in this chapter but there are still so many things I have yet to reveal! Anyway, if you liked it then please fave, follow for more and leave a review with your thoughts :)