The north wind howled fiercely, carrying a low, mournful howl, as if an unseen monster was lurking in this land.
Walking on the thick snow, only the "crunching" sound echoed between heaven and earth. After a long while, Chopper finally couldn't help but ask Kureha.
"Doctorine, are they the pirates the doctor mentioned?"
"I don't know if they're the kind of pirates Hiriluk was talking about, but they must be a very powerful group of pirates," Kureha replied, gulping down her plum wine even in the freezing cold.
"Huh? There are many kinds of pirates?" Chopper's small eyes were full of confusion.
"There are bored pirates who keep exploring the world, there are ruthless pirates who burn, kill, and plunder, and there are idiotic pirates who dream of ruling the sea. Haha, pirates can be said to be the most complex existence on this sea."
"Wow, that's amazing!" Chopper's eyes turned into stars, and then he whispered to the goofy duo, "So what kind of pirates are you?"
Before the goofy duo could reply, a deep, powerful voice rang out. "We're not any kind of pirate. We're just doing what we want to do. Pirates are the freest and most unrestrained people on the sea. I've explored unknown waters, saved a country, slaughtered countless enemies, and even dreamed of ruling this sea. You see, pirates are indeed the most complex creatures on the sea, hahaha."
Only then did Chopper realize that they had unknowingly arrived at a snow camp, and standing before them were countless strange-looking creatures, even more monstrous than Chopper himself, who was called a monster. Two particularly large ones were terrifyingly tall; Chopper probably only reached their ankles. The one speaking seemed to be a boy standing at the very front, whose appearance was seemingly humble, but whose gaze was like a long sword, making Chopper dare not look directly at him.
Startled Chopper quickly hid behind Doctorine, but only his head was hidden, with most of his body still exposed.
Its self-deceiving act amused many people, especially Kaoru, who clapped her hands with shining eyes. "Wow, what an adorable tanuki!"
"Damn it, I'm not a tanuki! Besides, even if you praise me, I won't be happy!" Seeing Chopper's insincere expression and his excited, wiggling body, everyone couldn't help but laugh.
If it were when he first Pirate World, seeing this adorable Chopper would probably have kept Roy so excited he couldn't sleep. But now, he no longer has those messy thoughts. In his eyes, only profit is eternal.
Of course, this doesn't stop him from liking the little guy; it just means he doesn't have the obsession to bring Chopper over.
"What a spirit! There aren't many pirates as energetic as you on the high seas these days."
"Oh? It sounds like Dr. Kureha has been to sea before?"
"That's a very long time ago. Hey kid, don't try to trick me into talking. Tell me about yourself. You came to see me because of the hidden injury in your body, right?"
Roy was taken aback. This Dr. Kureha was indeed extraordinary. She could even see the hidden injuries in the body at a glance. With this insight alone, she was far superior to other doctors. It seemed that coming to Drum Island was indeed the right decision.
"Dr. Kureha has a good eye. I once consulted Crocus, the Ship Doctor of the Pirate Kings. Even he needed sophisticated instruments to diagnose my injuries. It seems that you are the world's number one doctor, as everyone says."
"Haha, that brat Crocus? He's far from it. But I'm different from you guys; such empty fame means nothing to me."
Indeed, that was the case. With her medical skills, becoming world-famous would have been incredibly easy. However, despite living for over a hundred years, her name never spread across the seas. Even the people of Drum Island were skeptical of her medical abilities, demonstrating that she was truly a person indifferent to fame and fortune.
"You don't need to flatter me. I can only roughly see your problem. To truly 'understand' the symptoms, I still need to examine you. Chopper, bring me my medical kit."
"Okay, okay, Doctorine." Chopper had been silently observing this group of people called pirates, but when he heard Dr. Kureha's call, he panicked for a moment before recovering and quickly handing her the medical kit.
Dr. Kureha took out instruments from her medical kit and gave Roy a full physical examination. Finally, she said in an unfriendly tone, "What a brat who doesn't take care of his body. In fact, it's a miracle that you can even move."
To many villagers on Drum Island, Kureha is a Witch, not only because of her age but also because of her code of conduct. She charges exorbitant fees for each treatment, a price almost no one can afford. It is precisely this exploitative behavior that earns her the title of Witch.
In reality, she was not a greedy person. With her medical skills, she could easily acquire a large amount of wealth at sea. The reason she did this was simply to make people cherish their bodies more, remember the illnesses they had suffered, and remember the price they paid for them.
Therefore, when she saw Roy's terrifying internal injuries, she was displeased. Moreover, most of the internal injuries in Roy's body were left from his own extreme training, which Kureha thought was entirely his own fault.
"There's no way around it. Compared to my health, I probably value my life more." On this cruel sea, survival is no easy task. Even if you live a law-abiding life, disaster can strike you out of nowhere.
Especially in battles between powerful individuals, cities and towns are often destroyed. As for the innocent people who die in the aftermath of the battle, well, who cares about ants accidentally trampled to death on the roadside?
Beneath the grand and magnificent surface of the Great Pirate Era lies an incredibly cruel world. That's why Roy pursues power relentlessly; otherwise, a life where one cannot even control their own life and death would be truly tragic.
Hearing Roy say this, Kureha also fell silent. Having lived for over a hundred years, she had seen it all and naturally understood the helplessness and bitterness hidden beneath Roy's seemingly carefree words. Better to be a dog in times of peace than a person in times of chaos.
"As for the miracle you mentioned, that is the power of belief. It can turn the impossible into the possible. As long as my belief endures, my body will never fall down."
Kureha shuddered. She had heard similar words many times before, but she hadn't heard anything like them since a year ago.
Chopper's adorable eyes welled up with tears. "I know, nothing is impossible for a man who infuses his soul into the Jolly Roger."