Chopper's Beard

The three of them looked at Dr. Kureha. She wore a tight black leather outfit, and despite the obvious wrinkles on her face, she was full of energy.

"It's hard to believe she's 139 years old," Lina couldn't help but sigh. The woman looked more alive than he did.

"We're here to see a doctor."

Lina patted his butt and stood up, gesturing to Zoro beside him. "Can you help us treat his injuries?"

Due to the recent mountain climbing competition, Zoro's only thin piece of clothing had been removed, leaving his upper body bare, revealing wounds that spread across his body like a hideous centipede crawling all over him.

"Who are you people?" Dr. Kureha didn't answer directly, merely asking the question with a hint of wariness in her eyes.

"We're pirates!" Luffy cheerfully replied.

Hearing this, Chopper, who had been hiding behind Dr. Kureha, clutching his legs tightly, poked his little head out and looked at them curiously. "The pirates Dr. Hiriluk told me about..."

"I can treat him," Dr. Kureha said calmly after appraising them for a moment, a playful smirk on her lips. "If you can afford my price..."

"How much?" Lina frowned. He had heard from Dalton that this doctor, known as the Witch, charged exorbitant fees. If the price was too high, he'd just have to kidnap Chopper later and then treat Zoro's wounds.

"Let me see... Twenty million Belly!"

So cheap!!!

Lina blinked. No, twenty million wasn't a small amount; it was enough for a normal family's expenses for many years. It was his own wealth that made him react that way. Although he felt it was cheap inwardly, he immediately cursed out loud:

"Old hag! You're ripping us off! My companion only has a minor injury. Look, he could still climb Drum Mountain with his bare hands! How can you charge twenty million for someone so lively!"

"Take it or leave it," Dr. Kureha said impatiently. "I said twenty million, and it's twenty million. If you can't pay, don't bother me."

Lina looked furious and reached into his chest as if to draw a gun. Seeing this, Dr. Kureha's expression darkened, and several throwing knives fell from her sleeves.

Dr. Kureha grabbed the throwing knives, ready to throw them.

Dr. Kureha froze.

Dr. Kureha slowly lowered her hand.

"Twenty million, and I'll get to work."

Lina pulled out a stack of Belly from his chest, gestured for her to take it, and said calmly. She wouldn't raise the price now that it's come to this.

Dr. Kureha: "..."

"Interesting kid, follow me."

The three followed Dr. Kureha and Chopper into the castle. Zoro was undergoing treatment in the operating room, and sounds of pig-like screams kept coming from there. In the hall, Lina and Luffy were trying to lure Chopper away. After learning they were pirates, Chopper, despite his fear, was driven by curiosity and began to chat with them boldly.

"Hey, hey, do you have a pirate flag?" Chopper asked expectantly.

"Hehe, of course, we do! I'll draw it for you," Luffy said, grabbing paper and a pen. "Look! It's like this!"

He unfolded the drawing. On it was a crooked skull wearing... well, it was supposed to be a Straw Hat, but it bore no resemblance to their actual pirate flag.

Lina, leaning back on the sofa and drinking tea, said speechlessly, "Luffy, your drawing skills are really..."

"Wow! So cool!!"

Pfft! "What's cool about it!" Lina spat out his tea. He hadn't expected Chopper to be like this. He glanced at Chopper strangely. "But since you admire pirates so much, why don't you just come out to sea with us?"

"Yeah, yeah, come with us, Chopper," Luffy added with a smile.

Chopper's excitement gradually turned into hesitation. He certainly dreamed of being a pirate; Dr. Hiriluk was a pirate once, but...

"I can't be a pirate..." Chopper said dejectedly, his eyes dimming. The thing holding him back was himself.

"Why?"

"Please stop asking," Chopper turned and ran away.

"That's strange, are there pirates who can't be pirates?" Luffy squatted on the chair like a monkey, looking confusedly in the direction Chopper had gone.

Bang

Just then, the door to the operating room opened. It was more of a bedroom; after Wapol left, Dr. Kureha had taken over the castle and renovated it.

"All done, let him sleep a little longer."

Dr. Kureha clapped her hands and sat down, picking up the bottle of liquor from the table and leaning back on the sofa, tilting her head back for a long drink. "You two brats, trying to steal my pet while I was away."

"Hahaha, you found us out," Luffy said with a carefree laugh, his disguise seen through.

"If you want to take him, go ahead," Kureha said dismissively, a playful smirk on her lips. "If you can."

"Sounds like you're quite willing," Liner said with a light chuckle, lighting a cigarette and then offering one to her. He had noticed the ashtray on the table.

"He's always wanted to be a pirate," Kureha said, taking the cigarette and speaking calmly.

"Then why didn't he set sail?"

"Because he was sick, a sickness of the heart that even I can't cure."

Exhaling a smoke ring, Kureha closed her eyes as if recalling memories, and slowly began to tell them about Chopper's past.

"Because of his naturally blue nose, this kid was ostracized by his own kind from birth. He always trailed behind the reindeer herd, unwanted.

"Later, he accidentally ate a Devil Fruit, and was even attacked by the reindeer as an anomaly. Covered in wounds, he came to a human village. You've seen his appearance, and the result was obvious – he was treated like a monster.

"Humans' instinctive fear of the unknown made them unable to accept this monster. Curses, swords, even gunshots – they drove him away in every way they could."

Kureha seemed to be thirsty, taking another swig of liquor before continuing:

"Until that man appeared, Hiriluk. A third-rate doctor with terrible medical skills, who spent his days inventing a universal cure, a fool who talked about making this country bloom with cherry blossoms.

"And yet, it was precisely this kind of person who saved this monster, rejected by both his own kind and humans..."

Kureha finished her drink, placing the empty bottle on the exquisitely crafted marble tabletop. She said with a look of disdain, "After his adoptive father died, this kid started pestering me, saying he wanted to become a doctor who could cure all diseases. What a foolish boy."

Kureha looked at the two of them seriously. "He was afraid of being hurt again, so he shut himself off, gradually coming to believe he was a monster himself. So..."

Kureha paused, then said playfully to the two, "If you can do it, then go ahead."

"Hee hee hee, I've decided,"

Luffy grinned, his mouth stretched wide. "I'm definitely going to make him our nakama!"

"He'll fit right in, our ship is full of monsters."

Liner chuckled lightly and stood up, rolling up his dark blue sleeves. "Let's go, Luffy, I can't wait."

"Hee hee hee, Operation Capture Chopper, begins!" Luffy shouted excitedly and rushed out ahead.

"Two idiots!"

Watching the two run off, Dr. Kureha spat and opened another bottle of liquor. She truly didn't know how she had lived to be over a hundred years old.

"It seems that idiots are drawn to each other,"

Her body sank back into the soft sofa cushions. Kureha gazed at the ceiling, lost in thought, a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Are you leaving, Chopper?"