Sakura Rain

Thud! Thud! Thud!

After knocking on Chopper's door, Reiner and Luffy stood outside, waiting for a response.

Inside, aside from a bed in the corner and a wooden bookshelf filled with books, tables lined the other walls, covered with all kinds of medical supplies.

Hearing the knock, Chopper, who was standing on a chair, hesitated for a moment before jumping down to open the door.

Creak~

Chopper's eyes widened. "Do you need something else?"

"Hehehe."

Grabbing Chopper by both antlers and lifting him up, Luffy grinned. "Chopper, come with us. Don't you want to become a pirate and sail out on adventures too?"

"I can't. Even though I really want to go out to sea..."

Chopper did not resist, only speaking with a dejected expression. "I'm very grateful that you'd invite me, but... but..."

His voice gradually broke apart as memories flashed through Chopper's mind—rejection after rejection, cold stares after cold stares.

But Luffy said:

"Why are there so many buts? Pirates are free."

"What do humans know?!"

Chopper shouted, smacking Luffy's hand away as his expression gradually darkened.

"You've never been through what I have! How can you make it sound so easy?!

"I... I didn't do anything wrong! Why was I abandoned by my own kind?!

"Why did I have to be hurt by humans?!

"I'm a monster! Look, I have a blue nose, I can talk and walk like a human, but I have split hooves on my hands!"

He spread his hands. Tears welled uncontrollably in his round eyes and streamed down his fur. Pinching the brim of his hat and pulling it down, he lowered his head and sobbed softly.

"I don't look like a reindeer at all, and I'm nothing like a human either.

"I don't even look like a pirate.

"How could a monster like me... ever become partners with humans...?"

The room fell silent. Luffy put away his goofy grin, stepped forward, and spoke seriously.

"Sorry, Chopper...

"I really haven't had an experience like that, so it's hard for me to truly understand how you feel.

"But look! I'm a monster too, Chopper."

"Monsters can be pirates too. You don't need to care what anyone else says. Pirates are just that free, right, Reiner?"

As he spoke, Luffy grinned again and stretched his cheeks long.

Reiner also cooperated by transforming into his human-beast form, smiling as he said:

"Yeah. Monsters are more than welcome on our ship."

Yet Chopper, who had been crying his eyes out moments ago, was instead terrified by the sight.

"Monsters!!!"

Looking at the two of them, Chopper's eyes practically popped out of his head. His jaw dropped to the floor as he screamed, his little legs spinning like windmills as he tried to bolt outside.

"Help, Doctorine!!!"

Reiner: "..."

Was that polite?

"Hehehe."

The two each grabbed one of Chopper's antlers and lifted him up as he tried to flee.

"So, come be our partner, Chopper," they said in unison.

Only after a long while did Chopper stop struggling and look at them properly. Only then did he realize how serious their eyes were—exactly like Dr. Hiluluk's had been back then.

As if confirming it, and as if desperately seeking their acceptance, Chopper asked softly:

"Do you really... really accept me?"

"Of course. Don't ask something like that again, Chopper."

Reiner returned to normal, picked Chopper up, and set him on his shoulders, his hands resting on that tuft of blond hair.

"Come on. Let's go tell Doctor Kureha."

Outside the castle, the three sat cross-legged in the snow. Reiner had a cigarette in his mouth as he stared blankly at the sky, bored out of his mind.

Chopper wanted to say a proper farewell to Doctor Kureha and pack his things. After picking up Zoro, the two had come outside.

Next, they would be heading to Alabasta. He had around a dozen Seastone Bullets, two pairs of Seastone handcuffs, and the Blue Ogre and Red Ogre, who knew Armament Haki.

They shouldn't get wiped out, right? Reiner thought.

"So while I was unconscious, this tanuki became our partner?" Zoro turned his head and pointed at the small figure walking out of the castle.

"I'm a reindeer, you bastard!" Chopper bared his teeth and shouted.

"Meh, whatever. You're a doctor, right?"

Picking up the three swords from the ground, Zoro stood and bent down to examine Chopper. "Having a ship's doctor will make things much more reliable."

Chopper's expression changed instantly upon hearing that. Twisting his hips, he put on a bashful look.

"Oh, stop~, even if you call me a doctor, that doesn't mean I'll be happy about it~"

"That changed fast. What a strange guy."

For Zoro, was the strange part not that a reindeer could talk, but how quickly his expression changed? Reiner thought with a silent laugh.

"Alright, it's about time we got going."

"Follow me. I'll take you down."

Reiner and Luffy got up, dusting themselves off, and followed Chopper to a cable car station. Chopper did not go inside. Instead, he transformed into reindeer form and dragged over a sled.

"Wahahaha, he transformed!"

Luffy's eyes shone as he exclaimed. From the looks of it, Chopper was planning to pull them directly down along the cable. "You can pull a sled too! You're so cool, Chopper!"

"Good thing we don't have to jump straight down."

Stepping onto the sled, Zoro curled his lips into a faint smile. "I thought we'd have to gamble on whether we were tough enough to survive the fall."

Reiner sucked in a sharp breath. So he hadn't thought at all about how they were getting down? He was just climbing aboard without a word?!

Chopper looked at Zoro in surprise. That green-haired guy sounded so cool. Was this what pirates were like?

He had not expected Zoro to gain a little fanboy on their very first day of meeting.

By then, the sky had darkened into dusk. It was not snowing. The setting sun shone over the ice-covered Winter Island, its orange-red glow glittering brilliantly.

"Hey, look! What's that?"

"Something's flying in the sky!"

In distant Big Horn Village, several villagers looked toward the sunset. The light was still somewhat blinding, forcing them to shield their eyes with their hands. Only after a while did their vision slowly adjust.

Beneath the burning red sun, several black silhouettes could vaguely be seen leaping down through the air from the mountain.

"Woohoo~~, we're flying~~"

The villagers exchanged glances, their blank expressions seeming to ask one another for confirmation.

"My eyes must be playing tricks on me."

"I think I heard someone shouting up there."

At the coast of Drum Island, the Going Merry was moored on the freezing sea. Under an afternoon of sunlight, the small amount of floating ice had already melted.

Smoke rose from the second-floor living room, carrying an enticing aroma. Sanji had already started cooking.

"We're back, everyone!"

"Come see our new partner!"

Hearing the voices, everyone came outside. Besides the three familiar figures, there was now a small, adorable pet.

He wore a red hat marked with a cross, stood upright on brown fur-covered legs, and carried a little blue backpack.

"Our partner is a tanuki?"

"Luffy, keeping pets on a ship is a hassle."

"Hey, I don't know how to make cat food."

"I'm not a tanuki, you bastards!" Chopper immediately flailed his claws and pointed at the antlers on his head as he roared, "I'm a reindeer! Look, I have antlers!"

"The tanuki talked!!!"

"I said I'm not a tanuki!!!"

"He's a reindeer who ate a Devil Fruit."

Jumping aboard, Reiner smiled. "Don't underestimate him. Chopper's medical skills are excellent. He'll be our ship's doctor from now on."

"Whoa! That's amazing."

"And he's so cute."

Chopper blushed, once again putting on a stubborn act despite clearly enjoying the praise. "Oh, stop~, even if you compliment me, that doesn't mean I'll be happy about it~"

Classic. Absolutely classic, Reiner could not help sighing.

After returning to the ship, Reiner entered the first-floor storage room to inventory and sort the supplies. He summoned undead to organize and put everything away, then pulled up the anchor to prepare for departure.

The sun had already sunk halfway beneath the horizon, and snow began falling again. The dancing snowflakes soon blanketed the entire island.

It was then that a tremendous sound rang out across Drum Island.

BOOM!!!

The deafening noise drew everyone's attention, and they all looked toward the island.

Above the central cylindrical mountain peak, a cloud of smoke suddenly burst open and rapidly spread, dyeing the falling snow all around it pink in an instant.

With the towering mountain as its trunk, cherry blossoms bloomed in full splendor. Under the thin rays of the setting sun, a romantic cascade of pink and white drifted gracefully through the air.

Chopper stood by the railing, looking up blankly at the rain of cherry blossoms blooming over this Winter Island. Pressing his lips together, he could not stop the tears from silently falling.

"Dr. Hiluluk,

"I will become a doctor who can cure every disease.

"I will become your All-Purpose Cure!"