"Shoo, shoo, stop bothering me. Work it out yourselves. If you're choosing a king, I think Dalton would be a good candidate." Kureha waved them away, but offered them a name.
Zoro nodded. "That guy's pretty decent. He's the one we met when we first arrived. He could organize everyone to resist pirates, so he clearly has quite a bit of popular support. We can give him a try."
"Then let's give him a try. Let's go. Chopper, you're coming too." Liu Qing agreed, then grabbed Chopper.
Chopper looked pitifully at Kureha. "Dr. Kureha..."
Kureha had made up her mind too. "Go, Chopper. Set sail with them and see this world. Learn about more diseases, then cure them. Don't you want to develop a cure-all? You'll never succeed staying on this island. It's time for you to set sail, Chopper."
Liu Qing simply carried Chopper away, speaking as he walked. "Don't be so sad. We'll be back after we kill Wapol. We still need to let you two say a proper goodbye, don't we?"
Luffy charged ahead, taking the lead. This time, they didn't use the Wood Dragon to travel. Since there was no hurry, they all walked slowly down the mountain.
On their way down, they ran into the Lapahn and nearly got into a fight. Chopper communicated with them, and their leader agreed to let everyone pass, allowing them to reach the town safely.
As soon as they arrived in town, someone informed Dalton.
They hadn't walked along the street for long before Dalton arrived with some people, found Luffy and the others, and took them to his home.
Dalton glanced at Nami, then looked at Luffy and asked, "Your companion has recovered, hasn't she? What brings you here now?"
Luffy was just about to speak when Nami shoved him aside and addressed Dalton. "Ignore him. Let me explain. Do you want this country to prosper and flourish, without being ruled by another king like Wapol?"
Dalton froze. "What do you mean? Do you have a way to make that happen?"
Nami raised her hand and made a throat-slitting gesture. "Simple. Just kill Wapol. Once he's dead, you become king. How about it?"
Dalton rubbed his chin, sinking into thought.
After pondering for a long time, he turned his gaze toward Luffy and Liu Qing. "I don't want to kill him. Although we hate him and want him dead, he is, after all, the king of an Affiliated Nation. Over the years, he's gathered a lot of treasure and sent it to a Celestial Dragon. If we kill him, we don't know whether the Celestial Dragons will retaliate. If someone like that sets their sights on us, we'll be in serious trouble too."
"I've read the newspaper reports about your pirate crew. I know you're strong and could kill him easily, but I can't gamble the lives of everyone in this country on the Celestial Dragons not standing up for Wapol. So I'd like to ask you to help me drive him out of Drum Island, so thoroughly that he'll never dare return."
With that, Dalton dropped straight to his knees. "For the sake of this country, please help us."
Seeing this, Chopper's heart softened somewhat. He turned to Liu Qing, who was holding him, and spoke in an adorable voice. "Liu Qing... please help them. Once this is over, I promise I'll set sail with you."
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, and even Princess Vivi all brightened up. They crowded around Chopper, showering him with so much praise that his head spun.
Luffy's murderous intent also faded considerably. He patted his chest and pulled Dalton up. "Leave it to us. Take us to Wapol right now."
Dalton was delighted too. As long as they drove away that scourge of a king, the people's lives would keep improving. At least someone would treat them when they fell ill.
"Come, come, everyone, follow me. I'll take you to the kingdom's prison." Dalton took the lead, striding quickly toward the cells.
Luffy and the others hurried after him.
Before long, they arrived at the prison. Looking at Wapol, who lay limp in Seastone Handcuffs, Luffy spoke with murderous intent. "Hey, you're Wapol, right? We're going to save this country, and you're standing in our way. So we're giving you two choices. You can choose whether to live or die."
"First choice: we, the Straw Hat Pirates, kill every last one of you and install a new king."
Before Luffy could state the second choice, Wapol abruptly sat up and cried out in terror, "You can't kill me! I'm the king of one of the World Government Member States! And I'm on very good terms with a Celestial Dragon. If you kill me, the Celestial Dragons will send people to hunt you down too. They might even send an admiral after you!"
"The World Government? The Celestial Dragons? I don't care who they are! If you refuse to leave, we'll kill you!" Luffy roared, staring murderously at Wapol, who was scared to death yet still threatening them.
Luffy took a deep breath and continued, "Second choice: take your men and leave this island, but you can't take the doctors. Once you leave, you can never come back. We'll leave a Den Den Mushi here. If you dare return, we'll come back and kill you. Choose."
Chopper was moved to tears at that moment. He had never imagined that Luffy and the others would truly be willing to kill the king of one of the World Government Member States to fulfill his wish-the wish of Tony Tony Chopper. Were these the true companions Hiriluk had spoken of?
Hiriluk, I've found my own companions. Companions who will fear nothing to fulfill my wish, Chopper said silently to himself.
Frightened by the murderous look in Luffy's eyes, Wapol hastily spoke. "Two... I choose two! We'll leave this island right now and never come back!"
Liu Qing stepped forward. "I hope you remember what you just said. If you dare come back, I'll show you how I can beat you into pissing beef balls without even using my hands."
"Yes, yes, yes! I'll remember. Could you undo my handcuffs first and release my men? We'll get ready to leave right now." Wapol nodded like a chicken pecking grain.
An hour later...
Off the coast of Drum Island, Wapol sailed aboard the Ironclad with his several hundred underlings, heading in a random direction. He looked back longingly at Drum Island, his heart filled with bitterness. "Sigh... this is just too hard. My life is such a failure. Anyone can come along and bully me. There's no justice in this world."
Watching Wapol sail away from the island, Dalton knelt once more and bowed his head heavily to the ground before everyone in Luffy's pirate crew. "Thank you for helping Drum Island. Straw Hat Pirates, from now on, you're Drum Island's dearest friends. You're always welcome to visit."
Luffy helped Dalton up. "Don't read too much into it. I only helped you for our companion Chopper's sake."
Liu Qing looked at Dalton. "Do you have any seeds here? Seeds for red flowers. If you do, give me a big bag."
Dalton looked puzzled, but didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he said, "We have some. Wait a moment. I'll go get them for you now."
A short while later, Dalton returned with a large bag of seeds and handed it to Liu Qing.
"There are many kinds of seeds in here. Almost all of them produce red flowers. Unfortunately, you won't see any flowering trees on this island."
"Thanks for the seeds. You'll have a chance to see them bloom someday."
Several more hours passed, and evening arrived.
The bitter wind howled past the steep mountain walls, whipping up flakes of snow that danced through the air.
Luffy and the others returned to the Castle with Chopper, with Dalton tagging along behind them. After Wapol was driven out of Drum Island, the country's sick had begun receiving treatment. That was why they had gone down in the morning and only returned at night. Dalton had come to ask Kureha to teach others medicine.
Chopper's kindness wouldn't allow him to see sick people without treating them.
So, in the kingdom's square, Liu Qing had used Wood Release to build a house that covered the entire square, allowing Chopper to treat the kingdom's sick inside. Nearly a hundred doctors who had stayed behind helped him.
As soon as they returned to the Castle, Chopper scampered over to Kureha with a clattering of hooves and hugged her.
"Dr. Kureha, listen! I'm going to become a pirate! I'm going on adventures with Luffy and the others!" Chopper told Kureha, both happy and reluctant to part.
Kureha looked at Luffy and the others in disbelief. "You succeeded? You really are remarkable fellows. Haha!"
But Kureha wanted to tease Chopper a little. "Chopper, you could die if you go out to sea as a pirate. Do you still want to go with them?"
Chopper looked resolute. "I want to set sail as their ship's doctor. I'm so grateful to you, Dr. Kureha, because this is where I met Dr. Hiriluk and you. I'll miss you. You'll be able to read about me in the newspapers. Once I've made a cure-all, I'll come back and stay with you, and never leave again." As he spoke, Chopper clung to Kureha's trousers and began to cry.
"Hahahaha! Go, Chopper. Only out on the sea will your medical skills improve. You won't make any progress staying here." Kureha stroked Chopper's head.
"You lot had better protect Chopper. He's my proudest student. If anything happens to him, I won't let you off."
Night fell, and the Castle rang with laughter and cheerful voices.
A night passed.
Chopper packed his luggage and opened the Castle's great doors, only to be stunned by the sight before him.
As far as he could see, his entire field of vision was a sea of red. Tall trees were covered in red flowers, and blossoms filled all of Drum Island.
Luffy and the others came over and hugged Chopper. "This is our gift to you, Chopper. An island filled with red flowers amid the falling snow."
Chopper's eyes brimmed with tears. "Everyone, thank you. Sob..."
Just then, Kureha threw a wine bottle out and snapped, "Hurry up and leave! Stop disturbing my sleep!"
Chopper immediately pulled a sled out of the next room. "Everyone, jump on! We're setting off!"
Everyone instantly jumped onto the sled, and Chopper pulled it onto the cable and raced down the mountain.
Kureha walked out and stared blankly in the direction Chopper had gone, lost in thought.
"You're just parting like that? Aren't you going to see him off?" Dalton walked up beside Kureha and asked.
"He was just a pet staying with me. Now someone else has asked to take him, that's all. I hate tearful goodbyes more than anything!" Kureha spoke defiantly, but tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
As though sensing something, Chopper glanced back at the Castle and murmured to himself, "It's finally begun-my adventure! Take care of yourself, Dr. Kureha."
Before you continue