Kureha cursed inwardly, but said nothing on the surface.
She understood better than anyone Chopper's longing for companionship; he had always been too lonely.
So if Xia Chen wanted to take Chopper back, she wouldn't stop him, but she wouldn't help him either.
Are you kidding me? She really likes Chopper, that tsundere little tanuki, too!
Not interfering was already her biggest concession. If Xia Chen couldn't get Chopper to go with him, then sorry, it wasn't meant to be!
"To be your... partner?" Chopper was stunned for a moment, then pointed to himself.
Are you talking about me?
"Otherwise what? Besides you, who else here is named Chopper?" Xia Chen said with a faint smile.
"No, no!" Chopper shook his head frantically, then repeated all the shortcomings he had just identified.
Xia Chen sighed, feeling a bit helpless. Chopper was still too insecure at this point.
Xia Chen added, "You don't need to decide so quickly. I'll be staying here for a few more days, and my companions are also on this island. You can decide after you've met them and experienced the atmosphere on our ship!"
Xia Chen didn't want to force Chopper to join right now. His long-held beliefs weren't so easy to change; he needed to take it slow and steady.
"Your companion? Are there any other people on your ship?"
"Of course! Otherwise, wouldn't a pirate crew of only two people be too noisy?"
"That's true!" Chopper nodded subconsciously, then suddenly seemed to realize something and asked urgently, "Are you a pirate?"
"Yes! Is there a problem?"
Chopper didn't answer Xia Chen's question, but stood there stunned, his mind involuntarily recalling his adoptive father, Hiriluk.
Since Hiriluk always identified himself as a pirate, and Chopper had never encountered other vicious pirates, his impression of pirates had always been very good.
Upon hearing Xia Chen say that he was a pirate, his desire to join them intensified, but he still had some reservations.
Xia Chen noticed the conflict on Chopper's face and said to him, "How about I take you down the mountain to meet my companions?"
"Ah, can I?" Chopper's tone was seven parts excitement and three parts trepidation.
"Of course! Enough talk, let's go!" Xia Chen said, pulling Chopper away. Then, as if remembering something, he turned to Kureha and said, "Sister, please take care of my companion for now. I'll take Chopper to play!"
"Go away, go away! Don't bother me by watching here!" Kureha said, waving her hand impatiently.
"Thank you, sister! We'll be back tonight!"
After saying that, Xia Chen and Chopper walked out side by side.
Once outside the castle, Chopper turned to Xia Chen and said, "Wait until I change my appearance, then I'll take you down!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Chopper transformed back into his normal reindeer form.
" Chopper, you're amazing!" Xia Chen praised Chopper with great insight.
Instantly, Chopper's face flushed crimson.
"Even if you say that, I won't be happy, you jerk~"
"Alright, let's go to the cable car. I'll use that to take you down!"
"Hmm? Can I just ride off you?" Xia Chen asked.
"It's possible, but I'm afraid of leaving you behind."
"This is a small problem, no problem at all. Come on, let's just leave it at that!"
With that, Xia Chen lightly leaped onto Chopper's back and excitedly shouted, "Lord Chopper, let's go!"
(^ω^)!
"Yo~" Chopper exclaimed happily, then jumped onto the rope leading down the mountain, carrying Xia Chen.
Feeling the whistling wind in his ears and looking at the snow scene below, Xia Chen felt very comfortable.
"By the way, Xia Chen, how did you get up such a high mountain?" Chopper suddenly asked.
"Me? I flew up here!"
"Oh~ it flew up here..."
"It flew up here??"
Chopper suddenly jumped up and asked in surprise.
"Yes, is there a problem?"
"That's a huge problem! Why can you, a human, fly? Even a reindeer can't fly!"
Xia Chen:...
Do you think reindeer can fly? It seems even more unrealistic than humans flying, doesn't it?
Then Chopper looked at Xia Chen with starry eyes.
"Could you take me flying too?"
"Sure!"
After saying that, Xia Chen jumped up and then used Geppo to stomp around in the air.
Σ(ﾟ∀ﾟﾉ)ﾉ!
"Let's go, I'll take you down!" Xia Chen said with a faint smile.
Chopper immediately reverted to his original form and leaped onto Xia Chen's head.
"Hey, I didn't say you could ride me!"
"What's the big deal? Let's go!"
After a period of time~
Xia Chen and Chopper walked slowly through the village, but Chopper was in his reindeer form at the moment, otherwise he was afraid that he would be regarded as an oddity if he walked in human form.
Even so, many eyes were still focused on them, and Chopper seemed a little anxious and uneasy.
Xia Chen gently patted his back and said, "Don't worry too much about what others think in this world. Just be yourself!"
Chopper nodded without answering, and then the two continued walking towards a certain place.
A few minutes later, they arrived at a house. Xia Chen gently knocked on the door, and according to his Observation Haki, Luffy and his crew were inside.
A moment later, the door opened, revealing a very muscular man dressed in green.
Seeing Xia Chen, he looked puzzled and couldn't help but ask, "Who are you?"
"I'm one of those people behind you! My name is Xia Chen!" Xia Chen pointed to Luffy and the others behind him.
Luffy saw him at that moment and happily greeted him.
"Hey, Xia Chen!"
Seeing this, the man said, "Come on in, you're dressed so lightly, it's too cold outside!"
After entering the house, Xia Chen noticed that one person was missing from their ship and asked curiously, "Where's Zoro?"
"He's guarding the ship!" Sanji replied.
"How is Miss Nami?"
"I've taken her to the doctor, she's sleeping now and she's fine!"
"That's good!" Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Suddenly, Sanji noticed Chopper following behind Xia Chen, his eyes lighting up as he looked at Xia Chen and said:
" Xia Chen, you actually knew we were hungry, and you even brought back a reindeer!"
"Wait a minute, I'll go process it right now, and I guarantee you'll be enjoying some delicious venison!"
After saying that, Sanji stood up and walked towards Chopper.
=͟͟͞͞=͟͟͞͞(●⁰ꈊ⁰● |||)
Chopper broke out in a cold sweat instantly, looking at Sanji walking towards Sanji as if he were a snarling demon Demon King.
Then, in a fraction of a second, he shrank behind Xia Chen, his body trembling uncontrollably...