"Huh? It's a Devil Fruit! And a mushroom-shaped one at that! I've never seen one like it before. What amazing luck I'm having today? Has my luck returned since I got away from Wendy?"
Wendy is still in the hospital bed, so thinking like this is really inappropriate, but why does this explanation seem so reasonable?
Vic was both amused and exasperated. He recalled what had happened at sea on his way to Drum Island —a truly heartbreaking experience. Even now, Vic was still cursing Kaido being a heartless bastard.
After carefully examining the Devil Fruit in his hand, Vic had some guesses, but he wasn't entirely sure since he hadn't seen Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
Without revealing anything, Vic stored the Devil Fruit into his Alternate Dimensional Space. Now he already had three Devil Fruit in the space: the Table-Table Fruit, the Ape-Ape Fruit, and this one he had just acquired. He was quite wealthy, and Vic's mood improved even more.
However, Vic hadn't gone far when he saw a lot of red bloodstains in the snow. Looking in the direction the bloodstains extended, Vic saw a herd of reindeer gathered together, all of them looking somewhat agitated.
Vic hurried over there, and a reindeer on guard saw Vic coming and immediately bellowed to warn the other reindeer. Upon receiving the message, the herd ran away, but after running a hundred meters, they stopped and looked back at Vic.
Vic had arrived at the location where the deer herd had been. The bloodstains on the snow had spread to this spot, and a small patch of snow here was completely stained red with blood.
In the middle of the snow lay a dying reindeer, which looked to be less than a month old. It was very small, much smaller than the smallest of the herd.
Vic spotted the striking blue against the little reindeer's brown fur and recognized it.
"Is that Chopper?! He's been isolated since birth. His own mother wouldn't even breastfeed him, and would often beat and drive him away. No wonder he's so small."
Is it because you're an oddball or because they're animals? An oddball? Were you different from others from birth?
Vic glanced at Chopper, who was covered in wounds on the ground, and then looked back at the spot where he had just found the Devil Fruit. It was really close!
Vic took out medicine and bandages from his storage space, applying the medicine while bandaging the treated wound.
Chopper's eyelids were a little weak, but he kept his eyes open and stared intently at Vic's face. The deer in the distance were also watching Vic, and the squirrel that hadn't run far in the tree was also looking at Vic curiously!
" Blue Nose, it seems your parents and herd don't like you. From now on, let's keep to ourselves. Your life as a deer will be very different from now on. I'll take you away from here first!"
Vic doesn't want to see Dr. Chopper, who can transform in six stages, disappear into the annals of history; such a world would lose much of its wonder!
Vic picked up Chopper, who was almost a mummy, and walked back the way they came. He had no intention of going hunting again.
At the edge of the forest, Vic found a large tree that would take three or four people to encircle, and dug a large hole in the ground ten meters above the ground, with the entrance facing away from the wind and snow.
After cleaning all the sawdust from the cave, Vic took out blankets and other warm items from his storage space and laid them on the bottom of the cave. He then took out a large bowl, poured in milk, and handed it to Chopper.
"Drink up, Blue Nose! You're badly injured and need to eat something good. I'll come to see you every day for the next few days. Stay here and don't go out. If you want to leave, wait until you've recovered."
Vic wasn't sure if Chopper, who hadn't yet eaten the Human-Human Fruit, could understand what he was saying, but Vic noticed that Chopper's bright eyes were always watching him, so he could at least sense good and evil.
Chopper lay on the blanket without drinking the milk, whether because his injuries were too severe, because he didn't understand what Vic said, or because he was curiously looking at Vic.
Vic had no choice but to demonstrate, lying on the ground and licking the milk in the bowl with his tongue for Chopper to see. Chopper, who hadn't eaten Devil Fruit, was quite intelligent; he learned it after watching Vic do it once and stretched his head to lick the milk in the bowl. This was probably the first time Chopper had ever drunk milk, and he liked it very much, licking it happily, as if he had forgotten about his injuries.
" Blue Nose, not bad, you finished it all, you should be out of danger! Just to be on the safe side, I'll give you something!"
Seeing that Chopper had finished his milk, Vic stroked his head and said something. Then he took out all the Devil Fruit from the Alternate Dimensional Space, put the bowl of milk aside, and placed the three Devil Fruit separately in front of Chopper.
"These are called Devil Fruit, and two of them are Zoan. Eating them can help you recover from injuries much faster."
There's another one that's from the Paramecia. You can choose one and have some. It might not taste very good, but I have some candy here. You can eat candy after you finish this one!
Vic placed the three Devil Fruit in front of Chopper, explaining them to him regardless of whether Chopper could understand them or not. Which one Chopper chose was up to him.
Chopper initially kept his eyes on Vic, but when Vic placed three strange fruits of different shapes and colors in front of him, Chopper's attention was drawn to the three Devil Fruit Devil Fruit, and his eyes darted back and forth between them.
Chopper stared at the Devil Fruit for a while before turning his attention back to Vic, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
"Pick one, but don't eat too many of these, or they'll explode!" Vic smiled at Chopper, his eyes encouraging.
Chopper seemed to understand Vic's words, letting out a childish cry. He then looked at the Devil Fruit, focusing intently on the mushroom-shaped Devil Fruit on the far right, completely ignoring the other two. Seeing Chopper's choice, Vic's smile widened.
"So it really was destined? Well, perhaps no one in this world but you could unleash the full potential of this fruit!"
Vic felt a pang of emotion; Chopper and the Human-Human Fruit, Ordinary Person Model were indeed destined for each other!
"You can't move right now, so I'll feed you. It tastes awful! But please don't spit it out. This is a chance to change your destiny! You'll leave behind your ignorance and begin a more wonderful and self-aware life!"
It's actually quite difficult for Chopper to eat now; in the original story, he probably only took a bite casually after being seriously injured.
Vic put away the other two Devil Fruit, picked up the Human-Human Fruit, and brought it to Chopper's mouth. Chopper took a bite without hesitation, but the awful taste made him spit it out. Vic quickly pressed down on his mouth, preventing him from spitting it out. The bite was too big, and with Vic sealing his mouth, he could only swallow it instinctively.