Chapter 132

"Pirates!?" Chopper exclaimed with astonishment in his tone. "Like those incredible people from the sea, Dr. Hiriluk told me about?" He asked, with stars glittering in his eyes.

"Incredible guys from the sea, eh?" I remarked with an amused tone. "That sounds likes us, alright, Rehahahaha," I added, cocking my head back and loudly laughing.

Byron Crocus smiled at my words while Doc Q began wheezing slightly, and I think he was trying to chuckle. However, Law merely sighed, burying his face into his palm in embarrassment.

"So, do you have well-trained bodies?" Chopper asked with an amazed expression, looking me up and down as he did.

"Of course! I can even destroy an entire house with a single punch!" I shamelessly bragged, flexing my biceps.

"Eyes like a hawk?" Chopper asked while looking me in the eye.

"I can even spot an ant a mile away from here," I replied with a chuckle. "But I know this one pirate whose eyes actually look they belong to hawk too," I added while gesturing towards my eyes.

"Really!?" Chopper exclaimed in a shocked tone, and I nodded at him. "Then what about voices like thunder, capable of splitting the sky?" he asked again, stars basically flowing from his eyes.

"Well, I can't split the sky with it just yet," I replied with a grin as I remembered how Whitebeard and Shanks split the sky with a single clash.

"But I reckon I can knock out a hundred people with my voice," I added, smiling even more broadly at Chopper's shocked expression with his eyes and jaw wide open.

"I know you're telling him the truth...," Byron said in an awkward tone while looking at Chopper. "But it somehow feels like you're some middle-aged guy trying to kidnap a child, captain," he added while scratching the back of his head.

(Author's note: Shout out to my friend and biggest supporter since I started writing, Raizen22 (On Webnovel), who reminded me about this flashback where Dr. Hiriluk talks about pirates, saying they had well-trained bodies, eyes like a hawk, and voices that could split the sky a while ago on discord!)

"Shut it, feather brain," I replied with a glare, karate-chopping Byron's head and causing him to wince in pain.

"So, about Dr. Kureha, is she home?" I asked as I turned to look at Chopper, bringing him out of his astonished daze.

"No, but she'll be back soon," Chopper replied as he shook his head, clearing his mind. "You can come inside to wait for her," he said while gesturing for us to go inside, pausing as he remembered something.

"But don't try anything funny, humans!" he added, puffing his chest as he glared at us, trying to look intimidating, but he only looked cute, causing us to chuckle with even Law faintly smiling.

"You hear that, guys?" I said with a smile as I turned to look at my comrades. "Don't do anything funny, or the great doctor Chopper here will beat you up!" I dramatically added while pointing at Chopper, who buffed his chest even more.

"That's right, and don't you gorget!" Chopper said, nodding with a satisfied smile as he resumed beginning us inside. "But just so you know, you calling me a great doctor doesn't make me happy at all," he added in an abnormally happy tone.

"Now hurry up and come inside, you asshole, you jerk," he remarked, alternating b between beckoning us inside and doing his iconic dirty old man dance.

...

"So, what are your names?" Chopper asked as he sat on the ground, reading some medical book.

"I'm Johnny, the captain of the crew," I introduced myself with a pleasant smile. "The guy who looks like he's about to die is Doc Q. He's a great doctor just like you," I added while pointing at Doc, who raised his hand, trying to wave in greeting, but his face suddenly turned blue, and his entire body went limp.

"Is he okay?" Chopper asked with a concerned tone while looking at Doc. "And you calling me a great doctor still doesn't make me, happy you jerk!" he added, smiling as he rubbed the back of his head with a cheerful expression.

"He tends to do that from time time, but he'll be okay, so just ignore him," I replied with a chuckle, shrugging my shoulders. "The dumb-looking blonde is Byron. He's a musician," I added while gesturing towards Byron.

"I'm not dumb-looking captain! You're just jealous of my good looks!" Byron replied while giving me the middle finger. "And nice to meet you, Dr. Chopper," he added, smiling as he turned to look at Chopper.

"The broody, emo-looking guy is Law. He's a doctor too," I introduced Law, whose eyes began twitching at my choice of words.

"I don't even know what an emo is, but I'm incredibly offended, captain," Law commented with a frown, going quiet and ignoring Chopper for the most part.

"As you can see, he's terribly shy, Rehahaha," I remarked, earning my second middle finger for the day, courtesy of the death surgeon himself.

"And finally, this is Crocus. He's a doctor too," I added while pointing towards the old doctor.

"What? No sarcastic comments?" Crocus asked with an amused tone as he turned to look at me.

"I'd only be stating the obvious if I made any sarcastic comments about you, old man," I replied with a smile as I looked at the weird flower petals sticking out of Crocus' head.

"Youngsters..., as impolite as ever," Crocus remarked while shaking his head. "But in any case, it's a pleasure to meet you, young man," Crocus said with a smile.

"But I have a question if you don't mind, Dr. Chopper...," Crocus remarked in a hesitant tone, his eyes moving to glance at a Jolly roger hanging on one of Dr. Kureha's tree house walls.

"That jolly roger looks familiar. May I ask who it belongs to?" Crocus asked as the image of a certain dying thief, asking him for a cure for his terminal illness long ago, came to mind.

"Oh, it belongs to Dr. Hiriluk, the greatest doctor to have ever lived!" Chopper replied in a proud tone, pausing with a pained expression at the end of his sentence.

"Oh, he sounds like a great person indeed!" Crocus remarked with a nod. "Do you mind describing how he looks to me?" he added, looking at Chopper with a warm smile.

"Sure, he had a ....," Chopper readily agreed to describe Hiriluk's appearance, going out of his way to describe the doctor's personality and dreams with a fond smile.

"I see," Crocus said with a thoughtful expression after listening to Chopper happily describe Hiriluk. 'He really is that thief from back then. I still don't know he got better,' Hiriluk thought with, closing his eyes as he reminisced about the last thing Hiriluk said before leaving after Crocus informed diagnosed him as healthy.

"If even someone as helpless as me can be cured by such a simple thing as gazing on sakura blossoms, then no one is beyond saving!"

"I will raise this skull from now on in defiance of all diseases and head back to cure my home island!"

The thief then took out a jolly roger similar to the one on the walls inside Kureha's house and disappeared, never to be heard from again.

'So that's where he ended up?' Crocus thought with a smile. "May I ask what happened to this Dr. Hiriluk and where he is right now?" Crocus asked as he turned to look at Chopper again.

Chopper had a pained expression upon hearing Crocus's question, but he went on to reply, nonetheless, only to be interrupted by a voice coming from the front door.

"The old quack is dead, so there's no point in talking him," said an old woman, wearing revealing clothes that showed her body that looked like the body of a twenty-year-old girl as she walked into the house, carrying a medical kit and a bottle of plum sake.

"However, what I want to know is why you're here despite me telling you and the rest of you pirates brats not to show your faces around here again?" she asked as she turned to look at Crocus with a sharp look, causing him to sweat as he smiled nervously.