Chapter 30: Doctors, Departures, and Tattoos, Oh My!

I'll be honest. This chapter really isn't that impressive. It's mostly just the Canon that wraps up the Drum Island Arc. The only real difference is at the very end where I added in an idea that I barrowed (with permission) from Bluejay Blaze's One Piece, Two Piece, Red Piece, Blue Piece. If you want to just skip the Straw Hats leaving, just scroll down to the last Line Break. Anyway, see you all next Monday!

Chapter 30:

Doctors, Departures, and Tattoos, Oh My!

"GUM-GUM... BAZOOKA!" Luffy's arms snapped forward, breaking the sound barrier near the end. They hit Wapol with enough force to topple two buildings, sending the man into the sky. He vanished into the distance.

"He's..." Chopper began. "He's gone. Th-thank you, Straw Hat."

"It was nothing," Luffy responded. "After all, that's what friends are for."

"He called me his friend," Chopper whispered to himself, staring at the rubber-man as he wandered over to Coby and Sanji to ask how their fights went. Despite being quiet, Doctor Kureha still heard him from where she was approaching.

"Doctorine," the reindeer said as she finally reached him. "I want to go with these pirates."

"Why the Hell would you want to do that?" she asked.

"Doctor Hiriluk always said that I'd have to go out to sea at some point, that there's only so much I can learn on one island." Kureha was about to respond, but the words never got out as a door in the snow opened, spitting out several people.

(earlier)

Dalton awoke to the comfort of his own bed, a fire crackling away in the fireplace. Looking around, there was nothing out of the ordinary, so why did he feel like something was wrong? Suddenly, it all came back to him. Wapol was back.

Forcing himself out of his bed, Dalton took note of the healing scars on his chest, but he chose to disregard both them and the pain he was in. Shrugging on his coat and grabbing his weapon, Dalton staggered out the door.

The pirates were just outside Dalton's home, watching as the 20 MDs patched up the citizens of Drum from whatever injuries they had received from Wapol's tirade through the town. From what the doctors had said, Dalton's surgery, while dangerous and rather risky, had gone off without a hitch. The island's self-proclaimed protector wasn't due to wake up until any time after the Straw Hats left, no matter how few days that may be. However, their conversation about Luffy and the others ground to a halt as the sound of ragged breathing made its way out of the house. Dalton leaned heavily on the door frame once he reached it, the short walk from the bed to the entrance sapping most of her energy.

"Dalton!" Vivi cried. "What are you doing up already? The doctors said you wouldn't be awake for another two days!" Her yelling ended up attracting the attention of several villagers who were either passing by or waiting for treatment for not-life-threatening injuries.

"No," Dalton urged, pushing off of the doorway. "I don't have time to rest. I have to stop Wapol. What kind of protector would I be if I couldn't?"

"A human one," Vivi answered in a stern voice, her hands falling to rest on her hips. "Now get back in that house."

"I can't. Not while that man is still on the island."

"He went toward the mountains," Nami commented with a wave. "Even if you were in top shape, you wouldn't make it in time. Let Luffy and the others handle him."

"No! He's our problem. Not yours."

"He became our problem when he attacked our ship," Zoro rebuffed, "so we'll handle him our way."

"Still," Dolton shook his head, "I won't, can't, rest easy until he's dealt with."

"Fine!" Usopp responded. "I, the great Captain Usopp, will carry you up the mountain, then!" His voice was full of confidence. His knees were not.

"You?" Amy laughed. "My little sister could probably carry him further while she was sick than you could at full health. Kyahaha!"

"Even if we are going up the mountain" Nami spoke up, "which is only a maybe, we still don't know how to get up there."

"You could take the trolley," one of the villages commented.

"What trolley?" Dalton questioned. "There hasn't been a connected trolley since Wapol left."

"Well obviously someone reconnected one," the man shot back. "You can see it from here." He pointed. In the distance what a curved line connecting the top of the mountain to a point somewhere in the east. Now knowing their goal, Zoro lifted Dalton off the ground and began carrying him off.

"Where are you going?" Nami asked.

"The trolley. Obviously."

"It's the other way," Usopp commented.

"What?" Zoro gasped. "Someone must have moved it."

(now)

"Nami!" Luffy yelled, wrapping the girl in a hug. She happily hugged him back.

"Zoro-sensei!" Coby greeted, running over to the man.

"Nami-swan! Vivi-chwan! Amy-chwan!" Sanji noodled.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Usopp muttered, him having been the only person without a warm welcome.

"Oh, guys!" Luffy said excitedly, detaching himself from his girlfriend. "I found us a doctor!" His words were met with positive response. Nami glanced down as something in the snow glittered, catching her attention. She bent down and picked up a key. Shrugging, she stuffed it in her coat pocket and followed the group over to meet the doctor Luffy had chosen to recruit.

Chopper shuffled nervously as the group approached him. Kureha had left a minute or so before, the... young... woman having dragged Dalton into the castle as soon as she'd seen his injuries. Having chosen to join Luffy meant that these people, these pirates, would be his family from that moment forward and he was having second thoughts. What if they didn't want him because he wasn't human?

"Alright, Chopper," Luffy began. "This is the rest of the crew. We've got Zoro, Coby's teacher, Usopp, our sniper, Amy, Grace's sister and the other Devil Fruit user I mentioned, and finally my girlfriend Nami, our navigator. Traveling with us for the time being is Vivi, the princess of Alabasta. Guys, this is Chopper. He's a reindeer!"

"He's so cute!" Nami and Vivi gushed.

"Shut up~!" Chopper sang, suddenly bashful rather than nervous. "You saying that doesn't make me happy~!"

"Get back here, Chopper!" Kureha yelled, weapons of various shapes and sizes whizzing past the fleeing reindeer's head. Nami had bribed the woman into letting them leave with the key she'd found outside which turned out to be the key for Wapol's armory. The pirates were preparing to make their exit and were waiting outside, but Chopper had wanted to say goodbye to the woman who'd finished his medical education. Obviously, she still wasn't a fan of his decision to leave in order to become a pirate. "You're not leaving me!"

"Get in the sleigh!" Chopper yelled at the crew as he ran toward them, dodging projectiles while pulling the sleigh he'd used to tote Doctor Kureha around for the last several years. Deciding that there was no time to question it, most of the crew grabbed a spot in the vehicle while Amy floated, pulled along by Gin holding her parasol. Without pausing, Chopper reached the rope the trolley had come up on and jumped. Kureha stopped at the edge of the mountain, watching them go.

"Are you sure that was the best way to see him off?" Dalton questioned beside her.

"Any softer and he'd be homesick before they reached Alabasta," Kureha answered. "Now what are you doing out of bed? Get back inside! And you guys! Get some cannons out!"

The pirates stopped in a clearing a couple miles away from the mountain, the castle visible through a break in the trees. Everyone was out of breath due to the cold winter air. Suddenly, the booming of cannons reached their ear.

"What the Hell?" Zoro questioned, grabbing his swords. "Is that old hag trying to shoot us from up there?"

"Impossible," Nami denied. "Cannon don't have enough range, even with higher ground. Plus they couldn't see anything through that storm." More booms sounded, but these came from over the castle. The cannonballs had exploded, the pink powder they were filled with sticking to the snow around them. The castle and its surroundings were covered in pink, giving it the appearance of a giant cherry blossom tree.

Chopper cried for 15 minutes.

"Oh no!" Chopper fretted, the former Drum Kingdom fading into the distance behind them. The Straw Hats had reached their ship and set sail quickly, only the newest member looking back on the island they'd just saved.

"What's wrong?" Coby asked, stepping up next to the panicking reindeer.

"I left my medical bag behind!"

"You mean this?" Nami held up a blue bag with a white X, the accessory sized for Chopper's smallest form.

"Yes, but... Where did you find it?"

"It was in the sleigh. I thought you'd packed it."

Chopper shook his head before turning back the island. "Doctorine," he whispered.

"To our new crewmates!" Luffy cheered, a mug of some drink in his hand. The Straw Hat Pirates were celebrating Chopper's joining and, since the sisters hadn't gotten a party after Little Garden, they were lumped in, too. Several hours passed, leaving most of the crew somewhat out-of-it.

"Hey, Gin," Zoro slurred, trying his best to not spill what was in all likelihood his 15th mug. "I need ya to do somethin' fer me."

"What is it?" the former Krieg pirate asked, holding his composure better than his inebriated friend. That might have only been because he'd drunk only half as much as the swordsman. "What do you need?"

"You said you did tattoos, right?" Gin nodded. "Then I want'cha to give me a tattoo right here." Zoro pointed to the bicep on his right arm and downed the rest of his mug. "I want'cha ta give me a skull with two crossed swords behind it... and a sword in its mouth... and my bandana."

"Sure. I can do that," the man answered. Gin retrieved his tools and got to work. The process attracted the attention of many others, leading everyone to get their own tattoos, each unique to themselves.

Luffy simply got the symbol of the Straw Hat Pirates on his left shoulder blade. Nami's skull had Beri signs for eyes and was sticking its tongue out. It went right in the middle of her existing tattoo. Usopp's had a long nose, his bandana, and a slingshot. It went on his left arm. Sanji's went on his left shoulder blade and had his signature eyebrow, a chef hat, a crossed fork and knife, and a cigarette. Chopper chose to get Doctor Hiriluk's flag on his right shoulder blade. Coby decided on a triceratops skull with crossed swords on his right shoulder. Grace received a skull with her pigtails and crossed paint brushes on her left arm. Amy decided on a skull with her usual hat, lemon earrings, and an open parasol behind. She had it placed on her left arm like her sister. Even Vivi got swept into the inking; she had a small skull with a crown and her bright-blue hair in a high ponytail tattooed on her upper right arm by the shoulder where is could be easily hidden. Finally, Gin finished with his own tattoo on his left arm, a skull with his headband and crossed weighted tonfa.

Just like that, every one of the Straw Hat Pirates, official members or otherwise, had their own personal jolly roger that would never come off. They proudly showed off their new ink to everyone else and the world.

End of Chapter 30

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-SwordOfTheGods