Chapter 131

"You're here to see the witch?" the man asked in an incredulous tone, looking me up and down.

"The witch?" Doc Q questioningly gasped as he turned to look at me with a confused expression, but I didn't reply.

"I believe that is what people call her here, yes," I said with a nod, shrugging my shoulders as I kept my gaze on the man.

"Well, she lives in a giant tree west of the town," the man said while gesturing in the direction. "Good luck, I reckon you people will need it," he cryptically added, turning around and walking away.

"What kind of person is this, Dr. Kureha, for someone to wish a bunch of pirates luck when meeting her, anyway?" Byron confusedly asked as he watched the town's man walk away.

"It looks she has changed little since I've last seen her," Crocus remarked with a chuckle. "Not that I expected her to, but still..," he added, shaking his as he trailed off at the end of his sentence.

"It looks we'll be meeting another weirdo, just great," Law murmured under his breath, heaving a sigh in annoyance.

"You know..., I think I just might leave the crew right there and then if she tried to heal me with a spell or something, captain," Doc Q remarked with a deadpan expression that quickly broke as he began heaving, his face turning blue, causing me to laugh.

"All jokes aside, let's just go and meet her," I said, still chuckling as I shook my head. "It's better than standing here and guessing while Doc dies of cold," I added in an amused tone as I started walking towards the direction the town's man pointed us towards with a smile on my face.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I'm fit as a fiddle," Doc said as he followed behind me while leaning on Byron's shoulders, puking another mouthful of blood on the snow.

"Sure, whatever you say, Doc," I remarked with a chuckle, shrugging my shoulder as I continued to walk.

"You know it just occurred to me...," Crocus said in a serious tone, trailing at the end of his sentence as he followed behind us.

"Whats is it, Crocus?" Sensing the severity of Crocus' tone, I stopped as I turned to look at him with a frown.

"Why do people say fit as a fiddle, anyway? I mean, you don't see fiddles running around and carrying weights, do you?" he remarked, causing to collapse on the snow, and the others promptly followed suit.

"I really wish that running gag of yours had an off button, old man," I grumbled in an annoyed tone as I stood up, patting my long coat to get rid of the snow.

"What running gag?" Crocus asked with an incredulous expression. "This is a serious matter, young man," he added in an admonishing tone as he continued to grumble about how disrespectful youngsters are these days.

"Whatever, let's just keep going," I said with a sigh as I kept walking, letting Crocus' words enter from ear and exit from the other.

...

"Well, here we are," I remarked in a neutral tone as I stared at a giant, snow-covered tree with a small, circular window to the side, a wooden door in the center of its base, and a wooden staircase, leading to said door.

"Living in a giant tree?" Byron remarked, scratching his head. "That's kind of witch-like, I suppose," he added, accepting the situation as it is with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I might as well hurry up and knock before you weirdos devolve into another pointless argument," I remarked, earning a few chuckles and an offended look from Law.

"It's not like you're one to talk, captain," Law murmured under his breath with a raised eyebrow, causing me to chuckle as I moved towards the door, knocking as soon it was within reach.

The door swung open after a couple of knocks, and I smiled at the sight before me.

A child-sized humanoid reindeer was standing, no, peeking out of the door with a severe expression.

I couldn't help laughing as I watched the reindeer cartoonishly reverse peeking at us while only hiding the top half of its head behind the door frame, leaving the rest of its body in plain sight.

"A raccoon? What is it doing standing in the middle of the door with such a weird pose?" Byron asked with a confused expression, likely conveying what was in everyone's heads.

"Who are you humans, and what do you want?" the reindeer in a cautious tone as it glared at us, giving Byron a dirty look for mistaking it as a raccoon.

"It spoke! The raccoon spoke!" Byron exclaimed, jaw wide in open as he pointed his index finger at the reindeer. "Oh, wait, maybe he's a mink like Pebo, is he, captain?" Byron asked after taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"I'm not a raccoon! I'm a reindeer, you bastard!" the reindeer corrected in an outraged tone, picking up a handful of snow and throwing it at Byron's face.

Forgetting Doc was leaning on him, Byron instinctively reacted and steeped to the side while dodging the snow, causing the former to fall on the snowy ground, throwing up yet another mouthful of blood.

"Ah!" the reindeer shouted in horror. "Someone call a doctor! Quick!" it continued to scream in panic, running all around the place while holding the pink top hat on its head, much to the amusement of everyone present, including Doc, who was chuckling even as he lay on the ground.

"Aren't you a doctor, Chopper?" I asked with an amused smile, causing him to freeze in place abruptly.

"I am? Oh! That's right; I'm a doctor. Bring him inside so I can treat him!" Chopped exclaimed while beckoning for us to inter, suddenly freezing again at the end of his sentence as Doc got up, wiping his mouth of blood.

"He's okay?" Chopped asked in a bewildered tone. "Wait! How do you even know I'm a doctor, human?!" he asked again in a more aggressive manner.

"And how do you know my name!?" Chopped asked one final question as he retreated back into the house, looking at from the doorway with a cautious expression.

"Oh, I know a lot of things," I remarked with a smile. "Like how good of a doctor you are...," I added, pausing at the end of my sentence as I looked at Chopper with anticipation, sure enough.

"I don't need compliments from humans like you, asshole!" Chopper said in an angry tone. "It doesn't make me happy at all...," he added as he began dancing around in joy.

"He kind of looks happy," Byron said with a deadpan expression.

"Asshole, asshole..,"

"What an energetic youngster," Crocus said with a chuckle.

"Your compliments won't work on me...,"

"How interesting, and he's a doctor too, eh?" Doc Q said between gasps as he leaned on Byron for support.

"It won't make me happy..., asshole...,"

"Another weirdo, just what we need," Law remarked with a sigh, massaging his forehead in frustration.

"Wait! You still haven't answered my question, humans!" Chopped asked, resuming his cautious attitude, though he looked a lot more relaxed now.

"Well, we're pirates, and we're here to see Dr. Kureha," I replied with a smile.