The room was terrifyingly quiet.
Kai whispered, "...Chopper must be blaming himself."
Dr. Kureha put down her wine bottle, looked at the flames in the fireplace, and sighed softly, "He always believed he was responsible for Hiriluk's death."
Nami's tears streamed down her face.
Kai was silent for a long time, then took a deep breath and looked up at Dr. Kureha, "So, he's afraid to leave here. He's afraid of the outside world."
Dr. Kureha nodded, "Yes."
She looked at Kai, a slight smile playing on her lips, "If you can help him overcome this, I won't stop you."
Kai clenched his fist, his eyes resolute, "...I will definitely get him to join the crew."
Nami wiped her tears and said softly, "Chopper... he deserves a wider world."
Dr. Kureha smiled faintly, raising her wine bottle, "Then I wish you good luck."
"Oh, and Chopper's adoptive father, Hiriluk's, greatest wish was to cure this country!"
Kai and Nami exchanged glances, understanding that this was Dr. Kureha's hint to them.
They could start from this angle to resolve Chopper's inner turmoil.
Outside the castle, a commotion erupted, like someone shouting, or someone yelling provocatively.
The wind and snow carried the sounds into the room, bringing with them a biting chill.
Kai frowned, listening intently.
Luffy's voice, boisterous and lively, carried his usual fearlessness and excitement.
Dr. Kureha put down her wine bottle, snorted, a hint of sarcasm in her eyes, "That fellow is back."
"Who?"
"The root of this country's suffering—Wapol."
Kai and Nami exchanged glances and quickly walked to the window.
Outside the window, Luffy, Sanji, and Chopper were confronting three people, one of whom was corpulent, with teeth protruding like a beast's, and an arrogant expression.
Dr. Kureha sneered, pointing at the man, "That's Wapol, the current King of Drum Kingdom, and a complete scoundrel."
Nami's eyes widened, "What evil deeds has he done?"
Dr. Kureha's gaze turned cold, her voice like a sharp blade, filled with deep-seated anger:
"He abandoned all his citizens and fled to avoid danger.
Before that, to control the citizens, he blockaded all medical care in the country, forcing all doctors to obey him, using medical control to control the people!"
Kai's eyes slightly chilled.
Dr. Kureha continued, "What's more despicable is that he tricked Hiriluk, saying there was a patient who needed treatment, and lured him to the castle gates.
But before the poisonous mushroom could kill Hiriluk, Hiriluk detonated a bomb and committed suicide!"
"What a rotten person," Kai's voice was low.
Kai looked at Chopper by the castle gate, sighing inwardly.
Kai sensed that this little fellow yearned for recognition, yearned for companions, yet was also afraid.
He needed an opportunity. Kai looked out the window, narrowing his eyes and smiling:
"Since the root cause is back, it's much simpler then. Drum Kingdom, let's change the King."
Nami suddenly looked up, staring at Kai with an expression that said, "Are you kidding me?"
Dr. Kureha was stunned, "You mean...?"
"Chopper's inner turmoil, Hiriluk's wish, isn't it precisely this? To fundamentally cure this country," Kai shrugged,
"Since he's back, let's deal with him. That way, Chopper will have nothing to hesitate about."
With that, he leaped out of the window.
Snowflakes fluttered, landing on his shoulders, cool to the touch. Kai landed steadily at the castle gate, looking up at the confronting figures.
"Luffy, what's going on?"
Luffy turned, waving excitedly, "Kai! They say they're the owners of this castle and they want to attack us!"
Kai's gaze swept over the three.
Wapol was short and stout, with a large belly, overall barrel-shaped, and relatively short limbs.
His chin was very large and strangely shaped, his mouth wide and often revealing two prominent front teeth.
He wore a heavy coat, his belly round, his face full of disdain.
Next to Wapol were two subordinates, one tall and thin, standing rigidly.
His hair was black and white in a checkerboard pattern, somewhat resembling a chessboard design.
His beard also looked like a chessboard, and he wore heavy fur clothing, looking like a noble knight, holding a bow and arrow.
The other was a sturdy, muscular man, looking more like a warrior.
He had two oversized, round, black "pom-pom" hairstyles on his head, looking like giant wool balls, very peculiar.
He wore dark fur clothing and was glaring fiercely at Luffy.
Wapol laughed arrogantly, "That's right! The entire country is my private property!"
Kurozumi! Chess! Get rid of them, let these ignorant fellows know that this is not a place for them to run wild!"
Kai, however, smiled, raising his hand to pat Luffy's shoulder, "Luffy, these guys are yours. Consider it a welcome gift for our new companion."
Luffy's eyes lit up, "Kai! You also want Chopper to be our companion?"
"Chopper? Companion?" Wapol sneered, "That snow monster? You want to take it?"
Chopper suddenly froze.
"Hmph, who wants to be your companion!" Chopper turned his head, shouting stubbornly.
But his voice trembled slightly, and his heart pounded. Humans... actually acknowledged him as a companion?
Luffy scratched his head, grinning, "But Chopper, you clearly want companions, don't you?"
Chopper's pupils contracted slightly, and his feet unconsciously recoiled.
Wapol roared, "How dare you ignore me? Kurozumi! Chess! Go!"
Kurozumi grinned savagely, his figure exploding forward, smashing the snow with a kick, and swinging his fist at Luffy!
"Gum-Gum Pistol!"
Luffy's fist instantly stretched, smashing fiercely into Kurozumi's face!
"Bang!"
Kurozumi's figure flew over ten meters, crashing heavily onto the snowy ground!
Luffy hadn't even used full force, otherwise, it wouldn't have been as simple as flying ten meters.
Chess, seeing this, held his bow and arrow, drawing the bowstring into a full moon and shooting at Luffy.
Luffy, seeing this, grinned, with absolute confidence; these opponents were not worth Luffy's serious attention.
At this moment, Kai reminded Luffy.
"Luffy, this country is sick, and these three people in front of us are the root cause, and also the wish of our new companion Chopper's adoptive father."
"He wanted to cure this country!"
Luffy, hearing Kai say this, immediately understood Kai's meaning.
He turned and gave Kai a toothy grin, assuring Kai:
"I know what to do, just watch me!"
At this moment, the arrow shot by Chess came hurtling towards Luffy with a whooshing sound.
And he shouted arrogantly, "You dare to be distracted while fighting me, die! Haha!!!"
"Gum-Gum Finger Pistol!"
Luffy didn't even look at the arrow; his Observation Haki had already predicted it.
In Chess's disbelieving eyes, Luffy's index finger, covered in Armament Haki, instantly elongated.
Moving several times faster than the arrow, it directly destroyed the arrow and instantly pierced Chess's chest.
Chess couldn't react at all to the extreme speed of Luffy's move and was hit directly.
"How... could he be so strong!"
Chess fell, carrying his desire for life, crashing heavily onto the ground.