It looked at the herbs scattered on the ground, remembered its duty, quickly picked them up, then gathered its courage and carefully began to examine Tomioka's arm injury and reapply the herbs.
Although its movements were still a little shaky, they already showed the unique focus of a doctor.
During the application of the medicine, Chopper's curiosity finally overcame everything. It raised its head, its eyes sparkling with longing and confusion, and asked in a low voice:
"Are you... really pirates? What... are pirates really like?"
After asking, its gaze involuntarily drifted to the Blade leaning against Tomioka's bed, and it added, "And that... is that your weapon?"
Just then, several familiar lines of text quietly appeared in Tomioka's vision:
"[Interpersonal Communication Manual (Trial Version)]"
"[Target: Chopper]"
"[Status: Curious, Nervous, Desiring Approval]"
"[Likes: Medical skills, Pirates, Everything children like]"
"[Suggestion: Answer his questions]"
Tomioka's gaze swept over the text, then looked at Chopper, and replied in his uniquely concise way: "Yes."
He thought about Luffy's actions, "Very noisy. But not bad." Regarding the blade, he pointed to his Blade and replied even more simply: "Mm."
At this moment, Zoro, lying on the opposite bed, felt the atmosphere was too peaceful and suddenly had a mischievous thought.
He deliberately grinned, revealing a smile that Chopper found terrifying, and said in a low voice, "Hey, Chopper, right? Our Captain is a great pirate with a bounty of thirty million Berries!"
"Th-thirty million Berries?!" Although Chopper had no concept of what that bounty amount represented, the huge number of thirty million and the inherent danger of the word 'bounty'.
It still scared him thoroughly, his eyes widened, and the herbs in his hand almost fell again.
Tomioka looked at Chopper's frightened expression, then at the clear "[Likes: Pirates]" in the prompt. He was silent for a moment, then looked directly into Chopper's eyes and asked a crucial question:
"Do you like pirates?"
"No, I don't!!!!"
Almost the instant Tomioka's words fell, Chopper jumped up as if his tail had been stepped on. His entire face was probably flushed red. He waved his small hooves, vehemently denying it:
"How could I like pirates! I don't like them! Not at all!!"
However, just as he was vehemently denying it, the text prompt in Tomioka's vision seemed to flicker violently, and then the line "[Likes: Pirates]" suddenly became enlarged, bolded, and with exclamation marks:
"[Likes: Really Really Really Really Really Likes Pirates!!!]"
This extremely strong contrast made even the usually expressionless Tomioka momentarily stunned. He looked at Chopper, who was clearly saying one thing but meaning another, pacing anxiously, and then at the prompt text.
A feeling of almost helplessness, yet also a bit amusing, rarely crossed his heart. The corner of his mouth, without even his own awareness, twitched upwards, forming a small arc.
He spoke again, his voice still calm, but with a barely perceptible hint of gentleness that wasn't there before:
"What else do you want to know about pirates?"
Chopper was still troubled by his overly strong reaction just now, covering his face with his hooves. Hearing Tomioka's words, he secretly peeked at him through his fingers.
When he caught the fleeting softness on Tomioka's face, the panic in his heart subsided considerably.
Zoro, on the opposite bed, saw all of this, especially Tomioka's almost imperceptible smile. He scoffed, shook his head, then closed his eyes again, not intending to disturb the strange communication between this person and this deer.
Just then, the room door opened again, and Dr. Kureha walked in, carrying a bottle of wine. She saw Chopper guarding Tomioka's bed, seemingly talking, and a knowing smile flashed in her eyes behind her sunglasses. She teased:
"Oh? Chopper, are you helping me look after them?"
Chopper immediately straightened up like a student caught by a teacher, and stammered an explanation: "I-I'm helping him change his dressing!"
Dr. Kureha smiled noncommittally, walked to Tomioka's bed, checked the area where Chopper had applied the medicine, and nodded: "Hmm, well done."
Then, she carefully checked Tomioka's temperature and pulse, her expression returning to seriousness, and reminded him again: "Remember my words, rest. Your body needs time, you can't rush it."
"Your current fever isn't just caused by old injuries and overexertion."
"It's because you were bitten by a polar parasite called Kesski. The toxins from these little things will keep your body temperature above forty degrees Celsius and trigger inflammatory reactions in your internal organs. Most people wouldn't be able to stand it."
She paused, looking at Tomioka with an inquisitive gaze, and added: "But in your case, it's very strange. Your internal organs have a considerable tolerance, and even a certain degree of adaptation, to your current abnormally high temperature. It's as if your body has long been accustomed to operating under some extreme conditions. However, don't think this is a good thing! The inflammation is still there, and if it's not controlled in time, you can forget about recovering from these injuries!"
Adaptation... extreme conditions... Tomioka immediately thought of activating his Mark, his body constantly in a state of high temperature and accelerated heart rate. It seemed that those powers beyond the limit had subtly changed some of this body's endurance thresholds.
So, is this also one of the reasons why, according to legend, all Demon Slayer Corps members who activated the Mark did not live past twenty-five... Then Dr. Kureha seemed to remember something, her gaze passed through the window, looking out at the wind and snow, as if talking to herself, and as if speaking to everyone in the room:
"Speaking of which... judging by the time, your Mugiwara Captain, and that sick little girl, should be climbing up here soon, right? Climbing a mountain in this hellish weather, they're truly a bunch of reckless people."
"However, if it's a little girl and she encounters a situation like yours, it would be much more difficult."
Hearing this, Chopper, who was helping to organize the gauze, paused slightly.
Mugiwara... Captain... His small ears twitched imperceptibly, his heart filled with intense curiosity. He couldn't help but imagine what kind of pirate this person would be, who could make these two seemingly formidable individuals his companions, and who would be willing to carry a comrade through a blizzard?
The room became temporarily quiet, with only the sound of the furnace fire. But a silent anticipation had already quietly spread through Chopper's heart with Dr. Kureha's words.
Chopper absentmindedly organized items while unconsciously perking up his ears, seemingly trying to discern from the howling wind and snow if any new movement was approaching this ancient castle.
What kind of person would they be...
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