[Flashback — Memory Carved in Blood]
"Catch him!"
The shout tore through the village like a blade.
A boy ran.
Bare feet slapped against dirt roads, breath ragged, lungs burning, straw hat bouncing wildly as tears blurred his vision. Behind him came the sound of hatred given legs—boots, sticks, steel.
"He's a devil!"
"Monster!"
"Kill it before it kills us!"
The words hurt more than the chase.
A machete flashed. A stick cracked against stone inches from his head. The boy screamed, not in anger, not in defiance—just fear. Pure, helpless fear.
He could see it.
The camp.
The ship.
Safety.
Just a little farther—
"SHANKS!"
The scream ripped his throat raw.
Strong arms caught him mid-stride. The world lurched, then steadied. The boy buried his face into a familiar chest and sobbed as if everything he'd held in finally shattered.
"Luffy," Shanks said, voice tight.
The red-haired pirate turned.
One look.
That was all it took.
The mob froze.
Shanks' eyes were flat. Cold. Not angry—worse. Decided.
"Handle it," he said quietly.
He walked away, the boy still clinging to him.
Behind them, gunshots echoed.
Screams followed.
The boy fell asleep to the sound of finality.
[Flashback Ends]
Luffy blinked.
The present snapped back into place like a blade returning to its sheath. He poured himself another drink, the amber liquid steady despite the storm outside, then glanced at the small reindeer sitting rigidly across from him.
"So," Luffy said casually, taking a swig, "you ever think about becoming a pirate?"
Chopper recoiled so hard he nearly tipped over.
"W-WHAT!? Did you hit your head on the ice!?"
Luffy grinned. Wide. Bright. Completely unbothered.
"C'mon. You'd be great. Adventures. Oceans. No cages. No people telling you what you are."
Chopper backed away.
"I don't want to be your friend!"
"Too late," Luffy said cheerfully, stepping forward.
Chopper screamed and bolted.
"DOCTORINEEEEE!"
The castle erupted into chaos.
Chopper sprinted around beds, tables, chairs—anything that might slow the lunatic pirate chasing him.
"LET'S BE FRIENDS!" Luffy shouted, laughing like a child discovering a new game.
Sanji and Nojiko entered just in time to witness their captain attempting to recruit a screaming reindeer through sheer persistence.
"…What did we miss?" Nojiko asked.
"He's joining our crew," Luffy declared.
"I AM NOT!" Chopper shrieked.
Dr. Kureha watched it all with a dry, unimpressed stare.
"You're trying to steal my student," she said flatly.
Luffy stopped. Straightened. Took off his coat and laid it near the fire.
"I don't recall asking permission," he replied calmly.
She snorted.
"Figures."
Then, business returned.
Nami's fever had dropped. She was stable. Alive.
The room exhaled.
As food was passed and night crept deeper, Kureha told Chopper's story.
The blue nose.
The rejection.
The Devil Fruit.
The man named Hiriluk who chose kindness where the world chose fear.
Cherry blossoms in a land of snow.
No one interrupted.
When the story ended, the silence weighed heavy.
Then—
"Doctorine!"
Chopper burst in, panic blazing in his eyes.
"He's back."
Luffy was already standing.
"Wapol."
Outside, the so-called king stood where he did not belong.
Luffy pulled on his coat.
"Sanji. With me."
"Nojiko. Protect Nami."
The air changed the moment he stepped out.
Storm clouds gathered, responding to something deeper than weather.
"I'll handle this," Luffy said, walking past Kureha and Chopper.
Wapol sneered.
"Who do you think you are—"
"I'm the man you owe," Luffy interrupted.
Lightning crawled across his skin.
"For my ship."
Thunder cracked.
"For this country."
Wapol didn't even finish his scream.
Luffy vanished.
The punch landed first—deep, precise—driving the air from Wapol's lungs as his body launched skyward like discarded trash.
Luffy reappeared midair.
Kick.
Kick.
Kick.
Each strike landed faster than thought, each one wrapped in Haki and judgment.
Wapol hit the ground like a meteor.
A crater bloomed.
"And this," Luffy said, descending like a god of storms, "is for Dr. Hiriluk."
Both feet came down.
Bones shattered.
The mountain shook.
Silence followed.
Chopper stared, unable to breathe.
"…That's… a real monster…"
The clown screamed about the World Government.
Luffy didn't even look at him.
Lightning lashed out.
Two lives ended.
"I don't care."
Wapol flew.
Off the island.
Off the throne.
Off history.
Luffy turned back.
Paused.
Looked at the castle. At the land. At the people who had forgotten how to hope.
"This country," he said calmly, "is under my protection now."
He walked inside.
Above the Drum Rockies, the storm slowly faded.
And somewhere in the snow, faith took root—
not in kings,
not in crowns,
but in a flag that refused to fall.