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Bai Ye looked at the super cute reindeer and couldn't help feeling in a good mood.
Brushing the snow off his shoulders, he continued, "Let me introduce ourselves. We're from the Straw Hat Pirates, and today we're here to find a doctor to join our crew."
He crouched down a bit and smiled warmly.
"And… our captain also wants to invite the legendary Snow Monster to join as well."
"No offense, but I gotta ask—"
"You are the famous Snow Monster, right? Man, you're way cuter than I imagined."
Pirates? Doctor? Snow Monster? Cute?!
Bai Ye, knowing the original story, had perfectly hit all the key points — delivering a four-hit combo straight to Chopper's heart.
Because of Hiriluk, Chopper already had a soft spot for pirates.
And now, being invited both as a doctor and the legendary snow monster... not to mention being called "cute"...
Chopper's face went bright red and he zipped behind a big rock.
His little body squirmed awkwardly behind it.
"Ugh! Annoying! Even if you say I'm cute, I'm not happy about it, okay?! You jerk~!"
It's here — the classic tsundere Chopper + dramatic dodge moment!!!
After seeing Chopper's bashful little dance and hearing him talk, Luffy was absolutely hooked.
He stretched out his arms and grabbed Chopper in a big hug, grinning ear to ear.
"Join my crew!!! Hahaha!"
Chopper froze at first, but then looked at Luffy's big, honest smile — and suddenly, he thought of Dr. Hiriluk.
That same smile... that same voice shouting "I love pirates!"
But then—
"And you can be emergency rations too!! Hahaha — Reindeer stew is the best!"
Bai Ye gave him a seriously? look: Is this guy brain-dead or what?
Sure enough, Chopper's face twisted in panic. He tried to wriggle free from Luffy's hug.
In his panic, he transformed — suddenly becoming a towering reindeer over two meters tall.
BAM! He punched Luffy straight to the ground. "I'M NOT FOOD!!!"
Bai Ye muttered to himself: He was way cuter before...
Luffy didn't seem bothered, though. He sat up and looked at Chopper, even more hyped than before.
That's when — something unexpected happened!
In the blink of an eye, Luffy and Bai Ye vanished, and in their place were two shiny surgical scalpels.
The two of them leapt back a few meters and looked toward the castle gates.
Standing there now was a tall woman with long wavy blond hair, wearing a cropped tank top, purple coat, and pants.
She held a third scalpel in her hand and smiled at them.
"You two…"
"…weren't planning to do anything to my assistant, were you?"
This was none other than the Witch of Drum Island, Dr. Kureha.
Just as Bai Ye was thinking about how to approach her, Luffy opened his mouth first:
"Ah! Are you the witch that old guy mentioned?"
He looked at Kureha and said seriously:
"Come join my crew, Witch Granny!!"
The moment the word granny left his mouth, Kureha's smile dropped.
She slowly walked up to Luffy.
WHAM!!
Kureha kicked Luffy square in the head and shouted:
"Watch your damn mouth, brat!!!"
"I'm a young maiden in her early 140s!!!"
Bai Ye's mouth twitched, but just that little reaction earned him a death glare from Kureha.
Her eyes were sharp as scalpels — clearly ready to attack if he said anything out of line.
Bai Ye thought: Can I chicken out? No way, I'm a transmigrator, dammit!
He smiled and said, "You're pretty strong, miss. And judging from what you said... you've heard of us?"
Hearing him say "miss" made Kureha's face instantly light up.
"Well, aren't you a smooth talker."
She gave him an approving look and added:
"And I'm not so old-fashioned that I don't read the news."
"The hottest name lately? The Straw Hat crew. Everyone's talking about you."
She glanced at Luffy, who was still recovering from her kick.
What intrigued her the most — besides the infamous Exorcist Bai Ye with his 100 million bounty — was this Straw Hat kid.
The boy who walked out of the Pirate King's execution site.
Having lived for 140 years, Kureha of course knew Roger's name.
Meanwhile, Chopper — still hiding — overheard everything and looked stunned.
"They really are pirates? The kind Dr. Hiriluk talked about?"
Even if Chopper didn't fully realize it, he was already getting curious about the two of them.
Bai Ye gave a small smile.
Yep, with the Straw Hats entering the story like this, everything's way easier.
Just then, Luffy rejoined them and said to Kureha again:
"Let's go on an adventure, Granny!!!"
Clearly, he hadn't learned his lesson.
WHAM!!
Another flying kick.
Bai Ye winced.
"Jeez, do none of you kids have any respect for your elders anymore?"
Kureha pulled a bottle from her belt and chugged a few gulps.
Bai Ye: He literally called you "granny"... and you say that's not respectful??
Of course, he didn't say that out loud.
Instead, he flipped his wrist and pulled out his own special spirit wine.
Grinning confidently at her, he said:
"If Dr. Kureha enjoys a good drink, maybe you'd like to try this?"
He popped the lid open, and the aroma of the spirit wine wafted over to her.
As a top-tier doctor and an alcohol fanatic, Kureha immediately looked surprised.
Just from the scent, she could tell — not only was this wine delicious, it was incredibly good for the body.
"As expected of the Celestial Master, Bai Ye—only someone like you would pull out such a mystical treasure."
Kureha let out a sigh of admiration as she accepted the spirit wine from Bai Ye, then added:
"Alright, since you brought such fine booze, I'll let you guys in."
With that, she turned and started walking toward the castle, sipping as she went.
And honestly? It tasted amazing.
As the energy surged through her body, Kureha felt like she'd gotten a few years younger.
Bai Ye, meanwhile, motioned for Luffy to follow him toward the castle. As they passed by the massive boulder where Chopper was hiding—
Bai Ye said, "Relax, our captain was just messing with you. He's not gonna turn you into emergency rations."
"He really treasures his crew."
Luffy didn't deny it. He just looked at Bai Ye and gave him a big, goofy grin.
Chopper, still crouched behind the boulder with his whole body peeking out, quietly thought to himself:
"Crew…?"
"Could someone like me—a monster—really have something like that?"
Inside the castle, Kureha, Luffy, and Bai Ye sat around a table.
"Ahhh~"
After taking another sip of the spirit wine, Kureha turned to Bai Ye and asked:
"Did you brew this stuff yourself?"
Bai Ye nodded. "Just a little Taoist trick. Nothing special."
Kureha, still savoring the youthful energy the wine brought her, continued:
"If you've got something that good, then I doubt you're here trying to steal my secret to eternal youth."
"Our captain already said it—he's looking for a doctor to join our crew," Bai Ye explained.
"That's right! Come join my crew and be one of my nakama!"Luffy looked at Kureha with eager eyes.
"Me, a pirate? Don't be ridiculous. I've got zero interest in the sea."
Kureha took another swig and added:
"But if it's just a doctor you're after, I might have someone to recommend."
She grinned.
"I've passed down all my medical knowledge to him."
"....."