A wave of pure, shared joy washed over the crew as Chopper's soft "okay" settled in the cold air. But the little reindeer, ever the responsible student, quickly remembered his duties.
„I… I need to tell Dr. Kureha," Chopper said, his voice a mixture of nervousness and resolve. „I need to say goodbye properly."
As he scurried back towards the castle, the crew buzzed with happy energy.
„By the way," Zorro began, turning to Luffy with a curious grunt. „Why did you want him to join that badly? Because he's fluffy?"
„Because he has SEVEN TRANSFORMATIONS!" Luffy exploded, his eyes morphing into giant, glittering stars. „That's, like, six more than me! It's the coolest thing ever!"
Chopper, who had only made it a few steps, overheard this and immediately started blushing, his steps becoming a flustered shuffle. „It's… it's not that cool… you bastard!" he muttered, the insult a familiar, affectionate reflex.
„Emergency food supply?" Sanji mused aloud, tapping his chin thoughtfully as he eyed the reindeer. „A mobile larder for long voyages…"
CLUNK. Chopper froze in his tracks, his entire body going rigid. He slowly turned his head, his wide, horrified eyes locking onto Sanji, trying to decipher if the cook was genuinely contemplating him as a future ingredient.
„Stop it, you two," Mario sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. „Chopper isn't a novelty act or a walking steak. He's a great doctor."
„Doctor?" Zorro and Sanji asked in perfect, stunned unison, their previous theories instantly demolished.
„Yes, a doctor," Nami confirmed, a proud smile on her face as if she were revealing a secret treasure. „He's Dr. Kureha's personal pupil. She said so herself. He's one of the best doctors on the entire island."
A collective, impressed „Oooooh!" rippled through the crew. This new information shifted their perspective entirely. A crewmate who could transform and patch them up? It was a pirate's dream.
Chopper, now overwhelmed by the praise, began his familiar embarrassed dance, twisting his body and shouting, „You praising me so much isn't going to make me happy, you jerk!" even as a massive, uncontrollable grin split his face.
„A-a-anyway! I need to go tell the doctor! I'll be right back!" he stammered, finally bolting into the castle before his blush could become permanent.
As he disappeared inside, the atmosphere around the castle began to change. The quiet of the night was broken by the sounds of heavy, rolling objects and distant, shouted commands.
„What are they doing over there?" Zoro asked, his hand instinctively drifting toward his sword hilts as he peered at the castle walls.
Nami squinted, her navigator's eyes picking out details in the moonlight. „I think… I think they're moving the cannons outside. A lot of them."
Mario couldn't help but smile, a sense of nostalgic anticipation washing over him. „I think we're in for a good show."
„A show?" Luffy's head whipped around, his interest instantly piqued. „What kind of show? Fireworks? A play?"
„But I don't think we'll have time to see it up close," Mario continued, his smile turning into a knowing grin.
„Why do you think that?" asked Usopp while Mario just smiled and prepared for the chaos that was about to be unleashed. There is no way that dr. Kureha will let chopper go just like that.
***
It did not take long for the "show" to begin. A blur of brown fur shot out of the castle's main gate, followed by a veritable hailstorm of polished steel. Chopper, in his nimble Walk Point, was a frantic pinball, dodging and weaving as daggers, short swords, and even a few hand-axes embedded themselves in the snow around him with deadly thwumps.
"EVERYONE, GET ON THE SLED!" he cried, his voice pitched high with panic and purpose.
From the castle entrance, Dr. Kureha's roar shook the very mountain. "YOU ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE, YOU UNGRATEFUL BRATS!"
"HIIII!" the entire crew sucked in a collective, terrified breath. There was no time for debate. In a chaotic scramble of limbs and thick coats, they all piled onto the large sled, squeezing together tightly.
With a final, graceful leap over a thrown spear, Chopper without breaking stride, pushed off. The sled shot forward, hitting the steep rope, with a sudden lurch that sent Usopp screaming. They plummeted down the mountainside, the wind whipping tears from their eyes, the castle shrinking rapidly above them.
Dr. Kureha reached the edge of the cliff, her armory apparently depleted. She stood there, a solitary figure against the vast, starry sky, her hands on her hips.
Mario, looking back from the speeding sled, saw her clearly. And he could have sworn he saw it—the glint of moonlight on a single, stubborn tear tracing a path through the wrinkles on her cheek. The furious mask was gone, replaced by a small, bittersweet smile. Her lips moved, and though her words were stolen by the wind, Mario knew what they were.
"Goodbye, my son."
It was a whisper of love and release, a final blessing from a mother to the child she was setting free into the world.
Mario, his heart full, lifted a hand and waved back towards the formidable, wonderful Witch of Drum Island, offering a final, grateful smile. It was a thank you for her care and for the incredible young doctor she had gifted them. Then, he turned to face the rushing wind and the open sea ahead, the sled carrying them all toward their next adventure.
***
„That was too close!" Nami gasped, clutching her chest as she tried to catch her breath, the adrenaline still coursing through her veins. The sheer vertical drop and the hail of weaponry were a combination she never wanted to experience again.
„She was fully prepared to turn us into pincushions!" Usopp wailed, sprawled flat on his back in the snow as if he'd just run a marathon. „I can still hear the whistling of the blades!"
„Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed, bouncing on his feet, utterly invigorated. „That was so much fun! Let's climb back up and do it again!"
„ARE YOU INSANE?!" The cry came from everyone in a unified roar of exasperation, even from a panting Chopper, who was still in his reindeer form.
The argument was cut short by a deep, resonant sound that echoed through the silent valley.
Boom… Boom… BOOM.
It was a sound like a giant's heartbeat, slow and powerful.
„What is that?" Vivi asked, her voice a hushed whisper, all thoughts of their escape momentarily forgotten.
As one, they turned to look back at the majestic, snow-capped peaks of the Drum Rockies. And then, they saw it. Light began to bloom from the highest peak, a soft, radiant glow that pushed back the darkness. What it revealed stole the breath from every single one of them.
Nami's hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide. „It's… it's so beautiful."
Mario felt a lump form in his own throat. The sight was even more breathtaking in person. The towering peaks, illuminated from within, now perfectly resembled the trunks of colossal, ancient trees. And the snow, lit with a brilliant, ethereal pink, cascaded down their sides like countless blooming sakura petals, creating the illusion of a gargantuan, flowering cherry blossom tree that dominated the entire skyline. It was Dr. Hiriluk's dream made manifest—a symbol of healing and hope that could be seen from every corner of the kingdom.
As the others stood in awestruck silence, marveling at the miracle, Mario found his gaze drifting from the magnificent sight to the woman beside him. The pink light reflected in her wide, wonder-filled eyes, and in that moment, she was more beautiful than any blossom.
Seeing that no one was watching, lost in their own reverence, he acted on a pure, simple impulse. He slowly, carefully, reached out and took Nami's hand in his. Her fingers were cold from the night air, but they curled around his without hesitation, a small, intimate connection in the face of the vast, shared wonder.
They stood there together, hand in hand, watching the sakura snow bloom on the mountain, a silent understanding passing between them. In this world of giants, miracles, and crazy pirates, he had found his place. He had found his crew, he had found a purpose, and now, he had found her.
Mario squeezed Nami's hand gently, his heart full to bursting. He was so incredibly, undeniably glad he had come to this world.
The spectacle of the sakura-blossom mountains held them all in a silent, shared reverence. But the true heart of the moment belonged to one of them. Chopper shifted back into his small, defenseless reindeer form. He didn't try to hide it, didn't try to be strong. He simply stood there, his large, dark eyes reflecting the brilliant pink light, already shimmering with unshed tears.
And then, it broke.
A raw, unfiltered wail tore from the very depths of his soul.
"UAAAAAAHHHHHHH! OOOOOOOHHHHHHH!"
It was not a cry of sadness, nor of simple joy. It was a torrential release of a lifetime of pain, of loneliness, of a hope he had been almost too afraid to nurture. It was the cry of a son witnessing the impossible, beautiful fulfillment of his father's greatest dream.
Dr. Hiriluk's magnificent, foolish, wonderful dream was no longer just a story or a wish—it was real. It was painted across the sky for all of Drum Island to see, a permanent, healing symbol born from the love of a quack doctor for his son.
No one moved to comfort him.
No one told him to be quiet.
Luffy's usual boisterous energy was still and respectful. Sanji didn't offer a cigarette. Zorro didn't grunt in annoyance. Usopp didn't make a sound. Nami and Vivi watched with tears of their own gathering in their eyes, and Mario's grip on Nami's hand tightened just slightly.
They simply stood as a crew, a family, and gave him the space to feel it all. They let the little reindeer's heartbreaking, heart-mending sobs echo across the snowfields, a final, beautiful farewell to the past and a triumphant welcome to the future. It was a cry of pure, unadulterated love, and they would bear witness to every second of it.