Nami slowly opened her eyes, her blurry vision gradually clearing. What greeted her was an unfamiliar ceiling.
She tilted her head slightly and saw Tomioka sitting on a wooden chair by the bed. He wasn't looking at her, but gazing quietly out the window, his profile appearing exceptionally serene in the flickering firelight.
"Where is this...?"
Nami spoke, her voice a bit dry and hoarse, "I remember... I think I had a fever..."
Hearing the movement, Tomioka turned his head to look at her. His tone was as calm as ever: "You're awake. We're in a castle on the mountain."
"We've arrived already?" Nami struggled to sit up, her body still feeling weak.
Tomioka nodded, then got up and poured her a cup of water. Nami took it and drank a sip, feeling much more comfortable than when she was on the going merry.
She also noticed that Tomioka's complexion was much better than when he was in the Small Garden, and his breathing was much more stable.
"And you... how are you doing?" Nami asked with concern.
"Much better than before."
Just then, the door was pushed open a crack, and a fluffy deer head cautiously poked in again, just like before, peering into the room.
Tomioka's gaze shifted to the small figure at the door, and he calmly told Nami, "His name is Chopper, and he's one of the doctors here."
Chopper, whose name was called, was startled. His whole body froze at the doorway, neither moving forward nor backward.
Nami looked at the little fellow, who looked like a reindeer but could stand on two legs, and an expression of surprise appeared on her face:
"Huh? He's a doctor? That's amazing! Thank you for treating me, Chopper... Doctor?" She tried to say in a friendly tone.
"I'm Nami."
When Chopper heard Nami's words, he walked in hesitantly, covering his face: "Even if you say I'm a doctor~~ I won't be happy~~"
Then, as if remembering something, he came over and placed his small hoof on Nami's forehead, letting out a sigh of relief before saying, "Um... you and he both got a high fever because you were bitten by a bug called Keski."
He pointed at Nami, then at Tomioka, trying to make his voice sound more reliable: "Doctor Kureha has given you a special antibiotic. You feel better now because the medicine has taken effect."
"But!"
Chopper suddenly emphasized, patting Nami's bed with his small hoof: "But recovery will still take at least three days! During this time, you must rest well and not run around outside!"
He hesitated for a moment, looked at Nami, and then asked that familiar question: "Are you... are you a pirate too?"
"Yes, I am." Nami smiled and nodded, looking at Chopper, already hatching some plan in her mind.
"No way!! You can talk!!"
Chopper instantly panicked, starting to run around the room like a headless fly.
Just as he was about to hit a cabinet nearby, Tomioka spoke up to stop him: "Chopper, don't be afraid."
The simple words made Chopper stop abruptly. He paused, panting, but his emotions had calmed down a bit. He looked at the harmless smile on Nami's face, and then at Tomioka, who was calm next to her.
He struggled internally for a moment, then lowered his head and asked the deepest, most familiar question that caused him unease: "You... you're not afraid of me? I... I'm a monster..."
Nami was startled at first, then, as if she had heard something funny, she burst into clear laughter.
"Hahahahahahahahaha, what are you talking about?"
Her gaze swept over the silent but reliable Tomioka beside her, then glanced at the Mugiwara figure rushing in at the door, and she said with a laugh, "A monster? The guys on our ship, they might all be monsters~ This one sitting next to you, when he gets serious, he's pretty much a monster too."
Chopper froze, staring blankly at Nami, then muttered to himself, "All... monsters?"
Just then, Luffy suddenly burst in!!
"Nami! You're awake! That's great! Is there meat to eat?!" Luffy shouted energetically as he rushed in, and then his gaze was instantly fixed on the fluffy figure in the room.
"Waaah!!!" Luffy's eyes sparkled with the light of discovering a new continent. He pointed at Chopper, jumping up and down with excitement: "What is this?! Is it meat?! How amazing!!!"
Chopper was greatly startled by this sudden action and let out a scream: "Don't come closer! I'm not meat!!"
He instinctively wanted to find a place to hide. This Captain with the Mugiwara seemed much more eccentric than the pirates he had just met.
Luffy didn't care about any of that. He found it even more interesting that the reindeer in front of him could talk, and he excitedly opened his arms and chased after him: "He can even talk!!!!"
"Don't chase me!!!"
Chopper was scared out of his wits by Luffy and immediately rushed out the door, engaging in a chase in the hallway, dodging back and forth around the castle's decorations.
Nami watched this chaotic chase scene, helplessly holding her forehead: "Seriously... so noisy as soon as I wake up."
Tomioka, meanwhile, remained seated in his chair, watching Luffy and Chopper's antics, his face devoid of expression. He was already accustomed to this kind of chaos that only Luffy's appearance would trigger.
Amidst the chaos, Sanji walked in with a cigarette in his mouth. Seeing the scene outside, he frowned: "Hey, Luffy! What are you doing, you idiot? Can't you see Miss Nami needs quiet rest?!"
Although he said that, his gaze first turned to Nami with concern: "Miss Nami, how are you feeling? Is there anywhere else you're uncomfortable?"
"I'm much better, Sanji, thank you."
Nami smiled, then looked at the silent Tomioka beside her, a hint of worry on her face, "Oh, right, where are Vivi and Usopp? How did we get to this castle?"
Tomioka, when asked, spoke up, recalling their earlier split: "Vivi and Usopp are still in the village at the foot of the mountain. Zoro and I met a doctor, so we came here."
He paused, then added, "Luffy carried you all up from the cliff."
Tomioka's description was only a few words, but Nami could already imagine what a difficult operation it must have been.
She looked at Luffy, who was still brawling with Chopper in the hallway, a flicker of warmth and helplessness in her eyes: "Seriously... always so reckless..."
She sighed softly, just about to ask for more details, when suddenly!!
Boom!
A dull cannon shot came from outside the castle, followed by a more dense and continuous burst of gunfire!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The relaxed atmosphere in the room instantly froze.
Luffy stopped examining Chopper, tilted his head, and began to try and hear what was happening outside.
Sanji's face changed. He immediately hurried to the window, intending to see what was happening outside, but the heavy snow pressed against the window, and he could only see a vast expanse of white.
Chopper, who was being held by Luffy, also stopped struggling, discerning the distance of the gunshots: "It's outside! Right outside the castle!!"
Luffy let go of Chopper, raised his hand to press down his Mugiwara, revealing that brilliant smile of someone about to embark on an adventure, and said to everyone:
"Let's go! Let's all go see!"
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