That smile was not mockery, nor was it filled with malice. It was the kind of smile filled with warmth.
He could feel it, so he swallowed and continued, "Because I'm a monster. I have a blue nose, and there's so much fur on my body…"
His voice grew lower and lower, and his head unconsciously drooped.
Looking at his expression and movements, the young man could not help laughing softly. Then he stood beside him and placed one hand on his arm.
"How does that make you a monster? At most, you just look a bit unusual. Among my crewmates and companions, there are plenty of people who look even stranger than you. Speaking of which…"
The young man gave him an extremely sunny smile.
"How about it? Want to consider becoming my companion?"
"Companion…?"
He repeated the word in a disbelieving tone, then instantly choked up.
"You really… want me to become… your companion?"
At that moment, tears had already covered his face, and snot flowed freely from his nose.
"Yeah. But I'm a pirate. Are you willing to become a pirate with me?"
"A pirate? What's that?"
"That's a little complicated to explain. So, how about it? Are you willing to come with me and become my companion?"
"…I am!"
"Then from now on, we're companions."
As he spoke, Roy extended his hand toward him.
Looking at the sincere kindness Roy was offering him, he could no longer hold himself back and directly covered Roy's hand with his own large hand.
"Yeah!!"
From now on, I'm not alone anymore.
I finally have a companion!!
"My name is Roy. By the way, what's your name?"
"My name? I don't have a name."
"I see. Then how about I give you one? How about Chopper? Tony Tony Chopper. Sounds pretty good, right?"
"Chopper? From now on, I have a name too. I'm Chopper. Thank you, Roy!"
"No need to thank me. Your blue nose is pretty cool. By the way, was your original form a raccoon dog?"
"I'm a reindeer!!"
"Really? I actually think your face shape looks pretty much like a raccoon dog. Speaking of cats, there's a son of Nekomamushi on my pirate ship. I think the two of you would get along pretty well. It's just that he's rather flashy and likes wearing a single pair of sunglasses. Later, I'll find you a hat to wear on your head too. I'm sure it'll look good."
The faint sound of conversation drifted in and out amid the falling snow, until it finally disappeared.
From then on, the Sakura Kingdom had no more rumors of a snow monster, nor any traces of one.
…
Chopper joining was something Roy had wanted for a very long time. Whether it was Chopper himself or the Rumble Ball he would later invent, Roy was determined to obtain them both.
Humans were the most mysterious species among all animals.
The Human-Human Fruit was also an extremely special existence among Zoan-type Devil Fruits.
Roy even suspected that Chopper's ability to detect the transformation-frequency waves of Zoan-type Devil Fruits was closely connected to the Human-Human Fruit.
In the original story, Chopper was born in 1505. He was abandoned, and after eating the Human-Human Fruit, he was rejected by his herd.
Later, he began trying to approach human groups, but because he attempted to transform into a human and ended up looking unlike one, he was rejected by humans as well.
It was not until 1514 that Dr. Hiriluk rescued the heavily injured Chopper, then gave him a name and took him in as his adopted son.
There was a span of ten years in between, which showed just what kind of experiences and treatment Chopper endured during those ten years.
If not for Hiriluk, perhaps Chopper really would have fallen into despair and become a monster.
Fortunately, Hiriluk awakened Chopper, allowing him to keep his innocence and kindness.
And now, at the moment when Chopper longed for companions the most, Roy had appeared.
After this, there would be no part for Hiriluk, Kureha, or Luffy to play.
Chopper was destined to become a crewmate of the Thunder God Pirates.
On Raijin Island.
Aside from the division commanders themselves, some of the mid-level core members of their divisions would also be brought along by the commanders to listen in.
After all, some commanders, such as Burgess, had brains filled entirely with muscle.
Usually, when Roy was in closed-door training, meetings on days like this were chaired by Tamago, Laffitte, and the others.
But today, Roy would personally attend, which immediately lifted the spirits of every division commander.
Even a free-spirited person like Mihawk, who basically never came, had specially rushed over to attend the meeting.
The Thunder God Pirates' division commander positions had now risen from the original twelve to fifteen.
The three additional divisions belonged to Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach; "Heavy Drinker" Vasco Shot; and Issho.
That was right. After Roy locked him up for half a year, that guy Vasco Shot honestly and officially joined the Thunder God Pirates.
Especially after tasting the Seven Treasures Crystal Wine, he simply became unwilling to leave.
He was even unwilling to go out on campaigns. No matter what, he insisted on staying on Raijin Island to guard it.
On top of that, all of his contribution points were used to exchange for alcohol. From time to time, he even borrowed contribution points from other commanders. At present, he was buried in debt and was the poorest among all the division commanders.
As for Blackbeard, relying on his powerful strength and his unusual personal charisma, he quickly gathered a division under him and officially became a division commander.
Issho, meanwhile, had voluntarily joined the Thunder God Pirates after losing at the casino.
It was not because he approved of Roy's ideals.
Rather, he believed that the Thunder God Pirates already possessed the possibility of overthrowing the World Government, but whether that would be good or bad for the world was still unknown.
Therefore, just like Aokiji later joining Blackbeard in the original story, Issho also chose to join Roy, intending to use his blind eyes to see everything through to the end.
Roy knew why he had come, but still gave him the position of division commander.
If Roy did not even have this much tolerance for others, then that lack of tolerance itself might become a fatal hidden danger one day.
Still, Issho himself was quite honest. Aside from losing money gambling on the island and helping suppress a couple of World Government troublemakers, he had not done anything out of line.
As for Pekoms and the others, it was still because of strength.
In addition, once they heard that Roy had taken out the Snake-Snake Fruit, Model: Yamata no Orochi, that meant Wano Country's Shogun Kurozumi Orochi had already been killed.
Thus, Duke Inuarashi and Master Nekomamushi released a bit of goodwill, and more and more Minks began coming to join the Thunder God Pirates.
(End of Chapter)
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