Inside the castle, the firelight from the hearth drove back the high-altitude chill.
"Where are they... those two idiots?!"
Nami's eyes widened the moment she heard Dr. Kureha explain that Luffy and Viktor had climbed a several-thousand-meter snowy mountain with their bare hands to save her.
She threw off the heavy blankets, intent on checking on them, but a wave of intense vertigo hit her the moment she sat up.
"Ugh..." Nami swayed and slumped back into the bed, powerless.
"You've just begun to recover; your body still needs time to repair itself," a small reindeer with a blue nose whispered, peeking from behind the doorframe with only half his face visible.
Nami let out a helpless sigh and nodded, then asked weakly, "Is it just the three of us here?"
"No." Dr. Kureha took a swig of plum wine, crossing her arms with a swagger. She pointed to a dark silhouette curled up in the corner, snoring loudly. "There's also a talking crow playing dead over there."
Meanwhile, outside the castle.
While Luffy and Viktor were still deep in sleep recovering their strength, the silent summit of the snow mountain welcomed a group of uninvited guests.
"Heh heh heh... finally made it up! This great lord is exhausted!"
Wapol, the former King of the Drum Kingdom, stood gasping on the snow in front of the castle, accompanied by his two chief henchmen: Chess, the strategist (and archer), and Kuromarimo, the official (and afro-wearing boxer).
Indeed, though Viktor had kicked him into the sea and their ship had been blasted away, Wapol had survived.
Thanks to the tenacious vitality of the Munch-Munch Fruit—which allowed him to eat anything—and the desperate efforts of his subordinates, he hadn't drowned. Instead, he had followed them all the way up the mountain.
"This is my castle! I'm taking it back right now!" Wapol opened his mouth and crunched on a block of snow, his eyes glinting with malice. "And I'll teach those two arrogant pirate brats a lesson while I'm at it! Then I'll exile that 'witch' who's occupying my home and rule this country again!"
"Who's making all that noise outside?!"
Chopper rushed out of the castle. For him, this place wasn't just a home; it was the site of the grave of his benefactor, the "quack" Dr. Hiriluk. It was where the skull-and-crossbones flag—carrying the dream of the "Miracle Cherry Blossoms"—flew. He would allow no one to destroy it!
"Hm? Isn't that the blue-nosed reindeer?" Wapol let out a shrill laugh. His gaze then fell upon the flag flying from the castle tower—a skull with cherry blossom petals. "That filthy, tattered rag is flying over my castle? What an eyesore!"
"That is the Doctor's flag! Don't you dare insult it!!" Chopper shouted in rage.
"Hmph. Garbage like that should just disappear!" Ignoring Chopper, Wapol opened his mouth wide. His arm transformed into a cannon, and he fired a shot at the top of the tower.
BOOM!!
The shell struck the flagpole with precision. The wooden staff supporting the flag snapped, and the symbol of conviction began to fall helplessly into the wind and snow.
"Ah!! The flag!!" Chopper screamed in horror.
In the split second before the flag could hit the ground—
"BASTARD!!! WHO TOLD YOU TO FIRE!!!"
A thunderous roar erupted from inside the castle. The sound of the explosion had awakened Luffy. Wearing only his thin red vest and no shoes, he charged out like an enraged lion. In a flash, he leaped high and caught the falling pole.
He landed on the tower, using his own body as a brace to slam the flagpole back into the packed snow. The freezing wind howled, whipping his clothes, but his eyes were firmer than steel.
"Wahahaha! What is that pathetic rag? Playing pirate games?" Wapol mocked, pointing at Luffy.
"SHUT UP!!"
Luffy gripped the pole tightly, his voice piercing through the storm. "This isn't a flag you stick here for fun!!"
"This is a flag planted with a life's vow! It is a conviction that won't break even in the face of death!" Luffy glared down at Wapol, his voice a deafening roar. "It's not something... that guys like you, who only know how to laugh at others, can break!!!"
The scene shook everyone present to their core. At the castle entrance, Viktor had also awakened. Draped in his black coat, he leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, his dark hair shifting in the wind. He watched his captain—shivering from the cold but holding the flag with everything he had—and a smile played on his lips.
"What a... complete idiot."
Below, Chopper watched Luffy, who was risking his life for the Doctor's flag, and felt a massive impact in his heart. He wanted to fight, to help, but...
"Heh heh heh, blue-nosed monster! You want to resist me too?" Wapol mocked cruelly. "I remember now. You're that monster abandoned by the reindeer herd, aren't you? How disgusting, that blue nose."
"Mon... monster..."
Chopper's body went rigid. The past flooded back—shunned by his kind, shot at by humans, cursed as a monster. The bone-deep insecurity made him tremble and step back, wanting to flee into the castle.
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached.
Viktor walked out and came to a stop beside the trembling Chopper. He slowly knelt down so he was at eye-level with the small reindeer.
"Look up," Viktor said softly.
Chopper looked up through his tears, only to see a pair of eyes that were terrifying yet hauntingly beautiful: Viktor's Three-Tomoe Sharingan. In this world of pure white snow, those crimson eyes were eerily striking—more frightening than any "monster's" eyes.
"Monster?" Viktor pointed to his own eyes, a faint, knowing smile on his face. "Are you saying that with these red eyes, I'm a monster too?"
Chopper froze, staring blankly at Viktor. "Eh?"
Those eyes... they were scary, but they were beautiful. And this man didn't look at his blue nose with even a hint of disgust.
"Listen, Chopper." Viktor reached out and gently patted the pink hat over Chopper's antlers, his tone becoming serious and sincere. "On this sea, the word 'Monster' isn't an insult."
"It is... the highest title reserved for the strong."
Viktor stood up, his aura turning sharp as he faced Wapol's group. "If you want to protect this place, if you want to protect that flag... then show them your fangs!!"
Atop the tower, Luffy let out a shout: "I'm gonna kick your asses!!" He launched himself like a cannonball toward Wapol.
"Chess! Kuromarimo! Kill that Straw Hat brat!" Wapol screamed.
Chess and Kuromarimo moved to flank Luffy, intending to double-team him.
"Hey. Your opponents are over here."
Viktor didn't draw his sword. Instead, he reached out and gave the dazed Chopper a gentle push toward the battlefield.
"Go, little raccoon." Viktor stood behind Chopper—a presence as steady as a mountain. "Show them... your 'Monster' form."
Feeling the push at his back and looking at the villains who wanted to destroy the Doctor's grave, the fear in Chopper's eyes finally vanished.
In its place was a courage he had never felt before. He leaped into the snow, popped a Rumble Ball into his mouth, and his body expanded instantly into a massive, brawny hybrid form!
Chopper swung his massive hooves and let out an enraged roar at the charging enemies:
"I'M NOT A RACCOON!!"
"I AM—A REINDEER!!!"
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