"You're here to see the witch?" the man asked in an incredulous tone, looking me up and down.

"The witch?" Doc Q questioningly gasped as he turned to look at me with a confused expression, but I didn't reply.

"I believe that is what people call her here, yes," I said with a nod, shrugging my shoulders as I kept my gaze on the man.

"Well, she lives in a giant tree west of the town," the man said while gesturing in the direction. "Good luck, I reckon you people will need it," he cryptically added, turning around and walking away.

"What kind of person is this, Dr. Kureha, for someone to wish a bunch of pirates luck when meeting her, anyway?" Byron confusedly asked as he watched the town's man walk away.

"It looks she has changed little since I've last seen her," Crocus remarked with a chuckle. "Not that I expected her to, but still..," he added, shaking his as he trailed off at the end of his sentence.

"It looks we'll be meeting another weirdo, just great," Law murmured under his breath, heaving a sigh in annoyance.

"You know..., I think I just might leave the crew right there and then if she tried to heal me with a spell or something, captain," Doc Q remarked with a deadpan expression that quickly broke as he began heaving, his face turning blue, causing me to laugh.

"All jokes aside, let's just go and meet her," I said, still chuckling as I shook my head. "It's better than standing here and guessing while Doc dies of cold," I added in an amused tone as I started walking towards the direction the town's man pointed us towards with a smile on my face.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I'm fit as a fiddle," Doc said as he followed behind me while leaning on Byron's shoulders, puking another mouthful of blood on the snow.

"Sure, whatever you say, Doc," I remarked with a chuckle, shrugging my shoulder as I continued to walk.

"You know it just occurred to me...," Crocus said in a serious tone, trailing at the end of his sentence as he followed behind us.

"Whats is it, Crocus?" Sensing the severity of Crocus' tone, I stopped as I turned to look at him with a frown.

"Why do people say fit as a fiddle, anyway? I mean, you don't see fiddles running around and carrying weights, do you?" he remarked, causing to collapse on the snow, and the others promptly followed suit.

"I really wish that running gag of yours had an off button, old man," I grumbled in an annoyed tone as I stood up, patting my long coat to get rid of the snow.

"What running gag?" Crocus asked with an incredulous expression. "This is a serious matter, young man," he added in an admonishing tone as he continued to grumble about how disrespectful youngsters are these days.

"Whatever, let's just keep going," I said with a sigh as I kept walking, letting Crocus' words enter from ear and exit from the other.

...

"Well, here we are," I remarked in a neutral tone as I stared at a giant, snow-covered tree with a small, circular window to the side, a wooden door in the center of its base, and a wooden staircase, leading to said door.

"Living in a giant tree?" Byron remarked, scratching his head. "That's kind of witch-like, I suppose," he added, accepting the situation as it is with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I might as well hurry up and knock before you weirdos devolve into another pointless argument," I remarked, earning a few chuckles and an offended look from Law.

"It's not like you're one to talk, captain," Law murmured under his breath with a raised eyebrow, causing me to chuckle as I moved towards the door, knocking as soon it was within reach.

The door swung open after a couple of knocks, and I smiled at the sight before me.

A child-sized humanoid reindeer was standing, no, peeking out of the door with a severe expression.

I couldn't help laughing as I watched the reindeer cartoonishly reverse peeking at us while only hiding the top half of its head behind the door frame, leaving the rest of its body in plain sight.

"A raccoon? What is it doing standing in the middle of the door with such a weird pose?" Byron asked with a confused expression, likely conveying what was in everyone's heads.

"Who are you humans, and what do you want?" the reindeer in a cautious tone as it glared at us, giving Byron a dirty look for mistaking it as a raccoon.

"It spoke! The raccoon spoke!" Byron exclaimed, jaw wide in open as he pointed his index finger at the reindeer. "Oh, wait, maybe he's a mink like Pebo, is he, captain?" Byron asked after taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"I'm not a raccoon! I'm a reindeer, you bastard!" the reindeer corrected in an outraged tone, picking up a handful of snow and throwing it at Byron's face.

Forgetting Doc was leaning on him, Byron instinctively reacted and steeped to the side while dodging the snow, causing the former to fall on the snowy ground, throwing up yet another mouthful of blood.

"Ah!" the reindeer shouted in horror. "Someone call a doctor! Quick!" it continued to scream in panic, running all around the place while holding the pink top hat on its head, much to the amusement of everyone present, including Doc, who was chuckling even as he lay on the ground.

"Aren't you a doctor, Chopper?" I asked with an amused smile, causing him to freeze in place abruptly.

"I am? Oh! That's right; I'm a doctor. Bring him inside so I can treat him!" Chopped exclaimed while beckoning for us to inter, suddenly freezing again at the end of his sentence as Doc got up, wiping his mouth of blood.

"He's okay?" Chopped asked in a bewildered tone. "Wait! How do you even know I'm a doctor, human?!" he asked again in a more aggressive manner.

"And how do you know my name!?" Chopped asked one final question as he retreated back into the house, looking at from the doorway with a cautious expression.

"Oh, I know a lot of things," I remarked with a smile. "Like how good of a doctor you are...," I added, pausing at the end of my sentence as I looked at Chopper with anticipation, sure enough.

"I don't need compliments from humans like you, asshole!" Chopper said in an angry tone. "It doesn't make me happy at all...," he added as he began dancing around in joy.

"He kind of looks happy," Byron said with a deadpan expression.

"Asshole, asshole..,"

"What an energetic youngster," Crocus said with a chuckle.

"Your compliments won't work on me...,"

"How interesting, and he's a doctor too, eh?" Doc Q said between gasps as he leaned on Byron for support.

"It won't make me happy..., asshole...,"

"Another weirdo, just what we need," Law remarked with a sigh, massaging his forehead in frustration.

"Wait! You still haven't answered my question, humans!" Chopped asked, resuming his cautious attitude, though he looked a lot more relaxed now.

"Well, we're pirates, and we're here to see Dr. Kureha," I replied with a smile.

...

"Pirates!?" Chopper exclaimed with astonishment in his tone. "Like those incredible people from the sea, Dr. Hiriluk told me about?" He asked, with stars glittering in his eyes.

"Incredible guys from the sea, eh?" I remarked with an amused tone. "That sounds likes us, alright, Rehahahaha," I added, cocking my head back and loudly laughing.

Byron Crocus smiled at my words while Doc Q began wheezing slightly, and I think he was trying to chuckle. However, Law merely sighed, burying his face into his palm in embarrassment.

"So, do you have well-trained bodies?" Chopper asked with an amazed expression, looking me up and down as he did.

"Of course! I can even destroy an entire house with a single punch!" I shamelessly bragged, flexing my biceps.

"Eyes like a hawk?" Chopper asked while looking me in the eye.

"I can even spot an ant a mile away from here," I replied with a chuckle. "But I know this one pirate whose eyes actually look they belong to hawk too," I added while gesturing towards my eyes.

"Really!?" Chopper exclaimed in a shocked tone, and I nodded at him. "Then what about voices like thunder, capable of splitting the sky?" he asked again, stars basically flowing from his eyes.

"Well, I can't split the sky with it just yet," I replied with a grin as I remembered how Whitebeard and Shanks split the sky with a single clash.

"But I reckon I can knock out a hundred people with my voice," I added, smiling even more broadly at Chopper's shocked expression with his eyes and jaw wide open.

"I know you're telling him the truth...," Byron said in an awkward tone while looking at Chopper. "But it somehow feels like you're some middle-aged guy trying to kidnap a child, captain," he added while scratching the back of his head.

(Author's note: Shout out to my friend and biggest supporter since I started writing, Raizen22 (On Webnovel), who reminded me about this flashback where Dr. Hiriluk talks about pirates, saying they had well-trained bodies, eyes like a hawk, and voices that could split the sky a while ago on discord!)

"Shut it, feather brain," I replied with a glare, karate-chopping Byron's head and causing him to wince in pain.

"So, about Dr. Kureha, is she home?" I asked as I turned to look at Chopper, bringing him out of his astonished daze.

"No, but she'll be back soon," Chopper replied as he shook his head, clearing his mind. "You can come inside to wait for her," he said while gesturing for us to go inside, pausing as he remembered something.

"But don't try anything funny, humans!" he added, puffing his chest as he glared at us, trying to look intimidating, but he only looked cute, causing us to chuckle with even Law faintly smiling.

"You hear that, guys?" I said with a smile as I turned to look at my comrades. "Don't do anything funny, or the great doctor Chopper here will beat you up!" I dramatically added while pointing at Chopper, who buffed his chest even more.

"That's right, and don't you gorget!" Chopper said, nodding with a satisfied smile as he resumed beginning us inside. "But just so you know, you calling me a great doctor doesn't make me happy at all," he added in an abnormally happy tone.

"Now hurry up and come inside, you asshole, you jerk," he remarked, alternating b between beckoning us inside and doing his iconic dirty old man dance.

...

"So, what are your names?" Chopper asked as he sat on the ground, reading some medical book.

"I'm Johnny, the captain of the crew," I introduced myself with a pleasant smile. "The guy who looks like he's about to die is Doc Q. He's a great doctor just like you," I added while pointing at Doc, who raised his hand, trying to wave in greeting, but his face suddenly turned blue, and his entire body went limp.

"Is he okay?" Chopper asked with a concerned tone while looking at Doc. "And you calling me a great doctor still doesn't make me, happy you jerk!" he added, smiling as he rubbed the back of his head with a cheerful expression.

"He tends to do that from time time, but he'll be okay, so just ignore him," I replied with a chuckle, shrugging my shoulders. "The dumb-looking blonde is Byron. He's a musician," I added while gesturing towards Byron.

"I'm not dumb-looking captain! You're just jealous of my good looks!" Byron replied while giving me the middle finger. "And nice to meet you, Dr. Chopper," he added, smiling as he turned to look at Chopper.

"The broody, emo-looking guy is Law. He's a doctor too," I introduced Law, whose eyes began twitching at my choice of words.

"I don't even know what an emo is, but I'm incredibly offended, captain," Law commented with a frown, going quiet and ignoring Chopper for the most part.

"As you can see, he's terribly shy, Rehahaha," I remarked, earning my second middle finger for the day, courtesy of the death surgeon himself.

"And finally, this is Crocus. He's a doctor too," I added while pointing towards the old doctor.

"What? No sarcastic comments?" Crocus asked with an amused tone as he turned to look at me.

"I'd only be stating the obvious if I made any sarcastic comments about you, old man," I replied with a smile as I looked at the weird flower petals sticking out of Crocus' head.

"Youngsters..., as impolite as ever," Crocus remarked while shaking his head. "But in any case, it's a pleasure to meet you, young man," Crocus said with a smile.

"But I have a question if you don't mind, Dr. Chopper...," Crocus remarked in a hesitant tone, his eyes moving to glance at a Jolly roger hanging on one of Dr. Kureha's tree house walls.

"That jolly roger looks familiar. May I ask who it belongs to?" Crocus asked as the image of a certain dying thief, asking him for a cure for his terminal illness long ago, came to mind.

"Oh, it belongs to Dr. Hiriluk, the greatest doctor to have ever lived!" Chopper replied in a proud tone, pausing with a pained expression at the end of his sentence.

"Oh, he sounds like a great person indeed!" Crocus remarked with a nod. "Do you mind describing how he looks to me?" he added, looking at Chopper with a warm smile.

"Sure, he had a ....," Chopper readily agreed to describe Hiriluk's appearance, going out of his way to describe the doctor's personality and dreams with a fond smile.

"I see," Crocus said with a thoughtful expression after listening to Chopper happily describe Hiriluk. 'He really is that thief from back then. I still don't know he got better,' Hiriluk thought with, closing his eyes as he reminisced about the last thing Hiriluk said before leaving after Crocus informed diagnosed him as healthy.

"If even someone as helpless as me can be cured by such a simple thing as gazing on sakura blossoms, then no one is beyond saving!"

"I will raise this skull from now on in defiance of all diseases and head back to cure my home island!"

The thief then took out a jolly roger similar to the one on the walls inside Kureha's house and disappeared, never to be heard from again.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

'So that's where he ended up?' Crocus thought with a smile. "May I ask what happened to this Dr. Hiriluk and where he is right now?" Crocus asked as he turned to look at Chopper again.

Chopper had a pained expression upon hearing Crocus's question, but he went on to reply, nonetheless, only to be interrupted by a voice coming from the front door.

"The old quack is dead, so there's no point in talking him," said an old woman, wearing revealing clothes that showed her body that looked like the body of a twenty-year-old girl as she walked into the house, carrying a medical kit and a bottle of plum sake.

"However, what I want to know is why you're here despite me telling you and the rest of you pirates brats not to show your faces around here again?" she asked as she turned to look at Crocus with a sharp look, causing him to sweat as he smiled nervously.

...

"I believe your precise words after examining roger were 'and never come back here again, you bunch of pirate scum' correct?" Crocus asked with a calm smile, earning an amused nod from the woman.

"Well, I'm not a pirate anymore, so there should be no problem in me coming back," Crocus added after seeing the woman nod, nodding himself.

"You're as amusing as ever, brat," Kureha said with like a chuckle. "But I see something never change," she added as she turned to look at me and my crewmates.

"You still brought pirates to my doorstep," she remarked, squinting as she gave us a thorough inspection with her eyes as she looked at us up and down.

"Well, we didn't come empty-handed at least," I said with a smile as I got up, gesturing towards the two boxes of plum sake and pickled plum we brought along.

I also gave Byron a look, and he immediately understood, standing up and bringing one of the boxes towards the woman. "Two boxes of plum sake and pickled plum," I said as Byron opened the box.

"The best I could find in Bighorn, too," I added as I smiled at the woman, earning an amused look from her.

"And who are you, brat?" she asked as she looked at me with an appraising look, seemingly trying to get a better understanding of me by taking in my appearance.

"My name is Johnny, proud captain of the Black Pearl and Silver Hand pirates," I introduced myself as I took a step towards her. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances, doctor," I added, extending a hand towards her.

"I wouldn't say we're acquainted just yet, brat," Kureha said with a snort, merely taking a glance at my hand without shaking it. "But I'll hear you out before I kick you out of here since you're so polite, at least," she added while urgingly gesturing for me to start talking.

"Well, my friend here has been suffering from a terminal illness since his birth, and I was hoping you could cooperate with old man, Crocus, and Law here to do something about it," I replied with a smile as I took back my hand, not taking any offense.

"If you're talking about the corpse laying on my couch, then forget about it," Kureha remarked as she turned to look at Doc, pointing her finger at him.

"I know about his illness, and it's incurable," Kureha said while shaking her head. "He's already lucky to have lived for so long," she concluded as she gave Doc a troubled look, drinking a mouthful of sake from her bottle.

"Even with the help of a doctor who ate the Ope-Ope fruit?" I asked, causing Law to frown, but I just gestured for him it's ok before he sighed and resumed brooding.

"You're not trying to pull my leg, are you, brat?" Kureha asked with a skeptical look, her eyes alternating between Law and me, as she seemed to have understood the meaning of Law's frown and my gesture.

I just shook my head, and Kureha kept looking at me in the eye, occasionally taking a glance at Law while seeming deep in thought, only to burst into a fit of witch-like laughter seconds later.

"To think that the person who ate the Ope-Ope fruit is a pirate of all things," Kureha said with a loud laugh. "Now that's just rich," she said, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"Having the powers of the Ope-Ope fruit changes things, and I might be able to do something about your friend's illness with the help of this brat and the flower brat," Kureha remarked with a thoughtful look.

"But it would take a lot of work," she added, pausing slightly to think about something. "You said you're a pirate captain, yes?" she asked with a cunning smile.

'I don't like the way she's smiling, but what the hell.'

"I am," I replied with a calm smile.

"Then you should be decently capable since you're in the grand line, and the user of Ope-Ope fruit is in your crew," she added with a thoughtful look.

"Very well, follow me outside," Kureha said without allowing me to get a word as she started walking towards the door, gesturing for me to follow. "You'll have to show me how capable you are before we talk about anything else, brat," she added, and I had no choice but to follow her with a sigh.

"Crocus, can you stay here and keep an eye on Doc?" I said while following Kureha as I turned to look at the old doctor. "the cold might be too much for him," I added with a sigh.

"The cold won't be doing my old bones any favor either," Crocus replied with a chuckle. "So I might as well stay," he added, causing to nod at him in gratitude.

"You too can come along or stay," I concluded as I turned to look at Byron and Law, and they both stood up, following me as I walked behind Kureha.

...

Kureha had us follow behind her for several hours as she led us through the snow into the foot of one of the drum Rockies, with seemingly no efforts as she kept an even pace, smiling wickedly as she usually does throughout the entire journey.

Though she suddenly stopped, eyeing a particular spot on the mountain ahead with several white lumps moving all over it, and I immediately realized how she intended to have me prove myself.

"That's the Lapahns' territory up ahead," Kureha said while pointing towards the spot she was looking at, a calm look on her face.

"Go there and survive; that's all you need to do to prove how capable you are," Kureha concluded as she looked at me with a wicked smile.

"Lapahns?" Byron said with, tilting his head to the side. "What are Lapahns?" he asked in a confused tone as he looked at Kureha.

"Lapahns are big, carnivorous, intelligent snow rabbits native to the mountains of Drum Island," I replied to Byron's question before Kureha could answer, earning a rare surprised look from the witch doctor.

"They hunt in packs, and they're pretty strong, ferocious, and territorial," I added while pointing the moving white lumps ahead of us.

"You already know about Lapahns, eh?" Kureha said with a surprised look. "So, what will you do, then, brat?" she asked in a curious tone as she looked at me.

"Knowing things I shouldn't know is kind of my thing," I said with a chuckle. "And to answer your second question, I'll do it," I added as I started walking towards the Lapahns.

"Wait for me right here," I said as I increased my pace, going into a jog. "It won't take long," I concluded with a smirk as I jumped into the air and began flying.

...

I landed some distance away from the Lapahns and smiled as they all turned to look at me with their red, beady eyes.

All of them began growling at me except for a particular towering Lapahn with a horizontal scar over one of its eyes that merely looked at me calmly.

I growled slightly, and another Lapahn began fairly massive Lapahn began charging towards me. The charging Lapahn was still somewhat smaller than the one with a scar on its eye, but it was still at least a head taller than the rest.

"Trying to test my strength, eh?" I murmured to myself as I stood my ground unphased as the Lapahn began running on all fours.

It was already within six meters distance away from me in a matter of seconds, and it stomped the ground, lunging towards me. I merely took a step to the side and spun around just in time to see the Lapahn dive face-first into the snow.

The Lapahn immediately stood up, shaking its head as it turned to look at me with a ferocious glare. It growled and charged at me again, this time on two legs, instead of two, like its first try.

It didn't move as fast as well, but it still closed the distance between us rather quickly and swiped its claw at my face with another low growl.

I blocked the swipe with my wrest, gripping its forearm, and delivered an open palm strike to the Lapahn's chest, Jakie Chan style.

I didn't let the Lapahn fly away as I had held on to its forearm and spun around me two times, throwing it back to its herd, slightly worse for wear but still just as healthy.

The largest Lapahn, the one with a scar on its eyes, looked at its defeated companion, which I sent flying, and growled while gesturing with its paws.

All adult Lapahns briefly looked at the largest one and immediately set their eyes on me after doing so. The smaller Lapahns, the cups, meanwhile, immediately began running towards the top of the mountain, seemingly seeking refuge.

And with another particularly loud growl from the largest Lapahn, they all began charging towards me while running on all fours.

"Good, now we get this over with quickly," I said with a lazy smile as I lowered my posture with my hands in front of me, taking a loose defensive stance.

The Lapahns quickly came within lunging distance, and they did exactly that, jumping at me and ferociously growling as they brandished their sharp claws.

I took a step forwards and punched the first Lapahn to reach me in the face and gripped its face, burying it into the snow ground.

The Lapahn hit the ground hard, creating a small crater in the snow and causing it to fly everywhere, momentarily hiding my figure from the rest of the enraged snow rabbits.

The Lapahns lost sight of me for a second, but they all started lunging at where they last saw me nonetheless. I closed my eyes, focusing more on my ears, and took a step to the side to dodge the only Lapahn who guessed my location correctly while lunging.

I caught the said Lapahn by the neck as it flew past me, almost like a speeding bullet, and spun threw it away towards another one of its companions, sending them both flying away from the fight.

The snow quickly fell to the ground, revealing me in front of the Lapahns again, and I merely smiled as I channeled my impact fist into my foot, stomping the snow.

Another wave of snow flew into the air, but the Lapahns didn't care as they all charged towards me while running on two limbs, despite losing sight of me again.

I kept my impact fist flowing through my foot as I soru stepped all over the area, causing more and more snow to fly into the air as I dodged and punched away whatever Lapahn managed to locate me as I did so.

I heard the large Lapahn's distinct growl from afar after a minute or so of speeding through the snow screen I created while sending any Lapahn I came across flying.

I heard whooshing noises all around me as the Lapahns started moving away from the snow screen, so I stopped allowing the snow to fall to the ground to see what was happening.

"I know these guys are supposed to be super smart, but come on!" I said to no one in particular as the snow cleared, giving me a clear view of the Lapahn's surrounding me as they used their claws to dig up the snow, throwing it behind them while slowly inching towards me.

'It's not like I really need the snow screen. I just did it because it seemed like fun, but still...,' I shook my head, deciding to humor the snow rabbits as I charged towards them.

Half of the Lapahn's charged towards me, while the others kept digging at the snow while surrounding me, and I even saw the large Lapahn, who seemed to be their leader, making his way towards me from the corner of my eye.

Five Lapahns lunged at me, and I began channeling impact fist through my entire body while standing still. "Omni-Impact," I murmured as I released the spring force in my muscles, creating an omnidirectional shock wave that sent the Lapahns around me flying as they finally reached me.

"That actually worked," I said with a satisfied nod. "Neat," I added as I jumped into the air to avoid several other Lapahn's lunging at me from all directions.

"Well, this has been fun," I remarked with a smile as I floated in the air. "But I don't have all day, so I'll have to cut this short," I added as I released my conquerers Haki, making nearly every lapahn surrounding me lose consciousness except for a few who were too far away.

The Lapahn leader looked at this scene with what I could have sworn was a pensive expression as it growled, causing the few remaining conscious Lapahns to start dragging away their companions while he kept moving towards me.

"Oh? Wanna have a go yourself, buddy?" I said with an amused smile as I turned to look at the Lapahn leader. "But I have things to do, so you'll have to earn if you want me to fight you," I added as I unleashed my conquerors Haki again, focusing it on the Lapahn leader.

The towering snow rabbit faltered, grunting as it even took a step back, but it persevered with defiance in its eyes as it resumed moving towards, albeit at a much slower pace.

"Not bad," I said with an appreciative nod. "But still not enough," I added as I unleashed the full intensity of my Haki, causing the Lapahn leader to stop moving.

It glared at me as it stood rooted in place for several seconds, finally falling to the ground unconscious.

"This guy is something else," I murmured as I gently floated down to the ground. "Even your average marine ensign would have fallen way before he did," I added with a thoughtful look as I turned around, intending to go back to Kureha and my companions.

However, I stopped in my tracks merely seconds after walking away as I suddenly heard a loud rumbling noise coming from behind me.

"Well, shit," I said with a sigh as I turned around and found out what was causing the sound.