Scholar of Strawhat Pirates

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Another Timeskip



As time had passed since he got his Devil Fruit, so much had happened during the first year. First, when he arrived at the cabin after training, he saw Dr. Hiriluk and Chopper talking with Dr. Kureha. She was the one who informed Chopper of Dr. Hiriluk's condition, as she stated that Hiriluk's sickness was something that no one could cure, not even her, the greatest doctor in the world. This made Chopper horrified, as he realized he would lose the only friend he had and the only family he had.

"Don't leave me, Doctor. I don't want to be alone anymore," Chopper said as he pleaded with Hiriluk not to leave. Despite his sickness, Hiriluk wanted to do one last thing—to rescue the Isshi-20 that Wapol had kidnapped and spread a false rumor that they were all sick, because he couldn't bear to ignore it.

"Don't worry, I'm leaving you in the good hands of my friend. Plus, you'll have a new friend here," Hiriluk answered as he prepared his cure for the Isshi-20 and also a bomb that could make his enemies regret crossing him. Chopper was then handed over to Douglas, who carried him and stopped him from going with Hiriluk. As Chopper struggled, Douglas said something that made him stop.

"Stop crying, Chopper. Your friend is someone who would face death with a smile on his face and without fear. By crying, you're sullying his pride. Make him proud and stand tall with your chest up. Become the man he wanted, and continue his legacy without forgetting him. That's the only thing you can do for him," Douglas said as he scolded Chopper. This made Chopper stop struggling and look outside the cabin at the falling snow. Despite his tears not stopping, he was no longer wailing—he wanted to honor his friend's sacrifice for what he believed was the greater good.

After a moment of silence, Douglas asked Chopper a question about what he wanted to do from now on. Chopper answered.

"I want to become a doctor—a doctor who can heal any disease," Chopper said, still crying.

After a day, the death of one of the most notorious criminals in the entire Drum Kingdom was announced. He had died by falling into the trap that the king had set, but there was a strange thing about his death: the royal guard of Wapol mourned Hiriluk's passing, touched by the kind gesture of Hiriluk willingly walking into a known trap to try and cure the twenty doctors Wapol claimed were sick—even with only a small chance of it being true. Hiriluk didn't want to take that risk.

-------------

In the following four years, Dr. Kureha and Douglas welcomed Chopper into their family as they took care of each other. Kureha mentored Chopper, while Douglas offered his friendship. It didn't take long before Chopper started to feel what he had experienced with Hiriluk. Over the past year, Chopper grew closer and closer to Douglas, and they developed a bond similar to Ace, Luffy, and Sabo—brothers of the same age.

Chopper was also taught by Douglas how to awaken his Observation Haki, something Douglas was incredibly skilled with. When Chopper awakened his Observation Haki, its range steadily increased the more time and practice he invested. He created a mask that covered his entire face, inspired by the plague masks from Douglas' past life. It was meant to hinder his sight and, of course, to hide his identity when he went out. Douglas also crafted him a coat made from the feathers of ravens and crows he had seen flying around.

Chopper's progress wasn't as fast as Douglas', but he was getting there. Chopper was someone who wouldn't give up once he put his mind to something. He managed to learn every bit of knowledge Dr. Kureha possessed within a year, though he still needed guidance when preparing medicine. Despite understanding the theory, he lacked hands-on experience in practice.

Meanwhile, Douglas began delving into engineering and chemistry. First, he designed a weapon to protect Kureha in case she was attacked. He created an electric cannon based on Eustass Kid's future weapon, with a feature to convert it into a shotgun, allowing lighter energy consumption and minimizing damage when cannon-level force wasn't needed. He also created poison concoctions using the Amiudake Mushrooms. These were designed specifically to combat Blackbeard's crew if they ever came to Drum Island. The poison used the mushroom's essence as its base, enhanced with additional chemicals to make it more lethal. He even developed an airborne version by mixing it with a smoke grenade.

After several trials, Douglas perfected the formula and began developing a vaccine for the poison. He also turned this vaccine into an airborne agent and began exposing commoners to it weekly. This allowed the population to build antibodies and develop immunity. His goal was to ensure that when he deployed the Amiudake Grenade in battle, it wouldn't harm the locals—only his enemies.

Of course, this wasn't Douglas' main focus. He continued training his body relentlessly and practiced using his Devil Fruit in increasingly complex ways. He started building intricate machinery using only the materials available to him, mostly stone. With his Devil Fruit, he could create a clone of himself from stone and remotely control it to fight against him, enhancing his precision and combat instincts. Over time, his control became so refined that he could fuse with a mountain and replicate what Pica had done in Dressrosa.

Douglas' punches grew increasingly powerful as he continued Garp's training routine. He built a ship from compressed stone and punched it daily for nearly two hours. On top of his regular physical training, he also created 1,000-ton barbells and even formulated a drug to slow his nervous system. This forced his body to react more slowly, pushing him to become even more precise and deliberate in his dodging skills.

----------

Now, after four years, Douglas had grown into a two-meter-tall kid, with Chopper by his side. Chopper had also managed to recreate the Rumble Balls he used for his transformations in the past. With Douglas' help, he was able to perfect them to the point where they no longer had any unwanted side effects, even gaining the ability to control Monster Point for a full hour before running out of energy. Douglas offered to give him further modifications, but Chopper refused, wanting to master Monster Point until it became something he could control without it being extremely taxing.

As Chopper grew up alongside Douglas, his desire to become a pirate never faded. He wanted to continue Hiriluk's dream. Now, with Douglas also declaring his intent to become a pirate someday, Chopper felt even more determined to pursue that path.


Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.