Chapter 319: The Appearance of Another Fruit
When Ian came down the mountain and returned to the village, Kureha and Chopper were still waiting there.
"Wapol? Did you take care of him?" Kureha asked Ian as soon as she saw him.
The bald village chief and a group of villagers also looked at Ian expectantly, hoping to hear good news from him.
The people of this country had long been fed up with Wapol, that stupid and tyrannical king, but they were powerless to resist him, so they could only hope for a hero to save them from his rule. Looking at their expressions, Ian suddenly thought of a phrase: "Bao Qingtian!"
Well, it felt a bit out of place, but that was roughly the idea. It seemed that no matter which world it was, things were the same. Because ordinary people couldn't fight back or get fairness, they always hoped someone would bring them justice.
So, facing their gazes, Ian had no choice but to nod and say, "Don't worry, Wapol won't appear again. You can rebuild a peaceful country."
"That's great!" The villagers erupted into a huge cheer, and some were even moved to tears of excitement.
This village was one of the lucky ones. It was said that in other villages, many people had died from illnesses because of Wapol's damn decree hunting doctors, leaving them unable to get effective treatment. So when they heard that Wapol was finally dead, their first reaction was a long sigh of relief.
Ian watched the celebrating people without disturbing them. He turned to Kureha and said, "That bastard Wapol ate all the books in his castle. Not only did it not make him any smarter, but it also left me with no medical texts. Dr. Kureha, it seems I have to ask for your help."
"Is that so!" Kureha laughed, hands on her hips. "Are you asking me for the secret to staying young?"
"No! I want to ask for some medical notes!" Ian said. "The doctor on my pirate crew asked me to bring back some medical-related materials."
Kureha smiled and said, "That's no problem! Follow me! Chopper!"
"Yes!" Chopper happily replied, transforming into his reindeer form. Kureha led Ian onto a sled, and Chopper pulled them as they sped toward Kureha's residence. The bald village chief and the villagers all saw Ian off together.
When they arrived at Kureha's place after a fast ride, Kureha began searching for books that Ian could take. Ian sat on a chair and waited.
Chopper hid behind the door, half of his body exposed, sneaking glances at Ian. He wanted to come over and talk but was too shy.
Seeing this, Ian waved at him and said, "Chopper, what are you doing?"
Chopper reluctantly came out, walked up to Ian, looked up at him, and asked, "C-Can I know your name?"
Ian smiled and said, "Didn't Dr. Kureha tell you?"
Chopper shook his head. "Doctorine didn't say."
Ian reached out his hand to Chopper and said, "I'm Ian. I'm a pirate right now. Nice to meet you!"
Chopper happily extended his hoof and said, "I'm Tony Tony Chopper! I'm studying medicine under Doctorine."
Ian held Chopper's hoof and shook it a couple of times like a handshake. He found Chopper's hoof furry and quite pleasant to touch.
"You're a pirate from the outside. What's the outside world like?" After shaking hands, Chopper stared at Ian with his big, adorable eyes and asked curiously.
"If you want to know, why not go see it for yourself?" Ian laughed.
"Huh!? Can I go too?" Chopper was a bit surprised.
"Of course, why not become a pirate?" Ian said. "One day, you'll meet companions who get along with you, and then you can set sail together and see the outside world!"
Just then, Kureha walked in carrying a stack of books. She said to Ian, "Kid, I thought you were planning to trick this little brat away from me!"
Ian smiled slightly and shook his head. He hadn't thought about that.
In fact, by now, Ian had encountered several of Luffy's future companions. At first, he had even considered taking Nami as his navigator, but later he realized that companions had a compatibility issue. Luffy's companions weren't necessarily suitable for Ian. Nami was like that, and so was Sanji. Ian's personality wasn't the kind that could move them to follow him. So even now, meeting Chopper, Ian didn't consider that issue.
The Dragon Hunter Pirates didn't lack a doctor, and Ian himself had healing abilities from his cards, so Chopper's medical skills were redundant for him.
From another perspective, Luffy's companions were also Zoro's companions. As the senior brother, Ian cared about his junior brother Zoro. He knew Zoro might get hurt a lot in the future, and having Chopper around would ensure Zoro's safety.
But now, Ian himself didn't know if, after his disruption on Drum Island, Chopper would still set sail with Luffy later.
Ian couldn't control that, so he decided not to think too much. His business on Drum Island was done, and he planned to leave. He still needed to go to the Alabasta Kingdom. Besides, Ian had a vague sense of unease. The danger Hawkins had predicted in his fortune-telling hadn't come true yet, so Ian wanted to finish his tasks and return early.
Kureha packed the medical books she had found into a small box and handed it to Ian. Ian took it and found it quite heavy, so he said to Kureha, "Thanks!"
"You're welcome!" Kureha said. "But kid, I still prefer you calling me a beauty!"
"Haha!" Ian felt a bit mischievous and said, "Alright, beauty, do you want me to introduce you to a boyfriend? There's a pretty mature man on my crew!"
Ian was, of course, referring to Uncle Fujitora. Given Fujitora's age, he could be called "mature," right?
"Get lost!" Kureha took a sip from the wine bottle on the table and said, "Men who pursue me could line up from here to the foot of the mountain. Do I need you to introduce a boyfriend?"
Ian laughed heartily, put his Bear Ear Hat back on, picked up the box, said "Goodbye!" and walked out of Kureha's residence.
Accompanied by the crisp sound of bells on his wrist, his figure gradually disappeared into the falling snow. Kureha and Chopper stood at the door, listening to the bell sound fade away. Then Chopper suddenly spoke, enviously, "Doctorine, Dr. Hiriluk was right. Pirates are truly the most romantic people in the world!"
Kureha immediately gave Chopper a punch on the head and said, "Idiot! Do you even know what romance is? Get back inside and study your medical skills properly! See, he didn't even take you with him, probably because he thinks you're not skilled enough!"
Chopper chuckled, adjusted his hat, and wasn't discouraged. He said with admiration, "Dr. Ian is right. One day, I'll find companions and set sail as a pirate too!"
In that brief time they had known each other, Ian had left a deep impression on Chopper's mind. Chopper remembered the cherry blossoms he had bloomed on the mountaintop and the crisp bell sound when he left. So he even started calling Ian "Doctor" too!
Because in Chopper's philosophy, doctors were the greatest people. Dr. Hiriluk was like that, and so was Doctorine. In that day's encounter, Ian had also become another person Chopper admired most...
When Ian returned to the port, he found his small boat loaded with large bags of food. Without a doubt, this was a gift from the villagers to thank him. It lifted Ian's spirits greatly.
So, he raised his sails again and set off, heading toward Alabasta according to the direction indicated by the Eternal Pose.
However, what Ian didn't know was that while he was killing Wapol and turning the apple in his pocket into a Devil Fruit, far away in the New World, another crucial Devil Fruit had also appeared!
This was the food storage room at the bottom of a pirate ship. In this room, stacks of wooden crates were piled up.
Generally, a ship's storage rooms were divided into two types: one for storing ammunition, and the other for storing drinks and food. For people sailing at sea for long periods, the vitamins needed to maintain their bodies usually came from drinks and food. But food, especially fresh fruit, was the hardest to preserve.
Under normal circumstances, fresh fruit had a shelf life of about a week. Any longer, and it had to be stored in a refrigerator. By that logic, canned goods were better for long voyages.
However, many ships would bring a few crates of fresh fruit when resupplying. Because eating canned food all the time got boring, so after resupplying and setting sail, the crew would eat the fresh fruit first and then move on to the canned goods.
In this storage room, the stacked crates held fresh fruit.
Just then, the ship shook violently. Two crates fell from the pile, and because they were stacked high, the top crate broke open when it hit the ground.
The contents spilled out, releasing a fruity aroma. It was a crate of pineapples. Stored together, these pineapples had turned from green to golden, giving off an enticing scent.
But among this golden pile, a strange purple fruit was oddly mixed in!
This purple fruit had a shell covered in square grid-like patterns, like a pineapple, but on these grids, there were spiral patterns.
A crate of pineapples had somehow gotten this strange fruit mixed in. If someone entered the food storage and saw it, they would definitely find it odd. But the people on this pirate ship were too busy to check the storage room!
Another violent shake came, and the entire ship rocked. On the deck, sounds of fighting and shouting rang out.
Clearly, this pirate ship was under attack!
On the deck, many pirates had been cut down. The smell of blood filled the entire deck. Most of the fallen pirates had the same tattoos, indicating they were from the same pirate crew. So many deaths meant this crew had met its doom.
And their enemies' ships surrounded them on all sides, four ships in total.
These four ships all flew the same flag. On the fluttering pirate flag was a symbol that struck fear into anyone in the New World.
The Whitebeard Pirates!