The Adventures of Tony Tony Chopper

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From the moment he was born, Chopper was alone.

It took him years to understand why—why his parents had rejected him, why no one talked to him, why he was forced to always hang out at the very fringes of the herd. As a child, he simply didn’t understand he was strange, that his blue nose was a deviation that didn’t belong on a true, proud reindeer.

He didn’t understand… and that was why it hurt so bad.

And when he found that odd fruit—one that tasted so terrible, like mud and sand and bile—it only got worse.

He wasn’t a reindeer anymore. He wasn’t just a shameful deviation. Now, he was an abomination; something that didn’t belong in this world, much less a small reindeer herd living peacefully in the snowy forests of Drum Island.

He wasn’t a reindeer… but he could become a human now, right?

“It’s the Abominable Snowman! Shoot it!”

“Kill it! Kill it before it kills us!!”

He was naive. Young and innocent and oh-so-very naive.

How could a reindeer become a human? How could a human become a reindeer?

It was simply impossible; he was nothing but a monster now, doomed to be alone for the rest of his life.

“I’d never shoot you! My name is Hiriluk—I’m a doctor!”

Those were the words that changed Chopper’s life. Words that gave him a name and a purpose; a reason to live and hope for better days ahead. The first kind words he had heard in his life.

But did that change the fact that he didn’t belong? Did finding one person who accepted him change who he was? What he was? People still screamed at the sight of him. Reindeers still avoided him.

He was still nothing but a monster.

Even after meeting Doctorine and learning medicine under her tutelage, after beating Wapol with Luffy, after leaving the island to see the world with his own eyes… he was nothing more than that.

“Tanukicchi, are you there?” a woman’s voice called from somewhere towards the entrance to the village library.

Snapping back to reality, Chopped slapped his cheeks to make himself focus. He had a purpose here, he couldn’t just get distracted by reminiscing. 

“Tanukicchi?”

“I’m in the back!” Chopper finally responded, pushing the heavy book in front of him away to instead turn around to face the approaching person.

Soon, one of the village ladies appeared around the corner, a large tray in her hands. She smiled widely when she finally noticed Chopper; her steps became faster as she hurried over to the little study area Chopper had made for himself.

“Tanukicchi, here. I brought you a snack,” she said happily before placing the tray carefully on the spacious desk. Chopper could already smell the amazing aroma of green tea, his mouth watering at the sight of carefully made sandwiches and apple slices styled into little bunnies.

The reindeer smiled, the action so natural that it almost surprised him. “Thank you, I appreciate it!” 

“You work so hard every day, you deserve a little break.” She almost sounded like she was scolding him as she said that, shooting Chopper a look.

Sticking out his tongue and scratching at his head sheepishly, Chopper quickly apologised before pausing. “Oh! How’s your son doing? Did the treatment help?”

“He’s doing great!” The lady smiled happily. “The medicine you gave him helped a lot, I’m sure he’ll be causing trouble all over the island again in no time.”

Chopper sighed in relief. “That’s great. I’m going to go see him later to check if he needs anything else.”

“You’re so dutiful even though you said you needed to study. Thank you, Tanukicchi,” she said gratefully, bowing a little.

“I’m not a tanuki,” Chopper snapped but then immediately relaxed again. “You thanking me doesn’t make me happy at all! But I’m glad everyone stopped fighting now and all the sick are recovering.”

“All thanks to you helping us understand each other.” She smiled warmly at Chopper before turning around. “I’ll leave you to your studies now. Don’t forget to eat, Tanukicchi!”

“Thank you!” Chopper called after her.

A smile still on his face, the little reindeer poured himself a cup of tea before turning back to his book. Even weeks after he had landed in Torino Kingdom, it still surprised him how advanced the civilisation here was. This library was full of books on medical procedures that even Doctorine never taught him, plans for equipment for better distillation and extracting healing components from herbs, and most importantly, a large collection of encyclopaedias with detailed information on the healing—and dangerous—properties of the plants growing all over this island and beyond.

Chopper wanted to know all of it. He was going to learn about every single herb and plant and advance his medical skills as much as he could in the limited time he had. As the doctor of the future Pirate King, he had to do at least that. And if his gut feeling wasn’t wrong…

He could do even more here.

When he created the Rumble Ball, Doctorine scolded him for being reckless and experimenting with things he didn’t understand. But regardless of what she said, it had served him well! He drew Wapol out of the country for good thanks to the power the drug gave him and he was able to help Luffy and the friends he had finally, finally found.

Doctorine, I’m not going to stop, Chopper thought to himself, flipping through his book with new-found resolve.

It had to be here. Something had to be here. Something to help him make greater use of his devil fruit, the fruit that had given him nothing but pain—making him neither an animal nor a human, turning him into a creature that shouldn’t exist.

The Rumble Ball gave him the power to turn into an actual monster; seven forms, seven boosts for seven different purposes… One of them had always terrified him but he knew, he knew it didn’t have to be like that. He only needed one more push, something that could help him stay in control while he became a real abomination.

And while at it, he would also make the most of the other forms. What he had now, a Rumble Ball made from the few plants growing on a winter island and medicine from Doctorine’s private stock couldn’t be the end of the drug. There was more; there had to be more.

Did he even have to rely on the Rumble Ball every time? There was still so much he didn’t know.

When he got Luffy’s message in the newspaper, he knew this was what he was meant to do during the two years granted to him. To become stronger, to turn into someone worthy of calling himself a crew member of the Pirate King.

And if that meant turning into a true monster, one that didn’t resemble either a reindeer or a human at all anymore, that was perfectly fine with him.

After all, he had finally found his home. He had friends now, people who didn’t care what he looked like, who accepted him as he was without question. He had found what he had been looking for all his life and he would be damned if he let them all down.

Luffy had made his decision and Chopper had made his own.

“Wait for me, Luffy. I’ll become a monster who can be of help to you.”

Determination coursing through his veins, Chopper blindly reached over to the tray to grab a snack—after all, one can’t learn properly on an empty stomach—but he paused when his hoofed hand touched paper. He frowned, tearing his eyes away from his book to instead glance at the note, grabbing an apple slice and biting into it absent-mindedly as he read.

Tanukicchi,

Help yourself to the sandwiches. There's ham and cheese, vegetable, and two of the egg ones you liked! But the one in the middle has my mom’s special chocolate spread, I hope you like it!

Don’t forget to take care of yourself! 

P.S.: I’ll bring you more apples if you want, tanukis like them, right?

Chopper clicked his tongue, shoving the rest of the apple slice into his mouth as he chewed angrily, glaring at the little tanuki doodle in the corner of the note.

He had decided to become a monster for Luffy’s sake… But if becoming one would stop everyone from calling him a tanuki, well…