I Sell Gacha Jars in One Piece

Amon watched Robin with quiet exasperation.

He genuinely could not figure out why she enjoyed tormenting Chopper so much.

He shook his head and got to the point.

"Chopper, you said you came for that mushroom to treat Dr. Hiruluk?"

"Yes! Dr. Hiruluk said he has a terminal illness, and that mushroom is the only thing that can save him!"

Chopper answered while still keeping one eye on Robin.

"Then you should know that mushroom is actually a deadly poison. Anyone who eats it will be dead within ten days."

Amon glanced at the mushroom and kept his voice level.

He had taken one look at it and cross-referenced it against everything he carried in his head, both medical knowledge and what he remembered from the story. The thing was lethal. If Chopper brought it back and Hiruluk actually ate it, there would be no coming back from that.

"The... mushroom... is poison?"

Chopper stared at him. Something flickered in his eyes that he clearly didn't want to believe.

"That can't be right. Dr. Hiruluk told me himself. He said this mushroom would cure his illness."

"It is poisonous. As for why Dr. Hiruluk told you that, I think there's another reason behind it." Amon shook his head slowly. "What I do know is that if he eats this, he won't survive ten days. I'm a doctor. I have no reason to lie to you."

The details of this part of the story had faded on him over time. He couldn't remember exactly why Hiruluk had sent Chopper for it. But the outcome he remembered clearly enough.

Hiruluk eats it. Hiruluk dies.

"Then what do we do?"

All the fight went out of Chopper at once. He stood there lost, not knowing which way to turn.

"Chopper, if you trust me, take me to where Dr. Hiruluk lives. I'm a doctor. There may be something I can do for him."

Amon took hold of him gently and looked him in the eye.

"You could actually treat Dr. Hiruluk?"

Chopper could barely believe what he was hearing. Even Dr. Kureha hadn't been able to do anything, and here was this man saying he might be able to.

"I believe so." Amon's confidence in his own medical ability was well-founded. And even if it came to the worst, he still had the jars. Open one for Hiruluk and that can be the end of it.

"Okay. I'll take you there." Chopper's voice caught. He blinked hard. "Please, you have to save Dr. Hiruluk. He's the best person in the whole world."

"Let's go. He's waiting." Amon gave him a reassuring nod and let him lead the way.

"This way, please. Follow me!"

Chopper set off toward Hiruluk's home, the others falling in behind him. After a moment's thought, he tucked the mushroom into his backpack anyway, just in case.

...

Half an hour of walking brought them to a large tree. Built into the rock above it was a cave, its entrance half-hidden from view.

Chopper stopped and cupped his hooves around his mouth. "Doctor! It's Chopper! I got the mushroom!"

He stood at the base of the tree and waited, ears up, tail still.

No one answered.

"Doctor! It's me, open up!"

Still nothing. Chopper called out again, louder this time, his voice beginning to crack with worry.

Half a minute passed. The entrance stayed dark and silent.

"Something's wrong."

Amon opened his Observation Haki and swept it through the cave. He found Hiruluk immediately, flat on the ground, alive but unresponsive.

He didn't wait. He jumped up to the entrance, forced the door, and went in.

The others followed close behind.

"Doctor! Doctor, what happened to you!"

Hiruluk was on the floor exactly as Amon had seen. Chopper rushed to him, voice rising in a panic.

"Easy. He's not in danger. His illness flared up and he passed out."

Amon checked his pulse quickly, then reached into his coat and drew out a medicinal herb.

"Get him to swallow this. He'll come around."

Chopper coaxed it into Hiruluk's mouth with trembling hands.

A moment passed.

Then Hiruluk coughed hard, a raw, rattling sound that shook his whole frame.

Chopper threw his arms around him. "Doctor! Doctor, are you alright? Don't scare me like that!"

Hiruluk forced his eyes open. When he saw who it was, he managed a thin smile.

"Chopper. You're back."

"Yes! And I brought the mushroom you needed!"

In his relief, Chopper forgot everything Amon had told him.

"You actually found it?"

Hiruluk hadn't genuinely expected him to. He looked at Chopper's bright, eager face, and something heavy passed through his eyes before he could hide it.

He knew the mushroom couldn't save him. But he couldn't let Chopper know that. So he put on a wide smile and reached for Chopper's paw.

"Chopper, that's wonderful. Once I eat that mushroom, I'll be good as new!"

"Doctor, that's not true. Mr. Amon said the mushroom is poisonous. It won't save you. It'll kill you within ten days."

Chopper had learned Amon's name on the walk over.

"To be more precise," Amon said, stepping forward, "that mushroom would give Dr. Hiruluk ten days of apparent recovery. He would feel well, perhaps even strong. Then, on the tenth day, the toxin would take him."

He let that sit for a moment.

"I'm right, aren't I, Dr. Hiruluk?"

Now that he had seen Hiruluk's condition with his own eyes, the pieces had come together. The mushroom, when consumed, forced the body to burn through its remaining reserves all at once, producing a brief window of restored vitality. Ten days of borrowed time. Then the poison finishes what the illness started.

Hiruluk had known exactly what he was sending Chopper to fetch. He needed those ten days for his research. Without them, everything he had worked toward would die with him before it was finished.