When Orochimaru woke up, he was already in a warm bed.
He stretched, and found that his thigh had been treated and bandaged.
He tried to move it, and there was no problem, so he didn't bother to treat himself.
He got up and touched Nami's head next to him; her fever had broken.
He used Chakra to check her bodily functions and found no immediate issues.
He yawned, watching Luffy making a ruckus outside the window; he seemed to be in good spirits.
If the child likes to fight, let him fight; there aren't any formidable characters around anyway.
Orochimaru chose to sleep a bit more; he still felt so cold.
Once this was over, he definitely needed to research how to solve the problem of hibernation.
So, he pulled the covers back up and fell asleep again.
Indeed, winter is the best time to sleep.
Orochimaru was rudely awakened by Luffy's voice.
He saw Luffy with chopsticks in his nostrils, holding another pair of chopsticks, facing Chopper.
"Come on, you try putting chopsticks in your nostrils too!"
Orochimaru directly smacked him into the wall with his tail.
"Don't corrupt the child!"
"Luffy... shouldn't you explain... why I'm sleeping on the deck?"
"Ah hahahaha... Chopper, look, the monster's awake!"
Usopp and the other two drank sake, pointing at Orochimaru; no one paid attention to Luffy in the wall.
Looking at the three remaining drunken people, Orochimaru rubbed his temples, feeling a headache.
"Who's going to explain what happened to me?"
Nami walked over, pushing the shy Chopper.
"It was like this and like that, so this is our new Companion, Chopper."
Chopper hid behind Nami's leg, timidly looking at Orochimaru.
"Hello... I'm the newly joined Chopper."
Orochimaru squatted down and looked at him. "Hello Chopper, thank you for saving us."
Chopper secretly looked at Orochimaru. "Um... earlier when I said I was a monster, they all waved their hands in unison and said I wasn't... and then pointed at you and said, 'This one is the real monster.' What did they mean by that?"
Orochimaru's veins bulged.
He smiled and patted Chopper's head. "Is that so? That's what they said, huh?"
Then he gently covered Chopper's eyes.
He quickly turned his head and glared fiercely at Luffy, Sanji, Usopp, Zoro, and even Princess Vivi, who were all hunched over, tiptoeing, trying to sneak away.
His neck stretched out directly, coiling around the group of people, and his face pressed against Luffy's ear.
"So, while I was sleeping, you secretly told others I was a monster, huh?"
"gomen nasai!!!"
The trembling group, beaten black and blue by Orochimaru... except for Princess Vivi, as she was the employer and couldn't be hit.
Then he pulled his head back, rubbed Chopper's head. "Although they are all idiots, from now on, everyone is a Companion, so you'll have to get used to it... Also... don't learn bad habits from Luffy and them; be a clean, good baby~"
Chopper blinked his eyes and nodded obediently. "Mm~" His beastly intuition told him to be obedient.
The sky finally cleared.
The revived Orochimaru came out to bask in the sun, standing on the stern deck doing calisthenics.
Based on the memory of that Blue Star person and his own research, he found this was truly a very scientific exercise that could revive a stiff body.
He watched Chopper, with his shark face, running around on the ground, circling Sanji, Usopp, and Zoro, who were playing cards, shouting,
"Oh no, Luffy's been eaten!"
Zoro stared intently at his cards. "Did he call for help?"
"No."
Chopper shook his head.
"Then don't worry about him."
Chopper blinked and looked up, staring blankly at Luffy, who was being held in the beak of an eagle.
Then he saw Luffy's arm become like a rubber band, prying open the eagle's mouth, and with the inertia of the rotation, he slammed the eagle onto the stern of the ship.
Orochimaru, who was exercising, only felt the sky darken, and then he was flattened.
"Hey! Sanji! I brought back meat!" Luffy called out to Sanji.
"Huh? What happened to you guys? Did you fall asleep?"
Looking at Chopper, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji lying on the deck, he tilted his head in confusion.
"It's all your fault! What are you doing?! My hand of cards was pretty good!"
"Is that so... Hahahahaha... My bad."
Luffy laughed foolishly.
"Wow... it's huge!" Sanji exclaimed, looking at the giant bird.
"Hmm..." Chopper pondered, what did he forget?
"Tonight we can finally eat something good!" Zoro exclaimed.
"Chopper, what's wrong?" Luffy asked, puzzled, looking at the stunned Chopper.
Chopper innocently wiggled his nose, then, in terror, swallowed hard and rushed over. "Hey!! Orochimaru! Orochimaru is underneath!"
Everyone hurriedly lifted the bird and saw Orochimaru crushed underneath.
Chopper went over and pulled Orochimaru out.
"Doctor!! Doctor!! Ah, I am the doctor!" Then he picked up his stethoscope, and tears immediately flowed.
"What do we do? Orochimaru has no heartbeat!"
Everyone was a bit shocked.
Luffy picked his nose, unconcerned. "It's fine, Orochimaru can't die, watch."
Then they saw Orochimaru's body begin to squirm, and a hand reached out from Orochimaru's mouth!
Everyone collectively took a step back in fear.
They watched as Orochimaru pried open the original Orochimaru's mouth, and a half-human, half-Snake person, covered in mucus, slid out from inside.
"Luffy!!!"
"Hahahahaha... that... Sanji, I'm hungry! I want roasted bird meat!" Luffy said, running away guiltily.
Looking at the not-so-presentable Orochimaru, everyone looked up at the sky... because that technique, no matter how they thought about it, gave them goosebumps, so it was better not to ask.
Orochimaru, with a very grim expression, dragged his shed skin back to the lab to shower.
The Snake person Orochimaru, wiping his hair, came out and saw Chopper cautiously peeking in at the door.
He bent down.
"Is Orochimaru okay?" Chopper asked, a bit worried.
"It's fine, Orochimaru is very strong." Orochimaru patted Chopper's head and held him in his arms.
Chopper found Orochimaru's body cool and comfortable, and then he also became curious.
"What kind of skill was that just now?"
"It's the Body Replacement Jutsu.
I am a Ninja, and also a Scientist, and also a Devil Fruit user.
The Snake-Snake Fruit, like Chopper, is also an animal."
Orochimaru swam towards the lab, holding Chopper.
"And I also do some experiments, which will also help Chopper's medical skills."
Saying that, he brought Chopper to the lab.
The others weren't very interested in it.
Nami and Usopp were also quite scared because it contained various organs.
Chopper was startled at first, but then he realized these weren't from other people's bodies.
"These are?"
"These are all cloned organs."
Orochimaru held Chopper and introduced them one by one.
Some were universal based on blood type, including internal organs and some other organs.
"If one day Luffy and the others suffer fatal injuries, there can be a backup.
I originally planned to specially customize cloned organs based on each person's cells, but the space is too small.
One day when we get a bigger ship, we'll make a larger lab.
And Chopper can also use these organs to simulate surgical experiments, so he won't be afraid of making mistakes due to nervousness during surgery."
Chopper's eyes lit up as he looked at the lab in front of him, and he instantly felt it wasn't scary at all.
Then he saw a nearly formed clone.
"So this is?" Chopper asked, a bit strangely... Orochimaru shushed him.
"It's a secret.
Chopper will know soon enough."