Home of the Straw Hat’s own Tony Tony Chopper, Drum Island is one of the early stops in the Straw Hat journey. The wintery island they visit in search of a doctor is having plenty of issues of its own, but then there’s the issue of the returning Wapol, their former dictator. Drum Island has a rich history, both with the Straw Hats and at some point before as Kureha mentions Gold Roger.
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Where is Drum Island?
Situated in the first half of the Grand Line known as Paradise, Drum Island is a small country just past Little Garden. It’s constantly under a veil of wintery snow, with huge blizzards that will rip through at a moment’s notice. The island, while pretty small in terms of land mass, towers high into the sky thanks to the massive, flat-top islands all around the country. It’s these mountains that give the Drum Kingdom its name at first, since they all resemble massive drums towering against the sky.
While Drum Island is inhabited by humans, much of it is too cold for regular people to live among easily. That said, the wildlife of the island thrives here, including the Lapins. Massive bunnies that tower over most humans and could easily destroy them in a swipe, the Lapins end up as friends of the Straw Hats. This is good, because they’re one of the few reasons the pirates are able to stand up to the tyrannical forces of Wapol, the former leader of Drum Kingdom.
Winter Island
The Drum Kingdom is the first of the Winter Islands that the Straw Hats run into on the Grand Line. Thanks to the ridiculous ecological system the Grand Line goes by, every island will typically only experience one season. Winter Islands like Drum Kingdom are obviously stuck in the coldest season of the year. Constant snow storms and very rare thaw once every few dozen years are normal for the populace. They’ve learned to structure their lives around the various commodities available on the island.
Medical Knowledge
Drum Island becomes known far and wide throughout the Grand Line thanks to the wealth of medical knowledge. Much like Ohara was for historical scholars, Drum Island is for medicine, with advanced procedures and cures thought lost to time. Many doctors throughout the history of the island have contributed greatly to their advancements, with Kureha being the last alive of the old generation. She proves her worth more than a hundred times over by curing Nami from a bug bite on Little Island, which it’s likely nobody else could have done.
While Drum Island is known for its medical science, that changes when King Wapol takes over. The spoiled ruler with the Munch-Munch Fruit doesn’t think anyone else deserves the doctors, and has many arrested or killed. Those who cooperate are left as the twenty doctors, a huge team with immense knowledge in every kind of medicine. Those that don’t cooperate are hunted like animals, with only Kureha as the eventual survivor after Hiriluk’s death.
Wapol’s Tyranny
Son of the former king of Drum Island, Wapol is nothing like his more benevolent and people-minded father. He was a good man, but when he dies Wapol goes into full dictator mode, making decree after decree. First is to restrict doctors to those that will serve him, allowing him to gatekeep any kind of health needs the citizens may have. It has become a huge source of death throughout the kingdom, with many dying of preventable disease, infection, or injury in just a few months. It doesn’t end there though, and extends on much longer with Wapol becoming more cruel to the people over time.
Just weeks before the Straw Hats reach the island, Blackbeard and his crew show up. They wreak havoc across Drum Island, but in doing so also dispel Wapol from his kingdom. The Blackbeard Pirates move on while Wapol drifts about in a ship with his followers, trying to find the kingdom again without a Log Pose to guide them. It’s a brief respite for Drum Island though, as they’re able to start taking care of themselves independently. Also, it helps that Kureha can see to medical needs without a need to run every so often.
Straw Hat Saviors
Of course, the first people to come upon Wapol after he’s been expunged from his residency are the Straw Hat Pirates. They end up fighting him after he takes a few bites out of Going Merry, but he’s not their priority at the moment. After getting to the island, learning about the situation there, and befriending their newest member Tony Tony Chopper, the Straw Hats have seen enough. They have a huge showdown with Wapol and his goons, with all of them eventually merging thanks to Wapol’s Munch-Munch Fruit.
While the battle rages, Luffy shows Chopper that sometimes he has to fight to protect those he loves. It’s the first moment that gets the reindeer doctor on their side, and shows off that he can actually hold his own in battle. Together, they kick Wapol out, and cure Nami, and Chopper comes along as the new ship doctor. It’s just the first kingdom that the Straw Hats will liberate on the Grand Line, with the mountains of Drum Island beating the drums of liberation.
Sakura Kingdom
As the Straw Hats leave Drum Island, Dr. Kureha makes her grand gesture during their exit. She heads up to the tallest mountain of the kingdom, firing off a cannon containing the final serum Chopper made. In memory of Hiriluk, all the snow of the Drum Kingdom becomes beautiful pink cherry blossoms. Now they’re a feature of the island year-round, with cherry blossoms soon becoming the namesake for the Sakura Kingdom. It’s a beautiful sight, and now is known as one of the best natural medicines in the Grand Line, providing a beautiful place for treatment.
The Drum Kingdom now represents itself as the Sakura Kingdom even at the Reverie. It’s now run by a council of citizens though, with Dalton and Kureha as the main representatives at Mary Geoise. They’re working to make life better not only for the Sakura Kingdom but also for the Grand Line as a whole. It’s definitely a surprise when they see Wapol at the Reverie though, who now leads the Black Drum Kingdom elsewhere.
Home of Tony Tony Chopper
The most famous resident of the Drum Kingdom is also one of the cutest. Tony Tony Chopper, the ‘pet’ of the Straw Hat Pirates, calls the Sakura Kingdom his home with pride. Dr. Kureha and Dr. Hiriluk taught him all he knew about medicine, though Kureha had to fix a lot of Hiriluk’s teachings. It’s still because of them that the lonely reindeer, an outcast because he ate the Human-Human Fruit, finds a family.
Though he leaves with the Straw Hat Pirates, his friends back home are keeping up on his journey. Kureha is like a proud, drunk aunt with his bounty posters, framing them up on walls in admiration. She knows that Luffy is destined for greatness too, with a fond memory of the Pirate King Gold Roger coming to mind when she sees the Straw Hats.
Drum Kingdom’s rich history, even now continuing as Sakura Kingdom, will no doubt serve a place in the Final Saga. It’s a beautiful land full of falling cherry blossoms, and their medical science is regaining traction without Wapol’s tyranny. While still getting their business sorted, the Sakura Kingdom has come a long way thanks to the help of the Straw Hat Pirates. Even as the Drum Kingdom and after their freedom, One Piece is better for having them.
