Doctor Kureha
Doctor Kureha is a skilled but eccentric doctor who resides alone in the mountain castle. She is nearly 140 years old and still practices medicine while taking payment in desired items such as food, rum and half the money. She is known for her medical expertise, her refusal to be contacted directly and her decision to descend the mountain at will.
Kureha trained Tony Tony Chopper using her full medical knowledge and later treated Nami for the five-day disease caused by an extinct tropical Kestia tick. She maintains a long-standing connection to Hiriluk and later interacts with the Straw Hat Pirates and Dalton during conflicts involving Wapol.
Appearance
Personality
Doctor Kureha laughs and agrees when accused of taking advantage of weaknesses and being a senile hag during payment disputes with Dalton. She remains unapologetic while demanding supplies and money yet shows protective concern by telling Chopper that onlookers are ignorant brats.3
Kureha displays clinical confidence when instructing patients to stay still during incisions and when announcing shots without anaesthetic. She teases Nami about the five-day disease before revealing she possesses the rare antibiotic and physically prevents departure until recovery completes.43
Abilities and powers
Doctor Kureha diagnoses pyogenic inflammation on a boy's leg during a restaurant visit and performs treatment without anaesthetic while emphasizing the emotional impact on the patient. She later identifies a Kestia bite mark as the cause of Nami's fever and states that her medicine allows full recovery in three days.14
Kureha trains Chopper using her full medical knowledge over one year and later praises an unusual medicinal compound created by Chopper as perfectly sound after forty years of practice. She contacts others via Den Den Mushi to report a national crisis involving collapsed MD-20s.56
Kureha praises an unusual medicinal compound created by Chopper as perfectly sound after forty years of practice and notes she never knew such a compound was even possible while examining the small object closely during lab work.78
History
Doctor Kureha sits on a bridge railing at age 133 alongside Hiriluk as the only two doctors visible while townspeople spot them. She teases Hiriluk about appearing happy and warns that a doctor without knowledge is dangerous during their exchange on the bridge.9
Kureha holds a bottle and responds to Hiriluk's plea for more time by suggesting he go to the country out in the far west again to see the miracle cherry blossoms. She scoffs at his plan to bring cherry blossoms to the winter island and notes it is ridiculous because cherry blossoms will never bloom there.10
Kureha receives a pouch from Hiriluk after he asks her to train Chopper in medicine and she initially refuses before accepting the request. She exits the building into falling snow at night while contacting someone via Den Den Mushi about the national crisis and later reacts with shock inside the castle.1112
Interactions with Hiriluk
Kureha sits on a bridge railing at age 133 and teases Hiriluk about appearing happy while warning that a doctor without knowledge is dangerous. She notes that she and Hiriluk are the only doctors left in the country besides the MD-20 and observes that Hiriluk would remain an outcast regardless of doctor-hunts.1314
Training Chopper
Relationships
Doctor Kureha refers to Chopper as her beloved reindeer and later declares that he will become a wonderful doctor after he risks his life to make medicine for her. She softens after throwing him out and says she will be counting on him while slamming the door.1718
Kureha questions Dalton about the armory key and accepts it from Nami while rejecting the condition that the crew may leave after two years. She orders wounded brought to patient rooms and later laughs while discussing Chopper's bounty with Dalton in Sakura Kingdom.1920
Kureha remains silent while staring intently at the wanted poster of Portgas D. Ace and inquires about Gol D. Roger before connecting the poster to the will of D and noting that her reindeer has gone off with a very dangerous man.2122
Kureha physically stops Sanji and Zoro from departing while questioning Dalton about the armory key and accepts the key from Nami while rejecting the condition that the crew may leave after two years.23
Major battles
Doctor Kureha stands with Sanji and Chopper facing Wapol's group before being directly struck and sent flying by the blow during the confrontation at the castle. She later offers her legs for Luffy to grab from the stairs amid the ongoing fight.2425
Kureha watches the scene calmly while warning not to let guard down against the duo's rule and later stands ready as Kuromarimo lunges with a massive spinning attack that threatens to kill her first.2627
Kureha chuckles while remarking that the castle has been beaten by a pirate's flag after Luffy launches Wapol vertically into the sky and he crashes headfirst into the highest spire next to the pirate flag.28