Hiriluk

Hiruluk (ヒルルク, Hiruruku; "Hiriluk" in the English anime) was a quack doctor from Drum Island, as well as Tony Tony Chopper's father figure. After Wapol declared any doctor not under his rule to be outlaws, he and Doctor Kureha were the only free doctors left. However, unlike Kureha, Hiruluk ended up doing more damage than good to his patients by accident.

He found Chopper one day while traveling home in a blizzard. At first Chopper tried to knock him away, but Hiruluk earned his trust by stripping naked in the cold, showing that he didn't have any weapons or intention of hurting Chopper. From then on, the two slowly formed a sort of father/son relationship, traveling (and in a way terrorizing) the island trying to cure patients.

After one year had passed, Hiruluk reluctantly kicked Chopper out of his house, as he was going to die from a terminal illness (possibly tuberculosis). Hiruluk didn't want his friend to worry about him. After Chopper learned the truth, he went on a journey for an Amiudake mushroom. Sadly, unknown to the reindeer, the mushroom turned out be poisonous; but Hiruluk, who did know this, took it anyway because he was so impressed by Chopper's pure and innocent will. (Hiruluk had always called the skull and crossbones pirate emblem a symbol of vitality and Chopper took literally, not realizing that the crossbones symbol in the medicine book he read meant that the mushroom was poisonous.)

Afterward, Hiruluk heard news that Wapol's personal 20 doctors, the Isshi-20, were sick and rushed to the castle, only to find out it was a trap by Wapol to draw Hiruluk out and kill him. He thanked Chopper for a wonderful life just as Chopper was about to reach the castle. Hiruluk realized that his life would soon end and so, too, would his country if nothing was done about Wapol. Hiruluk truly believed that his country would be healed in time and his death would not be in vain. Thus with clear and hopeful eyes, and so as not to die from the poisonous medicine Chopper had made, he drank one of his own failed medicines and was blown up in an explosive blast.

Hiruluk was played by Marc Diraison in the English dub.

History
In his early days, Hiruluk was a thief who was diagnosed with a fatal illness. What he believed cured him was the serene vision of a grove of cherry trees. After being cured, he came to believe that there is no diease in the world that cannot be cured. He returned to Drum Island, the island he was born on, to help cure a dire illness. Hiruluk's main dream was to cure the people on the island of their frozen hearts which had formed because of Wapol's selfishness. He never lived to see his dream come true; it was finally made a reality years later. Kureha and the people of Drum would use Hiruluk's final invention, a special chemical to turn snow pink, creating the illusion of sakura blooming in the snow.

Trivia

 * In a recent Japanese Fan Poll, Hiruluk is currently ranked the 39th most popular character in One Piece.
 * His name presumably comes from the German word "chirurg", meaning "surgeon".
 * The shape of Hiruluk's head is modeled after a medical cross.