The water churned with fury.
The surface of Laboon's inner chamber rippled violently as the massive whale rose, his movements dragging currents in every direction. The dock shook beneath their feet. Chains rattled. Beams groaned. Crates slid and crashed into one another.
The Going Merry rocked side to side, the hull creaking under the stress.
"He's rising—!" Crocus barked. "It's starting again!"
"Brace the sails!" Nami shouted, spinning the wheel to stabilize the ship.
Sanji rushed to the portside rope lines. "He's going to crush us!"
Usopp fell on the deck, gripping the mast with both arms. "WHY DOES IT ALWAYS END WITH A GIANT MONSTER?!"
Zoro grabbed the support railing, his feet wide for balance, scanning the chamber.
Every part of the whale's body screamed one thing.
Determination.
Vivi stood frozen at the end of the dock.
Her boots were planted, but her hands trembled. She looked at the rising force of nature in front of her and saw something deeper—loneliness so vast it had become violent.
She didn't move.
Couldn't.
Then Luffy sprinted past her.
He didn't speak. Didn't hesitate.
His straw hat bent slightly with the wind as he launched himself off the dock, body twisting mid-air, arms angled perfectly. His fist tightened—not with hatred, but with intention.
He landed on the scar.
And he punched.
The sound wasn't explosive—it was deep. A reverberating impact that cracked through water and flesh like a drumbeat from the heart of the world. A shockwave surged across the chamber. The water rippled in concentric rings.
Laboon halted.
His entire form shuddered. His massive head hung in the air, inches from the wall.
Time froze.
Zoro stared.
Sanji blinked. "Did he just…?"
Nami whispered, "He stopped him."
Luffy crouched and sat on the scar, his legs folded beneath him.
He looked down into the massive eye rising below.
"You don't have to do this anymore."
His voice didn't echo.
It settled.
"Fifty years… You waited. And they didn't come."
His fingers curled.
"But I did."
He stood again.
Then pulled out a dagger.
Without hesitation, he pressed it against the flesh of the scar—just enough to slice through.
A thin red line appeared.
Blood rolled slowly down the curve.
"This is our mark. Our duel scar."
Laboon twitched slightly.
"You're not allowed to die," Luffy said. "Not until we finish sailing the Grand Line. When we do… I'll come back here. And we'll fight."
The system responded behind Luffy's eyes.
[Memory Link Established: Luffy – Scar Marked]
[Host Status: Emotional Shift Detected – Aggression Diminishing]
[Promise Log Registered – Awaiting Return Cycle]
Laboon made a sound.
It wasn't rage.
It was low—long—rolling.
A vibration more than a sound. It passed through the steel grates. Through the water. Through every rib of the chamber.
Crocus blinked.
"He understood…"
Laboon's eye blinked slowly, then locked on Luffy.
He… smiled.
A loud snap cracked overhead.
A rusted pipe near the ceiling burst. The pressure snapped loose a second line, which crashed into the dock and exploded into sparks.
"He's shifting!" Crocus shouted.
"What now?!" Usopp cried, ducking.
"He's going to eject the ship!"
"Eject?!" Nami turned toward the dock. "Where?!"
"The blowhole!" Crocus yelled. "He's aiming for the ocean!"
Luffy turned.
The water surged again—this time behind him.
Waves rippled outward in a spiral, the current reversing as Laboon angled his body forward. Light from the upper chamber ceiling filtered in as pressure condensed.
"EVERYONE BACK TO THE SHIP!" Luffy shouted.
Zoro grabbed Usopp by the collar and ran.
Sanji lifted Nami over a falling crate and dashed for the Merry.
Crocus braced himself against a support beam.
Vivi stood stunned—until Luffy passed her, grabbed her arm, and pulled her into motion.
The ship rocked hard.
Wood splintered along the dock's edge.
Metal cables strained.
The Going Merry was lifted slightly by the swirling current, its bow now facing a narrow tunnel of rising water and air pressure—
—Laboon's exit path.
And then—
The chamber roared.
A low howl of wind, force, and water.
Laboon was preparing to launch them into the Grand Line.
[End of Chapter 101]
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