"WHOOOOO! THIS IS AMAZING!" Luffy whopped with joy as the ship sailed down the waterway that entered the Grand Line.
"bwwaaoooh…"
"Hm? Hey, did you hear something?" Zoro asked, looking around.
"It's probably just the wind," Nami brushed it off, not thinking much of it. "The rock formations are so unusual here…"
"bwwoOOH…"
"Hey!" Usopp called out from where he was sitting on the yardarm near the crow's nest and looking through his goggles. "There's something up ahead!"
"Yeah!" Sanji pointed towards the front where the mist was finally clearing up. "Looks like there's a mountain up ahead!"
"A mountain?! That can't be right! It should be clear seas once we pass the Twin Capes!"
"BWWAAAAAAAOOOOOOHH!"
The mist cleared up and they reeled back in horror when they finally laid eyes on what was blocking their path.
"That's no mountain…" Luffy grinned spotting the titanic creature. 'Oh boy… He's waaaaay bigger than I imagined him to be… Wow…'
"Shishi! It's a WWWHHHHHHAAALLLLEEEEE!" Luffy bellowed amplifying his voice to get Laboon's attention.
And it seemed to work as Laboon responded in kind. "BWWAOOOHHH!"
"DON'T SCREAM AT IT!" the rest yelled at him while Luffy laughed like a maniac.
"WHAT DO WE DO?!" Usopp screamed.
"Should we fight?!"
"Don't be stupid! That thing is a hundred times bigger than Roxanne!"
"But it's blocking our path! It's just like a wall now! Where are even its damn eyes?!" Sanji grit his teeth, biting into his cigarette.
"Turn the damn ship!" Zoro spat. "We just have to go around it!"
"But the whipstaff broke!"
"We have to try, idiot! There's no other op-"
BOOM!
Everyone froze and snapped their heads towards the bow of the ship where smoke was rising out of a cannon with a smiling Luffy standing next to it. While the rest had been arguing, Luffy had quickly hauled a cannon to the front, loaded the yet-to-be-named improved Buggy Ball into it and fired way before they were anywhere close to Laboon.
"THE CANNON?!" They shrieked as their terror-filled eyes followed the launched cannonball fly quite a distance before exploding right on the whale's body. They waited in muted horror for retaliation or any kind of reaction from the whale… but it didn't even move.
"D-D-Did it n-notice u-us?" Usopp stuttered.
At least that's what it seemed for a few tense moments… until Luffy launched a second cannonball and only then did Zoro and Usopp tackle him to the ground yelling, "STOP THAT, DUMBASS!"
They all watched the second cannonball also make contact… and again, waited in muted horror.
"Doesn't look lik-" Sanji's words died in a garbled mess in his throat when the whale suddenly jerked and turned slightly to reveal its huge eyeball, which left the crew trembling. When the pupil also moved to look straight at them, they said their final prayers.
"YO!" Luffy yelled bringing a hand up with a smile.
"Luffy… please tell me you have a plan…" Nami muttered hopefully.
"Of course!" Luffy said and the others became hopeful… at least until he explained his plan. "Isn't it obvious? I got its attention, so now it'll now think of us as food or an enemy or something and open its mouth to swallow us. Thus, our ship won't crash into it. Problem solved!"
Just as he finished his sentence, Laboon quickly descended a bit into the sea and opened its massive mouth right in their path. They alternated their gazes from the whale's massive maw that looked like a black hole that was sucking in gallons of water and then their grinning captain… before simultaneously lunging at said captain and proceeded to beat the ever-loving shit out of him.
"YOU GODDAMN IDIOT!"
Alas, they could only take out their frustrations on him for about 10 seconds as they neared the whale's mouth. They watched helplessly as they passed by the massive teeth that were way bigger than the Merry, and stared into the black abyss that they were about to enter.
Luffy stood back up with multiple bruises on his head, not at all bothered by the assault on him, and just grinned. "Hang onto something!"
"Fucking idiot!" Everyone cursed as they grabbed the closest thing they could and Merry entered Laboon's mouth.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Luffy laughed as the ship turned and swayed in every direction in the whale's throat like they were on a roller-coaster. "There's no earthly way of knowing! Which direction we are going!…" Luffy began in Wonka's voice but paused and cursed. "Fuck! Man, I want to give Wonka's tunnel monologue right now, but I don't remember it completely!"
"I don't know what that is, but shut the hell up!" Nami cried while she and the rest screamed and held on for dear life.
The ship suddenly felt like it fell off a very short waterfall and they slowed down considerably. It was still pitch-black and it reeked but they didn't have to hold onto anything to keep standing. Not that anyone did though.
"Luffy, what the hell were you thinking?!" Nami snapped. "We're inside a whale right now!"
"Don't worry, don't worry. If it comes down to it, I can probably eat a hole out of here and get us out in a couple of hours. The blubber will be thick, so will need some time."
"…I honestly can't tell if you're being serious or not…"
"That can actually work," Sanji commented in an agreeing tone. "That's a good idea, Luffy. I can cut through all that blubber, no worries!"
"Shishishi good!"
"I'm travelling with a bunch of crazy people…" Nami whimpered.
"As if you aren't one, witch."
"Don't call Nami-swan a witch!"
Thwack!
"Oi! That was me you hit just now!" Usopp screamed.
"Oh sorry, it's dark in here."
"Ahahaha!"
"Hey guys," Nami piped up in a trembling voice. "You seeing the light at the end of the tunnel too?"
"Yeah… we're in the whale's stomach now… right?" Zoro asked unsure.
"Actually, whales don't have the same anatomy as us," Sanji corrected. "The insane ride we experienced at the beginning should be when we were travelling in its esophagus. Assuming this is just a scaled-up humongous whale, where we are right now is the Rumen. It's the first stomach compartment… think of it like a pre-stomach. They store pre-digested food here."
"Whales have such a thing! Wow, I wished I had this Rumen thing too!"
"Can we concentrate here?!" Usopp snapped and his whole body was trembling judging by his voice alone.
"Yes, yes, so next we should be entering the cardiac or the main stomach. As to why we're seeing that light though…" Sanji mused for a second. "No clue."
"Well, that was helpful," Zoro grunted sarcastically.
"Eat shit, Mosshead!"
"You eat whatever it is that we're smelling, Ero-cook!"
"Yo-"
"Shut it, both of yoAHHHHHH!" / "AHAHAHA!"
The ship suddenly picked up speed as they neared the end of the tunnel and they felt like they fell off a small waterfall again before suddenly coming to a complete stop. The crew all slowly took in their surroundings and were left speechless for a few seconds, including Luffy who knew what was going on.
Sanji fished out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, lit it, and slowly blew out a puff of smoke before sitting down on the railing as he and the others took in the view. Wide open blue skies with white clouds, a few seagulls flying overhead, a small island with a single house on it… Nothing, at first glance at least, indicated that they were in a whale's stomach. Luffy was also marvelling at the scene, even more so because he knew it was all painted and yet, it looked so realistic that it left him in awe.
"So…" Nami began. "What do you make of this?"
"Ero-cook, you sure were mouthing off just now… what do you make of this? Do whales have a whole new world in their stomachs?"
"Obviously not, idiot!" Nami snapped.
"Yeah, of course not…" Sanji concurred.
"This is all a dream," Usopp stated matter-of-factly. "Has to be. No way Luffy would be stupid enough to make a whale swallow us right? Hahahaha!"
"I'll let you keep dreaming then," Luffy whispered and Usopp shuddered.
"A dream huh?" Sanji nodded. "That doesn't seem like a bad hypothesis…"
"So what's that island and house I'm seeing right over there?" Nami asked blankly.
"A dream house?"
"If that's true, then I feel sad for the person having this dream because that's the best house your mind can come up with?" Luffy asked pointing at Crocus' small house. "It doesn't even have a slide."
"Well, that's true…" Sanji nodded.
"And a slide?" Nami rebuked. "What are you, a child?"
"What? You'll have just stairs in your dream house then? What a boring mode of travel between floors."
"Oh hush you."
Their meaningless conversation was interrupted when a giant squid suddenly erupted right in front of the ship.
"Now they're about dreaming scary sea creatures?" Nami said shaking her head, still in a flat tone. When the squid wiggled its tentacles and lifted them up to attack though, Nami and Usopp finally came out of their stunned stupor and reacted like they usually did. By shrieking and falling to the deck.
"AHHH! A GIANT SQUID!"
Zoro and Sanji got ready to fight but mechanical noise of something being launched sounded and the squid was impaled by three harpoons, killing it instantly.
"What the heck is going on…?" Usopp cried.
"I've had enough surprises for today…" Nami whimpered helplessly but had her shock staff in hand.
"Looks like someone is in the house," Zoro noted when the door to the house on the island slowly opened.
"Here's hoping they're human…" Sanji added with a smirk when the harpoon ropes started being pulled and the Giant Squid corpse moved towards the island.
Someone slowly stepped out, their silhouette looking like a stalk with petals growing out at the top.
"It's a flower?!" Sanji excitedly pointed.
"A flower?!" Usopp yelped.
And then Crocus stepped out completely, looking at them with a stoic face.
"No, never mind… It's a human." Sanji amended.
"Well whatever he is, keep your guard up," Zoro said, his hands resting on his swords. "That man may look old but he was strong enough to kill a giant squid-like it was nothing."
"Question is," Sanji mused not taking his eyes off of Crocus. "Did he do it to save us or was he just fishing?"
Crocus snapped his eyes at them, making them flinch, before he took slow purposeful steps while maintaining full eye contact with them. His eyes bore holes into them and beads of sweat even started forming on Sanji's forehead.
Even Luffy had to admit that Crocus looked intimidating. 'His eyes are like that of a doctor…' He concluded sagely. From the little that was shown of him, Roger was really reckless too, so Crocus should have had an insanely hard time patching up and treating all the injuries he and the others on the crew accumulated.
The atmosphere was tense as Crocus made his way towards a beach chair… before unceremoniously plopping down on it and opening up a newspaper.
"SAY SOMETHING, YOU BASTARD!" Sanji snapped.
Crocus just lifted his head and stared at them.
"I-I-f it's a fight you want, t-then we'll take you on! W-we have cannons on our side!" Usopp bravely yelled… all the way from inside the kitchen.
Crocus' eyes suddenly widened and he glared at them, making them flinch again and stiffen up.
And he glared.
And glared.
And glared.
Before slowly saying, "You better not do that… or someone will get hurt…"
"Oh yeah?" Sanji muttered, his voice betraying the unease he was feeling. "And who's that?"
"Me." Came the flat response.
"YOU?!" Sanji again snapped putting a leg on Merry's railing, ready to jump across and attack the old man.
"Now now, don't get so worked up," Zoro stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder, no doubt revelling in the cook's loss of composure, before he addressed Crocus. "Hey old man, care to tell us where we are and who you are?"
Crocus' eyes again twitched and the glare was back at full force, making them stiffen up again.
And he glared.
And glared.
And glared.
Before slowly growling, "Don't you know it's common courtesy to introduce yourself first before asking someone a question?"
"Hm? Oh yeah, you're right. Sorry," Zoro nodded, gulping and trying to keep a calm composure. "My name is Roronoa Zor-"
"My name is Crocus," The playful doctor interrupted and told them about himself like he was reading a character sheet. "I am the lighthouse keeper of the Twin Capes. I'm 71 years old, a Gemini and I have type AB blood…"
"NOBODY MINDS IF I KILL HIM, RIGHT?!" Zoro snapped, hands itching to bring his swords out and cut the old man down, while Sanji took on the role of holding him back.
"Pff…" That was the limit to Luffy's tolerance. He had been facing away from everyone with a hand covering his mouth so that he wouldn't laugh out loud, but his limit finally broke and he burst out laughing. "PFFHAHAHAHA!"
"DON'T LAUGH!" Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji screamed, snapping their heads at him.
Crocus smirked. "At least one of you has a sense of humour. Don't you understand a running gag?"
"THAT WAS A RUNNING GAG?!"
"HAHAHAHA!"
"IDIOT!"
"Haah man…" Luffy calmed down to a chuckle, wiping a tear away before giving a thumbs up to Crocus. "That was great, old man!"
Crocus nodded with amusement when Nami hit Luffy on the head. "Before you start getting chummy with the enemy again, we need to figure out where the hell we are first!"
"You guys sure are noisy. You're disturbing my private resort," Crocus grunted in annoyance. "And given the massive front door you entered through, I'm surprised you're even asking that. You think we're in the belly of a rat?"
"W-wait! Do you mean we really are in a whale's stomach?!" Usopp gaped looking around. "B-but this doesn't seem like it!"
"Open your eyes, look up to the sky and see," Luffy interjected before pointing at the huge and hard-to-miss steel door that seemingly floated in the sky. "That the exit, old man?"
"OH MY GOD! THERE'S A DOOR IN THE SKY!" Nami gasped.
"Yes, that's the exit," Crocus confirmed and Luffy paid close attention to the door, knowing that's where Vivi would come out from. 'Ah Vivi, I finally get to meet her!'
"It's all a painting!" Usopp finally realized after looking at the sky through his goggles. "Look! The clouds and birds aren't even moving!"
"Oh my god, it really is! So this is the whale's stomach… and that door is the exit?"
"C'mon, Nami," Luffy grinned at her with amusement. "The others I can understand. But you? You should have realized it by noticing the lack of wind the second we got here," Luffy said with mock disappointment before dodging a kick from Sanji.
"I -I-!" Nami stuttered in embarrassment. "I just got caught up in- wait! It's your fault! If y-"
"Another shot." Zoro and Luffy interrupted.
"-you realized it, you should have said so sooner!"
"And where would the fun be in that? I also wanted to get surprised by everything… but damn Leo and the world…" Luffy quietly grumbled to himself and the rest understood that he already knew about the whale because Leo had apparently told him about it. They sighed a bit in relief knowing that their captain wasn't completely insane.
"Anyway, who the hell painted all this?!" Sanji asked bewildered. "And built that door? In the stomach of a whale? This is just too weird…"
"I did." Crocus deadpanned. "It's a hobby."
"That's a great hobby!" Luffy nodded approvingly. "Must get boring here huh?"
"Thanks. And a bit, yeah."
"YOU'RE CRAZY!" Usopp snapped.
"Well, enough about that," Zoro grunted grabbing a paddle. "We know where the exit is, so let's get out first."
"Yes, let's get out! I don't want to be digested!" Nami wailed.
Crocus again snapped his eyes at them, making them stiffen up even though they knew it was a gag.
And he glared.
And glared.
And glared.
"WILL YOU STOP DOING THAT ALREADY!"
"Shishishi you guys are funny!"
"STOP ENCOURAGING HIM!"
Before anything more could be said, the world around them suddenly lurched and started shaking violently, the stomach acid sloshing around wildly. "What's happening now?!"
"So he's stared again…" Crocus solemnly sighed while the Strawhats held onto the Merry, barely able to stand upright.
"Look! It's not an island he's on, it's a ship! And it has a metallic bottom!" Nami exclaimed as she pointed at Crocus's ship.
"Hey, old man!" Usopp called out. "What's happening right now?"
"This whale has started ramming his head on the Red Line again…"
"What?!" Zoro and Sanji gasped.
"Now that he mentions it, I did see a lot of scars on its head…" Nami mused sadly. "And its cries did seem mournful…"
"Yeah, it's crying all right…" Luffy agreed. He could feel Laboon's feelings from the start and overwhelming sadness and loneliness were all he felt. And he could also hear Laboon's voice which was crying out phrases like - "I'M LONELY!", "I'M STILL WAITING!", "WHEN ARE YOU COMING BACK?!" - with plenty of mournful cries mixed in.
"And you're responsible, aren't you?!" Nami turned on Crocus angrily. "You're killing the poor whale from the inside!"
Before Luffy could refute that, Crocus ignored the accusation and jumped into the stomach acid.
"Ahh! That old man jumped in!" Usopp yelled.
"We don't have the time to care! Let's just get out of here already!" Zoro yelled grabbing the oars. "Let's row to the exit!"
While the rest started rowing and discussing Crocus, Luffy was excitedly watching the giant door. It had a ladder running up its side which lead to a platform and a smaller human-sized door around the centre. Just as Crocus resurfaced near the door and began climbing the ladder, the human-sized doors burst open and out walked a duo - a blue-haired girl with a high ponytail, and a man with a crown on his head and the number 9 painted below both his eyes.
'VIVI….and the other nine guy!' Luffy exclaimed in his head happily.
"Who the hell are these guys now?" Zoro exhaled tiredly.
Miss Wednesday and Mr. Nine were both grinning, each with a huge bazooka hauled on their shoulder.
"You two!" Crocus growled furiously from below.
"Ah-HaHaHa!" Miss Wednesday haughtily laughed pointing at him. "Look, Mr Nine, the old man is right below us!"
"Hahaha!" Mr Nine also laughed haughtily. "Yes, Miss Wednesday, I do see him! Let's see you stop our attacks this time, old man!"
"We will kill this whale and there's nothing you can do about it!"
"You can't stop us from whaling!"
They laughed - in a way that Luffy was starting to hate - as they lifted their bazookas and aimed them at the stomach walls. Just before they pulled the trigger, they both felt something wrapping around their waists. They looked down in alarm and freaked out when they saw a human hand coiling around them. They followed the unnaturally long arms with their eyes and found that it led to a pirate ship.
"What?" was the only thing they could say before they started screaming when they were suddenly yanked away from where they were standing towards the ship. "GYAAAAHHH!"
They crashed onto the deck and instantly became rag dolls that rolled around on deck as the ship was still swaying violently. Meanwhile, Crocus climbed up to the human-sized door and entered it to sedate Laboon.
"Oh, a beautiful woman has graced ou-Gah!" Sanji, who started twirling his way to Miss Wednesday, got thrown off the ship when it jerked, and splashed into the stomach acid.
"Sanji…" Nami tiredly sighed holding onto the mast.
"Hahahaha! Serves that ero-cook right!"
Luffy chuckled before snapping an arm and fished Sanji out of the acid, just as the swaying finally stopped and calmness slowly returned to their world.
"Thank god… looks like the whale calmed down…" Nami sighed in relief.
"So who are these people now?" Usopp said eyeing the two strangers who had huddled together and were having a hushed conversation.
Sanji, unbothered by the little mishap, got close to Vivi and started singing her praises while Luffy studied her face curiously.
'Wow… she doesn't look like Vivi at all… is it even Vivi?'
Her face was more angular, her eyes were sharper and also seemed to be stretched back which gave it a completely different shape. 'Makeup sure is amazing…'
"Mr. Nine, these people seem to be pirates…" Miss Wednesday whispered.
"Yes, Miss Wednesday, and he seems to be a devil fruit user too…" Mr. Nine whispered back.
"So?" Nami questioned. "Who are you two?"
Before they could answer, Crocus reappeared at the platform and bellowed furiously. "AS LONG AS I'M HERE, I WON'T LET YOU HARM LABOON!"
Miss Wednesday and Mr. Nine both got up with matching grins and grabbed their bazookas again.
"Ah-HaHaH-"
FLICK!
"Ow!" Miss Wednesday, who was laughing in the usual haughty manner, stopped and stared incredulously at the strawhat-wearing pirate who had just flicked her forehead and was looking at her with annoyance.
"Did you just flick me…?"
"Yes. Stop laughing like that," Luffy chided like a dad, not at all liking the way the kind-hearted Vivi pretended to laugh. Miss Wednesday absentmindedly rubbed her forehead before Luffy grabbed her bazooka out of her hands, making her finally come out of her stupor.
"Hey! That's mine!" Miss Wednesday made a grab for it, but Luffy just threw it into the acid before grinning at her.
"Oops!"
Miss Wednesday stared at his grinning face for a second before turning back and noticing what had happened to Mr. Nine. He was down on his knees, also sans weapon, with the green-haired swordsman looming over him.
"Y-You're pirates, right?" Mr. Nine said fearfully looking at Zoro. "We're just whaling. I'm sure we can come to a deal here…"
"Nada." Luffy simply said before grabbing some rope.
"C'mon, we'll even pa-" The two tried to negotiate but Zoro just gave them a look, that shut down any protests from them. Soon, they were tied back to back, but they were still conscious and were having hushed conversations.
A few minutes later, Crocus had invited the crew to his island and they had all settled in, hearing Laboon's story and also who the two strangers were.
"Laboon is an island whale from West Blue. They're the largest whale species in the world and these two rogues have been trying to kill Laboon for its meat as it will feed their town for 2-3 years, at least… But I will never allow that!" He growled the last part at the two whalers, who whimpered in response.
"And why is Laboon ramming his head against the Red Line?" Nami asked.
"Well…" Crocus got a wistful look as he began Laboon's story. "A long time ago, a bunch of good-natured friendly pirates came down Reverse Mountain and right behind them was a little whale. That was Laboon…"
As Crocus was explaining how he ended up becoming friends with the pirates and how Laboon ended up in Crocus' care, Luffy was focusing on hearing Laboon's voice. Earlier, Laboon was wailing loudly which was mostly gut-wrenching screams of agony but after being sedated, it was more melancholic.
"Why aren't you coming back? I miss your music… I want to travel and sing with you… Come back soon… I'm waiting…" The voice was filled so much pain and loneliness that Luffy felt like his heart was being physically squeezed.
"It's been 50 years since then…" Crocus concluded and everyone looked solemn, including Miss Wednesday who had unknowingly dropped the facade for a while as she looked wide-eyed at Crocus with a pale face.
"Bwaahhh…"
Laboon let out a soft roar as it resurfaced and Crocus tied his ship with the Merry and took them out of the steel gate into a tunnel.
"This is amazing!" Luffy commented as they travelled through the tunnel.
"I'm amazed Laboon is still alive even after having such things built into him," Zoro said impressed.
"Is this also a hobby of yours?" Sanji asked.
"Yes, you can say it's a doctor's hobby. I may not look it, but I ran a clinic at the Capes a long time ago. I even spent some time as a certain ship's doctor…"
'A certain ship's doctor.' Luffy thought in amusement.
"You're a doctor?" Nami asked surprised as they reached the end of the tunnel where another steel door was built. "Oh, so you live inside this whale to treat him?"
"That's right," Crocus answered as he climbed up a ladder that led to a walkway to get to a wheel that opened the doors. "As Laboon grew too big, it became impossible to treat him from the outside…" Crocus then grunted as he began turning the wheel. "I'm opening the doors now."
The doors opened and Merry finally flowed back into the real sea. "Alright! We're out!" Luffy cheered before looking at his crew with a grin. "Now wasn't that way more fun and amazing than just landing in the sea?"
The others sighed and didn't answer him but they did secretly agree with his words. They could have done without all the heart attacks though…
"So what should we do with these two?" Zoro asked eyeing the two tied-up intruders. Mr. Nine was squirming and trying to get out of the binds the whole time and so was Miss Wednesday at the start but once Crocus began Laboon's story, she had quietened down and just sat silently, listening closely to the conversations.
"Let them be for now," Luffy said causing Miss Wednesday and Mr. Nine to protest, but they were again ignored.
The ship was damaged a bit so they decided to stop for a while at the capes and also have some lunch. As they set up a makeshift dining table just outside the lighthouse, they stared at Laboon facing towards the sky and noticed all its scars with a sad look.
"50 years huh? Does he still believe that his friends will return?" Nami asked sadly.
"He'll be waiting until his death at this rate…" Sanji said bluntly.
"Hey, don't be so cynical!" Usopp argued. "They can still come back!"
"They said they would be back in two or three years… It's been fifty." Sanji pointed out with a grimace. "I think it's obvious that they're dead."
"Hey, you can't know that! Can't you at least hope for a moving story of a promise between friends? I'm sure they'll come back!"
"The truth, I'm afraid, is much more cruel," Crocus said grimly. "I've heard from reliable sources that the pirates who Laboon has been waiting for have already left the Grand Line."
"What?!" Usopp screeched.
"Wait, that means they left through the Calm Belt!" Nami inferred.
"Yes. That's why I don't know their fates for sure. Even if they did, they wouldn't dare to come back here. The Grand Line is a place where common sense goes to die. The weather, the sea currents, the wind currents… everything about this place is unpredictable, ruthless and unforgiving. It's not a place for weak-hearted people."
"So those weak-hearted people ran away prioritizing their own lives over their promise…" Sanji angrily spat.
"Those cowards! How could they be so cruel?!" Usopp demanded furiously.
"How cruel…" Vivi muttered sadly to herself before raising her voice. "Why haven't you told him then?! Laboon understands human speech, right?! He'll be waiting for nothing at this rate!"
"Miss Wednesday?" Mr. Nine muttered in confusion as all eyes fell on her, and she shrank back, realizing her mistake. Luffy, who had closed his eyes and was listening to everything with a blank expression, smiled slightly.
"Feeling sympathy now, eh?" Crocus smirked at her before answering her question. "Why do you think he has so many scars on his head?" Crocus asked looking at Laboon sadly. "The day I told him about it, he went mad and started bashing his head on the Red Line. As if to stubbornly assert that his friends are beyond that wall and that they'll return one day. I've told him so many times already but he just refuses to face the truth."
"Damn, what a whale…" Sanji breathed out in awe. "He still keeps waiting even after he was betrayed… even though there's no point."
"He's scared…" Crocus continued in a forlorn tone. "After all this time, he's scared of losing the hope he's held onto, scared of losing his reason for waiting… His home is in the West Blue and there's no easy way home from here. Those pirates he came with… they were his way home and also his pod…"
"Can't help but feel sad for the fellow," Sanji sighed before looking at Crocus. "But you know, you've also been betrayed if you think about it. Why don't you just leave the whale already?"
Crocus sighed deeply. "If I leave him now, his scars and actions will eventually kill him. We've sort of built up a strange relationship over the last fifty years, I suppose. I can't just leave, knowing he will die…"
The crew remembered what Luffy had said about humans befriending sea kings and giant creatures and it finally registered in their minds that it wasn't just Luffy being strange.
"Well," Luffy finally spoke up as he stood and stretched a bit. "Did those pirates seem like such bad people, old man?"
"Them?" Crocus smiled wistfully. "No, they were strong and kind… Heh, their motto was 'Let's bring smiles to children's faces with our music!'"
"Really?!" Nami, Vivi, Usopp and Sanji perked up in surprise.
Luffy nodded with a grin. "Yeah… they were great!"
"…You know something I don't?" Crocus asked eyeing Luffy, with a bit of hope.
"Really, Luffy?!" Usopp piped up eagerly. "Do you know what happened?! Are they coming back?!"
Luffy shook his head. "Not my story to tell… But you know how the Grand Line is, old man. If you're not strong, it's cruel beyond belief. Enemies, diseases, weather… situations designed to kill you or worse, break you… and sometimes, people will be forced to make choices that they don't like," Luffy sighed darkly remembering Yorki's final moments. "Just know that if they had the privilege of making a choice, they would die a million times over rather than break their promise to Laboon."
"…Is that so?" Crocus smiled sadly, reading between the lines and understanding that most of them were dead. But not all of them judging by how he said it wasn't his story to tell. "Guess I'll have to wait to hear it from someone else then?" He questioned hopefully.
"Yeah," Luffy nodded with a grin and Crocus smiled understanding that there were indeed survivors from the crew. And knowing about Brook's Revive-Revive fruit, he could make a guess.
Before he or anyone could ask more, Luffy shot off like a rocket towards Laboon.
"Is he… climbing Laboon?" Miss Wednesday said bewildered.
They watched curiously as he reached the top and stopped right next to a fresh wound on Laboon's head. He then stretched his arms behind him… and then snapped them, pummeling his fists right into the whale's wound.
"Oh great…" Nami sighed exasperatedly.
Laboon was stunned for just a second before he let out a loud angry wail and started flailing wildly.
"BWWWWAAAAAHHHHH!"
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" the crew, plus the two agents, screamed in horror.
"LABOON!" Crocus yelled in a mixture of anger, worry and astonishment.
Laboon growled dangerously at the grinning Luffy before head-butting him into the Red Line and then grinding him into the rock face. crushing Luffy into the rock.
"Wh?! That kid!" Crocus yelped in worry for Luffy.
"Don't worry!" Nami yelled. "Being crushed won't hurt him!"
"The hell does that mean?!" Miss Wednesday and Mr. Nine snapped.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Luffy laughed like a maniac before jumping at Laboon again and bringing his stretchy foot down on the poor whale.
"BWWWAAAAOOOOHHHHH!" Laboon growled furiously as he attacked Luffy again, and sent him flying and crashing into the Red Line again. A couple more similar exchanges later, Luffy grinned at Laboon before shouting, "IT'S A DRAW!"
The angrily charging Laboon froze and watched the little human in confusion.
"I'm strong, aren't I? And you want to defeat me, right?" Luffy gave a challenging smirk as Laboon stared at him. "Our fight is yet to be settled. Your old friends may or may not be dead, but I'm your new rival from now on!"
Laboon's eyes teared up.
"Once our crew circles the Grand Line, we're gonna come back here to meet you. Let's fight again then - me and you! It's a promise!"
Laboon started shedding big happy tears and bellowed happily raising his head towards the sky. "BWAAAAHHH!" "NEW FRIEND! A RIVAL!"
Crocus looked on in amazement and joy as Laboon let out a happy roar while the rest of the crew smiled fondly. Vivi, on the other hand, was beyond stunned.
———
"No." Nami, Zoro and Usopp said firmly.
"B-But I w-" Luffy protested weakly while holding a huge paintbrush.
"No!" The three snapped, cutting him off.
"But…"
"You'll traumatize Crocus, Laboon and everyone that lay their eyes on Laboon if we let you paint," Nami said sternly.
"Yeah. Anyone that comes to the Grand Line will run back as soon as they see whatever you're planning to paint!" Zoro added.
"Is it that bad?" Crocus asked curiously.
"I still have nightmares remembering the Jolly Roger he drew…" Nami shuddered hugging herself while Zoro and Usopp nodded sagely.
"Hand it over," Usopp said extending a hand and Luffy begrudging gave the paintbrush away, and just sat at the cliff with a light pout while Usopp painted the Strawhat Jolly Roger over Laboon's scars.
Luffy soon got bored though and looked around, only to find Vivi and Mr. Nine still tied up. He went to them and they stiffened up when they saw the man that had punched a whale approaching them.
"Do you still want to harm Laboon?" he asked, mostly looking at the secret princess.
Miss Wednesday bit her lip in frustration before slowly shaking her head. "…No, we don't."
"Miss Wednesday!" Mr. Nine protested, but she cut him off.
"Do you really think you can kill that poor whale after hearing his story?"
Mr. Nine didn't have a response to that and slowly shook his head.
"Okay great then!" Luffy grinned and ripped the ropes binding them.
"You're letting us go?" Miss Wednesday asked surprised.
"Yeah, you're not going to hurt him anymore so it's all okay," Luffy said smiling. "Come join us for food! Sanji should be done soon and I guarantee that his cooking will blow you away!"
"Uhh….okay…?" she said unsure. He not only let them go but was also inviting them to eat? She wondered just what kind of strange pirate she had met.
They didn't take him up on his offer though and just quickly left. Luffy didn't bother convincing them as he had already found a log pose rolling around on deck and had picked it up, so he was sure the two would come back later when they notice their log pose missing.
He went back to Usopp, who soon finished painting the Strawhat Jolly Roger and the two stood in front of Laboon with matching grins.
"And done! You like it, Laboon?" Usopp asked, receiving a happy nod in return.
"Bwaah!"
"This will be the sign of our promise!" Luffy added. "No more bashing your head on the Red Line or it'll disappear, okay?"
"Bwaah!" "Okay!"
Meanwhile, Nami was drawing her maps, Zoro was sleeping, and Sanji was cooking the elephant tuna fish. Just as Luffy and Usopp were making their way back to the lighthouse where they had set up camp, a sudden shriek interrupted them.
"KYAAAAAHHH!" Nami's screech of horror rippled through the air, making even the gigantic whale dive back in fear.
Luffy instantly appeared next to Nami looking around for danger but only found her looking at her compass in worry. "What's wrong, Nami?"
Sanji, with plates of the cooked tuna fish, and the others also gravitated towards her while she remained in a panicked state.
"THE COMPASS IS BROKEN! IT'S SPINNING LIKE CRAZY!"
Luffy relaxed his guard before slowly touching her with his sea stone cuffs and making sure she hadn't eaten a Banshee-Banshee fruit or something because boy, was she loud.
While Sanji set the table for food and Crocus explained about log poses, Luffy went to Merry to fetch the chest of log poses and also the custom-designed item he had gotten made in the woodwork shop in Loguetown. By the time he came back, Crocus had finished his explanation.
"Luffy!" Nami huffed. "Listen, we apparently need something called a log pose. Do you know anything about it?"
"Yeah," Luffy said handing her the log pose Vivi had dropped. "That's the one those two intruders dropped." He then opened up the chest, which housed three eternal poses and one log pose, and pulled out the log pose. "I got a spare one too."
Just as she took it curiously, Luffy grabbed her hand and clicked on a wooden bracelet. Nami reflexively eyed the bracelet and was surprised to find a big, beautiful engraving of her tattoo just below the circular space, and along its circumference, engravings of two circular rings, similar to what she had on her skirt, was present.
"This goes here," Luffy said fixing the log pose he had on her wooden bracelet. "There, now you look like a Grand Line navigator!"
"Oh wow, you got this made?" Nami smiled happily as she inspected her bracelet.
"Yeah, back in Loguetown."
"I see, I see," Nami grinned before eyeing the log pose itself… and then proceeded to punch Luffy in the face. "If you knew about log poses, you should have said so sooner!"
Luffy rolled his eyes while his hands shoved the tasty tuna fish into his mouth. "It wasn't relevant until now, so what's the point of telling you?… God, this tuna fish is soo good!"
"Well… that is true…" Nami said with a sigh before she started studying the log pose. "How does this work exactly? I can't see any markings on it."
"The islands in the Grand Line all have their own magnetic fields that these lock onto," Luffy explained. "So you go to one island, wait until the log pose locks onto the next island, and so on in a chain…"
"That's right," Crocus concurred. "No other instruments work, so a log pose is your only friend here. From this mountain, there are seven different paths you can choose from… but in the end, all paths eventually converge to one single island."
Luffy smiled wistfully remembering the 'He laughed.' scene as Crocus continued. "Raftel. The final destination on the Grand Line. In all of history, only one crew have been known to land there for sure- the Pirate King and his crew."
"Is that where it is, then?" Usopp asked excitedly. "The One Piece?!"
"Perhaps. That's the popular theory."
"We'll find out once we get there," Luffy grinned as he devoured the tuna fish and Crocus smiled approvingly. Luffy hadn't yet finished everything, so pointed at the remaining food that was still left and said, "If you guys don't eat soon, I'll finish everything."
"Oi! I made this for Nami-swan! Don't finish it all!"
"Then eat."
As the others clambered to get a bite of the food, Crocus curiously picked up a piece of gold that was in the chest of log poses and studied it carefully.
"What's this?" Crocus questioned.
"That gold trinket? It's something I got from a family I met in South Blue. It was some religious trinket. They worshipped some god called… hmm…" Luffy furrowed his brows trying to remember.
"Wymia?" Crocus suggested, pronouncing it why-me-ah.
"No… it was Wyllia, I think," Luffy said pronouncing it as We-lee-ya.
"Oh…"
"Why? Do you recognize it?"
"If it's from South Blue, then it's probably not what I'm thinking. There's this isolated strong tribe on an island in the New World who had something similar, so thought it could be from them. But I guess not."
"I see," Luffy just nodded, not thinking much of it before the topic was dropped.
"How long were you in the Grand Line anyway?" Crocus asked as he seemed to recognize terms like 'New World' and also somehow knew what had happened to the Rumbar Pirates.
"On the sea? Hm… something like a couple of months, I think. Mostly travelled on the Grand Line to go from one Blue to the other."
"Ah okay…"
Luffy suddenly turned towards the sky and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion when he spotted an otter riding a vulture. 'The Unluckies? They come here?'
Sanji noticed his captain looking at the sky and followed his gaze. "…Is that… an otter riding a vulture?" he asked, causing the others to also look at the sky.
"Huh. It is an otter riding a vulture."
"Why is an otter riding a vulture?"
Everyone watched in bewilderment as the otter-vulture pair dropped something near the shore and a small explosion followed. Luffy disappeared from the makeshift dining table and they saw the animal pair flying away.
Luffy reached the shore and found Miss Wednesday and Mr. Nine breaking the surface of the water with a loud gasp. Looked like the bomb was dropped on them and they had jumped into the sea to save themselves.
"You okay?" He asked pulling Miss Wednesday up.
"Yeah," Miss Wednesday sighed as she straightened her clothes. "Damn Unluckies…"
"Come back. Sanji can make you some hot tea," Luffy offered and again, she was surprised by the kind action.
"Okay then, thank you," Miss Wednesday smiled with a nod and the two began walking away when Mr. Nine snapped.
"Notice me too, dammit!"
"Oh shishi sorry. You come too, Nine guy!"
Mr. Nine grumbled a bit before sighing and bowing down. "Actually, we have a request."
———
"So the otter-vulture pair dropped a bomb on you and destroyed your boat. You also lost your log pose and now, you're asking us to take you home to Whisky Peak?" Nami summarized incredulously as the two agents knelt in front of them. "Isn't that a bit too much, Mr. Nine? Considering how you were trying to kill the whale?"
"We are sorry about that," Miss Wednesday genuinely apologized. "We give up on hunting the whale."
"Who are you guys anyway?"
"I am a King!" Mr. Nine declared.
"Liar." Nami rebuked yanking his cheek, making him wince.
"We cannot tell you our actual identities. We just want to go home! We promise to repay you!"
"Our work requires us to be secretive. Our company's motto is 'Mystery' and that's all we can say about it. We are appealing to your kindness and compassion here! Please take us home!"
"It's fine, it's fine. They can come," Luffy nonchalantly agreed causing the others to roll their eyes exasperatedly.
"Thank you!" The two agents laughed but at the back of their minds, they were a bit scared of bringing someone who could punch a whale into their home.
As Nami set the course and Usopp began the repairs on the Merry, Luffy sat at the piano. Soon, a familiar tune rang through the air and a very excited Laboon let out a loud happy bellow, which caused the others to pause what they were doing and pay attention to the happy whale and the music. "BWWAAHHH!"
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho,
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho,
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho,
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho.
As soon as Luffy began singing, Laboon got even more excited and started dancing around making squealing noises as if singing along too and only Luffy could hear that he actually was singing the lyrics too.
Gather up all of the crew!
It's time to ship out Bink's brew!
Sea wind blows, To where?
Who knows?
The waves will be our guide!
Crocus came up on deck and stood next to him with tears in his eyes as he watched Laboon dancing with joy. He also joined in on the singing, exchanging a happy look with Luffy.
Bid farewell to weaver's town,
Say so long to port renowned,
Sing a song, it won't be long, before we're casting off!
Cross the gold and silver seas
The salty spray puts us at ease!
Day and night to our delight
The voyage never ends!
Sanji came up next to Crocus and exchanged a smile with both of them before he too began singing.
Somewhere in the endless sky
Stormy winds are blowin' by!
Waves are dancing, evening comes
It's time to sound the drums!
But steady men may never fear!
Tomorrow's skies are always clear!
So pound your feet and clap your hands till sunny days return!
Watching the whale that kept bobbing up and down in the sea while making cute "Bwaah! Bwaah!" squeals of joy, Vivi bit her lip in frustration, feeling extremely guilty for even thinking about hunting down the happy whale.
Gather up all of the crew!
It's time to ship out Bink's brew!
Sing a song and play along,
For all the ocean's wide!
After all is said and done,
You'll end up a skeleton!
So spread your tale, from dawn till dusk, upon these foamy seas!
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho,
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho,
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho,
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho.
Luffy slowed down as he played the last few notes of the song and Laboon looked at him, Crocus and Sanji with joyful teary eyes. "I LOVED IT!"
"Thank you, Strawhat," Crocus sniffed wiping his tears away. "Truly…"
Luffy grinned before glancing at Sanji. "You knew the song too?"
"Of course," Sanji smiled. "Owner Zeff sang it whenever we had parties and he got drunk… I was told it was a staple pirate song?"
"Yes, it sure is…" Crocus trailed off with a reminiscent smile for a few seconds before glancing at all the others who had just stood by, not singing along, and frowned. "But I have to say, the rest of your crew don't know the song? That's a crime you know."
"Yeah, idiots don't know the value of music on a pirate ship. I told them that I'll be the temporary musician until we get an official one, and they have the audacity to ask me why a musician was even required! I say a musician is just as important as any other role on the crew, and they look at me like I'm crazy!"
"Tut, tut," Crocus clicked his tongue shaking his head in disappointment. "Younguns these days…"
"Tell me about it," Luffy huffed shaking his head in disappointment while looking at the others and with even Crocus on Luffy's side, they wondered if they were wrong.
Ten minutes later, Luffy was sitting on Laboon's head while the whale sunbathed. Usopp was still fixing the Merry and Nami was still drawing up her charts, so he made himself at home on Laboon's head to while away the time. Vivi caught his eye, who was just sitting off to the side with Mr. Nine, both of them keeping their distance from everyone else.
He had seen her in real life back at the Reverie once - before he had died and met Leo or even knew who she was, but he was too out of it back then to know if she had seen him or not. All he remembered was that she was crying while looking at the slaves in the pit and didn't know if she had seen him specifically.
He had also kept an eye out to see if she would recognize Sanji. But apart from smiling at him when he was a bit flirty and becoming uncomfortable when he overdid it, she didn't seem to recognize him. She doesn't in the story too, but she had made a friend in Reiju in this reality, so Luffy thought she might recognize him. But as far as he could see, she hadn't.
He chuckled remembering how much of an - to put it nicely - airhead she is, given how she couldn't even recognize Mr. 2 with very obvious signs and kept blurting out stuff she isn't supposed to like Mr. 0's identity. So, it was no wonder she hadn't recognized Sanji yet.
Thinking about her made him think about Reiju and he pulled out his transponder snail to start calling people. It didn't connect to Reiju. Didn't connect to Makino or Silk. Didn't connect to Koala. Didn't connect to Baratie or Kaya or Apis or Woopslap…
He had already expected it. With the Red Line now separating him from everyone in East Blue, he couldn't get in touch with them anymore.
He sighed heavily before putting the snail back in his sling bag. Transponder snails were never explored much in the story, so he had researched a bit about how they worked in his reality by asking Silk and the other scientists.
He had wondered about how Marines kept in touch over long distances - like how he had used a transponder snail at a Marine Base in Shellstown to connect to Sengoku all the way in Marine HQ - and found that they had better types of snails, with all sorts of accessories attached to it, some of which acted like relay stations between Bases, that made such long-distance communication possible.
They also needed to be in or near the Base and set up beforehand as the accessories attached to them were connected to all sorts of other machines too, so one couldn't just steal a Marine Base transponder snail and use it either. Besides, the Marines could monitor any calls made by them too, so it would have been of no use.
Newspaper agencies and journalists also used such techniques of having their offices as Bases, so they could also use it to connect over long distances.
But if one wanted to connect one snail to another over a very long distance with absolutely no interference or any other mechanism, it was impossible for a normal transponder snail and rig that were widely available. They had a range of just a few islands in the same Blue. He had Reiju's snail and rig, so he could connect anywhere in East Blue, but looked like even her snail by itself couldn't get signals over the Red Line.
He even started wondering if the Marines were purposefully limiting the communication technology in the world to make sure people were less connected with one another.
He sighed heavily again, stopping himself from going down a rabbit hole. There were many things he missed from Leo's life but not being able to connect with people whenever he wanted was one of the most frustrating things he still hadn't gotten over.
In his head, he had kept asking White to get him a phone somehow ever since he had parted with Reiju, but had received no response.
'Is there really no way…?' He sighed before shaking his thoughts away and went back to his crew, who looked like they were ready to leave.
"Done?" He asked landing next to Nami, who didn't react in any way because of his sudden appearance. "Hey, look at that! You didn't flinch or get scared!"
"You keep doing it and it will stop surprising me sooner or later you know," she said with a cheeky smirk.
"Well, guess I gotta find new ways to scare you then."
"That wasn't a challenge!" She snapped pinching his cheek.
"Shishishi"
"Anyway, yeah, the log is set to Whisky Peak. We're ready to go, Captain."
"Usopp?"
"The Merry's fixed and ready to go too!"
"Alright!" Luffy yelled, getting everyone's attention. "ALLONS-Y!"
And soon, they were setting off from Twin Capes with Miss Wednesday and Mr. Nine as additional passengers.
"Are you sure about the destination?" Crocus asked just as they left the shore. "Once you set your course, there's no changing it…"
Luffy took only a moment to think about it. This was his last chance. Decide on another path and have a completely new and mysterious adventure… or go to Whisky Peak and follow the story's events. It was a no-brainer. He turned to the side and after taking one look at Vivi and remembering all the people who came after, his choice was made.
"Yeah," He turned back to Crocus with a smile. "We can come back again and choose another route, so it's fine."
"I see." Crocus smiled. "All the best then! And I'll wait for that 'someone' to show up."
"Shishi good."
"Bye Crocus! Thanks for all the information!" Nami waved goodbye as they sailed away.
"WE'RE GOING NOW, LABOON! KEEP YOUR PROMISE!" Luffy yelled and Laboon bellowed loudly saying goodbye.
———
Once Laboon went out of sight, Luffy thought about what would come next and became excited thinking about the insane weather that would soon be upon them. He went to the crow's nest to keep an eye out when something came flying in and hit him on the head. He looked around while massaging his head and found a gift-wrapped box lying next to him.
He curiously picked it up and found a note on top.
Before you get too excited and get your hopes up, this is nothing but a glorified transponder snail. Same snail functions, same everything - Just with a much better interface.
No internet or anything. Don't be unreasonable.
The only perk you get is its range. You can call anyone you want and it will connect. (1. No one can intercept the signal, obviously, and 2. You need their number, obviously.)
Oh, and music, I guess. (Have downloaded a shit-ton of music on it for you.)
Have fun.
Everything has a price.
— W
With excited trembling fingers, and not all bothered by the ominous struck-out words at the end, Luffy opened the gift box, and inside, he found something he had asked for ever since he had parted ways with Reiju all those months ago.
'Why now of all times and not before?' He wondered but a second later, realized the answer to that and frowned slightly. He was going to have words with White one day, but for now, he let go of that thought and focused on the device.
It was just a thin, black rectangular slab with no markings on it for anyone else but he could recognize it anywhere. Earbuds were also present in the box but he picked up the phone first.
He clicked the power button, only to be greeted by a picture of his Strawhat blowing in the wind against the backdrop of a blue sky, and without wasting any time, dialed Reiju's number, hit call and held it to his ear.
He chuckled when 'We Are!' started playing as the ringer tune and started humming along happily. The song played for a bit too long before abruptly cutting off and being replaced with sounds of splashing waves and strong winds blowing.
"Hello?" Came Reiju's agitated voice.
Luffy grinned ecstatically. "You feel good about pulling that prank with my bounty picture, you stupid minx?"
"LUFFY!"