Chapter 415: Twin Cape
Punk Hazard · Laboratory
After the test concluded, Ace was still immersed in the realization of that blistering power, while Roy had already brought him back to the laboratory.
At this moment, Vegapunk was writing frantically at the console like a madman. His excited breathing echoed through the space: "A chain fusion reaction between a Logia and a Paramecia... This completely overthrows the law of conservation of energy!!
This isn't just an overlapping of power; it's a qualitative transformation of energy!!!"
The six satellites surrounded their respective light screens, recording frantically. Even the air seemed restless from the tidal wave of data.
Roy interrupted his obsession, speaking casually, "Alright, Doctor, you'll have plenty of time to study it later. Where is that pink-haired kid?"
Vegapunk suddenly snapped out of his daze, his long tongue wagging. "Oh—the one you had that walking skeleton deliver last time?"
"I ran a full suite of tests and found he's just an ordinary Gum-Gum Fruit user."
"Cowardly, timid, and nothing worth researching... I tossed him in the dungeon below. He's not nearly as interesting as that skeleton, Brook."
Speaking of which, he gave Roy a meaningful look and lowered his voice, "However, I do think Brook's identity when he was alive... isn't that simple."
Roy nodded, his expression completely impassive. "Is that so..."
Inwardly, however, he thought: 'Just as I expected, Koby failed to awaken Nika...'
The corners of his lips curled up slightly, his thoughts brushing past memories from eight hundred years ago.
'Even if he did awaken it, it would only be Nika. An existence like Joy Boy isn't something just anyone can replicate.'
Pulling his thoughts back, Roy said flatly, "Since the pink-haired kid is useless, I'll take him with me. Doctor, if the World Government actually pressures you, contact me directly."
Vegapunk waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry, I'm not that fragile. Besides, Sentomaru is here, and that guy Borsalino comes over to slack off all the time~"
Roy said no more. As he turned around, he flipped his palm, and Koby's limp, terrified figure was suddenly hoisted in his grip.
The sea breeze howled as the warship slowly sailed away.
Roy's gaze was ice-cold. He stared at the young boy—whose pants were thoroughly soaked and who didn't even dare to raise his head—a flash of disgust passing through his eyes.
"Deserter King. A cowardly act."
"Yami Yami (Dark-Dark): Extraction."
"SQUELCH—!!!"
A mass of purple energy covered in spiral patterns was forcibly ripped out. Koby let out a miserable scream and fainted on the spot.
With a flick of his wrist, Roy casually tossed him into the ocean. In the blink of an eye, a Sea King breached the waves and swallowed him whole.
At the same time, a brand-new [Gum-Gum Fruit] slowly condensed in the palm of Roy's hand through the power of darkness.
Ace stared curiously at the fruit. "Big Brother Roy, are we heading back to Sabaody now? Luffy's concert should be starting soon, right?"
Roy opened his palm, his gaze profound as a faint smile surfaced on his lips: "No rush."
"We are going to meet someone—"
"Meet who?"
He paused, his fingertips gently spinning the surface of the fruit. The spiral patterns emitted a mysterious luster under the sunlight.
"An ambitious man... who might be able to truly awaken this fruit."
...
Twin Cape—
The scorching sun hung high in the sky. The sea breeze, carrying a salty dampness, crashed against the lighthouse standing tall on the shore.
In the courtyard next to the lighthouse, an old man lay leisurely in a sun lounger, the glasses on his nose reflecting the sunlight.
On the small table beside him sat a half-empty cup of cold black tea and a newspaper snapping wildly in the wind.
His bizarre hairstyle looked like a blooming crocus flower. Purple and yellow intertwined to form strange "petals" crowning his head. Only the white hair cascading down the back of his head, along with his white eyebrows and beard, traced the marks left by the passage of time.
Despite his advanced age, his body remained robust. He possessed a broad jaw and shoulders as broad as a mountain.
A prominent, jagged old scar stretched across his left arm, and a green gemstone bracelet on his wrist refracted a faint glimmer in the sunlight.
His pink shirt, covered in yellow and green floral patterns, billowed in the wind. Paired with casual light blue shorts and a pair of simple sandals, he looked just like any ordinary old man.
But he was anything but ordinary.
He was none other than the former ship doctor of the Roger Pirates, and the current lighthouse keeper—Crocus.
"Rayleigh... Shanks... Buggy..."
He muttered softly, his eyes falling on the shocking headline of the newspaper: [The Four Emperors Completely Annihilated; Dark King Rayleigh Executed]
The cold black text felt like nails driven into his heart, making an indescribable bitterness well up in his chest.
"It's all over..."
He slowly closed the newspaper, sighing as he looked up at the firmament, as if trying to see those long-gone figures through the blinding sun.
"Everything from before... feels just like a dream..."
Right in the midst of this silent afternoon, his brows suddenly furrowed tightly.
—His Observation Haki had captured an unfamiliar presence.
The presence was steady, yet carried an invisible, oppressive weight, slowly closing in like a freezing current.
Crocus instantly sat up straight. Though his movements were slow, they carried the vigilance of an old lion.
He slowly stood up, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's, locking dead onto the direction behind him.
Step—Step—
The sound of footsteps echoed on the stone path, steady and unhurried.
As the figure gradually stepped out from the gap between the sea breeze and the shadows, Crocus's pupils shrank violently, sheer disbelief and shock surfacing in the depths of his eyes.
His Adam's apple bobbed. His voice was deep, carrying a slight tremble:
"You are...?!!"
...
Meanwhile, in the waters bordering the Red Line—
Raging waves churned, and the sky was shrouded in shadow.
A behemoth sped across the surface of the sea. Its body was like a small island, kicking up massive, tsunami-like waves.
"BONG—!!!"
Its forehead violently smashed into the towering, wall-like Red Line. The impact made the ocean roar, and even the air seemed to tremble.
That colossal shadow was none other than the former companion of the Rumbar Pirates—Laboon.
Its massive forehead was already covered in scars. Its thick hide was mottled with blood, and bright red blood dispersed through the seawater, forming eye-catching crimson ripples.
But it still refused to stop.
Time and time again, day after day, year after year.
It was as if it wanted to use this clumsiest of methods to tear open this insurmountable barrier.
Its cry was deep and sorrowful, startling flocks of birds into flight and making the waves crash violently against the shore: "Woooo—Woooooooo!!!"
It was a call.
A waiting.
Its masters, its companions from the Rumbar Pirates, had long since perished deep within the Grand Line decades ago.
Yet Laboon had never left, stubbornly guarding this stretch of sea.
It didn't understand life and death.
It only knew that its masters had promised they would return.
And so, it waited.
Even if it bled endlessly, even if its flesh was already riddled with wounds, it still stubbornly rammed itself into the wall over and over again.
Now, it gathered its strength once more. Its massive body kicked up a tsunami as it furiously charged toward that eternal, unchanging continent!
However—
Right at that moment.
"Laboon!!! Stop!!!"
A deep, commanding voice suddenly tore through the sky!
That voice, brimming with Haki, boomed like a clap of thunder, echoing straight into the very bottom of Laboon's heart.
"Woo...?!"
The whale's massive body gave a violent jolt, halting mid-charge as the waves surged wildly around it.
Its giant pupils instantly widened, tears welling up in its eyes.
It recognized it.
That was... its master's... voice!
The call it had waited decades for had finally, finally rung out once more.
Its sorrowful cry abruptly turned into a tremble. Its massive body hovered on the surface of the sea. Tears mixed with seawater, and the entire ocean seemed to tremble alongside it.
—It had finally waited long enough.
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