Looking at Mr.9 and Ms. Wednesday, who were tied up tightly, the old man who called himself Crocus changed his weak posture from just now. He nimbly climbed out of the shallow water, patted his wet pants, and showed a satisfied smile on his face.
"Thank you very much, young men," he walked up to the Straw Hat, his tone cheerful, not at all like an old man who had just been in pain.
"It's nothing, they are very strong," Nami happily waved her hand.
Zoro folded his arms, glanced at the two people on the ground, and sneered, "Hmph, no need to be polite. I just don't like these two guys."
Crocus laughed heartily. He pointed at the two unconscious people on the ground and said, "These two guys are ruffians from Whiskey Peak, a nearby town. They always try to take advantage of my old friend."
He sighed, his gaze turning to the giant island whale beside him. "They want Laboon's meat, because if they get it, it will be enough for their small town to eat for two or three years."
Everyone's eyes also refocused on the giant whale named Laboon.
Crocus's voice became deep and full of emotion. He gently stroked Laboon's rough skin, as if introducing an old friend: "It's called Laboon, and it's an island whale. It originally only lived in the distant West Blue, and it is the largest whale species in the world."
He fell into a memory, and began to tell the story that spanned half a century: "That was about fifty years ago. I was still young then, working as a lighthouse keeper here. There was a group of pirates, riding a good ship, who came from the West Blue, crossing Reverse Mountain. They were a very friendly and happy bunch of guys…"
A glint of reminiscence flashed in the old man's eyes.
"Behind their ship, this little fellow followed," he patted Laboon, "At that time, it wasn't this big yet, it was just a child. That group of pirates became good friends with it, and it followed them all the way here."
His tone gradually became heavy: "But the adventure ahead on the Grand Line was too dangerous. Taking it along would undoubtedly be sending it to its death. They had no choice but to leave it here, promising it that they would return here to pick it up after they had circumnavigated the world."
Just then, as if to echo the story, the dull, thunderous crashing sound came again from behind.
Boom!!!
Laboon once again slammed its scarred head fiercely against the Red Line.
"It waited here…" Crocus's voice carried endless vicissitudes, "It waited for fifty years. For it, those pirates were its most important companions. It crashes into the Red Line because it still believes that its companions are on the other side of the mountain wall, and as long as it breaks through this wall, it will be able to see them again."
Everyone listened in silence, with only the sound of the waves and the rhythmic crashing as background noise.
"Fi… fifty years?!" Usopp's mouth was wide open, his face full of disbelief, "It actually waited here for fifty years?!"
"That's because it believes its companions are still alive," Crocus repeated, his tone complex.
Sanji took a deep puff of his cigarette, slowly exhaling. The gray smoke rings merged into the sea breeze, and his voice carried a kind of brutal reality: "Fifty years, that's too long. No matter how you look at it, not returning for fifty years means it's already clear what happened. They can't possibly come back, they've undoubtedly died in some sea area."
"Hey! Sanji!! How can you say such disheartening things!" Usopp immediately retorted, "Maybe they were just delayed by something! They will definitely come back!"
Crocus shook his head, the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen: "The truth is often more cruel. It's not just a matter of time, but there has long been no news of their pirate group on this great sea. They are as if they were completely swallowed by this demonic sea, their life or death unknown."
He looked towards the sea ahead: "Moreover, the seasons, weather, currents, and wind direction of the Grand Line are all chaotic and unpredictable. Even if they miraculously survived, it would be impossible for them to sail back to this starting point along the original route."
"When I finally told Laboon this judgment…" Crocus's voice choked a little, "It started to wail like this, day after day, as if it felt that as long as its voice was loud enough to spread throughout the world, its companions would definitely hear it and come back from the other side of the cliff…"
Nami's eyes were a little moist, and she whispered, "This whale… is truly miserable…"
"Its hometown is on the other side of the Red Line, in the West Blue. It can never go back."
Crocus pointed at the terrifying scars, old and new, on Laboon's head, "You see, its scars are accumulating more and more. If this continues, it will die here sooner or later. Part of the reason I stay here is to take care of it, and I can no longer leave it."
Giyu Tomioka, who had been listening in silence, looked at the words in the manual, then at the behemoth in front of him, and suddenly spoke: "Is there any way to alleviate its sadness?"
He recalled the suggestion and added what he thought was perhaps the most direct solution: "Would stroking it help?"
Crocus was stunned by the black-haired young man's serious yet simple question, then gave a wry smile: "Stroking? That wouldn't do much. Its current sadness and anger can no longer be resolved by simple comfort."
Then he pointed to the small island that had just emerged from Laboon's mouth on the sea surface.
"Usually, only when I give it tranquilizers inside its body can it calm down a bit. The small island and house you just saw spewing out of its mouth, that's where I live and work inside its body."
Just then, Luffy, who had been listening to Crocus's story, looked at the scars on Laboon's head and suddenly moved.
He didn't speak, running back to the Going Merry. He stared at the main mast for a few seconds, seemingly sizing something up, then quickly gave up.
Then, he bent down and picked up the broken sheep's head figure on the deck. Holding it, he began to climb towards Laboon's towering head.
"Luffy?" Nami looked at him in surprise, "What's that guy doing now?"
Zoro also frowned: "Who knows, maybe he's learning to climb mountains?"
Even Tomioka felt a moment of bewilderment, a ripple flashing in his calm eyes. Luffy always did things that completely exceeded his expectations and understanding.
Under everyone's gaze, Luffy nimbly climbed to a fresh, still bleeding, hideous wound that had just been made on top of Laboon's head.
He raised the heavy sheep's head figure high in his hand, his rubber arm filled with power, and plunged it fiercely into the fresh wound!
"Gum-Gum—"
"Merry Flower Arrangement!"
"Pfft!" A muffled thud.
The wooden sheep's head figure, like a gardener arranging flowers, was inserted into Laboon's still bleeding wound!
"Oooooooohhhhhh—!!!!!"
Laboon's body violently trembled, its pupils suddenly contracted, and it let out a mournful cry of extreme pain that echoed through the sky! The sound was far more piercing than any previous one!
"Luffy!!!" Usopp let out a heart-wrenching scream, "That's the going merry! What are you doing!!!!"
Crocus and the rest of the Straw Hat were all stunned, roaring in unison: "You bastard!!! What in the world are you doing!!!!"
Tomioka was also completely stunned, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword unconsciously tightening. He too could not understand what was happening before his eyes.
Even Ms. Wednesday, who was tied up, was startled awake by the sudden wail. She looked blankly at Luffy standing on top of Laboon's head, muttering, "What happened… Could this guy with the Mugiwara… actually be one of us?"
The intense pain made Laboon frantically shake its head. Luffy was instantly flung away, tumbling several times in the air, and landing heavily back on the shore.
Laboon was completely enraged.
Its giant single eye instantly became bloodshot, fixed firmly on the tiny human wearing the Mugiwara in front of it. It let out an extremely angry roar, and its massive head, with the force of ten thousand tons, slammed down towards Luffy!
"Ooooooohhhhhh!!!!"
This time, Tomioka didn't move. His gaze was fixed on Luffy. Although his heart was filled with confusion and shock, he did not intervene again.
A strange intuition told Tomioka that Luffy must have his reasons for doing this.
Although his instincts were all urging him to stop this unnecessary harm, this time he chose to trust.
I hope your like the chapter 😊.