The sea breeze at Twin Cape turned gentle, softly caressing the boisterous crowd on the shore.
The rich aroma of grilled fish filled the air, and Laboon floated quietly in the nearby waters, occasionally letting out a low, peaceful hum that no longer carried despair, but rather served as a soothing background sound.
On the shore of Twin Cape, Sanji deftly cut and cooked a giant tuna.
Grease dripped onto the fire, sizzling and drawing Luffy to circle the grill incessantly, his mouth practically watering.
"Meat! Sanji! Is the meat ready yet?!"
"You're so loud! Three more minutes!" Sanji retorted irritably, yet precisely cut a piece of fish belly, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, placing it on a plate and first handing it to Nami, "Ms. Nami~ Please enjoy~"
"Thank you, Sanji-kun." Nami smiled as she took it, but her gaze occasionally darted towards the completely malfunctioning compass in her hand, her brow slightly furrowed, her mind not entirely on the delicious tuna before her.
Giyu Tomioka sat quietly on a wooden crate a little further away, holding a plate with thick-cut tuna sashimi that Sanji had specially prepared for him.
He ate with great concentration, his movements meticulous, as if performing some ritual.
Only his eyes, occasionally lifted, would sweep over everyone present, finally resting on the conspicuous Mugiwara on Luffy's head.
Crocus took a sip of wine, looking at Luffy's Mugiwara, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes.
"Kid," he began, his voice rough but with a touch of warmth.
"That Mugiwara of yours looks a little familiar."
Luffy was in the middle of eating a large piece of grilled meat when he heard this, immediately stopping, taking off his Mugiwara and waving it in his hand, a brilliant smile on his face as he said, "This? Shanks gave this to me! It's something very important!"
"Shanks?" Crocus's eyebrows twitched, "Red Hair Shanks?"
"Yup! Old man! Do you know Shanks!?" Luffy's eyes instantly lit up, and he began to gesticulate excitedly, "He's an super amazing pirate!!"
Crocus looked at the young man before him, who became so excited at the mention of Shanks, and burst out laughing: "Hahahahaha, after all, I've been at Twin Cape for many years now, so when he entered the Grand Line, he naturally passed through here."
Then he looked at the Mugiwara and said, "So that's it. No wonder... that Red Hair kid, he's quite the big shot now."
"Big shot?" Luffy tilted his head, his mouth full of meat, asking indistinctly.
"Ah, he is now one of the Four Emperors. On this great Grand Line, he is one of the four great pirates who rule this Grand Line like emperors." Crocus's tone was calm, yet he dropped a piece of news that the Mugiwara crew was still far from encountering.
"Four Emperors? Emperors?" Luffy clearly had no concept of this title, only thinking it sounded very powerful, "Shanks is indeed super amazing!! Hahahahahahaha!!"
At this moment, Ms. Wednesday, who had been tied up, suddenly looked up, her eyes glinting beneath her long blue hair. She cautiously interjected and asked,
"Um... since you mentioned figures like the Four Emperors... I wonder if you've heard of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
She paused deliberately, observing Crocus's reaction, her voice softer, with a hint of probing.
She asked, "For example... Crocodile? Just how strong is he?"
Crocus glanced at her: "I didn't expect a small town thug to be curious about that."
Then he snorted and said, "Shichibukai? Those are great pirates currently enlisted by the World Government, and they are not ordinary fellows. As for Crocodile... I heard about him many years ago, a Sand-Sand Fruit user, he was quite a troublesome kid back then. But there hasn't been any news of him in recent years, so I'm not sure how he is now."
Upon hearing the answer, Ms. Wednesday's eyes dimmed slightly, and she lowered her head, no longer speaking, appearing somewhat disappointed.
Nami, meanwhile, crossed her arms and sternly admonished Luffy and the others:
"Did you hear that? Whether it's the Four Emperors or the Shichibukai, they are monster-level figures that newcomers like us absolutely cannot provoke! If you encounter them in the future, you must stay far, far away, understand?!"
Luffy, however, dug his nose dismissively: "What does it matter? No matter what Emperor or Warlord he is, if he blocks my way, I'll punch him flying!"
Tomioka, who had been quietly eating his sashimi, suddenly spoke.
He swallowed his food, his voice steady: "If I understand correctly, that person named Crocodile is probably an existence that can turn his body into sand, like that Marine in Loguetown."
Tomioka looked at Luffy, "Your punch might not be so easy to land on him."
Luffy paused, a thoughtful expression on his face, then laughed broadly again: "That's true! But it doesn't matter, I'll find a way when the time comes! Hehe!"
On the other side, Nami finally couldn't hold back and held up her compass, whose needle was spinning wildly and was completely useless, in front of Crocus: "Then! What exactly is going on with this compass needle? It's been completely unusable since just now!"
Crocus took the compass, glanced at it, and then tossed it back to her:
"It seems you truly came here without knowing anything. Are you trying to die?"
"Little girl, in the Grand Line, most of the common sense and navigation skills you've learned will be ineffective. Because some islands here in the Grand Line have a large amount of minerals, which leads to magnetic field disturbances along the entire route."
"And the ocean currents and wind directions are also unstable. You're a navigator, you should know how terrifying this situation is, right?"
"Then... then how are we supposed to navigate?" Nami immediately panicked. If the compass was useless, it would indeed make their journey incredibly difficult.
"Don't worry." Crocus wiped his mouth, "To navigate the Grand Line, what you need is this." He paused, drawing everyone's attention, "A Log Pose."
"Log Pose?" Nami repeated.
"Exactly." Crocus began to explain in detail, "This special compass can record the magnetic force of islands. The islands of the Grand Line all have unique magnetic forces, and the Log Pose will guide you to the next island after recording the previous one."
"You must follow the order indicated by the Log Pose, sailing from island to island, until..." He pointed into the distance, "The final destination the Log Pose points to—Laugh Tale."
"Laugh Tale!" Usopp suddenly jumped up, shouting excitedly, "So the One Piece is there! Right!?"
Crocus chuckled: "Who knows. Besides the Kaizoku-ō's pirate crew, no one has ever truly reached that final island. Perhaps it is there."
Luffy pressed down his Mugiwara, his smile incredibly firm, with an undeniable meaning: "Something like that... we'll know when we go see it!!!"
Tomioka listened to their conversation, a hint of confusion on his face, and softly murmured, "One Piece?"
Usopp immediately leaned over and explained in an exaggerated tone: "Hey, hey! Tomioka, you don't even know that? That's the greatest treasure in the world left behind by the Kaizoku-ō Gol D. Roger! The one who obtains it will become the new Kaizoku-ō!"
"The Kaizoku-ō's... great treasure?" Tomioka repeated softly, seemingly still trying to understand the concept.
However, for him, wealth and fame were not goals to pursue.
Crocus stood up and walked towards his hut. Before long, he returned with a glass-sphere-like device, which contained a compass, and handed it to Nami. "Here, I'm giving you this Log Pose. Consider it thanks for calming Laboon down, and also a gift for newcomers."
Nami held the Log Pose, her eyes sparkling with excitement: "Th-thank you so much!!" She then carefully put the Log Pose on her wrist and began to study it, "A Log Pose, huh... I must cherish it!"
The festive atmosphere once again became lively. Luffy and Usopp almost came to blows over the delicious fish, while Sanji cursed them as food-wasting idiots.
Zoro, who had woken up from the ship at some point, also joined the fray, seemingly looking for any leftover food, while Nami was engrossed in studying her new treasure.
Amidst this clamor, Giyu Tomioka finished his last piece of sashimi.
He put down the plate, stood up, and walked over to Crocus.
He stood tall, bowed slightly, and spoke with a respectful tone, "Mr. Crocus, I apologize for the intrusion. May I ask if you know of a country on this Grand Line that gathers many samurai?"
Crocus, who was drinking wine, looked at the stern young man with black hair and blue eyes in surprise upon hearing the question.
"A country of samurai? Are you referring to... Wano Country?"
Upon hearing that name, Tomioka's deep eyes seemed to ripple. He nodded, "Yes, this might be the only clue to finding my way home. Do you know anything about it?"
Crocus scrutinized him, a hint of assessment and curiosity in his gaze:
"I didn't expect young people nowadays to still know about that place. Wano Country... it's an extremely closed-off country, with almost no contact with the outside world."
"Many years ago, I was indeed fortunate enough to meet a samurai from Wano Country. His name was Kozuki Oden, and he was an incredibly strong fellow."
"Kozuki... Oden..."
Tomioka repeated the name softly, his brow furrowing slightly but quickly smoothing out.
In his memory, there was no information about this person. But this name did make him feel very familiar. Wano Country also made Tomioka feel somewhat familiar, although he had not heard of Wano Country's nickname, this sense of familiarity made him even more convinced of the feasibility of this path.
"Hmm, an extraordinary fellow," Crocus said with a nostalgic tone, but he did not reveal more about Kozuki Oden's past. "However, Wano Country is located in the latter half of the Grand Line."
Then his tone became serious as he looked at Tomioka, also glancing at the Straw Hat who were playing nearby:
"But one strong person doesn't represent the strength of the entire pirate crew. With your current strength, reaching Wano Country won't be easy. The dangers of the latter half of the Grand Line far exceed your imagination. You still need to become much, much stronger."
Just then, Luffy ran to Tomioka's side, patted Tomioka's shoulder, and said with a laugh, "Hahahahaha, Tomioka, you finally have the news you wanted. It's alright, we will definitely enter the latter half of the Grand Line."
After saying that, Luffy started looking for any leftover meat from the feast.
Tomioka listened in silence, his face expressionless, but a sharp glint flashed in his blue eyes.
He didn't press further, merely engraving the need to become stronger deeply into his heart.
A vague but definitely existing path seemed to faintly light up ahead.
"Speaking of which, old man, how do you know so much stuff?"
Sanji looked at Crocus, stroking his chin with some doubt. This Crocus old man really seemed to have an answer for everything, which was quite unlike a simple lighthouse keeper.
Hearing Sanji's question, Crocus laughed heartily: "Actually, a long time ago, I worked as a ship doctor on a certain pirate crew for a few years. So I've heard bits and pieces of news from the sea."
"Ship doctor!!!" As soon as Luffy heard Crocus say that, his eyes immediately lit up. He instantly stretched out his hand, ran in front of Crocus, "Old man! Our ship still needs a ship doctor! Come be our ship doctor!!"
Just then, Usopp, who was nearby, raised his slingshot and looked at a black-feathered vulture in the sky. "Speaking of which, this guy has been here the whole time. It's really strange."
Then he squinted, aiming at the vulture, "Sure-kill! Super Stinky Egg!!" He rapidly fired a stinky egg from his slingshot, splattering the vulture with egg liquid.
"Hahahahahahaha! I, Usopp the Great, am so accurate! Watch me, again!"
"Super Sure-kill! Stinky Egg Barrage!"
With that, Usopp placed several more stinky eggs on his slingshot, aimed at the sky, and began to fire them consecutively. As each stinky egg hit the vulture, it became disheveled, its figure growing smaller and smaller, and then it flew off into the distance.
Looking at Usopp's slingshot, Crocus said with a smile, "Your fighting style is really... quite interesting."
Then he turned to Luffy, then to Laboon, "Don't talk nonsense. I'm not like you all; I no longer have the energy to act recklessly. Besides, right now, I still have to stay here with Laboon and wait for you all to circle the Grand Line once and then return here, hahahahaha."
Luffy scratched his head, then smiled and said, "Oh, I see, then that's fine." He then started walking around the shore, muttering "doctor, doctor, doctor" to himself.
As Luffy walked past them, the tied-up Mr.9 and Ms. Wednesday seized the opportunity and began to plead loudly.
"E-everyone, powerful pirate big brothers! And beautiful lady!" Mr.9 tried hard to squeeze out a pitiful expression, "We truly know we were wrong! We're not bad people, just ordinary residents of Whiskey Peak town!"
Ms. Wednesday cooperated, her voice tearful, her acting superb: "Yes, yes! Our town has been very short on food lately, and everyone is almost unable to survive!"
"We were forced by circumstances to try to... to get some meat; it was to save the town! Please, please, let us go! We promise we'll never dare to do it again!"
After listening, Luffy directly hammered the palm of his other hand, as if suddenly enlightened, "So that's how it is! You should have said so earlier! Sanji, untie them!!"
"Hey! Luffy!" Usopp immediately jumped out to object, "Don't trust them so easily! What if they're bad guys!"
Luffy put his hands on his hips and said righteously:
"They don't seem like truly bad people! Besides," he grinned, revealing his pearly white teeth, and his fists cracked, "if they really are bad people, then when they act maliciously, I'll just punch them flat!"
Ultimately, at Luffy's insistence, Mr.9 and Ms. Wednesday were untied.
"We'll return to town! We'll definitely repay your great kindness!!!"
The two thanked them profusely, but in their downcast eyes, they quickly exchanged a look of successful scheming.
Then, after everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, it was time to leave. The Straw Hat, along with Mr.9 and Ms. Wednesday, all returned to the Going Merry.
"Well then, thank you for the hospitality, old man!"
Luffy stood at the mended bow of the ship, waving vigorously at Crocus on the shore, "Take care, Laboon!" Usopp shouted to the giant island whale.
Laboon let out a long, peaceful cry, as if responding.
Crocus stood beneath the lighthouse, a faint smile on his face as he watched the energetic young people: "Go! This sea is vast!"
The Going Merry's sails billowed with wind, slowly departing Twin Cape, heading towards the first direction indicated by the Log Pose — Whiskey Peak.
The ship gradually moved away, and the Twin Cape and Laboon's huge figure slowly diminished in everyone's view... Meanwhile, somewhere in the extremely distant Alabasta.
A dry, hot wind blew through a dim room, and the sound of a Den Den Mushi's buru-buru rang out.
A hand wearing a jeweled ring touched the Den Den Mushi, and wisps of white smoke emanated from a cigar in the other hand.
"Buru buru—"
The Den Den Mushi mimicked a disgusted expression from the stinky egg, letting out a high-pitched voice: "Mr.0!! This is Ms. Friday!"
"Speak," a deep, magnetic voice replied, devoid of any emotion.
"There's a Mugiwara pirate crew that just entered the Grand Line! They... they not only defeated Mr.9 and Ms. Wednesday, but I also heard... they invited that old lighthouse keeper to join their ship!! And, and Ms. Wednesday and Mr.9 also seemed to get on their ship after being defeated. I saw it clearly."
"Also! They are about to arrive! At Whiskey Peak!"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, only the faint sizzling of the burning cigar.
After a few seconds, the deep voice spoke again, with a hint of coldness.
"Crocus, huh? That old geezer... is he from the old era still planning to come out? Doesn't he fear his old bones will fall apart, hmph..."