"BOOM—!!!"
With one swing of its fin, the ground on the entire street cracked. The wooden door of the hat shop was blown away. The wall split open with a loud crack, then slowly crumbled and fell flat.
The owner collapsed on the ground in terror, his face pale. "A monster! The monster is going crazy! Help!"
Laboon bounced into the shop. Its eyes locked onto the owner. Its voice carried an unshakable authority.
"Sell us a hat, or die."
Laboon was very angry right now. "Call us monsters one more time, and I'll kill you."
The owner pointed to the shelves, trembling. "T-Take whatever you want! No charge! Just please don't kill me!"
Laboon nodded in satisfaction. It turned and waved at Chopper. "Woo! (Come! Pick the one you like!)"
Chopper nervously walked into the shop. He looked at the hats on the walls. Finally, his eyes landed on a pink, spotted hat with X-shaped stitching.
He pointed timidly. "Th-That one..."
Laboon grabbed it and put it on Chopper's head. "Woo! (It looks great on you!)"
Chopper touched the hat. Tears finally fell. "Th-Thank you, Big Brother Laboon. Big Brother Laboon, let's go."
Even though the villagers had called him a monster, Chopper was still very kind.
Laboon grinned. It adjusted its own small blue top hat. "Woo! (We're brothers!)"
Then it pulled a handful of berries from its bag and threw them onto the counter. It was more than enough to buy the hat.
Laboon didn't want its little brother to think the hat was stolen.
It was a whale with principles.
As Chopper followed Laboon out of the hat shop, he kept looking back at the terrified villagers. He tugged at Laboon's fin and asked quietly, "Big Brother Laboon... were we wrong to do that? The villagers were just scared..."
Laboon stopped. In its mind, it saw Rhett saying to it, "Listen carefully, little Laboon."
Little Laboon copied the image exactly. It cleared its throat and patted Chopper on the shoulder with its fin.
"Woo! (Listen carefully, little brother Chopper!)"
First, it pointed at the Blood Dawn Pirates emblem on its bag. Then it pointed at Chopper's new hat.
"Woo! Woo! (We are great pirates! The freest people on the sea!)"
Then it pulled a bottle of juice from its bag. It had been saving it as a snack. Little Laboon raised the bottle. It wanted to smash it on the ground, but it couldn't bring itself to do it. It started to bring it down, then brought it back up. Finally, it steeled itself.
"Laboon, Laboon, you can't lose face in front of your little brother."
Laboon closed its eyes and slammed the bottle on the ground — imitating Rhett's cool bottle-smashing move.
"Woo! (When friends come, we offer good wine!)"
Then it raised its fin and made a fierce chopping motion.
"Woo!! (When wolves come, we offer shotguns!!)"
Chopper was completely stunned by this display. His eyes were wide. Little Chopper had only eaten his Devil Fruit not long ago. In other words, he was just starting to learn how to be human. He wasn't very good at it yet. He had never seen anything like this.
Seeing this, Laboon got even more excited. It put its fins behind its back and paced like a little old man.
"Woo~ (They dared to call us monsters?)"
"Woo! (When people wish us harm, they should be prepared to die by our hands!)"
Finally, it pushed up the glasses that weren't there and struck the ultimate senior pose.
"Woo... (You're still young. You'll understand when you grow up...)"
"Amazing! Big Brother Laboon! I want to be just like you someday!" Chopper's eyes sparkled.
Little Laboon was the youngest member of two entire ships. Suddenly, it had a little brother calling it "Big Brother Laboon." Hehehe.
Laboon suddenly spun around and pointed its fin at the sky. "Woo! (A real man protects the people he cares about!)"
(Inside its mind: That's what Brother Roger said... Was that right? Probably?)
It suddenly crouched down and slapped the ground with its fin. "Woo! (But you can't bully the weak either!)"
(Inside its mind: Rhett said that pirates who kill indiscriminately are trash...)
Chopper was speechless. He was still very young and couldn't fully understand everything. But his Big Brother Laboon had said it!
His little hooves clapped frantically. "Amazing! Big Brother Laboon knows so much!"
After they had run some distance, Chopper suddenly stopped. "Big Brother Laboon... I have another question..."
Laboon: "Woo? (Hm?)"
Chopper looked down. His little hooves fidgeted nervously. "If... if I become strong one day, can I... protect you too, Big Brother Laboon?"
Laboon froze.
It looked at the little reindeer, so much smaller than itself, but with such a serious face. Its nose suddenly felt a little tight.
"Woo..."
It rubbed Chopper's head hard. The texture was surprisingly nice. It rubbed again. "Woo!! (Of course you can!)"
Chopper was dizzy from the rubbing, but he smiled happily. "Okay! It's a promise!"
---
When the two little ones returned to the castle, everyone was gathered in the living room. Their faces were serious.
Rhett leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Oh, our 'great pirates' are back?"
Laboon: "...Woo. (Uh-oh.)"
Kureha had a cigarette in her mouth. "I heard you two tore up half the town's floor?"
Hiluluk was crying. "That was so touching!!"
Laboon: "Woo?! (It felt like its soul left its body. What do I do? Help, please. Urgent.)"
Chopper quickly stepped forward. "It was my fault! Big Brother Laboon was only protecting me because I..."
Rhett suddenly smiled. The blood mist floated two cups of warm milk to them. "Good work. I was worried you two would get bullied out there. Laboon has really grown up. You've become a real great pirate."
Laboon remembered the day Rhett had given it its hat. "This hat is for you. It's our promise."
It looked at the Rhett in front of it now. The two images overlapped.
"Woo... woo woo woo..." (Don't cry. I'm the big brother now. How can I cry in front of my little brother?)
Perona floated over and handed Chopper a little ghost plushie. "Here~ to celebrate you officially becoming a pirate!"
Chopper hugged the plushie, tears in his eyes. "Everyone..."
Laboon wiped its eyes with its fin. "Woo! (We've been accepted!)"
---
Late at night, Chopper and Laboon snuck up to the roof to look at the stars.
Chopper touched his new hat. "Big Brother Laboon, can I really become a doctor as great as Dr. Kureha?"
Laboon patted its chest. "Woo! (Of course! You're the little brother that I, Laboon the Great, have accepted!)"
Chopper smiled. He pointed his little hoof at the stars. "Then... when I grow up, I'll definitely go out to sea. I'll find you, Big Brother Laboon, and show you how much I've grown. By then, I'll be a mature and reliable reindeer."
Laboon blinked. It suddenly remembered Brook and the Rumbar Pirates' promise. It remembered its promise with Rhett.
It nodded solemnly and held out its fin. "Woo! (It's a promise!)"
Chopper held out his little hoof. "Okay! It's a promise!"
Under the starlight, the shadows of a whale and a reindeer huddled together. Two hats swayed gently in the night breeze.