"Wait, you are telling us that you were actually a part of the Pirate King's crew and were his doctor? Why are you here, inside this large whale's stomach, taking care of it?" asked a very surprised Law as he stared at the man before him in shock and awe.
Even in his wildest dreams, he would never have thought the strange man who wore a feather cap over his balding head would have actually been part of the legendary Pirate King's crew.
"Why am I here? To treat this giant whale, of course. It can't keep hitting its head into the Red Line like it is right now. But that's not the only reason. I used to have a clinic on the cape for a long time before I boarded Roger's crew towards the end of their journey," explained the old man as their ship and his floating island moved through a canal beyond the large metal door, leading out to the open world.
"Towards the end of their journey? Why only at the end? Was something wrong?" asked Lucien, catching the old man's wording.
But he got no response. The island boat stopped by another ladder, and the old man climbed it, leaving the three of them on their own ship in silence. Before long, they heard a sound ahead and turned to see gates open up, and beyond them the outside world, real sea and real blue sky.
"How did you even build all this inside a whale? It sounds impossible," murmured Idris as everything he had seen today cut against every understanding of the world he had. Their first day in the Grand Line, and they had already witnessed something truly remarkable.
"Oh, I had so much time. And this is the only way I can safely administer Laboon's medicine."
"But why does Laboon even act like this? It seems like such an intelligent creature, and it's an island whale, so shouldn't they be in West Blue, travelling in packs?" asked Law, genuinely curious about the creature.
"Laboon? It's already been nearly 30 years since I first met it," said Crocus, and went on to explain the story behind the whale's existence. The Rumbar Pirates and their promise to Laboon, and their inability to keep it, having disappeared from the Grand Line and never returned for their companion.
Law's eyes watered as they slowly sailed out of the whale and looked at the familiar blue shape once again, and the numerous scratches forming on its forehead from the constant banging against the Red Line.
"I searched for them while journeying with Roger and found out they had escaped the Grand Line, breaking their promise with Laboon. I told it, but it refuses to believe. Sometimes the most intelligent creatures in this world are also the kindest and the most naive."
Lucien watched the whale disappear beneath the surface as their boat bobbed gently in open water. The sky was the actual sky now, wide and blue and honest. He looked over at Law, who was still watching the spot where Laboon had gone under.
"Crocus," said Lucien.
The old man was already heading towards the lighthouse, his flower bobbing with each step. He stopped but didn't turn around.
"You were Roger's doctor."
"Among other things."
"We have a seven-year-old who ate a Devil Fruit three months ago and is trying to teach himself surgery." Lucien paused. "I figured a man who kept the Pirate King alive long enough to reach Laugh Tale might have something useful to say."
Crocus turned around at that. He looked at Law for a long moment. Law looked back with the particular stillness he used when he was deciding whether something was worth his attention.
"Come then," said Crocus, and led them towards the lighthouse.
The clinic was on the second floor, a single room lined with all manner of medical tools and equipment, and at the far end, an entire wall consumed floor to ceiling by books. Law walked in and stopped just inside the door, turning slowly to take it all in.
Crocus sat down at his desk and looked at Law.
"Show me your hands."
Law held them out. Crocus examined them without touching, just looked.
"How old are you?"
"Seven."
Crocus was quiet for a moment. Then he gestured at the chair across from him, and Law sat down, and that was the last either of them acknowledged the other two were in the room. Lucien leaned against the doorframe. Idris found a wall.
It wasn't a lesson. It was just two people talking and realizing partway through that they were actually getting somewhere. Crocus asked things. Law answered them. Law asked things back. Crocus leaned forward at some point and didn't seem to catch himself doing it.
The Ope Ope no Mi. Cellular repair. What the fruit could fix and what it hit a wall on. Whether fixing something even meant you understood it. They talked all sorts of stuff, things Lucien has never even heard of.
At some point Lucien sat down on the floor while Idris just walked out.
The light coming through the window changed from afternoon white to a bright orange, and neither Law nor Crocus seemed to notice.
Eventually, Crocus stood and went to the shelves. He pulled books down one at a time and stacked them on the desk in front of Law. The books kept piling up and eventually even grew taller than Law himself
He set the last one down. "The fruit gives you tools. These give you reasons. Without the reasons, the tools are just sharp things."
Law looked at the stack. He put one hand against the column of books.
"Will I be better than you?" he asked.
Crocus looked at him for a long moment.
"Yes," he said. "Considerably. That's rather the point of handing these over."
Law nodded once and began organizing the stack by subject matter.
The sun was low by the time they moved outside, a fire going between them and the sea, making its usual noise nearby. Crocus had produced food from somewhere in the lighthouse, and the group didn't bother to even ask.
Law had one of the books open on his knee and was reading by firelight with the food going cold beside him. It wasn't until Lucien reached over and moved the book away that Law picked up his fork without looking up.
The fire crackled. Somewhere out in the dark, Laboon was doing whatever Laboon did when the medicine was working.
"You said towards the end," said Lucien.
Crocus looked at him over the fire.
"Earlier. You said you boarded Roger's crew towards the end of their journey. I asked you about it, and you just ignored it several times."
Crocus looked back at the fire. He picked up his bottle and drank from it without hurry.
The fire popped once. The lighthouse beam swept slowly out over the water behind them.
"Roger was dying."
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1 Chapter For Every 50 Power Stones. Please Do Support.