The Straw Hat crew crossed Reverse Mountain and, just like in the original storyline, encountered the lighthouse keeper Crocus at Twin Cape.
However, instead of being swallowed by the whale Laboon and meeting him inside its stomach, Crocus had taken the initiative to wait for them. He didn't want Laboon's situation to block a group of young pirates from entering the Grand Line.
"Old man, so you were the Pirate King's ship doctor? That's amazing!"
Luffy was thrilled. He hadn't expected to meet a former member of Roger's crew—and to be saved by him, avoiding the fate of shipwreck and death. This made Crocus the third former Roger Pirate he had met.
From Crocus's explanation, the Straw Hats learned why Laboon kept ramming its head against the Red Line. The story dated back fifty years, and its origin lay with the Rumbar Pirates.
They had left the young Laboon behind, promising to return after circling the world. But the Rumbar Pirates vanished in the Grand Line. One of Crocus's reasons for going to sea had been to search for them, but he never found any trace.
After hearing the story, Luffy took the initiative to fight Laboon. He made a promise: after conquering the Grand Line and sailing around the world, he would return to challenge it again.
He also painted the Straw Hat crew's jolly roger on Laboon's scarred head to stop it from continuing its self-destructive behavior. During this time, they encountered members of Baroque Works—Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday.
The two had come to deal with Laboon, since the massive whale was blocking pirates from entering the Grand Line, reducing the number of bounties available to the bounty hunters at Whiskey Peak.
But things changed from the original plot. Crocus decided to host the Straw Hats for a while instead of letting them leave immediately, and the two bounty hunters ended up tied up on the ship.
"So the old man knows Buggy too? But he's pretty weak—I already sent him flying."
Luffy replied casually, chewing on meat. He didn't read newspapers much and had no idea what had happened at Loguetown.
"I didn't expect Buggy to change so much. When I was on the ship with him, I never noticed anything."
Crocus sighed at his own misjudgment and handed over the latest newspaper to Nami, the only real "brain" of the crew.
The headline and accompanying images made her break into a cold sweat. The battle at Loguetown had far exceeded imagination.
"Buggy… no, Buggy-sama is actually this strong? He even defeated a Marine Admiral… that's unbelievable."
More than shock, she felt relief. Thankfully, a mysterious powerhouse had helped escort them out of the Marines' encirclement—otherwise, they might have been erased from the map just like Loguetown.
The Straw Hats' bounties hadn't changed, which was perhaps their greatest stroke of luck—or maybe the Marines simply hadn't had time to deal with them.
Sanji took the newspaper from Nami. The moment he saw Artoria's beauty, his heart was instantly captivated. He had never seen such a stunning woman. Even if her figure wasn't as developed as Nami's, her aura was on an entirely different level.
"She's so beautiful… I'd love to cook a meal for her and show off my skills."
"The world's greatest female swordsman… she's a powerful opponent."
Zoro, slightly drunk, snatched the paper from Sanji. He had no interest in women, but swordsmen were a different matter. Reading that she had cut down Loguetown with a single strike, he knew he was nowhere near her level yet.
In his heart, he added another goal—to surpass this female swordsman. He needed strong opponents like her to push himself further. As a three-sword-style fighter, he too was a monster in the making.
If Kuina were still alive, she might have grown into a swordswoman like this…
"I didn't expect that knowing the future would become a burden…" Nami muttered with a bitter smile.
Normally, she would be thrilled to know how much money she could earn in the future. But now that she was sailing as a navigator on a pirate ship, everything had changed.
As one of the two "half-brains" of the crew, she felt more worry than excitement about the future revealed by the mysterious "heavenly screen."
People they were never meant to meet might now cross their path. With the whole world watching them, they could face enemies far stronger than before.
Crocus agreed with this completely. If not for being drawn in by the heavenly screen, he would have remained inside Laboon's stomach as its doctor, never meeting the Straw Hats here—nor hosting tonight's banquet.
"The impact of changing the future is really huge… In the original timeline, Loguetown probably wouldn't have disappeared into the sea, and Buggy would've gotten what he wanted."
The more Crocus thought about it, the deeper his frown became. Changes to fate would affect countless lives—including his own and Laboon's.
As for what Buggy wanted from Barrett, even Crocus—who had joined the crew later—had no idea. Even if the World Government captured and interrogated him, they wouldn't get any answers.
Meanwhile, Barrett—locked away in Impel Down—would surely attract massive attention from both the World Government and the Marines. A battle-hungry man like him had been constantly training and honing his Haki in prison, standing out completely from other inmates—and inevitably suffering for it.
"I don't care about the future! I'm definitely going to become the Pirate King!"
Luffy shouted with a wide grin. His optimism and fearless spirit meant he never worried—if there was a problem, he'd just punch his way through it.
Just as he shouted his trademark declaration, a voice came from the Going Merry.
"Are you really Straw Hat Luffy?"
Hearing a woman call out to him, Luffy waved with a smile.
"That's me! I'm already this famous?"
Miss Wednesday—an undercover agent of Baroque Works—was actually Princess Vivi of Alabasta. But in her current disguise, her flashy outfit completely hid her beauty. Even Sanji, normally a hopeless romantic, showed no interest.
At first, Nami didn't believe it. A princess of a great kingdom reduced to working undercover in an organization? It sounded absurd.
But standing before Luffy, Vivi revealed the truth: Alabasta was currently in the midst of a massive rebellion. The mastermind behind it all was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—Crocodile—who was secretly plotting to seize the country.
Up ahead lay Whiskey Peak, where bounty hunters posed as friendly hosts, throwing welcome parties for pirates—only to drug them and hand them over to the Marines for bounty money.
Despite meeting Luffy for the first time, Vivi chose to trust him.
Not out of naivety—but because the "heavenly screen" had already revealed the future: Luffy was the man who would defeat Crocodile.
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