Sanji silently lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and then spoke, his voice carrying a sense of detachnt born from having faced life and death and seen through the vanities of the world:
"How should I put it? I thought we'd been swallowed by a whale."
Zoro rested his hand on his sword, his gaze distant:
"Is this a dream?"
Nami was also in a daze,
"It must be... a dream, right?"
Only Lufia stared wide-eyed for a long ti before letting out an exclamation of wonder:
"Wow—! There's a little island inside the whale's belly!"
The others all turned to look at her.
No matter how you heard it, Lufia's words sounded like sothing out of a dream?
Not just dreamlike—utterly fantastical.
But Ralph secretly marveled:
Yet Lufia had managed to state the truth in a single sentence.
But that couldn't be a reason to forgive her.
Ralph walked up to Lufia, looked at her excited, pretty face, took a deep breath, and then—
Thwack!
A solid knuckle rap landed squarely on her head.
"Ouch—!"
Lufia imdiately clutched her head, tears welling up in her eyes and swirling there,
"Ralph! Why did you hit ?!"
When those big, teary eyes looked at him, Ralph's heart truly skipped a beat.
Too cute.
Cuteness on a level that felt unfair.
But no.
This ti, he had to be serious.
Ralph forced a stern expression,
"Playing pitiful won't work. This was really too much—why did you attack the whale? Don't you know that kind of action could put all your shipmates in danger?"
Lufia pouted, her voice small:
"I'm sorry... I was wrong...… Please forgive ...…
Her attitude was sincere, her eyes pitiful, and coupled with her naturally innocent face...
Ralph felt his defenses crumbling.
No! Hold on!
He struggled to maintain his stern expression, but inside, he was already faltering.
How could even her apologetic look be this adorable!
....
He seed to have unlocked a new way of interacting with Lufia.
Even between lovers, it wasn't necessary to always be accommodating.
Lufia wasn't unreasonable—on the contrary, she made mistakes quite often, and when she deserved to be scolded, she should be scolded.
If he was bold, maybe he could unlock even more interactions with Lufia!
anwhile, Ralph's actions had also caused a huge shock among the other crewmates.
Ralph... hit Lufia?
Not during a sparring match, but a genuine scolding!
Zoro raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Usopp and Nami exchanged glances.
Only Sanji, after a brief mont of shock, suddenly exploded:
"You bastard—! How dare you lay a hand on Miss Lufia?! Don't you know that a lady's mistakes are ant to be forgiven?!"
As soon as he finished speaking—
Thwack!
Another knuckle rap landed on his head, even louder than the one on Lufia.
Nami held up her fist, smiling thinly:
"That's between the two of them. You, a flirtatious scumbag, have no right to comnt."
Sanji crouched down, clutching his head, his background turning gloomy:
"Miss Nami..."
Just as the atmosphere grew subtle—
Splash—!!
The calm sea suddenly erupted!
A massive, sucker-covered tentacle burst out of the water, lashing toward the Going rry like a whip!
At the end of the tentacle, an eye as large as a millstone stared fixedly at the people on the ship.
A giant squid.
"Enemy attack—!"
Zoro was the first to react, but soone was even faster than him when food appeared.
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
A rubber fist coated in Armant Haki shot out like a cannonball, striking the giant squid with pinpoint accuracy!
Almost simultaneously—
"Whoosh!"
Sanji's figure vanished from his spot, reappearing in midair the next instant.
The instantaneous movent of Soru Step made him as fast as a blur, his right leg kicking toward the giant squid's head with a sharp whistle:
"Collier!"
But that wasn't all.
"Rankyaku!"
Ralph swept his right leg horizontally, sending a pale blue vacuum slash skimming across the sea's surface.
"One-Sword Style: Shishi Sonson!"
Zoro instantly drew and sheathed his sword, a sharp sword aura slicing through the air toward the giant squid.
From its appearance to being sliced into three pieces, the entire process took only an instant.
The results of their special training were displayed to the fullest at this mont.
"Wow!"
Lufia retracted her fist, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the squid floating on the sea's surface,
"We've got food!"
Her rubber arm stretched out, grabbing the largest piece and dragging it back.
But right at that mont—
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Three harpoons flew from a small island in the distance, accurately piercing the other two pieces of squid.
Ropes attached to the harpoons tightened abruptly, dragging the squid toward the island.
"Huh?!"
Lufia was stunned for a mont, then furious,
"You hiding in the house! Co out! We found the giant squid! How dare you steal our prey!"
Holding the piece of squid at she had managed to grab, she shouted toward the wooden cabin on the island.
A brief silence followed.
Then, an old but vigorous voice ca from the cabin:
"Young people have no manners! You trespass into my private territory and then accuse of stealing your prey?"
The cabin door creaked open.
An old man walked out.
He looked to be in his seventies, with graying hair, wearing round glasses, and on his head... a ring of bright flower petals?
He wore a Hawaiian-style floral shirt and shorts, with flip-flops on his feet, looking like he was on vacation.
"So this is your place?"
Lufia scratched her head, an apologetic smile appearing on her face, "Sorry about that!"
She paused, then asked curiously:
"Old man, who are you? And why are you inside a whale's stomach?"
The old man glanced at her, then at the straw hat on her head, a barely noticeable flicker in his eyes.
"Before asking soone's na, you should introduce yourself first. That's proper etiquette."
Lufia flashed a dazzlingly bright smile, showing her white teeth:
"My na is Monkey D. Lufia! I'm the woman who will beco the Pirate King!"
Hearing this, the old man looked at the straw hat again, "An incredible dream."
He lay back on a beach chair and said slowly, "My na is Crocus. I'm the lighthouse keeper of Twin Cape, 71 years old, blood type AB, Gemini. As for why I live inside a whale's stomach, that's—"
Just as he was about to continue,
The "sea surface" beneath their feet suddenly began shaking violently!
Not like waves, but the entire space was trembling!
"What's happening?!"
Nami gripped the railing tightly.
Crocus's expression changed.
He looked upward and murmured to himself:
"It's starting again... Laboon... is ramming the Red Line again."
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