The flower-like old man raised the rocket launcher over his head, then let go.
"Plop! Plop!"
The weapon fell into the Stomach Acid Sea, quickly bubbling and sinking.
Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday's faces instantly turned deathly pale.
Their last resort was completely gone.
This mission was definitely a failure!
"You old geezer! Just you wait!"
Mr. 9 shouted unwillingly, "We won't give up! Sooner or later, we'll turn this whale into our food!"
Miss Wednesday also gritted her teeth and said:
"Whiskey Peak won't let this go!"
As soon as they finished speaking—
"Thump! Thump!"
Two punches, one for each.
Lufia's rubber fists landed solidly on their heads, and visible lumps swelled up from their scalps.
The man and woman instantly passed out.
The deck fell silent for a mont.
Ralph looked at her, "What's the reason for hitting them?"
Lufia retracted her arm and rubbed her nose with a finger,
"No particular reason. I just heard they wanted to kill this whale, and it felt really annoying."
Sanji imdiately had hearts in his eyes:
"Miss Lufia is such a kind-hearted girl~"
The others, however, were covered in sweat.
Zoro said quietly, "If I rember correctly, wasn't it you who punched this whale just now?"
Lufia froze for a mont, then declared righteously:
"Is that the sa thing?"
Nami pressed further:
"How is it different?"
Lufia scratched her head, her little face scrunching up. After thinking for a long ti, she finally blurted out, "It's just different!"
"..."
Ralph shook his head inwardly.
It's a good thing it's you saying this, Lufia.
If it were anyone else with a different face or tone, such "double-standard" remarks would definitely be annoying.
Crocus watched the two unconscious agents from afar, then glanced at Lufia, his eyes filled with even more admiration.
"Young ones," he spoke up, "I'll send you out. If you stay any longer, your ship won't hold up."
"Really? Thank you so much, old man!"
Lufia imdiately bead.
Crocus went out through the small door, went sowhere, and operated so chanism. The large door slowly slid open on both sides, revealing a long, tal passageway behind it.
"Let's go."
Then, the old man descended from the small platform and returned to his iron boat.
The two ships sailed side by side through the huge tal door and entered the passageway.
"Old man," Lufia leaned over the ship's railing, "the Laboon you ntioned earlier... is it this whale?"
Crocus fell silent for a few seconds.
Then, he slowly began:
"Laboon... is an Island Whale that inhabits the West Blue, the largest whale species in the world."
"Fifty years ago, a group of fine Pirates ca down from Reverse Mountain."
"Laboon, who was still a small whale at the ti, followed them."
"I heard that in the West Blue, Laboon had been following them on adventures everywhere and had long regarded these Pirates as companions."
He paused, his thoughts returning to fifty years ago, "Those Pirates were about to set off for the Grand Line. Worried that Laboon might face danger in the Grand Line, they decided to leave Laboon at Twin Capes before heading into the Grand Line."
"They made a promise to Laboon: 'Wait for us here. We'll co back for you after we sail around the world.'"
"From that day on, Laboon has been waiting here. He's been waiting... for fifty years."
Lufia listened with her mouth slightly agape:
"Those pirates are so cruel! Making Laboon wait for so long!"
Sanji sighed:
"Miss Lufia, those pirates haven't returned for over fifty years. They likely died in the Grand Line."
"The truth..."
Crocus closed his eyes, "might be even more cruel than death."
He opened his eyes, a flicker of pain flashing through them:
"I've confird a piece of information from a reliable source. Those pirates... the Rumbar Pirates... there's no confird news of their death, nor were they captured by the Navy. Instead... they're missing..."
"What does 'missing' an?"
Nami asked.
Crocus's voice turned dry,
"That state likely ans they escaped from the Grand Line."
"Escaped?"
"The Grand Line is called the 'graveyard of pirates' for good reason. The climate, currents, enemies... all far exceed people's imaginations. The Rumbar Pirates might have reached a point where they found the path ahead too terrifying, losing all hope to continue, so..."
He took a deep breath:
"They might have escaped through the Calm Belt, or perhaps by so other thod. In any case, they abandoned their dream of sailing around the world, and also abandoned their promise to Laboon."
"Whether they're alive or dead, even if they survived, they probably will never set foot on this route again."
The passage fell into dead silence.
Only the sound of the ship's hull cutting through water, and the faint, distant, drawn-out whale song of Laboon.
"Those cowards!"
Sanji crushed his cigarette fiercely,
"Just because they valued their own lives too much, they abandoned their promise!!"
Zoro remained silent, his hand rubbing the hilt of his sword.
Usopp was the most agitated, his eyes reddening:
"They left Laboon behind, and yet Laboon kept believing those people would co back for him! He waited fifty years! That's just too cruel!"
Nami looked at Crocus:
"Laboon should understand human speech, right? Since you know about this, why haven't you told him?"
"I did tell him."
Crocus smiled bitterly,
"Many tis. But Laboon... refused to listen."
"He refuses to believe his companions would abandon him. Since then, he started shouting at Reverse Mountain, started ramming his head against the Red Line."
The old man's voice trembled:
"He wants to escape reality this way. But if this continues... he'll die."
As he spoke, a second door appeared ahead.
Crocus operated the chanism, and the large door slowly opened.
Outside was normal seawater, the real sky—they had finally left Laboon's body.
The Going rry sailed out of the passage, docking at the shore of Twin Cape.
In the distance, Reverse Mountain stood tall and majestic;
Nearby, the lighthouse stood quietly.
And even closer—Laboon's massive body floated half-subrged in the sea.
The Straw Hat Pirates stood on the shore, looking at Laboon, their hearts filled with complex emotions.
Ralph looked at Laboon.
He reviewed this part of the plot in his mind.
In the original story, Luffy would duel Laboon here, draw the Straw Hat Pirates' symbol on its head, and make a new promise.
"We'll fight again when we sail around the world and co back!"
Was it that simple?
Sothing seed missing...
Ralph suddenly tensed.
He rembered sothing.
In the original story, to "duel" Laboon, Luffy broke the Going rry's main mast to use as a weapon.
But now, Lufia...
He turned his head sharply.
He saw that Lufia had already returned to the Going rry at so point, her rubber arm stretched back, aid at the base of the main mast.
"Lufia—!"
Ralph cried out in shock,
"What are you doing, you wasteful woman?!"
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