Pirate: I have a Hollow living inside me!

"I just didn't think of it for a moment!"

As the three chatted, the ship made a turn at sea and headed towards Twin Capes.

Before long, the ship had docked.

Nami jumped off the ship, looked around, and said, "It seems like nobody's here?"

Locus casually remarked, "Out treating the fish, huh?"

"Treat the fish..."

The two did not understand what Lox meant.

Lox pointed in one direction: "Over there."

Nami and Kuina looked in the direction Rocks pointed.

'Splash...'

Suddenly, the sea began to surge violently, and then a large, gray-blue mountain rose from the surface...

No, this is not a mountain, but a huge whale with its head covered in wounds!

"Waaah~~"

The whale let out a mournful cry, the sound spreading and causing slight ripples on the surrounding sea...

Startled by the cry, Nami covered her ears and opened her mouth, asking, "Is that a fish?"

"Sea Kings?"

This was the first time Kuina had ever seen a creature of such size.

Although I have encountered sea kings in the East China Sea, none of them were as huge as mountains.

The Grand Line is truly incredible; there are creatures of this size here!

"Island whale, the largest whale in the world."

Looking at the enormous whale over there, a look of nostalgia flashed in Lox's eyes.

When he watched this part of the story in his previous life, he was just a primary school student and was also moved by Laboon's actions.

Seeing them in person now has stirred up some memories.

When Guina saw the crisscrossing wounds on Lab's head, she couldn't help but ask, "What happened to the wounds on its head?"

Nami exclaimed, "It...it looks like it's charging this way!"

It did indeed collide with us.

After letting out a cry, Labu charged straight toward them.

Their target wasn't Rocks and his crew, but... the Red Line!

"I kept banging my head against the wall, so these scars are all that's left..."

Rocks lightly touched the ground with his feet, his figure shot out, hovering in mid-air, and stared at Laboon who was heading straight for the Red Line!

'boom!'

A vast and powerful Conqueror's Haki erupted from Rocks' body, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze at that moment.

The sea surface rippled slightly in response to this invisible force...

Laboon, who was at the forefront, immediately sensed the Conqueror's Haki. As if feeling a strong threat, his massive body, which had been charging forward, suddenly stopped in place.

The enormous eye, comparable in size to a medium-sized sailboat, instantly locked onto Lox, and it felt a strange fear towards this human...

"Waaah~~"

Labu opened its mouth and cried out, the sound reverberating outwards, its cry revealing wariness and hesitation.

The instinct of living beings to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune prevented it from continuing forward...

"Stop it, don't do this pointless thing."

Knowing that Laboon possessed human emotions and was quite intelligent, Lox said to it, "If you die, you will never see the person you are waiting for again."

"Waaah~~"

Lab understood what Lox said and let out a chirp that sounded like a question.

Can't find the person who is waiting?

Does this human know anything?

Rocks does not have the ability to "hear the voice of all things," but his special Observation Haki allows him to sense emotions.

You can glean the general meaning from Raab's emotions.

So Lox said, "The person you are waiting for is still alive, but he has encountered some trouble, which is why he cannot come back to see you. He has not abandoned you."

"Waaah~!"

Lab's loud chirping this time was filled with a mix of joy and nervousness.

Perhaps there was something unusual about Rocks, or perhaps it was because of Rocks's confident tone, but Laboon chose to believe Rocks.

Raab fell silent.

Because of Lox's words, and also because of the tranquilizer.

It didn't collide with the red earth continent; it just floated quietly on the sea, like a mountain of flesh stretching across the ocean...

'Snap!'

Suddenly, a hidden door opened on Rab's body.

An elderly man with petal-shaped hair, round-framed glasses, and a floral shirt appeared and stood on Rabbu's back.

His gaze immediately fell upon the three men, including Locke, on the shore.

The focus was particularly on Lox: "Thank you so much for your help. If it weren't for you, Laboon would have crashed into the Red Line again..."

This person was none other than himself.

He is the lighthouse keeper of Twin Capes and also the ship's doctor of the Roger Pirates, Crocus!

Crocus, who possesses Observation Haki, already knew that Rocks was behind it. His Conqueror's Haki intimidated Laboon, giving him time to inject a sedative.

This prevented Raab from getting injured again.

Of course, Crocus was surprised to encounter someone here who possessed the aptitude for Conqueror's Haki and was able to control it freely.

This is just the starting point of the Grand Line...

Lox waved his hand dismissively, saying, "It was just a small thing."

Crocus recognized Rocks as soon as he saw him: "I remember you, the 'Black-haired Swordsman' whose first bounty was 130 million Berries."

"I didn't expect him to possess such superior qualities; no wonder the Navy values ​​him so highly..."

Keeping a lighthouse is very boring, and newspapers are one of the few forms of entertainment he has to pass the time.

The incident in Rogge Town a few days ago caused quite a stir; it was hard for him not to know about it.

After a pause, Crocus changed the subject and began a detailed self-introduction: "Oh, by the way, my name is Crocus, I'm the lighthouse keeper at Twin Capes, I'm sixty-eight years old, my zodiac sign is Gemini, and my blood type is AB..."

Chapter 65 Don't ask! The answer is always the same: senior experience!

"..."

Locke did not interrupt, but listened quietly.

Crocus was still going on and on about his self-introduction: "My birthday is June 4th, my favorite food is grilled giant squid, my favorite color is red, and um, I'm wearing red underwear today..."

"Hey, do you really need to go into such detail?"

Nami's lips twitched. Was this old man out of his mind? She interrupted loudly, "Who cares what color underwear you're wearing today!"

"What an impolite little girl, I haven't finished speaking yet."

Crocus glanced at Nami and shook his head: "We must respect the elderly!"

Nami: "..."

I have this urge to punch someone!

Kuina glanced at him, her expression strange; this person inexplicably gave off an unreliable vibe...

Locke smiled and greeted him politely, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Crocus."

"You are much more polite than this little girl."

Crocus raised an eyebrow and said slowly, "Those guys in the Navy are probably covering up some truth again, aren't they? You don't seem like a vicious person."

"Oh, no, that's not right either. Bucky's assessment of you is pretty much the same as what's in the newspapers. You must be the culprit who forced Bucky to leave the East Blue, right?"

Crocus suddenly remembered Bucky, whom he had met two days ago.

Bucky poured out his grievances to him at the time, his words filled with resentment and indignation.

To describe it in one sentence...

Pakistan was forced to leave the East China Sea because of one person.

Although Bucky didn't reveal who the person was, he just complained to him about how wicked and terrifying that person was.

However, after Crocus saw the newspaper, he realized that the person Bucky was talking about might be the "Black-haired Swordsman" with a bounty of 130 million Berries...

"It has nothing to do with me."

Rocks remained calm, with an expression that said, "Do you think I can command the Navy to issue arrest warrants for anyone? It's just that the Navy has misunderstood something."

He won't admit to something without evidence!

Crocus: "..."

He has a good eye for people.

This kid isn't exactly vicious, but he's not a good person either.

Bucky deserved his fate; he was framed by that scoundrel...

Why do you see it?