Pirates: Martial Arts Masters on the Straw Hat Ship

"Hey! You weird old man!"

Luffy, leaning against the ship's railing, shouted rudely, "Who are you? Why did you come out of a whale's belly?"

Crocus didn't answer, but stared intently at Luffy, his gaze seemingly trying to see right through him.

The two stared at each other for a full ten seconds.

The atmosphere became quite awkward.

"If you keep staring at me..." Crocas suddenly spoke, his tone serious, "I'm going to..."

"What do you want?" Zoro asked warily.

"I'm about to...blush."

"..."

The entire audience burst into laughter.

"What the hell is going on?!" Usopp exclaimed. "Is this old man crazy?!"

"I am Crocus, the tower keeper of Twin Capes." The old man seemed quite satisfied with everyone's reaction before slowly introducing himself.

Ronan and his party jumped from the Merry onto the open ground in front of the lighthouse.

As soon as he landed, Sanji, who had been on guard, was immediately drawn to the blue-haired girl who was tied up on the ground.

"Oh! The radar for love has gone off!"

Sanji instantly switched to twisting mode, giant red hearts popping out of his eyes, and slid to Vivi's side:

"Who is this beautiful young lady? Why is she being treated so rudely? This is a desecration of beauty!"

"Let us go, you old geezer!"

Vivi ignored Sanji's heat; she was cursing Crocus, looking disheveled but with a stubborn glint in her eyes.

"We will not abandon the mission! That whale is our prey!"

"prey?"

Zoro frowned and looked at Crocus.

"Them..."

Crocus casually found a deck chair and sat down, speaking in a flat tone:

"He's a rogue whaler from a nearby island town. He's always wanted to hunt Laboon for food and fuel. But I always manage to throw him out."

"Laboon?" Luffy looked at the giant whale.

"That's the name of the whale that inhabits this island."

Crocus pulled a newspaper from his pocket, looked at Lab in the distance, and a trace of sadness was hard to hide in his eyes.

"You must be wondering why its head is covered in wounds, right?"

Everyone looked at Raab.

Indeed, the enormous whale's head was covered with crisscrossing scars, some of which had scabbed over, while others were still bleeding, making it a shocking sight.

"It crashed into itself."

Crocus's voice deepened as he began to tell the story of waiting and promises:

"This story begins fifty years ago..."

After listening to Krocas's account, the room fell into a deathly silence.

Even the most carefree Luffy fell silent at this moment.

He looked at the enormous whale, his eyes no longer showing the "appetite" he had just seen, but instead filled with a deep sense of awe.

Fifty years.

For humans, that's most of a lifetime.

For this whale, it meant countless days and nights of lonely vigil.

"So pitiful..." Nami covered her mouth, her eyes reddening. "Is that why it kept crashing into the rock wall? To see its companions..."

"Laboon..." Usopp sniffed, "What a manly whale!"

Ronan stood to the side, listening quietly.

Although he was a time traveler, he already knew about the tragedy of the Rumbar Pirates.

But when this heavy history was truly presented before him, the impact still weighed heavily on his heart.

Ronan looked into Raab's sorrowful eyes and thought to himself:

This isn't a sentimental scene from an anime.

It is a real world.

Behind every legend lies blood, tears, and unwavering dedication.

Brooke is still alive, and the agreement is still valid.

But Rab doesn't know that it's still fighting despair by self-harm.

......

Twin Capes, beneath the lighthouse.

The sea breeze carried a hint of coolness, blowing across Crocus's petal-like white hair.

The air was filled with a heavy sense of "time," making it hard to breathe.

After hearing Labu's story, everyone fell silent.

It was not just the waiting of a whale, but a hopeless wait that spanned half a century.

"call……"

Sanji leaned against the wall of the lighthouse and lit a cigarette.

Amidst the swirling smoke, his eyes appeared exceptionally deep and realistic.

"Fifty years...that's almost a lifetime for a human being."

Sanji flicked his cigarette ash, his tone indifferent yet tinged with a helpless pity:

"In that Grand Line, which is known as the graveyard of pirates, let alone fifty years, even a year is a matter of life and death."

"They... are probably all dead! Waiting any longer is futile."

"Stop talking, Sanji."

Nami sat on the stone steps, hugging her knees, watching the giant, battered whale on the sea surface.

"I've also heard that the Grand Line was far more chaotic and terrifying fifty years ago than it is now..."

"you……"

Usopp suddenly stood up, shouting excitedly, "Why are you guys being so realistic?! They might come back!"

"Maybe they're just lost, maybe they're on their way back..."

Usopp pointed at Laboon, his voice trembling, "Isn't this touching? That's a promise made to your comrades!"

"It was a whale that believed in its comrades unwaveringly, waiting even if it meant getting hurt! How could it end like this!"

He turned to look at the old man guarding the tower, as if seeking a last glimmer of hope: "Right, old man! They're not dead yet, are they!"

Krocas pushed up his glasses, his gaze as calm as a stagnant pool.

As the ship's doctor who once followed Roger on the Grand Line, he knew better than anyone the cruelty of this sea.

"Ah, I understand how you feel."

Crocus said calmly, his tone completely flat, yet every word was like a knife:

"However, the truth is harsh. I have obtained accurate information through various channels..."

"The Rumbar Pirates, they've all perished on the Grand Line!"

This statement effectively sealed Raab's fate.

Ronan stood aside, watching this scene, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

They did die, but they also live on in another form.

Brooke is still adrift alone in the Devil's Triangle, keeping that promise.

But this truth cannot be conveyed to Raab yet.

Just as this atmosphere of despair was about to freeze.

"Tap, tap, tap."

A series of crisp footsteps broke the silence.

Luffy, who had been silent all along, suddenly moved.

He lowered his straw hat, walked silently past the crowd, and stepped towards the shore, facing the enormous whale that was as big as a mountain.

"Luffy? What are you doing?"

Zoro keenly sensed the change in Luffy's aura, a sign that a battle was about to begin.