The Whale That Waited Twelve Years

The line of text on the Sky Screen hung in the sky, but the vast majority of people didn't understand it.

"A ship that waited on the other side of the Red Line for twelve years?"

"What ship?"

"What's on the other side of the Red Line?"

Ordinary people were bewildered by the clue, but a few reacted very differently.

In the Sabaody Archipelago, Luffy's expression changed when he saw the words.

"Waited twelve years."

He read it aloud.

"The other side of the Red Line."

He read that part aloud too.

"Laboon."

He spoke the name with a strange solemnity in his voice.

Zoro glanced at him.

"You know him?"

"The whale we met at Twin Cape. He was enormous, and he kept ramming the Red Line."

Luffy gestured to show how big the whale was, but his arms were obviously not long enough.

"Brook said Laboon was waiting for them to come back."

"Brook's that skeleton?"

"Yeah. He said they promised Laboon they'd come back after sailing all the way around the Grand Line."

"But his crewmates all died."

"He was the only one left, drifting alone in the waters around Thriller Bark for fifty years."

After saying that, Luffy fell silent for two seconds.

"Laboon doesn't know any of that. He's still waiting."

The names on the Sky Screen finished coming together.

[Top ten regrets, number six]

[The Rumbar Pirates and their promise to the whale Laboon]

On the deck of the Moby Dick, Whitebeard frowned at the name.

"The Rumbar Pirates."

Marco stood beside him and shook his head.

"Never heard of them. They must have been a pirate crew from a long time ago."

"Fifty years ago," Whitebeard said.

Marco looked at him.

"You know them?"

"No, just a guess." Whitebeard held his cup of sake.

"A story the Sky Screen would include in a list of regrets is either a great person's tragedy or an ordinary person's."

"This one sounds like the latter."

A question appeared on the Sky Screen.

[Question: What was the fundamental reason the promise between the Rumbar Pirates and the whale Laboon ultimately went unfulfilled?]

[A. The Rumbar Pirates encountered a powerful enemy beyond their strength on the Grand Line and were wiped out.]

[B. The Rumbar Pirates were attacked in the Florian Triangle and all died of poison. The sole survivor, "Soul King" Brook, was trapped in those waters for fifty years, unable to leave.]

[C. The captain of the Rumbar Pirates changed his mind during the voyage and abandoned the plan to return to Twin Cape.]

[D. The whale Laboon was no longer waiting at Twin Cape.]

When option B appeared, people all over the world noticed a crucial detail.

Everyone had died of poison.

The sole survivor.

Trapped for fifty years.

"Fifty years?"

On Drum Island, Doctorine's pipe fell from her mouth again. It was the third time that night.

"One person drifted alone at sea for fifty years?"

"Is that person still alive?"

Chopper huddled by her leg, tugging at her trouser leg with a little hoof.

"How long is fifty years?"

"Five times longer than your whole life so far." Doctorine picked up her pipe and put it back in her mouth.

"Someone who drifted alone at sea for fifty years is either a monster or a poor wretch who died without realizing it."

The countdown to answer ticked away on the Sky Screen. This time, the atmosphere was quiet. No one rushed to answer; everyone was waiting to see what the story of those fifty years was.

The countdown reached zero.

[Correct answer: B]

The footage began.

The first frame showed a vast blue sea, with bright sunshine and a warm sea breeze.

A battered but festively decorated sailing ship entered from the left side of the screen, a curved musical note painted on its sail.

A group of pirates in colorful clothes stood on deck. Some played accordions, some played flutes, and some beat drums. Barrels of sake and sheets of music lay on the deck.

A tall, thin man stood at the bow, dressed in a black tailcoat and a top hat, holding a violin.

A smile lit his face, full of carefree joy.

This was Brook more than fifty years ago, Brook before he died, Brook with flesh, blood, and hair.

A huge figure followed behind the ship.

It was Laboon.

Laboon was still very small back then, only a third the size of the sailing ship. He swam behind it, occasionally poking his head above the water and crying out.

"Laboon, you followed us again." Brook put down his violin and crouched at the stern, looking at the round figure beneath the water.

"We agreed, didn't we? You'd wait for us at Twin Cape."

Laboon raised half his head out of the water. His eyes were wet as he cried out to Brook.

"Don't look at me like that." Brook reached out and stroked the tip of Laboon's nose.

"The Grand Line is too dangerous. If you come with us, you'll get hurt."

Laboon cried out again, his voice carrying a young creature's unease.

Brook's smile faded for a moment, then returned.

He raised his violin and set the bow against the strings.

"How about this? I'll play you a tune."

"Everyone on the ship wrote it together. It's called Binks' Sake."

"Remember this tune. When we've sailed all the way around the Grand Line and come back from the other side, I'll play it for you again."

"If you can still wag your tail to the beat then, we'll know you still remember us."

He played the first note.

The melody was joyful, like flecks of gold bouncing in the sunlight on the sea.

The other pirates aboard joined in, the sounds of accordions and flutes drifting out from the deck. Mixed with the sea breeze and the splashing waves, the music reached Laboon's ears.

Laboon wagged his tail in the water, bobbing his body up and down to the beat and splashing water all over Brook's face.

Brook laughed and wiped the seawater from his face with his sleeve, never stopping his bow.

The scene was so warm that it made people forget what would happen later in the story.

But the Sky Screen didn't let that warmth last long.

The footage cut to the Florian Triangle, and the mood changed abruptly.

Thick fog, hidden reefs, a deathly silent sea.

The Rumbar Pirates' sailing ship moved slowly through the fog, unease written on every face.

"Captain, something's up ahead."

Before the words had faded, countless poison-coated arrows shot out of the thick fog.

An ambush.

Brook reacted fastest. He drew the slender sword hidden in his cane and blocked three arrows aimed at the captain, but the others on deck weren't so lucky.

Those struck by arrows fell one after another. The poison spread so fast they didn't even have time to struggle.

The footage sped forward.

A day later, only Brook and a few crewmates who hadn't yet breathed their last remained on deck.

Brook knelt among them, his tailcoat soaked in blood, his top hat fallen to one side, revealing hair that had already begun to fall out.

"Brook." The captain leaned against the mast, his voice barely audible.

"What?" Brook's voice trembled.

"Laboon's still waiting for us."

Brook's lips moved, but he couldn't speak.

"I'm afraid we're not going to make it back."

"Don't say that."

"But you can go back." The captain raised his hand and pointed a trembling finger at Brook's chest.

"You ate the Revive-Revive Fruit. Even if you die, you can come back to life once."

"Go back for us."

"Play that song for Laboon in our place."

Tears welled up in Brook's eyes, but he nodded.

"Let's play together one last time." The captain's voice grew weaker and weaker.

"Let's play Binks' Sake together one last time."

"Record it on a Tone Dial."

"That way, when you go back to Laboon, you won't be playing alone."

"All our voices will be in it."

Brook picked up his violin.

The crewmates on deck who could still move picked up their instruments too. Some had arrows lodged in their hands, some had already lost feeling in half their bodies, and some leaned against the mast, barely able to keep their eyes open.

But they raised their instruments.

The first note of Binks' Sake rang out.