Whale Laboon and Croccus

"Wow, so that's the Red Line!"

"It's blocked by clouds, can't see the top."

Roman looked up at the towering, sheer red sky curtain that pierced the clouds, his eyes flashing.

"Meaning, if we cross the Red Line now..."

Roman turned to look at the others on deck.

"We can directly descend into the New World..."

And as it happened, Roman had the 'ability' to cheat and enter the end of the Grand Line in the shortest possible time.

???

"This isn't fun at all!!"

Facing Luffy's complaint, Roman just shrugged.

"Of course, I'm just saying."

"Let alone whether I have the stamina to fly over the Red Line, the situation of hundreds of millions of pirates running rampant in the New World alone could get me killed at any moment."

"Hahaha, sailing is only exciting if you fight your way through!"

It had to be admitted that, often, Luffy grasped the most important point – abandoning shortcuts and 'leveling up' all the way along the Grand Line was the wise choice.

"Entrance ahead!"

"Careful, we're going to be sucked in!"

In the towering Red Line ahead, a 'river channel' appeared on the mountain body, with flowing water rushing towards the mountaintop! This was the entrance to the Grand Line.

"Oh oh oh, I heard half the people disappear by the time they reach here."

Sanji looked at the 'waterway' on the mountainside before him. If the ship couldn't be kept on the correct sea current, it was very likely that the heading would skew and they'd crash into the Red Line.

"Leave it to me."

At this moment, it was Nami's turn to step in. Only she could accurately grasp the ocean currents below the ship, preventing a collision.

"Then, I'll help too."

Roman spread his arms, and sheets of white paper flew out from his arms. On the port and starboard sides of the Golden Merry, they formed a pair of 'wings'.

"Paper Dance - Horizontal Wings!"

"Very good, this will minimize the possibility of the ship being thrown off course by the turbulence. However—"

Even Nami, with her vast sailing experience, had never encountered a situation where the ship had to 'climb a mountain'.

"Careful—"

"We're in!!!"

With Nami at the helm and Roman stabilizing the ship, even through towering waves and fierce storms, the Golden Merry smoothly inserted itself into the 'Grand Line' entrance between the Red Line.

As the surging sea current propelled the entire ship forward at high speed, the scenery in everyone's eyes rapidly receded. Until:

"Oh oh oh, I see the Grand Line!"

Luffy, sitting atop the 'sheep' figurehead of the Golden Merry, shouted as the ship reached the mountaintop. Looking out, they saw a vast, shimmering expanse of water.

"This is the greatest ocean in the entire world!"

"Here we come, charge—"

Upon reaching the mountaintop, the waters from the other three oceans converged here, pushing the Golden Merry downwards. As long as they rushed out of this waterway, what lay below was:

?

"What is that, a mountain?"

"Woah oh oh oh~~~~"

However, in front of the Golden Merry, which was rapidly descending, was a black mountain that pierced the clouds...

"That's not a mountain, it's a whale?!"

"So magnificent!"

"Oh oh oh, such a big whale~~~"

Facing the excited Luffy and the crew, Roman covered his forehead, unable to watch.

"Haven't you considered that if we charge down at this speed and crash into this giant whale, the only outcome would be the destruction of the ship and death?"

"Ah~~!?"

"Roman, think of something quick!" x5

"What do you guys take me for! A magical Doraemon...?"

Even though he said that, Roman was prepared for this kind of situation. After all, after deciding to join Luffy's crew, how to survive in various extreme and harsh environments like land, sea, and air had become a problem Roman had been considering all along.

Don't ask, just know that he loved them...

Snap!

Clapping his hands together, thousands upon thousands of white papers detached from Roman's clothes and fluttered out, all converging and assembling at the stern of the ship.

"Paper Dance - Parachute!"

The white papers formed a giant 'parachute' at the stern. Though called a parachute, it was more accurately a 'deceleration parachute,' similar to what Roman had used in his past life for space shuttles. It sounded high-tech, but in reality...

It was just a sturdy umbrella.

Regardless, under the deceleration of this massive 'paper umbrella,' the Golden Merry, charging down from the mountaintop, steadily slowed its speed. As it neared sea level, it had almost come to a complete stop.

"Very good—"

Crack!

The decelerating Golden Merry collided with a black whale as massive as a mountain range. The sheep figurehead at the bow broke off and landed on the ship. However, this was far better than the potential shipwreck and loss of life they had faced earlier.

"Hard to starboard, let's go around..."

Just as Roman was preparing to maneuver around the 'big guy,' Luffy leaped onto the ship's rail with a snap.

"You broke my... special seat!"

?

Hey, don't—

"Gum-Gum Pistol!"

Bang!!

His extended fist slammed into the giant whale's eye, perfectly illustrating the meaning of "if you mess with it, you'll regret it."

"Are you an idiot!?!?" x5

Nami, Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji all burst into tears!

Truly worthy of being the King of the Pirates, he could easily make the renowned Zoro weep...

"Calm down, calm down..."

Roman, at the helm, no longer knew what he was saying.

"As long as I can develop a 'Golden Whirl' using paper, influencing the surrounding speed field through friction, and controlling water and air to move in a golden spiral, I can break through spacetime and travel back to before I met Luffy..." (Araki Science)

Gulp,

An eyeball several times larger than the entire Golden Merry swiveled, focusing on the 'little thing' that had just attacked it.

"Hmph, bring it on—"

Thump!

"Shut up!!" x3

Facing Luffy, who had been kicked down onto the deck by Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji simultaneously, Roman, if he weren't holding the ship's wheel, would have rushed over to deliver another kick.

"Fight, go on and fight! We don't need a captain like this—"

Can't you even check the level before initiating combat?!

Then:

"Careful, it's sucking in water—"

As the giant whale opened its mouth, the Golden Merry, not even a fraction of the size of one of its teeth, was sucked into the abyss of its maw with no resistance!

Swish swish swish~~

Sheets of paper strips flew out, quickly binding everyone on the ship. Then:

"We'll just have to leave it to fate."

Roman was tired, Roman could no longer fight, Roman was going with the flow~~~

Under the 'blue sky and white clouds.'

"What do you think?"

In response to Zoro's question, Sanji, with a cigarette in his mouth, glanced around.

"What do you think I think... I think we've been swallowed by a whale..."

"Hahaha, aren't we still alive and well!"

This was the eternally optimistic trio.

As for the others—

Usopp, who had fainted and fallen down once again, wore a look of peace. He even held a bouquet of flowers in his hand; it would have been perfect with a suicide note.

"Mama Bellemere... I want to go home."

A giant Sea King, a colossal whale, swallowing a ship and its crew whole... Nami, who couldn't even cry, began to miss Cocoyasi Village.

"Roman, Roman, look over there, there's a small island~~"

Faced with Luffy's shouts, Roman had already used paper to create a sun lounger, lying down on it like a "lazy fish."

"I'm not Roman~~~~"

"I'm just a lazy fish,"

"Just let me AFK..."

Initiate the big dragon at level one, sail the ship and charge the tower... can't carry, don't want to play, goodbye...

"This... isn't an illusion, is it?"

The trio with big hearts had calmed down, pointing at an old man lying on a sun lounger on the small island and asking.

"Then what about this?"

—

He was a sturdy old man, wearing a beach shirt, beach shorts, and slippers, just sitting under a coconut tree on the small island reading a newspaper.

Facing the Golden Merry, he merely glanced over, his eyes behind his glasses exceptionally sharp!

"Hey... what are you looking at? ... If you... if you want to fight... we have cannons..."

Facing Usopp's trembling threat, the old man coldly spat out a sentence.

"I'd advise you not to,"

"People will die."

"Oh, who do you say will die?"

Facing Sanji, whose fighting spirit was boiling, the old man calmly uttered one word.

"Me."

???

"You're talking about yourself!!"

Is this using the most arrogant tone to say the most cowardly words?

"Forget it, don't be impulsive."

Zoro said, Sanji, don't stand out for negotiations with your temper, let me do it:

"Mister, can you tell us who you are and where this is?"

Facing the 'kind' Zoro, the old man lying down and reading the newspaper snorted coldly.

"When asking others, it's polite to introduce yourself first, isn't it?"

"Mhm mhm..."

"You're right," For the sake of information, I'll endure it. "My name is..."

"My name is Croccus, I'm the lighthouse keeper of Twin Cape, I'm 71 years old, a Gemini, and my blood type is AB."

?

Didn't you just say everything...

"Can I cut him!"

Zoro, who had been tricked, immediately "revealed his true colors," exuding killing intent, causing Luffy behind him to pat his shoulder.

"Forget it, don't be angry..."

?!

Croccus—

Roman, who was lying there pretending to be a lazy fish, his eyes flashed.

This name... although the identity of a mere lighthouse keeper was very ordinary, Roman knew that this old man had another "extraordinary" identity!

The King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger's ship doctor.

So, it was time to act.