On the land beside the Twin Cape lighthouse.
"Is it really okay to just let those two go?"
Nami was still uneasy. No matter how she looked at it, letting the tiger return to the mountain was...
"Don't worry. They'll be back soon."
Faced with Roman's calm words, the others wore puzzled expressions. Roman did not intend to keep them guessing and simply spread open his palm.
In his hand was something that looked like a watch. Unlike a flat watch, however, it was a round glass sphere with a needle trembling slightly inside.
"A Log Pose."
Seeing their curious faces, Roman had no choice but to continue explaining.
"Many islands on the Grand Line have powerful magnetic fields, so ordinary compasses are completely useless here. You need a special Log Pose like this to navigate..."
"It can 'record' the magnetic force between islands and point the way to the next island..."
"Oh~~~" X3
Roman's explanation made Nami, Usopp, and Sanji nod repeatedly, looking as though they had learned something. Meanwhile, the old man glanced at Roman.
"Didn't expect you to know the Grand Line so well."
"Are you this ship's navigator?"
Faced with Croccus's question, Roman shook his head and pointed at the awkwardly smiling Nami beside him.
"She's our navigator. As for me—"
Rubbing his chin as he thought, Roman finally gave himself a clear role.
"I'm the ship's nanny."
"Getting old means going deaf too..." Croccus sighed with his hands behind his back, prompting the embarrassed Nami to hurriedly change the subject.
"Roman, why do you have a Log Pose?"
"Simple. I took it from that man called Mr. 9 earlier."
??
"Ah..."
Nami was speechless. That was stealing, wasn't it? It was stealing! Who would have thought Roman, with those honest-looking brows and eyes, would steal her character niche...
"We saved them. Isn't it reasonable to take a little payment while we were at it? Or were you planning to keep sailing with a compass that pointed in every direction?"
"Perfectly reasonable, perfectly reasonable..."
Better a dead friend than a dead self. If not for those two "kind-hearted people," the Straw Hat Pirates would have been drifting around at sea... But speaking of Straw Hats... they had not heard Luffy fooling around for quite a while. That was completely unnatural—!??
"Roman, tell me that's an illusion. I can see Luffy..."
On the giant whale Laboon in the nearby sea, a figure clutching a mast was racing straight up its body! Roman nodded seriously.
"It's not an illusion. That really is Luffy."
Unlike the horrified Nami and Usopp, Zoro, Sanji, and Roman had already developed a certain immunity to Luffy's behavior. They even had the leisure to chat.
"What's that idiot planning to do now?"
That was Sanji, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
"No idea. Maybe he wants to climb a mountain for fun?"
That was Zoro, one hand resting on the three swords at his waist.
"But he's carrying the Golden Merry's mast, right—"
"Yeah, the mainmast too."
Usopp, who had the sharpest eyes, nodded. Everyone fell silent, and the atmosphere turned icy. Then, from Luffy, who had already run to the mountaintop... or rather, the whale's head, where he could no longer be seen from below, came his signature cry:
"Gum-Gum—"
?!
"Gasp, that guy isn't going to..."
"Flower Arrangement!"
"Bwoooooo~~~!!!!!"
There was no need to look. Just from Laboon's cry, they knew Luffy was fooling around again! And he had most likely attacked the whale...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The enormous whale suddenly slammed down toward the land where they stood, like a collapsing mountain! The figure gripping the mast embedded in its wound atop its head left it with no way to resist.
"Bastard~~"
"You're going to get us killed—"
"Run!!"
Faced with the giant whale crashing down, Roman instantly spread his wings, grabbed Nami around the waist, and flew backward! Usopp, weeping bitterly, hung from his feet, while Sanji and Zoro turned and ran at once. Just before Laboon struck the land:
Rumble!
A tremendous crash shook the earth and mountains in the truest sense! Amid the flying dirt and stones came a wet splat.
"Hey, hey, kid!"
Before anyone else could react, Croccus was already rushing forward in alarm, as if his own grandson had been crushed beneath it! But Roman's paper stopped him at once.
"Please don't get worked up, sir. That guy won't die from blunt force trauma!"
It was only Laboon~~ Just think about how Kaido's iron club blows would not be enough to put him down in the future...
Sure enough, when Laboon raised its head, Luffy, who had just been "flattened," flipped over and climbed to his feet. He immediately slammed a Gum-Gum Pistol into Laboon's eyeball, making the giant whale cry out in pain and fling its head, smashing Luffy away again!
Smack!
His entire body flew into the base of the lighthouse where Roman and the others had retreated, then slowly slid down like a mural! Faced with the angry whale and everyone's confusion, the boy named Luffy stood up and shouted at Laboon.
"We're tied!!!"
Ah...
"I'm strong, right? We haven't decided a winner yet. We definitely have to fight again!"
"Your companions died, but I'm your opponent!"
"After we sail around the Grand Line once, we'll come back and fight again!!"
Fifty years had passed. Laboon's waiting had long since lost all meaning, and all it had left was pain. Yet Luffy had given that wait "new meaning" once more.
Whether as friends or "opponents," whether human or whale, as long as there was hope, one could keep living on!
"You just casually expect someone else to wait for you. What a selfish guy!"
Though Roman was complaining, there was not a hint of impatience in him. Luffy was often unreliable, but when it truly mattered, he was exceptionally dependable.
"Hmph. That's our captain."
Zoro, Sanji, Nami, and Usopp stood or crouched behind him, watching Luffy make his promise to Laboon, smiles on all their faces.
"Alright, let's get ready to depart."
After removing the mast from the whale's head and reinstalling it on the Golden Merry, they also repaired the broken sheep figurehead. It was time for everyone to set sail, but before that, just as Roman had said:
"Please, take us with you!"
Looking at the man and woman kneeling before them after returning were the two people who had tried to kill Laboon earlier: Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday.
"In your dreams. You two wanted to kill Laboon before~~"
"By the way, who are you people?"
Faced with Usopp's question, the man wearing a crooked crown answered solemnly.
"I'm a prince."
However:
"Liar!"
Even Usopp did not believe there could be such a pathetic prince.
"Anyway, we can't reveal our identities. If we do, we'll die~~~"
"We don't want to do this kind of sneaky work either, but the 'company' has rules..."
"Is that so?"
With an innocent expression, Nami generously agreed to their request.
"We can let you board our ship, but we only have an ordinary compass..."
"W-What, did you come to the Grand Line just to die?!!"
"We humbled ourselves for nothing. You people aren't any bet—"
The two who had just been kneeling and begging angrily rose to their feet!
"Ah, but we happened to pick up something nice earlier." Nami took out the Log Pose Roman had given her, looking innocent. "So you don't want to board our ship after all~~"
"Please have mercy, noble lady, just pretend we're..." X2
The two lay prostrate on the ground, tears streaming down their faces!
That was clearly our Log Pose~~~
"Get on board."
Facing the two people Nami had wrapped around her finger, Luffy casually made the decision.
Since the captain had spoken, naturally no one objected. Soon, after bidding farewell to Laboon and Croccus, the old man who watched over the lighthouse, the group set sail.
As the Golden Merry gradually sailed away, the old man's expression slowly grew solemn.
"Are they the people we've been waiting for?"
"What an extraordinary boy, wouldn't you say, Roger?"
After saying that, he turned to look toward the lighthouse behind him.
"Then why did you stay behind?"
"As expected, I couldn't hide it from you, senior."
With that calm voice, Roman slowly walked out from behind the lighthouse. Yet aboard the departing Golden Merry, a "Roman" was diligently steering the ship!
"A puppet created by a Devil Fruit ability?"
Facing Croccus's sharp gaze, the "Roman" beneath the lighthouse spread his hands.
"You saw through it at a glance."
"As expected of Gol D. Roger's ship doctor."
Before you continue