Red Line, Reverse Mountain, atop Twin Capes.
Crocus took the newspaper from the seagull and began to read it leisurely.
"Well, today's newspaper is still about that Gawain."
"This guy is way too energetic!"
Crocus lay on a beach chair with his Erlang, shaking his leg as he read the newspaper.
"He's already at Whiskey Peak? That's fast."
Let me take another look. Hmm, Whiskey Peak, like Mock Town, has become a place full of "friendliness."
This guy brings enough carnage wherever he goes, and yet this kind of carnage is more reassuring than even Roger's carnage, haha!
"That old devil Rayleigh has probably found his real target now."
Crocus smiled, raised the jug, took a small sip, and savored the taste of the wine. He then picked up a broom and began sweeping beneath the Twin Capes Lighthouse.
Near the Twin Capes Lighthouse, more than eighty bodies are currently lying on the ground...
While cleaning up the corpses, Crocus dismantled the ship containing them into parts.
He piled the planks on a mountain of wood near the lighthouse, then picked out the metal from them and melted it down in his own furnace.
As he melted the metal, Crocus scratched the feather headdress he was wearing... which resembled a peacock's tail.
"There's a lot of material this time; it seems we can strengthen Laboon's body once again."
However, there are a bit too many planks piled up. Next time I encounter a more approachable rookie pirate, I'll give them some.
As he was talking to himself, Crocus suddenly heard a long, drawn-out howl.
Following the sound, he turned his head and looked toward the narrow waterway that connected the Reverse Mountain to the Grand Line.
Sure enough, a new group of pirates was surfing towards the Grand Line from the Reverse Mountain road, which is tens of thousands of meters high.
Crocus placed his right hand in front of his eyes, facing the sunlight, and briefly observed the people on the ship.
"Hmm, about forty people, they looked fairly normal dressed, but the smell of blood was still very strong."
Tsk tsk, this old man doesn't want to be busy anymore. Hopefully, this batch will be easier to talk to...
After saying that, Crocus whistled leisurely and then continued his work of smelting metal.
Busy as they went, amidst the black smoke rising from the steel furnace, the howling ship finally landed on the sea near Twin Capes.
Thump!!!
"Holy shit!"
"I'm not playing anymore, damn it, that's terrifying!!!"
"What the hell is this?! Our ship is almost completely destroyed!!!"
"As expected of the Grand Line, haha!!!"
Amidst a variety of sounds, another group of rookie pirates who had just entered the Grand Line excitedly felt the sea breeze of the Grand Line.
After trekking across the West Blue for six long years, this pirate crew finally evaded the pursuit of the West Blue gangs and successfully entered the Grand Line.
As their captain, the man in the floral shirt holding the figurehead on the bow returned to the deck.
As he tidied his yellow trousers, the captain gritted his teeth.
"Damn it, we've finally made it into the Grand Line! That means even the Capone Family can't easily hunt us down!"
The captain waved his hand sharply.
"Even if they don't necessarily come after us, we can't let our guard down!"
Prus, inspect the ship. If there are no major problems, set sail as soon as possible!
Damn it, even if we managed to secure the things on the ship during our trip to Reverse Mountain, our belongings are probably in pretty bad shape!
That's a terrifying ocean current with an angle of almost ninety degrees!
"Check the area for supplies, get the boat ready quickly, and then set off!!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the captain returned to his cabin. His crew saw his retreating figure, and two of them thought the captain's trousers looked wet.
However, the sea was already rough, and the captain was wearing yellow trousers.
So, the crew didn't see it clearly either; maybe they were mistaken...
And so, everyone on the pirate ship became listless and lethargic.
Still feeling weak from surviving the disaster, some of them stayed on the ship to organize supplies, while others naturally headed towards the lighthouse.
The Twin Capes Lighthouse is not an island. It is a small, relatively flat piece of land that extends from the Red Line towards the Grand Line and is connected to the Red Line.
It's perfectly normal for anyone driving down Reverse Mountain to see Twin Capes first.
Soon after, a dozen or so menacing-looking fellows found Crocus by the forge at the lighthouse.
"Old man, is this your home? Why are you all alone here?"
Enough with the nonsense, hand over your stuff. As long as you don't resist, we won't kill you!
It's truly remarkable that a mere lighthouse could have such a mountain of timber and a room full of weapons. How did they manage to store all of that?
Haha, no need to say more, anyway, they're all ours now!
We are fearsome pirates from the West Blue, and our captain has a bounty of 24 million!
Don't even think about resisting!!!
As the pirates spoke, a dozen guns were pointed at the busy Crocus.
Looking at the dark gun barrels all around, Crocus let out a long sigh.
"I've seen plenty of pirates, but a pirate who talks this much nonsense is quite rare, hehe..."
As he spoke, Crocus waved his hand dismissively.
"Take whatever you want. I'm just an old man. As long as you don't kill me, you can do whatever you want."
As soon as he finished speaking, Crocus, with a nonchalant expression and the muzzle of his gun, walked listlessly toward the door of the forge.
But in the end, he was stopped by the group of pirates.
"Old man, you seem to have said something amiss just now?"
Hmph, damn it! Grab a rope and tie yourself up!
Don't worry, we are excellent pirates from the West Blue. We won't kill you; at most, we'll starve you for a few days!
"You reckless old fool, don't you understand the meaning of 'trouble comes from the mouth'... C... uh... ah..."
Bang!
The pirate who was speaking suddenly staggered and fell to the ground. Only after he fell did Crocus's figure slowly appear near him.
Crocus frowned as he lightly shook his fist.
"A bunch of brats who don't know how to respect their elders. I won't kill you since you didn't try to kill me."
However, asking me to tie myself up with a rope is just too humiliating!
As soon as he finished speaking, Crocus raised an eyebrow and immediately turned his gaze to the other pirates around him.
Faced with Crocus's calm and collected gaze, the remaining dozen or so pirates around them were completely dumbfounded.
"The boatswain was incapacitated in an instant!"
"Who is this person? How can they be so strong?"
"Get him, he's only one... Ugh!!!"
Crocus's aged figure flickered repeatedly, and the sounds of fists colliding with flesh rang out one after another.
Not long after, on the beach.
Captain Ravindi, with a bounty of 24 million, was found completely bewildered and tied up next to the lighthouse.
Looking at the expressionless Crocus, Ravindi felt like he was living life the wrong way.
Perhaps he shouldn't have chosen the path of piracy in the first place!
Although it's not easy to get by in the West Blue's underworld, with his abilities, if he doesn't harbor any ambitions of independence, he could at least get a minor leadership position.
Now that he's the captain of a pirate crew, he's almost out of yellow pants!!!
Crocus, pursing his lips, squatted down next to Ravindi.
Crocus patted Ravindi's face lightly and said unhappily.
"Since you never intended to kill me in the first place, I'll give you some advice."
This is the Grand Line, the Qidian of the ultimate destination for pirates, a place that has broken away from the Four Blues system!
Calm seas like the Four Blues cannot breed true monsters, but the Grand Line is different!
This vast ocean could harbor monsters at any moment!!!
"I understand, I get it, I know!!!"
Ravindi nodded eagerly as Crocus explained.
"Senior, I really meant no harm. It was all my crew's own decision!"
I'm not as foolish as them. If I saw you alone on the island, I would kneel down before you!
This is a must-pass place on the Grand Line; every pirate passes through here!
If you didn't possess monstrous strength, how could you live so comfortably here? The fact that you can live so easily here means that for countless years, no pirate who just entered the Grand Line has been a problem for you!!!
Waaah, my crew is so stupid, they have no brains at all.
Senior, please have mercy on me, senior!!!
I'd do anything for you, like a slave!
Ravindi was really crying; how could his men be so stupid!
If he hadn't been in a hurry to change his pants, he would never have allowed such a thing to happen!
Lacking strength is nothing; there are so many people without strength on the high seas, and many of them live very well.
But those who lack foresight will definitely die earlier than others!
Listening to Ravindi's cries, Crocus shook his head dismissively.
"Sigh, have all pirates turned into crybabies like you these days?"
In recent years, the guys I've met have been either brainless idiots or clever cowards; I've almost forgotten how to write the word "heroic."
Fortunately, I met a decent kid recently, otherwise, I would have almost given up on the pirate profession!
As he spoke, Crocus raised his foot and swung it, Supreme Slipper immediately created a gust of wind that severed the Ravindi.
The moment he gained his freedom, Ravindi knelt down before Crocus.
"Thank you for forgiving me, senior! Waaah, you're such a kind person!"
If there's anything I can help you with, please don't hesitate to ask!
"Cut!"
Hearing Ravindi's words, Crocus shook his head dismissively.
"If you really want to help, then leave the wine on your ship with me."
I won't take advantage of you, okay?
Crocus pointed to the timber in the distance.
"Your boat probably needs repairs too, since you just came down from Reverse Mountain."
"Take some of the timber over there, consider it as exchanging wine for my timber!"
After saying that, Crocus strolled aimlessly toward his beach chair, looking bored.
However, after taking only two steps, he seemed to remember something and suddenly turned around.
Behind him, Ravindi was letting out a long breath.
When Crocus turned around, Ravindi nearly choked on his own breath.
Quickly adopting a respectful expression, Ravindi knelt there, waiting reverently for Crocus's instructions.
Crocus spoke softly.
"You were wrong when you called me a monster. I'm still a little short of being a monster!"
Now I'm old, and the gaps are even wider, sigh...
As for you, you're at least somewhat intelligent.
"Let's try to sail as far as possible on the Grand Line from now on!"
After saying that, old man Crocus returned to the blacksmith's shop and resumed his work.
As for those pirates, he had no interest in them.
Around 2 p. m., Crocus came out of the blacksmith's shop.
At this moment, he was carrying a steel bar that was over 80 meters high and 2 meters thick, standing on the edge of Twin Capes.
Crocus waited in silence.
Around this time, the Laboon usually starts...
Sure enough, no sooner had he mentioned Laboon than Cao Cao arrived.
Hey, who's lost?
In short, an incredibly violent tremor occurred on the Twin Capes where Crocus was standing!
Boom! Boom!
The earthquake-like scene terrified the pirates who were repairing their ship. They scrambled to hide in the open space and looked towards Old Man Crocus.
Crocus stood with his back to them, holding the steel pillar in one hand and casually swinging the other.
"Don't worry, it's just a child trying to find his way home!"
Hearing Crocus's explanation, the pirates panicked even more; what he said sounded even more frightening!
Is the child you're talking about the one with the Whitebeard?
Is that a shockwave caused by the Tremor-Tremor Fruit?
In an instant, Crocus's figure grew even taller in the eyes of the pirates.
Meanwhile, the tremors finally stopped after about half an hour.
Then, an enormous whale, at least two kilometers in diameter and about five kilometers in length, slowly rose from the seabed.
Looking at the whale, Crocus waved his hand again.
"Laboon, you disobedient brat, open your mouth."
I'm going in to continue building your house!
Along with Crocus's roar, Laboon let out a long, drawn-out whale cry above the sea.
Immediately afterwards, Laboon opened its huge mouth toward Twin Capes.
On Twin Capes, seeing Laboon obediently open his mouth, Crocus immediately put on his Supreme Slipper, carried the steel bars all the way, and rushed into Laboon's mouth through the seawater.
The pirates standing nearby, dumbfounded, were completely speechless.
"Ship, ship, captain, is this the strongest being on the Grand Line?"
"No, no, I don't know!"
Ravindi quickly waved.
"All I know is, while that old man is inside the whale's belly, we need to get out of here quickly, hurry!!!"
In an instant, the pirates forgot about packing their supplies and rushed onto the ship, which wasn't fully repaired but could still sail, heading towards the Grand Line.
However, without the Eternal Pose, it remains to be seen how far they can travel on this sea.
As the pirates departed, Crocus busied himself inside the whale's belly.
As soon as he entered the whale's stomach, he quickly shouldered the steel beam and rushed towards his designated construction site.
It can be seen that at this moment, more than half of the whale's belly is covered by thick steel beams.
This part is what Crocus painstakingly built over the years.
Now, Crocus carried the new steel beam to the connection point, and he used his fists to weld the steel hammers together!
This scene is remarkably similar to Popeye's action of riveting a warship; it seems illogical, yet it perfectly showcases Crocus's power.
Would Crocus have dared to take on the job of decorating the Island Whale if he didn't have some skill?
Without the King Kong, he couldn't possibly have taken on such a challenging task!
After welding the steel beam in, Crocus looked at the dome with satisfaction. More than 70 percent of the sky above the dome, over 700 meters high, was now covered by the steel beam.
This will make Laboon's body structure more robust.
This also prevents Laboon from being destroyed too early by its constant crashes into the Red Line.
Even so, Laboon's constant crashing into the Red Line is ultimately not a good thing.
Thinking of this, Crocus pursed his lips.
I still need to build a passage to Laboon's heart muscle and install a large sedation device there.
Laboon is now so big that it's really too difficult to inject him with medication from the outside.
His skin is almost thirty meters thick...
Therefore, the only way to sedate Laboon is to work from the inside, especially by directly targeting the heart muscle!
However, there's no rush. Building a new passage will take at least seven or eight months, so Crocus isn't in a hurry.
So he went to the small island at the center of the whale's stomach acid and continued reading the newspaper...
As he watched, time gradually passed, Crocus suddenly felt a little uneasy.
He suddenly sat up and looked down into the whale's esophagus.
Right in Crocus's line of sight, a figure with a full head of white hair suddenly burst out of the whale's esophagus!
As soon as the man showed his head, he waved at Crocus.
"Haha, doctor, long time no see!!!"
"What the hell?!"
Crocus was startled and quickly stood up.
"It's you, Rayleigh?!"