Memory Seahorse, Binks' Sake!

Many years ago, in the warm waters of the West Blue, there was a young Island Whale that had just lost its pod.

It was tiny, only a few meters long, drifting aimlessly through the sea.

Until one day, it heard a sound.

Not the waves, not a school of fish, but joyful singing woven together.

"Yohohoho~ Yohohoho--"

Laboon surfaced and saw a ship flying a skull-and-crossbones flag.

The people aboard played instruments, beat drums, and sang their hearts out.

It quietly followed that ship, for one day, then another.

At last, the people on the ship noticed it.

They were not afraid, nor did they chase it away. Instead, they leaned over the rail and waved at it.

"What a cute little guy! Are you following us?"

"Look! It seems like it's listening to us sing!"

A gentleman with an afro, dressed in formal wear, smiled at it.

"Hoho! Since you love music so much, why not travel with us?"

"Our Rumbar Pirates could use a loyal listener!"

They gave it the name "Laboon."

And so, Laboon found a family.

It followed the Rumbar Pirates' ship across the West Blue, listening to every performance and every joke.

The ship's musician, Brook, would compose bass melodies especially for it.

Captain Yorki would stroke its head and tell it stories of adventure.

Until they arrived here—the foot of the Red Line, the starting point of the Grand Line.

"Laboon, it's dangerous ahead. You can't come in with us." Captain Yorki patted its head.

"Wait for us here, all right? Once we sail around the world, three years... three years at most, we'll come back for you!"

"Then Brook can write you a brand-new march!"

Laboon understood.

It let out a reluctant whimper.

But it obediently stopped before Reverse Mountain.

It watched the small ship carrying all its family surge up the rising current, climb the Red Line, and vanish beyond the clouds.

Then it began to wait.

One year, two years, three years... ten years, more than ten years.

It grew from a tiny Island Whale into a colossal beast.

It learned to hunt and fend off Sea Kings, but it never left these waters.

Every day, it surfaced and looked toward the peak of Reverse Mountain, hoping that familiar skull flag would appear again.

Hope gradually became anxiety, anxiety became stubbornness, and stubbornness eventually turned into anger.

Had they forgotten?

Were they... not coming back?

No! That mountain must have blocked them!

Break it open! If it broke it open, it could see them again!

And so, day after day, year after year.

Laboon rammed that impossible red cliff again and again.

Time returned to the present.

Just as Laboon gathered its strength and prepared for another futile collision—

A figure wreathed in azure flames and trailing golden light.

It tore across the sky above the sea, charging straight for its scar-covered forehead.

Pineapple Shrapnel

Lin Nuo had fully entered his Phoenix Model.

The elegant yet imposing blue giant bird spread its wings and swept them forward.

A torrent of vibrant blue flames poured down.

It blanketed the bleeding impact wound on Laboon's forehead.

The flames seeped into the wound.

The soothing itch made Laboon's body pause just as it was about to exert force.

Lin Nuo hovered before Laboon's enormous eye.

Only at such close range did he truly feel Laboon's immense size.

But compared to the whale in his memories, this one was clearly much "younger," and its wounds were not nearly as gruesome.

Sure enough, the timeline is still early.

Lin Nuo pondered inwardly.

If he could stop it from hurting itself now and establish a connection with it.

The system's four-stage progress should increase quite a bit.

But how could he stop it?

Wake Laboon up with a beating like Luffy did?

Just then, an idea flashed through his mind.

The Rumbar Pirates... they were all musicians and artists... Laboon loved hearing them sing, especially Brook...

Songs, memories.

He immediately took out the Memory Seahorse from the system inventory.

The little creature swished its tail and looked at him with innocent eyes.

"Laboon likes listening to songs, right? I may not have much in my head, but I've got playlists for days!"

Lin Nuo's eyes lit up.

"Just give it the right medicine."

For the first time, he pressed the Memory Seahorse to his forehead.

He tried to selectively extract his memories of the song "Binks' Sake."

The Memory Seahorse glowed blue.

The next instant, an impassioned, festive tune full of firecrackers and erhu sounded out.

"Good fortune comes, wishing you good fortune! Good fortune brings joy and love—"

Lin Nuo: "???"

No, no! Skip the song!

The seahorse flashed again.

"Congratulations on getting rich! Congratulations on your success~ Let the bad things come over, and let the best things go away—"

Cold sweat beaded on Lin Nuo's forehead.

Not this one either!

The seahorse's blue light flickered wildly, then tossed out another tune—it was the ending theme of some anime, Flower of Hope~

Laboon shook its head.

It glanced at Lin Nuo with its huge eye, puzzled by this tiny creature who had stopped it from ramming the mountain.

Please move aside. I need to keep ramming it!

It let out a warning cry and began backing away, preparing to charge again.

"Come on, buddy, work with me here!" Lin Nuo hugged the Memory Seahorse.

"If you pull the wrong one again, we're both getting sent flying by this whale."

The Memory Seahorse shuddered when it heard the words "sent flying."

It pressed tightly against Lin Nuo's forehead, diving deeper and searching more precisely...

Found it!

"This is it!!"

Lin Nuo's spirits lifted.

At that moment, Laboon had already finished gathering strength.

It let out a mournful cry and prepared to rush forward!

Even with the blue flames still on its forehead, it did not care.

Lin Nuo burst forward in his flame-off form, turning into a streak of blue lightning.

He quickly appeared beside Laboon's eye.

He pressed the Memory Seahorse directly against it.

Then—

Ding.

A simple piano note rang inside Laboon's mind.

Ding-dong, ding ding-dong...

Laboon's charging body was as if someone had pressed pause.

[Yohohoho~ Yohohoho, yohohoho, yo-yo, hoho!]

The piano melody unfolded, and strings quietly joined in...

[Bring Binks' sake to your side...]

[Free as the sea breeze, riding the waves...]

Laboon's eye flew wide open.

Then its round eye gradually rippled like water and began to tremble.

Huge tears rolled from Laboon's eye socket, smashing into the sea and splashing up water.

[Across the sea, even the sunset is lively...]

[Birdsong draws circles in the sky...]

Everyone raised their cups, singing "Yohohoho" with it beneath the setting sun...

[We pirates cleave through the waves... skull sails and skull flags flutter in the wind...]

[Endless, aimless, simply singing to our hearts' content...]

[Yohohoho~ Yoho, hoho! Yohohoho, yoho, hoho...]

The final note.

Carrying the warmth of drink and unrestrained freedom, it slowly faded away.

The music ended.

The threads on the seahorse's body snapped.

Lin Nuo returned to human form, put away the Memory Seahorse, and stood beside Laboon's eye.

"Laboon, listen! The Rumbar Pirates didn't forget you! Their musician, Brook, is still alive somewhere in this world!"

"It's just that something happened to them on the Grand Line. They lost their way for now and can't return."

Laboon's enormous eye suddenly focused on Lin Nuo.

"I promise you," Lin Nuo said solemnly, word by word.

"Once I've gained a foothold on the Grand Line and built my own power, I'll find the Rumbar Pirates' survivors, find Brook and his ship!"

"I'll bring them back here and have them perform Binks' Sake live for you again!"

"So don't ram it anymore."

"Live well, stay healthy, and wait for us to return. This is a new promise."

Laboon looked at the human before it, with black wings on his back and determination in his eyes.

Slowly, slowly, it opened its enormous mouth.

It let out a long, deep whale cry.

"Woooooo——"

The song pierced the sea surface and echoed between the rock walls of the Red Line.

In the distance, everyone aboard the Quest for Knowledge and the White Shell held their breath as they watched.

Stunned, speechless.

Stockton hurriedly recorded everything in the notebook he carried with him.

Laboon gave Lin Nuo one last deep look.

Then it slowly sank, stirring up a massive whirlpool.

Finally, it vanished beneath the sea.

Lin Nuo let out a long breath.

"Done!"

"But I really will have to find Brook someday. I already made the promise," he thought. "And the ship really does need a musician right now."

"Brook and Uta would both be suitable candidates."

"Too bad one is still a ghost in the Florian Triangle, while the other hasn't even been born yet."

"Forget it. I'll think about that later."

He turned and looked toward Reverse Mountain and the Twin Cape lighthouse, now clearly visible.

"The interlude is over. Time to handle the real business."

"Whiskey Peak, the Grand Line, Poneglyph rubbings... I'm here!"

He spread his wings and flew back toward the White Shell.

Meanwhile, atop the tall lighthouse at Twin Cape.

A sturdy middle-aged man wearing glasses, with a hairstyle like cactus petals, lowered the newspaper in his hands.

He had witnessed the entire scene: that stubborn, foolish whale stopped ramming the mountain, communicated with a flying human, and then sank into the sea.

He stroked his chin.

"Using flames to heal wounds, music to soothe the soul, and making such a promise..."

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Crocus's mouth.

"A Lunarian, a Phoenix ability user."

"Interesting."

"Looks like the lighthouse won't be too boring for a while."

He picked up the teacup from the small table beside him and took a light sip, his gaze returning to the direction of Lin Nuo's ship.

His eyes were filled with scrutiny and anticipation.