At the foot of Reverse Mountain, Twin Cape.
The enormous Island Whale Laboon stopped ramming the mountain. He floated on the sea, letting out low, mournful calls. Scars crisscrossed his head; some had healed, while others were still bleeding.
The Flame Emperor stopped a hundred meters from Laboon. Even at this distance, they could feel the fierce wind stirred up by his breathing.
"Chopper, get the medical supplies ready," Lin Yan said. "I'm going inside to treat him."
"Inside?" Ace froze. "Inside where?"
"His stomach."
Lin Yan flew toward Laboon using Geppo. When Laboon opened his mouth to breathe again, Lin Yan turned into a streak of fire and darted inside.
The world inside Laboon was larger than he had imagined. It was like a natural cavern, with glowing moss, freshwater lakes, and even the wreckage of several ships-all vessels Laboon had accidentally swallowed over the years.
Lin Yan landed on a relatively dry patch of rock and spread out his Observation Haki.
He soon found his target-Laboon's heart.
It was an enormous heart over ten meters in diameter, its surface covered in black patches: internal injuries and toxins accumulated from years of ramming the mountain. Its heartbeat was heavy and irregular, every beat a struggle.
"You've been through a lot, big guy." Lin Yan pressed his hand against the heart. "I'll help you now."
The Flame of Life flowed from his palm.
Warm golden flames spread along the blood vessels. Wherever they passed, the black patches rapidly dissolved, damaged tissue began to regenerate, and blocked vessels opened up again.
Laboon let out a comfortable call, his entire body trembling slightly.
The treatment lasted ten minutes. By the time Lin Yan withdrew his hand, the heart had returned to a healthy bright red, its beats strong and steady.
[Ding-] [Island Whale Laboon healed] [Obtained: Laboon's friendship (permanent)] [Obtained: Island Whale physique template (complete)] [Effect: vitality +500%, recovery +300%, unlimited time underwater] [Obtained: Whale Song Resonance (allows communication with Sea Kings)]
The system's notification had barely ended when Lin Yan felt an immense consciousness surge into his mind.
It was Laboon's "voice."
"Thank you... human..."
"You're welcome," Lin Yan replied through his mind. "Your friend, Brook, is still alive."
"Brook... really?"
"Really. He's in the Florian Triangle. The Revive-Revive Fruit's power turned him into a skeleton, but his soul is still there. He's waiting for you."
"I want to find him..."
"Not yet," Lin Yan said. "Your body has only just recovered. You need rest. Besides, the waters Brook is in are dangerous. You'd become a target if you went there like this."
Laboon's thoughts turned sorrowful.
"But I can pass on a message for you," Lin Yan said. "When I meet Brook, I'll tell him you're still alive and still waiting for him. I'll tell him to come find you."
"Really?"
"Really. I swear in the name of the D. Clan."
Laboon's mood brightened with delight. "D... you're a D.?"
"You've heard of it?"
"The captain of the Rumbar Pirates also had D. in his name. His name was York D. Rumba. He was a very good man."
York D. Rumba? I don't think that name was mentioned in the original.
Lin Yan noted this information, then said, "I'm heading out. Rest well, and stop ramming the mountain. Your friends will definitely come back."
"Thank you..."
Lin Yan turned into a streak of fire, flew out through Laboon's blowhole, and returned to the Flame Emperor.
On deck, Chopper asked anxiously, "How did it go?"
"He's healed." Lin Yan patted his head. "He won't be in pain anymore."
"That's great!" Chopper cheered.
Just then, a small boat approached from the lighthouse at Twin Cape. A wreath-wearing old man sat aboard, his hair gray but his bearing vigorous.
He was Twin Cape's keeper, Crocus-and also the Roger Pirates' ship's doctor.
"Young man, what did you just do?" Crocus rowed closer, his gaze sharp. "Laboon hasn't been this calm in fifty years."
"I just healed his internal injuries," Lin Yan said. "Mr. Crocus, I've long heard of you."
"You know me?"
"Who doesn't know the Roger Pirates' ship's doctor?"
Crocus's pupils contracted. "Who exactly are you...?"
Lin Yan simply held up his pendant.
The instant Crocus saw it, his body stiffened. Then he began trembling with excitement. "That's... Lady Solar's..."
"You knew my mother?"
"More than knew her!" Crocus leaped aboard the Flame Emperor and grabbed Lin Yan's shoulders. "Over twenty years ago, at God Valley, she saved my life! She was covered in golden flames, fighting three Holy Knights alone..."
As he spoke, tears streamed down his aged face. "We all thought she'd died... I never imagined she'd left a child behind..."
Lin Yan helped him sit down. "Take your time. I want to know everything about my mother."
Crocus steadied his emotions and began:
"Evelyn D. Solar, known as the 'Sun Saintess,' was the last bloodline of the Guardian D Clan. She wielded part of the power of the 'Sun God Nika' and could use the Flame of Life to heal all things."
"During the God Valley Incident, both the Roger Pirates and the Rocks Pirates were there. We witnessed her battle with the Holy Knights-it was truly a battle between gods. The entire island was sunk in the fighting."
"In the end, at the cost of burning her life away, she sealed part of the power of 'Imu,' one of the first Celestial Dragons. But it also left her gravely wounded and near death. Captain Roger was the one who rescued her."
"What happened after that?"
"After that..." Crocus sighed. "She entrusted the newborn you to Roger, saying she had to go somewhere to 'complete her final mission.' No one has seen her since."
Lin Yan fell silent. Was his mother still alive? If she was, where was she?
"Oh, right," Crocus said suddenly. "Before Captain Roger died, he asked me to give you something. He said that if Lady Solar's child ever came looking for me, I should give him this."
He took an iron box from his little boat and opened it.
Inside lay a straw hat and a folded sheet of paper.
The straw hat looked much like the one Shanks had given him, but it was older, with scorch marks around the brim.
The paper bore Roger's handwriting:
[To my child:
If you're reading this letter, it means you've grown up.
I'm sorry your father couldn't be there for you.
But remember: the will of D. is the will of freedom, the will of resistance, and the will to usher in the dawn.
Your mother once wore this straw hat. She said she wanted to leave it to our child.
Now, it's yours.
Go pursue freedom, son.
-Your father, who will always love you, Gol D. Roger]
Lin Yan held the straw hat, silent for a long time.
Ace stood beside him, his eyes reddening too. Though he said he didn't acknowledge Roger, the letter still touched him.
Crocus continued, "Captain Roger also asked me to pass on a message: the truth of Laugh Tale requires the blood of four members of the D. Clan to unlock. He'd already gathered three-his own, Lady Solar's, and... Kozuki Oden's."
"Kozuki Oden?" Lin Yan frowned. "The one from Wano Country?"
"Yes. Oden was also a D. His full name was Kozuki Oden D., Momonosuke's father."
Wait, Momonosuke's father? The original never said Oden had D. in his name.
It seemed this world's setting differed from the original.
"So one more D. is needed?" Ace asked.
"Yes." Crocus looked at Ace. "Captain Roger said the fourth D. would appear twenty years later. Counting the years... that's right now."
Something stirred in Lin Yan's heart. The fourth D... Luffy? Sabo? Or...
"Mr. Crocus." Lin Yan put away the straw hat and the letter. "Thank you for telling me all this. In return, I have some news for you too."
"What news?"
"The Rumbar Pirates' musician, Brook, is still alive."
"What?!" Crocus was stunned. "Impossible! Fifty years ago, they-"
"The Revive-Revive Fruit," Lin Yan said. "Brook ate the Revive-Revive Fruit. After his death, his soul returned to his body, and he became a skeleton. He's drifting through the Florian Triangle now, waiting to fulfill his promise to Laboon."
Crocus stood rooted to the spot before tears streamed down his aged face. "That's wonderful... wonderful... If Captain York knew, he'd be so happy..."
He grabbed Lin Yan's hand. "Please, you must find Brook and tell him Laboon is still waiting for him!"
"I will." Lin Yan nodded. "But right now, we need to head to the Grand Line first."
"Wait." Crocus ran back to his little boat and brought over an Eternal Pose. "Take this. It points to Water 7. There's something you're looking for there."
"What is it?"
"A fragment of the blueprints for the ancient weapon Pluton." Crocus lowered his voice. "Captain Roger didn't take it back then. He left it with Mr. Tom instead. It should be in the hands of Tom's apprentice now."
The Pluton Blueprints... Perfect. I'm going to Water 7 to find CP9 anyway. I'll pick them up while I'm there.
"Thank you."
"No, I'm the one who should be thanking you." Crocus bowed deeply. "Lady Solar's son... please, you must change this world."
The Flame Emperor set sail again, heading toward the entrance to Reverse Mountain.
Crocus stood beneath the lighthouse, watching them leave as he murmured to himself:
"Captain Roger... Lady Solar... your era is finally about to arrive."
The currents at Reverse Mountain began to accelerate. The Flame Emperor was drawn into the ascending waterway and surged toward the summit.
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