Crocus and Laboon

"Too fast! Too fast!" After crossing the summit of Reverse Mountain, the Skybreaker hurtled down the waterway at tremendous speed.

The two girls clung to each other, nearly in tears.

As they passed through the clouds, Lott looked ahead but saw no sign of that "wall." The Skybreaker reached the waters off Twin Cape without any trouble.

Just as everyone was about to celebrate surviving the ordeal, an elderly voice rang out amid the spray:

"Hey, hey, didn't you see an old man sunbathing here?"

The spray cleared, and only then did they see a flower-like old man sitting in a deck chair on the shore.

The spray thrown up by the Skybreaker had soaked him from head to toe, leaving him quite bedraggled.

Lott raised an eyebrow and couldn't help muttering inwardly, So we ran into him after all?

This old man who looked like a flower was naturally Crocus, the lighthouse keeper of Twin Cape.

"S-sorry." Ling'er hurriedly bowed to Crocus in apology.

"Brats, did you think an apology would settle this?" Crocus glanced at Lott and the others aboard the Skybreaker.

"Then what do you have in mind, old man?" Lott's voice sounded beside Crocus's ear.

After hearing the old man's words, Lott had used Electromagnetic Instantaneous Movement to appear beside Crocus.

The old man's pupils contracted slightly, and he was secretly startled. Teleportation? What incredible speed!

After all, he had spent several years as the Ship Doctor aboard Pirate King Roger's ship and had naturally witnessed plenty of major events, so his expression barely changed.

His tone remained calm. "Hey, hey, don't get so close. Someone could die."

Hearing Crocus's words, Zoro rested his hand on Wado Ichimonji's hilt, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. "Oh? Who would die?"

Ling'er and Nami also took up fighting stances.

The old man stared at Zoro and answered, "Me!"

"Oh, so you'd die... Ah... Ah... Kuro, let go of me! I'm going to cut him down!"

If Kuro hadn't grabbed Zoro by the collar, Zoro would definitely have charged over and chopped Crocus into chunks.

The old man's gaze passed over the faces of everyone aboard the Skybreaker. He said nothing more, instead taking off his clothes, which had begun dripping, right in front of them.

"Hey! You perverted old man! Don't undress in front of beautiful women!"

Ling'er and Nami both covered their eyes and ran into the cabin.

The old man wrung out his soaking clothes and put them back on, then said to Lott beside him, "So you're Lott, the pirate who's been making waves lately, right?"

Lott made no attempt to hide it and nodded. "I didn't expect my reputation to have reached this place."

The old man turned and stared at Lott for quite a while.

His stare gave Lott goosebumps all over, and he quickly stepped back. This old man doesn't have that sort of peculiar taste, does he?

The thought sent a chill of revulsion through him.

"Haha, Lott, my boy, there aren't many people in this world who dare attack the Celestial Dragons' ships outright. You're one of those few. If that doesn't count as famous, what does?"

He paused, then continued, "Besides, Lott, you don't look like the utterly wicked man the reports made you out to be."

Lott shuffled back again, keeping a safe distance from this perverted old man. Only then did he let out a breath. "Aren't the Navy's reports always like that?"

Crocus smoothed the creases in his clothes. "You've got a point."

Meanwhile, Kuro and the others also came ashore.

Snap!

Ling'er snapped her fingers, and several little flames landed on everyone's clothes, drying them in an instant.

Only then did Crocus take a close look at Lott's group. He spoke with some admiration. "Lott, my boy, these companions of yours are no ordinary people."

Ooooooh!

Just then, an enormous whale call rang out.

"Laboon! Is it starting again?" With that, Crocus leaped into the sea.

"What's that?" Nami pointed at the enormous creature that had appeared by the shore.

"That's a whale?" Kuro looked in disbelief at the creature before him, its head covered in scars.

Lott nodded. "It's an Island Whale. Supposedly, they can grow as big as an island once they're adults."

Ling'er's eyes went wide. "That huge? Oh, right! That old man just jumped into the sea. Will he be in danger?"

No sooner had she finished than Nami pointed at the giant creature, her voice trembling slightly. "Look! That old man is on the whale's mouth."

Lott looked up. "Don't worry. The old man will be fine."

Before anyone could react, however, the whale rammed its head straight into the Red Line.

Boom!

Water instantly sprayed everywhere, and even the ground beneath their feet shook.

What is he trying to do? A question immediately drifted through everyone's minds.

Lott naturally knew the reason, and he also knew Crocus could calm Laboon down.

Sure enough, the whale soon settled down, and Crocus came back ashore.

"Hey, old man! What was that? Why was it ramming the Red Line?" Looking at the old man before her, Ling'er couldn't help asking.

"So that's what happened. What a poor whale." After hearing Crocus's account, Ling'er wiped away the tears that had slipped from the corners of her eyes, feeling rather moved.

Nami also spoke up. "Have you never thought about looking for the Rumbar Pirates?"

Crocus shook his head. "I did. I couldn't find them. There wasn't even any news of them."

Kuro pushed up his glasses. "It's been fifty years. If they were still in these waters, there couldn't possibly be no news at all. So is it possible they're no longer in these waters?"

Zoro took a sip of liquor and said, "Could they have left the Grand Line and returned to the Four Blues?"

Kuro shook his head. "From old man Crocus's description, those people wouldn't abandon a companion. So either the Navy captured them, or they sank into the sea."

Crocus tore off a piece of fish and shook his head. "Those are probably the two possibilities."

"Then haven't you told Laboon?" Nami was a little puzzled. Logically, Laboon should have been able to understand and shouldn't have been hurting himself like this.

Crocus looked up at the sky and slowly sighed. "Sigh... It doesn't do much good. Laboon still thinks this Red Line is what's stopping him from meeting the Rumbar Pirates again."

Nami turned to Lott beside her, her eyes visibly red. "Lott, Laboon is so pitiful. Please help him."

In Nami's eyes, there was nothing Lott couldn't do.

Lott gently stroked Nami's head. "Of course!"

Lott slowly flew above Laboon's head, reached out, and sent a prepared electromagnetic signal into his head. Then he tossed a Senzu Bean into Laboon's mouth.

The Lott Pirates watched what Lott did, then lowered their heads again to enjoy the all-fish feast Ling'er had prepared.

After seeing that Laboon showed no signs of discomfort, Crocus turned back to Lott with a puzzled expression.

Just as Lott was about to explain, a table-sized drop of water smashed their dining table to pieces.

Everyone looked up and discovered that it was Laboon's tear. He was sobbing his heart out, his tears crashing down one after another.

A smile curled at the corner of Lott's mouth as he told Laboon, "Don't hurt yourself anymore. Those people will come here within two years at most."

Laboon gave a hum of assent and nodded his enormous head.

Only then did Crocus notice that the scars on Laboon's head had disappeared.

Lott waved to Kuro and the others. "Let's go, everyone. On to our next destination."

With that, Lott used Teleportation to appear aboard the Skybreaker.

Crocus had wanted to thank Lott, only for him to prepare to leave just like that. He hurriedly placed a spherical compass in Nami's hand.

Nami and the others also boarded the ship. Something suddenly occurred to Lott, and he flicked his finger, sending three Senzu Beans streaking into Crocus's hand.

"Old man Crocus, these are Senzu Beans. They can heal any injury, no matter how serious. As long as you have a breath left, you won't die."

Watching the Skybreaker sail away, Crocus murmured, "Lott, could you be the one Roger was waiting for?"