"Am I dreaming?"
Nami murmured, eyes teary as she clutched Shano's arm tightly. "Bro, I'm still alive, right? This isn't something you only see after going to heaven, is it?"
But how could there be a whole other world inside a whale's belly? That just didn't make sense!
"Here, look carefully..."
Shano pointed toward the ceiling, explaining to the crew, "That up there is a semicircular dome. The blue sky and white clouds—those are fake, painted on."
Everyone followed his gesture and looked up.
Sure enough, though the sky and clouds looked very real at first glance, the clouds didn't move. On closer inspection, there were even visible ink wrinkles in some places.
"Then what about this ocean?"
Kuina spread her arms, confused. "There's no way such a huge body of water is painted too, right?"
"It's stomach acid."
A calm voice came from the side.
Everyone turned their heads—
Just in time to see a small dinghy slowly floating past on their left. An old man aboard glanced at them expressionlessly.
His hair resembled flower petals, and he wore a gaudy tropical shirt. Slung over his shoulder was a giant syringe, thicker and taller than a person...
"Be careful not to fall in," the old man said. "Normal people can't last long in there. They'll get corroded and turn into skeletons."
"Hey, old man!"
Nami hurriedly called out, "Don't leave just yet! We're still inside that whale's stomach, right? But how did it end up like this in here? And how do we get out?!"
"So rude."
The old man stopped his dinghy and frowned at her. "Who raised this kid? Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking for someone else's name?"
"You're not wrong. Sorry." Nami scratched her head awkwardly. "I'm Na—"
"I'm Crocus, lighthouse keeper of Twin Cape. Sixty-seven years old. Blood type AB. Gemini," the old man said calmly.
"You're the rude one!!"
Veins popped on Nami's forehead as she roared, baring her sharp teeth. "At least let me finish my sentence, you damn old man! Want me to burn off that feather-duster hair of yours?!"
Fwoosh!
As soon as she flared up, her orange hair exploded into a ball of flame, crackling as it burned.
"Hm? A Devil Fruit user?"
Crocus raised an eyebrow in slight surprise. "You shouldn't use power like that carelessly. People could die."
"Die?"
Nami froze, instinctively retracting her flames. "It has side effects?"
"I meant I could die," Crocus pointed to himself.
"Oh, you're the one in danger!" Everyone burst out laughing.
"Hey, old man."
Nami had had enough and said irritably, "As the lighthouse keeper here, do you talk like that to everyone? There must be a bunch of bad-tempered pirates passing through. Surviving this long without getting killed is honestly impressive!"
"Ordinary pirates are no big deal."
Crocus glanced at Shano. "But you guys… I am a little afraid. After all, not even in the Grand Line have I seen a pirate worth 180 million berries before they even enter. In decades, you're the first."
"Pirate? We're not pirates—we're an adventure crew!"
Nami corrected him first, then followed Crocus's gaze toward Shano. Her face lit up with pride and she giggled. "Bro, did you hear that? Your reputation is really something now—scaring even old-timers in the Grand Line!"
"He's just talking nonsense."
Leaning on the railing, Shano gazed at Crocus with interest.
"Someone like him—an old legend who's lived through countless big events—isn't scared of the likes of me... Speaking of which, doesn't his introduction sound kind of familiar? Roger's ship doctor from back in the day had the same name."
Roger?
This old man, dressed in a beach shirt and sandals, who didn't look the least bit remarkable—he was actually the doctor on the Pirate King's ship?!
Everyone froze—then erupted in shocked cries:
"Ehhhhh?!"
"Even an unremarkable old fossil like me still gets recognized?"
Crocus looked at Shano with genuine surprise. "After all these years, none of those so-called successors to Roger's will have ever recognized me. Oh, well—there were two brats, but they were old acquaintances, so they don't count..."
He looked up at the white flag fluttering atop the mast. "Earlier you said you were adventurers, not pirates? Now I believe you."
Boom!
A deep, mountainous impact shook the area from outside again.
Along with a pained cry, the wind suddenly howled through the dome interior, and waves surged violently.
"Almost forgot the real job here."
Crocus shook his head and pointed to the giant syringe slung over his shoulder. "Follow me. I'll explain everything while I work."
...
Click—
The massive syringe pierced into the pink stomach lining. Once the tranquilizer was fully injected, the rampaging Laboon gradually quieted down.
The once-raging tides inside the stomach also calmed.
"...So, ever since then, he's been crying toward Reverse Mountain, ramming the Red Line again and again. I've tried to talk him down many times, but Laboon just refuses to accept reality."
Crocus set down the now-empty syringe and calmly finished his explanation.
"...Ugh... No wonder he's got so many scars on his head. He's been smashing into the wall all this time... It's all because he wants to see his friends again..."
The three girls—always quick to cry—were already on the verge of tears. Even Zeff had retreated to a corner, lighting a cigarette and staring somberly at the fake sky above.
"Gin..."
Nami hugged the silver wolf's leg, heartbroken. "If we're ever forced to part ways in the future, would you stay at Reverse Mountain too and bash your head into the Red Line? If that day ever comes, promise me—don't be so dumb, okay?"
"Awwooo~!" Gin rolled his eyes.
The dumb one here is you, okay?
Look at my size—I could just hitch a ride on a ship and be done with it!
"..."
Shano stood silently, deep in thought. He had cried over this years ago, so this time he only felt a bit of sorrow before quickly composing himself.
Rubbing his chin, he pondered over something Crocus said.
Back when he read the manga, he hadn't noticed it—but now, a certain detail suddenly clicked.
"Hey, old man."
Shano couldn't hold back and asked, "Are you saying Laboon was originally just peacefully waiting under Reverse Mountain, and only started ramming into the Red Line after you told him the Rumbar Pirates had abandoned him and left the Grand Line?"
"That's right."
Crocus sighed. "It's true that the Grand Line is a terrifying place. Every year, many pirates are scared off. But humans are such creatures—they can be cowardly, betray others, forget promises. Many times, they're not even as loyal as a whale..."
"But what if I told you, the Rumbar Pirates didn't abandon it?"
Shano shrugged. "Then isn't it all your fault that Laboon ended up like this because you misled it?"
"...?"
Crocus was stunned, then said decisively, "Impossible! I personally went to investigate back then and confirmed it through many sources. Several people saw the Rumbar Pirates' ship escaping from the Calm Belt."
"But you didn't see it with your own eyes, did you?"
Shano frowned. "And didn't you ever think—if the Rumbar Pirates really gave up on sailing the Grand Line because they were scared, breaking their promise just to flee—then why would they dare go through the Calm Belt?"
"That pirate crew made up of musicians dreamed of doing a concert tour all around the world, to make every crying child smile again. They didn't have any particularly strong fighters, right? Taking a whole ship full of people through the Calm Belt—that's suicide, isn't it?"
"..."
Crocus froze on the spot, his pupils suddenly shrinking.
He suddenly realized—he had never actually thought about this before.
Before being invited onto Roger's ship, he was already a skilled doctor and powerful fighter.
After accompanying Roger around the world, he had witnessed countless top-tier warriors and world-shaking events.
His worldview had expanded so much that he had become numb to many things.
Naturally, he no longer considered crossing the Calm Belt a big deal.
But...
Just as Shano had said.
If the Rumbar Pirates, who hadn't even entered the New World, had really fled Paradise because of fear—then where would they have found the strength and courage to try something even more dangerous like the Calm Belt?
"This... What's going on? Of all the people who said they saw the Rumbar Pirates leave, most I can dismiss, but one of them was an old friend I trust..."
"The Rumbar Pirates' ship did enter the Calm Belt,"
Shano shook his head and said softly, "But that's because Captain Yorki and a small number of others were infected by a plague. Yorki didn't want to burden his crew, so he handed over command to the first mate, Brook, and had them continue chasing their dream on a new ship. He himself stayed behind on the old ship, letting it drift into the Calm Belt, leaving his fate to it."
"Then what happened to the people on the new ship?"
"They all died. They were attacked in the Florian Triangle and wiped out. But Brook had eaten the Revive-Revive Fruit—you know that—so he's still alive in skeletal form. But for some special reason, he's trapped in that sea area."
Everyone nearby was listening intently, completely absorbed.
Kuina finally couldn't hold back and quietly poked Shano's waist. "Captain, how do you know all this stuff?"
"Remember I mentioned it before? That newly named Yonko, Red-Haired Shanks, and I have some old connections."
Shano replied casually. He figured that he could use this as an excuse in the future for things hard to explain. "When we were drinking in Goa Kingdom, he told me."
Oh, that makes sense. No wonder Captain seemed to already know Laboon's story earlier—Kuina suddenly understood.
On the other side—
Clink!
After hearing Shano's explanation, Crocus dropped the empty syringe in his hand.
He staggered back a few steps, his face instantly turning pale.
"It all makes sense... Now it all makes sense...!"
"So that's it... That's how it was!"
He remembered that sunset day when those musicians solemnly entrusted Laboon to him.
Crocus's eyes turned red, and tears started rolling down his face. He began slapping himself hard—
"I wronged Yorki and Brook! I'm such an idiot! A fool! A complete moron who never thought deeper, who never went to check the ship personally—and because of that... Wait, no—Laboon, Laboon...!"
"Hey—Laboon!!!!"
The old man's face suddenly changed, and he looked up in terror, using all his strength to shout desperately:
"Did you hear what we said? Don't do this! Please, stop! I'm begging you—stop!"
Woooooooo—
A long, mournful whale cry rang out outside. The entire stomach space violently trembled. Cracks began forming in the artificial blue sky above.
"What the—" Nami had just shouted when the rocking waves flung her off her feet. She slammed into the mast and grabbed on tightly to avoid falling into the stomach acid sea.
"It's trying to kill itself!" Crocus wailed, screaming with all his might. "Laboon has finally accepted the truth, that its companions are dead! It's giving up on climbing over the Red Line! It's going to crash itself to death on Reverse Mountain!"
"But didn't my brother just say Brook is still alive?!"
Nami shouted angrily, quickly cupping her hands around her mouth to form a megaphone and yelling,
"Laboon! Can you hear me?! You didn't catch the end of the story just now! That one crewmate you were closest to—Brook—is still in the Grand Line! We can take you to find him! Don't do this, you big dummy, do you hear me!!!"
She yelled with all her might, but it was like throwing a stone into the sea—there was no response.
Laboon continued ramming into Reverse Mountain in a suicidal frenzy.
Inside the stomach space, the shaking grew more and more violent.
The fake sky above had completely collapsed, revealing layers of pink flesh walls. Massive chunks of rock came crashing down—like the end of the world.
"Go!"
Crocus suddenly stood up shakily and stumbled toward the control valve at the exit. He twisted it open with all his strength—
"Hurry! The tranquilizer effect was still working earlier, so Laboon could hear us. But now it's too noisy inside—the sound can't reach its ears. We need to get outside immediately and stop it!"
"Can we still make it?!"
Nami quickly steered the Sunset Mark toward the now-open iron gate. But at this speed... She bit her lip hard, terrified—scared that when they finally got out to sea, all they'd find would be scattered blood and the corpse of a massive island whale.
But just then...
"Yohohoho... Yohohoho~"
"Yohohoho... Yohohoho~"
A cheerful and familiar melody suddenly rang out, making everyone freeze.
"This is...?!"
Crocus also turned his head sharply, tears still on his face.
The song drifted from somewhere, growing louder and louder. Soon it was echoing up to the sky, resounding through the entire space beneath the dome. Even the rolling stomach acid sea rippled from its vibrations—
"Yohohoho... Yohohoho~"
"Yohohoho... Yohohoho~"