Everyone was completely baffled by Luffy's nonsensical antics.
"What the hell? Is that kid trying to experience the joy of mountain climbing or something?" Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke.
That familiar straw hat skull flag. "But why does that mast look so familiar?" Zoro glanced up at the mast.
"That idiot!" Nami's face gradually turned extremely ugly.
"Don't wreck the ship!" Usopp, who cherished the Merry the most, was so angry that tears streamed down his face.
After climbing to the top of Laboon's head, Luffy spotted a fresh wound still gushing blood. He grinned widely and shouted, "Gum-Gum..."
Then he raised the ship's mast he was hugging high into the air.
"Flower Arrangement!" The mast was forcefully jammed into that fresh, bloody wound, causing blood to spray everywhere.
!!!!
In that moment, time seemed to freeze.
Laboon froze for a second, then his pupils contracted as he let out an enraged roar. His massive head swung back and forth, and with a powerful thrust, he slammed headlong into the Red Line, taking the "little ant" on his head with him.
BOOM!!
With a earth-shaking explosion, the ground trembled, mountains shook, and waves surged.
"You bastard! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Crocus roared in fury, while Zoro and the others hurriedly held on.
"This guy isn't trying to get revenge for that VIP seat, is he?" Sherlock mused to himself while steadying his footing. The commotion from this giant was truly extraordinary.
As a Gum-Gum Fruit user, Luffy had no fear of Laboon's overwhelming, mountain-toppling power. The man and the whale traded blows back and forth, shaking the heavens and earth in an intense battle that left all the spectators sweating in awe.
"What on earth is he trying to do?"
Luffy was sent flying once more, crashing into a massive crater. Just as Laboon was about to finish him off, he heard the straw hat kid shout, "We're even now!!!"
Laboon froze, unsure what this straw-hatted human meant.
"I'm pretty strong, huh!" Luffy grinned. "We couldn't settle who's better, so we gotta fight again."
"Your companions are all dead, but I'm your opponent." Everyone's expressions shifted slightly; they seemed to understand Luffy's goal now.
"After we sail around the Grand Line once, we'll come back to see you."
At that moment, Laboon's enormous whale eyes were brimming with hot tears.
"When that time comes, let's fight again!!" Luffy declared loudly.
"AROO AROO AROO AROO..." Laboon threw his head back and let out a long roar that echoed through the entire Twin Capes as always. But this time, the roar was no longer filled with sorrow or despair—it was brimming with joy and hope.
"Laboon... Straw Hat kid..." Crocus was deeply moved.
"Tch, that kid's always messing around." Watching their captain, Nami and the others shared a knowing smile.
"Is this still the same unreliable idiot captain who does everything half-assed?" Sherlock's gaze toward Luffy was filled with surprise. He never imagined that the straw hat kid's seemingly senseless actions were actually to save this whale.
Sherlock pushed up his glasses, glancing at the large tears rolling down Laboon's face, then at the straw-hatted Luffy surrounded by his crew and grinning like an idiot. Sherlock's expression grew complicated.
He might be unreliable and a total troublemaker, but he always manages to create miracles in the crucial moments!
"Just how many more miracles can you pull off, Monkey D. Luffy?"
Then, Sherlock made a decision in his heart—a decision that seemed utterly insane to him.
"I must be an absolute fool!" Sherlock closed his eyes, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
Afterward, Luffy used Mr. Flower's paint to draw a bizarrely quirky emblem of the Straw Hat Pirates on Laboon's forehead.
"Alright, done!" Luffy nodded in satisfaction at his masterpiece, then said seriously to Laboon, "You can't erase our mark before we come back, okay? This is our promise!"
"AROO AROO" Laboon floated on the sea surface, letting out a joyful long cry.
Nami sat at the stone table, spreading out the Grand Line chart she'd stolen from Buggy the Clown, and began planning their next sailing route.
On the Merry.
Sanji opened the storage room and pulled out the elephant tuna he'd won in Loguetown. His exposed right eye sparkled with pink hearts: "My love-filled cooking—Nami-san is gonna love it!" Then the lovestruck chef tossed away his cigarette and got to work with gusto.
"Jeez, Luffy's always causing chaos!" The long-nosed one muttered with a mouth full of nails and a face full of resentment as he repaired the ship's mast. Then he stood up and yelled toward the back: "Hey! Zoro, get over here and help!"
Zoro lay on the deck without lifting his head: "But I don't know how to fix ships. You got this!" The green-haired swordsman yawned and promptly fell fast asleep, leaving Usopp utterly exasperated.
Sherlock was chatting idly with Crocus about everything under the sun. The old man and the young one were getting along surprisingly well. Perhaps because Laboon's issue was resolved, the old flower geezer was in a great mood and unusually talkative, sharing a ton of intelligence about the Grand Line with Sherlock.
And as their conversation delved deeper, Sherlock grew secretly alarmed—this old man guarding Twin Capes knew far too much, and in far too much detail.
"Ah!!!" A piercing scream echoed from afar; it was the voice of the orange-haired beauty navigator from the Straw Hat crew. Sherlock and Crocus exchanged a glance and hurried over.
Nami stared in horror at the compass on her wrist, which was spinning wildly. "How can this be? The compass is broken!"
"No, no, no—it's just that compasses like that don't work on the Grand Line." Sherlock walked over and said calmly to Nami, "Looks like you guys came here knowing absolutely nothing. You're really reckless—are you here to throw your lives away?"
Nami looked at Sherlock. Behind his glasses, his dark eyes were calm, but she couldn't shake the feeling that his gaze was saying: You're just as much of an idiot as your captain, huh, navigator?
"Damn it..." The incompetent navigator felt a wave of self-reproach, her fair cheeks flushing red.
Seeing that Nami knew nothing about the Grand Line, Crocus patiently explained: "I've already told you—none of your common sense applies here. That compass isn't broken..."
A delicious aroma wafted over. Sherlock's expression changed; he looked around and spotted Luffy sitting at the table, chowing down like there was no tomorrow. The table in front of him was piled high with gourmet dishes meticulously prepared by the curly-browed chef—fragrant and incredibly tempting.
"Elephant tuna?!" A spark lit in Sherlock's eyes. This was a rare delicacy! He quickly walked over. After all, frequently using his Devil Fruit abilities in Loguetown had left him starving.
"Yo, Charlotte." Luffy mumbled through a full mouth, greeting Sherlock. He wiped his lips: "Try this—the nose is super tasty!"
"Ah, thank you so much." Sherlock didn't bother correcting Luffy's mispronunciation of his name and eagerly picked up his knife and fork, digging in with relish.
What a dreamy flavor!
Swallowing the fish in his mouth, Sherlock marveled at Sanji's skill while savoring the elephant tuna's exquisite taste. His movements remained as elegant as ever, though his pace gradually quickened.
Luffy's face was smeared with grease. He turned to Sherlock, tilting his head at the man's eating speed, which rivaled his own.
(Is Charlotte trying to compete with me on who can eat more? Heh heh, I won't lose!)
The captain with the wild imagination wore an expression like he'd met his match, his eyes blazing with competitive fire as he too began devouring his food.
On the other side, Sanji, Usopp, and Nami were still earnestly listening to Crocus's explanation, completely unaware that tonight's dinner was vanishing at an alarming rate.
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