The sea breeze at Twin Capes grew gentle, softly brushing against the noisy group on the shore.
The air was thick with the rich aroma of grilled fish. Laboon floated quietly in the nearby waters, occasionally emitting a low, peaceful hum that no longer carried despair, instead resembling a soothing background melody.
On the shore of Twin Capes, Sanji deftly sliced and cooked a massive tuna.
Fat dripped onto the fire, sizzling and crackling, making Luffy circle the grill incessantly, drool nearly dripping from his mouth.
"Meat! Sanji! Is the meat ready yet?"
"Shut up! Three more minutes!" Sanji retorted irritably, yet precisely cut a piece of perfectly grilled, tender belly meat, placed it on a plate, and first handed it to Nami. "Miss Nami~ Please enjoy~"
"Thank you, Sanji-kun." Nami accepted it with a smile, though her gaze kept drifting to the completely malfunctioning compass in her hand, her brow slightly furrowed, her mind not entirely on the delicious tuna before her.
Giyu Tomioka sat quietly on a wooden crate a bit farther away, holding a plate with thick-cut tuna sashimi specially prepared for him by Sanji.
He ate with intense focus, his movements meticulous, as if performing some kind of ritual.
Only his occasionally lifted eyes would sweep over each person present, finally settling on the conspicuous straw hat atop Luffy's head.
Crocus took a sip of alcohol, his eyes flickering with reminiscence as he looked at Luffy's straw hat.
"Kid," he spoke, his voice rough yet carrying a hint of gentleness.
"That straw hat of yours looks a bit familiar."
Luffy, who was eating a large piece of roasted meat, immediately stopped, took off his straw hat, and waved it in his hand, a brilliant smile spreading across his face. "This? Shanks gave it to me! It's really important!"
"Shanks?" Crocus raised an eyebrow. "Red-Haired Shanks?"
"Yeah! Old man! Do you know Shanks!?" Luffy's eyes instantly lit up, and he began excitedly dancing around. "He's a super amazing pirate!!"
Crocus laughed heartily at the sight of this boy getting so worked up over Shanks. "Hahahaha, well, I've been at Twin Capes for many years. When he entered the Grand Line, he naturally passed by here."
Then, looking at the straw hat, he said, "I see. No wonder... That red-haired kid has become quite the big shot now."
"Big shot?" Luffy tilted his head, his mouth full of meat, asking indistinctly.
"Yeah, he's now one of the Four Emperors. On this Grand Line, the four great pirates who rule like emperors—he's one of them." Crocus spoke calmly, yet dropped information far beyond what the Straw Hat crew had encountered so far.
"Four Emperors? Emperors?" Luffy clearly had no concept of the title, simply thinking it sounded impressive. "Shanks really is super amazing!! Hahahahaha!!"
At that moment, Ms. Wednesday, who had been tied up all along, suddenly lifted her head. Beneath her blue hair, her eyes flickered as she cautiously interjected:
"Um... since we're talking about figures like the Four Emperors... I wonder if any of you have heard of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
She deliberately paused, observing Crocus's reaction, then lowered her voice further with a hint of probing.
She asked, "For example... Crocodile? Just how strong is he?"
Crocus glanced at her. "I didn't expect a small-time ruffian from town to be curious about that."
Then he snorted and said, "Warlord? Those are the great pirates currently enlisted by the World Government—they're no ordinary bunch. As for Crocodile... I heard about him many years ago. A Sand-Sand Fruit Ability User, quite a troublemaker back then. But there hasn't been much news of him in recent years, so I'm not too sure how he is now."
Upon hearing the answer, Ms. Wednesday's eyes dimmed slightly. She lowered her head and fell silent, seemingly a bit dejected.
Nami, crossing her arms, spoke sternly to Luffy and the others:
"Did you hear that? Whether it's the Four Emperors or the Warlords, they're all monster-level figures that newcomers like us absolutely must not provoke! If we ever encounter them, we have to stay far away, understand?"
Luffy, however, dug his nose nonchalantly. "What's the big deal? Whether it's some emperor or some warlord, if they block my way, I'll just punch them away!"
Giyu, who had been quietly eating sashimi, suddenly spoke up.
He swallowed the food in his mouth, his voice steady. "If I understand correctly, that person named Crocodile is probably like that Marine in Loguetown—someone who can turn his body into sand."
Giyu looked at Luffy. "Your fists might not easily hit him."
Luffy froze for a moment, a thoughtful expression crossing his face, then he laughed cheerfully. "You're right! But it's fine, I'll figure something out when the time comes! Shishishi!"
Meanwhile, Nami finally couldn't hold back and held up her completely malfunctioning compass, its needle spinning wildly, to Crocus. "Then! What's wrong with this compass? It's been completely useless since earlier!"
Crocus took the compass, glanced at it, and tossed it back to her.
"It seems you really came here without knowing anything. Are you trying to get yourselves killed?"
"Little girl, in the Grand Line, most of the common sense and navigation techniques you learned before will be useless. Because some islands in the Grand Line have high mineral content, which causes magnetic chaos throughout the route."
"And the ocean currents and wind directions are unstable too. You're a navigator, so you should know how terrifying that is, right?"
"Then... how are we supposed to sail?" Nami panicked immediately. If the compass didn't work, it would indeed make their voyage extremely difficult.
"Don't worry." Crocus wiped his mouth. "To sail in the Grand Line, what you need is this." He paused, capturing everyone's attention. "The Log Pose."
"Log Pose?" Nami repeated.
"Correct." Crocus began to explain in detail. "This special compass can record the magnetic force of islands. Each island in the Grand Line has a unique magnetic field. The Log Pose will guide you to the next island after it finishes recording the previous one."
"You must follow the order indicated by the compass, sailing from one island to the next until..." He pointed into the distance. "The final destination the compass points to—Laugh Tale."
"Laugh Tale!" Usopp leaped up excitedly, shouting, "That's where One Piece is! Isn't it?!"
Crocus laughed heartily: "Who knows? No one except the pirate crew led by the Pirate King has ever truly reached that final island. Perhaps it's there."
Luffy pressed down his straw hat, his smile unwavering. "About that... we'll just have to go see for ourselves!!"
Giyu listened to their conversation, a hint of confusion appearing on his face as he murmured softly: "One Piece?"
Usopp immediately leaned in, explaining with exaggerated enthusiasm: "Hey! Giyu, you don't even know about that? It's the world's greatest treasure left behind by Pirate King Gol D. Roger! Whoever obtains it will become the new Pirate King!"
"The Pirate King's... great treasure?" Giyu repeated quietly, still seeming to process the concept.
However, for him, neither wealth nor fame were goals he pursued.
Crocus stood up and walked toward his cabin, returning shortly with a glass sphere-like device containing a pointer, which he handed to Nami. "Here, this Log Pose is for you. Consider it thanks for calming Laboon down, and a gift for newcomers."
Nami held the Log Pose, her eyes sparkling with excitement: "Th-thank you so much!!" She then carefully fastened the Log Pose to her wrist and began examining it. "A Log Pose... I must treasure this properly!"
The festive atmosphere grew lively again. Luffy and Usopp nearly came to blows over the delicious fish, while Sanji scolded them nearby for wasting food.
Zoro had woken up on the ship at some point and joined the fray, apparently searching for any remaining food, while Nami continued admiring her new treasure.
Amidst all this commotion, Giyu Tomioka finished his last piece of sashimi.
He set down his plate, stood up, and walked over to Crocus.
Standing straight with a slight bow, he spoke with a tone of respect: "Mr. Crocus, pardon my interruption. Might I ask if you know whether there exists a country in this Grand Line where many samurai gather?"
Crocus, who had been drinking, looked up in surprise at the stern black-haired, blue-eyed young man before him.
"A nation of samurai? Do you mean... Wano Country?"
Hearing this name, a ripple seemed to pass through Giyu's deep eyes. He nodded: "Yes, this might be my only clue to finding my way back. Do you know anything about it?"
Crocus studied him, his gaze carrying a new sense of scrutiny and curiosity:
"I'm surprised any young person nowadays knows of that place. Wano Country... it's an extremely isolated nation that hardly interacts with the outside world."
"Many years ago, I was fortunate enough to meet a samurai from Wano Country. His name was Kozuki Oden - he was an incredibly powerful man too."
"Kozuki... Oden..."
Giyu repeated the name quietly, his brow furrowing slightly before quickly smoothing again.
In his memory, there was no information about this person. Yet the name felt deeply familiar to him. Wano Country also stirred a sense of familiarity in Giyu, and though he had never heard its epithet, this very familiarity solidified his belief in the feasibility of this path.
"Hmm, a remarkable fellow," Crocus said with nostalgia in his tone, though he revealed no further details about Kozuki Oden's past. "However, Wano Country is located in the latter half of the Grand Line."
Then his voice turned serious as he looked at Giyu, sweeping a glance over the Straw Hat crew roughhousing nearby:
"But having one strong member doesn't represent the entire pirate crew's strength. With your current abilities, reaching Wano Country won't be easy. The dangers of the latter half of the Grand Line far exceed your imagination. You all need to become stronger—much stronger."
At that moment, Luffy ran over to Giyu's side, patting his shoulder while laughing heartily: "Hahahaha, Giyu, you finally got the information you wanted. Don't worry, we'll definitely enter the latter half of the Grand Line."
After saying this, Luffy immediately went searching for any leftover meat at the banquet.
Giyu listened in silence, his expression unchanging, but a sharp glint flashed through his blue eyes.
He asked no further questions, merely engraving the need to grow stronger deeply into his heart.
A vague yet tangible path seemed to faintly illuminate ahead.
"Speaking of which, old man, how do you know so much?"
Sanji looked at Crocus, stroking his chin with suspicion. This saffron-clad old man seemed capable of answering anything, hardly resembling an ordinary lighthouse keeper.
Hearing Sanji's question, Crocus laughed heartily: "Actually, long ago, I served as a ship's doctor for a pirate crew for several years. So I've naturally picked up various bits of information from the seas."
"Ship's doctor!!!" Luffy's eyes immediately sparkled upon hearing this. He stretched out his arm and rushed before Crocus: "Old man! Our ship still needs a doctor! Come be our ship's doctor!!"
Just then, Usopp nearby raised his slingshot, eyeing a black-feathered vulture in the sky. "Come to think of it, this guy's been hanging around here for a while. How strange."
Then he squinted while aiming at the vulture. "Special Attack! Super Rotten Egg!!" He rapidly fired a rotten egg from his slingshot, splattering egg liquid all over the vulture.
"Hahahahaha! The great Captain Usopp never misses! Watch this, again!"
"Super Special Attack! Rotten Egg Barrage!"
Saying this, Usopp loaded several more rotten eggs into his slingshot, aiming at the sky and firing them in succession. As each rotten egg struck the vulture, it grew increasingly disheveled, its figure shrinking into the distance as it flew away.
Watching Usopp's slingshot antics, Crocus chuckled: "Your fighting style is... quite interesting indeed."
Then he turned to Luffy, then to Laboon: "Don't talk nonsense. I'm not like you—I no longer have the energy for reckless adventures. Besides, right now, I need to stay here and wait with Laboon for you to complete your journey around the Grand Line and return here. Hahahaha!"
Luffy scratched his head, then grinned and said, "Oh, I see. Alright then." He began pacing along the shore, muttering "doctor, doctor, doctor" under his breath.
As Luffy passed by them, the tied-up Mr.9 and Ms. Wednesday seized the opportunity and began pleading loudly.
"O... oh mighty pirate gentlemen! And the beautiful lady!" Mr.9 forced a pitiful expression, "We truly admit our mistake! We're not bad people, just ordinary residents of Whiskey Peak!"
Ms. Wednesday chimed in with perfect acting, her voice trembling with fake tears: "Yes, yes! Our town has been facing severe food shortages recently, everyone's struggling to survive!"
"We had no choice but to... to get some meat to save our town! Please, let us go! We promise we'll never do it again!"
After hearing this, Luffy slapped his fist into his palm as if suddenly understanding: "So that's how it is! You should've said so earlier! Sanji, untie them!!"
"Hey! Luffy!" Usopp immediately objected, "Don't trust them so easily! What if they're actually bad people!"
Luffy put his hands on his hips and declared confidently:
"They don't really seem like bad people! And," he grinned, showing his white teeth while cracking his knuckles, "if they really are bad, I'll just punch them when they try anything!"
Eventually, at Luffy's insistence, Mr.9 and Ms. Wednesday were freed from their ropes.
"We'll definitely repay your great kindness when we return to town!!!"
The two expressed endless gratitude, though their lowered eyes quickly exchanged a glance of successful deception.
After everyone had eaten their fill, it was time to depart. The Straw Hat crew along with Mr.9 and Ms. Wednesday returned to the Merry.
"Well, thanks for everything, old man!"
Luffy stood at the newly repaired ship's bow, waving vigorously at Crocus on the shore. "Take care, Laboon!" Usopp shouted at the massive Island Whale.
Laboon let out a long, peaceful cry, as if in response.
Crocus stood beneath the lighthouse, watching these energetic young people, a faint smile appearing on his face: "Go on! The sea is vast!"
The Merry's sails filled with wind as it slowly departed from Twin Capes, heading toward the first destination indicated by the Log Pose - Whiskey Peak.
As the ship gradually moved away, the massive figures of Twin Capes and Laboon slowly shrank in everyone's view.
...
Meanwhile, somewhere in distant Alabasta.
Dry, scorching wind blew through a dim room where the sound of a Den Den Mushi ringing could be heard.
A hand adorned with a gemstone ring touched the Den Den Mushi, while a cigar in the other hand emitted wisps of white smoke.
"Buru buru—"
The Den Den Mushi mimicked an expression of disgust as if smelling rotten eggs, emitting a shrill voice: "Mr. 0!! This is Miss Friday!"
"Speak." A deep, magnetic voice responded, devoid of any emotion.
"A group of rookie pirates who just entered the Grand Line! They... they not only defeated Mr.9 and Ms. Wednesday, but I also heard... they invited that old lighthouse keeper to join their crew!! And what's more, after being defeated, Ms. Wednesday and Mr.9 seemed to have boarded their ship too! I saw it clearly with my own eyes."
"And! They're about to arrive! At Whiskey Peak!"
There was a brief silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, with only the faint hiss of a burning cigar.
After a few seconds, that deep voice spoke again, carrying a hint of coldness.
"Crocus? That old geezer... daring to come out when he's already a relic of the past era? Isn't he afraid his old bones might fall apart? Hmph..."