Chapter 98: Chapter 98: Pirates, Promises, and Proposals
"Hahaha... Don't get me wrong, we are not here to cause trouble for you." Coulson thought that Crocus was scared by his identity, so he quickly comforted him.
"Although he was on the Roger Pirates' ship before, according to our investigations, they only captured him to treat Roger's illness. Even Tom, the carpenter who built the Oro Jackson for them, has not faced any retaliation."
"Um?" Crocus was surprised and thought: 'Looks like it's not because of what happened last night.' At this time, his body and mood relaxed.
"Then what are you doing here, and who is that person?" He raised his finger and pointed at the man in black below.
Coulson kept a smile and explained: "That person is Mr. Brook, a former crew member of the Rumbar Pirates. We brought him here to reunite with the Island Whale named Laboon."
"What?!" Hearing this, Crocus's eyes almost popped out of his head, his heart beating fast. Everything he encountered in the past two days was really scary.
"Didn't their group disband long ago?"
"That's just a rumor." Coulson shook his head, pointing at Brook, who was chatting with Laboon. "Our men found him in the Florian Triangle earlier."
"Through communication, we learned that shortly after entering the Grand Line twenty-eight years ago, they encountered a powerful band of pirates and were annihilated near the Florian Triangle."
"At that time, his pirate ship was swept by the currents towards the Florian Triangle, and because Brook had eaten the Revive-Revive Fruit, his soul returned from the afterlife to the real world, but his body was reduced to bones."
"He lost his bearings in the Florian Triangle and has been wandering there ever since."
Hearing this incredible story, Crocus's expression became complicated as he looked at Brook's back.
He thought that the Rumbar Pirates had disbanded and then went their separate ways, breaking the agreement with Laboon. At that time, he told Laboon without reservation.
From then on, Laboon continued to hit his head against the red earth continent, causing injuries all over his head.
"So you should have heard Laboon's story. Thank you very much for bringing him back. Now Laboon won't be in trouble again." After speaking, Crocus looked at them doubtfully: "But you guys, are you here for some other reason?"
"Yes." Coulson nodded and said gently: "We have learned that your medical skills are exceptional. Therefore, we invite you to join the newly established School of Medicine directly subordinate to the Ministry of Health."
"He will work with the best doctors in the world to research and manage matters related to medicine, diseases and medications. The location of the work is in the Drum Kingdom, I believe he has heard of this country."
"In fact, I have heard about the Medical School and the World Hospital, and it is really a good thing. However, there is already an expert doctor there, Doctor Kureha, I think they don't need anyone else."
"Besides, I'm already used to taking care of the lighthouse and I don't want to immerse myself in the hustle and bustle again." Crocus shook his head and refused.
What he said was sincere, but there was also a truth he did not reveal: he did not want to work for the World Government.
"In this case, things will be troublesome." Coulson shook his head helplessly and said: "You have to understand that the reason why Tom the carpenter mentioned earlier was not punished is because he presided over the research and development of the sea train project."
"Which is of great benefit to the World Government and even to the entire world. This made up for his crime of manufacturing the main ship of the Roger Pirates."
"Your situation is similar. The world government is interested in your superb medical skills, but if you are not willing to join the medical school to contribute your abilities, then there is no reason to exempt you from the crime of treating Roger's terminal illness. Are you prepared to come with us to Enies Lobby?"
After listening to what he said, Crocus looked gloomy and asked: "Are you threatening me?"
"No, I'm just stating the facts." Coulson replied calmly.
Coulson looked at him sincerely and said: "So I hope you seriously consider joining the Medical School. Joining will not harm you in any way, and now Laboon no longer needs your care. There is no necessary reason to stay here, right?"
"Frankly speaking, with your medical skills, staying here guarding the lighthouse is a great loss and waste for world medicine. Also, I have a letter here from Doctor Kureha. Take a look at it."
Saying that, he took out a white envelope from his chest, with Doctor Kureha's signature on it.
Although Crocus and Doctor Kureha had met a few times before, they were not very close. Still, he accepted the envelope, opened it, and read the letter.
[Little devil, what the hell is the fucking lighthouse for? Hurry up and come here, the Doctor needs help!]
Just with that sentence, Crocus was speechless. He then smiled bitterly and commented: "Doctor Kureha is still just as temperamental."
Immediately, he stared at this sentence and said nothing for a long time. He fell into entanglement and thinking for a long time, and Coulson in front of him did not disturb him.
"Okay, I'll just leave, but I want to know how you plan to fix Laboon and Brook." Finally, Crocus agreed.
He did it for two reasons: firstly, out of respect for Doctor Kureha, and secondly, because Laboon no longer needed him. He had kept his promise to the Rumbar Pirates, and also wanted to cut ties with people like Shakky and Gaban.
However, he would not voluntarily reveal the information about them to Coulson. After all, they had all lived together for several years, and he still felt some affection.
He simply did not want to be involved in dangerous and troublesome matters. It was his last act of goodwill.
"The promise with Mr. Brook is that, if we bring him to meet with Laboon, he will agree to join our Propaganda Department as an artist." Coulson responded with a smile. "That is, he will become the third global superstar after Tesoro and Stella."
But there was still one thing he didn't say: Brook would also join Cipher Pol and, if necessary, execute missions secretly. But that was confidential information.
"As for Laboon, given its continued growth, how about taking it to the Drum Kingdom region?"
"You can continue to take care of it in normal times, and Mr. Brook can also visit you from time to time. After all, it is quite close to the Sabaody Archipelago."
"Perfect!" Crocus was very satisfied with the arrangements of the World Government and said with a smile: "Okay, now that things are settled, I'm going to go down and say hello to Brook. What about you?"
"We'll wait a little longer." Coulson looked at his wristwatch and said with a smile. "While we are here, let's see its arrival. It is said to be an impressive sight. It is expected to arrive soon."
"Um?" Crocus looked at him with confusion.
…
"Brook?" Crocus hesitantly called out to the man in black with an afro who had his back turned to him. Coulson and the others were on the beach not far away, waiting quietly. They gave him no information beforehand, saying that by doing so they would miss out on many surprises.
"Crocus-sama!"
Brook quickly turned around when he heard the voice and saw his old friend in front of him who was obviously much older. He approached excitedly and took her hands with his bony, fleshless fingers.
"I am really, really, really grateful for your careful care of Laboon. On behalf of the entire Rumbar Pirates, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to you!" With that, he let go, bowed ninety degrees with great seriousness, and did not raise his head for quite some time. Crocus, for his part, was stunned.
Even though Coulson had already told him the story, seeing a skeleton with an afro talking to him was still incredible and unimaginable.
"Ah, well, okay, Brook, get up. It's good you're back!" After a moment, Crocus reacted and quickly helped him up. Looking at the other person's empty eyes, he sighed: "It's not easy for you. You must have experienced unimaginable pain, right?"
"Yohohohoho~~ Everything has already happened. I'm pleased to see Laboon and you again." Brook smiled optimistically.
There is no way. If he were not optimistic enough, it would be difficult for him to live for so long with the skeletons of his companions in the uninhabited Florian Triangle.
"When I go to the afterlife in the future, I will have to give an explanation to the captain and the others."
"Although I'm not sure if I'll be able to go there again. That place is really big and lively. I was lost there for a long time, which led to the decomposition of my body."
"Is it lively? Are there many people... or souls there?" Crocus became very curious when he heard Brook talk about the afterlife.
"Of course, there are many souls and..." Just as Brook was excited to share his experiences, a roar echoed from above, attracting both of their attention.
[Boom! boom! boom! boom!]
As expected, two pirate ships were descending at full speed from the top, firing cannons at each other at an almost vertical ninety degree angle. They defied life and death without caring about each other.
"Ah, again... surely two pirate bands from different seas met. I don't know how lucky they will be this time." Crocus commented calmly, already used to this type of scenario.
'Luck' referred to whether they managed to successfully descend and then decide victory at sea. If they were unlucky, they would crash into each other and be left shattered and dead in the middle of the road, turning into rubble and corpses.
"Yohohohoho~~ After so many years, the pirates are still so energetic." Brook was very happy to watch the excitement.
Since leaving the Florian Triangle where he stayed for twenty-eight years, he has been excited and curious about everything happening in the outside world, including agreeing to join the World Government.
Brook no longer wanted to be a pirate, he just wanted to maintain the identity of a member of the former Rumbar Pirates crew. He believed that was best for him and Laboon.
"Well, it looks like they got lucky. By using their cannons on each other, they managed to avoid the most dangerous area. It looks like there's more fun to come, but..."
Crocus glanced at Coulson and the others not far away, thinking: 'I don't know if these government officials will deal with these two pirate gangs or not.'
If they do, the luck of these pirates will not be so good.
[Bang! Bang!]
The two pirate ships hit the sea near the lighthouse almost at the same time, causing large waves to hit the red clay rocks of Twin Cape.
[Swish! Swish!]
As the pirates from two different seas howled, preparing for a brutal hand-to-hand boarding confrontation, suddenly, from afar, two golden flashes shot out.
The speed was so fast that no one, including Brook, Crocus and others, could react. They only felt that the two pirate ships turned into expanding balls of fire in the blink of an eye.
"It's finally arrived." Behind them, Coulson smiled, showing his white teeth, and pulled out a small Den-Den Mushi from his pocket. He pointed in the direction of the Grand Line to capture that rare sight as a souvenir.
"What's that?" Crocus's eyes narrowed due to the wind from the explosion. After about thirty seconds, he saw four warships appearing on the horizon line.
But that was nothing compared to what he saw right after. The instant the presence behind the warships became visible, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Yohohohoho~~ It's huge! It appears to be much larger than Laboon. In an island?"
"Woooooo~~"
Little Laboon seemed restless too, but with Brook and Crocus at his side and unable to instinctively dive into the ocean. He could only stare at the slowly approaching giant, showing a fierce expression as if he was willing to protect his companions at all costs.
However, the giant stopped about four hundred meters away from the Reverse Mountain, and instead, one of the warships approached towards them.
"That's the surprise I mentioned before." At this time, Coulson came over with a smile.
Crocus looked at him in surprise and asked: "So what is that? It looks like an island."
"Actually, that's a sailboat the size of an island. It's the basis of the Navy's newly created G-0."
"Starting today, that sailboat will be used to guard Reverse Mountain, from there all vessels will be inspected and all pirates and criminals who pass through here will be arrested."
"Yohohohoho~ Do people in this era call that an arrest?" Brook pointed at the wreckage of the ship that was engulfed in flames and smiled cheerfully.
"Cough... This could be a special action by Vice Admiral Borsalino to make sure they don't get away." Coulson smiled uncomfortably.
Brook didn't know Borsalino, but Crocus did. In amazement, he asked: "Will Vice Admiral Borsalino be personally in charge here?"
"Yes."
Now, Crocus felt grateful and relieved. If this G-0 base had arrived half a day earlier, that is, last night. Everyone would be in serious trouble.
"Hey, it seems that this Twin Cape really doesn't need me anymore. The navy will naturally take over the lighthouse here, and those rookie pirates will be in bad luck in the future."
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