บท 97: "Enter Laboon: A Whale of a Battle"
The Going Merry sailed down Reverse Mountain, riding the waves like a bullet, thanks to Raja's "Psychokinesis" powers. Luffy's laughter echoed through the air as the ship plunged down the mountain's watery slope, the thrill of the Grand Line already setting in.
"This is awesome!" Luffy yelled, practically vibrating with excitement.
"Hey, Raja!" Usopp shouted, holding on for dear life. "Can't you slow this thing down a bit?"
Raja simply shrugged. "You wanted to reach the Grand Line, didn't you?"
Then, without warning, a thick fog enveloped them, blocking their view of everything, including the vast ocean ahead.
"Why's it always foggy when something weird's about to happen?" Usopp complained, squinting into the mist.
A strange creaking noise echoed around them.
Zoro tensed, his hand drifting to his sword. "Did anyone else hear that?"
"It's just the wind," Nami said dismissively, but even she seemed a bit unsettled.
"Are you sure it's not... I dunno, ghost pirates?" Usopp whispered, wide-eyed.
Ignoring him, Sanji peered ahead, straining his eyes. "There! I think I see... a mountain?"
The fog began to clear, and everyone stared in horror at the massive shape before them.
"That's not a mountain!" Nami screamed.
The fog lifted fully, revealing an enormous whale, its back towering in front of them like an impenetrable wall.
"Raja, HELP!" they shouted in unison, as the ship sped towards the whale's back.
Raja quickly extended his psychokinetic powers again, stopping the Going Merry just one foot away from the whale.
The crew released a collective sigh of relief. "That was close..." Sanji muttered, wiping sweat from his brow.
But the whale remained indifferent, its enormous eye staring blankly ahead.
"Uh... maybe we should get out of here while it's not paying attention?" Zoro suggested, watching the creature warily.
Luffy, however, had other ideas. As they rowed past the whale's eye, he clenched his fist and punched it.
"Take that, you big lump!"
The whale finally seemed to notice them, slowly turning its eye to focus on the ship.
"Luffy, you idiot!" Nami snapped. "Stop antagonizing it!"
But Luffy wasn't listening. "Bring it on, whale!"
As if accepting the challenge, the whale opened its massive mouth, sucking in water and drawing the Going Merry toward it.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, LUFFY?!" Usopp shrieked as he grabbed onto the ship's mast, his legs flailing in the air.
Just as they were about to be swallowed, Luffy fell overboard, desperately grabbing onto one of the whale's teeth to avoid being pulled inside.
While the Going Merry vanished into the whale's mouth, Luffy climbed up, shouting, "Let my crew go, you giant fish!"
The whale, clearly unbothered, began to submerge, dragging Luffy with it.
"Oi! Where are you taking me?!" Luffy yelled, pounding on the whale's head. Spotting a door on the whale's back, he grinned and headed toward it. "Alright, let's see where this goes!"
Meanwhile, inside the whale, the rest of the crew had landed on a small island, complete with green waters and a clear blue sky overhead.
"Where... are we?" Nami muttered, looking around in confusion.
"Aren't we supposed to be... inside the whale?" Zoro asked, scratching his head.
Before anyone could answer, a giant squid emerged from the water nearby.
"A SQUID?!" Usopp shouted, horrified. "What next, a kraken?"
Before they could panic further, an arrow flew out of nowhere, piercing the squid, which collapsed back into the water.
They turned to see an old man standing nearby, dragging the squid like it was nothing, without even glancing at them.
Sanji, clearly irritated, shouted, "Hey, old man! Mind telling us where we are?"
The man sighed, waving them off as he made his way to a chair and opened a newspaper. "Can't you see I'm busy reading?"
"WHAT?!"
Usopp puffed up his chest. "Listen here, old man! We're pirates! We'll take you down if we have to!"
The man raised an eyebrow. "If you start a fight here, someone's going to die."
Sanji, annoyed, asked, "Yeah? Who?"
The man shrugged. "Probably me."
Sanji clenched his fists in frustration. "Zoro, calm me down before I do something I'll regret."
Zoro tried to diffuse the situation. "Look, old man, can you at least tell us who you are?"
The man adjusted his glasses, smiling slightly. "I'm Crocus, keeper of the Twin Capes Lighthouse. Age: seventy-one. Virgo. Blood type: B-negative."
Everyone stared, slack-jawed.
"Great, now we know your blood type," Zoro said, shaking his head.
Crocus, unfazed, waved them off. "This is my one-man resort! You're disturbing my peace."
Usopp narrowed his eyes, still suspicious. "Are we really inside a whale?"
Crocus shrugged. "Believe what you want."
Before they could argue, the ground shook violently.
"Oh, what now?!" Nami yelled as she struggled to stay upright.
"Laboon's ramming the Red Line again," Crocus said calmly.
Nami's eyes widened as she looked at the painted landscape around them. "Wait... this island... it's made of iron, and it's chained down?"
Crocus nodded. "This is all for Laboon. Poor guy's been ramming his head against the Red Line for years, waiting for his friends to come back."
As he spoke, a mournful bellow echoed around them, filling the air with sorrow.
Usopp's face paled. "Is... is he trying to kill the whale from the inside?!"
"Let's get out of here before we become whale food!" Zoro suggested, already heading toward the exit.
But before they could leave, two shadowy figures appeared, sneaking through the water toward them.
Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, both armed with guns, crept closer.
Usopp saw them first. "Uh... guys? I think we have company."
The two intruders leveled their weapons at Crocus, oblivious to the Straw Hats.
"Let's take out this old geezer," Mr. 9 whispered. "Our town needs this whale!"
Miss Wednesday nodded. "For the sake of our mission!"
Just as they prepared to fire, Luffy came crashing down from above, landing right on top of them.
"What the—?!" Mr. 9 yelled as he was sent tumbling backward into the whale's digestive juice.
The chaos continued as Crocus moved to a concealed area, pulling out a gigantic needle filled with sedative.
"This should calm Laboon down," he muttered, injecting the whale to stop its painful ramming.
With Laboon finally soothed, Crocus patted the whale's side. "No matter how hard you hit, you can't break through, buddy."
Meanwhile, Raja managed to haul Luffy and the two mysterious strangers out of the digestive juice, setting them on solid ground.
Zoro, ever suspicious, crossed his arms. "Who are these two, and what were they planning?"
Mr. 9, still dazed from his fall, pointed his finger dramatically. "We were trying to save our town! Laboon's meat could feed us for years!"
Nami frowned. "That's horrible! You'd kill an innocent whale for food?"
But Mr. 9 ignored her, instead raising his bazooka and aiming it at Laboon.
Crocus moved to intercept, but Raja was quicker. With a flick of his wrist, he used his powers to turn the cannonballs into harmless flowers mid-air.
Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday stared, slack-jawed.
"What... how did you do that?!" Miss Wednesday stammered.
Raja just smirked. "I'm a Straw Hat. That's all you need to know."
Fed up with the nonsense, Luffy clenched his fists and punched both intruders, knocking them out cold in one swift move. "Enough! No one's hurting Laboon."
Crocus smiled, clearly relieved. "Thank you for that."
But Luffy just shrugged. "I didn't do it for you. I just didn't like those guys."
Nami, still fuming, turned to Crocus. "Why were they after Laboon in the first place?"
Crocus sighed, explaining that the strangers were from a nearby town, desperate for food. They thought Laboon's meat could sustain them.
"Laboon's more than just food," Crocus said, his voice softening. "He's been waiting for his friends to return for over fifty years."
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DarkGoldMonarch
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