Chapter 48 - Laboon's Past! A New Companion for the Long Journey!

On the small island, after Laboon had already calmed down, Crocus and Noah were sitting across from each other while sipping a cup of sake. Nami and Nojiko were playing with Ryu in front of a bonfire where they were roasting the meat of the giant squid to eat. And Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday were still tied up and looking intently at the meat with tears of hunger.

"Even though you've already said that they died, he keeps insisting. Wouldn't it be easier to cross the Calm Belt?" Noah asked after talking about Laboon's story with the old man for a while.

Basically, Laboon came here with a group of pirates 50 years ago, the same pirate group that Brook was part of, the Rumbar Pirates. Due to the journey they faced during their trip to Reverse Mountain, and also due to crossing it, the ship was in dire conditions and they spent some time at the Twin Cape Lighthouse, forming a friendship with the young Crocus.

But, as everything in the Grand Line is extremely dangerous, they decided to leave Laboon behind while they made their journey, promising to return after three to four years. But the rest of the story everyone already knows. Only a living skull remained to tell... literally.

"That would be even more dangerous. Despite his size and resistance, he is nothing in front of the vast majority of Sea Kings. For some, he wouldn't even be enough to fill the space between their teeth." Crocus shook his head as he took the rest of his cup of sake and looked at Noah, "And I wouldn't let him go either. I only put up with his stubbornness here because I have a way of treating it."

"Through these rooms and mechanisms?" Despite already knowing all about it, Noah was more interested in creating a comfortable conversation for the things he wanted. After all, he was not a man who would leave without gains from any situation.

"Yes. Most are there to keep him alive when he suffer many concussions or swallow some ships that tried to do the same thing as you. Due to his large size, external treatment would not suffice, so I built this so that I could tend him more easily." Treating it as if it was nothing special, Crocus waved his hands.

"Well, to your genius then." Noah raised the sake cup in his hand and drank it all at once.

Crocus smiled a little when he saw that. The way he sat, how he drank the sake, and even the smile on his face that did not leave. Memories of an old friend of his suddenly came back, but he put it all aside when a large plate of food was placed in front of the two by the orange-haired girl.

"Enjoy." Nami winked at Noah as she put the plate down and then went out again to make more food for them.

She couldn't understand why, but she felt inexplicably happy making Noah's food with Nojiko in such situations. The relaxation after the tension.

"Are you sure you want to sail the Grand Line with such a small crew?" Crocus smelled the squid, but didn't attack outright. He seriously looked at Noah when asking this, as he was the captain and should understand the situation better than anyone else.

"I know, we are few now. But you don't have to worry, we are quite strong." Although he was not a very proud person and a show-off, he had a lot of confidence in his strength in the early stages, "Nami is our navigator, and a very skilled one. Nojiko shoots better than anyone I've ever seen and is very good in the kitchen. And finally, we have Ryu, our little Millennial Dragon."

"Interesting. Your crew is quite unusual, to say the least. But, as you say there are no problems, then there are none." Shrugging, Crocus didn't want to lecture about the dangers of the Grand Line to someone who apparently already knew what they were getting into. He just focused on eating the delicious roasted squid now.

"You will still hear a lot from us, Mister Crocus." Noah gave him an enigmatic smile, but didn't explain much. He also started eating, but soon felt some intense looks in his direction.

Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday seemed to be crying and their noses were constantly expanding to breathe in the delicious smell of the food. It was more than obvious that they were starving at that moment.

Noah briefly looked in Miss Wednesday's direction and stared at her until her face showed a slight trace of redness and she turned her face away. This reminded him of when she first saw him, with her mouth open and her pupils dilating almost instantly. It was honestly funny.

"Excuse me, Mr. Crocus." Noah briefly stood up and walked over to the girls, picking up a plate and cutting a bit of the squid.

After that, he took it to the two invaders and placed the plate in front of Miss Wednesday, using a small wind blade to cut the rope that tied her mouth and hands. Her body would still be immobilized by the ropes on her feet and thigh, so there was no risk of her escaping.

"You can eat. It's not the whale meat you want so much, but it's something." After placing the plate in front of her, Noah stood up and was about to walk back when a voice came from behind.

"T-Thank you..." Miss Wednesday, or rather, Vivi, was blushing slightly as she expelled these words from her mouth. And soon after she took a small piece of squid and ate, almost melting at the wonderful sensation of food after a long time.

"Hmm-" Mr. 9 next to her felt his heart break at the sight of all that food in front of him, but not being able to eat.

"Stay hungry, aren't you a man to handle it?" Noah interrupted Mr. 9's foolish crying. Him? Bringing food to another man? No, even if he were dead.

After he sat down with Crocus again, he felt two pairs of eyes staring at him intensely, coming from a certain bonfire... but those he decidedly chose to ignore.

°°°

Shortly after, when everyone had eaten a bit of the giant squid and left the rest digesting in the sea of acid, Crocus guided them all through the giant gate. Taking the artificial channel, they passed through another large gate that the old man manually opened and they felt the sunlight again, the true blue sky above them.

"Would it be strange to say that I missed it?" Nojiko felt the warm, soft sensation of the sunlight and breathed better now. That acid wasn't too smelly, but it still wasn't the pure air that was outside here.

After they came out, they docked the ship next to the lighthouse and everyone got off the ship to step on solid ground for some time. Obviously, Noah brought the two intruders so they wouldn't run away.

For the first time since they left, they were able to see Laboon more calmly. His giant scars looked more impactful now, and his eyes no longer had that fury... but rather a sadness that seemed to have been there so long that it was etched in.

And Noah was there, looking at him the same way as a few hours ago. But now there was no tension between them, they were just looking at each other.

"Old man, is there anything preventing Laboon from leaving here? If he simply decides to leave instead of banging on this wall, will you let him?" He spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear, including the large whale.

"And what else am I going to do? If he decides to leave, I can only pray for his luck." Although a small vein appeared on his forehead from being called old by Noah, Crocus simply answered. He had thought about it many times before, if one day he would wake up and Laboon had already left. It would be a relief, but also another weight on his old heart.

"Mm... good." Noah smiled at the answer and walked a little closer to Laboon.

And his next words scared and shocked everyone there.

"Hey, Laboon. I know where your crew is. Why don't you come with me and I'll show you where they are?"

"..."

"Are you coming or not? This offer is unique and I won't be here very long." Noah could see the shock in the huge eyes in front of him, but all he had on his face was a smile. And he didn't care about the effect of his words now.

SIIINNNG!! SIIIIINNNGG!!!

He was in search of this mobile submarine in front of him, and he would not leave here until he took it with him.

°°°

"Boy, how do you know this?" Crocus looked at him with a serious expression at the moment. He wanted to know if what he said was true or if he was just fooling the whale.

"Personal secrets I cannot reveal." But obviously, Noah would remain silent about this. No matter how much the old man tried. He had already said too much at the moment, and it would cause some strangeness if he continued to reveal his knowledge of future events or situations.

Behind him, Laboon was circling in the water, happy that he would be taken to his crew.

"If you somehow know this, you should also know that they all-"

"They are dead, I know." Interrupting Crocus, Noah decided to clear up the old man's doubts at the moment, for him to know that he was telling the truth, "But one person survived. Brook."

"Brook? That skinny one survived?" Crocus was shocked for a moment, both because Noah really knew the name of one of the crew members and because someone had really survived and was still in the Grand Line.

"I am not lying. Well, I may also be wrong about where he is now, but I know there is someone alive from that crew. And if this is to give some peace of mind to Laboon for a while, then it's worth it."

The two stared at each other for a moment, with Old Crocus analyzing everything in his head for a while. But then he just sighed a little, giving in to the situation.

"Take good care of him. There is a library in one of the rooms that explains many things about his internal operation. Most of the devices are just medical, as that is why I installed them." Even though he didn't want to part with the whale after fifty years together here, he had to admit that the young man in front of him was right. This would give peace of mind to Laboon, who needed it the most at the moment.

“I will. After all, he is part of my crew now, right?” Noah smiled lightly, but inside he was almost laughing, 'HAHAHA, I have a fucking LIVING SUBMARINE NOW!!'

With his internal joy now, they made quick work and were about to say goodbye. Until Crocus noticed something strange about them. Or better, what was missing on them.

“Wait a moment. You don't have any Log Pose?”

“Log Pose?” Nami found the name strange, but soon after remembered the things that Noah talked with them, “Is it that special compass from the Grand Line? No, we don't have any.”

“…”

An awkward moment of silence passed between them, with Noah trying to hold back laughter. He did not expect that Nami, the navigator, was so indifferent to a navigation equipment like this. Maybe he was influencing them too much.

“So how are you going to navigate the Grand Line if you don't even have a Log Pose? You will die before you even reach the first island.” With a serious look, Crocus felt a desire to hit these beginners in the head, “The marine currents and the climate of the Grand Line are in constant change, making it a nightmare for any navigator. Without a way to record the magnetism of each island, it is simply impossible to locate them with common knowledge.”

"And where can we find one of those?" Nojiko asked out of curiosity. After all, she had never heard of this equipment in the East Blue, so she thought it was something that only existed in the Grand Line. But if this was necessary even to start, how would they get something like this?

"Well, not far from here." Noah smiled at them in a mysterious way.

And when everyone was wondering what he meant by that, he took something out of his pocket and threw it to Nami. Its structure looked like a normal compass, with the magnetic needle pointing in one direction. But this was encased in a glass globe and looked like a bracelet.

"Eeh… Noah, where did you find this?" Nami glanced between Noah and the Log Pose when she asked the main question.

"In him." And he simply pointed to Mr. 9, who was lying indifferent to everything.

Until he heard what they said and looked shocked at the Log Pose.

“HHM! HHMMHMH! HMMM!”

"Now we can go!"

And just as if nothing had happened, Noah boarded the Black Artemis again, just like Nami and Nojiko, who were still a bit airy with the casualness they solved such an important issue. Ryu briefly flew and landed on Noah's head, while Laboon released a happy water jet not far behind them.

Everyone was about to head towards the island programmed on the Log Pose...

Until strange noises came from the sky, making everyone look up there.

"A vulture and an otter? What the..."