Chapter 46 - Swallowed By Laboon! Meeting Crocus in the Strange Stomach!

BOOOOMM!!!

With shocked eyes, Nami and Nojiko watched the blast of wind and fire caused by Noah hit the whale head-on, causing a resounding noise!

But the most shocking thing came next!

The fire, which should be able to burn a human being and easily turn them into ashes, actually hit the large whale and only left a small scorch on its chin! And the wind blades that could cut even iron were powerless on its skin, leaving cuts so superficial they might as well not exist!

GROOOOWWLLLLLLL!!!!

Even though the damage suffered was insignificant, the great whale emitted a sound so deep from its throat that the surrounding sea trembled intensely! And the soundwave hit the ship and its crew with great intensity!

“AAH!” Nami and Nojiko immediately covered their ears as the eardrums vibrated with the sound and almost burst. And at the same time they did this, their eyes widened in fear as they picked up Ryu and covered him.

“Scree…” Ryu: (⋟﹏⋞)

SWOOSH!

However, a gust of wind encapsulated them, creating a dome-like structure that completely muffled the whale's sound.

"Damn..." Noah felt his eyelid twitch as the world screamed the word 'WEAK' into his soul, and he continued to send his Spiritual Energy to protect the girls. As for himself, he just kept staring at Laboon intensely, watching his eyes turn towards them.

After a few seconds, the sound was getting weaker until Laboon's entire body submerged back into the water.

"That..." Nami looked in shock as the large "wall" simply submerged in the sea and was speechless, "Was that an animal?"

"This is the Grand Line..." Nojiko remembered the various warnings that Noah had already given and roughly understood what he meant about such danger. And it was so great that they barely entered the place and a giant animal was about to destroy their ship.

Meanwhile, Noah said nothing and just kept looking at the sea below while the Black Artemis continued its course there. And as he expected, they quietly reached the access point, which divided the Reverse Mountain from the Grand Line.

Until the sea next to it opened in the middle, an eye so large appeared that it completely eclipsed any horizon.

“W…” As if their souls had left their bodies, the two women had dilated pupils as they looked at that huge eye staring at them. And it was at that moment when they realized that Ryu in their arms had escaped.

When they looked for him, they saw an even more chilling scene.

Noah, standing a few meters from the eye and with his arms crossed, stared at that black pupil as if it were a commom thing that he can destroy easily. Ryu was on his shoulder showing his teeth with ferocity to the threat. Even having been almost injured just now, this just fueled an internal rage in the little dragon.

And they stayed in this situation until another soundwave came towards them. But even so, Noah and Ryu did not stop facing the whale as if its threat was nothing more than the wind.

"Noah…" Nojiko, as if she was in an illusion, felt a kind of glow around Noah's body for a moment. Her heart was beating fast as she watched that scene, her feelings becoming even more resolute for him.

Until Nami, who was also looking at them, felt the sea around them become disturbed.

"The whale… it's opening its mouth!"

"Hold on!"

Noah's shout managed to reach them when they understood what he meant. Nami held firmly on the helm as she steered the ship fluidly through the currents that were dragging them forcefully straight into the huge mouth.

There was no way to escape, so let's go inside!

°°°

The absolute darkness swallowed them as soon as the whale closed its mouth, making them not know where they were going.

Ignite!

Until Noah produced a flame strong enough to illuminate a little where they were going. Releasing the helm, Nami let the ship be driven by the currents towards whatever it was.

After all, if Noah wasn't worried at all, why should she be? He always had some interesting trick up his sleeve. He definitely knew what he was doing.

And shortly after, the darkness receded when they arrived in a truly unbelievable space.

With the sky blue and full of clouds and seagulls, the sudden clarity was a surprise. The "sea" around, having a strange green color, reached a kind of horizon. Nojiko had good enough eyes to realize that these waters were reaching the sky in the distance, making the place obviously fake.

"A gate and an island?" Nami also briefly looked around and noticed the two peculiarities.

The giant gate was not far away, and the Black Artemis had just stopped its course in front of a small island with a house. Both seemed strange, considering they were inside the whale. But she didn't even bother to be more shocked and just looked at Noah... And she felt an intense desire to hit someone.

"Ugh..." Stretching slightly, Noah let out a sigh while wiping the sweat from his forehead, "Damn, I have to admit that facing a giant eye for the first time in life really is a strange experience. And you even growled at it, dude? Cool."

"Screech!" Ryu: And I'll growl again! ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ

'So why did you act like it was all okay????' Nami tried not to yell at him, but still did internally. He was acting all cool a few moments ago, almost seeming like he was going to directly attack the poor whale!

Now that he was inside the whale, Noah looked around for a moment and his eyes went to the house on top of the small island. With the door open, the darkness there seemed strange. And he knew he was already being watched by someone.

And it's not that he has the Observation Haki. But the person in that house does.

When everything was too quiet, with the girls wondering how they would open that gigantic gate... The water around became troubled and something they had never seen appeared in front of the ship.

A giant squid emerged from the water, its size enough to completely embrace the ship. With its tentacles slowly rising and surrounding the ship, it was more than clear their intentions to destroy the ship and eat the crew.

Until Noah disappeared from where he was and soon was on top of the squid, his leg completely wrapped with Wind Manipulation.

Tekkai!

Tempest Kick!

BANG!

With a solid kick, the poor giant squid saw its life flash before its eyes as that leg hit its head and darkness consumed it. The force of the kick was such that the squid was briefly dragged through the water until its lifeless body stopped in front of the house, floating.

Geppo!

And stepping on air proficiently, Noah returned to the Black Artemis as if nothing had happened. Nami and Nojiko had their mouths open for a moment, but closed them when they remembered that he was much stronger than them and had plenty of time to practice anything with his Devil Fruit. It's normal for him to be able to use these techniques and have this level of strength.

"We have to train more..." Nojiko quietly commented in her sister's ear.

"I completely agree..." Nami slowly nodded her head, her determination also increasing. Just like her sister, she wished to reach greater heights with her strength, because that would also help her in the pursuit of her dream.

Yes, Noah is the captain and "should" be the strongest. But when you take into account that he's literally training every day every moment he's awake, then he deserves to have that level of strength. She and her sister still slept, even though little, make the food and took care of the ship. The remaining time was spent training and perfecting their other skills.

So the way was to stop sleeping until the need returned!

Either way, as soon as Noah killed the giant squid, a noise of footsteps came from inside the house, drawing everyone's attention. And as soon as the source of these footsteps showed itself, everyone had different reactions.

An old man, carrying a harpoon on his back, came out of the house with a grumpy face. This man, the overseer of the Twin Cape Lighthouse that divides Reverse Mountain from Grand Line, is named Crocus. Someone with a more grandiose past than his appearance tells.

With the petal-like elements around his head, he has a robust and muscular body, is bald on top, but has white hair with yellow, petal-like features that have purple at the bottom, and a bifurcated white beard. His lower lip is significantly larger than his upper lip.

He dons a pink shirt with a yellow and green stripe featuring purple circles, as well as bluish-grey shorts and sandals. His accessories include glasses, a seaweed necklace, three gold bracelets, and a green-gem bracelet on his left wrist. He also has a scar on his left arm.

And more than all this...

He was the doctor of Gol D. Roger's crew, considered the world's best at his peak!

With an awkward silence between the two parties, the crew of the Black Artemis were looking at old Crocus, who was also staring at them. His thin eyes seemed somewhat threatening, especially considering the fact that he was armed.

But Noah wasn't in the mood to stay in this silent scene like in the anime. So, jumping off the ship, he landed on the small island with a Geppo, almost facing the old man.

And he extended his hand to greet him. His eyes were not afraid to face the powerful old man in front of him, who had already sailed the world and seen all the things that could be seen.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Crocus."

"..."