The main entrance into the Grandline was almost like a massive water slide for ships, since the current was so strong it kept Marcus's ship completely centered all the way down. Unlike the original story, Marcus didn't run into Laboon who was blocking the entrance. Instead he was smoothly shot out of the entrance and his ship's hydrofoils engaged because of the speed. Marcus used that speed to turn his ship back towards the lighthouse and after ten minutes was tied off at a small dock.
With his ship secured, Marcus made a quick breakfast before he headed up to meet Crocus. Marcus chose the lighthouse on the left side of the entrance because that was where he remembered Crocus living from the original story. Well, when he wasn't inside of Laboon that is…
As Marcus approached his observation haki didn't pick up anyone which made him frown slightly. But he still knocked on the door loudly before he waited for someone to answer. After a few minutes and a couple knocks, Marcus gave up because he knew Crocus was most likely inside Laboon. With that thought in mind Marcus headed back to his ship and then used his observation haki to try and find them. Unfortunately he couldn't sense either of them in the water.
Currently his haki wasn't good enough to tell exactly what was in the water. He could definitely sense some massive creatures, but whether or not they were Laboon, Marcus had no way to tell. Marcus thought about leaving but decided to wait a bit and see if Laboon surfaced at some point. Plus Marcus could use a good nap, so he strung out his hammock and relaxed in it. Within minutes he was completely out and didn't wake up till well past noon.
Marcus took a few minutes to stretch his body before he flared his observation haki to look for Crocus again. He didn't find him in his lighthouse, Marcus headed to the galley and made himself a few large sandwiches which he ate on the bridge as he watched the water. Once finished he pulled out his den den mushi and dialed a number.
A cheerful woman answered as she asked, "Moshi, moshi, who is it?"
Marcus paused for a moment before he asked, "This is Marcus, I was trying to contact Kuma."
"MARCUS?!?" The woman yelled out in excitement.
"Yeah… And you are?"
"I'm Ginny! Kuma said I would've died if it wasn't for you!" Ginny said in a grateful tone of voice.
Marcus smiled to himself as he said, "I just gave him some advice. It was other people who saved you."
"No way! You were the one who made everything possible that helped save me and Bonney in the first place. That means you deserve the most credit."
Marcus didn't plan to argue with her over him just giving advice so he changed the subject as he asked in a joking tone, "Speaking of Bonney, are you and Kuma trying to give her some younger siblings yet?"
"Yes!" Ginny blurted out and quickly went silent for a few moments before she added, "Well hopefully. Dr. Kureha said I might not be able to have anymore because of what the disease did to my body…"
"Sorry to hear that… I wish you both the best of luck."
"It's fine, just being alive and able to see Kuma and Bonney everyday is more than enough for me." Ginny said in a voice filled with happiness.
"Look momma! Look!" A young girl's voice said excitedly.
"Oh, that looks beautiful sweetheart…" Ginny said before she added, "Kuma dear, you're just in time. Someone called for you."
A moment later a man said, "This is Kuma, go ahead."
"Kuma, it's Marcus!"
"Marcus! Do you need something? Just ask and I'll do it!" Kuma said quickly in a serious tone.
"I do need something… But I told you before there's no need to say anything like that."
"Why not? I owe you more than I'll ever be able to repay." Kuma said as Ginny swooned in the background.
Marcus chuckled before he said, "Kuma I helped you, Ginny and Bonney because it was the right thing to do, so don't think about it like some kinda debt you need to repay."
"No way! If we can help you with something we'll gladly do it." Ginny chimed in before Kuma added, "You might not consider there's a debt, but we do."
Marcus stared out at the sea for a few moments before he said, "I was planning to ask for a little favor, but I guess if you do this for me I want you to consider your debt cleared."
"What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to move to Cocoyashi Village in the Conomi Islands of East Blue for a while and train my brothers and some friends in haki." Marcus said as he leaned back in his chair.
"You're not with them?" Ginny asked instead of Kuma.
"My grandpa gave me permission to head out to sea, I just entered the Grandline this morning and I'm currently at Twin Cape lighthouses waiting for Crocus to show up."
"Do they already know about haki?"
"Grandpa started training us in it almost a year ago. I'm the most advanced out of everyone which is why I was allowed to leave early." Marcus said in a proud tone of voice.
"You don't want me to come train you in haki instead?"
Marcus shook his head as he said, "I'm actually on a journey to go meet someone for haki and sword training. That's why I want your help with training my brothers and friends."
"Don't worry Marcus, between me and Kuma they'll all be masters in no time!" Ginny said cheerfully.
"Thanks! They should be leaving Loguetown today or tomorrow, so they won't be back to the island for at least a week. So you don't have to be in a rush to get there." Marcus said after a moment of thought.
"Alright… How long do you plan to stay at Twin Cape and where are you going afterwards?"
"I'll stay here for a day or two, after that I'm headed towards Sabaody for training." Marcus said as he glanced towards the box Garp gave him.
"I can give you an eternal pose for a revolutionary base hidden in Sabaody if you want."
Marcus smiled as he said, "My grandpa already gave me everything I need, but thank you. I appreciate the offer."
"You're welcome… If there's nothing else, we're gonna start packing."
"Nope, just that… And thanks again Kuma." Marcus said as he hung up his den den mushi.
On the other side of the call Ginny glanced at the snail as she asked, "Did he just hang up?"
Kuma chuckled softly as he said, "He's a lot like his father."
Ginny started to laugh before she asked, "Should we go now?"
"Of course." Kuma said as he put the snail away and stood up.
As Kuma and Ginny went to pack, Marcus glanced over the sea for a while and tried to think of a way to find Laboon and Crocus. He doubted they left the area for supplies, but he figured Laboon should have come up for air by now…
Maybe he missed it when he took his nap, but he should have noticed something like that since he was a light sleeper unless he was completely exhausted. With nothing else to do Marcus grabbed his acoustic guitar from his room and started to practice. He played different songs for almost an hour before he glanced down at his guitar and had an idea. An idea that the more he thought about made perfect sense.
Within an hour, Marcus had his electric guitar hooked up and the main speaker box suspended over the water angled downwards. It was held in place by ropes and connected to the mast so it wouldn't fall in. Once it was secure, Marcus moved the microphone and stand he recently purchased from Jasmine into place. He played a few test cords and tuned his guitar while he also warmed up his voice before he started to play a song he was sure every One Piece fan knew.
Marcus turned up the volume on the amplifier before he strummed a slow melody and sang into the microphone, "Yo-hohoho, yo-hoho-ho! Yo-hohoho, yo-hoho-ho! Yo-hohoho, yo-hoho-ho! Yo-hohoho, yo-hoho-ho!"
As he started the song nothing happened, but Marcus wasn't disappointed. He figured it might not work in the first place as he sang, "Gather up all of the crew! It's time to ship out Bink's brew!"
"Sea wind blows, to where? Who knows? The waves will be our guide!"
The water a good distance from his ship started to bubble as Marcus continued, "O'er across the ocean's tide, rays of sunshine far and wide. The birds, they sing, of cheerful things in circles passing by!"
The water churned as a massive silhouette appeared under the water as Marcus smiled slightly before he sang, "Bid farewell to weaver's town! Say so long to port renowned! Sing a song, it won't be long before we're casting off! Cross the gold and silver waves, Changin' into water sprays! Sailing out on our journey to the ends of the sea!"
The massive scared head of an Island Whale broke the surface of the water as sea water sprayed into the air. Even though Laboon finally arrived Marcus didn't stop singing as he continued, "Gather up all of the crew! Time to ship out Binks's brew! Pirates we, we'll divide and conquer all the seas! With the waves to rest our heads, ship beneath us as our bed! Hoisted high up on the mast our jolly roger flies!"
Laboon turned slightly so his eye could focus on Marcus who smiled as he said into the microphone, "Come on Laboon, you should know the words!"
Marcus continued playing his guitar as he sang the next lines, "Somewhere in the endless sky, a storm has started comin' by! Waves are dancing having fun, it's time to sound the drums! If we let blow winds of fear then the end of us is near! Even so, tomor-row the sun will rise again!"
As Marcus finished those lines, Laboon tilted his head back and as Marcus sang the next chorus, Laboon joined in as his cry shook the whole area. Marcus finished up the song over a minute later with Laboon's help and once the song was finished he made a happy sound before he stared at Marcus expectantly with one eye.
Marcus smirked at Laboon before he asked, "Oh, you want an encore uh?"
Laboon nodded his massive head that caused Marcus's boat to bounce on the waves before Marcus said, "Alright, I'll play you a few more songs."
Marcus quickly played with his pedal and a more modern sound came from the speaker before Marcus started to play Free Bird. At first Laboon just watched but as the song continued his eye crinkled slightly before he raised his head out of the water and let out a joyous sound near the end of the song. As soon as it finished Marcus clicked a button on his pedal and started playing Misty Mountain Hop.
Over the next half an hour Marcus played almost ten songs before he finally said, "Alright, that's the last one for now Laboon. I'm gonna take a break and get a snack."
Laboon opened his mouth a tiny bit and let out a sound that Marcus took as okay before he placed his guitar down in its stand. He quickly headed inside and made some more sandwiches before he came back out and sat on the edge of his ship. Laboon was still there watching him with one eye so he asked, "Do you know where Crocus is?"
Laboon didn't answer but an older man's voice came from him as a hatch hidden on Laboon's head opened up as it asked, "I'm right here… And who are you?"
Crocus popped out of the hatch a moment later as he stared down at Marcus. Marcus pointed at the left side of his face as he said, "Monkey D. Marcus, my grandpa said you healed me when I was still a baby."
Crocus studied Marcus for a few moments before he said, "I remember you… Even though you were already healing when you showed up."
Crocus closed the match and locked it before he jumped over to Marcus's boat with surprising ease. Once there he studied Marcus again before he said, "Aren't you a little young? You didn't run away, right? I really don't wanna deal with Garp if he shows up."
Marcus chuckled for a moment before he said, "No, gramps gave me permission to leave because I'm strong enough to protect myself in Paradise."
Crocus wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead as he said, "Good, I hate dealing with that maniac."
Marcus offered one of his sandwiches to Crocus as he asked, "You want one?"
"Sure." Crocus said as he sat down next to Marcus and took the offered food.
They both sat in silence eating for a few minutes before Crocus asked, "So what brought you to Paradise kid?"
"Training. My swordsmanship is at a bottleneck and I need more practice with haki. I figured old man Rayleigh on Sabaody was my best option."
Crocus paused with the sandwich halfway to his mouth as he asked, "Did your grandpa tell you that?"
Marcus shook his head as he said, "No… I saw it in a dream."
Crocus frowned slightly as he asked, "You're planning to go all the way to Sabaody because you had a dream?"
"Kinda, but that's only because my dreams aren't actually dreams. They are either visions of the future or sometimes glances of the past." Marcus said as he gestured to Laboon as he said, "That's why I know Laboon likes music so much."
Crocus narrowed his eyes as Laboon's large eye looked sad. Marcus watched them both for a moment before he said, "I also know about Laboon's promise with the Rumbar Pirates."
Instantly Crocus and Laboon both focused on Marcus who smiled as he said, "In my dreams, I saw what happened to them and I know that they never forgot their promise to you."
Laboon's eye crinkled up and Crocus was about to say something when Marcus raised his hand and said, "They all died, but Brook's devil fruit allowed him to come back to life. He's still alive and is trying to find a way back to you."
"But when I went out to sea, I heard rumors that they tried to escape the Grandline through the Calm Belt."
Marcus shook his head as he said, "Captain Yorki and some members of the crew contracted a terrible disease. To not spread it to everyone else they left the ship and tried to escape to find help…"
Crocus frowned and Laboon's looked about ready to cry when Marcus said, "Brook became the new captain and continued on with their goal being to honor their promise to Laboon. Unfortunately they fought an enemy who used poison and while they won, they were all dying from the poison."
Laboon lifted his head and let out a mournful cry that shook the water and Marcus's ship for almost a minute. Once finished it looked like he was about to do it again when Marcus yelled, "They died, but Brook is still alive because of his devil fruit Laboon!"
Laboon dropped his head back into the water and looked at Marcus with one eye that was clearly crying and Crocus asked, "If that's the case, why hasn't he come back?"
"They were in the Florian Triangle when it happened and Brook came back as a spirit. The fog and how that place works made it impossible to find his body. I'm not completely sure when he finds it, but even after he does, his ship has a broken rudder so he is stuck there."
Crocus let out a sigh as he studied Marcus for a while before he asked, "Alright, say we believe you… You're telling me Brook is currently trapped as some sort of spirit in the Florian Triangle?"
Marcus nodded as he said, "Something like that…"
"Are you going to find him?"
Marcus shook his head as he said, "No, I already dreamed of my brother finding him when he goes out to sea and Brook will join his crew as the musician."
Marcus turned to focus on Laboon as he asked, "You've already waited forty years, you think you can wait ten or fifteen more for Brook to return?"
Laboon studied Marcus for a while before he slowly started to nod his massive head. Marcus smiled wide as he asked, "Good. I promise you'll hear about Brook in the news within the next eight years or so. But you're not allowed to bang your head against the Redline anymore… Got it?"
Laboon nodded slowly again as Marcus said, "Good! But you both also have to do something for me when you meet my brother…"