Hearing Luffy's words, everyone on the ship was stunned.
Thinking carefully, it seemed that everything Luffy had believed in and persisted in had always come true.
Immediately, everyone's heavy expressions gradually eased, and their lips curved slightly upward.
"Then... I believe too!"
"Me too!"
"Me too..."
Seeing the Straw Hat Crew change their attitudes one after another just because of Luffy's simple words, Crocus was utterly shocked.
He looked at Luffy with shock and excitement in his eyes.
A figure involuntarily appeared in his mind.
That man with the handlebar mustache, the only one who conquered the Grand Line.
The infectious power Luffy displayed, changing those around him, made Crocus feel as if he were seeing Roger from back then.
While Crocus was in a daze, Luffy smiled slightly and said to him, "Crocus, take us out!"
"I'll save Laboon!"
"I'll give it a new meaning for waiting!"
Looking at the confident man before him, Crocus was deeply moved.
He looked at Luffy with some excitement and anticipation, asking, "Can you save Laboon?"
Luffy smiled and nodded, saying, "Leave it to me!"
Hearing this, Crocus's face immediately lit up with excitement and joy, and his eyes even became slightly moist.
He had been trying to persuade Laboon for decades but had never been able to save it.
Yet now, this young man spoke with such confidence, moving Crocus deeply.
Because he saw Roger's shadow in Luffy, Crocus now believed in Luffy just as he had believed in Roger.
Crocus took off his glasses, rubbed his moist eyes, and said, "Follow me!"
With that, he and Luffy and the others boarded the going merry and prepared to pass through a giant iron gate.
That was the entrance and exit for Laboon.
When the merry go was halfway through, they suddenly saw a small door above the giant iron gate open.
Then, two figures appeared in everyone's view.
The two figures were a man and a woman; the man wore a crown on his head, and the woman had blue hair tied in a ponytail.
Both of them wore insidious and wicked smiles, bending over like thieves, huddled together and snickering.
"Hehehe... Infiltration successful!"
"It looks like we've finally entered this whale's body!"
Crocus immediately frowned upon seeing the two figures suddenly appear, and he angrily said, "It's you two ruffians again! I will never let you hunt Laboon."
Hearing Crocus's words, the Straw Hat Crew immediately looked puzzled.
"Hunt Laboon?"
"What's going on?"
"Who are they?"
While the others questioned, Luffy had already recognized the newcomers.
The two were Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday, members of Baroque Works, created by Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
And the true identity of Ms. Wednesday was actually Princess Vivi of the Alabasta Kingdom.
However, at this time, Vivi was feigning a personality to hide her identity.
Hearing Crocus's angry accusations against them, both Vivi and her companion gave a wicked smile.
The next second, they set up the two cannons they carried with them, aiming at the internal wall of the whale, which was Laboon's body.
They spoke in an exaggerated villainous tone, "Hohohoho... Stop your pointless resistance!"
"You want to protect this whale so much, then protect it to your heart's content. We are going to make this whale the food for our town."
With that, the two were about to fire.
Crocus was startled at the sight and was about to leap up to block the two cannonballs for Laboon.
"Stop!"
Before Crocus could act, he suddenly heard a voice beside him, not loud, but full of Haki.
Both Vivi and her companion also heard that voice that made them feel somewhat afraid.
They couldn't help but turn their heads to look and saw the man wearing the Straw Hat.
Both were intimidated by Luffy's aura and Haki, but they had a mission to hunt Laboon, so they naturally wouldn't retreat or give in so easily.
Although there was fear and nervousness in their eyes, they still feigned calmness and disdain.
"Tch... Tch! Who cares about you?!"
"We're definitely going to kill this whale!"
With that, the two were about to fire.
But they suddenly felt an unparalleled momentum and pressure assailing them.
In an instant, their minds were filled with fear.
Immediately after, they rolled their eyes and lost consciousness.
Seeing this, Crocus couldn't help but widen his eyes, looking at Luffy in shock.
"This... This is... Conqueror's Haki?!"
Crocus was deeply shocked; he never imagined that a newcomer so young, entering the Grand Line for the first time, would have already mastered Haki, and even the rare Haoshoku.
Shanks had only told him that he met a very interesting kid and thought highly of him.
But he didn't mention the specific details.
Now seeing it with his own eyes, Crocus understood.
He sighed with excitement in his heart.
"Roger, is he the one we've been waiting for?"
...
Under Crocus's guidance, Luffy and the others successfully made it out of Laboon's body.
They temporarily made the lighthouse guarded by Crocus their temporary base and rested beside it.
Vivi and the other person were tied up and thrown to the side.
"Hey! Luffy! What should we do with these two?"
Usopp pointed at Vivi and the other person and asked.
"Let's cut them down! It'll be a good chance for me to try out my new swords."
Zoro placed his hands on the two new swords he had acquired, Sandai Kitetsu and Yukishiba.
Upon hearing this, Vivi and the other person's pupils instantly turned white, looking as if they were terrified to the point of fainting.
The next second, they frantically knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.
"P-Please, don't kill us!"
"We won't hunt this whale anymore, please let us go!"
At this moment, Nami walked over, questioning them.
"Who are you?"
Vivi immediately replied upon hearing her.
"I am Ms. Wednesday. He is Mr. 9."
Hearing such a title, Zoro frowned and muttered.
"I feel like I've heard that title somewhere before."
Vivi continued.
"Actually, we don't want to do such sneaky things, but hunting this whale is a task assigned to us by the company."
Nami asked in confusion.
"Task? Company? What is that?"
Vivi frowned deeply, lowering her head with a pained expression, and said.
"Our company's rule is [Mystery], so we can't say anything."
"Actually, our mission time has already passed, but because we don't have a ship, we haven't been able to go back."
As she spoke, Vivi, along with Mr. 9, once again kowtowed to Luffy and the others, pleading.
"Please, take us back to our town."
"When we get there, we will definitely repay your great kindness."
Looking at their miserable state, the Straw Hat Crew and Crocus remained completely unmoved.
Crocus crossed his arms and said coldly.
"Don't mind them. No matter what they say, they are not good people."
Nami also looked indifferent and said.
"You're dreaming, aren't you? You just tried to kill that whale! Who would believe you?"
The others also nodded in agreement.
But at this moment, Luffy stepped forward and said.
"Alright!"
Vivi and the other person, who had already given up in despair, suddenly heard someone agree, and immediately looked up excitedly, saying.
"Thank you so much, Straw Hat."
The others also spoke up, wanting to dissuade Luffy.
"Luffy, those two don't look like good people at all, we can't help them."
"That's right! Luffy! They just tried to kill Laboon!"
Facing everyone's dissuasion, Luffy waved his hand.
"It's okay, I believe they shouldn't be bad people."
Luffy's gaze remained fixed on Vivi, making her feel a little guilty and dare not look into his eyes anymore.
The others stopped trying to dissuade him when they heard Luffy say that.
After all, it was the Captain's will.
At this moment, Vivi took out something like a glass sphere with a compass inside.
"Our town is Whiskey Peak on Cactus Island!"
"This is the Log Pose to Whiskey Peak."
Seeing this novel item, Nami and the others gathered around.
Nami took the Log Pose and asked in confusion.
"Log Pose, what is this?"
Vivi and the other person were stunned upon hearing this, their jaws dropping in astonishment.
"You don't even know what a Log Pose is?"
"How are you going to sail the Grand Line without a Log Pose?"
"How did a pirate crew like yours even get to the Grand Line?"
Facing Vivi and the other person's snarling questions, Nami shook the Log Pose she had taken from Vivi, feigning a troubled expression, and said.
"That's right! Without a Log Pose, how can we sail the Grand Line? It's really a headache!"
Vivi and the other person stared blankly at the Log Pose Nami held in her hand, which she had taken from them.
The next second...
"Sorry, we were wrong!"
"Please, noble sirs, don't hold it against us."
...
"Hmph!"
Nami snorted triumphantly, then turned to ask Crocus about the Log Pose.
Afterward, Crocus taught Nami the relevant content and knowledge.
A moment later.
Nami looked at the Log Pose in her hand and exclaimed.
"I see, this is used to record the magnetic field of the next island connected to this island. Without the Log Pose, you can't go to the next island."
"It seems this is indeed a very important item!"
"I must take good care of it."
After the preparations for sailing were complete, Luffy stepped forward and said.
"Alright, now all we need to do is solve Laboon's problem, and then we can set off for the next island."
The others showed curiosity upon hearing this.
"Speaking of which, what exactly are you planning to do?"
Luffy didn't answer, but smiled slightly and walked towards the shore.
The others, seeing this, focused their attention entirely on Luffy, watching his every move.
Seeing these people relax their guard, Vivi and the other person finally relaxed.
They whispered to each other.
"Hohohoho! That Straw Hat is such a fool, he was tricked so easily. Once we bring them back to Whiskey Peak and let the bounty hunters in town catch them for the bounty, it can offset our failure to catch the whale."
"That's right. This way, we won't be hunted down by the [Unlucky] duo. You're truly a genius, Ms. Wednesday!"
"Hohohohoho... Speaking of which, what did that Straw Hat say about Laboon just now?"
"It seems to be about this whale, I don't know what they want to do."
As they chatted, they also looked in Luffy's direction.
At this moment, Luffy had already arrived at the shore near Laboon.
The next second, he suddenly clenched his fist, and a black aura immediately appeared on it.
Immediately after, an extremely strong aura erupted, and a translucent orb of light also appeared on his fist.
The moment the orb of light appeared, terrifying purple-black lightning grew and spread wildly with lightning speed, radiating outwards.
Within dozens of kilometers, the sky and earth instantly darkened, covered by terrifying energy fluctuations.
Upon seeing this, Crocus's pupils dilated in shock, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Th-This is..."
"Impossible?!"
Crocus muttered to himself, unable to believe it.
This was undoubtedly Haoshoku Haki Infusion, but how could Luffy, a new pirate, possess such an ability?
Crocus couldn't believe it.
The other members of the Straw Hat Crew also couldn't help but feel shocked and emotional.
"I say, has he gotten stronger again?"
Zoro's mouth twitched.
He trained desperately every day, wanting to catch up to Luffy.
But Luffy's progress didn't seem to be any slower than his.
"It looks like it!"
Sanji sighed powerlessly.
"Then that means... Luffy is already stronger than an Admiral?!"
Usopp stated a shocking fact.
Suddenly, the whole place fell silent.
Everyone couldn't help but exclaim at the same time.
"Monster!"
And at the same moment, with Vivi.
Vivi and Mr. 9 were both scared to tears by the sudden apocalyptic scene.
Their pupils were pale, as if they had lost focus.
Their eyes were filled with shock and fear as they looked at Luffy.
Their mouths were wide open, and their throats continuously made startled "ah" sounds.
"W-What's wrong with that Straw Hat?"
"Can such an attack really be made by a human?"
After a moment of shock and emotion, they suddenly thought of something.
Vivi's expression was stiff, her face covered in cold sweat, and she said tremblingly.
"Speaking of which, if we bring them back to Whiskey Peak, will it cause all the other people in our studio to be wiped out?"
Mr. 9 swallowed hard and said.
"But now the Log Pose is with them, we can't change it anymore. And if we don't take them, we'll be eliminated by the [Unlucky] duo immediately."
After he finished speaking, the two exchanged glances, both seeing despair in each other's eyes.
Luffy's side.
After the Haoshoku Haki Infusion was fully charged, he leaped up and blasted the orb of light containing terrifying energy towards Laboon.
Of course, Luffy controlled his strength and didn't use his full power.
"Bo-oh-oh-oh-oh..." A pained wail came from Laboon.
The next second, he turned his head and charged at Luffy, and the two of them went back and forth, battling with their bare hands.
A moment later, Luffy withdrew from the fight and leaped onto the shore.
Just then, Luffy spoke loudly.
"Laboon, am I strong?!"
Laboon saw Luffy stop and also stopped, looking at him.
Luffy continued.
"This time, let's call it a draw!"
"Our battle hasn't determined a winner yet."
"So, we definitely have to fight again."
"You wait here, and after I sail around the Grand Line."
"I'll come back here to see you again."
"At that time, let's have another fight!"
Laboon stared blankly at Luffy, who continued.
"I promise you, I will help you find your former companions."
"After I sail around the Grand Line, I will bring news of them and come back here with you to reunite."
"Did you hear that, Laboon?!"
Luffy shouted out, asking.
And Laboon's eyes were already filled with tears.
The next second, he let out a long cry to the sky.
"Bo-oh-oh-oh-oh..."
...
"Alright! Mission accomplished!"
Luffy shouted out happily.
He looked at the incredibly huge Straw Hat skull design on top of Laboon's head and was very satisfied.
Then, he said to Laboon.
"Laboon, this mark is the symbol of our promise."
"Don't knock it off before I come back to see you, got it?"
Laboon's eyes crinkled in a smile, and he nodded.
"Bo-oh!"
Luffy smiled, stretched out his arm, and patted Laboon's head.
Crocus and the others also smiled at this scene, enjoying this harmonious and beautiful moment.