"Am I… dreaming?"
Nami whispered, teary-eyed, clutching Shanu's arm tightly.
"Brother, I'm still alive, right? This isn't what heaven looks like after you die, is it?"
But how could there be another world inside a whale's stomach? It made no sense!
"Here, look closely."
Shanu pointed toward the ceiling, helping everyone make sense of what they saw.
"See that dome up there? It's a half-sphere—everything you see, the blue sky and clouds, is fake. It's painted."
The crew followed his finger and stared upward.
Sure enough, while the sky looked vivid and the clouds realistic, the clouds didn't move. If you focused, you could even see faint brushstrokes and wrinkles in the paint.
"Then what about this sea?"
Kuina spread her arms, baffled.
"There's no way this entire ocean is painted too, right?"
"It's stomach acid."
A calm voice answered from the side.
Everyone turned their heads.
A small rowboat drifted slowly by. The old man aboard looked expressionlessly at them—his hair shaped like flower petals, a flashy tropical shirt on his back, and slung across his shoulder… a giant syringe taller than he was.
"Careful not to fall in," the old man said flatly. "Ordinary people can't last long in there—you'd be corroded into a skeleton."
"Hey! Old man!"
Nami called out quickly.
"Don't go just yet! We're still inside the whale, right? But how did it turn into this? And where's the way out?!"
"How rude."
The old man stopped paddling, frowned at her.
"Who raised you, little girl? Before asking someone's name, isn't it polite to introduce yourself first?"
"Ah—yeah, sorry." Nami scratched her head, embarrassed. "I'm Na—"
"I'm Crocus. Lighthouse keeper of Twin Cape. Sixty-seven years old, blood type AB, Gemini."
He said it completely deadpan.
"You're the rude one here!!"
Veins popped on Nami's forehead as she bared her teeth and yelled,
"At least let me finish my sentence, you senile old fossil! Believe it or not, I'll burn that ridiculous flower hair of yours right off!"
Fwoosh!
As soon as she got fired up, her orange hair ignited into bright flame, flaring wildly.
"Hmm? A Devil Fruit user?"
Crocus glanced at her, mildly intrigued.
"You shouldn't toss that kind of power around carelessly. You could kill someone."
"Kill someone?"
Nami blinked, quickly smothering the fire.
"Wait—it has side effects?"
"I mean you could kill me."
He pointed at himself.
"Oh, you!"
Everyone burst out laughing.
"Hey, old man," Nami huffed. "You talk like that to everyone who comes by? There must be tons of short-tempered pirates around here. The fact you're still alive is… pretty impressive."
"Ordinary pirates don't bother me," Crocus said, glancing at Shanu.
"But you lot… you actually scare me a bit. I mean, it's been decades, and I've never seen a rookie who hasn't even entered the Grand Line yet with a bounty of 180 million berries."
"Pirates? We're adventurers!"
Nami corrected, then looked at Shanu proudly, beaming.
"Hear that, bro? You're famous! Even old guys on the Grand Line are intimidated by you!"
"He's exaggerating."
Leaning lazily against the railing, Shanu studied Crocus with amusement.
"A legend who's lived through that many eras wouldn't be scared of me.
Think about it—doesn't his introduction sound familiar? The doctor on Roger's ship was named Crocus too."
Roger?
That goofy old man in a beach shirt and sandals… that was the ship doctor of the Pirate King?
Everyone froze, then shouted in unison—
"EHHH?!"
Crocus blinked, genuinely surprised.
"Huh. Someone still remembers me?
So many years have passed… all those pirates yelling about 'inheriting Roger's will'—not a single one recognized me.
Well, except for two brats, but they were old acquaintances, so they don't count…"
He glanced up at the ship's mast, at the white flag fluttering there.
"You said you're adventurers, not pirates, huh? …Now I believe you."
BOOM!
A deep rumble shook the world outside.
A mournful whale's cry followed. The entire dome trembled; winds howled, waves surged.
"Almost forgot my real job," Crocus muttered, shaking his head. He tapped the enormous syringe on his shoulder.
"Follow me. I'll explain as we go."
CRACK—
The huge needle pierced the pink stomach wall, emptying its tranquilizer dose. Outside, the giant whale Laboon, who'd been ramming against the Red Line, slowly quieted down.
The once-turbulent sea inside became calm again.
"And ever since then," Crocus finished, "it's kept crying toward Reverse Mountain, smashing itself against the Red Line. I've tried to stop it countless times, but Laboon still refuses to accept the truth."
He set the empty syringe aside, his voice soft.
"No wonder it's covered in scars," Nami murmured tearfully. "It just wants to see its friends again…"
The three girls with the weakest tear ducts were already sobbing. Even Zeff silently turned away, lighting a cigarette and staring up at the fake sky.
"Gin," Nami sniffled, hugging the silver wolf's leg.
"If we ever got separated like that… would you stay here, bashing your head against Reverse Mountain forever? Promise me you won't be that dumb, okay?"
"Awoo."
The wolf rolled its eyes.
You're the dumb one. I'm small enough to just hop a boat, idiot.
Meanwhile, Shanu was deep in thought. He'd already cried over this story years ago. Now he was calm—but curious.
Something about Crocus's words bothered him.
"Old man," he said suddenly, "you mean to tell me Laboon was peaceful… until you told it the Rumbar Pirates had abandoned it and quit the Grand Line?"
"That's right," Crocus sighed.
"The Grand Line is terrifying. Every year, many pirates lose heart. Humans are weak creatures—they betray, they forget their promises… often, they're not even as loyal as a whale."
"But what if I told you," Shanu said quietly, "the Rumbar Pirates didn't abandon it?"
"Huh?"
Crocus blinked.
"Impossible! I investigated personally. Several witnesses saw the Rumbar Pirates' ship escape into the Calm Belt!"
"But you didn't see it yourself, did you?" Shanu pressed.
"And think about it—if they were really cowards running away because they lost their nerve, why flee into the Calm Belt of all places?
That crew was just a bunch of musicians. Their dream was to tour the world, to make every crying child smile again. They didn't have powerful fighters on board. Sailing into the Calm Belt would be suicide."
"..."
Crocus froze, pupils shrinking.
He realized—he'd never actually considered that.
Back then, even before joining Roger's crew, he'd already been a top-class doctor and warrior. After sailing with Roger around the world, witnessing countless historic legends and world-shaking events, his perspective had changed—his sensitivity dulled.
To him, crossing the Calm Belt had become trivial.
But as Shanu said…
How could a rookie crew like the Rumbar Pirates, who hadn't even reached the New World, dare to sail there out of fear?
"Th-then how… those witnesses—one of them was an old friend I trusted…"
"The Rumbar Pirates' ship did enter the Calm Belt," Shanu said softly.
"But only because Captain Yorki and a few others caught a deadly illness. Not wanting to endanger the crew, Yorki handed command to his first mate, Brook.
He told them to continue their journey—to carry on their dream—while he sailed the old ship into the Calm Belt to die quietly."
"And… the new ship?"
"They all died too," Shanu said solemnly. "Attacked in the Florian Triangle. The entire crew was wiped out. But Brook ate the Revive-Revive Fruit—you know that, right?
He's still alive… as a skeleton. Trapped in that same sea to this day."
Everyone listened in stunned silence.
Kuina finally whispered, poking Shanu's side.
"Captain… how do you know all this?"
"Remember what I told you? That I'm on good terms with the newly crowned Emperor, Red-Haired Shanks?" Shanu said casually.
"He told me about it when we were drinking in the Goa Kingdom."
Kuina nodded slowly. So that's why the captain already knew about Laboon…
On the other side—
Clatter.
Crocus dropped the empty syringe.
He staggered back a few steps, face pale as chalk.
"It all makes sense now… It all fits…!"
Tears welled up as he recalled that day—the sunset, the musicians' smiles as they entrusted Laboon to him.
He slapped himself hard across the face, again and again.
"I wronged Yorki and Brook! I'm such an idiot! I never even thought about it, never checked that ship myself—and because of me, poor Laboon has suffered all this time—wait… oh no, Laboon—Laboon!!"
He suddenly looked up, horrified.
"Laboon! Did you hear us?! Please—stop! I'm begging you, stop!!"
A deep, sorrowful wail echoed outside. The entire cavern shook violently. The painted blue sky cracked apart, revealing the whale's pink inner flesh.
"What's happening—?!" Nami cried, but the ship lurched violently. She was thrown into the mast and clung on for dear life to avoid falling into the acidic sea.
"It's killing itself!" Crocus screamed, tears streaming down his face.
"Laboon's accepted it—he thinks all his friends are dead! He's giving up on crossing the Red Line—he's going to smash himself to death against Reverse Mountain!!"
"But my brother said Brook's still alive!"
Nami shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth like a megaphone.
"Laboon! Can you hear me?! You didn't catch the last part, did you?! Brook's still alive—he's waiting for you on the Grand Line! We can take you to him, so stop it, you big idiot! Please!!"
Her screams vanished into the roar. No answer came.
Laboon kept ramming the Red Line with suicidal force.
The shaking grew worse; chunks of stone crashed from the ceiling. The false sky shattered completely, exposing the pulsing pink walls beneath.
"Go!"
Crocus stumbled toward a massive valve, wrenching it open with all his strength.
"Get out! The tranquilizer's worn off—he can't hear us anymore! We have to reach the surface and stop him!"
"Can we even make it?!"
Nami bit her lip, steering the Curtainfall toward the opening. Her heart pounded—she dreaded what they'd find outside. A shattered sea… and a dead island whale.
But then—
"Yohohoho… yohohoho~"
"Yohohoho… yohohoho~"
A familiar, cheerful melody drifted through the air.
Everyone froze.
"That song…?" Crocus gasped, tears still glistening on his wrinkled face.
The music grew louder, brighter—rising high, echoing across the whale's insides. Even the waves rippling over the stomach acid danced to its rhythm.
"Yohohoho… yohohoho~"
"Yohohoho… yohohoho~"