The Going Merry had successfully crossed Reverse Mountain, and just as fate would have it in the original timeline, the Straw Hat Pirates found themselves at Twin Capes face-to-face with the lighthouse keeper Crocus. However, the circumstances of their meeting had shifted dramatically from what should have been.
Instead of being unceremoniously swallowed by Laboon's massive maw and requiring rescue, Crocus had been waiting for them at the lighthouse. The elderly doctor stood with his hands behind his back, watching their approach with knowing eyes that held both wisdom and concern. The whale Laboon floated nearby, his scarred head breaking the surface as if he too understood the significance of this moment.
"Welcome to the Grand Line, Straw Hat Pirates," Crocus called out, his voice carrying across the water with surprising strength for a man his age.
Luffy's eyes immediately lit up with recognition—not from personal experience, but from the revelations that had been broadcast across the Sky Screen. "Hey, old man! You're the ship doctor from the Pirate King's crew, aren't you? That's so cool!"
A warmth spread across Crocus's weathered features as he watched Luffy's genuine enthusiasm. The boy's infectious energy reminded him of young pirate captain from decades past. "Indeed I am, young man. Though I must say, meeting you under these circumstances is quite different from what I expected."
The lighthouse keeper gestured for them to dock at the small pier. As the crew secured their ship, Crocus's expression grew more serious. "I've been waiting here specifically for your arrival. The Sky Screen has shown us all what's to come, and I couldn't in good conscience allow a group of promising young pirates to enter the Grand Line without proper warning."
"Uncle, you're really amazing!" Luffy exclaimed, practically bouncing on his feet. "This is the third person I've met who sailed with the Pirate King! First there was Shank, then Buggy, and now you!"
Crocus raised an eyebrow at the casual mention of his former crewmates. The old doctor led them toward his lighthouse, noting how different this encounter felt compared to what the Sky Screen had originally shown. In that future, he would have remained hidden inside Laboon, emerging only after the whale had swallowed their ship. Now, he found himself actively facilitating their journey rather than initially hindering it.
"Let me tell you about Laboon," Crocus began, settling into his role as storyteller. His voice took on the cadence of someone who had repeated this tale many times, yet still felt its emotional weight. "His story began fifty years ago with a pirate crew called the Rumbar Pirates."
As Crocus wove the tale of young Laboon being left behind with a promise of reunion, of the Rumbar Pirates' disappearance into the treacherous waters of the Grand Line, and of the whale's decades-long vigil marked by self-destructive grief, the Straw Hats listened with varying degrees of attention. Luffy sat cross-legged on the ground, completely absorbed, while Nami's practical mind was already calculating the implications of their changed circumstances.
"That's so sad," Luffy said, his usual cheerfulness dimmed by genuine empathy. Without hesitation, he stood up and marched toward the dock where Laboon waited. "Hey, Laboon! Let's fight!"
What followed was a brief but spirited battle between the rubber boy and the massive whale. True to form, Luffy's unconventional solution involved painting the Straw Hat Pirates' jolly roger over the worst of Laboon's self-inflicted scars on his head.
"There!" Luffy declared, admiring their handiwork. "Now you can't hurt yourself anymore! When I finish going around the Grand Line and become Pirate King, I'll come back and we'll have an even better fight!"
Laboon's mournful song seemed to carry a note of hope this time, and Crocus nodded approvingly. Some things, it seemed, transcended the changes wrought by the Sky Screen.
Their touching moment was interrupted by muffled voices from the Merry. Two figures were tied to the ship's mast—a tall man with the number 9 emblazoned on his clothing and a woman with distinctive curly blue hair styled in an outrageous fashion.
"Excuse me, but who exactly are these people?" Nami asked, eyeing the captives with suspicion.
"Bounty hunters from Baroque Works," Crocus explained. "Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday. They came here intending to harvest Laboon for his meat—apparently, his presence has been interfering with their operations at Whiskey Peak."
"Mr. 9! We should have escaped when we had the chance!" the woman hissed at her partner.
"Miss Wednesday, how could we have known the Straw Hat Pirates would actually show up here?" the man replied through gritted teeth.
Sanji approached with a cigarette dangling from his lips, looking the female prisoner up and down with mild interest before shaking his head. "Sorry, miss, but that hairstyle really isn't doing you any favors."
Meanwhile, Crocus had retrieved that morning's newspaper and was holding it with the careful attention of someone reading momentous news. His brow furrowed as he scanned the headlines.
"Remember Buggy," he said slowly, looking up at Luffy. "I don't suppose you've heard about what happened in Loguetown recently?"
Crocus wordlessly handed the newspaper to Nami, who had already extended her hand with the eager anticipation of someone who devoured current events. Her face, initially bright with curiosity, gradually paled as she read the headlines and studied the accompanying photographs.
"L-Luffy," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. "Buggy the Clown... he fought Admiral Kizaru in Loguetown. And won."
The newspaper nearly slipped from her trembling fingers as she absorbed the implications. The battle scenes depicted in the grainy photos showed a level of destruction that defied comprehension. Where Loguetown should have stood, only scattered debris floating on the ocean remained.
"What?" Luffy's eyes widened as he processed this information.
Sanji snatched the paper from Nami's hands, his eyes immediately drawn to a photograph of a striking blonde woman wielding a sword that seemed to glow with divine light. His cigarette fell from his slack jaw.
"Mon Dieu," he breathed, his voice taking on that dreamy quality it always did when confronted with exceptional beauty. "Who is this absolute goddess? I would cook for her every day for the rest of my life!"
"The world's number one female swordsman," Zoro said, having peered over Sanji's shoulder with interest despite himself. His usual stoic expression had given way to something approaching excitement. "Artoria Pendragon. The newspaper says she destroyed Loguetown with a single sword technique."
The swordsman's hand unconsciously moved to the hilt of Wado Ichimonji as he studied the photograph. Here was another summit to climb, another seemingly impossible opponent to one day surpass. The thought filled him with anticipation rather than dread.
"If Kuina were still alive," he murmured quietly, "she'd probably be just as strong."
Nami reclaimed the newspaper and read through the articles with growing unease. Her analytical mind, sharpened by years of navigating both literal and figurative storms, quickly grasped the broader implications.
"This changes everything," she said, voicing the thought that had been growing in all their minds. "In the original future shown on the Sky Screen, none of this was supposed to happen. Loguetown was supposed to still exist. Buggy was supposed to be capture and transported to Impel Down."
She looked around at her crewmates, seeing her concern reflected in some faces more than others. "Don't you understand? If the future has already changed this much, then we have no idea what we're sailing into. The Sky Screen showed us one possible path, but we're clearly not on it anymore."
Crocus nodded gravely, his weathered hands clasped behind his back as he gazed out at the horizon. "The girl speaks wisdom beyond her years. When I first saw the Sky Screen, I made a choice to be here waiting for you rather than hiding inside Laboon as fate originally intended. But every choice creates ripples, and those ripples are already becoming waves."
The old doctor's expression grew troubled as he continued. "In the original timeline, Loguetown would have stood for many years to come. Now it's gone, erased by powers that were supposed to remain dormant. If Buggy truly obtained what he sought from Douglas Bullet in Impel Down, then forces far beyond your current ability to handle may already be in motion."
Luffy, who had been listening to this exchange with gradually diminishing attention, suddenly stood up and shouted with his characteristic grin, "I don't care about any of that! I'm going to be the Pirate King no matter what!"
His declaration rang across the water with such conviction that even Laboon seemed to respond, letting out a low, rumbling call that might have been approval.
"Are you really Straw Hat Luffy?" Miss Wednesday called out from her bonds, her voice carrying a note of desperate hope that seemed out of place for a bounty hunter.
Luffy turned toward her with his usual friendly wave. "Yep! That's me! Am I really that famous already?"
What happened next surprised everyone present. Miss Wednesday began to weep—not the frustrated tears of a captured enemy, but the relieved sobs of someone who had just glimpsed salvation after a long darkness.
"My name," she said through her tears, "is not actually Miss Wednesday. I am Nefertari Vivi, Princess of Arabasta Kingdom."
The revelation hung in the air like a physical weight. Even Sanji, who had been dismissive of her outrageous hairstyle, straightened with the automatic respect due to royalty.
"Princess?" Nami repeated, her navigator's mind immediately trying to reconcile this information with what she could observe. "But why would a princess be working as a bounty hunter?"
Vivi straightened as much as her bonds would allow, and when she spoke again, her voice carried the authority and desperation of someone fighting for her people's survival.
"My kingdom is dying," she said simply. "For three years now, Arabasta has been consumed by civil war. Cities burn while neighbor fights neighbor, all because they believe their king—my father—is their enemy. But it's all a lie, orchestrated by one of the Shichibukai."
She looked directly at Luffy as she continued. "Crocodile, the Desert King, is systematically destroying my country from within. He's been manipulating both sides of the conflict, all to seize control of Arabasta for himself. I infiltrated Baroque Works to gather evidence, but I was discovered and forced to flee."
Vivi's voice grew stronger as she spoke, the princess within overriding the bounty hunter facade. "I believe in you, Straw Hat Luffy, because the Sky Screen showed us glimpse of the truth. It showed you defeating Crocodile and saving my kingdom. That future—it has to still be possible, doesn't it?"
The question seemed to encompass all their fears about the changing timeline. If one future had been prevented, could another still be achieved?
Princess Vivi believed in Straw Hat Luffy when they first met. It was not because she was naive and romantic, but because Sky had revealed the glimpse future, showing that Luffy could defeat Crocodile.