"Okay, great! This is our fighting promise."
Luffy looked at the large, poorly drawn Jolly Roger on Laboon's head and nodded in satisfaction. He said to Laboon, floating on the sea, "You can't let that mark disappear by ramming the cliff before we get back here. Got it?"
Laboon gave a soft cry, gently nodding toward Luffy standing on the shore.
Crocus saw that after making a new promise with Luffy, Laboon would finally stop ramming the Red Line. He looked up at Laboon, whose eyes now held a hint of joy, a relieved smile appearing on his wrinkled face.
Having lived with Laboon for nearly fifty years, he had long considered the whale part of his life and would never abandon it.
But if Laboon continued ramming the Red Line, it would truly die. This had given Crocus endless headaches.
Now that the weight was finally lifted, Crocus felt he should help Luffy and the others, who had just entered the Grand Line.
Tom looked at the crooked, slanted Jolly Roger on Laboon's head—even the straw hat in the drawing was askew. It wasn't just ugly; it was huge, covering almost Laboon's entire head.
He felt sorry for Laboon and lost all desire to "challenge" it.
"So, want me to draw one for you too? Guaranteed to look about the same as the one on Laboon."
Luffy, seeing Tom staring intently at the Jolly Roger on Laboon's head, eagerly asked while munching on meat.
"Ha, no thanks. You should draw one on your own head instead."
Tom glanced at the enthusiastic Luffy, immediately turned, and walked away. Any slower, and Luffy—whose artistic itch clearly wasn't satisfied—might really start drawing on his head. If that happened, he might as well jump into the sea.
"You want me to draw on my own head while looking in a mirror? But I don't like mirrors. And Nami's mirror is too small; borrowing it wouldn't help..."
Luffy, confused, scratched his chin and muttered to himself as Tom fled.
Meanwhile, Nami sat at the stone table and chairs outside the lighthouse, planning to start charting their voyage. Usopp had returned to the Going Merry, grumbling about Luffy breaking the mast while also trying to repair it.
Zoro, leaning against the railing and preparing to nap, said he wasn't a carpenter and quickly fell asleep.
As for Sanji, he was meticulously turning the Banana Gator into cuisine. It was his first time handling such an ingredient, and he was quite engrossed.
"Ahhhhh!!!!"
Nami suddenly let out a long, sharp scream, so loud that even Laboon, sunbathing on the surface, was startled and dove back into the sea.
"What's wrong?!"
"Miss Nami, the food is ready."
"Repairing a ship really isn't easy. I'm a bit tired, gonna rest. Is it time to eat?"
"You screamed so loudly you scared all the fish away. I was just about to do some fishing."
Except for Zoro, who was still snoozing on the ship, everyone else rushed over to ask Nami what happened. She told them the compass was broken and couldn't show direction.
To Nami's exasperation, after hearing her, Luffy and the others didn't grasp the severity at all, focusing instead on eating the Banana Gator dish Sanji just made.
"It seems you came here knowing nothing. Really, are you here to die?"
Crocus, seeing Nami's complete lack of knowledge about the Grand Line, walked over. "As I said, all common sense is useless here. That compass isn't broken."
"Is it because of the magnetic fields?"
Nami quickly caught on. Her guess was confirmed by Crocus: "Correct. Due to minerals on certain islands, the entire sea route's magnetism is very strange."
Crocus told Nami that currents and winds in the Grand Line had no regularity. Setting sail without knowing this was courting death.
Nami fully agreed. Not being able to determine direction at sea was indeed extremely dangerous.
"I... I didn't know the Grand Line was like this."
Nami, unusually meek, hung her head and apologized to Luffy with some embarrassment.
Luffy had invited her to be the navigator, yet she hadn't even understood the Grand Line's most basic facts. She felt she had failed in her duty.
Usopp, seeing that Nami, their navigator, knew nothing about the Grand Line, was shocked, his eyes nearly popping out.
"Not knowing these things makes you even more charming."
Sanji, seeing Nami's awkward expression, had another infatuated episode, staring at her adoringly.
Unfortunately, Luffy didn't hear Nami's words at all. He was busy arguing with Tom over food.
"I'm the captain, so I get to eat more. What's the problem with that?"
"Who's going to give all their food to you just because you're captain, you glutton!"
After Luffy secretly ate the food from Tom's plate several times in a row, Tom decisively could not tolerate it.
Tom also saw Luffy, while talking to him, stuff all the food from Sanji and Usopp's plates—who were talking to Nami—into his mouth. But that wasn't his concern; he just needed to protect his own remaining food.
"How am I a glutton? You're the one with the small appetite."
Luffy, seeing Tom's appetite was much smaller, unceremoniously bestowed the nickname "Small Belly" upon him.
"What did you say, you jerk?!"
Tom soon grappled with Luffy, the two rolling on the ground fighting. This made Nami feel her earlier words were completely unnecessary, as the captain didn't seem to care at all.
While Luffy and Tom brawled, Crocus told Nami more about the Grand Line.
To navigate the Grand Line, one needed a Log Pose—a special compass that could record magnetism.
Without a Log Pose, navigating the Grand Line was impossible. Moreover, obtaining a Log Pose outside the Grand Line was very difficult.
Simply put, without a Log Pose, one couldn't reach the Grand Line's end—the legendary island called Laugh Tale. In the past, only the Pirate King and his crew had confirmed its existence.
"Is the One Piece there?"
Usopp, hearing Crocus mention Laugh Tale, asked longingly. But Crocus said he didn't know.
Though many believed the One Piece was on Laugh Tale, aside from the Pirate King's crew, no one had been there.
"We'll just go there and see if the One Piece is really there or not!"
Luffy and Tom, having beaten each other black and blue, finally stopped. Just in time, hearing Usopp's conversation, Luffy spoke with confidence.
After hearing Crocus, Nami was initially headaching about what to do without a Log Pose. Then she inadvertently saw a round object fall from Luffy, who had just finished fighting Tom. Inside it seemed to be a magnetic needle.
Nami's eyes lit up. Could this be a Log Pose?
Though curious why Luffy had a Log Pose, before she could pick it up, Usopp and Sanji noticed their plates were completely empty and were shocked, their eyes nearly falling onto the empty dishes.
"Did you eat all the food by yourself?!"
Sanji, seeing Nami's plate was also empty, walked toward the just-standing Luffy with a darkened face: "You rubber bastard! I wanted Miss Nami to taste my cooking!"
"I'm furious!"
Sanji had put considerable effort into this meal, even adding special sauce to Nami's portion. Yet Nami didn't get a single bite—it all went into Luffy's stomach. So he kicked Luffy flying.
Tom, behind Luffy, suddenly spotted a round object not far away. As he moved to pick it up, Nami beat him to it.
Seeing Nami looking delightedly at the glass sphere she picked up, a brilliant smile on her face, Tom curiously asked why she was so happy over something that wasn't treasure.
"Idiot, this is very important to us. Without it, we can't navigate properly..."
As Nami showed the Log Pose to Tom, before she could finish, Tom was knocked forward by Luffy flying from behind.
Seeing Tom crash over, Nami instinctively reached her hands out to block him. Then she heard a clear clatter.
Though hit by Luffy, Tom managed to halt his body. However, his body still pressed the Log Pose in Nami's hand to pieces.
Nami saw her hand pressed against Tom's chest, while the Log Pose in her hand was now completely shattered into glass fragments. Much of the glass dust stuck to Tom, sparkling in the sunlight, nearly blinding her.
"You... you okay?"
Tom was extremely close to Nami. Seeing her blankly staring at the glass dust on his chest, he suddenly felt a chill run through his body and vaguely sensed something was wrong. Just as he tried to move away, he heard Luffy's voice.
"That thing you were looking at seems to be what I found on the ship earlier—dropped by those two weird people. But I played with it; it's not fun at all. Just a needle inside that doesn't even move. So it's no big deal if it broke, right?"
Nami's face turned cold, her eyes flared, and she didn't say a word.
Nami in an instant beat Sanji, Luffy, and Tom so badly they fell into the sea below.
"Why did Tom get beaten too? He didn't do anything wrong just now, did he?"
Usopp, seeing Tom also sent flying into the sea, swallowed hard and asked Nami.
He had seen everything. The real culprits were Sanji and Luffy. Tom had even managed to stop himself from knocking Nami over. What was his fault? If anything, if Nami hadn't reached out herself, the thing in her hand wouldn't have broken. So logically, Nami should bear some responsibility too.
Usopp understood this in his heart but didn't dare point fingers at Nami. He just righteously spoke up for Tom.
"Ah, that was just out of habit. Habit, haha."
Nami's words petrified Usopp on the spot, his jaw hitting the ground. Coming to his senses, he just said he needed to return to the ship to repair the mast and hurriedly left. Staying near Nami any longer, who knew if she'd casually give him a punch too? Then he'd really be terribly unlucky like Tom.
With the newly acquired Log Pose gone, Nami had no choice but to ask Crocus if there was another way.
Due to the Laboon incident, Crocus generously said he could give them a Log Pose. Nami was finally relieved.
After Luffy and Tom fell into the sea, being Devil Fruit users who couldn't swim, Sanji pulled them to the shore.
After Sanji dragged Luffy and Tom's upper bodies onto land, he unfortunately encountered Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, whom they had dumped earlier.
These two returned because their Log Pose had fallen onto the Going Merry, leaving them unable to return to their town. Discovering the Log Pose had been picked up by Luffy's crew, they had to come back.
Having missed the whale-capturing mission deadline, Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday were anxious to return to report their failure to their boss, or they would face severe punishment.
But before they could act, they encountered the agents responsible for monitoring subordinate actions at sea—the Unluckies: the mysterious sea otter Mr. 13 and the mysterious vulture Miss Friday.
Deeming Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday failures and liabilities, the Unluckies dropped a bomb on them from the sky, blowing them away before they could retrieve the Log Pose.
Sanji, climbing ashore, saw Miss Wednesday. He abandoned Tom and Luffy lying on the shore and walked over, gentlemanly pulling Miss Wednesday, still in the water, ashore. Then he seemed to forget everyone else, leading Miss Wednesday back.
Only when Mr. 9 called out did Sanji remember Luffy and Tom were still in the water and not out of danger yet.
Not long after, Tom and the others returned to the lighthouse, accompanied by Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday.
The two now knelt on the ground, earnestly requesting Luffy and the others to give them a ride to Whisky Peak, the name of the town where they lived.
"Wouldn't that be letting you off too easy, Mr. 9? You wanted to kill that whale."
Nami walked up to Mr. 9 and said.
"Who are you people, anyway?"
Usopp, now that Tom and the others were back, finally had the courage to stand near Nami again. He figured if Nami got angry later, at least Tom the unlucky one would be there to take the heat; he should be safe.
Since returning, Tom had noticed Usopp occasionally giving him strange looks filled with sympathy and relief, which puzzled him. He thought Usopp might have developed a squint, making his eyes look so strange.
"I am a prince."
Mr. 9, wearing a crown and dressed like a prince, with two tufts of beard trimmed into the shape of the Arabic number "9" on his face, didn't look like a prince at all.
Nami saw through his lie at a glance: "Don't lie."
"Right. If you're a prince, then your partner here must be a princess, right?"
Tom looked at the blue-haired woman with the long ponytail. Her fair face still had some scorched marks from the bomb explosion, leaving her looking somewhat disheveled. He continued, "But no matter how I look at it, she seems more like a fallen princess."
"What nonsense are you spouting?!"
Miss Wednesday, hearing Tom's words, became emotionally agitated. She leapt up from kneeling, grabbed Tom's collar, her dark, bright eyes glaring at him, lips pressed tight, teeth clenched, saying each word slowly, "I am not some fallen princess! Don't you dare call me that! Do you hear me?!"
"Miss Wednesday, calm down."
Mr. 9, since partnering with her, had never seen her emotions fluctuate so greatly. She had always been much calmer and steadier than him. Yet now, a few seemingly irrelevant words from Tom had nearly made her lose control, which greatly shocked him.
Even Luffy and the others nearby found the blue-haired woman's reaction inexplicable.
"Ah, sorry, I just..."
Miss Wednesday released Tom's collar, stepped back, took a deep breath, and forcibly calmed herself. But before she could finish her excuse, Tom, sensing she was hiding something, stepped forward. She subconsciously took another step back, but Tom continued advancing step by step.
This blue-haired woman had witnessed Tom's strength inside the whale's stomach—even the ferocious Banana Gator couldn't handle him, and he used strange gadgets. She truly didn't want someone like him discovering her secret.
"You're really acting strange. What are you hiding? If you want our help, you'd better be honest. I won't let someone who looks very suspicious board the Going Merry!"
Tom quickly closed in on the blue-haired woman. Seeing her only turning her head aside, glancing around, avoiding eye contact, he found her even more full of suspicious points.
Having just entered the Grand Line, Tom didn't want to get tricked right from the start.
Earlier, Tom had keenly noticed that when he mentioned "fallen princess," her expression froze unnaturally, if only for a blink. But he saw it clearly.
"Now, look into my eyes!"
Tom lifted the blue-haired woman's delicate, snow-white chin with his hand, turning her head to face him. Up close, he noticed her fair, tender skin, skin like snow, delicate features—quite pretty. Even her water-blue "broom head" hair seemed somewhat pleasing to the eye now.
Just as Tom activated his Devil Fruit ability, trying to peer into what secret this woman hid, Nami arrived behind him with a darkened face.
The blue-haired woman, her chin held by Tom, was forced to meet his gaze. She saw the man's pitch-black pupils gradually transform into a dark red like a blood moon, with golden light emerging around the crimson pupils. Looking into those blood-red eyes, she felt her mind waver.
But at that moment, the blood-red pupils that had completely captivated her attention suddenly closed. Then she heard an earth-shaking scream: "Waaaaaaah!"
"What exactly are you doing to her?!"
Nami saw Tom not only standing extremely close to the blue-haired woman but also intimately holding her chin and telling her to look into his eyes.
This was something Nami could not tolerate. She truly felt Tom was harassing her, and doing so publicly! Her anger meter instantly maxed out, dark clouds covering her pretty face. She walked behind Tom and began furiously beating him.
Thump! Bam! Clang! Whack!
The blue-haired woman, coming back to her senses, saw the man who had easily rendered her motionless moments ago beaten beyond recognition in an instant by the woman with beautiful short orange hair. She was so shocked that cold sweat poured down, her pointed chin nearly hitting the ground...
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T/N :
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