Chapter 131: Ralph, What Do You Think?
The old man named Crocus, sensing the tremor, dove into the sea without hesitation.
"Who is Laboon?"
Lufia shouted toward the direction where the old man had just jumped.
But the sea surface showed only ripples from the disturbance, with no trace of anyone having dived in.
It seemed the old man had already submerged underwater.
"That weird old man who looks like a flower..."
Nami frowned, "Seems like he has something urgent to do."
Zoro glanced at the seawater and raised a crucial question,
"If this really is the whale's stomach, then this seawater... isn't ordinary seawater, right?"
Sanji lit a cigarette and chimed in,
"It might be stomach acid. If we stay any longer, our ship will be digested."
As soon as he finished speaking, the space shook violently again!
This time, it was more intense than before. The light from the dome flickered wildly, the "island" in front of them rose and fell, and the seawater churned as if boiling.
Amid this intense shaking, everyone finally saw clearly—that "island" was not an island at all.
It was a ship.
A uniquely designed ship. The lower part of its hull wasn't made of wood but layers of iron plates, painted black, possibly coated with some anti-corrosive material.
However, the upper structure of the ship was disguised to look like an island.
As for that small wooden house, it was likely a cabin on the ship.
"That's... an iron ship?"
Sanji narrowed his eyes,
"Specially modified to sail in the Stomach Acid Sea."
"So that old man..."
Usopp murmured,
"Really lives in the whale's stomach? And this really is the Sea of Stomach Acid!"
"Now isn't the time to study this!"
Nami gripped the railing,
"Hurry and think of something! Otherwise, the ship will be corroded!"
Everyone fell into brief panic.
Ralph, however, calmly pointed into the distance.
"Look over there."
On the "wall" at the far end of the space, they could vaguely see a massive... door?
Everyone stared blankly at the distant gate.
Inside the whale's stomach, they had witnessed too many illogical things, to the point where their minds could barely keep up!
How could there be an island inside a whale's stomach?
How could there be a house on the island?
How could an old man live in that house?
How could there be blue skies and white clouds inside a whale's stomach?
And how could there be a door?
Fortunately, with the door as a reference, they quickly realized that the blue skies, white clouds, and seagulls were all painted.
It seemed the murals inside the whale's stomach, the island, and the gate were all the work of that old man.
That would explain it.
Or not!
What kind of strange old man would do such strange things inside a whale's stomach!
But this had nothing to do with the Straw Hat crew!
Since they suspected that the Great Steel Door was the exit, they should hurry and get out. Staying any longer and being digested by the stomach acid was no joke!
The Going Merry struggled to turn in the Stomach Acid Sea.
There was no wind, so they could only rely on rowing.
They also had to resist the turbulence currently occurring in the seawater.
Ralph, Lufia, Zoro, and Sanji each picked up a spare oar, while Nami directed their course.
As they approached, the "door" became clearer.
It was indeed a heavy metal gate.
Beside the door, there was a metal ladder extending upward from the seawater.
In the middle of the gate, there was a small platform for ordinary people to pass through, with a smaller door on it.
At that moment—
"Splash!"
Crocus, who had just jumped into the sea, reappeared.
He emerged from the water, drenched from head to toe, yet moving with an agility that belied his seventy years.
He swiftly swam to the metal ladder, climbed up in a few quick motions, and reached the small door on the platform.
Just as he was about to open the door, he suddenly froze.
Outside the small door, two people were hiding—unnoticed until now.
A man in a green suit with a golden crown on his head, and a woman in a white coat with long blue hair.
Both were holding weapons, peering furtively through the door.
"You—!"
Crocus's expression changed.
What happened next was too fast to see clearly.
Before the two could even react, the old man hurled them straight off the platform!
"Plop! Plop!"
Two splashes echoed.
The man and woman fell into the Stomach Acid Sea, immediately letting out screams of agony.
Though not directly exposed to the highly concentrated stomach acid, the acidity in the seawater was more than enough to cause them pain.
On the Going Merry, everyone watched in stunned silence.
Sanji remarked:
"The old man... is pretty impressive."
"And pretty ruthless."
Usopp's voice trembled slightly,
"Throwing them directly into the Stomach Acid Sea… could kill them, right?"
Nami hesitated:
"What should we do? Should we save them?"
Zoro turned his head,
"Ralph, what do you think?"
Ralph looked at the two flailing in the sea,
"Whether they're good or bad, let's rescue them first."
Though he said this, he already knew their identities in his heart.
Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, low-level agents of Baroque Works.
Their purpose here was to hunt Laboon and bring him back to Whiskey Peak as food.
The Going Merry rowed over, and Zoro and Sanji extended oars to pull the two aboard.
They were soaked but seemed otherwise unharmed.
As soon as they boarded, the man coughed up water and asked:
"Thank you for saving us! Who are you?!"
Meanwhile, the woman eyed the Straw Hat crew warily, spotting the fluttering Pirate flag and confirming their identities as Pirates.
"Introduce yourselves before asking others."
Lufia crouched in front of them, putting what she'd just learned into practice,
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The two exchanged glances, and the man raised his head proudly:
"We are… residents of Whiskey Peak! You can call me Mr. 9, and she is Miss Wednesday! We came here to… to hunt whales! We're going to turn this whale into food for our town!"
"Hunt whales?"
Nami frowned, feeling the tremors in the sea and hearing the whale's mournful cries, a flicker of pity stirring in her heart.
"You want to kill that whale?"
"Of course!"
Mr. 9 declared confidently,
"A whale this big could feed the whole town for a long time!"
Miss Wednesday thought for a moment and added:
"That whale is always blocking the entrance to the Grand Line—it's an obstacle! We're clearing the obstacle while solving our food problem. What's wrong with that?"
At this point, Lufia grew curious,
"Then why did that old man attack you just now?"
Relying on his knowledge of the story, Ralph said:
"Attacking these whale hunters… means he wants to protect the whale!"
But Usopp raised an objection:
"Not necessarily... What if the old man just wants to keep the whale all to himself?"
No sooner had he spoken—
The swaying of the sea surface ceased.
Laboon seemed to have calmed down.
The small door on the platform opened once more, and Crocus stepped out.
In his hands, he carried two items—the very weapons he had seized from Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday moments earlier.
Two shoulder-mounted rocket launchers.
"As long as I draw breath," Crocus's voice echoed through the empty space, "not a single hair on Laboon shall you touch!"
Usopp covered his face:
"Never mind what I said."