"Bwahhhhhhahhhh Bbwhahahhhhhhhh!"
(I found this place one day after losing my way back to the lighthouse. Some ferocious Sea Kings chased me into the depths, so I hid within these ruins)
"Pfffft—" Leo burst out laughing at Laboon's unexpectedly honest explanation before retelling the whale's "great adventure" to Nojiko, earning himself an irritated growl from Laboon in return.
"Well, regardless of how you found it, this is still an incredible discovery," Leo said while pulling out a recording snail and an image-capturing snail to take pictures of the ruins below. "If people on the surface saw this place, they'd realize sea levels weren't always this high… there used to be civilizations living where the ocean has spread now."
If not for the massive walls surrounding the city, the already ruined structures inside would have long since been washed away by the sea currents, leaving no trace of their existence behind.
"Laboon, take a deep breath and swallow as much of the ruins as you can. Then we'll head back to the surface," Leo instructed.
Unfortunately, the shark Jet-Ski still wasn't durable enough to survive the crushing pressure outside at such depths, making direct exploration impossible for now.
Moments later, a gigantic whirlpool formed beneath the sea as Laboon inhaled. Broken buildings, debris, ancient rubble, and countless buried remains were dragged upward into the whale's enormous mouth at terrifying speed.
Once Laboon felt full, he blasted excess seawater back out using a compressed water jet before repeating the process again.
After doing it three times, the giant whale finally seemed satisfied and slowly began ascending back toward the surface.
"Let's go, Nojiko."
The two stepped onto the central glass lift and descended directly into Laboon's vast stomach, which was now overflowing with seawater and debris from the ruined city.
To most people it would have looked like nothing but trash but to Leo, it was buried treasure waiting to be uncovered.
After draining away most of the seawater, Leo jumped straight into the piles of rubble with his Devil Fruit ability active while Laboon leisurely swam toward the Holiday island.
Nearly half an hour later, after digging through mountains of debris, Leo finally emerged with several strange finds.
Most of the ruins had decayed beyond recognition, but he still managed to recover a handful of ancient gold coins, several transparent glass ornaments filled with preserved red liquid (Wine), and a cracked golden tablet covered in an unknown language.
There were also remains of rusted tools, strange metallic fragments untouched by corrosion, and shattered stone carvings depicting enormous figures standing beneath what looked like multiple moons and worshipped by small human figures.
"Looks like whatever civilization lived down there was far older than we thought," Leo muttered while cleaning mud from one of the objects.
Once everything was washed properly, Leo and Nojiko returned to the deck above just as the sun began setting across the sea. Golden light reflected beautifully across the pile of recovered treasures and scrap laid before them.
The most eye-catching item was a large golden tablet engraved with ancient symbols neither of them could understand but Leo recognized it to some degree because same symbols were engraved on the jade dagger he carried.
Beside it were several old gold coins bearing the name and image of a man with flowing white hair, dark skin, and strange swirling eyes.
There was also a partially broken stone tablet, though most of its writing had long since eroded, leaving behind only scattered fragments of the unknown language.
"We should find a historian first," Nojiko said while carefully examining the artifacts herself. "Someone like that could probably tell us the true value of these treasures."
"Hm… you're right," Leo admitted, setting aside the idea of immediately selling everything on the black market since Nojiko's suggestion made far more sense.
Someday, once they had the proper equipment to explore safely, they could return to the underwater ruins and uncover the city's secrets properly. Until then, both of them focused on the journey ahead as Laboon continued swimming forward.
"Nojiko, I heard your dream back at Twin Cape," Leo suddenly said. "And I'll help you achieve it as much as I can… but if you truly want to protect people, then you should also learn how to fight."
The sudden topic caught Nojiko off guard, though she couldn't deny the truth behind his words.
"You're right, Captain… I'll think about it," she replied quietly, remembering Bell-mère… the woman who had stood fearlessly against towering Fishmen to protect her daughters while Nojiko herself could only watch helplessly back then.
"BBBWWAHHHHHH BWWHAAAAA…!!"
(I've learned lots of attacks fighting Sea Kings and evil pirates captain! Do you want to see my strongest one?)
Out of nowhere, Laboon interrupted proudly after listening to their conversation the entire time.
Leo and Nojiko exchanged glances before humoring the excited whale.
Soon, at Laboon's request, the reinforced glass shield sealed itself around the deck once more.
The giant whale immediately dove deep beneath the ocean, descending farther and farther into the darkness before suddenly turning upward.
"Damn it… he's about to do something crazy," Leo muttered.
Sensing Laboon's rapidly accelerating heartbeat, Leo instantly activated the deck's safety restraints, binding both himself and Nojiko securely in place.
Then, with one tremendous swing of his tail, Laboon launched himself upward like a living missile.
His gigantic body tore through the ocean at terrifying speed before bursting out of the sea and soaring high into the air without slowing down in the slightest.
For a brief second, the enormous whale hung suspended high in the sky.
Then he flipped his entire body and slammed back down onto the ocean surface with overwhelming force.
BOOOOM—!!
The impact sounded like an explosion across the sea.
A gigantic spherical tsunami erupted outward in every direction, a monstrous wall of water large enough to swallow entire fleets whole as it spread across the ocean horizon.
"BWWAAAHH—!!"
This time it wasn't excitement but a painful cry.
Before Laboon had even fully crashed down, Leo had already broken free from his restraints and rushed toward the glass shield.
The reinforced dome cracked violently from the impact against the water surface, and Leo barely managed to stabilize and repair it in time before it completely shattered.
"You idiot! You broke multiple ribs!" Leo shouted furiously.
Laboon merely laughed proudly in his strange whale-like tone while Leo stared at the devastation surrounding them.
In every direction, nearly forty-meter high wall of water surged across the ocean with enough force and current to completely engulf even massive warships fleets caught within their range.
Leo had already witnessed several of Laboon's terrifying attacks during their journey.
The giant whale fired compressed water jets powerful enough to shatter weaker ships while heavily damaging even larger vessels. A single swing of his massive tail could create localized tsunamis capable of capsizing ships or throwing entire fleets off balance.
Laboon's body itself was a living weapon—one direct ram from him could sink almost any ship regardless of size, while the whirlpools he created beneath enemy vessels were just as deadly. His enormous jaws could rip apart both Sea Kings and warships alike.
Overall, Laboon was nothing short of a calamity of the sea.
But the attack he had just demonstrated… was on an entirely different level.
That monstrous impact was powerful enough to drown an island or an entire fleet of ships beneath a tsunami at the cost of seriously injuring himself in the process.
Even Leo couldn't help feeling impressed.
According to Crocus, Laboon was still comparatively young for his species despite his enormous size, practically a teenager by whale standards.
Leo could understand exactly what the giant whale had been trying to do—show off his strength and usefulness to his new companions even if it meant enduring injuries.
"You're strong, Laboon… honestly stronger than both me and Nojiko," Leo said while keeping his hand pressed against the whale's skin, healing the broken ribs beneath. "But if you hurt yourself again just to protect us or show off, I'll drag you back to Twin Cape myself."
"Bwahhh…"
"I didn't invite you along because of your strength," Leo continued. "I brought you because I liked having you as a crew. Even if you were just a tiny whale, I still would've taken you with us… so stop trying to prove yourself and just enjoy the journey."
Laboon slowly quieted down at those words.
It took another five minutes before the group resumed traveling again.
Not long after, they came across a wrecked ship sinking across the sea.
The vessel, painted entirely pink, had flipped sideways and was slowly sinking while several small Sea Kings toyed with the surviving humans struggling on its deck.
Suddenly, a snake-like Sea King lunged from behind and devoured another screaming pirate whole. Meanwhile, the remaining man desperately tried forcing water out of the lungs of someone who had nearly drowned before being dragged back aboard by his companions.
"Laboon, save them!" Nojiko shouted immediately.
"BWAHHHHHHHH—!!!"
Laboon answered with an enraged roar powerful enough to shake the surrounding sea itself. The smaller Sea Kings instantly fled in terror the moment they sensed the approaching apex predator, vanishing into the depths with their tails tucked behind them.
Slowly, the massive whale approached the sinking wreck.
Only two people still seemed alive aboard the ruined ship—a terrified ordinary pirate and the unconscious captain lying beside him.
Leo leapt directly onto the wreckage before quickly carrying both survivors back onto Laboon's deck.
Moments later, the destroyed pink ship finally disappeared beneath the waves entirely.
"BON-Kurei, wake up… don't die on me!" the surviving pirate pleaded desperately.
Hearing the unfamiliar name, Leo's eyes narrowed as he looked at the strange man who was cosplaying swan before stepping forward to heal him.
***
Author Note: Hi guys, we've finally crossed 60K words, thank you all for the support so far! I've also uploaded new character images for Nami, Robin, and Nojiko in the image chapter, go check them out...