Luffy didn't answer.
He stood on the rocks by the shore, lifted his head, and stared into Laboon's bloodshot eyes—eyes filled with grief and madness.
The next second, Luffy's gaze hardened into something utterly resolute—sharp, aggressive, and openly provoking in a way no one had ever seen from him before.
"HEY!!! YOU BIG GUY!!!"
He took a deep breath and let out a roar that shook the air, loud enough to drown out the crashing waves.
"DUEL ME!!!"
"Huh?!!"
Everyone froze in shock.
Before anyone could react, Luffy kicked off the ground—his whole body shooting up like a red rocket.
Facing an island-sized whale thousands of times larger than himself, Luffy showed not a trace of fear.
Midair, he stretched back his right arm, eyes razor-sharp.
With a thought, the Armament Haki he'd only just learned spread over his right arm.
A black, metallic sheen flashed under the sunlight, radiating an unbreakable presence.
"GUM-GUM—ROCKET CANNON!!!"
"BOOM!!!"
This wasn't a normal rubber strike—this was a heavy blow wrapped in Armament Haki!
Both of Luffy's palms slammed down onto Laboon's scarred head—right on the most sensitive, most painful place… the old wound!
"ROOOOAAARRRR—!!!"
Pain instantly ignited Laboon's fury.
The massive body trembled, ripping itself out of sorrow in one violent surge.
Laboon let out a sky-splitting roar—soundwaves rolling outward like solid pressure, making even the lighthouse shake.
Laboon was enraged!
Its gigantic tail smashed the sea, raising a monstrous wave dozens of meters high.
Those once-sorrowful eyes turned crimson, locking onto this tiny creature that dared strike its wound.
"LUFFY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!"
Usopp nearly lost his soul. He clutched Nami and screamed, "You'll kill it! Or it'll kill you! Why would you provoke it?!"
"Damn it, Luffy…" Sanji also froze—already moving as if to save the whale.
"Don't."
A hand lifted in front of Sanji and Zoro.
Ronan stopped them.
He watched Luffy's small but towering back and smiled, understanding in his eyes.
"Watch."
"This… is Luffy's kindness."
"If waiting is pain, if that promise has become a curse that tortures it… then he'll smash the old promise—"
"—and give it a new reason to stay alive."
In the "battlefield"—
"BOOM!"
Laboon, raging, lunged and slammed its head toward Luffy.
Luffy used "Gum-Gum Balloon" to defend, but the sheer force still sent him flying—smashing him into the cliffside and leaving a crater in the rock.
"Cough… cough…"
Luffy crawled out of the rubble and dusted himself off.
He looked rough, but he grinned like a total brat—wide, fearless, and cocky.
"IT'S A TIE, BIG GUY!"
He pointed at Laboon and shouted:
"I'M STRONG, RIGHT?! YOU FELT IT, DIDN'T YOU?!"
"You wanna beat me, don't you?! I wanna beat you too!"
"We didn't decide who wins yet—so we gotta keep fighting!"
Laboon froze.
The violence faded from those huge eyes, replaced by confusion… and a spark of life it hadn't felt in a long time.
Luffy picked up his straw hat, put it back on, and spoke with sudden seriousness:
"Even if your friends are dead…"
"I'M YOUR OPPONENT!"
"We HAVE to fight again—so we can see who's stronger!"
Then he pointed toward the depths of the Grand Line and made a brand-new declaration:
"After we go all the way around the Grand Line—"
"WE'LL COME BACK FOR YOU!"
"AND THEN… WE'LL DUEL AGAIN!!!"
The wind howled.
Laboon's massive body went still on the sea's surface.
It understood.
Fifty years.
Its friends never returned.
But today, a straw-hatted boy gave it something new—
A promise of "battle"… and of "seeing each other again."
"Woo…"
Laboon let out a deep, low call—no longer a sorrowful wail, but an answer.
Huge tears rolled from its eyes and fell into the sea like stones.
It agreed.
"Shishishi!"
Luffy immediately ran back to the Going Merry and soon returned carrying a bucket of paint and a giant brush.
To everyone's astonishment, he hopped onto Laboon's head and began painting—clumsy but earnest.
It was an abstract, crooked, totally uneven—
Straw Hat skull emblem.
"All done!"
Luffy tossed the brush aside and shouted proudly at Laboon:
"This is the mark of our promise!"
"Listen, Laboon! Until we fight again—DON'T EVER smash your head into the wall!"
"If you mess up the mark…"
"I WON'T FIGHT YOU!"
Laboon stared at the reflection of that ridiculous drawing in the water.
It was ugly.
But it was a bandage over old wounds—proof of a new bond.
Laboon flicked its tail happily, splashing Luffy head-to-toe.
"Hahahaha!"
Onshore, Ronan, Zoro, Sanji, and the others all smiled without realizing it.
"Not bad… our captain," Zoro said, arms folded, amusement in his eyes.
"Yeah." Nami wiped her tears. "He's an idiot… but sometimes… he's strangely reliable."
Ronan looked at the emblem on Laboon's head and thought:
That's it.
Live with this promise, Laboon.
When we come back someday…
That old skeleton Brook will return to you too—singing Binks' Sake right in front of your face.
With Laboon's knot finally loosened, everyone's mood lifted.
Near the lighthouse, at a stone table—
Sanji was preparing a rich lunch, the smell drifting warmly through the air.
Zoro was polishing his new swords. Usopp was repairing the bit of railing that got damaged earlier.
Nami sat up straight, serious now, spreading out a huge sea chart.
"Now that we're in the Grand Line, we can't be as carefree as we were in the East Blue."
She picked up a pen and pointed at the chart.
"We need a proper route. The first thing is choosing our first stop—"
Then, out of habit, she glanced at the compass.
"Huh?"
Nami blinked, thinking she'd imagined it.
She rubbed her eyes and looked again.
The needle was spinning wildly.
"What…?"
Her face went pale. She grabbed a spare compass.
Same result—its needle was whirling like it had gone insane.
"Aaaah—!!!"
A terrified scream shattered the quiet afternoon.
"What happened?!"
Ronan and the others rushed to her side instantly.
"It's—it's bad!!"
Nami's face was white as paper. She pointed at the compass on the table, voice shaking.
"The compass… is broken! It can't point anywhere!"
"If we lose direction on this sea…"
"We're dead!!"
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