Chapter 94: Brook and Laboon
"Its name is Laboon."
After injecting the emotional Island Whale with a special sedative, Crocus gently stroked Laboon's massive head, covered in old and new scars, and introduced him:
"—After learning that the Rumbar Pirates were missing, Laboon began to Tackle the Red Line day after day, attempting to smash a tunnel through it to search for the Rumbar Pirates' traces in the New World."
"So pitiful~ No wonder he has so many scars on his head."
Violet, Kozuki Hiyori, and Bonney were instantly struck by this loyalty and waiting that spanned half a century.
Even Ace and Zoro, who were usually thick-headed, fell silent at this moment, looking away with a hint of reluctance.
Sanji took a deep drag from his cigarette, letting the pungent smoke swirl in his lungs for a long time before slowly exhaling, as if to release all his sorrow.
"I'll help you!"
Yamato rolled up her sleeves, rushed to the shore, and shouted energetically at Laboon's huge eye, "I'll teach you Armament Haki! If you learn this, you won't get hurt when you Tackle the Red Line! And you'll be able to Tackle faster!"
That's so like you.
Instead of thinking about taking Laboon over Reverse Mountain, she actually planned to let him smash his own way through.
Cain's face stiffened, and the hint of sadness that had just welled up was instantly washed away without a trace.
"Ang!"
Unexpectedly, Laboon seemed to understand, vigorously slapping the water with his massive tail, splashing water everywhere, and nodding his huge head repeatedly, letting out an eager cry.
Seeing this, Yamato's excitement exploded. She gesticulated wildly at Laboon, demonstrating her method of learning Haki.
Cain's eyes nearly popped out in surprise.
Good heavens, one dares to say it, and the other dares to learn it.
"Well, this young lady is certainly unique."
Crocus, who had seen his share of storms, couldn't help but twitch his eye at this moment.
In Yamato, he seemed to see Roger's shadow from back then; both of them were so unreliable.
Cain shook his head: "Actually, I wanted to say that the Rumbar Pirates were not completely wiped out."
"Huh?!" Crocus suddenly turned his head: "Is that true?"
The last time he heard about the Rumbar Pirates was that they had entered the Calm Belt and had been unheard of since.
When he told Laboon that the Rumbar Pirates "had no news," it was more out of kind comfort, as he had long believed they had perished in that sea of death.
"It's true."
Cain nodded, revealing the long-buried truth: "As far as I know, not long after the Rumbar Pirates entered the Grand Line,
Captain Yorki and a significant number of crew members contracted an extremely dangerous plague.
To avoid implicating his comrades, Yorki entrusted the pirate crew to Brook and then took those infected comrades to the Calm Belt to fend for themselves."
Upon hearing Brook's name, Crocus immediately believed most of it.
If he didn't truly know the Rumbar Pirates, how could anyone in this era still remember that name?
Crocus quickly pressed, "Where did Brook and the others go?"
Cain did not hide it and said directly, "The Florian Triangle."
Crocus gasped: "No wonder—
The Florian Triangle is shrouded in thick fog year-round. Once a ship sails in, it is extremely easy to lose direction, and hundreds of ships mysteriously disappear there every year.
He finally understood why Brook had completely vanished.
"And now they?" Crocus's voice held a barely perceptible tremor as he eagerly pressed.
"Almost completely wiped out, but Brook is still alive."
Cain shrugged and chuckled, "He's probably doing quite well. He's a Yomi-Yomi Berry user, and due to special circumstances,
he now exists in the form of a skeleton."
"If I'm not mistaken, he may have achieved what many ambitious people have not: immortality."
Through a twist of fate, Brook achieved what other Yomi-Yomi Berry users could not: during his one and only revival after death, he waited for his body to decompose into a skeleton before reviving.
As long as his skeleton remains intact, he will never die.
Moreover, there's a well-known setting in the pirate world: milk can replenish calcium and repair bones.
It's like a small exploit.
"So that's how it is."
Crocus, after listening, also felt a bit amused: "I don't know if this is good or bad; eternal life can also be a Curse."
But no matter what, this was absolutely wonderful news for Laboon, who had waited for decades.
Crocus had almost thought he would have to live with Laboon's regret for the rest of his life.
"Laboon! Laboon!"
Crocus excitedly rushed to the shore and shouted loudly, "Did you hear that? Brook isn't dead! You still have a day to reunite!"
Laboon's eyes widened, staring intently at Crocus, as if confirming whether he was joking.
After a few seconds of silence, he finally confirmed that the old man was not joking with him.
"Ang!"
A whale's cry, filled with decades of longing, grievance, despair, and now an outpouring of immense ecstasy, exploded like a thunderclap.
Laboon excitedly flipped over in the sea, his massive body stirring up towering waves that instantly drenched Crocus on the shore from head to toe.
"Mrow~"
He let out a series of urgent and joyful cries, slapping the water with his huge tail, and turned to dive into the deep sea,
swimming towards the Florian Triangle.
Crocus wiped the seawater from his face, shouting with a mix of laughter and tears, "Wait, Laboon! Don't rush! Do you know where the Florian Triangle is? Wait for me! I'll go with you!"
Most importantly, that place is now the territory of Moriah, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
"Mrow~"
Laboon re-emerged from the water, letting out a whimper as pitiful and urgent as a puppy's, his huge eyes looking eagerly at the old man.
Crocus patted his head, comforting him: "Don't worry, old man, I'll definitely find a way to take you there! We'll go together and find that fellow Brook!"
"Wait."
Cain hastily interjected: "There's one more thing: Brook's shadow was cut off by Moriah. If you can't defeat him and get the shadow back, Brook won't be able to survive in the sunlight. Even if you find him, you won't be able to take him out of there."
This was indeed a big problem.
Crocus stroked his beard, troubled.
His old bones were fine for dealing with small pirates, but to defeat a pirate of Shichibukai level, he might as well just go to bed.
If it had been ten or twenty years earlier, there might still have been a chance.
"Need help?" The warm-hearted Yamato came over again, patting her chest, "I'm best at fighting!"
"Thank you for your kindness, young lady." Crocus shook his head, declining her offer.
After all, Cain and his group had just met, and it was truly inappropriate to ask them to offend a Shichibukai for his personal matters.
"Don't worry, although I'm useless myself now."
Crocus's face showed a meaningful smile, "But during those years drifting at sea, I met many old friends. With their help, it won't be a problem."