On the surface of the sea, a whale the size of a small island let out a booming cry as it toppled into the waves.
"Woooo!"
Laboon groaned in pain. Fortunately, after years of slamming his head against the Red Line, he had grown somewhat resistant to this kind of agony—just enough to keep from passing out completely.
But even so, the force of the Conqueror's Haki—Infused fist coursing through him made Laboon emit pained, guttural howls.
Meanwhile, deep inside Laboon's stomach…
"W-What in the world is going on?!"
Crocus—the former ship doctor of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, who had turned Laboon's belly into a cozy vacation retreat—was currently in a dire situation. His resort island was being swamped by the violently churning stomach fluids.
Struggling for quite some time, Crocus finally managed to crawl onto his little island, coughing and soaked.
"Woooo!!!"
Laboon's moaning continued to echo relentlessly.
"This… this isn't how Laboon sounds when he's ramming the Red Line. He's under attack?!"
Crocus stared in disbelief.
This kind of upheaval—could it really be from Laboon getting struck by some attack that powerful?
Impossible! Laboon was an Island Whale, a beast on par with a small island in sheer size!
This was only the entrance to the Grand Line—hell, even in the New World, there were few who could take down something like Laboon!
Could it be… some terrifying new weapon developed by the World Government?
Gritting his teeth, Crocus dove into Laboon's turbulent stomach and began swimming toward the exit.
No matter what was happening out there, he couldn't just sit by and watch something happen to Laboon.
After navigating through the long, winding passage that connected Laboon's gut to the outside world, Crocus finally emerged into the open air—ready to risk everything.
But what he saw stopped him cold.
"There, there… good boy."
A young man with short black hair stood aboard a pirate ship, eyes glowing with a deep, stormy violet. He gently patted Laboon's massive head, soothing him.
To Crocus's astonishment, Laboon—who moments ago was writhing in agony—was now calm, almost... bashful?
This… this can't be real.
"Con… Conqueror's Haki?!"
Crocus swallowed hard, staring at the young man in disbelief.
He wasn't seeing things, was he? That was definitely Conqueror's Haki—and not just a spark of it. This man had infused it into his aura, commanding a giant whale with nothing but sheer will.
And this wasn't even the New World!
When did rookies on the sea reach this kind of level?!
Wait—!
A dreadful thought crossed Crocus's mind. If this young man was calming Laboon now... was he the one who flipped Laboon over with a single blow earlier?
No… no way.
Crocus's jaw twitched as he forced a pained smile.
"Yo, nice to meet you!"
The young man turned his head and gave Crocus a radiant, carefree grin.
"...!!!"
Crocus stiffened, then quickly composed himself.
He had tried observing quietly from the shadows, but someone capable of this level of Conqueror's Haki obviously possessed Observation Haki as well. No way he hadn't noticed.
"Greetings, young adventurers of the Grand Line," Crocus said, deciding to skip his usual repeating gags, too stunned to joke.
"Grandpa! Why are you crawling out of a whale's stomach?!"
Kaya cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted.
"Phew!"
Without answering, Crocus leapt off Laboon's head toward the Going Merry.
Under Ace's curious gaze—and with Kaya, Nami, and Nojiko all staring at him in silent disbelief...
Splash!
Crocus crash-landed into the sea.
"Ow ow ow!!"
From such a height, even the sea felt as hard as steel. Crocus surfaced, groaning and clutching his lower back.
"C'mon up, old man."
Ace smiled and tossed down a rope.
"Much obliged, polite young man."
Crocus grabbed the rope and hauled himself aboard.
"Hey! Why the hell were you inside a whale's stomach? Don't tell me that whale's yours! Do you even know what could've happened if Ace hadn't driven it off? It almost destroyed our ship!"
Nami grabbed him by the collar before he could catch his breath.
"Ah! Easy, girl! Mind the beard!"
Crocus winced and reached for his back again.
"Let me help you with that."
Kind-hearted Kaya stepped forward, her hands glowing with a warm golden light.
Bzzt—
Heal-Heal Fruit: Healing.
Under the soft golden radiance, Crocus felt his back easing up in mere moments.
"A Devil Fruit user, huh…"
Crocus narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
"Thank you, my dear. You've got yourself a rare and valuable Devil Fruit."
He nodded in approval.
A Heal-Heal Fruit, combined with even basic medical training, could become an incredible power.
Kaya beamed at the praise—her joy even greater than if the compliment had been about herself.
After all, this fruit… had been a gift from Ace.
She glanced over at him and gave a soft, contented smile.
"Wait—just now, did you say it was Ace who drove Laboon back?"
Crocus suddenly snapped back to the moment, turning to Nami with eyes wide in disbelief.
"Yup! Our captain did it," Nojiko replied proudly, pointing at Ace.
"Th-That's impossible… Laboon is the largest whale in the world. An Island Whale. For someone to push him back like that—it's no different from toppling a whole island…"
Crocus stared at Ace, muttering in shock.
"But enough about that… you look really familiar, old man."
Ace walked up to him, smiling faintly.
"You look just like the doctor from the Pirate King's crew."
"!!!"
Crocus's pupils contracted sharply. He immediately forced a laugh, trying to regain his composure.
"Eh?!"
Nami, Kaya, and Nojiko all gasped.
The Pirate King's doctor?! This old guy?!
"Haha! You must be mistaken. Me? The Pirate King's doctor? Don't be ridiculous!"
Crocus laughed loudly, but his mind was spinning.
That photo from back then… surely it didn't still resemble him after all these decades?
"Oh? Must've been my imagination then."
Ace gave a teasing smile, then stepped forward.
"Well, allow me to introduce myself. I'm the captain of this crew—Portgas D. Ace."
"!!!"
The moment Ace said his name, Crocus's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
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TL/N:
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