Chapter 93: You Are Wrong, Roger's Ship Doctor!

"Am I dreaming?"

Nami murmured, her eyes brimming with tears as she tightened her grip on Siano's arm, "Brother, I'm still alive, right? This isn't some sight one only sees after ascending to heaven, is it?"

But how could there be another world inside a whale's stomach? It made no sense!

"Here, look closely."

Siano pointed toward the dome, resolving the crew's confusion, "Above is a semi-circular arch; that blue sky and white clouds and so on are all fake, painted on."

Everyone followed his gaze.

Indeed, although the blue sky and white clouds looked incredibly realistic, the clouds simply did not move; upon careful observation, one could even see crease marks from the ink in certain places.

"Then what about this ocean?"

Sister Sister Guyina spread her arms in bewilderment, "Such a vast expanse of sea; surely it couldn't also be painted on, could it?"

"It's stomach acid."

A faint voice came from the side.

Everyone turned their heads.

They happened to see a small sampan drifting slowly past from the left; the old man aboard also glanced at them expressionlessly.

This old man's hair resembled flower petals; he wore a gaudy, tropical-style shirt and carried on his shoulder a giant syringe taller and thicker than a human...

"Be careful not to fall in," the old man said, "Ordinary people cannot last long in here; they will be corroded into skeletons."

"Hey, old man!"

Nami hurriedly called out, "Don't rush off just yet; this is still inside that whale's stomach, right? But how could it have become like this, and where exactly do we get out?!"

"So rude."

The old man halted the sampan, frowning at Nami, "Who brought this child out? Before asking someone's name, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"

"That's true, sorry." Nami scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly, "My name is Na..."

"I am Crocus, the lighthouse keeper of Twin Cape; I am sixty-seven years old, my blood type is AB, and I am a Gemini," the old man stated calmly.

"You're the one who's rude!!"

Veins bulged on Nami's forehead as she bared her fangs and roared, "At least let me finish speaking, you damn old man! Do you believe I won't burn off your bird-feather-like hair?!"

【23】 Hiss! The moment she flared up, her full head of orange hair immediately erupted into a ball of orange flames, burning with a whoosh.

Hiss! As soon as she flew into a rage, her full head of orange hair immediately erupted into a ball of orange flames, roaring as it burned.

"Hmm? A Devil Fruit?"

Crocus glanced over with some surprise, "That kind of power shouldn't be used recklessly; if you're not careful, you could kill someone."

"Kill someone?"

Nami froze, subconsciously retracting the flames, "There are side effects?"

"I meant you could kill me." Crocus pointed at himself.

"It was you all along!!" Everyone collapsed in disbelief.

"No, old man."

Nami, unable to bear it any longer, said angrily, "As the lighthouse keeper here, do you speak to everyone this way? There are many temperamental pirates inside; surviving unscathed until now is truly remarkable of you!"

"Ordinary pirates are nothing much."

Crocus glanced at Siano, "However, regarding you lot, I am indeed a bit afraid; after all, a great pirate with a bounty of 180,000,000 Berries before even entering the Grand Line—such a case is unique in decades."

"Pirates? We are not pirates; we are an adventure team!"

Nami corrected him first, then also looked toward Siano, suddenly filled with shared pride, and giggled, "Brother, did you hear that! Your reputation is really huge now; even an old man from the Grand Line is intimidated by you!"

"Ignore his nonsense."

Siano leaned on the railing, examining Crocus with interest:

"How could a legend who experienced countless major events back then be frightened by me... Speaking of which, doesn't his self-introduction sound very familiar? Roger's ship doctor back in the day was named exactly this."

Roger?

This old man, dressed in beachwear and large sandals, looking unassuming, was actually the doctor aboard the Pirate King's ship?

Everyone froze for a moment, then erupted in shocked cries:

"Eh—?!"

"An insignificant old wretch like me; is there anyone who still remembers?"

Crocus looked at Siano with a face full of surprise, "So many years have passed; those pirates passing through here clamoring to inherit Roger's will have never once recognized me. Oh, there were two brats, but they were acquaintances from long ago, so they don't count..."

He looked up at the white flag fluttering on the mast, "You just said you were adventurers, not pirates, right? Now I believe it."

Boom!

The dull sound of a mountain-like impact suddenly came from outside again.

Accompanied by wails, the entire interior of the dome instantly became a scene of howling winds and surging waves.

"Nearly delayed the main task."

Crocus shook his head, pointing to the giant syringe carried on his shoulder, "Follow behind me; I will explain your doubts while I work."

Click—

As the giant syringe pierced the pink flesh wall and the sedative inside was exhausted, Laboon, who had been ramming the Red Line, gradually quieted down.

The stomach, originally turbulent with sea waves, also became calm and still.

"... In short, since then, it has begun shouting at Reverse Mountain, persistently ramming the Red Line; even though I have advised it many times, Laboon still refuses to accept reality."

Crocus put down the empty syringe in his hand and calmly finished recounting the final part.

"... Boohoo, no wonder there are so many scars on its head; it kept ramming so desperately because it wanted to see its companions again..."

The three girls, who cried easily, were already on the verge of tears; even Zeff hid aside, lit a cigarette, and gazed melancholically at the fake sky in the dome.

"Ah Gin." Nami hugged Silver Wolf's leg, saying sorrowfully, "If we are forced to separate in the future, will you also stay here at Reverse Mountain, constantly ramming the Red Line with your head? If such a day truly comes, promise me, don't be so foolish, okay?"

"Aowu!" Ah Yin rolled his eyes.

You're the idiot, aren't you?

How big is my body? Can't I just hop on any ship and cross over?

"..." Siano stood aside, lost in thought; he had cried many years ago, so this time he felt only a brief pang of sorrow before quickly regaining his composure.

He stroked his chin, pondering the details in Crocus's words.

Back when I was reading the manga, I didn't notice this, but now it suddenly dawned on me.

"Old man."

Siano couldn't help but say, "You mean Laboon just stayed quietly beneath the Reverse Mountain until you told him the Rumbar Pirates had abandoned him and left the Grand Line, and only then did he start ramming the Red Line?"

"That's right."

Crocus sighed, "Though the Grand Line is indeed a terrifying place that scares off many pirates every year, humans are just that kind of creature—we grow cowardly, we betray, we break promises; often, we're not even as good as a whale..."

"But what if I told you the Rumbar Pirates never abandoned him?"

Siano shrugged, "Then wouldn't Laboon's condition be entirely due to your misleading him?"

"...?"

Crocus froze, then declared firmly, "Impossible! I personally investigated the news back then and verified it from multiple sources; several people witnessed the Rumbar Pirates' ship fleeing from the Calm Belt."

"But you didn't see it with your own eyes, did you?"

Siano frowned, "And haven't you considered this: if the Rumbar Pirates truly fled out of cowardice, unwilling to continue venturing into the Grand Line and thus breaking their promise to escape, why would they dare take the route through the Calm Belt?"

"That pirate crew, composed entirely of musicians, whose dream was to hold a world tour concert everywhere so that every crying child could turn tears into laughter—they didn't have any exceptionally powerful experts among them, right? Taking a whole shipful of people into the Calm Belt wouldn't that be seeking death?"

"..."

Crocus froze in place, his pupils contracting sharply.

He suddenly realized he had never actually considered this question before.

Even before Roger invited him aboard his ship, he was already a formidable expert renowned for both his strength and medical skills.

Later, accompanying Roger on his voyage around the world, he witnessed countless peak experts whose names were recorded in history and observed numerous earth-shaking events that shook the seas.

With his horizons broadened, his sensitivity to many matters had grown numb.

Naturally, crossing the Calm Belt no longer seemed like anything significant to him.

But...

Just as Siano had said.

The Rumbar Pirates, who had never even set foot in the New World—if they truly fled Paradise out of cowardice, where would they have gained the strength and confidence to venture into the even more dangerous Calm Belt?

"This... what exactly is going on? Among those few who claimed to see the Rumbar Pirates' destination, the others aside, one of them was an old comrade worthy of my trust..."

"The Rumbar Pirates' ship did indeed enter the Calm Belt."

Siano shook his head and said softly, "But that was because Captain Yorki and a small group of others contracted a plague; unwilling to burden his companions, Yorki handed command over to First Mate Brook, letting them sail onward on a new ship to carry their dreams forward, while he himself took the old ship, letting it drift into the Calm Belt to live or die by its own fate."

"Then... what about those on the new ship?"

"They all died too; they were attacked in the Florian Triangle and wiped out completely. However, Brook ate the Yomi Yomi no Mi, as you know, so he now lives on in the form of a skeleton, but due to certain special circumstances, he remains trapped in that region."

Everyone nearby listened, utterly captivated.

Sister Sister Guyina finally couldn't hold back and quietly poked Siano's waist: "Captain, how exactly do you know so much about all this?"

"Remember, I mentioned before that Shanks the Red-Haired, who just became one of the Four Emperors, shares some old ties with me."

Siano said casually; he figured any future explanations that proved difficult could simply use this as an excuse, "He told me about it when we were drinking together in the Goa Kingdom."

I see, no wonder the Captain seemed to already know everything when listening to Laboon's story earlier, Sister Sister Guyina realized suddenly.

On the other side.

Snap.

After hearing Siano's words, the empty syringe in Crocus's hand dropped to the ground.

He himself staggered backward several steps, his face turning instantly pale.

"It makes sense now; everything makes sense now..."

"So that's how it was, so that's how it was!"

Recalling that evening under the setting sun, when those musicians solemnly entrusted Laboon to him.

Crocus's eyes reddened, tears rolling down immediately, and he began slapping his own face fiercely—

"I wrongly accused Yorki and Brook! I'm the fool! Bai Chi! An idiot who never thought deeply enough, who never went to personally check on that ship's condition, and thus caused such suffering... Wait, no, Laboon, Laboon..."

"Hey—Laboon!!!!"

The old man's expression suddenly changed drastically; terrified, he lifted his head and shouted with all his might:

"Did you hear what we said! Don't do this, stop quickly! I beg you, stop!"

Woo—

A long, mournful cry echoed from outside; the entire stomach space trembled violently, and the fake blue sky on the dome began cracking layer by layer from the center.

"What exactly is—" Nami had just cried out when she was thrown off by the tossing waves, crashing into the mast; she barely managed to cling to it to avoid falling into the ocean of stomach acid.

"It's committing suicide!" Crocus, tears streaming down his face, roared hoarsely, "Laboon has finally accepted reality and learned that all his companions are dead! He's giving up his obsession with crossing the Red Line and intends to smash himself to death against Reverse Mountain!"

"But didn't my brother just say Brook is still alive?"

Nami, filled with frustration, quickly crossed her hands against her mouth, forming a megaphone shape, and shouted loudly,

"Laboon! Can you hear me! Did you not catch the latter part of what we just said? Brook, the one you miss and care about most, is still alive in the Grand Line! We can take you to find him! Don't do this, you big fool, do you hear me!!!"

She shouted with all her strength, yet her words seemed to vanish like a stone sinking into the sea, receiving no response whatsoever.

Laboon continued his suicidal, frenzied ramming against Reverse Mountain.

Inside the stomach space, the swaying and shaking grew increasingly violent.

The dome above had completely collapsed and distorted, revealing the true pink flesh walls beneath; huge chunks of stone crashed down thunderously, the scene resembling the arrival of the end of the world.

"Go!"

Crocus suddenly stumbled to his feet and rushed like a madman toward the valve controlling the exit, exerting all his strength to wrench it open as fast as possible—

"Hurry! Just now, Laboon could still hear because the sedative's effect lingered, but now the noise inside is too loud; the sound simply can't reach its ears. We must rush outside immediately to stop it!"

"Will we even make it in time!"

Nami immediately set the Falling Curtain in motion, heading toward the great iron doors that were swinging open, but at this speed... She bit her lip hard, truly terrified that after finally returning to the great sea, all they would find would be drifting blood everywhere and the corpse of an immensely huge island whale.

But, just at that moment...

"Yohohoho... Yohohoho~"

"Yohohoho... Yohohoho~"

A familiar melody, melodious and cheerful, suddenly rang out, causing everyone to freeze in astonishment.

"This is...?!" Crocus also whipped his head around, murky tears still hanging on his face.

The music, drifting from who knew where, continued to play.

At first it was at normal volume, but soon the sound grew louder and louder, soaring high into the sky and echoing beneath the entire dome, until even the churning sea of stomach acid was shaken into fine, dense ripples—

"Yohohoho... Yohohoho~"

"Yohohoho... Yohohoho~"

(End of Chapter)