Brothers In Arms (One Piece x Male Reader)

Chapter 4: The Promise to Meet Again

"Fifty long years...? He must be quite heartbroken over who he wants to meet again, they must be really special to him." Y/N comments on the information that has been given to the Straw Hats by Crocus, the caretaker of Laboon, an Island Whale that had been hitting himself on the Red Line.

(A/N: The text in bold will be what Crocus is narrating in case some readers have a hard time, like me sometimes...lol)

"If you wish to know the story, then I'll tell it to you...Laboon's story. One day, while I was on duty as the lighthouse keeper as usual, some good-natured pirates came down Reverse Mountain and entered the Grand Line. And a small whale came in as well, as if following them. That was Laboon. The Island Whale lives only in the West Blue, and it's the world's largest whale." Crocus starts the story as everyone listens intently, none of them wanting to interrupt them on Laboon's short but extremely heartbreaking story. "The pirates had been travelling with Laboon all that time, but they left him in the West Blue since the Grand Line is extremely dangerous. Island Whales usually travel as a group, but I suspect that Laboon felt that he was a member of that pirate group. Since their ship had broken down, they stayed at the cape for several months. So we became quite good friends. Because of that, on the day of their departure...their captain entrusted me to keep Laboon safe as the pirates set sail further into the Grand Line. That was fifty long years ago..."

Upon finishing the story, everyone seems a tad bit shocked at the sad story, not having known the reason why Laboon was doing such things that led up to this point. Especially Y/N, secretly, a stray tear falls down his face but quickly wipes it away. 

"Laboon has been waiting for those guys for fifty years?" Usopp asks, still in shock at the information that's been told to him by Crocus.

"Is that why he continues to howl at the wall, hitting himself on it?" Nami adds to that question before Y/N walks up to the middle of where the crew and Crocus stand.

"It would seem like the most likely case. Laboon must've been waiting agonizingly, and the fifty years of waiting has taken a toll on his mind. He must've been quite depressed and thought that forcing his way past the Red Line could do something to be able to reunite with his old friends..." Y/N explains to all of them, causing the old man to nod, hitting the answer right on the head.

"In any case, since you've helped me, I'll open the gates for you. Just follow along." Crocus says as he uses a small portion of his ship to sail back towards the gate and climb up the ladder before he turns a valve that opens the large doors, allowing the Going Merry to sail through the canal as needed. Everyone boards the ship, bringing along the two hostages, and then Merry sails on through.

"This is an amazing canal. I'm surprised that he's still alive, having a hole like this inside his body." Zoro says, impressed by the construction without causing aggressive bodily harm towards Laboon himself.

"Is this also your playful mind?" Sanji asks, referring back to the first time they discovered that Laboon's stomach lining is painted to look like the outside world.

"A doctor's playful mind." Crocus responds, not looking up from his newspaper from previously, which Usopp questions about his job. "I may not look like one, but I am a doctor. I also ran a clinic in the cape a long time ago. It was just for a few years, but I was also a ship's doctor, and...I was the one who helped Y/N's mother give birth to him." As soon as he gives that information to the whole crew, their eyes widen in shock, except for Y/N, who has his arms crossed, smiling thankfully at the old doctor.

"Really!? You were there when Y/N was born!? Then you should be a part of my crew then!" Luffy says excitedly after hearing that he is in the presence of the doctor that helped give life to one of his sworn brothers. Although Crocus scoffs at the offer unfortunately.