One Piece - I Am A Different Luffy! BOOK1!

Chapter 106 - Crocus-San.

[Chapter Size: 2720 Words.]

Third Person POV

Beginning of the grandline.

...

...

The silence enveloped the scene, interrupted only by the gentle sway of the waves and the distant murmur of the wind. Laboon, knocked out, floated on the water's surface with an "X" in his eyes.

Suddenly, an unexpected sound pierced the tranquil atmosphere: the creaking of a door opening echoed like a dissonant note, capturing the attention of onlookers. Nojiko, the first to notice the disturbance, pointed towards the sound, his eyes focused on a peculiar opening on the side of the colossal whale.

"Hey, Luffy! There's a door opening on the side of the whale! How is that possible?" exclaimed Nojiko, drawing the others' attention to the unusual scene. The crew's gaze turned in the indicated direction, revealing not just a door but a true surprise emerging from the depths of the whale, starting with a strange shadow taking on colors.

A floating island, or rather, a peculiar ship, revealed itself, sliding out of his body as if emerging from a secret passage. The scene took on a surreal aura, linked to the presence of an elderly man aboard and two human figures tied to the ship's feet observing the unfolding spectacle. The Black Pearl was near the lighthouse at this moment, after the battle between the pirate captain and the whale, while the island with the elders and the bound duo approached. Old Crocus, navigating his peculiar mobile island, slowly approached the crew. On the deck, all the Straw Hats observed with curiosity, pondering how someone could emerge from inside a whale, a clearly living being.

As the mobile island approached, details became clearer. Crocus, the man with intense eyes and a face marked by traces of blood, stared at them firmly. The two figures tied to the ship's feet, one crowned and the other with blue hair, showed signs of injury as they lay unconscious. The distance between the vessels diminished, and Crocus stopped about 30 meters from the Straw Hats' ship, examining the entire crew, with his gaze particularly fixed on Luffy at this moment, displaying a look of surprise, recognizing the straw hat he hadn't seen in a long time. His gaze conveyed a mix of recognition and confusion in understanding what was happening.

A few moments earlier, Crocus was immersed in his peaceful activity of squid fishing inside him, in the scenario he had created to relax while caring for the whale. But his moment of relaxation was abruptly interrupted when he noticed the colossal whale being struck by a tremendous blow, causing him to shake. Although he could initially attribute the impact to Laboon's usual folly in insisting on hitting the Red Line, he knew this time was different. His cries of pain and surprise directly confirmed this intuition.

"What's happening?! Who's doing this?" Crocus shouted, but his only answer was the sounds and cries of anger and sorrow from Laboon. As chaos unfolded outside, Crocus could sense the intensity of a struggle with him. After all, he had been on the ship of the king of the pirates; even as a doctor, he could recognize a fierce battle merely by the sounds produced outside Laboon and his laments. He initially believed it could be those two fools who had been bothering him for weeks, but he also knew they didn't have the capability to cause what he was feeling.

The continuous bursts and Laboon's agitation shook his small boat violently with each exchange of blows outside, causing him various injuries as he was tossed from side to side. In the midst of this chaos, those two fools he initially suspected appeared, falling from one of Laboon's entrances near his boat. They were visibly injured and pitiful, with their heads bleeding, as they fell unconscious when they finally appeared before the old doctor.