Chapter 127

"The drum kingdom, eh?" Crocus remarked, nodding his head with a thoughtful expression. "I haven't been there in a while. I wonder how that old hag is doing?" he murmured to no one in particular as his expression turned into a smiling one.

I raised an eyebrow at his remark but chose not to comment. "So, are you up for it, old-timer?" I asked with a smile, keeping an even expression.

"Why not?" Crocus replied with a smile, nodding his head. "It's about time I stretched my old bones," he added, rotating his left shoulder as if warming up.

"Excellent," I remarked with a smirk. "Then we'll set off once my crew finishes sorting out the loot from our battle," I concluded as I sat cross-legged on the ground, taking out my whisky bottle.

...

It had been several hours since our battle with the bounty hunters, and my companions had already picked the wrecked ship of anything valuable, and we were ready to set sail.

But we decided to stay the night in the twin capes as the sky had already darkened, and everyone was tired.

My crewmates, Crocus, and I are currently sitting around a campfire in the open, sharing drinks and stories, except for Law, who was being his usual brooding self, sitting a distance away as he cleaned his sword.

Everyone attentively listened to Crocus talk about the different exotic islands that he had visited during his time as the roger pirates shop doctor, and I wasn't much different in that regard.

"Well, that's all I'm going to share with you, youngsters," Crocus said with a smile. "If you want to know more about the grand line, then you should discover it for yourself," he added with a shrug. Though some of my companions were disappointed, they nodded nonetheless.

"That's the idea," I commented with a smirk as I sat on a log near the campfire, sipping on my whisky bottle. "It'll be more fun that way," I added, heaving a content sigh as I put away my bottle.

"You what will be fun right about now?" Wilson asked with a smirk as he turned to look at me. "A song!" he added, causing my crewmates to cheer, with Elly being the most enthusiastic in her cheering.

"Sure," I shrugged my shoulder with a smile. "Pass me my guitar, Blondie," I said as I turned to look at Byron, who was sitting close to where I had placed the instrument.

"Sure thing, captain," Byron nodded with a smile, promptly retrieving my guitar and passing it to me. I took the guitar, stroking its chords a few times for several seconds, thinking about what to play.

I smiled as I remembered something and began playing a slow tune.

"Watch that old fire as it flickers and dies that once blessed the household and lit up our lives," I sang in a slow tone as I gazed into the bonfire.

It shone for the friends and the clinking of glasses. I'll tend to the flame. You can worship the ashes." I felt myself involuntarily smile as I raised my head and noticed my companions enjoying the song.

"Capture the wild things and bring them in line, and own what was never your right to confine." My smile became bigger as Crocus heaved a sigh, seemingly reminiscing about something after hearing those lines.

"The lives and the loves and the songs are what matters. I'll tend to the flame. You can worship the ashes." Crocus smiled, and I could see even Law drop his brooding expression for the briefest of seconds, staring into the night sky.

"Do you feel heavy? Your eyes drop with grief. Your spirit is wild, and your suffering is brief." I heard a splashing noise coming from the shore and turned around, smiling as I saw Laboon's head emerge from the water, gazing at us.

"So never you buckle and bend to the masses. I'll tend to the flame. You can worship the ashes...,"

...

"Are you sure it's okay to leave him here?" I asked Crocus as we both leaned on the railing of the black pearl, gazing at the gigantic whale who was surprisingly calm today, merely staring at the black pearl in curiosity.

"I would have taken him with us if possible," Crocus replied with a sigh. "But he's too stubborn to leave, so it can't be helped," he added, shaking his head.

"Still, is he going to be okay?" I asked after a second's pause, genuinely worried about the wellbeing of the giant mammal.

"He'll be just fine on his own, and I already called some old friends to keep an eye on him while I'm gone," Crocus replied with a smile. "They're currently in west blue, but they should be here in a day or two," he concluded, nodding his head.

'I wonder if he's talking about Shanks. That would make sense. They used to be crewmates, and I did see the man in west blue before we left.' I nodded my head without commenting on the subject, as I did not particularly care.

As long as the big hunk of meat that was Laboon is okay, then it's fine by me. Though I had no interactions with him myself, I could not help myself caring about the gigantic whale.

Laboon's story was one of my favorite backstories from one piece, and I've always had a weak spot for such cases, but I digress.

"Are we ready to set sail, Laffite?" I asked with a smile as I turned to look at Laffite.

"As ready as we can be, captain," Laffite replied with a smile of his own, nodding. "We're only waiting for you to give the word," he concluded, making his way towards the black pearl's helm.

"Off we go then!" I exclaimed, and my crewmates immediately went to work, heading to their stations. "Head straight to the Drum kingdom," I instructed, and Wilson immediately unfurled the sails as Laffite began steering the ship towards our destination.

...

Roughly several hours had passed since we left the twin peaks, and we've already had several encounters with the grand line's infamous weather.

The first of such encounters was an actual waterfall in the middle of the sea, heading straight to rock bottom, and it didn't come alone as it suddenly appeared in front of the black pearl in the middle of a raging storm.

Though Laffite found some difficulty steering the ship in the middle of the storm, and the waterfall took him by surprise, he quickly adapted and steered us out of danger.

Encountering Laffite in the Ballywood kingdom was most definitely the luckiest thing to happen to me since coming to this world, and recruiting him was by far the wisest choice I've made too, but I digress.

I'm currently sitting in the captain's quarters, slumping back as I retrieved my transponder snail, dialing a number.

"Hey boss," came Fukurou's voice from the snail's mouth as he picked up the call. "What can I do you for?" he asked in an even tone.

"Nothing," I replied with a shake of my head. "I'm calling to see how things are going with the Baroque Works," I added, pausing and waiting for the humanoid ball to respond.

"Oh, it's actually going quite well," Fukurou replied in an excited tone. "We even found out who's behind the organization!" he added in an expectant note, obviously trying to impress me.

"Oh, you already figured out Crocodile is running the Baroque Works?" I asked in an even tone, despite my playful grin. "Very impressive," I added, holding back a laugh.

"What!?" Fukurou bellowed. "You already knew? How?" he asked in an astonished tone.

"I could tell you, but I'll have to kill you," I replied with a chuckle.

"You know what? I don't want to know," Fukurou remarked in a depressed tone, seemingly disappointed. "Do you need anything else?" he asked, seemingly not in the mood to chat anymore.

"Now that you mention it," I replied, suddenly remembering something. "Do you know about the island whale in the twin peaks?" I asked, pausing and waiting for the green head to reply.

"Oh, the giant whale that keeps smashing its head against the red line?" Fukurou hesitantly replied, seemingly unsure of his answer.

"That's the one," I replied with a nod. "The Baroque Works might go after it, and I want you to stop them if they do," I instructed in a firm tone.

"Will do," Fukurou replied, without bothering to ask about the whys and hows. "Anything else?" he asked.

"That's all," I replied with a shrug of my shoulders. "Keep up the good work," I concluded, ending the call and getting up and heading towards the deck.

I smirked as I looked at the sky, noticing the dark clouds coalescing in the skies as the winds suddenly became furious, tugging at the sails above my head.

"We're just entering the grand line, and it's already so much fun, Rehahaha!" I murmured with a loud laugh as I made my way towards my favorite spot, staring at the horizon with an eager expression.