Chapter 38: Twin Cape (I)
They started going down the canal at full speed, excited that they would finally reach the Grand Line, until suddenly, they heard a loud noise.
"Did you hear that?" Zoro asked.
"Huh? What thing?!" Nami asked, yelling.
Due to their speed, the wind was making a loud noise, making it difficult for them to hear each other.
"I heard a strange noise!" Zoro told them.
"It must be the wind! There are a lot of strange rocks that could be causing it," Nami said.
Just then, the noise was heard again.
'First the Sea Kings, and now seeing Laboon… I really think I've developed thalassophobia,' Oliver thought, feeling nervous at the sight of it.
"What is that?" Usopp asked, trying to see through his goggles.
"Nami-san! I see a mountain ahead!" Sanji shouted from the top of the ship.
"A mountain?! Impossible! After Twin Capes, there shouldn't be anything but the ocean!" she shouted back.
"That's not a mountain," Oliver said.
Something could be seen through the clouds until they passed through them and saw a gigantic whale.
"IT'S A WHALE!!" Usopp screamed in fear.
The whale let out a loud cry, making them tremble.
"W-w-what are we going to do?!" Usopp screamed in panic.
"Let's fight it!!" Luffy suggested.
"IDIOT! We can't fight something like that!" Nami scolded him.
"T-the current is pulling us towards it! What are we going to do?!" Usopp asked, holding onto the ship's railing.
"Start praying, it's the only thing you can do right now," Oliver recommended.
"DON'T SAY THAT!!" Usopp screamed, even more terrified.
'If something different happens here, will I be able to stop the Merry before we crash into Laboon?' Oliver wondered.
"Wait a second! We're getting closer, but it still looks like a wall! Where are its eyes?!" Sanji asked.
"He's right. It may not have noticed us yet," Nami said, slightly hopeful.
"If we keep going straight, we'll crash into it! We can escape by going left! Grab the helm!" Zoro shouted, pointing to their possible salvation.
"The helm is broken!" Usopp screamed, reminding him.
"We have to do something! I'll give you a hand!" Zoro said, moving to help Usopp.
"Alright! I have a good idea!!" Luffy said as he ran onto the deck.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, LUFFY?!!" Nami asked him.
Oliver went to help Usopp and Zoro with the helm while Luffy was on the deck. They pushed with all their strength but couldn't move it—until suddenly, they heard the cannon fire, hitting the whale directly and stopping the Going Merry.
The ship continued moving but at a much slower speed, causing Luffy's seat to crash into the whale and break, sending the figurehead of the Going Merry flying straight at Nami, who barely managed to dodge it.
"MY FAVORITE SEAT!!" Luffy screamed upon seeing the Merry's head.
At that moment, the whale opened its eyes upon feeling something.
"RUN, RIGHT NOW!" Zoro shouted.
"What's with it?! Didn't it notice the cannonball?! Is it stupid?!" Sanji said.
"Who cares?! Just get out of here!" Zoro yelled back.
"Keep rowing! You can ask questions later!" Oliver shouted, trying to get away from Laboon.
Everyone got into position and started rowing to escape until the whale let out a loud cry of pain, making them stop.
Angry about his favorite seat, Luffy stepped out onto the deck and looked at the whale.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU..." Luffy shouted, stretching his arm to punch the whale in the eye. "...DO TO MY FAVORITE SEAT?!"
"IDIOT!!" everyone yelled together upon seeing what he did.
"IT'S LOOKING AT US!!" Nami screamed as Laboon locked eyes on them.
"COME HERE, BASTARD!" Luffy shouted, ready to fight the whale.
"SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY!!" Zoro and Usopp shouted, kicking him in the head.
Laboon opened its mouth and began sucking in all the surrounding water, creating a whirlpool that started pulling in the Going Merry. But Luffy grabbed onto one of the whale's teeth, refusing to be swallowed.
--
--
Now everyone was standing calmly on the Going Merry as they watched, feeling like they were outside rather than having been swallowed by a whale.
"What do you guys think?" Nami asked.
"What do we think?" Zoro asked.
"What I think, you say? It doesn't matter what I think. We've been swallowed by a whale," Sanji told her.
In front of them was a small island with a house, which made the situation even stranger.
"This could be considered something fun," Oliver said, looking around without much concern.
"How can you consider this fun?!" Nami shouted at him.
"Is this a dream?" Usopp asked.
"Yes. Probably, it's a dream," Zoro said.
"Ah, then, what about that house on that island?" Nami asked.
"An illusion," Zoro replied.
A giant squid emerged from the water in front of the ship, but before it could do anything, multiple harpoons shot out from the house, piercing the squid and killing it in the process.
"It looks like someone is there," Zoro said, looking at the house.
"Good thing it's a person," Sanji said, feeling a bit relieved.
"B-by the way, where's Luffy?" Usopp asked, crying.
"I don't care, I just want to go home," Nami said, also on the verge of tears.
"Alright, alright, calm down. Try to find the humor in the situation," Oliver said.
"You're the only one who finds this funny!" both of them shouted at him.
From the house, a human figure could be seen coming out.
"Let's shoot him! Let's just blow up the island with the cannon!" Usopp yelled in fear.
"Wait, someone's coming out," Sanji said, seeing what looked like a flower. "IT'S A FLOWER!!!"
"A flower?!" Zoro asked.
A man stepped out of the house, with hair resembling a flower, a red shirt with yellow stripes, sandals, and shorts.
"No, it's a man," Sanji said, somewhat shocked.
"What's wrong with that guy?" Usopp asked.
The man dragged the squid onto the island and then stared intently at Sanji while walking toward him without breaking eye contact, making Sanji extremely nervous. The man continued until he reached a beach chair, where he sat down and started reading a newspaper.
"SAY SOMETHING, YOU IDIOT!" Sanji shouted, both angry and nervous.
The man glanced toward the ship, scaring Usopp.
"If you want a fight, we'll give you one, idiot! We have a cannon here!" Usopp yelled while hiding deep inside the ship.
Upon hearing that, the man stared at the ship, making almost everyone nervous—except Oliver, who was struggling to hold back his laughter.
"NO, or someone will die."
As soon as he said that, almost everyone swallowed hard at his words.
"And who would that be?" Sanji asked nervously.
"Me," the man replied.
"YOU?!" Sanji shouted angrily.
"Hey, don't get mad," Zoro said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"That old man thinks this is a game..." Sanji muttered, annoyed.
"Hey, don't get mad," Zoro repeated, still keeping a hand on his shoulder. "Old man, tell me. Where are we? And who are you?"
"If you want something from someone, you should introduce yourself first," the man said.
"Yeah, you're right. My apologies, my name is Roro—"
Zoro was about to introduce himself, but the man interrupted him.
"I am Crocus. I'm the lighthouse keeper of Twin Capes. I am 71 years old, a Gemini, blood type AB," he started listing all his personal information, which quickly eased everyone's nervousness.
"CAN I KILL HIM RIGHT NOW?!" Zoro asked angrily, ready to draw his katana.
"Hey, calm down," Sanji told him.
"So, you want to know where you are? You've come to my private resort and started shouting aggressive things at me. You don't actually think you're in a rat's stomach, do you?" Crocus said.
"So, we really were swallowed by the whale! But this doesn't look like the inside of a whale," Usopp said.
"Wait! What's going to happen to us?! I don't want to be digested!" Nami cried out in fear, imagining they would be digested by the whale.
Crocus stared at them again.
"STOP DOING THAT!" everyone shouted.
"Are you incapable of appreciating a good joke?" he said with a smile.
"A JOKE?!" everyone shouted again.
"As for the exit, it's over there," Crocus said, pointing at a giant door.
"CAN WE LEAVE?!" they shouted again.
"HAHAHAHA!!" Oliver laughed, unable to hold it in anymore.
As they started looking around more carefully, they realized that everything was painted.
Suddenly, all the water began moving violently.
Because of the movement, they could now see that the island was actually an iron ship, resistant to the whale's gastric juices.
"Hey! What's going on?! Explain it!" Usopp shouted at Crocus.
"This whale has started ramming its head against the Red Line!" Crocus told them, shocking everyone.
"That's... The whale had huge scars on its forehead...! And it was looking at the sky... It's in pain!" Nami said, worried about the whale. "So that's the old man's plan! He's trying to kill this whale from the inside!"
Just then, the whale hit even harder, and Crocus jumped into the gastric juices, surprising everyone.
As they were about to leave the whale, Luffy suddenly came flying from a platform with two unknown people, all of them landing in the water.
"L-Luffy?!" Zoro asked.
"Hey, what's up? Is everyone safe?" Luffy asked mid-air before splashing into the water.
Oliver jumped in to save Luffy and the other two.
He pulled them out and brought them onto the Merry.
"Thanks," Luffy said.
"No problem," Oliver replied.
The tremors began to calm down until everything was still again.
"The whale has calmed down," Nami said, noticing that the water was no longer shaking violently.
"So? Who are you guys?" Zoro asked.
"Mr. 9, they're pirates," the woman who had fallen into the sea whispered.
"I-I know, Miss Wednesday. But surely, they'll understand if we explain the situation," Mr. 9 whispered back.
Crocus stood in front of the door they had just exited.
"As long as I'm alive, you will never lay a finger on Laboon!" Crocus shouted at the two strangers.
"Heh heh heh," the woman chuckled.
"Oh, really? But we're already inside its stomach!" the man said.
"THERE'S NOTHING STOPPING US FROM BLOWING A HOLE FROM THE INSIDE!!" both shouted.
The moment they pulled out two bazookas, Oliver positioned himself behind them, touching their backs.
"Sorry."
Using Electro, he paralyzed both of them, preventing them from firing.
'I hope Vivi doesn't suffer any consequences because of this.'