The situation on the ship was finally resolved, and Crocus made his way back to his small island-like dwelling.
Once everyone had settled down and the chaos was over, they heard a very different story from Crocus than the bullshit Mr. 9 had tried to feed them earlier.
"So you're saying your organization has been targeting this whale?" Nami asked in realization. "If you think about it... With Laboon's size, you could probably feed a few hundred people for two or three years without any problem."
"But with all the Sea Kings swimming around out there, why did you guys have to fixate on this whale?" Sanji asked, curious about their reasoning.
Mr. 9, now fully conscious and tied up, looked frustrated as he spoke helplessly. "You should understand the problem we're facing better than anyone."
"What problem?" several crew members asked in unison.
"We're bounty hunters. We make our living off the reward money from catching pirates. But because of this whale blocking the entrance, countless pirates have been dying at Reverse Mountain before they can even get into the Grand Line. At first, that wasn't a problem, there are still plenty of pirates out there on the seas, and we got lucky early on. Quite a few crews made it through and ended up at our base. We could maintain ourselves just fine."
"But recently... I don't know what's been happening. This whale has been blocking Reverse Mountain for months now, and not a single pirate ship has made it through alive. Our town doesn't even have money left to buy food. People are starting to starve."
Crocus listened to this explanation in silence, and his expression showed he already knew all of this. It explained why he'd never actually tried to kill these two bounty hunters, despite their attempts to capture or harm Laboon. He just knocked them around and sent them on their way.
After a moment, he began telling them Laboon's story.
For the next hour, everyone was completely absorbed.
"Fifty years..." Luffy whispered, and there were tears running down his face. "This whale has been waiting here for so long?"
The idea of someone waiting that long for friends who might never return hit him hard.
Watching all of this, Marcus felt a strange disconnect between the story he remembered and the reality playing out before him.
Has this world already adapted itself to this degree? he wondered.
If things kept developing like this, would Luffy even be able to get past Crocodile when they reached Arabasta?
After all, Crocodile was someone who, in his younger days, had fought against Douglas Bullet. There was no way someone like that didn't know Haki. And during the Summit War of Marineford, Crocodile had done quite a bit of fighting, he'd stopped two executioners from killing Ace, buying time, then clashed with Doflamingo, and even blocked Akainu at a crucial moment, indirectly saving Luffy's life.
So to claim he didn't have Haki was ridiculous.
If this trend continued, there was a real possibility that Luffy might actually die when they faced him. After all, Luffy had already been "killed" once in Arabasta, Crocodile had drained him completely dry of water. If Luffy hadn't gotten incredibly lucky with that water ball bouncing back onto him, he would have stayed dead.
Marcus felt a heavy weight settle on his shoulders. He was certain now that this was no longer just the anime world he remembered. The transformation of Baroque Works from a criminal organization into a bounty hunter guild was proof enough of that.
Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, who he was actually Princess Vivi, were both moved to tears by Crocus' story.
"Damn it..." Mr. 9 said, wiping his eyes. "If I'd heard this story earlier, how could I have gone through with the mission? But now what am I supposed to do? Is everyone in town just going to starve to death?"
Vivi covered her mouth with her hands.
Crocus sighed deeply. "Unfortunately, I've already obtained information about Brook's old crew. Those pirates... it seems they sailed away through the Calm Belt years ago. Maybe because I told him this news, Laboon has become even more violent recently, ramming the Red Line more and more frequently."
Marcus looked puzzled. "Wait, if Laboon really wanted to go home, couldn't he just swim directly through Fish-Man Island to get back to the West Blue? There's no need to keep crashing into the Red Line like this."
Crocus shook his head. "Laboon firmly believes those pirates will return to him by climbing Reverse Mountain again. That was the promise they made to him, so he will wait here at this exact spot, no matter what."
Marcus nodded. Unless someone could somehow prove to Laboon that his friends would never return, or find a different way to heal his broken heart, the whale would keep ramming that wall forever.
"A promise, huh," Luffy murmured, unconsciously touching his straw hat. It was all about keeping a promise. He understood that better than most.
Crocus glanced at a pressure gauge mounted on the side of his house. "Laboon should have surfaced by now. You all should get ready to leave."
After the sound of mechanical gears turning, the iron gate slowly opened, and sunlight from the outside world poured in.
"By the way," Marcus asked curiously, "how did you manage to make Laboon's stomach have light inside? I didn't see any glowing objects in there, even the sun was just painted on the ceiling."
"It's a special kind of paint," Crocus explained. "I developed the mixture myself."
"Do you have any left?"
Crocus nodded and disappeared into his house, returning with a large sack. "This is all my own blend, completely non-toxic and very long-lasting. The phosphorescent properties can maintain their glow for decades."
Marcus accepted the bag with a smile and immediately tossed it onto his conversion table for analysis.
After consuming a few hundred EMC points, two items appeared in the output slots: white paint and fluorite dust.
"I figured as much," he muttered, examining the results. "How much do I owe you for this?"
"Just take it, no charge," Crocus waved him off generously. "Consider it payment for keeping an old man company and sharing your stories."
Still, Marcus quietly left behind 100,000 berries when Crocus wasn't looking. He wasn't hurting for money, and the old doctor deserved compensation for his time and materials.
As for the fluorite dust, who knew if it would be useful later? Better to store it in his inventory just in case some future crafting recipe required it.
While this transaction was taking place, Luffy had grabbed the ship's mast and climbed up to where Laboon's old scar was visible. Without warning, he punched the whale twice in rapid succession.
This immediately enraged Laboon, who began thrashing violently, while Crocus was left dumbfounded. Just moments ago, everyone had been crying over the tragic story, so why was there suddenly a fight breaking out?
"So it still happened after all."
Soon enough, Laboon and Luffy had made their promise. After completing a journey around the entire world, Luffy would return to fight Laboon again.
Crocus was caught off guard by this, then chuckled and shook his head. He spent a long moment staring at the straw hat on Luffy's head, as if it reminded him of someone.
"So this must be the kid Shanks was talking about," he said quietly to himself.
After painting a large, twisted straw hat skull mark on Laboon's head, everyone started a celebration feast.
The main dish was the elephant tuna Sanji had acquired back in Loguetown, but the preparation process involved Marcus' furnace.
Food heated in his Minecraft furnace absorbed some of the game's properties, giving it an unusually strong saturation effect. At least now Luffy couldn't demolish the entire meal in one sitting and still be hungry for more.
Mr. 9 and Vivi watched the Straw Hats celebrating and couldn't help but feel confused by what they were witnessing.
"You're really pirates?" Mr. 9 asked suspiciously.
Although their time together had been short, he was used to dealing with pirates on a daily basis. It was obvious this crew felt different from the ambitious, cutthroat types who usually entered the Grand Line seeking fortune and power.
To call them pirates... it was more accurate to say they were an adventure party.
"I'm the man who's gonna be Pirate King!" Luffy declared, still covered in paint from decorating Laboon. He was completely unconcerned about his appearance, and devoured grilled fish happily.
Vivi laughed softly at the sight. "You're all so strange. What kind of pirates act like this?"
The other crew members just laughed along. She was right, if Luffy had been the typical ruthless pirate, how could this group have come together in the first place? Even Zoro wouldn't have agreed to join a crew like that.
Meanwhile, Crocus was chewing on a piece of elephant tuna when his eyes suddenly brightened.
"What kind of cooking is this?" he asked, examining the fish more closely. "Why does it give such a sense of fullness? And... I actually feel like I've grown younger eating this."