Laboon was still in a daze, but when it heard Brook's voice, its eyes shot open.
It sharply turned its head to look at Brook, who was running towards it.
Although Brook's appearance had changed drastically, Laboon still recognized him by his iconic afro and familiar voice.
As a whale, Laboon didn't have the complex thoughts of humans. It only knew that no matter how much Brook's appearance changed, he was still Brook.
"Woooooo!"
Laboon cried out, then swiftly swam towards him.
Chiga and Crocus stood silently on the lighthouse, watching the reunion unfold. Crocus's face was already streaked with tears.
Chiga didn't shed a tear. A faint smile played on his face as his gaze settled on Brook. He softly murmured,
"ROOM: Luxury Ward."
Buzz.
A spherical ROOM expanded outward, enveloping Brook and gently lifting him into the air.
Brook looked back, surprised, seeing Chiga on the lighthouse. Chiga grinned and called out,
"Go ahead, you can enter the sea now."
Before Brook could even voice his thanks, Chiga manipulated the ROOM to send Brook down into the ocean.
When Brook, encased in the ROOM's protection, arrived before Laboon, there was a long, silent pause between man and whale.
Brook hesitated, then spread his arms and leaned against Laboon's massive face.
Laboon affectionately rubbed back against him. No words were needed — this single moment spoke volumes.
Brook reached out and touched the deep scars crisscrossing Laboon's forehead. Although he no longer had a beating heart, he could still feel the weight of sorrow.
Earlier in the Door-Door Space, he'd witnessed Laboon's desperate, self-destructive attacks against the Red Line. The image had left him with unbearable regret. If only he'd agreed to Chiga's offer sooner, Laboon might have been spared this torment.
A soft hum of displaced air signaled Chiga's arrival beside Brook.
He calmly placed a hand over Laboon's massive head and activated his ability.
"Restoration."
Laboon instinctively shuddered as the immense, eerie power of Chiga's Rinnegan settled upon him. But before it could react, a cooling, rejuvenating sensation swept over its body.
At the sites of its injuries, the flesh prickled and itched. Moments later, the hideous scars began to heal at a visible rate, fresh, smooth skin replacing battered tissue.
Brook could only gape in disbelief.
"I-I didn't think… something like this was even possible…"
Without another word, Chiga vanished from the scene, leaving the space to the old friends.
He'd always preferred to handle things quietly and leave without clinging to recognition.
As Brook gently stroked Laboon's healed forehead, he began recounting everything that had happened to the Rumbar Pirates.
Though Laboon was a whale, it understood human words.
When it learned that Brook alone survived, Laboon's massive eyes filled with tears, blending into the surrounding sea. Its mournful cries echoed across the Twin Capes.
Brook said nothing. He didn't offer hollow comfort. He knew Laboon needed to cry.
Compared to himself, Laboon had suffered far worse, enduring loneliness and pain for decades.
Although none of this was Brook's fault, his heart weighed heavy with guilt. He didn't feel worthy of consolation.
Everything unfolding within the ROOM space transmitted back to Chiga's senses.
He sighed, glancing toward the ocean.
Truthfully, with the Yomi Yomi no Mi's power, he could attempt to summon back the souls of the Rumbar Pirates. But Chiga was no saint. Reviving Brook had been a personal indulgence, a chance to right one small regret from his past admiration of One Piece.
To forcibly upend the laws of life and death for strangers? That wasn't his role.
This — this was enough.
Chiga's gaze shifted to Crocus, who stiffened instantly, a cold sweat breaking out.
Did this man change his mind? Was he about to strike him down after all?
But Chiga had no such intention.
He was merely curious.
Crocus, after all, was one of the few living men to have sailed with the Roger Pirates, to have reached the fabled Laugh Tale itself.
And during Chiga's earlier travels around the Grand Line, Laugh Tale remained conspicuously absent.
He narrowed his eyes and asked,
"You were once a Roger Pirate, weren't you? That means you've been to Laugh Tale. Tell me, where is it?"
"Laugh Tale…!?"
At the mention of the island, Crocus's face contorted with shock and fear. Even Chiga was momentarily surprised.
He'd expected shock — but fear?
Crocus's voice trembled.
"A Marine Admiral… why would you care about such a place? Do you seek the One Piece too?"
In Crocus's mind, anyone inquiring about Laugh Tale was undoubtedly after Gol D. Roger's legendary treasure.
But Chiga scoffed.
"The One Piece? That so-called great treasure? What kind of treasure could possibly compare to this—"
Chiga gestured to his Rinnegan, the ripples in his eyes gleaming with unfathomable power.
"With this, I can take whatever I want in this world."
Unless the One Piece turned out to be a Divine Tree Fruit, it was meaningless to him.
Crocus was at a loss. He couldn't fathom someone in this world uninterested in the One Piece.
After all, Roger had single-handedly ignited the Great Pirate Era with it.
But before Crocus could dwell on the thought, Chiga raised a hand toward the ocean, fingers curling into a tight fist.
BOOM!
An explosive crash echoed across the water. Crocus, Brook, and Laboon reeled in surprise.
When they looked again, their jaws dropped.
The vast ocean had surged upward, as though pulled by an unseen hand. The sea level plummeted, leaving only a ring of isolated water where Laboon and Brook floated.
The world around them resembled a colossal sandwich, compressed between walls of suspended seawater.
Chiga calmly turned to the dumbstruck Crocus.
"One Piece… how many Rinnegan does it have?"
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