Chapter 374: The Giant Whale Blocking the Way

As Luffy and the crew shot down the Sky River, Nami glanced at the map, her eyes wide with surprise. “Shouldn’t we be surrounded by endless ocean right now? Why is there a mountain up ahead?”

“Huh?”

“There wasn’t a mountain here the first time I came,” someone muttered in disbelief.

Ajin, hands steady on the helm, looked rattled. He vaguely remembered following Captain Krieg to the Grand Line for the first time.

It was wide open sea here before, so where did this towering mountain suddenly come from?

Half in shock, he scanned the surroundings. Everything looked just like it had when they first arrived.

Nothing about the environment had changed, so how did a mountain just pop up out of nowhere? Who could pull off something like that?

To move a mountain here in such a short time—it was impossible to believe.

Woooo!

An infrasound wave, invisible to the naked eye, spread out from the enormous ‘mountain,’ sending a chill down everyone’s spine.

“Wh-what was that?”

“That’s not a mountain! Hey, that’s a giant whale!”

Usopp’s knees shook uncontrollably. Through his telescope, he saw a colossal eye, bigger than their ship, staring skyward.

Here was the moment Usopp’s first tall tale became reality—just like he’d told Kaya, he really had seen a fish bigger than an island.

“Hey, big guy, move out of the way!”

But Luffy, fearless as ever, charged forward on the Merry and, just as they got close, pulled back his right fist and punched the whale’s belly with everything he had.

Luffy was already much stronger now than the day he first set out from home, nearly on par with how he’d be after a year of Rayleigh’s training.

So this wasn’t a simple punch—he fired up Third Gear, his fist sheathed in a faint layer of Armament Haki.

Luffy’s massive fist crashed into the whale’s side with a thunderous boom. “Boom!”

“Moooo!”

The giant whale’s eyes, blank before, instantly filled with red veins as it felt the pain from the tiny creature below.

Sploosh!

The massive beast started sinking, churning up powerful currents that swept the Merry right back to the edge of the Red Line.

“Ahahaha!”

“The path’s clear, Merry! Full speed ahead!”

Laughing as he watched the whale disappear beneath the waves, Luffy hopped back onto his throne and thrust his fist toward the horizon.

Bonk!

“And what makes you think the whale left?”

“Okay, okay! I admit it! My bad!”

Nami, furious, hammered her fist down on Luffy’s head. Luffy just clutched his head and apologized on the spot.

She could sense it—the whale hadn’t gone anywhere. It was just lying across the Merry’s path down on the seabed, not moving an inch. Thanks to Luffy, they now had a massive problem on their hands.

It could’ve been fine—going left or right would’ve let them slip past without meeting the giant beast. But their captain was an idiot, so here they were.

“But this is what makes it fun, right?”

Shing!

The crisp sound of a blade being drawn rang out as Zoro gripped Wado Ichimonji tight in his right hand.

Against something this big, even Three-Sword Style might not be enough.

“Hah! Whale meat, that’s my specialty. Never tried using something this big for a recipe, but I bet it’s delicious,” Sanji declared confidently.

Sanji hadn’t been with the crew long, but with the help of the Great Revitalizing Pill, it was like his genes had already been awakened.

He was starting to develop iron-like skin, making him easily one of the most powerful members aboard.

“Ah!”

“Well then…now that things are like this…I, Usopp the Brave Warrior of the Sea, won’t back down either!”

Usopp might be a coward at times, but he was still a companion everyone could count on.

Weapons in hand, everyone stood ready to take on the giant whale if needed.

“Hey, how about you all come over for a chat?”

“Who said that? Where? Where’s that coming from?”

The atmosphere was already tense. The sudden voice only cranked it up a notch.

Usopp, the first to awaken Observation Haki, instantly locked his gaze on the empty ground near the ship’s right rear.

There, stood an old man with a mane of white hair.

And as soon as the old man spoke, Nami and the others sensed the massive whale gently sink to the seafloor.

Feeling the threat fade, the crew exchanged a glance, then started steering toward the shore.

“Hey, old man, who are you?”

By the time Luffy and the rest set foot ashore, the old man was already lounging in a deck chair, basking in the sun.

“Isn’t it polite to introduce yourself first when asking others’ names?” he replied coolly.

Zoro, taken aback by the old man’s counter, was left speechless for a moment.

“You’ve got a point. Sorry about that.”

“I’m Roronoa Zoro, from the East…”

“My name is Crocus. I’m the lighthouse keeper of Twin Cape. Seventy-one. Pisces. Blood type AB.”

“Ehhhhh!”

Zoro, cut off mid-sentence, looked ready to explode with frustration.

Nobody likes being interrupted just as they start speaking.

“Calm down, Zoro,”

Sanji, ever the peacemaker, gently soothed him.

That old man might be connected to the whale somehow, and this could be their chance to ask about the Grand Line. Best not to pick a fight with him.

“People could die, you know!”

At the old man’s warning, Zoro instantly composed himself, hand drifting to his sword hilt.

“Wait, are you threatening us?”

The mood grew heavy, everyone eyeing the old man warily.

But Crocus just grew more somber himself. “I meant, I’m the one who’d die.”

Thump, thump, thump!

The tension was swept away. Luffy, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku all collapsed to the ground, gulping in huge breaths.

“So, if it comes to a fight, you’d be the one in trouble,”

Hearing that, Zoro relaxed and let go of his sword.

“Exactly!”

Rumble!

A sudden roar captured everyone’s attention. Luffy dashed to the shore, peering through the churning waves as if he could see something beneath them.

“Sir, do you know what’s down there?”

Sanji, still the proper gentleman, stepped up to Crocus and asked politely.

Since Crocus was the lighthouse keeper here, and after he spoke, the whale had sunk into the sea—it was obvious there was some connection between them.

“Ah, you mean the whale. His name’s Laboon.”

“Crashing into the Red Line again, huh.”

“Looks like that whale’s head is covered in scars.”

Usopp had sharp eyes—a must for a sniper. As the whale slid beneath the waves, he spotted all the scars on its head. At first, he’d figured they were from the usual sea king brawls, never suspecting they came from ramming the Red Line.

“Right. And sometimes he howls at the sky.”

“What’s that about?”

Nami’s sudden question prompted Usopp to ask as well.

“It’s true. He’s really hurting.”

Nami, who’d dealt with Fishmen frequently, could tell from the whale’s calls—it was crying out in pain.