Chapter 375: Laboon’s Endless Vigil

Rumble—!

The roar echoed again and again as the sea before them suddenly turned wild and tumultuous.

With every crash, Laboon slammed against the Red Line, fresh blood spilling from his forehead and turning the water a vivid red.

Splash!

“Hey, look—the old man jumped in!”

Unnoticed by the others, Crocus dove straight into the depths of the ocean.

Thanks to the little fortress Crocus had built on Laboon’s back, he quickly reached the whale and slipped inside through the entrance.

He hurried to a small room where an enormous syringe sat waiting.

Meanwhile, outside, Laboon stared down the Red Line with fierce eyes, relentless as he battered against it again and again.

“Stop it, Laboon! Please, don’t hurt yourself anymore.”

“That wall divides the world’s oceans.”

“Even if you ram it to death, it’ll never break.”

As Crocus spoke, he drove the giant syringe through a small window—straight into Laboon’s flesh, right where he expected to hit it.

Inside the syringe was a heavy dose of tranquilizer. The moment it entered Laboon’s body, the effect was immediate.

Laboon’s gaze slowly softened and his wild emotions calmed with it.

“Looks like things have finally settled down.”

With Laboon no longer attacking the cliff face of the Red Line, the sea began to settle, waves growing gentle once more.

“Something’s about to surface, isn’t it?”

Luffy’s curiosity was impossible to stop. Even though he’d already felt something speeding up from beneath, he had to lean over dangerously, as if daring fate, peering right into the water.

Splash—!!!

“Whoa, awesome! Hahaha!”

It was Crocus who had launched himself up from below, sending up a spray that soaked Luffy from head to toe.

“Ugh… No strength left.”

“This is sea water!”

Ye Fan stood at the shore, grabbing the weak, collapsing Luffy before he could topple in. “Honestly, what were you even thinking, risking your life like that? You know sea water is your weakness, Luffy.”

“That’s why I’ve got you, Ye Fan.”

Crocus glanced over, eyes lighting up briefly with sharp recognition.

That hat…

“Sir, mind telling us a bit about Laboon’s story?”

Always the gentleman, Sanji pulled over a lounge chair and set it before Crocus.

“Laboon’s an island whale.”

Settling comfortably into the chair, Crocus began to tell Laboon’s tale.

“They’re the world’s largest whales, and they only live in the West Blue.”

“As for why this big guy keeps ramming the Red Line…”

“And why he keeps calling out toward the mountain peak—there’s a reason for all of it.”

“A reason?”

Luffy, back on his feet, crouched at the shore, watching as the enormous whale slowly surfaced.

He’d never seen a fish this massive before.

“Laboon… he’s a whale with a human heart.”

“And all he wants in this world is to wait for a certain pirate crew.”

“So listen carefully—this is Laboon’s story.”

“One day, I was tending the Twin Capes as usual when a boldly laughing group of pirates came down Reverse Mountain and entered the Grand Line. That was the Rumbar Pirates.”

“And there was a little whale, Laboon, who had followed them all the way here.”

“At first, those pirates never meant to bring Laboon along into the Grand Line, but he followed after them anyway. Considering how dangerous the Grand Line is, they decided to leave Laboon here and made a promise with him. They said once they’d sailed all the way around the Grand Line, they’d come back for him.”

“But due to problems with their ship, they stayed here to repair for a few months. During that time, I became good friends with all of them.”

“Before they left, the captain of the pirate ship made this promise to Laboon:

‘Laboon, wait here for us for three years. We’ll sail all around the Grand Line and when we’re done, we’ll come back for you. Don’t ever forget, alright? No matter how far apart, we’re still crewmates!'”

When they finally set out, Laboon still wanted to follow, but the captain told him, “Laboon, wait here for us. We will come back! We promise!”

“And that wait… turned into fifty years.”

“Fifty years? Laboon’s been waiting for them fifty years?”

Usopp’s jaw dropped at the tale—fifty years? Who even gets fifty years in their lifetime?

Looking at Laboon in that moment, it was impossible not to feel how lonely he must be.

“So, that’s why he keeps calling out like that?”

“And why he slams his body against the wall, trying to reach the other side.”

Now at last, Nami understood why Laboon would endure such pain, battering himself against the Red Line time and again. It was about the promise he made with his old friends.

All eyes focused on the water, watching as Laboon lifted most of his giant head, that enormous eye staring straight at the mountain peak.

“But how did you calm Laboon down so fast, sir?”

Sanji’s curiosity got the better of him. Even with such a close bond, how could Crocus settle Laboon so quickly?

“That’s both a doctor’s responsibility and a bit of fun.”

“As Laboon’s good friend, I can’t just watch him hurt himself like this.”

“A doctor?”

“Don’t look at me like that—I’m a doctor, you know!”

“I even ran a clinic here for a few years, and I’ve worked as a ship’s doctor before.”

“Really? Then you should be our ship’s doctor!”

When Luffy heard Crocus was a doctor, he immediately tried recruiting him—their crew was almost complete, but a doctor was still at the top of the list.

After everything Ye Fan had drilled into him about how important doctors were on the sea, it was his first mission on the Grand Line: find a doctor.

“Don’t be ridiculous! I’m not as spry as you young folks anymore.”

“But… it’s really been fifty years, huh? Those pirates sure made him wait.”

“Moron, this is the Grand Line we’re talking about! They probably died somewhere out there long ago.”

“No matter how long he waits, they’re never coming back.”

Someone finally cut through Luffy the captain’s simple optimism—fifty years without a word was proof enough those pirates were gone for good.

Fifty years is an eternity for humans. Sailing around the entire sea might take two, three years, tops. Fifty years would be enough for twenty or thirty laps.

“Besides, I remember the Grand Line was even more dangerous fifty years ago—a wild, uncharted sea back then.”

“Why’d you have to go and shatter his dreams like that, Usopp?”

“Hold up Usopp, if I’m not mistaken, I think I know what happened to the Rumbar Pirates.”

Sanji’s talk about things fifty years ago got Ye Fan thinking, but he didn’t say more—wasn’t that Rocks’s era? Some things just weren’t meant for the crew to hear yet.

Ye Fan figured some history from that time still shouldn’t be revealed.

Yet, hearing Usopp’s words, Ye Fan couldn’t help but give everyone a thread of hope.

“Wait, Ye Fan, you really know?”