The Dragon Wolf Pirates didn't stay in Alabasta for long.
Although they had news about Crocodile, Fang Yi had no intention of seeking him out, let alone inviting him aboard.
Having Barrett on the crew was already enough of a headache—he didn't want his pirate crew turning into a second Rocks Pirates.
Still, while they didn't go looking for Crocodile, Fang Yi, Barrett, and Shanks each went out during their stop in Rapeseed City to capture a few wanted criminals. Buggy turned them in at the Marine branch, earning enough Berry to at least gather the special ingredients Tiffany had requested.
After leaving Alabasta, they sailed directly to the Twin Capes at Reverse Mountain.
"Mr. Crocus!"
From afar, the moment Shanks saw the lighthouse, he couldn't help shouting toward it.
"Hm?"
Inside the lighthouse, Crocus—who had been reading the news—froze. That voice sounded familiar!
When the Dragon Wolf docked, Crocus immediately burst out laughing. "So it's you little brats… Barrett, you're out of Impel Down, too?"
"Mr. Crocus! Long time no see! How have you been lately? I've been thinking about everyone a lot," Fang Yi said with a hearty laugh, stepping forward to embrace the man.
"I'm a doctor—everyone else could drop dead and I'd still be alive! But you haven't gone to find Jabba and Yamon? I'd bet they're waiting for you to visit!" Crocus replied with a booming laugh.
"Huh? Teacher Jabba's looking for me? He never told me! I've spent the past year at Sabaody Archipelago with Rayleigh, waiting to reunite with the captain," Fang Yi said in surprise.
"The captain… did he turn himself in?"
At the mention of Captain Roger, Crocus's smile faded.
"Yeah. The captain seemed to have something he needed to do, so he surrendered—and in the process, traded himself for Barrett's release." Fang Yi shrugged. "You know him—once he decides something, he'll see it through. Besides, his personality was never suited to finding a quiet place to die peacefully."
"Hahahaha… yeah, that's exactly the kind of man he was—whatever he did, it had to be grand and spectacular!" Crocus chuckled, nodding.
Fang Yi, Shanks, Buggy, and Barrett were all former crewmates of Crocus, so they were close and at ease with each other.
Brook also knew some of Fang Yi's past and had met Crocus before. The only one unfamiliar with him was Tiffany, who had grown up in a Marine base.
"Right! Look who I've brought with me!" Fang Yi suddenly remembered his reason for coming.
"You are…?" Crocus adjusted his glasses, peering at the skeleton before him. The figure looked oddly familiar, but he couldn't place him right away.
"Mr. Crocus… It's me! Brook, from the Rumbar Pirates!"
Brook's voice trembled with emotion—seeing an old friend after so many years nearly brought tears to his eyes, if only he had any.
"Brook… you… You are Brook?!" Crocus's eyes widened. Slowly, the Brook in his memory overlapped with the skeleton before him. "It is you! What happened to you?!"
Brook recounted his story—how he had died, eaten the Revive-Revive Fruit, and returned in skeletal form.
Meanwhile, Fang Yi explained Brook and Crocus's shared history to Tiffany.
"I see… that's so touching… sob sob…" Tiffany sniffled. The story of Brook and the whale Laboon moved her deeply.
"Later, Mr. Crocus joined our captain's crew to search for the Rumbar Pirates, but he never found them. Then the captain disbanded the crew, and we each went our separate ways. We formed our crew, and on our way to Water 7, we happened to pass through the Devil's Triangle—and there we met Brook, now a skeleton," Fang Yi explained.
"You were all in the same crew before? Then why did your captain disband it?" Tiffany asked in surprise.
"Because our captain… had an incurable disease, and didn't have much time left. That's why we came to invite Mr. Crocus—he's an exceptional doctor," Fang Yi replied.
Tiffany's eyes widened. "Oh… I'm sorry…"
"It's fine. Our captain was a truly great pirate—you'll understand someday. But I believe we can surpass him one day, right, Barrett?" Fang Yi said with a grin.
"Of course," Barrett replied firmly.
"Hahaha… surpass the captain? That won't be easy!" Crocus roared with laughter.
Fang Yi just smiled faintly. True—it wouldn't be easy. Once Roger's execution was over, he would become a symbol of an era, a historical milestone.
But Fang Yi believed their achievements would be far from ordinary. If they didn't even have that confidence, why bother forming a crew at all? They might as well retire like Rayleigh.
"Mr. Crocus… how's Laboon doing?" Brook finally asked, his main reason for coming here.
Crocus shook his head with a sigh. "Wait here. I've been treating him recently. Ever since hearing news of you… His mood hasn't been good."
"What? What happened to him?" Brook asked nervously.
"Laboon's a West Blue island whale. The climate here hasn't harmed him much, but over the years, it's still taken a toll. And after hearing about you, he's been ramming his head against the Red Line constantly—covering himself in scars. A year ago, I started modifying his body internally to help him adapt better to the local environment."
Splash!
Wooooooo!
Just then, a massive, scar-covered whale's head broke the surface, roaring toward the Red Line.
"What the heck is that?!" Everyone except Crocus, Fang Yi, and Brook—who was already guessing—froze in shock.
"Laboon… It's Laboon! It has to be!" Brook's soul seemed to tremble. He knew, without a doubt, this was his old friend.
But Laboon didn't notice him—this was just its daily ritual of yelling at the Red Line.
After nearly a minute of roaring, the whale dove beneath the waves.
Boom… boom…
The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck. The lighthouse at Twin Capes trembled.
"An earthquake?!" Buggy shouted.
"It's Laboon—he's ramming the Red Line again!" Crocus sighed helplessly.
"Why would he do that?" Tiffany asked.
"Maybe… he thinks this wall is what's keeping him from seeing his long-lost friends," Fang Yi said softly.
"Laboon! Laboon—it's me! Brook!" Brook fell to his knees on the shore, crying like a child, shouting into the sea.
But the whale underwater couldn't hear him, and the waves from its ramming crashed against the shore, knocking Brook back.
He scrambled up and ran toward the edge again—
"Careful!"
A wave more than ten meters high surged toward him.
Shanks sprinted forward, while Fang Yi drew his bow and fired.
"Ice Arrow!"
Crack!
The arrow froze the wave just long enough for Shanks to grab Brook and pull him to safety.
"Mr. Crocus!" Fang Yi called. "We need you to calm him down!"
"You wait here!" Crocus dashed inside, emerging with a massive syringe before diving into the sea.
"Wang Zai! Go help Mr. Crocus!" Fang Yi called toward the Dragon Wolf's deck.
The dog had grown strangely sleepy in the past half-year, napping all the time unless Fang Yi called for him.
"Woof!" Wang Zai barked twice, then leapt into the water.
"Wang Zai's so obedient—just too fond of sleeping!" Tiffany said with a fond smile.
"Since Mr. Crocus is here, I'll have him check Wang Zai, too. It's strange for him to suddenly start sleeping so much," Fang Yi said with a wry grin.
He had always cared deeply for the dog, never feeding him scraps, always giving him the same quality food as the crew.