"All right, nothing major," Crocus said as he put away the stethoscope into his first-aid kit.
But Garp had already fallen fast asleep as if nothing was happening.
He snored loudly while still sitting upright. It wasn't until Crocus called out to him again that he suddenly jolted awake, looking around in a daze.
"Ah, Crocus... you—"
"You already said that once," Crocus glanced at him, unimpressed. "Your narcolepsy is as bad as ever. Hasn't the Navy found someone to treat it?"
"It's an old issue. Even my grandson's picked up this bad habit," Garp let out a hearty laugh. "Hey, how about joining the Navy and staying by my side to help me with my health?"
Crocus stroked his white beard, giving Garp a sideways glance.
"If you're worried that your past would cause people to shun you, don't be. Sengoku and I would never let that happen," Garp said, arms crossed. "Besides, with things like the 'Warlords of the Sea' system in place now, it wouldn't even be all that strange for you to join us."
"No thanks," Crocus shook his head. "You know full well—there's only one man in this world I've ever been willing to follow."
Garp's mouth half-opened, then he sighed and chuckled. "That's true… Say, can you guess who was on that black ship I was chasing?"
Crocus furrowed his brows and looked off in the direction the black ship had disappeared. "Don't tell me it was Buggy?"
"You knew?" Garp's face wrinkled in surprise.
"Of course I knew. It's not like I don't read the papers," Crocus suddenly grinned. "So, he's with Davy Jones' crew now? Not bad. At least he didn't completely give up on the sea after his captain died."
"You know that if I catch him, I'll probably beat him to death, right?"
"I do. But if someone's afraid of this and that, then they have no business being a pirate. Might as well go home and be a good little civilian."
"I should throw all you stubborn old pirates into Impel Down—every last one of you," Garp muttered as he sat down on the red earth. "Rayleigh's like that. Shanks is like that. And you're the same. Now even Buggy's returned to the Grand Line."
"Heh. You should retire soon, before people start dying," Crocus said, gazing out to sea.
"Nah, I'm not dying anytime soon. This old body's still tough."
"I meant me."
"You're the one talking about retiring?!"
Crocus ignored Garp's outburst and pointed toward the ocean. "It's here. Right on time, just like every day."
"Huh?" Garp looked up, puzzled.
Soon, a dark shadow emerged on the sea's surface. A column of water shot into the air.
Moments later, a massive figure appeared at Twin Cape.
It had a sleek, enormous body, and its head was covered with scars from countless impacts—it was unmistakably a whale.
Garp's eyes widened in shock. "So, the reason you stayed here… is for it?"
"Yes. This is Laboon, an Island Whale from the West Blue. They're usually social creatures, but through a twist of fate, it followed a group of pirates to this place. Those pirates asked me to look after it. After that, they vanished… over fifty years ago."
"Fifty years? Then that means… you knew Laboon even before Roger's time?"
"Of course. Except for those final years when I followed the captain into the Grand Line, I've been here with Laboon the whole time. It's been waiting all this time for those pirates to circle the world and return."
"Over fifty years…" Garp frowned. "Odds are, they're already—"
"I told it that too. And this is how it responded to show its resolve."
Laboon, the Island Whale, charged headfirst into the red stone wall of the Red Line—like an ant trying to move a mountain!
Boom—
The impact carved a crater into the red rock, and the tremor reached Garp and Crocus's feet, showing just how hard it had hit.
But compared to the vast Red Line, that crater was minuscule, and Laboon's head was now bleeding heavily.
"Garp, I'm done talking." Crocus began walking toward the whale. "I need to calm it down."
Garp watched as Crocus dashed forward and leapt onto Laboon's back, disappearing from view. A quiet sigh escaped him.
You're all the same… So damn stubborn to the very end.
He turned around and began walking toward his dog-headed Navy ship.
On the Grand Line, amid swirling mists, the Terror Ghost sailed toward the unknown.
As always, Davy Jones had used most of the terror he harvested from the latest battle to strengthen both himself and the Terror Ghost.
Black, leathery wings had now grown from his back. When needed, they could spread wide to let him fly; when not, they folded seamlessly back into his body.
Meanwhile, the Terror Ghost had gained a new ability: teleportation between two fixed anchor points.
These two anchor points had to be living beings near the ship, and once set, could not be changed. Also, the two points had to stay within a certain distance of each other—specifically, the range the ship could sail in a week, ignoring all obstacles, forming the diameter of a large circular zone.
In other words, the ship could now appear at any moment directly above one of the anchor points—descending from the sky.
However, like its "ghost ship mode," this ability had limitations: distance, cooldown time, and more.
Davy Jones silently turned to look at his crew.
Buggy was still sitting on the deck, pale and shaken.
When Garp's "Fist of Bone Impact" came down, he thought for sure he was dead. This time, there were no monster-like comrades to shield him from Garp.
But something unexpected happened.
The entire Terror Ghost, and everything living aboard it, had suddenly entered a ghostly green state. Garp's devastating punch had caused no damage at all.
Buggy sat there dumbfounded for quite a while, until he noticed Davy Jones's cold gray-blue eyes fixed on him. He shivered and quickly scrambled to his feet.
"C-Captain…"
Davy Jones pointed to Alvida, who was still trapped in the sea prism stone net, weak and powerless. "Figure out how to get her out."
Alvida blushed furiously. She had been the first to fall to Smoker and Tashigi earlier, totally helpless against Garp's assault—and now she couldn't even free herself from the net.
Buggy scratched his head, then picked up her flail from the side and used it to hook the sea prism stone net, tossing it aside.
Davy Jones, intrigued by the net, reached out a tendril and picked it up for a closer look.
Just then, Kuro emerged from below deck. Seeing the calm around them, he let out a breath of relief.
One lens of his glasses was shattered. He'd have to replace them at the next port.
He helped the injured Hatchan to his feet. The poor octopus had been wounded once again—it seemed like he'd been hurt constantly ever since joining the crew.
Alvida and Kuro quietly started tending to Hatchan's wounds.
Meanwhile, Davy Jones examined the net and asked Buggy, "What is mixed into this net?"
"That's sea prism stone, Captain," Buggy explained everything he knew. "It holds the same power as the sea, and it's used to restrain Devil Fruit users."
"Can you get more?"
"Not easily." Buggy looked troubled. "It's mostly mined in the New World, in Wano Country. There's a tiny amount in other places, but it's extremely rare. Most finished products are controlled by the World Government. Even on the black market, it's harder to find than Devil Fruits."
Davy Jones nodded. "Then forget it. We'll deal with it another time."
Suddenly, a snowflake landed on one of his writhing tendrils, its icy touch making him look up.
The sky, once filled with storm clouds, was now releasing thick, heavy snow. A cold wind howled across the deck, cutting to the bone.
Davy Jones looked out over the sea. "So… this is the Grand Line…"
The crew fell silent, all staring out at the sea—both familiar and foreign, ever-changing and unpredictable.
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