Soon, the group arrived at Reverse Mountain. A towering wall came into view, where four currents from the East, West, North, and South Blues converged to form a spectacular sight of water flowing uphill. Before they even reached the spot, they heard continuous sounds of impact. Hera and the others turned the ship's bow, deciding to check out the source of the noise first.
Upon arrival, they discovered a massive whale crashing into the high wall of the Red Line, with a man standing nearby trying to talk it down.
Ain, who had learned about legendary pirates during her time in the Marine, recognized the old man's identity at a glance: "It's Crocus, the doctor of Pirate King Roger. Why is he here?"
Hera watched the whale, which had already battered its head until it was broken, and said, "He must be looking after this whale."
Crocus was also surprised that Marines would show up here and asked, "Little girls, don't the Marines usually enter through the Calm Belt? Why have you come here?"
Seeing that Ain and Kuina were somewhat wary of him, Crocus continued, "Don't be nervous. I stopped being a pirate long ago. Besides, didn't Captain Roger say our bounties were revoked? Just relax; I just want to stay and watch over Laboon now."
Nami felt a pang of heartache seeing the whale's bloody head. "Is Laboon this whale? Why does he keep hitting the Red Line? Is there a reason?"
Before Crocus could speak, Hera said first, "It's wailing. I can feel its sadness. It wants to go to the New World to find someone."
Crocus was somewhat surprised. In his view, the Rumbar Pirates were from a very distant time, yet this seemingly very young girl knew so much and even articulated Laboon's state of mind. He couldn't help but pin some hope on Hera: "Can you help Laboon? At least stop him from hitting the wall."
"I can try, but I might not succeed. However, don't worry. Even if I can't persuade Laboon, someone will come to help him in a few years," Hera replied.
Then, Hera first unleashed a Water Bottle Bullet. Crocus sensed the healing power within it and did not step in to stop her.
Hera added a few more shots. The injuries accumulated from years of hitting the Red Line, combined with Laboon's massive body, even exceeded the limit of a single Water Bottle Bullet. After healing Laboon's wounds, Hera reached out to touch Laboon's head.
Laboon also accepted Hera after receiving her treatment. Under the effect of the Water Bottle Bullet, the original injuries gradually disappeared, and new flesh grew on Laboon's pitted head, making it look brand new in no time.
Crocus sighed. While it was a good thing for Laboon to be completely healed, if he couldn't stop it from crashing into the Red Line, it would only cause Laboon more pain.
Hera stroked Laboon, as if communicating with it through her heart: "I know, you want to find the Rumbar Pirates. You believe they haven't forgotten you. I promise you, I will help you find the Rumbar Pirates. Please stop hurting yourself, okay?"
"Hoo-ae~ loo!!" Laboon let out a cry and turned to hit the Red Line again, not persuaded by Hera's words.
Hera sighed. She realized she didn't have Luffy's 'Talk-no-jutsu' talent, the kind typical of a shonen manga protagonist. She told herself, "Think fast, how did Luffy do it back then?"
Suddenly, Hera thought of something and continued to persuade Laboon: "Laboon, I can't convince you, but can you wait three years before hitting it again? Luffy will definitely convince you when he comes here."
"Hoo-ae~ loo!!" Laboon still seemed somewhat dissatisfied. Nami was a bit anxious on the side: "What kind of promise did the Rumbar Pirates make with him that Laboon hasn't forgotten after all these years?"
Nami's words struck Hera's heart like a bolt of lightning. "Promise... promise... right, I remember now."
Hearing the word 'promise,' Hera finally remembered the promise between Luffy and Laboon. She said to Laboon, "Laboon, although I am a Marine, I am also a traveler on the Grand Line. I will sail around the Grand Line once and then come back to see you."
"If that's still not enough, in three years, my younger brother Luffy will come here. He is the man who will become the Pirate King; he can definitely return after circling the Grand Line."
Hera stroked Laboon. Laboon understood Hera's words and stopped hitting the Red Line. Instead, he nudged Hera, as if saying he wanted to test the brother she mentioned.
Crocus breathed a long sigh of relief when he saw that Hera had actually managed to stop Laboon. Watching Laboon's impacts had been a form of mental torture for him as well, and now it had finally stopped.
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