Chapter 12

The old man, who was named Crocus, told Blackstar Crew the story of Laboon while they waited for the Log Pose to decide which of the seven routes they would be taking.

"Is Laboon always going to stay here?" Nami worriedly asked, feeling sad about it.

Crocus remained silent, and his silence was more than enough of an answer for them.

For an Island Whale its size, it could not go through any passage in the Red Line to get back to West Blue. It could go to the East Blue and South Blue by swimming through the Calm Belt, but there were no pods of Island Whales in those two Seas. It was all alone in this place.

"There are all kinds of Devil Fruits in the world. Maybe there is someone who can help Laboon." Kuina said and hopefully looked at Sin.

Her words brought a smile to Sin's face and he nodded to her. He briefly glanced at Bonney, who had a mischievous smile on her lips.

"There should be a Devil Fruit capable of helping Laboon, in fact, I already have something in mind." He informed them.

"Which one?" Kuina curiously asked. She had recently gone through every Devil Fruit in the Encyclopedia, and it did not have any on it that could prove helpful in Laboon's case.

"There may exist a Devil Fruit that enables the User to manipulate the size of things, living beings included. A Size-Size Fruit." He gave her enough of a hint, but Bonney's Powers were still not coming up in her mind. And so, Sin decided to play with her. "Also, have you heard of the Captain of World Pirates?"

Kuina shook her head negatively.

"World Destroyer, Byrnndi World. He possessed one of the strongest Paramecia Fruits in existence, the Moa-Moa no Mi, Amplify Fruit." Robin informed Kuina about who he was.

"One of the abilities of More-More Fruit is that it can amplify the size of anything that the User touches, and it is believed that even living beings can be affected by its powers once the User has achieved their awakening. I am positive that a counter Devil Fruit of it exists. There should be a Less-Less Fruit, which can reduce the size of the things."

"Less-Less Fruit, if awakened, should help make Laboon smaller, and then it can be taken to the Second Half of the Grandline, from where it could simply pass the Calm Belt and return to the West Blue. But Awakening the Devil Fruit is not easy." Robin thoughtfully said. "If a Size-Size Fruit exists, it would be a better option." She knew that Sin and the rest were playing with Kuina, and she decided to go along with them.

"So if we find such a Fruit, we can help Laboon?" Nami hopefully asked, and Nojiko seemed just as invested in the matter.

"Yes." Robin nodded to her.

"Yay!" The two sisters excitedly yelled.

"People spend all their lives searching for their desired Devil Fruit, and they never find it." Crocus, who had been listening to their conversation, sighed and said before walking inside the Lighthouse.

"We will find it!" Nojiko confidently proclaimed and wrapped her arm around Nami, whose mood had suddenly dropped after listening to Crocus' words.

Kuina seemed to share her confidence and readily nodded her head to her words, and the rest of the crew, except for Hachi, smiled at them, holding back their laughter in their bellies.

Sin turned to look back at Laboon, whose gigantic head was now out of the water. Some scars were still fresh and bleeding, but Laboon was not showing signs of pain. It was sadly looking at the indestructible Red Line, that would not allow it to return to its home. And then its sadness oozed out in the form of a loud cry, rattling everyone.

The Blackstar Crew watched in silence as Crocus returned from the Lighthouse with a backpack, and then used a Dinghy to sail towards Laboon.

Their eyes widened in shock when the old man requested Laboon to open its mouth, which it did, and then it swallowed him.

"What the hell was that?!" Bepo alarmingly asked when his shock wore off a little.

"He asked the Whale to eat him alive," Hachi answered him in a manner that earned a giggle from Robin. But the rest of the Crew was not in the mood to find it funny.

A while later, they understood why Crocus did what he did.

The old man came out of Laboon's blowhole and then walked towards its injured head before starting to treat the fresh scars.

Law seemed quite interested in what Crocus was doing, and Sin, understanding his interest, grabbed him and disappeared with a lightning bolt.

They appeared right next to the old man and closely watched how he treated such massive wounds. The younger boy also started helping out, which Crocus silently accepted.

The Crew did not remain idle whilst they waited for the Log Pose to select their first destination. They started a training session and indulged themselves wholeheartedly in it.

Kuina, whose one-month of physical training was done, could now finally wield her beloved sword again. She was engaging in a mock battle against Hachi, who had his own Sword Style called Rokutoryu. A Six Sword Style. Hachi effortlessly wielded six Cutlass Swords, each weighing 300 kgs, and it was just another evidence of how much physically stronger the Fishmen were when compared to humans.

Even if her speed and reflexes had tremendously improved in the last month, Kuina was still helpless against the unpredictability of Hachi's Style, which never once allowed her to go on the offensive. And even if it was a mock battle, she could easily suffer a grievous injury in it if she lost concentration.

Robin, Bonney, and Hancock were wearing blindfolds as they engaged in a three-way, hand-to-hand combat. They were only using their Observation Haki in this training, and by how well they were fighting each other, it was hard to believe that they could not see anything.

Bepo was up against Augur. The Blackstar Crew's Marksman was effortlessly dodging all of his attacks and barely counter-attacked. Whenever Augur got past Bepo's defences, he only tagged him with his palm, pointing out the flaws in the Bear Mink's fighting style.

Nojiko was observing everyone as they trained. She had already finished her day's training early in the morning, and her muscles were still quite sore from all the exercises she had to do. However, right now, she was simply in awe of how skilled everyone was at fighting. Watching Kuina struggle hard and still not give up, encouraged her to get better as well, and she decided to put some extra effort into her evening training session.

Nami sat silently by her sister's side as she read a storybook, passing the time and keeping tabs on the log pose that still had not chosen a destination for them.

Everyone was shocked when they felt a sudden burst of pressure that made their hearts palpitate in reverence, and they found Sin gravely looking Laboon in its eye.

"If the next time I come here and see more scars on your head, I will kill you."

The large Island Whale cried out in protest, but Sin only increased the pressure of his Conqueror's Haki, intimidating it and making it quiet.

"We will look for something on our journey to help you get back to your home Sea. You have already tried for all these years to do some damage to the Red Line. And I know you are smart enough to understand that you won't be able to do anything to it even if you spent all your life trying to kill yourself." He waited for his words to sink in its mind. "So be patient now. And take care of yourself. I will come back and check on you every two years, and you better listen to my warning."

Laboon remained silent at his words, but Sin knew that it had understood its postion. And so, he stopped using his Conqueror's Haki. Everyone sighed in relief when they saw their Captain wearing a smile on his face, and returned to what they had been doing.

Crocus, who returned to the Twin Capes after finishing treating Laboon, and witnessed what had just transpired, intently looked at Sin. He seemed lost in some thoughts and looked restless as well. After a while, he sighed and turned around, walking inside the Lighthouse.

Time passed, and then suddenly an excited cry of a little girl called out to everyone.

"The log pose is set!"

Everyone stopped their training and approached her, looking at the Log Pose she was wearing on her wrist.

"Can't wait to see what our first destination is!" Bepo seemed the most excited of them all.

"Foolshout Island. That's where Fisher Tiger was attacked and hurt, which led him to his death." Crocus approached them and said as soon as he looked at the Log Pose.

The old man had spent nearly all his life in this place, and he was familiar with the directions of the first seven Islands more than anyone could ever be.

"What kind of an Island is Foolshout?" Nami curiously asked.

"Why don't you go there and find out for yourself?" The old man laughed and said before gently patting her head. "Not knowing what awaits you, makes the journey more fun." He said and then took out a Log Pose, passing it to Sin.

"Drum Kingdom?" Sin questioningly looked at Crocus.

"This kid has the potential to become one of the best Doctors in the world. He will benefit a lot from learning under the Doctors of the Drum Kingdom." Crocus then gave Law a letter. "Don't open it. This is for the Witch Doctor, Kureha. The old hag should be willing to teach you about medicine after reading it. Consider it my thanks for your willingness to help Laboon."

Law only accepted the letter after Sin nodded to him, and by the determination in his eyes, it was clear that he was quite excited about it.