INIIDF-Chapter 89 Let Me Show You a Magic Trick

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Laboon swam frantically towards the Grand Line...

Not only was Crocus surprised, even Liam was taken aback.

"Isn't he too impatient?" Liam wondered. "The Grand Line is so vast. If it keeps searching like this, who knows when it'll find him..."

Crocus looked out over the sea and spoke solemnly, "It has waited too long! Because it understands the pain of waiting, it also understands how helpless Brook must feel after losing all his companions. How lonely Brook must be, alone... if what you said is true." He looked at Liam seriously.

"Of course it's true," Liam replied.

"But I have confirmed," Crocus said seriously, "That the Rumbar pirates did indeed leave through the Calm Belt... Those cowardly pirates fled the Grand Line, not destroyed as you said!"

"Yes," Liam nodded. "But I wasn't lying either!"

"Huh?" A question mark slowly formed over Crocus' head. "What do you mean..."

Suddenly Robin shouted, "Liam! Look over there..."

Liam and Crocus turned to where Robin was pointing. The pirates clinging to the broken planks had reappeared, paddling desperately toward the shore.

"What bad luck! What was that before?"

"Damn Grand Line!"

"I want to go back..."

The pirates paddled frantically, finally reaching the shore and struggling to climb up.

"Phew, saved..." The soaked pirates sighed in relief, "I thought we were dead..."

"You're still alive? Not bad!" A young boy's voice came from nearby.

"It's you?!" One of the pirates immediately recognized Liam, his face filled with shock. "How could you... wait, when we flew over Reverse Mountain, we saw you and the girl next to you up there... no, that's impossible... What the hell is going on?!" He drew his sword angrily.

"Who are you?" Liam asked curiously. "Do we know each other?"

Robin reminded him, "This is the guy you clashed with at the weapon shop…"

"Oh!" Liam shifted the iron bar in his hand. "It's you, the weakling! What's up, you got a problem?"

"How can this be... When I saw those two children..." A pirate was completely stunned, holding his head in disbelief. "They looked like they were having a picnic, leisurely enjoying the view of Reverse Mountain. Wasn't that an illusion?!"

Having a picnic on Reverse Mountain? And enjoying the view? Crocus looked at Liam and Robin in surprise.

This quirky and carefree behavior unexpectedly reminded him of the goofballs on Roger's ship back in the day!

"Who cares about this mess!" Another pirate sneered, drawing his longblade in anger. "They're just two kids. Who cares how they got to Reverse Mountain... Hey, old man, kid, our ship is gone. You wouldn't mind helping us out, would you? If you have a ship or money, give it to us!"

"Exactly!" The pirate who recognized Liam also calmed down, holding his knife. "We are pirates! Great pirates of the Grand Line! Any problems, we'll solve them the pirate way..."

Sigh...

Liam sighed helplessly.

---

"That's it?"

"These guys made it into the Grand Line... Rushing in to be crushed by the stronger ones?"

As the pirates brandished their weapons and advanced, Crocus' eyes narrowed and he spoke gravely, "You'd better not... or you'll die!"

The pirates hesitated. The leader seemed a bit serious; after all, this old man was a resident of the Grand Line!

"Oh? Someone will die?" He licked his lips. "Who are you saying will die?"

"Me!" Crocus said. 

Robin: "..."

"So it's you!!" The pirates went crazy, charging forward with their swords to kill the tough old man, "How dare you..."

Liam stepped forward, raising his hand and yelling, "Wait!"

The pirates paused, stopping for a moment.

"Look at this iron rod..." Liam held the rod in one hand and held it horizontally in front of him. "I'll show you a magic trick. It will float in the air!"

"Float in the air?" One pirate was puzzled. Another pirate warned his companion, "Be careful! This boy's iron rod is heavy; he's got some skill..."

Crocus inexplicably looked at Liam. 

Robin: "..."

"Next..."

Liam slowly let go of the iron rod. 

Clang, the rod fell to the red floor.

Liam: "..."

Crocus: "..."

Robin: "..."

Liam turned his head to look at 'B.I.B.', his eyes dead, "You messing with me now?"

"If it were you, you'd be messing with me too..." The Stand's armor replied in a mechanical electronic voice.

Liam chuckled, "Fair enough!"

"You annoying brat!" The pirates were furious.

"Wait!" Liam raised his hand again, "Give me another chance! It'll work this time!"

"Give you nothing!!" The pirates shouted angrily, charging at him. "How dare you mock us!"

"No chance? Oh well!"

Liam threw the iron rod aside. As the pirates rushed at him, he simply turned away.

The pirates, surprised by the boy's apparent fearlessness, then saw the iron rod that Liam had thrown. Just before it hit the ground, it actually did what Liam said it would - it floated in the air!

B.I.B.' reached out, caught the iron rod, and confronted the pirates.

"Where were we?" Liam asked, walking back to Crocus and Robin.

Robin said, "You were saying that Crocus was right, but you weren't wrong either. Crocus asked what you meant, and I pointed to the sea and said, 'Liam, look over there...' Ouch!" She smiled slightly and rubbed her head where Liam had flicked it.

"..." Crocus watched the floating iron rod move up and down, beating the pirates senseless. "You really are the strange boy Shanks mentioned..."

'That red-haired guy...' Robin remembered.

Liam feigned curiosity, "You know Shanks?"

"We were crewmates on the same ship once."

The pirates were now being beaten by the 'ghost' wielding the iron rod, and Crocus continued, "A few days ago when he passed through here, he mentioned a strange boy with a strange ghost..."

"That guy!" Liam muttered. "Am I that strange?"

He looked at Robin, who looked like she was about to say something but stopped. He stared at her and she had to stifle a laugh, holding back any comments.

...

"Yankee took some sick crew members and left through the Calm Belt on their original pirate ship, hoping to find a chance of survival... The rest continued their voyage with Brook as their captain. But, as I mentioned before, in the Grand Line, it's common for entire pirate crews to be wiped out! Brook's entire crew perished..."

Twin Capes, nightfall.

Liam recounted the story of the Rumbar Pirates to Crocus.

Crocus glanced briefly at Robin. She only had a mild cold, almost recovered by now. When changing the bandages on Liam's head and body, he found the wounds nearly healed. Such a physique... Crocus couldn't help but think of the crew on the pirate ship he once sailed. Roger, Oden, Rayleigh, even Shanks... they were all similar.

"Well then..." Crocus looked at Liam, "How do you know these things?"

...