"Is this a dream?" Asked Sanji. They had just been swallowed by the whale and now… now they were on an ocean, sky above them and a small island sticking out from the water, a house built upon it.
From the water sprang a squid sea king, three times the size of the going merry, white with blue spots, with tentacles grabbing the hull of the ship. Ogsa drew his sword but the sea king was impaled with a harpoon coming from the open doors of the house.
"It looks like someone lives here, wherever he is", Zoro's right hand rested on one of his katanas, ready to strike at any moment.
"Hey where is Luffy?" Usopp cried out…
Good question, where was Luffy? Last thing he did was punch the whale in the eye and then they were swallowed. Ogsa remembered that he somehow got separated from the crew, though the specifics escaped him at that moment.
"Who cares? Right now I'm more interested in that island! I think I see someone coming out of that house"
The man coming out was Crocus of course, his headpiece reminded them of a flower but it was most certainly a man.
"He got that sea king like it was nothing! Did he mean to save us or was he just fishing?"
Crocus glanced at them, locking eyes with Sanji before ignoring him completely and sitting down on a lawn chair.
"Say something, damn you!" Sanji shouted but Crocus didn't speak a word.
"You looking for a fight? We will take you on, we have a cannon!" Usopp tried hiding his fear of the situation under mound of fake bravado.
"If you do that, someone here is going to die a painful, horrible death"
"Oh yeah? And who would that be?"
"Me of course", he said, matter of factly, before returning to reading his newspaper.
"Who are you mister and exactly where are we?" Asked Zoro, hand on sword.
"Isn't it proper etiquette to introduce yourself before asking questions?", he let the words hang heavy in the air, but just as someone was about to speak, he introduced himself, "my name is Crocus. I am the keeper of the twin cape's lighthouse. I am 71 years old, a Gemini and-"
"Don't play with us old man, it is annoying", Ogsa glared at the man but when his stomach growled he asked, "are you gonna eat all that?" Pointing at the sea king. He felt no shame in it. His body demanded food so he was about to get it.
"Take as much as you want. And you want to know where this is? Where do you think you are, the belly of a mouse?"
"Do you mean… that whale really did swallow us?" Usopp asked, voice wavering with uncertainty.
"What's gonna happen to us? I don't want to be digested…" Nami looked around. Was this really the inside of a whale? The sky looked so… real.
"The exit is over there"
"You mean we can just go out?! Why does a whale have an exit in its stomach and how is the exit just floating in the sky?"
"I painted the sky on of course, it's a hobby of mine"
"Let's just get out of here, we need to find the captain!"
"First though, Sanji, can you cook this up for me?" Ogsa carried over parts of the sea king.
"What kind of idiot thinks of food at a time like this?! You are just as bad as the captain", Sanji shook his head sadly.
"I mean, I could eat it raw but-"
"No, no, definitely not, not whilst I am here, give me a couple of minutes"
Just as he went to the kitchen, the 'sea' around them began to violently shake, creating waves of stomach fluids. This revealed that "that's not an island, it's a boat, made out of metal!"
"Then that ain't water, it's stomach acid! If we don't get out, our ship will dissolve! What is happening, old man?"
"This whale… is smashing its head into the red line, over and over again"
"Oh- that's where those terrible scars came from?" Asked Nami, "that whale is suffering"
Crocus jumped into the stomach acid.
"Is that old man suicidal?! He'll be dissolved in no time!"
"He is heading for the exit", observed Usopp, "we better get out of here too before that whale gets even crazier!"
"Our only chance is to row, come on, row like your life depends on it!"
Just at that moment, Sanji came out with fried squid, which Ogsa shoveled into his mouth with one hand and row with the other.
Level has risen by 1
New skill: ink spray gained
Three distinct voices screamed bloody murder. One of them was their captain, "you are okay! Then save me!"
Crocus climbed further into the whale as they concentrated on rescuing the three who had fallen out of the gate from drowning in acid.
"The whale has calmed down, that's good, I guess"
"As long as I live, you'll never harm Laboon!!" Crocus croaked from high up.
"Who is the old man?" Asked Luffy.
"He lives in this-" Ogsa was cut off by mr 9 and miss Wednesday pulling out explosive launchers, "oh yeah? But we already are in its stomach! There is nothing stopping us from blasting a hole, straight through its insides! You can't stop us from whaling, you sour old grandpa!"
Crocus threw himself in front of the blast, saving Laboon.
"Is he… protecting the whale?!" Nami looked shocked. Mr 9 and ms Wednesday were preparing another shot but Ogsa knocked them out with one good punch each. Actually, he had to hold back, they were weak.
After tying the two whalers up, they reconvened and Crocus explained further, "Laboon is an Island Whale, a species that lives exclusively in the west blue, they are the biggest whales in the world, magnitudes more massive than the next biggest whale, except the sea kings of course. Those creeps are from a nearby village. They are after Laboon's whale meat.
They could feed their whole village years just of his meat but I won't let them do that! There is a reason why he keeps banging his head against the red line and crying at reverse mountain. One day, when I was a lighthouse keeper, a friendly bunch of pirates came down reverse mountain and behind their ship came a baby Laboon. They had been sailing the west blue together. Because it was dangerous, they left him behind or so they thought! Normally, island whales swim in pods with their own kind but for Laboon, those pirates were his kind.
Their ship was damaged so they stayed here for several months. We actually became pretty good friends. Then, when they were about to depart, the captain, a man with an Afro, asked me if I could take care of Laboon for him for a couple of years… 'we are going to circumnavigate the world and return for him', they said. Laboon understood, so we waited here, together. That was fifty years ago… he still thinks his friends are coming back"
They traveled towards the exit as he explained all this.
"You built all this from the inside without killing Laboon? You must be a crazy good doctor, be our ship's doctor!"
"Ridiculous, I am way to old for adventure"
"So you are a doctor living inside a whale?" Nami asked, curious.
"Exactly, it's easier to treat him from the inside. I'm opening the doors"
"Sugeeee! We are outside! A real sky!"
"What do we do with these two lowlifes?" Asked Ogsa, pointing at the baroque works agents.
"Throw them overboard"
Ogsa complied without hesitation, throwing the two into the ocean. It was lucky that they weren't devil fruit users. But he kept the log pose they had on them.
"So, he's been here for fifty years? And he still believes they are coming back for him… those pirates have kept him waiting a long time"
"It's the grand line", Sanji said, lighting up a cigarette, "they said they'd be back in a few years and it has been 50, there is your answer, they are dead. He will be waiting on them till the day he dies, maybe from old age but realistically from all the head trauma"
"How can you be so cynical?! They could still return!"
"I'm afraid reality is even crueler than fiction… those pirates fled the grand line. I have it from a reliable source"
"But to escape the grand line, you'd have to cross the calm belt!"
"That is precisely why their fates are unclear. They could be dead or alive but even if they are alive, they can't, the grand lines waters are unpredictable, the seasons ever changing"
"Why don't you tell Laboon the truth, he can understand human speech, right?" Nami asked, scratching the back of her head.
"I told him the whole story but he wouldn't listen. If Laboon continues like this, he will die. I can only help him so much. I have been taking care of him for fifty years, I grew quite attached…"
"I get it", Luffy nodded.
"What is he-"
Luffy ripped off the mast and rammed it into Laboon, "gum gum bouquet!"
As the whale swung around wildly, Luffy kept punching it.
Ogsa was impressed by the 'fight'. Even without Haki, Luffy's punches truly were like pistols, "it's a draw! I am pretty strong, right? Our match isn't over yet. We still have to settle it", the whale calmed down, "your friends may be gone for good but now you have a rival- me! After we circle the grandline, I'm coming back here and we are gonna finish this fight!"
The whale cried out pitifully.