"A flower!?... no wait, it's a human!" Sanji stated.
Sanji looked nervous when the old man suddenly stared at his eyes so intently with a serious look.
The old man stopped staring when he turned around to silently sit on a chair with a newspaper in his hand as he smokes a cigarette.
"Can't you say anything, old man!?"
Sanji shouted and asked in frustration as the old man silently stare at them with a calm look.
"We aren't scared of you... we have a cannon!" Usopp shouted as he tried to not look nervous.
"...Don't even think about it or someone will die" the old man stated as he stared at them intently.
"Who is going to die, old man?" Sanji asked with a smirk on his face.
The two of them were staring at each other with seriousness as the old man broke the silence and said, "...Me".
"You're pissing me off!" Sanji shouted in annoyance as a vein popped in his head while Kaito chuckled in the background.
"Calm down... who are you and what is this place? can you tell us?"
Zoro stated and patted Sanji's shoulder as he questioned the old man with a smile.
"...Before you ask questions, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" the old man asked.
"You're right... sorry" Zoro answered as he apologize to him.
When Zoro was about to introduce himself and the crew, he was interrupted by the old man's next words.
"My name is Crocus. I am 71 years old, Pisces sign, AB blood type. I am a caretaker of the Futako Mizaki City's Lighthouse" Crocus stated.
"SHOULD I KILL HIM HERE?" Zoro yelled out in anger.
"Pfft~ Hahahaha... this old man is hilarious... hahaha..." Kaito laughed out loud as he couldn't hold it anymore.
Zoro and Sanji were being held back by Nami and Usopp while Kaito was holding his stomach for laughing too much.
Crocus then went on to explain how they are inside the whale's stomach and was brought into his one-man resort while mocking them for thinking this is a rat's stomach.
Nami and Usopp were sweating with a worried look on their faces as they contemplate on what they needed to do.
"The exit is over there" Crocus stated nonchalantly.
Nami and Usopp exclaimed in surprise at the fact that there is an exit as well as the fact that there are drawings of skies and clouds inside the stomach as they ponder on how it was even possible.
"Yawn~ I'm gonna sleep inside... call me when something interesting is happening" Kaito stated with a bored look as he yawned.
"How can you possibly sleep in such a situation?" Nami yelled out in confusion and annoyance as Kaito just shrugged her off and walked inside the ship.
"Hmm... maybe I should take a nap as well" Zoro muttered as Nami shouted at him in objection.
...
A few minutes later...
Knock~ Knock~
"Yawn~ come in..." Kaito said in a tired tone.
A creaking sound was heard as the door was opened and a person with a long-nosed walked in.
"Hmm... Usopp?" Kaito asked as he rubbed his eyes.
"Kaito, we're about to dock on Crocus's tropical ship" Usopp stated.
"Yeah, I'll be there in a second" Kaito answered as Usopp nodded and walked out.
Kaito stood up and stretched his body as he started to tidy up his clothes. After a while, he finished and walked out of the room and went to the front deck of the ship.
"Luffy you're back, good to see you again" Kaito greeted him with a smile.
"Ah, Kaito! good to see you as well!" Luffy greeted back with a wide smile.
The gang is finally back together as they waited for the ship to dock at Crocus's ship when Kaito noticed the duo on the floor.
"Hmm? who are these two?"
Kaito asked as he pointed at the two people who are knocked down unconscious on the floor.
"Just some random people who tried to do something dumb"
Sanji answered while igniting his cigarette and started smoking it as he leaned on the wooden railings.
Kaito nodded in response and walked toward the others as he passed through the duo and ignored them.
After a while, the ship finally docked on Crocus's ship and dropped their anchor as they started to drop down on his ship and walked towards Crocus.
The Straw Hats settled down besides Crocus with the duo tied up on the ground as they waited for him to explain.
"This is a Irish Whale from the West blue, it is the largest species of whales in this world and his name is Laboon"
Crocus stated while he introduce the whale that they are currently inside on.
"...And these people are hooligans, they came from the town close to here. They are thinking of killing Laboon because his meat can save them for 2-3 years"
Crocus glanced at the tied-up duo on the ground and explained the reason for their intent to kill Laboon.
"But I won't let them do that" Crocus stated.
He then went on to explain how a pirate ship came into the lighthouse with a little whale and asked him to take care of Laboon for 2-3 years since they'll be traveling around the world.
With Crocus knowing Laboon, he knew that he understood this and had waited for his friends to return.
"Is that why he's been crying and hitting his head against the redline, so he can get to the other side?" Nami asked with a troubled look.
"That's right... it's been 50 years now, and he still believes that his friends are still alive" Crocus stated.
The Straw Hats exclaimed in shock and were surprised at the patience of Laboon for waiting for his friends for 50 years.
BO~
...
"We're finally out" Kaito muttered in relief.
"THERE IT IS!! THE REAL SKY!" Luffy shouted in happiness.
Kaito saw as the others threw out the duo on the oceans while they rambled about how they are gonna pay for messing with them and swam away.
'Hmm... how come every villians always says that'
Kaito thought for a minute before putting the question back in his head.
After a while, they landed on the lighthouse that Crocus owned and settled down on a table near the lighthouse.
"It has already been 50 years... doesn't Laboon knows that they've already died"
Kaito asked in a doubtful tone as he glanced at Laboon with pity.
"What are you saying!? You don't know that for sure yet... they might come back!"
Usopp yelled as he rebutted him for saying such a hopeless thing.
"A whale continues to believe in the promise his friends made... right, pops!?"
Usopp asked as he stared at Crocus with a hopeful look
"Yeah... But reality is cruel... they are already left the grandline... I have checked it already"
Crocus answered while he looked down at the ground with a sorrowful look.
"W-What... what did you just say?"
Usopp stuttered as he asked him with a shocked look while Kaito sighed in gloom.