As the descending current gradually slowed, the thick mist covering the Red Line began to disperse.
Finally, the group saw what lay ahead.
"What's that?"
Hog suddenly shouted, pointing forward.
"A mountain?"
"No, it's moving!"
Daisy exclaimed in shock.
"That's an island whale,"
Ryuen said calmly from the bow of the ship as he looked at the massive creature ahead.
As someone who had crossed over to this world, he already knew it was Laboon and wasn't surprised at all.
"An island whale?"
The others widened their eyes in disbelief.
"Step aside. I'll handle this."
Ryuen walked to the bow, his tone steady.
After speaking, he transformed into his full beast form, spread his wings, and flew into the sky. From above, he looked down at the narrow channel below.
"Crocus! Tell Laboon to move, or I'll kill it!"
Ryuen's voice boomed through the space as he shouted from the air.
His words definitely reached Crocus, as Ryuen had used Conqueror's Haki in his shout.
This power could intimidate everyone nearby, even a giant creature like Laboon.
Sure enough, Crocus rushed out in a panic. Looking up at the sky, he was immediately shocked by the massive firebird overhead!
Even from the ground, he could feel the terrifying heat of the flames.
"Laboon! Move!"
"Move, or you'll die!"
Crocus shouted anxiously at Laboon.
Laboon hesitated. The disturbing sound from earlier had stopped, but now it was being told to move?
Still, it could feel the intense heat from above.
At that moment, Ryuen began to gather a fiery punch. If Laboon didn't move soon, it would face its end.
The Dream Ship was rapidly approaching and would crash into Laboon at any second!
The searing heat from above grew stronger, and Crocus became even more frantic. If Laboon didn't move now, it would really turn into grilled fish!
"Laboon!"
"Move! I know where the Rumbar Pirates are, so move!"
Crocus shouted desperately.
Hearing mention of the Rumbar Pirates, Laboon became excited and quickly moved out of the channel.
Just then, a massive fireball descended from the sky!
Boom!
The fireball struck the spot where Laboon had been moments ago, triggering a massive explosion.
The intense flames expanded the channel by hundreds of meters, and the heat evaporated the water, leaving the seabed visible for a moment!
This sight stunned Crocus. Such a powerful Devil Fruit ability—it had to be a rare Mythical Zoan type!
Crocus quickly came to this conclusion.
Meanwhile, the Dream Ship shot out of the channel and finally reached the Grand Line!
"Grand Line, here we come!"
"Yeah!!!"
Everyone on the Dream Ship was ecstatic—they had finally arrived at the legendary Grand Line.
Ryuen reverted to his human form and returned to the ship.
Crocus watched the group with a serious expression.
A captain with a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit and Conqueror's Haki who also knew about him—this wasn't an ordinary group. Their ship bore no pirate markings, but everything about them suggested they were far from simple.
"Hey!"
"Are you the lighthouse keeper, Crocus?"
Daisy called out to the old man standing on Laboon.
The Dream Ship had lowered its sails and was now heading toward Laboon.
"Yes, I'm Crocus. What do you need?"
Crocus asked in a deep voice, looking at the group on the ship.
Though calm, he remained cautious. After so many years here, he wasn't about to let his guard down.
Hearing his response, Daisy's eyes lit up. Ryuen had mentioned that this old man was a skilled doctor, and she wanted to learn his medical knowledge!
Daisy immediately looked at Ryuen, her face showing an overly pitiful expression.
*Sigh...*
"I'll handle it."
Ryuen sighed and walked to the bow of the ship.
"Crocus, how about we make a deal? One that guarantees you won't lose out,"
Ryuen shouted toward Crocus.
"A deal?"
"I'm an old man with no particular desires. Deals might disappoint you,"
Crocus replied calmly.
"Really? What if I told you I have news about Brook?"
Ryuen leaned casually against the ship's railing as he spoke.
"Brook? Are you talking about Brook from the Rumbar Pirates?"
Crocus asked excitedly.
Even Laboon, hearing this, let out a joyful roar.
"That's right, Brook from the Rumbar Pirates. But if you want to know about him, you'll have to trade your medical knowledge for the information,"
Ryuen said with a calm demeanor.
The more critical the situation became, the steadier Ryuen appeared. Crocus was surprised that this young man was after his medical knowledge. Trading his skills for Brook's whereabouts...
it was worth it.
"Alright."
"I agree. If you tell me where Brook is, I'll hand over my medical knowledge to you,"
Crocus vowed seriously.
"Deal."
"To be honest... the Rumbar Pirates are long dead. They were struck by a rare illness, and every single one of them succumbed to it.
But... there was an exception. Brook survived because he ate the Yomi-Yomi Fruit, which gave him a second life.
However, even with a second life, he's now just a skeleton.
And his current location is in the Devil's Triangle within the Grand Line,"
Ryuen explained quickly.
"Yomi-Yomi Fruit?"
"Devil's Triangle?"
Crocus was puzzled.
A fruit that gives someone a second life? He had never heard of such a thing, but Ryuen didn't seem to be lying.
This meant that Brook was indeed in the Devil's Triangle.
"Alright, I've told you what you wanted to know. Now it's your turn to hand over the medical knowledge,"
Ryuen urged.
Without saying a word, Crocus walked into the lighthouse and came back carrying a large chest filled with notebooks.
"Here."
"Everything about my medical knowledge is in here,"
Crocus said calmly, placing the chest down.
"I'll take this!"
"Hehehe..."
Daisy instantly teleported to Crocus and began rummaging through the contents.
"This is incredible!"
After flipping through the notes for a while, Daisy couldn't help but exclaim.
"Thank you, Crocus!"
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