[A/N: I think I mixed up chapters 9&10 sorry bout that]
"It's a giant whale!" Usopp screamed, his voice filled with terror.
"This doesn't look good. At this rate, we'll crash!" Sanji said, his eyes wide with panic as the crew scrambled.
"We gotta do something or else we'll crash!" Zoro shouted, his voice urgent. "Look, how about we turn that side?" He pointed to a space by the side of the waterway that would allow the ship to pass and avoid crashing into the whale.
"But the rudder is broken!" Usopp responded, his voice trembling.
"Well, we gotta do something!" Zoro replied, determination in his eyes.
"Alright, I have a plan," Luffy said, running to the front. The others tried to turn the rudder, pulling on the piece that was left. Suddenly, an explosion sounded as they approached the whale. The others gasped in shock, while Lucas broke into laughter.
"That idiot," Sanji grunted, and Nami fell into hopelessness, mumbling about how it was over.
"...Now's our chance," Sanji, Usopp, and Zoro said, seeing that the whale wasn't paying any attention to them.
"Hey, my special seat! How dare you!" Luffy raged as he stretched his arm and punched the eye of the whale. This caused the whale to notice them, its eye focusing intently.
"Come on. Bring it on," Luffy grunted, but Sanji and Zoro whacked his head, trying to knock some sense into him. The whale, now fully aware of them, turned and swallowed their ship whole.
Throughout this, Lucas did nothing but laugh at the antics of his captain. Although he knew this was going to happen, he couldn't contain himself. Since the events of this whole conundrum would lead to the start of the Alabasta arc, he simply went along with it.
Now inside the stomach of the whale, the Straw Hats were perplexed by what they saw. It looked like they were outside, with a small island in front of them.
"Hey, new guy. What was that about? While we were busy trying to save everyone's lives, you were simply enjoying yourself," Sanji complained, his voice filled with frustration.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I wasn't expecting Luffy to act like that," Lucas replied, a sheepish grin on his face.
"Come on, guys, don't you think the situation in front of us is more important?" Usopp said, trying to ease the tension. "I mean, did we get eaten or not?" he wondered aloud.
A giant squid then appeared, causing Usopp and Nami to freak out. But as soon as the squid appeared, three harpoons pierced its head, killing it and dragging it away. Sanji and Zoro were alarmed.
"Guess it's not an illusion after all," Zoro remarked, his voice steady.
"Huh. A ship?" an old man said, emerging from a house built on the small island in front of the Merry. He looked at the Straw Hats with a deadpan expression, as if he wanted to say something but then decided against it. He went to take a seat by the palm tree.
"Say something, will ya?" Sanji popped a fuse, his patience wearing thin.
Usopp stepped in, trying to intimidate the old man. "Come on, guys, there's no need to go that far with an old man," Lucas said, suddenly standing behind the old man. "Come on now. We mean you no harm. All we want is to get out of here," Lucas said, leaning on the old man's chair with his hand.
"What the... I didn't even see him move, let alone notice when he left," Zoro thought, his eyes narrowing as he watched Lucas.
"Seeing you all comfortable and such must mean that you're quite acquainted with this place, no?" Lucas said, his tone polite but firm.
"Hmph, what rude trespassers you are. But if it'll get you out faster, sure, I can help. There's an exit over there," the old man pointed to a giant gate.
"How come there's a gate floating in the sky?" Nami wondered, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"Wait a minute. Those clouds aren't moving at all. We really are inside the stomach of a whale," Usopp said, taking a proper glance at the sky. "Are they all just paintings?" he wondered aloud.
"A fine piece, I'd say so myself," the old man boasted, causing Usopp to lose his cool, wondering just what the old man could be doing inside the whale.
"Relax and leave him be. Right now, we should focus on getting out of here," Zoro said, placing a calming hand on Usopp's shoulder.
Suddenly, the Merry started swaying as the waters shook. "So he's at it again," the old man muttered as the small island rocked from side to side. Its bottom was revealed, showing the metal that made up the island's foundation.
"So this water is actually stomach acid. We gotta get outta here fast," Usopp remarked, his voice filled with urgency.
"Huh. Just what started?" Nami asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"This whale is bashing its head against the Grand Line," the old man said, leaving the Straw Hats perplexed as to why the whale would do such a thing to itself.
Nami concluded, "Maybe the whale is suffering because the old man is trying to kill it from the inside."
The old man dived into the water with purpose, swimming swiftly to administer treatment to the whale. Meanwhile, barging in through a small gate meant for a person, Luffy popped up with two other strange people who fell into the water. Luffy stretched his hand, grabbing hold of the Going Merry and pulling himself onboard. The other two, a man and a blue-haired woman, were later saved and brought onboard the Merry.
"Who are you guys anyway?" Nami asked the two after they were rescued, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. But before they could answer, the old man came back. Seeing the two, he shouted, "I won't let you lay a single finger on Laboon!"
The two strangers chuckled at his words, pulling out bazookas and firing at the stomach wall of Laboon, the giant whale. The old man jumped to tank the hit, protecting the whale with his body.
"The old man was the good guy all along," Nami remarked, her voice filled with realization and a hint of guilt for doubting him.
"I think we all need to calm down and talk," Lucas muttered, snapping his fingers. Suddenly, the scenery changed, and they were now outside the whale, with the old man also on the main deck of the Going Merry. The two projectiles from the bazookas flew and hit Reverse Mountain, causing a small explosion.
"What the? We're outside the whale's stomach?" the Straw Hats were dazed. Luffy went and bashed Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday's heads, knocking them out.
"What strange people you are," the old man remarked, not understanding what had just happened, finding himself on the main deck of the Merry when he clearly remember jumping to protect Laboon.
"How did we get outside?" Usopp wondered, his voice filled with awe and confusion, as the Straw Hats looked over at Lucas.
"Did he also eat one of those Devil Fruits?" they thought, looking at him with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.
"Are you the one who did that? Woah! How'd you do it?" Luffy asked, his eyes sparkling with curiosity and excitement.
"Cool right? You'll get used to it sooner or later," Lucas replied, making Luffy even more curious.
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