Chapter 107: A Conversation

Garen successfully drew the whale Labu away, allowing the Dauntless Vanguard Warblade to smoothly pass through the descending currents of Inverted Mountain and enter the Grand Line.

Meanwhile, the whale Labu, roused from its daze by the taunts, flailed about a couple of times before retreating back into the sea from the nearly devastated rocky cliff it had nearly destroyed.

Everything returned to calm.

Nami, unable to pay attention to the “menacing” and “ferocious” whale still lurking in the waters, ordered the crew to dock as soon as they entered the calm waters of the Grand Line.

Before the ship had even fully stabilized, Nami eagerly leapt ashore, charging up the shattered rocky cliff.

Nami knew Garen possessed a rather miraculous taunting ability and had witnessed with her own eyes his towering figure leading the whale Labu away single-handedly.

But the cataclysmic scene was too terrifying; Garen had only revealed his back before vanishing entirely beneath the whale Labu’s massive, sky-blocking form.

Nami was aware of the many peculiar traits Garen possessed, yet it was still hard for her to believe he could emerge unscathed from such apocalyptic destruction.

Especially after seeing the ravaged cliff, her heart ached deeply.

If such a sturdy rock formation couldn’t withstand the whale’s assault, a single person struck by such a colossal whale would be fortunate merely to survive without being crushed to pieces.

Tears quietly welled in the corners of Nami’s eyes as she desperately called out Garen’s name amidst the vast ruins left by the whale Labu’s trampling.

Finally, Nami found Garen atop the cliff, long missing.

Her tear-filled eyes instantly went blank.

After a moment, trembling all over, Nami wildly charged at Garen.

“Bastard!”

Grabbing Garen by the collar, she shook his towering frame vigorously, roaring in anger:

“I’ve been looking for you for so long!”

“You’re here having tea and chatting with some old man?!”

Garen was not only alive but leisurely conversing with a stranger old man who had appeared out of nowhere.

What’s more, on this cliff just crushed by the whale, there were beach tables, sun loungers, parasols—like a vacation spot.

All of this had just been taken from inside the whale Labu by Kurokas.

After witnessing Garen’s feat of driving off the island whale alone with his sword, Kurokas had invited the young man to have tea and chat out of interest.

Garen, equally intrigued by the pirate king’s ship doctor, gladly accepted the invitation despite a vague feeling that he might have forgotten something.

The two held chilled drinks, laughing and chatting.

“I never expected you to be the young man from the East Blue who fought against Buggy!” Kurokas said with admiration.

“At first, I was skeptical, but now it seems you’re even stronger than the papers claim!”

“Captain Roger himself couldn’t have had such strength in his youth—truly, the younger generation is formidable!”

“Ha ha ha...” Garen scratched his head sheepishly and replied modestly:

“Oh, it’s nothing...”

“My strength still falls short compared to Captain Roger.”

“Even combining myself with Vice Admiral Garp, we could barely match Captain Roger.”

A scene of mutual joy and laughter.

Miss Nami, her affections wasted in vain, felt her chest swell with fury upon seeing this and immediately unleashed her special Armament Haki designed for teammates on Garen.

“Nami, I’m fine!” Garen laughed heartlessly, pointing to an empty sun lounger nearby.

“Don’t be mad, sit down and rest first.”

He then gestured toward Kurokas sitting beside them.

“If you’re going to sail the Grand Line, you really need to have a good talk with this old man Kurokas!”

“Sailing?” Nami’s interest instantly piqued, and she finally sat down quietly.

Kurokas, liking the friendly and pretty young woman, smiled and greeted her, then took the initiative to explain some important precautions for navigating the Grand Line.

He vividly described navigation tips unknown to the four seas: record pointers, permanent pointers, seven routes, the four types of islands for spring, summer, autumn, and winter...

As the permanent guardian stationed at the Twin Cape Lighthouse on the Grand Line, explaining navigation knowledge to promising newcomers was part of Kurokas’s daily duties.

After learning these crucial details, Nami’s expression improved considerably, and she proactively thanked Kurokas.

“No need to thank me! Ha ha...” Kurokas waved casually and added:

“By the way, I should apologize properly for Labu’s impolite behavior!”

“Labu?” Nami asked, puzzled, “Who’s that? I didn’t see any children around.”

“Labu is the whale,” Kurokas said, pointing toward the island whale Labu floating on the sea.

The whale’s hearing was excellent; Labu immediately cooperated, shaking its head in response to Kurokas.

That shake triggered a small tsunami, causing the Dauntless Vanguard Warblade anchored nearby to bob unsteadily.

“That’s ‘Labu the child’?” Nami’s face darkened again.

She’d never seen a “child” five kilometers long and weighing millions of tons.

“Ah... I’m really sorry,” Kurokas apologized sincerely.

“Labu used to just ram into the Red Soil Continent, but I never expected it to attack humans today.”

“I truly didn’t foresee this situation—my apologies!”

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” Garen, understanding the reason behind Labu’s frenzy, waved his hand generously.

“It’s still a child; occasional foolishness is understandable.”

“That whale has been ramming the Red Soil Continent all this time?” Nami looked toward Labu with surprise, spotting countless huge layered scars on its head.

“Why is that?”

“Well...” Kurokas’s face immediately took on a look of reminiscence.

“I first met Labu fifty years ago.”

“Such and such, this and that...” After hearing the story of Labu’s long wait for its lost owner, kind and emotional Nami immediately forgot the whale’s recent terrifying behavior and grew deeply sympathetic toward Labu.

And from a distance, Labu was actually quite adorable.

Nami’s pity for this “little creature” grew stronger, and she sighed empathetically:

“It’s been fifty years; its owner must have died, right?”

“Ramming the Red Soil Continent every day like this, even a whale like it can’t endure.”

“Yes,” Kurokas sighed helplessly.

“All I can do is do my best to ease Labu’s wounds.”

“But Labu’s injuries worsen, and I grow older. This can’t be a long-term solution!”

“I have a way,” Garen suddenly spoke up.

“Just find its owner.”

Kurokas immediately widened his eyes in surprise.

“Could it be that you have news of the Rumba Pirates?”

“Exactly. I know where they are.”

Garen nodded seriously.

Kurokas grew even more excited, and Labu, with its acute hearing, suddenly went still in the sea.

After a moment, Labu tried to bring its massive head closer.

“Stop!” Garen hurriedly shouted, pointing at Labu.

“Keep your big head away. I’ll tell you their whereabouts!”

Labu’s mountainous bulk truly halted, and the churning tide subsided.

Labu whimpered repeatedly, swimming several kilometers away before pitifully stopping.

One must admit, appearances do matter:

For Labu’s size, this behavior still managed to make onlookers, including Garen, feel a pang of pity.

Garen sighed deeply and finally revealed all the intelligence about the Rumba Pirates.

“The Rumba Pirates were wiped out long ago, but there is one survivor named Brook still alive.”

“He is currently at...”

“Such and such, this and that...”

“Brook is still alive?”

Kurokas listened with tears streaming, overwhelmed with excitement.

“I’ll go find him right now!”

“Old man?” Nami said with concern.

“Didn’t you hear Garen? That man is trapped in Gecko Moria’s territory! He’s one of the Seven Warlords!”

“Ha ha ha...” Feeling the care in Nami’s words, Kurokas smiled comfortingly.

“Don’t worry!”

“He’s just a junior; it won’t be so easy for him to hurt me!”

Though only a ship doctor, Kurokas was the Pirate King’s ship doctor, possessing basic combat ability.

“But since we’ve got news of Brook, just to be safe...”

Kurokas grinned again.

“I’ll bring along an old comrade or two!”

Nami didn’t yet know Kurokas’s identity, but Garen was well aware of his background.

“Bring along an old comrade?”

Hearing this, several terrifying names flashed through Garen’s mind.

Then, silently, Garen mourned the unfamiliar Gecko Moria for three seconds.