Chapter 110 – Meeting Crocus
"TO THE GRAND LINE"
I shouted loud as I leaned against the railing. There was a wide smile spreading across my face while I stared ahead at the vast ocean waiting for us.
Our ship started its descent down the Reverse Mountain canal, the water rushing past faster and faster. But the closer we got to the bottom, the more confused everyone became. Murmurs rippled through the crew.
"Alex, is there supposed to be another mountain blocking the way down there?" Nami asked, her voice laced with genuine bewilderment.
I turned to her. "No, why?"
She pointed straight ahead. I followed her finger and spotted it immediately—something massive loomed at the base where the canal emptied into the Grand Line. It wasn't a mountain at all.
"That's not a mountain," I said quietly. "It's a giant whale."
A strange, mournful sound echoed through the air as we continued our descent, like the cry of a wounded animal echoing off the cliffs.
"Kuina, slow the ship down!" I shouted.
She quickly unfurled the sail to catch more wind resistance. The ship decelerated, and by the time we neared the enormous creature, our speed had dropped enough for a gentle glide onto the calmer sea below.
We drifted closer to the base of the Red Line. The whale was immense—black as night, easily as large as the Sea Kings we'd heard about in the Calm Belt, maybe even bigger. Deep scars crisscrossed its head, raw and angry from years of slamming itself against the unyielding rock of the Red Line.
"That's one hell of a big whale," Kaya whispered. Everyone else nodded silently. We all were staring in a mix of awe and quiet fear.
Then the whale turned its massive head toward us. Its enormous eye locked onto our little ship, and we all froze as our own eyes widened in response.
Its jaws parted wide. A torrent of seawater rushed in, funneling down its throat like a living whirlpool. Our ship lurched forward, pulled helplessly into the current.
"We're going to die!" Nami screamed while clutching the railing.
Panic erupted. Everyone braced themselves as the dark wall loomed closer. I closed my eyes along with the rest of them, waiting for the inevitable crash into its stomach. But the impact never came.
After a long, tense moment, everyone opened their eyes. Their jaws dropped as they watched around them.
"Is this... real?" Kuina asked. Her voice was barely above a whisper and full of disbelief.
"I don't know," Kaya replied shakily. "I'm pretty sure that thing just swallowed us whole."
Nami nodded vigorously behind her.
Before us stretched an impossible scene: a clear blue sky dotted with circling birds, gentle waves lapping at a small island, and a modest house perched on it.
One second we were being devoured; the next, we were floating in what looked like open ocean.
The crew turned to me. They were silently asking if I had any answers. And I deed had a answer. If I was not familiar to story then I would had punched the Laboon.
"We're not in the real ocean anymore," I explained, walking to the ship's side and peering into the water.
"Look—the water's green, like it's glowing. And that sky? It is painted on the inside of the whale's stomach."
Before anyone could process that, the green depths churned violently. A giant squid burst upward, tentacles whipping toward us, ready to crush the ship.
Just as it lunged, three harpoons shot out from the house on the island, slamming into the creature's head with deadly precision. The squid convulsed once and sank lifelessly beneath the surface.
Kuina narrowed her eyes. She was staring at the doorway of the house. A figure emerged slowly—an old man stepping into the light.
"Looks like someone's home," Kuina said while her gaze remained sharp. "Should we fight him?"
"No!" Kaya rejected firmly as she was kind lady. But she was keeping her guard up. "We don't attack without reason."
I recognized him instantly—Crocus—but I stayed quiet. I wanted to see if events would unfold the same way they did in the manga.
We all watched as the old man approached without a word, his eyes never leaving us. Tension thickened the air. Even Kuina and Lily started to sweat a little under the pressure.
It was as if was releasing his Conqueror Haki and pressing us with his gaze.
'As expected from the ship doctor of the Pirate King. He is not simple.'
Everyone braced for an attack. Instead, he simply walked to a lawn chair, dropped into it with a sigh, and unfolded a newspaper like we weren't even there.
"ARE YOU GOING TO SAY SOMETHING?" Nami finally exploded at him.
"Hey, if you want a fight, we can give you one," Kuina added as her hands were twitching toward her sword.
The old man's eyes narrowed slightly. The atmosphere grew heavier with the sweat beading on foreheads.
I was fighting to hide my amused grin.
"You try it," he said in a low and serious tone, "and someone's going to die."
Nami and Kaya yelped and ducked behind me. Kuina and Lily tensed as if they were ready to fight.
"Yeah? And who would that be?" I asked casually. I was not tense as I already knew the answer and was hoping for the same hilarious answer.
"Me, of course," he replied.
"HAHAHAHA…."
I couldn't hold it in anymore, and I burst out laughing.
"Sorry, old man," I said between chuckles. "We don't plan to hurt you. We just want to get out of this whale's stomach."
He shrugged at me and then answered.
"Thanks for not trying to kill me, then. The exit's right over there." He pointed lazily to the side.
We all looked where he was pointing. There were two enormous metal doors embedded in the fleshy wall of whale.
"Okay, I'm no whale expert," Kaya said dryly, "but I'm pretty sure normal whales don't have giant metal doors in their stomachs."
Before anyone could reply, the whole place shuddered violently. It was like an earthquake rolling through the sea. The calm green water turned choppy, waves slamming against the hull.
"What the hell is happening?!" Nami shouted while grabbing the rail as the ship rocked wildly. We all struggled to stay on our feet.
"It's begun," the old man—Crocus—said calmly. He had already thrown the newspaper he was reading.
Lily shot him a puzzled look. "What exactly has begun?"
"Look!" Kaya yelled, pointing at the "island."
We stared. The bottom edge wasn't rock—it was iron plating.
"That's no island," Kaya said. "It's some kind of ship!"
"Yeah, obviously," I added with a shrug. "We're floating on a sea of gastric acid. What did you expect?"
"Just what is wrong with this freakish whale, old man?!" Kuina shouted.
Crocus stood and gazed up at the painted sky. "These tremors are from it ramming its head against the Red Line again."
"That explained the scars on his head." Kaya gripped the railing tighter. "But why does it keep doing that?"
Lily also frowned and asked. "Yeah, why?"
"How about we focus on getting out of its belly before we get digested? Then we can talk about the scars of the whale."
"Exactly," Nami agreed, stepping toward me. "Forget everything else. How do we get the hell out?"
Crocus surprised us all by suddenly leaping off the edge. He then dived straight into the bubbling stomach acid.
"Is he insane?!" Kaya gasped. "That acid will melt him!"
I glanced at the spot where he had vanished and sighed. "He'll be fine. Don't worry."
"Alex, we have to escape!" Nami pleaded.
"We can't yet," I said. Their eyes widened. "The whale's probably underwater right now. If we open those doors, we'll sink straight to the bottom of the Grand Line."
"So we just sit here and die?" Nami asked. Her voice trembled as if she was going to die.
"Do not worry. It has to surface eventually to take a breath." I reassured Nami.
"All we can do is wait for the right moment."