Crocus wanted to know what kind of person could stop Laboon's charge head-on.
"Hello there, Crocus."
Seeing Crocus land on the ship, Amon greeted him with a smile.
"You know me?"
"And you're this young?"
The moment he heard his name, Crocus had assumed some old acquaintance had shown up. But when he saw Amon's face, he was stunned.
Although he had retired after Roger's execution, he still kept up with the outside world through the newspapers. He was not cut off from the times. That was why this shocked him even more. He had expected someone capable of stopping Laboon by force to be an old monster from the previous era.
Instead, it was a young man who looked only in his twenties.
And somehow, that young man knew exactly who he was.
Amon laughed. "I know more than that. I also know you were the doctor on Roger's ship."
Crocus's expression changed at once.
"Are you with the World Government? CP0, or maybe CP9?"
Amon almost laughed.
"I'm neither. I'm just an ordinary Jar merchant. No need to be so tense."
He had only wanted to show off a little because he knew the story. He had not expected Crocus to mistake him for a government agent.
"As for how I know, Shanks told me."
To ease his suspicion, Amon threw out a lie. There was no real contact between them here anyway, so no one would expose it.
"Shanks, huh." Crocus's expression softened. "He did come see me not long ago, so if it was that boy who told you, then that makes sense."
He paused, then sighed.
"I've heard he's become one of the Four Emperors of the New World now, standing alongside men like Kaido and Whitebeard. Time really does pass quickly. Back then he was only an apprentice on the ship."
Then Crocus looked at him again.
"By the way, I still haven't asked your name. And I truly have to thank you for what you just did. If you hadn't stopped Laboon, I wouldn't have had any way to calm him down. That poor whale has had a hard life."
"My name is Amon. So this whale is called Laboon?"
Amon already knew, but he still put on a mildly surprised look.
"Yes. I knew Laboon when I was still young."
Crocus then told him about Laboon and the promise he had made with the Rumbar Pirates.
"I see..." Amon lowered his eyes slightly. "That really is cruel. But what you said reminds me of someone. His name is Brook."
Then he told Crocus what had happened to Brook.
"He said he once made a promise to a whale at Twin Cape. But Gecko Moria took his shadow. Without it, he doesn't dare come out into the sunlight, so he still hasn't been able to return."
"The Revive-Revive Fruit... I never expected a Devil Fruit like that to exist." Crocus let out a long breath. "And to think the reason Laboon's companions never returned was because they suffered something like that. Both of them have carried too much."
He looked toward the whale outside.
"If Laboon knew this, he'd be very happy. At least he'd know he was never forgotten."
Amon's eyes shifted slightly.
"Crocus, what if I told you I might have a way for Laboon and Brook to meet?"
He suddenly remembered the video call card Usopp had once opened.
If Crocus could pull out something similar here, then Laboon might be able to see Brook with his own eyes. If that happened, there would be no reason for him to keep smashing himself against the Red Line.
Crocus turned sharply.
"You have a way to let them meet?"
"Yes. I'm not really an ordinary Jar merchant. Or rather, the Jars I sell aren't ordinary. Every one of them is strange in its own way. If you can open something like a video call card from one, then meeting Brook wouldn't be impossible."
Crocus counted as a proper story character, so selling him a Jar would count toward Amon's total. Of course, whether the old man believed him was another matter. If he did not, Amon was not going to force it.
Still, he did want to help Laboon.
To his surprise, Crocus nodded without much hesitation.
"I believe you. How much is one?"
That caught Amon off guard.
Crocus gave a faint smile. "No need to be surprised. I've seen too many strange things in my life. What you're saying sounds unbelievable, but I'm willing to believe it. A man with your strength has no reason to cheat an old man like me for a small amount of money."
Amon laughed.
"As expected of someone from the Pirate King's ship."
People Roger had chosen were rarely ordinary.
"Only a hundred thousand berries."
Since Crocus was being direct, Amon saw no reason to drag things out.
If this sale counted, then he only needed five more before he could open another exclusive Jar. That was faster than he had expected. At this rate, thirty would not take long either, and then there would be another mysterious reward waiting for him.
"A hundred thousand isn't much," Crocus said. "So how do I use it?"
"You just smash it open."
The moment Amon finished speaking, Crocus broke the Jar without another word.
He had lived at Twin Cape for decades now. Aside from the years he spent sailing with Roger, he had stayed here with Laboon all this time. In a way, he had watched the whale grow up.
Laboon was like a child to him.
Now that there was even a sliver of hope of helping him, Crocus was more than willing to try.