Chapter 134: After All the Beating and Scolding, It's Already Good Enough Not to Be Hated!
The moment Ralph's voice fell, all the accumulated power within Lufia reached its critical point at that instant.
"Now!"
Ralph shouted.
Everyone on the shore saw Lufia's rubber arm, which had already stretched to its limit, suddenly flash past before their eyes.
The arm swung high into the air, paused slightly at its peak, and then slammed down hard.
The target was precisely Laboon's massive head.
"Wait!"
Ralph suddenly sensed something, his expression changing,
"Aim a bit off! Don't hit the new wound!"
Hearing this, Lufia adjusted the trajectory of her fist at the last possible moment.
Boom—!!
The rubber fist covered in Armament Haki, like a high-speed rotating drill, forcefully bored into Laboon's skin, which was several meters thick.
The force did not spread out but was completely concentrated at a single point.
If it had struck Laboon's fresh wound, it would undoubtedly have driven deeper, tearing the injury open.
Though not as earth-shattering as when Laboon himself crashed into the Red Line, the penetrating pain still caused this decades-old Island Whale to let out a long, mournful cry
"Ooooooh—!!"
Laboon's enormous head shook violently.
For Ralph and Lufia standing atop it, this was no less than an earthquake.
"It's working!"
Ralph's eyes lit up, and without hesitation, he activated Geppo, "Lufia, it's up to you!"
With a few mid-air steps, he had already moved out of Laboon's head range, landing lightly back on the deck of the Going Merry.
What followed was the "playtime" between Lufia and Laboon, one human and one whale.
Lufia had a rubber body that could withstand impacts and pressure, but he himself was not at that level.
Ralph was very self-aware:
Even between lovers, sharing hardships depended on one's capabilities.
They saw Laboon, due to the stinging pain on its head, frantically shaking its head left and right, trying to dislodge that "thorn."
And Lufia's fist was still lodged in its flesh.
That earlier punch had struck too deep; it couldn't be pulled out right away.
For Laboon, it was like having a thorn stuck in its head—both painful and irritating.
"Roar—!!"
It let out an angry roar, its massive head crashing fiercely toward the shore.
Laboon's head grazed the base of the lighthouse as it slammed into the shore, sending rubble flying and shaking the entire Twin Cape.
"Run!"
Crocus shouted, still worried about this Straw Hat Girl he had just met.
Meanwhile, the Straw Hat crew scattered in panic, their hearts filled only with complaints about their captain and vice-captain!
"What are these two lunatics trying to do?!"
"Why provoke the whale for no reason?!"
One collision wasn't enough for Laboon. It raised its head, preparing for a second strike.
Just then, Lufia used her other free hand to stretch out suddenly, firmly wrapping around the lighthouse tower.
"Hey—ya!"
She let out a spirited shout and, using the lighthouse as an anchor, forcefully yanked the arm stuck in Laboon's scalp free.
Squelch!
A spray of blood erupted as the fist was pulled out, glinting dark red under the sunlight.
Silence fell over the shore.
Everyone stared at the petite figure standing atop the whale's head.
She was covered in bloodstains, her straw hat slightly askew from the earlier shaking, but her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.
Lufia took a deep breath and shouted toward Laboon:
"So? I'm pretty strong, right! I made you bleed with just my bare hands!"
Laboon stopped swaying, its massive eyes turning toward the tiny human on its head.
"We haven't settled our fight yet, so we're going to keep going!"
Lufia's voice echoed in the sea breeze, "I don't care about your crew's business, but we just became rivals!"
She raised her arm and swung her fist, "After we sail around the world on the Grand Line... we'll definitely come back for you!"
"We'll fight again then!"
The sea breeze swept by, carrying a salty, briny scent.
Laboon fell silent for a few seconds, then—
"Rooooooar—!!"
It was a cry completely different from before.
No longer filled with sorrow and despair, but one that was... excited, full of anticipation, as if it had rediscovered the meaning of life.
Crocus stood where he was, staring blankly at the scene.
After a long while, the old man who had waited for fifty years slowly raised his hand to wipe the corner of his eye.
"These young people…"
He murmured, "They're really reckless."
But the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upward.
The other members of the Straw Hat Pirates also broke into smiles.
Nami breathed a sigh of relief, Usopp excitedly punched the air, Sanji lit a cigarette, and Zoro stood with his arms crossed, a glint of approval flashing in his eyes.
Lufia jumped down from Laboon's head, landing lightly back on the shore.
She brushed the dust off herself, then, as if remembering something, ran back in front of Laboon.
"Oh right! One more thing!"
She pulled out a bucket of paint from the ship and began painting on Laboon's head.
"This is our battle promise!"
Lufia announced loudly as she painted, "Until I come back, you're not allowed to bump your head and ruin it!"
What she painted was the Straw Hat Pirates' flag—a skull wearing a straw hat.
Though her drawing skills were a bit abstract, with the skull grinning somewhat menacingly and the straw hat looking crooked, the sentiment behind it was clear.
Laboon let out a gentle, low hum, its massive eyes fixed on the tiny figure "graffiti-ing" on its head.
Meanwhile, on the deck of the Going Merry, a different scene was unfolding.
Sanji was already preparing lunch.
After all the commotion, everyone was hungry.
As he handled the giant tuna they'd won from the Loguetown competition, he hummed a tune, clearly in good spirits.
Meanwhile, Ralph and Usopp were making emergency repairs to the Going Merry.
"We need to add an iron band here to secure it."
Ralph pointed at a crack in the mast, his expression focused, "Usopp, pass me those planks."
"Coming, coming!"
Usopp ran over with a pile of materials, "Ralph, you really care about the Going Merry, huh. Just now, you looked like your own child had been bullied."
Ralph paused in his work and said softly:
"It's not just a ship."
He didn't elaborate, but Usopp seemed to understand and nodded.
Zoro, taking a break nearby, watched the two of them working busily and couldn't help but remark:
"Ralph seems to care about the Going Merry even more than Usopp does. How did that happen? Such deep affection."
Nami, as the Navigator, was facing a dilemma.
Holding a compass, she frowned deeply:
"This isn't right... this compass is broken."
The needle spun wildly, unable to point in any fixed direction.
Crocus walked over and smiled as he watched the orange-haired girl's troubled expression.
"Little girl, the first lesson of the Grand Line—ordinary compasses are useless here."
Nami looked up:
"Why?"
"Because the magnetic fields in the Grand Line are very special."
Crocus explained, "Each island is rich in minerals, causing magnetic fields to vary wildly from place to place. Only the Log Pose—a special compass that can record magnetic fields—can navigate here."
He detailed the seven routes of the Grand Line and the final converging destination, Laugh Tale.
Usopp listened with shining eyes:
"Is the One Piece on that island?"
"That's what everyone says."
Crocus shrugged, "But no one has ever reached there to confirm it."
Lufia, her mouth stuffed full of the elephant tuna Sanji had just prepared, mumbled yet confidently:
"We'll just go see for ourselves!"
But Nami wore a troubled expression:
"But we don't even have a Log Pose right now..."
Crocus looked at these young people who had rushed here fueled by passion without any preparation, feeling both amused and exasperated.
He sighed, about to give them his spare Log Pose—
"These two whale hunters have a Log Pose on them. How about we use this?"
Ralph's voice came from the ship.
He held up the Log Pose he had taken from the unconscious Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, waving it toward the shore.
Lufia chewed and swallowed the fish bones, grinning as she said:
"Hehe, everything really does work out for the best!"
The setting sun began to dip westward, dyeing Twin Cape in a golden hue.
Laboon floated quietly on the sea, the somewhat abstract Straw Hat Pirates' flag resting on his head.
The Straw Hat Pirates had repaired the Going Merry, replenished their fresh water and food supplies, and the Log Pose was already pointing toward the next island.
Crocus stood beneath the lighthouse, waving goodbye to them.
"Young ones, are you really decided?"
He asked one last time, "You can choose a different route by resetting the Log Pose's recording. You just need to wait a little while; you don't necessarily have to go to Whiskey Peak!"
Lufia giggled, "It's fine! If we're not satisfied, we can just change to another route after sailing around the world once!"
This confident statement left Crocus momentarily stunned, "Is that so... Well, be careful on your journey!"
The Going Merry slowly sailed away from the shore.
Lufia stood at the bow, looking back at Laboon and waving vigorously:
"Wait for me! I will definitely come back!"
"Rooooar—!!"
Laboon's response echoed across Twin Cape.
The ship gradually grew distant, disappearing beyond the vast horizon.
And a new adventure awaited them at the next island—Whiskey Peak.
Ralph leaned against the ship's railing, watching Lufia's excited figure, then glanced at the mechanical case containing the two Devil Fruits.
"System," He silently thought, "Display current status."
[Due to your guidance, Lufia has formed a new promise with the whale Laboon. Favorability increased by 2%. Current: Close Friend Stage 87%]
The favorability gain is a bit low...
But looking at it another way, after all the scolding and fighting, it's already good that she doesn't hate me!
And this new way of getting along feels pretty good too!
Just then, Ralph noticed that the unconscious Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday were finally stirring awake.
Lufia really isn't the same Lufia anymore—her punches are too heavy!