"...Perhaps we should return to the immediate problem?" Sanji decided to demonstrate good sense. "There isn't a volcano nearby anyway, so we can't test Luffy's idea yet. There's no point discussing it further. Instead of a volcano, we have a strange situation, and I propose we all concentrate on that. Agreed?"
"There's no damned way I'm landing on an island with a volcano now!" Yosaku said with feeling.
"Sanji is right!" Nami shouted as she rose before Luffy could open his mouth. "What is happening here? Didn't some enormous creature eat us? Then why does everything look as though we're still on the surface?"
Nami had a point. At the end of the 'dark tunnel' and 'whirlpool,' what awaited them was... bright sunlight and a tropical island with a small house and a palm tree. Everything around them was bright, quiet, windless, and calm. That was why the words 'we all died' sounded somewhat too plausible in the present situation. Zoro had expected them to fight their way out through intestines and a sea of blood, so the discrepancy between his expectations and reality confused even him. On the other hand, compared with Tashigi and Trafalgar Law's crew, who stared around with eyes crazed by shock and were plainly frightened out of their minds, the Straw Hat family looked like a synonym for 'calm' and 'unshakable.' They had even found time for jokes and unrelated subjects. The days when matters had been otherwise were long past.
"There's a seagull in the sky directly above the island. Look at it, and everything will become clear," Luffy advised Nami. Every person present, including Tashigi, immediately followed the advice.
"It... it isn't moving!" the Marine exclaimed.
"Because it's painted," Usopp said, squinting slightly as he offered his expert opinion. "Wait! Everything here is painted! Not only the seagull, but the sky, sun, and clouds!"
"We're still inside the monster," Zoro considered it necessary to clarify.
"Painting the inner wall of some monster's stomach?" Sanji said as he lit a cigarette. "Someone clearly had too much free time."
"And something wrong with their head," Yosaku added.
"Maybe it's an extravagant way to kill the monster that swallowed us?" Johnny proposed. "Painting the inside of a stomach can hardly be healthy. And what kind of paint is this—waterproof, able to adhere to organic tissue, and capable of emitting such natural light that it's easily mistaken for sunlight?" As usual, the young man began obsessing over various minor details.
"I think if we ask whoever lives in the house on that island, most of our questions will answer themselves, if not all of them." Once again, for a change, Luffy offered a sensible suggestion, a clear sign that he too wanted the answers.
"Is somebody inside the house?" Johnny asked.
"Yes, and fairly strong," Zoro answered.
"And fairly old," Luffy added. "Judging by his aura, he could once have fought you on equal terms."
"When will I finally master Observation Haki?" Johnny sighed heavily without hiding the envy in his voice. "It's useful in every situation! In some ways, it's even better than the other two forms of Haki."
"They're all excellent," Yosaku disagreed.
"That's exactly why the people at the very top of the food chain possess all three forms," Luffy added.
"I'm not arguing with that." Johnny waved one hand. "But admit it, in daily life Observation Haki would clearly be more useful than the other two. Think how often you need to knock somebody out with Conqueror's Haki or punch them in the face with Armament Haki. Observation Haki could be useful even in ordinary conversation."
"...I've never considered the usefulness of different forms of Haki in ordinary life," Yosaku admitted honestly after some thought.
"Interesting things are happening in the world these days," came a voice that could not exactly be called elderly, though neither could it be described as full of life. Even so, it sounded loud and clear enough for everyone to hear. "It seems only yesterday that the ability to use Haki belonged solely to the most exceptional fighters of the Grand Line, and now I hear fledgling chicks discussing it."
Following those words, the mysterious owner of the voice, and occupant of the local island and house, appeared. Through the opening door and into the light of the artificial sun stepped a slightly plump, gray-haired, white-bearded old man. Echoes of former strength—and considerable strength—remained visible in his rounded figure. He wore a pink shirt with yellow and green stripes across the stomach, pale shorts, beach sandals, and a strange headdress resembling flower petals, which made his almost completely bald head look like a large flower itself. A necklace of seaweed hung around his neck, several gold bracelets decorated his arms, and round-lensed glasses rested upon his nose. Johnny's already unserious theory began cracking apart at the mere sight of the old man. He somehow did not look like someone who would paint a monster's stomach in order to kill it—mainly because of his age, since judging by the numerous scars on his arms and legs, the old man had clearly been no harmless flower in his youth.
"Hey, old man, who are you?" Johnny immediately moved ahead of everyone else, practically hanging over the ship's railing. "And what the hell are you doing here? Where are we? And how do you know about Haki?"
"Before asking somebody's name, it would be polite to introduce yourself."
"Introduce myself? No problem! My name is—"
The old man did not allow Johnny to finish. Contrary to his own words, he immediately introduced himself.
"My name is Crocus. I am the lighthouse keeper at Twin Cape. I am seventy-one years old, born on January fourth, a Capricorn, and possess type-F blood."
"Cool!" The old man's strange habits did not trouble Johnny in the slightest, not after experience with Luffy, who was only slightly more predictable than a casino slot machine. "Then how about answering—"
"We are inside a whale's stomach. Where else?"
"A whale? So a whale swallowed us?!" Johnny was genuinely astonished. "I thought it was a Sea King!"
"That's one hell of a whale!" Sanji exhaled a cloud of smoke. "It swallowed two ships like a pair of tiny fish."
"You didn't know a whale swallowed you?" Confusion entered old Crocus's voice. This development had clearly surprised him.
"How would we? We're drifting along, drifting along, and then BAM! We're already inside a stomach. By the way, since we're discussing it, old man, why the hell did you paint the inside of its stomach?"
"I was bored, so I occupied myself," Crocus answered. Walking a little to one side, he sat in a white deck chair beneath the growing palm tree. "Consider it a doctor's whim."
"So Sanji was the most correct after all. You really had nothing better to do. And you're a doctor? Seriously? Next you'll tell us you live inside the whale only because you're treating it!"
"...That is correct," the old man replied after a brief pause. "Laboon became too large for me to treat effectively from outside, so I had to find another solution."
"Respect, old man!" Crocus was shown a raised thumb. "You're impressive just because the whale hasn't died from your treatment yet. So what about Haki?"
To Johnny, hardened by Luffy, the course of the conversation appeared perfectly normal. Crocus, however, definitely began lagging behind, while Trafalgar Law's crew remained in complete shock. Perhaps only Law himself continued following the 'conversation' at all. The rest of his crew tried to understand what was happening and what anyone was talking about. None of them knew anything about this particular Haki, so Johnny's question sounded completely idiotic. What normal adult did not know what willpower was? And why did it have to be asked about now?
"I was once a pirate, and I happened to visit many places."
"A former pirate? Seriously? Since you know about Haki, I assume your 'many places' included the New World? You're impressive! You visited the New World and didn't die? Honor and respect!"
"You know about Haki, you know about the New World, and you can even use Haki despite your age... Young men, where did you come from?"
"Old man, don't you read newspapers? 'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro. Heard of him?" Taking several steps aside, Johnny clapped the aforementioned Zoro on the shoulder. "Our super-impressive first mate!"
"'Pirate Hunter'?" came a confused voice from the submarine.
"Roronoa Zoro?" another voice said at the same time.
"THESE ARE THE 'PIRATE SLAYERS!!!" Trafalgar Law's crew finally realized who had attacked them and how serious the threat was.
"The brat who managed to exterminate almost every pirate in East Blue," Crocus said, somewhere between asking a question and stating a fact. "And you became a pirate yourself." Once again, it sounded both like a question and a statement. "Now I understand why your bounty is a full hundred million. The ability to use Haki at such an age is among the best possible indicators of potential."
"Old man, you must be joking," Luffy finally spoke. "Until yesterday, no one in the Marines knew that anyone in my crew could use Haki." Luffy's headless body approached his head, picked it up, and raised it high. "Zoro didn't find any opponents in East Blue even without Haki."
"...A talking head? And a headless body?"
"Pay no attention. Everyone has flaws! Better tell us how to get out of here. We originally planned to fight through blood and intestines, but since you live here, there must be an exit—unless you're a complete idiot." After hearing everything, every family member could say with certainty that Luffy had lost all interest in the old man.
"...The exit is over there." Following another brief pause, during which he was probably accustoming himself to the thought of speaking with a severed head, Crocus pointed in one direction.
Everyone looked where he indicated and saw, at first glance, a 'door in the sky.' Enormous, iron, double-leafed, and large enough for a whole ship to pass through, it stood where the local sea met the painted sky, creating the impression that the door truly occupied the heavens. It had remained unnoticed until then only because it lay directly opposite old Crocus's island, which had attracted everyone's attention from the beginning.
"Then have a good life!" After examining the door, Luffy immediately said farewell, finally setting his head back into place and arranging his body correctly.
Having thoroughly 'joked' with his family, the young man had clearly satisfied his interest in being divided into pieces. Besides, whatever one might say, the Straw Hats' adaptability had reached a truly extraordinary level. Even Nami, who had been more frightened than anyone, recovered within minutes. Luffy cut into pieces became a new 'normal' for every family member, making the 'joke' instantly lose all value for him.
After learning where the exit was, everyone immediately took up the oars. Sailing inside a whale's stomach was impossible. Matters were even easier for the Heart Pirates; they simply started their engine. Thanks to Luffy, the submarine had lost its ability to dive, but he had not managed to damage the engine, so it remained mobile. However, before either vessel reached the 'door in the sky,' the whale went berserk. The gastric fluid serving as water rose into waves, and the surrounding world began shaking as though about to collapse. At once, they learned that the island where old Crocus lived was actually a ship—an iron ship. The moment the whale began thrashing, the old man immediately dived into the local water without the slightest fear of being digested. He surfaced near the door, soon vanished behind it, and no more than ten minutes later the whale calmed. The old man returned, opening the doors for the ships along the way.
"Zoro-aniki, do you know where the old man went and what he did?" Johnny immediately asked.
"...He injected the whale with an enormous syringe."
"Really? So he actually is treating it? Honestly, I thought he was feeding us nonsense."