Grrr...
Olvia's stomach let out an embarrassing growl. Her pretty face flushed red as she said, "Ares, aren't you tired after flying for so long?"
"I'm hungry..."
Ares glanced at her backpack and asked, "Didn't you bring any food?"
"I thought there would be food on the ship. How was I supposed to know you'd be traveling like this..." Olvia pouted, one hand pressing against her stomach, looking weak and drained.
"Fine. Let's find something to eat first."
Ares began lowering the Flame Cloud. As it descended, a red continent like a colossal wall came into view, separating the seawater on both sides.
"It's Twin Cape!" The learned Olvia recognized the place at once.
Twin Cape?
Ares froze for a moment, and immediately thought of the Roger Pirates' doctor, Crocus.
He looked toward Twin Cape and noticed traces of human activity around the lighthouse. A sweep of Observation Haki revealed Crocus lying lazily in a chair, a newspaper covering his face as he basked in the sun.
Ares thought to himself, So this guy still hasn't joined the Roger Pirates yet...
The Flame Cloud touched down.
Olvia instantly seemed revived. She ran up to Crocus, pulled the newspaper off his face, and asked, "Hey, mister, can you sell us some food?"
"Huh? Where did such a pretty little lady come from?"
Crocus sat up, but the moment he saw Ares' huge figure under the cloak, he was so frightened that he tipped backward with the chair and crashed to the ground.
He cried out in alarm, "War God... Ares?!"
Ares looked cold and completely unmoved.
"I'm not interested in the weak. Get her some food. We'll pay."
"Food..." Crocus got to his feet, still tense and wary. "I'll go prepare some right away."
He had just taken a few steps toward the lighthouse when...
Boom!
The whole area began to shake violently.
Olvia's expression changed. "An earthquake?!"
"No... Laboon's started smashing into the wall again!" Crocus' face darkened.
Ares spoke in a deep voice, "Go prepare the food. Leave Laboon to me."
"What are you going to do to Laboon?!" Crocus immediately grew tense.
"Relax."
"I won't hurt him."
Crash!
As the waves churned, an enormous whale leaped into the air, like a giant island hurling itself toward Reverse Mountain.
In a flash, Ares appeared in front of Laboon. He stretched out one hand, and his arm muscles instantly shifted and locked into place with crackling sounds, like steel being forged together. With overwhelming power, he froze Laboon's massive body in midair.
Gulp.
Crocus swallowed hard, staring at Ares in shock.
"How can this guy's strength be so terrifying?!"
"For a human body to possess power like this... Is this what they call the War God?!"
Only then did Olvia understand that the Laboon Crocus had mentioned was not a person at all, but this gigantic whale that looked as large as a warship.
Laboon, with emotions as human as any person's, widened his eyes in disbelief. He could not believe that this tiny human had stopped his momentum with only one hand.
Then, as the shock faded, his eyes changed. They filled with pleading. Just as his body was about to drop, he realized he was still floating in midair.
Laboon was instantly overjoyed. He cried out over and over, seemingly begging Ares to take him to the other side of the mountain, to the other sea beyond it.
Ares turned to Crocus. "What are you still standing there for? Go make the food."
"Oh, right!"
Snapping out of his daze, Crocus hurried into the lighthouse to prepare a meal.
Only then did Ares turn back to Laboon, his hand resting on the rough, scarred surface of the whale's head. Those marks were the wounds left behind by years of smashing into Reverse Mountain.
"You want to go to the other side of the sea?"
Laboon immediately put on a humanlike expression and nodded over and over.
Ares knew from memory that this whale possessed a will of iron.
But he also knew something else. At this point, the Rumbar Pirates, aside from Brook, who had the Revive-Revive Fruit, were all dead.
Seeing how intelligent and emotional the whale was, Olvia was astonished.
"What an intelligent whale. The sea really is full of wonders. It's far more shocking than anything written in books!"
Ares said, "The Grand Line is dangerous. And the Rumbar Pirates you're looking for... they were killed by other pirates long ago."
Instantly, Laboon's pupils contracted.
Tears burst out like a broken dam, streaming wildly down his face. He let out a heart-wrenching cry of grief.
Hearing the commotion, Crocus hurried back out and asked, "Ares, what happened to Laboon?"
"The Rumbar Pirates are gone."
Boom.
The words hit Crocus like lightning. He stood there, completely stiff, as if petrified.
Then his whole body trembled, and a look of deep sorrow crossed his face.
"That's the fate of pirates. The Grand Line is an incredibly dangerous place..."
"That sea is a graveyard for pirates!"
As the keeper of the Twin Cape lighthouse, he had seen countless pirate crews depart for the Grand Line over the years.
But after all this time, only the Roger Pirates had ever returned. Not a single other crew had made it back alive.
As for Brook's existence, Ares had no intention of telling Laboon for now. Even if Laboon entered the Grand Line, there was no guarantee he would find Brook, and the danger to himself would be immense.
Laboon began thrashing wildly, but he could not break free of the Flame Cloud's restraint.
He simply could not accept what Ares had said.
He refused to believe it.
Olvia completely forgot about her hunger and ran to Crocus' side, asking about Laboon.
When Crocus told her the story, she was deeply shaken.
So there was such a heartbreaking truth behind all this.
Olvia looked at Laboon, admiration filling her eyes.
"The feelings of animals are far purer and more loyal than those of humans..."
Then she suddenly shouted, "Hey, Laboon, do you want to come with us to the Grand Line?"
????
Ares' expression darkened at once.
"Olvia, since when do you get to make decisions without my permission?"
Olvia stuck out her tongue.
"You're the War God. Surely something this small isn't beyond you, right?"
"It's not like taking one whale with us is all that difficult for you."
Ares' face turned black. That's your idea of a provocation? Do you really think I can't see through something that crude?
He looked at Laboon, who was nodding frantically like a chick pecking rice, practically bowing with excitement.
"Fine. You can come. But listen carefully, you do everything my way."
Laboon immediately nodded furiously, overjoyed.
Seeing this, Crocus let out a sigh of relief.
"With a great pirate like War God Ares around, Laboon won't be in danger anymore."
Ares frowned. "Go make the food already. Stop standing around and gawking!"
"Heh heh..."
Crocus chuckled awkwardly, then turned and dashed back into the lighthouse to continue preparing the meal, humming a cheerful tune under his breath.
He was practically delighted beyond words.
At last, someone's taken this huge burden called Laboon off my hands!
Things are finally going to get easier from here on out!
But as he hummed, his expression suddenly changed. The song died on his lips.
His heart sank.
Wait... if Laboon leaves, then won't Twin Cape be left with just me alone?
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