Chapter 26
Reverse mountain 3
Crocus awoke slowly, his body having recovered somewhat.
He opened his eyes and looked around, finding Zoro and Arthur sitting nearby. They had finished their drinks and were quietly waiting for him.
Crocus turned his head to the other side and saw the girl, while Nami and Sanji were tending to her.
Concern appeared on his face as he began looking around, as though searching for someone missing.
Zoro noticed and asked calmly, "Who are you looking for?"
Crocus replied in a tense tone, "Where is the man who was with her?
Don't tell me he escaped… and still intends to kill Laboon."
Zoro gave a faint smile, glanced at Arthur, then looked back at Crocus.
"Don't worry. He's been dealt with.
He won't cause you any trouble anymore.
But there's something we'd like to discuss with you."
Crocus straightened in his seat and shifted his gaze between Zoro and Arthur, a silent gesture urging them to continue.
Zoro closed his eyes for a few seconds, then opened them and spoke in a calm yet serious tone. "That girl and her companion tried to hunt Laboon,
and they injured you as well.
As I said, the man is no longer a problem,
but the decision regarding the girl… isn't ours to make."
Zoro's words were logical and struck at the heart of the matter.
Laboon is Crocus's companion, his friend for a very long time.
It was true that the crew had grown fond of Laboon and respected Crocus,
but Crocus had lived with him the longest. The true right belonged to him.
If he decided to kill the girl, no one could stop him.
And if he chose to forgive her, that was his decision alone.
That was why Zoro asked. The final judgment had to be Crocus's.
Crocus let out a quiet sigh and said without much thought, "I don't really care about her.
All that matters to me is Laboon's safety.
If she leaves and never returns here again, I won't do anything to her.
But if she comes back… there will be no forgiveness."
Zoro smiled, and so did Arthur.
It was true that Crocus's decision did not satisfy Arthur,
but the matter was no longer in his hands.
Crocus was the one with the right to decide… and he had decided.
The three of them sat together for a while, talking and laughing, as though the tension hanging over them had begun to fade.
---
Aboard the ship, Luffy was still sitting at the front, lost in his thoughts.
He heard footsteps behind him and turned to find Usopp and Sanji.
Luffy gave a small smile. "Is the girl okay, guys?"
Sanji did not answer.
He lowered his head, and the bitterness and resentment on his face were clear.
Usopp broke into a light sweat, then said hesitantly, "Luffy… get down from there. We want to talk to you."
Luffy climbed down, and the three of them sat together on the deck.
Usopp spoke in a hesitant voice while looking at Luffy. "The girl is fine… her personality is strong and firm. Nami is taking care of her now, but…"
He stopped, unable to continue.
Sanji raised his head and looked at Luffy seriously.
"Luffy, there's something very important we need to talk about."
Luffy's expression immediately turned firm as he could see the seriousness in their eyes.
"Speak."
Usopp hesitated again, his voice weak, as though unsure of his own decision.
But Sanji burst out angrily, speaking loudly without caring who heard him. "It's about that damn Arthur.
We don't want him staying on the ship anymore.
Kick him out of the crew, Luffy."
The voice reached Zoro and Arthur, though they didn't catch the details.
Zoro placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "Take care of the old man. I'll go see what all that noise is about."
Arthur smiled and remained beside Crocus.
Nami also heard the shouting. After making sure the girl had improved somewhat, she climbed up to the ship with Zoro.
There… they saw Luffy standing, anger visible on his face.
Everyone was surprised.
It was rare to see Luffy truly angry.
Zoro stepped forward quickly. "What's going on?"
Neither Sanji nor Usopp answered.
Luffy looked at Zoro seriously. "Sanji and Usopp want to kick Arthur out of the crew."
Zoro's expression instantly shifted to shock, then to clear anger.
Nami stopped in her place, a spark of anger igniting in her eyes.
Zoro stepped forward and stood in front of Sanji and Usopp.
"Why do you want to kick one of our crewmates out?"
His voice was harsh, disbelieving.
Nami stood beside him.
Now everything was clear:
Sanji and Usopp wanted Arthur out.
Luffy, Zoro, and Nami wanted a logical explanation.
Sanji stood firm, with Usopp behind him.
Sanji spoke indifferently. "Arthur is a burden on the crew.
His actions and judgments are incomprehensible and irrational.
Why should we keep someone like that among us?"
Zoro was about to respond, but Nami beat him to it. "It's true that Arthur's judgment was hasty,
but he was right.
We don't know who that girl is, nor her story,
but Arthur's intervention saved Laboon and Crocus.
And because of that you want to kick him out?"
Usopp's expression shifted, and he began to sweat. "I… I don't really know.
But Arthur is scary… and crazy."
Sanji cut in angrily. "Yes!
Why does he want to kill a girl just because she hurt Crocus a little?
Wasn't it enough that he killed the man?
His judgments are quick, his decisions reckless.
He didn't even stop when he heard his captain's order.
He almost hit me, and in the end he struck Moss-Head!"
He looked at Zoro with disdain. "Is that your idea of a good crewmate?"
Nami's anger flared, but before she could speak…
Zoro spoke firmly and powerfully. "So you have no issue with killing the man,
but your anger is only because he wanted to kill the girl?"
He stepped closer, his eyes blazing.
"Arthur didn't lie when he said you're just a damned pervert.
Listen to me carefully, Curly-Brows. Arthur is my crewmate… and my friend."
Zoro said it with a voice charged with anger, his eyes locked on Sanji without blinking.
"Yes, his decision was rushed,
but because of that rush… he saved Crocus and Laboon."
He stepped forward, his voice growing sharper.
"And you?
You want to save a girl… who laughed while watching a man take cannonballs with his own body to protect his friend."
Zoro clenched his fist tightly.
"If Crocus had been weaker—even slightly—
his body would have been torn apart by those shells."
A heavy silence fell, and Zoro continued without hesitation.
"The man and the girl didn't know whether Crocus had died or survived,
and yet… they laughed.
They laughed at his pain and his sacrifice."
His voice rose further, clear contempt in his tone. "They didn't care.
They even aimed their weapons at Laboon again."
Zoro glanced around for a moment, then fixed his sharp gaze back on Sanji. "If Arthur hadn't intervened…
Laboon would have died, and we would have died with him."
He clenched his teeth, speaking with restrained fury.
"We're inside his damned stomach.
If his body had been torn apart, or if Laboon had grown furious from the pain,
who would have stopped him from diving into the depths of the ocean?"
He stepped closer, his voice now thundering.
"Even if he didn't open his mouth to drown everyone…
one spit from him in the depths of the sea would have been enough to shatter all our bodies."
Zoro shouted at the top of his lungs, directing his words straight at Sanji. "Arthur didn't just save Crocus and Laboon—
he saved all of us!"
He didn't give him a chance to respond and continued, as if emptying everything in his chest at once.
"Did you even think about that?
Or were you too busy thinking about a pretty girl going through hardship…
when she's the root of this entire disaster?"
Zoro's words ended in a resounding shout that pierced through the ship's air.
They were logical, harsh, and truthful to a degree that left Sanji without a single path for rebuttal.
He had spoken what was in his heart and mind all at once.
Arthur hadn't just saved Crocus and Laboon…
he had saved everyone.
Two cannonballs might not kill Laboon,
but what if he had grown enraged and dived into the depths of the ocean?
Even without swallowing water to drown them…
their mere presence in those depths would have meant death.
At that moment, Arthur had heard Zoro's shouting.
Concern crept into his heart.
He looked at Crocus, who had begun standing and tending to Laboon from within.
Arthur made his decision instantly.
He pressed his foot hard against the ground and leapt high toward the ship.
Everyone sensed his presence at once and turned quickly.
Arthur landed at the edge of the ship and looked at their tense faces with quiet confusion.
"…What's going on here, guys?"
---
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