"Waaahhh, Laboon is so pitiful!"
Beneath the Twin Capes Lighthouse, a campfire crackled softly.
On top of it, a giant squid and freshly grilled takoyaki sizzled, filling the air with a rich and mouthwatering aroma, while told the three of them the story of the island whale, .
Pini and Dicken were already crying uncontrollably, snot and tears streaming down their faces.
Meanwhile, Laboon watched Ash Thalos and Pini cautiously from the shore, one huge eye half open.
Flames one moment, lightning the next, these two were far too terrifying for a whale.
"Nom nom, chomp chomp…"
"Damn, this takoyaki is incredible!" Ash screamed inwardly, eyes shining as he ate even faster.
"Sob… sob… Laboon…"
"Nom nom nom, chomp chomp…"
"…"
Crocus, Pini, and Dicken all glared at him at the same time.
"You little brat!"
Under their furious stares, Ash continued eating without shame and muttered, "Actually… nom… I know… nom… where the Rumbar Pirates are."
"!!!"
Pini and Dicken were completely clueless, but Crocus's pupils shrank.
The Rumbar Pirates had disappeared forty-three years ago.
Before Crocus could even ask, Ash continued casually.
"The Rumbar crew were more adventurers than real pirates. Seriously, what kind of pirate crew is made entirely of musicians whose slogan is, 'Make every crying child smile'?"
"Sadly, forty-three years ago, they caught a deadly plague. Then, while they were weakened, they were attacked by another pirate crew in the Florian Triangle and completely wiped out."
"So… they're all dead…"
Crocus did not ask how Ash knew all this.
He simply turned his head slowly toward Laboon, who was peeking out from the shore.
Tears shimmered in his eyes.
He did not know how to tell the whale.
Or maybe he should not tell him at all.
He was already old. In another decade or so, he would be gone too, and Laboon would be left alone anyway.
"Better to carry this secret to my grave and leave the poor thing a bit of hope…"
Crocus wiped his eyes and made up his mind.
"Man, this takoyaki is amazing, let's grill some more."
Ash stuffed even more food into his mouth, then suddenly added, "Oh right, I almost forgot, Brook the afro skeleton is still alive."
Veins instantly popped on Crocus's forehead.
Staying near this brat any longer was probably going to shorten his lifespan by several years.
This little punk had definitely done it on purpose.
Almost forgot, my foot.
You just made me cry, and now you drop this on me?
"If Brook is alive, then why hasn't he come back?" Crocus asked helplessly after devouring several skewers in frustration.
"Nom… you have to promise to give me the takoyaki recipe and the sauce formula first."
"No. Problem. At. All."
Crocus gritted his teeth and forced out every word.
Ash nodded in satisfaction. He was going to tell him anyway, but teasing the old man was simply too entertaining.
Besides, the recipe and sauce were valuable too.
"Brook already died once. He's a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user of the Revive-Revive Fruit. He gets exactly one chance to come back to life."
"The problem is that he died inside the Florian Triangle. The fog there never disperses. His soul got lost on the way back from the underworld. By the time he found his body, a whole year had passed, and only a skeleton was left."
"And since the entire crew was dead, nothing remained but bones. There was no one to sail the ship, so he's been drifting around like a wandering ghost."
"So Brook has been trapped in the Florian Triangle for forty-three years…" Crocus muttered weakly.
He wanted desperately to reunite Brook and Laboon.
But he was only a retired ship doctor. He had no power to rescue anyone from such a place.
Three years ago, that red-haired brat Shanks had returned to the Grand Line, but according to the news, he had already entered the New World.
"Hm… actually, not exactly forty-three," Ash said while oil dripped from his mouth. "He was dead for one year in between, so technically it's been forty-two."
"Well, thank you so much for squeezing me into your busy schedule…"
"Shut up and eat your takoyaki!" Crocus roared.
Ash blinked. "Mmm… speaking of which, I'm planning to go to the Florian Triangle in the future anyway, so I could drop by…"
"Huh? What did you just say?"
Crocus suddenly smiled. "Ah, nothing! I just wanted to ask if you've had enough. I still have plenty more takoyaki!"
"Oh? That's great! Please bring more!"
By now, Pini and Dicken had noticed something strange.
Ash messed around a lot, but he was never this relentless.
He was clearly bullying the old man on purpose.
But since blood was thicker than reason, they both decided this show was worth watching. If needed, they could always step in and help.
After confirming that Ash really would head to the Florian Triangle one day, Crocus finally handed him an ordinary log pose.
That was exactly one of Ash's main goals.
He could have taken it by force, but there was no need.
Although Ash's flying speed was far faster than any ship, and even the chaotic magnetic fields of the Grand Line could not stop him from flying in a straight line, reaching a specific destination still required a log pose.
Ash remembered clearly that the log pose Crocus once gave Nami was set to Whisky Peak.
At his speed, he could reach it in half a day.
From there, it would take only another half day for the log to set to the next island.
Little Garden.
And that was his real destination.
As for the Florian Triangle, Ash would definitely go someday.
Three Devil Fruit users and a ship he liked very much were waiting there.
But not now.
The Florian Triangle was already in the middle to late section of Paradise, very close to Sabaody Archipelago.
Which meant one thing.
It was nearly halfway around the entire Pirate World.
Even at full speed, a round trip would take a very long time.
With so many plans ahead, wasting time on such a journey right now would be extremely inefficient.
Little Garden, on the other hand, was perfect.
A short trip, two or three days at most.
After putting the log pose away, Ash stood up, instantly attracting the attention of Crocus, Pini, and Dicken.
"I'll be gone for two or three days. During that time, Brother Pini and Brother Dicken, you two can hunt around Twin Capes."
All three froze.
Pini: "Where are you going?"
Crocus: "Hunt?"
Dicken: "So we just stay here and wait?"
"Me? I'm going to Little Garden," Ash replied calmly.
Then he turned to Crocus with a faint smile. "Did you forget what I said when we first met? We're pirate hunters."
Crocus: "…"
"As for you two…"
Ash walked forward as he spoke. "Can you think of any place easier to find pirates than here?"
The three unconsciously followed him.
Ash continued, "Every pirate crew from the four seas that wants to enter the Grand Line has to pass through this place."
Pini and Dicken suddenly understood.
"So that's it! There really is no better place to hunt pirates."
"For a long time from now on, Twin Capes will be our base."
Ash smiled, then walked to the foot of a nearby hill.
He slowly raised his foot and stomped heavily on the ground.
"Three-Bedroom-Two-Living-Room Jutsu!"
Pini and Dicken's mouths twitched.
What kind of ridiculous name was that?
Bang! Bang!
Rumble… rumble…
In an instant, the ground shook violently.
Earth and stone rose together, wood forming naturally within the structure.
More than a dozen earth-and-stone houses with wooden doors and windows appeared before them.
Crocus: "…"
Pini: "…"
Dicken: "…"
Watching the three of them stare in dumbfounded silence, Ash felt extremely satisfied.
That little bit of showing off was worth an insane amount of emotional value.