Chapter 30: The Island Whale Laboon!
The next day at noon, Suzaku finally stretched his arms wide and walked out of the captain's cabin. He looked refreshed, practically glowing with vitality.
He couldn't help but sigh internally, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. As expected of a Succubus. Albedo's stamina is infinite.
It was also thanks to his own strengthened physique—the Calamity-Tier body granted by the system. Though he had fought almost until dawn last night in a battle far more intense than the one with Shiki, he felt no fatigue now. In fact, he felt stronger.
And Albedo, who followed closely behind him, was even more radiant. Her skin seemed to shimmer. Only a faint, rosy blush remained on her fair cheeks, and her golden eyes held an undisguised, predatory pride. She walked with a new sway in her hips.
The two walked across the deck, one after the other, and happened to run into Nami, who was diligently manning the helm.
The Navigator's mouth curled up into a knowing smirk. She shot Suzaku a look that spoke volumes, raising an eyebrow mischievously.
"Good afternoon, Captain," she teased. "Sleep well?"
Suzaku cleared his throat loudly, forcing himself to look away with composure at the seagulls. "The weather is nice today."
Rem, on the other side of the deck, looked as calm as usual as she polished the railing. However, her sapphire blue eye lingered on Albedo for a moment longer than necessary. It was a silent, calculating observation.
Albedo naturally did not miss that gaze.
She subtly lifted her chin, her black wings fluttering slightly. A faint, victorious curve played on her lips. Like a general who had just conquered a key fortress, she silently asserted her sovereignty.
"Rem, Nami, have you eaten yet?" Suzaku interrupted the silent confrontation at the right moment, sensing the rising tension.
"Lord Suzaku," Rem said, bowing slightly. "Rem and Lady Nami have already eaten. Your meal—and Lady Albedo's meal—are ready in the galley. I prepared something... stamina-restoring."
"Exactly! Look at the time!" Nami interjected, pulling a face and pouting playfully.
She pointed at the sun.
"The sun is already hitting the aft deck, and some people are just waking up~ Did someone perhaps 'overexert' themselves last night? Fighting monsters in the dark?"
Suzaku's ears felt hot. He turned and walked briskly toward the dining area, avoiding eye contact.
"Let's go. Since they've already eaten, we'll eat by ourselves. I'm starving."
"Yes, Lord Suzaku~" Albedo replied immediately. Her voice was filled with undisguised sweetness, dripping like honey, and she quickly followed him, her hand brushing against his arm.
Time quietly slipped away during the voyage. Several days passed in the blink of an eye as the Vermilion Wing sailed toward the Red Line.
The most astonishing moment during this time was undoubtedly when they surged over the peak of Reverse Mountain. The currents defied gravity, shooting the ship up into the clouds. The water flow refracted the sunlight, creating a massive rainbow that spanned the waterway like a bridge of light, eliciting cheers from everyone on board. Even Albedo looked impressed.
Other than that, the journey was smooth sailing. Rem's mastery of the Float-Float Fruit grew increasingly proficient. She could now lift heavy crates and even levitate herself for short periods, adding a new dimension to her combat and utility.
On this particular day, Suzaku was sitting on the deck, bored. He was yawning, tossing an apple in the air.
Suddenly, Nami's energetic voice came from the cockpit ahead:
"Hey... Everyone! Look alive!"
She pointed forward.
"Get ready! We are about to enter the Grand Line!"
Suzaku's spirits lifted instantly. He jumped up. Albedo and Rem also heard the call and came to the bow, looking forward curiously.
The sea at the entrance suddenly opened up. The narrow canal of the Reverse Mountain widened into a vast, chaotic ocean.
However, the first thing they saw wasn't paradise.
Countless fragments of ship wreckage floated on the water—broken masts, shattered hulls, and tattered flags bobbed with the waves. It was a graveyard of dreams.
It was like a silent forest of warning markers, quietly testifying to the cruelty and danger of this sea route. Many crews ended their journey here, crushed by the currents or the guardians of the gate.
Yet, this sight did not cast a shadow over anyone's heart on the Vermilion Wing. Instead, it stirred up a surging excitement.
"Finally," Suzaku grinned. "The real game starts."
But just then, Nami suddenly let out a cry of surprise, her telescope shaking in her hand.
"W-What is that?!"
Right at the entrance, blocking the path completely, a black wall had risen from the sea.
No... it wasn't a wall.
It was a whale.
A whale as massive as a mountain had suddenly surfaced! It was black, scarred, and unimaginably huge. Its eye alone was the size of their ship.
"BWOOOONG!"
It let out a deafening roar that shook the deck plates.
Even more alarming, it was opening its gigantic, abyss-like mouth, creating a whirlpool that threatened to swallow the Vermilion Wing whole! Rows of teeth the size of houses gleamed in the sunlight.
"It's going to eat us!" Nami screamed, spinning the wheel frantically. "Hard to starboard! No use, the current is pulling us in!"
Facing this sudden and terrifying sight, Suzaku and the others showed no trace of panic.
Suzaku simply folded his arms and called out calmly:
"Rem."
"Rem understands."
The blue-haired maid responded instantly. She stepped forward to the very edge of the bow. Her maid skirt fluttered in the wind.
She calmly waved her small hand upward.
"Float."
HUMMM.
Gravity released its hold.
Instantly, the entire massive galleon, the Vermilion Wing, was gently lifted by an invisible force. It didn't just float; it leaped.
Like a flying fish, the ship soared off the sea surface, defying the laws of physics. It glided right over the open mouth of the giant whale, passing safely above the deadly teeth.
They sailed through the air for a hundred meters before steadily landing on the calm sea behind the beast with a graceful splash.
"Wow! Rem! You are amazing now!" Nami's eyes shone with excitement as she ran down from the helm and grabbed Rem's arm. "That was incredible! You just lifted a galleon!"
"Lady Nami, you flatter me," Rem blushed slightly, smoothing her apron. "This is all thanks to the power bestowed by Lord Suzaku. And the fruit was... remarkably terrible to eat."
Just as Nami was still marveling at Rem's new ability, a dull, massive crash resounded from behind them.
THUD!
The ship rocked from the shockwave in the water.
Nami and the others looked back toward the sound. They were shocked to see the enormous whale slamming its head against the Red Line.
THUD!
It pulled back and smashed its massive, scarred head against the indestructible red continent again. Blood stained the water.
Judging by the crisscross of old scars and fresh wounds covering its head, this nearly self-destructive behavior had clearly been going on for years.
"Suzaku, what... what is it doing?"
Nami looked at the giant whale's frantic, self-destructive actions. Her face filled with confusion and distress. The whale's cries sounded less like roars and more like sobs.
"Why is it desperately slamming into the Red Line like that? Is it crazy?"
Rem, standing nearby, also frowned slightly, her empathy triggered. "It seems... sad. Very sad."
Only Albedo remained indifferent to the situation. Her gaze was always gently fixed on Suzaku, as if everything around them—whales, oceans, worldst—was irrelevant compared to him.
"Shall I silence it, Lord Suzaku?" Albedo asked, her hand drifting to her axe. "It is noisy."
"No."
Suzaku looked at the giant beast repeatedly hitting the rock wall. A memory struck him.
Laboon.
The Island Whale who waited for fifty years.
"I'll explain the specifics later," he said in a steady tone, his eyes softening. "The most important thing now is to make it stop. It's hurting itself for a promise."
He stepped forward.
"Albedo, Rem, Nami. Cover your ears."
As his voice faded, Suzaku's eyes flashed with a crimson light.
A majestic and precise surge of Conqueror's Haki emanated from him. It wasn't a blast of dominance meant to crush; it was a wave of calming, overwhelming authority. It rushed directly toward Laboon like an invisible tide.
The giant whale, which had been crashing frantically moments before, suddenly froze mid-motion. Its massive eye rolled back.
Groan...
Accompanied by a low, muffled sound, the beast slowly lost consciousness. Its muscles relaxed, and it floated peacefully on the sea surface, the self-harm halted.
"Just a nap," Suzaku whispered.
Just as the sea surface began to calm, an unexpected sight appeared.
From Laboon's broad back, a metal hatch-like mechanism—completely artificial—suddenly flipped open with a loud click.
"A door?!" Nami gasped. "On a whale?!"
A figure somewhat haphazardly scrambled out from inside the whale!
It was an old man with a flower petal hairstyle resembling a dorsal fin. He wore a Hawaiian shirt and shorts, looking like he was on vacation inside the monster.
He glared at the pirate ship.
"Who dares interrupt my flower viewing?!"