Chapter 105: Meeting the Whale, Part Two

The first obstacle of the Grand Line is not a vicious band of pirates, nor is it anomalous weather. It is a fish: Laboon the whale.

This "Island Whale" truly lives up to its name. Its upper body alone, rising above the surface, stands over a thousand meters tall, making it as vast as a moving island. Day after day, it guards the entrance to the Grand Line, waiting for the master it was separated from years ago, and easing its grief by repeatedly slamming its head against the Red Line.

Laboon has no intention of harming anyone, but its colossal body, looming across the entrance, is an impassable barrier. Sailors unlucky enough to arrive during Laboon’s waking hours find themselves face-to-face with this unexpected behemoth. Every year, many crews with poor navigation skills or flimsy ships meet their end here, destroyed before they even catch a glimpse of the Grand Line's gateway. Being stared at by an eye larger than a ship is a truly terrifying experience.

"A—a monster!"
"It's looking at us!"

The pirates screamed in panic, their minds paralyzed by the sight of that immense eye. Garen, though mentally prepared, could not help but be stunned by the sheer scale of the creature, which rivaled the legendary Kun of Taoist lore.

Before Garen could recover from his momentary shock, the panicked pirates caused a catastrophe. One sailor, driven mad by terror, stared into that massive, haunting eye and made a disastrous decision: "Fire! Blow that monster to pieces!"

The pirates seemed to place a superstitious faith in their high-tech cannons. Finding a sense of purpose in the command, they turned their guns toward Laboon.

"Wait!" Garen snapped out of his daze and shouted, "Hold your fire!"

But the pirates, who had previously obeyed his every word out of fear, were now deaf to his commands. They did not know that this whale was a gentle, harmless "friend to humanity." Facing a creature they perceived as a bloodthirsty beast, they felt only fear, helplessness, and a desperate urge to survive. In this state, the authority Garen had established vanished; they cared only for their own survival.

Within seconds, the first cannonball was fired, followed by a barrage that tore through the air toward the whale’s massive frame. However, these powerful shells made no impression on Laboon. They could not even pierce its thick skin, and the shockwaves of the explosions were neutralized by the whale’s dense blubber. To Laboon, the sensation was no more than a faint tickle. In fact, as the guardian of the Grand Line, the whale was long accustomed to such "ant-like" greetings. It felt no anger and showed no reaction.

It had only glanced at the ship out of curiosity regarding the black smoke billowing from its chimney. Laboon continued to endure the "massage" of the ironclad’s artillery, until—

One shell unfortunately struck Laboon directly in the eye. The eye is the most vulnerable part of any creature, and Laboon immediately felt the pain. As the pirates continued their relentless shelling, the good-natured whale finally grew annoyed.

A deafening whale song echoed across the world, and Laboon’s massive body surged into motion. At a size a hundred times that of an Ultraman, even the slightest movement caused a cataclysm. Towering waves rose up, and a violent storm was whipped into existence. Most fatally, the injured and irritated Laboon tilted its body and dove back toward the surface, intending to deliver a light "head-butt" to the rude ship.

For Laboon, this was merely a restrained, almost playful act of retaliation. For the pirates on the ironclad, however, it was a mountain crashing down upon them—a total catastrophe.

"Sigh..." Garen muttered, feeling helpless. "I was hoping to capture this steam-powered ironclad, too."

He retreated before the mountain-like collision of the whale’s head. Bracing his muscles, he prepared to leap from the doomed vessel.

"Save me!"
"Take me with you!"

A shrill cry for help came from beside him. Garen looked down to see the middle-aged "first mate," who had been tossed aside by his own crew, clinging tightly to his leg and weeping. Garen’s expression remained cold as he ruthlessly pried the man’s hands from his leg. He had no interest in saving a pirate, much less dragging a pathetic middle-aged man along.

The man seemed to grasp Garen's intent and panicked, wailing, "Sir! I’m really not the first mate! I’m not even a pirate! I’m just a good man they kidnapped!"

Garen paused for a split second.

The whale’s "anti-city" head-butt slammed into the ironclad. With no time to think, Garen snatched up the self-proclaimed innocent bystander and leaped from the deck. Mid-air, he struck the air with his legs, using the powerful recoil to maintain his momentum.

After reaching the eighth level, Garen had mastered the high-speed movement of *Soru*. Although he could not yet fully execute the more advanced *Geppo*, he could use its techniques to hover in the air, allowing him to jump higher and further. With a final effort, he and his "innocent" charge landed on the rocky cliffs surrounding the channel.

The seemingly sturdy ironclad was pulverized by Laboon’s head-butt, vanishing instantly beneath the whale’s mountainous bulk.

"This is bad..." Garen, having escaped the impact, could not relax. He had spotted a more pressing problem: in its retaliation, Laboon had inadvertently blocked the exit of the Reverse Mountain’s downward current. The powerful torrents were no match for the whale’s massive head, merely splashing harmlessly against it like water from a blocked faucet.

Meanwhile, Garen’s own flagship, the *Fearless Saber*, was rapidly descending the current. No ship could perform the extreme maneuver of a dead stop on such a steep slope. Garen had no intention of testing whether Laboon’s skull was harder than his own ship, which carried three hundred crew members. Nami, the navigator standing at the bow of the *Fearless Saber* with a deathly pale face, clearly shared this sentiment.

The man Garen had saved was oblivious to these tactical concerns, lost in the shock of his near-death experience. He clutched Garen’s hand, his voice trembling: "Thank you! Thank you for saving me!"

"Er..." Garen gripped the man’s arm tightly and said with a meaningful look, "Don’t thank me just yet. Things are about to get even more exciting."

The man blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"

Garen stared intently at Laboon’s island-sized body, sighing in frustration. "There’s no other way... that guy’s head is too big; he’s blocking the path. I have to save my crew!"

"Taunt!"