Sailing: This Bounce-Bounce Fruit is a little different.

The Merry, as small as a mayfly, followed the ocean current through the massive, mountain-like teeth, rushing rapidly toward the depths of the whale Laboon's throat.

Ahhhhh!

Even with Hai's prior warning, the crowd still couldn't help but gasp when the Going Merry slid down their throats.

Until the Going Merry crashed into the sea and stopped rocking.

Nami and the rest of the "307" stared in astonishment at the blue sky and white clouds that were exactly the same as the outside world, with numerous seagulls soaring in the sky, and most importantly...

Before them, a tiny island had indeed appeared!

Despite having only a long coconut tree and a simple house.

"Am I dreaming?"

Nojiko rubbed her eyes and exclaimed in amazement, "There's another world inside a whale's belly! How could such a creature be created!"

"..."

At the bow of the boat, Hai squinted at the figure emerging from the house—an old man with a muscular physique—and a slight smile played on his lips.

call out!

With a single step, Hai vanished silently in an instant.

When he reappeared.

With his right hand already on Crocus's shoulder, Hai smiled slightly and silently recited [Talent Absorption].

Now that it has been upgraded to an active skill, the best time for it to happen is right now, at the very first moment we meet.

[Talent Absorption: Healer x31 (Silver)]

[Note: Those who absorb the Silver-level talent for healing will have their medical skills amplified 31 times compared to ordinary people...]

Tsk!

It's actually a silver-tier talent...

And it's about a talent for medicine...

Reading the information flashing in his double pupils, Hai's eyes flashed with a look of disappointment that was both reasonable and unexpected.

I thought I could learn something different from this person, but it turns out it's still related to medicine...

It seems that the 50% chance of acquiring the [Golden] talent is no longer as lucky as it used to be.

Thinking of this, Hai's mind stirred slightly.

They directly transformed it into "essence" and integrated it into the "Devil Fruit," which was currently their weakness.

After all, the development of Devil Fruits, the training of swordsmanship, and the enhancement of physique and Haki have already made the daily training time very tight.

Furthermore, there's the [gun skill] waiting to be acquired, and if you add [medical skill] to that, it really will be a bit overwhelming.

At this moment, as half a star out of the four and a half stars of the [Devil Fruit Ability] was rapidly filled into two corners by [Divine Essence]...

He could clearly feel that the transparent ripples had become thicker and heavier, both in quantity and quality, and the key was that they seemed to be much more flexible in terms of control.

Moreover, numerous ideas for developing Devil Fruit abilities flashed through his mind...

"Hey! Young man..."

Crocus, who had just been patted on the shoulder, held a whale harpoon in his left hand and stroked his white beard with his right, saying in a deep voice, "If you hit me any harder, this old man might just lie down..."

puff……

Coming to his senses, Hai, thinking the other party was about to retaliate, couldn't help but frown and look speechlessly at the old man who was about to collapse to the ground, trying to extort money.

"Hey! Seriously... It's a normal reaction. Shouldn't you be fighting back with a harpoon?"

"Did you grow all those muscles for nothing?"

cough!

"How can you say something like that to an old man with a full head of white hair..."

Seeing the other person withdraw their arm and look at him speechlessly, Crocus, whose hair resembled a purple-yellow saffron flower, flashed a hint of a smile in his eyes, then immediately put on a stern face and said irritably:

“I, Crocus, am just an ordinary lighthouse keeper at Twin Capes, and I’m 71 years old this year! You actually want an old man like me to fight you? Are you trying to kill me?”

"Oh, is it so?"

Hearing this, Hai put his hands in his trench coat pockets, turned to look at the Going Merry slowly approaching, and said with a half-smile, "As the famous ship doctor of the Roger Pirates, have you reached the age of accepting old age?"

brush!

Immediately, Crocus's expression changed, and he turned around abruptly to look at Hai, his expression slightly solemn.

"Who are you? I don't know what you're talking about!"

"I know Shanks and Bucky..."

Turning his head to look at the other person, Hai smiled slightly and said, "How do you think I know you?"

Sometimes a simple, understated question is more believable than a complex lie...

Oh!

"Oh, it's those two little ones..."

Stroking his white beard, Crocus's tense muscles relaxed as if he had breathed a sigh of relief, and he chuckled old-fashionedly, "I thought you were sent by the Navy..."

"how come…"

Seeing this, Hai smiled and said, "Senior, you've lived in seclusion for so many years, the Navy must have given up looking for you long ago... At least I came here this time to see you, senior, and to ask you something..."

"Judging from your appearance, you don't seem to be Shanks' child..."

After taking a closer look, Crocus leaned the whale harpoon against the wall, walked to a nearby lounge chair, and sat down. His aged expression was somewhat languid as he said, "Ask away... If I know the answer, I'll definitely tell you..."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony..."

Hai smiled and asked, "What exactly is this legendary 'Great Treasure'?"

"What was the 'truth' that you witnessed while following the Pirate King Roger?"

click!

As if petrified, Crocus froze in his chair, looking at Hai with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty in his eyes. Then, as if remembering something, his expression returned to its relaxed state.

"Kid! Did Shanks or Buggy send you to ask me this?"

"Hahahaha... These two brats were so resentful when Roger left them on the ship to guard it, and now they're sending a junior to ask me questions?"

At this point, Crocus turned to look at the pirate flag on the approaching Going Merry and chuckled, "Judging from your expression, you're probably also after the One Piece!"

"But to tell you the truth, all I saw were mountains of gold and silver treasures piled up on the shore of Laugh Tale Island. As for the deeper parts, only Roger went in alone..."

"We have no idea what's inside, or what Roger saw..."

"If you want the answer, go find it yourself!"

"If you can do that before I die, remember to come and tell this old man, hahaha 0.9..."

Say so.

But Crocus didn't believe the other side could find that place.

More than twenty years have passed since the group disbanded, and countless powerful individuals have searched the world without finding it. How could a novice like me possibly find it...?

"So this is ah…"

There was no disappointment whatsoever; Hai's expression remained smiling.

Whether the other party's answer is true or false doesn't matter.

I just asked casually, and since the other party said they didn't know, I'll just pretend I don't know.

After all, in this world, strength is the most important thing!

Boohoo!

At that moment, the mournful, ethereal roar rang out once more.

The once calm seawater suddenly became turbulent.

Both the island and the Merry were tossed about violently by the waves.

"That Raab is starting again..."

Chapter 123 Reproducing Barnacles! Cultivation...

Ugh……

Ignoring the swaying island, Crocus slowly rose from his chair, rubbing his lower back with a troubled expression, and sighed, "I'm an old man, and I still have to take care of this big guy every day..."

After saying that, he glanced at Hai out of the corner of his eye.

"Say what you want to say!"

Seeing the other person glancing at him every now and then, Hai scratched his face, speechless, and said, "Let's make this clear first, if you're trying to stage an accident, don't even bother asking. We don't have much money on us..."

"Hahaha, money is utterly useless to this old man..."

With a delighted expression, Crocus pointed to the 'sky' above and the mournful roar, and chuckled, "Aren't you wondering why Laboon is screaming so sadly and painfully?"