I agreed to win with Roger, but the guy I met was too young Chapter 042

Rhett stood at the stern, holding the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Fighter in his hand, his gaze calmly fixed on Laboon.

“Laboon, the choice is yours.” His voice remained soft, yet it clearly reached Laboon’s ears.

When it came to coaxing children, Rhett was quite the professional; Shanks and Buggy were raised plump and healthy by him.

Laboon’s enormous eyes stared at the fruit, seemingly deep in thought.

Rhett had told it that by eating it, it would gain new power but would also lose the ability to freely roam the ocean. However, if it could act in human form, perhaps it could find Brook faster…

It was truly a dilemma for a whale, (●’◡’●).

Crocus stood by, his expression complex: “Rhett, are you really sure about this?”

Rhett smiled faintly: “I’m just giving it a choice.”

Laboon let out a low cry, then suddenly opened its massive mouth, and a suction force pulled the Devil Fruit inside!

The tiny Devil Fruit was far too small for Laboon.

The moment the fruit entered its belly, Laboon’s body suddenly burst into dazzling light! Its size began to shrink rapidly, its blue skin gradually became smoother, and its muscle lines grew more compact.

“Woo—!” Laboon let out a high-pitched cry, no longer the deep rumble of a whale, but with a hint of human intonation.

As the light faded, a small blue whale appeared on the deck, only slightly smaller than Shanks, its tail more flexible, even able to stand like a human! It looked somewhat like a kung fu dugong, though Rhett felt the little whale was cuter.

Laboon hadn’t fully adapted to its new body yet, and its expression suddenly twisted, making everyone feel quite flustered.

Rhett hadn’t heard of this happening. Seeing everyone so panicked, Laboon actually uttered a syllable: “Frui—hard…”

Rhett, with his ten levels of baby talk fluency, instantly understood what was happening.

“Laboon, you mean this Devil Fruit tastes bad, right?”

Laboon nodded, its watery big eyes filled with tears, staring straight at Rhett.

It seemed to be accusing him of deceiving a child.

“Waaah! Laboon turned into a little whale-man!” Buggy’s eyes widened, his jaw nearly hitting the deck.

Shanks excitedly ran over: “So cool! Laboon, can you understand us?”

Laboon blinked, then nodded vigorously, a muffled but clear sound coming from its throat: “Broo… Brook…”

Rhett smiled: “It seems the fruit has taken effect. Although it can’t speak fully yet, it can already express its meaning.”

Crocus pushed up his glasses, a rare smile gracing his face: “Truly incredible…”

Laboon tried taking two steps, still a bit clumsy, but already able to stand steadily. It looked down at its new body, then up at Rhett, its eyes full of gratitude.

“Woo!” It suddenly pounced on Rhett, rubbing its head against his chest, as if expressing thanks.

Thud!

Rhett was sent flying, completely unprepared. Although Laboon was still very young by island whale age,

As the old saying goes, good things come in small packages. Rhett felt as if he’d been hit by a large truck; judging by this strength alone, it was already approaching the level of a commodore.

Roger burst out laughing: “Kuhahaha! It seems we have another interesting companion on our ship!”

Rayleigh smiled and nodded: “This way, Laboon can sail with us too.”

“However…” Rhett climbed out of the splintered wood, looking at Laboon, his tone serious, “You can’t swim now, but my Blood Mist can help you counteract the erosion of seawater, allowing you to move in the sea for a short time. But remember, until you have enough resistance to seawater, if you are completely submerged, you will lose your strength.”

Laboon nodded vigorously, indicating understanding, but its eyes were still filled with guilt.

“Then—” Rhett extended his hand, and blood mist slowly condensed, forming a faint red aura around Laboon. “Welcome to the Roger Pirates, Laboon!”

Laboon excitedly waved its tiny fists (fins?), letting out joyful cries, and high-fived Rhett.

(〃￣)￣)人(￣)￣〃)

Rhett was sent flying again, and everyone: “…”

Laboon froze, its big eyes instantly welling up with tears: “Woo… (I didn’t mean to!)”

Shanks and Buggy quickly rushed over, trying to pry Rhett out of the wall.

Buggy poked Rhett: “Hey, still alive?”

Rhett calmly shook his head. He could block old man Garp’s punches, let alone Laboon’s. Pure strength alone couldn’t break his defense.

“…Alive, but it might take a while to dig myself out.”

Laboon remorsefully ran over, wanting to help, but when it pulled with its fin—

“Crack!” The entire wooden plank was broken off, and Rhett fell to the ground with a splat.

Little Laboon became even more flustered, running around Rhett but not daring to extend its fin.

Roger burst into laughter: “Little Laboon, it seems you’ll need to learn to control your strength properly.”

Shanks and Buggy rarely saw anyone smaller than themselves on the Roger Pirates, so with the sudden arrival of little Laboon, Shanks and Buggy instantly felt a sense of responsibility as older brothers.

“Hey, Shanks! Laboon clearly prefers playing with me!” Buggy stood on the deck, hands on his hips, a smug look on his face.

Behind him was a “carefully styled” Laboon—wearing an exaggerated captain’s hat on its head, a string of shiny glass beads around its neck (Buggy insisted they were “priceless jewels”), and Laboon’s nose sported the same red nose as his.

“Huh? What are you talking about, Buggy?” Shanks sat cross-legged on the mast, grinning as he swung the wooden sword in his hand. “Laboon practiced sword swinging with me yesterday! It clearly idolizes me more!”

“And Buggy, that red nose looks so prominent on little blue Laboon.”

“Bastard, are you looking down on your Buggy-sama?”

“Woo?” Laboon tilted its head, looking between the two, completely clueless about what they were arguing about.

Rayleigh sat calmly drinking coffee, glancing over: “Here we go again. Laboon, you should try to speak as much as possible too…”

Roger burst into laughter: “Kuhahaha! Young people are so energetic!”

Rhett egged on the three little ones: “Hey? Speaking of you three, who has a better relationship with little Laboon? You see, our Captain Roger has so many crewmates. Don’t you want to have your own pirate ship in the future? Laboon’s combat power is quite strong. Imagine Laboon becoming a Rayleigh-boo, or a Jabba-boo, or even a Rhett-boo, it’s not impossible.”

Buggy and Shanks knew: when pirates caused trouble, Captain Roger never even made a move. Rayleigh, Jabba, and Rhett were the three great mountains for the pirates.

Imagine having their own pirate ship sailing the seas, and when another pirate ship came to challenge them, Laboon would stand in front of them, its voice deep and cold: “You mere small fry are not worthy of standing before my captain.”

Shanks and Buggy giggled, their expressions gradually twisting into something depraved.