History Recap / OnePieceLaboonArc

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall[=/=]RunningGag: When the crew first meets Crocus in the anime, he somehow keeps doing dramatic close ups of himself. After the third one, the crew yells at him to knock it off.

Meanwhile, Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, while thinking of means to get back both their Log Pose and Laboon, are attacked by another duo called the Unluckies--an otter called Mr. 13 and a vulture called Miss Friday--who send them careening into the ocean. They emerge at Reverse Mountain near the crew and Crocus, and offer a deal with the Straw Hat Pirates: in exchange for leaving Laboon alone, the Straw Hats will take the two of them to their hometown: Whiskey Peak, one of the possible first stops of the Grand Line. Luffy agrees to this, and with the new companions at the ready, the Straw Hats bid Crocus and Laboon farewell. As they sail off, Crocus comments that Luffy has a certain aura to him, as if he's talking to Gold Roger himself...

* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: Laboon, initially.
* {{Arc Villain}}s: Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall[=/=]RunningGag: When the crew first meets Crocus, he somehow keeps doing dramatic close ups of himself. After the third one, the crew yells at him to knock it off.

* SmartBall: Luffy, in a remarkably...unconventional manner, since he appears to be playing kick-ups with it. The ''Going Merry'' is sliding towards the Grand Line, but they're about to be smashed to bits by a giant whale serving as a blockade, so what does Luffy do? [[CrazyAwesome Fire a cannon at it]]! This slows down the ship's speed to a snail's pace and the whale barely feels the cannon, leaving the ''Merry'' completely unharmed...until the figurehead breaks and hits Luffy's BerserkButton, at which point he promptly drops this.

* {{ArcVillain}}s: Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday.

* BigBadDuumvirate: Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday.

** The location of One Piece is on an island known as Raftel (or rather, as we learn [[Recap/OnePieceWanoCountryArc much later]], "Laugh Tale").

After escaping the Marines in Loguetown, Nami breaks the news to the rest of the crew that the entrance to the Grand Line is a waterway that goes up a mountain called Reverse Mountain. Usopp is disbelieving that a ship would be able to climb up a waterway, and Zoro brings up the idea of just sailing south to get to the Grand Line that way. Just as Nami rejects the thought, the storm suddenly ceases completely; they've drifted into the Calm Belt, a windless ocean belt that borders the Grand Line on both sides, and is inhabited by massive Sea Kings, some of whom toss the ''Going Merry'' about before it crashes back into the stormy East Blue. Nami explains that this is exactly why ships can't sail into the Grand Line from the side, and have to enter using Reverse Mountain.\\

* BiggerOnTheInside: Subverted, when the ''Merry'' gets eaten. The crew find an oddly outdoors-like setting with a small island and house in the middle of it, confusing them, until Crocus reveals that they ''are'' inside the whale's stomach. He just built a small house-like ship and painted the stomach so he can have an atmosphere within Laboon. What's more, there are even passageways in the stomach as well.

* DubInducedPlotHole: The [[Creator/FourKidsEntertainment 4Kids]] dub skipped this arc and changed Laboon to an iceberg that Luffy blows up. Needless to say, once the [[Recap/OnePieceThrillerBarkArc Thriller Bark Arc]] comes up, many folks were chuckling about the HilariousInHindsight. It's a good thing their dub ended when it did, or they would've had a hard time explaining that.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The whole tale of Laboon's backstory, which will become relevant again in the ''[[Recap/OnePieceThrillerBarkArc Thriller Bark Arc]]''.

With that conflict solved, Crocus tells them more about the whale; named Laboon, he came from the West Blue as a baby together with a group of pirates about fifty years ago. While they had tried leaving him behind because of the danger the Grand Line posed, he nonetheless followed them into the great ocean. After befriending Crocus, the captain asked him to take care of Laboon for a few years, after which they would return; however, they never came back. After sailing out of Laboon and back into the actual sea, the Straw Hat Pirates toss the mysterious duo overboard. After introducing themselves as Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, they promptly swim off, leaving the others to ponder the ultimate fate of Laboon's old crew; Crocus believes that they fled the Grand Line via the Calm Belt after losing hope, and while he has tried to explain this to Laboon, the whale refuses to listen, and began bellowing towards the mountain and slamming his head against the Red Line, resulting in the many scars on his head. Due to this, Crocus is adamant about remaining at the Reverse Mountain lighthouse by Laboon's side to ensure that the whale doesn't end up killing himself.\\

After escaping the Marines in Loguetown, Nami breaks the news to the rest of the crew that the entrance to the Grand Line is a mountain; a waterway going up Reverse Mountain. Usopp is disbelieving that a ship would be able to climb up a waterway, just as Zoro brings up the idea of just sailing south to get to the Grand Line that way. Just as Nami rejects the thought, the storm suddenly ceases completely; they've drifted into the Calm Belt, a windless ocean belt that borders the Grand Line on both sides, and is inhabited by massive Sea Kings, who end up flinging the ''Going Merry'' about before they crash back into the stormy East Blue. Nami explains that this is exactly why ships can't sail into the Grand Line from the side, and have to enter using Reverse Mountain.\\

Now caught in a sea current, the crew resolves to navigate the ''Going Merry'' up through the waterway, and though the steering rudder snaps, Luffy is quick enough to veer the ship on the right course, sending the ship rushing up the waterway and onto the right course down towards the Grand Line, which is veiled by a blanket of mist. However, trouble suddenly arises as they face another obstacle in their path... a giant, scarred whale howling to the sky, with the crew in a tight spot due to the broken rudder. To avoid a collision, Luffy gets the idea to fire the front cannon to decrease their speed; while this does indeed slow them down, it still isn't enough to completely prevent the ship from ramming into the whale, and the ship's figurehead snaps off. In a fit of rage by the destruction of his special seat, Luffy throws a punch directly at the whale's eye, prompting it to open its maw and swallow the ''Going Merry'' whole, with only Luffy narrowly managing to avoid being eaten. His attempts to get the whale to cough up his crew are in vain, but he discovers a peculiar hatch on the whale's body moments before it submerges.\\

After escaping the Marines in Loguetown, Nami breaks the news to the rest of the crew that the entrance to the Grand Line is a mountain; a waterway going up Reverse Mountain. Usopp is disbelieving of the idea that a ship would be able to climb up a waterway, just as Zoro brings up the idea of just sailing south to get to the Grand Line that way. Just as Nami debunks his idea, the storm suddenly ceases completely, as they've drifted into the Calm Belt; a windless ocean belt that borders the Grand Line on both ends, and is inhabited by massive Sea Kings, who end up flinging the Going Merry about before they crash back into the stormy East Blue.

Now caught in a sea current, the crew resolves to navigate the Going Merry up through the waterway, and even though the steering rudder snapped, Luffy was quick enough to veer the ship on the right course, sending the ship rushing up the waterway and onto the right course down towards the Grand Line, only veiled by a blanket of mist. However, trouble suddenly arises as they face another obstacle in their path... a giant, scarred whale howling to the sky, with the crew in a tight spot due to the broken rudder.

Before they can crash into the whale, Luffy gets the idea to fire the front cannon at the whale to decrease their speed; though it isn't enough to keep the ship from ramming into the whale, only snapping the figurehead off. However, in a fit of rage after the destruction of his special seat, Luffy throws a punch directly at the whale's eye, prompting it to open its maw and swallow the Going Merry whole, with only Luffy narrowly managing to avoid being eaten. His attempts to get the whale to cough his crew up in vain, Luffy discovers a peculiar hatch on the whale's body moments before it submerges.

Inside of the whale, the rest of the crew come upon a peculiar sight; a blue sky and an island with a summer home before them. A giant squid appearing before them is suddenly killed by harpoons, shot out by an old man making his residence in the small village home. He introduces himself as Crocus, the lighthouse keeper of Reverse Mountain, and points out that the pirates were indeed swallowed by the whale. Suddenly, their surroundings start shaking violently, as Crocus laments that the whale is ramming into the Red Line. As he heads off to sedate the whale, the crew prepare to head off.

In the meantime, having found himself in metallic corridors, Luffy is hurled about once the whale's insides start shaking up, crashing straight into a mysterious duo and sending all three of them hurtling directly into the whale's stomach. After fishing the three up, the duo fires directly upon the whale's stomach, but Crocus saves him by taking the cannon shells himself, before Luffy promptly knocks the two of them out.

With that conflict solved, Crocus tells them more about the whale; named Laboon, he came from the West Blue along with a group of pirates about fifty years ago. While they had tried leaving him behind because of the danger the Grand Line posed, he had followed them into the great ocean. After befriending Crocus, the captain asked him to take care of Laboon for a few years, after which they would return.

After sailing out of Laboon and back into the actual sea, the Straw Hat Pirates toss the mysterious duo overboard. After introducing themselves as Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, they promptly swim off, leaving the others to ponder the ultimate fate of Laboon's old crew; Crocus believing that they fled the Grand Line via the Calm Belt after losing hope. He explains that while he did try to tell this truth to Laboon, he refused to listen, and began bellowing towards the mountain and slamming himself against the Red Line as a result. Due to this, Crocus remains adamant in remaining by Laboon's side, to ensure that the whale doesn't end up killing himself.

At that point, though, Luffy suddenly tears off the Going Merry's mast, and begins engaging Laboon in a seemingly random match, much to the shock of everyone else. After a vicious battle between the two of them, however, Luffy suddenly declares that the match is a tie, and that he'll definitely come back after their voyage around the world has finished, so he and Laboon can settle the score; giving Laboon with a new goal to wait for. To mark this promise, Luffy paints the Straw Hat Pirate mark on Laboon's head, covering up most of his scars.

At this point, Nami discovers that their compass has started going haywire, with Crocus explaining that with how the Grand Line is structured, ordinary compasses are useless in the Grand Line, and that they need a Log Pose to navigate from island to island, until eventually reaching the last island of the Grand Line; Raftel, supposedly where Gold Roger left the treasure One Piece. As it turns out, Luffy happened to procure a Log Pose after Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday dropped it when they were tossed overboard, but when it's accidentally shattered thanks to Luffy and Sanji's antics, Crocus offers his own log pose as thanks for aiding Laboon.

Meanwhile, Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, while thinking of means to get back both their Log Pose and Laboon, are attacked by The Unluckies; an otter called Mr. 13 and a vulture called Miss Friday; sending them careening into the ocean where they pick themselves up by Reverse Mountain, where they resolve to make a deal with the Straw Hat Pirates. In exchange for leaving Laboon alone, the Straw Hats would take the two of them to their hometown; Whiskey Peak. Luffy agrees to this, and with the new companions at the ready, the Straw Hats bid Crocus and Laboon farewell as they set sail. As they sail off, Crocus comments that Luffy has a certain aura to him, as if he's talking to Gold Roger himself...

* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: Laboon initially.

* BiggerOnTheInside: Subverted, when the ''Merry'' gets eaten. The crew find an oddly outdoors-like setting with a small island and house in the middle of it, confusing them till Crocus revealed they ''are'' inside the whale's stomach. He just built a small house-like ship and painted the stomach so he can have an atmosphere within Laboon. What's more there are even passageways in the stomach as well.
* CombatMedic: Crocus. He's spent two decades fixing Laboon up from the inside and sometimes even lives there. He, of course attacks any dangerous creatures Laboon may swallow up. The end also clues in on his role in relation to Gold Roger.
* DubInducedPlotHole: The [[Creator/FourKidsEntertainment 4Kids]] dub skipped this arc and changed Laboon to an iceberg that Luffy blows up. Needless to say once the ''[[Recap/OnePieceThrillerBarkArc Thriller Bark Arc]]'' comes up, many folks were chuckling about the HilariousInHindsight. A good thing their dub ended when it did or they would've had a hard time explaining that.
* EyeScream: Luffy punches Laboon in the eye for breaking his favourite seat (the figurehead).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The whole tale of Laboon's backstory, which wouldn't be covered again until the ''[[Recap/OnePieceThrillerBarkArc Thriller Bark Arc]]''.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall[=/=]RunningGag: When the crew first meet Crocus, he somehow keeps doing dramatic close ups of himself. After the third one, the crew yell for him to knock it off.

* MetaphoricallyTrue: We learn that Crocus' explanation for the disappearance of Laboon's crew is technically right. They came down with a disease that ravaged the crew, with the captain and the infected members taking the ship into the Calm Belt to probably die. The remaining members, however, continued down the Grand Line until they were wiped out in the Florian Triangle, with Brook as the sole survivor.
* MrExposition: Crocus, who explains how Log Pose and the Grand Line works.

* ThePromise: The crew that Laboon was with promised they would return someday after sailing the Grand Line, though they never returned. Luffy makes a new promise with Laboon in the form of a fight and that they will resolve it when they come back. For added insurance to keep Laboon from harming himself further. He paints the Straw Hat Jolly Roger on Laboon's face, claiming it'll wash off if he continues.

** The final island on the Grand Line is named Raftel. It's mysterious to the point that only Rodger's crew have found it, and it is believed to be where One Piece is located.
** Crocus was a crewmate of Gold Rodger.
* ScarsAreForever: Laboon has some nasty ones on his face from ramming into the mountains so much.

* SmartBall: Luffy, in a remarkably...unconventional manner, since he appears to be playing kick-ups with it. The ''Going Merry'' is sliding towards the Grand Line, but they're about to be smashed to bits by a giant whale serving as a blockade, so what does Luffy do? [[CrazyAwesome Fire a cannon at it]]! This slowed down the ship's speed to a snail's pace and the whale barely felt the cannon, leaving the ''Merry'' completely unharmed...until the figurehead breaks, and Luffy promptly drops it when his BerserkButton was hit.
* SwallowedWhole: What Laboon does to the Straw Hat Pirates...and a pair of bounty hunters.
* TemptingFate: When the Straw Hats have just found the Log Pose, and Nami is reflecting on its importance:
-->'''Nami:''' All right, [[PlotCoupon Log Pose]]... I'll make sure to take good care of you. The fate of our journey is all up to you, after all.
** Cue [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom flying]] [[BigEater Luffy]] smashing into it via [[ChivalrousPervert Sanji's]] [[LostFoodGrievance kick]].
* VillainsWantMercy: Mister Nine and Miss Wednesday after being defeated both want the Straw Hat Pirates to take them home [[Recap/OnePieceWhiskeyPeakArc to Whiskey Peak]]. The Straw Hats eventually decide to take them. Later subverted since neither of them are actually evil.

* WombLevel
* WorldBuilding: A lot of it. In just five chapters, we learn about the Calm Belt, Log Posse's and the general structure of the Grand Line.

* The Straw Hats meet a whale called Laboon, and Luffy agrees to reunite with him after making it across the Grand Line.
** Laboon is revealed to be waiting for a crew that left him 50 years ago. The Straw Hats will go on to meet one of that crew, who will join them to fulfill the promise his crew made.
* The Straw Hats agree to take two mysterious rogues to their home island of Whisky Peak. These rogues and their organization will drive the Straw Hats' actions through the rest of the Alabasta Saga.

** The Calm Belt is a sea surrounding the Grand Line which has no winds and is infested with Sea Kings. It is very difficult, but not impossible, to traverse.
** The Log Pose is introduced, which helps sailors navigate the Grand Line due to its islands carrying their own distinct magnetic fields. The Straw Hats gain a Log Pose.
** The location of One Piece is on an island known as Laugh Tale.

* TheWorldIsJustAwesome: The ''Going Merry'' going up the Reverse Mountain and the view of the Grand Line at the top.