Laboon

Laboon is affectionate, loyal, and highly intelligent. As a young whale, he formed such a strong attachment to the Rumbar Pirates that he followed their ship into the Grand Line rather than remain with his pod. He remembers their songs and continues expecting their return long after other people would have abandoned hope.

His grief manifests through violent behavior. After Crocus tells him that the pirates apparently fled the Grand Line, Laboon refuses to accept the explanation and repeatedly rams the Red Line while crying out to them. The ritual injures him badly but preserves the belief that his friends remain somewhere beyond the barrier.

Laboon responds readily to new bonds. A brief fight with Luffy and the promise of a rematch redirect his determination away from self-destruction. He subsequently protects the Straw Hat emblem painted on his head rather than damaging it against the mountain.

As an Island Whale, Laboon is approximately 400 metres long and larger than most ships or sea creatures encountered near Reverse Mountain. His tremendous mass allows him to swallow the Going Merry whole and withstand impacts that would destroy ordinary vessels.

The thick, reinforced front of his head survives decades of collisions with the Red Line, although the accumulated injuries require Crocus’s treatment. Laboon’s calls are powerful enough to carry across a great distance, and his movements can create dangerous turbulence.

Crocus has constructed medical passages and chambers inside Laboon’s body, allowing him to monitor the whale’s condition from within. These alterations are medical infrastructure rather than powers, but they help keep Laboon alive despite his prolonged self-inflicted injuries.

The Straw Hats encounter Laboon immediately after entering the Grand Line. He swallows their ship, bringing them into contact with Crocus as well as Mr. 9 and Nefertari Vivi, then operating under the alias Miss Wednesday. The two Baroque Works agents are attempting to kill Laboon so that his meat can feed Whisky Peak.

After learning why Laboon attacks the Red Line, Monkey D. Luffy starts a fight with him and declares it a draw. Luffy promises to complete his voyage around the Grand Line and return for a rematch, then paints the Straw Hat Pirates’ emblem on Laboon’s head as a sign of the agreement.

Laboon’s missing friends are later identified as the Rumbar Pirates, and Brook is revealed as their sole surviving member. Before his first death, Brook recorded the crew’s final performance so that he could one day deliver it to Laboon.

Crocus is Laboon’s longtime caretaker and physician. Crocus treats the injuries caused by his collisions with the Red Line, lives within and beside him, and protects him from hunters.

Yorki led the Rumbar Pirates when Laboon followed them from the West Blue. Brook befriended Laboon as the crew’s musician and remains bound by their promise to return. Laboon’s happiest memories of the crew are closely associated with their music.

Monkey D. Luffy becomes Laboon’s self-declared rival and gives him a new reason to wait without injuring himself. The other Straw Hat Pirates inherit that promise through their captain.

Mr. 9 and Nefertari Vivi attempt to kill Laboon for food while serving Baroque Works. Their attack fails when Crocus and Monkey D. Luffy intervene.