One hour later.
Aboard the Ark Maxim.
The remodeled golden ship now had a grand dining hall, capable of accommodating at least a hundred people for a shared meal.
At this moment, the entire Straw Hat crew was gathered there, including Brook, who had recently joined them aboard.
"The evil spirits are loose! The evil spirits are loose!"
Usopp held a cross in his hands as he babbled nonsense toward Brook:
"How can a talking skeleton exist?! And with an afro on top of that! This has to be a dream! Yeah, that must be it, a dream!"
Chopper, equally terrified, let out a sigh of relief.
"Really? Great. So it's a dream."
He fell on his back, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was face-to-face with a skull.
"Good morning, hello! I'm Brook. Brook the skeleton! Yohohoho!"
"Aaaaahhhhh!!"
Chopper was so scared his eyes nearly popped out. He rolled on the floor and rushed behind Luffy, hiding his head—though his butt remained completely exposed.
"Luffy! It's a monster! A ghost!!"
"Hahaha! Don't be scared! That's our new crewmate, the one Laboon was waiting for: Brook."
Luffy burst into laughter.
Only then did everyone take a moment to look at Brook more calmly.
"This is unbelievable… He's a skeleton, yet he walks and talks. The Grand Line really has everything," Kaya said, stunned.
"Yohoho…"
Brook removed his hat and greeted everyone with elegance and gentlemanly charm.
"I'm a man who was resurrected after eating the Yomi Yomi no Mi. About fifty years ago, my pirate crew got into an incident with another group…"
All of the Rumbar Pirates had been wiped out.
Brook was no exception.
But the fruit he had eaten in the past—which he had always believed to be useless—activated at that crucial moment.
His soul returned from the underworld. As long as he could find his body, he would have a second chance at life.
"Unfortunately, I got lost… It took me a whole year to find my body. By then, it had decomposed into just bones… so, now I look like this."
While recounting his experience, Brook seemed rather cheerful.
Everyone turned at once to stare at Zoro.
Zoro blushed.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?! Even I didn't go that far!"
"Ah, he admitted it."
"So he does know! I thought he didn't."
"Hey, don't go overboard, everyone. Seaweed-head is just stupid. Doesn't matter what you say—he'd never be able to find his own corpse!"
Hearing that, Zoro immediately drew his sword and charged at Sanji:
"How dare you say that, you damn pervert?! I'll kill you today!"
"No, I'm the one who's going to kick you to death! And don't worry about looking for your body—I'll turn it into dust!"
The two began fighting furiously.
A vein popped on Nami's forehead. She raised her hand and punched each of them, knocking them out instantly.
"Shut up, you idiots! I'm tired of your endless bickering!"
"Yohohoho! What a lively crew."
Brook put his hat back on, looked at Nami, and smiled.
"My lovely lady, I apologize, but… might I be allowed to admire your panties?"
Bang!!
A lightning bolt struck from nowhere, electrocuting Brook and leaving his skull upright with steam coming out.
Nami clenched her fist, fuming:
"Another one?! Seriously?! If you ever bother the girls on the Sunny again, I'll blast you back to the underworld with 100 million volts!"
"Y-yes… I'm sorry…"
Brook shrank back, trembling all over.
Luffy laughed. After all, the only one allowed to flirt with the girls was him.
After the brief commotion, Luffy ordered the food to be served.
Brook likely hadn't eaten such delicious food in ages. He devoured everything enthusiastically and polished off a huge portion of the dishes.
At the end of the meal, he held a toothpick with his pinky finger raised.
Everyone was curious—where had all that food gone? He was a skeleton!
Brook then seemed to remember something and sighed:
"Mr. Luffy, you just invited me to join the crew. About that… I'm very happy, but I'm sorry, I can't accept~~."
"Huh?!"
Bartolomeo—the number one Luffy fan—slammed the table and stood up menacingly:
"What's going on, you bony bastard?! If Master Luffy invited you, you should be down on your knees, thanking him and saying yes!"
Luffy gave a small smile and said:
"Sit down, Bartolomeo. Thanks for speaking on my behalf, but change that tone next time. I'm not a mob boss."
"Yes~ Master Luffy~!"
Bartolomeo immediately sat down, obediently.
Everyone: "…"
"Yohoho… Actually, it's a long story," Brook chuckled. "I don't have a shadow. If I'm exposed to sunlight, my body just disappears. I truly want to join you, but… I can't."
"Seriously?!"
Sanji, sitting next to Brook, widened his eyes. Looking down, he noticed that Brook didn't cast a shadow.
"What's this? Some side effect of your Devil Fruit?" Nami asked, puzzled.
"No, it's unrelated. Having no shadow has nothing to do with the Yomi Yomi no Mi or the fact that I'm a skeleton. The specific situation…"
He paused, picked up a cup of hot coffee, and took a graceful sip.
"Please listen to the next chapter to understand better."
Wham!
Sanji punched him instantly. "Now!"
"Yohohoho… Mr. Sanji is truly impatient. Very well, let me explain then."
Brook adjusted his afro and began to speak slowly.
Luffy, who already knew the full story, didn't interrupt, allowing Brook to share it in his own time.
In short, everything revolved around Gekko Moria.
"Moria?" Nami said, surprised. "That Warlord? I saw him on the live broadcast of the War of the Best."
"Yes, that's him… or rather, was."
Brook was shocked.
"He's not a Warlord anymore, Miss Nami. Did you forget? Yesterday's paper announced that both he, Luffy, and Jinbei lost the title," Vivi reminded her from nearby.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot."
Nami nodded and asked:
"So Moria stole your shadow? Wouldn't it be a good idea to get it back?"
"Wait… wait a minute… wait!"
Brook's eyes widened. "Mr. Luffy, you were a Warlord!?"
"Not anymore," Luffy replied with a smile. "But don't worry. It's just a shadow. We'll find him and take it back. His lair is nearby, right? Do you know the way?"
"Incredible…"
Brook stared at Luffy, stunned. He never imagined the person who had invited him was a former Warlord.
A man so extraordinary not only helped him reconnect with Laboon, but also wanted him on the crew?
What could he possibly say?
Nami smirked:
"Scared? Luffy's bounty is 3.5 billion now. Moria's no match for him."
"Three… three and a half billion?!"
Brook screamed, threw his head back, and collapsed into the chair—terrified, even without a body.
"Hahaha! Don't be so nervous. I don't eat people. Relax. After breakfast, we'll go after Moria… huh?"
With a grin, Luffy suddenly raised his eyebrows and looked up at the ceiling.
Zoro sensed something off and also glanced upward. The others followed his lead, one after another.
Without anyone noticing, a cute, translucent ghost was floating above their heads.
"Negative ∼ negative ∼ negative ∼"
The little ghost emitted strange sounds and danced in the air.
Everyone was stunned.
"What is that?! A ghost!" Usopp shouted in shock.
The ghosts began multiplying—three became five—and their numbers and size rapidly increased.
"Watch out! They're coming closer!" Zoro warned, gripping his sword's hilt.
In the next second, the small ghosts attacked everyone in the room.
They were made of an invisible substance, impossible to resist.
In the blink of an eye, the ghosts passed straight through everyone's chests.
Plop! Plop! Plop!
One by one, the crew members fell to their knees, depressed, as if they had lost all will to live.
Franky: "I've been a waste of space this week... I have no confidence left to live. Woo woo woo..."
Zoro: "I'll never become the world's greatest swordsman..."
Sanji: "My existence is smaller than that of a sardine..."
Nojiko: "I think I gained a kilo recently... I really just want to die..."
Kaya: "I'm a burden to Mr. Luffy... I have no right to be on this ship..."
Valentine, Dos Fleurs, Golden Week, Johnny, Yosaku, Bartolomeo...
All of them had been hit by a devastating mental attack.
Only four people in the crowd remained unaffected:
Luffy, Nami, Vivi… and Usopp.
Usopp stared, dumbfounded, at the mass of people kneeling before him.
"W-what's happening?!"
Luffy couldn't hold back his laughter.
"It's the attack from the user of the Horo Horo no Mi. Anyone hit by it becomes depressed and overwhelmingly negative."
As he spoke, he raised his right hand, holding one of the negative ghosts between his fingers.
"It's a woman named Perona, one of Moria's subordinates."
"But why am I okay? And Luffy... how are you able to hold that thing?" Usopp asked, completely baffled.
"Because of my Haki. It's pretty strong. Isn't that right, Ghost Princess?"
Luffy gave the ghost in his hand a slight smile.
"You attacked my crew. Are you mentally prepared for what's coming? I'll give you ten minutes… you'd better kneel and apologize."
As soon as he finished speaking—BAM—the negative ghost was crushed in his palm.
---
Meanwhile…
Inside a dark castle.
A luxurious princess room.
In the soft and comfy bed, the Ghost Princess suddenly woke up with a jolt, eyes wide in horror.
"AHHHHHHH! MONSTER! HOW CAN YOU CATCH MY NEGATIVE GHOST WITH YOUR BARE HANDS?! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?! I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIS!"
She jumped out of bed, pacing back and forth in panic.
"What do I do? What do I do?! Is that man coming for me?! Should I apologize…?"
"Hmph! I'm not apologizing!"
Besides… there's no way he can find the castle!
"No reason to panic..."
Perona stood still for a moment, then grabbed her small parasol by the bed and quickly left the room.
Inside the massive castle, she wandered through the halls until she finally reached the dining hall.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Perona, what's going on?"
The man seated at the dining table was Hogback, a genius surgeon.
Next to him sat another man with two faces on his head.
A stitched-up woman was also present, standing still with a blank expression, staring at the plate in front of her. Like a corpse, her eyes were lifeless.
"What are you doing just sitting there eating?! The enemies are approaching!" Perona shouted in frustration. "Has Master Moria or Absalom returned yet?!"
"They haven't. It's been two days since the war ended. Maybe they're still on their way back."
Hogback stuck out his tongue, slurping the soup from his bowl with a contemptuous slurp.
"I wish all these dishes would disappear," the zombie maid muttered coldly.
Hogback immediately straightened up, grabbed a white napkin, and wiped his mouth with exaggerated elegance.
"What kind of enemy are we talking about?"
"Shichibukai… no, former Shichibukai Luffy of the Straw Hat Pirates! His bounty is now 3.5 billion!"
Perona stomped her feet and clenched her fists, muttering in panic:
"They were just playing around… Why did he get so mad?! What a petty man!"
Hogback:
"Straw Hat Luffy?!"
He jumped up from his chair in terror.
"What did you do?!"
"Nothing! I didn't do anything!" Perona shook her head violently, her twin ponytails bouncing. "Seriously! Why isn't Lord Moria here yet?!"
Moria had been stripped of his Warlord title out of nowhere.
Luffy, she could understand—he had betrayed the World Government during the war.
But Moria? Why?
"That's it. Hogback, I'm leaving this ship! If Luffy shows up and doesn't find me here, he'll just leave!"
She made up her mind.
Escape!
No shame in that!
After all, this was a monster who crushed negative ghosts with his bare hands.
"Cindry! Stop her!" Hogback ordered at once.
CRASH!
A plate flew and slammed into the restaurant door, blocking the exit.
"What are you doing, Hogback?!" Perona turned, furious.
Hogback let out a dark chuckle.
"If you run, he'll take it out on me! I don't know what you did to piss him off, but you're still new here."
"Just stay put."
"You…!"
Perona's eyes widened in disbelief.
What kind of people start fighting internally before the enemy even arrives?!
"Don't blame me! This is all your fault! That man has a bounty of 3.5 billion! Even if you get beat up, take it quietly and obediently! [Don't drag me into this!]"
Hogback spoke seriously:
"Cindry, restrain her!"
---
At the same time.
Above the castle.
Luffy floated in the air, his Observation Haki covering the entire fortress.
Instantly, he located two particularly strong auras.
[I'm coming.]
That single phrase echoed directly in Perona and Hogback's minds like a wave of mental pressure.
In an instant, their expressions changed completely.
Plop.
Perona's legs gave out, and she dropped to the floor—sitting in a duck position.
---
(End of the Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."