[~1200 Words]
Even though he didn't get why Brook was pretending to be dead, James found it pretty funny.
Observing Brook, who was reduced to a skeletal form, sparked a thought in him about the Revive-Revive Fruit.
James reasoned that the Revive-Revive Fruit's power only manifested after death, rendering it useless if he were to plunder it. He harbored no desire for death, not even once. He had too much to live for.
Death, he thought, was something he had almost forgotten, yet this old man before him had been resurrected on his bones after his death, implying a type of immortality.
James, feeling curious, wondered if Brook would actually die if his Revive-Revive Fruit was forcibly removed.
Beyond the intrigue of immortality, Brook represented a potential source of wealth.
As a musician whose voice resonated with souls, he could generate considerable income through concerts and performances.
A smile touched James's lips as he remarked to Brook, "Get up! Brook!"
"Oh! It is white, smooth, and shiny. It hasn't decayed after all these years. Truly a top-quality bone!" Brook exclaimed, momentarily distracted from his acting.
Shifting back to a laid-back vibe, James casually threw out a compliment before calling forth a thunder sword, charging it with Armament Haki, and poking Brook a few times.
Brook proved surprisingly resilient. He endured the pain without complaint. Wait, did he even feel pain?
"Your bones are remarkably strong," James observed. "Divine soldiers, grind these bones into powder, burn them into ashes, and scatter them into the sea as a tribute to departed souls."
"Nooooooo!" Brook finally lost his composure, scrambling to his feet and retreating towards the bow, seeking distance from James.
"What? The Bones spoke?"
"Hold on! Look at his feet, there is no shadow!" a divine soldier pointed out in astonishment.
"..."
The divine soldiers murmured amongst themselves, perplexed.
"Yohohoho~ You didn't expect that, did you? I am still alive. Greetings everyone, I am the talking bone, Brook." Brook declared with an air of jovial defiance.
His empty eye sockets looked like they were beaming with joy at the chance to meet someone alive. If James wasn't set on destroying his bones, he might have been even more lively.
"Has your existence in skeletal form granted you immortality, Brook?" James asked, genuinely curious about the nature of Brook's condition.
"Yo ho ho ho~ I don't know either. I am simply a resurrected individual who consumed the Revive-Revive Fruit. I have already experienced death once…" Brook's voice got deeper while he talked, almost like memories from his past with the Rumbar Pirates were coming back up.
"The passage of time, the limitations of lifespan...I can no longer feel their shackles. I am merely bone."
James pondered Brook's words, recognizing the immense value of a cash cow like Brook, not to mention his immortal bones, which held the potential for unlocking secrets of eternal life.
"Brook, join me," James offered directly and without hesitation.
Brook was taken aback by the straightforward proposition. He shook his head and sighed: "I apologize, but I cannot leave this place yet. My shadow was stolen by a devil fruit user. When I come in contact with sunlight, I will be destroyed. So I am confined to this darkness."
"If you don't want to end up like I did, then get out of here. There's no need to fear death; the real horror lies in endless loneliness."
"Haha~" James chuckled softly, choosing not to engage further on that point. "Brook, you've faced loneliness and made it through to this point. I feel like you have something important left to do. This could be a chance to get away from where you are right now."
A flicker of determination ignited in Brook's empty sockets. He bowed down and declared with resolute conviction, "I am eternally grateful for your recognition. If you really don't mind, I'll gladly give you my leftover bones to help out!"
"Excellent! Brook, you will not regret this decision today." James retrieved a priest's uniform from his storage room and tossed it to Brook.
"My name is God James, and I am the God-Emperor of the Divine Kingdom of the Sky Islands. This is your priestly attire. From this moment forward, you are a priest under my command."
"Arigato, James-sama." Brook accepted the uniform and swiftly donned it, folding his damaged black suit with care for safekeeping.
"Proceed!" Shura commanded the divine soldiers, who were admiring James's prowess, urging them to continue their advance.
Within moments, the five ships neared the Thriller Bark.
"Attack!" Shura raised his arms, issuing a battle cry that echoed across the waves. "Kill! Kill! Kill!" the divine soldiers responded in unison, unleashing a torrent of cloud tracks that propelled them onto the formidable three-masted ship.
All weapons wielded by the God's Divine Soldiers and Enforcers possessed aerial combat capabilities.
Besides Absalom, Perona, and Shimotsuki Ryoma, Gekko Moriah lacked any other formidable combatants. He himself was merely an ordinary individual who relied solely on his devil fruit ability.
Despite being a Warlord of the Sea, he enjoyed no privileges and suffered greatly as a result, even facing assassination at the hands of Doflamingo during the Battle of Marineford.
In truth, Moria had once possessed Haki, otherwise he would not have been deemed worthy to fight Kaido. However, the world of pirates revered "heart," or Will power and after his defeat by Kaido in Wano Country, his heart succumbed to despair.
The loss of his companions during that battle, all slain by the Beasts Pirates, had shattered him. Like Luffy, he valued companionship above all else.
Therefore, he endured the agonizing torment of their deaths and began to believe that "because we are alive, we lose," leading him to abandon even his Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
"Intruder alert!!! Run!"
The battle was a swift and crushing defeat. The zombies created by Moria were woefully inadequate and could only offer feeble resistance before succumbing to the overwhelming might of James's forces. Not a single member of James's crew suffered so much as a scratch.
Soon, the Divine soldiers reached the ghost castle at the heart of the island.
"Don't let go of the picture frames on the wall." A divine soldier, nimbly dodging an attack from a dog-headed figure within a picture frame, swiftly warned his companions.
Ascending a spiral staircase, the divine soldiers arrived at a manor and burst through the doors without hesitation.
At that moment, a purple-haired individual clad in a fishnet silk dress emerged from behind the door. Hogback, wielding a scalpel, was in the midst of performing a suture operation on a zombie.
The sudden crash startled him, causing him to shriek and cry out: "You...you are those winged weirdos!"
The divine soldiers wasted no time engaging him. They drew their swords, spears, and knives, launching a coordinated assault.
[That´s all for now]