Inside a dusty library filled with mechanical tomes, Brook watched Vegapunk devour book after book with rapt fascination. That prodigious brain, paired with a photographic memory, let Vegapunk flip through pages like a man possessed—not studying, just absorbing.
The scholars nearby gawked at the young genius, flipping pages at breakneck speed. Was this kid here to learn or just mess around?
Elsewhere in the vast Tree of Knowledge, Sniper Silva found a treasure trove of firearms manuals, his eyes gleaming at blueprints for cannons and rifles. Shipwright Tom, meanwhile, was elbow-deep in shipbuilding texts, muttering about hull designs.
Shakky split her time between meteorology and finance books, her curiosity insatiable. Antonio hunted down espionage and intelligence manuals, while Crocus pored over medical texts. Streusen, true to form, was flipping through recipe books, probably dreaming up his next culinary masterpiece...
For a moment, the Hell Pirates transformed into a crew of eager students, lost in the ocean of knowledge. Even Charlotte Linlin, of all people, grabbed a massive encyclopedia on rare beasts and started leafing through it with childlike wonder.
...
Not everyone could sit still, though. Newgate, dragging Scarlet, Tiger, and Kaido along, went to check on Shiki's work. Brook tasked them with delivering a message to the Ohara Clan and scholars across the island: prepare to evacuate, whether they liked it or not!
Librarian Kutu, his icy restraints thawed by Brook, shuffled in nervously, escorted by Redfield's menacing glare. Redfield wasn't asking—he was demanding access to the restricted section housing ancient texts.
Stussy, meanwhile, stuck close to Brook, looking oddly disinterested in the library's offerings.
"Stussy, don't you have any hobbies?" Brook asked, eyeing the former CP agent. Raised and trained by the shadowy CP organization, was her life really just missions and nothing else?
"Killing. Sneaking around..." Stussy replied coolly, but Brook's unwavering stare made her falter. A faint blush crept up her cheeks as she mumbled, "...and fashion, I guess."
Brook grinned. So the future Queen of Pleasure Street had a spark of personality after all!
"Go check out the fashion section, then. You don't need to shadow me."
"But I want to stick with you, Captain," Stussy said softly, her cheeks reddening further.
Brook blinked, caught off guard. He'd had a few ideas about Stussy, sure, but he wasn't planning to act on them just yet. Was she... into him? At two-point-seven meters tall, Brook towered over Stussy's one-point-eight-meter frame—not as extreme as Linlin's giant stature, but still noticeable.
"Alright, tag along then," Brook said with a shrug. His skeletal charm might not be much to look at, but his aura and swagger? Top-tier in the New World. That's the vibe of a future overlord!
"Okay, Brook!" Stussy chirped, grabbing his bony hand like an excited kid sister. Her touch didn't mind the chill of his skeletal fingers—she seemed to find it refreshing. If Shakky were here, she'd probably mutter something about Stussy being a total green tea—but to guys, that kind of charm was pure gold.
It was enough to melt even a skeleton's heart.
Brook didn't pull away, letting Stussy hold on as they wandered the Tree of Knowledge. Floors passed by, and any pesky librarians blocking their path scattered with one glare from Brook. Locked doors? Smashed open with a flick of his wrist.
Kutu, sweating buckets, assigned a librarian to follow Brook and unlock anything he wanted. No book was off-limits!
...
At the top floor, in a secluded corner of a massive library room, Brook's eyes locked onto two Poneglyphs. He'd underestimated these scholars—they were hiding serious treasures!
In the original story, Dr. Clover, the library's director, had claimed they'd deciphered several Poneglyphs, uncovering secrets of the Great Kingdom. Before he could spill its name, the CP agents executed him, and the Five Elders unleashed a Buster Call to obliterate Ohara. They knew too much.
Brook ran his bony fingers over the pristine Poneglyphs, cleaner than any he'd seen—no moss, no grime, unlike the weathered stones elsewhere.
"These record the Great Kingdom's history. After the Buster Call razed Ohara and burned the Tree of Knowledge, the World Government probably swooped in to collect these indestructible stones, right?"
He mused aloud. Two Poneglyphs here, two on Fishman Island, one on Skypiea... Should he raid Alabasta for their stone too? And Wano—not only did it hold a red Poneglyph, but also Pluton, the ancient weapon!
The Skypiea stone, etched into the Golden Bell's base, pointed to Poseidon on Fishman Island. Alabasta's stone revealed Pluton's location in Wano. The red Poneglyphs? One on Fishman Island, one in Wano, one on Zou with the Elephant Lord, and the last in Big Mom's hands—maybe inherited from Rocks.
Even Roger, who reached Laugh Tale, got nothing out of it. The world had to wait for Poseidon's birth as Shirahoshi, Uranus's emergence, and some destined moment.
What a load of garbage! This was clearly a "fated" plot for the Sun God Nika, Joyboy Luffy, to unlock!
Screw that! Brook thought, fuming. If the Hell Pirates reached Laugh Tale and found nothing, he'd have Shiki haul the whole island away with his Float-Float Fruit. No treasure? Fine—Newgate could sink the damn place with his Quake-Quake Fruit. Forget Nika's destiny! If Brook couldn't have it, nobody would!
Of course, if Laugh Tale banned Devil Fruit users, he'd be out of luck. His whole crew was practically a Devil Fruit buffet.
...
"Brook~" Stussy tugged his hand, her voice dripping with Siren Fruit charm. "These symbols are just like the ones on the Golden Bell's base!"
Her playful tone snapped Brook out of his ranting thoughts. He glanced at her, a sly grin forming. Was she pulling an Angelie move, like that time with the Charm-Charm Fruit? Should he go for a bold kiss like he did back then?
Stussy's Siren Fruit allure was definitely working its magic on him. She started it, Brook reasoned. Not my fault!
His gaze softened, playing the part of a charmed skeleton. Stussy, catching his look, was startled. She knew her strength, and she knew Brook's—a captain like him falling for her charm? No way.
But neither called it out. Stussy closed her eyes, cheeks flushed, waiting for Brook to make his move. Brook, chuckling inwardly, thought, You're acting? I can act too.
Scooping Stussy into his arms, he leaned in for a kiss...