"Yohohoho... I'm sorry, little girl, but I'm not your father. I'm just a shipwrecked man who happened to pass by and got stranded on this island."
Although Brook felt a trace of guilt, he still chose honesty. He refused to deceive a child with comforting lies, and more importantly, he would never risk dragging an innocent child into the dangerous life of a pirate.
"No! No! You are my father! I've seen your picture! You were tall and thin! Even if you're a skeleton now, you are my father!"
The little girl stubbornly insisted, tears streaming down her face as she shouted. She pointed toward the plump pig on the altar, which was happily nosing around for food, and spoke with grievance in her voice.
"I already offered the fatty meat to the gods, so the gods must have sent you back!"
Brook could not help but feel conflicted, unsure whether to laugh or sigh.
"Yohohoho... what a very reliable god indeed."
The girl quickly grew familiar with him. After deciding to "adopt" Brook, she cautiously asked,
"By the way, Papa, this is our first meeting, and I don't even know your name yet..."
"Yohohoho..."
Brook looked down at her eager, hopeful expression and felt something stir within him.
"My name is Brook."
"Okay, Papa Brook! I am your daughter, almost nine years old. Now we've officially met!"
As she spoke, she picked up the little pink pig gnawing on bones and placed it over her shoulder.
"Hm? Wasn't that your offering to the gods?" Brook asked, puzzled.
The girl grabbed Brook's hand and began pulling him toward a worn, swaying boat tied near the shore.
"The gods already gave me Papa Brook! And since he didn't take the fatty meat, it means he doesn't want it. I'll take it home, raise it bigger, and offer it again later!"
"Hmph! Hmph!"
The pig snorted happily, wagging its curly tail as if it completely agreed.
"Alright, Papa Brook! Let's go home!"
And just like that, Brook, who had drifted onto this deserted altar island, was taken in by an eight-year-old girl.
As time passed, Brook gave the nameless girl a name.
Little Labu.
He also told her the story behind it.
"Laboon is so pitiful... Papa Brook, can you take me to see Laboon someday?"
Little Labu adored the name. She also longed to meet the whale who, like her, had lost its family.
...
"Give you Binks' Sake, sing out loud, the song of the sea..."
Little Labu hummed cheerfully, tapping a branch against the ground as she made her way back to her small, secluded home with the pig.
"Life is short, things are unpredictable, let's get drunk tonight, Yohohoho, Yohohoho..."
It was the song Brook had taught her.
She loved it and often sang it to herself when she was alone.
...
However, Little Labu had always kept a secret from Brook.
She could sense people's hearts.
More precisely, she possessed an innate mastery of Observation Haki.
She could perceive the aura surrounding others.
Those who harbored ill intent emitted a cold, foul stench.
Those indifferent to her gave off a dull, lifeless presence.
Malicious children carried a rotten, muddy scent.
But those who were kind radiated a gentle, sweet fragrance, like warm milk.
Her mother had always smelled that way.
Ever since her mother passed away, she had never sensed that comforting aura again.
Until she met Brook.
From him, she once again felt that same warm, gentle presence.
She did not understand why he was a skeleton, but she was certain of one thing.
He was a good person.
Perhaps, he could truly become her father.
...
"Huh?"
As Little Labu approached her wooden house hidden among the trees, she suddenly froze.
The door, which she had closed before leaving, hung open.
Inside, everything was in disarray.
Her belongings were scattered across the ground.
The keepsakes her mother had left behind, including clothes carefully sewn by hand, were thrown into a fire and burning.
"Who did this!!!"
Tears welled up as she ran toward the flames.
"Ugh..."
Sobbing, she hurriedly pulled out the few pieces of clothing that had not yet been completely destroyed.
But then, a massive shadow loomed over her.
...
She turned around slowly.
"It stinks so bad!"
A suffocating, foul odor filled her senses, making her dizzy.
"Hmph, hmph..."
A tall, burly man stood before her, his face twisted into a cruel grin.
"Those brats didn't lie. Just as I thought, there's another one left here."
He was River the Slave Hunter, a pirate with a bounty of 50 million Berries.
A human trafficker who specialized in capturing children and selling them, a man of utterly vile nature.
"Hmph! Hmph!"
The little pig reacted instantly, placing itself between Little Labu and the man as it charged forward.
"Heh, perfect. Just in time for a side dish."
River sneered and brought his foot down.
"Pfft!"
The pig let out a pained cry as blood spilled from its mouth, its small body collapsing to the ground, barely clinging to life.
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