"Uwahahahaha!!!"
River the Slave Hunter appeared on the pirate ship with a ferocious grin. He lifted the little girl in his hand and sneered at the skeletal musician racing across the sea.
"Hey, skeleton, look at what I have here!"
Little Labu was held high in the air, her small hands flailing as she struck River's arm and struggled desperately.
"Let me go! Let me go!"
"This is bad…"
Brook dashed across the waves with his cane sword in hand, his heart growing heavy at the sight of Little Labu in the grip of that vile slave trader.
As a seasoned pirate, Brook understood one truth clearly. Never overestimate the moral limits of pirates.
The cruelest methods were always the ones your enemies would choose, the ones that struck where it hurt most.
Now, his intentions had been exposed, and his weakness seized.
Even so, he could not stop.
Whoosh!
Brook stepped across the waves and leapt lightly onto the pirate ship, as weightless as a drifting leaf.
"Yohohoho, excuse me, everyone."
Though worry gnawed at him, his composure remained intact. He removed his tattered black top hat and bowed like a true gentleman to the armed pirates glaring at him.
"Oh? Skeleton, were you some kind of noble in your past life?"
River the Slave Hunter looked him over with interest, a mocking smile tugging at his lips.
"How amusing. A walking, talking skeleton with manners. I am sure those noble bastards, even the Celestial Dragons, would pay a fortune for you."
"As expected, a slave ship."
Brook's skull revealed nothing, his voice calm and steady.
Even decades ago, men like River existed, slave traders who roamed the seas like vermin, trafficking in human lives.
They sold beauty to the depraved, strength to the desperate, and children to those who sought soldiers or profit. As long as there was demand, they would hunt.
They were the filth of the seas, despised by pirates and Marines alike.
Brook loathed them from the depths of his soul, yet he could not show it.
River's fleshy face twisted into a knowing grin.
"Oh? You seem well informed. So what were you, skeleton? Not a noble, but a pirate?"
Just a little closer…
Brook subtly gauged the distance between them.
"Yohohoho, that is correct. I am a pirate."
He turned slightly, addressing the scantily clad female pirate beside River with polite charm.
"Miss, may I admire your panties?"
"How annoying."
The woman shot him a flirtatious glare, clearly irritated.
"Yohohoho, rejected again."
Brook spoke casually, inching forward as if nothing was amiss, closing the distance bit by bit.
At the right moment, he would strike with his Three-Verse Arrow Notch Slash, defeat River in an instant, and rescue Little Labu.
"Hey, skeleton, whatever you are planning, I suggest you stop."
River suddenly stepped back, widening the gap, his expression turning sharp.
"Stay right there. You actually triggered my death premonition. Seems you are not as harmless as you look."
His grip tightened around Little Labu's neck. Her face flushed red as she struggled for air.
"Do not hurt her!"
Brook froze, raising his hands slightly to show he meant no harm.
A miscalculation.
He had not expected a slave trader to possess Observation Haki.
His mind worked quickly, and the answer became clear. His intent had been sensed.
River licked his lips, eyes gleaming with greed.
"What a prize. Just a few steps from you and I felt death itself. That only raises your value."
He looked at Brook as though he were a mountain of Berries waiting to be claimed.
"A living skeleton that can fight, think, and speak? The nobles would pay dozens, maybe hundreds of times more than usual."
He barked an order.
"Bring the Seastone cuffs. This one is definitely a Devil Fruit user."
Clatter.
A pair of moss-covered Seastone handcuffs landed at Brook's feet.
"Put them on."
River smirked, watching closely.
"This is bad…"
Brook stared at the cuffs, hesitation flickering in his empty eye sockets.
If he obeyed, both he and Little Labu would become slaves.
A dark voice began to echo in his mind, low and insistent.
Kill them all.
A bunch of cowardly pirates daring to threaten me?
They are nothing but filth, slave traders who have never faced true death.
Why should I bow to them?
Kill them. Even if the girl dies, let them be buried with her.
Wipe them out. Leave no one alive.
Only then will justice be served.
An eye for an eye.
A faint crimson glint flashed within Brook's hollow gaze. His skeletal hand tightened around the handle of his cane sword.
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