OPTC Chapter 189. Thriller Bark
Gecko Moria, nearly seven meters tall, had a body shaped like an oversized onion, with the appearance and clothing of a demon or vampire.
He preferred to hole up in his room, leaving everything to his subordinates. His "work" consisted of cutting shadows. After finishing that, he would sleep for three or four days, then wake in the middle of the night and eat nonstop for several more days.
So calling him a shut-in slob wasn't unfair at all.
Now, in a rare moment when he was awake during the day, Moria muttered,
"You said you discovered frightening people? A strong female swordsman, and a… guy who bangs a gong?"
"Uh-huh! That guy hit his gong once and all my negative ghosts vanished. And the swordsman was terrifying too—I thought I'd be cut in half right then!" Perona's negative ghosts were like her miniature doubles, useful for scouting.
Their usual process was: drop drifting bottles, wait for them to be opened and release a flare, then Perona would send out negative ghosts to locate the targets. After that, they would maneuver Thriller Bark nearby, lure the prey onto the island, and finally capture them alive to cut away their shadows.
"A skilled swordsman, huh? Just perfect. I happen to have a powerful corpse waiting for the right shadow, heheheheh…"
Only a strong body combined with a strong shadow could make a truly strong zombie. Moria wouldn't waste that corpse on some random swordsman.
"Kyahaha~" Perona didn't understand exactly what he meant, but it sounded good, so she laughed along. "Oh, Moria-sama, I also saw a really cute kitty! Let's catch that too!"
In her eyes, Moria was the strongest of all. That swordsman and gong-banger might have been impressive, but they were surely no match for her master.
"Ehheheh, such a small matter. Have Absalom and Hogback handle it!" Moria said lazily. He had no intention of going himself—best to leave it to his reliable subordinates.
…
"So the Rumbar Pirates were basically a band of music lovers on an adventure team?" Ye Yan asked.
"Yes. The first condition to join the Rumbar Pirates was a love of music. We were the pirates who could make even a crying child laugh." After the ghost incident, Brook had no doubt—if these people wanted to capture him, he wouldn't survive.
So he told them everything: about himself, his crew, and especially about the whale Laboon who might still be waiting at Twin Capes. Then he begged.
It didn't matter if he cried or lost his dignity. He had to survive. Even though he was dead, he still had to keep the promise he had made to Laboon.
Shark Chili asked, "But it's been forty years. How do you know that little whale is still waiting for you?"
"What right do I have to assume he gave up? We promised to return after sailing around the world, but in the end it was us who broke the promise! Since I'm the only one who came back from death, it's my duty to fulfill that promise for everyone!"
"For me, drifting alone for forty years was lonely enough to make me want to die all over again. Imagine Laboon, waiting alone for forty years—how much pain must he have endured? So… so I beg you all…"
"Boss Zhang, I think we should take him with us," Shark Chili said. "If Jinzaburo were here, he'd say, 'A man should keep his word in silence.' I admire this skeleton… as long as he doesn't sing."
Ye Yan shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. I've long since gotten used to all kinds of monsters and freaks."
Rui Meng Meng raised her hand. "I agree too. He's a bit of a pervert, but we already beat him up. It's fine to bring him along."
Tom didn't even respond—he was busy wiping tears with a handkerchief. He had empathized with Laboon, waiting forty years for its owners who never returned. Too pitiful.
"As long as he's not some ruthless villain, we can lend him a hand," Artoria said. She wasn't a stubborn person—she respected those who kept promises.
Zhang Da Ye felt no dislike toward Brook, so he nodded. "Then welcome aboard, Mister Brook. Travel with us for a while."
"Thank you very much!" Brook was overjoyed, relieved that these bounty hunters weren't rigid and merciless.
As things were settled, Zhang Da Ye casually remarked, "Honestly, even if we hauled you to a navy base, they'd think we were trying to scam them with a fake bounty."
"Please don't say that, Zhang-san, even I would be heartbroken. Though I don't have a heart, yohohoho~" Brook quickly returned to his usual cheerful self.
Now, though, only Tom still laughed at his silly skeleton jokes.
"To thank you, please allow me to perform a piece." Brook's eye sockets gleamed when he spotted the piano in the tavern.
Shark Chili's face twisted in horror, and he prepared to bolt. "No singing!"
Zhang Da Ye stepped in. "Let's save the music for later. We still have trouble to deal with before we leave the Devil's Triangle."
Brook straightened. "If there's any way I can be of service, please command me."
"It's nothing complicated. Just fighting. Though the enemy might be a little numerous."
Ten years later, Moria's zombies would number over a thousand—since his special move, Shadow Asgard, alone could stuff him with a thousand shadows. The army then was around nine hundred numbered zombies, with countless fodder on top of that.
Even now, they could expect several hundred underlings at least.
"Then please, let me fight at your side. And…" Brook adjusted his tie, "since we're about to fight together, may I ask, Miss Artoria, Miss Rui Meng Meng, could you—"
"No!" Zhang Da Ye knocked him flat with one punch. "This perverted skeleton should just sink into the sea!"
"Yohohoho~ Zhang-san, how scary~"
…
That night, the Amber's speed suddenly surged forward.
"What's going on?" Everyone rushed out of the cabin. Beneath the ship, the currents had grown fierce, dragging them toward a destination.
"The currents just shifted," Shark Chili pointed ahead. "Look there—an entrance."
It looked like a giant mouth, sucking the sea inside along with the Amber.
Behind the jaws, they could faintly see a massive island… or rather, a gargantuan ship shaped like an island.
"This is it. Thriller Bark!"
(A/N: New intelligence suggests that Ohara's books might have been saved by giants, and that Vegapunk could be linked to the founding of the Revolutionary Army.)
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