"Reno, it's so dark here." The timid Vivi held Reno's arm, staying close to him.
In the pitch-black environment, The girls huddled together.
Even though they all possessed Observation Haki and could perceive their surroundings from further away, the visual impact still instinctively caused them fear.
"With your current strength, this place poses no threat to you." Reno smiled slightly, giving The girls a reassuring look.
"Yohohohoho"
"Yohohohoho"
"Yohohohoho"
Just then, a melodious song suddenly echoed through the thick fog, making the slightly relieved girls tense up again.
"What is that thing?!!!" Nami frowned, her Observation Haki detecting an unknown creature.
To be precise, it seemed to be a skel-eton?!
"Reno, that guy wouldn't happen to be…"
Reno nodded slightly, speeding up the ark maxim's flight.
As they got closer, the melodious song gradually became clearer.
Bringing Binks' Sake to you,
Like the sea breeze, freely, riding the waves.
Let's sing a song, a song of sailing.
The voice was melodious and beautiful.
After the song concluded, an old and dilapidated pirate ship appeared before everyone.
The girls instinctively looked, and the next second, everyone's eyes widened.
They actually saw a skeleton's jaw opening and closing, and that beautiful music had come from its mouth.
"Yohohohoho! I didn't expect to be so lucky today and encounter another new Pirate Crew."
Brook, who hadn't seen new people in a long time, was very happy and momentarily lost his composure.
"Ah!!!"
"Ah!!!"
"Ah!!!"
"…"
The girls recognized Brook's identity the moment they saw him.
But even with mental preparation, when they suddenly saw someone like Brook, who completely defied logic, appearing before them as a skeleton.
At least four or five girls simultaneously let out sharp screams.
Brook was startled by the sudden screams and stumbled, quickly looking left and right, "What happened?!!!"
After not finding anything unusual, Brook patted his chest and looked at everyone again.
"Don't be afraid." Reno softly comforted The girls.
Fortunately, he had given The girls a heads-up beforehand, otherwise, who knows how scared they would have been.
The frightened girls leaned against their sisters beside them, then began to examine Brook.
It truly was a big world, full of wonders.
Brook tidied his afro and greeted everyone warmly, "Yohohohoho! My name is Brook, and it's a pleasure to meet you all."
When he looked at The girls, his tone became noticeably excited, "Yohohohoho! There are so many beautiful ladies, I wonder if I could…"
Boom!!!
Before Brook could finish his sentence, a powerful force, like a mountain, instantly descended upon him.
With a bang, Brook's tall, thin skeleton directly knelt on the deck.
Crack.
The already dilapidated pirate ship became even more overwhelmed.
At the same time, a cold voice slowly came from Reno's mouth.
"Brook, if you dare to say the rest of that sentence, I will break all your bones right now."
Brook's pupils… he didn't have pupils.
Brook's skeletal face showed no expression, only his jaw struggled to open and close, as if he wanted to say something.
The next second, the pressure disappeared.
Brook looked as if he had received a special pardon, gasping for air.
"Still talking?!" Reynold looked at Brook with a smile.
Brook shook his head like a rattle drum, "No more, never again."
If he talked any more, his bones would really fall apart.
Brook, still shaken, immediately turned to leave. If he couldn't afford to offend them, couldn't he at least avoid them?!
"Brook, do you still remember Laboon, the island whale?!"
Brook, who was about to slip away, heard the name and his body visibly trembled.
He looked sharply at Reynold.
"Laboon?! You just said Laboon?!" Brook's voice began to tremble.
How many years had it been? He himself had forgotten how many years it had been since he last heard Laboon's name.
Although Brook's skeletal face showed no expression, everyone could hear the obvious anticipation in his tone.
They realized that Brook truly had not given up on Laboon, had not forgotten their past promise.
Otherwise, 50 years later, when Brook heard Laboon's name again, he wouldn't have become so emotional.
Reynold smiled slightly and said, "Laboon has been waiting for you at Twin Capes."
"That's right, Brook, Laboon misses you very much." Recalling Laboon's body covered in scars from searching for Brook, Kaya couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.
"You… you really saw Laboon?!"
Even though he had no flesh or blood, tears flowed from Brook's hollow eye sockets at that moment.
He never thought he would one day hear news of Laboon again.
"Laboon is being taken care of very well now. Its size has exceeded 400 meters, and it's just waiting for you to go back to it," Reynold patiently explained.
The genuine emotion for Laboon emanating from Brook at that moment even moved him.
"Yohohohoho! The little guy from back then has grown to 400 meters! That's wonderful, it really is wonderful!!!"
Knowing that Laboon was safe and sound, Brook shed tears of joy.
But soon, he shook his head in disappointment: "I also want to see Laboon, but I can't leave here."
"Why can't you leave? Are you afraid that your current appearance will scare Laboon?!" Makino was startled, then asked in confusion.
The other girls also cast puzzled glances at Brook.
"His shadow was stolen by Gekko Moriah, so he has no way to leave here," Reynold didn't keep them in suspense and directly told The girls the truth.
Brook gave a bitter smile and said dejectedly, "That's right. If I, who have lost my shadow, am exposed to sunlight, I will die."
"So I can only live in this sunless Florian Triangle, unless one day I can reclaim my shadow."
Brook slowly raised his head, looking at the pitch-black sky with his pupil-less eye sockets. He had been here for 50 years; would that day ever come?!
Originally, he had already come to terms with it, but from the moment he learned that Laboon was still alive and waiting for him at Twin Capes, his long-calm heart was stirred once more.
Although he no longer had a heart, he had to go back and see Laboon.
Because Laboon was his only companion left in this world.
"Tch, I thought it was something serious," Nami pouted, her disdainful voice pulling Brook's thoughts back.
"When I defeat Gekko Moriah, your shadow will come back."
Brook stood stunned, his skull facing Nami, seemingly expressing shock.
Defeat Gekko Moriah?!
He knew every word, but put together, why did he not quite understand?
Did these people in front of him even know who Gekko Moriah was?!
Reynold patted Brook's shoulder, "I once promised Laboon that I would take you to see him."
"If you still want your shadow back, hurry up and follow."
Brook was stunned for a moment, then quickly jumped onto the ark maxim.
For Laboon, he had to take a gamble.
Most importantly, the strength this man had just displayed seemed genuinely powerful.
Under the capture of Observation Haki, the ark maxim flew purposefully towards a huge pirate ship in the dense fog.
Thriller Bark.
Gekko Moriah's pirate ship, and also the largest pirate ship in the world.
Its scale was comparable to a medium-sized island.
The front door of the ship was shaped like a huge mouth with teeth exposed, perfectly matching Gekko Moriah's image.
As the front door was wide open, the ark maxim entered smoothly without any obstruction.
The Pirate Crews that disappeared were also lured in this way back then.
Unfortunately, once they went inside, they never came out again.
After entering Thriller Bark, Reynold put away the ark maxim and led The girls forward.
Along the way, Reynold would proactively explain some of the things they saw to The girls.
For example, why there were so many gravestones here, and why some animal carcasses looked so eerie.
This earned him another wave of adoring gazes from his fangirls.
The girls chatted and laughed with Reynold all the way, gradually easing their fear of the surroundings.
Brook followed behind the group, cautiously looking around, as if he feared something.
At some point, more than a dozen transparent ghosts suddenly appeared, hovering above their heads.
"Hororororo."
"Hororororo."
The transparent ghosts let out a more eerie laugh than Brook's.
Everyone was startled.
Reynold looked at these Negatives and explained, "These are Negatives, created by Perona, one of Gekko Moriah's Three Eccentrics, using her Devil Fruit Ability."
"Once hit by these Negatives, you will become very negative."
Hearing this, The girls all became vigilant.
Reynold looked at the Negatives about to attack them and chuckled, "Perona, quickly recall them, or else when I find your main body, I will definitely spank your butt hard."
After circling Reynold once, the Negatives all flew away.
Brook behind him was completely petrified.
At the same time.
In a dark castle, inside a very kawaii princess room.
On a soft pink bed, the Ghost Princess Perona suddenly opened her eyes, her expression panicked.
"Reynold, Reynold really came to Florian Triangle?!"
The panicked Perona's face was pale.
Just two days ago they were discussing Reynold, a man with a bounty of 3 billion berries.
And he came today?!
"Passing by, they must be passing through here." Perona gently patted her heaving chest, trying to calm herself down.
"What if they're not?!" The next second, her face soured again.
"No, I must quickly inform Lord Gekko Moriah. With Lord Moriah here, Reynold is no match."
After comforting herself, Perona decisively walked out of the room and headed deeper into the castle.
0... seeking fresh flowers --- On the other side.
Reynold continued forward with The girls, and Brook was secretly overjoyed.
The man in front of him had even scared away Perona, who feared nothing, so perhaps today he could really get his shadow back.
"Captain, there are graves and eerie forests everywhere here. Why would Gekko Moriah live in such a place?!" The little angel Conis frowned slightly and leaned closer to Reynold.
Reynold shook his head, "Who knows? Maybe it's because of his zombie army, or maybe he just likes to live in such a gloomy place."
"It feels like these Seven Warlords of the Sea are one stranger than the last," Nami next to him couldn't help but complain.
Mihawk used a knife to sail his ship.
Crocodile directly changed his factory settings.
Gekko Moriah liked to live in such a gloomy place.
She had only met three Warlord of the Sea, and all three were eccentrics, it was truly unbearable.
"Captain, there are so many people in here." The girls, who had activated their Observation Haki, immediately discovered many figures secretly observing them in the shadows of the forest.
Reynold glanced indifferently and said calmly, "Don't bother with them."
"Hm?!" Just then, The girls all let out a soft exclamation in unison, stopping and looking to their right.
Someone was actually sneaking towards them.
"what??!"
Absalom in the shadows saw everyone's gazes simultaneously turn towards him and instinctively held his breath.
He muttered inwardly.
What's wrong with these guys?!
Have I been exposed?!
He looked down at his transparent body, and after confirming there was nothing unusual, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief... scaring himself.
It must have been his footsteps that were too heavy just now, accidentally making a sound, which made the other party inadvertently notice.
As Absalom prepared to approach again, he suddenly noticed Reynold to the left of The girls.
Holy crap!
Absalom's face instantly changed dramatically, and he quickly covered his mouth and held his breath.
Not allowing himself to make any sound.
Reynold, it was Reynold!!!
Damn it, why was he here?!
No matter how inflated Reynold's bounty was, killing Crocodile was an undeniable fact, and he didn't think he was a match for Reynold.
Just as he was tiptoeing, trying to turn and leave.
"Hey, what are you doing sneaking around?!" A voice suddenly rang out, scaring Absalom so much that his hair stood on end, and he almost cried out.
Coincidence, it must be a coincidence.
Calm down, absolutely cannot panic.
"You can turn invisible, you must be Absalom, one of Gekko Moriah's Three Eccentrics, right?!" Robin slowly spoke, revealing Absalom's identity in one sentence.
Run!!!
Absalom's pupils contracted, and he didn't care about anything else, taking off and running.
"Since you're here, don't leave, Doll!" He wanted to run, but Reynold had no intention of letting him go.
As soon as she finished speaking, Doll's figure vanished from her original spot.
Swoosh!!!
A strong gust of wind suddenly came from behind Absalom!
"Sound Soul Explosion!!!"
Absalom's expression changed drastically; he was just about to turn and counterattack.
Doll's punch, imbued with Armament Haki, directly slammed into his face.
As for its power, let's just say this:
In the original story, Doll used this very punch to directly knock out the Giant warrior, Cassy.
With a bang, Absalom's face twisted and deformed, looking as if his entire face had been flattened by a truck.
An unknown number of blood-stained teeth flew out.
Boom!!!
Absalom, like a cannonball, only stopped after crashing through dozens of tombstones.
As he kicked up a cloud of dust, his remaining vitality quickly drained away, and he was clearly taking in less air than he was expelling.
"Well done," Reno nodded with satisfaction.
"Thank you, Captain," Doll said with a smile, looking at Reno and openly accepting his praise, then possessively wrapped her arm around Reno's other arm as if seeking credit.
The other girls all nodded in approval.
As expected of Doll, her moves were swift and decisive.
"You... you killed Absalom?!" Brook stared in the direction Absalom had flown, speaking in disbelief.
One move!!
He only used one move to instantly defeat Absalom, one of the Three Eccentrics?!
"Brook, he's not as strong as you think; just wait to get your shadow back," Reno didn't explain further.
"Alright."
Brook looked at Reno's back and quickly scurried after him.
He was shouting in his heart:
Laboon, wait for me!!
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Perona had already started calling for help.
She first found the genius surgeon, Hogback, who was eating in the restaurant.
Also one of the Three Eccentrics,
"Hogback, stop eating! Reno is really here!" Perona stamped her foot anxiously.
"You quickly go summon the zombie army, and I'll immediately inform Lord Gekko Moria."
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