One month later.
The first half of the Grand Line, the Florian Triangle.
"Is Mr. Brook truly here?"
Upon learning that Brook was in the Florian Triangle, Redfield could barely contain his excitement. But when he saw the surrounding environment, he subconsciously frowned again. Why would Mr. Brook be in a place like this?
"Boss, is this really the Florian Triangle? You didn't get the wrong place, did you?"
The chilling atmosphere made the somewhat timid Rupert involuntarily shiver. It was truly terrifying.
"That's right. The environment here has always been like this—perpetually shrouded in thick fog and darkness. And pirate crews get lost here every year, eventually meeting their doom."
"Rupert, what are you afraid of with us here?!" Jess immediately wrapped his arm around Rupert's shoulder, giving him plenty of reassurance. "If any blind fool dares to cause us trouble, I'll take care of them for you!"
"Oh, right!"
Reynold, suddenly remembering something, looked at Redfield and slowly said:
"Before you see Brook, I want you to prepare yourself mentally. He is no longer the man you remember."
"No longer the man I remember? What do you mean?!!"
Confused, Redfield felt suspicious, but seeing that Reynold had no intention of explaining, he didn't press the matter. As long as Mr. Brook was alive, he wouldn't care what he looked like. Just thinking about seeing Mr. Brook soon, Redfield's hand gripping the railing was faintly trembling.
'YOHOHOHOHO~'
'Bink's Brew, carried on your side~'
'Like the sea breeze at will, ride the waves and cross the ocean~'
Not long after the ship sailed into the Triangle, a melodious song began to play. Soon after, they saw an old, ragged pirate ship slowly sailing in their direction.
"Someone's singing here?!" Lingling and the others on deck widened their eyes, looking incredulous. Could it be a ghost?!
"That song... That song is!!" Hearing the familiar voice and the familiar song, Redfield's body trembled slightly, and he had a vague realization.
"Redfield!"
"The person you're looking for is here!"
Boom!
Hearing Reynold's words, Redfield could no longer suppress his emotions, and a powerful aura uncontrollably spilled out.
"Mr. Brook, is that really you?!" He uttered Brook's name, his voice trembling.
The crew members, equally curious about Brook, moved forward, their eyes fixed on the front. They also wanted to see what Brook, the person Redfield constantly thought of, actually looked like.
'YOHOHOHOHO~' The voice was finally upon them.
Then, everyone saw a skeleton sitting on a chair, its bony jaw opening and closing as the melodious singing continuously emanated from it.
Lingling: !!!
Flame Flower: !!!
Everyone else: !!!
"YOHOHOHOHO, has a new pirate crew arrived here?" Brook on the deck seemed faintly excited upon seeing the ship.
Just as he slowly stood up, intending to greet them.
"AAAH!!!" An extremely sharp scream pierced the thick fog.
"What is it? What happened?!" Startled by the sudden yell, Brook nearly stumbled and fell.
"Mr. B-Brook?" Redfield parted his dry lips and asked tentatively. Even though Reynold had warned him that Brook had changed, and he had prepared himself mentally. But becoming a skeleton was beyond expectation! And how could a skeleton even be alive? Countless questions swirled in Redfield's mind.
"Eh?!"
"Who's calling my name?!"
"YOHOHOHOHO~ Someone actually recognizes me!" Brook stared out of his empty eye sockets, looking around.
"Don't be afraid, Brook isn't a bad person!" Reynold gave the crew a reassuring look.
At his invitation, Brook boarded the ship. Stepping onto the deck, Brook first bowed to everyone. After standing up, he looked at the beautiful Lingling and Flame Flower.
"YOHOHOHOHO I never expected to see two such beautiful ladies here. Might I be so fortunate as to be allowed to see your panties, ladies"
"How dare you!" The moment Brook finished speaking, the furious Flame Flower kicked him onto the deck.
"Mr. Brook, you truly are Mr. Brook!!" Redfield's eyes instantly lit up, confirming Brook's identity on the spot. Only Brook would say something like that! Even after being kicked by beautiful women countless times, he tirelessly repeated that line. Even as a skeleton, he had stayed true to himself!
"Mr. Brook, do you remember me?!!"
"How did you end up looking like this?" Redfield immediately rushed to Brook, his face showing genuine heartache. When he first met Brook many years ago, the man was still a handsome young fellow. But seeing him again, everything had changed! No flesh and blood remained, only a skeleton!
"Nani? You are...?" Confused, Brook looked at Redfield, who had called out his name.
"Redfield! I am Patrick Redfield!"
"Have you forgotten me?"
"Red...?" Brook muttered to himself, "That name sounds familiar!"
"I remember!" After a moment of thought, a spectral light seemed to flash in Brook's empty eye sockets. "Didn't we first meet by the sea?"
"Yes, yes, exactly! It was by the sea!" Redfield nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. If anyone saw the Red Count, a man feared by countless pirates and the Navy, acting this way, their jaws would surely drop!
Hearing Brook correctly name the place where they first met, a nostalgic smile appeared on Redfield's face.
"To this day, I clearly remember the scene of our first meeting, Mr. Brook." Redfield narrated softly, as if pulling the scene back to the seaside where they had once met.
"I am Brook of the Rumbar Pirates. What is your name?"
"My name is Redfield!"
"That's a wonderful name. Now that we know each other's names, we are friends!"
"Friends? Just like that?"
"YOHOHOHOHO... Isn't that what friendship is supposed to be—simple?!"
"To celebrate our friendship, let's sing a song together!"
"Singing? I don't know how!"
"I'll teach you! It's very simple!"
"..."
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ONEPIECE My Crewmates Are All God-Tier! (152 Chapters, Ongoing)
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"Mr. Brook, I truly thank you. If it weren't for that meeting with you, I would never have become a pirate! Nor would I have achieved what I have today!"
Everyone except Reynold widened their eyes, staring in disbelief at the skeleton, Brook. After a month of working together, they had a much clearer understanding of Redfield's strength. Within the pirate crew, his strength was second only to Reynold's, on par with Lingling, who ranked second! What was absurd was that despite Redfield's immense power, they had never heard of him before. Even more ridiculous was the fact that Redfield owed his achievements to the skeleton standing before them?!!
"The crew members maintained poker faces, but were silently going wild with their internal comments.
"YOHOHOHOHO~ That truly was a wonderful experience!" Brook sighed with similar emotion, seemingly lost in old memories. He gazed at Redfield through his empty eye sockets and let out a helpless sigh:
"That little kid has grown up, and I've turned into a mere skeleton!"
Feeling the change in fortunes, Brook felt inexplicably melancholic.
"No, that's not true." Redfield spoke quickly, shaking his head frantically.
"In my eyes, Mr. Brook hasn't changed at all. You will always be the Mr. Brook in my heart!"
"YOHOHOHOHO~"
"Red, after all these years, your words have gotten sweeter."
"Heh heh—"
Embarrassed by Brook's praise, Redfield scratched his head awkwardly. Seeing this scene, the crew members' jaws practically hit the deck. They never imagined that Redfield, who was usually cold and reserved, had such a side to him.
"Mr. Brook, where are the others from the Rumbar Pirates?"
"And who is responsible for turning you into this state?"
As he spoke the latter question, a powerful aura erupted from Redfield. No matter who turned Brook into a skeleton, he would find them and make them pay a heavy price!
"The Rumbar Pirates~"
Remembering the painful past, Brook choked up. "The Rumbar Pirates, apart from this skeletal body that remains of me, everyone else died."
"Died? What exactly happened?!!"
"When we first came here..."
Over the next ten minutes or so, Brook vividly recounted how the Rumbar Pirates arrived at the Triangle, clashed with other pirate crews, and how all his crewmates were wiped out, leaving only him to survive as a skeleton due to the Revive-Revive Fruit.
"Those damned scoundrels! They dared to harm Mr. Brook this way!"
Redfield's voice was frigid, and killing intent surged through him upon learning the truth.
"YOHOHOHOHO~"
Brook gave a casual smile.
"Red, don't worry. They were also left permanently in the Florian Triangle!"
Although the enemies won the battle against them, they lost their way in the Florian Triangle, unable to escape, and eventually turned into withered bones themselves. They now rest eternally alongside his friends!
"Captain!!"
Just then, Redfield suddenly turned and looked at Reynold. The single word,
"Captain,"
made Reynold briefly lose his composure. This was the first time Redfield had called him Captain since joining the Reynold Pirates. Moreover, Reynold could tell that the title was uttered with genuine sincerity.
"I understand."
Reynold waved his hand, interrupting the words Redfield was about to say. Reynold stepped forward toward Brook and spoke softly:
"Brook, although you are now a skeleton, you still have a long road ahead of you. Furthermore, the dead are gone. Your former comrades wouldn't want to see you suffer and languish every day in a place so dark and sunless! Join my pirate crew, and leave this place with me! I will help you start a new life! Also, you are not the only one left from the Rumbar Pirates. Laboon is still waiting for you to come back and see him. Have you forgotten the promise you made to him?!!"
"Laboon!!"
"Yes, Laboon!!"
Brook, who had been submerged in the pain of his crewmates' deaths, suddenly looked up. Laboon was still waiting for him to return at Reverse Mountain!! That was their promise before they parted ways!
"That's right, Mr. Brook, leave this place with us!"
Redfield also joined in the persuasion.
"There is a better life waiting outside!" After finally reuniting, he truly didn't want to be separated from Mr. Brook again. And he certainly didn't want Mr. Brook to live in this dark, sunless hellhole!
"Leave this place?"
Brook was momentarily lost and confused. To be honest, ever since the Rumbar Pirates were wiped out and he became a skeleton, Brook had never thought of joining another pirate crew, nor had he imagined anyone would invite him onto their ship. After all, in his current state, it was a miracle if he didn't frighten people to death. How could anyone want him as a comrade?
"After hearing your story, I actually don't find you that scary anymore." Lingling, touched by Brook's tragic tale, was quietly sobbing.
"Yes, I never expected you to be so loyal and emotional. I was too rough with you earlier." Flame Flower, also feeling down, took the initiative to apologize.
"Is that so? Well, then, may I be so bold as to ask the two lovely ladies if I might see your panties~"
"Get out!!" Flame Flower gave another kick, sending him sprawling onto the deck again.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Redfield immediately helped Brook up and quickly changed the subject: "Mr. Brook, our crew happens to be missing a musician. That spot belongs to you, without a doubt!"
"That song you sang was genuinely beautiful," Jess said, rubbing his chin seriously.
"It would be a real pleasure to hear it often!" Shadow followed up on the sentiment.
"Everyone~"
Watching these complete strangers sincerely inviting him to join their ship, Brook's dormant heart began to beat again. Wait, he doesn't have a heart anymore. YOHOHOHOHO~
"Alright, I will join your pirate crew! For myself, for Laboon, and for my deceased comrades!!" Brook made his final decision! "I will carry their wishes and continue on a new adventure!"
"That's the spirit! Say your final farewells!"
Brook took the torch from Reynold's hand and turned to look at the dilapidated pirate ship.
"May my comrades continue their adventure in the next world!"
The torch arced through the air, fell onto the deck, and ignited a roaring fire. In just a moment, the old pirate ship was completely consumed by the flames, which shot high into the sky!
"Let's go!"
The ship, carrying Brook and the hopes of all the Rumbar Pirates, slowly sailed away from the Florian Triangle. From the receding fog behind them, waves of singing could be faintly heard.
'YOHOHOHOHO~'
'Bink's Brew, carried on your side~'
'Like the sea breeze at will, ride the waves and cross the ocean~'
...
"Boss, where are we heading next?"
"Let's go to Reverse Mountain first, and see Laboon!"
"YOHOHOHOHO~ Speaking of which, it has been a very long time since I last saw Laboon. I wonder if he's doing well?"
"Don't worry, Mr. Brook. Laboon must be doing well. He's been waiting for your return!"
"That's true. Oh, by the way, may I be so bold as to ask the two lovely ladies if I might see your panties~"
"Get out!!"
Bang!
...
Time flew like an arrow, fleeting like a white colt galloping past a crack! Five years passed in the blink of an eye!
Beginning in the year 1478 of the Sea Calendar!
The New World, a certain sea area!
"HAHAHAHAHAHA... Shiki the Golden Lion, I will ask you one last time: Submission or Death!!"
On a colossal island, the heavily injured Shiki was soaked in blood, utterly exhausted, and lay weakly collapsed on the ground. Standing before him, the towering Rocks delivered the final ultimatum.
To capture Shiki, he had spent five entire years. In those five years, he chased him through the East Blue, South Blue, North Blue, West Blue, the first half of the New World, and the New World itself! Running back and forth across six regions! Today, he had finally caught Shiki!
Of course, he hadn't gained nothing in those five years. Besides Shiki, he had recruited countless pirates of all sizes across the six regions. Among them, there were twenty to thirty pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million Beri. Though they couldn't compare to Shiki, they would serve as the core strength of his pirate crew!
"Three seconds!"
"State your choice!" Rocks' voice was like the voice of Hell itself, causing Shiki to involuntarily tremble!
"Three!"
"Two!"
"I submit!"
The proud Shiki the Golden Lion finally bowed his arrogant head!