Chapter 8: Ghost Ship
The moment Itachi burst through the bubble, Susano'o materialized around him—crimson skeletal ribs providing both protection and mobility. His hands moved through seals with practiced precision.
"Is that his technique again?!" Usopp pressed against the bubble, watching intently.
Water Release: Water Spout!
A massive waterspout erupted from Itachi, but unlike the Water Dragon Bullet, this technique didn't take the form of a creature. Instead, it was a towering, spiraling column of pressurized water that struck the giant anglerfish with tremendous force, pushing the massive creature backward.
Robin's sharp eyes caught the difference. "That's not the same technique he used before. This one appears... more powerful? More concentrated?"
Itachi seized the opening the waterspout created. Another set of hand seals.
Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!
A colossal dragon of fire erupted from his mouth, streaking through the gap the waterspout had carved in the deep-sea environment. The fire dragon traveled through open water—impossibly, inexplicably—and slammed directly into the anglerfish's face.
The lantern fish's entire head caught fire. The creature shrieked, a silent underwater scream, as flames consumed its features and the explosive impact hurled it backward into a distant seabed rock formation.
Usopp and Chopper's eyes nearly popped from their skulls.
Robin felt a bead of sweat trail down her temple. "First, he creates space with that spiraling water technique. Then he follows with a fire attack to maximize damage."
"Fire... on the BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN!" Franky gripped the helm, temporarily at a loss. "How is that even POSSIBLE?!"
"I don't know whether to be more shocked that he can breathe fire, or that he can breathe fire TEN THOUSAND METERS UNDERWATER!" Nami's hands covered her mouth.
The anglerfish subdued for the moment, Itachi dismissed Susano'o and returned through the bubble, landing lightly on the deck.
"We need to move. Now. If that creature recovers, we'll have to use more of those air-consuming thrusters to escape."
"OH! YOSH!"
Franky wrenched the helm, guiding the Sunny away from the stunned anglerfish.
"ITACHI-BROTHER!"
"ITACHI!"
"ITACHI-SAN!"
Usopp, Chopper, and Brook launched themselves at Itachi—Usopp and Chopper latching onto his legs while Brook somehow wrapped skeletal arms around his torso.
Even Itachi, master of composure, found himself momentarily flustered. "What... what are you three doing?"
"That was AMAZING, Itachi! SUGOOI!" Usopp's mind was already spinning with possibilities. Luffy and the others were monsters, yes—incredibly powerful. But watching Itachi work was different. He was calm. Precise. Every move calculated. The kind of person you wanted beside you in a crisis.
"Itachi-brother! Can you teach me your water dragon and fire dragon?!" Chopper rubbed his furry face against Itachi's leg.
"If the opportunity presents itself... I could attempt to teach you."
The truth was, Itachi found this strange reindeer-creature rather endearing.
"Me too! Me too!" Usopp raised his hand repeatedly.
"Itachi-san..." Brook tilted his empty eye sockets upward, and even without flesh, Itachi could sense the skeleton's earnest expression. "This is the first time I've felt compelled to say to a man: 'Yoshi—'"
WHAM!
Nami's fist connected with all three heads simultaneously, raising identical lumps.
"Don't be so disrespectful to Itachi!"
"Eh..." Itachi looked at Nami, a rare bead of sweat forming on his brow.
He was beginning to suspect that she was the true captain of this vessel.
Noticing his gaze, Nami immediately transformed into a demure young lady. "Arigato, Itachi. Really... we owe you."
"There's no need for thanks. I asked you to transport me, after all."
Robin covered her mouth with her hand, smiling warmly as she regarded Itachi.
"Speaking of which," Itachi's expression sobered, "after all these detours, finding your captain, the samurai, and the blond has become even more difficult."
He leaped to the bow as Franky activated the Sunny's lion figurehead headlights, twin beams cutting through the darkness.
"Searching for three people in this vast deep sea... it's like looking for a needle in a haystack."
Itachi's gaze sharpened. "What is that?"
Franky's heart nearly stopped. Every time Itachi said those words, something catastrophic appeared.
He raised the bow, following Itachi's line of sight.
Everyone's panic returned tenfold.
At the edge of the rock formation where the anglerfish had crashed, a massive shadow loomed. When the lion's headlights illuminated it, they realized it was a person—a giant person. The head alone dwarfed the anglerfish they'd just battled.
"A BALD SEA MONSTER!!" Usopp shrieked.
The colossal bald giant raised a fist—and the anglerfish, its face still scorched, was preparing to charge the Sunny again.
"WE'RE GOING TO DIE!!!" Chopper's tears began flowing.
"KUSO!"
Franky reached for the Coup de Burst controls—but Itachi's hand pressed down on the helm, stopping him.
"Look at where that fist is aimed. He's not attacking us."
The bald sea monster's fist descended—directly onto the anglerfish's head.
"Korang! Didn't I tell you not to do this?!"
"How many times do I need to explain?! You can't EAT ships!"
"Captain Vander Decken will be ANGRY!"
The anglerfish, now sporting a fresh lump atop its scorched face, looked at the bald sea monster with aggrieved eyes.
"We're... saved?" Nami's voice was thick with disbelief.
"Let's run! NOW!" Usopp urged Franky to move.
But no one moved.
Behind the bald sea monster, an even larger shadow was emerging.
"Things in this place continue to surprise me," Itachi murmured, his worldview expanding with each passing moment.
"NA... NAN... NANDAAAAA—" Chopper's scream caught in his throat.
The shadow resolved into focus: a massive shipwreck, somehow still floating in the deep sea. Ancient. Rotting. Menacing.
When Brook saw it, a mournful cry escaped him. "That's... that's Vander Decken's ship!"
"Vander Decken?" Everyone turned to the skeleton.
Nami: "Could it be..."
Usopp: "That's..."
Chopper: "A GHOST SHIP!"
"GYAH!!"
Brook's scream echoed across the deck.
Usopp slapped him repeatedly. "DON'T BE SCARED!"
Brook trembled, pointing at the enormous vessel. "That's the ship of the legendary ghost ship captain—Vander Decken! The Flying Dutchman!"
"A ship that should NOT exist in this world!"
His voice trembled as the legend spilled from him: "Hundreds of years ago, on a stormy night, the captain pushed his crew into the sea one by one. Drove them to their deaths. Then spat at the heavens themselves—cursed God to His face!"
"As punishment, God doomed him and his ship to wander the ocean depths for eternity. To suffer endless torment!"
"The captain's name is Vander Decken. The ship's name is The Flying Dutchman!"
"THIS IS A REAL GHOST SHIP!!!"
Usopp and Chopper were now running laps around the deck, screaming.
"Stop panicking!" Franky waved dismissively. "Isn't Brook's own ship a ghost ship? What's so scary about another one?"
"Maybe there are interesting skeletons aboard!"
"Franky-san..." Brook tilted at a thirty-degree angle, touched despite himself.
Robin chuckled softly, and Itachi noticed she was sketching the ghost ship in her notebook.
"If we encountered the legendary Kraken," Robin mused, "then the legendary ghost ship being real makes perfect sense."
Usopp and Chopper's screams intensified. Even Nami covered her face, a shriek escaping her.
"A REAL GHOST SHIP!!!"
"Robin! This isn't the time to scare them!" Franky protested.
Robin chuckled again, then turned to Itachi. "You haven't commented, Itachi. You're always the first to notice danger, and you see things clearly. What do you make of this?"
Itachi's eyes had shifted—the Mangekyō Sharingan activated briefly as he studied the ghost ship. He had been considering whether to destroy it preemptively.
After a moment's observation, he dismissed the thought.
"Mr. Skeleton," Itachi addressed Brook. "You said God cursed this ship to wander the ocean depths for eternity?"
"Indeed, Itachi-san. For eternity." Brook touched his cheekbone nervously.
Itachi nodded, then pointed at the ghost ship.
"Then why is there a rope tied to it? Held by that humanoid sea monster?"
Everyone looked.
The bald sea monster had one hand raised, lecturing the chastened anglerfish. In its other hand, it held a massive rope—a rope attached directly to the hull of the Flying Dutchman.
(End of Chapter)
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