Chapter 229 - 68

Chapter 68 The Agreement, Declaration of War!The sky was still dark.In the Florian Triangle, on the thousand sunny, the afro-haired skeleton boarded the ship amidst the crew's speechless reactions and Usopp and Chopper's fear."Yohohoho, this time my ship and I have caused you all trouble! I am Brook, a skeleton who has died and only bones remain. Please treat me well." The gentlemanly skeleton Brook seemed full of joy."Who exactly are you?!" the crew shouted."Hmph!" Sanji lit his cigarette. "Our idiotic Captainhas already invited him onto the ship, so just get used to it!""Nani?!" Everyone was stunned."So what's your purpose in going, Curly Eyebrows?" Zoro glared at Sanji."Tch! It'd be the same if you went. We're just crew members! How am I supposed to object when the Captain has already decided?" Sanji walked towards the dining room.Suddenly, Brook approached Robin. "Beautiful lady, may I see your panties?"As soon as he spoke, Sanji, who had just neared the dining room, instantly vanished, and a foot appeared out of thin air before Brook's eyes."Bang!"Brook's skeletal body now sported a large bump."Luffy, do you really want him on the ship?" Sanjilooked at Luffy calmly. Clearly, if Brook weren't a potential comrade, he might have already met his maker."Hahahahaha, don't you think he's very interesting?" Luffy laughed heartily, evidently not overly concerned given his strength and perspective.Although the crew wasn't very accepting of Brook, it was simply because they didn't understand him yet.Seeing Usopp and Chopper holding crucifixes, he picked them both up and headed to the dining room. "Sanji, prepare dinner!""Alright!" Sanji followed closely behind.No one mentioned driving Brook away anymore.Brook stood up, rubbing the bump on his head."Hiss! That really hurts! But... why do I feel so happy inside?"Brook skipped into the dining room. Having been here for decades, only this time did he truly feel alive... The dining room was brightly lit."What a magnificent dining room! This ship is truly amazing! Yohohoho." Brook praised continuously.And a certain someone's head was held higher and higher."Of course, this is the ship of dreams built by the super me! You have good taste." Clearly, the flattery hit the right spot, and Brook successfully won Franky's favor.Sanji stood with one hand in his pocket, the other tossing a pan, a cigarette still in his mouth."I'm so looking forward to this! I haven't eaten anything in decades, enduring the pain of my chest sticking to my back every day, living with great difficulty." Brook's voice was a little low.Everyone fell silent, even the very scared Chopperwas moved. "Brook...!""Yohohoho, although I'm a skeleton, I have neither a chest nor a back! Skeleton joke." Brook laughed happily."Skeleton joke!!" Luffy clapped his hands, laughing. The rest of the crew felt a bit of sympathy, and at least the huge barrier between them had lessened."It's ready!" Sanji broke the heavy atmosphere, bringing out platters of delicious food. "Put everything else aside for now, let's just eat, octopus feast!"Luffy picked up his knife and fork. "Brook, you must eat a lot. Sanji's food is the best in the world!""But more than my stomach, it's my heart that's satisfied!" Brook ate heartily. Although a skeleton has no tears, its soul can be moved!"Mmm mmm mmm mmm!" Luffy's mouth was full of food as he looked at Brook."Is that so? Was it still in the fish pond just now?""Mmm mmm mmm...!""What an amazing ship, I've never seen a ship like this!""Mmm mmm mmm...!""Please, allow me to take a tour!"Their knives and forks clinked together, perfectly synchronized.Next to Luffy, Nami suddenly felt that the takoyakion her plate wasn't as delicious. She looked at Brook with a hint of envy."Why can he understand him?!"...After dinner, everyone chatted as usual, and Brook's past was brought up."Revive-Revive Fruit!""Yes!" Brook nodded."Actually, I died decades ago. The so-called Revive-Revive Fruit resurrects people from the dead!Once, I entered the Demon Sea with that large ship you saw.However, we encountered even stronger opponents, and naturally... I died!It was then that the Revive-Revive Fruit took effect. Before I died, it only made me a 'dry duck'!After death, my soul returned from the underworld to reality. Originally, if I had returned to my body in time, I should have been resurrected.But, due to the dense fog in the Florian Triangle, I... got lost!After drifting for a year, my body was reduced to just this skeleton!""So, you're considered human? No, no, that's not right, not human either! In short, you're not a monster, are you?!" Usopp held a crucifix, trembling all over."Tell me, what's the deal with you having no shadow? Is it also because of the Fruit? Don't try to fool me!" Zoro leaned his hand on the table, resting his head in his palm, and his left finger pushed his kikoku out an inch, glinting coldly."No... shadow?" Everyone looked, and instantly broke out in a cold sweat.The combatants entered battle mode.Usopp and Chopper retreated to the corner.Nami wrapped her arms around Luffy's arm... "Actually, my lack of a shadow and becoming a skeleton are two entirely different matters. It's a long story, but my shadow was... stolen!" Brooksighed, looking at Luffy as if to engrave his image in his mind."Mr. Luffy, thank you for inviting me onto your ship. But without a shadow, I can only eke out an existence in the darkness. I'm sorry, I cannot accept your offer!"At this moment, Franky stepped forward."I still... want to ask you one more question.""Please do." Brook maintained his gentlemanly demeanor."You are now a skeleton, a talking skeleton! If you go outside, you can imagine what will happen. You've been alone on this ship for decades. If it were me, I would have already committed suicide out of loneliness, but why... why were you able to persevere?" Franky asked the question that was in his heart.What allowed this man to endure decades of loneliness, clenching his teeth, and living on?Brook fell silent. After a long time, he lowered his head."A long time ago, our pirate crew left a comrade in a certain place!We promised to return there, but... not long after, we were completely wiped out!This prevented me from fulfilling my promise to him. Now that I am still alive, I have an obligation to fulfill that promise.Speaking of which, this was fifty years ago!" Brook's voice was a little melancholic, but even more so, it was filled with determination, a solemn vow to fulfill his promise!Franky's eyes widened, and intense sadness surged from his heart. "It's been 50 years, how do you know if they're still waiting for you?!""What right do I have to judge whether that comrade is no longer waiting for us?" Brook said, head bowed low. "What if it believed in our promise, then... how lonely must it be! Believing we betrayed our promise, yet still waiting with hope, what a heartbreaking feeling that must be!"Brook looked up, seeing the tear-streaked faces of Franky, Usopp, and Chopper.The rest of the crew were also silent. This time, everyone no longer feared him, nor did they harbor any hostility towards him."Mr. Luffy, may I ask you a favor? If I unfortunately... die here, please go and tell my comrade to... stop waiting!" Brook requested solemnly."My comrade, the comrade we swore to meet again at the strait, its name is — Laboon!""Laboon!!"Zoro, Sanji, Nami, and Usopp all looked at him."Are you talking about Laboon from Twin Capes?""You all?""Bang!" Luffy slammed his hand on the table. "I won't agree to such a thing. If you want to fulfill a vow, go and do it yourself!"Luffy lightly pressed his straw hat down."Come out! You've been peeking for a long time, haven't you!"Soon, a white ghost appeared."Zoro!" Luffy looked up."Hm!" Zoro quickly rushed out of the dining room, looking at the gloomy weather and the nearby Ghost Island, but he didn't see anyone."Invisibility ability? Interesting!" Red light flickered in Zoro's eyes, and the world appeared before him, stripped bare.He "saw" a leopard-headed man standing stubbornly at the bow of the ship."Quite courageous!"Zoro drew his sandai kitetsu. This time, however, it wasn't a slash, but a thrust.Zoro charged at Absalom with extreme speed, his kikoku stabbing directly into his chest!"Ah!"Even as Zoro's blade pierced Absalom's chest, he couldn't understand why he was dying!At this moment, everyone came out and saw the massive Ghost Island.Luffy still held the white negative ghost in his hand."Is he dead?" Luffy looked at Zoro."You didn't say you wanted him alive!""Never mind, if he's dead, he's dead!" Luffy looked at the ghost in his hand. "Tell Moriah that the Straw Hat Pirates officially declare war on Moonlight Moriah, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Just you wait!"Luffy crushed the ghost with one hand.He pressed his straw hat down, a smile on his face. "Comrades, no problem, right!"Everyone looked at each other and smiled. "Of course not!""Brook, after you get your shadow back, become my comrade!""Yes, Captain Luffy!"The thick fog, like cotton soaked in ink, tightly enveloped the hundred-meter-tall pitch-black mast. The rusted anchor was embedded with the remnants of a sea monster's bones, swaying in the waves with a dark, bloody hue.This was Thriller Bark!It was also a place of war!"Ding, chain quest triggered: Shichibukai Slayer,The host needs to defeat or kill individuals who are or once were candidates for the Seven Warlords of the Sea.Reward: Unknown (Can be obtained by defeating or killing a single Shichibukai, repeatable for different targets)Special Reward: Observation Haki Gift Pack (Requires consecutive defeats of current Shichibukai, completion 0/7)Current Shichibukai: Hawkeye, Kuma, Empress, Heavenly Yaksha, Blackbeard, Sea Knight, Moonlight!"