The Golden Lion's Secret Weapon, a Plant Called 'IQ'
Comments expressing curiosity about Brook immediately popped up on the screen. {Huh! I only just noticed, when did the Straw Hat Luffy Pirates get another member?!}
{This guy looks so strange! He's nothing but bones. Do the Straw Hat Luffy Pirates pick their members based on how weird they are?}
{Why can a skeleton move? Could he be a Devil Fruit User?}
{Huh! Some words seem to be appearing beneath him. Straw Hat Luffy Pirates, musician—Brook. Hey! What does a pirate crew need a musician for? This is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing!}
{...}
{...}
{Mamamama, I really like this guy. I'm going to add him to my rare-creature collection. None of you had better try to take him from me,} Big Mom said greedily.
{Worororo, Linlin, then you can have this guy! I'll take that Chopper from the Straw Hat Luffy Pirates!} Kaido declared, dividing them up.
{Mamamama, Kaido, don't think you can bargain with me. They're all mine, and I won't give you a single one,} Big Mom said overbearingly.
{Worororo, Linlin, in that case, may the best one win!} Kaido retorted, refusing to back down.
In the New World, aboard the Red Force.
"Hahaha, Luffy, you really did find a musician. That's wonderful! When I see him someday, I can invite him to sing 'Binks' Sake' with us!"
"Yohohoho, bringing Binks' Sake to you."
"As free as the sea breeze, riding the wind and waves."
"..."
"..."
Listening to the crew singing around him, Shanks couldn't help humming along. "I really want to see you soon, Luffy."
Somewhere on the Grand Line, aboard the Thousand Sunny.
"Ah! One of the Four Emperors has their eye on me too! How terrifying! My heart's about to leap out of my chest! Oh! Wait, I don't have a heart anymore! Yohohoho." Brook appeared to panic, but calmly delivered one of his signature skeleton jokes.
"All right, all right! We get it!" Chopper and Usopp waved their hands.
The others watched him with calm expressions too, as though they had long since gotten used to his antics. Besides, they already had so many troubles that a few more made no difference. Even if a few more of the Four Emperors set their sights on them, it would be much the same!
"Everyone's so cold! Yohohoho." Brook wasn't embarrassed and gave a laugh.
"Quiet, Brook. I'm looking for Nami-san. I still haven't seen her anywhere, and I'm so worried about her!" Sanji stared at the video on the screen, his eyes darting back and forth like a laser scanner, not missing a single detail in the footage.
"Uh, I'm right here, Sanji-kun," Nami's exasperated voice came from behind him.
At that moment, the video finally showed Nami.
Right off the bat, she gave gentlemen everywhere quite a feast for the eyes.
She was standing beside a tree in a swimsuit, thinking about something unknown.
Suddenly, a fart-like sound came from behind her.
A strangely dressed man carrying a birdcage approached the Golden Lion and a gorilla. Inside the cage was an unidentified bird that resembled a duck. "Lord Shiki, a new evolutionary form has appeared!"
With that, he set the cage down in front of the Golden Lion.
His introduction immediately appeared as well: Flying Pirates, ship's doctor and vice captain—Indigo.
The moment the Golden Lion saw the unidentified bird in the cage, he blurted out, "Is that a guitar?"
As soon as he said it, Indigo mocked him, and the two men and the gorilla struck poses right in front of Nami.
Just then, the cage opened, and the bird flew out and landed on their heads. It instantly released a powerful electric current, electrocuting the man and the gorilla and leaving them sprawled on the ground. Only the Golden Lion was spared.
The Golden Lion immediately cursed at it, grabbed it, and hurled it away.
The bird looked at the Golden Lion pitifully, and Nami ran over to shield it behind her.
The Golden Lion immediately asked Indigo, who was lying on the ground, if this was what he called evolution.
Indigo replied that it was: the bird had enhanced its electric shock ability.
Their conversation piqued Nami's curiosity, and she asked them what evolution was.
Only then did the Golden Lion realize he hadn't told Nami why he had stayed on the island.
So, as a token of goodwill to get Nami to join them, he told her that tens of thousands of animal species on the island they were currently on had undergone unprecedented evolution.
The cause of their evolution was a plant called IQ.
It could stimulate animals' brains, causing them to undergo various kinds of evolution in different environments.
After learning this, he had seized the islands, claimed the plant for himself, and begun researching it.
After twenty years of research, they had finally used IQ to develop a new drug—SIQ.
Injecting it into animals would cause them to evolve for combat. It could also awaken the beastly nature hidden deep within them, making them even more ferocious.
Nami was appalled by the cruelty and demanded to know why they were doing this.
The Golden Lion didn't tell her then and there. He would only do so if she joined them and became his partner, which Nami immediately and vehemently refused.
Before she could finish speaking, however, the Golden Lion silenced her with a glare. His face darkened as he said, "You will. One day, you'll beg me to let you join us of your own accord. Then I'll tell you everything. Partners grant each other's every request, don't they? Jiehahaha." At that, the Golden Lion laughed triumphantly.
The gorilla standing behind him immediately began beating its chest and stamping its feet, as though trying to express something.
Indigo understood what it meant: it wanted the Golden Lion to give Nami to it. Indigo immediately gave it a thorough scolding.
But no sooner had he finished speaking than the Golden Lion suddenly turned around, looking startled. "You scared me! I thought my grandma was here?!"
Indigo immediately gave him a chop on the head and retorted, "Just how much gorilla blood do you have in you?!"
With that, he, the Golden Lion, and the gorilla immediately struck poses.
Nami ignored the three idiots and walked straight to the window. She gazed worriedly at the island outside, where snow was falling thickly. A complicated look appeared in her eyes, as though she were thinking about something.