The Lonely Man Reclaims His Shadow

"Yo ho ho, everyone!"

On the Sunny Merry, the skull with the afro removed his hat and introduced himself to everyone.

"I am Brook, now just a skeleton. Nice to meet you!"

"Why did you bring a skeleton back?!" X4

Seeing the astonished crowd, Luffy replied with a grin, "How was it? Fun, right? I pulled him onto the ship!"

"Get on the ship?"

Zoro frowned. Luffy the crew" meant "becoming a member"! But:

"I won't allow it!"

The Straw Hat crew's friendship has been forged in blood and fire! Even Franky, who just joined, owes his friendship to Franky for guiding and saving Robin on Enies Lobby, and for building the Thousand Sunny while simultaneously saving Merry! Now, just anyone...

"Roman, why don't you keep an eye on Luffy?"

"Don't panic,"

Seeing Zoro's dissatisfaction, Roman waved his hand, "You have to trust Luffy's judgment, and—"

"Do you think Luffy would listen to others in something like this?"

Luffy never pulls people randomly; it's because he 'heard' Brook's inner thoughts.

Simply put, Luffy's Observation Haki sensed Brook's decades of 'loneliness' and his longing for his crew, which is why Luffy so decisively invited him.

"This restaurant is so beautiful, and so is the kitchen!"

After sitting down with everyone in the dining room of the Golden Merry, Brook talked non-stop, as if nothing else could express his excitement.

"This ship is amazing, wow!"

"Certainly,"

Franky felt honored to hear someone praise his masterpiece.

"You have a good eye; after all, I built this absolutely amazing ship!"

"Hey, Franky, don't fall for his flattery."

Sanji maintains a high level of vigilance towards strangers of unknown origin—provided, of course, that the other person isn't a beautiful woman.

"Ho ho ho, I haven't eaten in decades, I'm so hungry my stomach is practically sticking to my back—"

"Even though I'm just bones now, with no skin left on my chest and back~~~"

"Hahaha, this is so funny!"

Of course, only Luffy could laugh so brightly at a skeleton's lame joke. At least everyone else looked like they 'didn't know what expression to use, so they could only smile.'

Roman, however, somewhat understood him. All his companions had died before his eyes, and he'd been trapped here alone for decades. —It's a testament to Brook's strong will that he hadn't gone mad! Even so, he was just wasting his life lost in memories...

Without pressure, it's impossible for someone to become strong simply by being lazy.

It's actually a 'lucky thing' that Moria took away Brook's shadow, at least it can distract Brook and give him something to do.

"Oh, right, Krubb—"

"My name is Brook..."

"Then, may I ask your honorable name?"

"I'm Luffy, this is Roman, Zoro..."

"You don't even know each other's names?"

Zoro is furious!

So you're taking people on board like this? How are we old folks supposed to feel?

"Don't panic," Roman calmly stopped Zoro. Luffy's innate Observation Haki allows him to distinguish who is an enemy, who is a friend, and who is... a partner.

"Let's talk about it after we finish eating."

"Hey, hey, hey, it's one thing for a skeleton like you to be able to eat," Sanji glanced at Brook on the table with displeasure, "But why are you eating so messily?"

—That's simple, because Brook really hasn't eaten in decades.

Although he drinks tea from an empty cup every day, eating is a very distant memory for Brook, so distant that he gets food all over himself like a child.

"Never mind, Sanji."

Roman tapped the table, and a stack of napkins automatically flew to everyone.

"Let's talk about something else, like Brook's identity—"

Splash~~

A Bounty Poster appeared in Roman's hand. Of course, Roman had 'drawn' the Bounty Poster himself. Although it was certainly different from the real Bounty Poster, no one present would point out the mistake.

"Acting Captain of the Rumbar Pirates: Brook".

In Roman's hand was a Bounty Poster for a man with an afro and small round sunglasses. His signature top hat, afro, and tuxedo all spoke volumes:

"This is... Brook's Bounty Poster?"

"Yes," Roman pointed below, "A bounty of 33 million Beli."

"Of course, that was 3,300 fifty years ago. It would be worth at least double today."

Who made inflation so severe in this world? Crocodile only had 81 million Beli back then, but how many of the pirates in the New World with hundreds of millions of Berries dared to tremble in front of Crocodile?

"Oh ho ho, so someone still remembers my name. I am truly grateful."

"Unfortunately, I am already dead. This is Bounty Poster I issued decades ago."

Brook looked at his 'portrait' and sighed deeply.

"My crew and I fought a fierce battle here, and we all died from poisoning. But because I ate the 'Revive-Revive Fruit,' my soul returned from the Yellow Springs and I was given a second life. — As a result, I got lost in these waters, and when my soul found its way back to its body, it had become like this..."

"Zoro, he's just like you~~"

"What did you say?!"

"So it really is Devil Fruit... Wait a minute!!"

Nami suddenly realized what was happening and looked at the skeletal man with the afro in disbelief. "You're from the Rumbar Pirates?!"

"Absolutely true—"

"It's the Rumbar Pirates that Laboon waited fifty years for!?"

?!

"Labu..."

The familiar name made Brook stand up abruptly. The reason he hadn't gone mad or fulfilled his promise to Raab was his motivation to live!

"You... have seen... Rabu?"

Facing the trembling Brook, Luffy patted his belly.

"Of course, there's Labu, whom we encountered at Twin Cape. He was ramming into the Red Line every day, and he almost sank us all!"

"Oh right, we also met Uncle Croccus inside Laboon's stomach! I even fought with Laboon..."

"Yeah?"

Brook stood up, her head bowed, her voice sincere despite her slightly trembling body.

"Thank you, thank you all!"

The Rumbar Pirates have been wiped out. Brook's only remaining connection to the world is Laboon, the whale who once sailed the Grand Line with them. After all these years, how could he not long to return and see his last comrade? But:

Is Laboon still alive? Is Croccus of Twin Cape still alive? They made a promise to meet again after circumnavigating the world, and carrying the last wishes of the entire pirate crew, how could they possibly slink back on their path...?

Tick-tock, tick-tock,

"Hey, hey, hey? Brook, you're crying!"

"Ah, sorry," Brook wiped away the tears from his empty eyes and looked up at the young pirates in front of him.

"I want to say thank you again: Thank you, thank you so much~~"

"Not only have I encountered living people today, but I've also been invited to a feast," Brook straightened his top hat. "I have no way to repay you, so please leave this area as soon as possible."

?

"There's a guy here hunting other people's shadows! Very dangerous..."

Picking up his cane, now that he knew Laboon was still waiting for his news, Brook resolved not to give up. He had to reclaim his shadow, then travel around the world to fulfill his promise to Laboon!

Brook looked at Luffy, remembering how Luffy had invited him to join his crew.

"I regret to decline your invitation."

"Why--"

"Because my shadow has been stolen, I cannot appear in the sunlight, or I will vanish into thin air. — Therefore, I cannot be your companion."

Why are you being so formal?

Luffy stood up anxiously.

"Who stole your shadow? We'll help you take it back!"

······

"You're such a good person, but I can't let you all get hurt—"

Boom!

Just then, the Sunny Merry suddenly shuddered, causing everyone to instinctively look in the direction of the ship.

"Roman?"

"Ah, don't panic." Roman waved his hand. "It's just that 'someone' invited us to their house."

??

Brush--

Brook was the first to rush out of the cabin at an extremely fast speed, and the rest of the Straw Hat crew followed immediately. What they saw was an island!

crumbling walls, old trees, and crows in the twilight; in the distance, a cluster of Gothic buildings can be seen! Everything is shrouded in mist, appearing and disappearing like a real haunted house, or a dark fairy tale.

"Where am I... Oh no!"

Behind everyone's boat was a slowly closing 'giant mouth'—or rather, a giant valve; the tremors just now were caused by the closing of the 'wall' outside the island, creating waves.

The Sunny Merry is stuck here!

"Turn around quickly and try to blast open the valve at the back to get out!"

Brook looked at the eerie island, a fighting spirit igniting in his empty skull eye sockets.

"I'll go hold them off—"

Snap,

A hand landed on his shoulder, startling Brook! Roman's calm voice sounded behind him.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is the lair of the Shichibukai 'Gecko Moria'."

?!

"What? Another Shichibukai!"

The other members of the Straw Hat crew frowned. Were these Shichibukai worthless? They'd encountered a second one in such a short time...

"Gecko Moria, the Devil Fruit user, is likely the one who stole Brook's shadow. So—"

Roman placed one hand on Brook's shoulder to 'keep' him there, while pointing his thumb backward with the other.

"Don't underestimate my captain,"

Behind him was Luffy, eager to Luffy!

"Just a Shichibukai. —Don't you think so, Luffy?"

"Certainly,"

"Brook! I'll help you get your shadow back! — And then you'll be our partner."

"You·······"

"Alright," Roman waved his hand, and with a clatter, a white table appeared on the deck, on which was a miniature model of a forest of buildings in the distance!

"Come on, let's start the Moria dungeon! I'll be explaining the speedrun strategy~~~"

??? X9