'Right Hand of the Pirate King' Appears

"Yohohoho..."

Brook let out a sinister, eerie laugh, as if satisfied with Yaen's answer.

However, before Brook's laughter had even faded, Yaen's tone suddenly grew stern. Rarely did he speak with such authority as he shouted,

"But, Skull Emperor, you'd better behave yourself. Even if you've obtained the title of Shichibukai and possess countless privileges, I'll keep a close eye on your every move. I absolutely won't allow you to use that identity to disrupt the peace of the seas!"

The empty eye sockets of Brook's skull, which had no expression whatsoever, stared straight at Yaen as he spoke in a sinister, low voice.

"Yohohoho, if you can do it, then give it a try, Cherry Blossom Dragon."

"Don't try to provoke justice. You'll regret it!"

Yaen refused to back down as he replied, his gaze fixed firmly on Brook.

Then, Yaen lightly waved a hand behind him, ordering two subordinates to take the chains binding "Ace" from Brook.

However, at that moment, something unexpected suddenly happened.

One of the Marines accidentally touched the black mist emanating from Brook's body. Amid a roar and a scream that rapidly weakened, the Marine, who had originally been no more than a young man, quickly aged...

In the time it took to draw a single breath, that Marine had already aged until he was almost indistinguishable from a centenarian.

Seeing this, Kuzan and Borsalino both narrowed their eyes slightly, while Yaen angrily shouted, "Skull Emperor, what are you trying to do?"

Brook answered with a sinister laugh. "Yohohoho, this has nothing to do with me. He touched my ability himself."

"Undo your ability!" Yaen shouted.

"That's impossible. Anything that approaches me will rapidly and irreversibly age," Brook said.

"You bastard..."

Yaen clenched his fists tightly, and the atmosphere instantly became extremely tense.

Suddenly,