Somewhere in the waters of Thriller Bark.
Amid the dense fog, a pirate ship with a rotten, cracked hull and sails hanging like rags drifted with the waves.
"Yohohoho..."
A burst of laughter rang out above the wrecked ship.
On the ship's cracked and broken deck stood a table and chairs.
A skeleton man with an afro, dressed in a black gentleman's suit, sat at the table.
His clearly visible pale finger bones cradled a chipped teacup that gave off wisps of steam. He looked quite leisurely.
The laughter spreading through the dense fog came from him.
"Yohohoho, another pleasant evening."
The skeleton man raised the teacup and took a small sip. He then tilted his head back and looked at the drifting fog above, as if he could see the orange-red sky beyond it.
The waters of Thriller Bark were shrouded in dense fog year-round. It was difficult to see even a ray of sunlight, let alone the clear sky.
In such an environment, there was no way to keep track of the time of day by watching the sky change.
If one stayed there for too long, one's perception of time would gradually become distorted.
But this skeleton man was clearly unaffected.
Because in that lonely environment, where each day felt as long as a year, he could only relieve his loneliness by counting the seconds.
He had done so every day for nearly fifty years.
"Yohohoho..."
The afro-haired skeleton man slowly rose with the teacup in his hands and walked to the ship's side. He gazed into the fog ahead while drinking his hot tea.
Even after the hot tea in the cup ran dry, the skeleton man continued silently staring into the fog.
There was only darkness and emptiness in his eye sockets, making it impossible