Xi Yan's Guess, Powerful Devil Fruit Power!

Zoro was dumbfounded when he saw Luffy and his crew bring back a living skeleton.

Weren't we just going to check on things? Why did we bring this guy back?

"Yo-ho-ho-ho~" Brook laughed loudly, "Hello everyone, I'm Brook, all that's left of me is skin and bones, nice to meet you all~"

"Are you kidding me?! What on earth is this thing?!" X3

"Yohohohoho~"

"Hey, hey, hey, what have you three been up to?" Zoro asked Xi Yan three of them, "Why Luffy bring it back?"

"Sorry..."

"Haha, isn't this great?" Xi Yan laughed. "Anyway, our pirate crew is pretty strange to begin with."

"Strangeness?"

"Reindeer Man, Ship Spirit, pervert, lecher..."

"Hello!"

Sanji immediately rushed in front of Xi Yan, opened his shark mouth and roared, "You're not talking about me, are you?!"

Why did you even glance at him when he said the word "pervert," you bastard?!

"Hmph, this Color Cook is quite self-aware, isn't he?" Zoro mocked.

"You bastard, what did you say, you Green Algae Head?!"

"I'm telling you, you're a pervert!"

"You bastard, take this!"

Enraged Sanji immediately charged at Zoro, and the two began fighting on the deck, leaving Brook completely stunned.

"Yo-ho-ho-ho, is this some kind of special welcoming ceremony?"

"Hmm..." Xi Yan said with a complicated expression, "Just take it that way."

"That's really enthusiastic."

"Who's being enthusiastic?!" X2

The two, who spoke in perfect unison, exchanged a glance, then snorted coldly and distanced themselves.

"Oh my, look closely, there's a beautiful lady here!" Brook cleared his throat and walked up to Nico Robin, saying, "Could I please admire your plumpness...?"

"Shut up, you skeleton bastard!"

Nami punched Brook in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground.

"Yo ho ho ho, still as feisty as ever~"

"Oh, there's a beautiful little girl here?" Brook looked at the somewhat frightened Merry and immediately gave her a 'kind' smile.

Merry:...

Is this guy laughing?

"Hello..."

Nami's fist hardened again.

"Hehehe, I won't ask that, don't worry," Brook said with a grin as he got up.

"Hahaha, Brook is really funny," Luffy said with a loud laugh.

"So you're really not a ghost?" Usopp, dressed in exorcism attire, cautiously approached Brook, pointing the crucifix in his hand at him.

"Wow!"

Chopper's eyes lit up immediately. "This is the exorcist master's equipment? So cool!"

"Of course I'm not a ghost, I'm terrified of ghosts," Brook said, feigning fear. "Encountering a ghost while wandering the seas is a truly terrifying thing."

"Isn't it a ghost...?"

"This thing has a physical form, so there's nothing to be afraid of."

Xi Yan walked over and patted Brook's skeleton without any hesitation.

Brook didn't resist, letting Xi Yan's hand pat her body as if they were old friends who had known each other for many years.

Clearly, Brook enjoys being around people.

"So it really was a skeleton...?"

Usopp's fear had lessened considerably; at least he could fight something tangible.

"Are you Ship Spirit?" Merry asked curiously.

"Ship Spirit?"

Brook was visibly taken aback, then asked in surprise, "Why would you ask that?"

As they spoke, Brook noticed something unusual about Merry; the little girl's ears were noticeably pointed, somewhat resembling those of elves in Romance Novel.

Could it be... that this little girl is an elf?

"Franky said that Ship Spirit might be born in the Thriller Bark," Merry said, stepping out from behind Nico Robin. "And those Ship Spirit can't leave this place, it's so pitiful..."

"So I want to free them."

"Is there really such a thing?" Brook asked in surprise. "I'm sorry, I'm not a Ship Spirit, and in the decades I've wandered this sea, I've never seen Ship Spirit."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, beautiful little girl."

"I see..." Merry lowered her head, somewhat disappointed, and said, "I understand."

She thought she had met someone like herself. Even though the other person looked strange, she wouldn't mind being friends with them if they were Ship Spirit.

That's not the case... I'm actually quite disappointed.

Seeing Merry's expression, Brook said, "Think about it carefully, isn't it a good thing that no Ship Spirit is trapped here?"

"That's true." Xi Yan nodded and said, "Otherwise, if it were born here, it would be questionable whether it could even get out."

It finally managed to take physical form, but it was unable to escape this terrifying Thriller Bark and could only wait to die alone.

How cruel is this?

"Besides, the birth of Ship Spirit isn't so easy," Franky said. "At least so far, I've only seen one: Merry."

"To be precise, there are only some legends about Ship Spirit," Nico Robin added.

She didn't know when the previous generation of Ship Spirit was born, but at least in the last hundred years, there had only been one Ship Spirit, Merry.

Merry blinked, and it seemed to be true; it was actually a good thing that no Ship Spirit were trapped here.

Thinking about this, the little guy became noticeably more cheerful.

"Is this little girl the Ship Spirit?" Brook said. "I've really learned something new."

Having lived this long, this was the first time he had ever seen a legendary Ship Spirit, and it was... unexpectedly adorable.

"We've learned quite a bit from you," Sanji remarked.

"So, this guy is our partner now?" Zoro frowned.

"That's right, I've already brought him on board!"

"Luffy..."

"Hahaha, aren't we all getting along quite well?" Luffy said with a loud laugh.

Usopp:...

Where was the enjoyment? He was being intimidated the whole time, okay? He didn't experience any joy at all.

"Ah, everyone, it's dinnertime now, isn't it?" Brook said casually as he walked to the cabin door. "Let's enjoy our meal together!"

"Who gave you the right to make that decision, you bastard!"

"But I'm hungry, yay!"

Hearing Brook say that, Sanji took a drag of his cigarette and said, "Then let's wait and see."

Although this skeleton bastard looked rather strange, he genuinely couldn't bear to see anyone go hungry, even if they were a skeleton.

"Yohohoho, thank you so much, Head Chef~"

Meanwhile, the ghosts created by Perona using her Devil Fruit powers were hovering above the Thousand Sunny, silently watching the group below.

"This skeleton monster talks just like Ryuma," Perona wondered. "Could Ryuma's shadow come from him?"

Although she didn't know why the skeleton was moving, it didn't stop her from doing what she was supposed to do.

She called out to the zombie piloting the boat, instructing it to bring the entire island over, before controlling the Little Ghost to fly downwards.

After entering the restaurant, he lurked in a corner, silently observing the group, waiting for their pirate ship to fall into his trap.

"Yo-ho-ho, it's so great to meet you all!" Brook exclaimed happily. "This is the happiest I've been in decades."

"I really enjoyed the meal, thank you head chef!"

"Haha, whatever makes you happy," Luffy laughed.

Sanji smiled too; it was something to be happy about that his cooking had been recognized.

"By the way, may I ask your name?"

"Me?" Luffy grinned, showing his teeth, "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

"The Pirate King, huh?" Brook said with a smile. "That's quite an ambitious goal; no one has ever achieved it yet."

"Huh?"

"Brook, don't you know Pirate King Roger?"

Roger?

Brook paused for a moment upon hearing the name, then lowered her head and thought for a second before saying, "Back then, there seemed to be a newcomer like this... I don't remember clearly."

"Has this person become the Pirate King? It seems a lot has happened in the last few decades."

Unexpectedly, a Pirate King has appeared in these decades, and it's even Roger, whom I only occasionally heard about back then. This really surprised Brook.

"A new..." Zoro looked at Brook in disbelief and said, "Roger is a newcomer in your eyes?"

"You must have some kind of impressive background," Xi Yan said, also surprised.

Pirate King Roger Pirate King who shocked the entire world, was actually just a rookie in Brook's eyes?

Was this guy a top-tier expert before he died?

If that's really the case, then they've truly struck gold this time.

"What do you mean by 'great background'? I'm just an ordinary musician," Brook said with a smile. "But before becoming a pirate, I was indeed the captain of a country's Guard Team."

"Then why did you become a pirate?"

"It's a long story..." Brook said with some melancholy, "Anyway, after serving as the captain of the Guard Team for a while, I went out to sea with my companions."

Seeing that Brook didn't seem inclined to elaborate, the others didn't press further. After all, everyone has a past they're hesitant to discuss.

As partners, sometimes it's best not to pry too much; even Luffy understands this.

"Then how did you become a skeleton?" Merry asked curiously. "Shouldn't ordinary people have this ability?"

"Could it be because of... Devil Fruit ability?"

"Yes, you're right." Brook glanced at Usopp and said, "I survived because of the power of the Devil Fruit."

"This is an ability called the Revive-Revive Fruit)!"

"The Revive-Revive Fruit?"

Xi Yan clearly showed surprise; the name of this Devil Fruit sounded quite intimidating.

Brook's ability to exist in skeletal form is likely due to the fact that his Devil Fruit involves the power of resurrection.

"That's right, it's the Revive-Revive Fruit!"

"Oh, excuse me, let me wipe my face first."

Brook, his face covered in food, took out a white napkin and elegantly wiped the food off his face.

"It's white..."

Franky stared dumbfounded at what Brook was holding. How could this guy, who had been wandering the seas for so long, still have such a white napkin?

"Life needs a sense of ritual," Brook said with a smile. "Otherwise, I'll go crazy."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

The skeleton just said that he hadn't seen a living person in a long time, which means he had spent a long time alone.

It's hard to imagine how he managed to persevere and not go insane.

After neatly folding the napkin, Brook continued, "Decades ago, my companions and I entered this Thriller Bark and encountered an incredibly powerful enemy."

"We won after a bloody battle, but due to poisoning, everyone died that day."

"What I didn't expect was that this Devil Fruit, which had no other use besides making me unable to swim, would actually unleash amazing power at this moment!"

"The power of the demons has summoned my soul back from the underworld. As long as it can return to my body, I can be resurrected!"

"Then why are you in a skeleton form?" Sanji asked, puzzled.

It can't be that this guy likes being a skeleton, so he was resurrected in this way.

However, Sanji stated that he cannot communicate about this hobby, and that without a physical body, he would lose the meaning of living.

"Because we're in this area of the sea," Brook sighed. "It's never sunny, always shrouded in fog, making it impossible to tell directions, let alone find a pirate ship."

"I wandered the ocean for over a year before finally finding my body, but... by then, I had become a skeleton."

"I was so shocked my eyes practically popped out, even though I don't have eyeballs, yay!"

"What a shocking turn of events," Franky said. "Is this the power of Devil Fruit?"

"Even the dead can be resurrected..." Xi Yan said, stroking his chin. "Then does that mean there's also the ability to make people immortal?"

"How could that be, you idiot!"

"Hey, what if there is?" Xi Yan grinned and said, "There are even Devil Fruit can revive people, so why can't there be a fruit that can grant people longevity?"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

"Don't think about that," Nico Robin said. "Even if we did, the World Government would take it away."

Those guys living in the Holy Land Mariejois wouldn't possibly let go of such Devil Fruit, so Nico Robin felt the chances of her having one were slim.

"I don't care about longevity," Sanji suddenly said. "I actually want another Devil Fruit."

"Oh?"

What is it?

Xi Yan looked at Sanji curiously, not expecting that this guy also wanted to eat Devil Fruit. Didn't this guy really like swimming?

"Hey~" Sanji gave a thumbs up, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and said, "The Transparent Fruit!"

Nami:!!!

"Bump!"

"Go to hell, you bastard!"

Nami punched Sanji squarely on the head, knocking him to the ground without mercy.

"Nami-chan's punches are so fast..."

Lying on the Sanji, Xi Yan had told him earlier: perhaps Nami really does possess magical powers.

At least when you're hitting him, you can't dodge it.

Looking at Sanji lying on the ground, Nami opened her shark mouth and roared, "You bastard, I absolutely cannot let you eat this kind of fruit!"

"How could this be..." Sanji said pitifully at first, then said with a determined look, "No way, even if it means death, I'm going to eat it!"

Seeing how determined Sanji was, Nami was really intimidated.

"You bastard, do you have some other reason for eating this Devil Fruit?"

Sanji paused for a moment upon hearing this, then loudly proclaimed, "Of course not! I ate this fruit so I could openly go to the women's bath..."

"Bump!"

"Go to hell, you bastard!"