A Mysterious Organization?

"What if there's a special Den Den Mushi left behind by a mysterious organization, with all sorts of powerful people of unknown identities uncovering the secrets of this world?"

Brook tempted the young Golden Lion Shiki.

"I got it from a ghost ship in the Florian Triangle. You almost never see this kind of Den Den Mushi, and it only eats certain kinds of leaves. The powerful people inside are all anonymous, so there's no way to know who they are."

"Something like that exists? But if they're so powerful, why hide their identities?"

Golden Lion Shiki asked suspiciously. He felt Brook was trying to pull one over on him.

"Take a look for yourself."

Brook handed Shiki a Mobile Den Den Mushi. Luckily, he had already deleted the test messages. He'd also used several Mobile Den Den Mushi to role-play with Shakky and Antonio, leaving them so stunned they hadn't dared to say a word.

Golden Lion Shiki curiously examined the Mobile Den Den Mushi Brook had handed him. It was indeed a variety he'd never seen before.

"This Den Den Mushi seems to be able to send text messages, but not make calls."

Brook explained that although Mobile Den Den Mushi could make calls, for now, the newcomers could only use the text-chat function.

Shiki picked up the Mobile Den Den Mushi and looked at the messages on its screen.

[No. 5: That old bastard Imu was looking for my real identity again today.]

[No. 49: Hey, what is this thing?]

[No. 33: There's a newcomer? You don't even know who Imu is? He's the king of the Celestial Dragons, a terrifying figure even the Five Elders have to kneel before!]

[No. 9: Imu has lived from eight hundred years ago all the way to the present. He's the King of the World. If he sets his sights on you, even a pirate overlord is doomed! He just doesn't bother with them because of his strength.]

[No. 49: What? There's someone that terrifying in this world? He's lived for eight hundred years?]

[No. 35: By the way, who are you, No. 49? Are you famous on the seas?]

[No. 8: No. 49, whatever you do, don't reveal your identity. No. 44 kept bragging the other day that he'd been a great pirate with a bounty of 1.5 billion ten years ago. Now he's mysteriously disappeared. Think carefully about how strong you are. There are plenty of terrifying figures hiding in this world, trying to escape Imu's pursuit!]

After reading the messages, Golden Lion Shiki couldn't help but feel a jolt of alarm. Someone with a bounty of 1.5 billion had simply vanished?

Shiki, who was only in his twenties, hurriedly tried to scroll through the messages and look at the chat history, but the Mobile Den Den Mushi quickly went dark.

"What happened?" Shiki anxiously looked at Brook.

"These Den Den Mushi use a lot of energy. They can only stay lit for half an hour a day. To keep them going longer, you have to feed them leaves from Treasure Tree Adam or Sun Tree Eve. For now, I'm only feeding them Yarukiman Mangrove leaves.

"So, do you want one? I only have two."

"Brook, do you think any of this is true? It sounds a little unbelievable!"

After his initial shock, Golden Lion Shiki calmed down and thought it over.

"Who cares if it's true? As long as we don't reveal our identities, we'll be safe."

Brook reassured the Supernova, worried he might have trouble accepting it all at once.

"That's true. Then I can use it to ask around for information, too."

Shiki immediately took the Mobile Den Den Mushi and carefully examined the little creature, now dormant. He was already planning to find leaves from Yarukiman Mangrove or Sun Tree Eve.

"Brook, don't you have another Den Den Mushi? What number are you?"

Shiki looked curious. He'd guessed Brook must know the number of the Den Den Mushi he'd given him, and wanted to know Brook's number, too.

"I'm No. 18."

In front of Golden Lion Shiki, Brook took out his Mobile Den Den Mushi and started typing, demonstrating how it worked.

[No. 18: Do you think this year's Supernova, Golden Lion Shiki, has the potential to become a top-tier powerhouse?]

Brook sent the message, but no one replied right away. After showing it to Shiki, he put it away. There was no one chatting right now; they were all just his own alternate accounts.

That made Golden Lion even more eager to hear what these anonymous powerhouses thought of him. He was arrogant, but he still wanted to know what they thought.

"Brook, I'm going to find the leaves this Mobile Den Den Mushi eats right now. Let's call it a day. Thanks for the Den Den Mushi. I hope you really do become one of my crew someday."

Golden Lion Shiki immediately led his subordinates off to find leaves from Yarukiman Mangrove and Sun Tree Eve.

"Captain Brook, you really managed to fool Golden Lion Shiki?"

Shakky stared at the scene in disbelief. She'd watched Brook stage the conversation himself and thought he was being ridiculous.

"Do you think Imu is made up?"

Brook looked at Shakky's irreverent smile without turning around, his expression flat.

"Wait, he's real? Someone's really lived for eight hundred years?"

Shakky's eyes widened. When Brook gave a slight nod, her mouth fell open. She couldn't believe it.

"Come on, let's head back. You've gotten your wish of meeting Head of the Supernovas Golden Lion Shiki."

Brook strode ahead, and Shakky hurried after him.

On the way, Brook considered how to warn people who were about to reveal their identities. He was already planning to have Moore Thomas's Seagull News Birds deliver these Mobile Den Den Mushi to specific people along with the newspapers.

But everything had to be done gradually. The most important thing was to get stronger himself.

Brook and Shakky returned to the World Economic News Agency headquarters. Antonio was still talking with the Den Den Mushi, getting to know them better.

"Antonio, record Golden Lion Shiki as No. 36, and leave the first twenty numbers open. I need to be able to change the prefix on my No. 18 whenever I want. From now on, try not to talk about this in front of the others."

Brook gave instructions to the two crewmates who knew the secret.

"Understood, Captain. I'll make sure No. 18 knows. You'll have to feed it plenty of good stuff from now on!"

Antonio immediately passed along Brook's instructions and spoke with the No. 18 Mobile Den Den Mushi. In the end, they reached an understanding.

Brook went to find Moore Thomas and asked him to locate a few pirate crews, to see if the newspaper-delivery seagulls could find them and bring them Mobile Den Den Mushi while they were at it.

Moore Thomas readily agreed. Brook was already on his side, so of course he would do his best to help and meet his requests.

Looking at the familiar names on the list, Brook smiled to himself. Perhaps he could make some of them his companions.

The Marine Branch had also captured images of the battle between Supernova Golden Lion Shiki and Humming Brook, as well as a photo of Bloody Fist Scaledo losing to Brook.