The two pirate ships sailed toward each other, quickly drawing near.
"You're not even trying to run? Are you looking to join me? Mwahahaha!"
Smog Emi said smugly. Though his pirate crew was infamous, it was also a powerful force in its own right. It wasn't impossible that some like-minded pirates would come seeking to join them.
"You don't need to get involved. Stay on the ship!"
When the two ships were nearly alongside each other, Brook instructed Shakky and Antonio, then leaped alone onto the Smokescreen Pirates' ship.
"You actually dare to come aboard! You must have a death wish!"
Smog Emi and his underlings had been eagerly preparing to attack, but they hadn't expected the man from the other ship to jump aboard theirs. The way he'd drawn his sword made it clear he wasn't here to join them. He was here to invade.
"Captain Emi, I think that's Brook the Avenger. His bounty is one hundred and twenty million now!"
A crew officer who liked to keep track of wanted posters recognized Brook at once.
"So you're a pirate, too. Brook, we've always stayed out of each other's way. Why have you come looking for us?"
Smog Emi watched the pirate of equal standing warily, but he was already releasing his knockout gas with every breath.
"To get some practice—and to rob you!"
Brook had drawn his sword. Chilling air swirled around him as he entered his Underworld Ghost Body state, and white frost began to form beneath his feet. Even as he spoke, his breath came out in icy clouds.
"Hmph, Brook, you're pretty confident in yourself! I bet you're already starting to feel sleepy, aren't you? You were exposed to my smokescreen the moment you came aboard. Mwahahaha!"
Smog Emi watched Brook smugly, waiting for him to pass out. Then he could do whatever he pleased.
Underworld Ghost Qi: Frozen Path!
Brook thrust his sword into the deck, forming a broad sheet of ice. Underworld Ghost Qi spread through the crew, freezing the underlings' feet in place. Emi was so frightened that he backed away and jumped onto the railing.
Underworld Ghost Qi: Golden Capital Quick Blade Slash!
The underlings looked at Brook as if he were the Grim Reaper. Their bodies stiffened instinctively, and their defenses slackened. Brook burst forward in an instant. The men fell onto the frozen deck, their wounds icing over as they entered a deathlike frozen state.
"Impossible! How can you be so strong?!"
Smog Emi was horrified. Had his crew really been taken out in an instant? Was Brook a Logia user with the Ice-Ice Fruit? And why hadn't Emi's smokescreen knocked him out?
"Captain Brook is incredible!"
Shakky and Antonio cheered excitedly. It seemed that even this Supernova pirate crew was no match for their captain. Meanwhile, Memory Seahorse had already begun drooling at the thought of all those delicious memories.
"Stop hiding and give me a proper fight, Supernova!"
Underworld Ghost Qi: Blizzard Slash!
Brook continued chasing Smog Emi as he dodged all around. Emi narrowly evaded each strike. It seemed he had nothing but his Devil Fruit ability and a knack for dodging.
"Brook, I give up! Please let me go this once. I'll never mess with you again!"
The deck was already filled with Emi's smokescreen, yet it had no effect on Brook at all. Emi chose to surrender, or Brook would eventually cut him down.
"Being a pirate isn't child's play. Besides, I can't stand the sight of you!"
Brook could see that Emi was the kind of vile pirate who slaughtered innocent people without a shred of decency. He had no intention of letting him go!
"Don't push me!"
Smog Emi swelled up and blasted his smokescreen toward Shakky. At the same time, he leaped nimbly, trying to reach Brook's ship and take its crew hostage.
Underworld Ghost Qi: Desolation Slash!
At Brook's soft murmur, Emi was struck mid-leap. Blood sprayed everywhere, and he fell back onto the deck. He stared in terror at Brook, whose breath steamed with cold, before passing out.
"Woohoo! Captain Brook is amazing! We got Smog Emi, whose bounty is one hundred and fifty million!"
Shakky immediately ran over and tied up the unconscious Emi. With the Smokescreen Pirates' smokescreen gone, she went aboard their ship to loot it. There was more than five hundred million in treasure aboard—they'd struck it rich.
Memory Seahorse had already jumped onto Smog Emi and begun devouring his exciting, delicious memories!
As the ice on the deck melted and the frozen men were freed, Brook grabbed one of the pirate underlings and questioned him about the Smokescreen Pirates' misdeeds.
"They actually robbed a shipyard? They have absolutely no honor. The shipyard even built their new ship for them! Pirates like you are beyond forgiveness!"
Shakky had no respect for this kind of pirate, either. They had no limits at all. In a world where seafaring was central to life, shipwrights deserved the respect of everyone, even pirates.
Memory Seahorse didn't spare the underlings' memories, either. It devoured them all.
"Hey, Memory Seahorse, that's enough. We still need these pirates to sail the ship!"
Only after Brook warned it did Memory Seahorse reluctantly stop eating. It looked at the terrified pirates, who had no idea how many memories had been devoured—or whether they could still sail.
At Brook's command, the pirates, dazed and as clueless as newborns, began following his orders one step at a time. They raised the sails and set off toward Water 7!
"Memory Seahorse, hurry up and digest those memories. I don't want you spitting them up later!"
Brook watched Memory Seahorse burp repeatedly. It had eaten quite a lot. He didn't want it to throw up and restore the pirates' memories.
Water 7.
Jerry Shipyard was in ruins. All the shipwrights were dejected. That Supernova had destroyed their shipyard, bombarding it with the very pirate ship they'd built. It made them hate the Smokescreen Pirates even more.
"Master Jerry, please let me go to sea and punch a hole through that bastard's ship!"
Tom, the Fish-Man foreman at Jerry Shipyard, angrily pleaded with his master. A bull-horned Fish-Man, he was rather fat but incredibly strong—strong enough to lift a ship with one hand. If he hadn't carelessly passed out after being exposed to Smog Emi's smokescreen, he could have beaten that bastard to death.
"Tom, let the ship you built keep sailing. The one at fault is its owner, not the ship! Besides, the shipyard can't do without you right now. You can't leave!"
Jerry was wrapped from head to toe in bandages, and blood still seeped from his wounds. The major shipbuilding companies had been constantly clashing as they fought to win customers. The island's residents lived under the shadow of slow, creeping death, and they needed Tom's tremendous strength to keep the peace.
The shipbuilding island of Water 7 was hit by a great Aqua Laguna flood every year. When it came, the island's residents would flee to higher ground. But whenever the floodwaters receded, the water level would rise considerably.
With trade along the Grand Line disrupted and little contact between islands, Water 7's seven major shipyards had become bitter enemies. They often fought over customers, so they would accept shipbuilding orders from just about any pirate.
"Master Jerry, I swear that one day I'll save Water 7 and unite all the shipyards!"
The Fish-Man Tom, now in his early thirties, began to weep.
Before you continue