The Qilin Lion and Wuzhu Board the Ship

Seeing that the Qilin Lion still showed no signs of yielding, Redfield stepped forward once again to engage it in battle, quickly defeating the beast.

"Look at these rare beasts you protect; they've all fled, not a single one returned to defend you, except for this parrot! How about it? Come out to sea with me and witness the wonderful life that lies beyond!"

Hearing Brook's words, the Qilin Lion, despite being severely wounded, turned its head away, ignoring him entirely.

"No choice then. Redfield, record its inner memories! Memory Seahorse, devour its memories for me; I'm going to retrain this account!"

Yazhu, standing to the side, tried to intervene but was knocked unconscious by Brook.

"Memory Seahorse, consume the memories of this parrot as well, but be careful—retain the memories of how to speak. From now on, it will be our ship's translator and lookout."

The Memory Seahorse scurried over, relishing the delicious memories, and followed Brook's instructions to devour the later portions of these two animals' lives.

"Captain Brook, is this really okay?"

Fish-Man Tom felt a bit uneasy; their race detested oppression and deception.

"It hasn't cost them their lives, and from now on, they will be our reliable partners!"

The Memory Seahorse finished its task with a satisfied burp, while Shakky and Antonio immediately helped the Qilin Lion and Wuzhu stop their bleeding and bandage their wounds.

"Don't worry, Tom. The Waterfall Cloud here will protect this island well, and I believe they will soon have a new Beast King born!"

Tom might not know that the Beast King of Rare Beast Island was passed down through the Beast Horn, and while Redfield didn't particularly like this method of recruiting crew members, he could understand Brook's decision.

Having experienced the destruction of his own pirate crew, Brook surely hoped to gain a group of powerful partners. In that case, he himself must become even stronger to help Captain Brook realize his dreams, which were also Redfield's own dreams!

They moved the Qilin Lion and the parrot back to the ship, deciding to just take them out to sea. Only after the rare beasts saw the humans carrying the Qilin Lion King away did they begin to wail loudly on the island; their king was gone, though they hadn't looked that fast when they were running away earlier.

Returning to the Yomi, after a brief rest, they deployed the Waterfall Cloud and continued their journey toward Drum Island!

Half a day later, the awakened Qilin Lion King and Wuzhu looked at Brook and his crew with confusion, and Redfield and Brook began to teach them anew.

The Qilin Lion's memories were now only those of a powerful lion beast before it had fused with the Beast Horn, and Wuzhu was just a parrot that had recently learned human speech.

Under Brook's constant brainwashing, they became firmly convinced of the story that they had been saved by the captain and had become members of the crew.

The Qilin Lion thus became Brook's mount, practicing the power within its body every day through Wuzhu's translations.

Slowly, Fish-Man Tom and Redfield also accepted these two ignorant, innocent rare beasts.

"Captain Brook, I see it! That snowy island ahead!"

The lookout Wuzhu flew down from the top of the mast to report the information to Brook, and the navigator Shakky immediately took out the nautical chart and Eternal Pose to verify their position; it was indeed Drum Island.

The shipwright and helmsman, Fish-Man Tom, made a slight course correction, sailing toward Drum Island, while Redfield, having finished his sparring session with Brook, began helping to adjust the sails.

Inside the cabin, the sniper Silvers was improving his bullets, and the intelligence officer Antonio was communicating with a Den Den Mushi, trying to see if he could intercept any information from it.

Soon, Brook saw three white, drum-like peaks covered in snow; it was a famous winter island on the Grand Line and a great medical power.

"Tell me, do you all have thick clothes?"

As one resurrected from the dead, Brook was perpetually in a cold state due to his Underworld Ghost Qi, so he was not afraid of the cold!

Shakky immediately went back to change into her beautiful winter coat, Silvers and Antonio also put on thick clothing, and the sturdy Fish-Man Tom indicated he didn't need any.

Seeing that Brook wasn't adding winter gear, Redfield decided he couldn't either; this was his path of cultivation!

This made Brook silently shake his head. I am immune to the cold, not specifically training for it, he thought, only able to instruct Antonio to bring a spare set.

Because the Drum Kingdom was a member of the World Government, Brook and his crew could not openly enter the official ports, or they would be attacked.

That was the way of pirates; aside from certain pirate towns and nations where they could dock, they had to land in remote areas elsewhere, which was also a form of protection for a pirate ship.

Brook's visit to Drum Island, aside from seeing if he could find a talented doctor, was to check his Underworld body and see if there was any chance of continuing his lineage.

If it truly was impossible to produce offspring, he would give up on that hope early and focus entirely on striving for ultimate strength and eternal life!

Brook sat on the Qilin Lion, and Shakky jumped up directly behind him without a hint of shyness, her skin quite thick.

It should be Wapol's grandfather serving as king right now; the policies were good, attracting many medical talents to come and study, with medical techniques and drugs constantly being innovated, earning them a great reputation.

The medical skills here were said to be able to reattach a severed head, which showed just how powerful they were, and all sorts of advanced medical technologies were rampant here.

"Everyone, move freely and find what you need!"

As the Hell Pirates prepared to enter the town, Brook distributed a few million Beli to each person. The least capable, Antonio, chose to follow the captain, while Shakky's professional instincts kicked in, and she went off to gather information.

The shipwright Fish-Man Tom went to look for the floating materials he needed, the sniper Silvers needed some medicine to add to his bullets, and Redfield decided to wander around on his own to see if there were any strong fighters he could challenge to a duel.

The Memory Seahorse and Wuzhu were both standing on the Qilin Lion's back, and seeing that Antonio looked a bit pathetic, they let him climb up as well. Their group attracted many gazes.

The Qilin Lion looked truly magnificent; its golden Beast Horn and noble wings made countless wealthy merchants and nobles drool, their eyes filled with envy and greed.

Fortunately, there were no arrogant, brainless Celestial Dragons here, or they would have started seizing it immediately; such a mount could only be possessed by gods like them.

Brook asked a passerby for information about Dr. Kureha, and the passerby was intimidated by Brook's aura.

"You want to find that old witch? Her personality is very strange, and her fees are extremely high. I advise you not to go to her; our country has many other famous doctors with brilliant medical skills!"

Seeing the passerby rambling on, Brook frowned, his expression turning cold, which startled the man so much that he quickly pointed in a direction and bolted away.

.Provided by the Great God Great Karma Fire, One Piece: Hell Brook