-One month later.
Boom, boom! Deep rumbles rang out as flashes of light and electric sparks danced across the sky.
A powerful burst of music began, sounding like a very old song.
It echoed throughout the venue as the opening melody.
-This was the Lulusia Kingdom.
[Kessoku Band] was holding a concert in one of the kingdom's port cities.
The stage curtains opened, revealing the performers in their finest outfits, brimming with energy.
Each had exceptional talents and signature tricks. Their spirit and stamina dazzled the crowd, and their secret weapons promised some unexpectedly spectacular surprises.
First came a skeleton in formal attire, holding a guitar and wearing a gentleman's hat. Even though the Lulusia Kingdom was on the Grand Line, its citizens had never seen such a bizarre being-nothing but bones, yet still able to move.
"Yohohoho! Hello, everyone~"
"Brook-! The immortal!"
"Bones! Bones! Bones!"
The audience erupted with enthusiasm, a far cry from his first appearance, when he had frightened people to tears. Brook was beginning to gain devoted fans of his own.
"Welcome to a paradise full of joy and surprises! A dream world beyond time and space! And an adventurous realm that brings surprises to you all!"
Brook really was suited to being a star. He waved broadly, greeting the audience, then approached a cute woman in the crowd and leaned down...
"Miss, may I see your panties?"
"-Of course! Anytime! Please give me your autograph~!"
...That was taking things a little too far.
"Horo~ horo~ Move aside, you perverted skeleton!"
Perona suddenly appeared in the air, floating gracefully and tracing an elegant arc as she swept past.
"Ooooooh-Perona darling!"
"Your Highness Perona! I want to be your dog!"
"Ghost Princess! Ghost Princess!"
That about summed up the makeup of the audience...
Perona landed with a flourish, twirling her red crown as she demonstrated her wondrous magic. Ghosts appeared one after another. Finally, she raised her Gothic parasol, and three frantic, limit-pushing Bunbu suddenly popped out.
Next came their companions, one after another-
"En-na~ en-na~ en-na~" ×3
The Bunbu trotted along and climbed onto the keyboard one by one.
"Aaah-it's the Bunbu! They're so cute! Look over here!"
The young girls below the stage screamed.
Then came Kumashi, who shot up from beneath the stage like a rocket and... failed his landing.
The bandaged zombie teddy bear scrambled over to the drum kit after landing face-first.
He didn't look as though he had volunteered for that entrance.
Still, he earned some praise too. There were always people who liked that sort of thing.
Finally, thunder rolled across the clear sky.
-A bolt from the blue!
With a thunderclap overhead, Sephiroth appeared on the raised platform at the back of the stage.
"Lord Shining!"
"Lord Shining! We adore you!"
A flash of lightning streaked past, and Sephiroth descended into the center of the stage as a thunderbolt.
The band members onstage-a skeleton, an elemental being, the Ghost Princess, a stuffed toy, and the Bunbu...
That visual spectacle was certainly rare, even on the Grand Line.
"Enough talk! Let's get straight to the first song-!"
"Ooooooooooh-!!!" ×N
For the first song, Sephiroth sang "Deja Vu" in a soaring male voice.
(Underwater ballet, an Indian muscleman-Indian Rice, kick it out-)
Thanks to the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Sephiroth could actually "tune" his voice live, so his singing was practically flawless.
The problem was that the version playing in his head had Chinese sound-alike lyrics. It was hard to keep a straight face.
When he reached the "shrimp-catching household-" part, the entire crowd went wild.
The second song was Perona's "Imperial Assault Force."
(A literal Chinese translation wasn't particularly interesting, but the original sounded pretty good.)
This was something of a mischievous indulgence for Sephiroth.
Perona shared a voice actress with Alice from "Sakura Wars."
So Sephiroth had given Perona "Alice," the character song, and "Imperial Assault Force," the theme song, to sing.
That actress also voiced Renne in "The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky," so he had added "The Whereabouts of Stars," the full lyrical version, to her repertoire too.
He also planned to give her songs from "Pretty Cure" and "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing" later.
Ah... tanoshii. Takahiro Sakurai would be furious.
The third song was Brook's "The Wellerman."
It was the original version of the "Song of the Five Permanent Members," which had been hugely popular in Sephiroth's previous life-a whaling song, also known as a "pirate song."
"There once was a ship that put to sea"
(Once upon a time, a ship sailed far across the sea.)
"And the name of that ship was the Billy of Tea"
(The ship was called the Billy of Tea.)
Brook was perfectly suited to singing songs like these. Amid the joyous musical feast, the different groups of fans cheered their idols' names.
Reporters snapped photos frantically, and some people even broadcast the concert using Visual Den Den Mushi.
Then all sorts of dazzling stage effects created by lightning swept across the venue.
Brook's other two songs were "It's My Life!" and "Johnny Boy" from "Pirates of the Caribbean."
The three took turns singing lead.
Sephiroth, who could freely tune his voice while in elemental form, even showed off a soprano rendition of "She Is My Sin."
The final song was Sephiroth's performance of "You Will Return Like Lightning." The reporters faithfully broadcast that ethereal blend of male and female voices.
They probably had tomorrow's headlines in the bag again.
A notorious pirate with a bounty of 400 million Beli was practically becoming an idol.
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