"Luffy": talk
"Sabo": whisper
"ACE": shout
"Gomu gomu no": the skill's name
'idiot': thinking
<Joyboy>: voice of all things
-Florian Triangle-
"...Yohohoho~~
Binkusu no sake wo... "
A voice was heard from far away. It was singing the song which was very well known by a lot of Pirates, Bink's Sake. That voice belonged to a living skeleton who was standing on a ghost ship. His name was Brook. He was once a member of the Rumbar Pirates but they all died after a fight. He was supposed to go with his crew, but a devil fruit he had eaten before that allowed him to live again. At first he didn't know the ability of the Yomi Yomi no mi, but now, thanked to the fruit, he was still alive. And now he needed to find a way to get out of this dangerous sea as soon as possible.
It was easy to say, he had been here for 40 years already. He always trained himself and sang a song or two to pass the time. Brook had tried to take his shadow back so many times but still ended up losing. If only he could get stronger, or at least someone with strong power was here to rescue him. But it was just a merely impossible dream, no one dared to go through this sea. The Florain Triangle had a rumour that every ship that came to this sea would be never seen again. Speaking of a devil, Brook suddenly heard a movement in the sea. He quickly went to take a look and saw a young Sea King rising from the sea.
"WHAT IS HAPPENING?!"
That was something interesting to see. In all his time here, he never saw a Sea King approve this sea, so what made this one different? He took a closer look at the creature. To his surprise, the creature opened its mouth for someone to climb out. If he saw it correctly, the creature was carrying four children, a polar bear and an adult on his head. It probably was controlled by the only adult in the group, Brook guessed. Then they came closer to his direction, and a child who was the youngest in the group looked up at his ship and shouted.
"Oi! Brook! Are you on there? We came to get you."
Wait, did he hear them right? They came here for him? But he didn't know those people. The kid seemed to know him though. Had he met the kid somewhere? No he didn't think so, he hadn't left this sea for 40 years, and the kid looked like he was 7 years old. There was no way they had met before. But then, two of the kids decided to come up here. Now he could see them clearer. A younger one had a scar under his left eye, and a straw hat on his head. While the older kid had a long sword and wore a fluffy white hat with black dots like a mushroom.
Maybe Brook could ask the older person to help. Wait, what was he thinking?! They were kids, they couldn't fight. But the older kid seemed to have experience of using swords. No, he needed to stop thinking like that, it wasn't right to risk a child's life just for him to get his shadow back. Anyways, he decided to just ask about their purpose for coming here.
"Hi, kids! What are you doing here? This sea is too dangerous for someone like you two."
The two looked confused at his question, they didn't seem to be afraid of a talking skeleton. The younger then spoke up.
"Didn't we already say it? We are here for you"
"And why are you here for me?" asked Brook curiously.
The younger was happy, he gave Brook a shining smile that could compare with the sun, which he hadn't seen for a long time. The older just looked like he had given up with the younger's antics. Then the younger answered his question.
"I want you to be on my crew as my crew's musician and second swordman."
So they were pirates. This was his chance, If he went with them, he could meet him again, his old friend Laboon. He must be so lonely right now, only thinking about it could make the skeleton tear up. He couldn't waste this opportunity, so he accepted the invitation without thinking twice.
"Alright, I'll join you"
His answer made the younger laugh out loud, while the older was annoyed by his answer. Brook thought he would get along with them just fine. He then introduced himself to the kids.
"My name is Brook. I used to be a member of the Rumbar Pirates, but I died and came back to life thanks to the devil's fruit power. May I know the name of my new captain?"
"My name is Monkey D. Luffy, I'm the man who will become the Pirate King. Welcome to the Strawhat Pirates, Brook" said the straw hat boy cheerfully.
"My name is Trafalgar Law, older brother of this idiot. I'm captain of the Heart Pirates, the other two kids and a polar bear are my crewmates" said the older, while pointing his finger at the younger.
Wait, his captain was this kid. He was too young to be a pirate. But then Brook quickly dismissed the thought, if they could go this far, they were definitely stronger than he thought they were. Luffy then asked
"Ne, Brook, do you have a dream?"
"Yes, I want to fulfill the promise I once made with a friend. I want to tell him about the fall of my crew and stay with him. But now is not the time. I still can't find a way to get out of here."
"If you worry about your shadow, then don't be. We got this cover"
"What do you mean by that, Luffy-san?"
"Oi! Lu-ya. What are you trying to do?! You never talk about this issue". Law was angry at his brother.
"Don't be a joy killer, Torao. Don't you want to test your strength?" Luffy pouted at his older brother. Then the two of them started to argue with each other.
Brook must admit that the two brothers were very cute. After living without his shadow for so long, he was happy to know he would have his shadow back. He was so grateful to be alive again, so he could meet these people. He could meet his second captain, the one who would do anything for his crewmates. Brook couldn't hold himself, so he cried. He hadn't cried like that since the death of his former crew. He spoke while still crying.
"We've only met for a few minutes but you already want to save me. I can not think of a way to thank you enough. But I'm very happy to be alive. Please take good care of me from now on, Captain."
This got Luffy and Law to stop their arguement and smile at the living skeleton. After a few minutes for Brook to collect himself. They jumped back to Isora head, and introduced Brook to others. Their expression of seeing Brook was priceless, Brook once again thought he would fit in just fine with a group like this.
He was also suprised to learn that the one who tamed the Sea King was his captain. Not many people could tame a Sea King, but Luffy was able to do it in such a young age. This was something Brook would be proud to say that he was a crewmate of this boy. This kid was going to go far, and Brook was pleased that he could be a part of his captain's journey.
Luffy then told Brook to led them to his shadow, Brook immediately did as he was told. The skeleton said to follow him, then he jumped to the sea and started to run on it. The Sea King also started to follow Brook with a slower speed, so he could catch up to the skeleton.
After a while, Brook led them to a place where there was another skeleton sitting on the ground. The other skeleton seemed to be waiting for his opponent. Law and Luffy immediately recognized that skeleton as Ryuma, a well known swordman of Wanokuni. Luffy then thought, maybe he could take Sushui to Zoro when they met. Maybe, he could find a way to get Enma for the swordman, too. Law then went to fight with Ryuma, when he approved the skeleton, Law immediately activated his Observation Haki. Even though Law and Luffy still got their Haki, but it seemed weaker that they used to be, that also need to be fix. Ruyma then spoke up from where he sat
"What is your business for coming here, child?"
"I want to test my strength, so do you care for a spar, samurai? If I win, you have to give Bone-ya's shadow back, deal?"
"Very well then, you have yourself a deal, child."
Suddenly, Ryuma straightened up, running toward Law with his sword. Law quickly shielded him with Kikoku and threw Ryuma away. Law then created a room which was quite small in his opinion. Usually, his room would surround the entire island, and he still had a lot of energy, but this time it could only surround him and Ryuma, and nearly drained all his energy. Maybe it was because of the disease that made him this weak, they also needed to let that check when they arrived at Drum.
Back to the fight, Law then used "Shamble" to swap him with a rock behind Ryuma. The Samurai quickly shielded himself, but Law's movement was too quick. Ryuma was shocked at his speed. Law didn't move like a child who had just started learning how to wield a sword. His movement was clearly like that of an experienced swordman. This got the others who were watching the fight to admire the young teen, except for Luffy. This wasn't a surprise for him, because both him and Law were trained how to use a sword by Mihawk himself anyway. So this match was an easy win for them.
After a while, the match ended with Law placing his sword on the samurai's neck, who was lying on the ground. Brook was dumbstruck by the kid's ability. Law didn't use any of his devil fruit power, except for the wrap to move faster, but he still got an easy win from the famous Samurai, even though he still managed to get a few cuts from the enemy. Brook was then curious about his captain's strength, because Law had stated that Luffy was much stronger than him. Corazon was also feeling proud of Law. He knew the child was strong, but seeing it with his own eyes was something else. The three crewmates of the Heart Pirates were even more happy to work under such a strong captain like him, they even had stars in their eyes while watching the show . Then Ryuma spoke up.
"I completely lose, say what is your name, boy?"
"I'm Trafalgar Law" answered Law while he put his sword back on its sheadth.
"My name is Shimotsuki Ryuma. I know you aren't interested in this sword as you already have your own, but please take this sword with you and give it to someone who is worthy of wielding it" said Ryuma, while giving his sword to Law. Then Law gave Sushui to Luffy, which made the younger grin.
Ryuma seemed to catch that moment, curious about it. The samurai then questions the younger boy with a strawhat.
"You seem like you know someone could wield this sword. May I know that person's name?"
"His name is Roronoa Zoro, he's your decedent, and the Strawhats' Vice-captain. He's the man who will become the strongest swordman of this Era." Luffy spoke proudly, which made Ryuma smile.
Brook was suprised to hear about his other crewmates. He had already guessed that Luffy's crew would include all kinds of strong people with incredible bloodlines, so being able to hear about this information didn't seem to surprise him much. But the Vice-captain's ambition was something he would drop his jaw at. This crew didn't just contain all kinds of people, but they also contained all kinds of dreamers. This was the Crew of Dreamers. They would do anything to achieve their own dream, even if it cost their own life. That is why they are so feared by many people. Brook suddenly remembered Luffy's previous question, then the skeleton realized if he didn't have a dream, Luffy would have taken back his invitation.
'Maybe I was right to join this crew. Yohohoho~, I can't wait to set sail with you guys, my beloved crewmates' Thought Brook
Something black was coming out of the samurai's mouth, and it flew to Brook. It turned slowly into Brook's shadow. They had success in taking Brook's shadow back, and an addition was the cursed sword, Shusui. The group then cheered for their victory. Well, most of it was Law's crew and Brook who were cheering. Luffy was just smiling at them. Suddenly, Corazon collapsed on the ground, which made all the kids and Brook worry. Law then took out his sword, and put his hand on the sword.
"Scan"
A blue screen then appeared in front of his eyes, there were some red places on the blond's body. But it was spreading at a slow speed. That was the reason why Corazon didn't have any signs of being poisoned before. He cursed at his carelessness, he should have scanned Corazon when he took the bullets out immediately. And now, he didn't have enough energy to have another surgery. They needed to reach Drum faster.
"Cora-san has poison from his shots. It's spreading at a slow speed. But I don't have enough energy, so we need to reach Drum as soon as possible. Brook-ya please carry Cora-san for us." Commanded Law
"I understand, Law-san. Come everyone, let's hurry and go to Drum Island", Brook replied.
Then they took off to Drum island at a faster speed.