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"ALRIGHT!" Luffy cheered "We have another new crew member!"
"TAKE CARE OF HIM STRAWHAT-SAN!" the Galley-La employees shouted behind them.
"Shishishi" Luffy grinned "Of course" he turned to take in the new view of his
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The ship was starting to pull away from the docks and they were about to head off to their new adventure.
"Wait..." Chopper whimpered next to Nami.
"Are you super sure you don't have to wait for one more person, Straw Hat?" Franky looked around the deck and frowned at his new captain, who had taken a seat on a deck chair.
"I did wait" Luffy laughed with a forced grin on his face "Ever since I heard what Sanji told us, I tried so that our room in Galley-La was never empty"
"I saw him by the docks while I was out shopping for food supplies. Usopp was rehearsing different ways to come back to us" the man said while taking a puff from his cigarette.
"I waited for him all this time, but he never showed up, Luffy said a little too casually. He was sweating and even from a distance "That's his answer...I'm sure he'll have a fun life too"
BOOM! BOOM!
"Incoming" Ana muttered out lazily as she dropped to the ground bringing Chopper down with her as two cannon balls blasted towards the sides of the ship.
They were just warning shots and hit the water cleanly but they rocked the ship and splashed everyone on deck. A big marine ship with a masthead of a dog with a bone turned the corner and headed towards the Straw Hats.
"Hey, Luffy! Can you hear me? This is Grandpa! This is Grandpa. If you can hear me, say something!" Garp shouted through a megaphone.
"Oy! Grandpa! What're you doing?! You said you weren't going to capture us here" Luffy raised a random megaphone, that Anamaria handed over to him from the ground, to his lips.
"Well...the thing is, a lot has happened since then...Sorry, but I'm going to have to send you to the bottom of the sea"
"WHAAAAAT?!" Luffy cried incredulously and he dropped the megaphone.
"Well...I'm not doing this as an apology for that or anything..." Garp replied
"But..I'll fight your gang all by myself"
As Anamaria sat up from the deck, she got curious when she saw a marine holding a 32 pound cannonballs in his arms and bringing it up to the Vice Admiral, but there were no cannons around him.
"What the hell is he gonna do with that?" Ana asked the rest receiving no response.
Her eyes widened when Luffy's Grandfather bounced the cannonball in his hand as if it weighed nothing and then he lifted it over his head.
"METEOR FIST!"
The cannonball shot forward and exploded on the starboard side. The impact sent a large wave that pushed the ship sideways.
"WHOAH! H-he fired a cannonball with his bare hand!" Sanji cried.
"Woah! That's some strength that old man's got" Ana chimed in while the others panicked.
"We have no choice! We're getting out of here now or our new ship will be blasted to bits!" Nami shouted.
"This isn't good" Franky growled "A whole bunch of those things are about to come flying at us"
"Full speed ahead! Zoro, Sanji, and I will take care of the cannonballs!" Luffy shouted.
"He's here! Usopp's here!" Chopper's nose twitched as he cried out the remark from Ana's side.
"Ana! Can you not protect the ship?!" Nami shouted at the woman "Zoro hurry up with the sails!"
"Calm down woman!" both swordsmen shouted at the orange haired woman earning them a glare.
Ana shivered before she rose her hands forcing a wave of vertical water to raise in between both ships, absorbing the cannonballs the marine ship was still shooting at them.
"Guys! Did you not hear me?! Usopp is here!" Chopper exclaimed again.
"Protect the ship!" Luffy ordered as he, Sanji, and Zoro walked towards the edge of the ship in case Garp threw some curveballs around the wall that Anamaria had created.
"Heyyyyyy!" Usopp screamed as he ran towards the ship "Chopper! It's a fine day today! Let's go fishing. Haha! Well, I guess there's no time for that right now"
"Not right now Usopp!" Ana shouted as Sanji nearly collided with her while trying to make his way to the other side of their new ship.
"Hey, Luffy! Guys! I know! You guys are crying with joy over there, right?!" Usopp screamed "Right? That's what's happening?" there was a panic in Usopp's voice that was starting to escalate "Don't tell me you actually believed that joke I made!...We've been friends for so long! There's no way I'd say something like that seriously! Although we said all sorts of things to each other, we're friends! I'll let these little things go!...Hey...Guys...SAY SOMETHING!'"
"Usopp..." Chopper whimpered "Luffy! Usopp is talking to us!"
"I can't hear it" Luffy grunted as he leapt high into the air. A cannonball was flying at him at a higher altitude and it bounced off his expanded rubber chest. It seemed the Vice Admiral had found the opening spots in Ana's water shield since it was hard for the woman to keep up with so many distractions "Nami! We need to get out of here!"
"Zoro?!" Chopper called.
"Can't hear it" Zoro growled as he sliced three cannonballs with one swing.
"Not right now love" Anamaria told the doctor as she swung Fang across another three curveballs melting them nearly entirely before they fell in the water below.
"That's a lie! I know you can hear it!" Chopper snapped.
"IIIIIII'MMMMM SOORRRRRYYYYYYYYYY!" Luffy's arm snapped back and his whole body stiffened "I'm sorry for being bullheaded!" Usopp screamed "I was wrong!"
Luffy started to walk towards the railing to hear Usopp so Ana quickly scrambled to take his place in repelling cannonballs coming from the side of the ship while still maintaining the barrier between both ships.
"I know I'm being pathetic...I know I said i was leaving the gang...but..is there any chance that I can take that back?! Can I?!" Usopp screamed through his tears and snot "Please let me....stay with you!...I'll say it again...PLEASE! LET ME JOIN YOU GUYS!"
Luffy drew back his hand and flung it straight towards his sniper.
"L-L-L-Luffy" Usopp sobbed when he saw his friend's hand in front of him.
"YOU IDIOT!" Luffy blubbered as all sorts of bodily fluids came out of his eyes and nose "Grab my hand already!"
Luffy's face was all distorted as he bawled uncontrollably while pulling Usopp back onto the ship. Nami laughed at Luffy's lack of composure with tears in her own eyes. Sanji cheered victoriously and Ana threw her head back to cackle loudly as she kept her hand out.
"You guys are so lame" Nami chuckled at their reactions.
Usopp flew overboard and knocked his head into Luffy's. Both men fell onto their backs onto the deck as they continued to cry with happiness. Luffy leapt to his feet.
"Everyone's finally on board! We're gonna hurry up a get through this cannonball attack so that we can get on with our next adventure, guys!"
"YOSH!" the Straw Hats cheered.
"Oi! Everyone, furl the sails!" Franky ordered, snapping them out of their celebrations.
"What?!" the Straw Hats gasped.
"Super trust me on this one. I have a plan!" Franky shouted.
Zoro and Sanji climbed up the beams to get to the top of the gaff. They rolled up the sails quickly and tied them securely.
"Oy! Are you really sure about this, Franky?" Zoro asked.
"Dummy! Have faith in this ship!" Franky shouted, while the freshly reunited Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy danced around and kicked their heels up.
"He's right! Have faith you dummies!" they cheered.
"GIVE ME A HAND, YOU BASTARDS!" Zoro seethed from above.
Anamaria shook her head as she laughed before climbing up to the green haired man and helped him.
"Great...now one last thing..." Franky said as he put his hands on his hips and looked up at the ship "We need to name this ship before we leave"
"WHAT?!" Sanji snapped "Name?! At a time like this?!"
"It's important darlin'!" Ana shouted with an agreeing nod.
"Of course it is Ana-chwan!" the man exclaimed as his body wriggled at her voice.
"You changed your tune too fast!!" Nami and Zoro shouted at the cook.
"Okay! I got a name that sounds strong!" Luffy shouted as he waved a hand in the air, "The 'Bear! Polar Bear! Lion!'"
"No one would give a ship a weird name like that!" Usopp immediately smacked him in the head.
"Then...'Tiger! Wolf! Lion!'" Luffy offered.
"Stop listening animal names like that! What is it? Some sort of a curse?!" Usopp scolded with another smack on Luffy's head.
"Squid! Octopus! Chimpanzee!" Luffy exclaimed.
"Now you're not even putting 'lion" in it!" Usopp seethed.
"Well, lion is on the right track..." Franky said with a smile "But the guys at Galley-La had another idea..." he ran a hand through his blue hair "Bakaberg actually saw the masthead as the sun... A ship that'll cross a thousand rigorous oceans cheerfully, just like the sun...the pirate ship...Thousand Sunny"
"That's sound fitting" Ana nodded with Robin.
"Whoho!" Luffy and Chopper cheered.
"That's better than the 'Dumpling! Gorilla! Lion!' name I came up with!" Luffy shouted.
"STOP SPITTING OUT RANDOM WORDS!" Usopp snapped "AND DON'T ENCOURAGE THEM ANA-SAN!" he turned to snap at the laughing woman who clapped her hands in amusement.
"That does sound better than 'Boss Lionel' that I thought of..." Zoro muttered.
"And better than the 'Monsieur Sunflower' that I thought of..." Sanji added.
"Have you guys lost your marbles?!" Usopp cried.
"Crossing a thousand oceans just like the sun...What a lovely name" Robin said warmly.
"Wait you guys!" Franky interrupted "That was just to start things off! The one I came up with sounds a lot better! Here's my name for the ship!"
"Let's use what Ice Pops came up with!" Luffy screamed over Franky, drowning out Franky's suggestion "I like it!"
"'Thousand Sunny, huh?' That's a good name!" Sanji said while Franky continued to chant behind him.
"I agree!" Chopper cheered.
"I guess deciding on the ship's name has helped us brace ourselves for departure" Zoro said coolly.
Franky hung his head in defeat and he squatted down onto the floor. He pouted as he drew circles on the floor at no one wanting to ask what name he would have given the ship.
"Oy! Franky, what are you sulking about over there?" Sanji asked as he handed Ana another cigarette, he had learnt her timetable for smoking and made sure he had cigarettes whenever she wanted one "Hurry up and shake them off with the secret weapon...or whatever"
"Take a last look at this beautiful city of water while you can" he announced to the group as he got up to his feet "Because in just a second, this island is going to be out of sight"
"Well then..." Luffy said and he climbed onto the railing "GRANDPA! And Coby...and....I WAS GLAD I GOT TO SEE YOU ALL THIS TIME! We're going to run with all our might now. I'll see you again someday!"
"Alright, here we go" Franky said as he made his way down to the deck.
Suddenly, something dark and enormous caught Anamaria's eyes and she looked over at the marine ship. They had pulled out a large iron ball that was bigger than the ship itself.
"What the hell is that?!" she roared in amazement.
"AHHH! We're going to die!" Usopp screeched "No way we'll survive that! That's not possible!"
Him, Nami and Chopper had taken to using the tattooed pirate as their human shield so they were now holding onto her shoulder from behind making her huff at their attitude. The iron ball came flying towards the ship and it casted a dark shadow over the Thousand Sunny, blocking out the sky and the sun.
"AHHH! We're going to die!" Sanji, Chopper, and Usopp cried, now the cook joining the other three screaming StrawHats behind Anamaria but holding the woman's hand just in case.
"Ready!" came Franky's muffled reply from below deck making Ana kneel to the ground, the people hiding behind her mimicking her movements, and sitting on the deck calmly "Coup...de....Burst!"
The ship shot off like a rocket just as the iron ball smashed into the sea. The Thousand Sunny sailed through the air while the Straw Hats gasped in awe.
"This is an emergency accelerator made with a huge air cannon, taking advantage of the strength of the treasure tree Adam" Franky explained "It consumes three barrels of cola and it'll allow us to fly one kilometre in the air" Franky finished as he climbed back onto the lawn deck "This ship can do everything the Going Merry can. It exceeds the Merry in every way...But the Merry's brave soul will be inherited by the Thousand Sunny. If it breaks down, I will fix it perfectly myself. From today on, this is your ship!" Franky shouted and the Straw Hats cheered.
Soon, they were back on the sea with a festive picnic spread on the lawn deck. Each of them held a goblet of beer, with orange juice for Chopper, with a smile on their faces.
"Ready?" Luffy asked as he got up to his feet.
"Yeah!" his crew answered back.
Ф
After a couple days out at sea, the Straw Hats had gotten themselves very comfortable in their new home, including Franky, who built a corner bed for himself in Usopp's workshop. No one seemed to mind that Franky got his own room as the rest of the Straw Hats preferred to sleep above deck and secretly the men were worried that the hanging beds would not be able to support the cyborg's weight.
"I'm getting out Nami" Ana told the orange haired woman once she was done washing herself in the huge bathroom.
"Okay. I'll stay here a little more" Nami sighed as she relaxed against the sides of the large tub.
Coming out of the bathroom with her clothes already on her and trying to dry her hair, Anamaria saw a familiar blond head staring into what had been made to be the doctor's room. She smiled softly at Sanji's fond look at Chopper who was playing inside to being the doctor he already was on Sable who had managed to somehow cram herself into the room and still leave some room for Chopper to play on the swivel chair.
"Everythin fine darlin'?" she asked him, chuckling when he jumped away from the door.
"Ah, Ana-chwan" the man smiled at her "Yes, everything is fine"
"I CAUGHT IT!!" Luffy's voice rang out from the deck making both of them turn in its direction.
The two of them ran to where their captain was shouting only to see him holding a fully grown shark in his hold.
"Into the tank! Into the tank!" Usopp cheered as they watched Luffy throw the animal into the huge aquarium that Franky had incorporated into the ship only for them to go down with Ana to where Robin and Franky were and to see that the shark had eaten all the other fish they had in there.
"This ship is a complete luxury Franky" Zoro said as he yawned.
"No need to thank me, but you still haven't seen its entire potential" the cyborg told them "The ship's main characteristic is its Soldier Dog System"
"Soldier Dog System?" Ana asked him as she sat on the table behind Sanji making the man have a small nose bleed as he sat between her legs and the woman passed her fingers through his hair.
"Yes. In the case of this ship, from Channel 0 to Channel 4 there are a total of 5 channels" he continued "In each dock there are artefacts that support the ship one way or another. I'll show you when the time comes"
A strong wind blew towards them and Nami's eyes widened and she raced down the stairs to find them down there.
"Everyone, take your stations! We're escaping to the south-southeast. A huge storm will be here in five minutes!"
"I don't see a storm, but if that's what she says, I bet it'll suddenly hit" Luffy shouted "Nami, where should I steer the ship?!"
"Head straight for 2 o'clock!" Nami answered.
"Which way is that?" Luffy scratched his head making Anamaria go over to the wheel of the ship and take it, putting all her weight onto it to change course.
Within five minutes, dark clouds swarmed over the Thousand Sunny and heavy rain came pouring down. Thunder and lightning crashed all around them and the ship was swaying violently in every direction.
"Crap! We're getting hit by the head winds!" Nami exclaimed "They're going to push us back!"
The ship floor seesawed beneath their feet while Anamaria made sure the ship didn't overturn. While Chopper was held in Sable's coils with the snake squeezing around the mast and the railing to keep them from tumbling, Luffy tumbled by them as the ship tilted dramatically and a strong wave crashed over the deck.
"Everyone! We're bringing out the paddles!" Nami ordered.
"The main sail is set, Nami-swan" Sanji called out.
"I took in the foremast!" Zoro shouted.
"Franky, we're ready!" Nami shouted.
"It's the Paddle Ship Sunny!" Franky called out.
Steam started to shoot out from behind the ship, right below the Coup de Burst cannon. Large, circular paddles emerged from each side of ship and it started to spin faster and faster. The ship ploughed forward with incredible speed. Soon, they had sailed past the rain and the winds started to die but the dark clouds still loomed overhead and there was a thick dense fog all around the ship.
"Whew...we survived" Nami sighed in relief.
"Yeah...It's nice we pulled through" Zoro growled "But what's with this sea? It isn't night yet, but with this thick fog...it's creepy how dark it is"
The temperature had dropped and it was quite chilly. Anamaria helped Nami get warmer as she took her water bottle and forced the particles of water to move quickly to the point when the water began to boil a bit and placed it in the terrified woman's chest. The dark and cold night created an unsettling feeling in the pit of the navigator's stomach.
"Do you think we stumbled into that sea...the one Granny Kokoro was talking about?" Nami asked nervously.
"Oh Fishman island? Are we there already?" Usopp cheered.
"No...It's not that sea...There's a sea before that..." Luffy said with a mischievous grin as he decided to prey on the unknowing Usopp.
"Don't let your guard down...From the looks of it, we're already caught in the infamous...Florian Triangle!" Franky exclaimed as he tried to stay in his position.
"How am I the only one who doesn't know this!?" Usopp shouted as everyone else laughed creepily around him.
"Anaaa" Chopper cried as he held onto Sable's neck while the snake herself began to whimper.
"Yer the size ya are Sable, how are ya scared?" Ana shook her head as the huge snake huddled behind Zoro with Chopper.
"Kokoro told us" Sanji told Usopp "She also said something about a living skeleton"
"AAAAAAAH!" Usopp went below deck "I'm going to go get things that keep away evil spirits!"
"Lend me one too Usopp!" Luffy cried behind him.
"Yo ho ho ho..." a haunting voice interrupted through the fog "Yo ho ho ho..."
"IT'S APPEARED!" Usopp turned towards the sound and then his eyes widened as torn sails and a splintered mast came into view through the dense fog.
"A GHOST SHIP?!" every Straw Hat cried in terror, except Robin, who just smiled up at it calmly, and Anamaria, who just had her arms crossed over her chest.
"Yo ho ho ho..."
"It's real?!" Sanji cried exclaimed.
"NOOOOOOO!" Nami screamed as Ana put a comforting arm over her shoulder.
"Yo ho ho ho..."
"Noo! It's a haunted cursed sailor song!" Usopp screamed "Plug your ears or else it'll curse you! Pretend you can't hear it if a ghost tries to talk to you. It'll drag you into the sea if you respond!"
"Is someone on the ship?" Robin asked.
"If he's our foe, we'll take him out" Zoro flicked his swords up so that the first few inches of his blades were exposed. The ship continued to sail past the Thousand Sunny with the singing voice getting louder.
"Ahhhhh! Look there!" Chopper cried out while he and Sable wriggled to the back of the group.
A silhouette of a figure, resting by the ghost ship's railing, came into view. As he floated on by, the Straw Hats began to see him clearly. Ana could see a skeleton, with a cup of tea in his hands, and an afro on his head.
"We're on our way....to deliver Bink's booze..." the skeleton sang and then took a sip from his tea "Yo ho ho ho ho" the ship then sailed on by and the skeleton's voice began to fade again.
"Did you see that just now? A skeleton was singing!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly "C'mon! Let's go see it! There really is a living skeleton! Sweet!"
He was about to dash off when Zoro caught him by the neck. "Wait," the swordsman ordered. Zoro's hand thrust front of his face. He was clutching a fistful of wooden sticks.
"We're going to draw to see who goes aboard that ship with Luffy" he turned to the others "Two people will need to go with Luffy and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid"
"I'll go anyways, Im curious 'bout this" Ana said as she volunteered.
"The shitty swordsman brings shitty luck" Sanji spat as he drew a stick that indicated he was going. He glared at Zoro.
"I'm only handing it out, you pervert cook" Zoro retorted "I didn't make you choose one so don't blame this on me"
Anamaria, Nami and Sanji climbed down the ship's rigging with their captain onto the small boat below them, sailing it to the Ghost Ship. Luffy froze making Ana, who was coming up behind him, also stop and likewise with all the others, when he saw the afro wearing skeleton staring down at them.
"Terribly sorry about before, I couldn't welcome you when we first crossed paths the first time" the man? Bowed his hat to them "You surprised me!"
"Look! He's talking!" Luffy laughed as he pointed it out.
"Every ship is the same when they see the Ghost Ship..." the skeleton continued "Please come through, make yourselves at home"
"This is awesome" Ana exclaimed.
"What lovely ladies!" the new stranger said once he layed his eye sockets on the two women making Nami hide behind Ana "I have a good eye for pretty ladies!" he continued "But, of course, skeletons don't have eyes!" they watched as he cleaned himself up and walked over to the ladies "Would you be kind enough to show me your panties?" he asked them after a small pause.
"YAAAAA!" Nami threw her foot up and hit the skeleton's temple, forcing him to the ground.
"Can you poop?" Luffy asked the guy as he stood up.
"With all the questions you asked that?!" Sanji shouted.
"I'm actually quite curious 'bout that too" Ana said as she took her chin in her hand.
"Right, right" Sanji once more calmed down and agreed with the beautiful woman in less than a second.
"Yes, I can" he answered.
"You didn't need to answer!" Sanji shouted "Anyway, how can you talk? How are you alive?!..."
"I'll answer" Brook took a sip from his tea cup.
Ф
After they had gone back to the Thousand Sunny, the rest of the crew were left staring at the talking skeleton the group had brough back on deck. His carry-ons all got up to their feet and Chopper instinctively reached out to Anamaria with his dark eyes locked on the living skeleton that Luffy had brought on board. He wore a top hat over his afro and a black suit with a blue ruffled bow.
"Yohohoho!" he laughed as he tipped his hat to the pirates "Hi! Hello, everyone! Good day to you! I shall be imposing upon you here on your vessel...You can call me Dead Bones Brook!! Glad to meet you!"
"What the hell is he?!" Usopp Franky, and Zoro bellowed at Luffy.
"My, my...They're harsh" the skeleton laughed.
"Goodness, aren't you a lovely lady?" he said gently until he spotted Robin "May I please see your panties?" he asked.
"Stop that, Harassment Skeleton!" Nami shouted from the side as they threw their shoe at the skeleton's head.
"Yosh! I'm ready!" Usopp cried as he burst out from his room. He wore a string of garlic around his neck, a heavy gold cross, prayer beads, and a flag in the back that said 'Evil be Gone'. He held up his cross and stepped towards the skeleton "S-Stupid skeleton! B-Beat it already!"
The skeleton started to step away from Usopp.
"Oooh! It's working!" Chopper cheered along with Sable who was huddling the two of them into a corner.
"Isn't he great? I asked him to join our crew" Luffy laughed at his crew's ridiculous antics.
"I won't allow it!" Zoro seethed and then he targeted his frustration out at Sanji, Anamaria and Nami "You guys had only one job and that was to keep him from doing anything crazy stupid like this!"
"We're ashamed of ourselves..." Nami and Sanji muttered.
"Now don't get so worked up. Yohohoho!" the skeleton laughed as he spread his arms out into the air "Come on inside. Let's have dinner!"
"That's not for you to decide!" Zoro, Sanji, and Nami seethed.
"I want dinner too" Ana muttered making the cook change his attitude once more.
"Come on, let's go inside!" Luffy said with a grin as he made his way into the kitchen and dining area "Sanji! I'm hungry!"
They all took their seats around the dining area. Only Luffy, Robin, Ana, Zoro and Nami sat at the table with the skeleton. Usopp and Chopper sat in the farthest corner of the bench that lined the wall. Franky sat on the stool in front of the kitchen island where Sanji was finishing plating the food.
"I can't wait to eat!" the skeleton let out "I haven't had a decent meal in decades. I've had to endure terrible agony every day. My belly has caved in all the way to my back...AH!" he opened his shirt to expose his spine "Although, I have no belly since I am a skeleton. YOHOHOHOHO! Skull joke!"
"Skull joke!" Luffy laughed with him, while everyone else nervously kept quiet.
"As a gentleman, I adore the laid-back time spent while waiting for my meal" the skeleton commented as he adjusted the bow on his neck and then he clinked his utensils together "Dinner, yay! Dinner, yay! C'mon baby!'
"Food! Food! Food!" Luffy chanted with him.
"Chef! For my drink, I'll take milk!" the skeleton requested.
"SHUT UP AND WAIT QUIETLY!" Sanji seethed before handing Anamaria, Nami and Robin their warm food "For you my ladies" he cooed.
"Before I forget, skeleton guy..." Luffy started to say.
"My name is Brook" the skeleton corrected "Although...forgive me because I still don't know your name"
"DON'T TELL HIM, LUFFY! ONCE HE KNOWS YOUR NAME HE'LL USE IT TO DRAG YOU TO HELLLL!" Usopp screamed.
"Really?!" Chopper shouted back "Eek! But then you just told him Luffy's name!"
"AHHHH NOOOOO!" Usopp screeched.
"YOU TWO BE QUIET TOO!" Sanji shouted exasperatedly.
"Shishishi. I'm Luffy" Luffy grinned to Brook "But before I forget...what exactly are you?"
"Wait! Just how little do you know about each other?!" Zoro shouted at his captain.
"I'm Anamaria but ye can call me Ana. Nice ta meet ya Brook" the woman said with her mouth now full of steaming food.
"Alright! The rest of the food is ready!" Sanji interrupted the conversation and laid out a spread of delicious octopi prepared in seven different ways "Help yourselves! We can kick the skeleton out later" he said as he presented the food to his patrons with a wave of his arms.
"Hey, Brook! Eat all you want! Sanji's an excellent cook" Luffy exclaimed.
"Ah! Now he knows Sanji's name" Chopper squeaked towards the sniper.
"Mmm meaffy mmf me mmo mef" Luffy complained with a mouthful of octopi.
"What?!" the Straw Hats yelled at their captain.
"Yohohoho" Brook laughed "He said 'I already said that we could eat'"
"How can you understand that?" Nami asked as a sweat dropped down her face.
"Here ya are Sanji" Ana offered a plate to the cook who was always the last one to eat.
"Ana-chwan, you don't need to..." he began.
"Try mine then" she said with a knowing smile as she presented the fork she had used, watching as the cook took the bite eagerly.
Ф
Finally when the last bite was eaten, the skeleton shared his story. He was a revived human from eating the Revive-Revive fruit and he had died a hundred years ago but the fruit allowed him to come back to life. He was a pirate before, just like the Straw Hats. His original crew had come across some powerful pirates and no one survived. His soul was revived but since he died in the foggy Devil's Sea, his soul wandered through the fog for years so by the time he found his body, it had already turned into a white skeleton.
"So you really aren't a ghost then..." Usopp said sceptically as he inched closer and closer to the skeleton to get a better look.
"Ghost?! Where?! I hate ghosts. I'll start screaming if I see one" Brook yelped.
"Have you even looked at yourself in the mirror?!" Nami demanded and she lifted a hand mirror towards Brook.
"No! Please put that mirror away!" Brook shrieked as he covered his face with his hands.
"What? Why?" Usopp and Chopper asked. They looked into the mirror to see nothing but the face of a long nosed sniper and a reindeer wearing a pink hat.
"WHOAH! TIME OUT!" Usopp screamed at the skeleton "Why doesn't the mirror show your reflection?!"
"VAMPIRE!" Chopper yelled as he called out for help from Anamaria who chuckled as she patted his back.
"Vampire?! That's awesome!" Luffy cheered.
"W-W-Wait, now that I look at it," Usopp shouted and pointed at Brook's feet "You don't even have a shadow?!"
"The story of why I am a skeleton...and why I don't have a shadow are two completely separate things. A certain man stole my shadow a few years ago...and having lost my shadow, I am no longer able to exist in the world of light. I cannot live under the world of sun. I can only exist under this foggy sky. If I go into the light, my body will be obliterated" Brook sighed and sat back down in his chair.
"Wow...Your life sucks" Sanji commented.
"Even so, I've scraped by!" Brook replied enthusiastically "Scraped right down to the bone. Yohoho! I am the dead and skeletonized Brook. It's a pleasure!"
"Why are you so cheerful?" Sanji grunted.
"Yohohohohoho!" Brook laughed "Today is a truly wonderful day! I met people!" his demeanour changed a bit "All my crewmates passed away...I was all alone on a large ship with a broken rudder...I merely rocked on the water as I drifted for several decades...I was really lonely" Brook said softly "I was lonely...and scared! I wanted to die!..But I'm glad I've lived such a long life"
"People are such joy and I see you as a joy too! You've asked me to be on your crew and that has made me very happy" Brook stood up and lifted his arms victoriously. Luffy laughed "But..I must reject your offer" Brook continued making Luffy's jaw drop.
"What?! Why?!" he demanded.
"As I just explained, my shadow has been stolen...I cannot live under the sun. I'm currently protected by the fog that blocks the sunlight here in the Devil's Sea"
"So...why don't ya let us help you?" Anamaria asked him despite Nami clutching onto her arms and Chopper hanging off her head to keep her to shut her mouth. Brook was stunned at first but then he laughed.
"That's a fine offer but I can't accept that as well. If I leave the Devil's Sea, it's only a matter of time before I get obliterated. I shall stay here and wait for the day that I can regain my shadow" he replied.
"Don't act like such a stranger! If you need your shadow, I'll take it back for you! Didn't you say someone stole it? Who was it? Where is he?" Luffy slammed his palms down on the table.
"You're a really a great guy...However, I cannot tell you. I could not ask you to die for me when we've just met" Brook replied.
"It wouldn't kill you to just give us a name" Franky said.
"No, my lips are sealed" Brook said "But honestly, I don't even know where he is. I don't even know if I'll see him again before my second life comes to an end...but if our paths should ever cross, I have decided to fight him" he then went to towards the door where he took out a violin "I think it's time for some music, don't you?" he asked "Instruments are my pride and joy. I was a musician in my previous crew"
"A MUSICIAN?! I'VE ALWAYS WANTED A MUSICIAN!" Luffy cheered.
Brook laughed and placed his bow on the strings but then he froze and then fell to the floor.
"What? What's wrong?!" Sanji shouted.
"G-G-G-Ghost!" Brook screamed as he pointed behind them.
They all turned and spotted a transparent bubble like creature that was floating through the wall.
"AHHHH!" the Straw Hats screamed.
"Evil be gone! Evil be gone!" Usopp cried.
The ship started to tremor violently causing the plates on the dining table to rattle and quake. Brook ran out of the room towards the aft and the Straw Hats quickly followed behind him. They had found themselves in front of an island that was covered in ruins and dense fog.
"By...by any chance, did you guys pick up a drifting barrel?" Brook asked.
"Yah, we found one" Luffy answered.
"I knew it...That was a trap" Brook said "They've been after your ship ever since you opened it. This is the ghost island that wanders the seas" Brook said "Thriller Bark!"
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