Grand Line, Whiskey Peak.
A hidden Baroque Works base, the Merry Bar.
"I'm starving! I'm starving! We finally made it to an island!"
With a loud shout, the straw-hatted boy pushed open the tavern door.
"Boss! Meat! I want meat! Bring me a thousand servings to start!" he shouted excitedly, eyes narrowed in anticipation as if he could already smell it.
'Bang!'
Before he could finish, a fist came flying from behind and smashed him to the floor.
"Are you an idiot, Luffy? What do you mean, a thousand servings? How can you say something that ridiculous?!"
"Eh!? But Nami, I'm not kidding! I really can eat a thousand servings!"
"Shut up! What do you think you are, Laboon?!"
Amid their bickering, the rest of the crew filed into the tavern: a green-haired swordsman, a curly-browed cook, a long-nosed sniper, and an orange-haired navigator.
"All right, Luffy. Nami-san is right. Just have a little meat for now. Once we buy ingredients and get back, I'll make you something even better!"
"Boss! I want booze! Bring me a thousand glasses!"
'Bang!'
"Hey! Stop messing around! Listen to me, the great Usopp! This is the Grand Line! It's dangerous here, you know?!"
As the group continued their usual commotion...
"Yohohohoho!"
They noticed an afro-haired man behind the bar, facing away from them as he washed dishes.
"What lively customers you are! But that long-nosed young man is absolutely right. This is the Grand Line. If you're not careful, you could die here!" As he spoke, he suddenly turned around.
"Just like I did! Oh, but I came back to life afterward, even though I became a skeleton... Yohohohoho!"
The sight of his terrifying skeletal face immediately scared two-thirds of Usopp and Nami's souls right out of their bodies.
"A-a-a skeleton! He's a skeleton!" The two collapsed to the floor, trembling like leaves.
"What is this, some kind of costume party?" Sanji frowned.
"That's not a costume. This guy really is a skeleton..." Zoro had already placed a hand on his sword.
"Oh, I see. Another strange animal from the Grand Line?"
"Who are you calling an animal? That's very rude, curly-browed young man!"
"Meat... meat... meat..."
Brook removed the dishwashing gloves protecting his bones and politely tipped his hat.
"Don't let my appearance fool you. I'm actually the dishwasher here at this tavern. My name is Brook," he announced proudly.
Sanji and Zoro immediately barked back, "If you're just a dishwasher, don't sound so proud!"
"Meat... meat..."
"Oh, little brother." Brook turned toward Luffy, who had been muttering about meat ever since he walked in. "We don't have a thousand servings here. Little Bon-chan took some with him when he came back to report not long ago. But there's still a little food left, so I'll treat you."
"R-really!? You're giving me meat!?" Luffy instantly snapped to attention. Then, as if he had only just noticed Brook's face... "Eh!? A corpse is talking!"
"So what the hell were you looking at this whole time?!" all four of them yelled in chorus.
Even though the Straw Hats were well accustomed to their captain's complete lack of common sense, they still couldn't help shouting together.
"Yohohohoho! Naturally, I really am a skeleton. And I heard you mention 'Laboon' earlier. I'm quite interested in that and would like to ask you about it," Brook explained politely.
A little while later...
"Oh, I see... So you're a Devil Fruit user. That explains everything."
"I knew it. There's no way actual skeletons or ghosts could exist."
"Hey! You two! If you believe that, then come sit down already!"
"This place is supposed to be a tavern, but you don't even sell alcohol? You only have cola? How does this place stay in business?"
Their ridiculous conversation continued. Naturally, despite all the nonsense, someone was still paying attention to the important details.
"So you're a member of the pirate crew Laboon has been waiting for?" Sanji quietly lit a cigarette as he asked.
"It's embarrassing to admit, but yes, that's the truth." At the mention of Laboon, Brook's mood turned subdued.
"You're not planning to go back and see him?" Luffy, who was devouring food beside them, somehow managed to ask clearly despite having his mouth full.
"Of course I'm going to see Laboon!" Brook answered without hesitation. "A promise is a promise. It's something that must never be forgotten. Even if I have to risk my life, I will fulfill it. I'll travel all the way around the Grand Line and then go back to see Laboon. Although I'm already dead, yohohohoho!"
After making another skull joke, he happily downed a glass of cola. Then he suddenly jumped up and began frantically searching around the bar.
"Ah! I drank it without thinking! Calcium! My calcium! I need milk!"
"Hahaha!" Luffy clutched his stomach and burst into laughter, tears welling up in his eyes. "Hey! You're really funny!" He grinned at Brook. "Since you're a pirate too, why don't you join my crew?"
"Eh?" Brook was stunned. "Your crew?"
"Yeah!" Luffy stuffed another piece of meat into his mouth. "The person who sails all the way around the Grand Line becomes the Pirate King, right? I'm definitely going to be the Pirate King, so if you want to fulfill your promise, you should join my crew!"
Anyone else hearing those words would normally laugh and call them childish boasting. But Brook could tell Luffy was completely serious.
"Yohohohoho! Now that's a reason I never expected..." Brook laughed softly. "But, little Luffy, are you sure? I'm a suspicious character, and we've known each other for less than an hour."
"Eh? What does that matter?" Luffy seemed to have finally eaten his fill, happily patting his stomach, which had swollen into a giant ball. He grinned at Brook. "Because I think you're a really interesting guy!"
To Luffy, that alone was more than enough reason.
Brook fell silent, looking toward the rest of the crew. On all their faces, he saw the same helpless, affectionate smiles.
"Ah, I knew it..."
"That's just how Luffy is."
"You really can't do anything with him."
They grumbled, but not a single one rejected their captain's decision.
"Yohohohoho... This really is..." Brook felt a warmth he hadn't felt in decades. He had assumed he would have to wait many more years before finding new companions. Yet here they were. "I'm truly delighted."
He removed his hat again. "I'm so happy I feel like playing a song right now."
"Playing a song?" the crew asked.
"Yes. I used to be a pirate, and I also served as a guard. These days, I work as the dishwasher here, but my true profession is musician."
"A musician!?" Luffy's eyes instantly lit up. "Hey, Brook! You definitely have to join my crew!" He had already decided his crew desperately needed a musician.
"I would be honored. Yohohohoho." Brook happily accepted. Then he added, "However... not right now."
"Eh!? Why?" Luffy dragged out his voice in disappointment.
"The owner of this tavern has done me a great kindness," Brook said seriously. "He and another one of my superiors recently went out on business and asked me to look after the place. Until they return, I cannot leave. Besides, I promised him that if I found suitable companions, I would inform him before leaving. That's a promise too, yohohohoho!"
Luffy pouted, but the other Straw Hats immediately caught the weight behind Brook's words.
"The owner of the tavern?"
"Another superior?"
Normally, a tavern dishwasher wouldn't refer to their boss like that.
"Where did they go? To the next island?" Nami asked, her navigator's curiosity piqued.
"Yohohohoho, not to the next island." Brook laughed, but offered no details. "Speaking of which, beautiful Miss Nami, since we're about to sail the seas together, would you mind showing me your panties?"
"Who would show you that!? You suspicious perverted skeleton!"
---
At the same time, Shinryu and Robin had no idea what was happening on Whiskey Peak. Even if they had known, they wouldn't have had the time to care.
They were currently in the Florian Triangle. More precisely, they were standing atop the "Abyss."
"So this is it... Lord Shinryu, this is unbelievable."
Robin had already heard from Shinryu that the Twelve Zodiac possessed an eight-hundred-year-old ship containing an ancient mural. But she had never pictured a "ship" like this.
"Part of the Red Line, once belonging to the legendary pirate Davy Jones... An island ship that ate a Devil Fruit..." Robin murmured the facts Shinryu had shared, every single one capable of shaking the world to its core.
She instinctively ran her fingertips over an exposed patch of red rock beside her. As an archaeologist, she could feel its ancient density. Everything about this island ship left her deeply shaken.
As a historian, its archaeological value was beyond calculation. If Ohara were still standing, Professor Clover would have dropped dead on the spot from sheer shock.
"This is a priceless treasure, Lord Shinryu... It must be protected. You... you really shouldn't have told me where it was," Robin admitted softly.
The Abyss terrified her a little. If the World Government ever learned of its existence, its fate would be identical to Ohara's, a Buster Call, backed by the World Government's ultimate forces, sent to erase it from history.
The fewer people who knew, the better. Including her. She would never betray the Twelve Zodiac, but she knew she lacked the power of their top officers. If she were ever captured, information could be forced out of her.
"Don't worry," Shinryu casually reassured her. "This place is safe. It won't be discovered anytime soon. And before long, this ship will be moved to headquarters."
Robin's breath hitched as she seized on his words. "Moved?" She looked around in disbelief. A ship this size, practically a mini-continent, and the Twelve Zodiac intended to move it? She couldn't fathom what power could accomplish such a feat.
Then the second word hit her.
"Headquarters!?"
The concept sent waves through Robin's mind. The Twelve Zodiac's headquarters... She had suspected a true base of operations existed for an organization so powerful, but until today, it was unconfirmed.
'If it's the headquarters, then Star Lord must be there... along with the other Constellations...'
Her mind raced. What did their headquarters look like? An island? A massive flagship? An entire hidden nation?
"Hmm!?" Out of the corner of her eye, Robin caught sight of a silhouette appearing in the distance. "Lord Shinryu! Someone's there!"
She crossed her arms, instantly preparing her Devil Fruit power. Robin was never fond of fighting, but the sheer importance of this ship made her reaction aggressive. She couldn't allow its existence to be exposed.
Shinryu merely waved a hand. "It's fine. That's just Rocks."
He watched calmly as the figure emerged from the shimmering Mirage Energy, then turned to Robin. "Come on. We have business to take care of. Don't you want to see that mural?"
(End of Chapter)
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