"Stop letting your imagination run wild," Deuce growled at Jerry, his voice carrying a mix of exasperation and genuine concern.
After watching the two bicker with obvious amusement, Carrot tilted her head curiously and asked, "The Florian Triangle? What's that?"
Deuce straightened up, his expression growing serious as he began to explain. "It's a massive area that stretches across the Grand Line. We've passed through parts of it before, but only skirted the edges—never ventured this deep into its heart."
He gestured toward the increasingly thick fog surrounding their ship. "This triangular sea region is shrouded in dense mist year-round, and hundreds of ships mysteriously disappear here every year without a trace."
Deuce's voice began to waver slightly as he continued. "According to legend, this area is haunted by restless spirits, with ghost ships carrying hordes of skeletons endlessly cruising these cursed waters."
Despite the ominous description, Carrot showed no fear whatsoever. If anything, her eyes lit up with interest as she nodded enthusiastically. "Bones, you say? Sister Wanda and the others back on Zou would absolutely love that!"
Even Kotatsu, curled up at Carrot's feet, seemed more intrigued than afraid. Carina, however, was a completely different story. She had been nervously pacing along the ship's railing, and Deuce's words made her complexion go several shades paler.
"H-hey... don't talk about such scary things," she stammered, wrapping her arms around herself.
Initially, Carina had dismissed such legends as sailors' tall tales. Besides, she reasoned, she was aboard an experienced crew's ship—surely they wouldn't encounter any real problems.
Noticing her distress, Deuce waved his hands dismissively. "It's all just hearsay anyway. I don't really believe those old ghost stories. Don't worry—there aren't that many supernatural things in this world."
Seeing Carina begin to relax slightly, Jerry couldn't resist grinning mischievously. "Really? I wouldn't be so sure about that. Haha."
"Hey! You perverted fisherman! Stop trying to scare people!" Carina immediately exploded like an angry lioness, her fear quickly transforming into indignation.
"Yohohoho Yohohoho"
Just then, a faint, haunting melody drifted across the water from somewhere in the fog.
"No way... what's that sound?" Carina was the first to voice what everyone was thinking, her earlier bravado evaporating instantly.
The entire crew fell silent, straining to listen to the mysterious voice carried on the misty air. Ace, ever the man of action, was first to move toward the cabin door.
"Let's go check it out," he declared, his tone mixing curiosity with excitement.
Soon, everyone had gathered on deck. While Jerry had sensed the approaching presence earlier through his Observation Haki, the others' eyes widened in genuine shock at what they saw.
Floating beside their modest vessel, barely visible through the swirling fog, was an enormous, decrepit pirate ship. The ghostly vessel was easily twice the size of their own ship, but its condition was beyond deplorable. The hull showed extensive rot and damage, the masts were cracked and weathered, and even the sails hung in tattered ribbons. Every aspect of the ship screamed of incredible age and neglect.
"A-a ghost ship! They really exist!" Carina screamed, her voice cracking with terror.
"Are you serious? I was just making conversation—don't actually scare me!" Deuce added, his own voice pitched higher than usual as both he and Carina stared in horrified fascination.
The rest of the crew gazed at the spectral vessel with varying degrees of amazement and apprehension. As they watched, a figure appeared at the ghost ship's railing—a tall skeleton wearing a suit, complete with an impressive afro hairstyle. The bony figure noticed their attention and cheerfully waved at them.
"Wow! There's actually someone up there!" Carrot exclaimed with delight.
"No... that's not a person—that's a skeleton! And it's moving!" Deuce shouted, his voice rising to match Carina's earlier shriek.
Both Carina and Deuce looked as though they might faint on the spot. Jerry, however, smiled knowingly—he recognized exactly who this skeleton was. Skull and the others had stars in their eyes, though for entirely different reasons.
Skull was practically vibrating with excitement, his collector's instincts immediately fixating on the afro-sporting skull. Meanwhile, Ace and Carrot were already thinking in terms of adventure and excitement.
The distinguished skeleton gentleman standing at the ghost ship's railing paid no attention to the screaming from their boat. Instead, he raised a slightly cracked teacup in a toast-like gesture and nodded politely in their direction.
"Yohohoho~ Care to try some of Binks' sake?" the skeleton called out in a refined, cheerful voice.
"He... he can talk!" Everyone except Jerry gasped in unison, their shock palpable.
Carina immediately rushed over to Carrot and grabbed onto her for emotional support, while Deuce remained frozen in place despite his obvious fear. Skull and the others were startled for a moment but quickly returned to their previous expressions of fascination.
After delivering his invitation, the skeleton gentleman took a delicate sip from his teacup and then simply vanished from sight, as if he had never been there at all.
"Let's go over and take a look!" Ace suggested, his eyes practically glowing with anticipation.
"Ooh, that's exactly what I was hoping you'd say, Brother Ace!" Carrot responded immediately, bouncing on her toes with excitement.
Skull nodded eagerly in agreement, clearly as enthusiastic about this potential encounter as the other two. The three of them were practically vibrating with eagerness to investigate.
Jerry naturally agreed with the plan, but he made sure to check with the more hesitant members of their crew. "What about you two? Are you coming over with us?"
"I think I'll stay here for now," Deuce replied without hesitation, his voice still shaky from the earlier scare.
"I... I want to go too," Carina said quietly, though her voice was weak and uncertain.
Deuce stared at her in amazement. "Eh? Carina, weren't you the one screaming the loudest just now? How can you possibly want to go over there?"
"What's it to you? You were screaming pretty loudly yourself!" she retorted defensively.
"Oh! You want to see if there's any treasure aboard, don't you?" Deuce suddenly realized, snapping his fingers in understanding.
"Hehe, you know me so well," Carina admitted with a sheepish grin.
Her logic was sound—if this really was an ancient ghost ship, it was likely abandoned and might contain valuable treasures like antiques or forgotten cargo. What she didn't realize was that the skeleton they'd seen was very much alive, in his own unique way.
Using his water manipulation abilities, Jerry carefully maneuvered their ship closer to the ghostly vessel. "Alright, let's go," he announced, pointing to a rope hanging down the ghost ship's side. "There's a rope we can use to climb up."
Everyone except Deuce and Kotatsu quickly made their way aboard the mysterious pirate ship. As soon as they set foot on the weathered deck, the skeleton gentleman emerged from the cabin, looked up at his unexpected visitors, and smiled—though being a skeleton, his expression was permanently fixed in a grin.
"Yohohoho~ Hello there!" he greeted them warmly, tipping his hat politely.
"I do hope I didn't frighten you earlier. I forgot to introduce myself properly first—terribly rude of me."
The skeleton's manner was impeccably polite and genteel. "I must admit, I was quite shocked myself. I haven't encountered any living souls in these waters for decades. Usually, the only ships I see are other ghost ships like my own."
Before Jerry could respond to the greeting, Skull rushed forward and positioned himself directly in front of the skeleton, examining him with the intense, obsessive gaze of a passionate collector.
"That afro... and this perfectly natural skeleton structure!" Skull exclaimed with obvious reverence. "Magnificent! Absolutely magnificent!"
"My word! Are you... human?" the skeleton asked, clearly taken aback by Skull's enthusiastic inspection. Despite lacking flesh, he somehow managed to convey the sensation of a chill running down his spine.
Moving with surprising grace and speed, the skeleton gentleman appeared before Carina in what seemed like an instant.
"Oh my, what a lovely lady you are," he said, bowing elegantly.
"Uh... thank you," Carina replied uncertainly. Now that she could see him up close, the reality of speaking with an actual walking, talking skeleton was somewhat overwhelming, leaving her uncertain whether he was human, ghost, or something else entirely.
"You know, whenever I see a beautiful woman, my eyes simply pop right out of my head," the skeleton continued conversationally. "Of course, being a skeleton now, I don't actually have eyes anymore to pop out. Yohohoho!"
He paused dramatically before making his request. "But I do have one small favor to ask. Might I perhaps see your panties?"
"GET LOST!" Carina roared, her fear instantly transforming into fury as she delivered a powerful kick that sent the skeleton flying across the deck.
"Oh my, how tragic. My heart is positively breaking," the skeleton lamented as he lay sprawled on the weathered planks. "Though I suppose I don't actually have a heart anymore either. Yohohoho!"
Despite his dramatic complaints, he sprang back to his feet as if nothing had happened, seemingly no worse for wear.
Skull immediately rushed over to the skeleton again, his curiosity overwhelming his caution. "Amazing! Mr. Skeleton, how is it possible that you're nothing but bones, yet you can still speak and move normally?"
"Ah, forgive me! I've been terribly rude," the skeleton said, lifting his hat from his afro in a gentlemanly salute. "Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Brook—currently nothing more than a pile of bones, having died long ago. My sincerest apologies for the lack of proper etiquette."
Always appreciative of good manners, Ace immediately responded in kind. "Hello there, Brook! I'm Ace, and these are my friends..." He proceeded to introduce everyone present, then opened his eyes wide with genuine curiosity. "Brook, can you still eat and use the bathroom like this?"
"Hey! You two certainly don't hold back with your questions and answers!" Carina shouted, having recovered from her earlier fright enough to be exasperated by their casual conversation about such personal matters.
"Hehehe, Sister Carina, he's so interesting! Lord Duke Inuarashi and Sister Wanda would definitely love him," Carrot giggled, clearly delighted by Brook's unique personality.
Jerry looked around at the deteriorating deck beneath their feet and noted the lack of comfortable seating. "I think so too, but would you like to continue this conversation on our ship? It might be more comfortable."