"Brother Leo, it's so dark in here," the timid Vivi whispered, clinging to Leo's arm and refusing to let go.
In the pitch-black environment where you couldn't see your own hand in front of your face, the girls huddled together for comfort.
Even though they had all mastered Observation Haki and could sense their surroundings, the visual impact of the absolute darkness still instilled a primal fear.
"With your current strength, this place poses no threat to you," Leo said with a light smile, giving the girls a reassuring look.
"Yohohohoho~"
"Yohohohoho~"
"Yohohohoho~"
Right then, a melodious singing voice suddenly rose from within the thick fog, causing the slightly settled girls to tense up again.
"What is that?!!" Nami frowned, her Observation Haki picking up an... unknown life form.
To be precise, it seemed to be a skeleton?!
"Leo, is that guy supposed to be...?"
Leo nodded slightly and increased the Ark Maxim's flight speed.
As they drew closer, the melodious singing became clearer.
Bring a bottle of Binks' brew
Ride the wind and waves, so wild and free
Let's sing a song, a song of the sea
The voice was悠扬 (melodious) and婉转 (sweet-sounding).
As the song ended, an ancient, dilapidated pirate ship came into view.
The girls instinctively looked, and the next moment, their eyes widened in shock.
They actually saw a skeleton's jaw moving up and down; that beautiful music had come from its mouth.
"Yohohohoho~ I didn't expect my luck to be so good today, meeting a new pirate crew."
Brook, who hadn't seen newcomers in a long time, was overjoyed and momentarily forgot his manners.
"Ah!!!"
"Ah!!!"
"Ah!!!"
The moment the girls saw Brook, they recognized who he was.
But even with prior mental preparation, suddenly seeing something as utterly illogical as Brook—a living skeleton—standing before them...
At least four or five of the girls let out simultaneous, piercing screams.
Brook was startled by the sudden screams, staggering back and looking around frantically. "What happened?!!"
After finding nothing amiss, Brook patted his chest (where his heart would be) and looked back at the group.
"Don't be afraid," Leo soothed the girls gently.
Fortunately, he had warned them beforehand; otherwise, who knows how scared they might have been.
The startled girls moved closer to their sisters and then began studying Brook.
The world was truly full of wonders.
Brook straightened his afro and greeted everyone enthusiastically. "Yohohohoho~ My name is Brook. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
When his gaze fell on the women, his tone noticeably grew excited. "Yohohohoho~ So many beautiful ladies! I wonder if I could..."
Before Brook could finish his sentence, a pressure as immense as a mountain instantly crashed down upon him.
With a thud, Brook's tall, thin skeleton frame knelt on the deck.
Crack!
His already worn-out pirate ship groaned under the strain.
Simultaneously, a cold voice slowly came from Leo. "Brook, if you dare say what comes next, I will break every single one of your bones right now."
Brook's pupils... wait, he didn't have any.
Brook's skull showed no expression, only his jaw moving with difficulty as if trying to speak.
The next moment, the pressure vanished.
Brook felt as if granted a pardon, gasping for breath he didn't need.
"Still want to say it?" Leo looked at Brook with a smiling expression.
Brook shook his head like a rattle-drum. "No, never again."
If he said it, his bones would really scatter.
The thoroughly spooked Brook immediately turned to leave. If he couldn't afford to provoke them, couldn't he just avoid them?!
"Brook, do you remember the island whale, Laboon?!!"
The moment Brook, preparing to slip away, heard that name, his body visibly trembled.
He snapped his head towards Leo.
"Laboon?!! You said Laboon?!!" Brook's voice began to shake.
How many years had it been? He himself had lost count of the years since he last heard Laboon's name.
Though Brook's skeletal face showed no expression, everyone could hear the clear hope in his tone.
They realized Brook had truly never given up on Laboon, never forgotten their promise.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be so emotional upon hearing Laboon's name after 50 years.
Leo smiled slightly. "Laboon has been waiting for you at Twin Capes."
"That's right, Brook. Laboon misses you very much," Kaya said, her heart aching as she recalled the scars Laboon had accumulated searching for Brook.
"You... you've really seen Laboon?!!"
Despite having no flesh or blood, tears now streamed from Brook's empty eye sockets.
He never imagined he would hear news of Laboon again one day.
"Laboon is being well taken care of now. He's over 400 meters long and waiting for you to return to him," Leo explained patiently.
The sincere emotion for Laboon radiating from Brook at this moment moved even him.
"Yohohohoho~ That little fellow has grown to 400 meters! Wonderful, truly wonderful!!!"
Learning that Laboon was safe and sound, Brook cried tears of joy.
But soon, he shook his head in dejection. "I want to see Laboon too, but I can't leave this place."
"Why can't you leave? Are you afraid your current appearance will scare Laboon?" Makino was taken aback, then asked, puzzled.
The other girls also looked at Brook with confused expressions.
"His shadow was stolen by Gecko Moria. He simply can't leave," Leo didn't keep them in suspense and directly revealed the truth to the girls.
Brook smiled wryly,沮丧 (dejected). "It's true. Without my shadow, I will die if exposed to sunlight."
"So I can only live in this sunless Florian Triangle, unless one day I can reclaim my shadow."
Brook slowly looked up, using his pupil-less eye sockets to gaze at the pitch-black sky. He had been here for 50 years. Would that day ever come?!
He had long since come to terms with it, but upon learning Laboon was alive and waiting for him at Twin Capes, his long-calm heart was stirred once more.
Even though he no longer had a heart, he had to go back and see Laboon.
Because Laboon was his only remaining partner in this world.
"Tch, I thought it was something serious~" Nami pouted, her dismissive tone pulling Brook back from his thoughts.
"After I defeat Gecko Moria, won't you get your shadow back?"
Brook stood dumbfounded, his skull facing Nami as if expressing shock.
Defeat Gecko Moria?!
He knew every word, but put together, he couldn't quite understand.
Did these people know who Gecko Moria was?!
Leo patted Brook on the shoulder. "I promised Laboon I would bring you to see him."
"If you still want your shadow back, keep up."
After a moment of stunned silence, Brook hurriedly jumped onto the Ark Maxim.
For Laboon, he had to take this gamble.
Most importantly, the power this man had just displayed seemed genuinely formidable.
Guided by Observation Haki, the Ark Maxim flew purposefully towards a massive pirate ship hidden within the thick fog.
The Thriller Bark.
Gecko Moria's pirate ship, also the largest pirate ship in the world.
Its scale rivaled that of a medium-sized island.
The ship's front gate was shaped like a giant mouth baring its teeth, perfectly matching Gecko Moria's image.
As the front gate was wide open, the Ark Maxim entered unimpeded.
The vanished pirate crews of the past had been lured in the same way.
Unfortunately, once they entered, they never left.
After entering the Thriller Bark, Leo stored the Ark Maxim and led the girls forward.
Along the way, Leo proactively explained various things they encountered.
Why there were so many tombstones, why some animal corpses looked so诡异 (eerie)...
Earning another wave of崇拜 (admiring) looks from his fangirls.
The girls chatted and laughed with Leo along the way, gradually lessening their fear of the surroundings.
Brook followed behind the group, cautiously observing his surroundings as if afraid of something.
At some point, over a dozen transparent ghosts appeared, drifting above the group's heads.
"Horo horo~"
"Hehe horo~"
The transparent ghosts emitted laughter even more bizarre than Brook's.
Everyone was startled.
Looking at these Negative Hollows, Leo explained, "These are Negative Hollows, created by the Ghost-Ghost Fruit ability of Perona, one of Moria's three primary subordinates."
"If these Negative Hollows hit you, you'll become extremely pessimistic."
Hearing this, the girls all became wary.
Watching the Negative Hollows preparing to attack, Leo chuckled lightly. "Perona, take them back now, or when I find your real body, I'll spank your bottom hard."
The Negative Hollows circled Leo once, then surprisingly all flew away.
Brook, standing behind them, was utterly petrified.
Meanwhile.
In a dark castle, within a very kawaii-decorated princess room.
On a soft pink bed, the Ghost Princess Perona suddenly opened her eyes, her face pale with panic.
"Leo! Leo is really in the Florian Triangle?!!"
The panicked Perona was as white as a sheet.
Just a couple of days ago they were talking about Leo, the man with a 3 billion Berry bounty.
And he was here today?!!
"Passing by! They must just be passing through!" Perona gently patted her heaving chest, trying to calm herself down.
"What if they aren't?!!" The next moment, her face fell again.
"No! I have to inform Lord Gecko Moria immediately! With him here, even Leo is no match!"
After this self-reassurance, Perona decisively walked out of her room, flipping through a castle map as she hurried on her way.
Elsewhere.
Leo led the girls forward. Brook was secretly ecstatic.
This man had even scared off the fearless Perona. Perhaps today he really could get his shadow back.
"Captain, this place is full of graves and creepy forests. Why would Gecko Moria live in a place like this?!!" The little angel Conis frowned slightly, moving closer to Leo.
Leo shook his head. "Who knows? Maybe for his zombie army, or maybe he just likes living in this hellish place."
"These Warlords seem weirder and weirder," Nami couldn't help but吐槽 (complain) from the side.
Hawkeye rowed with his sword.
Crocodile changed his...出厂配置 (factory settings).
Gecko Moria liked living in this阴间 (underworld-like) place.
She had only met three Warlords, and all three were eccentrics. It was hard to take.
"Captain, there are so many people in here~" The girls, with their Observation Haki active, immediately detected many figures hiding in the forest, secretly watching them.
Leo gave a casual glance and said calmly, "Ignore them."
"Huh?!!" Right then, the girls let out a simultaneous sound of surprise, stopping and looking to the right.
Someone was actually sneaking towards them furtively.
"Nani?!!"
Absalom, hiding in the shadows, saw everyone's gaze turn towards him simultaneously and instinctively held his breath.
He thought to himself, What's with these guys?!
Have I been exposed?!
He looked down at his transparent body, confirmed nothing was wrong, and secretly sighed in relief.
Just scaring myself.
Must have been my heavy footsteps; I accidentally made a sound, so they noticed unintentionally.
Just as Absalom prepared to approach again, he suddenly spotted Leo standing to the left of the women.
Holy crap!!
Absalom's face changed dramatically. He quickly covered his mouth, holding his breath.
He didn't dare make a sound.
Leo! It was actually Leo!!!
Damn it, why was he here?!
No matter how inflated Leo's bounty was, killing Crocodile was an indisputable fact. He didn't think he was a match for Leo.
Just as he was tiptoeing, preparing to turn and leave...
"Hey, what are you sneaking around for?!!" A suddenly raised voice made Absalom's hair stand on end, almost causing him to scream.
Coincidence, it must be a coincidence. Stay calm. Must not panic.
"You can turn invisible. You must be Absalom, one of Moria's three primary subordinates, right?!!" Robin slowly spoke, immediately revealing Absalom's identity.
Absalom's pupils contracted. Without another thought, he turned and ran for his life.
"Since you're here, you might as well stay! Doberman!!" He wanted to run, but Leo had no intention of letting him go.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Doberman's figure vanished from her spot.
A gust of wind suddenly came from behind Absalom!
"Soul Blast!!!"
Absalom's face paled. He was just about to turn and counterattack.
Doberman's fist, coated in Armament Haki, slammed directly into his face.
As for the power, let's just say this:
In the original story, Doberman used this punch to knock out the giant warrior, Kashigami.
Boom!
Absalom's face twisted out of shape, as if flattened by a truck.
Absalom shot out like a cannonball, only stopping after crashing through dozens of tombstones.
Countless teeth, mixed with blood, flew out.
BOOM!!!
As dust filled the air, the last vestiges of life rapidly drained from him. It looked like he had more air going out than coming in.
"Well done," Leo nodded in satisfaction.
"Thank you, Captain," Doberman said with a smile, openly accepting his praise and proudly linking arms with his other side.
The other girls nodded in agreement.
As expected of Doberman. A clean, efficient strike without any hesitation.
"You... you killed Absalom?!!" Brook stared in the direction Absalom had flown, his voice full of disbelief.
One move!!
He took out one of the three primary subordinates with a single move?!
"Brook, he's not as strong as you think. Just wait to get your shadow back," Leo didn't explain further.
"Alrighty then."
Brook looked at Leo's retreating back and quickly scurried after him.
He was screaming internally.
Laboon, wait for me!!
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Perona had already started calling for backup.
She first found the genius surgeon, Hogback, eating in the dining room.
Also one of the three primary subordinates.
"Hogback, stop eating! Leo is really here!!" Perona stamped her foot anxiously.
"You go summon the zombie army! I'll inform Lord Gecko Moria right away!"
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T/N :
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