The deck of the Eclipse.
At Ace's command, the black steel ramps on the side of the Eclipse extended automatically, settling firmly onto the rickety ghost ship.
Ace walked ahead, while Brook cradled his precious violin. Due to extreme excitement and nervousness, his old tibias let out a series of crisp "clack-clack" sounds as they struck the steel plates. The moment Brook's withered feet, clad in a tattered suit, stepped onto the deck of the Eclipse, he froze in place.
How was this a pirate ship?
Beneath his feet was Starfall Black Steel emitting a cold luster. The air was thick with a rugged scent of expensive wood mixed with engine oil. The defense modules on both sides of the ship, filled with an industrial heavy metal aesthetic, gave this nearly century-old "antique" a shock to his very soul.
"Yohohoho, this is truly, truly unbelievable." Brook took off his hat, his hollow eye sockets surveying the surroundings, and gave a deep bow to the assembled crew. "Pardon my intrusion. Brook, Musician and Acting Captain of the Rumbar Pirates, officially greets you all. Although I am but a frightening set of bones, please believe that I have an absolutely sincere heart... though I don't have a heart, yohohoho!"
"A ghost!!!" Buggy screamed, his entire body instantly splitting into dozens of pieces. His head floated in mid-air, his hands tightly covering his eyes, and his Red Nose twitched with fear. "Ace! You really brought this thing on board? He just said he doesn't have a heart! He doesn't even have skin! This is an evil spirit! Definitely an evil spirit!"
"You're too loud, Buggy. Your split state looks more like a ghost." Jeno stood up from the table, his three-meter-tall, burly frame casting a large shadow. He reached out and curiously poked Brook's ribs, producing a dull tapping sound.
"Is this structure maintained entirely by a surge of life energy?" Jeno's infrared prosthetic eye flickered as he laughed heroically. "I don't know much about biology, but the hardness of these bones is decent. Welcome aboard, skeletal musician. If you ever want to add some steel reinforcements to those bones, come find me anytime."
Leona peeked out from the kitchen door, still holding her polished boning knife. Her feline-like vertical pupils scanned Brook up and down, her brow furrowing slightly: "No digestive system... which means you don't need to eat? Regardless, since you've joined the Eclipse Pirates, you must follow the rules. If you get the kitchen dirty, I'll dismantle you and use you to make soup."
Brook trembled all over at the cold, predatory aura emanating from Leona, his skeletal frame clattering: "Ye-yes! Beautiful lady, your majesty truly makes my heart race... though I don't have a heart, yohohoho!"
Urouge, sitting to the side, stopped his training with the iron pillar, that fanatical and twisted smile still fixed on his face: "To return to the world of the living after death is a miracle of karma. Brook, your path of cultivation is very interesting."
Compared to the others' surprise, Shark appeared the most composed. His dead-fish eyes quietly observed Brook, a flash of understanding passing through them, as if recognizing a fellow lonely survivor.
"To endure fifty years of solitude, your resilience is no less than that of a deep-sea reef." Shark gave a polite, slight nod.
Ace stood in the center of the ship, his Vermilion Bird red trench coat flapping in the damp, cold mist. He looked at this somewhat comical yet tragic skeleton and asked, "Alright, Brook. Since you're on board, tell us about your trouble. Why have you been wandering alone in this mist for fifty years?"
At the mention of this, Brook's originally jovial mood instantly turned somber. He slowly lowered his head, his hollow eye sockets looking down at the black steel deck, his voice carrying a trace of unavoidable bitterness.
"Captain, although I long to see Laboon immediately, as I am now, I simply cannot leave this mist." Brook tremblingly extended a slender finger bone, pointing toward the massive, looming shadow in the fog ahead. "My shadow was stolen a few years ago by a man named Gekko Moriah. Now, once I come into contact with sunlight, my body will turn to ash like burnt paper. I can only live like a ghost in the shadows, guarding this broken ship, waiting for the day my soul completely withers away."
"Gekko Moriah?" Sabo was leaning against the railing, calmly adjusting the brim of his top hat. His tone was steady, yet it carried a sense of professional expertise. "One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a user of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit. I've heard he was once a hero brave enough to swing his blade at Kaido of the Beasts. Although he has been living in seclusion in this sea operating a 'Zombie Army' since that great defeat, his strength still shouldn't be underestimated."
"Yahahaha! A mortal playing with shadows?" Eneru dismissively spun his staff, arcs of electricity flashing around him. "In the face of lightning, such things as shadows won't last even a millisecond."
Brook looked at the nonchalant reactions of the group and waved his hands anxiously: "Everyone, please be careful! That is Thriller Bark, the world's largest island-ship! Moriah has a massive Zombie Army, and many other terrifying..."
"Brook." Ace interrupted him, his tone as casual as if they were discussing tomorrow's weather. He looked up, his deep eyes seemingly piercing through the layers of deathly thick fog ahead, locking directly onto the dark castle.
"I said it before, this isn't just a suggestion; it's a forced recruitment." Ace turned around and made a gesture for Carina to speed up. "I'm quite interested in that Moriah guy myself. We'll go over, meet him, and get your shadow back. It just so happens I have some questions to ask that former hero who once dared to challenge Kaido."
The corners of Ace's mouth curled into a rational yet domineering arc. "Little Eclipse, full power. No need for stealth. Since we're going to 'visit,' let's say hello in the most direct way possible."
As soon as he finished speaking, a stream of ghostly blue light flashed rapidly along the induction grooves at the edge of the deck. Following that, a slightly mechanical and stiff synthetic voice echoed throughout the ship:
"Beep, command received! Little Eclipse understands, Captain! Starfall power core overload preheating complete, side mechanical oar arrays deploying."
As the voice faded, rows of massive mechanical oars made of alloy and gleaming with a cold light extended from deep within the sides of the Eclipse's massive black hull. These blades were not traditional wood, but industrial behemoths equipped with hydraulic pistons and dense gear sets.
As the boundless electrical energy within the power core instantly poured into the high-frequency transmission shafts, the gear sets let out a high-pitched hum. The massive blades began to churn the seawater at a high frequency that defied conventional physical logic.
The massive black warship was like an ancient beast awakening, arrogantly tearing a straight white wake across the sea, pointing directly at the island of death hidden deep within the mist.
Brook stood on the deck, gripping the cold black steel railing tightly, his withered finger bones making a slight sound from the force. He looked up at this group of new companions who were full of momentum and didn't even care about a Shichibukai. The deathly stillness and despair in his eye sockets that had spanned fifty years were finally completely ignited by a flame called hope.
That was the roar of salvation he had been waiting for for half a century.
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