Brook's eyes no longer glowed with the eerie blue of his Revive-Revive Fruit revival. Instead, they burned a ferocious blood-red. The icy blood in his veins warmed, and the ghostly pallor of his skin gave way to a healthy flush.
His will was wrestling the Revive-Revive Fruit into submission, forcing his body back to a true state of life—a return to the human he once was.
For the first time, Brook, who had relied on the chilling Revive-Revive aura and ghostly energy, unleashed a raw burst of Conqueror's Haki, fierce and commanding!
"Yohohoho! You gave me a second shot at life, and I'm grateful, but trying to turn me into your puppet? Forcing me to lean on your power and depend on you completely? That's where I draw the line!"
"From now on, I'm the captain of this ship! I'll use the Revive-Revive Fruit when I choose to, and not a moment sooner!"
Brook drew his Shichiseiken, his body now fully alive. Coating the blade with Armament Haki, he swung, unleashing a pure sword aura untainted by the Revive-Revive' ghostly chill.
He sensed a new energy flowing within him, separate from the fruit's power. All this time, he'd thought his revival through the Revive-Revive Fruit limited him to its spectral aura and ghostly abilities.
But now he realized his body had truly come back to life. Before, his vitality had been smothered, corrupted by the Revive-Revive' aura and ghostly energy that had invaded and assimilated his being!
By suppressing the fruit and refusing to tap into its powers, his body had reclaimed its living state. The revelation hit him when he touched Seastone and felt a flicker of his own life force. That's when he resolved to abandon the fruit's abilities entirely, even if it meant keeling over and becoming a true corpse again!
Now, it was clear: revival was the Revive-Revive Fruit's passive effect. Even without actively using its powers, he was a resurrected human!
"Honestly, what kind of nonsense is this 'you can only use Devil Fruit or Haki?! Even Logia users can coat their elemental forms with Haki. Revive-Revive Fruit, your ghostly aura and spectral energy are a bit too overbearing, aren't they?"
Brook chuckled, recalling Smoker's Smoke-Smoke Fruit. The guy could launch smoky fists from miles away, hardened with Armament Haki no less!
There was no reason using the Revive-Revive Fruit should strip him of his ability to wield the three types of Haki!
To be fair, it wasn't entirely the fruit's fault. Back in the Revive-Revive, Brook had absorbed an absurd amount of ghostly aura and spectral energy. When he revived, that energy overwhelmed his body, masking his living essence and twisting his form into something otherworldly.
As he honed his control over the fruit, growing more adept at wielding its aura and energy, his life force began to resurface. Awakening his Conqueror's Haki had tipped the scales, allowing his flesh and blood to balance the Revive-Revive' influence.
In the One Piece world, even hair and nails carried will. Seimei Kikan techniques, like CP9's Kumadori manipulating hair with sheer willpower, proved that. Brook's body was no different—his will had finally wrested control!
"Most Devil Fruits let you toggle their powers on and off, but you, Revive-Revive Fruit, kept me stuck in 'on' mode for nearly two years! I didn't even know I could turn you off and stow you away!"
Brook felt his flesh warming, his heart pumping.
"You sneaky fruit, you've been cramping my 'happy' lifestyle for almost two years!"
The sheer volume of ghostly aura and spectral energy he'd absorbed in the Revive-Revive had sustained his fruit's active state for so long. It was like an Animal-type user staying in full beast form or a Logia user remaining elemental for years—exhausting, as powers drained stamina.
But Brook's Revive-Revive Fruit? After gorging on the Revive-Revive' energy, it ran on autopilot, not even taxing his stamina to maintain his ghostly form.
His usual techniques still burned stamina to channel the fruit's power, like tapping into a solid energy reserve. If he ever depleted the aura and energy he'd absorbed in the Revive-Revive, he'd need to generate them himself, burning stamina to fuel his ghostly attacks.
This explained why Brook's training and strength outpaced the crew's top four fighters early on. That Revive-Revive energy reserve was a cheat code, letting him spam powerful abilities without draining his own stamina!
Now, that cheat code was fading. Brook would have to rely on his own strength. In the One Piece world, a small appetite didn't cut it for the strong!
The universal rule held: Devil Fruit powers consumed stamina, but they didn't conflict with Haki. Both could be used in tandem.
...
Brook mulled it over, realizing he might've misjudged the Revive-Revive Fruit. The real culprit was his own doing—crossing into this world and soaking up an obscene amount of ghostly aura and energy in the Revive-Revive. That's what locked him in this frigid, spectral body for two years.
But it also handed him a massive advantage. Early on, he didn't need to spend stamina to generate aura or energy, letting him unleash Revive-Revive abilities freely. Even then, he'd needed stamina to wield the near-solidified energy, adding ghostly damage to his moves.
He thought of the original Brook from the manga, stranded on that ghost ship with no food or drink. That Brook probably lacked the stamina to even generate ghostly energy, unlike this version, who'd started with an infinite energy pack, tossing out aura and energy like confetti!
Back then, he was so weak he could barely tap into that reserve. It was like owning a mountain of gold but only having the strength to scrape off a pinch of dust at a time!
...
It all clicked, and Brook froze.
He'd raged at the Revive-Revive Fruit, assuming it had a will of its own, bellowing, "I'm the master! I'll use you when I want!" like some melodramatic tyrant.
In reality, it was all in his head. The fruit likely had no consciousness—it was just a tool. The ghostly aura and energy from the Revive-Revive had run dry, and his body's natural strength had balanced out, letting him shut off the fruit's powers for the first time.
And yet, his paranoid, domineering outburst had somehow awakened his Conqueror's Haki. Talk about seeing ghosts!
Was his Conqueror's Haki the "Suspicious" type?
Whatever. An awakening was an awakening!
"Yohohoho!"
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