"Kaito-san wants my Devil Fruit? Is he planning to kill me?"
Brook's expression turned grave. This wasn't a matter to joke about.
A Devil Fruit only reappears after the current user dies. More importantly, Brook's life was now sustained by the powers of the Revive-Revive Fruit. If he lost the fruit, there was no telling whether he could even continue existing.
Brook wasn't afraid of death. After losing all his crewmates and turning into this ghostly being, he'd long since grown tired of living.
What kept him hanging on was the promise he'd made to the whale, Laboon. Until that promise was fulfilled, he wasn't ready to die.
Of course, Kaito had no intention of taking Brook's life. He actually found Brook quite interesting—good character, if a bit perverted.
But being a pervert wasn't a big deal. Kaito had his moments too.
Brook shuddered in fear and instinctively took two steps back.
Kaito realized that his expression might've been a bit too sinister—Brook still thought he was planning to kill him.
So he immediately explained,
"Don't get nervous. I have a special method that lets me take your Devil Fruit without costing you your life."
"Ah-re? There's a way to do that? Kaito-san, you almost gave me a heart attack just now! Though... I don't have a heart. Yohohohoho!"
Brook's personality was always carefree and open, so he quickly believed Kaito's explanation.
And if his life wasn't in danger, then whether or not he had the fruit didn't really matter much to him.
Right now, Brook's usage of the Revive-Revive Fruit was still very basic. He still believed its only function was to revive him once after death.
In the anime, Brook had to train for two years before he learned to use the chill of the underworld and soul-based attacks. But even that level, in Kaito's eyes, was still underutilizing such a top-tier fruit.
If the Revive-Revive Fruit were in the hands of someone like him, who possessed the Rinnegan, its power could be taken to an entirely different level.
...
Listening to Brook's signature skull jokes, Kaito couldn't help but find them nostalgic and amusing.
Of all the Straw Hats—excluding the women—Brook was his favorite. So, since he was taking Brook's fruit, he figured he might as well do something in return for him.
But what could match the value of the Revive-Revive Fruit?
Kaito lowered his head, combing through his memories about Brook.
His gaze lingered near Brook's feet—and then it clicked.
Zzz!
A brilliant flash of violet light sparked around Kaito's body. Under its glow, he noticed that Brook had no shadow under his feet.
Seeing this, Kaito nodded to himself. Just as he remembered—Brook didn't currently have a shadow.
His shadow had been taken by the Shadow-Shadow Fruit user, Moria, and placed into the zombie samurai, Ryuma.
This was perfect—a fitting way to repay Brook for the Revive-Revive Fruit.
Kaito smiled at Brook and said,
"I can't just take your Devil Fruit for free. I'll give you something worthwhile in return."
Without waiting for Brook to respond, Kaito transformed into a bolt of lightning and vanished on the spot.
Brook stared blankly at the place where Kaito had just been. After a moment, he called out,
"Eh? Kaito-san! I don't really need this fruit anyway. If you want it, take it! Just stay and talk with me for a while…"
But Kaito was already far away. All that remained around Brook was a sea of shadows.
Brook lowered his skull, looking dejected, and muttered to himself,
"Am I alone again…?"
...
The Florian Triangle—onboard the Thriller Bark,
Moria was lying lazily on a plush couch like the ultimate shut-in, engrossed in researching zombies on his own turf.
Aside from the monthly quota Kaito gave him, there was no way he'd take a single step outside his home.
But he was still two short this month, which left Moria irritated. He grumbled to Absalom and the others nearby,
"That damn Shikiryū... I still have to go out and finish that stupid errand for him!"
Ghost Princess Perona saw Moria's grumpy expression and didn't bother offering any sympathy. Instead, she covered her mouth and let out a mocking laugh,
"Horohorohoro... Moria-sama, I actually think this kind of task is good for you. You need to get out and stretch once in a while!"
Hogback stayed silent, feigning complete indifference as usual.
Only Absalom showed a bit of concern, trying to comfort Moria,
"Moria-sama, with your strength, taking care of a few small-time pirate crews is nothing. You don't need to worry too much."
Seeing at least one subordinate who seemed to care warmed Moria's cold heart. He looked at Absalom with hopeful eyes and said,
"But I'm really busy... How about you go handle this damn task for me?"
"Uh..."
Absalom froze for a second before quickly waving his hands,
"You must be joking, Moria-sama! I don't have that kind of strength. If I got caught by the enemy, it'd just mean more trouble for you!"
He was just making excuses to dodge responsibility. What he didn't know was that, in the original timeline, Moria actually did go to Blackbeard's territory to save him—but by then, Absalom had already been killed, and his Clear-Clear Fruit stolen.
Fortunately, in this timeline, Blackbeard had already been killed by Kaito. Shiryu of the Rain had also been reduced to nothing but sludge by Kaito's poison. Absalom had unknowingly dodged a bullet.
Moria didn't press the issue after Absalom's polite refusal. Despite his terrifying appearance, he actually cared deeply for his subordinates.
Absalom really didn't have the strength, and Moria hadn't expected much from him anyway.
In the end, he'd have to handle it himself!
Moria let out a deep sigh as he looked at his "Three Freaks."
A goth loli who loved to mock him, a perverted doctor who flirted with corpses, and one guy who finally showed a bit of respect to his boss—but was still mostly useless...
There really wasn't anyone else like him. Being a boss like this was just sad. He might as well pin his hopes on the zombies.
Shaking his head in resignation, Moria got off the couch with some effort, preparing to head out and blow off steam on some unlucky pirate crew.
Suddenly, a voice that filled him with dread echoed through the air—
"Moria, you sure look relaxed."