Nami heard this, looked at the almost collapsed charred skeleton on the ground, and then at Robin's calm face.
She huffily dispelled the lightning in her hand, but still glared fiercely at Brook: "Hmph! Only for Robin's sake!"
At this moment, Brook was like a piece of charcoal struck by lightning, sprawled there, barely breathing, though he didn't need to.
"Chef, could you give me a glass of milk?"
Sanji sighed.
Although he disapproved of Brook's behavior, he still turned and took a bottle of iced milk from the kitchen fridge, ungraciously handing it to Brook's mouth: "Here, perverted skeleton, drink some, don't actually fall apart."
Brook weakly opened his jaw, and Sanji slowly poured the milk in.
Next, a shocking scene unfolded!
The milk seemed to be quickly absorbed by some magical power.
The black on Brook's charred bones rapidly faded, restoring them to a pristine white color.
The tiny cracks caused by the lightning healed and disappeared at a visible speed!
In just a few seconds, Brook's skeletal body was completely renewed, even whiter and brighter than before, as if Built-in soft light in the thick fog!
"Wow!!!" Chopper was the first to exclaim, his eyes wide: "Reco... recovered?! The charring is gone! The cracks are healed! Milk has this effect?!"
Usopp's jaw almost dropped to the ground: "This... how is this possible?! Milk isn't a panacea!"
Brook stretched his renewed bones, emitting crisp 'clacking' sounds.
He stood up gracefully, and though he had been in a sorry state just now, he bowed again:
"Yohohoho~ Please excuse my appearance."
He explained, "As you can see, I am but a pile of bones.
So, ordinary injuries, as long as I replenish calcium in time, can heal quickly!
Milk is the best source of calcium! Yohohoho~"
Everyone: "..."
So, to deal with this skeleton, ordinary attacks are ineffective; what's needed is... to cut off his milk supply?!
This new companion's ability is getting more and more outrageous!
After Brook miraculously recovered through his 'milk bath' and gained a preliminary understanding of the Straw Hat's 'survival rules,' especially that Nami should absolutely not be provoked, a unique 'new companion welcome ceremony' officially began.
Usopp cleared his throat twice, adopting the air of a senior and veteran, and walked up to the still somewhat bewildered Brook, patting his shoulder, though it was a bit bony.
"Ahem! Brook! Since you are now an official member of the Straw Hat," Usopp said earnestly, despite his long nose looking somewhat comical in the thick fog, "then there's a major matter concerning your future path to strength that you must know!"
Brook politely bowed slightly: "Oh? A major matter concerning the path to strength? I'd be delighted to hear more, Mr. Usopp."
Usopp put his hands on his hips, raising his voice by an octave: "That is—our Straw Hat Pirates actually have a hidden identity!
We are all 'System Users'!"
"Sys... System User?" Brook's empty eye sockets seemed to be filled with question marks, his jaw slightly agape: "What is that? A new race? Yohohoho~"
"Not a race!" Usopp proudly wagged his finger, "This is a... well... a very powerful talent!
Or rather, it's a shortcut to becoming strong, granted by Captain Ron!"
He began to list them off: "Look at me! I have the 'Become Strong by Showing Off System'! As long as I successfully and appropriately show off, I get rewards!"
Then he pointed at Chopper: "See? Our ship doctor, Chopper, used to have the 'Become Strong by Sunbathing System,' but now it's upgraded! It's become the even more powerful 'Become Strong by Sunbathing Kizaru System'! Isn't that amazing!"
He then pointed at Nami: "And our navigator, Miss Nami, has the 'Become Strong by Treasure Hunting System'! Every time she finds treasure, she gets stronger!"
Usopp's arm swept in a circle, encompassing everyone:
"In short, each of us has our own System! And all of this greatness was bestowed by our Captain Ron!
This is how we welcome new companions, and it's also the starting point for you to become stronger!"
These utterly bizarre words made Brook's skeletal head seem to freeze for a few seconds, and he incredulously touched his own skull.
"Sys... System? Show off... become strong? Treasure hunting become strong? Sun... sunbathing Admiral become strong?!"
Brook's voice was filled with unprecedented shock: "Does such... such an incredible power actually exist in the world?! This is even more outrageous than the Revive-Revive Fruit!
Captain Ron's ability is truly amazing!"
However, after the shock, Brook quickly calmed down.
He thought of his own experience of dying and resurrecting due to the Revive-Revive Fruit, surviving as a skeleton for decades... "Yohohoho..."
He let out a knowing laugh, his bony shoulders shrugging slightly: "But if I think about it, if even a skeleton like me, who died and came back to life, can exist and recover by drinking milk... then having all sorts of magical Systems doesn't seem completely unacceptable anymore, does it?
Yohohoho... It seems I've joined an extraordinary pirate crew!"
His quick acceptance caught Usopp, who had prepared a long explanation, somewhat off guard.
It seemed that this skeletal musician, who had lived for over ninety years, had a much higher tolerance for the word 'outrageous' than expected!
After Usopp finished introducing the general concept of 'System User,' the main event of the welcome ceremony finally arrived.
Everyone's gaze turned to Ron.
Ron smiled slightly, stepped forward, and approached Brook.
He made no extra movements, simply gazing calmly at Brook.
"Brook, relax your mind.
Accept this gift from a companion." Ron's voice carried an undeniable power.
Although Brook couldn't see Ron's gaze, he still closed his eyes as instructed, even though he had no eyes to close.
He lowered his head slightly, directing his empty eye sockets towards the deck, all his bones relaxing, as if devoutly awaiting some sacred bestowal.
After a moment of silence,
A cold, profound aura, as if from the other side of the Yellow Springs, emanated from Ron without warning, and instantly merged into Brook's skeleton!
[Detecting suitable sub-host Brook, System awakening...]
[Strongest Underworld Summoning System, bound!]
[By collecting fear points from others, ghosts can be randomly summoned from the Underworld to assist in battle!]
[Ghosts possess half of their abilities from when they were alive! And while ghosts exist, all damage taken by Brook will be borne by the ghosts!]
[Fear Points: 0!]
[Summoned Ghosts: 0]
....
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