Chapter 340: Commotion on the Ghost Island!
The Florian Triangle · Wreckage of the Rumbar Pirates' Ship
Thick fog rolled across the sea, and the eerie waters resembled a giant, gaping maw, ready to swallow any vessel brave enough to draw near.
The decaying hull swayed with the waves, emitting sharp creaks and groans. The deck was long since overgrown with moss and riddled with cracks.
Brook stood at the bow, his hollow eye sockets scanning the strange group before him—the self-proclaimed "Effort Pirates."
There was the captain, a pint-sized "runt" about 1.6 meters tall wearing round-rimmed glasses, pale-faced but trying his hardest to look majestic. Beside him was a man in a red floral shirt with a blue pompadour, grinning like an idiot while smoking.
Then there was a hulking brute wearing a tattered iron mask, a scrawny man in a black suit with a yellow afro, and a green-haired youth with three swords tucked into his waist—though he was holding the hilts the wrong way. His aura didn't scream "swordsman" so much as "lost." Finally, there was... a fox wearing a hat?
Brook pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, his tone laced with a hint of apology:
"Ah... since my shadow was stolen by the Warlord Gekko Moria, I cannot walk in the sunlight, you see... So, I'm afraid I cannot board your ship..."
—Though, in truth, my shadow came back a long time ago... Brook added silently to himself.
Facing this group that looked "unreliable" no matter how he sliced it, he really couldn't bring himself to the idea of "joining the crew."
However, the tiny captain suddenly slammed his hand against the railing, his small eyes behind the round glasses shimmering with both tears and fury:
"What?! A Warlord of the Sea actually committed such a despicable, shameless act?!"
He spun around abruptly, raising his arm to rally his crew: "Comrades! What is the motto of the Effort Pirates?!"
"200% EFFORT!!!"
"DEFEAT ALL EVIL!!!"
"MAKE THE CAPTAIN THE PIRATE KING!!!"
The crew roared in unison, their voices shaking the fog.
The pompadour man exhaled a puff of smoke and sneered, "Especially... those types who bully the weak!"
The masked giant waved his arms: "For Mr. Brook's freedom!!"
Click!
The green-haired man accidentally pulled the wrong sword but bluffed through the embarrassment: "...Cut through everything with my blade!"
Brook: "..."
(Yohohoho... I think they've misunderstood something...)
He opened his mouth to explain: "Actually, my shadow has already—"
But the tiny captain had already pointed a finger toward the distant Thriller Bark, his heart overflowing with heroic passion:
"Set sail!! Target—Gekko Moria!!!"
"We shall make the sunlight spill across this Florian Triangle once more!!!"
"OHHHHHHH—!!!"
The crew cheered and immediately turned their rickety little boat around, clanking and clattering toward Thriller Bark.
Brook reached out a skeletal hand, about to shout "Wait a minute"...
But the tattered little ship had already vanished into the mist, leaving behind only the fading echoes of their "200% Effort!" slogan.
Standing alone on the deck, Brook was the only one left, the sea breeze whistling through his empty ribs. He remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a sigh: "Actually... my shadow came back a long time ago..."
The skeleton's jaw twitched slightly. "But I have a feeling these definitely aren't the people I've been waiting for..."
"YOHOHOHO~~"
Back on the wreckage, Brook gently stroked the Tone Dial in his arms, and a melodious, mournful tune began to play.
"Even if they aren't the ones I'm waiting for..."
"That hot-blooded passion... it reminds me of my old comrades..."
He raised his head, looking toward the distant horizon as if waiting for something. The fog swirled, and Brook's helpless yet eerie laughter echoed through the Florian Triangle, growing ever more absurd.
Meanwhile, Gekko Moria's Ghost Island · Thriller Bark
Inside the chilling freezer, the air was biting.
The massive corpse of Oars lay quietly in an ice coffin, muscles knotted and stitch marks crisscrossing his body like a sleeping behemoth.
Moria spread his arms, his sinister laughter echoing through the room: "Kishishishi! If I can find a suitable shadow for this body... I'll be one step closer to becoming the Pirate King!!!"
Dr. Hogback pushed up his glasses in excitement, his voice trembling: "Master Moria! Oars' body has been perfectly repaired! Once a powerful shadow is injected, he will be your most terrifying weapon!"
Perona floated in mid-air, clutching her parasol, sneering: "Hee hee hee~ He looks so scary."
Absalom stood with his arms crossed, his mane twitching slightly. "With Oars, the entire New World will tremble beneath your feet!"
Just as they were immersed in their fantasies of invincibility—
BANG!!!
The doors were slammed open!
The zombies Hildon, Ning, and Bao came stumbling in, panicking so hard their stitches were nearly popping!
"Captain! It's bad, it's terrible!!!" Hildon's voice was hoarse, his eyes nearly bulging out.
Ning fell to his knees with a thud: "A group of pirates has landed on the island!!!"
Bao's single eye spun frantically, his words coming out in a blur: "They're cutting down every zombie they see! And they keep shouting about 'Effort!' and 'Grinding!' They're a bunch of lunatics!!!"
The freezer went silent.
"...Pirates?"
Moria's massive body leaned forward, a look of confusion surfacing on his face before turning into a grimace.
Perona covered her mouth and giggled: "How rare~ Some pirates actually dared to deliver themselves to our doorstep?"
Hogback licked the corner of his mouth, madness glinting in his eyes: "Master Moria! You ordered us not to touch the civilians earlier, so our shadow reserves are seriously low... These idiot pirates are a godsend for experimental materials!!!"
Moria split his mouth into a wide grin, shadows rippling through the room like a tide, his laughter sharp and ear-piercing:
"Kishishishi!! Good! Go capture them—let's see which shadow is worthy of Oars!!!"
Perona drifted away, her laughter cold: "Hee hee hee~ I hope they aren't too weak, or Oars won't be satisfied..."
Absalom's eyes sharpened, his fingers brushing against the weapons at his waist as his lion mane bristled. "Let me go meet these fools first."
The freezer doors slammed shut again with a boom. Shadows churned, signaling the start of a new farce.
Sabaody Archipelago
Waves lapped against the shores of the resin-covered islands. Under the night sky, the Sabaody Archipelago emitted a blurred, hazy glow.
A warship slowly entered the port, white smoke billowing across the deck.
Smoker stood with his arms crossed, a cigar in his mouth, his gaze stern. "We've finally arrived."
Ace, Luffy, Nami, and Nojiko walked off the deck shoulder-to-shoulder, looking at the familiar sights of the tree-islands.
Nami's gaze was complex. "Sabaody Archipelago..."
Ace narrowed his eyes, recalling the tragic battle years ago. His tone was low: "This is where the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates were annihilated."
Luffy's eyes flickered. "And that Kuma guy..."
He remembered the extreme pressure Kuma had once exerted on them and couldn't help but clench his fists.
Nojiko let out a soft sigh. "This place... it witnessed the end of an entire era."
Smoker exhaled a puff of smoke and said deeply, "Stop daydreaming! If the Headquarters' intelligence is correct, a massive number of 'Supernova' pirates are gathering here."
His eyes grew sharp as the cherry of his cigar flared in the dark.
"Our mission this time—we're going to take all of them down before they ever set foot in the New World!"
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