(100 Power Stone Bonus)
Chapter 71: Devouring Brook, Absorbing the Revive-Revive Fruit
"Everyone, follow me."
After confirming the exact location of Brook, the user of the Revive-Revive Fruit, Yumesaki gathered everyone on the deck. With a swift motion, he opened an Air Door, leading the group directly from their sailing ship into the heart of the treacherous Florian Triangle.
Dracule Mihawk: "???"
Just moments ago, Yumesaki had claimed he had never been to the Florian Triangle and could only reach it by ship.
Yet, in less than half an hour, this man had transported an entire group into the center of the fog-shrouded sea.
Surveying the thick, oppressive mist, Mihawk knew exactly where they were. This wasn't his first time traversing these waters.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Mihawk glared at Yumesaki, his expression darkening with displeasure as if he were being toyed with. His right hand instinctively drifted toward the hilt of his Black Blade, Yoru. His gaze was sharp and calculating, as if he were already deciding where to aim his first slash.
In an instant, Hashirama and Minato reacted. They blurred into motion, appearing like ghosts on Mihawk's left and right.
If Mihawk made so much as a suspicious twitch, they were prepared to strike without hesitation.
The sheer intensity of their killing intent forced a visceral reaction from Mihawk; he nearly drew his blade on instinct. He realized immediately that these two were no ordinary subordinates. Though they were strangers he had never encountered before, the pressure they exerted was immense.
The weight of their presence was easily on par with any member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
*High-level combatants,* Mihawk thought, feeling a flicker of genuine surprise. Where had this man gathered so many powerful warriors who had remained completely hidden from the world's radar?
At the same time, Mihawk couldn't help but marvel at the vastness of the world. It seemed he had still been underestimating the wonders—and the dangers—it held.
Noticing Mihawk's irritation, Yumesaki offered a calm explanation. "I wasn't lying to you. I really haven't been to the Florian Triangle before. However, I just went to see someone and acquired a bit of a 'cheat'."
He pointed to his own eyes. "The other party granted me the magic of Clairvoyance, allowing me to see across vast distances. I spotted the Florian Triangle, and then simply brought us here using the Door-Door Fruit."
"Does that answer satisfy you?"
Mihawk's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't buy the explanation for a second. Magic? The concept was far too absurd; he hadn't believed in fairy tales for a very long time.
However, since Yumesaki had bothered to offer an explanation, Mihawk was willing to let it slide for now. His primary motivation—the allure of the Dragon-Slaying Samurai, Shimotsuki Ryuma—was simply too great to ignore.
With the minor tension resolved, Yumesaki turned his attention toward a skeletal figure sprawled across the deck.
"Are you going to get up on your own, or do I have to drag you up?"
Mihawk was confused for a split second, but then, right before his eyes, the skeleton—which looked as though it had been dead for decades—suddenly sat bolt upright.
Mihawk considered himself a man who had seen everything the Grand Line had to throw at him, yet the corners of his eyes twitched violently at the sight.
*What on earth is this creature?*
Nami, on the other hand, wasted no time. She shrieked and dove behind Yumesaki's back.
"A GHOST!!!"
"Not a ghost. It's Brook, right?" Yumesaki said, staring at the skeleton with a faint smile.
Brook looked up at Yumesaki with extreme caution. "Lord Shinigami, have you come to reap me and take me back to the other side?"
To anyone else, Yumesaki looked like a perfectly normal human.
But to Brook, who had eaten the Revive-Revive Fruit, Yumesaki was surrounded by invisible flickers of ghostly fire. His body radiated the chill of the afterlife, looking for all the world like a Reaper who had just stepped out of the underworld.
This was why, the moment Yumesaki stepped onto the ship, Brook had played dead in hopes of being overlooked.
The plan had failed miserably; Yumesaki had seen through the charade instantly.
"No."
Yumesaki shook his head, his gaze full of curiosity.
The Revive-Revive Fruit was a fascinating and highly unique Devil Fruit. While most fruits modified the human body, the Revive-Revive Fruit modified the human *soul*.
This was the reason Brook could move despite being nothing but bones. To Yumesaki's eyes, the skeleton wasn't the main entity; it was the soul attached to it. The bones were merely a vessel.
Others lacked the spiritual sight to see it, but Yumesaki could see the soul clearly.
The moment he laid eyes on Brook's soul, his instincts as a Shinigami flared. A primal urge surged within him to devour the soul before him—as if doing so would make his own existence more complete.
Behind Yumesaki, the colossal shadow of a Shinigami materialized.
As the Reaper appeared, an invisible pressure washed over the deck. It was a weight as heavy as a mountain, pressing down not just on their bodies, but on their very souls.
Everyone stood frozen, as if trapped by a paralysis technique.
Simultaneously, the Shinigami reached out a spectral arm, gripped Brook's soul, pulled it clean out of the skeleton, and swallowed it whole.
In that instant, Yumesaki felt Brook melting.
No—it wasn't Brook melting, but the power of the Revive-Revive Fruit dwelling within his soul. The Shinigami was completely absorbing that power.
However, Brook's soul remained intact.
As the fruit's essence was integrated, the Shinigami seemed to become more "whole."
The Revive-Revive Fruit allowed a person to return from the dead. Now, having devoured that essence, the Shinigami possessed the power to grant true resurrection.
Yumesaki turned toward Hashirama. He walked over and placed a hand on the man's shoulder.
The power of the Revive-Revive Fruit exploded with violent intensity.
In the world of One Piece, Devil Fruits can reach a state called Awakening.
For Zoan types, Awakening occurs when the user's mind and body catch up to their powers. Once awakened, they gain immense combat strength and a terrifying level of vitality and recovery, allowing them to rise again no matter how many times they are struck down. However, failed Awakenings can result in the animal's will consuming the human's consciousness, as seen with the Jailer Beasts of Impel Down.
Paramecia Awakenings carry no such risk to the mind, but they don't typically grant extra vitality. Instead, they allow the user to influence their surroundings. An awakened Magnet-Magnet Fruit can magnetize non-metallic objects, while an awakened String-String Fruit can turn the environment into thread.
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