Brook slowly returned to the golden ship, still haunted by the strange sensation of his soul nearly vanishing. If the Revive-Revive Fruit really had its own will... then what?
Almost all of Brook’s power ca from the Revive-Revive Fruit. If one day it turned on him—if it refused to lend him its strength—how much would he have left?
He shook his head. No use diving into that rabbit hole. So thoughts were better left buried.
“Captain Brook! You're finally back! We can eat now!”
Kaido’s face lit up the mont he saw Brook. The crew had insisted on waiting for their captain before digging in, and Kaido had been starving for ages.
“Where the hell did you go, Brook?” Shakky complained as she walked over. “I checked the director’s office looking for you! Took you long enough. What, did you find sothing fun and forget to take ?”
Brook chuckled and waved it off. “I wasn’t off partying. Just went up to the top of the Tree of Knowledge to look at the moon. Full moon tonight—it was too beautiful to ignore. Got lost in the view.”
As he sat down, the others followed suit. Kaido, Tiger, and the rest imdiately began digging in, chomping down on at and downing drinks.
“Full moon, huh?” Big Mom perked up. “I was just reading about a race that transforms under the full moon. The Mink Tribe, I think? Wouldn’t it be great to have one of them join us, Brother Brook~?”
She giggled, clearly in a good mood after demolishing a slice of cake. She’d apparently made her way through most of the rare animal encyclopedia in just one day.
The Mink Tribe… classified as animals? Brook frowned. Well, considering how the World Governnt doesn’t even classify Fishn as human, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Whoever wrote that book must’ve had serious backing from the higher-ups to get pictures of so many species.
“The Mink Tribe?” Brook nodded. “Not a bad idea. But their ho, Zou, isn’t easy to find. It’s on the back of a massive elephant—a moving island, basically. Ten thousand ters tall and constantly wandering. Not exactly GPS-friendly.”
“But we’ll find it. We will conquer Zou and bring the Minks into the fold. They’re a powerful warrior race—and there’s a Poneglyph there.”
The ntion of a Poneglyph imdiately caught Redfield’s attention. He silently took ntal notes, locking that bit of intel away.
“Great!” Big Mom clapped. “Another race for my dream—Ten Thousand Kingdoms! We’ve got the Fishn, the Dwarves, the Longarm and Longleg tribes, Snakeheads… and eventually, the Giants too!”
“A ten-thousand-ter-tall elephant?” Shakky raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “Seriously? That’s double the size of the biggest Sea Kings. What does it even eat? An entire forest in one bite? Or maybe it’s carnivorous and snacks on Sea Kings?”
Brook nodded solemnly. “The elephant is called Zunesha. It’s actually 35,000 ters tall. Only around 10,000 ters of it is above water. It’s been alive for over a thousand years—even predating the formation of the World Governnt.”
Everyone froze.
“Thirty-five thousand?!” Shakky exploded. “Brook, that’s so next-level bragging right there! Fishman Island is 10,000 ters below sea level, Sky Island is 10,000 ters high, and you’re telling this elephant dwarfs them both?!”
She stood up, dramatically pointing a finger at him. “Don’t think you can just throw ghost stories at us and get away with it! I swear, if you’re lying, I’ll jump off this ship myself!”
Tom, the shipwright, burst out laughing. He and his team had been through plenty of Shakky’s rants already.
The rest of the crew fought hard not to laugh. Kaido almost spat out his at. Fisher Tiger snorted noodles through his nose. Golden Lion Shiki lit a cigar to hide his grin, Redfield swirled his wine as if inspecting why it was “smiling,” and even Stussy doubled over, clutching his side.
Brook’s expression darkened. He clenched his jaw, already plotting the mont he’d drag this loudmouth to Zunesha and personally yeet her off the ship just to prove a point.
“Very good, Shakky. When you do see that giant elephant, I’ll be right behind you… pushing.”
His grin was tight. Dangerous. But Shakky just crossed her arms and grinned back, utterly unbothered.
“Ooooh, scary~,” she teased. “But co on, Brook. Am I wrong for asking for facts? I’m just the poor, honest crewmate being gaslit by the captain who’s trying to rewrite the laws of physics.”
She put a hand on her chest, eyes full of mock sincerity. “If honesty’s a cri on this ship, then lock up! These other guys? Just look at ’em—all laughing, no integrity! And you, Captain? Chief liar and braggart! But hey, I’m ready to suffer alone. Co on, punish ~”
She winked dramatically, throwing in a fake moan.
Everyone cracked up again. Even the usually stoic crew couldn’t help but laugh at Shakky’s shaless performance.
-------------------
Shakky wasn’t affected in the slightest by Brook’s ‘threatening’ tone. In fact, she leaned in with a teasing smirk and purred, “Alright then, I’ll gladly accept Captain Brook’s punishnt.”
Maybe deep down, she thought Brook was just bluffing. After all, who could believe in a 30,000-ter-tall elephant? It sounded insane.
Or maybe Shakky just wanted to tease him a bit—show off her curves, her sweet voice—and push Brook into punishing her, hopefully with so hands-on attention.
But most likely, she was doing what she did best—stirring the pot. Flirting, joking, and making Brook the butt of the joke was her way of breaking the ice and keeping things light.
That was her vibe. The flirtatious, mischievous big sister of the crew who could ss with even the captain without fear. By bringing Brook down from his cold, aloof captain image, she helped make the crew bond easier—new or old.
“Yohoho... I’m not gonna argue with you,” Brook exhaled, waving her off. “When we run into that elephant in the New World, I’ll show you why your butt’s gonna be blooming like spring.”
He knew better than to argue back. The more you pushed Shakky, the more excited she got. The old sailors on board were used to her antics by now. The best play? Just shut it down early.
“Ah~ then I’ll be waiting for my blooming butt~” she cooed again, with that mocking grin like Anya from a gag manga. Still, behind that playful look, there was the tiniest flicker of nervousness... and maybe a bit of curiosity.
Brook ignored it and changed the topic, voice turning serious.
“We set sail for the New World tomorrow. Antonio told Jack Sparrow’s been hanging around Doragonzo Island. He’s been harassing Angel and pushing on our territory.”
Brook’s tone darkened. “It’s ti we gave that bastard a proper beatdown. The Overlord Alliance is basically dead in the water now. After that spoils-splitting eting, we’re practically independent from them.”
The second he finished speaking, Golden Lion Shiki slamd his palm on the table and stood up, eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
“I’ll handle that bastard myself! One-on-one!” Shiki growled.
He glanced at Redfield while speaking, the unspoken challenge in his eyes. Jack Sparrow wasn’t just a nuisance—he was one of the strongest nas under the Overlord’s banner, with a bounty of 1.1 billion berries. Sa as Willank, the fake Overlord, and the Rocks Pirates’ top fighter—the warrior monk, Scorpion Dragon.
If Shiki could defeat Jack Sparrow... that would put him above Redfield, who only had a bounty of 1 billion.
Then he’d officially be second-in-command of the Hell Pirates. Red Earl Redfield could move aside. I, Shiki the Golden Lion, will be the coolest!
The more Shiki thought about it, the wider his grin beca. His loud, maniacal laugh echoed through the ship, drawing confused stares from the rest of the crew.
Seriously? You think you can take Jack alone? Brook sighed inwardly.
Shiki had always been bold, but Brook wasn’t trying to crush his ego—just being real. The four main commanders didn’t have what it took to solo Jack Sparrow yet.
But if two or three of them tead up? Jack wouldn’t walk away from that. That’s the only way they’d take him down.
Jack Sparrow was a beast—45 years old, in his pri, with strength and battle experience at their peak. Brook was 39, but even he had to admit Jack had sharper Armant Haki and a more refined style.
Shiki, Redfield, and Newgate were all still in their twenties. Their haki wasn’t as deep or pure yet.
If it ca to a team fight, Brook was confident—Jack wouldn’t leave Doragonzo Island in one piece. Even just two commanders could push him out. Three? They’d catch or kill him.
But a solo fight?
Risky. Shiki might end up retreating, tail between his legs.
“Gurarara... You serious about that solo fight, Shiki?” Whitebeard Newgate laughed, leaning back. “You sure it’s a one-on-one, or are we just takin’ turns smacking him around?”
Newgate knew Shiki too well. They sparred often, and while Shiki boasted, he rarely ca out on top. In fact, Newgate always held back, faking exhaustion to spare Shiki’s ego.
“Hahaha! Don’t joke with , Newgate! You know I’ve had the upper hand in most of our fights!” Shiki puffed his chest, cigar clenched in his teeth.
Newgate’s smile froze.
This little bastard... If I didn’t care about your pride, I’d have smashed you into the deck ages ago!
Newgate said nothing else, but he quietly vowed to beat Shiki properly next ti—to show him what real power looked like.
Redfield didn’t need to be a mind reader to see through Shiki’s ambitions. He knew exactly what the guy was thinking. But he didn’t argue either. Honestly, letting Shiki take a beating might do him so good.
After all, when Shiki wants to run, almost no one can catch him.
And since he was always gunning for Redfield’s title as top commander, watching him lose in public might shut him up for a while.
Brook had the sa thought—but he couldn’t say no to Shiki now. Not after the huge win of lifting O’Hara into the sky.
As long as Shiki wasn’t charging head-first at Rocks or that freak Diger, Brook wasn’t worried about him dying. Even if he and Jack clashed, it’d just be a brawl—not a deathmatch.
“Alright, fine,” Brook nodded. “When we get back to the New World, if Jack Sparrow’s still on Doragonzo Island, you get first crack at him. Go get him, Shiki.”
Brook didn’t say the second half—words like “We’ll be watching,” “We’ll back you up,” “Don’t die.” Shiki was too proud for that. Face was everything to him.
Brook understood—he treated Shiki like Shanks treated his own crew: with respect for their pride. If you gave Shiki enough face, he’d work like a damn salaryman. No complaints, no hesitation.
Maybe, just maybe, Shiki would really explode in that fight... and pull off sothing crazy.
After all, nobody believed that a 19-year-old kid like Luffy could awaken the Sun God Fruit and defeat a monster like Kaido, who had awakened the Azure Dragon Fruit years ago.
But hey, miracles happen in this world all the damn ti.
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