[Chapter Size: 2100 Words.]
Third Person POV
Florian Triangle, First Half of Grandline.
…
…
Luffy emerged from the debris with the skeleton behind him, while Lami and Reiju grimaced at the sight of the skeleton all battered from that punch.
“Why did you act like that?” Lami asked, not understanding her captain’s situation.
“It was just a way to greet our new companion,” Luffy said calmly, maintaining a smile, while Brook stood beside him, unfazed.
“You call that a greeting?!” Reiju exclaimed, bewildered.
Luffy just shrugged, “Let’s go to the Black Pearl; we have to introduce our new friend.” Luffy remarked, as, having nothing else to do, Reiju and Lami nodded and followed Luffy to the other ship.
They landed in front of the crew, as many were frightened by the skeleton coming with the group.
“The skeleton is here!!!” Bepo screamed in fear, while at that moment, another person approached Luffy.
“Master, I brought some cookies!” Baby-5 approached Luffy with a tray.
“Hm? Oh, thank you,” Luffy said, taking a cookie, finding it odd that Baby 5 cooked, and everyone already imagined what would happen as soon as Luffy put it in his mouth.
Baby-5 seemed excited about it with a sweet smile, but suddenly she looked at Luffy with a vengeful glare as he was eating the cookie. “Eat my explosive cookies! Die!!” She exclaimed as Luffy felt an explosion in his mouth.
His cheeks puffed up with the sound of the explosion while everyone watched it as if it were something normal. Luffy opened his mouth with a lot of smoke coming out from inside, but he was fine.
“I think it needs a bit of salt,” Luffy told Baby-5, making her fall to the ground. “Why can’t I hurt him?!” She said in a weepy tone, “Master, Baby-5 needs to be punished!” She requested with shining eyes.
“Alright, later,” Luffy said.
Brook was looking at the people afraid of him, which he found normal, except for a dog next to the crew licking its eyes as if seeing something juicy at the moment, adding to seeing the interaction with Luffy and that maid woman made him start to rethink if it was a good idea to come here after all he does not think this crew is common, filled with all sorts of things.
‘I’m going to be okay here… should I run away?’ He thought but soon felt a slap on his back bones.
“Now let me introduce our new companion,” Luffy spoke and before continuing, looked at Reiju. “But first, let’s eat something, let’s go to the kitchen!” Luffy declared while everyone trying to get used to the idea of seeing a skeleton walking around, even those who were not afraid, began to walk to the kitchen which was filled by the entire crew.
“Food Food Food Food!” Brook began to shout on the table, after overcoming his initial fear of the group while banging his utensils in front of everyone.
“Hahaha. He is so funny!” Luffy laughed.
“Luffy, what is happening here. Why did you bring this skeleton here and Reiju is cooking for him?!” Zoro asked.
Seeing everyone looking at them, he smiled. “Let me introduce: this is our new ship’s musician,” he said, leaving everyone with their mouths open and eyes wide.
“What do you mean, new musician!?” Vivi exclaimed, incredulous.
“A musician like Uta-Sama?!” Shirahoshi yelled, not seeming to be afraid of the skeleton and looked excited.
While Brooke looked at her, still surprised to see such a beautiful mermaid. He cleared his throat as he addressed her, “Princess, by any chance, could you show your…” He was going to complete, but Luffy put a finger over his mouth, making Brook gulp with that, Brook trembled looking at him. Luffy had a penetrating look, saying that if he continued, he might not survive. Making Brooke silent, after all, he was already cracked from a punch by Luffy; he did not want that again.
Meanwhile, shock was among many crew members wondering how Luffy had brought a skeleton into the crew. “Hold on, hold on. What do you mean, a new musician? What happened there?” Zoro asked, bewildered looking at Lami and Reiju.
They had to lower their heads at that. “Sorry… we didn’t even have time to react when he invited him onto the ship…” The two murmured.
Luffy put Brook aside and looked at his companions. “Don’t worry, he’s a nice guy, as long as he sticks to certain things,” Luffy said, crossing his arms, indifferent to whether his crew was pleased with it or not. After all, he was the captain. “Anyway, let’s eat.” Luffy didn’t want to introduce the skeleton because he wanted to eat first.
Everyone watched without joining them as Luffy ate along with the skeleton who became animated again, forgetting how this pirate captain could be frightening.
“Hm…Hm…!!”
“Hm!”
Both were talking with their mouths full, interacting with each other. “What are they talking about?” Uta asked.
“I have no idea,” Hugo answered from the corner.
“They are talking about how Luffy knew about the Yomi Yomi no Mi,” Yamato answered.
“How can you understand them?!” Usopp shouted at Yamato.
“This is so scary…” Chopper said while still pointing the cross at Brook on the table.
“I find him very funny. So, he really joined the crew?” Yamato asked Luffy.
“Not yet, but he will soon,” Luffy said, after all, he hadn’t received the system message that Brook had joined the group yet.
“That was delicious,” Brook exclaimed with satisfaction, his face still cracked. “Even though I have no taste buds to taste it! Yohohohohoho!” He began to laugh, while many frowned upon it.
‘What kind of humor is this?’ Most were thinking at this moment.
“That’s funny!” Shirahoshi exclaimed.
“Sharky?!” Her shark looked at her, not understanding why she wasn’t afraid.
“That was so refreshing…” Brook commented as he raised his arms, and as he did, a dog bit him while hanging from that arm.
Chouchou couldn’t take it anymore and lunged at Brook’s bones. While the skeleton looked at it, Chouchou held onto his arm while hanging, refusing to let go of the musician.
“AHHHHHHH!!! I’m being eaten!!! Even though I have no skin for it, Yohohohoho! AHHHH!!!” He exclaimed, running with the dog still attached to him.
“Hahahahaha.” Yamato started laughing too.
“Man, this is so weird… This group gets weirder by the day…” Zoro had to comment, and no one disagreed with him.
“Now enough of this, let’s get to the introduction,” Luffy continued. “These are…
“They are Yamato, Shirahoshi, Megalo, Zoro, Lami, Bepo, Chouchou, Usopp, Nami, Reiju, Hugo, Nojiko, Hachi, Kuina, Alvida, Laboon, Vivi, Karoo, Nico Robin, Chopper, Enel, Greg, Baby 5, and Frank, the 25 members of our crew,” Luffy introduced and turned back to the skeleton with a thoughtful look… “What’s your name again?” He asked because he hadn’t asked yet and although he knew, it would be odd to say his name without asking first.
At that moment, everyone fell to the ground stunned by their captain. “HOW COULD YOU HAVE INVITED HIM TO JOIN THE CREW AND EVEN EATEN WITH HIM, BUT NEVER ASKED HIS NAME?!” Even Yamato joined in the shouting.
Luffy didn’t care about that and waited for the skeleton to introduce himself. “Yohohoho!” He stopped with Chouchou still clinging to his head, not letting go. “Let me introduce myself; I am Brook… Wait a minute!! Did you say Laboon?!” He was stunned while Laboon looked at him after hearing his name.
Brook was a skeleton, with nothing but his hair looking like his old self, and Laboon was so small that Brook, despite remembering his old whale friend, didn’t think it would be him there, especially with all those scars on his head.
“GRRR?!” Laboon approached, surprising everyone.
“La-Laboon?!” Brook seemed so shocked that he no longer cared about Chouchou with its teeth clenched in his head.
Brook looked at the whale, which had scars on its head, feeling strange about it, now remembering his friend from over 50 years ago.
“Do they know each other?” Robin commented, looking surprised at the encounter.
“Wait a minute!!! Is he from that crew that left Laboon at the entrance of the Grand Line 50 years ago?!” Nami asked, stunned.
“This is unexpected…” Nojiko commented.
“It makes sense if he ate the Resurrection Fruit…” Kuina commented.
“Laboon, is it really you?” Brook stammered, feeling a huge emotion upon seeing the whale he had left many years ago. “Laboon, it’s me, Brook!” He said as tears began to appear in his empty eyes.
“GRRRRR!!!!” Laboon moved forward, leaving some shocked by the sorrowful sound of the whale.
As everyone watched, both embraced tightly while colliding, Chouchou looked confused at the scene as he let go of Brook’s head and fell to the ground, watching his friend Laboon crying and making sounds.
“I’M SO HAPPY. SO HAPPY TO HAVE FOUND YOU!!” Brook cried out while embracing the whale with his bony arms.
“GRRR!!! GRRRR!!!” Laboon made crying sounds, resembling a dog not seeing its owner for many years.
“I don’t know what’s happening here… but I’m so moved, man!!” Franky began to cry as well.
“Luffy… is it really him…?” Vivi commented, stunned. Even though she once intended to kill the whale, she had heard its sad story.
“What’s happening here?” Chopper asked curiously.
“You weren’t part of the crew when we met Laboon after entering the Grand Line,” Alvida began. “His scars were made by himself after trying to break the Red Line…”
“The Red Line?!” Robin asked, surprised, not knowing much about the whale’s story like the other members who joined after that event.
“He wanted to reach the other side, go to the New World behind his old friends, friends who left him 50 years ago, but in the end, they were in the Grand Line this whole time, and unfortunately, it seems only one survived…” Nojiko commented sadly.
“I’m so happy for Laboon-Sama! He finally found a lost companion!” Shirahoshi began to cry as well.
“Hm… really!” Nami also broke into tears.
“Sharky!!” Megalo started to cry, and Chouchou approached them, not wanting to interrupt the reunion.
Brook continued to cry out his old friend’s name, and he responded with his unique sounds.
“This is quite moving…” Kuina spoke, shedding a tear.
“Are you crying?!” Lami pointed to Reiju with tears.
“Of course not, you baby!” Reiju pointed back at another who was crying.
“Laboon!!” Bepo shouted, crying.
“…” Usopp even put down his anti-supernatural artifacts and began to cry silently watching the reunion.
“What an emotional reunion!!” Hachi tried to wipe his tears with his six arms.
“Really…” Yamato spoke, dabbing at her tears.
Luffy saw almost the entire crew crying at the sight of the skeleton and the small whale in the middle of the kitchen and smiled. Even those who weren’t crying had an empathetic look towards Laboon, forgetting there was a living skeleton there.
Luffy smiled and realized they needed to give them some time for this reunion.
“Let’s leave them alone for a while, let them talk. Let’s go outside,” Luffy suggested and began to walk outside with the teary crowd.
He took a deep breath while everything was still shrouded in darkness in that Florian Triangle, but he was happy there was something positive in the midst of that fog. Not long after, while his members were still emotional, a huge shadow began to emerge on the horizon.
Luffy felt better with his Haki, entering his current field, smiling, ignoring the conversation about Brook and Laboon. “We’ve reached our destination,” Luffy commented, as everyone looked stunned at the huge shadow approaching.
He returned to his crew with tears still on their faces. “Do you know why we’re here?” he asked, as no one knew the answer, and then, he pointed to the shadow emerging and growing. “We’re here to take down another Shichibukai,” he said, excitedly, while everyone was stunned by the declaration, never imagining there was a Warlord here.
They were arriving at Thriller Bark at that moment. “Get ready, mates, because today we’re going to defeat another Warlord,” he said, excited, wanting to loot everything Moria had and give him a few punches, maybe Kuma would also appear.
‘It would be interesting to talk to him,’ Luffy thought, as Thriller Bark loomed larger in front of them.
——————-
Raccoon here:
I admit I got a bit emotional writing this chapter.
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