Not far away, Inu kun watched Brook leap off the spaceship and vanish toward the ice. For a moment, greed gnawed at him. If he fled right now, he could take the moon's spoils and disappear into the sky.
His subordinates whispered the same thought, voices trembling with temptation.
Inu kun grit his teeth until it hurt.
Brook's strength was still burned into his eyes, and so were the words Pluton blueprints.
In the end, he swallowed his greed and stayed put, forcing himself to look obedient.
What he did not know was that above their heads, several transparent ghost generals hovered in silence. Green ghostfire glowed inside empty eye sockets as they stared down, unmoving, like executioners waiting for a signal.
On the ice, the sobbing finally quieted.
As the last hiccuping breaths faded, Brook's anger ebbed with them. He looked at the children in front of him, familiar and yet strange, and something hot pressed against the back of his throat. His nose stung. The red light in his eyes trembled.
Eight years.
Eight years trapped on the moon.
In that time, the children had become adults. He had missed entire chapters of their lives.
Yet when he felt their steady life force, when he looked at their faces, he felt relief so deep it nearly made his knees go weak. None of them had grown twisted. None of them had broken. They were all handsome young men and beautiful young women, sharp eyed, proud, alive.
And strong.
At this age, they were monsters, the kind that made the sea tremble before they even stepped into the New World properly.
"Stop crying. Daddy's back," Brook said softly, forcing a light tone. "You've all grown up, and you're still bawling like this."
He gently patted Shana's hair. Then he turned and pulled Kanna from his waist, bringing her in front of him. His fingers brushed her bruised cheek, and pain stabbed straight through his chest.
His white haired daughter had been beaten like this.
Brook's smile vanished.
That Knight of God should not have died so easily.
"Uju!" Brook snapped, voice turning sharp as a blade. "You brought the blood crystal dandelion, didn't you?"
Uju was still wiping tears, trembling with emotion from seeing Brook again, and Brook's irritation flared instantly.
These brats had been dragged back to the Grand Line to cause chaos, and the idiot bird had helped hide it. Worse, everyone was injured, and he had not even pulled out medicine yet.
Did this parrot have rocks in his skull?
"Y yes! Yes, Master!"
Uju nearly tripped over his own words as he wiped his face, flapping in panic.
"Father, where were you imprisoned all these years?"
Kanna's voice shook with excitement and confusion.
"Did we really break that prison near Judicial Island and let you escape?"
The others leaned in too, eyes bright with hope. Had their reckless raid actually saved him?
Brook's gaze sharpened.
"You attacked a prison?" His tone turned dangerous. "You've got guts, I'll give you that."
Then he exhaled, the anger softening at the edges.
"But no. You didn't save me."
His eyes narrowed, bitterness slipping into his words.
"I've been exiled to the moon for eight years. I even kept blowing chunks out of it, hoping you'd look up, see the scars, and guess where I was."
"The moon?"
Everyone froze.
"Master Brook was imprisoned on the moon?"
"The World Government is disgusting!"
"Then how did Dad come back?"
"Was there food up there?"
"Were there people?"
Questions erupted, mixed with furious curses aimed at the World Government.
Brook's mouth curled, cold and flat.
"There's no life. No food." He said it lightly, but his heart was already spitting venom at Imu. "I starved for eight years."
Kanna and Shana's faces went white.
"Uncle Uju!" Kanna barked instantly. "Food. Now!"
Shana nodded frantically, staring at Brook like she wanted to crawl into his ribs and guard his heart with her own hands.
Eight years without eating.
They would collapse in ten days. How could anyone survive eight years?
Uju hurriedly opened his castle body and poured out piles of food, meat, bread, fruit, anything he had stored, like a panicked merchant dumping goods before a fire.
"You too," Brook said, voice firm, turning to his children. "Eat, heal, and get your strength back. Every one of you did well."
He stepped to his sons, patted Hades and Osiris on the shoulders, and smiled with quiet pride.
Their bond was solid. Their eyes were steady.
They had not fallen apart.
"Understood, Father," Hades said, voice heavy with emotion.
The others nodded just as hard. Being acknowledged by Brook was worth more than any treasure on the sea.
Ben Beckman cleared his throat carefully, watching the three princesses feed Brook as if he might vanish again if they blinked.
"Master Brook… there may be a fleet from Marineford pursuing us. Two admirals, and seven or eight vice admirals…"
Three pairs of icy eyes snapped to him.
Beckman's forehead prickled. Cold sweat beaded.
Brook chuckled, a low laugh laced with murder.
"Yohoho. Good."
His gaze turned distant, sharp, hungry.
"Then let the world hear it. I'm back."
He wanted souls. He wanted blood. He wanted the Navy's strength ripped out and stuffed into the sea.
"Beckman," Brook said, voice turning brisk, "call Antonio. Call Linlin. I want their Den Den Mushi now. I need their location."
He wanted to cripple the World Government before they even understood what had happened. With Uranus gone, Imu should not be able to hide behind that terror anymore.
Brook wanted to see Imu's real face.
No matter how strong that monster was, it was still a living thing.
And living things could die.
Beckman handed over the Den Den Mushi.
The moment it clicked, a familiar voice burst out, shaking with sobs and relief.
"Brook! Is it really you?!"
Linlin.
Brook's eyes softened for a heartbeat.
"It's me. I'm back."
Then his tone turned cold again, the blade returning.
"I'm about to slaughter the World Government and the Navy before they realize I've returned. Where are you right now?"
Linlin's voice clenched with fury.
"Brother Brook… we might not reach you. The Five Elders intercepted us."
Brook's smile disappeared.
His eyes changed.
The plan in his mind shattered and rebuilt itself instantly.
"How many?"
If the Five Elders were not all present, he would butcher the admirals chasing him.
But if there was a chance to hit the Five Elders…
He would not let it slip.
"Four Five Elders," Linlin said grimly. "And three Knights of God."
Brook's lips pulled into a savage grin.
"Yohoho…"
He had wanted to surround and kill the Navy.
But this?
This smelled like a better prize.
"Wait for me," Brook said, voice like winter. "I'm coming right now with the kids."
He ended the call, eyes burning.
A surprise strike on the Five Elders.
Now that sounded like revenge.
------------
Brook hung up on Linlin and immediately dialed Shiki himself.
"Shiki," Brook said calmly, "do you still remember your big brother?"
There was a short silence on the line.
"Brother Brook… is it really you?" Shiki's voice carried open doubt. "You vanished for eight years, and now you're suddenly back? This is too abrupt."
Shiki was not stupid. Antonio had Mimic abilities. Shana's tanuki fruit could summon people by name and appearance. Even the Hell Pirates had other strange Devil Fruit users. A Den Den Mushi voice was not enough to prove anything.
"It's me," Brook said, steady as steel. "I just returned from the moon. I'm meeting up with Linlin and the others to strike the Five Elders. Don't miss this battle."
He paused, then his tone sharpened, carrying the weight of a king giving an order.
"If you still doubt it, you'll know the moment you see me. Don't disappoint me, Shiki."
Brook did not say another word and cut the call. The more he explained, the more Shiki would overthink. Any doubts would die the moment they met face to face.
Unless Shiki truly planned to leave.
But Brook did not believe that.
Shiki was ambitious, yes, but he had his own code. If Brook had died, Shiki would have walked away and carved out his own empire. But if Brook returned as the reigning king of Hell, then Shiki would stand beneath that banner again, as one of the Four Hell Kings.
In a sea region deep in the New World, a flying fleet surged forward at top speed.
Shiki lowered the Den Den Mushi with shaking hands.
He believed.
"Jihahahaha!" Shiki threw his head back and laughed, eyes blazing. "Brother Brook! If you're back, then there's hope for the New World! I'll be your strongest subordinate. Without you, Linlin and Redfield can't truly lead a Hell Pirates this massive!"
Over the past years, Shiki's dissatisfaction had only grown. Linlin and Redfield held the power, Newgate stood like an iron wall, and yet none of them cared about ruling the world. They only cared about searching for Brook.
So Shiki rebuilt his own flying fleet within his territory, stubbornly clinging to Brook's ambition with his own hands.
But he also knew the truth. His strength was not enough to dominate the world. Linlin, Redfield, and Newgate were stronger than him, and even Kaido and Oden could match him.
His restless moves had pushed the top officers away, leaving him more irritated by the day.
Now, everything changed.
"Jihahaha! Faster!" Shiki roared at his men. "The soul of the Hell Pirates is back!"
He could already taste it.
This time, they would tear the Five Elders apart.
On the other side of the sea, Brook made his own move.
"Everyone," Brook ordered, "get inside Uju's castle. We're returning to the New World immediately."
After eating until he was finally steady again, Brook sent his children and students into the castle one by one. Then he stepped onto the excited Seven Star Demon Sword and shot toward Inu kun's spaceship like a bullet.
Brook had already tested the Space Pirates' ship.
Apart from Uranus itself, this was the fastest craft he had ever seen.
Faster than the golden ship even after it was enhanced by wind control.
Behind them, the naval officers who had been blasted back by the DYNA rock bomb had steadied themselves. They waited for their warships to arrive before resuming the chase. As long as these Hell heirs stayed in the Grand Line, there was still a chance to capture them.
"Admiral Sengoku! Look, is that Brook?"
A lookout pressed binoculars to his eyes, staring at a figure slicing through the air in the distance, riding the legendary Seven Star Demon Sword. It looked like Brook himself.
"Is it Shana's ability?" someone muttered. "A fake again?"
More binoculars rose.
"The parrot with the fortified castle fruit is on his shoulder!"
"Did that Knight of God, Michael, fail to intercept them?"
"This Brook looks too real. He's controlling the Seven Star Demon Sword perfectly!"
"Wait, what is that?" another officer shouted. "A spaceship?"
"That pirate ship is flying! And it's fast!"
"Is that the Hell Pirates' latest tech, sent to pick up the Hell heirs?"
"Oh no… they're heading back to the New World!"
"It's over! The mission failed again!"
"We're going to be blamed by the World Government again!"
Vice admirals and rear admirals argued and cursed, faces twisting darker with every second as the target pulled away beyond their reach.
Only Dragon stood silent, fists clenched, pupils trembling.
The soul mark Brook had left beneath his feet was reacting.
Was that man truly back?
"Damn it," Sengoku growled through his teeth. "Since they've escaped, return at once. Regroup with the Five Elders and deal with the Hell Pirates' Pluton fleet!"
He could only swallow the frustration.
The Hell Pirates' technology was already ahead of the World Government, and now they had an absurdly fast flying ship on top of it. How was the Navy supposed to breathe?
Not one of them seriously considered that Brook might be real.
Elsewhere, the Quasi God Knight Shila was still waiting.
He had no idea his superior, Michael, had been killed. He lingered in a hidden place, staring at the watch in his hand, planning to return in half an hour.
Michael's contempt still annoyed him. Shila believed there was no way Michael could wipe out all those Hell heirs so quickly. Half an hour was his most conservative estimate.
Maybe Michael was even injured by his own arrogance.
On the spaceship, Hades and Kanna studied Inu kun's crew and their technology with wary curiosity. They had not expected anyone besides the Hell Pirates to possess machines capable of reaching the moon, something even Vegapunk had never achieved.
"These robots are weak," Hades said, channeling lightning into a sample to activate it. The machine jerked, then stood there uselessly. "They're not even as good as Vegapunk's PX units."
Brook chuckled, calm again.
"Yohoho. They might be civilian models, not built for combat. Assembly line machines like this aren't rare in the lunar ruins."
Then his eyes sharpened with interest.
"What matters is this," Brook continued. "They can think like humans. They can make decisions on their own."
That was what Brook wanted Vegapunk to chase.
And those lunar books…
If the Moon People recorded their greatest secrets, would there be research notes, blueprints, even traces of Uranus, the King of the Sky?
Brook's fingers tightened slightly on the hilt.
The moon had stolen eight years from him.
Now he would steal everything back from the world that exiled him.
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