Twin Capes.
The lighthouse stood as it always had at the end of Reverse Mountain, its pristine white silhouette gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. Gentle sea breezes pushed waves against the coastline in soothing, rhythmic splashes, carrying with them the salt-sweet scent of the open ocean.
Into this peaceful scene floated a beautiful singing voice.
"Yohohoho~ Yohohoho~
Bring Binks' sake right to you~
Like the sea wind sailing freely~"
A skeleton in a top hat, sporting wild, exaggerated hair, played an elegant violin at the seashore, singing with wholehearted joy. Strangely, though he lacked lungs, throat, or any internal organs whatsoever, he still produced his unique laugh and stirring song.
Before him, the gigantic island whale Laboon floated quietly in the shallows, seemingly entranced by the familiar melody. Occasionally, he spouted water columns in time through his massive blowhole. Sunlight refracted through the mist, painting rainbows across the air.
Beside Brook, Crocus lounged in a floral shirt on a deck chair, contentedly tapping his toes to the rhythm.
Just then, a large ship cut through the waves and approached the musical shore.
The cheerful music quickly drew everyone's attention.
Kai, wearing a loose floral shirt and casual pants with his sunglasses pushed up on his forehead, leaned against the railing with an interested smile. "Timing couldn't be better."
"Is that a skeleton singing? With a violin too? Amazing!"
Yamato excitedly gripped the rail, eyes sparkling with wonder.
Bonney, munching on chips, hurried over to look. "That's so cool!"
There were actually singing skeletons in this world?
The rest of the crew gathered to watch the violin-wielding skeleton perform.
Violet cocked her head, listening carefully before nodding. "That's Binks' sake, isn't it?"
With its bold lyrics and lively melody, "Binks' Sake" was the famous pirate anthem. Few pirates didn't know it, and music-loving, dance-loving Violet was certainly no exception.
Sanji thought for a moment, then returned to the galley. He soon emerged carrying trays of enticing custom cocktails, making sure to give Bonney non-alcoholic fruit juice instead.
"Everyone, you should drink when listening to this song!"
Sanji enthusiastically handed out drinks with his characteristic flair.
"Nicely done!"
Kai took a glass and gave Sanji a thumbs-up.
Sanji was so happy his entire body twisted with joy. "Got praised by Kai-aniki!"
Chatting and laughing, the Rayquaza docked smoothly.
Brook paid no mind to Kai's group until finishing his final note. Only then did he end the performance, still lost in the music's lingering emotions.
"Endless~ Aimless~ Just a joke~
Yohohoho~ Yohohoho~
Yohohoho~ Yohohoho~"
The song and violin notes faded on the breeze.
Clap Clap Clap!
Kai's crew warmly applauded Brook's brilliant performance.
"Thank you all for listening!"
Brook elegantly bowed, hat held to his chest in a proper gentleman's gesture.
"A skeleton with independent wisdom and emotions?"
Even the usually calm Kuma sounded awed. He had assumed Brook was some kind of programmed automaton.
"Exactly! I have my own thoughts, even though I have no brain! Yohoho~"
Brook flashed his signature skeletal grin as if he'd told the world's greatest joke.
"Kai, Yamato, Kozuki Hiyori, Ace..."
Crocus climbed up from his deck chair, greeting them with a warm smile. "Long time no see, everyone."
His conflicts with Shanks had never affected Crocus's feelings toward Kai's group.
"Mr. Crocus, it's been a while!"
Everyone smiled back warmly. Seeing a friend doing well was always a joy.
"You look great, old man."
Kai smiled, then turned to the skeletal musician. "If I'm not wrong, this is Laboon's long-awaited friend, Mr. Brook?"
"That's me. Are you...?"
Brook's voice held both surprise and delight. Crocus had once told Brook, after saving him from the Florian Triangle, that a man named Kai had provided the key information. Otherwise, Crocus and Laboon might have searched the Grand Line for years, relying on luck alone.
"That's right, it's him."
Crocus nodded, formally introducing them all.
"I see! Thank you so much, Lord Kai! I won't ever forget your kindness!"
Brook, deeply moved, stepped forward and solemnly offered his bony hand.
Amusingly, even as a skeleton, Kai could somehow perceive various facial expressions from Brook's reactions.
"No need to be so formal. I just couldn't bear seeing Laboon keep crashing into the Red Line."
Kai shook his hand, his expression somewhat bemused. After all, not everyone gets to shake hands with a skeleton.
After the handshake, the gentlemanly Brook suddenly appeared before the women in the group. Yamato, Hiyori, and Robin all found him leaning forward with a deadly earnest tone.
"Beautiful ladies, may I kindly admire your panties?"
"Wha?!"
Yamato, Hiyori, and Robin's eyes went wide in shock.
Bang!
The next second, a fresh, red lump appeared on Brook's skull.
"Behave yourself!"
Crocus, fist still steaming, scolded with clear exasperation. His quick reflexes proved he was well-practiced at this.
"My bones are broken~"
Brook promptly collapsed, groaning weakly in exaggerated pain.
The classic skeleton with a cartoon bump! Crocus, don't tell me you don't know Haki!
Kai stroked his chin, mouth turned up as he enjoyed witnessing this classic scene firsthand. You couldn't experience this without traveling.
"His skull cracked!"
Bonney pointed in alarm.
"No problem." Brook nonchalantly got up, touching the clear crack running across his skull. "Just a glass of milk and it'll fix right up, yohoho~"
In the pirate world, milk was a magical substance. Drink it, and bones mend, even teeth can regrow. That was probably how Blackbeard managed to swap between his four sets of teeth.
"Speaking of which, Brook," Kai asked curiously, "why are you so obsessed with seeing ladies' panties?"
Brook's character was actually that of a classic gentleman. In speech, action, and even weapon style, he radiated elegance. Except for his obsession with women's underwear.
Could it be, as some devoted fans speculated, that he was searching for someone from his past?
Hearing the question, Brook suddenly paused. Right, why did he do this?
He fell silent, as if searching through old, dusty memories buried deep in his mind.
After a while, he just smiled bitterly, his hollow eye sockets gazing at the distant sea. "So much time has passed, I've forgotten. Maybe it's just instinct now."
"Do you recall the name Junko?" Kai prompted quietly.
The moment he heard it, Brook seemed struck by invisible lightning, freezing completely in place.
In a daze, a blurry little girl's figure flashed into his locked memories, her face bright with a sunny smile.
He remembered saying something to that girl. Something about dreams and becoming a pirate. But however hard he tried to recall the details, to see her face clearly, to remember her story, the image faded quickly and slipped away like sand through his fingers.
After a long pause, Brook slowly shook his head. "I can't remember."
Kai shrugged, not minding. Some memories were meant to stay buried until the right time.
"Old man, tell us more. How did you manage to recover Brook's shadow?"
Kai asked with genuine interest. He was curious about Crocus's adventure.
"I had an old friend help out."
Crocus relaxed in his chair, sipping his drink as he recounted the trip to the Florian Triangle.
As Kai had predicted, the retired Dark King Rayleigh came out of hiding for his old friend's request. His skills clearly hadn't diminished with age. After finally locating Moria's Thriller Bark hidden in those dangerous waters, he handily defeated the out-of-shape, shadow-relying, lazy version of Gecko Moria.
From Crocus's detailed account, Rayleigh defeating Moria had been far easier than actually finding Moria's ghost ship among the treacherous fog-shrouded seas.
"Moria really declined badly."
Kai shook his head with genuine disappointment. Who would have guessed that the warrior who fought Kaido to a draw sixteen years ago would become such a flabby, artifact-reliant, out-of-shape recluse?
That was the pirate world for you. Lose your drive, and the inner source of Haki rapidly fades, taking your strength away with it. Crocodile was another perfect example. After losing to Whitebeard, instead of training his body and abilities, he pinned everything on finding the ancient weapon Pluton. With his fighting spirit gone, so went his Haki.
In stark contrast stood Luffy. No matter what enemy he faced, his first thought was always, "I'm not strong enough yet. I need to get stronger."
Back to the topic at hand.
When Crocus casually mentioned the name "Gecko Moria," Kozuki Hiyori paused mid-breath. That name felt strangely familiar.
Where had she seen it? Not in newspapers or wanted posters. The memory came from within Wano itself.
But when Crocus mentioned seeing a samurai named Ryuma on Thriller Bark, Hiyori's composure completely cracked.
"Is it Ryuma the Dragon-Slayer?" she asked anxiously, leaning forward.
"He claimed that title," Crocus confirmed after a moment's thought.
Once she was certain, Hiyori turned to Kai. Her beautiful eyes suddenly filled with anxious pleading as she instinctively clutched his hand.
"Kai-sama, please take me to Thriller Bark!"
Ryuma was Wano's legendary hero, the symbol their people worshiped for generations! His sword, Shusui, was a national treasure whose disappearance once plunged all of Wano into deep mourning.
Around sixteen years ago, Shusui mysteriously vanished from its sacred shrine. For years, Wano's people searched desperately for its whereabouts, but to no avail.
Never had she imagined that sixteen years later, she would find its trail here at Twin Capes, at the very entrance to the Grand Line.
And she had just learned that Ryuma's own corpse was on Thriller Bark, defiled and made into a zombie. That suggested not only Shusui but also Ryuma's grave, and perhaps other samurai tombs, had been ruthlessly stolen and desecrated.
"Unforgivable! Stealing Shusui was grave enough, but disturbing Ryuma-sama's eternal rest, desecrating his remains!"
Even the gentle Hiyori now trembled with barely contained fury, her silver teeth clenched tight. She was utterly appalled by Moria's heinous actions.
At that moment, memories from sixteen years ago suddenly triggered, flooding back to her consciousness.
"Ah! I... I remember!"
Her face turned bright red, flushed with shame and helpless embarrassment as she recalled exactly where within Wano she had seen Moria's name.
"You mean Wano's people considered Moria a hero for resisting Kaido, named him Kozuki Moria, built a monument in his honor, and sometimes worship there?"
Kai's expression became extremely peculiar, his lips twitching as he tried not to laugh. The others simply stared in stunned disbelief at this bizarre twist of fate.
What an absurd situation. Moria, grave robber and sword thief, accidentally elevated to hero status.
If Moria ever learned that Wano's people had built monuments worshiping him by mistake, he would probably laugh himself sick.
Hiyori's face flushed crimson, straddling shame and desperate defense. "The villagers didn't know the truth! They just thought someone had bravely resisted Kaido's tyrannical rule and died fighting for their freedom. Naturally, they believed it must have been a remnant of the Kozuki family carrying on the torch of resistance..."
Who could have possibly guessed the truth was so absurdly twisted?
At that moment, Brook, who had been quietly listening, politely raised his skeletal hand.
"Um, excuse me. That sword, Shusui... it's actually with me."
"What?!"
Hiyori's eyes went impossibly wide. The sudden good news completely floored her, leaving her speechless with shock and overwhelming relief.