The moment the barrel was opened, a signal flare suddenly shot out from it.
Usopp was startled by the sudden movement and instinctively exclaimed,
"Woah! What flew out?"
When he looked up, he saw an incredibly dazzling red light shining in the sky.
"Red light?! What is that?"
Usopp looked at the red light in surprise, asking in confusion.
When Luffy saw the red light, he suddenly thought of something.
In the sea between Water 7 and the next associated island, there is an area known as the Thriller Bark.
And Gekko Moriah, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, is located in this demonic sea area.
He remembered that the Moonlight Pirates would use this method to search for and plunder ships passing through this sea area.
"Have we already approached Thriller Bark?"
Luffy thought to himself.
Just then, everyone in the ship's cabin heard the previous commotion and rushed out.
"What happened?"
"What was that noise just now?"
As they asked, they suddenly noticed the red light above their heads and immediately voiced their confusion.
"What... is that thing?"
"It looks like a signal flare!"
"What did you do? Why is there something like that appearing above our heads?"
Hearing everyone's questions, Luffy smiled calmly and said,
"We just salvaged a wooden barrel from the sea, and when we opened it, this signal flare was launched!"
"It seems this could be a lure to expose our position; perhaps enemies have already secretly noticed us!"
Hearing Luffy's guess, Nami and Usopp, the more timid ones, immediately turned pale with fright and cried out,
"No way?! The report just came out, and we're already being targeted by enemies?"
"Will it be a very powerful enemy? We won't die here, will we?"
"So scary!"
As Nami was crying, she suddenly returned to her normal state in an instant, becoming serious.
She mumbled,
"This atmospheric pressure..."
With that, Nami suddenly shouted loudly to everyone on the ship,
"Everyone! Quickly get to your positions!"
"Flee towards the southeast..."
"A storm is coming!!!"
Hearing Nami's words, everyone, though seeing the surroundings still calm and Sunny, acted without hesitation.
After sailing for so long, no one doubted Nami's ability anymore.
Five minutes later!
Dark clouds rolled in, and strong winds raged.
The waves surged violently, like ferocious beasts rampaging wildly.
The Sunny was deeply entrenched in this harsh weather, going against the strong winds, and its movement was severely hindered.
Nami frowned at this sight and said,
"It's no good, the wind direction has completely reversed!"
"We're going to be sucked into the storm; we can't get out!"
No sooner had Nami finished speaking than Franky suddenly stepped forward, smiling confidently, and said,
"Hey!"
"How can this ship be so weak?!"
"Don't underestimate it!"
With that, Franky loudly said to everyone on the ship,
"Quickly furl the sails!"
"Usopp, open Soldier Dock System Channel 0!"
Hearing Franky's words, everyone immediately recalled.
At that time, Franky had briefly introduced the Soldier Dock System to them.
Although only Merry in Channel 2 had been demonstrated so far, they also had some understanding of the functions of the other docks.
So, upon hearing Franky's words, everyone on the ship immediately became excited.
"Oh! Are we going to use that?"
"Woah! I've been wanting to try that for a long time, let's do it!"
As everyone spoke, they operated their respective controls.
Soon, the Sunny's sails were furled.
At the same time, the dock's position rotated to 0, and two paddlewheel propellers extended from inside.
Under Usopp's operation, the paddlewheels, powered by cola, spun rapidly.
The Sunny immediately gained ample power and, under Nami's command, rushed out of the storm's range.
...
After crossing the storm, Usopp, Chopper, and Karu couldn't help but exclaim.
"Phew! Finally out! That weather just now was really scary!"
"Thanks to the Sunny, we were able to cross that terrible storm!"
"Gah!"
However, just then, Sanji frowned, pulling them back from their relaxed state of escape.
"It's good that we've crossed through.....~."
"But look around!"
Hearing this, they immediately looked around.
In an instant, fear and confusion immediately crept onto their faces.
All around, dense fog permeated, covering this sea area like night.
It had a rather eerie and chilling feeling.
Just then, Franky suddenly spoke.
"I heard that the sea area after Water 7 has a Thriller Bark that is perennially covered in dense fog."
"It's rumored that hundreds of ships go missing there every year."
"It's truly a sea area where monsters exist."
"It's said that even ghost ships carrying the dead get lost in there!"
"Could it be... that we have already entered that sea area?"
Hearing Franky's words, Usopp and the other two immediately hugged each other tightly in fear, crying out in alarm.
"Gho... ghost ship?! Is that true or false? Th... those kinds of things are lies, right? They can't possibly exist, right?!"
"No... no way! Don't lie to us, Franky! We won't be scared! Ghost ships and such simply don't exist!"
"Gah!"
Tears streamed down their faces, their eyes filled with terror, as they spoke these firm words.
However, just as their voices faded, a strange, ethereal singing suddenly came from the dense fog.
"Yohohoho..."
"Yohohoho..."
The moment they heard this sound, the three of them froze in fear, mechanically turning their heads to look at the right rear, where the sound came from.
Through the dense fog, a ship twice the size of the Sunny slowly sailed past them.
This ship was dilapidated and full of holes, yet it was still floating in the sea, looking just like a ghost ship.
Immediately, Usopp and the other two were so scared that they raised their hands, their eyes rolled back, snot and tears streaming down their faces, and they cried out in alarm,
"Waaah! It appeared!"
"It's a ghost ship!"
"Gah!"
Not only were the three of them scared, but everyone else was also startled by the sudden appearance of the ship.
They stared at the ghost ship before them with astonished faces, covered in cold sweat.
Only Luffy was not afraid; instead, he had a smile on his lips and a look of pleasant surprise in his eyes, staring intently at the approaching ghost ship.
"Yohohoho..."
The eerie humming sound echoed from the ship once more.
This sent shivers down everyone's spines, making them shudder.
Usopp and the other two were already too terrified to control themselves, crying out in panic.
"Waaah! The song of evil spirits!"
"Don't listen! Quickly cover your ears, you'll be cursed!"
"Gah!"
Just then, Uta and the others noticed something amiss, staring at a blurry figure on the ship, obscured by thick fog, and asked in confusion.
"On this ship... there seems to be someone!"
"Really!"
"Is it an enemy?"
As they spoke, the figure across from them, lie at the ship's edge, gradually emerged from the thick fog.
The moment they clearly saw the figure, everyone was so shocked their mouths hung open, unable to utter a single word.
On the ship opposite, a skeleton with an afro held a cup of coffee, quietly gazing at them, singing a song that filled them with dread.
"Binks' Sake..."
This scene left everyone dumbfounded.
Usopp and the other two instantly rolled their eyes, their mouths agape, and collapsed onto the deck, their faces filled with terror.
After a moment of stunned silence, everyone finally managed to speak, disbelievingly.
"Gho... Ghost?!"
"That's clearly a skeleton!"
"What's the difference?"
"A skeleton... is singing!"
As everyone discussed the singing skeleton in disbelief, Luffy stepped forward, smiling slightly, and said.
"That should be some Devil Fruit ability!"
After giving a brief explanation for everyone's confusion, Luffy excitedly asked the others.
"I'm going to check out that ship, does anyone want to come with me?"
As soon as Luffy posed the question, Uta immediately looked at him with a smile and said.
"I'll go with you."
Nami, however, tried to stop them both in fright.
"Don't go!"
"What if it really is a ghost?"
"It will bring us disaster!"
Luffy looked at Nami's terrified expression and said calmly.
"Maybe there will be treasure on it!"
Suddenly, Nami immediately let go of Nojiko, looking fearless, her eyes turning into the shape of Berries, and said to Luffy.
"I'll go with you guys!"
"Ghosts or whatever, I don't believe in such things!"
Zoro watched Nami's rapid change of expression, his mouth twitching, and couldn't help but retort.
"Don't we already have so much gold? Why are you still so excited?"
Nami immediately retorted upon hearing this.
"Of course, the more treasure, the better!"
"Hmph! A training-obsessed blockhead like you wouldn't understand!"
Zoro gritted his teeth in anger, but Nami had already linked arms with Luffy, saying with a giggle.
"Hehe! Let's go quickly!"
...
Because the three of them now had the ability to move through the air, in the blink of an eye, they appeared on the deck of the ghost ship opposite, standing face to face with the skeleton.
This skeleton was, of course, Brook.
Seeing Luffy and the other two appear before him with their strange abilities, Brook was startled and exclaimed in surprise.
"Fly... Flew over?!"
"You really startled me!"
"You scared my heart right out of my chest."
As he spoke, Brook suddenly paused.
"Huh?! Although I'm just a skeleton, I don't have a heart!"
Then came his unique laughter.
"Yohohoho..."
Nami's eyes were filled with tension and caution as she looked at such a bizarre skeleton.
Brook seemed to remember something, suddenly took off his top hat, and bowed politely to Luffy and the other two, saying.
"Ah! How rude of me! I didn't greet you first!"
"Hello!"
"I am Brook, a skeleton from head to toe!"
"It's truly exciting!"
"I've been drifting on this vast sea for decades, and I've finally seen living people!"
As Brook sighed, Luffy responded politely.
"I am Monkey D. Luffy!"
Brook nodded politely upon hearing this, calling Luffy's name as a greeting.
"Mr. Luffy!"
Uta also politely introduced herself.
"I am Uta!"
Brook nodded again.
"Miss Uta!"
Suddenly, Brook looked at Uta and couldn't help but praise her.
"~Ah! What a beautiful lady!"
"May I see..."
Bang!
Before Brook could finish speaking, Luffy punched him away.
Then, he heard Luffy say.
"Don't be rude to my crew!"
Brook lay on the deck, trembling as he said.
"So... Sorry!"
Regarding Luffy's sudden reaction, Brook understood in his heart, and for a moment, he didn't realize there was anything wrong.
But Nami and Uta both looked puzzled, as if Luffy knew what Brook was going to say.
However, before they could ask Luffy, the latter had already spoken to Brook again.
"Brook! Come sit on our ship!"
"Eh?!"
As soon as Luffy finished speaking, before Brook could answer, Nami let out an incredulous gasp.
However, when she saw Luffy's smiling face and his already decided expression, she knew that no matter what she said, she couldn't persuade him.
And so, Luffy and the other two didn't find any treasure; instead, they brought a skeleton back to the Sunny's crew.
While the Sunny was in chaos.
In the thick fog above them, a ghost was hiding in the shadows, observing the scene.
...
Thriller Bark!
Inside a castle!
Moriah was comfortably having a sweet dream.
Suddenly, his door was violently pushed open.
Three figures rushed in hurriedly, simultaneously shouting in panic.
"Master! Something's happened!"
"Wake up, Master!"
Amidst the startled cries, Moriah slowly woke up.
He frowned, looking at the three panicking figures before him, and said with a hint of displeasure.
"What happened?"
"Why did you disturb my sleep?"
"I was dreaming of gaining the strongest shadow and becoming the Pirate King!"
Sensing Moriah's displeasure, the three cadres immediately apologized in unison.
"Sorry, Master! We disturbed you!"
After apologizing, the three of them simultaneously resumed their previous panicked expressions.
"Master, something big has happened!"
Seeing their behavior, Moriah couldn't help but feel puzzled, frowning.
"What is it?"
Upon hearing this, Perona was the first to speak, her face filled with terror.
"This is bad, Master!"
"Just now we found a signal flare had been fired!"
"So we sailed the ship in that direction."
"After getting close, I sent my ghosts to check the situation."
"But..."
Seeing Perona suddenly stop mid-sentence, Moriah's frown deepened, and he pressed on.
"But what?"
"What did you see?"
Perona looked at Moriah, her face filled with terror, and said word by word.
"That group is..."
"The Straw Hat!"
Upon hearing this news, Moriah immediately looked surprised and quickly asked.
"What?! Are you talking about the Straw Hat, whose Captain is Straw Hat?"
Perona nodded repeatedly, saying.
"It's them!"
As she spoke, there was terror in her eyes, as if the mere thought of that person's name would scare her.
The other two also looked similar, all showing deep fear of that name.
However, what surprised all three of them was...
Upon receiving a definite answer, Moriah surprisingly showed a look of great joy, saying excitedly to the three of them,
"Excellent!"
"Bring them to our island at once!"
Hearing this, the three were incredibly surprised and exclaimed,
"Mas… Master! What did you say?"
"You said to bring them to our island?"
"Did you not hear clearly? They are the Straw Hat!"
Seeing the trio's terrified expressions and their questioning remarks, Moriah frowned, saying with a hint of anger,
"What do you mean by this?"
"What's wrong with the Straw Hat?"
"Do you think I, Gekko Moriah, would be afraid of them?"
The three were immediately intimidated by Moriah's imposing presence and fell silent.
Moriah, meanwhile, continued confidently,
"I am a man who once fought Kaido!"
"What is a mere Straw Hat?"
"Just bring them here."