Amid the thick fog, faint rays of light flickered in and out of view.
Inside the ship's dining cabin, the lights were bright, and Brook's strangely captivating voice echoed again and again.
"What a luxurious dining hall! Such high-end facilities! This ship is absolutely marvelous!"
"Yohohohoho!"
The people gathered around the table stared at the overly excited Brook with stiff expressions.
From their initial shock and panic to their current numbness, they had almost all been defeated by Brook's occasional bouts of madness.
Leno could understand his feelings, though. After all, Brook hadn't communicated with anyone for decades—some release of that loneliness was only natural.
"So, Brook, was it? How did you end up becoming a skeleton like this?"
Carmen had just placed the dishes on the table when she turned to look at the skeleton, curiosity burning in her eyes.
Was Brook still considered human now, or something else entirely?
"Huh? Me?" Brook froze mid-motion as he was about to taste the food, asking in surprise.
"That's a stupid question! Is there any other skeleton here?"
As Brook explained, everyone gradually came to understand his past.
He had once been a pirate, but his entire crew had been wiped out. Because he had eaten the Yomi-Yomi Fruit, he was resurrected.
As for why he became a skeleton—when his soul returned from the underworld, it got lost along the way.
By the time he finally found his body, it had already decayed into bare bones.
"The Yomi-Yomi Fruit… what a terrifying ability," Kuina said solemnly after hearing everything. She then looked at Brook with some confusion and asked,
"Normally, skeletons wouldn't have any hair left, right? But you've even got an afro~"
"My hair roots are very strong!"
Brook seriously patted his hair, pride practically overflowing from his tone.
Kuina: "..."
She never should have asked. This guy wasn't on the same wavelength as normal people at all.
After everyone finished dinner, Brook suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned to 'look' at Leno and asked politely,
"Pardon me, but I still don't know your honored name?"
The Group: "..."
The eye-rolls were practically reaching the ceiling. So you remember to ask the host's name now?
"My name is Leno. I'm an adventurer!"
Leno was very tolerant of Brook's strange antics.
He actually had a good impression of this skeleton—though it would be even better if the skeleton didn't have an interest in ladies' underwear.
A person—no, a skeleton—drifting alone for decades in pitch-black fog without sunlight.
Just imagining such a scene was enough to drive one to despair.
Brook was merely a bit overexcited and talkative after finally seeing other people again.
In Leno's eyes, that alone was already remarkable.
"Mr. Leno, did you know me from before?"
Brook was extremely curious. He hadn't appeared in decades—no one should remember him anymore.
Besides, with his current appearance, even the closest person wouldn't be able to recognize him.
"Huh? Then—"
Brook was completely confused. You don't know me, yet you called out my name the moment we met?
"But your companion has always remembered you."
"Com… companion?"
Brook's hand holding the teacup paused. He slowly set it down, lifted his head, and fixed his gaze on Leno.
"Laboon?"
"That's right—the whale at Twin Capes!"
"W-wait, you've met Laboon?"
Brook slammed his hands on the table and sprang to his feet. His bony body leaned forward as he spoke in agitation,
"It's already been fifty years! Laboon is still waiting for us at that cape?! Really?!"
Nami and the others joined in at that moment. They remembered that enormous island whale very clearly—after all, it had almost swallowed them whole.
Nojiko and Robin smiled as they looked at Brook. They hadn't expected him to be the very person the whale had been waiting for.
At the mention of Laboon, Brook's voice instantly softened.
"It's still full of energy, right?"
"Very much so! Like a mountain!"
"Is that so… I really want to see it," Brook said as he slowly raised his skeletal hand to cover his eye socket, his voice choking up.
"I remember when we parted, it was only as big as a small boat. Very cute… a good child that loved music."
"Even now, he still appears in my mind."
"So… it's doing well now, right?"
As he spoke, Brook's choked voice turned into uncontrollable sobbing, his entire body trembling violently.
Although a skeleton couldn't shed tears, everyone could clearly feel his emotions at that moment.
To never forget, and to finally receive an answer—after holding onto a promise in the fog for fifty years, his companion was still there upon his return!
Was there anything happier than this in the world?
After a long while, once Brook finally calmed down, Leno introduced Crocus to him.
When Brook learned that Crocus had been taking care of Laboon all these years, he immediately bowed deeply in gratitude.
However, when Crocus asked whether he wanted to go back, Brook fell silent, not speaking for a long time.
At that moment, Leno spoke up.
"Are you worried about your shadow? If that's the case, you can rest assured." As he spoke, Leno pointed toward Rayleigh.
"This is the famous 'Dark King' Rayleigh. Moria, the one who stole your shadow, wouldn't last even a single move in front of him!"
"Shadow? Stolen?"
At Leno's reminder, Robin, Nami, and the others finally noticed something strange.
This skeleton… didn't have a shadow at all!
Recalling the legends about ghosts, their hearts immediately leapt into their throats. Could this thing be some kind of monster pretending to be a skeleton?
Seeing them grow wary again, Leno gave a wry smile and explained things to them.
Only then did they learn that Moria's Devil Fruit ability could actually steal other people's shadows.
"Our promise with our companions—"
After a long silence, Brook lifted his head, just about to explain the promise he had made with his crew.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to see something horrifying.
Startled, he lost his balance and toppled to the ground with a loud thud.
He stretched out a finger, trembling as he pointed toward the dining hall entrance.
"G-g-ghost!!!"