Chapter 463: A Song in the Mist
by xennovel“Huh? Why is everyone staring at me?”
Chopper felt a chill down his spine and shuffled uneasily. He turned to find the crew giving him strange looks, which only made him even more nervous.
Without thinking, he loosened his grip on the barrel he’d been carrying. With nothing holding it up, the barrel suddenly dropped.
Boom!
Crack! Splash!
The instant the barrel hit the water, it exploded with a thunderous crash, followed by a string of crackles. Bursts of fireworks shot from the barrel, illuminating the sea around them as bright as day.
“Is… is this what they call bait?” Luffy gawked in disbelief.
“Luffy, just look at the mess you made.”
Nami turned and shot Luffy a sharp glare, her voice tinged with annoyance.
In a mysterious sea like this, we were supposed to be extra careful.
But Luffy? He was scared of nothing. If anything, he seemed eager to stir up trouble and make the journey more exciting.
“Ahahaha! That just makes things fun, doesn’t it?”
Clang!
“Gimme a break!”
“Seriously, when are you ever going to grow up?”
Nami sighed and shook her head, blowing the white smoke from her fist.
She looked out at the endless sea. Suddenly, a fleeting white shadow dashed past, moving through the mist like a ghost. The eerie sight made her shiver.
“Ah! What was that?”
The sudden turn of events startled Nami, sending her scurrying to Robin’s side for a bit of comfort.
“What? Are we under attack?”
“Where? Where is it?”
Sanji appeared in front of everyone. Zoro drew his sword, and Usopp raised his sniper rifle, ready for whatever might threaten them.
Just as they were bracing for a fight, a song drifted through the fog and broke the tension.
“Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho, Binks’ Sake, we bring to you! Ride the waves, the sea is ours to roam…”
The melody was haunting and sweet, like a ghostly whisper carried over the waves. It sparked everyone’s curiosity about where it came from.
“Where’s that singing coming from?”
They glanced at each other, confused and wary.
That ghostly voice echoing through the mist set their nerves on edge. Goosebumps raced up every arm.
It was downright creepy. Was it a person… or a ghost?
And that white shadow from before—could it really have been a ghost?
“That’s Binks’ Sake!”
Franky, who’d basically lived in bars, recognized the tune instantly.
Seeing the puzzled stares, he quickly explained. “That song’s a pirate classic. Almost every pirate who’s set foot on the Grand Line can sing it.”
“Wait—you mean you guys don’t know it?”
Franky stared at the crew in disbelief as they shook their heads. This song was legendary on the sea, and yet Luffy and the others didn’t know a word of it?
“Ah, I see it now.”
Sanji’s voice rang out from the fog. His shape appeared as a blur, then he suddenly leaped—and vanished from sight.
“Hey, Sanji! Don’t do anything reckless!”
Nami’s worry crept into her voice. In these treacherous waters, stunts like that only added more danger.
“Why is everyone always up to something?” Nami muttered, shaking her head.
Sanji’s silhouette faded into the mist and disappeared.
“Yo-ho-ho-ho! Sir, a little decorum, if you please!”
Moments later a voice echoed, drifting closer with every second.
As the voice neared, Sanji’s figure emerged from the haze—his right hand clutching someone draped in a black cloak.
“Ta-dah!”
“Wait, is that a skeleton?”
“I mean, I’m pretty handy with bone stew, but this one’s not just a skeleton—it’s a skeleton man.”
Sanji tossed the bony figure onto the deck and coolly lit up a cigarette.
“Phew!”
“Who are you? And what are you doing here?”
“Cacoon!”
Luffy had wanted to ask this stranger who he was. But as he came closer, Luffy realized—though all they saw was bones—this skeleton moved with incredible agility, instantly piquing his curiosity.
“Yo-ho-ho-ho!”
“My name is Brook. I’m a Devil Fruit user—I ate the Yellow Spring Fruit.”
“This fruit’s power only activates after death. It brings one’s soul back from the underworld.”
“Sadly, I was lost in the land of the dead for so long that by the time I found my body again, only the bones were left. Yo-ho-ho-ho!”
At that moment, Brook gave off a sense of spirited determination despite his age—a fleeting feeling, like brambles scattering in the wind.
He reminisced about following his captain to form a crew and charging together onto the Grand Line.
But before they ever reached the harsh New World, their ship was struck by a mysterious virus. The entire crew perished in these accursed waters.
In those days when Brook, still full of fighting spirit, had to care for each fallen crewmate, he tasted a bitterness and sorrow that lingered in his soul.
“So you’re Brook. I wonder if you remember La—uh, I mean, Laboon at Reverse Mountain.”
Brook’s empty sockets shifted to Ye Fan, who offered a gentle smile. Brook’s jaw literally dropped.
“Laboon? You’ve met him? He’s our friend!”
“Yeah, when we first entered the Grand Line, we ran into that silly whale. He kept bashing his head against the Red Line, desperate to find you guys.”
Standing face-to-face with Brook, Luffy finally understood why Brook and his crew had never returned to Reverse Mountain.
At least one crewmate survived. Laboon’s long wait hadn’t been in vain after all.
“Laboon really has been waiting such a long time.”
Brook went silent, then spoke softly.
Knowing Laboon was still alive lifted his spirits. Maybe, just maybe, they could meet again one day.
His mood lightened, and as he turned he caught sight of Nami in a bikini off in the distance.
Without missing a beat, Brook straightened his ragged suit, grabbed his cane, and strode over to Nami.
He gave a polite bow, then said with a dead-serious face,
“Miss, may I see your panties?”
Nami didn’t get it at first. But the second it clicked, her cheeks turned bright red.
“You pervert!”
Bam!
With one uppercut, she literally knocked Brook’s soul right out of his bones.
“Yo-ho-ho-ho! Dead! I’m totally dead!”
“Wait, I am dead already!”
Everyone gaped as Brook’s glowing green soul floated back into his skeleton.
“My apologies for being so rude. Allow me to make it up to you all—with a song!”
“Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho, Binks’ Sake, we bring to you! Ride the waves, the sea is ours to roam…”
He didn’t wait for permission. Out came a violin from who-knows-where. He planted his feet on the deck and launched into song.
The melody was so cheerful and catchy that even Luffy, Usopp, and the rest of the goofy bunch jumped in to dance beside Brook as he played.