Chapter 16: Hell Pirates! Set Sail!
"Yo ho ho ho, hello everyone!" Brook, now just a skeleton, introduced himself. "I'm Brook, a musician and a swordsman!"
Not long after, Brook packed his belongings, including the bones of his companions, and followed William back to the ship of terror. There, he met Perona and Dr. Hogback, as well as zombie soldiers who were completely different from before, almost indistinguishable from the living. This shocked Brook, as the ship had changed drastically in just over two months, no longer as eerie and lifeless as it once was.
Dr. Hogback, putting his hands on his hips, proudly proclaimed, "Hiss~ Hiss~ Hiss~, although you may already know me, I still want to introduce myself again... I am the genius surgeon Dr. Hogback, and I am the ship's doctor of the Hell Pirates!" At William's "friendly" suggestion two months prior, Hogback had exchanged his weird lace outfit for normal men's clothing. After days of continuous high-intensity exercise, he had not only lost a lot of weight but also gained strength and a slightly fuller figure. Often seen wearing a white coat, he now looked more like a proper doctor.
The Hell Pirates, a new pirate group, was established by William using the shell of the Moria Pirates. Originally, he wanted to call them the Shadow Pirates, but feeling it didn't quite fit, he changed the name to the Hell Pirates.
"Nani? Are you the pervert Hogback?" Brook's jaw nearly dropped to the ground upon seeing the drastically changed Hogback, who had lost a significant amount of weight. "Is this really the same guy who wore lace and was as fat as a ball?"
"Hey, what do you mean by that?" Hogback bared his teeth, glaring in dissatisfaction.
"Oh ho ho ho, I'm sorry, I misspoke..." Brook politely apologized. Looking at the transformed Dr. Hogback, who appeared ordinary but very energetic, Brook sighed with emotion, "You have changed a lot... you look even more handsome!" The changes in Hogback were clearly brought about by the mysterious Lord William.
Perona, tilting her head and thinking for a long time, finally positioned herself as a combatant of the Hell Pirates. "Hehe~hehe~hehe~, I am Perona, a... combatant of the Hell Pirates!" As the "mascot" in William's words, it made sense for her to also be a fighter, right?
"Yo ho ho ho, we meet again, the beautiful Miss Perona..." Brook's skull eyes glowed as he spun around excitedly, performing a knight's salute. Approaching Perona, he seriously asked, "Can I make a request?"
"Um?" Perona's eyelids twitched. She had dealt with this nose singer before and naturally knew what he wanted to say. However, only Lord William could see her true self. How dare this sexy skeleton tease her?
"Go to hell! You perverted skeleton! Negative Hollow!" In an instant, Perona waved her right hand, sending out negative ghosts that passed through Brook's body. "Thump..." Brook had no time to dodge and suddenly fell to his knees, his whole body filled with depression. He buried his head and said, "Sorry, I am a humble waterweed!"
"Interesting ability..." William chuckled, crossing his arms and taking some time to watch the show. He had no intention of stopping Perona, letting her teach Brook a lesson, as the skeleton really lacked discipline in this regard. Perona's ability was indeed fun to use to tease people, especially those who were strong and confident, as they would suddenly become extremely depressed and lose their fighting spirit, becoming irresistible and at the mercy of others, even saying extremely shameful negative words.
After kneeling ten times in a row, Brook couldn't hold on any longer, his skull almost cracking. "No, no, that's enough, that's enough..." he begged for mercy, crying and apologizing, bowing ninety degrees to Perona. "I was wrong, Miss Perona, please forgive me!"
"Hmph..." Perona snorted coldly, putting away the negative ghost. Holding a flower umbrella, her figure floating, she looked down at Brook and said viciously, "You perverted skeleton, listen clearly... If you dare to be rude in front of me again, I won't forgive you!"
"Gulu! Absolutely not!" Brook, scared of the Ghost Princess's abilities, reassured her, not daring to talk nonsense even with only a handful of bones left.
"Hehe~hehe~hehe~, although I don't know why Mr. William let a guy like you get on the ship, if you dare to do anything unscrupulous, I will not show mercy!" Perona hummed. Maybe it was preconceived, but she really didn't like Brook and was inexplicably repelled by him, always feeling that he was not reliable.
Seeing Perona's distrust, Brook felt helpless and said loudly, "Of course I know where I stand... Please believe me, I will never do unnecessary things like that again... After all, Sir William is also my savior!" Anyway, his shadow had returned, and as a pirate, not a savior, all he wanted was to fulfill his agreement with Laboon, not sacrifice himself for strangers.
"Alright..." William clapped his hands, sensing the tense atmosphere. "From now on, we are all companions in the same boat. Let's just write off all the unpleasantness in the past!" He continued, high-spirited, "You all, get ready. After staying here for so long, it's time for us to go out and get some fresh air! Just think of it as our first trip since the formation of the Hell Pirates!"
Perona and Hogback were surprised. "Lord William, are we leaving here?" Brook was even more excited. "Yo ho ho ho... are you leaving?" After more than forty years, he could finally leave this hellish place.
"Jie hahaha, I'm not that guy Moria..." William crossed his arms, smiling. "Of course it's impossible to waste time in this dark place like his abandoned house that was hit and lost its ambition all day long. Go to the Grand Line entrance first and fulfill Brook's wish... Recruit a few more potential partners. If the team wants to grow and develop, we can't just rely on a few of us!"
William already had a preliminary plan. "It just so happens that among the treasure maps Moria left behind, I have already deciphered one, so I just went to take it out!" Speaking of which, a beautiful figure emerged in his mind.
That woman must have entered the Grand Line, right? He remembered hearing about her a few days ago when he was at CP9. Someone had discovered traces of the Demon Child near the entrance of the Grand Line, and Marine and CP agents had rushed to arrest her, but she escaped.
This all-around talent, William naturally hoped to recruit. During this period, he didn't know whether she had joined the Baroque Works group, but he wasn't about to give her up to Crocodile. At worst, he would grab her.
"Treasure map?"
"Hehe~hehe~hehe~, treasure hunting, I like it so much!"
"Oh ho ho ho, thank you so much, Sir William!"
The crew expressed their excitement and gratitude as they prepared to set sail on their first adventure as the Hell Pirates.
(end of chapter)
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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