章 123: Chapter 123: The Devil’s Triangle – The Singing Skeleton
The ship carrying Takumi and Enel had been flying over the sea for nearly half a month when they finally reached the base of a towering red circular continent.
Looking up at the steep, vertical stream of rushing water before him, Enel couldn't help but exclaim, "Is this for real? That's supposed to be an upward current? How is it constantly flowing toward the sky…"
This was the Red Line.
The next destination for Takumi was the Ghost Island, located in the Devil's Triangle. To get from the North Blue to the Grand Line, they had to cross the Red Line.
A normal ship would have to brave the treacherous, swirling currents, but since Enel's ship could fly, they could avoid the risk of being torn apart by the waters altogether.
"Fly over the mountain," Takumi said calmly.
Enel glanced at him but didn't argue. He steered the ship and began flying upward.
As the ship crested the top of the Red Line, they saw the waterway split into several branches, some leading to other seas, while others twisted into the Grand Line. Enel couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. "People actually travel through this mess to reach other seas?"
Takumi chuckled. "They do."
"Well, they must have a death wish," Enel muttered, shaking his head.
With a smooth glide, the ship entered the Grand Line.
Due to the Grand Line's chaotic magnetic fields and unpredictable weather, it was easy to get lost, even if you sailed straight in one direction. Without a Log Pose to guide them, navigating would be nearly impossible. From this point onward, Takumi knew he couldn't afford to nap anymore.
The Log Pose was a navigational tool designed to lock onto the magnetic fields of islands within the Grand Line, guiding sailors to their next destination.
However, Takumi didn't need a Log Pose. He had his system's navigation to rely on.
After over a month of sailing through unpredictable waters, which constantly pushed the limits of Enel's understanding of the world, the ship eventually drifted into a dense, fog-covered region late one evening.
They had arrived at the Devil's Triangle, where the Ghost Island was located.
"This place feels off…" Enel muttered, frowning as he glanced around the eerie mist.
The ship hadn't been in the fog for long when they spotted several battered, derelict vessels drifting aimlessly.
From one of the larger, more damaged ships, a chilling song echoed through the mist:
"Yo ho ho ho… Yo ho ho ho…"
Enel's expression darkened as he turned toward the vessel they were about to pass.
There was no sound.
No sound of life coming from the ship at all.
Then where was that singing coming from?
Takumi glanced over at the ship where the eerie song originated, and one name came to mind:
Brook.
The future musician of the Straw Hat Pirates, Brook had eaten the Revive-Revive Fruit, which allowed him to return from the dead. However, when his soul left the afterlife to return to his body, it had already been a year, and his corpse had decayed into a skeleton. He had wandered the Devil's Triangle ever since, alone for decades.
The magnetic fields within the Devil's Triangle were so distorted that most ships that ventured into the area ended up lost. Brook had been stranded here for over fifty years.
Later, Brook had his shadow stolen by Gecko Moria, the master of Ghost Island and a wielder of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit. Until Luffy and the Straw Hats came along to help him reclaim his shadow, Brook couldn't expose himself to sunlight, as those without shadows would be reduced to ashes if touched by the sun.
Moria used the stolen shadows to create zombies by placing them inside corpses, giving the zombies the fighting prowess and personality of the shadow's original owner.
Takumi had a feeling that his next mission on Ghost Island would somehow involve this shadow-playing warlord, Gecko Moria.
As for Brook, whether or not he still had his shadow, Takumi wasn't entirely sure yet.
"Is that… a skeleton?" Enel's eyes widened as he spotted a tall, lanky figure with a massive afro, holding a cracked teacup, standing on the deck of the derelict ship.
"A ghost ship?" Enel shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "No, someone's messing with me! How dare they make a fool of me?! Unforgivable!"
In a flash of lightning, Enel transformed and instantly appeared on the deck of the ship, right in front of the skeletal figure—Brook.
Takumi: "…"
Brook hadn't seen a living person in ages. When he noticed Takumi and Enel, he felt a bit nervous, unsure of how to greet them. But before he could say anything, Enel had already appeared in front of him in a blink.
The two stood there in silence, staring at each other.
Several seconds passed before Brook suddenly jumped in shock. "AH! You scared me! Even though I'm already dead… Yo ho ho ho ho…"
Enel: "…"
What in the world is this thing…?
Without a word, Enel raised his hand and shot a million-volt Thunder Strike directly at Brook.
Brook didn't have time to react. He was hit full-on by the lightning, collapsing to the deck with a loud thud.
"Ouch, that was shocking! Really got me to my bones—though I am just a skeleton, yo ho ho ho…" Brook lay on the deck, smoke rising from his charred form, but still managed to laugh at his own joke.
"Enough of these tricks! Show me what you've got!" Enel growled, his hand crackling with more lightning.
"Enel," Takumi's voice came from above as he stepped lightly down onto the deck.
Takumi glanced at Enel and the now-smoldering Brook lying on the deck, his expression indifferent. "Let's go."
Enel slowly let the sparks at his fingertips fade away, shooting one last glare at Brook. "Tch. You're lucky."
Then, in a flash of lightning, Enel returned to the ship.
Takumi didn't say anything more and followed suit, using his Moonwalk to leap back onto their ship.
Brook leapt up from the deck, running toward the ship's railing where Takumi and Enel had been moments before. Raising a hand, he called out, "Wait! You're leaving already? Wouldn't you like to sit down for a chat? Even though this is our first meeting—yo ho ho ho!"
Though Enel had struck him with lightning, Brook felt nothing but joy seeing living humans after so many years in the darkness. Even if they had tried to kill him, it was better than being alone, drifting aimlessly in the eerie void of the fog.
But Brook's words received no reply.
He watched as Takumi and Enel's ship disappeared into the fog, his raised hand slowly lowering in disappointment.
"Of course, they wouldn't stay… Yo ho ho ho… It's something I should be used to by now," Brook muttered to himself, bending down to pick up his cracked teacup from the deck.
For a moment, he stood there in silence.
He tried to start singing again, but after the first line, he stopped. His gaze drifted once more to where Takumi and Enel's ship had disappeared into the mist.
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