"Brook?"
Crocus hesitantly called out to the afro-wearing, black-clad figure with his back turned to him. Meanwhile, Coulson and the others stood silently by the seaside, waiting for something. When Crocus asked them, they refused to answer, saying that revealing it early would spoil the surprise.
"Mr. Crocus!!"
Hearing the voice, Brook quickly turned around. Seeing the old friend who had visibly aged, he hurried over excitedly and grasped Crocus's hands with his fleshless skeletal fingers.
"Thank you so, so, so much for taking such good care of Laboon all these years. On behalf of the entire Rumbar Pirates, I express my deepest gratitude!"
With that, he let go of Crocus's hands and bowed deeply at a perfect ninety-degree angle, remaining in that position for a long time. Crocus, meanwhile, was in a state of shock.
Although Coulson had mentioned it earlier, seeing a skeleton with only an afro speaking to him in person was still unbelievable and hard to accept.
"Ah, alright, alright, get up, Brook. It's good that you're back!"
After a moment, Crocus snapped out of it and quickly helped Brook up. Gazing into the hollow eye sockets, he sighed, "You've had it tough, haven't you? You must have gone through unimaginable suffering."
"Yoohohoho~~ It's all in the past now. Being able to see Laboon and you again is more than enough for me!" Brook laughed optimistically.
After all, if he weren't so optimistic, it would have been hard to survive for so long in the desolate Florian Triangle, living alongside the remains of his companions.
"When I eventually reach the Land of the Dead, I'll have an explanation for the captain and the others. Though I don't know if I'll be able to return there again. That place is actually very vast and bustling. I got lost for so long that my body decayed."
"Bustling? Are there many people, uh, souls there?"
Crocus was quite curious as Brook spoke about the Land of the Dead.
"Of course, there are many souls, and—huh?"
Just as Brook was excitedly about to share his experiences, a loud noise suddenly erupted above them, drawing both his and Crocus's attention.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Sure enough, two pirate ships came rushing down from the peak of Reverse Mountain, plummeting down the nearly vertical torrents at a ninety-degree angle. Astonishingly, they were firing cannons at each other mid-descent, as if they didn't care about their own lives.
Utterly fearless, utterly reckless! "Ah, here we go again. They must be pirates from different seas who ran into each other up there. I wonder how their luck will hold," Crocus said calmly, as if this were a common occurrence.
By "luck," he meant whether they would make it down safely and then settle their score on the open sea. If they were unlucky, they would crash into the Red Line Continent halfway down, turning into wreckage and corpses by the time they reached the bottom.
Then someone would have to clean up the mess.
After all, he didn't want Laboon swallowing any disgusting corpses.
"Yoohohoho~~ After all these years, pirates are still as lively as ever," Brook said, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.
Since he emerged from the Florian Triangle, where he had spent twenty-eight years, he had been filled with excitement and curiosity about the outside world. As for agreeing to join the World Government, there were two main reasons.
First, of course, was to reunite with Laboon and Crocus as soon as possible.
Second, they had shown him a recording of Tesoro and Stella performing at the 'Liberation Day Gala' that night. Hearing that he could also become a superstar and hold concerts in front of the world's populace, he was momentarily swayed and agreed.
Brook no longer wanted to be a pirate; he only wished to forever preserve his identity as a former member of the Rumbar Pirates. He believed this was the best outcome for both Laboon and himself.
"Ah, it seems they've had some luck. By exchanging cannon fire, they've managed to avoid the most dangerous area. Looks like there's going to be some excitement, but..."
Crocus glanced at Coulson and the two others not far away, thinking to himself, "I wonder if these government officials will intervene between these two pirate crews."
If they do, then the pirates' luck might not be so great after all.
Boom! Boom!
The two pirate ships crashed heavily into the sea near the lighthouse almost simultaneously, sending massive waves crashing against the red rock cliffs of Twin Cape.
"Hahahaha, we've finally made it down! Scum from the West Sea, your time is up!!"
A pirate who appeared to be the captain, holding a musket in one hand and a cutlass in the other, stood on the edge of the ship, shouting fiercely at the opposing pirates.
"Hmph, dogs from the North Sea, your voyage ends here! Men, slaughter them all! Their ship, treasure, cannons, food, fresh water—I want it all!!"
The captain of the other pirate ship, undaunted, brandished a longsword and roared.
"Ooooooh————"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Just as the pirates from different seas on the two ships were howling, ready to engage in a brutal close-quarters battle to the death, two golden beams of light suddenly shot over from the distance.
The speed was so fast that no one, including Brook and Crocus, could react. In the blink of an eye, the two pirate ships were engulfed in expanding fireballs!
"They've finally arrived..."
Senior Director Coulson, followed by two men in black, grinned, revealing his white teeth. He then pulled out a small filming Den Den Mushi from his pocket and aimed it toward the sea in the direction of the Grand Line.
He wanted to capture this rare scene as a memento! "What is that?"
Crocus squinted as the blast wind hit his face. About thirty seconds later, he saw four warships appear on the horizon.
But that wasn't all. When what was behind the warships came into view, his eyes widened visibly, and his pupils contracted sharply.
What was he seeing? "Yohohoho~~ That's huge! It looks even bigger than Laboon. Is that an island?" Brook turned off the Tone Dial and carefully stored it back inside his skull.
"Woo woo—"
Little Laboon also seemed uneasy, but with Brook and Crocus by its side, it couldn't follow its instinct to flee into the deep sea. Instead, it glared fiercely at the slowly approaching colossal entity, ready to protect its companions at all costs.
However, the massive vessel stopped about three to four hundred meters away from Reverse Mountain, while one of the warships continued to approach.
Shortly after, four large headquarters-class warships emerged from behind the behemoth on both sides! It was actually escorted by eight warships! "That's the surprise I mentioned earlier," said Senior Director Coulson with a smile as he walked over. Crocus looked at him in surprise and asked, "What exactly is that? It looks like an island."
"That's actually a sailboat the size of an island, and it's also the new base for the Navy's G-0 Branch. Starting today, it will guard Reverse Mountain, inspect all passing ships, and arrest any pirates or criminals who come through."
"Yohohoho~~ Is that what people in this era call an arrest?" Brook pointed at the shipwreck engulfed in flames and laughed merrily.
"Ahem, that might have been a special operation by Admiral Kizaru to ensure none of them escaped," Coulson replied with an awkward smile.
Brook didn't know Kizaru, but Crocus certainly did. He asked in shock, "The admiral candidate, Admiral Kizaru, is personally stationed here?!"
"Yes."
At this, Crocus felt a mix of relief and lingering fear. If the G-0 Branch base had arrived just half a day earlier, last night, he, Shakuyaku, Gaban, and the others would have been doomed! "Well, it seems Twin Cape truly doesn't need me anymore. The Navy will naturally take over the lighthouse here, and those rookie pirates are in for a world of trouble."