One Piece: Bai Ye Deputy Captain of the Straw Hats

Translator: PapaSmurf0700

On the Florian Triangle stretch of sea, within the luxurious banquet hall on the fifth floor of the Sunshine Merry, Bai Ye pulled out Brook's bounty poster with a slightly awkward expression. Concealing a lie often required considerable effort.

The bounty poster read: "Acting captain of the Rumbar Pirates, Humming Swordsman Brook, bounty 330 million."

Initially, Bai Ye had simply issued some bounty orders to rationalize the use of his predictive ability. However, he soon realized that the crew actually thought he habitually collected bounty posters. During their encounters with the navy, Luffy would even go out of his way to find bounty warrants specifically for Bai Ye.

Seeing Luffy's proud look, as if saying "Am I not impressive?", Bai Ye decided against correcting him. Thus, he reluctantly began to collect bounty warrants genuinely, and Brook's was among those he had gathered.

"Well, Bai Ye probably recognized him from his hair," Usopp commented, eyeing the distinctive afro on Brook's bounty poster that matched his current hairstyle perfectly.

"Yohohoho~ Indeed, that's my bounty poster. It's still thrilling to see it!" Brook chimed in cheerfully, despite his skeletal appearance. "Ah, though I'm just bones and lack a heart."

"But it's unusual for bones to still have hair. How do you manage to keep such an afro?" Zoro interjected, pointing out the curiosity.

Brook responded with utmost seriousness, "Because I used to have lots of hair!"

Zoro shook his head, choosing to end the odd discussion, "Never mind. I wish I hadn't asked."

Bai Ye, overhearing this exchange, barely suppressed a sigh. Technically, hair grows from follicles, not bone marrow!

Sanji, lighting a cigarette, pondered aloud, "Rumbar Pirates...Rumba...Laboon...oh!"

He turned to Luffy excitedly, "That's the crew Mr. Crocus mentioned back at Twin Cape, the ones who made a promise to the whale Laboon."

Before anyone else could digest this revelation, Brook, who had been sipping his milk contentedly, suddenly staggered as if struck.

"Mr. Sanji, you've met Laboon and Crocus? How is Laboon doing?" Brook grasped Sanji's shirt, his entire skeletal frame trembling with emotion.

Indeed, the shaking was more pronounced because he was just bones.

"That's right, the pirate crew that left Laboon with Crocus was called the Rumbar Pirates," Nami chimed in, recalling the details.

"So you're the ones Laboon has been waiting for?" Luffy asked with a smile, the image of the stubborn whale crossing his mind. "But you really made him wait too long."

Sanji then shared the story of Laboon with Brook and the others who were less familiar. He spoke of how Laboon had been ramming into the Red Line day after day, yearning for his old friends, and how he was covered in scars from his efforts.

Chopper, upon hearing this, was moved to tears. He couldn't contain his emotions, knowing the whale's loyalty and pain.

After learning that Luffy had made a new vow with Laboon and that Bai Ye would help heal the whale's injuries, Chopper excitedly jumped onto his chair, dancing with joy.

Brook, overwhelmed by the news, abandoned all pretense of composure. He lay on the deck, rolling and sobbing, his hands covering where his eyes would have been, tears seemingly flowing from his empty sockets: "Ahhh! Laboon is still there! Oh, this is such wonderful news!!!"

The Straw Hat Pirates remained respectfully silent, giving Brook the space to express his decades of pent-up sorrow and loneliness.

Bai Ye, deeply understanding the weight of Brook's emotions through familiarity with the original plot, knew how heart-wrenching his journey had been. Brook had witnessed the deaths of his friends and endured years of solitude, sustained only by his unwavering promise to Laboon.

Finally, regaining his composure, Brook rose, the very image of a gentleman once more. "Thank you, everyone," he said graciously. "I've been adrift in this timeless sea on a ship with a broken rudder for decades."

"Sometimes, I truly wished I could just die. The promise I made to Laboon was the only thing that kept me going. Meeting all of you and hearing about Laboon has been... truly wonderful, yohoho."

"So, you're not a ghost, right?" Usopp suddenly piped up, holding a cross as if to ward off evil spirits.

Though now clear about Brook's true nature, Usopp couldn't shake off his fear completely.

"Well, I'm absolutely terrified of ghosts. If I ever saw one, I'd scream my head off, yohohoho!" Brook declared with a serious expression.

"Have you ever looked in a mirror?" Nami quipped, pulling out a mirror and aiming it at Brook after hearing his comment.

"Whoa! Keep that mirror away from me!!!" Brook reacted as if the mirror were a terrible foe, quickly covering his skull face with his hands.

"Hold on a second!!" Usopp exclaimed even louder than Brook. He stared at the mirror with a look of horror. "I can't see him in the mirror at all!!!"

"Really? That's so cool!!!" Luffy's eyes widened in amazement upon hearing this.

The others crowded around to see for themselves, and they were all astounded.

Usopp gripped his cross tighter, and Chopper, on the verge of tears, yelled, "He's a vampire!!!"

Franky, observing something else odd, pointed at Brook's feet: "Hey, if you look closely, it looks like this guy doesn't even have a shadow."

This remark plunged Brook into a rare silence.

Then, standing abruptly, Brook saluted Luffy. "Mr. Luffy, you invited me to join your crew, correct?"

"Yes, absolutely!" Luffy responded enthusiastically. "Join us, Brook! Sail the Grand Line with us and let's go find Laboon!"

Perhaps influenced by his time with Bai Ye, Luffy had developed a knack for persuasive invitations.

"That's exactly what I intend to do, Mr. Luffy," Brook confirmed.

To Luffy's surprise, Brook accepted right away, but then he added a twist. "But not just yet. There's something I must do first."

"Before I leave, let me, as a musician, dedicate a song to all of you."

As Brook finished his statement, everyone looked at Luffy, predicting his next move: He was undoubtedly going to get him on the ship.