The Shattered Brook, Revive Fruit!

"Then... please instruct me, Sir William!" The ship of terror moved slowly. On the wide training ground, the skeletal Brook stood with a staff and sword, performing a knight's salute.

"Shadow Mage!" William, who was training there, wasted no words. The black shadow beneath him also stood up. It flew directly in front of Brook. 

"Huh?" Brook's pupils constricted sharply. 

"Shaving... Finger Pistol!" In an instant, the Shadow Mage gave him no time to prepare and attacked directly.

"Wait..." Brook's hair stood on end as he instinctively retreated. But it was too late. His chest was mercilessly pierced by the Shadow Mage. The next moment, the black shadow's sharp right leg swept across.

"Clang!!" Brook had no time to draw his sword and could only narrowly block it with his staff and sword. Being hit by that powerful and heavy kick, it was so shocked that it flew back. 

"That was close, I was almost penetrated..." Looking at the transparent finger holes on the front and back of his clothes, Brook, whose body had long decayed leaving only a skeleton, wiped away non-existent cold sweat and said, "Oh ho ho ho ho, it seems that having no flesh and blood has certain advantages!"

"Really?" William, who was observing the battle while swinging heavy dumbbells, looked amused. The next moment, the menacing Shadow Mage swooped out like an afterimage. 

"Tempest Kick!" Its right foot was like lightning as it kicked out violently without any hesitation. 

"Whoops!" An astonishing light green slash came through the air, but Brook awkwardly dodged it. 

"Boom..." Smoke and dust flew as the earth was torn into shocking holes. In the blink of an eye, before Brook could stabilize his body, the black shadow had already flicked its finger. 

"Flying Finger Pistol!" An air blade came through the air. 

"Oh... Night Light Song: Piercing the Skies!" Brook, who was barely able to react, didn't sit still. He drew his sharp sword in an instant and thrust out. 

"Clang!" Sparks sputtered as the staff sword collided with the air blade. The next moment, Brook's vision blurred as a black shadow rushed towards him.

"Tsk..." A black blade suddenly appeared from its right hand. Afterimages filling the sky came violently like storms. 

"Bottle Dance: Serial Strike!" The sound of clashing gold and iron continued as the extremely sharp shadow blade kept colliding with Brook's staff sword.

Hogback, Perona, and the zombie soldiers training on the side were all attracted by the movement and looked over in surprise. 

"Huff... huff..." Brook was constantly forced back, his sword momentum completely in disarray. William's Shadow Mage appeared at ease while Brook struggled despite releasing a lot of techniques. There was a clear difference in strength between the two.

"Although lacking in power, it's still okay as a junior cadre!" William, who was multitasking - training, manipulating the Shadow Mage, and sword fighting - nodded slightly. It wasn't surprising. After all, from the beginning, he didn't have high expectations for Brook's strength.

"Three-Verse Humming: Arrow Notch Slash!" Soon, the desperate Brook gritted his teeth and launched a final offensive against the Shadow Mage. His body moved like lightning as he swung his staff and sword. 

"Paper Arts!" Between the electric light and flint, the Shadow Mage dodged Brook's swift blow in an incredible way, thin as paper flying in the wind.

"Face the blast... Thirty-Six Pound Phoenix!" At the same time, the black shadow's momentum suddenly became fierce. The extremely sharp shadow blade traced a rapid trajectory and swept out. 

"Woo hoo hoo..." A violent gust of wind, accompanied by an astonishing wind blade, struck suddenly. 

"What!?" Brook's pupils dilated. Having just regained balance, he was unable to dodge as his whole person was directly blown away by the strong wind. His clothes were tattered, torn apart by countless wind blades.

"Wait, I give up!" In the blink of an eye, he fell to the ground hard in ragged clothes, drenched in cold sweat. Brook decisively admitted defeat. 

"As expected of Lord William..." Looking at the shadow returning to William's feet, Brook wiped his cold sweat and said sincerely, "You are truly awesome!" At this moment, he had a clearer understanding of this man's strength. Whether it was physical techniques or swordsmanship, his abilities were incredibly strong, far superior to Brook's own. Just relying on a shadow clone, without even taking it seriously, he could easily crush Brook who was going all out. He was worthy of being the man who could kill Gecko Moria.

"Phew..." Swinging dumbbells of incredible weight with extreme stability, William, who did not stop training, said bluntly, "You have not fully utilized the ability of the Revive-Revive Fruit. Next, I will guide you in its development and training!"

"In addition, your sword skills also need improvement!" 

"Eh? Besides resurrecting people after death, does the Revive-Revive Fruit have other abilities?" Brook was filled with surprise. He had always thought that was the extent of the fruit's powers, turning him into a hammer in water but giving him a chance to be resurrected.

"Of course!" William replied as his perfect muscle lines sparkled under the sunlight. "Any ability, in addition to its innate basic powers, can play a greater role if developed in a reasonable and in-depth manner. But that is related to individual talent!"

Persisting in waving the dumbbells as if he had formed muscle memory, William looked at Brook strangely. "Speaking of which, I'm very curious... In the decades since your resurrection, you haven't seriously trained at all?" 

"It's really embarrassing that you can't even defeat a zombie!" Judging from Brook's progress over two years, it wasn't that he had no potential to tap. But after being resurrected with the power of the Revive-Revive Fruit, this guy never properly trained.

As long as Brook practiced seriously, even without knowing Haki, he shouldn't lose to Ryuma's zombies. In fact, Moria wouldn't be able to take his shadow so easily, let alone defeating a Warlord of the Sea like Moria. But at least he could retreat calmly.

Hearing William's words, Brook couldn't help but blush. Scratching his afro, he smiled sheepishly, "After I was resurrected, because the rudder of the ship was broken, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't leave this Devil's Triangle..."

"Moreover, having lost my purpose, I fell into confusion for a long time! I always thought that after turning into a skeleton, my body's speed and strength were limited. No matter how much effort I put in, I couldn't get stronger!"

Brook asked excitedly, "What do you think, can I become stronger again?" 

"The Revive-Revive Fruit has a very special ability to bring people back to life..." William looked at Brook seriously and couldn't help but sigh, "But I have to admit, your situation is really rare!"

"What's incredible is that even as a skeleton, you can continue to 'digest' food and absorb its nutrients... The reason your bone strength and speed haven't changed is not only because you haven't exercised enough, but also because you were trapped in the Devil's Triangle and barely ate anything!"

If he remembered correctly, Brook was preparing to eat. And what's exaggerated is that even with just a handful of bones left, this guy could still defecate normally. Even if the skeleton cracked or chipped due to external force, calcium could be replenished by drinking milk to heal the cracks and regenerate the bones.

"That seems to make sense!" Brook suddenly understood. Over the years, he rarely ate because he was a hammer and couldn't go into the sea. He met almost no one and even the other ghost ships were mostly destroyed. There was no way to leave this sea area.

"So, I speculate that you can actually become as strong as a normal human!" William smiled and said, "And, since you no longer have a body, there is no limit to aging. In theory, you can still 'grow'!" 

Logically speaking, Brook was already eighty or ninety years old, right? But his bones did not age over time like a normal elderly person's would. Therefore, William believed that even if Brook put aside developing his fruit abilities, as long as he ate normally and supplemented it with reasonable exercise, he could still continue to become stronger!

"However, your bones are indeed too fragile!" Looking Brook's skeletal frame up and down, William added, "After some time, I will find a way to help 'strengthen' them!"

He thought that the Paramecia Munch-Munch Fruit's ability should be able to reinforce Brook's frame. After all, apart from the black afro, all that was left of this guy was a skeleton. If it was modified a little bit, he believed Brook wouldn't mind too much, right?

"Eh? Is that okay?" Brook was shocked. 

"Not sure, but you can give it a try!" William wasn't concerned about authenticity. Anyway, the Drum Kingdom wasn't far from their route and was on the way. By this time, the Drum Kingdom's king, Wapol, had most likely already become a Munch-Munch Fruit user.

They just needed to tie that guy up. It didn't matter whether he cooperated or not. In any case, William was able to forcibly control opponents with the Shadow Fruit's ability and indirectly manipulate the Munch-Munch Fruit. 

"Yo ho ho ho, that's really great..." Brook spun around happily, excited. Suddenly, a violin appeared in his hand. Bowing to William, he said, "Sir William, please allow me to play a song for you to express my gratitude!"

"Ha~, then I'm all ears!"

(end of chapter)