162. Gigantic Shadows

Brook finally agreed to join Clown Pirates after talking with the crew. Now they don't have any business in Florian Triangle, so they decide to leave. But before leaving, they take Brook's stuff, mainly the musical instruments in his ship.

"Have you taken everything?" asks Buggy.

"Yes, I don't have too many things, after all," says Brook.

"Alright, now let's bid farewell to your ship and let her rest," says Buggy.

Brook understands what Buggy means and nods before taking a torch that Deon has prepared. He gets closer to his broken ship and then burns it after bidding farewell.

"Thank you for accompanying me after my resurrection. Please rest in peace," says Brook as he watches the ship getting burnt.

Buggy looks at the burning ship sadly while caressing Little Hunter's railings. He knows it won't be long before Little Hunter also needs to rest forever. Seeing the burning ship really hits him hard by the fact that he needs to part with his old partner soon.

The Clowns see it and they don't say anything because they know what Buggy feels. Even though they don't live on Little Hunter as long as Buggy, they all also love this ship. So they know that Buggy must feel even sadder than them.

"Alright, let's leave this place. The others have waited for us," says Buggy after Brook's ship sink completely.

"Aye, Captain," replies everyone.

Everyone prepares to leave, but suddenly Mantis paused and pointed to their ship's right side with a trembling hand. The others are confused and look at where she pointed at. They all are stunned and their jaws drop while their eyes are wide open.

The Clowns are speechless to see 3 gigantic shadows that stand on the horizon. All these gigantic shadows have glowing red eyes that look at them. All of them can't say anything and just look at the shadows that disappear slowly.

"Sho-Should we leave?" asks Deon stupidly.

"Let's leave. AT FULL SPEED!" says Buggy panicky.

Everyone scatters panicky too and sails away from the location. They activate their Breath & Jet Dials to make their ship move at full speed. None of them want to stay here any longer after seeing those gigantic shadows.

The Clowns pass by a pirate ship on their way but just ignore it. Their panic expressions make the other pirate crew confused and laugh at them. But after the Clowns get to a far distance, the pirate crew's scream can be heard clearly.

"HURRY! IT MUST BE THOSE THINGS," shouts Buggy.

"WE KNOW, WE ALREADY DO WHAT WE CAN," replies Cricket.

"WORK HARDER! BLOW THE SAIL WITH YOUR BREATH!" orders Buggy.

"THAT'S ABSURD," retorts Deon.

*ROAR* Suddenly, a thundering roar is heard from their rear.

"HIIII!" screams everyone in surprise.

They all then start to blow the ship's sail just like what Buggy said. Whether it's because of their blows or not, but their ship really moves faster now. Soon, they finally get out of the Florian Triangle.

"*PANT PANT* T-The rumor is true," says Deon while panting.

"*PANT PANT* I told you it is," says Buggy while panting too.

"*PANT PANT* But I never saw those shadows. Why I wonder?" asks Brook while panting like the others.

"They are very good at hiding their presences. I couldn't feel it even after seeing them. Or maybe they are too far," says Buggy.

Everyone is laying on the floor while panting hard because they are very tired. They never run for their lives as hard as this before. Those things' sizes are the most absurd thing that they ever see.

After resting for some minutes, they resume their way to Water 7. Now they sail at a normal pace while still fighting with Grandline's weather like usual. Buggy, Cricket, & Deon also keep working to fix the damages on Little Hunter that keep increasing.

Brook tries to help them, but he just makes it worse, so Buggy forbids him from touching the tools. He is just tasked to play music and entertain them, something that he is very good at. The Clowns also like his music, so they all can sail happily now.

"Hey Brook, does your devil fruit really just revive you?" asks Deon curiously.

Buggy is surprised to hear Deon suddenly asks about it. He has planned to talk with Brook about this slowly by giving clues first and letting Brook explore it himself. But Deon suddenly initiates it, so he will start his plan sooner.

"I don't know for sure. Just like what I've said to you, I only knew this fruit's power after my death. I never find another usage so far," says Brook.

"Hmm, but you said your soul was coming back from the afterlife. You could see, hear, and talk while you were just a soul, right? So maybe your power is controlling your soul itself," says Deon.

Buggy gets even more surprised to hear Deon's assumption. He can guess that much just from Brook's story when he returned from the afterlife.

'Since when did this dude get very smart? It seems I still underestimated his potential. Putting him as an information gatherer seems to be the correct choice. His brain needs to be used to its full potential,' thinks Buggy.

"Soul, is it? Hmm, that sounds possible, but how can I utilize my soul?" ponders Brook.

Deon now gets silent as he also doesn't know-how. Buggy decides to leave them thinking about it themselves. He can't keep guiding them or they won't grow.

Besides, Brook can find the answer in his 2 years of training while getting separated from the other Straw Hats. So Buggy is sure he can find the answer too now. He just needs time and Deon's help will make it faster.

But it comes faster than what Buggy expected. Brook finds the answer after looking at his musical instruments. As a musician, he always knows that he needs to pour his soul into his music, and that's how he will do it.

"I will use my soul through my music, YOHOHOHO," says Brook excitedly.

Brook starts to play more vigorously and makes the others want to sing as they hear his play. Everyone sings together while sailing to Water 7. Sailing has never been this fun for them and it changes just because of Brook's music.

They sail for 4 days before finally reaching Water 7. Everyone is mesmerized by the island's layout and structures. Even Buggy who has memories of this place is also mesmerized because it's his first time seeing it after living as Buggy.

"This place is very different from 30 years ago," says Brook while sipping his tea.

"Of course, it will," says Cricket while sweatdropping.

The Clowns then go to the Scrap Island where Pirates are allowed to dock. They arrived soon and see the Galleon ship that the other team used to pull their Adam Wood. On the Scrap Island, they also see their big and long Adam Wood still in one piece.

Magnus is seen sleeping beside the Adam Wood which makes him look small. Even though he is a giant, the wood's size is far bigger and longer than him. If that's not the case, then their new ship won't be able to house this giant.

"CAPTAIN! YOU FINALLY COME," shouts Jude from the Galleon ship's rear railing.

"Yeah, calls everyone!" says Buggy to Jude.

Jude nods and leaves to call the rest of the crew. They finally will start their new ship project now.

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You can read up to 35+ chapters ahead of this fanfic novel & the other one on my Pa_treon page if you are interested.

Clicking that power stone/like also seem to be a good choice, hehe.

I've uploaded:

1. Chapter 186 of Fairy Tail: Sun Eater

2. Chapter 197 of Transcended as Lord Buggy

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