Chapter 207

"That's not a ghost, is it?" Kozue remarked, tilting her head to the side as she looked at an unusually tall skeleton dressed in formal attire complete with top hat and cane, sporting a black afro.

"Seems more like a skeleton..." Wilson replied with a thoughtful expression while looking at the skeleton sitting on a barrel, holding an empty cup of tea, seemingly unaware of our presence.

Everyone went quiet as we watched the skeleton sitting while resting his chin on the palm of his hands, and I decided to play along and see where this would go.

"Fair young lady... May I please see your panties...?"

The skeleton spoke as he stood up, giving us his back as he bowed before thin air, seemingly rehearsing something.

"The skeleton spoke... and it asked to see someone's panties..." Kozue remarked with twitching eyes as she watched the skeleton, who still seemed unaware of our presence.

"Since there is no ghost here, I call dibs on the talking skeleton!" Domino said while pointing at the skeleton, much to Byron's bemusement as he stood behind Wilson, clutching his axes.

"That felt wrong..." the skeleton remarked, rubbing his chin, unsatisfied with his performance. "Please grant me the pleasure of seeing your panties... dearest young lady..." he said, turning towards us and bowing again while tipping his small top hat.

"That felt better indeed-" the skeleton muttered, raising his head and freezing as he finally noticed our presence.

"Damned evil spirit!" Byron exclaimed as he slowly inched past Wilson, crossing two fingers and creating the shape of a cross in front of his face as he faced the skeleton.

"Eh?" the skeleton said in alarm upon hearing Byron and seeing his gesture, nervously backing away.

"Oh! It's working!" Kozue said, astonished as she noticed the skeleton back away, emboldening Byron to step forward while maintaining the cross sign in front of his face.

"There is nothing for you here, evil spirit!" Byron exclaimed, inching closer and closer to the skeleton as it backed away in alarm. "The power of God compels you! Begone, you deviant!" he added, smirking as the finely dressed skeleton stumbled upon hitting the ship's railing while backing away.

"Hey! no fair, I called dibs!" Domino exclaimed in annoyance while glaring at Byron performing an improvised exorcism ritual, trying to drive the skeleton to the afterlife.

"Please wait for a moment! What is happening?!" the skeleton exclaimed, raising his hands.

"I won't wait, evil spirit! Begone, leave this place! God almighty compels you!" Byron replied, activating his devil fruit ability, extending flames from the tip of his fingers and creating a massive flaming cross.

"EEEEH? An evil spirit?! Where is it?! Where is it?!" Brook exclaimed snapping as he, nervously looked around the area, trying to spot the spirit Byron was trying to exorcise.

"It's you, you bastard!" Byron exclaimed, suddenly stumbling and falling flat on his face, his flaming cross dissipating.

"WHAT?!" the skeleton exclaimed, his limbs flailing about in a panic, much to everyone's amusement and Byron's bemusement.

"There's no use pretending, damned evil spirit! There's no way a skeleton can move, speak, and grow an afro! You must be an evil spirit!" Byron exclaimed, promptly rising to his feet as he created another flaming cross.

"Calm down, will you?" I said, trying to hold back a laugh as I put a hand on Byron's shoulders. "We won't get anywhere like this, so why don't we try talking to the guy... skeleton first?" I added as I walked past him, facing the skeleton.

I tried to introduce myself, but the skeleton interrupted me as he finally had a chance to take at the rest of us.

"Oh, my! What a beautiful young lady!" the skeleton said as he looked at Domino. "You are the most beautiful woman I've laid eyes on, even though I'm a skeleton and don't really have eyes to speck of- Yohohoho!" he added while approaching Domino, making her raise an eyebrow in amusement.

"May I please see your panties?" The skeleton flatly asked as he stood in front of Domino, his bony face sporting a deadpan expression somehow.

"So that's what the pervert was rehearsing!" Kozue said with twitching eyes, reaching for her sword and on the verge of cutting the skeleton in half for his audacious request.

However, Domino stopped her with a wave of her hand as she looked at the skeleton. "I'm sorry to tell you I'm not wearing any..." Domino flatly replied, sporting an equally deadpan expression.

The skeleton froze upon hearing Domino's reply and stood rooted in place, a blush suddenly creeping onto his bony face. His white face soon turned blood red, steam coming out of his ear holes as he collapsed on the floor with blood flowing out of his nose.

"I suppose that works too..." Kozue said with a chuckle removing her hand from her weapon as she shook her head in amusement.

"This guy sure is interesting..." Wilson said with a smirk as he watched the skeleton get off the ground and walk back to where he was a moment ago as if nothing had happened.

"Please excuse my behavior," the skeleton remarked as he turned to face my crewmates and myself. "It has been decades since I had the chance to speak with anyone," he added, shaking his head.

"I've been drifting alone on this ship for so many years with nothing to keep me company but ghost ships... honestly, it's quite frightening," he explained, wildly gesturing with his boney hands to convey his frustration.

"In any case, I'm dead bones, Brook. Nice to meet you all!" he concluded, politely bowing toward us with an exaggerated gesture, tipping his hat.

"Wait... Brook...?" Byron, who was still maintaining a flaming cross, muttered as he deactivated his ability, causing the fire to dissipate. "Are you Brook from the Rumbar pirates...?" he asked as he stood in front of Brook with a hard-to-read expression.

"The Rumbar pirates...? That's a name I haven't heard in a long time..." Brook replied, grief audible in his tone. "Indeed, that's me, Brook of the Rumbar in the flesh, even though I'm a skeleton now and have no flesh to speak of- yohohohoho," he added, shaking away his grief and resuming a carefree, jolly tone.

"What... what happened to you...?" Byron asked in disbelief as he looked at Brook with a complicated expression. "No more Importantly, what happened to the Rumbar pirates?" he added, moving forward to grip Brook's jacket collar.

"What the hell happened here?!" he asked, shaking Brook as he held on to his jacket.

"Calm down, Byron," I said, frowning as I put a hand on Byron's shoulder, pulling him off Brook, who had gone quiet. "Anyway, we can't have a proper conversation here, so why don't we move this to our ship?" I asked as I looked at Brook, keeping an arm on Bryon's shoulder to calm him down.

"My story is a long one, so it would be better you listen to it in a comfortable place," Brook replied with a nod of his bony head. "Very well, I'll follow you to your ship," he added, nodding again as he turned to look around.

"But your ship seems to be rather far, and I don't see a boat... how in the world did you get here, anyway?" Brook asked after looking around and spotting the Black Pearl in the distance.

"We flew here..." I said as I let go of Byron as he finally calmed down, smirking at the skeleton.

"Flew? How?" Brook asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion as he looked me up and down.

"You're about to find out..." I said, my smirk becoming more pronounced as I put a hand on Brook's shoulder and jumped into the air.

"EEEH? EEEEEEEEEEEH? PLEASE WAIT A MOMENT. I'M TERRIBLY AFRAID OF HEIGHTS!"