Chapter 65

Suddenly a shadow that looked like Brook came out of his shadow and ran into the tower where Brook is resting.

I took out my Den Den Mushi and called Robert and Deuce.

A couple of minutes later, they appeared next to me.

"What can we help you with, Captain?" asked Robert

I pointed towards Ryuma.

"It's one of those zombies. It looks like you've already defeated it, so why did you call us?" asked Deuce

"Deuce, stitch his body back together, and Robert, store his body away safely."

"What, why!?"

I showed them Shusui.

"He gave me a gift, so I'll give him one back."

"But."

"Let's just do what Captain wants. There must be a good reason for it." said Robert

"I guess you're right."

"Oh, and Robert, pass me a bottle of milk."

He looked confused, but he still took out a bottle of milk and threw it to me.

They got to work, and I went to Brook.

I entered the room and saw that he is still unconscious. I squatted down next to him.

*SLAP*

I slapped him in the face, immediately waking him up.

"CAPTAIN! Why did you slap me!?"

"While I was risking my life to get your shadow back, you were here sleeping."

He looked down at his shadow.

"My shadow! You actually won!"

"Tsk, what did you expect?"

I threw him the bottle of milk, and he caught it.

Drink that, and let's go and find the others.

He drank the milk, and he got completely healed up.

'This f*cking cheat.'

I started walking out of the tower.

"Captain."

I turned around and looked at Brook.

"I'm really sorry for letting you down."

"What do you mean."

"That technique you told me to use was too weak. I thought that my Devil Fruit could finally be useful."

"What are you talking about? I was just testing out my theories, and it seems like I was right. I told you to infuse your sword with your Devil Fruit, not to give him external damage, but to damage his soul."

"His soul!"

"Yup. From what you've told me about your Devil Fruit, I believe that if you train hard enough, you could attack people's souls. Just imagine facing off against someone with an impenetrable defense. What will happen if you attack his soul?"

"I will be able to hurt him without needing to break his defense!"

"Exactly. I didn't expect you to actually be able to even infuse your sword so quickly."

He looked at his hands.

"So, my Devil Fruit isn't useless after all."

"There isn't something like a useless Devil Fruit, only useless users."

'Well, there are a couple of exceptions.'

"Alright, let's go."

He nodded, and we left the tower.

I used my Haki to sense where the rest is.

'It seems like everyone is gathered in one place.'

We ran towards them.

We arrived at the back of a huge mansion. We saw everyone there, including a colossal monster. It's at least four times as big as the giants.

'It seems like the only ones left are Gecko Moria, Hogback, Absalom, Perona, and Oars. Wait, Oars! That means that someone has lost his shadow!'

I looked at my crew's shadows.

"Urouge!"

Everyone turned around and looked at me.

"Oh, yo, Ken. I see that you've gotten Brook's shadow back." said Urouge

*WOOSH*

I appeared in front of him and grabbed his head.

I glared at him.

"Where… is… your… shadow!"

"Well, you see, that is a funny story."

I put more force on his head.

"AAAHHH! I'm sorry! I let my guard down, and now that huge monster has my shadow!"

*THUD*

I let go of him, and he fell on his ass.

I looked at Oars.

'It seems like Moria is inside of him. Ugh, that sounded weird.'

I looked at the other three.

*WOOSH*

Oars fist suddenly came towards my head.

*BAM*

I blocked it with my left palm.

"WHAT!"

I could hear Moria screaming.

"Why are you so surprised? A weakling like you would never be able to beat me. No matter what body you use."

I turned my right hand into a fist and punched Oars fist with all my strength, sending his arm flying back.

Everyone wanted to go and finish it, but I stopped them.

"What is it?" asked Sabo

"What have you idiots been doing this entire time? Why are they still alive?"

"But we took care of all the zombies." said Ace

"Yeah, there were 900 of those guys."

"Does that sound like an accomplishment? If you had taken down the one who controls all of them, you would have been able to take them down in one go."

They looked down.

"Brook, go and take him down."

"What!? Why me!?"

"He is the one that stole your shadow, so go and get revenge."

"But that guy is too strong!"

"Did you already forget about that technique?"

"But I don't know how to use it."

"Well, here is your chance to practice. I'll give you one tip. The guy you're looking for is behind that blue belt."

He took out his sword.

"I will do my best."

"You have 10 minutes to take care of him."

"But."

"3,2,1, go."

I kicked him towards Oars, and they started fighting.

"Are you sure that he can handle it? asked Sabo

"Who knows. If he can't, I'll be counting on you to save him."

He nodded.

Robert and Deuce appeared beside us.

"We're done, Captain." said Robert

"Good, now take out a chair and some popcorn."

"Don't we need to help him?"

"He'll be fine."

Robert took out a chair and some popcorn. I sat down and enjoyed the show.

The rest also sat down, except for Sabo, who needs to be ready to intervene at any moment.

Absalom, Hogback, and Perona are on the sideline, looking at us with shock.

I looked at Brook, who is constantly failing to hit Moria. Luckily for him, he is fast enough to dodge all of Oars's attacks.

*SLASH*

*SLASH*

*SLASH*

He only manages to leave small scratches on Oars' skin.

'This is going to take a while.'

[2 hours later]

I was about to fall asleep when suddenly.

"Coup d'âme!"

*SLASH*

"AAAHHH!"

'He actually did it!'

(An: Coup d'âme means Soul Slash in French if google translate isn't screwing with me.)

*WOOSH*

Suddenly a lot of shadows came out of Moria, Oars, and other parts of the ship.

Urouge got his shadow back, and Brook came back to us. I looked at Moria's lackeys, who almost passed out of the shock.

"Good job Brook."

"Yohoho, thank you, Captain."

I grabbed his collar and stared into his soul.

"C...captain!?"

"Didn't I say 10 minutes?"

"I… I'm sorry, captain."

I let go of him.

"It's fine. It was entertaining. Hahahaha."

"Argh!"

I looked at Moria, who is climbing out of Oars.

'Shouldn't he be unconscious? Does this have something to do with his Devil Fruit? Speaking about Devil Fruits, I need to get his and Absalom's.'

My crew and I started walking towards Moria, who is now getting helped by his three crewmates.

*WOOSH*

Suddenly a massive guy with a purple bible in his hand appeared behind them. I motioned to my crew to stop.

"What are you doing here, Bartholomew Kuma?"

"I've gotten orders from above."

"You and your orders. Come on, man, you're a pirate. You shouldn't be with those guys."

"I have my own reasons."

"Yeah, whatever."

He looked at Moria, who is lying on the ground.

"I came here to take you to Marineford. You're allowed to take two people back with you."

"Can't you take one more?" asked Gecko Moria

Kuma shook his head.

"Hogback and Absalom."

"What! You can't leave me here alone!" screamed Perona

"Shut up! You've always been useless. I don't need you."

"How could you! I trusted you!"

She fell on her knees and started crying.

Kuma touched Moria, and Moria completely disappeared.

"What!? Where did he go!? I couldn't see him move at all!" said Ace

After that, he made Hogback disappear.

*WOOSH*

*BAM*

When he was about to touch Absalom, I intervened and kicked Absalom away.

"Why are you intervening? There is no need for you to kill him."

"Who said that I wanted to kill him? I just need him for something."

"But I've got my orders. I've you intervene I will go after your crew, Ken."

I glared at him.

"Tsk. Fine, take him."

He walked to Absalom and also made him disappear.

*WOOSH*

*BAM*

*BOOM*

I appeared above him and kicked him on the head, making him smack his head on the ground creating a huge crater. I stomped on his head a couple of times and then went off of him.

He stood back up like nothing happened.

"Next time, think before you threaten my crew."

"You were being stubborn."

I flicked him off.

"Screw you."

I turned around and walked towards my crew.

"Let's go. We are done here."

"Why did you let them go so easily?" asked Zala

"Yeah, normally you would beat up anyone who stood in your way." said Robert

"There is no reason for us to fight."

I looked at Kuma and smiled.

"We're friends, after all."

He had a little smile and nodded.

(An: Wow! Kuma actually smiled!)

"Wow, I didn't expect him to have any friends. I heard that he is worse than me." said Laffitte

"Hahaha, you're a funny guy. There is no way that someone could be worse than you."

"Hehehe, that's probably true."

I looked at Kuma

"Goodbye, Kuma. Come and find me if you want to have a drink."

He nodded and disappeared.

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[If Ken managed to get Absalom's fruit, I would have him eat it and pay a visit to a couple of bathhouses. But what can I say, he was too weak. Better luck next time, Ken.]

Anime Quotes:

"If you believe in your dreams, I will prove to you, that you can achieve your dreams just by working hard."

– Rock Lee (Naruto)

"We are all like fireworks. We climb, shine, and always go our separate ways and become further apart. But even if that time comes, let's not disappear like a firework, and continue to shine forever."

– Hitsugaya Toushiro (Bleach)

"Even if I die, you keep living okay? Live to see the end of this world, and to see why it was born. Live to see why a weak girl like me ended up here… And the reason you and I met."

– Sachi (Sword Art Online)

(I have to admit, there may have been some man tears when I watched that episode. Sigh. F*ck Kirito! That useless f*ck!)