"Is this an illusion? How can something like this be real? Is it some kind of devil fruit ability?"
"You've got to be joking! I heard that Caesar's crew returned from the New World. Is this the power of the New World?"
"I've never heard of a fish-man possessing such monstrous abilities!"
"Is this the true strength of the Caesar Pirates?"
Standing atop the raging waves, Hades smirked and replied, "Sorry, but you're mistaken. I'm just the weakest member of the Caesar Pirates."
With that, Hades stepped off the water and effortlessly leaped back onto the ship.
At first, the onlooking rookie pirates refused to believe him.
How could such a monstrous fish-man be considered the weakest?
If someone who could single-handedly sink a ship was weak, then just how powerful were the rest of the Caesar Pirates?
It sounded ridiculous, yet as they observed the interactions aboard the ship, they couldn't deny reality.
Hades might not have been as weak as he claimed.
Even without considering rank or status, his presence alone exuded an overwhelming aura of strength.
And when they turned their attention to the ship's other elite members—especially Gliner—the sheer pressure was suffocating.
The seasoned crew of the Caesar Pirates exchanged amused glances, while the rookies looked increasingly uneasy.
Board the ship?
That would be a death sentence.
Jump into the sea and flee?
But their ship had already been destroyed. Where could they possibly escape to?
They were stranded in the middle of the ocean, unable to see land or even a single reef in any direction.
Even if they had the stamina to swim, there was no guarantee they'd survive the sea's vicious predators.
"Please! Can we join the Caesar Pirates? We'll do anything!"
"We can scrub the deck, wash dishes—whatever you need! Just don't kill us!"
"I have a wife and kids! I don't want to die—I want to go home!"
The Caesar Pirates weren't bloodthirsty but remained true to their nature.
If someone had potential, they were willing to take them in.
Unfortunately, none of these rookies stood out.
And so, as expected, they were thrown overboard and left to their fate.
After all, while the Caesar Pirates weren't senseless killers, they were still pirates.
Against enemies who had sought to take their lives, simply sparing them was already a mercy.
The Journey to the Grand Line
After countless encounters and repelling numerous ambitious upstarts, the Caesar Pirates had spent over a month charting their course.
Now, they stood before Reverse Mountain, the entrance to the Grand Line.
As they gazed at the towering, awe-inspiring mountain, Caesar and the seasoned crew remained composed.
But for newcomers like Hades and the others, the sight was utterly mind-boggling.
They couldn't comprehend how a pirate ship could possibly climb a mountain.
"Caesar! Are you seriously saying we're going up that thing? Can a ship even scale a mountain?!"
"Are you trying to kill us, Captain? Just use your power and fly us over!"
"Do we really need to do this? Can't we skip this 'experience'?"
The rookies panicked.
In truth, the Reverse Mountain current posed little threat to them with their current strength.
Especially with figures like Caesar, Gliner, and Hades onboard—even in the worst-case scenario, survival was all but guaranteed.
But none of them wanted to take unnecessary risks.
Brad, however, ignored their complaints.
This was his second time passing Reverse Mountain.
The first time, he had relied on Caesar to steer them through.
That time, they had entered from the North Blue and emerged in the East Blue.
Now, they would be taking the opposite route—entering from the East Blue and emerging at Twin Cape, the true start of the Grand Line.
As the ship surged forward, cutting through the powerful currents of Reverse Mountain, it climbed higher and higher.
Despite the breakneck speed, the ship avoided colliding with the rocky cliffs.
Caesar stood at the bow, tall and unmoving, his sharp gaze locked onto the path ahead.
At the peak of Reverse Mountain, the ship finally crested the summit.
Then came the descent.
Like a roller coaster, the ship plunged downward at terrifying speed, causing the three women onboard to turn pale.
The sheer height and velocity of the drop made their stomachs lurch.
Following the wild current, the crew was thrust into the Grand Line.
The ship sped forward, carried by inertia—until, finally, the momentum faded.
As the women sighed in relief, some of the men grinned.
"...Can we do that again?"
Before anyone could respond, a massive shadow loomed beneath the waves.
A gigantic whale—an island-sized behemoth—rose from the sea.
Its single eye alone dwarfed their 30-meter-long, 12-meter-wide ship.
"This is… the whale that the Rumbar Pirates brought to the Grand Line…"
Laboon.
The moment Caesar laid eyes on it, he recognized the creature.
Laboon watched the newcomers expectantly—but within moments, disappointment set in.
They weren't the ones it was waiting for.
Unlike in the original timeline, Laboon was still young, yet its size was already staggering.
Its appearance startled Brad and the others.
"Why is there a whale here? Don't whales live in pods?"
"How could one survive alone in a place like this?"
Curiosity filled the crew.
But for Caesar, a wave of emotion stirred in his heart.
At this moment in time, the Rumbar Pirates had already perished.
Their last surviving member, Brook, had long since turned into an undead skeleton.
If nothing changed, he was still wandering the Florian Triangle, trapped in an endless cycle of solitude.
Laboon had been waiting… and waiting…
For friends who would never return.
[102] A Future Crew Member: Brook
After hearing the tragic story of the Rumbar Pirates, the ship fell silent.
All eyes turned toward Laboon, now filled with sympathy.
No matter how long it waited, its former friends would never return.
The dead could not keep their promises.
Even if Laboon shattered Reverse Mountain or scoured the seas for eternity, it would never find them.
"A separation in life is still a separation in death," Gliner murmured.
"Can't we persuade it to leave? This is meaningless waiting," Brad said softly.
"As admirable as its loyalty is, how many decades does it have left to live?"
Hades sighed heavily.
But Caesar shook his head.
"Not so fast," he said.
The crew turned to him in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"The Rumbar Pirates may be gone," Caesar admitted, "but I never said all of them died."
"What?!"
"Their musician, Brook, survived."
A spark of hope lit in the crew's eyes.
"Then we have to find him!"
But after a moment of excitement, someone hesitated.
"Wait a minute, Caesar…"
Navigator Lily frowned.
"How do you know this? You're way too young to have met the Rumbar Pirates. And I've never seen you take notes on other pirates before."
Everyone else slowly turned to him.
Right.
How did he know?
But Caesar had already prepared for this.
"It's simple," he said smoothly.
"I once heard of them. The Rumbar Pirates were famous for their love of music—an unusual trait for pirates."
"And their musician, Brook, ate the Yomi Yomi no Mi."
"A devil fruit that lets the user return from the dead."
"In other words, Brook can't die."
His explanation was seamless, and the crew accepted it.
They agreed—they had to find Brook and reunite him with Laboon.
Caesar had considered this from the start.
In the original timeline, Brook had eventually met Luffy, who helped him return to Laboon.
But with Caesar here, the future had already changed.
If Brook never met Luffy, he might never escape the Florian Triangle.
That couldn't be allowed to happen.
Besides…
With proper training, Brook could be a powerful new recruit.
And his abilities might prove invaluable—especially against a certain Emperor who wielded souls as weapons.
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