Sabaody Archipelago—lawless zone—a secluded alley.
"Shakky, I know you're all alone, with no ties holding you back. You can do whatever you want... but that also means you have no one to rely on! Grab her!"
The middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses didn't spare Shakky another glance as he turned away. Dozens of burly men emerged from the shadows, surrounding her.
"Over the years, I bet you've stashed away at least 500 million Belly, haven't you, Shakky?"
Hearing that she had just made off with another few tens of millions today, he couldn't resist making a move. A mere information broker? He was going to take everything from her.
"Hypocrites, all of you. Scumbags!"
Shakky struck a massive bamboo pole beside her, sending a cloud of fine white powder into the air. The lime dust swirled down, stinging the eyes of the men around her. Their agonized screams echoed as the quicklime reacted with moisture, generating intense heat and burning their eyes—some might even go permanently blind.
Without hesitation, Shakky lifted a sewer grate and jumped down, vanishing into the maze of underground tunnels.
"Damn it! Is she dead? If not, chase her down! I'm gutting her tonight!"
The man in gold-rimmed glasses used Geppo to leap into the sewer, scanning the three possible escape routes. Spotting a set of footprints, he took off in pursuit. But after a while, the trail suddenly disappeared.
"Damn it, she tricked me!"
Realizing he had been played, he gritted his teeth. Shakky had deliberately left false footprints while escaping in another direction. There was no chance of catching her now—she was long gone. Worse, he had blown his cover. She would never contact him or sell information to him again. The opportunity to rob her blind was gone.
...
Shakky climbed out of the sewer and took in the familiar cityscape.
"Tch. I should've known better than to trust those bastards. Good thing I had a backup plan. Looks like I need to find a new island to call home."
A thought suddenly struck her.
"Wait… I know someone."
She recalled the cold-eyed man who had effortlessly taken down Poison Cannon Sharlin. According to her intel, Brook was supposed to be a cheerful musician. How did he become so distant and unapproachable? The destruction of his crew must have changed him completely.
Rumors had it that he was planning to gather a new crew and set sail again. Maybe she could join them.
Decision made, Shakky stashed her belongings and set out to investigate Brook's intentions.
...
World Economy News Headquarters
Brook was deep in concentration, attempting to separate his soul from his body—an out-of-body experience. In this spectral form, he could pass through walls and gather intelligence undetected.
It was how he had escaped hell in the first place—his soul had drifted into his skeletal remains. Now, he was trying to do it again, focusing his energy until—
A pale, ghostly version of himself emerged from his body, though it was only his upper half. His lower soul remained tethered to his physical form, like a tail he couldn't sever.
Drifting toward the window, Brook prepared to phase through it—only to freeze.
A short-haired woman in black had just pried open the window with a knife.
They locked eyes.
Brook hadn't sensed her approach, too familiar with the environment to use Kami-e for detection. And now, here she was—right in front of him.
"AAAAH! A GHOST!"
Shakky's piercing scream shattered the silence.
Brook's spectral form shot back into his body, his glowing, hollow eyes snapping open as he sat bolt upright.
Meanwhile, Shakky lost her balance and fell backward, disappearing from view.
The guards from the news agency quickly surrounded Shaki, cutting off any escape routes. At the same time, Mortomas stormed out in his pajamas, while Antonio, still groggy from sleep, rubbed his eyes and looked at the black-haired woman now trapped in their midst.
"Isn't this the same girl who helped the captain exchange bounty money earlier today?"
Antonio finally snapped awake, staring at the girl lying on the ground in confusion.
"Brook, are you hurt?"
Mortomas turned to Brook, who was standing by the window, asking out of habit. He seriously doubted that this girl could have harmed Brook in any way.
"What do you want?"
Brook jumped down from the second-floor window, landing gracefully. He studied the black-haired woman—there was something familiar about her.
"Are you human... or a ghost?"
Shaki shuddered at the sight of Brook in his soul form. She could see a transparent ghostly figure that looked exactly like him floating nearby.
"It's a Devil Fruit ability. Got it now?" Brook said coolly. "State your purpose. If you don't, you're going straight to prison."
"No, no, wait! My name is Shaki! I earned over twenty million Belly from you today, remember? But now I'm being hunted down! I want to join your crew!"
Shaki frantically waved her hands, afraid that if she spoke even a second too late, she'd be hauled off to the Marines.
"Shaki, huh?" Brook gave her another look. There was a glint of cunning in her eyes that reminded him of a certain sly bar owner he once knew. "Fine. From now on, you're my second crewmate."
"That's it? Just like that? You're not messing with me, right?"
"I said it already—you're my second crewmate now."
Brook's icy-blue eye sockets locked onto her, his tone unwavering.
"Understood, Captain Brook! You better protect me well!"
Shaki finally pushed herself up, dusted off her clothes, and rubbed her sore backside.
"Do you have any special skills?"
"I'm good at gathering intelligence. I also know some navigation and can cook fairly well!"
"Then your primary role will be navigator, and your secondary role intelligence officer. Antonio is a decent intel guy, so you'll be training him."
Brook dismissed Mortomas and the guards, telling them to go back to sleep, then led Shaki and Antonio inside to go over their abilities and roles.
"...A Devil Fruit user who can communicate with Den Den Mushi? That's insanely overpowered for an intel officer!"
"Yep! I can talk directly with small snails and even eavesdrop on their conversations. Hehe~"
Antonio chuckled awkwardly. Eavesdropping on snails felt kind of rude.
"Antonio has access to most Den Den Mushi functions, but his real-world experience is severely lacking—he barely knows how to use them effectively. You'll teach him how to distinguish and collect valuable intel."
With Brook's investment in multiple types of Den Den Mushi, Antonio had begun unlocking their various capabilities. Not only could he talk to them, but he had also learned how to mimic the Broadcast Den Den Mushi's loudspeaker function, use a Visual Den Den Mushi to take photos, and even transmit signals to a fax machine to print them out. He was even starting to grasp some of the Den Den Mushi's unique mimicry abilities...
Brook had a feeling that as Antonio continued to develop his power, he might eventually master all Den Den Mushi functions. Any new type he encountered would likely add to his arsenal.
"This is insane! I wish I had eaten the Den Den Mushi Devil Fruit too!"
Shaki's eyes sparkled as she stared at Antonio, making him instinctively scoot closer to Captain Brook for protection.
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+100 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg