"Yohohoho~ Yoho...ho...ho"
Accompanied by a strange song, a tattered pirate ship slowly approached the Sunny. Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief, staring at the ship; so ghost ships really did exist!
Usopp and Chopper screamed as they hugged each other, unable to believe the sight before them. They shook their heads frantically, trying to escape reality. Chopper even covered his eyes with his hat.
The singing grew closer, and the silhouette of a skeleton with an afro gradually came into view.
"Bink's Brew, I'll deliver it now~ Yohohoho~"
A skeleton holding a teacup hummed a tune leisurely, slowly savoring a cup of black tea, as if completely unconcerned by its surroundings.
The ghost ship silently sailed past the Sunny, leaving behind a dead silence.
Orochimaru stared at the skeleton in astonishment, his heart rate quickening a bit. A skeleton that could move and speak? He simply couldn't believe his eyes. In the world of Hokage, even Edo Tensei required a living person as a medium, but here there was a truly living skeleton! Did that mean Edo Tensei could use dummies now?
"Luffy!! Catch that skeleton!!" Orochimaru unhesitatingly threw away the demon mask in his hand. He had only picked up the mask casually, intending to scare Usopp, but now it seemed the fake was no longer interesting; the real thing was far more appealing.
"Yosh!! Let's go!!!" (๑✦ˑ̫✦)૭✧ Luffy, who was already eagerly rubbing his fists upon seeing the singing skeleton, instantly became as excited as if he'd been injected with chicken blood upon hearing Orochimaru's words, his eyes shining. He couldn't wait to board that ghost ship.
"There really is a living skeleton!!" Luffy shouted excitedly, ready to rush out immediately, but Sanji quickly grabbed him by the collar, stopping his impulsive behavior.
Zoro calmly pulled out a set of drawing lots and proposed a fair plan: "So, let's decide who goes on that ship with Luffy and Orochimaru."
The cowardly trio—Nami, Usopp, and Chopper—protested in unison, tears in their eyes (੭ु ꒦ິ⌑꒦ີ)੭ु⁾⁾: "Why?! Can't whoever wants to go just go?"
"Yeah, yeah!! Isn't that how it should be?" Nami cried, pressing her face against Zoro's, and Chopper also lay on top of Zoro's head, continuously patting Zoro with his tiny hooves ( ง ˃̶͈♦˂̶́)ง⁼³₌₃
Zoro sighed, closing his eyes, "Are you really willing to do this?"
"Huh?" The three instantly froze, looking at Robin, Sanji, Franky... and Zoro who was turning to walk away, all standing near Luffy and Orochimaru.
The three lay on the ground, Chopper pulling Zoro's sword, Usopp pulling Chopper, and Nami pulling Usopp. The three were dragged forward by Zoro, and Chopper cried, looking at Zoro.
"Gomen nasai! Please let me draw lots (۶ꈨຶꎁꈨຶ )۶"
Usopp, teary-eyed and being dragged, said, "Wait... Zoro... everyone wouldn't want to leave just us three... let's all go."
Nami closed her eyes, crying aggrievedly, her emotions running high, "I'll draw, I'll draw!! I'm willing to draw lots!!"
Luffy, somewhat reluctantly, rested his head on Orochimaru's shoulder, rubbing it playfully, "Orochimaru and I can go alone, you guys don't need to... If we don't hurry, the ghost ship will disappear."
Zoro sighed, looking at the two unaware individuals, holding up the lots.
"Anyway, draw... At least two people need to go with these two... In a critical moment, one person can control each of them, keep an eye on them... Don't let these two brothers mess around."
[Author: The real first mate Zoro... the fake first mate Orochimaru]
Below the ghost ship, Nami knelt on the small boat, trembling, tears streaming uncontrollably: "Wuwuwuwu... Why me? (இᯅஇ), it's really scary here!" Her body trembled incessantly, as if she might collapse at any moment.
"Nami! Hurry up and get on! We're going to leave you behind, you know..." Orochimaru's voice came from above.
Nami cried as she struggled to climb up. Luffy looked at the reluctant Nami and couldn't help but complain, "That's why! Orochimaru and I are enough; we don't need you guys at all."
Sanji followed closely behind the two, retorting, "No, if it's just the two of you, you'll definitely cause big trouble. And what if you mess everything up and the Sunny gets cursed?"
"Besides, with Orochimaru accompanying you, I'm even more worried about that skeleton; it might end up in a laboratory without knowing why."
The four finally climbed to the top of the ghost ship, coming face to face with the skeleton. Nami shrieked in terror, her piercing scream echoing through the entire fog.
The four on the ship stared intently at the skeleton. It was wearing a tattered suit, and one arm had something that looked like a cane hanging from it. Orochimaru observed carefully and realized it was actually a sword-cane.
The skeleton held a cup of black tea and elegantly performed a gentleman's bow, but its voice carried an undisguised excitement.
"Greetings~ Yohohohoho~ We've already met, but I forgot to say hello, how rude of me!"
"This really took me by surprise, because I don't know how many years it's been since I last saw a living person. Here, it's just ghost ships and more ghost ships, it's truly terrifying."
"Come, come, don't be shy, come inside, and let's have a good chat."
Luffy excitedly pointed at the skeleton, "Orochimaru!! Orochimaru!! He's really talking! The afro skeleton is talking!"
The skeleton, hearing Luffy speak, turned its head to look.
"Oh my, oh my!!! This beautiful young lady, Beautiful."
The skeleton put down its teacup, hung up its cane, solemnly straightened its tie, shined its shoes, and walked up to Nami.
"May I see your panties?"
Nami raised her leg and kicked the skeleton in the head, "Who would show you that!!"
A smoking red bump appeared on the skeleton's head, and it clattered to the ground.
"Oh my, oh my... so powerful... it hurt to the bone, even though I'm just a skeleton."
"Shut up!!" Nami, who had come back to her senses, realized something was wrong. She pointed at her face and looked at the skeleton, "Wait! Are you talking to me???"
The skeleton rubbed the bump on its head and stood up, "Yes, beautiful young lady."
Nami pointed at Orochimaru, "You... didn't mistake the person?"
The skeleton stood up very solemnly, "Although this young man is Very Beautiful, as a gentleman, mistaking gender is impolite, and I am only interested in ladies' panties."
Sanji, clutching his chest, stumbled backward. Sanji felt an arrow had struck his chest.
"However... if this young man doesn't mind wearing them... I wouldn't mind seeing them either," the skeleton stated solemnly, looking at Orochimaru, expressing its impartiality.
Sanji imagined the scene, collapsing to the ground and covering his nose, _(′ཀ｀」∠)_
Nami roared, doing a full 360-degree mid-air spin, and delivered a flying kick to the skeleton.
"Give up!! Even if I wore them, I wouldn't show you!!!"
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"