One Piece: Starting as the First Mate of the Lothar Pirates

Brook's skeletal hands gripped the afro tightly as his body slid down the wall in agony.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Brook... It's all my fault..."

Shuli also slumped on the deck, covering her face with her slender hands, unable to stop the tears from flowing.

Seeing Brooke and Shuli, each absorbed in their own world and unable to extricate themselves, Luo Chuan shook his head, unable to sit idly by any longer.

If we let them resolve it themselves, it will only deepen the misunderstanding.

"Hey, you over there, don't you want to know the real truth about what happened back then?" Luo Chuan strode forward.

Upon hearing his voice, Brooke trembled and looked up blankly.

When he saw Luo Chuan, his empty eye sockets visibly shrank.

"You are……"

Brook clearly recognized Luo Chuan's identity.

The Lombard Fleet entered this area and was completely wiped out four years ago.

Four years ago, Luochuan was already a world-renowned seaside resort.

"You're talking about the truth of what happened back then... What do you know?" Brook wouldn't casually question the words of the maritime overlord.

"Words are no proof; use your eyes to see!"

Luo Chuan walked to the weeping Princess Shuli, placed his large hand on her head, and gently tugged.

Wow~

Memories of Princess Shuri over the years are pulled out like film from a camera.

Luo Chuan directly accessed the memory of the day the Kingdom of Esperia was destroyed and clicked to play it.

In the scene, the knight of God, Graw, arrives, followed by Markus, one of the Five Elders of Mars, and finally Im, the possessed monster.

Under the power of the Dark Transformation, Ruwen and Shuli, father and daughter, both transformed into demons and attacked each other.

Shuri ultimately survived...

Brook: "So... this is... the truth!"

……

Chapter 125 The son's name is Shimotsuki Arashi!!

Fourteen years ago.

Royal Palace of Esperia.

When Brook arrived, he saw the demonized Shuri murdering King Ruwen.

Brook was so shocked by the image that his mind went blank, and he was completely unable to think of anything else.

Brook himself was also pierced through the skull by Shuri, who had lost her sense of self.

After that, Brooks stubbornly survived, and upon waking up, he refused to relive those painful past experiences.

So when the newly formed band Rumba invited him to join, he chose to go to sea.

For many years afterward, Brook deliberately avoided those painful memories, even to this day.

Luo Chuan extracted Shu Li's memories, allowing her to witness the truth of that day.

“Those guys… those people from the Holy Land… what are they anyway? How could they do something like this… making a father and daughter kill each other… what do they take people for?!”

Brook, now dead and nothing but bones, screamed in a fit of rage, tears streaming uncontrollably from his empty eye sockets.

“Although I’m very unhappy, they are indeed the ‘world’ now.” Luo Chuan shook his head.

There was another long silence.

Brook stood up shakily and walked over to Shuli, who was still sobbing.

He reached out his skeletal hand, intending to touch it, but quickly moved it away before it could get close.

He's scared!

I'm afraid that my current appearance will frighten the girl from back then!

He was also blaming himself!

Shuli had no control over what happened back then.

It was clearly Shuli who was the one suffering the most after regaining her memory.

However, he had just harshly reprimanded and scolded her.

"I'm sorry, Shuri." Brooke said, tears streaming down his face again.

This time, it's heartbreaking!!!

A fifteen-year-old girl was forced to kill her own father and become the kind of person she used to hate the most, yet no one could understand her.

Now that she has regained all her memories, how much pain must she be in?

“I’m so sorry, Shuri!” Brooke’s voice rose. “I didn’t know… I never knew… you were the one who…”

"Brook..."

Shuli finally lifted her head from between her legs, her face also covered in tears.

"I'm the one who should apologize... I'm so sorry for hurting you back then..."

After enduring great pain, the two apologized to each other, and Luo Chuan did not disturb them further.

After a long while, when the two of them had calmed down, they finally stopped.

Luo Chuan then spoke, inviting the two into the cabin. The previously dilapidated dining table was now covered with a tablecloth and filled with various delicacies.

"If you're tired of crying, let's eat something together first, and then continue crying," Luo Chuan said with a smile.

"Yo ho ho ho!"

Brooks let out his signature laugh.

"Today is truly a good day. In this dark sea, where day and night are indistinguishable and thick fog hangs in the air, I've been drifting alone on this dilapidated ship for years. I'm so lonely, so afraid. Sometimes I really want to end it all. But life brings joy, especially the reunion with Shuli..."

Brooke raised his glass and bowed deeply to Luo Chuan.

“Mr. Luo Chuan, thank you for rescuing Shuli from the hell of the Holy Land. Thank you for bringing her here so that I can know everything. I am truly grateful!”

Brook spoke slowly and deliberately, then downed the wine in his glass in one gulp.

"Good wine, it smells so good it's making my tongue fall off, even though I don't have a tongue anymore, hohohoho!" It was Brook's signature lame joke again.

“Brook, that…” Shuli began tentatively.

"What's wrong, Shuli? Just ask me anything!" Brooke said.

"It's that thing, I want to know, how did you become like this?" Shuli asked, then realized it was inappropriate and quickly waved her hand, saying, "It's okay if you don't want to tell me."

"It's okay, we've already gotten through the toughest and most difficult days."

Brook calmly said, "That year, after Esperia was destroyed, I met the Lumbar Pirates. They were really a fun bunch. I went on an adventure with them in the Western Blue, and later we went to the Grand Line together. Oh, and we also met a whale..."

"It was a baby island whale that had just been born. It got separated from the main group. It loved our music, so it followed us to the Grand Line. We named it Laboon..."

Brook rambled on about his experiences over the years.

"Because the Grand Line is too dangerous, we left Laboon at Twin Capes, agreeing to pick him up after circumnavigating the world, but..."

At this point, Brooks' mood visibly sombered.

"The Grand Line is cruel. The Rumbar Merchant F did not complete the journey. Everyone perished in this sea. Because I ate the Yomi no Mi (Fruit of the Underworld), I was given a chance to be reborn after death."

"The price of rebirth is becoming a skeleton ghost?" Shuli looked at Brook with heartache.

“Oh, no, that’s not it. The reason I became a skeleton is simply because my soul got lost for two years when it returned from the underworld. By the time I found my body, I was already a skeleton, hohohoho!” Brook laughed loudly.

"Oh my gosh~" Shuli was stunned.

After a long separation, although things have changed and people are no longer the same, everything is steadily improving.

Upon reuniting with Brook, Luo Chuan clearly sensed that Shu Li had become much more lively.

Fortunately, Luo Chuan didn't disturb them any further, leaving the time for the two of them.

It wasn't until late at night that Luo Chuan heard a splash as someone fell into the water.

"Shuli!!!"

Brook's empty eye sockets trembled, and he couldn't help but scream out loud.

After regaining his senses, he jumped into the sea without hesitation.

"Two idiots!"

Luo Chuan's expression changed, and he followed closely behind into the sea.

The Devil's Sea is filled with countless turbulent currents; once a person is swept into them, they will be swallowed up instantly.

Not to mention those with special abilities; once they fall into the sea, they will only face certain death.

Fortunately, Luochuan discovered it not too late.

Moments later, the sea exploded.

Luo Chuan, with Shu Li in his right arm and Brooke in his right, led them back to the deck.

"cough cough"

The two people who fell into the sea coughed violently, expelling the seawater that had accumulated in their lungs through their bodies' physiological reactions.

“Shu…Shuli, why…why did you do such a foolish thing…” Brook managed to speak through gritted teeth.

“I am a woman burdened with sins, and I have no right to live in this world.” Shuli’s emotions collapsed once again.

It was only then that Luo Chuan realized that Shu Li's optimism these past few days had all been a facade.

Like a dying person's last burst of energy, she had already planned her own end.

After seeing Brooks and fulfilling his last wish, he took his own life.

"Shuli, you are my woman. I'm taking you away from the Holy Land not so you can die," Luo Chuan said firmly.

"I'm sorry, Lord Luo Chuan, I'm really sorry. I know you've done so much for me, but..." Shu Li sobbed uncontrollably.

“Shuli, all that pain is in the past. You have a new life now, and you don’t need to be bound by the past anymore!” Brooke comforted her.

"But now, whenever I close my eyes, I see my father... and all those things I... just let me die!"

"If the past caused you so much pain, then I will seal those memories away again!" Luo Chuan said, preparing to activate the power of the Memory Fruit once more.

Of all things, life and death are the greatest!

Once a person dies, everything is gone!

"don't want……"

Before Luo Chuan's large hand could land, Shu Li suddenly struggled violently.

"Please stop sealing my memories, Lord Luochuan. I don't want to live a life where I know nothing... I don't deserve it..."

Ultimately, under Shuli's strong resistance, Luo Chuan gave up on forcibly sealing the memories.

Given her current unstable state of mind, following the Rocks Legion is not a good thing.

What Shuli needs most right now is a peaceful and stable place to recuperate.

After a brief moment of thought, Luo Chuan quickly made a decision.

“Brook, put your hands on my shoulders, I’ll take you somewhere.”

As Luo Chuan spoke, he picked Shu Li up in his arms.

"Huh?"

Brook was taken aback, but he did as he was told.

Luo Chuan closed his eyes, carefully sensing and searching.

"Have it!"

At one point, he opened his eyes.