Vice Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates

Hearing that question, Sanji smiled and said.

"Don't worry, Chopper. You have indeed unlocked Observation Haki. Even my Observation Haki didn't work on him."

"The reason I found his presence was due to something called Electromagnetic waves. It comes in the form of body temperature."

"I couldn't sense his presence with Haki, but with my devil fruit, I could sense him. That's also why I know it was Luffy who produced that flame."

"Just now, Luffy's body was simply scorching like flames. I am not sure what is happening, but it must be a very desperate fight."

When Sanji said that, his expression was serious.

"Excuse me, but who is he fighting?" Brook curiously asked. After all, he just saw the power of the swordsman in this crew.

Since the Vice Captain and the Captain had to fight someone together, it blew his mind thinking just how powerful their enemy must be.

"Come to think of it, you have been living in this place for a long time, right? So, you should know nothing about the outside world." Chopper curiously asked.

Brook nodded his head.

"I have been here for almost fifty years."

"That's a long time. Was Newspaper even available by that time?" Zoro asked.

"I think it was. Think about it, Liam told us just how magnificent and technologically advanced Ancient Civilization before World Government was."

"And even Vegapunk is just trying his best to replicate that technology. So, it makes sense that the World Government would have their own News agency after establishing their rule."

"Of course, there must be a huge limit in the past compared to the present."

Sanji replied.

Vivi pressed her cheek and spoke.

"Now that I think about it, it was only after Morgan's News Coo took over the newspaper that every corner of the world has received recent news."

Usopp also nodded and said.

"Liam said a similar thing. Big News Morgan has been the only person who would do his best to provide some truth in the newspaper. Of course, he would still consider whether news is good or bad for his News Agency."

"Since you don't know much, how about we start from the beginning since you have decided to join our crew?"

Hearing that, Brook paused for a moment and shook his head.

"I am grateful for your help, but I need to fulfill a promise."

"With Laboon, right?" Usopp asked.

"Wait, you know him. Yes, you said you knew about me. Do you know how is he?" Brook asked excitedly as he grabbed Usopp.

"We met Laboon in the Twin Capes of the Grandline. He had been waiting here for you. Liam told me that you are a musician our captain likes. So, he has a condition for you."

"If you can wait for a few years, then wait until we cross the Grandline and reach the final island. If you can't wait, we will take you to meet Laboon. We won't force you if you don't want to join us."

Sanji replied to him.

Hearing that, Brook hesitated. After all, he promised to travel around the world so that they could find him again.

But their crew was destroyed even before he could finish this journey. He wanted to accomplish his dream, but he also didn't want to take a risk.

Seeing his hesitation, Sanji said.

"First, let's get your shadow back. Then, we can talk about it."

Brook also found this option to be better. He nodded his head, and the crew slowly made their way to the Moria's Ship.

"It looks pretty creepy. So, how should we proceed?" Vivi parked their ship near the Moria's Island ship and asked.

"Let's go straight and defeat Moria. That way, we don't have to deal with anything else." Zoro explained, almost walking down the ship.

"Stop, stop, you are not allowed to lead us. I am worried we are ever gonna reach our destination if we let you lead." Usopp immediately grabbed Zoro and pulled him back.

"So, are we just sitting ducks here?" Zoro asked.

"Nope, I have a plan. But for that plan to work, we need someone." Sanji turned his head toward Brook and smiled.

That smile looked quite menacing. Seeing this smile, Brook shuddered and meekly asked.

"What should I do, Sanji-san?"

He wasn't the kind of person to sit back and let others do the job. Even if they were here to save him, he didn't want to just wait for others to save him.

That's why, despite his menacing smile, Brook agreed to work with him.

"We need to startle Moria. Brook, you must have been to this place many times, right?" Sanji asked.

Brook nodded.

"Yeah, and I have also discovered a major weakness of Moria."

"So, tell us about his powers and how he uses them." Sanji thoughtfully asked.

"He has the devil fruit that gives him access to others' shadows. By putting the shadow of a living person into a corpse, he can resurrect that person with the personality and powers of the shadow."

"I haven't got a chance to face him, so I don't know much about him, but those people whose shadows have been stripped can not face the sun; otherwise, they will turn to dust."

Brook replied.

"What about that Absalom guy? Have you ever defeated him?" Sanji asked.

Brook shook his head.

"No, I have been fighting my own shadow for a long time. He is a powerful swordsman. But I have faced many weak zombies."

Hearing that, Zoro's interest was piqued. He immediately said.

"Then, why don't I go with Brook to fight Moria and gain his attention?"

Sanji shook his head and said.

"No, we need a solid plan, and I just have a perfect one. Remember what Liam said about Moria? He isn't the type of person to give up on his comrades."

"After the death of his previous crew, he even used his devil fruit to create a zombie crew that is immortal until he is defeated. So, we need to use this to our advantage."

"Let him find out that we have kidnapped his crew member without letting him know that kidnappers are Straw Hats."

"Wait a minute, how do we do that?" Chopper curiously asked.

"Brook should be able to deal with Absalom, right?" Franky asked.

"Yes and no. If we use tricks, then Moria might believe that Brook alone captured Absalom. But as a crew member, Moria must have more knowledge of his crewmates' strengths."

"So, instead of letting Brook go alone, we will send some people with him." Sanji said.

"Wait, didn't you say Straw Hats can not go there now? Except for Brook, everyone here is a Straw Hat. How do you plan to create more Straw Hats out of nowhere?" Zoro asked.

Hearing that, Vivi suddenly realized something and clapped her hands.

"So, that's it. That's your plan, Sanji-san."

"Indeed. That's a smart plan."

"So, we have a plan now."

Usopp and Franky nodded one after another, leaving four people confused.

These four people were Zoro, Chopper, Brook, and Merry.

Suddenly, the other four turned their eyes at Merry, which startled and scared her.

"Merry, it's time for you to work."

Hearing that, Merry, though a bit scared, spoke.

"What work?"

"Create a few body doubles with your Wood powers. You can do that, right? Create them just like a few marines that you can remember with just some casual clothes."

Hearing that, Merry's jaw dropped to the ground.

"Yeah, I can do that."

Zoro and Chopper also said.

"Merry can do that?"

"Of course, she can do that. She can control roots. Every tree comes from a root. So she can easily create or control wood. Don't you even know about your crewmate's powers, Mosshead?"

Seeing how Zoro was clueless about Merry's powers, Sanji didn't hesitate for a second to make fun of him.

"Am I so dumb?" Chopper almost burst into tears as he asked.

Seeing this, Vivi gave Sanji a death glare and consoled Chopper.

"No, Chopper-san. You are one of the smartest people on the crew. Don't forget you are the one who created those impossible potions. It's just this time, the clue was easier for the four of us to figure out."

"Sanji is also smart. Usopp always tinkers with weapons and gadgets. Franky always focuses on weapons, while I have learned many creative ways to use my powers from Liam."

"So, all of us instantly thought of Merry's power. Even Merry didn't realize this because she hadn't used this power before."

"Yeah, I haven't trained my powers. I usually focus on keeping a small barrier around the ship to make sure the ship does not touch the sea." Merry also cutely nodded.

"Then, let's get to work. Merry, create a few doppelgangers. Just to be on the safe side, Merry, create a double copy of Absalom and let Brook tie him before taking him to Moria."

"When you attract Moria's attention, we will invade his base. Usopp will take care of that girl. Chopper will fight Moria's doctor. Zoro will fight that swordsman while I will take care of Moria."

Hearing that, Zoro asked with a serious expression.

"Can you, shitty cook?"