Chapter 459

Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji come around aboard the Sunny only to discover their shadows missing, along with Nami and nearly all the edible supplies. Sanji boils over when he hears Nami was carried off to a forced wedding, while Usopp tries to walk the trio through everything that happened during their blackout. Franky then recounts how he and Robin met Brook, a skeleton he initially mocked but came to respect.

Franky relays Brook's confession: half a century earlier, his crew left a young friend behind at a certain cape, vowing to circle the globe and return. The crew perished, yet Brook stayed adrift for fifty years rather than break that word. The companion turns out to be the whale Laboon, and Brook clings to his afro because it is the one feature the whale might still recognize. The Straw Hats, who met Laboon at the Twin Capes upon entering the Grand Line, are stunned by the connection. Meanwhile Brook trades fierce sword blows with the zombie Ryuma, who has grown stronger and repeatedly skewers him.

Moved by the tale, the whole crew agrees to bring Brook aboard, with Luffy more eager than ever given the musician's afro, laugh, and bond with Laboon. The chapter confirms Sanji's earlier hunch that Brook's crewmates died at sea. Energized, the Straw Hats prepare to strike back and tear down Thriller Bark. The cover continues the Enel space serial, with the Space Pirates cowering before a being of pure lightning.