Arriving in the Devil's Sea

A few days after their departure from Water 7, the Straw Hats enjoy the features of their
new ship; Usopp and Luffy go fishing together and toss everything they catch into the
aquarium, while Robin, Franky and Sanji relax in the dining room,[1] Nami takes a bath in the
bath hut, Chopper enjoys his expanded room/infirmary and Zoro takes a nap in the
observation tower.
When Zoro wakes up, he notices a barrel floating in the ocean and alerts the rest of the crew
over the built-in speaker system. When they fish the barrel out of the sea, they notice that it
is an offering to the sea god. After a short discussion, they open the barrel, but instead of
finding food and sake, a red light shoots out of the barrel and into the sky. Fearing that
someone may spot them and knowing that a big storm is heading in their direction, Nami
orders the crew to head southwest. Unfortunately, the headwind catches them, prompting
Franky to unveil the Soldier Dock Channel 0; a set of paddle wheels. Using the paddle
wheels, they avoid the storm and finally enter the Florian Triangle.
At first, Usopp thinks they might already have arrived at Fish-Man Island, but he is quickly
corrected by the others who explain to him (in a teasing manner) that they are in fact in the
Florian Triangle (he did not know this, since he was not around when Kokoro told the others
about it). Upset that he was not notified about this and scared about the ghosts, he quickly
grabs his exorcism set to rebuke any evil spirits. Suddenly, he and the rest of the crew hear
an ominous song resounding throughout the fog and discover a ghost ship that has
suddenly appeared behind them with a skeleton singing Binks' Sake.[2]
"Dead Bones" Brook

Brook is invited to join the Straw Hats.

Excited and filled with overwhelming curiosity, Luffy starts to board the ship, with Nami and
Sanji behind him, who want to stop him "in case he does something impulsive and stupid".
When they arrive on board of the ship they are greeted by the self-proclaimed "Gentleman
Skeleton" Brook, whose first action is to question Nami as to whether or not he may see her
panties. She, of course, denies this and knocks Brook to the floor.
Luffy, finding all this hilarious, asks Brook if the skeleton can poop, to which Brook replies
yes only for Sanji to berate them both for their choice of questions. Opting for his own take
on things, he then starts to shout questions at Brook about what happened to him and the
ship, only to be interrupted by Luffy, who much to the shock of everybody else, asks Brook
to join his crew. Brook casually agrees to, much to the horror of everyone else present.
[2] Leaving the ghost ship with them, Brook goes back with them to the ship and ends up
having dinner with the crew. Brook is explaining his Devil Fruit ability when Usopp (in
Exorcist attire) notices that he has no shadow and no reflection.
Brook explains how his shadow was stolen, and sadly he cannot leave the foggy Florian
Triangle with the Straw Hats for the sun would disintegrate him. Not wanting his new
friends to get hurt, Brook refuses to reveal the culprit. Nonetheless, meeting the crew has
brightened his dreary existence, and Brook is about to play the violin when a ghost appears.
Just then, the gates of Thriller Bark capture the Thousand Sunny. Brook warns the Straw
Hats to escape and runs across the water to Thriller Bark.[3]
Thriller Bark
After seeing Brook leave and the prospect of an adventure Luffy decides he wants to
explore Thriller Bark. While the rest of the crew only want to escape their entrapment, Robin
explains that they are confined within a large wall which encircles the entire island. Losing
hope, both Nami and Chopper claim to have been stricken with Usopp's recurring, "Can't-
get-on-this-island disease". Luffy then appears geared up to go, with a net and box ready to
catch whatever he finds of interest. Despite Usopp's best efforts to dissuade the captain,
Luffy is only further encouraged by the prospect of gaining Brook as a crew member, along
with Robin and Franky deciding to join him as well.

Franky suggests they try out the Soldier Dock system while they decide what to do,
claiming they'd need a smaller ship to make it to shore. Activating the mechanism Franky
reveals a Going Merry-themed paddle boat named Mini Merry II. Usopp, Nami, and Chopper
immediately jump in to try it out, making their way towards the shoreline. While Franky
explains the Soldier Dock system in its entirety, the remaining crew are suddenly attacked
by some invisible beast. After making fools out of Luffy, Franky, Sanji, and Zoro, it advanced
upon Robin who attempted to resist using her powers to hold it back, yet was disturbingly
licked by this invisible menace. The unseen enemy then flees as the ship begins to be pulled
closer to the island.

The Mini Merry sets sail to Thriller Bark.