Summary:
In flashback, ten years have passed since Laboon left the Twin Capes, and Brook is drifting aimlessly through the Florian Triangle all alone aboard his ship. Brook dances, sings and makes jokes to entertain himself, but eventually remembers that he has no audience for his antics. Finally, he lies down and falls into a deep sleep.
In a dream sequence, Brook is awakened in his human body by his crew frantically trampling the deck of the ship. They spot a summer island in the distance and prepare to sing the song “landfall”. His bandmates are confused by his delayed reaction and remind him that they can’t start the song without him. Brook is excited to see the crew, but questions the fact that they are all alive. Confused by his questioning, Yorki asks Brook if he’s still dreaming. Brook hit his face on the deck, making sure it was all real as he felt the pain. He’s now sure that the traumatic events of the past few years were a dream instead, but he quickly wakes up when he raises his head to see himself all alone again.
Brook has a flashback to the events surrounding his former captain Yorki’s departure to the Tranquility Zone. Several of Brook’s crewmates ask him to play the piano as part of the quintet, as the crew decides to fulfill Yorki’s wish to circumnavigate the globe and return to Laboon. Currently playing the piano, Brook has more memories of his time as acting captain of the Rumbar Pirates: he remembers waking them up in the morning with his violin, sailing through a treacherous storm as they sang together, and earning his first reward of going to battle on a particular island and visit other islands as he played music with his crew.
Back in the present day at Thriller Bark, Brook stops playing the piano, much to Franky and Chopper’s disappointment. To Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp’s amazement, Brook opens the top of his skull and removes the tone controller. Brook explains its origin and how it works, but Luffy informs him that they experienced this type of dial in Skypiea. Brook explains that he’s had it with him all this time and that there’s a song on it that he wants Laboon to hear. The dial holds the last song of the Rumbar Pirates together because they wanted Laboon to know that they lived happily ever after. He asks Luffy if he can play the song now, which he happily accepts. As the dial plays, Lola recognizes the song and encourages the Rolling Pirates to join in and sing it.
Brook has another flashback, recalling his crew’s final moments after suffering a devastating enemy attack. His crew informs him that no one can be saved – because the doctor has been killed and the enemy has poisoned their weapons. They are determined to accept their fate as pirates, but note that they have one lingering regret – they never made it back to Laboon. One of his colleagues reminds Brook that he ate the Yomi Yomi no Mi, but Brook is still unsure of the procedure since he has never died before. However, Brook suggests that if they die anyway, then they could spend their last moments having fun. He convinces the crew to sing one final song (theirs, Yorki’s, and Laboon’s favorite) as he pulls out the tone dial, assuring them that if they come back, he’ll definitely take the song to Laboon. The crew happily agrees and declares that no one can die until they finish the song. The Rumbar Pirates all bond and happily play their instruments while in the present Brook has a brief flashback to being alone on the ship.
Back in the present, the Rolling Pirates and Straw Hats are singing and dancing together when the song is revealed to be Bink’s Sake. At the same time, Brook also remembers his crew singing a song together in their last moments, and his memories on the ship alone after their deaths. He recalls how much Laboon loved the song as well, as the pirates continue to sing to each other in the past and present. However, in the past, the Rumbar Pirates begin to succumb to the poison one by one until only the quartet is left to perform the song. Another crew member falls, reducing it to three. One more crew member dies from the poison, with Brook tearfully noting that they have a duet. When the last Rumbar Pirate dies, Brook sobs as he notes that he is now a solo act. As he finishes the song, he has a few last memories – he joined the crew under Yorki’s love of music and left Laboon at the Twin Capes when the crew sailed for the Grand Line.
As Brook finishes the song also in the present, he asks Laboon that if he’s really waiting 50 years, if he’d mind waiting a few more. She feels renewed in her convictions, her pride as a pirate and her promise to keep to her nakama.