Chapter 1185 Summary
Short Summary:
After recounting his past under Candelle's tutelage, Brook and Shuri continued to enjoy their day. However, one year later, the Esperia Kingdom was plagued with a great smog that killed Queen Candelle and drove the country into poverty. Unable to raise the Heavenly Tribute for that year, King Reuven refused to send 1,000 slaves to the World Nobles as a compromise and declared war against the World Government. After Brook fought his way past the Marines to rescue Shuri, he instead encountered the now demonized Shuri, who apparently murdered her own father in presence of two mysterious figures.
Detailed Summary
After taking Brook in, Reuven asked Candelle to take him on as a squire and teach him proper etiquette, and she agreed. As a kid, he took an interest in women, though Candelle was annoyed that he would only pay attention to the pretty ones and constantly ask them for their panties. Of course, Brook stated Candelle was the prettiest of them all, but Candelle reminded him to address her with honorifics since he was her squire. Despite his behavior, Candelle grew fond of Brook, allowing him to ignore his school's dress code and personally training him in swordsmanship.
One day, Brook asked Candelle if there was a man she was in love with. She confirmed there was, but said man was way out of her league, so she worked hard to master the sword so she could stay by his side. Brook asked if he was the man she was talking about, which she flat-out said no to him. Brook then asked if she wore men's underwear since she dressed more man-like, but she assured him she was wearing ladies' underwear. He then repeatedly asked to see her underwear, earning a pummelling, with Candelle saying she needed to beat some proper manners into him. She told him that strength and etiquette were equally important, and Brook promised to do better.
Flashing forward, Brook told Shuri that he considered Candelle a shining star on Esperia, then remembers the day a World Noble washed up on the shore of the kingdom, and after they left Candelle was bedridden from fatigue caused by their behavior. During the time she was recuperating, everyone in the kingdom had gloomy expressions. Fortunately, after that Reuven ascended to the throne and took Candelle as his queen, and then Shuri was born, which brightened the moods of the citizens to the utmost peak. Brook realized he had gotten off track and told Shuri that because her parents saved him, he would gladly give his life for them. Shuri then asked Brook what he would do if she were in danger, and he said he would rescue her. Shuri then asked if he would only do that because she was her parents' child, and after a brief pause, he said he would save her because of who she was. Though Brook's pause annoyed Shuri, she immediately perked back up when he gave her some candy.
As time passed, Brook and Shuri grew closer, but when Shuri was fifteen, a mysterious mist rolled into Esperia, covering the island for half a year as it corroded the kingdom's instruments. Eventually, the mist turned into a smog which made people sick, and the kingdom lost its ability to sing and play music. The smog ended up claiming several lives as well, among them Candelle, whose passing devastated everyone. Even worse, without music, the kingdom could no longer afford to pay the Heavenly Tribute to the World Nobles, which left Reuven rather stressed. Still, Brook and Shuri continued to train and grow stronger, but even though by that point Brook had started dreaming about being a pirate, he stated that his loyalty to the king came first. Shuri offered to join him, but he rejected her repeated pleas. Later, Reuven declared that Esperia would go to war with the World Government: because they could not pay the tribute, the Nobles demanded a thousand slaves as an alternative. Knowing such a fate was worse than death, Reuven declared he would not subject his people to it, and they had two months until the government's armada arrived. All the citizens started panicking, fearing the World Government's wrath, but Brook lifted their spirits with his songs.
The World Government did invade Esperia, and the resulting conflict engulfed the entire country in flames. Brook and the Convoy tried their best to fight back despite being vastly outnumbered. He learned that the enemy had breached the palace and fought his way there, but when he arrived, he saw Shuri, with demonic features and glowing eyes, standing over Reuven's corpse, which also had horns and wings. All the while, a large bird-shaped shadow and an unknown individual watched over the two royals. Shuri turned to a horrified Brook, telling him that the war was over now and he should be glad.
