Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.
~Chapter One~
Sanji's Letter
"Any word on a new ship?" A man asked the bartender and owner of the Leaky Barrel, a small bar and only bar in the Pumpkin Town.
"Yeah, heard one docked over an hour a go. A pirate ship at that." The bartender answered. "Why you so interested in ships anyway, Joe?"
"You know me. I like to look at 'em and see if I can buy 'em. Being a collector and all."
The bartender laughed and shook his head. "Well I didn't see the whole ship or anything like that, but I did notice one thing. The head of the ship was a lamb's head."
The man on the other side of the bar placed down his glass when he heard this and turned towards the conversation.
"A lamb, you say? Is that their pirate symbol?"
The bartender shook his head as he reached for a glass and started to rinse it out. "Nah. I hear that's a normal skull and cross bone. The difference though is a large yellow hat placed on its head."
"What did you say?" The other man asked nearing the two now. "A yellow hat?"
The bartender turned to him and nodded. "That's right, sir. A large yellow hat. Kind of like a straw hat. You heard of them?"
The man at the bar let smoke drift from his lips and he grinned. "The Straw Hats, a wanted pirate crew," he answered, and placed a hand to his lips removing something and placing it into his empty cup.
"Really now? You seem to know a lot. Who are you, stranger?" The bartender asked.
"No one important." The man said, placing down some money and standing to his feet. "Though I'm looking for that crew," he said, placing a black hat over his already covered head and turned away from the men.
"Out to get them?" Joe asked the stranger.
The man grinned. "You can say that…" With that the man left.
The bartender stared off after the man and then noticed something sharp at his side. His eyes widened and turned to Joe. "I don't know Joe, but that man resembled the pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro!"
"You think it was him?" Joe asked looking back to the doors.
"I don't know, but he had the bandana on before covering it with the hat. And I think I've seen three swords at his side!" The two stared at one another in shock, not sure what to say or do. No one would believe them either they were the only ones in the bar at the time.
It was then loud noises and talking could be heard as two men entered the bar.
"I hope this place has some food! I'm hungry!" Came Luffy's voice as he barged into the small bar with Zoro on his side.
Swordsman nodded. "I agree. If I have to eat something of Nami's or Usopp's again I may just die," he said, as he and Luffy stopped at the bar.
Luffy laughed but was suddenly stopped when the bartender came running over. "You two! Did you two see who just came out of this bar?"
"Not really. He was already walking away before we turned the corner," Zoro said as he took a seat at the bar. "Why?"
Joe turned to them. "Because he was famous!"
Luffy's jaw dropped and a large smile appear on his face. "What?! Really? Who was he?! What did he do?" The rubber man asked with excitement in his voice.
Zoro sighed. "Can I get a beer before you go off telling the story?"
"Sure." The bartender said handing Zoro a bottle of beer.
"Thanks."
"Okay! Now tell us who was this guy! I WANT TO KNOW!" Luffy cried.
"Well, he's a legend in the East Blue, and by far in the West Blue! He hasn't lost a single match! He's tall and legend has it he's really strong!" Joe said turning to Luffy.
Luffy laughed. "So cool! Tell me more! What does he do?"
"He's a sword fighter," the bartender cried. This got Zoro's attention.
"A swordsman huh? And you say he's well known in the East Blue?"
"That's right. But I'd be careful. He's known to be a pirate hunter."
"A pirate hunter?" Zoro asked and turned to Luffy.
Luffy didn't have an ounce of worry on his face as he all ways was. No the pirate captain just looked even more excited.
"SO COOL! I WANT TO MEET HIM!"
Joe shook his head. "I don't know if that's possible. This man seemed to be set on looking for the Straw Hats." Joe explained.
"DARN!" Luffy cried.
"Um, Luffy… were the Straw Hats." Zoro said with a sigh.
"Oh, yeah, that's right!"
"WHAT!? YOU TWO ARE PART OF THE STRAW HATS?" Joe and the bartender cried together.
"Yep, that would be us. This here is our captain," Zoro said pointing to Luffy.
"You're the famous Monkey D. Luffy?" Joe asked.
Luffy smiled a full teeth grin. "That's right."
The bartender and Joe looked at one another in plane shock.
"I have a real pirate captain in my bar! Joe, this is unbelievable! First the great pirate hunter and now the captain and his crew of the Straw Hats are here in my bar!"
"Yeah, yeah, it's all great, but now tell who was this swordsman? I'd like to challenge him if he's as good as you say he is." Zoro said with a bit of pride.
Joe and the bartender looked at each other and laughed.
"You want to challenge him? You have got to be crazy! He hasn't lost one fight yet as we know of. He'll slice you up." said Joe.
Zoro grinned. "Yes, well I've only lost to one match so far and that was to Hawkeye Mihawk."
"You fought Hawkeye and lived?!" The bartender said. "Oh, bless my soul. I haven't met a single person but one man who fought Hawkeye before. And that man just lost."
"What? Who was this?" Zoro asked in shock. "It wasn't the man who was just in here, was it?"
Joe shook his head. "No, the man who was just in here isn't old enough. This was near 12 years ago. And it was before he lost his arm. Have you ever heard of the captain called Red-haired Shanks?"
"SHANKS!? SHANKS FOUGHT MIHAWK AND ALMOST WON!?" Luffy blurted out.
"Yep. Rumor has it that he could've taken Mihawk's title back then but he didn't feel he was strong enough." The bartender explained.
"SO COOL! Zoro, you're almost as good as Shanks! If you beat him I'm sure you can beat Hawkeye!" Luffy cried.
"Wait, your name is Zoro?" Joe suddenly asked.
Zoro grinned. "That's right."
"Wow, Jim, this here guy has the same name as Roronoa Zoro!" Said Joe to the bartender.
"Well, I'll be darn. Just to think the real Roronoa Zoro was just here a few minutes ago."
"WHAT?!" Luffy and Zoro shouted together.
"Zoro, why didn't you tell me you were here a minute ago?" Luffy asked blinking at the swords man a few times.
"Because I wasn't! I WAS WITH YOU!" Zoro shouted and stood up. He stared at Jim and Joe. "I'm Roronoa Zoro. Where did this man say he was going?"
"Wait, you're Roronoa Zoro? Then who was the guy that came in here before with the swords?" Joe asked turning to Jim.
"An imposter? …Wait a minute! Roronoa Zoro is a pirate hunter not a pirate!" Jim cried.
"No. I started out as a bounty hunter but because I made a promise I became a pirate with my friend here. Did this man even tell you what his name was?" Zoro asked, anger boiling up inside of him.
Joe and Jim looked at one another.
"Well no. We just assumed. He had swords on his side and a bandana on his head. We've heard stories that Zoro carried swords and what he looks like, so we assumed it was him."
Zoro grinned. "Well, if he has swords then he's a sword fighter. If what you say is true and that he's looking for us, then we'll meet eventually. Come on Luffy." Zoro said leaving a berry on the table and walking out of the bar.
Luffy laughed and bid goodbye before fallowing after Zoro. "So, who do you think he is, Zoro?"
"I don't know, but if he looks like me like those men said, I have to find out. There might be an imposter going around using my name and I can't have that." Zoro said clutching onto Wado as he walked down the street.
"And he's looking for us so it won't be to hard." Luffy said punching the palm of his hand.
"He's probably a bounty hunter. That or some fuck retard who just wants autographs and likes to dress like us. Yeah, that's all we need."
"A guy who likes cosplay? Oh, that would be so weird! He'll be changing clothes all the time disguising himself as you, me, Chopper, Robin, Sanji-" Luffy stopped mid-sentence and turned to Zoro who seemed to had almost stopped walking.
Zoro sighed but smiled to Luffy shaking the feeling of missing the cook away. "Nami."
"Huh?" Luffy asked with a bit of concern.
"The man. He'd dress like Nami too. You said all of us but Nami."
Luffy smiled. "Oh yeah! And Nami. Maybe even the Going Merry! We might go back and there will be two ships!" Luffy brought his hands to his head. "OH NO! WHAT IF HE STEALS IT?! OR WE GET ON THE WRONG ONE AND ARE STUCK WITH HIM! OR WORSE HE EATS OUR FOOD!" Luffy yelled.
"Calm down, Luffy. Though your right; if he's looking for us we better get back to the ship because that's is the first place he may go." Zoro said taking a left turn. "Now which way….?"
"I don't know. Think we should find Nami?" Luffy asked questionably.
"Yeah. Or someone." Zoro said scratching the back of his head.
"Maybe if we get a map!" Luffy said with a smile.
"Yeah, if you know how to read one."
"No, I don't!"
"Swordsman-san, Captain-san." Came Robin's voice from Zoro's right.
The two men turned around and nodded to Robin.
"Not now Robin, we're looking for a map!" Said Luffy.
"Why do we need a map? Robin's here now!" Zoro complained.
Robin chuckled. "Are you two lost?"
"There's a bounty hunter after us and according to two men we met, he looked like me."
Robin stared in concern. "I see. Well then we must head back to the ship. Let's go." She said leading the way. "I'll take you most of the way and then will search for Nami and Usopp and let them know what's going on."
"Good idea," said Zoro walking next to Robin with Luffy on his other side.
"RIGHT! THEN WE FIGHT!" Luffy explained.
"I need to kick the sun of a bitch's ass who thinks that can dress like me and get away with it." Said Zoro.
"Hopefully it's only one guy and he doesn't have a crew of his own."
"Yeah, what if he has eight crew members?!" Luffy shouted.
"Well, there's eight of us." Said Robin.
"No, there's seven! Sanji is on leave!" Luffy said moving into a run.
Robin chuckled. "He's not pregnant, Captain-san."
"Stop talking about him! Whoever it is, we won't need that damn cook!" Zoro said with anger moving a head of them both. Robin watched him in concern.
"Right, the docks straight are ahead!" She pointed and Luffy went out running. Zoro went right after him while Robin made a left turn. "I'll look for the others!"
~X~
The man from the bar stared straight ahead at the Going Marry with grin on his face. He was wearing a long black jacket with a matching black hat. Black leather gloves covered his hands and he was wearing large black boots. He was dressed in black from head to toe. Even his long button down black shirt and his jeans were black. But, the thing about him that was really weird was the long chain he wore. The chain was like those of a prisoners' - cuffed around his wrists - though it was long enough so his arms could move freely.
The man's grin grew as he took a hold of the ladder climbing up the large ship before jumping onto the deck with a loud thud. He scanned the area slowly, his eyes moving back and forth. "Oi," he called out listing to see if anyone was there.
Soon he heard the sounds of hooves running on the deck floor from the kitchen and he turned around to see a small reindeer running his way. He smiled.
"Zoro, Luffy, is that-" Chopper stopped right in front of the strange man, his eyes bulged out and mouth gaped. "AHH! MONSTER," he screamed and ran behind one of the barrows, sticking his head out he watched the man carefully.
"Monster? That's a bit rude to greet a guest," the stranger said, folding his arms over his chest as he watched Chopper carefully.
Chopper blinked and slowly came around from the barrow. "G-guest? Who are you?" He asked, not sure if he should believe this person. "D-did Luffy send you?"
"No, Luffy didn't send me. Someone else did," the man's grin grew wider.
Chopper blinked. "W-who sent you?! If it wasn't Luffy then I need to know who! Was it Zoro?"
The man shook his head. "No, it was your cook."
"What?! You mean- Sanji! Sanji sent you?! Why?!"
The man shook his head. "I have to wait for Luffy to come back, and then I will explain. He sent me to join you guys."
"Is Sanji here?"
The man didn't say anything.
"Oh my! SANJI IS HERE!"
"WHAT?! SANJI IS HERE! WHERE?" Luffy cried as he hoped onto the ship fallowed by Zoro.
"What did you say?" Zoro asked his breath catching in his throat as he stared at the tall man in black who was currently facing Chopper. "Shit cook?"
The man's fingers curled into a tight fist when he heard Zoro and Luffy approach but did not speak.
Chopper however ran over to Zoro and gave his leg a hug. "This man was sent by Sanji! I think Sanji is here!"
Zoro's eyes widened as he turned and stared at the back of the man's head. "Is this true?"
"WHAOO! NOW WE WILL HAVE GOOD FOOD! SANJI IS COMING BACK!" Luffy shouted with joy.
"What did you say Luffy? Sanji-kun is back?" Nami said as she climbed onto the deck.
"Is that who that man was from the bar? Was it Cook-san?" Robin said, standing next to Nami with her arms folded over her chest. She smiled before she stared at the mysterious man. "Is this him?"
"What? Is it really Sanji?" Usopp said as he jumped onto the main deck.
Chopper ran over to the three and started dancing. "This man here said he was sent by Sanji!"
Nami, Robin and Usopp gasped as they stared at the stranger. They watched as the man turned around with his head lowered, his hat covering most of his face.
"Is this true? Were you really sent by Sanji-kun?" Nami asked taking a step closer to the man.
He nodded. "That's right. I was."
"Where is he? Is he on this island?" Robin asked her eyes moving to he chains on his wrists.
The man shook his head. "No, I am sorry to say he is not here…."
Zoro eyed the man then noticed the swords on his side, though didn't mention it. "Then why did he send you?"
"Is Sanji-kun all right?" Nami asked worry in her voice.
"He sent me to join you guys… to cook."
Everyone's eyes widened and Nami gasped as Zoro ran up to the guy and grabbed a hold of his coat. "What are you talking about? Sanji is our cook!"
The man turned his head away from Zoro and grabbed a hold of Zoro's wrist. "I'm not here to take his place!" He shouted, closing his eyes. "Please, I'm what you call a temp!"
"Zoro, drop him." Luffy said walking over to his first mate and touching his shoulder.
Zoro sighed and let go of the man, letting him fall to the ground. The man sighed in relief and stood straight.
"You must be Zoro then," he said and took off his hat where a dark green bandana was shown covering his hair.
"That's right…" The swords man said, eyeing the bandana. He watched as the man untied it from his head reveling blond hair witch was tied back in a ponytail, bangs flowing just above his eyes.
"This is yours then. Sanji wanted me to give it you. He kept it around his neck," he said handing the cloth over to Zoro.
Zoro took it and glared at the man grabbing it tightly in his hand. "He was supposed to give me this when he returns."
The man sighed. "He said you would bitch about it. Anyway, I have something for Luffy too," he said, turning to the rubber man.
Luffy's eyes widen. "OOh! What is it!? Is it food!? Better yet, is it MEET!?"
The man shook his head and reached inside his back pocket removing a folded up piece of paper.
"It's a map!" Nami said with excitement.
The man shook his head. "No."
"It's a letter…" Luffy said as he stared at the paper in front of him.
Dear Luffy,
If you're reading this, then I'm sorry. It means something has happened to me. I can't tell you what but I had a feeling for a while now. And if I'm dead then I'm even more sorry. Though, I can't say that because this love cook isn't going to die until he reaches the All Blue.
Anyway, if you're reading this than it also means I need help, or something is very wrong and I'm waiting for you guys somewhere. To help you look for me I'm sending you a temporally cook. I've been teaching him my ways for the last five months, now almost six, and he's coming along nicely. Please let him join our crew until you find me. He may know what has happened so ask him when you finish the letter.
Currently I'm on an island called Denial. The lovely Nami-swan should be able to find it on a map. It's somewhere in the West Blue. It's has small town very little people and it's creepy. Everywhere I go it's dark and no one talks very much, so it's very depressing.
However, there is this other island I want you to check out that isn't far from here. It's called Dark Tears island. I don't know why but something tells me to go there. I have a feeling someone needs help.
My cooking companion, the man I will send to you, has visited there once and said it is a dreadful place even more depressing then this. He can probably tell you more about it then I can. Though he did mention a man named Sam. I'm not sure what that means.
I must end the letter here. I wish I could say more but as I said I feel as something bad is going to happen.
Tell the lovely ladies Nami-swan and Robin-chawn that I still love and miss them! Tell Chopper to stay out of trouble and Usopp to stay away from my pots and pans. Luffy, you stay out of my fridge or I will come through this damn letter and kick your ASS! And tell Zoro to not get himself killed, because I know he can't fight without me!
Miss you guys, lots of love.
Sanji.
Everyone was quiet as they stared at Luffy while he read the letter out loud. Everyone then turned to the stranger who was looking at the floor.
"I can't really tell you what has happened to Sanji, only that he was taken away, and when he was, he was almost dead. Though the person who took him, you can call Death himself. He's so evil he makes Crocodile look good."
"What?!" Everyone said together.
"Does he have a devil's fruit power?"
The man shook his head. "No, it's his own power. It's different then a devil's fruit… It's stronger. He's a demon! I tried to stop him from taking Sanji. Honest, I did, but he…" The man sighed and lift up his arms the chains dangling as they moved. "He was already caught. He told me to go find Luffy and Zoro and to take his place. He needs your help."
Everyone was silent and Luffy took a step closer to the man placing a hand on his shoulder then turning to the crew. "Yosh," he said slamming his hand into his palm. "Sanji is OUR nakama and we must help him!"
"What about this guy?" Zoro said pointing to the man in black.
"Well Sanji sent him, so he will be joining us!"
Nami shook her head. "Yeah, but just who the hell are you?"
The man smiled and took his hat placing it on his chest before bowing. "My name, dear lady, is Jack."
To be continued...
