11th February 2012
Summary:
Sanji never kept it a secret how much he disliked the okama he was stuck with for 2 years. But he learns the hard way that one shouldn't anger Emporio Ivankov. You could end up experiencing some unfortunate changes.
WARNING: Contains spoilers from chapter 598 (Return to Saboady Arc) onwards! Rated for Sanji's bad language.
Disclaimer:
All characters belong to respective owners. This is non-profit fan-based story.
Notes:
-Sorry it has taken so long for the update. I found it quite difficult to get it how I wanted and the newspaper format was especially difficult.
-Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter.
-Take a look at Xarciel's awesome art for Sanji's red shirt outfit. The link can be found on my profile page.
On with the chapter!
Epilogue:
All was quiet on the Baratie and Zeff did not like it. Ever since Sanji had left those two and a half years ago was bad enough but now that Patti and Carne have moved out to start up the new restaurants in the Baratie chain, the silence had become unbearable.
Both of the new restaurants have been a great success. One can never underestimate the demand for an on sea restaurant. Although they do quite often bring in the wrong crowd, Zeff was sure that Patti and Carne can hold their own against the likes of both pirates and marines that may cause trouble. The building to modify the Baratie had now finished and Zeff walked onto his own personal balcony to watch the sun rise and have his breakfast, before the morning rush.
The sea was unusually calm this morning but Zeff felt a disturbance in the air. His thoughts drifted to Sanji. The boy was like a son to him and the news of the strawhat's disappearance hit him hard. Yet the chief didn't stop believing that his little eggplant was alive. He knew that Luffy had sent a message to the whole crew when he went to Marineford for the second time. He didn't know what that tattoo meant but he knew that soon the name of the Straw-hat pirates was going to spread throughout the world once more.
Zeff had heard the rumours that the Straw-hats were recruiting in Sabaody Archipelago. There was something that didn't quite seem right with the news as Luffy did not seem the type to recruit nakama in such a manner but Zeff still knew that Sanji would make an appearance.
The silence didn't last long when there was a load bang in the kitchen below. Zeff sighed, finished his breakfast and stood up to head down to the kitchen. If his staff were already causing trouble at this hour it didn't bode well for the rest of the day. He had better get down there to sort them out before it got out of hand.
It turned out that one of the chefs had dropped and smashed something in the kitchen. This initiated an argument with the chef accusing one of his colleagues for knocking him and causing the accident.
"What the heck is going on!" he bellowed as he entered the kitchen. There was a series of gasps before the kitchen fell silent and all eyes turned in fear to the doorway.
"Boss!" They all chorused on the spot.
"Why has breakfast not started yet?" Zeff demanded. "We have customers due in an hour and what on Earth was causing all that bloody commotion?"
The chefs looked truly terrified and started to glance sideways to the two perpetrators.
"It was them," they pointed blame.
"I don't care who it was, just why it has stopped you from working before the breakfast rush."
The crew looked ashamed as they looked at Zeff but showed no sign of moving. He was close to blowing his top if they didn't start cooking.
"Well get going!" he shouted and they all scrambled to get to their posts and began to prepare the kitchen. However it wasn't long before they were interrupted once again.
"Chef!" An exclamation rang through the congregation. Zeff looked up to see one of the waiters running in and looking quite frantic.
The cooks kept working for fear of worsening the temper of the head chef.
"What is it?" he sighed in exasperation.
"The Newspaper. Look!" the waiter pulled out the daily newspaper and showed the front page.
"Sir it is the Straw hat pirates. They have returned." He added.
"What? Let me see that," Zeff said and the waiter rushed over to hand him the newspaper.
"STRAW HAT PIRATES RETURN," Zeff dictated the headline before him. Within seconds all the kitchen staff were around him in excitement. The whole restaurant had begun to worry about Sanji when the 1 year mark after his disappearance had passed. He had ceased writing letters two years ago and there was no news on the activities of the straw hats after the war at Marineford.
Relief filled Zeff as he began to read. Any news that his charge was okay will be a huge weight off his mind, as he would never forgive himself for forcing him out of the restaurant if it only lead to his downfall. He cared for Sanji a great deal, even though he rarely showed it, and he would never see the boy as anything but family.
Zeff was suddenly brought out of his thoughts when he noticed something odd in this article.
Wait. No. That couldn't be right? Zeff had to pause and double check if he wasn't seeing things.
"Oh," Zeff stared in shock at the article. The kitchen staff sat in worry as their boss stood rigid on the spot. Nothing surprised the infamous Red Leg Zeff easily so something terrible must have happened.
"What happened boss?" Asked the sous-chef in worry as he tried to read the article over his shoulder. "Did something happen to Sanji?"
"You could say that," but before he could continue Zeff burst out laughing.
"Chef!" they yelled around him. None of them had any clue what had gotten into him as they couldn't get a good look at the article. Had he gone insane?
One went to grab the newspaper and Zeff stopped. "Is Sanji okay?" He asked looking at the headline in his hands.
"Why don't you read it out loud?" Zeff smiled, heading to a stool to sit down to listen.
STRAW HAT PIRATES RETURN
The cook cleared his throat and carried on.
Straw Hat Luffy has finally returned from the shadows after a 2-year absence. The 400 million Belli pirate appeared as a group of imposters were trying to recruit more members to their crew.
After hearing the leaks at the infamous crew were recruiting in Sabaody Archipelago we at the Blue Press instantly sent out many of our best undercover reporters to Sabaody Archipelago to investigate. The Pirate known as Demalo Black managed to recruit some to the more infamous pirates that had currently reached the redline. They all gathered in Grove 46 when the marines attacked and Officer Sentomaru and the Pacifistas defeated many of the pirates. Black was easily disposed of by the commanding officer and exposed for the liar he was. The 26 million bounty pirate was no match for Sentomaru. At this moment the Pacifistas locked on to the real Straw Hat Luffy and attacked. Straw Hat quickly appeared out of the crowd to destroy the Pacifista in one blow. With the arrival of Black Leg Sanji and Roronoa Zoro they easily escaped leaving a trail of destruction behind.
All cheered.
After many attempts to try and capture the pirates the marines seemed to be stopped at every turn preventing any officers from reaching the shore. Dark King Silvers Rayleigh openly exclaimed that the young Captain was his student and blocked their path along with many other unusual occurrences. Freak weather patterns, gigantic insects and bouts of severe depression were some of the obstacles in the way.
Once at the shore we witnessed that the whole crew had gathered and were ready to leave. Marines offshore were held back by none other than the Shichibukai Boa Hancock who helped the pirates submerge before anything more action could be taken. The Government is disappointed that such a disruptive crew managed to escape but they now believe this is a good opportunity to prove the strength and effectiveness of their new G5 unit.
Read more about Blue Press exclusive on the Straw Hat Pirates and what they have been doing the last 2 years on page 4.
One the cook had finished reading the short article the kitchen staff stood in confused silence.
"I don't understand," Zeff's second in command said. "What's so funny about that?" There was nothing at all funny about the article at all. He snatched the paper off the other cook and reread it.
"Look at the picture," Zeff said.
"Huh?"
The main picture on the page was of the ship marked with the Straw Hat's Jolly Roger as it began to submerge. The whole crew could be seen on deck with all their attention on the captain who was stood on the main mast.
"Last glimpse of Straw Hat Luffy and his crew before they submerged. From left to Right: Soul King Brook, Nico Robin, Black Leg Sanji, Sogeking, Burglar Cat Nami, Monkey D Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Tony Tony Chopper and Cyborg Franky," the sous-chef muttered under his breath.
The longer he looked at the picture he noticed that something wasn't quite right about the picture of Sanji. The picture was quite small and only half of his face was visible.
"Is that Sanji?" It looked like Sanji but the hair wasn't quite right and he seemed to have lost weight. He looked like a woman.
"Yes," Zeff said. "Look closer."
He looked closer and noticed that the figure did look exactly like a female version of Sanji.
"Oh," he said, as he ripped open the newspaper and his eyes bugged out. The rest of the kitchen was still waiting nervously as they tried to get a good look at the paper.
There was a double page spread of profiles of the whole crew. How on earth the press managed to get so much information on the pirates was ridiculous. Then again the only decent pictures were of Soul-King Brook, Luffy, Roronoa Zoro and Sanji, the rest were questionable at best.
"Can they do this?" he asked Zeff as he showed him the spread. "I mean I thought the government censored this kind of stuff."
"They only censor things that is damaging to them. It is only an advantage that the press have managed to get such a good profile on the whole crew," Zeff replied.
"Wait what does it say?" said the pastry chef.
"Yeah what the heck is going on?" another cook shouted out.
"Did something happen to Sanji?"
"Yeah what has he been doing all this time?"
"Tell us!"
"Alright alright," the sous-chef shouted. "I'll read it out."
STRAW HAT PIRATES 2 YEARS STRONGER
It is a well known fact that after the war 2 years ago the straw hat pirates disappeared. Many rumored that Monkey D Luffy didn't survive his injuries after he invaded MarineFord for the second time. What happened to the rest of the crew? The last they were all seen was on the unforgettable day when Monkey D Luffy attacked one of the celestial Dragons. It only can be assumed that when they were attacked by Bartholomew Kuma, that he used his devil fruit power to separate them. If so why have they not shown themselves before? Why did they all arrive separately? And what have they been doing all these years?
After extensive research by our team of journalists on the scene we can confirm that they have been training in preparation for the New World. One can only assume that this crew is going to be a force to be reckoned from now on.
The man paused and looked at the congregation.
"This is ridiculous, this has to be wrong," he said.
"What!" They chorused in irritation. They really wanted to know what had got them agitated.
"Monkey D Luffy… Rayleigh said himself that he is his student. Training in Haki. Possibilities that he is involved with Boa Hancock," the sous-chef skimmed through the newspapers trying to get to Sanji. "Soul King Brook: apparently he has been with the crew since before he got famous. Very skilled swordsman. Roronoa Zoro: Possible loss of depth perception. New sword. Managed to cut a ship in half when underwater. Nico Robin: Huh… Nothing but a picture about her. Sogeking: Unmasked, Oh look it's that long nosed guy Usopp. No surprise there. Cyborg Franky: Major modifications to his body. Burglar Cat Nami: Learned some strange thing with clouds and lightning. Tony Tony Chopper: Apparently believed that the fakes were the real deal, but then again so did straw hat. Has the ability to summon huge birds. Oh finally, here's Sanji."
"Last…Typical he never gets the credit he deserves," scowled the waiter.
"Well it does have the most written about him," Zeff said.
The head chef was right. The article on Sanji was much longer than the other's bar Luffy's. The picture and writing took up nearly a whole column.
The sous-chef carried on and read the headline.
Black Leg Sanji Ladies Man?
"Ohh lets see the picture," said one.
"No wait until he's finished," Zeff said.
Straw Hat Crew member Black leg Sanji has been transformed into a woman by okama.
Most of the restaurant was filled with shocked gasps.
Our team of journalists noted a blonde woman who seemed out of place with a group of extravagant okama at the docks. The disgruntled woman seemed uncomfortable around the men and made a very large scene in public before disappearing into the crowd alone. However this was not the last time that she was noticed.
The blonde woman was seen multiple times arguing with the imposter Sanji and she was also seen with Roronoa Zoro.
'It was terrifying that the pirate was taking so much in the woman,' said an eyewitness who saw her with the imposter. 'She look pretty harmless even when the guy was getting angry. But then the man said something offensive and pulled her hair when she was leaving and she just flipped and kicked him in the head. He flew away miles. It didn't seem right that the infamous Black Leg Sanji could be defeated with a single kick.'
'She told me to leave Roronoa a message to get back to the ship,' the shopkeeper who saw Roronoa Zoro emerge from the sea on a decimated ship stated. 'It was obvious that she knew the man.'
During the commotion with the marines began Roronoa and the blonde met up with their captain and each destroyed a Pacifista with ease. Straw Hat confirmed that this blonde woman was indeed Black Leg Sanji.
The question now is how such an event could have happened and after interviewing the okama that the woman was with in the harbour we now have an answer. Emperio Ivankov attacked the pirate in a fit of anger not too long ago.
'Sanji-chan has been on the island with us for ages. Ivan-sama let him stay so he can train,' one of the okama said. It seemed as though they okama were quite fond of the blonde.
'He would always tease us and say no to us when we asked him to join us,' another added. 'He was such a cutie, but then he said something bad to Ivan-sama so he had to be punished.'
Emperio Ivankov also known as the Queen of the okama has a unique power from the Devil Fruit known as the Horu Horu no Mi. This gives him the ability to use hormones to manipulate the human body. One of the most famous of these hormones is the one with the ability to change gender. Ivankov was imprisoned in impel down for his association with the Revolutionaries. He escaped in the mass breakout 2 years ago and fought beside Straw Hat Luffy during the war.
It is not known whether transformation is permanent but it can be confirmed that Black Leg is just as deadly if not more, than before the Straw Hat's disappearance.
Finally it had finished and the sous-chef showed passed the article to those around him. They all took a good look to make sure that the man wasn't lying but they were convinced when they saw the picture of the woman.
"Of all the people to be changed by a devil fruit it had to be Sanji," the pastry chef sniggered. "If he was with okama for 2 years he must have been in hell."
"That or he was converted," another added.
Everyone burst into laughter with the exception of owner Zeff. The idea that the blonde would willingly become a woman was just ridiculous. The man loved women to and loved to spoil them, but he thought of himself as a proper gentleman. Although he did have a habit of putting his foot in his mouth around the opposite sex so they had no problem believing that he had done something to anger the king of okamas.
Once the laughter died down there was an awkward silence.
"Wow," a cook in the back of the crowd said as he finally saw the article. "Sanji makes one hot woman!"
"Oi," Zeff shouted. "That's my daughter you're talking about."
The cook's breath hitched as the angry glare of his boss bore into his back. He had forgotten that he loved Sanji like his own kid of course he is going to be more protective that he was a girl.
There was silence was unnerving but it was quickly broken when the sous-chef began to snigger at the man's discomfort.
"Jacob you idiot, you never know when to keep your mouth shut," he snickered as he pulled out a bottle of sake. "I propose a toast."
They all cheered and grabbed a shot of Saké.
"To Sanji," Zeff said.
"TO SANJI!" The kitchen was filled with cheering and drinking.
"Right now get back to work!" The boss demanded. Within seconds everyone was getting orders ready for the customers that had arrived for the breakfast rush. Once everything had finally started to get ordered Zeff took a break on the balcony out the front of the restaurant.
"Good for you kid," Zeff smiled as he looked out to the sea. "Never let anything stop you from achieving your dream."
A/N: Don't forget I have a bonus chapter next and it will finally be finished. And don't forget to check out my profile page for the link to Xarciel's awesome fanart.
Until next time :)