He looked out on All Blue and sighed. He dipped his feet into the warm water and sat on the sandy beach.
It was a perfect paradise and Sanji berated himself for being a little lonely.
The things he was doing from a culinary standpoint were innovative and historic and just plain incredible. Having no one there to try the dishes and agree with him pulled the joy of cooking the masterpiece down considerably.
Sanji took out his fishing rod, baited it, and cast it into the ocean. It wouldn't take long now until a fish would decide to be his dinner for that night. He reached into his basket and pulled out a hunk of bread and his notebook before digging further for a pencil.
A few bites of bread and like clockwork he jotted down the meal he had for breakfast with notes. Then Lunch. He left the place for dinner blank, looking up at the fishing pole before continuing. A few observances on the weather and tides. As he flipped the page to date tomorrows entry he noticed the small red thumb print in the bottom right corner. He nearly choked.
His fishing line pulled and he had to laugh at the good timing, wanting nothing more than to get back to the modest cottage he had started building for himself here exactly a year ago. A quick tug on the line and he grabbed up the nights catch, a North Blue Spiny Marlin, along with the pole and his basket and RAN home.
Sanji tossed the armload fish and all onto the table and hurried to the desk in his bedroom.
He confirmed on the calendar quickly before opening the first of four wooden boxes, nearly trembling with excitement.
The blank log pose arrow was pointed down now. Firm. Absolute. Actually that was exactly what made it an eternal pose now, or so the shopkeeper had told him. No spinning around and around waiting to calibrate like it had for the previous 364 days. Finally. He checked the other three to confirm they were the same.
The mail bird would be by tomorrow with a delivery of flour, he could send them that soon. They would finally know. He could see them again.
One for himself in case he needed to leave. That left three Eternal poses to engrave and letters to write. Later after the fish was cleaned, cooked, and eaten…the cook got to work.
Zeff looked up from his bed to see the mail bird perched in the window.
"Shitty pervert bird! Don't watch people sleep!" The peg leg nailed the bird knocking it unconscious and sending it uncontrollably airborn but not before it dropped the small box on his sill. Zeff grumbled about the rude awakening further as he opened the box.
"Shit geezer…Have you forgotten how to cook without me yet? Why not come and refresh your memory on how it's supposed to be done? Follow this to my new place of residence. I think you'll like it. – Sanji"
Zeff picked up the eternal pose already smiling broadly when he read the lettering…All Blue.
"So if we rendezvous with Shanks here we might get the Marine intelligence to think we are there…behind the outcropping instead on the opposite end of the cove. Then we can move without them getting in the way…" Nami moved the small model version of the Sunny across her large map on the table.
Luffy looked at the map and cocked his head to the side, obviously torn between asking why they didn't just fight the marines and be done with it and wanting to meet up with Shanks. A feminine arm appeared in the middle of the map just in time to catch a box tossed in through the open deck window.
Nami watched as Luffy pulled the box open and read it over the captains shoulder.
"I've been reading the papers so I can guess how it is…this might get intercepted so I will keep it short and sweet. I've found it! When it blows over or if you need my help come and visit and I'll make a feast to celebrate our reunion. Take care of them shitty captain…and yourself too. –the cook "
Luffy and Nami cheered and yelled for the crew to come in and hear the news. Nami held the eternal pose aloft like a trophy, etched cryptically along the side it read "A place with really good fishing" and nothing else.
Zoro yawned and tried to pay attention but the marine admiral was droning on and on.
The pirate king is making a move…we suspect up in the third quadrant of blah blah blah…it didn't take Zoro long to figure out that the marines didn't know shit. Luffy wasn't really into making coordinated attacks on ports contrary to the Marines apparent impression. Whatever. He wouldn't have even come to the Shichibukai meeting this time if he knew the intelligence was this bad. Didn't sound like the marines had a grand plan just yet either on how to utilize Mihawks replacement as the best swordsman in the world either.
Zoro was bored. Bored and kind of itching for a fight…not with one of the many upstarts with something to prove. One that rippled with shared understanding and passion.
The mail bird squawked at the window interrupting the meeting.
The Admiral yanked the package in annoyance out of the birds claw.
"There is no one named 'marimo' here…"
Zoro grinned almost ferally in half growl as he yanked the box from the admirals hand and opened it.
"Marimo- If you're done fucking people up and proving what a bad ass you are how about letting the losers come find you for a change? It's pretty damn boring without your ass to kick and damn mouth to feed. The view isn't bad either. – S"
He held up the log pose and watched as the arrow pointed out the window toward the ocean. He folded the note and climbed up on the window sill.
"Let me know when something interesting happens. "
"Where are you going?" The admiral frowned at him. Zoro flashed the eternal pose at him with a grin despite himself.
"Where the arrow leads me."
The marine leader squinted…the words 'love cook' were written clearly with a large x striking it out. Next to that, simply in large corrective letters it read 'Home'. He was going to inquire further but the man had already jumped out of the meeting.
----
notes: I am assuming the mail bird is expensive as hell to go all over the grandline and that's why Sanji hadn't informed them he found it yet.