A/N:

Lol... Yes, sorry about the last chapter. I think the majority of the reviews I received on both sites are things like "What?", "I'm confused.", and "I'm lost." I will promise again that yes it's still related to this story, and that yes I will fill in some holes in the coming chapters. XD

Meanwhile, let's go back to something a little more normal:

Meliu on Chapter 14 Wed 11 Mar 2020

I would also love to see more of the crew. Like the katana talking to Luffy.

Raigon chapter 17 . Jun 21

How will Luffy reacts to a new team mate that is a sword.

And everyone else who's been saying they want to see the crew's reaction to Sanji's human form... Here's the Luffy bit. It's a small bit because of the situation they're in, but well, it's a Luffy bit anyway.

Sanji Kitetsu Chapter 19

Tuning a sword, simply put, is when a swordsman meets the sword in its own inner space through meditation. It's an important milestone in the master-blade bond. If done correctly and regularly, it is said to improve mutual understanding and cooperation in battles.

Said to, because Zoro has never tried it himself. Not that he doesn't want to or doesn't know how (Koushirou went over the process with him in the weeks after handing him Wado), but it requires the sword to be at least open and inviting to the swordsman. With Wado not speaking to him for the past decade, he was of course under the impression that he didn't meet this requirement.

He straightens his posture and focuses on his breathing, slow and steady. He puts one hand on the white sheath in his lap.

Are you ready? He asks softly.

Whenever you are.

The small room melts away from his view, and moments later he finds himself in a hazy but familiar place. It's nighttime here. The two of them are sitting on top of the grassy hill under the stars, just like before. Except this time, Kuina appears to be much smaller.

"It's because you've grown, silly." Kuina giggles. "I knew you'd like it here."

"You made this?" Zoro gestures to everything.

"Yeah, and the village, the dojo, the waterfall. All that way." Kuina points. Zoro follows her hand with his eyes and finds all the places he remembers from his childhood, exactly the way he remembers them.

"And Koushirou? The other kids?" He asks eagerly.

Kuina shakes her head.

"There's only me. I can't seem to make people."

Zoro's stomach chills as he imagines a small Kuina running through the silent streets she made, all alone. For ten long years he was right beside her but couldn't keep her company.

"It's OK. It was my fault we didn't talk for so long." Kuina reaches up to ruffle his hair like how she used to when they were kids. "And I was with you. Everything you did, I did too. I wasn't lonely."

Zoro tilts his head so that Kuina can reach the top.

It seems Sanji has picked the worst possible time to transform, but it's not his fault that Luffy's grip is too tight to get out of until he's being distracted by a herd of giant snow rabbits jumping up and down in front of him. There's no time to indulge in looks this time. Sanji quickly pulls together a snow jacket and some sturdy boots and grabs the rubber captain by the arm.

"Let's get out of here! They're trying to start an avalanche!"

"Who're you?" Luffy tilts his head in confusion as Sanji runs with his outstretched arm.

The blond blade lets go of the arm after a few more steps as he realizes that the boy is not following him. The arm snaps back into place.

"I'm the sword you've been carrying, you know, the one the mossball gave you."

Luffy twists his neck to check that the sword is really missing from his hands, looks back and forth between Sanji and his empty hands, and finally settles his eyes on Sanji with a look of pure admiration.

"COOOOOOOL!" He yells as the ground starts to rumble. A large wave of snow is forming further up the mountain and growing in size and speed as it swallows trees in its path.

"Now is not the time! Hurry up!" Sanji urges. The boy finally catches up to him.

"Hey, can you turn your hands into swords?" Luffy asks with twinkly eyes as they sprint down the snow hill. One giant rabbit appears behind the rubber boy and aims a swipe at the unconscious Nami on his back.

"Shit, they're following us!" Sanji charges and jump-kicks the rabbit away. "Remember, you just keep dodging and leave the defense to me. You understand?"

"Ehhhh?" The rubber captain whines.

"Don't 'eh' me. You may be unaffected, but the impact of every blow you deliver or receive will be transferred over to Nami-san as well." Sanji says as he fends off another one. "If that happens, she'll die for sure."

The seriousness of the problem seems to register with the boy, who immediately starts following Sanji's commands.

The cursed blade gives himself an inward pat on the back for leading the skillful avoidance of tree trunks, boulders, and vicious rabbits. They even manage to find a floating piece of broken tree trunk to use as a snowboard, which makes their downhill escape much faster. But soon the avalanche is at their tails, and the herd is closing in from both the left and the right.

"Shit. At this rate, we're gonna be back down at the foot of the mountain!" Sanji curses out loud, thinking about the amount of time it took Luffy to hike up the first time around. He wonders how long Nami can hold on while they fool around on the mountain like this. Probably not long. They need to find a way to stop and turn around. Now.

"Crap, a rock! We're gonna crash!" The rubber boy shouts and snaps Sanji out of his thoughts. He looks up at said rock, which is too close for them to slow down for a smaller impact. Neither can they dodge it with the lines of rabbits blocking their escape routes on both sides. There's no way the unconscious lady can take a hit like that. That means there's only one thing to do.

Sanji grabs Luffy's jacket with both hands and tosses him over one line of rabbits as hard as he can.

"Please, land softly." He mutters, almost as a prayer.

"SWORD GUY!" He hears the boy yell from afar before bone-crushing pain overtakes him. His back collides with the rock, and his human body is sent flying towards a group of angry rabbits.

I should've asked for a cigarette.

He chuckles to himself as his world fades to black.