This has long been a work in progress which I initially began writing while watching the Water Seven arc. Much has been revealed about Sanji's past since then but for the sake of this story, none of that matters. This is an alternate timeline adventure that does not connect to canon in any way after Robin's rescue from Enies Lobby, hence why Franky and Brook are missing. I was also not aware there was another anime called "Black Clover." There may be minor inconsistencies and some liberties taken regarding Devil Fruit powers, character backstories and overall tone, but I hope such alterations can be forgiven if not appreciated as well.
PART ONE: Marion
Standing beside the foremast of the sleek black ship, the lean woman tossed her plum-colored bangs from her eyes as a glimmer of light pricked the dark horizon where gray sky met black sea.
"And there it is…." She grinned triumphantly, her warm breath clouding the cold night air in front of her.
She pulled her wide-brimmed cavalier hat down low over her forehead, it's felt brim sporting a curved silver blade instead of a traditional ostrich plume. In silhouette, it gave her shadow the appearance of having a shark's fin upon her brow, and the foreboding metaphor was not lost on her.
From the crow's nest above her a hooded figure leapt down to the deck beside her, landing nimbly like a bird on a perch.
"Impossible to find by day, difficult to locate at night, but wait until twilight, and it will willingly beckon you forth…" Her eyes glimmered as she spoke, like she was remembering long lost poetry.
The twin rapiers sheathed across her belt rapped together softly as she turned and walked towards the small boat waiting to be launched on the port side.
"How many guards?" The hooded figure asked before following in her wake.
"Not enough…" The blade master replied.
"Lady Rook!" A voice called to her from the quarter deck. "The flares are set to launch at your signal."
"Should only need one…" She replied as she stepped into the transport boat. "Be ready to weigh anchor as soon as it gets wet. The Bishop and I won't be gone long."
The hooded figure stepped into the boat after her, as silent as snowfall.
"Oh…" Lady Rook called back to the crew. "Have the Seastone cuffs ready, just in case."
The boat descended into the choppy feral waters of the Grand Line.
The two marines on guard duty by the short pier noticed the boat by the glow of the lighthouse behind them. Stationed on what was barely a spit of rock in the middle of the open ocean, they knew there was absolutely no reason for anyone to dock at the island unless there was a monthly shift rotation. They had been posted there less than a week.
They raised their rifles and trained them at the approaching boat. A woman in a wide-brimmed hat sat casually within the vessel with one leg resting over the other and blew both men a sly kiss.
"Who's there? Identify yourself!"
"I'm the last face you'll ever see…" She said cheerfully.
With the force of a tidal wave crashing against the rocks, both men were catapulted with tremendous force across the sea, skipping like pebbles across the surface before the cold darkness swallowed them up.
"Well done Bishop…" Lady Rook applauded as she stepped out of the boat and placed her polished boot upon the dock. The hooded figure materialized out of the shadows to her left.
From somewhere atop the lighthouse there came a single gunshot, but it wasn't aimed at them. It was a warning, summoning the remaining men at arms to the pier.
"Now here's a proper reception…" The woman smirked as twelve marines rushed down the dock from the lighthouse entryway. The hooded figure vanished stealthily into the night and Lady Rook drew both her rapiers from her belt and spread her arms wide, planting her feet and standing with both blades pointing to either side, causing her long shadow to cast itself back across the water like a crucifix.
At that signal, a blood-red flare shot upwards from her ship anchored out upon the sea and a second shadow birthed itself in front of her cast by the crimson light. All twelve men cried out in agony as in a flash they were all cut down with a storm of furious strikes and blood rained down upon the wet wood of the pier.
Lady Rook replaced her swords in their sheaths. She hadn't moved a muscle, yet all her enemies now lay in a mutilated heap before her. From atop the lighthouse, she heard an anguished cry as the lone marine up top was hurled down upon the rocks below by the Bishop.
"Meet you in the foyer." Lady Rook called out to her accomplice as she stepped over the bodies and made her way up the steps to the lighthouse entrance.
Once inside she scanned the room and took a quick inventory of the numerous wanted posters mounted like family photos along the walls. The Bishop gracefully leapt down from the balcony above to land by her side.
"Not here either…." She said with a disgruntled sigh. "Still being upstaged by this tripe…"
She gestured at the pictures of Captain Cavendish, Flower Sword Vista, and Roronoa Zoro. She swiped at the latter's poster with the curved silver knife she kept in her hat brim, and the Straw Hat Pirate's face drifted to the floor lazily in several pieces.
"Clearly I haven't killed the right people yet…" She mused.
She replaced the knife upon her hat brim and started tapping the stones with her boots delicately as she wandered across the room. When her heel made a soft metal echoing sound against the stones, she pointed down beneath her.
"Here."
The Bishop jumped into the air and brought a solid foot down with the force of a cannon blast right upon the spot Lady Rook had just been standing. The floor gave way and both intruders plummeted downwards into the abyss for a few blind seconds before they alighted safely upon their feet on hard-packed earth.
"Who's there?" A deep, haggard voice came from the darkness just ahead of them.
Lady Rook struck a match and the voice hissed in anguish.
"I have not seen the light in so long…" It croaked as if choking on sharp stones. There came the sound of dusty chains rattling as the mysterious creature shifted its weight.
Lady Rook raised the match and for the first time noticed the stone walls surrounding them. There were dozens of short spears protruding from them that had been driven deep into the rock face at every angle.
No…. She thought as she raised the match higher. Not dozens….
The shadows crisscrossed themselves in an endless spiderweb pattern as she took in the harrowing sight.
Several dozen…
Perhaps hundreds…
She kicked at a fallen blunted spear as the match flickered out and noticed that the weapon felt harder than steel and twice as heavy.
"How long has it been since you tasted sea air?" She asked as she struck another match.
The chains rattled.
"How long has Gol D Roger been dead?" The voice replied. It had been an elegant voice once Lady Rook could tell. Refined and luscious, but time lost in the darkness had filed it down to a jagged, hostile rasp.
"Long enough for the lances that speared him to have grown brittle. I feel this is a superfluous request, but can you prove you are who we think you are?" Lady Rook raised an eyebrow.
There was a short pause.
"Stand back." The captive commanded, and there came a clamor of rapidly moving chains and a javelin launched itself from the darkness to spear a slab of rock directly between the two rescuers.
Lady Rook clapped.
"Bishop, I present to you, Juzo Rameses. Eater of the Quill Quill Devil Fruit."
The woman drew her rapiers and twirled them with idle finesse.
"Before a young Dracule Mihawk caught him and the marines imprisoned him here, he was briefly one of the greatest terrors of the Grand Line."
"I've never heard of him before." The Bishop replied simply.
"There's a good reason for that." Lady Rook replied as she took a step closer towards the bound figure and bent forward to look him in the eye.
"I don't expect you've ever heard of The Chess Piece Pirates?" She asked.
The captive grunted a noncommittal sound.
"In exchange for your service, we're offering you your freedom and a position amongst our crew."
The captive stood slowly with a rattle of chains and from the shadows, Lady Rook detected the first traces of a hopeful glint in the man's fiery red eyes.
"Free me, and I will spear your enemies together and stain the soil with their blood."
Lady Rook slashed at the chains with her swords and the harsh metal shattered like glass and fell in defeated fragments upon the ground.
"Welcome aboard. How would you feel about being referred to as… Knight?"
"SANJI! WHERE'S THE MEAT?!"
The lanky blonde chef sighed as he casually flicked his hair out of his eyes and sprinkled garnish upon the fish he was preparing over the stove.
"He knows I'm cooking fish… He knows because all he brings me to cook is fish… He knows the only thing he's going to catch out here is fish… Why is he asking me about MEAT?"
He grumbled out loud to the tiny reindeer in the large red top hat that sat at the far end of the table, referring to their belligerent and constantly starving adolescent captain.
"I think he dreamed we had meat and has forgotten he's awake." The reindeer known as Chopper replied simply as he flipped through the large medical text on the table in front of him with his cloven hooves.
"SANJI! MEAT!" Captain Monkey D Luffy's persistent screeching came again from outside on deck.
Sanji ignored him and flipped the tender piece of sea bass over in the skillet and doused it with a splash of white wine. "Nami's piece…" He cooed and did a quick twirl on his toes. "Robin prefers red wine with her fish. How untraditional and exotic…" He beamed as he balanced the girls' plates in either hand and set them on the table.
"What do the others like?" Chopper raised an eyebrow.
"Who cares?" Sanji huffed. "They'll eat what I give them."
He pulled his cigarette from behind his ear and lit it with a quick flourish of his silver lighter and turned to face the porthole as he exhaled the smoke blossom away from the food. "Nami enjoyed the last dish so much she asked for seconds…" Sanji nearly swooned remembering the look of satisfaction on their navigator's gorgeous face.
He straightened his tie and adjusted his suit jacket before turning back to face Chopper. "I hope she asks for dessert today. I've got something…." He trailed off.
Leaning against the dining room table, a delicate hand inches away from the plate he had just set down was a slim, tanned woman with long emerald-green hair. A small silver anchor charm hung from the end of her ponytail like a tassel, and her navy-blue sundress and thigh-high boots almost seemed to shine with a wondrous hue of their own. Her golden-brown eyes locked with Sanji's and she idly plucked the smoke from his mouth.
"Those are bad for you…" She winked as she placed it to her own ruby lips and inhaled. Even the way the smoke escaped from between her ivory teeth was sensual. Everything about her was radiant…
Sanji scowled, thoroughly unimpressed. "Give me that…" He took the cigarette back.
"What's that?" Chopper looked up. His eyes expanded to the size of watermelons and suddenly he was shrieking, his tiny cloven hooves high in the air.
"WAAAHHH! WHO IS SHE?! HOW DID SHE GET IN HERE?!"
His head started jerking back and forth furiously, examining the galley for any signs of a hidden compartment she may have just emerged from.
"Have you missed me?" She smirked.
"Move." Sanji pointed to the dish by her hand. "That's Nami's spot."
The young woman leaned forward towards him and away from the table.
"Who's Nami?" She raised an eyebrow.
"How did you find me?" Sanji ignored her question.
"HELP! LUFFY!" Chopper wailed from behind them, hiding behind his chair awkwardly with most of his body out in the open.
"Ugh, that beaver thing is noisy. Can we talk somewhere else?" The woman tipped her head in Chopper's direction.
"Not too far." Sanji shrugged. "I need to finish cooking for my crew."
"ZORO! ROBIN! USOPP! SHE'S KIDNAPPING SANJI!" Chopper sprinted out of the galley with his arms flailing wildly and his eyes bugging out and nearly collided with Nami as she climbed the steps from the outer deck.
"Hey! Easy Chopper! What's with all the screaming?" She exclaimed as she bent forward attempting to calm the reindeer. From the deck below, Luffy and Usopp, who had been arguing over who's turn it was to sit in the mast's shadow as they fished, abruptly stopped and glanced upwards towards the commotion.
"Hey Chopper! Is dinner ready?" Luffy's stomach roared.
"SHE KIDNAPPED SANJI! THAT GREEN-HAIRED WOMAN! SHE CALLED ME A BEAVER!"
"What green-haired woman?" Nami started. "Is there someone else on board?"
Chopper ducked behind Nami and planted his hooves into her lower back, shoving her forcefully into the galley so fast she nearly pitched forward onto the floor. There was no one there.
"Wha?" Chopper's jaw hit the floor.
"Sanji?" Nami called out irritated. "Quit scaring our reindeer!"
She paused as she glanced at the oven and suddenly her stomach dropped. For as long as Sanji had been with the crew she had never once known him to leave the room while the burners were still on. The smallest of fires on a pirate ship could lead to the ruin of them all. She walked forward and shut off the stove.
"Sanji?" She tried calling him again. Nami wasn't used to him not immediately appearing by her side, all adoring smiles and eager to please when she summoned him.
Luffy launched himself through the door to the galley like a ballistic rubber frog.
"Let's eat!" He cheered.
"WHERE'D THEY GO? SHE TOOK SANJI!" Chopper howled.
"Who was here Chopper?" Nami asked, squatting down to look their tiny ship's physician in the eye. "Who was the green-haired woman?"
"She appeared out of nowhere!" Chopper waved his tiny arms frantically. "And Sanji knew her! He didn't even go duuuuhhhhhh…" Chopper made his eyes bug out in lustful affection and mimicked Sanji's slack-jawed hypnotized look Nami was more than familiar with.
"Wait… There was a strange beautiful woman here, in this room, and he didn't start pining and drooling?" Nami stared at Chopper in agitated confusion, running her fingers through her orange hair in alarm as Usopp and Robin entered the galley.
Chopper furiously shook his head back and forth so hard his hat nearly flew off.
"What is it?" Robin asked, noticing the look on her face.
"Someone's on the ship, and Sanji may be in trouble." Nami stood up straight. "Usopp, go wake up Zoro. We've got to search the ship."
Nami, Robin, Usopp and Chopper double-timed it out of the galley as Luffy continued to stuff his face.
"Hey, Sanji! This is great!" He beamed.
Sanji stood on the bow of a strange ship surrounded by six pirates, three marines, and his captor, the exquisite green-haired beauty known as Marion Colfax. Each of the pirates had a green scarf draped around their necks and the marines stood at attention by the mast, each stone-faced and quiet.
"What is going on?" Sanji exclaimed.
"I transported us," Marion replied simply as she let go of his forearm.
"I'm aware of that!" Sanji snapped.
Long before he had known her, Marion had taken a single bite from a Devil Fruit as a child before the melon had been knocked from her hand by her horrified mother and had fallen into the sea. While the power level of a Devil Fruit eater tended to thrive when at a distance from water, Marion's power excelled the closer she was to it. Seawater at least. As long as the salt-water air was in her lungs, she could transport herself with ease from one ship to another as simply as snapping her fingers. With enough concentration, she could transport others a short distance along with her if she physically made contact with them.
Back at the floating restaurant Baratie in the East Blue, she had often used her ability to sneak aboard the ship after hours where Sanji would delight in cooking private meals for her which they would share via candlelight. He had often wondered what the extent of her powers could have been if she had eaten the entire Devil Fruit.
"Where are we?" Sanji asked, forcing his voice to remain calm. "Why are there marines aboard a pirate ship?"
Marion held her hand out towards her men. "Spyglass."
One of the green scarf pirates handed her a telescope and she, in turn, passed it to him. She pointed out towards the horizon.
"There's your ship." She reassured him.
Sanji raised the spyglass up to his eye to verify. Sure enough, he could see Zoro passed out asleep up in the crow's nest while Usopp furiously poked at him attempting to wake him up.
"We've been following in your wake for over an hour," Marion said. "The whole while he's been asleep. Honestly, a rock with painted-on eyes would make a better lookout."
Sanji lowered the telescope. "Moss head..." He glowered.
"Sanji!" A second voice came from behind him and he turned as he heard approaching footsteps coming from across the deck. A young woman with short dark hair and glasses sporting a pristine marine uniform came forward, her Katana fastened firmly at her side.
"Do you remember me? I'm-"
"TASHIGI!" Sanji exclaimed with wild excitement as both his hands flew up to his heart and he nearly glided over to her, immediately going down on one knee before her.
"How could I forget you oh noble angel of the high seas? You remembered me! Oh, how I love you so, sweet cherub!" He nearly sang.
Marion sighed. "There's the Sanji I remember."
Tashigi pursed her lips and gave him a cold look. "Sanji, I'm a Naval Officer and you're a member of one of the most notorious pirate gangs on the Grand Line with a bounty on your head of over seventy million berries. Now's not a great time for charm. Stand up. We need to talk."
Recognizing the urgency in her voice Sanji reluctantly conceded and stood. He relit his dying cigarette. "You have my full attention."
"You asked why a handful of Marines are standing aboard a pirate ship and no one is cuffed or bleeding?" Tashigi asked.
"I had wondered, yeah." Sanji nodded.
"The Black Clover Pirates are temporarily allying themselves with a handful of Marines for our mutual protection." Marion gestured to her group. "We're in over our heads though. We need your help."
"Black Clover Pirates?" Sanji asked.
Marion and each of the green-scarfed men folded their left ear forward to reveal a hidden clover tattooed on the side of their heads.
"Never heard of you." Sanji shrugged.
"It doesn't matter, there aren't many of us left," Marion replied and folded her arms. "Not long ago we had a small armada of eight ships across the Grand Line. Most of them are at the bottom of the sea now, their entire crews with them."
Tashigi unrolled a parchment and handed it to Sanji. "This is from twenty years ago. Have you ever heard of Juzo Rameses?"
Sanji flicked the ash from his cigarette and examined the wanted poster. The face of the man staring back at him was horrific. Under what seemed like more than a dozen scars crisscrossing across his face, the sunken cheeks and crooked fangs made him appear more mutant than human. The eyes were barely two specks of red hidden underneath a massive brow. The skin was the color of sandpaper and looked twice as rough. From under the massive Amish-style, wide-brimmed hat hung hardened black narrow shards of what he suspected was hair.
"What happened to this guy?" Sanji asked as he handed the poster back to the Marine.
"A lot." She replied. "Two weeks ago, he was broken out of his secret prison by the Chess Piece Pirates. Together they've been destroying every Navy ship that stands in their way as they hunt down the Black Clover Pirates."
"Why them?"
"An old grudge," Marion replied. "He has Devil Fruit abilities. His body produces razor-sharp quills the length of my arm that he can launch with deadly speed and accuracy. His skin is all but completely impenetrable and though you can't tell by looking at the picture, he's about eight feet tall."
Sanji tossed his hair. "So, what has this got to do with me or my crew? In fact, why couldn't Tashigi have just asked to board our ship and address all of us together?"
Marion crossed her arms. "I don't know the other Straw Hats and I don't trust them, but I trust the man who fed me all those years ago when I was starving."
Sanji gritted his teeth, nearly causing the cigarette to break in two. "And how did you repay me? By betraying me."
Marion stared back without blinking, her face expressionless except for a hint of sorrow in the corner of her eyes.
Sanji turned to Tashigi. "Seriously, why involve the Straw Hats at all? The Navy must have the strength to capture this guy alone."
Tashigi sighed. "It's more complicated than that. Most of the Navy and the World Government think Rameses is dead. If word spread not only that he has been alive this whole time but he's also roaming free, there would be chaos and mutiny amongst the ranks."
"Ok, say we were actually willing to help." Sanji tried. "If this Rameses guy has Devil Fruit powers, then Luffy is the one you want. You were there when he defeated Crocodile single-handedly."
Tashigi shook her head and adjusted her glasses.
"Singling you out was our last resort. Smoker took a huge risk sending me with Marion to find you, but he specifically ordered that Luffy not be involved. He tends to attract a lot of attention, and the Navy can't be seen showing any leniency to the Straw Hats again. Not after Alabasta."
Sanji shrugged. "For such a mighty organization, you sure allow your hands to be bound pretty tight. Anyway, the answer's no. I don't go anywhere without my Captain or crew, and even if I wanted to, I couldn't take this guy on my own."
"The World Government put a bounty on your head that's higher than most Devil Fruit Pirates!" Marion exclaimed. "I remember your endless Black-Foot style training. You must be one of the deadliest men on the Grand Line who can actually swim!"
Sanji exhaled a plume of smoke. "Amongst my friends, sure, we're strong enough to handle most anything. Alone, our strength is diminished. I'm not abandoning them. Besides, I'm a cook, not a mercenary."
Tashigi sighed. She took a step forward and playfully twirled Sanji's hair and tickled his chin as she doted upon him with an alluring look.
"Please?"
For a solid five seconds Sanji's eyes lit up and he was nearly lifted off the ground by the force of his legs shuddering, but he slapped himself and regained his composure.
"To my everlasting regret, no. Not even for you Tashigi."
He turned and walked to the bow of the ship and started to remove his jacket and tie.
"I'll just swim back."
"Sanji!" Marion called out, and he noticed the familiar quiver in her voice that he hadn't heard in years. Suddenly they were back in Baratie's kitchen. Her eyes were wide and terrified as his hand encircled her throat…
"We won't survive without your help. I saved your life…" She pleaded.
"And I've already saved yours in return." He responded dully without turning around. "That debt has been repaid."
"You spared mine… There's a difference…" She replied, her voice cracking.
Sanji sighed. As much as he wanted to, he knew he didn't have the fortitude to turn his back on a woman in need. Even if it was her. He slowly turned to face her.
"Why is he after you and the Black Clover Pirates? You have two minutes."
Twenty-four years ago,
Marine Captain Juzo Rameses refilled his chalice with burgundy and raised it to toast his guests from the head of the long table. When he spoke, his voice tickled the ears of all assembled with a soft yet stimulating tone.
"My friends, fellow marines and dignitaries from across the four seas. After several long years, we have finally accomplished our daunting objective. The Port of Damocles will serve as a shining beacon to future generations that in collaboration with The World Government, these once lawless seas overrun with brigands will be tamed, charted and supervised under one flag, ensuring our safety, stability, and prosperity."
He took a carefully measured drink from his chalice while his guests applauded his words. The officer on his immediate right stood before the hubbub died and raised his own glass in proclamation.
"And to our prestigious host, Captain Rameses, who, after a brief yet undeniably lucrative tenure, has eliminated the remaining pirate threat from the Grand Line. Finally, with the capture and deportation of the sinister criminal Gol D Roger, the last of their kind will fade into the darkest abyss of history, and an age of civilization and order will thrive. To our retiring commander!"
Most of the guests stood and applauded even harder as Ramses took a bow. The golden cufflinks upon his crimson jacket catching the light and reflecting a twinkle in his dark eyes which were nearly as identical in color to his outfit.
After the meal was over Rameses stood on the balcony of his manor overlooking the newly completed port where several dozen Navy ships were anchored. As usual, he wore his wide-brimmed Parson's hat instead of the traditional Marine cap. The crisp night breeze caught the long elegant dark hair cascading down his back like it would a woman's silken scarf. He inhaled deep from his cigar and beckoned his comrade forward with a wave of his gloved hand.
"Come Finley…" He gestured as he exhaled a plume of silver smoke. "I only have a few of these left, and I'd be distraught if any of them went to waste. They're the finest from last year's harvest on the Summer Islands in the South Blue."
"You always had a taste for the most refined pleasures," Finley responded as he allowed Rameses to light the offered cigar for him.
"I appreciate your words during dinner." The Captain snapped the lighter shut. "I suppose I should enjoy the praise while I can get it. Retirement rarely offers opportunities for future recognition."
Finely guffawed. "Retirement? You're still a young man. Only five years in command of your own ship and you've decided to pack it in? You'll be back when they offer you a Vice Admiral's position and your own armada."
Rameses shook his head. "My dreams have been fulfilled. The Grand Line has been won by the World Government, therefore allowing the corners of the map to be filled in and this beautiful haven you see before you has been finished ahead of schedule, connecting thousands of people in a way they never otherwise would have assembled."
"It's a miraculous port." Finley agreed. "It's a shame so many fine men had to die in order to secure a foothold here."
"Every drop of Marine blood was avenged." Rameses leaned his arms against the stone railing. "The Black Clover Pirates thought they could defy the momentum of history, and to their credit, they battled hard and long, nearly to the last man, but I always knew when I saw this island it was where I would establish a new colony and retire in peace. My contribution to the future."
The bustling harbor below them echoed with the raucous laughter of the people and the joyful songs played by the various musicians on their respective street corners. Everyone was happy. All words spoken were in kindness.
"Tell me, Finley… Wasn't this worth the bloodshed? The loss of our fallen friends?" Juzo Rameses almost whispered.
Finley thought of their comrades who had perished during the naval battle Rameses had led to this harbor when the Black Clover Pirates made their last stand. Captain Godfrey had been a noble and selfless man with seven children, the last of whom he had never met, who had devoted his life to the idyllic belief that all could live in peace together on the sea. Captain Corvos had been a young man, a captain of his own vessel for only a few weeks and a masterful painter but had followed in Rameses's wake into battle without hesitation.
The hardest had been Captain Mallet. She had been offered the position of Admiral while out at sea, the first woman of such rank assigned to the Grand Line, and had she decided to return home and accept the position would have doubtless been one of the finest commanders upon the open water, but instead had set her sights on securing the future and obtaining the island from savage pirate hands with Rameses.
None of their bodies had been recovered after their ships had disappeared under the surface of the bloody tide that fateful day.
"Their sacrifice won us the Grand Line." Rameses continued without waiting for Finley's answer. "I would argue twice the carnage, twice the deaths, would have been worth this. The promise of a peaceful, prosperous tomorrow."
Finley watched the Captain confidently spin the cigar between his long fingers.
"I fear there will always be bloodshed, Juzo…" Finley responded. "Before long someone may attempt to take the Port of Damocles for themselves. It's the nature of humanity."
"Not under my watch," Rameses replied. "Perhaps the weaker ones who come after me…"
"Surely you've heard of these supposed cursed fruits that have already made their first appearance on the Grand Line?" Finley raised an eyebrow. "The rumor is they give people unnatural power. Horrifying, near-unstoppable abilities. If the accounts are true, and these individuals multiply, how will any of us be able to anticipate what is to come? Surely It's not just a matter of strength and weakness?"
Rameses crushed the stub of his burning cigar down on top of an ant crawling across the stone railing.
"It will always about strength and weakness. I've heard of those fruits you speak of. They're an abomination of nature, but I assure you, they will only destroy those who are foolish enough to enchant themselves with their spells. They are simply devices for the weak to try and elevate themselves. The Navy will never allow itself to be seduced by them and mark my words, men such as myself will never taste them either."
Rameses' long cloak caught the breeze during the next few moments of cold silence. The Captain eventually yawned. "If you'll excuse me, Finley, I'm retiring for the evening. My books are calling me. I'll meet you at breakfast in the main hall tomorrow."
"Good night Captain," Finley responded simply as the departing footsteps echoed down the stone passage. After another moment the bell tower sounded, announcing the hour, and Finley could never recall a time when the chiming of bells on such a peaceful night had sounded quite so ominous.
Finley was sharing a nightcap with two of his shipmates, Iro and Jacobi, in one of the many seaside bars when a thunderous crash echoed from across the harbor. The three men leapt to their feet and sprinted outside to discover one of the trading ships entering the port in the darkness had crashed into a moored ship and both were now taking on water. Sailors from both vessels were leaping over the sides attempting to escape the wreck.
"Quick!" Finley instructed his men. "Get boats in the water and rescue those men! Alert the guards to close the harbor to prevent any further collisions! I'll go alert Captain Rameses."
Finley and his men sprinted off in three different directions as the screams from out on the water echoed down the stone alleyways of the surrounding streets. Finley launched himself up the main steps, past the gate and into the Captain's main foyer.
"The Captain isn't in his chambers!" Came the butler's voice from upstairs, who was clearly aware of the commotion upon the water.
"He mentioned his books, perhaps he's in the library!" Finley gasped for air and sprinted down the hall. He entered the elegant library without knocking. Inside, the spacious archive was adorned with an ornate fireplace, leather armchairs and rows of wooden bookshelves nearly buckling under the weight of the thousands of texts they held.
"Juzo!" Finley cried out, but no reply came from amongst the stacks.
He was about to call out again when he paused. Despite the warmth of the fire raging under the mantlepiece, there was a chill in the air he couldn't account for. He turned and noticed a narrow space between one of the shelves and the wall. A blast of cold air hit his face again as he approached the opening. It was a secret passage, and based on the frigid temperature, it led outside the mansion.
Seizing his own pocket lighter from his jacket he raised the tiny flame above his head and ventured down into the tunnel, desperate to find the port's overseer and inform him of the accident.
After several minutes the tunnel narrowed, and Finley began to recognize the layered brick of the old fort that sat out by the cliffs overlooking the ocean that the Black Clover Pirates had once used as a lookout shelter. As far as he knew, it had been abandoned since their defeat.
When the passage ended, he slipped past a dusty threadbare tapestry and into a stone corridor with weeds growing up between the cracks in the floor beneath him. He extinguished his own lighter and made for the firelight originating from the entryway of the room farthest from where he stood.
"Captain?" He spoke aloud before he entered, but once inside the room, his jaw fell open in horror. A row of cells with rusty steel bars lined the walls on both sides of the room, and by the flickering torchlight, he could see that each one was occupied by a crumpled figure.
"Juzo?" Finley cried as he walked down the center aisle and peered between the bars into each cell. His stomach sank as he discovered most of the withered, obviously dead bodies were clothed in the tattered remains of Marine uniforms. Based on the cobwebs attached to the bones crisscrossing the cells from all angles, they had been there for quite some time.
Finley paused. Inside one of the cells was a corpse clutching a child's ribbon to its chest, and despite the gloom, he recognized the pale pink color. It had belonged to one of Godfrey's children. In the cell across from that a large navy vessel had been expertly painted onto the brick wall using various shades of mud. The skeletal corpse in that cell was smaller had a makeshift paintbrush in its clawed hand made from hair and bone. The final cell held the corpse of what had clearly once been a woman, her hands clenched around the bars as if even in her final moments she was attempting to tear them down and escape to freedom.
"Godfrey? Corvos? Mallet?" Finley whispered in petrified shock.
From behind him one of the corpses coughed and Finley spun around. Inside the gloom of the cell, a pale figure with a clover tattooed across his bare chest reached out towards Finley with broken fingers.
"He killed the children… The families that surrendered… He used his cannons…"
Finley raised his lighter again and knelt towards the bars to better hear the rambling prisoner.
"Are you a pirate? A Black Clover Pirate?" He demanded. "Who did this?"
"This was our island… We brokered a truce… He… slaughtered them all… Sank our ships… pillaged our villages…"
"Who did?!" Finley exclaimed.
The man lurched forward, and Finley noticed for the first time the bleeding stumps where the man's legs had, until very recently, been attached.
"He… kept me alive… to feed my legs… to his guests…"
The sound of a gunshot cracked over Finley's head and the pirate's face exploded into a pulp of blood and bone. The body pitched backwards and slammed into the wall with a wet thud.
Finley turned right before the revolver came down hard across his temple and he hit the cold ground, blood staining his vision.
Juzo Rameses set the pistol down upon a small wooden table where stained surgical tools and knives lay discarded on a metal tray.
"Oh Finley… I wish you had gone to bed." The man spoke solemnly.
"You killed them all…" Finley snarled as he attempted to raise himself up onto his knees. "You said the Black Clover Pirates attacked our fleet. You said you had no choice but to return fire…"
Rameses wasn't looking at his friend, but rather at one of the dancing flames atop the torch mounted onto the wall. His wide-brimmed hat cast a malicious shadow down across the eyes, so only the faintest red points of reflected light were visible.
"They were pirates Finley. Drunkards and thieves who were scavenging off the surrounding islands. They were living a self-destructive lifestyle that wouldn't have benefitted anyone, not even themselves. You should have seen their families. Their children playing in filth, the wives whoring themselves out upon the docks. They offered to divide the island with the Navy in exchange for their lives."
Rameses' eyes grew hard and his brow furrowed. "As if we could live alongside their kind."
"You killed the other captains Juzo… You held them in cells… they were your friends…"
Juzo shrugged. "I needed our side to take heavy casualties so I could muster the strength needed to annihilate these animals. Yes, I killed the crews, sank their ships, but it was all for the greater good. I tried to reason with the captains. I tried to make them understand. They could have been heroes, but none of them wanted to comply."
Juzo didn't even glance at his fellow dead officers as he spoke. "I didn't kill them. They allowed themselves to die. I sent compensation to their families."
"You… you… MURDERER! CRIMINAL!" Finley bellowed. "What have you done?"
Juzo smirked. "I've paved the way to a brighter future. There will be order and harmony now, thanks to the sacrifices of so many."
Rameses knelt and grabbed Finley around the throat. "I'm a fair man Lieutenant. I could kill you, but I won't. You will be given the same opportunity they had." He unlocked the dead pirate's cell. "Take as much time as you need."
Suddenly blood exploded from the Captain's shoulder and he cried out in pain and leapt to his feet, causing his hat to fly off and land upon the dusty cobblestones.
Finley noticed Iro and Jacobi standing by the doorway, Jacobi with his flint pistol out, in the process of reloading it.
"Stand down Captain!" Iro called out in fury.
Juzo Rameses staggered, and as he attempted to steady himself by leaning against the table he knocked over the metal tray, sending the instruments clattering to the floor.
"You, miserable ingrates!" He snarled as he made his way towards them, pulling a curved blade out from under his jacket.
Jacobi scrambled to finish reloading the pistol but despite being wounded the towering man was nearly upon them. He roared as he raised the knife but collapsed as Finley fired another shot dead between his shoulder blades with the Captain's own fallen weapon.
"Bind him! Quick!" Finley gasped before his legs buckled beneath him and he fell forward upon the ground.
When Rameses opened his eyes the light of a harsh blood-red sunrise was prying itself under his eyelids. He tried to raise himself into a sitting position but found that his hands were handcuffed behind him around his belt.
The sound of tide striking the shore was as loud as cannon fire and the salty air threatened to choke him as it fought its way past his parched lips.
"Water…" He muttered.
His shoulder and torso were heavily bandaged, but he could still feel the pain from the raw bleeding flesh from where he had been shot burning him like molten metal.
Finley bent over him and extended a cannister to his lips which he accepted carefully.
"Where am I?" Juzo asked, noticing the blood-stained bandage wrapped around his friend's temple.
"The west side of the island," Finley replied simply.
"How long have I been unconscious?"
"Nearly six hours." The man said somberly.
As Juzo's eyes adjusted the blurry smudges of foreign objects in the distance began to come into focus. There was a ship approaching. A ship with a Black Clover upon its flag.
"Finley!" Rameses spat. "If you do this, it will all have been for nothing! All those brave men will have died in vain. The Port will forever be tarnished, and it will struggle and collapse under the savagery of my actions. The pirates will return and multiply with an enraged vengeance against the Navy! Don't allow the future we have built to fail!"
Finley pulled the last of the South Blue cigars from his jacket and breathed in the fragrance.
"You're right Juzo. That's why, aside from our men here on the island, only the most senior officers will ever know what you've done. The people will assume you sailed away into the night to live out your retirement in peace."
Juzo glanced out at the ocean again and noticed several figures had left the ship and were now rowing ashore.
"Just kill me Finley… I'm owed an honorable death. Don't give me to them."
Finley lit the cigar.
"Juzo…" He paused as he exhaled the richly scented smoke, taking a moment to choose his words carefully.
"You massacred women and children. You held your fellow officer's captive and let them starve. You tortured a pirate to the point of insanity. All that, in a repulsive, yet rational type of way can I understand your motives."
He turned to his former friend and met his dark red eyes.
"But what I can't understand is why you fed us the flesh of that man?"
Juzo stared back at him in silence, his eyes not yielding even an inch.
"I think you enjoy violence Juzo. I don't think you'll ever stop. That's why you aren't owed anything. That's why I'm giving you to them."
Juzo Rameses didn't utter another sound as eight men approached them. Four were Naval Officers, the rest were pirates, each with a black clover tattoo somewhere on their person.
The tallest of the pirates stepped forward and kicked Juzo in the stomach.
"I'm Captain Grillo of the Flagship "Nightmare Song". You destroyed my home, annihilated my people, and tortured and ate my brother."
The dark man bent down to look Juzo in the eye. "You thought you killed us all? You were wrong."
The disgraced captain refused to respond to the pirate's words.
"You're going to beg us to put out your eyes, so you won't have to watch us cut into you."
Grillo stood. "Take him!"
His men marched forward and began to drag the man down away towards the beach.
Finley accepted the sack of gold the Pirate Captain offered him.
"This is a secret we take to the seafloor," Finley spoke aloud, his tone lost somewhere between content and ashamed.
"You have my word and the word of my crew." Grillo tipped his hat. "Good evening gentlemen."
The man turned and followed his men back towards the sea.
Finley dropped the unfinished cigar down into the sand and looked at each of the marines gathered around him. "We will never speak of this again."
Each officer nodded his head silently.
Finley awoke later that morning and took his tea out on the balcony at Rameses' manor. Fortunately, no one had died after the collision of ships the previous evening, but a handful had been severely wounded, and several tons of food and dry goods had been lost to the sea. Finley's hand trembled slightly as he lowered the cup back down onto the saucer.
At least no one had been killed. No more innocent blood had been spilled.
The butler stepped out into the crisp sea air.
"Sir, there's a young man from High Command here to see you."
"Regarding Captain Rameses?" Finley asked.
"I expect so sir." The man replied.
"Thank you. Send him up." Finley instructed.
He turned out to face the port again. He had sent a message to the High Admirals back at Navy Headquarters after Rameses was arrested, informing them of the real fate of their deceased captains and the treachery of their overseer. They would be sending men to the port today to collect the remains of the bodies. Whoever this current visitor was, he must have been sent the moment the somber news had reached them.
"Where is he?"
Finley started and turned in his seat. He hadn't heard the young man walk out onto the balcony, and he indeed was a young man. Barely more than a child. Despite his age he spoke with authority and wore an immaculately clean tailored suit. His dark eyes were as unyielding as tidal waves and they never blinked once as Finley stared back into them.
He stood shakily.
"Lieutenant Finley Sir. I'm sorry, I wasn't informed of your name."
"Rob Lucci." The boy responded without emotion. "Again, where is he?"
"Captain Rameses Sir?"
Finley took the boy's stone-cold silence as an affirmative.
"He died of his wounds early this morning," Finley responded after only a moment's hesitation.
"Where's the body?" Lucci asked immediately.
He felt the boy's eyes boring themselves into him, seeking to expose what he had to suspect was a lie.
"We buried him out at sea at sunrise. Out on the west side of the island. Just a handful of us officers. I can show you the spot and give you the names."
For another terrifying handful of moments, the young man named Lucci just stared at Finley without speaking or reacting, as if waiting to spot the man's nervous tell and use it to dissect the false narrative. The breeze brushed a wisp of hair into the young man's eye, but he still didn't blink.
"You've been promoted to Captain, Lieutenant." Lucci finally spoke aloud, and despite the calmness of his tone and volume, Finley's heart nearly burst in sudden shock and fear.
"Report to Navy Headquarters in two days to give a full and detailed report," Lucci said before turning his back and leaving the balcony.
"Thank you, sir… Mr. Lucci." Finley responded breathlessly as he collapsed back into his chair.
As Lucci made to close the door behind him, he paused.
"If you're lying to me, Captain…" He spoke without turning back around, "You'd better hope I find Rameses before I find you…"
Captain Grillo descended the stairs into the belly of his ship as the lanterns swayed precariously on their hooks. The wind had picked up and they had entered a particularly bad patch of sea. He maneuvered his way through the rows of empty hammocks before he reached the small lavatory they had converted into a cell for their guest. The lone crewmember assigned to watch the door stood at attention as his captain approached.
"Has he eaten anything?" Grillo asked.
"Nothing for nearly a week Captain." The man replied. "He's intent on starving himself to death."
Grillo pulled a pair of pliers from his pocket.
"That's not for him to decide. He hasn't suffered enough yet."
The ship pitched sideways, and several rows of stacked cargo tilted precariously as the men staggered and attempted to keep their balance.
"Open the door," Grillo commanded.
The sailor complied by unlocking the small wooden compartment and Grillo raised a lantern over his head as he stepped inside. It reeked of feces in the small space and no natural light of any kind had been able to locate this irrelevant nook from the world outside.
Bound with three layers of chains, the emaciated Juzo Rameses covered his face with his hands to prevent the light from assaulting his eyes. Grillo kicked the man in the chest and the former Marine choked out a haggard cough as he doubled over and curled into a fetal position.
"You think you've been down here long? There are good men who've been pulled breathing from the sea after a longer spell." Grillo scowled in a booming voice to drown out the sounds of the creaking ship around them. "It's true I've lost count of the weeks, but I won't be satisfied until myself and every man under my command has lost track of the years."
Rameses peered up at him from the foul-smelling gloom, his red eyes forlorn yet unapologetic and irritatingly unafraid. The man's face was a roadmap of scars where they had cut away at his flesh and peeled away strips from his brow and cheeks. Several of his fingers and toes had been amputated and both of his ears had been hacked off, yet the man continued attempting to remain dignified every time the blades fell upon him. The only reason Grillo had not removed his tongue yet was because he was hoping to truly break the man and make him scream in anguish long into the night.
"Do you think because you're not eating, we'll let you die?" Grillo bent forward and grabbed the man's gaunt face. "I won't let starvation take you so easily. Open your mouth or I'll cut a hole in your neck and force-feed the wound."
He pried the man's mouth open with the pliers and stuffed a rotten tomato past his remaining teeth and down his throat. "I decide your fate Juzo…"
The former Marine hacked up bile as he tried to fight back but clearly didn't have strength enough. Grillo looked back towards the guard. "Hand me one of those potato sacks."
The guard turned around to locate the crate filled with potatoes, but the inventory had been tossed about so haphazardly by the sea he couldn't locate them. Food and supplies were scattered about like debris after a hurricane.
He bent forward and picked up a single spiked fruit wrapped in foil and handed it to Grillo.
"Have him eat this whole, Captain. That pointy bastard should tear up his throat something awful."
Grillo took the misshapen plumb and squeezed it tight in his fist, the spikes pricking the flesh of his palm and causing blood to flow down his wrist along with the juice. Again, he pried open the man's mouth mercilessly shoved the sharpened fruit over his tongue and held his nose closed until the man was forced to chew just to allow air to pass through to his lungs. He coughed up blood and bits of soggy fruit as the spikes cut into his gums.
"Captain!" A man called urgently from the deck above. "Man overboard! Portside!"
Grillo immediately stood and handed the guard the pliers.
"Watch him." Grillo commanded. "I'll be back."
The guard shut the door behind him and cast the prisoner back into complete darkness again. He heard the starving man hacking and gagging as he painfully tried to ingest the fruit without choking.
Where had such a strange fruit come from? He thought absentmindedly. He was sure he had never seen such a thing upstairs in the ship's galley. Then he paused. He bent forward to examine the container where he had found the foil-covered fruit. Inside were a half dozen silver medallions and ivory pieces they had looted from a merchant ship several months back. They had intended on trading the crate for barrels of food and rum next time they put into port. Why had that fruit been so valuable?
Suddenly from the room behind him, he heard their captive begin to cry out in agonizing pain like he was being lowered into a raging fire. The chains rattled furiously as they were tossed about, and then there came the earsplitting sounds of dull popping, like metal giving way and shattering. The man's roars of pain became deeper, more animalistic, and far more enraged.
The guard took several steps back towards the stairway as he felt the reverberations of the man slamming his bulk against the wooden walls.
"Captain…" He croaked out in panic.
Suddenly the noises behind the door ceased, and for the briefest few moments, he thought it was over. The lantern he held high in his hand suddenly sputtered and died. Then came the sound of the door being ripped from its hinges…
Finley lay amongst the wreckage of his decimated flagship. His fallen crew were scattered in broken heaps amongst the sharp rocks where the ship had capsized. None of them moved. He was completely alone.
He made an awkward attempt to stand but suddenly realized that recovery was a forgone conclusion. He could no longer feel his legs. The sea water washed up around his chest as the tide began to come in. He doubted he would live long enough to drown.
After another minute a single figure made his way across the sand towards him. He was the same man who had responded to their distress flare right before the ship collided with the rocks. Right before the slaughter had begun.
The lone man had stepped out of his small boat seemingly completely alone and disappeared into the trees to hunt the beast. After a short while, the furious sounds of battle had ended, and the man had dragged the massive brute from the forest and tied him up upon the beach.
Finley shuddered in relief as he saw bright blood staining the long black blade in the man's hand.
"You cut him…"
"I did…" The man paused as he looked down at the defeated Marine, his hawkish eyes calm despite the terror they had just been forced to stare down.
"No one has ever cut him before…" Finley managed a chuckle. "Is he dead?"
The man shook his head.
"Please…" Finley pleaded. "I made a mistake once leaving him alive. Once I heard what had happened, I tried to correct my mistake."
"Your bigger mistake was only bringing one ship." The man looked out at the wreckage. "You were no match for him alone."
Finley felt the cold creeping up his chest. "I couldn't risk any more lives."
"I'm no executioner." The swordsman knelt beside him. "There's another Navy ship on the horizon approaching now. I'll make sure he's locked away someplace secure. He has blood on his hands he needs to atone for."
Finley tasted his own blood on his tongue as he coughed. "That's Lieutenant Iro. Tell him my crew died honorably… Make sure their families remember them as heroes…"
The swordsman nodded simply. "What about you?"
He pointed at the massive harpoon-sized quill protruding from Finley's lower gut. "That won't heal…"
Finley shook his head. "Don't let them see me like this."
"Would you like some water?"
Finley nodded. The swordsman pulled a silver chalice from his pocket and filled it from a flask at his hip with cool, fresh water.
"How was Roger's execution?" Finley asked after he had emptied the chalice.
The swordsman blinked. "The age of pirates is finally over…" He lied, choosing not to report to the dying man the Pirate King's last words.
He pulled his Kogatana from the sheath around his neck.
"What is your name?" Finley asked as the blade caught the sunlight.
"Dracule." The man replied.
"Thank you, Dracule," Finley whispered as he shut his eyes.
Sanji extinguished his fourth cigarette on the railing of the ship as Marion finished speaking. The two minutes he had originally allotted her had expanded to nearly twenty, yet he couldn't bring himself to worry about the time as the story continued and the look in his old friend's eyes grew more and more pained.
"And now he's free again…" Marion gritted her teeth. "It took a man like Dracule Mihawk to put him down the first time. We need a man like that again now."
Sanji brushed ash from his suit jacket. "I'm no Dracule Mihawk. Not even close. I've seen his skills firsthand, and I doubt anything I could do could rival one swing of his sword."
"Sanji, please…" Tashigi adjusted her glasses nervously. "Juzo's obliterated twelve ships since he's escaped, and soon the Navy won't be able to keep these attacks secret any longer. Smoker is already on his way to try to intercept him and so are the remaining Black Clover Pirates, who to their credit could be fleeing across the sea in the opposite direction."
"If it was just our lives at stake we would run," Marion explained. "But once we're all dead he won't stop. He's decimating anyone with loyalty to the World Government and the Navy. I'm not sure what the Chess Piece Pirates' objective is, but they've unleashed a weapon of limitless destruction indiscriminately amongst the innocent and guilty alike. It's our responsibility to prevent any more loss of life."
"We're not asking you to be our savior." Tashigi continued. "We just need your help."
"Why not just find Mihawk and ask him?" Sanji raised a curled eyebrow.
"Oh, gee… Why didn't we think of that, Tashigi?" Marion rolled her eyes and glanced over at the young officer.
Tashigi sighed. "The Warlords are in theory allied with the Navy, but in practice are each their own sovereign. Mihawk especially is almost impossible to keep track of. No one seems to know where he is and there's no definitive proof he's even on the Grand Line. We don't have time to locate him, and none of the other Warlords even know about Rameses. I doubt they'd offer to help even if they did."
Sanji dug his fists into his pockets and stared at the women in silence for a few moments as he considered.
"Again, Luffy is the one you want. He took down one of the Warlords on his own. He'll help you if you let me speak to him and the rest of the crew."
"Luffy can't know!" Tashigi insisted. "He's a loose cannon, Sanji! Reckless! Unpredictable! Yes, he defeated Crocodile, but he nearly destroyed a city while doing it! He'd never follow orders! Even if he did, his bounty is so high we'd be forced to arrest him immediately after!"
"Look, do you want to catch this guy and save some lives, or do you want to uphold the fictional glorious reputation of the Navy? Because it sounds to me like you don't have a choice here." Sanji responded with an edge to his voice.
"Glory doesn't come from recognition. It comes from doing the right thing when you are accountable. This is how we make the Navy's reputation less fictional and more glorious." Tashigi countered. "So, no, we don't have a choice, but you do."
Sanji's lifelong code of chivalry clashed heavily against his loyalty for his crew. He had never predicted those two unshakable creeds that had shaped his character would ever be in conflict. One had always seemed to reinforce the other.
"You're tying my hands behind my back." Sanji lit up another cigarette.
"Good thing you're so skilled with your legs," Marion replied with dry humor.
Sanji exhaled an unhappy cloud of smoke.
"I'll do it, but I have conditions."
"Name them." Tashigi nodded, a fresh glimmer of hope in her eye.
"If Luffy is out, then he is out. You have to guarantee his safety and the safety of all the others on the ship with him. None of them will enter the line of fire, and after it's all over and you return me to my crew, none of them are to be touched, bounties be damned."
"You have my word. Smoker's as well." Tashigi promised.
"Keep in mind I'm not doing this for the Navy, the Black Clover Pirates, or for you." Sanji pointed to Marion. "I'm doing this for those innocents who are in danger, including my crew, who may encounter this guy one day if you all fail."
"Understood," Marion replied, seemingly unoffended.
Sanji glanced back over his shoulder towards his friends on the horizon.
"You may not like this next condition, but I promise I like it even less."
"What is it?" Marion asked.
Sanji turned back to face them. "Under no circumstances is Luffy to be involved. I understand that. What about the others?"
Zoro spun his katanas in brilliant fluid motions as he stood alone on the foredeck. Nami had insisted they drop anchor at the nearest island and scour the ship from top to bottom looking for Sanji and the mysterious woman. When no trace of him had been found, Luffy and the others had split into separate parties and went to search the coastline in case another boat was anchored nearby.
He had been assigned to stay behind and guard the ship and he hadn't minded. Once that lanky blonde-haired loon of a chef was finally found, Nami was likely going to tear his limbs off and Zoro didn't need the aggravation of trying to help Chopper save his life. After all, he was far better at spilling blood than staunching wounds.
He twirled the swords in front of him so fast the air whistled as the blades sang. He took a careful step forward, maintaining his balance, and then spun like lightning, the weapon pointed before him in his outstretched arm as still as stone, the tip of the blade an inch away from Sanji's throat.
"Watch it, you idiot!" The chef cried out.
"Where have you been, you moron?" Zoro snarled as he sheathed his swords. "The others are tearing the island apart looking for you!"
Sanji exhaled a tobacco cloud and extinguished his cigarette on the railing.
"Zoro, we need to talk. I need your help."
Zoro was caught off guard for half a second. He couldn't remember the last time Sanji had referred to him by his name instead of a condescending label, and he definitely had never asked for the swordsman's help before.
"What's going on?" He asked cautiously.
"Zoro…" A voice from behind him spoke.
He turned sharply, and his stomach sank as he looked into the eyes of the only person alive who had the power to stop him in his tracks without raising a finger.
Tashigi smiled shyly. "It's good to see you."
"HEY ZORO!" Luffy called out once all of them were back on board the ship. "WAKE UP! WE'RE BACK!"
"He better not have fallen asleep again," Usopp muttered.
Nami walked across the foredeck and glanced up at the crow's nest. "Well, we couldn't take him with us… He would have gotten lost."
She poked her head inside the living room and then peeked down below deck.
"He's not here…" her voice trailed off.
"WHAT?!" The excitable little Reindeer exclaimed. "Zoro's gone too?! What's happening?!" He started sprinting from starboard to port and back on his tiny legs.
Robin paused as she joined Nami on the higher deck. Her eyes narrowed.
"Dom Fluer…" She whispered.
A delicate female arm sprung like a flower from topsoil over by the far railing and slowly picked up the butt of an extinguished cigarette between two fingers.
"Sanji was here…" She said with certainty.
Nami walked over and examined the withered smoke in the fingers of Robin's third hand.
"It's bone dry…" She muttered. "He was just here…"
"Hey guys!" Usopp called from inside the galley. He walked back out into the light of sunset and held up a single torn parchment page.
"It's from Sanji! It says to anchor here for three days and he put boxed lunches for us in the fridge. Zoro's signature is on it too!"
"Wait, what?" Nami snatched the message from him and examined it. "They're really gone? They left without saying anything?"
"Ahhhh!" Chopper wailed. "Why would they leave us like this?"
Robin glanced at Luffy, whose brow was furrowed with confusion and anger, which were quickly fusing together and evolving into rage. Robin was the most recent addition to the crew, but she knew Zoro and Sanji well enough to understand they would never abandon them without good reason, and if they couldn't even consult with Luffy first, it meant only one thing. The rest of them were in danger, and the two men were doing all they could to protect them.
Robin also knew Luffy well enough to understand, the last place you ever wanted to leave their Captain was safely upon the sidelines…
Luffy raised his arms and screamed upwards into the sky.
"OI! SANJI! ZORO! GET BACK HERE!"
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