PART EIGHT: Ashes

Nami couldn't sleep.

She rolled out of her bed and located her sandals by the glow of the silver moonlight navigating itself through the porthole. Slipping on a t-shirt and shorts as quietly as she could so as not to disturb her roommate, she carefully slid their cabin door open and stepped outside into the warm sea air. As she turned the corner to take the steps down to the main deck, she realized her earlier consideration inside the room had been unnecessary.

Robin was sitting on the stairs in her robe staring out at the twinkling night sky, the breeze catching playfully at her dark hair.

"Hi…" She whispered to Nami as the young woman took a seat next to her.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked.

The older woman nodded her head in the direction of the beach where a single tent with a Black Clover flag was sitting in isolation from the others, hidden in the shadows where not even the moon's enchanting diamond light could reflect off it.

"He hasn't left the tent in over eight hours." She stated softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "I tried visiting him…"

"How is he?" Nami asked, daring to hope.

Robin shook her head. "It's not good, Nami. I barely recognize him. You know that eager sparkle of life in his eyes whenever he tries charming us? There's only gray ash there now. He's breathing, but I'm afraid his spirit may have died on the sand right beside her."

Nami folded her arms onto her knees and rested her chin upon them as she gazed out across the beach, suddenly terrified at the notion of forever losing the obnoxious yet charismatic behavior Sanji had always exhibited.

"I never knew he had a history with anyone." Nami whispered as she gazed at the tent. "He's always been so easy to understand. As shallow as a clam shell, but now he's suddenly in so much pain. So vulnerable. Exposed in a way he's never been before. He really loved Marion, didn't he?"

Robin nodded. "I think Sanji's interpretation of love would have to be examined using a wide-angle lens, but yes, in a deep, dark, subconscious place, I think he's always loved her."

"How much though?" Nami pressed. "Do you think… if either of us had… would he be like this too?"

Robin took her friend's hand and squeezed it. "I'm not sure. I'd like to think if he lost one of us, he'd find a way to smile again one day. Return to being the man that we understand and appreciate."

Nami felt something deep inside her stomach twinge. She knew she had absolutely no reason to feel guilty for all the stonewalling and harsh rejections she had ever delivered to Sanji while they sailed together. He could be charming, but his fawning was usually outright shameless bordering on perverted.

He still needed to learn to respect boundaries, but she couldn't help feeling a twinge of regret for the half a dozen times she had dismissed him out of habit, even when she was very impressed or even proud of him. It had just become easier to shut him out because she assumed nothing she could do would ever break his confident, doting spirit.

Now she wasn't as sure, and the fact that she cared about that distinction wasn't lost on her. Maybe there was some place inside her hidden away that loved Sanji in a way that wasn't entirely platonic or passive, and while it wasn't necessarily something she wanted to fuel, she didn't want to lose it either.

"Who's been to see him?" She asked as her mind refocused on the present moment.

"Chopper has seen him four times. He can't get him to budge. Tashigi tried as well, to her credit. Luffy and Usopp went together but neither of them is especially graceful with words of sympathy or condolence."

"Zoro?"

Robin exhaled a sad chuckle. "What do you think?"

Nami smirked and immediately dismissed the thought. Zoro's philosophy about any type of emotion seemed to be to hide it deep within oneself and not bother anyone else about it. He was the absolute last person on the ship, possibly on the entire Grand Line, she would expect to have any skill with grief counseling.

"I guess that leaves me then…" She admitted. "I should have gone earlier, but it's like I've been afraid to try."

Robin gave her friend a one-armed hug.

"You're the beating heart of this crew Nami. You've probably been since the very beginning when there were only three of you. I feel if there's any hope of him ever forgiving himself, you're the one to help him see it."

"I'm worried I won't be able to." She responded meekly.

"From what I've heard, the only reason he joined the Straw Hats was to try and win your affections. I'm sure you'll find a way to remind him of happier times." The dark-haired woman assured her. "I didn't know Marion, but I'm sure she wouldn't have wanted him to wither away like this, so if not for him, let's try to bring him back for her."

Nami slowly stood up and kissed her friend's hand before letting it go. "I don't care what Tashigi says. She doesn't know you like I do."

Robin paused, and Nami saw the expression behind her eyes change.

"She's not wrong, Nami…" Robin whispered in a mournful, embarrassed tone. "None of you ever asked me specifics about my time with Baroque Works. I've done things…"

"And none of that matters now." Nami cut her off. "We don't need to know. It's not about who you were then. All that matters is who you are now."

Robin forced a grateful smile as Nami walked down the steps.

"I'll come back with good news." She stated as she made her way off the ship.

Robin felt a cold pang of guilt stab deeply into her navel as a furious conflict erupted inside her head. The Straw Hats had never treated her as anything other than family, even risking their lives to infiltrate Enies Lobby to save her life. They had helped her rekindle her passion for life when her guilt and despair had threatened to overwhelm her.

Now that same guilt for hiding the secrets of her past from them for so long was tearing at her. Nami said that not knowing didn't matter to the crew, but it was definitely starting to matter to her. Deep down she knew it was just a matter of time before someone else revealed her darkest secrets, and when that day came, would they still treat her as family, or would they feel betrayed and cast her from the group for never telling them the truth?

She covered her eyes with her hands, and for the first time since her desperate cry for help from that balcony, she broke down in tears.

Etain was sitting hunched forward on a crate close to the tent as Nami approached. The young pirate lifted a wine bottle to her lips and drained the remaining contents before tossing it sideways into the sand. The woman's hair was in a disheveled, drunken mess and her cloak was draped heavily over her shoulders like a veil. She belched a grotesque wet croak and glanced sideways up at her.

"What do you want?" She gave Nami a suspicious once-over.

"I wanted to see my friend."

Etain slid a fingernail up between two of her upper teeth.

"Figures. The Straw Hats don't suffer one casualty, but the pretty-boy cook's heart is broken, and he still gets more attention than the entirety of my crew."

"I didn't mean… It's just… Sanji's in pain. He knew Marion from childhood."

Etain spat.

"Oh, all of us Clovers know. I never even met him before today, but the ghost of his memory has been stalking Marion across the sea for years. He was always there among us in shadow, practically as tangible as the wind. He never offered any insight but always seemed to influence Marion's decisions."

The woman began picking at a different crack between her teeth.

"Marion Colfax was the most fearless person I ever knew, but she always wore her heart on her sleeve for that dratted high-kicking chef she met as a kid in the East Blue. And then, when she finally reaches out to him for help, and we dare to think he may live up to his reputation, she ended up throwing her life away to protect him."

Etain looked back up at Nami with a poisonous hatred in her eyes. "But hey, now he's finally realizing the kind of pain he put her through all those years, and everyone's distraught over his suffering. Who are we to stand in the way of his loss? We were only the family who had her back every day since he dismissed her to chase other pretty sea wenches like yourself."

Nami felt a defiant rage build up inside her, but her words of retort caught in her throat. She couldn't bring herself to lash out at the woman. From where the foxtail-laced pirate was sitting, everything she felt about Sanji seemed completely justified, and now wasn't the time to try to explain the bigger picture in an attempt to change her mind.

"I'm sorry about Marion." Nami said flatly. "And I'm sorry about your crew."

Etain shot up quickly and for a second Nami thought she was about to strike her, but instead the woman wiped at her mouth with the back of her wrist.

"Don't be. Take him back to your bed and ride him. He'll forget about her and be just fine. The mighty Straw Hats live to fight another day… Because that's all that matters isn't it…?"

Etain set her hat back upon her tousled hair and half staggered, half lurched back in the direction of her ship.

Nami turned and stared at the tent flap apprehensively, unsure of whether to announce herself or not. She tilted her head and listened for any type of sound from within but could not detect even a whisper of activity. She made herself take a deep, resolute breath.

"Sanji?" She spoke quietly. "It's Nami. May I come in?"

There was no answer.

If he was inside, he had to have already heard the conversation between herself and Etain and know she was there. She decided to just rip the bandage off and enter.

She slowly poked her head inside the tent and immediately felt the poignant, hostile change in the small space around her like an increase in air pressure. Marion's body lay covered in a white sheet upon a wooden pyre at the center of the tent, and it almost seemed to be sucking in all the oxygen around it, pulling in every heartbroken regret that encircled it like a black hole. Her hat and sword lay upon her breast in a crude attempt at a memorial that respected her position in life, but pirates were rarely very pious about such things. Her long green locks hadn't even been combed properly and they spilled down from under the sheet as though crying out for proper attention.

Sanji sat on the far end of the tent near Marion's head. He was hunched forward as though examining the sand between his feet. His normally pristine button-up shirt was open, displaying numerous dark bruises across his chest. The jacket and tie lay forgotten in a crumpled heap by his ankles and his wounded arm hung limply from a sling attached to his bandaged shoulder. Scattered across the ground all around her were cold cigarette butts. He must have finished the pack because he wasn't smoking anymore. Even that faint spark of life that normally danced at the end of his lighthearted smirk had been extinguished.

"Sanji?" She tried again as she slowly maneuvered her way around the pyre, trying to remain focused on him while not being disrespectful towards the body. Ever since they had found the note he had hidden in the lunchbox with their location, Nami had envisioned slapping him as hard as she could across his smug face to punish him for making her worry. Now, those feelings of furious annoyance and relief seemed to have disappeared to a place far out of reach, and all she could find to summon within her now was a painful longing for her friend to heal and return to being the man who had made her so frustrated.

While they may have physically located Sanji's body, the charming blonde chef they had last seen aboard their ship days before was still lost.

She knelt in front of him and placed a careful hand on his knee.

"Sanji…? It's Nami."

"I'm not leaving…" He finally murmured in an exhausted grunt as he lifted his head a fraction of an inch and peeked up through his bangs at her. For the first time since she entered the tent, he seemed to recognize exactly who she was.

"Nami…." He stated after a moment, more an identification than a greeting. "It's my fault… I couldn't…."

Robin hadn't been exaggerating. His normally bright eyes were as dead as coal, and even though the inflection in his voice had changed slightly when he spoke her name, there wasn't any hint of relief or joy.

"Nami…" He whispered again, as though echoing himself. "I'm sorry I'm not…"

His words faltered.

She wiped his bangs away and then took his good hand in both of hers. It didn't surprise her that it was ice cold to the touch, and for the first time she noticed that he was holding a silver charm in the shape of an anchor inside his clenched fist.

"No Sanji… No more apologies. Please, look at me…" She took hold of his chin and made him look her in the eye. "Do you know what Marion would say to you right now if she could? Get up off your ass and be with your friends. Be proud of who you are. It would break her heart to see you like this. I know that because it's breaking mine…"

Where had those words come from, she suddenly wondered.

Sanji's eyes seemed to flutter and then a fresh tear rolled down his cheek.

"I saw what happened, Sanji." Nami continued. "She saved your life, and I'll forever be grateful to her for that, but she didn't act in that moment expecting anything from you in return. She chose to do what she did because she loved you."

"She threw her life away…" Sanji muttered bitterly and shut his eyes.

"Hey!" Nami made her voice harsh. "Don't you ever say that. My mother did the exact same thing to save my life once, and she smiled as it happened because it was her choice. Sacrificing your life for someone else's is probably the noblest thing anyone can do for someone they care about. Don't you dare cheapen what Marion did for you like it was a mistake."

Nami's temper flaring seemed to energize him somewhat because he suddenly gritted his teeth in fury.

"My mother died for me too!" He snapped. "No one else was ever supposed to sacrifice themselves for me! Marion wasn't supposed to die before I told her…."

"She knew." Nami cut him off.

"How do you…?"

"Trust me Sanji… she knew." She repeated herself in a more soothing tone. "You're a warrior Sanji, and you have so many good causes left to fight for. So many more people to save. Do you know what you were to your mother and Marion? Someone worth dying for."

Nami felt tears of her own starting to well up as the darkness behind Sanji's eyes seemed to fade and a glimmer of light reemerged.

"Do you want to know something I've never told anyone? Not even my sister?" She asked.

Sanji wiped at his face with his sleeve as he nodded.

"Right before we all left Cocoyasi I was wandering through my mom's house. I guess I was saying goodbye in my own way, making peace with the fact I'd never see her again. I was devastated, but I was excited as well. I was finally free to follow my dream, and she knew it. I felt her presence there, Sanji. I was alone, but I felt her give me a hard shove right out the door. It was her way of saying, "Get going… Have some adventures. Be the person you're meant to be."

Nami smiled and wiped at her eyes, the memory of her mother tearing open an old wound deep within her soul.

"She was proud of me at that moment Sanji, and she had no regrets about the choice she made. If she was there with me then, I know Marion is with you now, and she's smiling too because she can't wait to see you stand up and become the person you're meant to be."

Sanji appeared to surrender to his grief and leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her shoulder. He sobbed deeply, but there was an intensity behind it now that hadn't been there moments before. There was fresh, raw emotion where previously there had only been cold suffocating sorrow. She had broken through his walls and made him understand something no one else could.

She lowered her own head and rested it against his shoulder as well. After a moment she felt her stomach rumble.

That seemed to catch his attention and he stood almost immediately, wiping at his face before beginning to button up his shirt.

"Are you hungry?" He asked her.

She gave him a warm smile and nodded.

Nami stood at Sanji's side the following morning as the Black Clover pirates gathered around Marion's pyre to say their final goodbyes. The tent had been taken down at daybreak and the wooden platform had been fortified with a ring of stones.

Unable to find anything suitable in her own wardrobe for such a solemn occasion she had borrowed a plain navy-blue dress from Robin that she felt was as close to respectful as she could get.

Sanji had changed into a clean suit and stood at the head of the pyre, his good arm down by his side gently holding Nami's hand. His eyes were still puffy and red with tears, but his chin was held high, and that noted a significant change from the night before.

Standing on her other side were Robin, Usopp, and Chopper, all choosing to attend in support of Sanji as well, each with their heads bowed and hands folded, silently thanking the departed woman in their own way for saving their friend.

Tashigi stood at the crowd's edge showcasing a black band around the arm of her navy uniform in recognition of a fallen ally. She was the only marine to attend amongst the crowd of pirates.

Ink and Etain walked forward towards the pyre at the center of the half-circle of onlookers each carrying a lit torch.

Ink paused a moment before clearing his throat.

"Today, we honor the heroic actions of our fallen brothers and sisters. Every one of them lived free in accordance with their own values, and every battle they engaged in was of a just cause. What they all had in common was they chose to follow the same woman. Our noble captain, Marion Colfax. She had the ability to help us each summon the strength within us we didn't even know we possessed. A leader who never raised the anchor until every member of her crew was safe and accounted for. A mentor whose willpower not even the fiercest storm could overcome. There will never be another Black Clover as courageous and as mighty as her."

Etain rested her hand upon the body's shoulder.

"Marion once told me there was no reason to be a pirate if you couldn't find a reason to celebrate every moment you spent upon the sea. She was an old soul, wise beyond her years, and determine to make everyone around her love life as much as she did. She sought to make the world a better place and always give as much as she gained. Whenever our flag is caught in the wind as we sail towards the sunrise, I'll remember the gleam in her eye and her exuberant laughter, and I'll remind myself to celebrate the moment."

She bent down and kissed the section of sheet over Marion's forehead.

"You were the best of us, Marion. May we forever carry with us the virtues you so easily demonstrated, and may your name never be forgotten."

The two pirates lowered the torches slowly upon the pyre, and the harsh scent of scorched wood and smoke invaded Nami's senses as the woodpile caught fire.

"To the Captain!" A pirate at the back raised his arm and cried out.

All the Clovers responded immediately with a bellow of mournful cheering.

Sanji didn't blink as the smoke grew thicker but kept his eyes upon the body of his oldest friend while the flames rose higher.

After several minutes of silence, Tashigi came forward to stand beside them.

"Marion chose to confront a problem that she didn't create and that anyone else would probably have run from. When she contacted me, she didn't demand terms or try to win any favor with the Navy. She never thought about helping herself. She was only ever thinking of the lives she could save. If every pirate were like her, there would be no need for Marines."

Sanji gave a quick nod of appreciation and Nami smiled back at the bespeckled woman.

"Most other navy officers probably would have ignored her, or worse, arrested her on the spot, but you recognized her for who she was. As far as capturing Rameses, you were every bit as crucial as she was."

Tashigi gave a modest smirk. "Thanks, but it's not over until he arrives at Impel Down."

She turned to look at Ink and Etain. "The Navy has granted you clemency for the time being. What will you do now?"

Etain bit her lip. "Drink like heathens until we all pass out. Then we'll hold a vote as to who will carry on the mantle of captain in her name."

"Aren't you already the captain of the Kraken's Fang?" Tashigi asked.

"Only because Marion was in command of the fleet. Now that there's just the one ship left, our crew has the right to make their own choice as to who to lead them next."

"What about you?" Nami asked Tashigi.

"I have to report back to Naval Headquarters to give my report with Smoker. With any luck we can persuade the Admirals to give Vice Admiral Garp the command of capturing the Straw Hats and bringing them in to stand trial for Enies Lobby. I'm assuming he'd be the most likely to persuade you all to come quietly?"

"You'll have to find us first." Nami winked.

"We will." Tashigi raised a confident eyebrow.

Robin chose that moment to timidly step forward and hold out her hand to Tashigi.

"I'm sorry about Alabasta. You're right, I have done terrible things in the past, but I hope you believe me when I say that now I'm with people who are helping me make amends for those transgressions. I have so many enemies out there already, I'd very much like to not count you among them anymore."

The marine adjusted her glasses and gave Robin a hard, cynical look before slowly raising her own hand to shake hers.

"I know what happened at Ohara, Robin. It was indefensible. I don't blame you for your fury, but if you can really find it within yourself to forgive at least some of us, I'd say we're more fortunate than we deserve."

Robin gave her a sad smile. "A precious few of you."

"Then I'm twice as fortunate." Tashigi nodded back.

Luffy and Zoro sat with Smoker further up the beach, observing the funeral from afar.

"So Spandam and CP9 were only ever after the plans to this supposed superweapon? That's news to me. That's why this Cutty Flam guy was involved?" Smoker growled as he stroked his chin.

Zoro nodded. He had recounted to the best of his ability the exact circumstances that had led to the Straw Hats arriving at Enies Lobby and what had transpired as they attempted to rescue Robin.

"But he destroyed the plans?" Smoker asked.

"He burned them. Afterwards he left Water Seven and went into hiding. He knew the Navy might send others after him regardless."

"Perhaps. Rob Lucci is still alive after all." Smoker commented.

Luffy's head shot up from where he had been reclining it upon his arms in shock and rage.

"What? Where is he?"

"I don't know, but I wouldn't tell you if I did." Smoker glowered as he chewed his cigars.

"You're insane if you think the Navy can control him." Zoro looked Smoker directly in the eye, daring him to contradict him. "He's a loose cannon. If left to his own devices more marines are going to get killed."

"CP9 has been disbanded, but I don't doubt what you say. Spandam was a callous, incompetent buffoon and I never had any doubt Lucci only pretended to serve him because he was easy to manipulate."

He exhaled a large cloud of smoke. "The problem is, even if I believe everything you say, I'm not the one you have to convince. I have my orders, and the longer you choose to run the more likely some or all of you will end up dead. Lucci is hardly the worst the Navy can throw at you. I'm giving you one more chance. Follow me back to Navy Headquarters under a white flag. No shackles, no cells, and I promise you'll be given a fair hearing. You just bought yourself some goodwill with the Navy. I'd advise you not to squander it."

"Not a chance." Luffy rested his head back on his arms again. "I'm going to find the One Piece and become king of the pirates. We don't have to answer to the Navy and hope they accept what we did. Especially when we already know it was the right thing to do."

"Think about your crew." Smoker pushed. "Do you really want to see Nico Robin and your navigator hauled away in chains? That reindeer thing caged up in some prison where he'll never be able to treat anyone again?"

"Smokey, I don't care what you do. For as long as I live, that will never happen to any member of my crew." Luffy lowered his hat over his eyes. "If you come for us, we'll fight you, and we'll win. If anyone else comes for us, we'll fight them, and we'll win. We beat Crocodile. We beat Enel. We beat Lucci. And we beat Rameses. I'm not worried."

"And each time people got hurt." Smoker countered. "How long until one of your own winds up on a funeral pyre? I'm trying to help you avoid that."

Luffy didn't respond. Zoro wondered if he had fallen asleep.

"We'll take our chances." The swordsman grimaced as he stood up. "But do me a favor. I know you'll have to send someone after us, so please humor me and make it Shu."

Smoker gave Zoro a long, bitterly cold glare. "I almost admire you Roronoa Zoro."

"Same." The young man replied. "So here's hoping we don't meet again."

Smoker's transponder snail began to warble.

Sanji sat upon the sand with Ink and toasted Marion again with a hearty brown ale. He fingered the silver anchor charm that had once hung in her hair again before tucking it safely into his suit jacket.

"Our cook only knows how to cook fish and make soup." Ink chuckled. "Marion found him in a navy stockade listing ingredients out loud for chowder. More often than not the Black Clovers just drink their meals."

"What a waste." Sanji shook his head as Nami walked over to him across the beach. She had changed back into her usual shorts and t-shirt, and her short orange hair was catching the breeze as if it was dancing. The young chef felt a surge of passionate affection begin to stir in his loins as he watched her approach. It was the first time the familiar feeling of desire had awoken within him since Marion had died, and while part of him still felt broken, another part of him was beginning to remember how lucky he was to still have his place amongst the Straw Hats.

Nami was such a beautiful woman after all…

"Hey there." She greeted him as she sat down. "The day is getting on. We have to set sail before noon. Are you going to be much longer? I didn't mention it before, but Robin and I have some new swimsuits we'd love to do some sunbathing in. You know of anyone who'd be willing to make us some drinks?"

"Lucky bastard." Ink muttered as he raised his mug of beer to his lips again.

Sanji smirked and stood up eagerly, holding out his good arm for Nami to take.

"My lady, please let me escort you back to the ship and I'll prepare the sunscreen."

"INK!" Etain suddenly called furiously from across the beach.

Sanji and Nami paused as the black-haired pirate stood and tore back towards the Kraken's Fang, nearly colliding with Tashigi as she made her way towards them.

"What's going on?" Sanji asked as she reached them and caught her breath.

"Smoker just got word on the transponder snail. There was a distress call from Iro's ship. Rameses somehow broke free."

Sanji's face contorted in rage as a red-hot fury of a thousand suns shot through his veins. He remembered the quill that had impaled Marion's chest and how the warmth had slowly left her body as he collapsed upon the sand with her in his arms.

Rameses could never be allowed to breathe free air again. Not as long as he could still launch a kick.

"The Clovers are setting sail immediately to intercept. Etain wants him dead." The young woman continued.

"What about the marines?" Nami asked.

Tashigi shook her head. "We have too many wounded aboard. Smoker has been ordered to return to Navy Headquarters. They're sending someone else to assist Iro."

"They'll never get there in time." Sanji snarled. "They'll get away, and then he'll kill someone else. She'll have died for nothing."

Sanji turned to look Nami in the eye, but she cut him off before he could speak, her eyes wide and terrified.

"Let's find the others and get back to the ship and we can follow the Clovers. We'll find him together, Sanji."

He knew as soon as she spoke the words that she was only saying them to prevent him from doing what he knew he had to do. His crew had been in the line of fire once, and however inadvertently, he had put them there. He wasn't going to allow that to happen a second time. He was not going to let anyone else die because of him.

He slowly raised Nami's hand to his lips and kissed the back of her knuckles.

"Sanji…." She pleaded as if sensing what was about to happen. "Don't!"

"I'm sorry." He whispered as he slipped the Log Pose delicately off her wrist and sprinted in the direction of the remaining Black Clover ship.

"SANJI!" She screamed after him.

Sanji tore across the beach, his eyes set on the departing ship refusing to look back at her, convinced that seeing the pain in her eyes would cause him to lose his nerve.

He stumbled as he suddenly felt one of Robin's cloned arms erupt from the sand beneath him and make a grab at his legs. He wrenched his bandaged arm up over his shoulder and discarded the sling. Leaping forward he pivoted off his hands and dodged two more attempts Robin made to trip him. He cartwheeled back upright and made a running leap across the shallows as he heard Luffy cry out.

"Gomu Gomu no… Lasso!"

He felt Luffy's elastic arm cut the air behind him and nearly encircle his waist before he pivoted in midair, kicked himself off the surface of the water, and landed expertly on one knee in the middle of the deck of the Kraken's Fang.

Etain drew her sword and pointed it under his chin as he stood.

"Let's go get him…" Sanji hissed.

Nami and Tashigi tore across the beach after Sanji, but the ship was already leaving the bay by the time they reached the waterline.

"How could you not grab hold of him?" Nami shouted at Luffy as Robin and Chopper rushed towards them.

Luffy's face was twisted in wrath as he roared a furious expletive after Sanji in the departing ship.

"We have to go after them!" Nami cried out in desperation.

"By the time we get underway, they'll be at the horizon." Robin pointed out grimly.

"We can't let him leave like this again!" Nami felt rage and fear clash together in a frenzied storm of panic inside her. "If we lose sight of them, we'll never find them again!"

Tashigi spoke up.

"We may not know where Iro's ship is, but if Rameses is free, I know where he'll likely be heading." She turned to Smoker. "Sir, what did you say Rameses told you?"

Smoker huffed. "He said he was coming for what was his."

"They're going to the Port of Damocles," Tashigi reported. "The birthplace of the Black Clovers and the haven Rameses built after resigning his position in the Navy."

"How do we get there? He took the Log Pose!" Nami pointed out.

"I know how to get there," Tashigi answered and glanced at Luffy. "I can take you there if you'll have me aboard."

Luffy hesitated, still staring out in rage across the water at the Black Clover ship, his fists clenched at his sides hard enough to break iron.

"Luffy!" Nami cried out with impatience.

"Let's go then." The young man hissed through his clenched teeth. "We're leaving now."

Tashigi paused and took a deep breath before addressing Smoker. "Sir, I request permission-"

"Granted." Smoker cut her off. "Go get that mutated bastard."

The towering marine glanced down at Luffy and Zoro. "If anything happens to her, I won't rest until I've found you both and mounted your heads upon my foredeck. You bring her back alive and unharmed."

"We will, but not for you," Zoro muttered a response.

"Let's move!" Nami ordered them as she took off running towards their ship. Robin, Chopper, and Tashigi close behind. Luffy and Smoker exchanged one last incredulous look before he followed them with Zoro at his heels.

Smoker's brow furrowed as he made his way towards the Navy vessel. The one thing that concerned him more than Rameses' escape was how exactly it could have happened, given who had been stationed on board to safeguard him.

If Rameses had broken free of his restraints, he hadn't done it without help. That meant of the handful of people he had trusted, all of them were now either dead or standing alongside the brute.

He hoped they were dead.

Usopp already had the sails up as they clambered aboard and raised the anchor.

"Where's your map room?" Tashigi asked.

"Follow me!" Nami took her arm and practically dragged her up the stairs.

Zoro looked over at his captain. "Just so I'm clear, are we going after Eyebrows or Rameses?"

"Both," Luffy responded. "Sanji's not going to stop until that scarecrow guy is put down for good, so let's make sure he stays down this time. Then I'm going to kick Sanji's ass until he forgets his own name."

"I'll help," Zoro responded.

Robin exhaled a deep breath as she watched the Kraken's Fang ship begin to disappear out on the horizon, knowing deep down she could have ensnared Sanji upon the beach had she really wanted to, but something inside her had been reluctant, as if her attempting to stop him would have caused more harm than good, and would have resulted in them having to treat him like a prisoner on their own ship. Who were they to stop him when they could just as easily stand beside him?

She glanced over at Luffy, suddenly convinced that despite their captain's outward rage, he had been thinking the exact same thing.

Sanji, Ink, and Etain stood aboard the forward deck, staring out into the endless blue of the sea before them, the wind at their backs, the sun on their faces.

"They won't make it far in a stolen Navy ship. It attracts too much attention." Ink pointed out. "They'll have to regroup first. That will cost them time."

"Let's hope so," Sanji responded as he lit a new cigarette.

Etain finished counting all the slips of paper she had been carrying inside her hat.

"Not even close." She stated sourly as she crumpled up the ballots and tossed them over the side. "Blackfoot Sanji, as of now, you are the Acting Captain of the Kraken's Fang."

"It will be a short-term appointment." He assured her as he exhaled a plume of wispy smoke.

"You're damn right it will be, Straw Hat." The foxtail pirate replied and crossed her arms. "Marion never believed in anyone as much as she believed in you. You'd better prove to us she wasn't wrong. Show us why you deserve to stand in her shadow."

"I deserve nothing," Sanji replied. "No one will ever stand as tall as she did, but if I can do one thing in her name, it will be to finally rid the Grand Line of this scourge. And to become the man she always believed I could be."

He fastened the silver anchor charm to a string and slipped it over his neck so it hung above his heart, it's polished surface shining like a newborn star.

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