One day as the crew was continuing their journey, they bumped into a familiar face sailing alone in a ship, non-other than Ivankov Himself. He was traveling on revolutionary business but saw the Sunny in the distance and decided to make a quick visit to his Imple Down savior. Luffy crowed with joy upon seeing his friend and immediately invited him on board and demanded a feast to Celebrate their unexpected guest.

While in the kitchen cooking, Sanji's heart clenched as he remembered his last encounter with the Newkama Queen, where he had been deeply offended by Ivankov's association with the Okama. He sighed and looked out his kitchens window, observing as Zulu interacted with the Newkama, a large smile spreading over his thin face.

Sanji had never seen him look more in his element than he did with the revolutionary. Shame blossomed in his chest at how he had treated people like him before they had met, the disgust at the way of life they led, angered by feeling "tricked" by their feminine presentations of themselves.

Socked he found himself locking eye with Ivankov, suddenly he realized he had been staring and caught the attention of the large man. With a wicked grin the Newkama sashayed over, winked in the window, and welcomed himself into the kitchen with Zulu following like a puppy.

"Ah, Sanji! Candy boy! Long time so see," Ivankov purred with a wide grin.

Sanji felt a blush creeping up his neck. "Iva, what are you doing here? I would have thought you had better things to do, on deck, with the captain." he asked, pointedly and yet trying to sound nonchalant.

Leaning against the counter and checking his sharp nails Iva replied "Oh, I was just passing through the ship and thought I'd say hello to an old . . . acquaintance," then with a sly wink he added, "So, have you finally found yourself a nice boyfriend or are you still chasing after the ladies?"

Sanji's face turned red. "Wa... uh... ummm." he sputtered unable to comprehend what the man had just asked. He looked over at Zulu for support only to find a similarly red face and curious bugging eyes. "I... uh... well, I haven't really had the chance to meet anyone new," he stammered, feeling awkward.

With horror Sanji watched as Ivankov rolled his eyes over to look at Zulu and then back to him, the large grin never leaving his face. "Yeehaw! is that so?" His grin turned more mischievous, relishing Sanji's discomfort. "Well, it seems to ME like our little candy boy might have finally found someone special," he chuckled, giving Zulu a playful wink.

Zulu who had been listening intently, and pretending not to, coughed into his fist in shock at being implied at by the larger man. "Excuse me?" he squeaked, face turning red from confusion and embarrassment.

Leaning closer to Sanji and fixing him with a calculating stare, smile still in place, he replied, "Oh don't worry my dear, I was just testing. You see our little candy boy here used to be a bit … shall we say, closed minded about certain things, but…" his eyes flickered between the two men now awkwardly stuck in his company, "I think he's finally seeing the light, Yeehaw!" He finished with a laugh.

Sanji scowled. "Ivankov, I swear to -"

Zulu interrupted him, raising his hands in a non-confrontational manner. "It's alright Sanji. I already know what he's talking about," he said with a small smile.

Sanji looked at Zulu, surprised. "You do?" he asked, feeling a mixture of shame and embarrassment.

Zulu nodded. "I've lived a life that's made me quite perceptive when it comes to these things. And besides, it wasn't exactly a secret that you were uncomfortable with me when I first joined the crew." he said, gaze softening.

Sanji felt sadness spread across his heart at the accepting expression on his crewmates face. "Zulu … I—" he started to say but was interrupted by the sound of running footsteps.

The door to the kitchen burst open, startling the men inside. "What are you doing!?" Nami yelled panicked "Didn't you hear Ussop!? there's a marine ship coming in fast off of port, get you asses out on deck and help get ready to fight!"

They rushed out onto the deck, into pure chaos. Cannons were exploding in the air and Ussop and Chopper were running about panicking. The Navy ship was fast and was already close enough that marines were jump off of their ship, and attacking the crew on the deck of the Sunny.

They fought hard but the numbers of the marines overwhelmed them, and they had to be extra careful to not hurt the Sunny while they fought. Due to the restrictions of the battle they ended up separated and fighting on their own.

As the battle raged on, Zulu was stuck in the thick of it. He had transformed into his puppet form and was controlling the planks on deck to attack the enemy. Suddenly, one of the Marines attacked him with a flaming sword and pierced him straight into his back, setting him on fire.

Zulu's wooden form was quickly engulfed in flames, causing him to scream out in agony. Time seemed to slow as the crew processed what was happening. Sanji felt a surge of panic as he saw the flames eating away at Zulu's body. He heard a laugh and turned, enraged, to the man that had set his friend on fire. He couldn't help but feel protective.

"You Scum! I won't forgive you!" he shouted.

While Sanji attacked the upcoming enemy the rest of the crew sprang into action, desperately trying to find a way to extinguish the flames and protect their Nakama. Nami, thinking quickly pulled out and prepared her Clima-Tact and created a downpour of thundering rain to douse the flames.

Running over, Chopper started pulling out his medical supplies. "Zulu! Are you okay?!" He asked, concern etched on his face.

Zulu winced in pain as chopper examined his injuries. "I'll be okay, Chopper. Thank you for your help," he said weakly.

Meanwhile, Chopper frantically searched through his supplies, looking for anything that could help with the burns. Finally, he found a special oil ointment that he had been saving for emergencies just like this. He quickly applied it to Zulu's wooden body, hoping that it would help ease the pain and rehydrate his charred body.

Knowing He was in good hands, the crew continued the fight, with Sanji fighting even harder than before, determined to protect Zulu at all costs.

As he fought viciously, he noticed Ivankov looking over at him with an inquisitive and contemplative look. Gritting his teeth, he ignored the Queen and continued his fight. He couldn't help but feel guilty for not being able to protect Zulu. He has always prided himself on his ability to protect the woman on the crew, but he had never felt this way about a man before. His emotions had been all over the place after the confrontation with Ivankov and he had allowed himself to get distracted with his own emotions rather than focus on the fight. He felt conflicted, but he knew that he couldn't let anyone else hurt Zulu.

Once the battle came to a close, they all breathed a sigh of relief that the enemy was retreating. It was long and exhausting, but they had won.

"Wait no! You shouldn't be getting up Yet!" Choppers panicked voice rang out.

"Oh hush you," Zulu's soft voice could barley be heard replying, "I should be helping clean up after sitting out the last part of the battle."

They all turned to Zulu, concerned. Horrified, they realized his Puppet form was covered in ash, as most of his long hair had been burned down to a short bob, and the majority of his body was becoming splintered by the dryness of his wood. He gave them a pained smile and tried to step forward, but with a loud cracking sound his left calf splintered and broke into itself relieving the burnt out husk of his inner leg, and sent him tumbling back to the ground.

Sanji, who was closest, was the first to react. He ran forward and caught Zulu's falling body, cradling him in his arms. Zulu looked up at Sanji with a mixture of surprise and gratitude. "Thank you, Sanji." He expressed; his voice weak but filled with emotion.

Sanji looked down to face Zulu, his heart pounding in his chest. "Zulu, I … I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get hurt. I was already so flustered from Iva's confrontation, and I got distracted during battle. I, … I won't let that happen again" He confessed, his voice barely above a whisper.

Zulu smiled weakly. "I know Sanji, I know" he said, before falling unconscious from his injuries.

Slowly Zulu's wooden body began to transform back into his human form, revealing the extent of the burns on his skin. Chopper quickly rushed back over to examine the injuries, but it was clear despite his early treatment of the wood that the burns were severe. He applied more of the ointment to Zulu's burns and wrapped him in bandages to protect his skin from further damage.

With the help of Ivankov they were able to transfer his body into the med bay without disturbing his injuries any further. Unfortunately, Zulu's leg couldn't be saved and would have to be amputated.

The crew was somber knowing that Zulu would be devastated by the loss of his leg, but Sanji was particularly shaken. He had only just started to figure out his feelings for Zulu, and now he felt as though he lost his chance to tell him the truth. He couldn't get the image of Zulu's flaming body out of his mind, the pain in his eyes as he screamed, the smell of his burning wood, the ash that covered his body after.

As Sanji worriedly paced around the Sunny he happened pass by Robin. "Is something on your mind Sanji?" she asked gently.

Sanji sighed and shook is head, "I'm just thinking about something."

Tilting her head she inquired, "Is it about Zulu?"

Sanji's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know?"

Robin chuckled softly "We've all been observing the interactions between you two. It's obvious."

Sanji rubbed his temples and groaned in frustration. He turned to leave, not wanting to carry on with the conversation any longer. As he walked out the door, he heard and gentle and kind "Love knows no boundaries, Sanji. Don't waste your chance of happiness."

It was Ivankov who met with him on the deck of the ship that night. "Don't," Sanji started but was quickly interrupted.

"I don't have to," Iva lifted a glass of wine up to his lips and took a long sip. "The points already been made hasn't it?" He sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back against the rail.

Sanji didn't respond. He only looked down at his feet, blond hair obscuring his eyes as he let the ashes of his cigarette burn away. Slowly tears started to fall to the ground. If he saw, Ivankov kindly chose not to comment.