Chapter 7

As usual

"There you have different types of sea bait," Lily showed them.

Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, Brook and Sanji bent down to the huge briefcase lying on the sand and the captain grabbed a jar full of worms, his eyes shining with excitement. "They're huge!" He raved as the blond couldn't help but grimace.

"Natural bait is always the best," Lily agreed. "These are versatile sea worms, they can be used on a wide variety of fish, which is very useful on the All Blue."

After they had lunch at the young fisherwoman's house, the straw hat crew separated into two groups. The first went towards the beach with the young woman, curious to know the diversity of her fishing methods on an ocean with resources as diverse as those of All Blue. Usopp in particular was eager to improve his own techniques. Meanwhile, the second group consisting of Nami, Robin, Zoro and Franky took Liam to the Sunny to show it to him but also to continue their discussion about the mysterious doors he had told them about.

For his part, although interested in both subjects, the cook had quickly decided to follow the beautiful Lily.

"Do you have different worms for each type of fish?" The sniper inquired, discovering other jars.

The dark-haired woman nodded and grabbed two more. "For sparidae, predators and flatfish."

"What about shellfish, do you use them?" He asked again.

"Yes, it's very effective but I use two hooks for fishing crab. It avoids the risk of unhooking."

"Very ingenious," The sniper approved.

"What is this?" Brook wondered, pointing to a small fish a few centimeters long with two hooks in one of the cupboards.

"It's a fishing lure but I don't use it anymore," Lily answered. "It was when my family owned a boat, we used to troll. Now, I practically only use inshore fishing."

"What is it about?" Sanji inquired, looking at the different multicolored hooks.

"Inshore fishing consists in fishing from the littorals," The young woman explained. "There's surf casting where the bait is propelled directly into the waves and fly fishing which is practiced with a very flexible rod."

"Which is the best?" Chopper asked her curiously.

"Both are interesting, it mainly depends on what you want to catch. I also go spearfishing to pick up certain fish or molluscs by hand and I collect seaweed and shells on the beach."

"This equipment is magnificent!" Usopp got enthused when discovering new reels.

"Sanji, I wanna eat salmon!" His captain suddenly exclaimed, handing him a jar of huge swarming worms. The blond pushed it away, wrinkling his nose. He lit a cigarette but his crewmates insisted in turn, delighted by the straw hat boy's idea.

"Salmon papillotes!" Brook drooled.

"Salmon terrine!" Chopper begged.

"Roasted salmon!" Usopp dreamed.

"Calm down, you gluttons," Their friend cut them short, dragging on his cigarette butt. "Salmon are often caught in the river and the wild population is in constant decline so I know we're on the All Blue but I don't know how much there is."

"Salmon is rarer but with a little patience, we can find some," Lily affirmed.

At these words, Luffy immediately returned his attention to his cook, his eyes pleading, and Sanji couldn't help but smile. "Okay, you rubber. Catch me some salmon and I'll serve them char-grilled tonight."

"Great!" The captain roared, drunk with joy. "You'll see, Sanji's the best cook in the world!" He added passionately for the benefit of Lily.

"That's quite a title and he seems very convinced," The fisherwoman got amused, turning to the blond who began to blush.

"It's true, Sanji's food is always delicious!" Chopper approved.

"And perfectly balanced!" Brook added.

Usopp then walked towards his friend to put his arm around his shoulders like he was upset. "There's only one problem: Sanji's cooking is so good that we can't eat anything else afterwards. We're doomed!"

"Oh, I see, it really is annoying," The young woman giggled.

As the sniper was about to add something, the blond nudged him to push him away. He loved to be praised about his cooking and he usually didn't miss an opportunity to become intoxicated with compliments but right now, in front of Lily, he didn't want to look boastful when she had never tasted his dishes.

"Don't overdo it, that's not why you'll get more salmon," He grumbled.

Seeing his embarrassment, the young woman smiled again before bending down to her briefcase with determination. "Since you need salmon, you need to use fly fishing!" She took out several artificial flies. Usopp, Brook, Chopper and Luffy rushed to choose one and Lily gave them suitable reels which she mounted on rods. "Be careful, it's kind of a sport fishing," She warned, handing them their rods a few moments later. "Salmon can struggle fiercely."

"It's true, these things defend themselves," Usopp sighed.

"Great, we're gonna swim!" Luffy got enthused, brandishing his rod.

"I'm gonna put on my armbands then!" Chopper decided, rummaging through his little bag.

"Fortunately, I packed my swimsuit!" Brook rejoiced in turn.

"Wait a minute."

Everyone froze at the cook's sudden imperious tone. He had regained his composure and they slowly turned to him, attentive. "You'd better listen to what Lily is telling you," He seriously threatened them, puffing his smoke, "If I learn that you gave her a hard time, there'll be no salmon for you. Got it?"

Chopper, Usopp and Brook nodded gravely and the blond pressed in the direction of his captain who gave him a huge innocent smile in return. Shaking his head, Sanji finally turned to the young woman who had prepared his own fishing rod. "My sweet Lily, so that you can judge my cooking, you're of course invited tonight!" He cooed in a low voice and flirtatious glance. "Your opinion more than anyone else's will be my true reward!"

"I am happy to accept!" The young woman replied, smiling broadly.

The cook bowed to her and Lily stifled a small laugh. She had quickly learned not to be surprised by his seductive attitude towards the fairer sex.

"Perfect!" The cook exclaimed. "I'm gonna tell Nami-san and Robin-chan then!"

As he walked briskly toward the Sunny, Chopper called out to him. "Hey, Sanji! Don't forget to tell Franky, Zoro and Liam about it too!"

From behind, the blond just shrugged while continuing walking, his cigarette butt on the corner of his lips. "I'll see if I have time."


On the ship of the straw hat crew, the discussion was flowing between the archaeologist, the navigator and the scientist seated around a table on the deck. For his part, the shipwright had gone to check the condition of his ship's hull, which he hadn't fully inspected after the terrible storm they had been through. As for the swordsman, at the other end of the table, he was snoring in his chair since he had sat down a good hour earlier.

"I read a lot about underwater acoustics to study the propagation of sound in water and the interaction of sound waves in different environments," Liam said, giving a book to Robin.

"Do you have a theory on the functioning of these waves in the form of a door?" The archaeologist inquired, looking over the summary.

"To tell you the truth, I found a research hypothesis in theoretical acoustics," The dark-haired man admitted, pointing to another book. "It derives from the classical wave theory concerning the propagation of waves. Depending on the environment, the sound wave doesn't react in the same way."

"So you think the doors aren't ordinary matter and the waves behave differently here," The young woman guessed.

"Exactly," Liam confirmed, "This would be the simplest and most logical explanation. Light has time transport properties due to its speed, so maybe sound has its own characteristics."

"Tell me, Liam, aren't the disappearances reported off Vorgo island due to the door?" Nami suddenly interrupted them.

"It's likely," The young man replied, turning to her, "Many ships have had this island as their destination or starting point before turning up here. It was my case."

The navigator showed him the book that Robin had given her two days before and pointed to the chapter she was reading. "In this book, the authors argue that weather phenomena are at work in those disappearances. They have observed changes in the atmospheric composition of the land above the island but they attribute it to natural elements such as lightning or volcanic emissions. However, this island has a very particular autumnal climate with a significant frequency of atypical phenomena, even for the Grand Line. Could sound be the cause?"

Liam took a few moments to think as he chewed on his toothpick. "I never thought of it that way but acoustics has been shown to have implications for atmospheric science…" At that thought, he sat up excitedly in his chair. "It'd be really interesting to cross-check my data with those of meteorology!"

Nami smiled back, equally playful and determined. "That's also what I think. The cross-research from these two disciplines is largely under-exploited and I'll work to change the situation."

"Nami-san, Robin-chan, I invite you to a superb dinner tonight! Salmon grilled on pine wood and rice with seasonal vegetables!"

The three young people turned to the beaming cook whirling in their direction. Sanji had obviously gone into his galley first since he gave two orange cocktails to his goddesses before glancing at Liam. "You can come too if you want."

"Uh, thanks."

Sanji shrugged and gave him a drink whose bluish liquid intrigued the scientist. "It's curaçao mixed with banana and coconut juice," The blond said, setting down a glass of cola in anticipation of Franky's return.

Liam nodded, grabbing his glass, and the cook's attention went to the last drink on his tray. He then noticed that the one he was looking for was sleeping with his mouth open on the other side of the table and he approached quickly to launch his foot in his head.

"Don't drool on deck, cactus face, make yourself useful!" He barked at his companion while slamming his drink against the wood of the table.

Zoro opened a grumpy eye and stared at the intruder. "I prefer when you lose it in front of the All Blue," He growled before getting up quickly to better avoid the next blow.

"Shut up, you spoiled mosshead!" The blond snapped, trying to knock him out again. "If you wanna eat tonight, you better get moving, the salmon won't catch itself!"

Zoro crossed two of his swords in front of him to fend off the cook's new attack then launched them at his companion's shoe who was fuming before him. The fencer then shifted to the side and his swords grazed the cook's chest, who suddenly lowered himself to escape him.

As Nami had picked up her book and quietly continued to turn the pages, Robin chuckled at the dumbfounded gaze of the dark-haired man.

"It looks like they… don't get along very well," Liam said, seeing them throw themselves against each other again.

"It's just their way of reminding one that the other exists," The archaeologist disabused him with a smile.

"Really?" The young man wondered while Zoro was now twirling his blades above the blond's head. "It seems… like a dangerous way to do it," He added, grimacing when the swordsman fell down because Sanji had hit the fencer's ankles.

"Don't worry about them, it won't last," Nami evaded without taking her eyes off her page. They'll find a quiet corner in no time."

"A quiet corner?"

Seeing their new friend's incomprehension, Robin chuckled again and Nami shrugged. "You'll see."


"I got one!" Chopper exclaimed happily.

"Hurry up, pull it up!" Luffy immediately begged him.

"Don't let go!" Usopp warned him.

"It'll be our tenth salmon!" Brook got enthused.

"It struggles a lot," The little reindeer winced, bracing himself against his fishing rod.

"You struck the fish, hold on!" Lily encouraged him.

The boys had moved towards the rocks on the advice of the young woman. Indeed, at this place hidden by the shadows of half-submerged stones, there were many fish. This is how several salmon had been caught quickly and then put in a large bucket not far from them. Nevertheless, this salmon was clearly giving the little doctor a hard time, as he was now holding his fishing rod with all his might. Surprised, Luffy wasn't long in letting go of his own fishing rod and clinging to his friend to pull him back.

Strangely though, the fish still resisted them and Lily frowned. "Maybe it's not a salmon, be careful-"

A huge churning of sea water abruptly cut her short and the stunned group saw a gigantic black and white Sea King over fifteen meters tall appear. A blue crest adorned the top of its head and neck but the most impressive was undoubtedly its jaw with terrible sharp teeth. While the line of Chopper's rod unrolled at full speed, everyone could observe the remains of a salmon in its mouth which it was finishing chewing.

Luffy shook his fist, outraged. "You thief! This salmon was ours!"

As if to answer him, the giant fish pulled violently on the hook that the salmon had swallowed, causing the reindeer and captain to tip forward, still clinging to the rod. Helpless, their three other companions watched them fall into the sea with a cry of horror as the Sea King dived back below the surface, its mass sending up huge waves that hit those still on the ground with full force.

They got up as quickly as possible to search the ocean, looking for their friends, dripping with sea water and eyes wide with terror.

"They're gonna be eaten!" The sniper panicked.

"I see Chopper!" Brook exclaimed, pointing a skeletal finger at the rough water.

A little further, the armbands of the little reindeer were indeed keeping him on the surface but the ocean depriving him of strength, he was unable to swim towards them. Lily then noticed new eddies on the surface. "There's something else down there… Where's Luffy?" She was worried.

"He sank like a stone!" The skeleton panicked.

"What the hell is that?"

Totally terrified, Usopp saw two other Sea Kings appear a few meters away from Chopper. Although smaller than the first, they looked suspiciously like it and reached over five meters high. Brook and Lily shivered.

"They won't be able to do it alone," The young woman got alarmed, biting her lips.

The sniper took a deep breath and aimed his slingshot at his enemies. He had to react immediately. "Super Smoke Star!" A gas escaped at the level of the two monsters, disturbing their sight and sense of smell, and thus diverting them from the reindeer who was still floating not far from them. On the beach, the gunner wasted no time. "Brook, cover me, I'll get Luffy!"

Without waiting for his answer, he dropped his weapon and dived into the ocean while his friend positioned his sword to take over with determination.

"Aubade Coup Droit!" A blast of compressed air cut through the gas and hit the two monsters before they had time to see the blow coming. The wall of fire from the attack pushed them back a little further and Lily stood up next to the musician.

"I'll get Chopper," She decided, pulling off her boots.

"What?!" The skeleton got alarmed.

"I know the seabed perfectly; I won't be long!"

The dark-haired woman dived in a flash towards the doctor and Brook tore his hair in horror. He then rushed towards the sand to prepare to fight the two Sea Kings who were about to attack again. It was his duty to protect all his friends now.


"What the hell is going on?"

Franky, Robin, Nami, Zoro, Liam and Sanji had rushed towards the beach as soon as they saw the huge figure of the Sea King rising on the ocean. Even at this distance on the Sunny, no one had missed her and the cook's gruff voice tinged with anguish was reflecting their state of mind.

Brook pointed to the ocean with a shaky finger. "A Sea King came out of nowhere, it knocked Chopper and Luffy down into the water and then the other two appeared!"

"What a nightmare, they replicate," Nami grimaced.

"They must have come through the door, it happens," Liam replied in a strained voice.

"Where are Usopp and Lily?" Franky asked, frowning.

"They dived to get them!" Brook lamented.

"What?! My sweet Lily threw herself into the sea while Sea Kings are swimming in it?!" The cook angrily unbuttoned his jacket and spat out his cigarette butt. "If anything happens to her, I'm gonna kill those motherfuckers!"

He was about to throw his shoes on the sand when Zoro stopped him with a gesture of his hand, his eyes fixed on the ocean. "Look at the water."

The blond followed his gaze and saw that a large current was created in front of them, against the direction of the ebb of the sea.

"It's the big one, it's coming back!" The musician panicked.

At that moment, Lily emerged from the waves on the right, holding the body of the little reindeer who was coughing loudly against her.

"Lily, don't go that way!" Liam immediately shouted, extending his arm to show her the danger. The young woman understood the message and began to swim away. Unfortunately, the two little Sea Kings spotted her and rushed towards her.

"I'll take care of it. Cuatro Manos!"

Robin closed her eyes and multiple hands sprang like a rope above the sea to the young woman who clung to them. The archaeologist then pulled her towards the beach at full speed, the beasts' jaws snapping in the void behind her and Lily reached the beach by a hair. Liam and Brook rushed to help her and Chopper get away while the two animals were hissing at their prey escaping where they couldn't follow.

"The other motherfucker ain't far away," Franky muttered when he saw the sea getting rougher again. The huge Sea King soon emerged from the waves and rose above the surface to better observe them, its fangs dripping.

"It's gigantic!" Nami got scared, taking a step back.

Near the water, Zoro drew his swords and Sanji cocked his right foot.

"What the hell is he doing, that long-nosed idiot," The swordsman muttered, never taking his eyes off the monster.

"I think I see him!" Franky exclaimed. Indeed, a little further towards the rocks, Usopp had finally emerged again, visibly out of breath. He was struggling valiantly not to let go of his unconscious captain's body and he tried to hoist him on to the nearest rock.

"Move away, Usopp!" The cook yelled.

The sniper turned to see the three Sea Kings meandering in his direction. Distraught, he tried to push Luffy's body a little harder towards the stones, to no avail. He was totally exhausted.

Franky then pointed his arm at the larger one who was already opening its jaws. "Strong right!" His right hand dislocated and hit his target with force, freezing the beast in surprise while the cyborg's fist retracted thanks to his chain. The monster emitted a low growl and as soon as it understood where the attack had come from, it began to swim towards the shore.

Zoro and Sanji walked forward. They needed to buy time for the sniper to take cover and there was nothing like keeping this huge opponent busy.

"Three Sword Style. Great Buddha Chop!"

"Flambé Shot!"

The swordsman's blades of air rushed towards the beast to cut it from bottom to top while above him, the cook had leapt to deliver a flaming kick on its ribs. The beast squealed in pain, stopped in its tracks.

"Strong Hammer!"

Taking advantage of this distraction, Franky had dashed to the rocks while unscrewing his right glove and he pushed back the two other monsters each with a punch.

Meanwhile, Robin was focused. "Cuatro Manos!" Her hands linked to each other once again shot up over the ocean. Unfortunately, the Sea King was destabilized by the multiple blows of the swordsman and the cook, and he fell at that moment in an enormous spray of water, creating huge waves that reached the archaeologist's limbs. Drained of her strength, the young woman wobbled and Liam held her back before she collapsed, but that didn't prevent her hands from vanishing into a hundred petals. Usopp, who had just clung to them, fell back into the water but he had the reflex to give a strong push to the body of his captain who landed on a large flat rock.

Brook took over and turned his attention to the two Sea Kings who had come to their senses. "Nemuriuta: Flanc!" The lullaby that rose hit them hard and they fell asleep instantly, freezing them on the spot. Slowing down on the wet stone, Franky slipped to pick up the straw hat boy at the same time.

Behind him, Nami engaged her Clima-Tact. "Thunderbolt Tempo!"

Lighting crashed down hard on the two dozing beasts, leaving them totally blackened before they sank to the bottom of the ocean. The cyborg then leaned towards the edge and this time, he helped the exhausted sniper to go back up.


Zoro and Sanji didn't take their eyes off the ocean when the shipwright and navigator came back to their side, attentive to the movements of the last Sea King.

Franky helped the sniper who was struggling to catch his breath to sit on the sand before laying the unconscious body of his captain. This immobility was worrying the navigator and she shook him violently. "Wake up, Luffy!"

"N-Nami, wait… He must have swallowed some water…" Helped by Lily and Brook, the doctor approached, then knelt down to listen to his patient's breathing. He winced and pressed Luffy's stomach to make him spit out what he had swallowed. After the fourth try, Luffy finally began to spit and cough before painfully opening his eyes, haggard.

"He stole the salmon," He muttered.

"You jerk, don't ever scare me like that again!"

The slap he received in the face surprised his friends but it woke him up and he sat up, his cheek flushed and his eyebrows furrowed. "Where is it?! I'm gonna beat it up!" He ranted and raved, ignoring the redhead's indignation.

"That beast is strong," Zoro replied, pointing to the monster that was shaking to recover from the previous attacks it had suffered.

The straw hat boy jumped to his feet determined, "Get ready, salmon thief!" He cried to his enemy. "Gum-Gum Munch-Munch!" His mouth swelled and his neck stretched up to that of the monster which he bit deeply. In shock, the Sea King suddenly froze and tried to free itself but the captain stood his ground.

"Luffy, what's this stupid technique?!" Nami was enraged behind him.

"This time, I'm gonna chop it," The swordsman decided, adjusting his swords.

"Send it over here," The blond approved.

"Two Sword Style: 72 Pound Phoenix!"

The animal's body fell to pieces under the force of the attack and Sanji leapt into the air again. Wide-eyed, the captain then saw the animal's severed head arrive, returning to him like a boomerang since he was still clutching it between his teeth. He ended up taking it in the face and was ejected far away.

"Extra Hachis!"

The blond's flurry of kicks sent all the pieces to the shore, shaking the ground under their weight and after a few moments, Sanji landed smoothly on the beach, satisfied. The battle was finally over and he lit a cigarette while gazing at the rest of his friends.

Zoro was putting away his swords and Luffy was staring at the monster's head in amazement while Nami was still shouting at him. Not far from them, Liam was still holding Robin up and Franky and Brook were helping Usopp while Chopper examined him.

Finally, Lily returned to the group, her bucket of salmon in hand and looking crestfallen: in the middle of the fight, the bucket had fallen and all the fish had escaped.

"Tonight, it's roasted Sea King," The cook informed them, blowing his smoke.

"Awesome, I love it!" The straw hat boy exclaimed, his huge smile on his lips.

The blond leaned over the scattered pieces to start sorting them. "Get rid of that head, it can't be eaten," He told his captain.

"Oh."

Liam shook his head, visibly exhausted. "Is it often like that with you?" He asked the crew.

A few steps away, Nami tore Luffy from the head of the monster he had started biting again despite his cook's warning. "Unfortunately, it's a day like any other," She grumbled.


Now that All Blue is familiar, let's take a chapter to talk about our couples…

See you next Friday!