Chapter 6

Out of control

"There are still some left?" Nami wondered, "I had understood that our supply would be more limited now." Sanji was walking back to his crewmates, his arms full with a huge plate of meat for lunch.

"Leg of lamb!" Luffy got enthused.

"I made some additional purchases before leaving the last island," The blond confessed while he placed his preparation in front of the delighted face of his captain.

"What? I had decided we wouldn't spend all at once and I didn't give you any money," The redhead remembered. "You didn't take it by yourself, I hope!"

"No, sweetie, don't worry," The cook said by skillfully shifting Luffy so that his drool doesn't reach the table while he serves her a slice, "I simply dipped into my personal savings."

"Your personal savings?" The navigator repeated, stunned.

"Yes, I had a little money aside and I walked past a superb butcher shop in the city center, I couldn't resist."

"How nice!" Chopper exclaimed, delighted.

"You're the best, Sanji!" The straw hat boy yelled, his eyes shining.

"These shops had rather dizzying prices," Robin remembered, grabbing her cutlery.

"You shouldn't have," Usopp agreed before melting with happiness when the first piece of meat touched his tongue. "Oh gosh, it's divine!"

The blond gave him a dazzling smile while Franky, Jinbei and Brook nodded in agreement. For his part, Zoro just emptied his plate in silence and at last, Nami shook her head. "I don't know how much you have been able to save but I'm sure you don't have much left now. Well, if it comes to your savings, it's your choice."

"Nothing is too good for you, my goddesses!" The cook frolicked, placing a plate of potatoes and mushrooms sprinkled with fresh parsley for the two girls of the crew.

"I found my poker game!" The cyborg suddenly pointed out to his friends, his glass of cola in his hand, "Who's up for a special night out?!"

"The weather will be cool as soon as the sun goes down; it's a good idea," Nami agreed.

"I am ready to participate!" Brook got enthused. "What is the bet?"

"Cash," The navigator immediately decided, "No promises of sale or repayments of debts. Only coins and banknotes."

"Of course," The sniper grumbled, generously helping himself to a new portion of accompaniment, "No cheating then, huh?" He added in front of the exaggeratedly innocent face of the young woman facing him.

"I have some money aside!" Chopper exclaimed excitedly. "I can't wait to play!"

"I'm also interested," The archaeologist said.

"Super!" Franky rejoiced. "This should be interesting!"

"You don't join us very often," Nami noted.

"The books I want to acquire are rather rare and probably impossible to find except on the black market, so I need as much cash as possible," Her friend answered.

"Yohohohoho! What an excellent reason!" The skeleton laughed. "Jinbei, my friend, would you like to take part in your session?" He asked then, turning to the Fish-Man.

"I promised Luffy to show him my Fish-Man karate techniques," He declined.

"It's gonna be awesome!" The captain nodded. His cheeks were full of food he hadn't swallowed yet.

"Do you want to participate, Zoro?" The ship's doctor inquired but the man shook his head as he pushed away his empty plate. "I got no money to bet."

"You can ask for a loan," The navigator suggested, "For two hundred berries at fifty percent interest a day, I offer you a very reasonable arrangement."

The swordsman grabbed his bottle on the table. "No way I'm owing you even more money; I hardly got enough to drink when we set foot on land with all that you deduct each time," He growled.

"Suit yourself," The redhead said, shrugging.

"Sanji?" The sniper asked, following the cook with his eyes. He was beginning to clear the table of first courses. "I don't have much either now," His crewmate admitted. "Besides, I'd surely have work in the kitchen. I'd like to prepare a marinade for tomorrow's chicken and it's quite long."

"So there will be six of us!" The musician concluded with delight. "My friends, this is going to be a memorable evening!"

The sun was still high in the sky when Luffy's cheerful voice was heard. Perched as usual on the figurehead to be the first to spot a ship or an island, this time he was rewarded when a huge Sea King with sharp fins broke the surface of the ocean a few tens of meters from the Sunny.

"It's huge, you-hoo!"

His crew rushed to the deck and Franky dashed to the rail to observe the gigantic beast whose single fang could slice their ship in two. "I don't feel like it's coming towards us; it looks like it's moving away," He said after a moment.

"So much the better. If we can avoid engaging in combat, that'd be perfect," Nami rejoiced while pointing her binoculars out to sea. "Jinbei, turn to starboard, the helm at thirty degrees. We're gonna bypass it."

"No, we're not!"

Luffy jumped towards the Fish-Man who was already carrying out the order of the navigator. He turned the helm brutally in the opposite direction and it spun. The Sunny abruptly changed course, unbalancing all her passengers at the same time.

"Luffy, what are you doin'?!" Usopp yelped.

"We're heading for the Sea King!" Chopper added, panicked.

"It seems that's been our captain's plan all along," Brook chuckled as the straw hat boy fidgeted at the thought of taking the monster on.

"You can't be serious, Luffy!" Nami got indignant, "We decided to take the furthest route from the islands to reduce our risks to meet someone, we aren't gonna deliberately look for problems!"

"It's gonna help us to keep in shape, nothing's been happening for days," Zoro pointed out to her, tapping his swords with an appreciative smile.

"We don't need to keep in shape, we're still recovering!" Usopp choked and the little reindeer nodded frantically.

"I think it's useless to try to make them change their minds," Jinbei noted while the captain and his first mate had come closer to the edge, ready to fight.

"Indeed, they seem particularly determined," Robin added with a smile as the navigator was turning pale.

"Ah, don't worry, Nami-san. It's just a lone Sea King and they need to stretch their legs. In a minute or two, I'm sure we'll be on our w-"

The end of his sentence died on his lips when the cook saw, at the same time as his friends, about twenty other Sea Kings identical to the first emerged from the sea.

Sanji dropped his cigarette on the deck while Nami, Brook, Usopp and Chopper were literally screaming in fear. For his part, Jinbei raised an eyebrow. "I've never seen Masters of the Waters in the New World," He wondered, "They usually stay in the Calm Belt."

"We saw some off Long Ring Long Land," Robin remembered. "Masters of the Waters are larger and more intelligent than most other species of Sea Kings. Perhaps they participate in some kind of seasonal migration."

"We don't care!" Nami yelled, perfectly livid. "Luffy, we're turning around!" She implored him then, tears in her eyes.

"It ain't a lone Sea King now, it's its whole clique," Franky approved, frowning.

Unfortunately, the straw hat boy's oversized smile immediately informed his crew of his intentions and by his side, Zoro's grin confirmed their fears. Knowing the determination of his captain in this regard, Sanji walked towards the railing in turn.

"Now that we have no choice, we might as well get it over with quickly," He grumbled while lighting a new cigarette. "I still got a lot of work before I can serve dinner."

"Just stay in the galley and take care of your cakes, curly. We don't need you anyway," The swordsman replied immediately, his eyes fixed on the monsters which rose higher and higher in front of them.

The blond didn't reply and just clenched his teeth around his cigarette butt while Zoro unsheathed Enma. Luffy clung to the railing excitedly.

"Let's go!"

A second later, the fight had started and if the three main fighters of the Sunny seemed to easily dodge the assaults of the giant animals to better hit them afterwards, the rest of their friends didn't share their ease to escape or defend themselves. Franky in particular was running from one end of the deck to the other because he tried to protect his ship by all means.

"You bastards, don't touch the Sunny! Franky Radical Beam!"

The powerful laser beam hit one of the creatures in the abdomen and it squeaked, preventing it from closing its jaw to rip the mast. However, its congeners didn't seem impressed and the cyborg launched his Strong Right attack to repel them. At his side, Jinbei frowned while positioning himself in front of the colossus threatening to destroy the crow's nest.

"Water Shot!"

The small drop of water in his palm sped towards his enemy and ended up piercing the animal through the shoulder, causing the Sea King to fall with a huge crash of sea water. The ocean went wild and the Sunny was instantly caught in the tumult. The crew screamed louder.

"I don't wanna die!" Nami cried, thrown into the air.

"Help!" Usopp and Chopper yelled as they fell helplessly over the railing into the jaws of a Sea King ready to devour them.

"One Sword Style: Lion's Strike!"

Zoro focused to feel the breath of his surroundings then stepped sharply forward with his blade, slicing cleanly through the beast's neck. While the head fell back into the sea, the swordsman grabbed his friends and put them back on the deck before rushing to his next enemy. The sniper and the little reindeer barely had time to come to their senses when Sanji pushed them in turn to avoid the fangs of another monster, the navigator firmly secure in his arms.

"Now's not the time to fall asleep, get moving!"

His kick propelled them to the first floor in front of the infirmary door and this time, they clung with all their strength to the railing when the Sunny was shaken again.

At that moment, Robin was violently ejected in their direction after trying to help Brook take one of the creatures by surprise. The cook rushed immediately to catch the beautiful archaeologist while the musician landed in the sails of the Sunny before crashing hard on the floor. Sanji then glanced down at the straw hat boy who was having fun like crazy, dodging the jaws that were too slow to catch him.

"Luffy, we can't stay here, the Sunny's gonna get hurt!" He shouted as the ship rocked again under the simultaneous attack of the crew's swordsman and helmsman, causing the rest of his friends to cling to him.

"Okay! Zoro, let's go!"

"Gladly."

The swordsman leapt alongside his captain, his single blade shining above him. "One Sword Style: Great Dragon Shock!" "Gomu-Gomu no Tako Stamp!" Zoro's sword sliced the monster in front of him in half while Luffy used Armament Haki on both legs to send a flurry of kicks to the two creatures in front of him.

As he sighted the remaining seven monsters, Zoro focused his energy on his blade in an attempt to strike the three creatures closest to him while Luffy rushed to the right towards the other four. Enma demanded a lot of attention from the fencer but as their fights progressed, the swordsman felt their connection getting stronger.

"One Sword Style: Flying Dragon Blaze!"

His new sword ignited, glowing with Haki, and Zoro brought it down forcefully towards his enemies. Flames curled fiercely around two of his targets who immediately recoiled before diving into the water in agony. The fencer then turned to the last creature, a devilish grin on his face. As he launched his attack again, the swordsman suddenly spotted the cook charging towards the Sea King at the same time and the surprise distracted him. Immediately, his blade sucked his energy through his hand and huge flames began to flare up from everywhere.

Zoro felt his eyes widen and tried to deflect her trajectory but it was too late. "Enma!"

The excessive appetite of his sword released far too much energy drawn from her owner's Haki and the flames rushed as well on the targeted Sea King as on the cook in its wake. Fortunately, the blond had the reflex to counter the burning blade with his own flaming foot and even if he winced, it allowed him to duck and dodge most of the attack while the monster beside him screamed in pain, charred.

The cook staggered back onto the deck, his captain finishing sending his own enemies to the bottom of the ocean. He then dusted himself as well as he could. His jacket and shirt had burned in some places and he felt ashes had settled in his hair.

"Sanji, are you all right?!"

The blond patted the little reindeer's hat at his feet in a reassuring gesture before looking up to face the swordsman who stood in front of him. He was clearly furious.

"Dammit, you're insane! You can't just do that without a warning! I was halfway through my attack!"

"We didn't have time to waste so I wanted to make it fast," The blond countered.

"That was close," Usopp pointed out, still in shock.

"It was very dangerous," Jinbei estimated.

"If the mosshead knew how to control himself, it wouldn't have happened."

At these words, Zoro lost his temper. The cook didn't realize it, but his casual attitude could really have cost him dearly and he grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, pulling him roughly forward. "Are you the one talking about knowing how to control yourself?! You can't even stop cooking since we went back to sea and now you throw yourself into fights without thinking?! You better wake up or go home because we don't need a nuisance like you!"

Tension instantly spread throughout the deck as Sanji assimilated the words the fencer had just spat in his face. He was petrified. After a few seconds, however, Zoro released his grip on the blond's garment and turned around to go to the back of the ship with angry strides.

Chopper then put his little paw on the pants of the cook at his side. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's because he was scared," He wanted to reassure him, "I'm sure he doesn't mean a word of it."

"Zoro can be a little abrupt sometimes," Usopp approved with a nervous laugh.

"Everyone's been on edge lately," Franky added, frowning. "It must be said that the pressure has really mounted since we left Wano…"

"I…" His crewmates turned their heads towards him and the blond shook his head. "It's okay, I… I can understand he's on edge. He was surprised, that's all."

Without lingering any longer, Sanji slipped out of his friends' field of vision to return to his galley and the unease slowly dissipated. Franky, Usopp and Jinbei went to inspect the Sunny, Robin and Brook decided to relax in the aquarium and Chopper asked Nami to come to the infirmary because she grimaced while rubbing her hand on her stomach where her old wound was. For his part, Luffy sighed in well-being before sprawling down on the grass, delighted with this improvised distraction and indifferent to the commotion floating above his crew.

"I've prepared some treats for your poker night!" Sanji announced as he walked through the door of the aquarium where the players had settled down a few moments earlier.

"Super! What is it?" Franky asked, his mouth watering.

"I favored low-calorie delicacies," The blond showed them, unfolding a small table with an expert hand to place his snack on it. "There's a small mix of nuts, hazelnuts, almonds and cashews. Some energy balls made with dates, apricots and goji berries and a carrot bread with chestnut flour and coconut oil."

He then distributed several large glasses to each of his six friends sitting around the table that was already set to accommodate the bets and he placed a large steaming teapot next to his preparations. "Green vegetable juice with celery, spinach, cucumber and ginger," He said, pointing to the drinks, "I also made green tea if you want a hot drink."

"Perfect for detox!" Usopp appreciated.

"It's deliciously fragrant," Brook noted.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us to relax a little, dear chef?" Robin asked him.

"Ah, thank you, Robin-chan, but I still have a lot to do to get my marinade ready tomorrow morning. Not to mention that I'd like to establish the menus for the whole of next week to watch over our stocks!"

"It's a shame, you work a lot," Chopper pointed out to him. "Most importantly, don't overdo it. Like all of us, you're still recovering," He reminded him.

"I'll be careful, I promise!" His friend assured him. "In the meantime, have fun and call me if you need anything!"

"Don't worry, bro, we're super ready!" The cook closed the door behind him and a short silence took place in the aquarium as everyone made themselves comfortable.

"Sanji's different since what happened, don't you think?" Usopp called out to his friends.

"He's constantly on the move," Franky agreed, looking down at his chips.

"It is only with our captain that he seems to find some rest," Robin noted at his side.

"He surely needs a little time to find his bearings," Chopper pointed out while distributing the cards. "Whole Cake Island hasn't been a cakewalk and with everything we've been through in Wano, I don't think he's had time to really get over those events yet."

"This arranged marriage was only a vast blackmail organized by his own family," Brook remembered sadly while he raised his cup to his lips, "There is something to be shocked about."

"I think meeting them was the last thing he wanted," Nami sighed while recounting her notes, "In front of them, he was no longer himself…"

Usopp grabbed the cards the little reindeer had just placed in front of him, curious. "What exactly happened back there?" He asked, looking at his game. "I don't dare ask him and I ain't saying that Zoro's right but now that he pointed it out, it's true that Sanji has never cooked so much as lately…"

"Our friend had to face many of his demons that he certainly thought he didn't have to face again," The skeleton answered.

"His father was really obnoxious," Chopper recalled, "He doesn't like Sanji at all…"

"His own son?" Franky asked with indignation. "What kind of parents behave like that? That's super uncool!"

"Sanji was determined to fend for himself to settle it," Nami approved. "At that time, we didn't know they had taken hostage this former pirate with whom he grew up on the Baratie as well as his whole team."

"They threatened the old cook?!" Usopp choked, stunned. "What a despicable means of pressure! No matter what he says, I'm sure Sanji considers him his father!" The sniper then realized his words and winced at the revelation as Brook nodded. "Our cook considered it a personal matter and that's why he didn't want to involve us from the start. Fortunately, our captain was able to reason with him."

"Hm. That's probably why he's been so accommodating to him," Robin realized.

"It could have gone either way," The redhead suddenly murmured, her eyes fixed on her cards, "We really came close to disaster back there…"

Her friends looked questioningly at her, except for the musician who just took a slow sip of his tea, but Nami didn't look up. Everyone got the message then. What had happened at Whole Cake Island had been particularly painful in many ways for their cook as for those of their crewmates present at that time and the wounds involving this sad event were far from being closed.

Trailer parts 2/16

You'll notice that when I can't find the translation of the attack names, I'll use the Japanese names.

See you in ten days!