»You know what, I'm really interested in that«, Yonji began again. »How did you manage to get her to hang out with you voluntarily? And even have a child with you?«
Now Niji laughed. »Did you pay her?«
Sanji felt Zoro's hand on his arm. The swordsman held him with a strong grip.
It was only then that Sanji realized that he had instinctively moved towards his brothers. He couldn't see Zoro's face, but his message was clear.
Don't let them provoke you.
Sanji was sure he could defeat his brothers. However, that would only work if he let himself be guided by a wave of blind fury.
He doubted that his brothers had the same thought. They just found it amusing to provoke him. Sanji took a deep breath and tried to simply block out their words.
»Did you bring a bodyguard so we won't kick your ass again?«, Yonji laughed, to which a loud »Shut up!« from Zoro followed, his deep voice echoing in the long hallway.
The swordsman's reaction seemed to irritate the three men for a tiny moment. Enough time for Sanji to collect himself.
»Where is Nami?«, he growled again.
»Why should we tell you?«, Niji barked back, amused. The cook then just clicked his tongue irritatedly. »Because otherwise your last hour has struck«
This brought him more roaring laughter from his brothers. Zoro released his iron grip on his forearm to draw his swords.
Yonji laughed even louder when he saw the grip of the third sword between his teeth.
»Be careful, you might bite your teeth off«, grinned the other green-haired man from the other side of the corridor. Zoro didn't even bother to comment on Yonji's remark. It had no point to continue this conversation, as they would hardly show them the way to Nami. They were just standing in their way.
He moved towards Sanji and towards them at such speed that the three brothers could only dodge his swords at the very last second. A few fine, blue strands of hair fell to the ground, severed by Zoro's heavy blade. Time seemed to stand still as Niji stared at the swordsman who had dared to come too close to him.
And then hell broke loose.
Sanji felt the attack of his brothers before they moved. With two skilled kicks, he prevented Yonji and Ichiji from aiming their armed arms at Zoro's head, who in turn parried Niji's attack with one of his swords. A bullet bounced off the blade and landed between two wall tapestries on the cold stones. A loud bang sounded over the fighting noises as the bullet burst into flames, leaving a black spot on the stones.
He felt a stabbing pain as Yonji's fist hit hard against his ribs, but Sanji ignored it to instead spin around quickly and hit him with a strong kick in the same area. Due to the force of the kick, which his brother apparently had not expected, the youngest Vinsmoke flew several meters and hit a painting on the wall with force, which fell to the ground along with him. Not that anyone noticed how Yonji groaned as he got up, as they were all busy with fighting.
He couldn't remember the last time he had taken a blow that had actually knocked him out for a short time.
How the hell had his good-for-nothing brother become so strong?
Zoro was still fighting Niji. Metallic sounds were heard as the swordsman's blades collided with the technically enhanced protective suit of the Germa 66. He amusingly realized that the younger soldier was apparently frustrated because each of his attacks bounced off the sharp blades. He was getting increasingly hectic in his movements, but was still no real competition for the swordsman.
Meanwhile, Sanji fought on the opposite side of the corridor against his eldest brother.
Although he had been beaten by all his brothers as a child, Ichiji had always seemed the most brutal to him. While the other two had still made fun of him, he had always only seen a cold emptiness in the eyes of the eldest. Thanks to Reiju, he now had an explanation for his brothers' emotionlessness, but the memory still sent a shiver down Sanji's spine.
However, Ichiji had obviously underestimated him, although he had cleared Yonji out of the way right at the beginning. That became his undoing, as Sanji thus had the chance for the first attack. His movements were fast and targeted. One of his kicks set the cape of the Raid Suit on fire, but Ichiji ignored the rising heat to parry the attacks.
»Ichiji! Niji!«, Yonji suddenly called, who had picked himself up again. He held a round in his hand, black object, not much bigger than an apple. Despite his calling, the brothers did not have time to pay attention to him during the fight. Nevertheless, Yonji carelessly threw the black ball in the midst of the battle scene, apparently unconcerned about whether his brothers would be harmed in his planned attack or not.
The ball rolled exactly between the fighting duos on the floor. A soft beep sounded, almost like a countdown, but none of them seemed to notice it over the fighting noises. Only when the ball rolled against Sanji's shoe did his attention turn to it for a tiny moment. His eyes widened as he realized what Yonji was planning. Ichiji was forgotten as he jumped to the side and tried to reach Zoro.
Then the ball exploded.
The explosion tore a huge hole in the floor. Ichiji, who was still at the spot where he had just fought with Sanji, slipped through the hole into the floor below. Individual stones around the hole crumbled, and the floor under the other two also gave way. Niji fell behind his brother into the hole and Zoro, still holding his swords, had no hand free to hold onto anything.
»Zoro!«, he heard Sanji call. The cook had jumped out of the danger zone in time and grabbed the blade of his sword to somehow hold him. The katana slipped through his fingers and fell into the depths along with the swordsman.
»Zoro?!« Sanji called again. The dark smoke clouds caused by the explosion slowly cleared. Zoro's moss green hair appeared a few meters away.
He was already standing again, his swords raised. The fall seemed to have done nothing to him, but his white shirt was burnt in places on the back by the explosion, revealing red burn wounds on his skin.
»Go and find Nami!«, he heard the voice of the swordsman, who had already turned his attention back to the two Vinsmoke brothers, who had apparently also survived the fall unharmed. »I'll take care of those two idiots. They're not worth your time.«
Sanji could hear a smirk in the swordsman's voice. He was sure he had only added the last sentence to provoke his brothers. Which was very successful, because they both threw themselves at him the next moment. Which also meant that he successfully prevented them from following Sanji.
For a moment a quiet concern came over him that his brothers might do something to him, but he quickly shook it off. It was Zoro, after all, that they were confronting.
If anything, he should worry about his siblings.
Slowly, and with a murderous look, Sanji turned to Yonji, who had also been spared by the explosion due to the distance. Something in Sanji's expression apparently caused him to shrink under the gaze of his brother.
»Show me where Nami is,« the blonde cook growled. »Or I will kick your ass so hard that you will wish I had really died back then, but for a completely different reason«
Yonji pressed his lips tightly together, his cheeks turning pink with shame. »I don't know where she is«, he replied.
Who did this idiot think he was? As if he could afford to threaten him...
The sole of Sanji's shoe met his cheek and threw his head to the side. Yonji's whole body swayed from the hard kick and finally fell to the ground.
There he lay, like a marionette whose strings had been cut. He tried in vain to pick himself up. Sanji's kick made him see stars dancing in front of his eyes.
He blinked and saw his brother step over him and walk quickly down the hallway.
A sadistic grin crept onto Yonji's face. He knew exactly what Sanji would find at the end of the hallway.
And it was exactly what this idiot deserved.
Meanwhile, Zoro fought against the other Vinsmoke brothers again, this time against both at the same time. It was no child's play to keep them in check and dodge their high-tech weapons, but that would have been too boring for him anyway. Zoro liked the thrill he felt during this fight, but also knew that he would have to end it soon to continue their main goal. After all, they were here to save Nami, not just to kick Sanji's screwed-up family's ass.
A precise strike from his Sandai Kitetsu caused Niji to kneel. Even his genetically enhanced skin was not immune to the cursed blade.
The older one watched as his brother collapsed bleeding, but to Zoro's surprise, the expression on his face was still frighteningly indifferent.
»You guys are really sick freaks«, Zoro remarked between two attacks.
Ichiji then let out an amused grunt. »That's rich coming from you. After all, you're the one who associates with someone like Sanji.«
Zoro's hand jerked to the side, and his blade pierced Ichiji's leg. He hissed air between his teeth as dark blood oozed from the wound. A gasp escaped him as Zoro, with a satisfied smile, drove the blade even deeper into his flesh.
»Sanji is many things, but certainly not a good-for-nothing«, Zoro whispered. The swordsman was close enough for him to hear the words. »He is one of the most kind-hearted and loyal people I have ever met. He would turn this whole stupid palace to dust and ashes just to protect his crew members. Especially when it comes to Nami.«
Zoro pulled the sword with a strong jerk out of Ichiji's leg and watched satisfied as blood spattered his silly suit with dark spots.
Meanwhile, the soldier tried to press his hands on the bleeding wound, and Zoro could see exactly what was going through his head.
The knowledge that, despite his genetic modifications, he would bleed to death if he did nothing.
The smile on Zoro's face widened as he quickly cleaned the bloodstained blade on his own trousers and sheathed it back into its scabbard. »Let this be a lesson to you before your stupid army dares to threaten our family again. Or you will not only die with the knowledge that Sanji is a better man than you, but you will also feel it in your own flesh.«
With those words, he turned away from the two Vinsmokes lying on the ground and walked away. Sanji surely hadn't gone too far.
It wasn't hard to find the room where Nami had been held captive. Thanks to Reiju's description, he quickly found the right tract, and finding the right room afterwards wasn't very hard either. However, he was hit with a hard disappointment when he discovered that it was empty. The chain in front of the bed indicated that she had been held here, but apparently, he was too late. Had they taken her away upon their arrival?
Sanji stepped further into the room and glanced out the window. The battle outside was still in full swing, but other than the extended limbs of his captain, he couldn't directly recognize any of his friends. He let his gaze wander through the room, hoping to find a clue as to where they had taken Nami.
Then his gaze fell on the bed in front of him. The blanket was roughly thrown over the mattress, but on second glance, he recognized that the sheet at the edge of the bed was stained in a worrying, dark red.
He pulled back the blanket and almost immediately collapsed to his knees, overwhelmed as he saw all the blood. His head spun.
Nami had been here.
He had thought they had taken her away when they had arrived.
But what… what if she…
…if his Nami-san…
…what if she was dead?
He felt a lump in his throat that cut off his airway.
His ears were ringing, tears formed in his eyes, and he felt nothing but the all-consuming emptiness that suddenly filled him.
Had he arrived too late?
