Sanji fell backwards. He hit the ground with a clumsy clank. The metallic noise instantly petrified him. Unbidden memories flashed through his helpless mind.

Rizzman reappeared in his field of vision. He towered over him, crushing Sanji's arm with his foot. He notched an arrow, ready to deliver the decisive blow.

He shouted an insult that Sanji was too disturbed to comprehend, but his arrow didn't reach its target. A stone struck Rizzman in the arm, deflecting the crossbow's aim by a few inches. The arrow landed right next to Sanji instead of piercing his chest. Green appeared in his field of vision, and Sanji closed his eyes. That's Yonji. His arms were pinned; he couldn't even defend himself.

Sounds of battle surrounded him. Sanji's breathing grew heavier, drowning out any external noise. Fog was building up in his helmet. He didn't know where he was. Was he Sanji Blackleg, cook of the Straw Hat crew, or was he still in his dungeon, imagining a dream life while his brothers fought over who would have the honor of hitting him first?

His fists clenched on tufts of grass. No, he was a cook. He was tall and strong now. Wasn't he? The grass was dry when he rubbed it between his fingers, but the ground was cold, like the stones of his cell. He was shaking.

"—ly? Hey, Cu-y?"

Something grabbed his shoulder. Sanji struggled like a caged dog. His vision was blurred. He couldn't see anything through the helmet, but he saw green hair and guessed it was Yonji. This time, he would fight back. He kicked him, and Yonji staggered back, clutching his stomach. He might not be as strong as his brothers, but he was going to give it everything he had.

Sanji stood up, staggering. For a second, he wondered if his brothers had drugged him. He turned to face his enemy, but Yonji wasn't exactly as he remembered. He was thinner, and his hair was spiky. Then it all came back to him, and Sanji realized that he wasn't locked in the dungeon. He was outside. There was the sun in the sky. Someone was laughing in the distance, a rogue and carefree laugh that put some balm on his heart and made his spine tingle.

Yonji spat, in a very non-Yonji voice: "Shit. Cook! What the hell?"

Sanji recognized Zoro, and everything came back to him. Rizzman, the fruits, the fire… Where was the bastard? Looking around, he saw a hand trying to free itself from a pile of collapsed crates. Good enough. He had other things to care about right now.

He had failed. Rizzman had turned him into a child, and now Sanji was weak. The Straw Hats were going to kick him out. Zeff would be disappointed, if he even agreed to take him back! Reaching for his hair, he bumped into the helmet.

"Weird hat. You can't see a thing, can you?" Zoro asked.

"YOU-!" Sanji stopped. The swordsman was dense, but he wasn't stupid. Given the lack of mockery in his voice, he knew that what Sanji was wearing wasn't just a hat. Zoro scanned him from head to toe and, for once, Sanji was glad for the lack of emotion on the swordsman's face. He couldn't have borne seeing pity.

"Take it off," Sanji ordered.

Zoro hesitated. He didn't know what repercussions it would have with their enemy's Devil Fruit, but Sanji repeated, louder, "Take it off!" and he had no choice but to obey.

He grabbed one of his three stone-swords. The other two were delicately put down, since it was impossible to sheath them. Knowing it was a sword didn't make it any easier. Sanji wondered if Zoro could wield it. He also doubted he would be able to stay still. He still had sensations and emotions from his Germa past. Ichiji had once brought a knife.

"This is Wado Ichimonji," Zoro explained, as if he had seen uncertainty flicker in the cook's visible eye. "She won't harm you."

Sanji frowned at the swordsman. He had enough faith in him to trust him when it counted. The real problem was that he couldn't trust himself. His emotions were all over the place. Yonji's features kept superimposing over Zoro's, and even though Sanji could see the sun, could feel it on his skin, the weight of the helmet was disrupting his senses and sending him back decades ago. He felt stuck, knowing the truth in a body that reacted on fear.

Sanji closed his eyes. He couldn't silence his emotions, but he could trust Zoro. If he couldn't see him, he wouldn't react to the attack.

The swordsman disappeared from his mind, allowing Sanji to refocus. He could hear Rizzman swearing in the background, but the silence that accompanied the rest of the world was comforting.

Soon, there was a shling, and the heavy helmet Sanji had been wearing fell to the ground, sliced in half.

Sanji watched it roll. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling lighter. With each breath, his confidence gradually returned. The helmet rolled off. Sanji could still hear the voices of Judge and his brothers each time light reflected against the metal, but now he also felt the wind in his hair and the sun on his skin. The helmet no longer had the same authority as before, despite the angry yells of his blood family echoing.

He tore his gaze away from the helmet, preferring to keep an eye on Rizzman, who had finally emerged from his pile of wood. But try as he might, his eyes kept drifting back to the two pieces of cold metal at his feet. He shifted from foot to foot, forcing his mind to focus on testing his abilities in this form. He was vaguely aware of Zoro beside him, busy with his swords.

The negative aura emanating from the helmet was making him angry. Rizzman had dared to take him back to the worst time of his life, and in front of the swordsman no less. He felt small, weak, and useless. He hadn't felt this fragile in a long time. Shame gnawed at his bones. He preferred not to look at Zoro. He didn't want to know how much the swordsman had understood.

"Now that you're free, you'd better get moving, cook," Zoro said, putting one of his stones between his teeth. "Unless you'd rather leave all the dirty work to me? That would be just like you."

"Bastard. Don't make me laugh. As if a kid like you could cut anything with stones for swords."

"You know damn well they're not stones! Damn cook! They're still my swords!" He waved them around, just to prove his point. "And I'm still me."

Sanji surely imagined it, but he thought he saw something of the truth in the swordsman's eyes.

"And unfortunately," Zoro continued, "you're still the same annoying womanizer cook."

The helmet still echoed words like "useless" and "waste of space," but Zoro's presence was like a blanket. The wound was still there, but Sanji didn't have time to dwell on it. He had his crew.

In the distance, Luffy's laughter rose again.

Sanji smiled. "You won't do shit without me."

He kicked the helmet. It hit Rizzman in the head, and the pirate stumbled. He stood up, furious, with blood streaming from his nose.

With two against one, Rizzman didn't last long. At first, Sanji and Zoro were still unsure of their control over their bodies. They stumbled, bumped into each other, and got in each other's way. Sanji almost took an arrow in the butt after losing his balance.

Rizzman couldn't have escaped even if he wanted to. Sanji and Zoro were much stronger than him. Now that his little tricks didn't work anymore, he posed no threat to the future Pirate King's crew. He was knocked out and tied up before he even knew what hit him. With a final kick to the ribs, Sanji and Zoro regained their original bodies.

It was a breath of fresh air for Sanji. Despite being freed from the helmet, he had remained tense throughout the fight, causing his movements to be too stiff or slow compared to his true potential. He felt more at ease returning to his 19-year-old body.

Zoro was ecstatic but didn't show it. He was glad to have his katanas back in their original form and couldn't help but check on them.

Which means… Sanji left Rizzman in Zoro's care and returned to the tent they had landed in earlier. The smell hit him first and the sight that followed was truly disheartening. As he suspected, the fruits had been affected by Rizzman's Devil Fruit. The pirate had collected old fruits from other islands, concealed their appearance thanks to his Devil Fruit, and sold them to the town under a pretense of false generosity.

It turned his stomach to see all those fruits. He looked at an apple. It was brown, and its skin was wrinkled. Sanji spent far too long staring at it, his mind wandering.

Someone entered the tent.

"So, this is where the fruits are. I suppose these are the ones that were sold in town?"

Sanji jerked in surprise. He turned to face Robin. She stood straight, carefully observing the crates of fruit.

"That is true, my sweet Robin." His compliment lacked enthusiasm. Sanji was too lost in thought to focus on flattery. He was looking for a way to save these fruits and vegetables. Robin didn't comment on his lack of enthusiasm.

"He made expired fruits look fresh again to sell them to the locals." Robin added.

"Exactly," Sanji agreed. Scum like this never did things halfway. "And the villagers?"

They stepped outside. All the crew members were gathered there. Luffy was talking to Rizzman, arms crossed. Usopp stood by his side, imitating Luffy. Zoro was sitting on the tied-up pirate. Further away, Sanji noticed an overturned tent and more crates spilling out.

"The men who were supposed to have perished in the fire were enslaved here," Robin continued. "They tend to the crops. Rizzman was selling the fruits at higher prices on other islands."

Sanji lit a cigarette as they walked back to the small group. As the cook arrived, the conversation abruptly shifted to the wasted ingredients.

"All this food…" Usopp looked uncomfortable. "We're not just going to throw it away, are we?"

"Let's give it to the villagers!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Oh no, we shouldn't do that…" Chopper's voice perfectly blended pleading with tears. "The villagers have been eating these expired fruits for months. We need to restore their diet as soon as possible and give them the fresh fruits we saw on the ship. The ones that smelled good."

"What are we doing, Luffy?"

The crew was stealing glances at Sanji, afraid of saying the wrong thing. But the cook wasn't worried. As long as he was here, these fruits wouldn't be wasted. He was certain that Luffy would wait as long as necessary before setting sail again.

Just then, their captain turned to him.

"Sanji! What do you say?"

Sanji's smile curled around his cigarette. Luffy, hands on his hips, looked like he had already made up his mind.

"None of these ingredients will be wasted. We're bringing it all to Ritu, and I'll show the villagers how to reuse them. Put everything on the ship."

"Everything?" Nami asked. "Even the bad ones?"

The smoke formed a little heart. "Absolutely everything, my dear Nami."

.

They spent much longer than expected in the cove.

First, they freed the hostages. Chopper, with Zoro and Robin to support him, rushed to provide medical care as soon as he learned of their existence. There were only a few serious injuries, and Chopper's medical kit, along with the resources found in Rizzman's tent, were enough to treat the former slaves. Then, they loaded the crates onto Rizzman's pirate ship. It was a lot of work, especially since Chopper had to restrain the villagers from helping.

.

When Rizzman's ship docked in Ritu, no one paid it any attention. They were accustomed to fake Marines coming and a delivery was expected anyway. It was only when Luffy waved wildly from the deck that they realized something had happened.

The men who had been held in slavery for so long cautiously made their way into the town, like frightened animals. The villagers were in shock. As they walked up the main street leading from the harbor to the market, a woman burst out of the crowd and threw herself into her man's arms, crying. Suddenly, everyone came to life. After her, others followed. There were shouts, tears, embraces, and hugs. Strangers came to thank Luffy. They shook his hand so vigorously that their captain's arm had to turn into rubber to keep up with the movement.

They saw little Sarah in tears, clinging to the legs of a man whose arm Chopper had treated earlier. She couldn't smile at them, but she gave Luffy the biggest grin.

.

Chopper decreed they would not leave until he was sure the villagers had fully recovered. He assembled a small team and spent a few days treating and monitoring the patients' progress. He had a lot on his plate, but the villagers seemed to be recovering remarkably well.

Meanwhile, Luffy led a small group to signal passing ships. Many stopped, asking, "Are you finally open for trade?" and unloaded their supplies. Ritu's story spread like wildfire across the world.

The forest fire was gone. It had merely been an illusion caused by Rizzman's Devil Fruit, which explained why it didn't spread or burn. Rizzman was handed over to the villagers. The last time they saw him, he was marched to jail by some villagers. They looked quite upset, and Rizzman wasn't showing any bravado around them. Luffy just exclaimed, "Goodbye Mr. Irrelevant!" and ignored Rizzman's pleas to be handed over to the Marines instead.

.

Just like Chopper, Sanji didn't want to leave. He had a lot of work to do. They gave the good ingredients to the merchants. Mr. Garcia hugged him when he learned the truth and allowed Sanji to take whatever he needed from his stall for free from now on.

Sanji took care of the bad fruits with a group of women from Ritu. They were mature women with youthful hearts. He taught them how to salvage the bad fruits and vegetables. He spent entire days making compotes, smoothies, purees, cakes, muffins, pies, crisps, sorbets, chutneys, soups, stews, stir-fries, and gratins.

The village women, uncertain at first, quickly grew fond of him. Being older than Sanji, they didn't take his affections seriously. They even told a skeptical Nami that it made them feel younger. Sanji spent a few heavenly days between cooking and enjoying the affections of these ladies, who pinched his cheeks and ruffled his hair.

Whatever they couldn't save, Sanji wanted to salvage. It was a thankless task that he tried to spare the ladies from, but they had grown too attached to him and wouldn't let him out of their sight. Curious, they wanted to learn more and wouldn't hear any of Sanji's protests. Resigned, he showed them how to turn the old fruits into jam, compost, beauty masks, and fly traps. The rest was used as animal feed and fishing bait.

But he also worked behind their backs to avoid tiring them out. There was a lot to do, and he didn't want his crew to stay on Ritu forever. When the ladies went home and wished him good night, he stayed up and worked alone. He continued on his own, working late into the nights. He lost track of time over those few days. Occasionally, he saw one of his crewmates, but the kitchen demanded so much concentration that he often lost the thread of the conversation, even when it was with dear Nami or Robin. He wouldn't even notice it, too happy to be cooking, and often looked up with a trailing sentence, only to find his conversation partner had long gone to bed. Every now and then, he would wake up to the chirping of birds, a blanket over his shoulders, and his knife cleaned and placed back on the table.

There was a grand feast, of course. The cook even found time to prepare a special cake for the ladies who had been so kind to him. They accepted it with laughter and a knowing sparkle in their eyes.

Clearly, the feast was a success.

.

The next day, Luffy declared it was time to leave. The entire village gathered at the port, waving their white handkerchiefs and shedding tears of joy. Little Sarah was happily munching on an apple.

Just before boarding the Merry, the women with whom Sanji had shared countless cooking sessions approached him. They gathered around him.

"Sanji, must you really leave?" asked Monica, the eldest.

Sanji bowed politely. "My dears, ask me to stay and I will."

"You scoundrel," Erica teased as she pinched his ear.

They giggled like a flock of hens.

"We have a surprise for you. It's a gift for all you've taught us, and a thank you for the cake," Rita said as she pulled out a box from her dress. "Please, accept it."

"Yes, please take it!" Tina chimed in. "Sandra spent so much time on it."

"That's not true! We all pitched in!"

They giggled again. It was hard to believe these ladies were past the age of acting like schoolgirls.

"Ladies, I…" He wanted to refuse, but Monica gave him a look that said, "If you refuse, there will be no place to hide from us, my boy." So Sanji relented and accepted the package.

"Thank you all for your wonderful work. You've been angels."

"Open it!" Mary jumped up and down, and Sanji forced himself to look away. Just thinking about… those… was a nosebleed risk.

He focused on the box. It was a small package, meticulously wrapped with freshly picked morning flowers adorning the paper. The ribbon looked expensive, judging by its soft texture. He wanted to refuse again, but he knew it would be ruder to reject the ladies' efforts than to accept them, especially with Monica still looking at him encouragingly. Carefully, he unwrapped the package. Inside was a small basket filled with dried flowers and fruits—a potpourri.

"Here," Monica handed him a small pouch containing bottles of essential oils. "So you can refresh the scent when it fades. The village thanks you, you and your crew."

"This is…" Words failed him. It was such a thoughtful gesture. "A lovely memento." He bowed. "Many thanks to you, my beloved ladies."

Someone called him from the Merry. Sanji bowed gracefully before turning and leaping elegantly onto his ship. The ladies chuckled, amused by the young man's behavior, and bid him farewell. Their silhouettes merged with those of the villagers gathering on the dock.

.

They departed amidst cheers. The island of Ritu gradually became a small dot in the distance. Sanji made the best use of the fruits and vegetables provided by Mr. Garcia.

The potpourri sat above the spice rack, filling the air with its scent, and Sanji affectionately kept it there for as long as possible.