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Chapter 22

Agony

The island on which the Straw Hat crew was forced to spend a few days was rather nice, if not for the gang of thugs who had decided to set up their headquarters over there for a few years to rule the place. Although they had disembarked on the other side of the island deemed calmer, Luffy had only taken two hours to meet the leader of the gang and even less time to engage in combat.

According to Franky and Brook, who had been with him at the time, the organization of these men looked like a mafia and they controlled almost the entire economy of the island, not to mention the revenues of illegal activities. As a result, there were many and while the straw hat boy faced the local godfather, the musician and the shipwright were attacked by a hundred people in a huge disused hangar.

The cyborg had immediately called on their companions with his mini Den-Den Mushi, aware that he and Brook wouldn't be able to measure up. In the meantime, they had resisted as best they could but it was with relief that they had welcomed their friends ten minutes later.

The crew had made a plan along the way and the last two members had learned of it amidst the blows they exchanged with their opponents thanks to Sanji who had put on the Raid Suit to make himself invisible and quietly relay the details to them. On this occasion, Brook and Franky had understood that Luffy was still fighting a few buildings away and that their crewmates had decided not to interfere.

Attacks had flown from all sides then and the ranks of the mafia had staggered under the blow because of the rise of their adversaries. That hadn't stopped them from retaliating hard and the battle was still raging when Nami's voice rang out loud and clear in the hangar for her friends.

"Everybody out!"

Like the other members of his crew, Sanji recognized the signal and he turned nimbly to avoid the overpowered kick of the enemy in front of him. He then used the propulsion of his shoes to startle him and a second later, his own foot dislocated the man's shoulder before he collapsed. Out of the corner of his eye, the cook spotted the redhead and the fencer running towards the stairs leading upstairs, the swordsman clearing the way for the navigator with clean and precise sword strokes.

The blond knew what he had to do and wasted no time. He activated his suit's invisibility again and dashed towards the windows and doors to barricade them in a flash. Surprised, the mobsters understood too late that their adversaries were trying to lock them up and during this time, the majority of the other pirates of the Straw Hat crew had already reached the last unblocked door which gave onto the outside.

While running, Jinbei got rid of the too sticky enemies that Usopp hadn't managed to lose and when the sniper reached the door, the punch of the Fish-Man sent his pursuers back inside. A few steps away, Franky blasted away those who tried to follow him and Chopper did the same thanks to the antlers of his Walk Point form.

At that moment, Brook yelped and the cook turned in his direction. He then found that a man had stolen the skeleton's shin, which prevented him from running fast enough to catch up. Nami's Clima-Tact was already sending sparks upstairs and the blond rushed towards him.

In a split second, he had knocked out the bone thief to recover his friend's property and grabbed his owner to flee. As they stepped through the doorway a moment later, Robin closed the heavy hangar doors behind them with her extra arms and the metal creaked under the load.

Above them on the roof, Zoro ripped through the steel he was standing on with a swing of his sword and beside him, Nami brandished her weapon.

"Zeus, it's time to eat!"

The cloud appeared yawning, but when the navigator released a Weather Egg into the sky, he quickly swallowed it happily. Immediately, he swelled with electricity and the redhead pointed her Clima-Tact through the opening that Zoro had created, Zeus following it greedily.

"The weather is stormy!"

The cloud seeped into the hangar and the swordsman and the navigator rushed out of the roof as soon as the young woman had triggered a gust of wind in her accomplice. A second later, a massive discharge radiated from the building and instantly electrocuted the hundred men inside.

Back on the ground with her friends, Nami twirled her weapon in satisfaction. "That should take care of it!"

The Straw Hat Pirates raised their fists in victory and at that moment, Zeus crawled out of the hole he had entered through to stand in front of the redhead, visibly disappointed that he hadn't found an extra Weather Egg.

"I'm hungry, Nami," he complained.

"Get back inside, I'll give you some crispy electric clouds. You deserved it."

Zeus didn't need to be asked twice and he disappeared again in the Clima-Tact of the navigator who put it away at her waist. She then turned to her friends, hands on her hips.

"All we have to do is get Luffy back and we can go back to the Sunny!"

"We were lucky but assuming we would have had to run away, we would have been in serious trouble," Nami pointed out grumpily.

The crew had found their triumphant captain a few minutes later and the return to the Sunny had been full of joy and good humor. While Sanji was serving their meal to his crewmates, everyone had settled around the table to taste the deliciously fragrant lasagna that the blond had found at the market the day before.

Now at the end of the meal, Zoro had walked away to train and Luffy had wanted to follow him. Chopper had also quickly got up to join his infirmary but the rest of their companions were still enjoying a hot drink while the cook had started the dishes.

"How soon will the Log-Pose be recharged?" Brook asked, his cup of tea in hand.

"Six more days," the navigator sighed. "We should be safe now but maybe these guys had allies; we'll have to be careful."

"What's our next destination?" Jinbei asked.

"A large urbanized island," the redhead replied, "Very densely populated and full of distractions…"

"It's not exactly good news when you wanna keep a low profile," Usopp grimaced.

"Yet we have to," Nami insisted. "The next island is an active center of the New World and both the Marine and large-scale pirates are bound to be there."

"Luffy's likely to be unruly," Franky pointed out.

"We could call Law again," the sniper suggested, glancing at his captain's empty seat. "It worked pretty well so far and we'll really need it."

"We already tried to reach him a few days ago but he declined our invitation," Robin reminded him, raising her cup of coffee to her lips.

"I know, we got nothing more to offer him in exchange…"

Sudden silence fell around the table. No one mentioned the fact that the surgeon's absence implied more than a difficulty in keeping off the radar, yet this absence of words highlighted the other emergency they had to manage all the same. Indeed, Chopper was still working alone to make an antidote for their cook. The crew knew that the little reindeer had asked Luffy to reconnect with the other captain about it and that clearly meant he was worried about his patient. The diffuse anxiety that already surrounded the Straw Hat Pirates regarding their companion had increased then.

That's why Usopp only glanced at the figure of the blond in front of the sink who had his back to them. He wasn't even sure that Sanji had followed their conversation, hunched over his dishes as if nothing had happened, but he didn't dare to comment.

Everyone had noticed how much Sanji had become a shadow of himself since his panic attack two weeks earlier and talking about it only made him tense so they had stopped wanting to comfort him. His friends had also not failed to note that Zoro avoided all contact with the cook now. The atmosphere had been more relaxed between the two best enemies of the Sunny lately, but something had led to renewed tension and their relationship seemed more than ever at a standstill, which disturbed all the more the whole crew.

Indeed, despite their highly-charged relationship, everyone knew that Zoro and Sanji shared a mutual understanding of the world through their rivalry as much as their trust in each other and their role as protectors of the crew. So when the swordsman had spent time in the galley to help their crewmate, it hadn't surprised anyone and had even been a sign of some improvement.

The fact that Zoro had decided to grow away from their cook was, on the contrary, an additional alert as to the deterioration of their companion's condition. The fact that Sanji offered them more and more dishes bought directly at the city market was a sign too. The blond didn't seem to trust his skills anymore and even if everyone had tried to offer their help, he rarely accepted, or only with simple preparations such as snacks or breakfast.

The silence continued for several minutes until Brook offered to play his new composition to his crewmates, which everyone eagerly accepted. The musician grabbed his violin and if Sanji had noticed the forced enthusiasm of his friends after this heavy calm, he didn't show it.

Sanji closed his eyes for a second before opening them again to force himself to look at his face. He had gone to change his clothes after getting stained while clearing and when he had put his soiled clothes in the basket of the bathroom, his gaze had met his reflection in the mirror. He had examined himself for a long time before taking a deep breath and looking in his pocket for the Raid Suit which never left him now. He had activated it and immediately, another man had appeared before his eyes.

He had observed himself precisely but the study had soon turned into horror: the image of this man the mirror was showing him didn't tally with what he had been trying to build for thirteen years now. With his black suit, headphones and ridiculous haircut, this man was rather the reflection of his memories and worst nightmares.

Two tears slipped silently behind his glasses to his mask and Sanji felt the sobs threatening to overwhelm him at their sight. He needed to face the facts. This man was him. Stealth Black was his future, and even the only one he had left.

Cooking was slipping through his fingers and he only had this costume to hold together the scattered pieces of his life. The abilities of Blackleg belonged to the cook who had been raised by Zeff Redfoot, but this fighting force he was so proud of was no match for what the Raid Suit was capable of.

Stealth Black was faster, stronger, more capable. He surpassed him in every way and in his wake, the cook of the Straw Hat crew faded away.

Zoro no longer came to taste his preparations and even if sometimes, the blond asked Usopp or Jinbei to fulfill this role, most of the time, he refrained from doing so. What was the point anyway? He wasn't going to ask them indefinitely and even if Chopper found a solution to his problem soon, he wasn't sure that his taste and smell would return intact.

Sanji was no fool and he understood the implications behind the discovery of the bacteria he had breathed in. This microorganism was a weapon of war intended to destroy and wreck his entire body until he suffocated. What were the chances that it hadn't already permanently damaged his senses then?

Somehow and despite the immense injustice he felt, the blond knew he was lucky. He hadn't died that day, unlike all the other men around him, and maybe he should see a sign. Stealth Black had saved his life in addition to demonstrating his power as well as his efficiency. Didn't he have an unexpected opportunity to continue being part of the Straw Hat crew even if he could no longer cook? At least, his companions could count on an effective ally in this way and he could continue to benefit from their presence at the same time. Maybe they could even consider hiring a new cook on the Sunny? Although the prospect made his stomach churn, Sanji was willing to consider this possibility for the sake of the crew.

Yet Zoro probably wouldn't respect him much more despite this compromise and this realization was more painful than he would have thought. Since their confrontation following his panic attack two weeks earlier, the fencer hadn't spoken to him and Sanji didn't have the strength to fight to try to recover the few bonds that they had started to build again before the blond ruined everything once more.

He hesitated between anger and dejection about this incident. Indeed, he resented Zoro for ignoring him but more often, he understood. Sanji himself thought he was pathetic and he didn't even want to raise his head anymore so why would a person as proud and determined as Zoro waste time in his company? The swordsman was moving towards his destiny and his goal was getting closer. His new blade at his waist was proving it.

Alongside Luffy, his gaze was fixed straight on their extraordinary future and Sanji would only slow them down with his moods and permanent confusion. The leading trio that he had shared with them for a long time moved away to form a duo sailing on the waves of their ambitions while he was stranded a little more each day on the beach of his disillusions. Driven by the tenacity of their captain and his first mate, the rest of his companions would follow them and he would remain alone, prisoner of his shattered hopes forever.

The inevitable day would come when the figures of his friends would have completely disappeared from the horizon and only the repercussions of their glory when they would have achieved their dream would reach him. Sanji knew he would be genuinely happy for them that day. After all, he had always considered their happiness more important than his own.

Yet as he stared at this strange man in the mirror, the blond wondered if Stealth Black would rejoice for the people Sanji loved most in the world. More likely, he would rebel and be jealous of them. Stealth Black hadn't been designed by his creators as a man carrying ideals as noble as benevolence and altruism. He had been created to be the best soldier and serve the purposes of Germa. Nothing else.

The blond promised himself that he would never let Stealth Black destroy the Straw Hat Pirates unity then and that if one day, he had to get rid of him, he would not hesitate.

"Hey, I think it's Torao's ship!"

Luffy deflated his huge belly on which he had been bouncing like a trampoline for several minutes and clung to the mast to see better. At the foot of the Sunny, his friends looked up in his direction.

Offshore, a storm rumbled and the eddies from the waves rocked their ship to the shore. The straw hat boy had immediately seized the opportunity to propel himself with the jolts and if Usopp and Brook had wanted to do the same, they had quickly stopped when their stomachs had protested and they had joined a game with their friends on the sand.

For his part, Luffy had continued to use roll to launch himself higher and higher and Zoro didn't seem bothered either as he had continued his training in the crow's nest. As for Chopper, he was still locked in the infirmary and the blond hadn't come out of the bathroom.

"He would be here?" Franky wondered while watching his captain so that the Sunny wouldn't suffer too much damage from his new game. "What a coincidence!"

"The routes leading to the last island of the Grand Line are multiple but since our paths have met several times, it is likely that we follow the same," Jinbei pointed out despite his meditation.

"That's encouraging news," Brook noted, "We will probably come across him again at one time or another and an opportunity could very quickly arise to demonstrate our value. This way, he will be more quickly led to want to help us!"

"How about we try to renegotiate with him before our departure?" Nami agreed. "If we play it right, within one or two calls, we could find an agreement."

"Great, I'll go!"

The straw hat boy jumped out of the ship and headed in the direction of the submarine, his crew watching him make off with wide eyes.

"Luffy, we need to come up with a plan first!" Usopp yelled in an attempt to stop him, to no avail.

Beside him, Robin smiled as she turned the page of her book, amused. "Perhaps our captain is actually the best negotiator regarding our former ally…"

"Hey Torao!"

The captain of the Heart Pirates turned slowly to face the straw hat boy who approached him and in front of his big innocent smile, he tensed up.

He had just disembarked on the beach after suffering several hours of delicate navigation due to the storm which was raging on the surface a few kilometers away. His crewmates had wanted to stretch their legs as soon as they had arrived and they had all scattered around town. The doctor had then decided to take the opportunity to stock up on medicine and he was now organizing the different boxes he had just bought.

The surgeon of death quickly resumed his task, determined not to be distracted. He should have watched the surroundings better and not considered that by heading to the most deserted side of the island, he would necessarily rest easy. Of course, the Straw Hat Pirates had held the same reasoning.

"I told you I won't help you this time. You have nothing to offer me in exchange for what I can bring you."

"I know, I just wanted to come see you. I don't think Sanji wants to talk to you anyway."

Law raised an eyebrow. If he completely ignored the other captain, it was likely that Luffy would end up jumping on him to get his attention and Law really preferred to avoid it.

"I thought it was about helping your doctor find a cure for his loss of smell and taste?"

"Sanji didn't feel well before but it's not a disease that can be cured with medicine and Chopper thinks the most urgent thing is that he understands why he feels that way. Chopper can't do it because they know each other too much or something like that. I didn't quite catch it…"

"I see."

Luffy was surprised and the surgeon shook his head while keeping his eyes on his purchases.

"Blackleg-ya gave me an ambivalent speech when I questioned him to find out what happened. Anyway, he's right. I'll be a very bad doctor in this area."

"Oh."

The straw hat boy didn't add anything and the other captain continued his work methodically.

"He probably needs time. Tony-ya is competent and as soon as an antidote is found, it will cheer him up," he added after checking the entirety of his first box.

"I don't know."

At these words, Law couldn't help glancing sideways at his guest who had crossed his arms over his chest to stare at the sea.

"I think it has to do with his family."

"The Vinsmokes don't seem like the most loving people around," the surgeon agreed, grabbing his second box. "Your passage across Whole Cake Island may have awakened some traumas."

"He knows he can count on us, it's something else. I don't know how to help him."

"In cases like these, even close friends cannot do much. It is up to the person to take the necessary steps to get through it."

"That's what Chopper says."

Law nodded while taking out several vials to classify them.

"Zoro could help him but Sanji doesn't want to," the other pirate resumed after a few moments.

"Really?" The surgeon wondered absentmindedly as he checked the expiration dates of his potions. "I had missed the fact that your swordsman had any notions of psychology. On the contrary, I would have rather thought that he resembled you in this area…"

"Zoro and Sanji have a special bond," Luffy continued, ignoring his remark, "They're strong on their own, but when they're together, they're even stronger."

"It's not because their rivalry pushes them to surpass themselves that Zoro-ya will be the ideal candidate," the captain of the Heart pointed out to him. "Understanding how a mind works, and even more so a mind suffering, requires finesse, sensitivity and skill. Blackleg-ya is likely to be in a vulnerable state that creates great mistrust and he'll find it difficult to talk to him about what he's going through, especially with the competitive spirit they share."

The straw hat boy shook his head, his eyes still fixed on the sea and the clouds rumbling on the horizon.

"They already know each other; Zoro doesn't need to try to understand. Sanji just needs to let him in."

Trailer parts 9/16

I know the chapters aren't joyful right now but these scenes are crucial to understanding the real problems Sanji is having and maybe you have already spotted it.

Next chapter, let's continue with Zoro's point of view!