Chapter 3: Why him?
"Who is this?" Niji demanded, holding up a picture of a gorgeous woman. He and Ichiji had just arrived home from a military campaign. The pair had been on their way to report to their father when Niji spotted a picture laying on the table.
"What?" Ichiji asked, peering over his brother's shoulder. His eyes widened and he tried to grab the picture for a closer look, but Niji held it out of his reach.
"I saw it first," he said, clutching the picture to his chest.
"You don't even know who it is," Ichiji shot back. "Or whose it is."
"Neither do you," Niji sneered, forgetting that they were supposed to be to meeting with Judge. He pulled the picture away from his chest to peer down at it again. It was entirely possible that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his entire life. He wanted to see her in person. Now.
Yonji walked into the room at that moment, his eyes on the table. He frowned, then looked up at his older brothers, his eyes coming to rest on what Niji was holding. "Ah, so you've seen her, have you?" He asked.
"Seen her?" Niji and Ichiji echoed in unison.
"Who is she?" Niji asked.
"Our brother's fiancé."
"What?" The two oldest brothers said, once again in unison.
"Why does Sanji have a fiance?" Niji asked. "And since when? And why does he get to marry her?"
Ichiji smacked the back of Niji's head. "You forgot another important question. Who is she?"
Yonji mockingly shook his head at his brothers' ignorance. "Being away on campaign is no excuse for not following things at home. You have to stay up to date on important things. Things can change in a moment, you know."
"Just tell us," Niji said, gritting his teeth. He almost gasped when he realized he was crinkling the picture. He relaxed his grip, hoping he hadn't damaged it. Of course, it sounded like he would be meeting the woman in person at least relatively soon. Though it was unfortunate that it would be as his little brother's wife.
"You've heard of the Arlong Pirates in East Blue, I assume," Yonji began. "Apparently, much of their success in taking over so much territory comes from that woman."
Niji raised his eyebrow as he started at the picture again. This woman had helped the Arlong Pirates take over so much territory? How?
"She's some super special navigator according to Arlong," Yonji continued. "Her maps of East Blue gave Arlong's crew the knowledge they needed to take over area after area. Having a better understanding of the area gave them the upper hand in fights and let them plan when best to fight, when to hide, and when to lure their enemies into a trap. When Father heard, he wanted access to this woman, but getting past Alrong's crew wouldn't be easy, so they made a deal instead. The Germa Kingdom and the Arlong Pirates would forge an alliance through having the navigator marry Sanji. We now get the navigator's maps, and while Arlong still gets them as well, he also gets the benefit of having our forces help secure his border territories."
"Fine," Niji said. "That explains why she's coming here. But why is Sanji the one marrying her?" Not that he wanted to get married, especially to a woman of common birth, but how was he supposed to just ignore such a beautiful woman right in front of him? It would be hard enough even if there were plenty of other women around since this girl was uncommonly beautiful, but they didn't even have that. Just a handful of servants. And this woman would be right here, off limits and sleeping in his younger brother's bed. Every night. The jerk.
"Because Father's happy with him and wants to reward him," Yonji said with a shrug. "You know how annoying the rebels have been in the country of our latest conquest. Sanji lead the team that found the rebellion's leaders and destroyed them. Sucks, doesn't it?"
"I don't see what you two are getting so worked up about," Ichiji said, snatching the picture from Niji. "She's not of royal blood, she's a pirate, and we don't know anything about her. This might be more of a punishment than a reward for Sanji depending on what she's like. You shouldn't be lured in by a pretty face."
"Are you going to give us a lecture about how looks don't matter?" Yonji mocked. "Is this because you can't get any pretty girls to pay attention to you, so you think you'll wind up marrying a hag? That wouldn't look so good for our country, you know. A queen should inspire something other than disgust in her people. Even if she will just be a figure to stand beside you and support you."
Ichiji glared at Yonji, tossing his red bangs out of his eye. "No. I'm just saying there are important factors besides looks."
"You mean like the ability to enable a single pirate crew to take over a whole section of the planet?" Niji asked, snatching the picture back. "That sounds like an impressive quality to me. If she's able to help us reestablish the Germa Kingdom's original territory of all of North Blue, she'll be revered by our people."
Ichiji frowned as though that thought hadn't occurred to him. "We still don't know anything else about her," he muttered.
"Well, she's probably strong to be part of Arlong's crew," Yonji said, eyeing the picture in his older brother's hands. "Or at least a decent fighter. Everyone else in that crew is a fish-man. Arlong would never let anyone as weak as a human join his crew, yet this girl has been part of it for years. She has to be impressive."
"Whatever," Ichiji brushed off, stalking toward the door. "We're supposed to be reporting to Father."
Reluctantly, Niji placed the picture back on the table. He and Ichiji had been victorious in their campaign. If they had arrived home just a little sooner, would Niji be the one being rewarded with the redhaired bride? Putting the thought of his mind, he followed Ichiji.
Yonji looked around after to make sure no one was present before grabbing the picture and stuffing it in a pocket of his cloak.