One Piece: Sea Devil Sanji

After defeating Crocodile, the Strawhats imprisoned him inside the Seastone cage in the bas.e.m.e.nt of Rain Dinners alongside his six Officer Agents and their dog Lassoo.

They contemplated their next course of action, and decided, to not waste time Sanji will fly Vivi towards Alubarna to meet her father, the king. Robin decided to tag along too, as eventhough Vivi promised to give her permission to view the Poneglyph, it was ultimately the king's decision. So she needs to have an audience with him too.

The rest will discreetly follow suit to not alert the marines and the remnants of Baroque Works agents, while transporting the prisoners with them.

Sanji, Robin and Vivi exited Rain Dinners from the back door, and grabbing each girl with one arm, Sanji Sky Walked in the direction of the capital.

One hour later, the trio came upon a group of ruins, surrounding a grand city in the middle of the desert. It was built on a plateau near an oasis, and had four long flights of stairs that act as the only entrances.

Located in the center of the city was the Royal Palace. It dwarfed everything in its vicinity and boasted many luxuries, including three golden domes, a massive bathhouse, and a lush rooftop garden with two large statues of a Jackal and a Falcon.

Sanji gently landed with the two girls on the rooftop garden where three men stood in discussion between each other.

"Igaram!" shouted Vivi "Chaka! Pell!"

"Princess Vivi!" the three men were shocked by the sudden three arrivals, then were happily surprised to see their princess that was missing for the past two years.

Vivi started tearing up as she run towards them, but was met with a whack on her head "Don't ever do something like that again, you reckless princess!" Pell yelled at her then hugged her tightly "What would we have done, if something happened to you!?" he was a fairly muscular and tall man with a purple line under each eye that runs down the sides of his face. He carried a sword on his right hip and wore a long white robe with brown star-like motifs on it, a matching hat and a big orange necklace around his neck. He is the user of the Bird-Bird Fruit(Tori Tori no Mi), Model: Falcon.

"Sorry..." Vivi didn't get angry at him, instead hugged him back with tears running down her cheeks "But it was the only way I had to try and save the kingdom"

"That's our duty as Royal Guards, princess. You shouldn't have run away like that. You caused us great worry" said Chaka as he rubbed her head, then smiled at her "But I'm glad you finally returned safe and sound" he was a tall, imposing dark skinned man with medium length black hair and a long broad nose. He carried a massive sword, with a blue hilt and sheath, on his right hip, and wore a long, light-green tunic, revealing his muscular c.h.e.s.t, a dark-green coat dr.a.p.ed on his shoulders like a cape, two belts around his waist and a golden beaded necklace around his neck. He is the user of the Dog-Dog Fruit(Inu Inu no Mi), Model: Jackal.

"I missed you all" said Vivi as she wiped her tears after Pell eased the hug, then looked at Igaram "And thank god you arrived safely Igaram, I was very worried about you"

"I was very worr- Ahem! Maa~maa~maaaaa~" he cleared his throat like an opera singer then continued "I was very worried about you too, princess. But it looks like those pirates kept their words and managed to escort you back safely" he turned his head towards Sanji and Robin "Thank yo- Wait! Isn't that Miss All-Sunday!? What's she doing here!?" he freaked out.

"Is she part of that organization you spoke of, Igaram?" asked Pell as he looked at Robin, his hand on the handle of his sword, ready to attack if she proved to be hostile. Chaka too, had the same reaction.

"Relax..." interjected Vivi as she stood infront of them "She's our ally. It was with her help that we managed to bring down Crocodile"

"What!?" the three Commanders of the Royal Guards were flabbergasted "You defeated Crocodile!!"

"Yes, we did!" she beamed at them "I'll tell you all about it later. I need to meet my father quickly, I finally obtained the means to stop the rebellion" she showed them the files that Robin had given her.

The three dumbly looked at each other then nodded their heads. They led her inside the palace and towards the throne room.

They passed through a long and wide corrider, adorned with a red carpet. It went all the way to a large and heavily decorated door with two guards, standing and holding spears on its sides. Igaram greeted them with a nod then pushed the door open to a white room with a high ceiling. There were two rows of guards standing along the sides of the carpet which came to an end below several steps that led to a whitish-blue throne with a several meters high back-rest.

On the throne, sat a man of average height who had a wrinkled face, a tied-off beard, and long, curly, black hair. He wore a green robe with yellow edging, an orange and beige sash around his waist, a necklace and a purple coat. He is Nefertari Cobra, the 12th king of Alabasta and Nefertari Vivi's father.

He was in a heated discussion with several of his ministers when Vivi and the rest entered the throne room.

"Vivi!" a shout escaped Cobra's lips when he laid his eyes on her and immediately jumped from his throne, a king's grace and and elegance were forgotten, as he dashed towards his daughter and embraced her in a tight hug.

***

After a tearful reunion between the two and some berating from a father to his daughter, Vivi described her last two years escapade to him, from her infiltration into Baroque Works with the help of Igaram to her rescue by the Strawhat Pirates, ending by finally defeating Crocodile and his Officer Agents.

Cobra, sitting down on his throne, was reading the files that Vivi handed to him.

"This is very disconcerting..." he said "Destroying irrigation system around the kingdom... buying tons of silver to manifacture Dance Powder(a green powder that is used to make artificial rain but it causes severe drought in the surrounding lands)... training people to infiltrate and act like Royal Guards... assassinating key figures in the government... No wonder the kingdom is in such a horrible state..." he sighed as he brought down the files to his l.a.p "It's my fault for thinking that as a Roal Shishibukai, Crocodile was in our side"

"He fooled all of us your highness, please don't blame yourself" said Chaka.

"That's right, your highness" said Pell "If anyone should be blamed here is Crocodile himself"

"Father, there is no use thinking about it now" added Vivi "Crocodile is no more, we should instead turn our focus to stopping the rebellion"

Cobra smiled at her "In the two years since you've been gone, you've changed so much for the better, Vivi. I'm proud to see you this level-headed" she blushed at the praise.

He turned Chaka, and handed him the files holding the profiles of Baroque Works agents "You know what to do with those" the latter kneeled on one knee shouting "Yes, sir!" then left to his task.

He then adressed Pell "You're the fastest in the kingdom. I need you to fly towards the Rebels stationed in Katorea and meet with their leader, Koza. I want you to invite him to the palace for peace talks, then guard him and insure his safety against any assassination attempts" Pell mimicked Chaka's gesture, then changed into a huge falcon and flew from one of the palace windows.

"Father, can you order everyone out of the throne room" said Vivi "I need to talk to you about something in private"

Cobra lifted a questioning eyebrow at her but still did as she told him, knowing that this must be something important or she wouldn't have made such a request. The throne room cleared leaving only Cobra, Igaram, Vivi, Sanji and Robin.

"So what is it Vivi?" asked Cobra.

"First, let me introduce you to my friends. This is Sanji, the cook of the Strawhat pirates" she pointed at him.

"'Sup" greeted Sanji, lifting a hand.

"And this Miss All-Sunday, Nico Robin" she pointed her.

"Nice to meet you, King Cobra" Robin nodded her head at him.

"Nico Robin...!?" mumbled Cobra as he regarded her thoughtfully.

"They're the ones that came up with the plan to defeat Crocodile" continued Vivi.

Cobra stood up from his throne and walked down the stairs. He stood in front of the duo and said as he smiled at them "As a father, and a resident of this land, I would like to express my gratitude" he shook their hands "So thank you. I'll make sure you're rewarded handsomely for your service"

"Well, actually that's why I wanted to talk to you privately, father" said Vivi, bringing his attention back to her "I made a deal with Miss All-Sunday for her cooperation in dismantling Baroque Works. So I promised to grant her permission to view the Ancient Records of the kingdom. More specifically, the Poneglyph"

"What!?" he was shocked, then snapped his head towards Robin "How did you know about it!? That's a state secret!"

"The criminal world is far bigger than you may think..." answered Robin calmly "Even if you're the king of one alliance state in the World Government, you're not the only one aware of such secrets"

"What's wrong, your highness!?" asked Igaram in worry, seeing Cobra's reaction.

He didn't answer him though, as he kept his eyes on Robin then inquired "... Can you... read it?"

"Yes..." answered Robin.

He looked at her solemnly then asked again "And why would you want to know the information written on it?"

"Knowledge..." was Robin's simple answer as she looked directly into his eyes.

"..." he maintained eye contact with her for a minute then turned his back to her "I'm sorry... Eventhough this kingdom and its citizens owe you a great debt, I can't in my good conscious allow you to see it"

"Father! I gave her my word!" argued Vivi "You can't do this to her! Is whatever this Poneglyph holds more important than the safety of Alabasta and its people!?"

"I'm sorry, Vivi. I know I taught you to always keep your promises, but this is something entirely different. There's good reason our royal family protected the Poneglyph for generations... It's something that shouldn't be out in the world"

"Protect...?" Robin scoffed, the continued plainly "I know more than you think, King Cobra. So don't make me laugh. If you're going to lie, at the very least come up with a better excuse"

He sighed but wasn't deterred by her words "I know I'm being unfair to you since you made a deal with my daughter, but my decision is final" then faced her once again and added "Ask me anything else you want, and I'll fullfil it to the best of capabilities. I'll even give you my life as compensation if you d.e.s.i.r.e, but forget about the Poneglyph" he gave her a serious look.

"Father!/Your highness!" Vivi and Igaram were horrified by his statement.

"I have no need for your life, King Cobra. Or anything else you may offer me" Robin leveled him a glare "I don't know what you may think I'll do with the information on the Poneglyph, but know this, I was never interested wether countries and people live or die, I couldn't care less about any of that. I just want the knowledge that you're denying from me"

The two looked at each other in the eye, with neither backing down. That is, until a sigh cut through the tense silence in the throne room.

"I suspected something like this was going to happen" said Sanji as he put his hand on Robin's shoulder.

"Cook-san...?" she turned her face towards him.

"Leave this to me, Robin-chan" he smiled reassuringly at her.

She stared at him for a moment then nodded her head, wondering what he's going to do.

"Sanji..." Vivi looked at him, worried what he's planning to do. She knew how ruthless he could be if he wanted to, so she was afraid that he'd end up hurting her father.

Sanji gently patted her head as he looked at her "Don't worry Vivi-chan. I'd never forgive myself if I did something that makes you sad"

"I know..." she gave him smile for she also knew that he always kept his words.

Sanji smiled back to her then looked at Cobra "Can I have a word in private, please?" he gestured for him to follow as he walked towards a corner of the room not waiting for his response.

Cobra was bewildered by his daughter's reaction. He looked at Sanji who stopped at the end of the room then at Igaram, looking for his impromptu on the matter. The latter just shrugged his shoulders, not having any idea either.

After one last look at his daughter then at Robin, he followed after Sanji.

"So what is it, young man?" he asked the moment he stood in front of him.

"Wait a sec" said Sanji as he smirked and pinched an ear sprouting on the wall next to him "You're a very naughty girl, Robin-chan. You shouldn't eavesdrop on people's discussions, you know"

Robin on her side flinched as he caught her, and whimpered a little, rubbing her ear. She sprouted a mouth near him and said "Sorry Cook-san. I couldn't help it..."

Sanji shook his head in amus.e.m.e.nt as he saw her dispell the mouth and ear.

"W-was that!?" spluttered Cobra.

Sanji looked back at Cobra who had his mouth open in shock and nodded his head "Yes, it was. She's a Devil Fruit user"

"I see..." Cobra lifted his mouth back up, then looked at Robin in the other side of the room in apprehension.

"Anyway..." said Sanji, making the king turn his head back at him "I'll be direct with you. You either allow Robin-chan into the secret entrance in the Tomb of Kings that leads to the location of the Poneglyph, or I'll take her there myself"

"Wha!?" Cobra's face became a shade paler "I-impossible! H-how do you know about it!?"

"That's for me to know and for you to agonize about" replied Sanji nonchalantly "In addition, I know that the underground chamber that holds the Poneglyph is directly under Alubarna. The only reason I even need your permission, is because I don't know how to open this secret entrance. I'm warning you though, that doesn't mean I don't know how to get to the chamber. I just have to destroy the central square in front of the palace and voila, your state secret is in the open"

Sanji took a puff of his cigarette, then continued "And if you're in doubt that I'd be capable of doing such a thing, just ask Vivi-chan about it. If I really wanted to, I could even level this entire city and you would be helpless to stop me. Let alone some shitty bedrock between me and the chamber... Though, I'd rather not resolve to that, as it would upset Vivi-chan. However if you force my hand, you only have yourself to blame... And lastly, if you're worried about us figuring out the location of Pluton, then don't be..." Sanji gave him a chilling smile, then leaned in and whispered in his ear "Because I already know where it's hidden"

Cobra froze in place, his heart in his throat and sweat pouring down his back. He didn't know what to say or how to react to what Sanji just told him.

Sanji patted his shoulder, looking him in the eye "I may not want to upset Vivi-chan, but I'm sure she'll forgive me in the end. And ultimately, Robin-chan's happiness comes first. So I hope you make the right decision"

Sanji put his hands in his pockets then returned to the others, leaving the king to his own thoughts.

"What did you tell him, Cook-san?" asked Robin "King Cobra looks as white as a sheet of paper from here"

"Nothing important..." he winked at her "Just something between us men"

Silence reigned in the room as Cobra didn't move from his place. And a couple of minutes later, he called Vivi over to his side and started discussing something with her, while sometimes stealing glances in the direction of Sanji.

The two finished their talks and joined back with the rest. Vivi was smiling widely at them contrary to Cobra who was giving Sanji a solemn look. He finally sighed in resignation, and spoke to Robin "Alright, you have my permission. But I want you to give me your word that you wouldn't tell another soul about whatever is written on the Poneglyph"

Robin eyed Sanji in interest, wondering how he convinced the king. However, she decided to put it in the back of her mind for now, then faced Cobra "Thank you. And though it was never my intention from the first place, I give you my word nonetheless" she agreed.

***

After lunch and some more pleasantries, the king, accompanied by Vivi, Robin and Sanji, led them towards the Tomb of Kings, west of Alubarna, where he opened a secret staricase, leading down below.

Deep underground there was a grand tomb with multiple decorated stone pillars, Sea Cats statues lining up the sides and many murals depicting ancient events. Further back inside, they passed through a heavy stone door and came upon a yellow room with a polished blue stone flooring and a massive block shaped stele, sitting in the middle.

"So this is the Poneglygh..." said Vivi in wonder.

"Yes..." replied Cobra. He watched as Robin stood by the giant blue cube and started reading the text that was carved on one of its sides. It was written in some kind of a forgotten ancient language.

"So, is what you d.e.s.i.r.e... recorded there?" he hesitantly asked when Robin took a step away from the Poneglyph.

"Is there nothing else...!?" she didn't answer, instead questioned him with a bit of agitation is her voice "Is this everything this country is hiding...!?"

"Why, dissatisfied?" he lifted an eyebrow at her "I showed you the Poneglyph as promised. Isn't this what you asked for?"

"..." she looked at him silently for a while, then sighed tiredly "I see... So this is another wrong lead as well"

Not waiting for the rest, she turned around and walked out of the room. Vivi was worried, seeing her disappointed expression and was about to follow after her, but Sanji prevented her "Let's give her some space, Vivi-chan. She needs some time alone for now"

"Is she alright, Sanji?" she asked in concern "I thought she would be happier once she achieved her wish"

"It's more complicated than you think..." he answered watching Robin's retreating back, then smiled at Vivi "But don't worry, she's going to fine"

"What kind of information is she looking for if the Poneglyph doesn't have it?" asked Cobra. He knew that Sanji knew about Pluton, so whatever else she must be searching for, it's not it.

"It's something for her to tell if she wished to" Sanji shrugged "Anyway, let's leave this place. We have no further purpose staying here"

***

Back at the palace, Robin sat at the edge of the rooftop garden, silently watching the hustle and bustle in the city below. A couple of meters behind her, stood Sanji calmly smoking on of his cigarettes.

That was the scene that anyone who passed by the garden, came witness to for the past several hours.

Vivi was very concerned about the raven haired woman, but decided to not disturb her for the time being and ordered everyone else in the castle to leave the two of them alone.

"I'm tired..." finally spoke Robin in barely a murmur, but Sanji heard her nonetheless "I'm tired of this life... following down a hopeless path for 20 long years"

"..." Sanji didn't say anything as he continued listening to her.

"Since I was eight years old and had a bounty placed on my head, I've had to live hiding from the marines in the shadows. So to survive and sail the sea, I've placed myself under the care of many villains by following their orders. I've betrayed... and even killed to keep on living. All of which to achieve my dream..."

"I've searched and searched, and I could find no better lead than this Poneglyph... This was my final hope... And in the end, it turned out to be the wrong one..."

"I have no purpose left to my life. Maybe it'd be better if I just end it here by jumping down from this high up"

"Do you really think I'll let you do that, Robin-chan?" said Sanji as he approached and sat beside her.

"No, I guess not" she sighed.

Sanji gently grabbed one of her hands "Can you tell me about your dream?" he asked eventhough he already knew.

She looked at him, finding him smiling at her. She couldn't help a small smile before she started talking "I want to find the 'Rio Poneglyph'. Out of all the Poneglyphs in the world, it's the only one whick speaks of 'True History'... It's my goal in life. It's what I worked for all this time" she turned her head, looking at the horizon "All I ever wanted was to know history..." a tear cascaded down cheek "But It's not meant to be. My dream just has too many enemies"

"That's no reason to give up, Robin-chan" Sanji squeezed her hand, making her look back at him "You were just on you own before. But not anymore. Now you have me and the rest. We'll help your dream come true"

"I'm still not part of your crew, Cook-san" she smiled self-deprecatingly "And even if I were, I wouldn't want to bring trouble to any of you. You just don't know what kind of enemies I have. Crocodile may as well be an ant in comparison"

"Who... The marines... The World Goverment... Cypher Pole... I know exactly the kind of enemies you have, Robin-chan. And I don't care" he wiped the trail left of the tear from her cheek "I'll protect you. No matter what. And I'll destroy anyone who dares to lay a hand on you"

Robin's eyes widened in shock, making him smirk "You're not the only one with a mysterious past, Robin-chan. I know a lot more about a lot of things than you think"

"Just who're you, Cook-san?" she asked, looking him in the eye "You already knew about Crocodile being Mr. 0 before Miss Wednesday told the rest of your crew. You have knowledge about great powers like that of Haki and Life Return. You possess great strength and that mysterious fire of yours. You even managed earlier to persuade King Cobra with just a few words you exchanged privately with him... These are things that no ordinary cook should be able to do?"

He gave her a sly smile "Every man needs to have some mystery about him, to keep it interesting for the ladies or he'll be boring, right?"

"I see..." she smiled back at him "Well, I don't dislike mysteries. I'm an archaeologist afterall"

"You're welcome to dig around about me all you want" he chuckled. He plucket the cigarette from his mouth and kissed the back of her hand, before he added "I'm just your friend though, Robin-chan. And despite whatever you may think, you're already part of our crew. I already told you before at Little Garden that you're stuck with me, so I won't let you leave us easily"

"But I'm quite skilled at moving behing the scene, you know" she chuckled behind her hand "Are you sure you can catch me if I wanted to escape?"

"You just have to try and see" he laughed good naturally.

"And one more thing, Robin-chan" he gave her a serious look "I never laid my hands on a woman before, but I swear if you ever think about ending your life ever again, I'll spank you for real this time"

"Oh, and what if I want you to spank me, Cook-san?" she asked humorously.

"Then you can ask me to, anytime you want" he winked playfully at her, before he added in earnest "But this is a serious matter, Robin-chan. Never again, I'm warning you" he ended by lightly fl.i.c.k.i.n.g her forehead.

"Ow" she rubbed a red mark left by the flick, as she looked at him.

Her eyes gradually began to water, ready to shed tears. However, it was not from pain. It was because she felt his care in that gesture. It was the first time in a very long time since someone expressed any kind of concern about her wellbeing.

She looked down and her face burned as she traced the stone grain of the rooftop with her finger, looking like a child who had just been scolded. She didn't try to make light of the situation as she usually does, and simply nodded her head, murmuring a soft "Uh-huh"

"Good" he lifted her head and smiled warmly at her, brushing a lock of hair out of her delicate features "Come on, let's get back inside the castle. It's getting chilly out here" grabbing her hand, he helped her to her feet.

***

Back to Luffy and company...

"Don't think you can outrun me forever, Strawhat!" yelled Marine Captain Smoker.

He was riding a custom made motorbike, powered by his Devil Fruit the Smoke-Smoke Fruit(Moku Moku no Mi), and was in a high speed chase after a giant red crab, sporting a leer on its face. There was a green patch of grass growing on top of its head, where Luffy and the rest sat alongside a giant Seastone cage, containing Crocodile and his officers.

"Hey smokie~!" Luffy was taunting and flapping his tongue at him "Catch me if you can~!"

"Roronoa Zoro!" this time it was a yell from Marine Sergeant Tashigi, riding behind Smoker "How dare you make a fool out of me and run away again!"

"I've got no intention of fighting you!" Zoro yelled back, sitting next to Luffy "Our match was already settled back at Logue Town!"

"No, it wasnt!" she waved her sword angrily at him "You've yet to cut me once, you coward!"

"You...!" Zorro fumed, then turned his back to her, trying to ignore her presence. "Dammit! I'm just no good dealing with her" he grumbled to himself.

To the side, Nami uttered in disbelief "Whoa, I didn't know Zoro had girlfriend that's chasing after him all the way from East Blue. And a marine girl at that. And here I thought the only thing he had a relationship with was his training equipement"

"Yeah, and she's cute too..." added Usopp "I always imagined if Zoro had a girlfriend, she'd be more of a 'Zoro' than Zoro if you know what I mean" he pointed at his arm muscles or at least whatever little he had.

"Well, what do you know... The world's a strange and mysterious place" said Luffy, crossing his arms.

"Do you even know what a girlfriend is, Luffy?" Usoop looked at him skeptically.

"Of course I know, stupid!" Luffy puffed his c.h.e.s.t at him "She's someone that let's you eat lots of meat for free" he nodded his head sure of himself.

"Eh... um... right..." Usopp was tongue-tied, not knowing what to say to that.

Chopper was crying emotional tears from his eyes "Love is a wonderful thing, isn't?"

"Yes, it is!!" agreed Mr. 2 from his cage. He was wiping away a tear from the corner of his eye.

All the while, Zoro was sporting multiple tick marks on his head listening to them, and was vibrating mad with each comment they made. He couldn't hold back in the end and yelled at them, sharp teeth and all "Stop making stuff up, you bastards! She's not my girlfriend!"

"ZOOOROOO!!!" was Tashigi's latest shout, as it cut through right after Zoro's outburst "Don't ignore me, you coward! I'm not going to let you get away! I'll definetly get you this time!"

Hearing her, Nami and the rest narrowed their eyes at Zoro "Yeah, she's definetly your girlfriend"

Zoro turned red from a mix of fury and embarass.e.m.e.nt "She's not, dammit!"

"Oh, please" Nami dismissed him with a hand "Stop being so shy about it. You have a girlfriend. So what. It's not like it's the end of the world"

He ground his teeth at her, but as if an invisible light bulb lit up above his head, he took a deep calming breath, then said "Well, what do you expect from the girlfriend of that love-crazy cook? Just another love-crazy witch"

"Wha!?" she was caught off guard by his comment "I-I'm not his girlfriend!?" she stuttered.

"Yeah, right" he said sarcastically "I even called you his woman yesterday and you didn't even try to deny it"

"N-no, I-I just- Shut up!" she yelled, seeing him smirking at her "Go take a nap or something, marimo!"

"Oh" his smirk widened, as he shifted into a more comfortable position on the grass "So now you're copying your boyfriend? 'Cute'"

Before even realizing Zoro had said one word she would never expect him to say, she realized she had become so used to Sanji's insult she used it unconsciously. She turned as red as a tomato "I-I... N-no that's... S-sanji-kun-"

"Nwaaami-swaaan! Did you call for me!?" Sanji suddenly landed and hugged her from behind "Are you sad because you've missed me? Forgive me-"

"Kyaaa! Don't sneak up on me like that!" she punched him in the face. He fell head first on the grass.

"I missed you too, Nami-san!" he gughed with a heart shaped bump over his eye.

"Great, the other dumbass is here" said Zoro.

"What did you say, marimo!?" Sanji yelled at him, showing his sharp teeth.

Zoro sneered seeing Nami freeze behind the cook with smoke rising from her head as she heard the latter use the same insult she just used seconds ago. He closed his eyes ignoring the cook and replied "Nothing"

Sanji arched an eyebrow at him and Nami "Am I missing something here?"

"N-nothing" said Nami, avoiding his eyes.

"Hey, Sanji" intejected Usopp "Why did you come back? Shouldn't you be in Alubarna by now?"

"I already delivered Robin-chan and Vivi-chan to mee the king, so I had nothing else to do. But more importantly, I can't entrust Nami-san's safety to you bunch of idiots. Which it seems that I'm right about" he pointed at Smoker and Tashigi with his thumb "So how did this happen?"

"Do you really have to ask?" sighed Usopp.

Sanji looked at Luffy, who was slapping his a.s.s at Smoker "Yeah, I really should stop asking these kind of questions" he turned to Usopp once again "But still how did you end up riding this crab? Shouldn't it have been easier to just use Banchi once again?"

"That's what we planned to do in the beginning. But before we could install the cage behind the carriage, Luffy wandered inside the city and alerted the marines to our presence. We were almost surrounded and caught by them, but it was just our good luck that this crab was passing by. Chopper talked to it and succeeded in concincing it to carry us out of the city. And so, here we're now" explained Usopp.

"I see..." Sanji inspected the crab 'This is the same pervert crab that helped us out in my past life. Nami-san named him Hasami(Scissors ), if I remember correctly. Wasn't he one of that pervert camel friends?' he turned his head to the front of the crab and saw a light brown camel wearing a bridle and saddle, sitting down 'Yeah, that's the one. Matsuge(Eyelashes). It appears we were fated to meet them once again'

He didn't pay them any more attention and addressed his crewmates "Anyway. We're getting close to the Sandora River and this carb can't swim. So we need to find another mode of transportation" 'Though, if it's anything like last time there won't be a problem'

"Whaaat!? This crab can't cross the river!" exclaimed Usopp, Chopper and Nami.

"'Moving Crabs' are desert creatures, so it's only natural it can't swim" he explained.

"B-but it's a crab for crying out loud! A freaking crab!" argued Usopp.

"What're we going to do?" asked Nami.

"Don't worry guys, we'll figure something out" he reassured them, then turned his head in Smoker's direction "First let's get rid of our annoying pursuer, shall we?"

He flickered forward appearing right in front of Smoker, who shouted in shock "You again!?"

Sanji smirked at him, and before he could react, Sanji socked him right in the face with a Haki infused kick, sending him off the bike and rolling on the ground.

"You'll pay for that!!" yelled Tashigi, seeing what happened to her superior. She quickly slashed at Sanji's midsection, but he was quick enough to evade even from such close proximity. He disarmed her with a swift kick to her sword handle, before he manhandled her on his shoulder.

"Let me go you, you pirate sc.u.m!" she screamed at him, hitting him on the back.

"Relax, I won't hurt you" he said, before he jumped away as he stomped on the bike undereath him, rendering it into scrap metal.

He landed on the ground, and gently set down the marine girl who kept struggling and screaming at him. He ruffled her hair, angering her more and said "Till we meet next time, Tashigi-chan" he winked at her, then disappeared right after, leaving her fuming and cursing at empty space.

He reappered once againt amongst Luffy and the rest. He wiped his forehead and looked at Zoro "Phew, your girlfriend is quite the feisty one, marimo"

"Huh!?" he didn't register what Sanji told him at first, but then it dawned at him "The hell is wrong with you love-crazy people!" he burst out in anger.

"So she really is his girlfriend?" asked Chopper.

"Yeah. Back then when we were chased by Smoker in Logue Town, I noticed there were some sad looks going on between the two of them" Sanji said nonchalantly "He must have left quite the strong impression on her. She even came all the way to Alabasta, chasing after him. That screams great love to me"

"Wow, Zoro!" exclaimed Usopp "I didn't know you kept such a secret from us and here I thought we were bros!"

"I didn't know you were a secret romantic, Zoro" said Nami with a snigger.

"Waaaahh, forbidden love between a pirate and a marine!" cried Mr. 2 in his cage "How romantic!!"

"There's nothing going on between us, you damned shit-cook!!" snarled Zoro.

"You shouldn't ignore a maiden's love like that, moss-head?" Sanji gave him a scathing look then shook his head "Even for someone as heartless as you, that's a new low"

Zoro's face changed so many colors the crew was wondering if he was going to explode.

"Hahaha, Zoro looks so funny!" laughed Luffy, slapping his t.h.i.g.hs.