Chapter Text
“Our bank accounts are being monitored? For real? Hell yes, that means we're really important!” Luffy exclaims after Robin finishes her debrief, his characteristic smile lighting up the entire room. The other gang members around the table, in reality two picnic tables pushed together, have various reactions ranging from laughter to panic. The entire gang is present.
Despite his mild concern, Zoro only listens to the details without saying anything. Robin has a hand in everything and eyes everywhere, so surely her spy brain will protect the Strawhats from financial ruin. Or Nami might take over since it concerns money. Problems that Zoro can't solve head-on aren't typically in his job description. His rough fingers find the precious Wado Ichimonji under his jacket, while he routinely scans the perimeters of the shed through the windows, always ready for potential danger.
“If the corrupt pigs that call themselves cops think they can sneak around in this gang's finances without repercussions… they have a rude awakening coming for them when they learn who the Strawhat Gang really is!" Usopp shouts with the usual bravado. Multiple gang members agree loudly, and Zoro just nods.
His hands wrap tighter around the trusted weapon in his concealed holster and he weighs their options. Maybe he'll have to ice some more government dogs after all. Zoro wonders who is brave and stupid enough to look into them that deeply. Smoker? Garp? He prefers not having to kill good cops, barely enough of those exist as is. They don't seem the type to do paperwork tasks like investigating finances. Whose attention did they catch? A small gang that mostly sticks to themselves and helps more than it harms… I guess lately they aren't so small anymore. To what lengths will the cops go…?
“Zoro?”
He would die for his family and he would kill. But…
“Zoro. Roronoa Zoro? Demon of the East?”
Snapped back into the reality of the ongoing gang meeting he nods to Nami, indicating he definitely was paying attention.
“You'll be in charge of it,” Nami says, “Rest of us are too busy, now that we have to act more covertly.”
Sure. In charge of… it. Zoro sees a table of smiles directed at him and grins back. He's not fooling anyone. They know him too well. “What am I doing?”
Robin speaks up first: “Getting us a clean guy. I'll help you with it, but it's gonna be up to you in the end. As our second-in-command.” Luffy leans back to relax in his seat and a few of his family members just nod.
A… what?
~~~
The All Blue exists. It exists not only in his daydreams, in every breath he takes, in every breeze he feels on his skin… but it is so very close to existing in reality now. Cooking is Sanji’s second nature and with every new day, he becomes faster, craftier… better. His dishes are pristine. Furthermore, he finally completed courses in entrepreneurship and marketing, as boring as they were. Everything prepared him for this moment. The one and a million opportunity. Sanji is ready to seize this chance with both hands, and maybe even feet. His entire body is practically burning with passion and he can barely stop himself from dancing on the spot.
The All Blue, his own restaurant, will exist.
Sanji gives himself one last look. His best, black suit embraces him like shining armour. Flawless. So he mentally prepares himself to come face to face with whatever rich arrogant prick he's about to sell his soul to. As he opens the final door, Sanji is ready for anything. Anything but this.
“Hello, this is Sanji Black. Nice to see, I mean, meet you.” His interviewer looks nothing like
… like anything. Green Hair?
He could have noticed the three golden earrings, the large arms visible even through the suit jacket, the small price tag still attached to said suit jacket, the numerous scars on the hands or the devilish glint in the other's eyes. But the abnormally green hair is thoroughly distracting. Green is his least favourite colour after all.
As his answer is no more than a firm nod from his green haired interviewer, he continued speaking. “I presume this is you, Mr. Smith? We have exchanged emails, I'm here to speak to you about your grant to open a restaurant. Or more precisely, I'm here to convince you that I'm the chef you're looking for.” He explains with his most disarming smile. His interviewer didn't look like he could have a mundane name like ‘Mr. Smith’ at all. But then again, who was he to judge? His own name was a fake.
“Zoro, call me Zoro.”
“Mind if I take a seat?”
“No the chair is just for decoration”, Mr. Zoro Smith says mockingly, grey eyes seemingly issuing him a challenge he’d love to accept.
Stay calm Sanji. You only have this one chance. And stop looking at the green hair.
“Thank you. I was delighted when I received the invitation to speak to you.” Sanji took the seat and told every muscle in his body to exude confidence. He's not backing down. He will be as aggressively polite as he can be. “Opening my own restaurant has been my dream ever since I can remember. Being a chef is all I ever was and all I ever want to be. But I'm sure that you want to know why I'm the best candidate for ensuring your grant is well invested, with future profits secured. Don't worry…”
Mr. Zoro Smith’s eyes finally stopped sizing him up like a zoo animal and they show a hint of amusement now, as he raises a hand to interject. “No, please tell me more about why you want to cook, actually.”
~~~
A clean guy. Definition: Someone unrelated to the gang, with no visible ties, the identity fully unknown and concealed to everyone except the core members of the gang. Properties and finances that go through the clean guy's name will hence be untraceable, i.e. by detectives. A sham business to launder money completes the deal. An unremarkable business like a restaurant or a corner store is ideal and unlikely to attract attention.
~~~
“So, how was he?”
“Perfect”, Zoro said.
Robin giggled, stretching out her hand towards him.
“Sorry, I was gonna take notes but got distracted.” Before she could scold him he continued quickly. “We don't need to interview anyone anymore, he's the one!”
Robin could look unimpressed as long as she wanted, he would convince her. He would convince them all. Zoro was proud of his instincts and they were pointing him towards the prissy blonde.
“This guy, he's called Sanji, is a naive idealist like I've never seen before. His eyes practically glow when he speaks of cooking. It's like a lovesick puppy, I almost felt… anyways Luffy would love him. Next meeting…”
“Next meeting? Pause. You've already agreed to a second meeting?” Robin asks.
“Next meeting he's agreed to bring some food as a sample. His idea, not mine. I wanna give some of it to Luffy. That would convince him fast, don't you think?”
Robin was definitely hiding a lot of her thoughts on the matter. Her amused expression turned serious. “We don't need a good cook, Zoro. We need someone utterly desperate, who will do anything without asking questions. Including laundering our money. We need to trust either him or his desperation. In fact, it's better if he's not a great cook, because we want him to stay low key.”
“Listen, he thinks he's hot shit, but blondie's probably more bark than bite. Seems the type to make overrated high end shit and demand atrocious prices. He said”, Zoro grins remembering the conversation, “he said he's the best cook in all the four Blues and he's gonna cook different dishes every day, using different ingredients from all over the world. That he will call it the ‘All Blue’! Robin, we struck a gold mine, we found a maniac. I'm pretty sure Blondie does nothing in his life except think about cooking. I was half expecting him to get on his knees begging to be chosen.”
“So does… blondie… seem willing to turn a blind eye to the financials? We need to do a background check too. Don't do anything reckless.”
“I do reckless things every day. And I'm only half as bad as Luffy. Trust me, he's the one we want.” Zoro exchanges a knowing look with Robin. “You said we need to act fast, our money is probably safer anywhere except where it is right now. Also, I already know you have plenty of contingencies set up.”
“I'm surprised you even know what a contingency is”, Robin replies after a few seconds, seemingly resigned to Zoro's idea.
“Of course I know.” Zoro turns serious for a moment. “I'm the second-in-command to the wildest gang leader the world has ever seen. Look. Everything important is gonna be off the books, right? I know you got it all set up. You trusted me to find the man for the job. I found him.”
“I trust you, I'm glad you found him. I wish I could see the guy that has you under his spell.” She chuckles and the tension leaves the room. “And of course I got it all set up perfectly, who do you think I am?”
Zoro smirks and ignores how weird Robin phrased that second sentence. This isn't half as weird as some other shit she's said before.
“Here's the best thing, Robin. He already told me about his dad. I looked him up too. Do you know of an old gang leader named Red-Leg Zeff? He was active years ago.”
“Not much. He’s from the East Blue?”
“So hear this, his old man is a poster child of a reformed criminal. He did his time and then became a chef.” Zoro gestures wildly with his hands to emphasise the brilliance of it all. “He's the kid of an ex-gang leader. He probably won't even freak out if he realises his place has ties to the underground.”
“Reformed ex-convicts are a red flag, Zoro. He might be working with the cops. Better do an extended background check on his family.”
“That's… sure, I'll look into it”, Zoro concedes.
“Let's do this then.” Robin smiles and brings out her phone - her new special burner phone, untraceable; prototype made by Franky. An impromptu gang meeting is likely about to be called.
Not having his own special secret phone yet, Zoro leaves it to Robin. Instead he grabs his trusted Wado and traces the patterned shaft with his thumb, getting lost in thought. He’s sensing the weight of this task by how restless his mind is pacing. Finding a way to keep their illegal money safe, away from the dirty paws of the government, is crucial if they want to make it far. And they want to make it very far, especially if Zoro wants to achieve his own dream.
Roronoa Zoro, technically the second in command of the straw hat gang, has a vital role to play. He's the demon of the East, almost as scary and notorious as Luffy himself, and his role in the gang is the enforcer. As someone not afraid to murder, his name makes other criminals shiver in their boots, so he keeps them in check. Few dare to stand up to him or look him in the eye. His presence alone stops rival gangs from fooling around on their gang turf. However, aside from their ever-lasting war on the government (and their lap dogs), they haven't been in a gang war in months. Zoro has been training every day, even taking part in underground fighting rings, learning every skill he could possibly need in a gang war or police raid. But, that was it. He doesn't have his own project. Few external or internal issues that would require an enforcer.
Until now. His heartbeat picks up and a pleasant surge of adrenaline seems to course through his system. Finally. Finally, he is important for the gang again. Not just his reputation, but also his actions. He's gonna do well. Sanji Black gonna be the best clean guy the world's ever seen, Zoro will see to that himself.
So he tells the remaining Strawhats at their meeting.
They have a clean guy. And he's absolutely desperate.
~~~
Sanji is desperate. But he’s not dumb. He really isn't.
After the most suspicious looking person has given him the most shady grant interview, even a dreamer like himself knows better than to trust an offer too good.
Numerous possibilities come to mind. From the harmless prank of a bored punk, to a serial killer playing with his food. But the chances of this Zoro Smith being a real businessman, looking for a real start-up company to fund, seem to be below 5%. Below 1% maybe. Sanji takes a drag of his cigarette and looks over his notes.
He cannot find any information on his interviewer and supposed benefactor online, no matter how hard he looked. The story seemed plausible, convincing even. Zoro and his associates have inherited a large sum of money and a building he doesn't know what to do with. He wants to liven up the neighbourhood of the East Blue, the home he loves so much, all while honouring the will of the deceased. What a hero. If that really was Zoro’s life story, then why did he look like a thug stuffed into a suit he just bought. Sanji knows better than most that looks can be deceiving but he also knows how to read the story behind a person's clothes.
Red flags remain red flags. Most likely, this is part of a mean-spirited pyramid scheme and he certainly looked like someone easily scammed. Being all foolish and opening up about his dreams. Part of that front was on purpose to appeal to rich schmucks.
Sanji is ready to start over again. He will find funding for the All Blue one way or another, dig deeper and enter the right social circles, maybe even play up his charm more and hope that next time it's not a green-haired freak. He's always had a way with people and he's terribly stubborn. This single incident can't deter him.
Except said green-haired freak has suddenly sent him an email. With a 22-page document attached on top of it. The mail reads as such:
Dear Mr. Black,
I was very impressed with your interview and after speaking with my associates, you stood out from all applicants. Hence, we are considering you for the position and associated grant. Please let me know of your availability to discuss this offer in more detail and how we can proceed from now. I would like to show you the location you would be in charge of and try one of the dishes you have talked so much about before we finalise the agreement.
I attached a draft of the contract, including the concrete terms and conditions. Please read through it to see if it matches your expectations. Basically you would have full creative freedom to do what you want with the place and you will receive a generous starting budget to get going. The owner and stakeholder will be me, but the greatest share of the profit will go to you or towards expanding the business further.
I look forward to showing you the future 'All Blue'.
Zoro Smith
… Sanji knows when he's being played. The green-haired scammer has figured him out. Sanji had laid out his dreams like a fool in front of an absolute stranger who is now preying on them. The mail mentioned twice how Sanji could get to see the location, fully knowing what it would mean to him. He even remembered the name he wanted to give his restaurant. In an attempt to convince someone to fund his restaurant plans, he had gladly risked opening up. Zoro, the two-faced bastard, seemed to enjoy hearing about those passions too, judging by the treacherous sparkles in his eyes and small twitches in his face that Sanji didn't miss.
Yet now his passion is being weaponised. Zoro clearly wants Sanji to go to that location. And he knows Sanji wants to go too. What is gonna be the catch?
One internal conflict later, Sanji picks up his phone. He feels blood rushing through his body as every one of his senses sharpened. Much like when he decided to leave his abusive family behind. Much like when he left his found family behind in order to fulfill his dreams… For the third time, Sanji feels like he is standing at the crossroads of his destiny. And he is gonna be better prepared this time than he was the last two times.
“Hey Iva… Yes, it's really me… Sorry I know I promise I'll call more often but today I need your help… Not that kind of help! ... Shut up. I need your connections. I need an information broker… Yes. That type. There's a certain moss monster I need to find out more about.”
Sanji can't quite calm down even after half a pack of cigarettes. He's contacted Iva, not as a friend, not as a doctor, but as a member of a criminal underground organisation. This meant towing a dangerous line. He had promised himself years ago that he would leave that life for good. With every drag of tobacco, he lets go of some of the turbulence inside of him. This doesn't count. He won't return to that life. He's merely taking steps to ensure that.
Zoro Smith… if that even is your real name. I'll show you to toy with me. Oh, I will meet you and I will see that supposed location of yours. But you'll be the one toyed with. Then I'll expose your true self. Nobody makes fun of my dreams.