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Two years after Luffy becomes the pirate king, they find the All Blue.
It was not an easy find—not that Sanji ever expected it to be—tucked away in the farthest corner of the world, with each and every ocean pouring into its magnificent blue.
It's more than Sanji had ever hoped for, more than he'd ever imagined it could be. He stands there on the deck of the Sunny, staring out at the endless stretch of deep blue ocean, watching the multitude of fish swimming just below the surface.
He's finally made it.
The dream wouldn't be complete without Zeff, and wouldn't have even been possible if it weren't for the shitty old man. Since Nami is the only person alive who can navigate the treacherous oceans to get here, and she needs a whole crew to do it, she and the rest of the crew agree to go pick him up.
Sanji is hesitant to leave the ocean he's spent his whole life searching for when he'd just found it. He's too afraid he's still dreaming, and it will all vanish once his back is turned.
But Nami agrees he can stay behind. This is his dream after all, his ocean. If anyone should have the opportunity to explore the untouched ocean, it should be him.
“We can make the trip back with eight crewmates,” she assures him, “and there's plenty more manpower to be had once we arrive at the Baratie.”
“Eight?” Sanji is a little confused, but only for as long as it takes Luffy to launch himself into his side, his rubbery arms wrapping around him like an octopus.
“I'm staying with you,” he insists before Sanji can open his mouth, “I've already explored the East Blue. I want to explore All Blue with you.”
Even after all these years, Sanji couldn't deny his captain anything.
With that settled, the rest of the Straw Hats make the trip back to East Blue, leaving Sanji and Luffy with a small houseboat Franky whipped up for them, and an endless deep blue sea to explore.
“So,” Luffy turns towards him, his grin wide and sunny, “What do you want to do first?”
Luffy has never been swimming before, at least not on his own. He never learned before eating the Gomu Gomu no Mi, and physically couldn't afterward. Sometimes when the sea was calm, Franky would let out the little shipside pool tucked away in one of the Sunny’s channels, and he could float around on an inner tube for a bit, but that was the closest he got.
But floating around above All Blue isn't going to cut it. This is Sanji's dream after all, and he wants to experience all of it.
“You don't have to do this,” Sanji says, his feet already gliding across the water’s shimmering surface, “You can wait on the boat.”
Luffy gives him a pointed look. Like hell is he waiting on the boat when the All Blue is sitting right there!
“I'll be fine,” Luffy assures him as he hoists himself up over the railing, shooting him a grin, “You’ll be with me.”
A pink dusting covers Sanji's cheeks, but he nods as he slips into the water, the blue parting easily for him.
When he surfaces, he turns back to Luffy and nods, “Okay, c’mon in.”
Luffy grins as he does just that, launching himself off the boat and into the water with a loud splash.
At first, he sinks, always disoriented by how weak the water makes him, but Sanji is there to catch him. Sanji is always there to catch him.
He grins as Sanji holds him tight, treading in the water and taking on his weight easily. They bob there for a moment, the cool of the ocean lapping against their sides, before Sanji asks, “Ready?”
Luffy nods enthusiastically, taking a deep breath before Sanji plunges them into the waiting blue.
Once they’re completely underwater, Luffy opens his eyes.
He finds himself surrounded by a magical, endless blue. There’s a green sea plant floating around in the midst of it all, and a rainbow of fish sprinkled throughout. They dart here and there, their colors streaking through the blue in a way that leaves Luffy mesmerized.
Sanji points out each fish that passes by. A red fish, a yellow fish, an orange fish, a green fish, so many fish in every color Luffy has ever seen, and quite a few he hasn’t. Sanji grins excitedly at each and every one, reaching out with the hand not firmly holding Luffy to gently touch them. They dart around his fingers, threading between them before dashing off into the greater blue beyond.
Sunlight streams through the water above them, casting a light blue over everything it touches. On Sanji, it leaves him glowing, sparkling amongst the endless blue sea, another part of All Blue to be marveled by.
Luffy held his breath for as long as he could, determined to stay in the blue with Sanji, but eventually the need for air became too much.
Sanji, as always, knows exactly when it becomes too much, and brings him back to the surface just as Luffy starts choking.
He takes lungfuls of much-needed air, breathing heavily as he leans entirely on Sanji.
Sanji holds him steady, and takes his weight like it’s nothing as his eyes scan the water.
“Look,” he points out the red fish as Luffy catches his breath, “That’s a red snapper, mostly found among the reefs in the West Blue, and there!” He points at a large green fish that darts swiftly past the snapper, “That’s a mahimahi, normally found in the waters of South Blue.”
Sanji grins wide as he watches the fish swim by, and Luffy can’t help but smile too. He’s never seen Sanji this excited, this enthralled with the world around him before.
He wants to bottle that smile up and keep it for himself, to light his world and keep him warm. He wants Sanji to be that happy forever.
A blue fish shoots by him, and Luffy reaches a hand into the water, a weak finger brushing against it while it swims around him.
“What’s this one?” Luffy asks, bringing Sanji’s attention back to him.
“That’s a blue tang,” he says as the fish swims away, disappearing in the greater blue of the sea, “Normally found in the reefs of East Blue.”
Luffy laughs and holds onto Sanji even tighter. Sanji doesn’t complain, doesn’t protest, just keeps him steady as they float in the blue.
“Can you tell me more?” Luffy asks, wanting Sanji to tell him everything, to share this world with him for as long as he can.
Sanji grins, and searches for the next fish.
There are islands in the All Blue, tiny spits of land with white sand beaches that quickly turn into deep green forests. Rivers bend and turn throughout the forests, bright blue paths full of freshwater fish that lead to deep lakes in the middle of the island.
As much as Sanji wants to explore the forest, he’s content to stick to the beach for now. With no docks, they pull the houseboat up on the shore, and Sanji sets up the small campsite while Luffy scours the woods for firewood.
“There’s so many fish in the river!” Luffy exclaims as he bursts through the treeline carrying an entire tree trunk, “Even more than the ocean!”
“I doubt that,” Sanji laughs, but he appreciates Luffy’s enthusiasm as he beams wide, “Although there should be plenty of fish here on land. Salmon, trout, pike…”
He starts listing all of the different recipes he knows, excited to try them all out. Maybe while he's here, he can even come up with a few more.
He has every ingredient he could ever want at his fingertips, after all. The world is his oyster.
“That all sounds delicious,” Luffy says, mouth open and drooling as he tosses Sanji the log, “I'll get us some fish so you can cook ‘em!”
And he's off into the woods again before Sanji can stop him.
Sanji laughs, enjoying Luffy’s enthusiasm. He's glad he can share this with someone as excited about being here as he is.
By the time Sanji has the wood properly split and a cooking fire going, Luffy returns with a handful of fish. Silver salmon, green spotted pike, and plenty of rainbow trout are clenched in his hands, and he holds them out like a prize, “Is this enough?”
“It's plenty,” Sanji laughs as he waves him over, “Bring them here and I'll cook them.”
Luffy bounds over, grin wide on his face as he sets them down where Sanji tells him to.
Sanji has his travel spices with him, but he's delighted to find there's plenty that the All Blue provides for him to work with. Herbs he's only ever read about just within the first, sea plants he's only dreamed of washed up along the shore. Sanji tastes all, experiments with the flavors, and adjusts his dishes accordingly. He adds a side of rice, a tangerine, roasted pike, chocolate for something sweet, sandwiches and burgers, some curry, mozuku seaweed for the garnish, and of course, plenty of meat and pasta, making sure to include everyone's favorites in this first-ever All Blue meal.
The sun is high in the afternoon sky by the time he finishes, the deep blue of the sky broken only by fluffy white clouds. The pale blue of the horizon dipped into the aquamarine of the ocean, making Sanji feel like he's standing in a dome, surrounded by nothing but blue.
“Is it ready?” Luffy asks, drawing his gaze back to the beach and their little cookout.
“It's ready,” Sanji tells him, “but it's still hot so-”
Luffy doesn't heed his warnings, grabbing a stick directly from the fire and shoving the entire fish into his mouth.
He hisses as he burns his tongue, but dutifully swallows every bite, “It's so good!”
“It'll be even better if you let it cool a little,” Sanji laughs as he sets the rest of the fish aside to do just that.
He brings the whole tray over to Luffy and takes a seat in the sand next to him as he sets it between them. Luffy cheers as he grabs the next fish, eating at a more sedate pace as he glances out over the ocean.
Sanji looks out too, taking in the sea and the sky, just marveling at the endless blue, and his ocean stretched out before him. Some dolphins jump through the waves a couple miles out, and Sanji feels giddy from head to toe as he watches them.
“You match.”
“Huh?” Sanji turns to Luffy, “What do you mean?”
“Your eyes,” he reaches out, brushing a finger gently under his eye, “They’re the same blue as the sky and the ocean. They’re full of the All Blue.”
Sanji chuckles, blushing a little at the comparison. The All Blue is magnificent, containing every shade of blue imaginable in its endless depths.
Luffy must be seeing things if he saw that in the plain blue of his eyes.
But it's a nice thought, that he’s carried the All Blue with him all this time.
“Tell me again,” Luffy says as he grabs another bite, “About everything you're gonna make.”
Sanji grins, always happy to explain to his captain.
The sun is dipping below the horizon by the time he finishes, painting the sky with streaks of pink and orange and turning the ocean a vivid blue-gray.
“It's beautiful,” he says, glancing out over the ocean.
“Yeah,” Luffy agrees, but when he glances over, Luffy’s only looking at him.
He grins, wrapping his arms around him as he rests his head on his shoulder, “I can't wait to eat all that with everyone!”
“Yeah,” Sanji strokes his hair, “I can't wait to make it for you.”
They bring out a blanket and lay on the beach after the sun sets, the sky turning a dark, inky blue that the ocean echoed, watching the stars come out one by one.
The constellations in All Blue are a bit of a mess, a little from each Blue according to Sanji, as if the ocean itself was situated on the very corner of the sky. Luffy had never bothered to learn the constellations, so he takes his word for it.
Sanji tells Luffy stories, about heroes immortalized in the stars, people who got lost up there, and all the creatures that move across the sky. Luffy is enthralled by them, his eyes growing wider and wider the longer Sanji talks, and he shifts closer to him until he’s lying his head on his chest, following Sanji’s moving finger with his eyes so he can see what he sees.
When he thinks about it, this is probably the most Sanji has ever talked without a woman present. Sanji is usually quiet and reserved when he’s not arguing or flirting, preferring to sit back during their chaotic mealtimes and parties and observe, make sure everyone is being served and enjoying his food. Ever since they arrived at All Blue, he’s been talking almost nonstop, full of stories and recipes and plans for his ocean.
Sanji eventually falls asleep, but Luffy doesn’t pull away. He curls even more into his side, wrapping his arm tight around his waist, and smiling when Sanji’s arm comes down to embrace him in return.
Luffy had noticed something earlier, when he noticed that Sanji had the All Blue in his eyes the whole time.
Sanji belongs here.
It isn’t just the matching blues. He’s never seen Sanji so relaxed, so free, as he has here on the All Blue.
It’s where he was always meant to be. Luffy had just been the means he needed to get him there.
Even so, it’s a hard realization to come to. He wants Sanji to be happy, of course, but Luffy is also incredibly selfish. He wants Sanji to be with him. He wants to sail with him more, adventure with him more, keep him by his side forever.
And it isn’t that Sanji isn’t happy with him — Sanji makes it clear every day that he is happy with him — but he knows in his heart that now that they’ve found the legendary ocean, there will always be a part of Sanji that will regret leaving it behind.
And Sanji would leave it, if Luffy asked him to. He knows that, knows that Sanji will bend to his whims, no matter how selfish they are.
And he knows that Sanji would grow to resent him if he did.
Not hate, never hate. Luffy doesn’t believe Sanji is capable of true hate, and even if he is, he would never in a million years hate Luffy. But there will always be a yearning in him that could have been filled if it wasn’t for Luffy holding him back.
In the end, that’s what makes the decision for him.
He never wants to be the one to hold Sanji back.
When the sun rises in the morning, Luffy rises with it, standing right by the surf and letting the blue waves brush up against his feet.
The seawater weakens him, as it always does, and for the first time in his life he’s mad about how the ocean Sanji loves so much rejects him.
“Luffy?”
Sanji’s voice is groggy as he approaches, brushing the sand off of him as he comes to stand next to him. His feet stay planted in the sand, and when the waves wash over them, he stays standing, not even a little waver or weakness to him.
Luffy’s never been jealous of the ocean before, but there’s a first time for everything.
“Are you hungry?” Sanji says, glancing back towards where their fire is down to embers, “I can make something for you if you-”
“You should stay here.”
Sanji pauses, “What are you talking about?”
“After the others bring Zeff over, you should stay here with him.”
“What? Don’t be stupid,” Sanji scoffs, but there’s a tremor to his voice that Luffy doesn’t like, “I’m going with you.”
“No,” Luffy turns to face him, shifting his hat to hide his eyes, “You’re not. You’re staying here. Your adventure is over, Sanji.”
Sanji’s mouth is open and his eyes are wide, reflecting the blue of his ocean as deep as ever. He clenches his hands into fists when he finally looks away, “So this is it. After all these years, this is when you finally get sick of me.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Luffy growls, hating that that’s where his mind went to first, “That’s not what this is about at all.”
“Then what is it about?” Sanji snarls as he takes a step forward, “Why else are you telling me to leave the crew? To leave my family?”
“Because this is where you belong!”
Sanji freezes, and Luffy grabs his shoulders, holding him tight as the tide rises to their mid-calf, “You’ve always belonged here. It’s your dream ocean, and you expect to what, just leave it behind? Let Zeff cook all those amazing things you were talking about without you?”
Sanji scoffs, but his eyes water as he looks away, “The Straw Hats need their cook.”
“And the All Blue needs you,” Luffy takes Sanji’s chin in a gentle grip and turns his face back to him, “Who else knows everything about all the fish here? Who else is gonna be able to cook everything, and protect what’s here when people find out it’s real?”
Sanji grits his teeth, and refuses to let his tears fall.
“Your adventure is over, Sanji,” he repeats, resting his forehead against his, “The All Blue was your dream. Now that you have it, can you really just walk away?”
Sanji’s tears finally fall, dripping down his face and into the waiting blue below.
“Part of me knew,” he says, shifting closer to Luffy, wrapping an arm around his waist to hold him close, “Part of me knew I wouldn’t want to leave. But, Luffy…I can’t say goodbye to you.”
“Don’t be silly, Sanji,” Luffy laughs, plucking his hat off his head to place it on Sanji’s as he hugs him back, “This isn’t goodbye.”
“It feels like one,” he mutters as he buries his face in the crook of Luffy’s neck.
Luffy laughs again, leaning all his weight onto Sanji as the ocean rises to their knees, and Sanji takes it willingly, holding him steady amongst the blue, “You’re my cook and my friend, and I’ll always know where to find you. I’ll be back to visit — we all will. So this isn’t a goodbye.” He hums as he thinks it over, “It’s more like a see you later.”
“You better visit,” Sanji presses his tears into Luffy’s neck, “I’ll kick your ass if you don’t.”
“Of course,” Luffy grins as he pats Sanji’s back, “Your food is my most favorite in the whole world. I’ll be sad if I never eat it again.”
“I’ll save you a plate, Captain,” Sanji sniffles as he pulls away.
Luffy grins, then sags a little more as the blue tide rises higher on his legs.
Sanji scoops him out of the water completely, carrying him to shore and setting him back down on the blanket as he restarts the fire to cook them breakfast.
Luffy watches him work, his eyes never leave the intricate dance that was Sanji cooking.
Sanji hadn’t asked him to stay. He didn’t think he would, and he doesn’t know what his answer would have been if he did.
Luffy loves the All Blue, and he loves Sanji. If he had to settle down somewhere, he wouldn’t mind if it was here.
But Luffy was never one to settle. As much as Sanji belongs in the All Blue, Luffy belongs out in the world, going wherever the sea takes him in search of his next adventure.
Sanji probably knows that, which is why he didn’t ask. Luffy couldn’t deny his cook anything, after all, and Sanji would never want to be the one to contain him.
Still, they had some time before the others got here, time to spend with each other and explore everything the All Blue had to offer.
And Luffy wouldn’t waste one single second with Sanji.
After a little over a week later the Sunny and the Baratie arrive at All Blue.
Sanji stands by Zeff on the Baratie’s upper deck as he gazes out over the pristine blue stretched before him, a smile cracking over his wrinkled face as tears fall from his eyes.
Sanji watches Zeff watch their ocean. He looks older, much older than the last time he saw him. He's glad he made it.
Zeff wipes the tears from his eyes as he asks, “So what's next for you?”
Sanji takes a pull from his cigarette, “Franky wants to build me a ship, the others are going to help. Once that's up and running, they'll make a vivre card for me and be on their way.”
Zeff’s gaze slides over to him, “You're staying?”
“Of course I’m staying,” he rolls his eyes, “Who else is gonna run this shitty restaurant, you? With your bad knees? I saw you limp up here, don't lie to me.”
Zeff grunts instead, “You okay with that?”
“My adventure was always to get here,” he explains as he turns his gaze to the endless blue below, “The others have their own adventures to finish, but my next adventure is here in the blue.”
He’ll miss his friends, there's no point in lying about that, he'll miss Luffy, but he knew the moment when Luffy told him to stay that first morning that this was how it was always meant to be.
He flicks his lighter, watching the piece of paper he kept tucked in the lid shift as it tries to get back to Luffy.
A vivre card for a vivre card. No matter where in the world they end up, they'll always be able to find each other.
“It's not a goodbye,” he tells Zeff, “It's a see you later.”
They'll see each other again, he's sure of it.
Until then, Sanji will be here in the blue.