Archive of Our Own

“And done!” Sanri said as she finished the last stitch on her trousers-turned shorts, sitting by Nami on a deck chair, as Nami fought with a seagull over the price of her newspaper.

“What’s the big deal? It’s just one paper,” Usopp asked from where he tinkered behind them.

“Just one paper? I buy these every day. How am I going to save up money for myself now, if I constantly have to deal with rising prices?” Nami said with a huff.

Sanri put down her new shorts as she looked at Nami. “Why even get that drivel? It’s just a whole lot of articles pushing the World Government’s agenda. You have to read between so many lines, you end up getting a headache.”

Nami sat close to her with a sigh. “Yeah, but it's the only way to get any news around here. There isn’t exactly a lot of newspapers telling the full truth now, are there? If they were, Arlong would have been dealt with far sooner, as the marines would have been shamed into helping.”

“You mean instead of taking bribes?” Sanri asked with a smirk.

“Exactly,” Nami said as she opened the paper. “But information is useful in any form it comes in, so we have to suffer.”

Sanri laughed, but stopped as she heard a rustle from the bushes. She whipped her head around as she yelled, “Luffy, don’t touch Nami’s tangerines!” Her yell made Luffy fall into Usopp, who then got tabasco in his eye. The sniper ran around in pain, and Sanri was going to help, but Luffy still needed her attention.

“Aw, c’mon! I just want one!” Luffy pouted as he sat on the deck.

“No! You don’t even know which ones are ripe.” Sanri crossed her arms as she walked towards her captain. “Plus, it’s Nami’s tangerine orchard. You shouldn’t touch others' things without their permission, Luffy. I’ll make you lunch in an hour. You can wait that long. You can do that, right? I’ll make you meat if you’re good.”

Luffy’s eyes sparkled as he wrapped himself around Sanri. He rubbed his face into her cheek. “You promise?”

“I promise. Meat on the bone. But only if you are good and don’t eat anything before then.” Luffy nodded happily, disentangling himself from her.

Zoro pouted from where he sat not far away, watching as Sanri sat back down next to Nami. He wanted a treat too. Nami had been taking up all of the blonde’s time since they left her island, and if it wasn’t her, it was Luffy. He was getting sick of it. He remembered waking up with Sanri curled up on his shoulder the morning before their departure. It wasn’t even awkward when they woke up, just nice and relaxed. He thought that they would get closer on the ship, but Nami was blocking every attempt he made to get close to Sanri alone, and Luffy was constantly around the blonde to get more food. He was sure that Nami was just messing with him now, but Luffy was too much. It was infuriating. Why did all of his crew want him to suffer?

A fluttering of paper caught his eye as it fell from Nami’s paper and onto the ground. “What’s that?” he called, getting Luffy’s attention. The rubber man picked up the paper.

And started to laugh.

Luffy turned the paper around to show his first bounty poster. And it was for 30 million berries.

“Alright, guys! We’re wanted criminals!” He seemed so proud. “And for a whole lot of berries.”

Usopp smiled as he pointed at the poster. “Check it out! I’ll be seen all around the world.” A dreamy expression took over his face as he clasped his hands together. “Girls may even fall for me...”

“Fat chance,” Sanri stated, making the sniper slump sadly. She walked over to the bounty. “I am surprised, though. 30 million for a starting bounty is practically unheard of.”

Zoro came beside her, resting his hand on his sword. “Yeah. But Luffy took out some of the biggest hitters in the East Blue. And in a short space of time as well.” The swordsman scanned the picture and found Usopp. “Usopp... It’s the back of your head. That’s hardly impressive.”

Usopp smirked at Zoro. “Yeah, well, I don’t see you on one yet.” Zoro glared at the sniper who continued his gloating. “Guess you just have to try harder.”

“You want to say that again?” Zoro said as he glared at Usopp, unsheathing his sword just an inch in threat.

Usopp panicked and hid behind Sanri, using her as a human shield. “No! Sanri, protect me!”

Sanri shook her head at them as Luffy laughed, raising his arms. “Let’s go to the Grand-Line.”

Nami raised her voice in annoyance. “Yet again, you guys don’t understand how grim our situation really is.” She put her head in her hands. “This means all our lives will be in constant danger.”

Sanri came to stand beside her once more. “Guess we now know what that Colonel was on about. But lighten up, Nami. This was just a matter of time anyway with Luffy as a captain.”

Nami sighed. “Yeah, but still.” The navigator shook her head, annoyed with the development. “Okay, fine. This is no time to be relaxing in the East-Blue.”

Sanri nodded her agreement before going to try on her shorts and going to the kitchen to start on lunch. They were a little short for her liking, but it was the best she could do to save them since so much was ruined. They were still comfy and stretchy, though, and let her move about the kitchen freely. She was so focused on her work that she didn’t hear the door open. So, when someone spoke, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“30 million berries, huh? With that amount, I bet headquarters will take action,” Zoro said, sitting down at the table.

Sanri screamed before she turned to him, cheeks and hair puffed in mild rage. “Don’t sneak up on me like that! What if I were holding a tray?” She sighed as she turned to chop up some fruit to make some drinks as well. “But you are right. We’ll probably need to be careful when we go to port from now on.”

Zoro leaned on his arms as he got comfortable to watch her cook. “Don’t forget about bounty hunters, we’ll have to deal with them as well. With that kind of bounty, they’ll be good too.”

Sanri shrugged as she put the fruit in the blender. “I’m not too worried. We’re strong, and now that you’re all healed up. You can start training again to get even stronger.”

“What do you mean by start? I never stopped,” Zoro stated as he yawned.

Sanri stopped what she was doing to look at him. Face a blank mask. “What do you mean you didn’t stop? The doctor told you not to do excessive exercise for at least a week.”

“Yeah, but why would I listen to some old guy?” Zoro said off-handedly as he closed his eyes. “I’ve been doing it at night since I take night watch.”

His eyes snapped open as a kitchen knife went into the table not far from his head. He looked up to see Sanri looking down at him with a dark look. “What was that mosshead? I thought I heard something that couldn’t possibly be true. Since I’m pretty sure someone who wants to be the world’s greatest swordsman wouldn’t say something that would get them killed before their time.”

“Uh...what?” Zoro gulped as he could feel her aura become terrifying.

“I said, I’ll kill you.” Sanri glared down at the swordsman as she leaned over him and patted his cheek. “If you ever go against doctor’s orders again and make yourself weaker, shitty swordsman... I’ll turn you into fried seaweed.” She then pulled her knife out of the table and returned to cooking, blending up the smoothies.

Zoro's face reddened as he pouted at the table, turning his head away. “I was training to get stronger. I’m not getting weaker.”

“You don’t know much about the human body, do you?” Sanri asked as she pulled out some more fruit. “You need to let yourself rest and recover properly if you want to get stronger.”

“That’s just wasting time,” Zoro said strongly.

“It’s not. You can permanently damage yourself. This will make it harder for you to get stronger and reach your true potential. Sanri stated factually. “I read about it in the library growing up, when I was researching different athletes' diets. I was planning to help you, but you’ve been stupid, so I don’t know if I will anymore.”

“How can diet help me get stronger?” Zoro asked, truly puzzled at her statement.

Sanri checked the oven. “What do you mean? Of course, diet matters!” She went and sat back down opposite him to explain. “Food is the human body's source of fuel. Like oil is for an engine. Or the wind is for a boat. But the type of fuel matters depending on what you want.” Sanri leaned forward, excited to share her knowledge as she bounced her leg. “For example, dancers have completely different needs from strongmen. Dancers need fewer overall calories than strongmen since they don’t need the energy to form excessive muscle mass, but they still need to eat between 1.2 to 1.7 grams of protein per day for the muscle mass they require to perform the skills they do. Furthermore, when they become deficient in some vital micronutrients such as vitamin D, calcium and iron, making them become too weak to perform at their peak if they aren’t careful. Strongmen, however, need to consume 1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day, which is significantly higher because of the focus on strength. And in comparison, they get most of their calories from carbohydrates rather than fat, like dancers do. They also need significantly more water compared to other athletes.”

Zoro blinked at her in amazement. “You sure do know a lot about food. I thought food was just food.”

Sanri huffed and crossed her arms. “Of course you did. Men are so stupid. A chef as good as me would want to know more about food going into people's bodies and the side effects. The Baratie had so many different customers who had dietary requirements for their bodies, and I wanted to give them the best expertise.” Sanri put her head in her hands in thought. “Actually, I was asked pretty frequently to be people's personal chef and dietitian by athletes and by a few Marines who were high up in the World Government. Always refuse, though. Can’t stand the World Government, and I couldn’t leave Zeff. But I did a few consultations and gave my advice on where they should start to improve their diet.”

Zoro rubbed his face in frustration. “You really are smart, huh? Why is it then that you have no concept of people’s intentions towards you?”

Sanri puffed her cheeks in irritation as she went to check on the food. “I thought you’d forget about that by now.”

“Nope,” Zoro said as he kept his eyes on her. “So...?”

Sanri sighed, annoyed. “I don’t know, okay. I just find it hard. Animals are so much easier to understand. People are so confusing. They can have so complex emotions all at once. I have literally cried tears of frustration over not understanding what people want from me. How am I to figure that shit out right away? It’s impossible.”

Zoro shrugged as he saw tears prick her eyes as if she was getting frustrated just thinking about it. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell you.”

Sanri shook her head. “I’m an adult. I’ll have to figure it out myself. I don’t want another Zeff scaring people away.”

Zoro chuckled. “I promise I won’t be another Zeff then. Call it payment for looking over my diet. That is, if you are so sure that it is important?”

Sanri took the meat out of the oven. “Of course it’s important.” She looked at Zoro thoughtfully. “Fine. I’ll work out a dietary plan for you. As long as you remember you still owe me a shirt.”

Sanri started to heat up a pan to sear the meat to perfection when she heard a racket from outside. Even Zoro turned his head in annoyance. Zoro grabbed his sword and went out the door. Sanri would follow after she finished what she was doing, so she didn’t burn down the ship. She barely managed to finish before the boat swayed from the commotion outside. She wiped her hands as she made her way to the door.

Sanri could just hear Zoro’s gruff voice filled with irritation. “I was trying to relax and have a peaceful conversation.”

“There’s lots more where that came from! Fire! said another voice as Sanri opened the door. She was sure she knew it from somewhere. She opened the door to see a cannon explode and the other ship bang into the Going Merry. Luffy and Usopp seemed to feel bad for the other people that Sanri could now tell were Marines.

“You little brats! Never mock a former Marine HQ lieutenant!” A man with pink hair jumped aboard. “We’ll just have to go hand-to-hand! Men! Follow me!”

Sanri kicked a bunch of the marines back to their ship as Luffy headbutted the pink-haired guy to the ground. She stood over the pink-haired man with a frying pan in her hand as she glared down at him, trying to place him in her mind. “You got a lot of balls, tough guy. Picking a fight during lunch. I should kill you. Unless you made a reservation, I’ll have to ask you to leave.” She sucked on her lolly as she thought over the man’s features.

The man’s face matched his hair, and blood trickled from his nose even as his eyes opened in recognition. He screamed as he jumped back and overboard towards his ship. “What’s that waitress doing here?!”

That’s when she remembered the man from the restaurant who hurt his date. She didn’t know why he was there, though. Perhaps he was trying to regain some face after the debacle at the Baratie, or perhaps it was just chance; either way, the man had not changed one bit since she last saw him. “That guy is still nothing but a wimp. If I see him again, I’ll kick his ass. I still haven’t forgiven him for hurting his date.”

The Marines had already begun sailing away in a hurry when Nami made her disgruntlement known.

“C’mon, you guys! Can you keep it down? Honestly, I can’t even sit and read a paper.” Nami said as she flipped a page.

“Sorry, Nami!” Sanri called her way. “But lunch is ready.”

Luffy threw his arms in the air. “Yeah, food!” He then wrapped his limbs around Sanri like a monkey. “I get my meat now, right?”

Sanri sighed as Luffy once again clung to her in the heat of the day. “Yes, Luffy. You’ve been good, so you can have your meat.”

Luffy jumped off her as he ran to the kitchen. “Alright! Let’s eat, guys!”

-

After lunch, Nami sat them all down and showed them a map. “We’re getting closer. We’ve almost made it to the Grand-Line, and it looks like the only way into it is here, through Reverse Mountain.” She pointed to an area of the map.

“What a pain,” Zoro said as he leaned back with his arms behind his head, looking at the map. “There’s got to be some way around that thing.”

“There’s not,” Sanri said as she sat beside Zoro, rolling her lolly in her mouth in thought. “From what my old man told me, that’s the only place for us to enter without a government vessel.”

“How come?” Usopp asked.

“Cos’ it’s really dangerous,” Sanri stated, looking at the map.

“Yeah, but how come?!” Usopp asked again, raising his voice in frustration.

“Don’t shout at me!” Sanri shouted at Usopp, glaring, making the sniper gulp nervously as she growled at him. Zoro smirked as he watched on with enjoyment.

Nami looked up at them. “See, the reason is-”

“Hey! I got an idea! Why don’t we just sail straight into it? Luffy shouted as he pointed at the map.

Nami grit her teeth in annoyance before turning to Luffy. “Are you really that clueless?!”

Luffy grinned. “My way sounds a lot more fun! Plus, it’d feel way better to just dive right into it, you know?”

Nami put her head in her hands. “Talking to you drives me completely insane.”

Luffy looked over the map again. “First off, we need to stop at an island. Time to pick up some meat. We need meat!”

“Luffy.” Sanri seemed to copy Nami as she sucked her lolly in irritation. “He’s right, though. We do need more supplies. I need ingredients to make sugar wax, and I don’t want to use up the limited sugar we have for it without being at port.”

Nami nodded. “Can you make me some too? I’ve never tried sugar waxing. I’ve always just shaved.” The navigator then pointed at a small island. “There’s a famous city on this island. Known as Loguetown.”

Luffy looked at the island on the map. “Loguetown? Why is it famous? Did they get delicious meat?”

Zoro stared at the sky in thought. “I’m pretty sure I’ve heard of it before. It’s the city of the beginning and the end.”

Nami nodded at the statement. “It’s the town where the old King of the Pirates, Gol D. Rogers, was both born and killed.”

They looked at the map with interest. Luffy more than any of them. “That’s where the King of the Pirates died?”

Nami looked at Luffy with a small smile. “Well?”

Luffy looked at them, determined. “Yeah. Let’s do it. This was the man who had the One Piece. Everything the world has to offer. I need to see where he was born and executed.”

-

Zoro was on his way to the back of the ship for his nightly watch to exercise instead of the crow's nest when he spotted Sanri coming out of the galley with her worn blue jumper on, a blanket over her shoulders, and a pillow under her arm.

“What are you still doing up?” Zoro asked as he made his way over to her. “Luffy’s going to be annoyed if you aren’t well rested enough to cook him food. He’s made it clear you aren’t allowed to take night watch.”

“I know, but I wanted to make sure you didn’t work out tonight. For starters, you aren’t watching over the ship properly like that. Do it during the day when you can replenish with protein immediately after. It helps with muscle growth. Plus, I wanted to go over your diet plan with you. To see what you want to build on.” She moved her pillow to show two notebooks, one that looked well-used and full of notes, the other brand new.

Zoro sighed and rubbed his face. “Okay, fine. But you'd better go to bed afterwards. I don’t want Luffy breathing down my neck because breakfast was late, and he didn’t get his breakfast as soon as he woke up.” He gestured to the rat lines that led up the main mast. “After you.” Sanri got to the ropes, but then Zoro took her pillow out of her arms. “Your hands were too full. Now come on, we don't have all night.”

Sanri chose not to fight him, but she did call him an asshole under her breath as she climbed up the mast. Zoro heard her complaints as he climbed the mast after her, but he was not bothered. He thought he would be training, not talking about training.

They settled themselves in the crow’s nest, Sanri getting herself comfortable, wrapping her blanket around herself as she put the pillow under her bottom. Zoro took off his sword and placed it beside him as he sat down beside her, watching as she opened her books to find a page with a chart ready to be filled in. She turned to him with excitement in her eyes, pen in hand. “Okay, Zoro, let's start with some basic information. How many days a week do you train and for how long?”

Zoro leaned back as he stared at her with a small smile, happy to get some proper alone time with Sanri that wasn’t interrupted. “Everyday. I’m also pretty much always training as well. When I’m not physically training, I’m practising techniques or re-running battles in my mind to figure out what I could have done differently.”

Sanri sighed, annoyed as she wrote it down. “I won’t be able to persuade you into slowing down, will I?”

“Nope,” Zoro said proudly. “I’ve got to train hard to be the best.”

“Okay, fine.” Sanri made a note of it. “But I mean it. When I say have a snack afterwards. I’ll make stuff for you to eat when you train into the night. Just tell me beforehand. And make sure to rest properly. I know you take your morning naps. But if you’re constantly thinking about getting stronger, you won’t be able to properly rest. Let yourself relax your mind, body and soul. It will help with recovery.” She looked up at him. “Intensive training, how long per week?”

“5 per week. About 3-4 hours at a time to do all the repetitions I need to do for strength building,” Zoro said easily.

“How many sets do you do for it to take that long?” Sanri asked, genuinely intrigued.

“I don’t really do sets, but I repeat exercises over 3000 times to failure when I’m not injured. I’m trying to make it 4000”, Zoro explained.

“That’s amazing! I never thought you could do stuff like that. How much do you lift?” Sanri asked.

“If it’s a deadlift? About 1000 for now,” Zoro stated proudly.

“1000 pounds is impressive,” Sanri stated as she began to write it down.

“No, 1000 kilograms,” Zoro corrected.

Sanri looked at his face in shock. “Kilograms?”

Zoro chuckled at her face. “Yeah.”

“Gods. No wonder this crew eats so much.” She fixed her notes. “You’ll be needing more calories with that. Over the next week or two, can you make a note of all the workouts you do and for how long? I need it to calculate how many calories you need daily before taking into account normal everyday movement and your metabolic rate.” She looked over her notes. “I already asked you about allergies when I joined, and you said you have none. Any food preferences?”

“White rice,” Zoro stated easily. “It’s my favourite. Anything that goes with sake and booze, really. And sea-beast meat, sorry but your Darling’s relatives are delicious.”

Sanri sighed as she tightened her blanket around her, thinking about Momoo wistfully. “I know. I do hope she’s okay, but I’m not unaware that she could be caught and eaten.” She shook her head. “But food is necessary. With any hope, though, she’ll be strong enough to survive in this world.” Sanri wrote it down. “Anything else?”

“Nothing sweet. And no chocolate. It’s far too sickly,” Zoro said with a grimace.

Sanri nodded. “Have you ever tried dark chocolate? It has less milk and sugar. It's more bitter, though. I always add some chiles when I make it for a bit of an extra kick.”

Zoro shook his head. “I’ve never had it. I tried this white bar once as a kid and never touched it again.”

Sanri laughed airily. “Well, of course, you wouldn’t like it. That’s white chocolate. It’s basically all sugar and milk. I’ll experiment with higher percentages of cocoa until we find the right percentage for you.” She looked over her notes excitedly. “And I can make a lot of jerky for you to snack on after training, and before, I’ll make you dishes with rice so you can carb load. When we get a doctor on board, I can get a look at your micronutrient levels from your blood work and see how I can improve them for peak strength and endurance performance without hindering taste.”

Zoro shook his head. “You don’t have to. As long as I don’t go hungry, I’m happy. You don’t need to put in so much effort.”

Sanri pouted as she tapped her pen on the book to distract herself. “But I like helping to get the best out of food for people. It’s like I’m helping you achieve your goals, too. Plus, what else am I going to do? You said I could help.”

Zoro worried as her eyes and hair drooped sadly and waved his hands to expel any thoughts she was having. “I did, but I didn’t think you’d be all intense about it. I thought you would just like to make me meals with my goal in mind. Not getting blood work done. I thought you didn’t like doctors?” Zoro explained lightly before joking, “You’re turning full scientist on me.”

“I am not!” Sanri said, horrified. “It would just be more data to help you. But I don’t need it or anything to make a plan. I would only ask if you were getting blood work done anyway. I would never experi-how could you think that?” Her eyes teared up. “I’m not a bloody monster, Zoro.”

“Whoa! No. Never said you were! Shit! I forgot what you told me on Nami’s island, sorry,” Zoro said quickly. “I just meant you shouldn’t take it all so seriously.” He relaxed as her hair seemed to flatten as the anger left her.

“Oh. Well. I didn’t mean to,” she said, putting her book down.

“I know,” Zoro stated as he looked at the night sky, so he didn’t have to look at her. “You’re kinda prickly.” Zoro smiled. “Like-”

“Like a prickly pear, I know.” Zoro turned his head towards her to see the blanket over her head. “Zeff always said that, too. He also got annoyed when I fretted over his diet. I’m sorry.”

Zoro reached his hand out to her, removing the blanket from her head. “It’s okay. You miss him already, huh?”

Sanri's eyes watered once more. “Yeah. I do.” She wiped her eyes. “Sorry. It’s silly, I’ve only been gone a couple of days. You probably miss home more than me.”

“Nothing to miss,” Zoro said flatly. “And not really anyone to miss me, bar my old sensei. My parents died when I was young.”

Sanri blinked at him. “Oh. Sorry. Now, I really feel like a dick.”

Zoro burst out laughing at her even tone of response. “Don’t worry. It’s fine. I’m over it. I just focus on my dreams now.”

Sanri smiled as she leaned her head on her knees, as she stared at Zoro. “Oh yeah, and what are they?”

“Become the world’s greatest swordsman,” Zoro stated with ease as the wind picked up.

Sanri laughed and offered Zoro half of her blanket, which he took graciously. He wrapped it around himself as he sat shoulder to shoulder with the blonde, almost sharing body heat. “Yeah, obviously. You nearly got cut in half for that. I meant, what are your other dreams?”

“Well, I’ll have to defend the title after I get it, won’t I?” Zoro stated with a smirk, getting an eye roll as a response. “I’m kinda like you in a way, I suppose. I want to make sure everyone achieves their dreams. Especially Luffy.” He looked towards Sanri to see her looking at him with a soft smile.

“That’s nice.”

“What about you? Any other dreams you want to achieve besides - what was it – finding the All-Blue?”, Zoro asked.

Sanri looked out to the sea. “I want to be the best cook in all the blues. In all the world.”

“Makes sense,” Zoro said softly. “I’m sure you could do it.”

Sanri giggled. “I’m sure I can too if everyone cooks like Patty and Carne.” Her laughter died down as she wiggled closer to Zoro for warmth. “I want to see the world and all the amazing sights it has. And I want to enjoy my life.”

Zoro wrapped an arm around her as the night chill ran through them. “I get why you like Luffy now. He’s always spouting off about having adventures.”

Sanri grinned. “Yeah. He almost toppled over my boat on the way to Nami’s island as he talked about seeing the Grand-Line.” She tightened the blanket around them both one more time as they got closer to each other, and she thought about what she was going to say next. “I guess I just want to make my mother proud and experience the things she never could.”

Zoro looked down into her eyes. “What do you mean?”

Sanri put her head back on her knees for comfort. “I don’t remember much about her, but I don’t think she was ever truly free in her life. She was trapped. First by the man who made me and then by her own body. She was bedridden most of the time, and I think I remember her coughing up blood.”

“I remember my own mother was like that before she died. She could barely breathe by the end.” Zoro told her as he let himself remember. “She was so strong, but then she just became so frail so quickly.”

“I never remembered a time when my mother wasn’t sick. So that’s why I want to live for her. Make it so that when I see her again. She’ll be so proud of me with all I’ve seen and done. Tell her everything about it.” Sanri smiled warmly at herself as she let herself close her eyes and fall into Zoro’s shoulder.

Zoro let her relax, and before long, she soon drifted to sleep. He probably should have woken her up to get her to go to bed, but he was enjoying the peace, and she didn’t seem to mind.

Her dreams seemed nice. He could get behind them.

Zoro looked up to the starry sky as he let his mind wander to his own dreams. Finding someone to share his life with didn’t seem quite so hopeless now, after all.

-

Sanri woke up in the crow’s nest, with her head on her pillow as Zoro shook her gently awake. The man must have moved her in her sleep.

“Hey, you need to wake up and start breakfast. The crew’s gonna be up soon,” Zoro said quietly as Sanri rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

“Okay. Just let me get my stuff. Sanri told him tiredly.

“Leave it. I’ll bring it down before I go to lift the anchor.” Zoro smiled at her. “Thanks for keeping me company. It’d be nice to do it again.”

Sanri felt something at his smile, but she wasn’t quite sure what it was as it fluttered in her stomach. “Okay. Do you have any requests for breakfast? Since I stopped you from working out last night.”

“Some miso soup would be nice if you're making it,” Zoro said softly.

Sanri grinned at him as she got up and began her journey down. “Got it! Miso soup coming right up.”

-

Sanri plated up everyone’s food before going to call them in. She saw as Nami watched the boys run around.

“Nami, it’s time to eat,” she said quietly as she placed her hand on the navigator's shoulder, breaking her out of her thoughts. Sanri then raised her voice as she addressed Luffy, Usopp and Zoro. “Hey, you idiots, the food’s ready.”

Sanri chuckled to herself as she saw Zoro grab Usopp by the nose and Luffy by the back of his collar.

“So much time wasted,” Nami said to herself as her face became unreadable.

Sanri tilted her head in confusion. “What is it, Nami?”

Nami’s face brightened as she turned to Sanri, letting whatever thoughts she had fall away. “Oh, it’s nothing. Now, where’s that food, huh? While you’re at you can tell me why I was alone in our room last night.”

Sanri smiled at the navigator as she ignored Luffy’s calls as he ran towards the kitchen table. “It was nothing. I just fell asleep in the crow’s nest while I was talking to Zoro.”

Luffy frowned as he stuck meat into his mouth. “Crow’s nest? But you need to be awake during the day so you can make me meat.” Zoro dragged Usopp in by the nose,e and Luffy turned to him, frowning, doubling as he continued to stuff his face. “Zoro, why was Sanri in the crow’s nest? She’s the cook!”

Zoro let go of Usopp’s nose before he took a seat, leaving room for Sanri when she was done in the kitchen. “It was nothing. She just wanted to discuss my diet since I’m aiming to improve my strength. She was telling me how the food I eat can help me achieve my goals. She made a plan, and I saw notes in her book about what food combinations bring out the most nutritional benefits.”

Luffy pouted, annoyed. “Zoro gets special food? No fair! I’m the captain, I should be the only one to get special treats!”

Sanri chuckled as she brought over Zoro’s miso soup, placing it in front of him, to which he nodded to her in thanks. “Zoro isn’t getting special treats, Luffy. I just need to make sure he’s eating enough to compensate for the exercise he's doing. That and that he’s getting the right things to nourish his body for what he needs,” Sanri said, defusing their captain.

“Fine, but I can get special treats, right?” Luffy smiled with a full mouth.

Sanri hit him lightly on the head with her fist. “Don’t speak with your mouth full. I’ll give you something special since you run around the ship all day. As long as you are good and don’t get mad when Zoro gets his extra snacks?” She sat down between Zoro and Nami as she sipped her morning tea while everyone but Luffy’s face turned red.

Luffy pouted but nodded his head as he swallowed. “Fine. Just don’t forget about my treats as well.”

“I couldn’t even if I tried. You’d be sure to remind me.” Sanri stated as she dug into her breakfast.

-

Sanri tightened her ponytail before picking up the tray of personalised snacks she had made for the crew. She quickly handed Nami her fruit smoothie and Usopp his tuna crackers, getting thanks in return. But she had her biggest obstacle to face.

Luffy.

The rubber man was sitting on the sheep's head on the front of the Going Merry and was looking at the food on her tray with starry eyes as drool formed in his mouth as he prepared to launch himself at Sanri.

Sanri put her hand up to stop him, scared he’d knock the food out of her hands. “Stop! Only half of the meat is for you. The other half is for Zoro; he needs protein after he trains.”

Luffy pouted as he crossed his arms. “Why does Zoro get to have as much meat as I? He doesn’t even like meat as much as I do!”

Sanri handed her captain his plate. “I’m sure you love meat more than he does, but it’s to help him achieve his dream of the world’s greatest swordsman. You can help him out, right?”

Luffy’s pout on his face deepened. “I guess.”

Sanri patted his head. “I’ll give you a special dessert to cheer you up about Zoro eating meat.”

Luffy smiled at her as he picked up some meat. “Yeah! Thanks, Sanri! You’re the best!”

Sanri chuckled as she began her journey to the back of the ship, where she knew Zoro would be lifting weights. She climbed up and watched silently as he swung 500kg up and down, counting each one as he lunged forward. Sweat was dripping off his shirtless body as he moved. It captivated Sanri. She was never someone who really trained, specifically for strength,h but maybe she should start considering that she was so interested in Zoro’s own strength routine. She watched as the swordsman’s stance finally changed as he could no longer continue and put down the weights with a thump.

Zoro panted as he wiped his forehead, making his earrings jingle from the movement. He turned and jumped out of his skin as he found Sanri’s eyes staring at him as she held a tray with a single massive portion of meat and veg stir-fried together with a bottle of water.

“Fuck me. And you said I was quiet?” Zoro sighed as he sat down to rest.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to, I just didn’t want to disturb you. Sanri explained quickly before putting the tray down beside him. “Here’s your snack and more water. You need to watch your fluid intake to help you focus.”

Zoro took the bottle and opened it quickly. “Thanks.” He drank a fourth of the bottle before he turned to the dish. “This looks delicious. It must have been hard to stop Luffy from eating it.”

Sanri giggled as she sat beside him. “I promised him a special dessert later.”

Zoro smirked as he took a bite. “Oh yeah? What?”

“Why’d you want to know? It’s a special treat for the captain,” Sanri said cheekily.

Zoro shrugged, “Maybe I’ll like what you make?”

“You said you didn’t like sweet things,” Sanri asked with a head tilt.

“Yeah, but I still want a treat too,” Zoro said with something that was definitely not a pout on his face. “I’ve worked hard today. Can’t I get something too?”

“Fine. I’ll make you something special too. Maybe some flavoured booze? I could use some of Nami’s tangerine peels. Sanri asked, getting a bright smile in return.

“Really? Thanks.“ Zoro said as he looked her in the eye until she turned her head away to the sea.

She wrinkled her nose as she brought her hand over her nose. “Sure thing, just get a wash. You stink. Badly. Seriously, don’t you wash daily? It’ll also help your muscles recover.” She stood up and started back to the kitchen.

“Good talk.” Zoro sighed as he watched her leave. He raised his arm and took a sniff of himself, not knowing what she was on about, as to him he smelt fine. Still, he should probably take a shower.

As she said, it might help his muscles recover...

(If it also had the side effect of making her more comfortable around him, then it was just a bonus. It was not, in any way, the main reason. No matter what, the little voice in the back of Zoro’s head, that sounded an awful lot like Kuina, said.

“Keep telling yourself that.”

“Shut up! The dead shouldn’t bother the living!”)

-

Zoro was resting at the front of the ship to get some peace. But he turned his head and saw something in the distance. He stood up to see better.

“Hey, I think I see an island, Luf.” He called out, and Luffy used his rubbery limbs to shoot himself beside Zoro, sorbet covering his mouth.

“Really? That’s great!” He fixed his hat as he licked his lips. “What island is it?”

Nami and Sanri walked up behind them. Usopp is not far behind them. The navigator let out a huff of frustration at her captain. “I can’t believe you forgot already.”

Usopp looked out at the island. “So that’s the island where Loguetown is located.”

Sanri took out a lolly and put it in her mouth. “I wonder if they have a market?”

Nami turned to her with a small smile. “The locals have to buy food too.”

Sanri put her hands in the pockets of her shorts as she rolled her lolly over her tongue. “That’s true. Looks like I’ll have to redo the menu then. Fresh vegetables~ how I love you so~.” Sanri sighed happily.

“I hope they have a sword shop. Using the three-sword style with just one sword kind of blows. I think it’s time to remedy that,” Zoro stated as he moved to stand by her.

“Oh! I can’t wait to check out their equipment shops for some cool stuff.”

They all looked at the island, excited for their trip.

“So, that’s it, huh?, Luffy said, sad and almost wistfully. “That’s the island where Gol D. Roger was born and executed, right?”

Nami leaned beside Luffy seriously. “Okay. So, you DID remember.”

“Where the King of the Pirates met his fate,” Luffy said as he kept a hand on his head to stop his hat from flying off with the wind. “This place is known as the city of the beginning and the end. How could I forget?”

-

“Woohoo! This is going to be so fun!” Luffy shouted as he stood before the entrance to Loguetown. Sanri couldn’t help but smile at his excitement.

Nami seemed to be doing the same, tone cheerful. “Every pirate headed to the Grand-Line stops here to re-supply. It has everything you could possibly need.”

“If that’s the case, then I’m going on a shopping spree. I’ll bet they have all sorts of stuff here,” Usopp said with a smile.

Sanri stood by Zoro as she looked around. “I’ll be able to stock up on fresh produce. And buy myself a replacement shirt.”

Zoro nodded at her. “I’ll give you money for it later. Do you think there’d be a swordsmith around here?”

Nami chuckled as she slid up beside Zoro. “I thought you were broke? How can you pay our sweet Sanri back if you have no money and buy a sword? Are you going to steal it?” Nami wrapped an arm around Sanri as she pulled the blonde to her side.

Luffy looked determined with a bright grin on his face. “Well, I’m going to find out where they kill people.” He then ran off before anyone could stop him. “I got to see where the King of the Pirates was executed.”

“Hey, wait! We have to pick a meeting place!” Usopp called out to him to get him to come back, but it was too late. He sighed as he put his arms behind his head. “Ah, that’s not good.”

-

“How do I look?” Nami asked as she came out of the dressing room. Sanri sat on the seat with a sigh as the shop assistant sweetly talked her into buying everything she was wearing.

She had tried everything on before she threaded her arm through Sanri’s once more. Dragging her once more out of a clothing shop with a giggle as she bought nothing but stole at least two items all because Nami said he was creepy.

“Here you go, Sanri. A new blue shirt, on the house!”, Nami stated proudly as she pulled the item from under her top and put it in the tote bag Sanri brought with them.

“And you still made Zoro sweat by lending him money?” Sanri asked, but this time, Nami’s face didn’t redden as she had gotten used to Sanri’s speech pattern.

“Yup. He has to pay for my services after all. Plus, I did have to lend him money for his swords,” Nami told her, giving her a peace sign and winking.

Sanri chuckled. “You are evil, Nami. You know that, right?”

“Yes, thank you. It’s a gift, Nami stated as she flipped her hair with her free hand.

The blonde smiled at her new friend. Making the men around them drool as they passed. Nami made sure to glare at them as she passed, as Zoro had informed her of Sanri’s lack of understanding towards others' intentions towards her. It was a dangerous thing to have, and Nami didn’t want Sanri, someone that she knew was so strong, to get hurt simply because she didn’t understand that someone was a danger to her. Like the shop attendant in the previous store.

Nami led Sanri into a quiet, cheaper, second-hand shop to actually buy some clothes. “Let’s go in here. We can get the boys more clothes in here since they’ll never get them for themselves, and some extra layers.”

“Okay, Nami. But after this, we really do have to buy the food. I want some pears, more flavourings for my lollies and ingredients for my sugar wax. Some extra eyebrow hair is growing,g and I hate plucking it.” Sanri said firmly as she took out a larger bag from her tote to pass to Nami. Before looking through the clothes and picking out things for each of their crew members. members

Nami joined her soon after, as the lady who owned the shop watched them with kind eyes. Nami brought her pile to the owner as Sanri followed behind her with her own pile of clothes in the boy’s rough sizes. “Did you notice how few pirates there were around?”

“Yeah, I did. I don’t think I saw a single wanted pirate around; then again, I don’t really care about bounties. I just end up wondering how many are innocent and being hunted because they pissed off some corrupt government lackey with just enough power to make their lives that much harder.” Sanri said as she put the clothes down.

“You are never going to let that go, are you?” Nami asked with a smile as she pulled out money to pay the owner, and she started to bag their items.

“Why would I ever let it go? It was completely unjust. If I ever meet that rat-faced bastard again, I’ll make it so he’s walking silly for at least a month.” Sanri stated with a huff.

“Sorry, girls, but I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation, ”the woman said with a smile. “But if you’re wondering why there are no more pirates on this island, that would be because of Captain Smoker.”

Nami blinked as she tried to recognise the name but came up blank. She leaned on the counter with interest. “Captain... Smoker?”

The woman nodded at them as she worked. “He is definitely one of the toughest Marines we’ve ever seen in this town. See, Loguetown used to be a hangout for pirates headed to the Grand-Line, but not anymore. As soon as Smoker took over, any pirate who came near this island was caught, incarcerated and executed.” The woman lifted an eyebrow as she handed over their bag. “Smoking is bad. He’s a complete and utter monster. There are even those who say he has devil fruit powers.”

“Devil fruit powers, huh?” Nami said as she looked at Sanri with a look that the blonde understood. It screamed, " We need to get off this island fast. She turned back to the lady and smiled gratefully. “Thanks again, ma’am. And thanks for the info too.”

Sanri threw the bag over her shoulder and waited until they were out of the shop before she freaked out. “We need to get the boys and get out of here, don’t we?”

Nami took the bag off her shoulder. “Yup. You quickly get the supplies while I get this lot back to the ship. I’ll look for the boys’ too. Just get everything we need as soon as possible.”

Sanri gave Nami a salute before running off to find the market. She needed to work fast. Running in the direction, she was sure she saw the market in.

And on the way, she was lucky enough to find herself a pack mule in the form of Zoro.

She grabbed onto his arm and started leading him towards the market. “Hey Zoro! We need to hurry and get off this island. Nami and I found out this place has been taken over by Marines, so we need to get everything we need quickly and get off this island before we make a scene. It’s so lucky that I found you, cos’ now I’ll be able to quickly carry all the food back to the ship.”

Zoro stopped her. “I still need to buy my swords.”

“Food over swords,” Sanri glared at the swordsman.

The swordsman didn’t back down, however. “Full strength over death.”

Sanri sighed, agreeing with his point. “Fine, but we’ve got to be quick.” She looked around before she spotted a sign that looked like a sword shop, pulling him towards it. She looked over Zoro, who seemed off to her for some reason. “Are you okay, Zoro? You seem... distracted. Like you saw a ghost or something.”

Zoro nodded as he let her take him towards the shop. “Yeah. I kinda did.”

Sanri stopped as she turned to him. “Zoro?”

“It was just so weird. I met this Marine Sergeant, and she looked just like an old friend of mine who died as a kid.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. It must have been a shock for you seeing a doppelganger like that,” Sanri said as she loosened her hold. “You want to talk about it?” she hesitated gently.

“A little,” Zoro said as he started to walk again, much slower as Sanri walked beside him, listening carefully. “She was exactly as I pictured she would be, looks-wise, if Kuina got to grow up. She was even a swordsman of all things.”

Sanri nodded. “Kuina sounds like she meant a lot to you.”

“She did. Her father even gave me her sword.” His hand came to rest on his sword. “Kuina always called it Wado.”

Sanri smiled as she pushed the door of the shop open. “It sure is a crazy world. Maybe it’s her way of telling you to keep going from beyond?”

Zoro lifted his lip in a small smirk. “That’s a nice way to look at it. Either way, I doubt I’ll see her again.”

They walked up to the counter to see the owner dowsing off as his wife was working in the back.

“I’d like to pick up some swords,” Zoro said, waking the man up.

The man livened up once he realised he had customers. “Of course, welcome. Have a look at anything you like. We have an extremely large variety to choose from.”

Zoro took out his money and put it on the counter. “I’ve got 100,000 berries. For two swords. Can you do that?”

“Two for a 100,000?” The owner slumped as he realised they were broke.

Sanri pinched his cheek as her eyebrow twitched violently. “I’m pretty sure I remember Nami giving you more than that for your swords. What happened to the money, mosshead?”

Zoro waved her hands away from his face. “It’s not my fault! I broke that person's glasses in shock. It was an accident. She took me to clean the floors b, but I left some money afterwards.”

Sanri sighed before turning to the cashier. “Is there anything you can do for us, sir?”

The man blushed as he took in Sanri. “For 50,000 a piece. I can only give you two dull blades, but I’m sure I can give them a quick sharpen before I let you go,o ma’am. I won’t want a nice young thing like you to go unprotected.”

Zoro could see that Sanri’s temper was rising at the man calling her a thing and implying she couldn’t protect herself. He quickly held her arm so that he could pull her back if need be. “Thank you. I can make do with whatever. I just don’t have the money right now,” Zoro said lightly to defuse the situation.

The owner’s hair then seemed to perk up as he saw Zoro’s sword. “Now, now, hold on a second,” the shop owner said shakily. “I just want to take a look at that sword you got there. Is that okay with you, pal?”

Sanri tilted her head at the owner as Zoro raised his eyebrow. “Are you okay there, buddy?” Zoro asked, concerned.

“Let me see!” the owner demanded.

Zoro shook his head as he took Wado off his waist and handed it over, easily, hoping it would calm the man down. “Yeah, whatever.”

The man seemed to freak out more as he unsheathed the sword. Taking deep but laboured breaths.

Sanri placed a hand on his shoulder as she grew more worried. “Are you sure you’re alright, sir?”

The man cleared his thoughts as he sheathed the sword once more. “Yes. I’m glad you were so concerned about me.” Zoro glared at the man, annoyed at his reddening face as Sanri removed her hand. The owner seemed to notice and cleared his throat again as his face paled before smiling at Zoro. “Wow. That’s a pretty nice sword you got. You want to sell it? I’ll give you 200,000 berries for it. What do you say? That would leave you with 300,000, which should buy you some pretty good steel. At a 100,000 a piece, there are bound to be three swords you like in here.”

Zoro’s glare didn’t leave him as he stared the owner down, and Sanri frowned beside him. “What? Are you kidding me?”

“Alright. I’ll give you 250,000 berries. No wait, 300,000." The man offered, but Zoro’s face remained unchanged. “Final offer 500,000!”

“Just stop. I’m not selling. The sword is min.” Zoro said harshly.

But the owner wouldn’t give up. “Tough guy! I’ll buy it from you for 650,000 berries!”

Sanri had to stop the needless back and forth. “I’m sorry sir. But that sword has a lot of sentimental value. I think you could offer 100,000,000 berries, and the mosshead over here wouldn’t take it.”

The owner growled, annoyed at the situation, and slumped in his defeat. “Okay! Fine, I give up.”

Sanri smiled at him even as Zoro continued to glare before footsteps came towards them.

“I’m back. Did you finish polishing my Shigure?, the woman asked before turning to Zoro. “You’re okay! I was worried about you. See, some Marines were attacked earlier, right by where you had been mopping the floors. You were gone though, so naturally I just assumed that you had been kidnapped. Thank goodness you’re okay.”

Sanri looked at Zoro's face and then back at the woman. “Oh! You must be the woman Marimo was telling me about. It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry he broke your glasses. You just reminded him of someone, and it shocked him. He doesn’t always remember his strength. I’m Sanri. I’m the cook of our crew.”

The woman blinked at Sanri. “Oh! Hello. It’s nice to meet you. I really thought your partner was in danger,r but the fact that he’s here means you must have run away.”

Sanri laughed loudly. “I doubt it. This one loves a good fight from what I’ve seen.”

The woman laughed as well. “Oh, really? Well, I’m glad you’re okay. Though it is said that he has no idea how to accept love when it comes his way.”

Sanri tilted her head, confused. “What do you mean?”

The woman pulled ruffled money out of her pocket and put it in Zoro’s hand. “I mean, he can take his stupid money back. I don’t need it. I can’t accept money from a heartless ingrate. Besides, look, I already got new glasses.” She then put the glasses on her face.

“What the hell do you mean, ingrate?! You’ve got some nerve saying that! Who do you think you are?! You're the one who made him clean floors when he had a crew to get back to!”

The woman blinked at Sanri as she saw the blonde hair on end in her rage. “I’m sorry, you're right. I did just assume he needed permanent work.”

Sanri calmed down with a huff. “No, you’re right as well. He’s a bit of an idiot.”

“He’s right here!” Zoro, the state, was annoyed, as the owner gave him a pitiful look of understanding.

The woman looked at Zoro’s sword with a gasp. “That sword looks just like the Wado Ichimonji!” The woman then grabbed the sword out of the shop owner’s hands as she inspected it.

“Wado... That’s what your friend called it, right?, Sanri asked Zoro as she looked at the sword. Zoro hummed at her in agreement.

“Is this really the sword?” She unsheathed it. “It’s beautiful. This has to be one of the 21 O-Wazamono swords.” She then sheathed the sword once more before putting it down and flipping through a small book. “See? Look at this. It says here that this sword is worth no less than ten million berries.”

Sanri whistled at the price. “We can never tell Nami how much your sword costs. She’d try to sell it in a heartbeat.”

“Nope,” Zoro stated as he picked up his sword and reattached it to his waist.

“But you're broke. How do you have this legendary sword?” The woman asked, puzzled.

Sanri could see Zoro begin to hunch in on himself and placed a hand on his arm as she glared at the marine woman.

The owner butted in, though, shaking in his rage. “I know I wouldn’t have got the sale anyway, but you didn’t have to tell them all that!” He pulled out a sword from under the counter. “Here, I’ve finished polishing your precious Shigure for you. Now just take it and get out! I don’t want to see you in my store again.” The owner then lightly tossed the sword towards the woman, who stumbled to catch it, falling over into a sword display. Sanri was starting to feel bad for the woman, even if she was really judgmental. “Just get out before you tear my store apart!”

Sanri walked over and helped the flailing, apologising woman up. “You didn't have to be so mean. I know she was being a bit dense, but it was obviously an accident.”

The owner blushed but clicked his tongue. “Well, it is a complete waste to have such a legendary sword attached to someone who has no idea of its true value.” The owner sighed as he pointed at the barrels full of swords. “You can pick from our lovely selection of barrel swords for 50,000 a piece. Pick any two you like.”

Zoro sighed as he grabbed Sanri at the elbow gently and pulled her towards the barrels and away from confrontation. “Come on. The faster we’re done here, the more time you can look at produce and get me some good booze.”Sanri's cheeks were still red in rage. “Who does he think he is?! Calling you an amateur like that and that you didn’t know the value of your own sword! He’s the one who doesn’t know its value! Stupid old bastard!”

Zoro smirked at her protective anger for him. “It’s his problem. Don’t worry about it too much. Come on, you’ll have a good eye for blades as a cook. Help me.”

They began shifting through the swords, taking a barrel each on their search. The marine woman then came up behind them and started an awkward conversation with them. “You must lose a lot of swords if you think you have to carry three around. Unless, of course, you’re like that famous pirate hunter.”

Sanri and Zoro shared a look and smirked. Sanri just shook her head at the situation as she forced herself not to giggle.

“Pirate hunter, yeah,” Zoro said as went back to looking.

“He’s quite the legend. His name is Roronoa.”

“Oh yeah, him. I heard he’s a bit stupid,” Sanri said airily. “Nearly got himself cut in half.”

Zoro pouted at her as he muttered under his breath, “At least he can tell when people perv on him without much effort.” Sanri kicked him on the head, not stopping her inspection of the blades.

The woman brightened, “Yeah, I heard that too. He’s known throughout the East Blue for his amazing sword skills.” Her face then dropped into a frown. “But he’s not a good person. A swordsman who is just a bounty hunter is no honourable swordsman at all. Everything’s backwards. It’s really too bad for real swordsmen. Pirates and bounty hunters as sword masters, it just doesn’t make any sense at all. And they have most of the world’s most legendary swords. It’s a real tragedy.”

“You know you're pretty naive, and that’s coming from me,” Sanri said with a frown as she turned to face the woman. “You shouldn’t make a blanket statement like that. You don’t know what people have gone through in their lives. You can’t possibly understand all the hardships or decisions they had to make that led them to where they are.”

The woman was shocked. “But their low-lives!”

Zoro smirked and shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m with Sanri on this one. That’s the kind of thing you have to look at on a case-by-case basis, I guess. You never really know what people are capable of.”

“Well said. Royalty can be scum, and pirates can be heroes", Sanri stated as her eyes landed on a sword in Zoro’s barrel. It felt... dark.

The woman took her attention, though, as she presented her sword to them. “This is my Shigure. I am going to work as hard as I can and perfect my skills, and then one day I’ll take back all the legendary swords, because the filthy hands that hold them now have no right to wield them!” Her face was determined. “Yes! The 21 top O-Wazamonos, the 21 O-Wazamono swords, as well as the Ryo-Wazamonos. I’ll find them all!”

Zoro finally turned to the woman as he placed his hand on Wado with a fierce and protective grin. “And this one? My sword. The Wado Ichimonji.” He unsheathed it an inch in threat.

Sanri pulled his ear with his earrings, making Zoro groan in pain as he was jerked towards her. “Not in the store. Do you want to be kicked out before you buy anything?”

The woman held her sword uncomfortably. “I’m not trying to get the legendary swords back for my sake. I just don’t want criminals to have them. Sanri's eyes sharpened to kitchen knives. “What about the criminals in the World Government? What of their crimes?”

The woman looked at her with eyes just as sharp. “What are you on about?”

“Let’s not pretend they actually care about people’s lives and safety. They can sprout on about justice all they want, but they're some of the biggest hypocrites I’ve ever seen.” Sanri stated coldly.

“You take that back right now! The Marines are a prestigious organisation that upholds public order. You have no right to badmouth them.”

“I have no right, huh?” Sanri asked no one. “Tell me... Have you heard of Judge Vinsmoke? He holds a large amount of power over the Levely. Don’t the Marines support him despite the cruel experiments that everyone knows he does on his people?”

Silence cut through the air as the woman couldn’t argue with Sanri’s point. The owner and his wife even shivered at the name as they had heard of his cruelty.

“Do not tell me who I have the right to hate.”

Sanri turned to see Zoro turn to her with shadows over his eyes, with the sword she was looking at before. The swordsman examined it to distract himself from her statement.

Her eyes couldn’t leave the sword in his hands.

Even the woman took notice. She took out her reference book. “I think that’s... Let’s see. Just as I thought! Kitetsu! Kitetsu the third! Its predecessor, Kitetsu the second, is an O- Wazamono sword and Kitetsu the first, before that, is listed as a Top O-Wazamono sword! The woman turned to the shop owner as she fixed her glasses. “Hey, are you really only selling this one for 50,000 berries?”

“Yeah...”, the owner said quietly.

Zoro unsheathed the blade and examined it.

“Unbelievable! That’s an authentic Wazamono. Wow, you have to buy that sword, the woman stated excitedly. “It’s worth at least a million berries or more. You can’t pass it up. It’s too valuable.”

The owner then scrunched his face up in fear before calling out to them. “Aw. Damn it! I can’t sell it!”

“I didn’t think so,” the woman said, disappointed. “I knew there must have been some mistake. This is a legendary sword after all.”

The owner waved his hands. “No! It’s not what you think!”

“That sword... It feels like a cannibal's kitchen knife. One that enjoys eating people.” Her blue eyes hadn’t left the blade once as she felt the darkness coming from it.

Zoro smirked at her assessment as he pointed it towards the ground after testing it. “You have a keen eye. This sword is cursed.”

The owner perked up, puzzled. “How do you know? How do you both know?”

Zoro kept his eyes on the blade. “Just do.” Sanri shrugged a similar acknowledgement, not knowing what it was about the blade that made her think as such. It just did.

“The Kitetsu swords are superior in all respects, but they have been cursed since their beginnings. You have to believe me,” the owner explained fearfully. “There are stories from all over of master swordsmen who have met their death after taking up a Kitetsu sword. Nobody is even stupid enough to touch them these days. And you’ll fall to its curse as well if you decide to take it.” Sanri felt a sweat drop form as she saw the determined look in Zoro’s eyes as he held the cursed blade. Stupid was right. “I’m scared to let you buy it. I’m afraid it’ll curse me too. Just leave it alone.”

“How horrible! I’m sorry I even brought it up. It would be death to take that sword, the woman bowed in apology.

But Sanri just sighed as Zoro’s face split into a grin at her statement. He pointed it up in the air, smiling at the blade in challenge, similar to the one he had when he faced Mihawk. “Sounds great. Think I’ll take it.”

“I can’t sell it, you fool!” The owner shouted. “If something happens to you with that sword, the curse could come back to me!”

His wife came and hit the owner on the head. “Don’t be an idiot! Let him buy that sword, you old fool!”

“Don’t hit me!”, the owner shouted back.

Sanri put a hand on her head with a sigh. “Marimo’s the only idiot here. Jez. You’re almost as bad as our captain.”

Zoro didn’t take his eyes off the blade but smirked at her comment. “Well, we’ll see.” He then let his eyes find blue. “How about we find out which one is stronger – the sword's curse or my good luck?” He smirked at her before throwing the sword in the air. He closed his eyes and focused.

“No!”, the marine lady cried.

“Stop it! You’re going to chop your arm off, you fool! Don’t!” the owner cried out, eyes bloodshot in panic.

Sanri just closed her eyes, impressed as Zoro held out his arm as the blade fell. “Show off.” She heard the blade thump into the floor. She opened her eyes to see what she expected. Zoro with both his arms attached.

Zoro grinned as he picked up Kitetsu and sheathed it. “I’ll take it.”

Both the marine lady and the owner fell to the ground in shock. Zoro then turned to Sanri once more as he added Kitetsu to his waist. “Hey. Pick out another. I knew a chef would have a good eye on them.”

Sanri blushed at the compliment before turning her back on him, avoiding looking in Zoro’s eyes.

“You! Wait here,” the owner called before running off, making Sanri stop in her search. When the old shop owner came back, he had brought an expensive-looking sword. “It is covered in a black lacquer finish with an uneven temper pattern.” He pulled out the blade to show them. As he examined the blade. “My shop is small, but this is the finest sword I have. It is named the Ryo-Wazamono ‘Yubashiri’!

Zoro sighs, annoyed. “I told you, I’m flat broke. It’s too much.”

“No matter,” the owner stated as he looked at Zor, determined. “I’ll give it to you free of charge if you take it. You’re welcome to the Kitetsu as well. You deserve it.” The owner then grinned as his eyes met Zoro’s. “Haven’t run across a real swordsman in a while. I’m sorry I tried to cheat you before. You must have some damn good luck, friend.”

Zoro thanked the man before he was dragged out by Sanri with a smile on his face, feeling better with three swords again.

“Now you have money for your own booze, and I don’t have to waste my food budget.” Sanri’s hand was securely threaded through Zoro’s arm as she pulled him. “Now let's hurry up and finish shopping. Maybe I can get a good deal now that the morning rush has passed.”

“Fine, but we've got to get something to eat first. I’m starving.”

-

“Thank you for the free sample of your black tea. I love the taste. And the food was to die for – even if it was a little bland for my personal taste.” Sanri smiled as she bagged the bag of tea leaves, as the tea shop owner wiped the blood dripping from his nose.

“Of course, madam. I’ll give you a full refund on your meal as it wasn’t to your liking.” The man had hearts in his eyes. Zoro glared at him angrily to scare him off, but the man didn’t seem to bother as he giggled happily at Sanri before looking at him with an angry, dejected pout. “You still have to pay full price.”

Zoro leaned back in his seat as he watched the man re-enter his shop, as they sat out front watching the people pass.

Sanri happily sipped her tea. “That was nice of him, wasn’t it?” She then looked over his harsh features. “Maybe if you smiled more, you’d have got a discount as well.”

“I doubt that very much,” Zoro said as he ate the last of his food. “He just did that to perv on you and to pull in men to his cafe.”

“That’s not-” Sanri looked around and found that every table was full to the brim, all with men with blood trickling down their chins. She put her empty cup down with a sigh. “Okay, fine. Let’s just get out of here. All the good stuff will be gone if we don’t hurry.” She stood up to leave, placing the money for the food on the table.

Zoro got up as well when a woman with a fan and funny hair caught their attention.

“Sanri! I’ve searched for you-” The woman then flamingo danced before them with a ladle in her mouth. “For ten years!”

Sanri tilted her head in confusion at the woman. Zoro wasn’t much better as his eyebrow twitched in irritation.

Then two men came out from behind the woman. “Behold the amazing Carmen!, one said. “The greatest cook in the East-Blue!” said the other.

“I am passion. Some have called me ‘Fiery Carmen’.” Carmen said with another little dance.

“Ole!” the three said together.

“I am the first apprentice of Carmen, and my name is Leo,” the small man with the long chin stated.

“And I am her second, Jose,” stated the man with oversized nostrils.

Sanri just started dragging Zoro away. “Come on, Zoro! If we don’t go now, all the decent food will be gone.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming. Jez. I know we’re in a hurry, but you don’t need to be so pushy.” Zoro said, rubbing his head as she led him by the arm.

Carmen took the ladle out of her mouth before screaming, “Wait!”

Sanri and Zoro looked at the woman. Sanri scrunched her brow cutely. “I’m sorry. But I don’t know who you are, miss. You must be mistaking me for someone else. I mean, ten years ago I’d have been 8.”

“Oh, boys!~” Carmen twirled around with flair before posing. “Tell the story.”

“Ma’am.” Her apprentices then handed Sanri a deck of pictures. “Please look.”

“Okay?” Sanri looked over all the pictures, spotting a few chefs who had published cookbooks that she had taken inspiration from. “These are pictures of other cooks. But what does that have to do with me?”

Big nostrils tried to get closer to Sanri, but the glare Zoro sent his way made him fall flat on his face. Pushing himself back up, the man rubbed his injured face. “Those are the most famous cooks of the East-Blue.”

“And the great Carmen defeated every one of them in competition!” Big Chin started with a pose.

Carmen fanned herself. “Yes. I truly am the most amazing cook in the East-Blue.”

Zoro turned and took Sanri’s arm and began guiding her away. “What a joke. Spouting nonsense. Let’s go. As you said, the good stuff will be gone.”

Carmen and her apprentices gawked as Sanri just giggled in agreement and began walking away once more as she started muttering about wanting to find some good seafood.

“Stop! Don’t you dare walk away from me!” Zoro and Sanri sighed as they turned to a frustrated Carmen once more. “The cooks who have challenged me have all been disappointing simpletons.” She closed her eyes in thought. “I was beginning to think that there was no one left to challenge my skills.” She snapped her eyes open. “But then I came across an article on the Baratie restaurant from when you still worked there. A cook at the Baratie said that his prior sous-chef was the best cook in the East Blue. He said that in all his years in the restaurant business, he had never met your equal.”

Sanri smiled brightly as she blushed in happiness. “Aw, they said that? Now I feel kinda bad for always putting them in their place.” Zoro didn’t state his disagreement with her statement.

Carmen was almost shaking as she stared at Sanri. “From that moment until now, I have spent every minute of the last ten years searching the entire East-Blue for you.”

“Actually, it’s only been 10 days,” Jose explained.

“Carmen has a weensy bit of trouble with a thing we call the truth.” Leo finished.

“Shut your mouths!” Carmen exploded, hitting her apprentices quickly. She then pointed at Sanri with a flourish once more. “Now I challenge you, Sanri!” Carmen’s eyes were slits. “If you dare, bring your spices to the marketplace cooking competition at 1 o’clock this afternoon. You will be minced like garlic before heated oil in a pan.” Carmen then cackled as she spun around in a circle. She, however, collapsed from dizziness.

Her apprentices carried her off. “Okay, then! We’ll see you later!”

Sanri crossed her arms, annoyed. “That was so weird.”

Zoro sighed as well. “Yeah. And where does she get off calling herself the best cook in the East-Blue?”

Sanri smiled at him. “Yeah! I’m way better than her. Not like a competition would show how skilled we are anyway.”

Zoro relaxed as she took his arm once more, placing one hand on his swords and the other in his pocket. “So, you aren’t going to compete?”

Sanri shook her head. “Nah. We’re in a rush. Plus, I’ve done one before to win spices from the Grand-Line as a kid; they aren’t my thing.”

“I thought you wanted to be the best cook in all the seas?” Zoro asked casually.

“I do, but cooking isn’t like swordsmanship. For a cook, it’s all about the reputation of the food you serve. And there are skills beyond those displayed in a competition. A really good cook will know how to make their own high-quality ingredients, tweaking them for their specific dish's needs. And some ingredients can take months to years to prepare, for only a very small quantity. Another is what you can do with as little as possible to work with. Can you turn just flour, water and milk into a delicacy fit for the gods? Can you feed 100 people with little to nothing to work with and have them still thank you for making them feel full?” Sanri said thoughtfully. Zoro listened with rapt attention. “You can’t really show all those things off in a single competition. Especially since you all get given the same selection of ingredients to make it fair.”

“I never thought about it like that,” Zoro said, brushing his shoulder against her. “Oh well, it’s probably for the best. You’d have wiped the floor with her anyway.”

They grinned at each other as they continued on their journey.

-

“For you, ma’am, I can give you a 50 per cent discount!”

“You can get this whole barrel of fruit on the house!”

“Please miss! You must have some of our spices, free of charge!”

Zoro’s eye twitched as they collected more and more food for the ship. Every stall was the same, as men showered Sanri with gifts and discounts that she took with innocent gratitude. He had lost count of how many men he had scared off, and they hadn’t been at the market for 20 minutes! Zoro was completely fed up with how these men were reacting, but he couldn’t lie and say they weren’t getting a good deal on their supplies because of her looks. Nami would be happy to find out that they were significantly under budget.

Sanri rolled her lolly over her tongue as she smiled brightly. “Loguetown’s market is incredible! They really have everything a great chef could possibly want.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re happy. Now all we need is meat, and we’ll be good to go.” Zoro said as Sanri dragged him to another stall. This time, full of fish.

Her eyes sparkled as she looked over the selection. “These are superb.”

Zoro sighed in relief as the man working the stall wasn’t quite so bad as the last few, his cheeks only darkening as he smiled brightly at Sanri.

“You sure know how to pick ‘em, Miss. You’re looking at some coastal fish we just caught early this morning.”

“Coastal fish?” Sanri asked as she looked over the fish, picking one up. “They certainly are firm and fresh.” She looked the fish over, not recognising it as anything native to the East Blue. “Are you sure they were caught in the East Blue? I’ve never seen them before. What kind of fish did you say they were?”

The man stood up as he smiled and turned impressed. “You definitely know your way around seafood.” The man then came before them. “You are correct. These fish are different. They’re from the West-Blue. People from the East-Blue don’t usually know this type.”

Zoro saw that Sanri’s ponytail perked up as she listened. “The West-Blue? Then why do you call them coastal fish?”

“Young lady, is this your first time here?” the man asked nicely.

Sanri nodded. “Uh...Yeah.”

“Just look at this.” The man picked up the fish. “You won’t find fish like these in the East-Blue. But we’ve got tonnes of ‘em. You can pull them right out of the water all day long.”

“How?” Zoro asked, confused, from beside her.

“It’s the ocean currents. They bring them in from all the other seas out there,” the man explained. “Loguetown is just in the right place.”

Sanri gasped as she quickly snatched up a few of them to try. They were about to leave when a crowd gathered and gasped at a catch. They both went over to see what all the fuss was about.

Zoro scratched his head at the massive fish, not sure what he was looking at, but Sanri’s eyes became focused and intense as she stared at it.

“Nice catch! It’s an elephant bluefin tuna fish!” the stall owner from before called out.

“That’s right. It must have got mixed in from the South-Blue! I got her with pole and line,” the fishman stated proudly.

“Just a pole and line?”

“The South-Blue? That should be impossible.” Zoro muttered under his breath.

“Not if the All-Blue exists... Bluefin Tuna.” Sanri said hopefully and with focused determination. “I’ve got to get that fish. It’s called the gem of the ocean.” She pushed through the crowd as she came before the fishermen, making the man blush and blood erupt from his nose as she gripped his shirt. “How much for it? Sell the fish to me! I’ve got money! Please let me buy that tuna!”

The man wiped his face quickly to compose himself. It helped that Sanri shook him in her mindless quest to acquire the fish. Zoro even felt a little bad for the guy. “I’m really sorry, Miss. But I can’t sell this to ya. This fish is going to be the grand prize for the contest.”

“What contest? I’ll win it then!” Sanri declared, shaking the fisherman roughly.

“The annual cooking contest happens today, so cooks from all over the East-Blue will be here to compete, and this is the prize for the winner,” the stall owner from before said.

Sanri let go of the fisherman just to grab the stall owner's collar instead. “Where do I sign up? I have to have this tuna! I got to get this tuna! So, tell me what I have to do to get my tuna!” She shook the man until he was nearly unconscious.

“Hey, calm down! If you let them speak, I’m sure they’ll tell-.” Zoro froze as her eyes landed on him with focused intensity. It was honestly kinda scary.

“My tuna!”

“Registration is right over there, but it closes soon,” the stall owner said woozily before he was dropped like a sack of bricks as Sanri sprinted in the direction of the signup sheet, creating a dust cloud in her wake.

Zoro sighed and followed it to find his crew’s cook since he didn’t want her getting into any – or cause – trouble.

-

Zoro spotted Nami and Usopp in the crowd and went over to them as Sanri prepared to start the competition.

“Hey, guys. What are you doing here?” Zoro asked calmly.

“What are we doing here? Don’t you mean, what are you doing here?” Nami asked, annoyed. “What is Sanri doing entering a cooking contest when we need to find Luffy and get off this island? I’m glad she found you, but this is ridiculous.”

Usopp rolled up imaginary sleeves as he started over to Sanri, whose eyes were fixed on the grand prize as she vibrated where she stood. “Let me handle this. I’ll go and get her.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Zoro told him as he stood by Nami, watching on.

“Why?” Nami asked, puzzled.

But she got her answer not a moment later.

“MY TUNA!” Sanri screamed as she kicked Usopp back towards them, making him land in a crumpled heap on the ground.

“That’s why,” Zoro stated as he sighed at the sniper on the ground. “I tried to warn you, Usopp. She focused on that prize. It’s some fancy fish from the South-Blue that was caught in these waters. She thinks it’s proof of the All-Blue.”

“Oh, now I get it,” Nami said as her eyes landed on Sanri.

Zoro’s eyes did the same as he saw Sanri muttering to herself. “Yeah. She’s not leaving here without that thing.”

Usopp got back to his feet shakily. “Okay, so we’re staying until she’s got her tuna. Luffy can stay out of trouble until then, can’t he?” Zoro and Nami looked at Usopp, who just sighed. “I know, I heard it as soon as I said it.”

-

They watched and cheered as Sanri won each round with quick precision.

It was the only time her eyes left the tuna, smiling as she tried the food and gave her competition some friendly advice, before the male cooks fainted from proximity to the blonde. The Straw-hat crew sighed, annoyed as each man’s fawning went unnoticed by the blonde, as none got too close to her – mainly due to the evil eye Zoro sent their way; but Nami and Usopp helped with their disapproving gazes.

It was the final round, and Sanri’s eye held only her desire for the elephant bluefin tuna. Even as the crowd all cheered their excitement for the upcoming match.

“With her instinctive skills and angelic sense for food, we have in the finals, Sanri!”, the announcer stated. “Facing her with her gorgeous presentation and culinary acumen, Carmen!” Sanri looked up as she sucked on her lolly to see, to her shock, the weird woman from before. “Who will be the winner of the glorious elephant bluefin tuna?”

Carmen smirked at Sanri. “That’ll be me! That fish and the title of East-Blue's number 1 is going to be me. This will be fun. I’ve never had any real competition before.”

Sanri glared at the woman with fire in her eyes. “I’m winning this thing because that tuna is mine! I’ll make nirvana for it!”

The two women glared at each other from their platforms before the starting pan was hit. “Start your cooking!”

Then they were off.

-

“They really have different styles, don’t they?” Nami stood from their spot.

“Yeah, but see how flashy that Carmen is. Sanri’s completely focused instead with so much more care,” Usopp stated.

Zoro just silently watched Sanri, who was completely in her element, twirling knives on habit rather than to impress the crowd as she worked on the food. She made flames erupt in the pan, with cooking wine, making fire that matched her eyes, before she started to plate up her dishes.

He really wanted to find out how she’d cook that tuna.

-

Sanri sat sipping her wine as she thought of Carmen's dishes as the judges prepared their final verdict. They really were very good. Very well balanced and with just the right amount of seasoning to bring out the flavour.

The only issue was really her use of the ingredient selection when making her dishes. The fish was just on the turn, affecting the taste, and the vegetables were a bit too bitter from being a tad under-ripe.

“Well then, here it goes,” the head judge said as she stood up, paper in hand, with the winner. Nami, Usopp and Zoro listened expectantly as Sanri sat relaxed. “The winner of this year’s cooking championship is... San-”

“Wait!” Carmen cried, interrupting the judge as she stood up and walked to stand before Sanri, who blinked up at her in surprise as the crowd watched on, shocked. “I can’t forgive myself,” Carmen said as she looked straight into Sanri’s eyes. “I can’t believe I thought I could beat you.” She clenched her fists. “I watched you cook when you were young in a competition, up against cooks with far more experience than you, as just a little girl and won. You were driven, even back then.” The woman shook as she spoke. “They wouldn’t let me in the kitchen to compete like you, and it made me so resentful. I’ve trained so hard for so many years. That’s why I wanted to find you and show you what I learned. But after all this time, you’ve only gotten better.” Her smile turned bitter. “I don’t know what made me think I could beat you.” It brightened, though, as she met Sanri’s eyes once more. “The truth is, you beat me fair and square. You are the number 1 cook in the East-Blue.”

Sanri grinned as she took out a new lolly and put it in her mouth. She then glomped Carmen as she giggled. “That’s the nicest compliment anyone has ever given me! You have to tell my Dad that, he’d get a coronary! You have to go tell him!”

Carmen smiled down at the happy blonde cook in her arms. “I’m forfeiting this round, but be ready for the next time we meet. I won’t lose again.”

Sanri grinned up at her around her lolly, making some men and a few women in the crowd suffer nosebleeds so severe they needed to be carted off to get blood transfusions. “Well, if it’s a challenge from you, Miss Carmen, I’ll definitely accept!”

Zoro’s eyebrow twitched.

The main judge wobbled back to his feet. “And the winner is... Sanri!”

The still able crowd erupted in cheers and applause.

-

“I have to use the fins for stock,” Sanri said as she jumped around examining her prize as they walked on their search for Luffy. “Oh, but I forgot about the ears! What will I do with those? And the trunk! I just can’t wait to cook it! I wonder what it’ll taste like?! An actual elephant bluefin tuna!” The blonde then latched onto Nami in her excitement, who was walking in front of their group as Usopp and Zoro carried the fish, Zoro carrying the remaining supplies over his shoulder.

“Calm down, Sanri. You’ll have to wait until we find Luffy and get back to the ship.” Nami stated before smiling at the blonde. “Though I knew you could do it. It was fun watching you.” The navigator then sighed in thought. “I don’t know why, but I love a good competition!” The redhead then giggled with Sanri as they continued walking.

Usopp angrily shouted over his shoulder at Zoro. “How did I get stuck carrying the heavy end of this thing?!”

Zoro readjusted the food supplies on his shoulder as he glared at the sniper. “Because you aren’t carrying a ton of food on your back as well, you moron.”

“Yeah, but I’m carrying my tools and supplies! They’re pretty heavy!”

“Not as heavy as the amount of food needed to feed us while at sea, as well as Luffy. But if you want, we can switch!” Zoro offered up with a cruel grin.

Usopp shook his head after realising how much Zoro was probably carrying. “No, it’s okay! I’m fine up this end.”

“That’s what I thought,” Zoro told Usopp gruffly.

Nami frowned as she looked up to the sky, stopping in her tracks. Sanri tilted at Nami’s sudden change. “What’s wrong, Nami?”

“It’s... the air,” Nami stated, confused. “It’s going to rain.”

“But it’s so nice,” Usopp said, even more confused as Nami was at the sudden change in air pressure.

“I’m sure of it. Let’s hurry.” Nami stated as she began walking faster. She took out a device. “The barometric pressure is falling fast. I’ve never seen such a sharp drop before.”

Sanri looked at the sky as it began to change. “You know, I thought I felt something strange.”

Nami watched the clouds begin to swirl, intrigued. “There’s a storm heading straight for the island.”

“A storm?” Usopp asked.

“Yeah. We'd better hurry back to the ship, or we’ll be in trouble.” Nami said worriedly.

“Is it gonna be big?” Usopp asked.

“Hey, we've got to find Luffy, too. I’ve got this bad feeling that something bad is gonna happen.” Zoro stated as he noticed a cloud of smoke not far from them.

Then the townspeople started running. “Pirates are here! It’s Buggy the Clown!” The people began pushing past them.

“What’d they say?” Nami asked as she remembered the clown pirate from before.

“I think they said Buggy,” Zoro said.

“It’s time for the execution! Buggy the clown is going to kill Straw-hat Luffy!” The straw-hats tensed at the news.

“They’re gonna execute him?!” Usopp’s voice held a quiver.

“That freakin’ idiot!” Nami frowned.

“Let’s go!” Zoro cried as he let go of Sanri’s prize and gave Usopp the food supplies. “Hold this.”

Usopp yelped as he struggled to carry everything. “Hey!” He called, but they had already begun running towards the town square.

Sanri and Zoro up front as they ran.

Sanri called back to Usopp, though. “Treat it like a lady, you got that!”

Nami grabbed Usopp by the collar before picking up the rest of the supplies Zoro dropped in their rush. “Come on, we've got to hurry!”

“Where are we going, Nami?!” Usopp asked as he adjusted the heavy fish.

Nami glared as she picked up speed. “The harbour, you numbskull!”

“The harbour? Oh, yeah, I knew that!” Usopp picked up speed as well, as he figured they’d need to prepare the boat for a quick departure.

-

“I’m the man who will be King of the Pirates!”

Sanri and Zoro ran faster as they entered the square to see Luffy’s head trapped on the execution platform.

Zoro grit his teeth in frustration. “Stop the execution!”

Sanri was in no better state as she ran. Tears of worry were already welling in her eyes as she focused on Luffy.

“Now!” they cried together as they stopped before the enemy pirates, ready to save their captain.

Luffy smiled brightly down at them. “Sanri, Zoro!”

Zoro grinned at Luffy as his bandana on his head cast shadows over his eyes. “Luffy, you idiot! Guess all that foolin’ around finally caught up to ya, huh?”

Sanri stood confidently as she looked at the enemy with a feral grin. “You startin’ a side show? Or is that just how you look? Pretty sad.” Half the goons dropped at the sight of her. Sanri blinked. “Well, that was useful. Now all we gotta do is drive the other half off.”

The crowd ran away as they recognised Zoro, clearing away any innocent bystanders.

“Hey, guys!” Luffy called, happy his friends had come to help him.

Buggy stood over Luffy. “You made it, Zoro! But you’re just a little bit too late!” The clown made sure not to look at the blonde; even from a simple glance, he could tell she was too much to look at. The clown raised his sword with a smile.

Zoro and Sanri moved fast. “We gotta bring down that platform!” Zoro said around the sword in his mouth.

“Okay, boys get ‘em!” A female pirate cried, and the remaining pirates ran to fight them.

“Out of our way!” Zoro muttered as he cut down the pirates.

Sanri kicked one after the other quickly before bouncing past them with her sole focus on the platform.

Buggy laughed manically. “Not even the great Zoro can stop me now! There is nothing you can do! It’s the end for your captain!”

“Bastard!” Sanri cried as she ran faster.

Both had the same thought in their heads. If they could just get to the platform, they’d be able to save Luffy.

“Zoro! Sanri! Usopp! Nami!” Luffy said as his hat covered his eyes. “Sorry, but...” He then lifted his head with a massive grin on his face as Buggy brought down the sword. “I’m dead!”

Tears fell from the corner of Sanri’s eyes as she grit her teeth. Zoro’s eyes hardened as he made his way to their captain.

But then an immensely strong bolt of lightning hit Buggy’s sword, and the platform toppled over with its power while blinding those in the square as it caught on fire. It completely fried the pirate clown, leaving him charred.

Luffy picked up his hat as he stood up from the platform and put it on his head.

Sanri smiled at him brightly as tears of relief fell from her eyes. Though they turned to tears of anger as her captain began laughing. “I’m still alive! That’s nice!”

“That was divine intervention, idiot! You were done for!” Sanri wept as she hit Luffy over the head, wiping her eyes, blaming the rain for her tears.

Luffy rubbed his head as he smiled. “I’m sorry, I worried you, Sanri! Don’t cry.”

“Let’s just get out of this town,” Zoro said as he looked over his shoulder after putting his swords away. “Our troubles are not over.”

And he was right as Marines surrounded the square before attacking the pirates.

“Oh, wow! So cool!” Luffy said as he bounced out of the way of falling pirates. “Everybody here went crazy so quickly!” He flailed, though, when Zoro grabbed him and lifted him.

“We don’t have time for this. We have got to get out of here.” Zoro said quickly.

“He’s right!” Sanri called. She tightened her now-wet ponytail as the rain picked up. “We have to hurry back to the Going Merry, or we’ll never be able to leave this island! And we sure as hell won’t get to the Grand-Line!”

That seemed to get Luffy’s attention. “Really? Well, that’s no good. Run!”

As soon as he gave the order, the three ran towards the harbour. They heard the Marines following them as they got away. Some even got in their way, but they defeated them quickly and with ease in no time before continuing to sprint towards the ship.

“What the hell is with all this rain?” Zoro asked as they ran.

“Nami was right about the storm. We need to hurry!” Sanri said, not slowing down.

“Just keep running!” Luffy stated with a laugh as he led the way.

Zoro looked around. “Which way is the sea?”

Luffy gripped his hat as the wind picked up. “I don’t know. The rain makes it hard to tell where we’re going.”

More Marines gathered at their back.

“Damn, they’re like roaches. You want to stop and fight ‘em?” Zoro asked Sanri.

She wiped her wet fringe out of her eyes. “There’s no time!” Sanri then saw the marine woman from the sword shop. “Zoro, seems you were found out!”

The woman’s hair hid her eyes. “I didn’t know you were Zoro, and a pirate as well. You lied. You’re just another liar!” She looked at them fiercely.

“He didn’t lie, lady! It’s not his fault, you didn’t know who he was! You never asked!” Sanri called as they stopped before her.

The woman glared at Sanri. “Says the pirate!”

Sanri glared back at the woman as she shook her fist at her. “Says the marine!”

The woman's eyes landed on Zoro. “You know there’s no way I’m going to allow someone like you to leave town with such a legendary sword. Give it to me, the Wado Ichimonji! Right now!”

The woman gasped and unsheathed her sword to block Sanri’s foot that went straight for her head. Sanri’s glare was unwavering. “You selfish bitch! I’ll never let you take his sword away from him!”

The two women entered a fierce battle. One with a blade, the other with deadly kicks.

Zoro and Luffy watched on for a moment. Luffy turned to see Zoro’s face. “What’s up, Zoro? Your face looks kinda funny.”

“It’s nothing.” Zoro looked down, hiding his face with his hand as he called out. “Do you need a hand?”

Sanri clenched her teeth around her lolly stick. “Does it look like I need any help? Get out of here!” She kicked the woman across the face before she could swing at her again, but the marine caught herself.

Luffy put his shoulder. “You heard her, Zoro. Let’s go.”

They ran past both of them, and Zoro gave Sanri a grateful smile before running after Luffy.

Sanri continued the battle and finally managed to kick the woman’s sword out of her hand before blocking her into a wall as she secured her victory, crushing part of the wall with her kick to show her power. She leaned in close to the woman as her eyes were lit up by the lightning. “You have no idea how much value that sword has to that man. It has more value than any price you could pay, and you are certainly not taking it from him. Not while I breathe air.” The marine was left shaking as Sanri lowered her leg and moved back. “Now, I’ve got to go.” She turned and began to walk away.

“Why didn’t you kill me?!” the woman cried as she turned to stare at Sanri’s back. “And why stop him from fighting me?! It’s because I’m a girl, isn’t it! It’s pathetic that he couldn’t fight me because I’m a woman. It’s embarrassing! He may be physically stronger, but he doesn’t have the guts! My sword isn’t just for decoration! I bet he doesn’t even know what it means to carry a sword!”

Sanri stopped as she put her hands in her short pockets. She turned back just a fraction as she glared at the woman so coldly her eyes became glaciers. “You don’t know a damn thing.” The woman froze at the glare as rain poured down Sanri’s face and mixed with her silent, angry tears. “You have the same face as a friend of his who died a long time ago. That’s why I didn’t want him to fight you. I didn’t want him to relive it. And if he killed you, he’d have felt like he killed her himself and would never get a good night’s sleep again.” Sanri wiped her face as she met the woman’s eyes. “As for me? I didn’t kill you because I’m not a mindless killer. Like those who work for the World Government.”

The woman gritted her teeth. “What are you? A member of the revolutionary army?!”

Sanri waved her hand blasé as she began to walk away once more, flicking her finished lollipop stick away. “Nah. I just don’t like royal dickheads. Adieu~!”

Then she was thrown through the air, as the wind grew so strong it blew her away along with everything else that wasn’t tied down.

-

Sanri sat up as Zoro pulled a bit of rubble off her. She took his hand and let the man pull her to her feet as she rubbed her head.

“Are you okay?” Zoro asked as he checked her head.

Sanri nodded as she looked around, confused. “I’m fine. But what the hell happened?”

Luffy and Usopp came over as they dusted themselves off. Their captain was just as puzzled as they were. “I’d like to know that too.”

But they couldn’t ponder it right now as Nami’s cries for help cut through the air.

Sanri looked out to sea and saw that the Going Merry was with the boys. “We've got to go! The ship will be gone soon.”

Luffy nodded and ran in the opposite direction from them with a cheerful laugh. Zoro, Sanri and Usopp looked back, horrified as their captain grabbed onto a rail and stretched his body.

“What?!” Usopp cried.

“No. He can’t,” Sanri said.

Zoro wrapped his arms around Sanri protectively as he prepared for what Luffy was going to do, eye twitching. “I’m not going to like this.”

“Gum-Gum Rocket!” Luffy cried as he shot himself towards his crew, launching them towards Merry, making them hit the back sail.

Zoro made sure not to let go of Sanri as they fell towards the deck and landed on his back with a groan as she lay on his chest in a daze.

Nami stood over them all with a relieved smile. “You’re here!”

Sanri's head wobbled as she sat up in Zoro’s lap. “Luffy, did you really have to hit us that hard?”

Zoro pushed off the ground as he rubbed his sore back. “Yeah? I think you knocked my back out.” When the swordsman opened his eyes, he blushed at Sanri’s position. “Ah, sorry," he said awkwardly as he shuffled out from under her.

Usopp shot up from where he sat, rage consuming him. “Luffy! If that wasn’t necessary, I’d kill you!”

“Sorry!” Luffy said as he looked out at the choppy water. “It feels like she wants to capsize!”

Sanri got to her feet as she looked out to sea, and Zoro moved to stand further away from her than he wanted, but close enough that he could reach her if she was going to be knocked overboard.

Nami stood by Luffy. She smiled as something caught her eye. “Hey, look! A light!”

Usopp gripped the mast as he saw a building. “Is that a lighthouse?”

“Yeah. It’s one of the guideposts. The entrance to the Grand-Line is somewhere ahead!”

Luffy held his hat as he sat on the railing. “The Grand-Line is somewhere just out ahead.”

“What now?” Nami asked their captain.

“Do we have to go there in the middle of a freakin’ hurricane like this?” Usopp asked.

Zoro nodded, and Sanri stretched her arms above her head with a small smile as a new lolly dangled from her lips.

“Okay, then,” Sanri said as she went to look for something. “I think we should say something to mark this very special occasion.” She got a chorus of agreement.

When she came back, she put down a barrel of cheap rum. Sanri then put her foot on it before she declared, “I’m going to the Grand-Line to find the All-Blue!”

Luffy grinned at her with a chuckle as he put his foot on the barrel as well. “I’m going to be King of the Pirates!”

Zoro lifted his foot as he matched their grins. “The world’s best swordsman!”

Nami put her foot on the barrel as well. “I’m going so I can draw a map of the entire world!”

Usopp was the final one to put his foot on the barrel. “I guess I’m going to be a brave warrior of the sea!”

They smiled brightly at their shared declarations.

“And now-” They all lifted their legs. “To the Grand-Line!”

The barrel shattered as their legs came down. The alcohol was soaking into their clothes like their words were a promise.

“Yeah!”