Recipe for Disaster and Zoro's Vow 2...

Chapter 16.5 - Recipe for Disaster and Zoro's Vow 2...

"He…?" Brook croaked out in a hoarse voice.

"Yeah, he saved me," Sanji admitted with a nod.

"Gin are you ok?" Luffy gasped. Gin didn't answer him, but his skin was now a sickly, dark purple and he was struggling for breath, coughing up blood from his mouth and nose. Every single painful gasp was weaker than the last…

Chopper screamed. "This is bad! We've got to clear out his lungs or else he'll die!"

"What can we do to stop it?" Nami cried anxiously.

"We can't do anything," Robin said, frowning heavily, "This is all in the past now."

"I know that!" Franky yelled, "But that doesn't mean I have to like it! Damn! I hate this!"

"They've got to put a mask on him!" Chopper cried out in a scared voice, "They've got to clear out his lungs right now!"

"It's your mask, you gave it to me," Luffy whispered, staring at the mask in his hand, realizing what happened.

"Looks like we owe him one," Usopp said quietly as Gin collapsed just as more blood erupted from his mouth.

"No!" Luffy yelled, heading towards them as Sanji quickly caught him and held him up as he fought for his breath.

But when Krieg started to laugh at it, Luffy stopped and turned to glare at him. "What a fool," Krieg said, having removed his own mask, and was now mocking Gin's condition. "You're paying for a plate of food with your life? Oh well… maybe you'll learn… when you're dead."

"That bastard!" Usopp yelled furiously, his hand going to his slingshot before he remembered it wouldn't do any good, "First he orders him to kill himself and then mocks him! He should respect the fact that Gin followed his orders in the end!"

"Right now I'm having trouble trying to figure out whose worse," Nami said, shaking in anger. "Kuro or Krieg."

"I'd say that they're both the same level of slime," Franky informed her.

Memory Sanji was still holding Gin, who was gasping out Krieg's name. Whether it was in anger or pleading, it was hard to say as he wheezed for air. "Gin…" Sanji whispered softly, "So it seems…" he glared up at Krieg with disgust, "that Don Krieg wasn't the right man for you to follow was he?"

Krieg just laughed, and the sound of it was making them long to hit him. "It figures that you would still feel for that pathetic scum," he said loudly.

"Scum!?" past Sanji exclaimed in rage.

"That's right. Anyone who loses focus and betrays my ship is worthless to me," Krieg said as he grinned again. "He would almost certainly do it again. Putting him out of his misery is an act of mercy to keep him from dishonoring himself in the future and endangering my crew."

"Seriously, were you five the only decent pirates in the East Blue?" Franky asked again heatedly.

"Probably," Nami sighed, shaking her head.

"This is quite common among some pirates," Robin said knowingly. She had seen many times in her life to know just how it happened. The Krieg Pirates, meanwhile, just couldn't believe that Krieg would kill Gin. No one was more loyal to Krieg than Gin and the Straw Hats all learned that when they escaped from the Grand Line and were being pursued by Fullbody, Gin went out alone and masqueraded as Krieg. Gin always sacrificed himself to save Krieg and he did anything to win, that's why people called him "Demon".

"Wow, he did all that for Krieg, and look at how he thanks him," Usopp said angrily

"Gin just had poor judgment," Zoro sighed.

Past Sanji turned to Patty and Carne and told them to get the kit used for food poisoning, as Zeff told him to put the mask on to detoxify the gas in his lungs and then to take him to the upper deck of the Baratie where the air was fresher. Krieg just laughed and claimed that because of the poison, Gin will die in one hour.

"Is that true, Chopper?" Usopp asked quickly, his eyes wide with concern.

"It's hard to say, everybody is different which means that poison affects everyone a little differently," Chopper said, trying to leap over and get a better look at Gin. "To determine a person's time of death would be hard but it is possible. Their only chance to save him is to do what Zeff said, to help him breath and clear out the poison. But even then, that might not be enough!"

Luffy suddenly spoke again.

"Don't you dare die, Gin," he said—and though his words were quiet, everyone seemed to have heard it and turned to look at him. Even Gin raised his head a little to try and see him, though it was hard to tell with the mask over his face. "You can't let someone like him win," Luffy told him, his eyes as sharp and cold as Mihawk's had been as he glared at Krieg. "Stick around! Now I'm mad! You'll wanna see what I'm gonna do to him next!"

"Give that guy a beating that he won't ever forget!" Nami cheered on. They'd been waiting too long to see that jerk get the beating of a lifetime.

Gin, however, didn't believe that Luffy can defeat Krieg. Even past Sanji tries to stop him too and yelled that he will be killed if he attacks him head on. To make everyone stop worrying, Luffy just said, "I'm not worried". And then he started his attack at Krieg's front. "GO AHEAD AND GIVE IT YOUR BEST SHOT!" he screamed as Krieg grinned cockily and Sanji cried for him not to do it.

But Luffy ignored him as he charged ahead, and they knew that he wasn't going to back down this time.

"You are only running towards one thing, Chore boy. And that is…" Krieg said as he threw several small bombs into the water, "Your funeral!"

"You wanna bet!?" Brook yelled, waving his sword in the air.

"My funeral?" Luffy repeated scathingly. The bombs went off and the water splashed up around him and that was when Krieg took out his spike machine gun again and shot through the water.

"Oh, there's no way he could've escaped from that," Robin said.

"Don't say things like that, Robin," Chopper cried out as Krieg continued his hail of spikes. But Luffy still ran through it, and when he burst out of the waves some of them cringed at seeing several of the long spikes imbedded deeply in his body. But Luffy ignored the pain as he neared Krieg. Stretching his arm out, "Gum Gum…"

Realizing that he was going to try and attack, Krieg revealed a robe made of dangerous spikes to deter any attacks.

"EH! LUFFY STOP IT!" Usopp screamed when he saw them, but too late.

"Pistol!" Luffy yelled, as he went and punched him right through the metal spikes, the spikes tearing his own fist open, and managed to strike Krieg dead in the face. Chopper, Usopp, Nami, Franky, and Brook were all screaming in pain at the sight of it.

"Again, this is worse to watch than the first time," Sanji said, massaging his own hands. He rather give up a leg than a hand here.

"HE PUNCHED RIGHT THROUGH THE SPIKES!?" Nami screamed out, recoiling at the sight of it.

"OW! OW! OW!" Usopp yelled, wishing that he didn't see that, "Oh, that hurt just looking at it!"

"He almost ripped his hand apart!" Chopper screamed, twisting his face around with his hooves. "He could've permanently ruined it!"

"My skin is crawling at the thought of it," Brook added as he shivered. "Not that I have skin at all…"

"Nothing stops him," Robin said with a smile as Zoro smirked as well. Everyone else thought so as well. Both pirates and cooks were staring in horror at what Luffy had just done. Someone then summed up all their thoughts by shouting out three words: "That's messed up!"

"I couldn't have said it better," current Sanji agreed as they watched the blood dripping down from Luffy's injured hand. He was standing there almost like a zombie for a moment before he went and began to pull the spikes out.

"So is this my funeral?" he asked as he pulled out the first spike and threw it to the ground and went on, "Or yours?" He went for another spike, "You can't kill me… with little spikes!" out came that one. "My funeral…" he threw out the last spike, "will take more than this!"

Breathing hard for a minute and biting back the pain, he went on, "You'll have to do better than that… if you wanna beat me!" He looked back up, grin wildly, "Cause I don't think it's time for me to die just yet!"

"I'll never understand that idiot," Usopp sighed, really what was he thinking doing something that crazy?

The memory Sanji, who was nursing his wounds from Gin, was now looking over at him. "I know one thing, he's nuts," he said to Zeff.

"And I still believe that," he agreed, but he was smiling as he pulled his cigarette out of his mouth.

Zeff smirked down at him before he said, "I've seen one or two like him before. Stubborn kids who rather die and have to turn away from a fight once it's started."

Zoro grinned at that as well. Pretty much the whole crew was like that these days—he, himself, was a prime example of that.

"He'll stay," past Sanji said knowingly. "That's for sure."

"I'm glad he's with us cause guys like that are hell to fight," Zeff said conversationally.

"And I know that all too well as well," Sanji laughed as he watched.

"I don't care if he wins or loses," Zeff finished. "I consider it an honor just to be able to watch him."

"Because you're watching the future Pirate King take him out," Franky laughed as Luffy stared Krieg down until he was able to stand up again.

"So boy… it's not your funeral yet is it? Too bad," Krieg snarled from where he lay and slowly began to life himself up. "Because one of us has got to go. And since I'm here… I'd really like to pay my respects!" he charged Luffy and slammed one of his shields at point black, "GO TO HELL!" he screamed as he fired a miniature explosion.

But Luffy easily jumped to avoid it and even hooked his foot on Krieg's shoulder when he jumped over him—knocking him down twice in under a minute.

"You first!" Luffy shouted out as the bulky armor hit the platform with a resounding thud.

"YEAH! GO LUFFY!" Usopp and Chopper both cried out, jumping up and down excitedly.

"What a weakling," Zoro said, rolling his eye. "He's nothing without his toys."

"I think that would be the point," Robin said, understanding everything. Meanwhile, this creates severe anguish amongst his crew members, as Krieg has always came out of a battle unscathed. It was the first time they had ever seen Krieg being knocked down and they were all wondering that he wasn't invincible after all and his reputation would be destroyed if a kid was able to defeat him.

"You think?" Nami sighed, shaking her head as the cooks all continued to cheer on 'Chore Boy' on.

However, when one crewmate began to believe that Luffy might just be stronger than Krieg, that got his attention. "SHUT UP MAGGOTS! NEVER DOUBT ME!" Krieg screamed before combining his shoulder plates together to form his "Mighty Battle Spear", which he slams into the ground next to Luffy, creating an explosion.

"What was that?!" Brook called in surprise.

"Yet another weapon he's so proud of," Sanji sighed.

The Krieg Pirates were finally rejoicing as they see Krieg's secret weapon, as he discards his cape and explained that it was stronger than the spikes he fired at Luffy earlier. While Luffy wondered out loud how the spear made an explosion as he hid behind a broken part of the ship, Krieg gave him an answer by bragging once again. "My mighty battle spear!" he boasted, "It's different from any other! When this thing hits you, you won't just be wounded and failing… YOU'LL BE BLOWN STRAIGHT INTO HELL!"

Continuing the battle, the surrounding wreckage was eventually reduced to sunken rubble with both combatants having very little room to move on. Krieg sung it again, sending Luffy flying over the ocean, but luckily, he stretches towards one of the floating platforms to save himself. However, due to the fact that he has lost so much blood thanks to Krieg, and that the platform he's standing on was unstable, he soon falls to his knees.

Chopper let out a cry of worry.

"He lost too much blood," Robin said worriedly, "And he's fighting on the ocean. This is the worst case scenario."

"What can he do?" Franky asked.

"There's not much he can do," Nami said at once, "One slip and he's history."

Sanji didn't say anything but his past self was already doing that. He had no idea how pessimistic he sounded back here. "He's lost way too much blood," he said, still holding onto his hurt ribs, "He can't fight for much longer. This better end quickly."

"But what is the Battle Spear?" Brook asked just as the pirates all began to talk amongst themselves about Krieg's weapon, which apparently creates explosions depending on how powerful the blow is. The crew members mentioned that as the lance weighs around 1 ton, yet Krieg can swing it around with only one arm.

"I get it," Franky said frowning. "Crude, but effective. Not that it has anything on Franky Shogun!"

"No way!" Chopper agreed with him, "That thing's awesome!"

Nami and Robin both looked at each other, their eyebrows raised, but not saying anything to that.

Krieg continues his assault on Luffy, who was dodging for his life. He jumped to the section of the ship Luffy was resting on and ended up blowing it up. On and on, Luffy was being attacked and was forced to only dodge until he found a way out of it. He was able to keep it up for a while before he finally lost his balance, which makes him wide open for an attack. However, just in the nick of time, Luffy grabbed the lance before it can hit him. Enraged, Krieg slams the spear into the ground, forcing Luffy to let go. Krieg proceeded to ram the spear at Luffy, who punched the tip, creating an explosion which sent him flying through the air.

"That idiot! Why'd he punch the spear head?!" yelled Nami.

"Well, it was either that or get impaled like a pin-cushion," Robin offered.

"Oh the image!" screamed Brook in horror at the thought. But already, Luffy was forcing his wounded body to get back up. And like before, Krieg swung the spear at him, and again, Luffy punched the blade, making it explode a second time.

"What's the point here?!" Usopp cried out.

"I get it," Zoro suddenly said, smirking widely. "Clever…"

"Well, he's an idiot, but when it comes to battle he's suddenly a genius," Sanji offered.

"I guess having two older brothers would do that," Robin offered, also figuring it out.

"What are you all talking about?" Brook asked in confusion as Krieg swung again, declaring that he was stronger than Luffy. Nonetheless, Luffy took each hit without budging an inch.

"Is he still believing that crap?" Zoro asked in annoyance.

"Damnit," past Sanji hissed. "There's no way that Chore Boy can take much more of this. That spear is way too powerful."

"Don't say a word," current Sanji snapped at them all as they looked at him with their eyebrows raised. "I didn't know just how damn depressing I was here alright?"

"No, you're wrong," Zeff said to past Sanji in disagreement, "Even with a hundred thousand more weapons, our Chore Boy can still bring him to his knees because he does not know fear."

"That's an understatement," Nami agreed quietly, but smiling a little as she remembered all the fights she saw him win. Not once did he ever show fear… when he fights… it's almost like he becomes someone else.

Memory Sanji looked up at Zeff in confusion as Krieg dished out another attack at Luffy, and of course Luffy met it head-on. Burnt black, Luffy landed flat on his back on the wreckage, smoking lightly… Krieg smirked as he turned and walked away, sneering that it was too easy.

But at those words, Luffy began to push himself back up. Stopping dead in his tracks, Krieg turned to look as he raised the spear back up. "Now that's impressive," he muttered, but he was looking angry now.

"Stand or fall," Zeff went on, "Life or death… in a struggle for your very existence, you cannot have even the slightest bit of fear or you will be lost."

"Now I can tell that he was someone who truly was a real pirate," Brook said respectfully, now looking forward to meeting Chef Zeff one day. "It is hard to understand how someone fights unless you experience it as well."

But past Sanji didn't seem to understand as he asked him what he was talking about.

"Really dumbass cook?" Zoro smirked at him and Sanji threw out another angry death threat at him.

"That kid out there," Zeff answered impatiently, as if speaking to someone dumb, as Luffy charged again and took another blast to the face. "When he's fighting…" Zeff said as Luffy pushed himself back up through the broken boards with a grin. "He's not afraid of anything! Not even death!"

"That is still crazy," Nami said softly, but she got what he was saying here. Here, just fighting for your dream is enough.

Still smiling, Luffy got up once again and went up for another blast to the face. "Is it all instinct?" Zeff asked suddenly, "Or all a plan?" He grinned, as if he figured it all out on his own. "We'll know soon… if he lives."

"What plan?" memory Sanji asked him. "Killing himself?"

"Most would think so," Robin chuckled softly. "But judging from the fact that we all saw him this morning, I'm guessing that he does make it through this?"

"Barely," Sanji told her. Krieg was getting more annoyed, veins sticking out on his head as he snarled at Luffy, cursing him out. But Luffy just continued to grin as the chefs all cheered from the background.

"He just keeps getting up," Chopper said, his eyes wide in respect, "It's like his body refuses to accept failure as an option."

"That's Luffy in a nutshell if you ask me," Zoro told him.

"I told you!" Krieg yelled as he ran with his spear, "Today is your funeral!" Another boom went off, "I AM INVINCIBLE!"

"Please, I could take you down easy," Zoro spoke again, wishing that he could've had a chance at him. He didn't even have to move from here as he mentally fantasized about sending a flying blade attack at him. "It's not the number of weapons that matters," he went on, "A man and his fists can destroy a fleet. It's all how he uses it. Its courage, not weapons that will decide who wins. Krieg thinks he can conquer anyone who stands in his way cause of those toys."

"Yes," Robin agreed, "I see what his problem is. I admit that he does have talent. He is physically strong and he was able to pull together an entire of armada of ships. But he forgot all about his strength. He's nothing but surface. A battleship without sails or any other means of moving it…"

"Well, said," Franky said with a smirk. At least he didn't have to rely only on his own weapons to fight. Just then, Luffy threw himself back at Krieg one more time.

"And that would be number five," Sanji said as another boom sounded off. There was silence for a moment…

"There is no doubt that Krieg and his pirates are strong," Zeff continued one, "But Chore Boy has something they'll never have. Krieg may have more pirates at his command than anyone else before him… he may have terrible weapons of mass destruction to everything in his path… but he will never have that kid's heart."

"That's something I think we can all agree on," Brook said softly, holding up his sword. He pledged his sword and life to the pirate captain, Straw Hat Luffy. He had no regrets following such a man.

Memory Sanji was just watching it before his one visible eye suddenly widen in understanding. Present-day Sanji smiled at that—this was the moment he fully understood what Zeff was trying to say… why he kept wanting him to leave the restaurant. Funny how it took such a goofball pirate to really teach him that.

"What's he saying?" Chopper asked softly.

"What he means is that this fight is already won," Zoro explained, "See, Luffy's a threat to him but that goes completely over Krieg's head. He thinks he'll win cause of his spear… but sooner or later, that's not gonna be enough."

No sooner did he say that did Luffy slam his foot into the deck, and the shockwave from that broke the tip of the spear, much to Krieg's confusion and horror.

"The Great Battle Spear!" Krieg yelled in disbelief. "What the hell did you do?"

Luffy grinned at him. "I just punched it in the head five times. It looks tired… maybe it needs a rest?"

"So that's what he was planning!" Usopp cheered loudly. "Yeah! Now that spear's not much of a threat to him!"

But Robin wasn't so sure. Yes, she knew that this battle was clearly Luffy's however that didn't mean that he would be beating Krieg that easily. Luffy's eyes narrowed as he said, "Now it's my turn!"

"But was it really worth it?!" Nami gasped out, "I mean… taking in all that damage just to take out the spear?!"

"If its Krieg's most dangerous weapon then yes," Franky said with a nod. "Besides, Luffy's tougher than that. It'll take a lot more than just a few bombs to kill him off.

"You ready for this? Because that was all I needed," Luffy said with a huge grin. "Now that your little toy's broken, you're nothing to me."

"Don't get cocky Luffy," Usopp said, knowing that's what did Krieg in.

"But that's about it," Sanji said, "Krieg's nothing on his own. And if they weren't fighting on the ocean, I'm sure that Luffy could've taken him out a lot sooner."

Krieg's eyes narrowed, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, without the blade, it's just a bomb on a stick. And let's face it, that's pretty lame," Luffy stated.

"I don't think it's that simple," Chopper said nervously as Krieg smirked again.

Krieg attacked Luffy again, but Luffy dodged it and jumps up to the mast, swinging around like how a monkey would from the tree. Then Krieg breaks the mast, missing Luffy completely as he threw the mast like a javelin back at him. But, Krieg destroyed it by shooting fire at it from a miniature flamethrower attached to his wrist.

"This guy's got a flamethrower too?!" Usopp cried out exasperatedly.

"How many weapons does that guy have?" past Sanji yelled.

"Too many," Sanji answered. Everyone was surprised and couldn't believe that Luffy is still able to stand on his feet. Once they were on a stable platform Luffy ran forward to hit Krieg with his Gum Gum Gatling. Krieg's armor, however, withstood the attack. Finally angry, Luffy ran forward, stretching his arm out so that he could hit him once again… when his fist hit the armor they could hear the deep ringing noise like a bell when he hit.

"Damn it! What's that stuff made of?!" Usopp yelled.

"Wootz steel armor isn't going to break easily," Robin answered. Luffy kept going, but Krieg hit him with the remains of the spear and he was sent back across the deck. With Krieg mocking Luffy, they were all wishing that they could jump in and teach that guy a lesson. As Luffy was trying to recover, Krieg jumped to the top of the tallest remaining mast and sneered down at him, calling to him to get him to look up.

Sanji smiled, knowing just what was gonna happen here and he couldn't wait to see Luffy beat him all over again.

"You don't stand a chance boy!" he yelled down, "Real power comes from deadly weapons! They're the source of true strength!" he sneered, "See, only the strong are meant to live! And that's me!"

"Really?" Sanji asked, shaking his head. How could he have ever thought this moron was a threat?

"Take your own advice you asshole!" Usopp yelled. Krieg threw out bombs from his place on top the mast but Luffy chased in to try and stop him. The whole time, there was an evil grin still on his face, "Yeah?" he challenged, "That's what you think!"

He threw his arms back when he got near enough and they knew just what attack he was gonna use this time. Krieg hit him with his weapon one more time—but it wasn't enough to stop the Bazooka that came flying at him. Through the explosion and smoke, Luffy charged through and finished crying out his attack—Krieg screaming in shock. And that was when he was sent flying into the air, his bombs falling from his hands.

"What's wrong with Luffy?" Nami cried out, seeing the blank look in Luffy's eyes, burnt and smoke coming out of his mouth from that last detonation.

"He's stunned!" Chopper screamed out. Though he knew that it wasn't enough to kill him, he knew those bombs must've done a lot of damage.

"That's it?!" Krieg bragged as he went flying backwards. "After all that big talk that's all you got?!"

"We could say the same thing about you!" Franky yelled angrily. But then he blinked in surprise to see that his golden arm was cracking apart. Krieg noticed it too and was yelling in disbelief about it. However, his smirk was back soon when he noticed that Luffy still didn't move. To him, his destroyed armor was enough of a price for this victory…

If it was a victory…

But past Sanji realized what those bombs were and screamed up at Luffy, "IT'S A TRAP! GET OUT!"

The bombs Krieg's dropped exploded and destroyed the rest of the battlefield. There wasn't anything left but splinters—the rocking waves put everyone in the water in danger and they screamed as they struggled to stay afloat. They could hear Sanji crying out over the noise in fear…

They all sat there, horrified that Luffy was dead as the water fell from the sky like rain once again. But without them realizing it, Zeff's words were suddenly ringing in each of their heads:

"When he's fighting… He's not afraid of anything! Not even death! Is it all instinct? Or all a plan? We'll know soon… if he lives."

Once again, Luffy surprised them all, bursting through the smoke, Krieg screaming out in terror at the sight of his face—losing all his cool.

"What!?" Krieg screamed in utter shock.

"Gum Gum Bazooka!" Luffy yelled, and when this attack hit, it did the job. He destroyed the armor by shattered it to pieces and sent him falling to the ocean.

"I TOTALLY WIN!" Luffy screamed out, his hands in the air in victory.

"HE DID IT!" Chopper screamed excitedly.

"Was there any doubt?!" Usopp yelled.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up yet," Sanji said, looking up, remembering what was about to happen.

"THIS ISN'T OVER YET BOY!" Krieg screamed, and Luffy looked taken aback by the fact that he was still in it.

"Oh, man what's it gonna take to shut this guy up?!" Franky yelled when Krieg shot a steel net from the same arm that had the flamethrower and wrapped around Luffy. He was now trapped and Krieg was laughing as he pulled him to the sea.

"That's not good," Robin said anxiously, knowing that this was what Krieg had been trying to do from the beginning.

Krieg laughed in triumph as he as he pulled Luffy towards the sea. "You can't escape! This is a steel net!"

"Dirty trick!" Brook yelled, knowing that Luffy better think fast if he wanted to make it out of this one. Luffy struggled in the net, as Krieg screamed out triumphantly, "It's over! That's the ocean down there! Looks like I'll be getting the last laugh after all, Chore Boy!"

But Luffy suddenly had an idea, forcing his arms and legs through the net, freeing them.

"Krieg made one big mistake," Zoro laughed, "He let Luffy use his limbs!"

With his arms and legs free, he laughed out, "I got that jerk right where I wanted him!"

"Really?!" Chopper screamed out animatedly. Sanji just watched, feeling just as amazed as he did back then. He hasn't even flinched at this… he remembered wondering just how he could stay so calm despite all this?

Luffy began to spin his legs rapidly and managed to lock his feet around Krieg's head and spun around to trap him, spinning like a propeller as he aimed it right at the Baratie's fin."Time for me to end this… right now! Gum Gum…" he cried out eagerly.

"Going down," Robin said smiling as the two were both screaming—but for different reasons.

"GIANT HAMMER!" And with that, Luffy slammed Krieg's head into the fin, shattering what was left of it, where Krieg finally lost and backed out.

"Now it's over," Sanji grinned just as Luffy hit the water and the memory disappeared so that they were back among the dark trees once again.

"What happened?" Chopper cried out looking around.

"Relax," Sanji said, "After the old geezer told me that Devil Fruit Users can't swim, I fished Luffy out before he drowned and Gin took Krieg and the others and left."

"Wait, so he did make it?" Nami asked pleasantly surprised.

"Hard to say," Sanji sighed, lighting up another cigarette. "He was still really sick. But he said that he was going to spend what was left of his time here fighting for his dream of going to the Grand Line."

"The Grand Line?" Usopp asked in surprise.

"I can't say for sure," Sanji answered. "But he said that it had become his dream. I have no idea to what happened to him, or if he is even still alive. But we gave him a boat and they left in. After we hauled Luffy inside and treated his injuries, he pretty much slept everything off."

"What a fight though!" Usopp said in admiration. "No matter what happened, he just kept getting back up to fight! That was just awesome!"

"Yeah!" Chopper cheered on eagerly. "But I'm going to talk to him about this! If he thinks that he can still get up to fight after taking all those bombs?"

"He'll live," Zoro smirked. "So is this all we see about you crud cook?"

"Would you watch it?" Sanji snapped back when the memory came back and they were all standing in a room, still on the Baratie. Luffy was sitting up in bed, looking around sleepily and realized that he wasn't alone. Sanji was sitting in the window, looking out at the sea. Luffy blinked a few times, and they could see that he had several bandages wrapped in the places where he pulled the spikes out as he put his hand on his head and screamed out in panic. "MY HAT! WHERE'S MY HAT?!"

"It's right there! Calm down!" Sanji said loudly. Luffy's hat was sitting on a shelf with things like cigarettes and even a picture of Sanji and Zeff when they first opened the restaurant.

"Is that you, Sanji?" Robin asked, as she looked over to get a look at the picture. "Weren't you cute?"

"Ah! You really think so Robin dear?" he swooned, his eyes like hearts as he looked at her hopefully.

"Don't take it like that, idiot," Nami warned him as Luffy sighed in relief and put it happily on his head.

"Have a good nap?" past Sanji asked as Luffy looked around the room.

"Hey, those pirates…?" Luffy asked in confusion, and it was clear he was trying to figure out how he got here.

"Well, I can tell that a lot's happened since he blacked out when he hit the water," Robin chuckled softly.

"They're gone now," memory Sanji answered, "All thanks to you."

"Me?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah, and Gin asked me to tell you that he said he'll see you on the Grand Line," past Sanji said, looking back out at the ocean.

"He did?" Luffy asked in surprise, "To you?"

"No! To you!" Sanji yelled back as he climbed out the window to the balcony and walked to the railing.

"He really is so slow, why else would I tell him that?" current Sanji asked wearily as he followed his past self to stand with him, he never thought he'd be looking out from this window again. There was silence all around them for a moment before Luffy reminded him that he didn't have to be 'Chore Boy' anymore since he got Krieg out of here.

"That's the deal," memory Sanji confirmed for him.

"Hey, I was wondering…?" Luffy said but Sanji already guess what he was gonna say and beat him by telling him that his answer was still no, he wasn't going to become a pirate. That he was going to stay here at the Baratie until Zeff acknowledged him as a real cook.

"Was it really that important to you for Chef Zeff to tell you that?" Chopper asked.

"I think that everyone wants to hear from someone that they have come a long way," Sanji answered him softly. "Especially, if that person is the one who taught you everything you know and that your hard work's paid off. That you don't have to be considered an apprentice anymore."

Chopper thought that over and realized that he was right. He remembered how hard he worked with Doctorine… how she only ever praised him once during the long years that he worked with her. He never noticed it before, but he never forgot the words she said… when she told him that he had done a good job. He supposed he could understand what Sanji was saying here.

"So if Zeff told you that you were an amazing cook you would've left like that?" Usopp asked.

Sanji didn't answer, he just gazed ahead, lost in thoughts. Luffy sighed, his eyes overshadowed as he told him that he finally gave up. However, his words and his actions didn't match. He stretched his arm out to grab hold of past Sanji's collar and he was gasping at him to let go.

"He never could take no for an answer," Nami sighed with a smile. "I don't think it'll take anything less than a beating to get him to listen."

"And even then, that doesn't work," Sanji sighed. His past self was telling Luffy that he couldn't leave just yet, but that he did promise himself that one day he would go to the Grand Line. Luffy beamed as he stretched out to join him on the balcony. "Well, let's go right now!" he said.

"Yeah, why not?" asked Chopper eagerly.

"It just isn't the right time. Not yet…" he said, and watching it now, current Sanji realized just how pathetic that sounded. They continued to look out at the sea for a moment before his memory self said, "There is one place…" And without another word, he turned back to Luffy and asked, his face suddenly lighting up with exhilaration as he asked, "Say have you ever heard of All Blue?"

"No," Luffy answered bluntly.

"You've got to be kidding me!?" past Sanji asked, still never losing his smile. "That sea is a miracle!" Luffy's eyes widen as he went on and on about his dream of one day seeing the All Blue. "In the All Blue there are fish from the East Blue, the West Blue, the North Blue, and the South Blue," he said breathlessly, "That one stretch of ocean has it all! To us cooks it's a culinary dream come true! A place that fantastic has got to be on the Grand Line somewhere right?"

"Wow, I don't think I've seen you this happy when you aren't looking a pretty girl," Usopp said in surprise.

"Oh! I almost missed him up there," Brook said, looking up to the higher balconies, and spotting someone up there.

"Who?" asked Nami, glancing up as well and they all looked to see that Zeff was there watching them.

"You mean that old geezer was listening in the whole time?!" Sanji roared out furiously.

But Zeff was watching the whole thing with a small smile on his face, as if dreaming of the All Blue himself. Sanji was blushing a little at that. He didn't know what made him tell Luffy about his dream—perhaps it was because he knew that Luffy wouldn't laugh at him or tell him that it was impossible. After all, both of their dreams were considered to be unattainable. He didn't understand before this moment. But he did now. Luffy didn't let his dreams die here, and he wasn't gonna let his disappear either.

He just smiled as he watched his past self continue on for some time about his dreams of seeing the All Blue and what he would make once he got there. When Patty screamed out that lunch was served, the two decided to go down and get some as well. But they came before a surprising incident. First there wasn't any seating left and he and Luffy were forced to sit on the floor.

"What's wrong?" Zoro teased, "You afraid to wrinkle your suit?"

"You shut up!" Sanji yelled at him, "This was a restaurant for crying out loud and there wasn't any seats left? There was something up!"

But as they continued watching it, it got nasty when all the chefs kept going on about how they hated his food. It ended with a big fight with Zeff and Sanji before he went charging out.

"That's cold," Franky said, knowing how sensitive that Sanji was about his cooking skills. Just one insult was enough to earn a hard ass-kicking from him. But present-day Sanji didn't say a word here.

The only one who didn't have something to say about Sanji's cooking was Luffy, who was gulping it all down. "What's all the fuss about?" he asked, ladling himself more, "This soup's totally awesome!"

"All of us know the soup is good," Zeff said and Luffy looked up in surprise, as did the rest of the Straw Hats. Sanji in particular was listening hard to this part—he didn't hear it the first time and what he said next meant more to him than treasure.

"I know he's an outstanding chef. Everyone here on the Baratie does," Zeff said and Sanji felt a little watery-eyed at that. Not a single one of the other cooks disagreed, all of them nodding the same way and told him what they all thought.

"But I don't get it…" Chopper said in confusion, "They all said…?"

"They're a bunch of dumbasses," Sanji answered for him as Zeff went on.

"But that thick-skulled idiot wouldn't listen to us if we tried to reason with him," he said and Zoro smirked at that part. Luffy continued to enjoy the soup when Zeff made a surprising request. "Hey… listen. You were saying that you needed a cook for your ship right? Well, this isn't something I wanna be asking anyone but… would you mind taking that little brat along with ya? Take him to the Grand Line." He smiled, "That would be best for him. The Grand Line is his dream."

Sanji smiled at that.

"It sure sounds like he really cares a lot about you, Sanji-san," Brook told him softly. "He wanted what was best for you…?"

"Yeah… I guess I know better than anyone that the old fossil's got a soft side in him somewhere," he admitted, his face mostly hidden by his bangs again. He knew this part… it was here that he remembered listening in. He had gone back to smash their heads in, letting them all know that he wasn't going to be pushed around and take trash-talking his food without a fight. But once he heard all this…?

"Geez boss, you sure made us put on a hell of a show," Patty said, looking close to laughing.

"Oh man," Carne laughed, "I was worried he was gonna figure it out cause of your bad acting!"

"It was amazing acting!" Chopper said softly.

Patty laughed, "Come on your acting was way worse than mine!"

"Well," Nami admitted, "I suppose heard a lot worse actors."

"I think they'd been practicing that for years," Sanji confessed, "And it was still bad."

"You seemed to believe it," Zoro smirked and Sanji responded with another kick, which he blocked with a sword.

"Would you get off my back?!" he yelled.

But their fight was interrupted when Luffy said something that made them all almost fall over—even the Straw Hats. "No way."

"What?!" Usopp yelled in a stunned voice.

"Now that's a surprise," Robin said smiling.

"You mean that he didn't want you to come along anymore?" Chopper asked but Sanji shook his head.

"But earlier you mentioned you needed a cook for your ship!" Zeff said loudly, and he was now sounding angry. "Just what are you trying to say? That he's suddenly not good enough for you?!"

"That's sweet," Nami said smiling and Sanji felt a warm feeling go through him at that. It was the first time that Zeff had ever even sounded like he defended his cooking skills.

"Oh, he's good," Luffy admitted, turning back to his food, "And I'd love it if he joined my crew and came with us." He swallowed and finished, "But it seems like he really wants to stay here and cook with all of you guys. You can ask me all you want but I'm just not gonna take him."

Zoro sighed. "And to think that you did come alone… just when we could've found ourselves a real cook."

"YOU SHUT UP!" Sanji yelled at him, "AT LEAST I DIDN'T NEED TO BE BRIBED INTO JOINING! OR THREATENED TO KILL ANYONE!"

Zoro's face suddenly turned angry. "What'd you say?"

"Come on!" Franky said, getting between them both. "Do you guys have to go into this every few minutes?"

"Why not?" demanded Sanji hotly.

"Look," Robin interrupted, turning their attention back to the scene.

"So you're saying you can't agree to it unless he tells you himself," Zeff said, playing with his mustache. "Is that right?"

"That's right," Luffy said before he held out his plate and asked for more food.

Zeff thought it over before he said, "Well, I suppose that's fair enough. But who knows if that hard-headed little brat will ever agree to join up with ya."

"Yeah," Patty added, "Once that guy makes up his mind there's nothing anybody can do to change it."

"What made you decide to come?" Usopp asked him as Franky succeeded in getting Sanji and Zoro apart.

"Well," Sanji said to him, trying to compose himself, "Part of the answer is about to coming crashing through that door." And no sooner did he said that when something came with a CRASH right through the wall.

"What the hell?" Franky yelled out as Usopp and Chopper both scrambled out of the way.

"That's kinda what was going through my mind too," Sanji confessed. Through the dust they saw that it was a large Panshark with Yosaku hanging from his mouth, and with past Sanji underneath them.

"Now there's something you don't see every day," Nami said, a large sweatdrop over her head.

"So that's what happened to him," Zoro said in surprise, he wondered how Yosaku made it back to get Luffy.

"Yeah," Usopp said thinking back. "Once they realized where you were heading Nami, Yosaku said he was going to go back and get Luffy to help."

"How'd he get in that thing's mouth?" Brook asked fascinated and the two just shrugged.

"He just jumped overboard and disappeared," Zoro said shaking his head. "Man, I'd love to hear what happened there."

After they pulled Yosaku out of the thing's mouth, it went back to the water and took off as they heard what happened. They had Yosaku with a blanket and he explained that though they weren't able to catch up to Nami, they figured out where she was heading. But Yosaku also added that he came back here to get Luffy, explaining that they needed his help because the place they were going to could mean certain death for them all.

"Nami-san?" Brook asked, but Nami shook her head, silently letting him know that he was soon to find out. She wasn't going to be looking forward to the next few memories.

"Alright," Luffy said, "I don't really get it… but I got it!"

Memory Sanji was leaning against the railing outside as the two got up and walked past, going to get ready to leave. But as soon as Luffy walked past him, he said to wait. "You're dream is foolish," he said when Luffy did stop to listen, "But then again… so is mine."

Luffy didn't look at him as Sanji looked up to the sky. "Now's as good a time as any. Why not start my quest right now?"

"So this is…?" Brook asked him as Sanji nodded, smiling a little.

"Yeah," he confessed, "I was through dreaming. I was finally ready to leave."

"So I guess that their act worked?" Franky asked with a laugh.

"Not quite," he answered with his eyes rolling.

"Sanji?" Luffy asked, turning his head slightly.

Pushing himself off the banister memory Sanji looked at him and said, "I'll be joining your little crew on your journey to be King of the Pirates."

"I still don't get what I was thinking here," he laughed. "I must've been crazy joining such a crazy crew."

"And this is where you officially join!" Chopper cried out happily.

Luffy turned to stare at him as Sanji finished up, "You hear me? I wanna be the cook on your ship!" they sized each other up as he finished, "Alright? Whadda say?"

A big grin appeared on his face and he screamed out, "YEAH! OF COURSE!" He and Yosaku were both jumping around, dancing and singing happily as Sanji looked up at the cooks.

"Are you guys happy now or what?" he asked grumpily, but he was smirking when he saw their sour expressions, "Sorry, really. I'll leave now."

Patty snorted and said that he wanted to throw him out himself for up and abandoning them.

"I'm especially sorry for making the lot of you resort to bad acting," past Sanji told him.

"So you did know," Usopp said in revelation.

"Actually," Sanji confessed, "I overheard some of the things they said in here."

"Hey wait!" Patty yelled, "How'd you know?"

"You could've just let them believe that their act did the trick," Robin offered with a giggle.

"Sorry, but I just couldn't stand anymore of that crud-bad acting," he laughed, "If you wanna call it acting in the first place."

"I heard everything, you bunch of jerks," past Sanji answered, now turning to glare at Zeff. "Was stomping on my pride the best plan you could come up with? Was it? You damn geezer."

"Every little thing has to be a fight with you!" Patty yelled, holding up a fist, "I'm sick-n-tired of it! Bring it on!"

"You were getting ready to leave, but you weren't going to go without one more argument?" Nami asked him knowingly.

"Just a little something to remember me by," he offered brightly.

But Zeff was holding Patty back as he looked to Sanji. "I have never liked children. As a matter of fact I hate children. There wasn't a day passed that I didn't regret letting a useless little brat like you live Sanji."

"Harsh," Brook winced.

"Oh, I'm sure that he didn't mean that," Robin answered. "I guess that this was just his way of saying that he was glad he was finally leaving or something like that?"

"I guess so," current Sanji said, "And besides, if he didn't save me, he wouldn't have had me to kick around for all these years. What fun would he have had here?"

"Fine by me you rotten old man," past Sanji smirked back, "Enjoy the rest of your miserable life."

"You can really feel the love here," Zoro said, rolling his eye.

"Now… we all ways of letting others know we care," Sanji said as he watched himself leave with Luffy and Yosaku. He told them that he was going to get his stuff and that he would meet up with them later. And the next few memories were of them following Luffy around and packing up food, mostly meat, and putting it all on a nice boat that they were going to take it to find the others—they were all a little surprised when Zeff had offered him his logbook however.

"And he wasn't going to give it to someone who was threatening to take his restaurant," Brook said softly.

"Because he knew that Luffy would never abuse what was written in it," Sanji told him simply. But none of them were the least bit surprised when Luffy had refused, and caused Zeff to smirk again and left.

Soon, with everyone on board, Luffy and Yosaku were waiting with all the other cooks outside on the fins—that was patched together rather sloppily.

"So this is where you're officially leaving?" Nami asked and Sanji merely nodded as they all waited for his past self to appear.

"What was taking you so long crud cook?" Zoro asked.

"I was just taking one last look around," he snapped back. Finally, he appeared in the doorway with his his knives in his case and a sack over his shoulder. He stood there for a minute in the doorway, as if realizing that this was all for real, he slowly walked forward. But Patty and Carne jumped him, ready to give him a beating… of course with two kicks, Sanji took them out.

"Really guys that was just dumb," a chef said to them as they bled on the deck and memory Sanji continued on as if no one interrupted him.

"Couldn't have said that better myself," Nami said exasperatedly as the others laughed. "Just what was the point of that?"

"They're way of sending him off?" suggested Zoro.

It was silent after that as memory Sanji walked with all the cooks on either side of him—only the sounds of his footsteps and the waves could be heard. It was as if he was about to leave for a dangerous war and might never come back. Though, thinking about it, that wasn't impossible. He reached the boat and said, without ever looking back, "Let's get going."

"You don't need to say goodbye?" Luffy asked a little surprise. But Sanji smiled as he said it was fine; and was about to get in when Zeff called out behind him.

"Sanji," he said from the upper balcony, "Take care of yourself ok?"

Both Sanji's were standing there frozen at those words. Even after all this time, those words seemed to have echoed inside him. Though those simple words wouldn't mean much to others, to Sanji, those words meant so much… Zeff, a man who usually belittled him one way or another, asked him to take care of himself.

He was fighting the tears all over again, but his past self was quickly breaking down as an understanding smile appeared on Luffy's face.

"Sanji-san?" Brook asked softly but past Sanji couldn't hold it in anymore.

"CHEF ZEEEEEFFFFFFF!" he screamed out and to their astonishment he spun around and fell to his knees, his forehead touching the Baratie's deck. He was so completely moved by what Zeff said, that he just couldn't hold it in. "Thanks you geezer! I'll never forget your kindness! I owe my life to you old man… so thank you!"

They were all looking from past to present Sanji. Never once had they seen him break down like this—if you don't count seeing the mermaids.

"So that's what he meant when Luffy said you were crying harder at Fishman Island than when you left," Usopp said, remembering Sanji's reaction to arriving at Mermaid Cove.

"I had to say it," Sanji said softly. "Thanks to him… I'm alive and kicking."

"What a shame," Zoro added softly, remembering that Sanji said those words to him earlier. But now tears had appeared in Zeff's eyes. Soon all the other chefs were crying as well, saying how much they were gonna miss him. There wasn't a dry eye around and Sanji in the memory was smiling through his tears.

"Damn words," Zeff said, his eyes bloodshot as he rubbed them, "Real men should part without a word, let alone tears."

"But this warm the heart and soul," Brook said happily as they watched them all try and mop up their feelings and Sanji finally stepped onto the boat.

"LET'S GO! SET SAIL!" Luffy hollered and they pushed off, with Sanji waving to them all, still crying the whole way.

"I will see you again!" he promised them. "I'll come back someday!"

The whole time the chefs waved him off, yelling they wished him good luck and that they would miss him. Current Sanji couldn't hide back his tears as he watched—he promised that he would go back someday—once he found the All Blue… and he will. Once he fulfilled his dream, he would return and show them just how far he's come since then. With an emotional Baratie behind, they watched the three head off as the chefs waving him off even after he was out of their sights.

*Luffy*

Some time had passed since the Straw Hats were forced back out into the open air, but the whole time Luffy had been sitting beside Sabo and Ace as he talked eagerly about all the adventures that he went on since he left home. He told them all about how they went over mountains, flew to Sky Island, invaded Enies Lobby, fighting zombies at Thriller Bark, and anything else he could think of.

"And we just got back from visiting Jinbe, Hatchi, and Camie on Fishman Island!" he finished excitedly, "It was so cool going down there! It was one heck of an adventure just getting there!"

His two brothers just sat there and listened, both had smiles on their faces as Luffy went into more stories about all the people he's met and, of course, his crew. But he finally noticed something different. "Sabo…?" he asked, "How could you're older than me now?"

Sabo laughed. "Finally noticed?" he asked brightly. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd figure it out… I'm this age because I wanted to be. Come on… wouldn't it be strange to speak to your older brother if you were taller than?"

Luffy thought it over before said, "Oh, I get it."

"No you don't," Ace finished and they all laughed.

"I really want you both to meet my crew!" Luffy said eagerly, excitement going throughout his whole body at the thought. "Ace, you already met a lot of them, but I want you to meet Robin, Franky, and Brook now! And Sabo, you need to see them all!"

The two shared a very strange look with each other and Luffy blinked. "What? You don't want to meet them?"

"We wish we could," Sabo said, "But I'm afraid that things aren't that simple."

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked confused as his brothers smirked wider at him.

"Well, that's hard to explain," Ace said still grinning, "And I don't think that we have time to talk about it. After all, we're gonna have to send you back soon."

"Not yet!" Luffy cried out desperately. "We only just got to see each other again! And you want me to go?!"

"It's for the best Luffy," Sabo answered him. "You can't stay here with us forever. Right now, your crew's trying to find you."

Luffy blinked as it all came back to him. "Oh, right. They were sleeping when I was brought here. You're saying they're ok?"

"Yes," Ace answered, "They're lost on the island right now… they're ah… doing a job for me. So until they get it done, you get to stay here. But as soon as they're finished, you have to go back."

"But…" Luffy whined but Ace silenced him with a look.

"None of that now," he said and Luffy sighed.

"Can't you both come with me?" he asked.

Both brothers shook their heads. "We already talked about that Luffy," Ace said firmly and Luffy turned sad.

"I know…" he answered, "but it doesn't mean that I have to like it."

"We know," Sabo sighed, as he looked up to their old hideout. "But there's something that we can do to help make you feel better."

"What?" Luffy asked in surprise.

"It's been years since you and I had a real fight," Ace said with a wicked grin. "How about we throw down right now?"

Luffy blinked in surprise. "You and me… fight?"

"One last fight… just you and me," Ace grinned as Sabo smirked between them. "You had two years of training haven't you? I want to see just how far you've come. Let's see which one of us is stronger. You once said that you would one day surpass even me right?" He stood up, his arms folded as he asked, "How about we prove it once and for all?"

Luffy blinked at him. "You mean it?" he asked, as if afraid he heard wrong.

"You did say that," Sabo agreed. "You said that one day you will be stronger than both of us right? I think it's about time you prove it."

"This will be the last fight that we ever have," Ace said decidedly, "We will settle it here and no matter the outcome, it will be final. We will get to see who's the strongest! You up to it?"

Luffy couldn't believe his ears. This was what he wanted more than anything. A wide grin appeared on his face. "You're on!"