Chapter 55

"Actually, he already did," Luffy corrected. "And he's coming back right now." Usopp looked at him in envy.

"Man, that Haki stuff sure is useful. I can't wait until I actually make some progress on that…" It was then that Sanji came shuffling through some tree branches and made his way into the clearing.

"Oh, so you guys are back huh?" he asked. He spotted the giants and stared at them for a while. "That's new," he muttered. They both grinned widely at him.

"So, you're the other missing warrior! Welcome to the party," Brogy said.

"Nice to meet you, little human," Dorry said with a wave.

"No, no, pleasure's all mine," Sanji replied casually. He turned back to the crew. "So, are we ready to leave? It looks like we've got enough supplies to last a while."

"Oh, my God, that's right!" Vivi said in dismay. "The Log! It takes a year to set! How are going to get off this island?"

Sanji hummed thoughtfully. "I think I may have a solution." They looked at him in confusion and he explained that he had stumbled upon the enemy's base of operations, taken a call from the leader of the criminal organization that was out to kill them, impersonated his subordinate, and tricked him into thinking they were all dead. He blew out a puff of smoke. "He said he's sending a ship here with an Eternal Pose to Alabasta," Sanji said. Most of the crew stared at him in wonder. Luffy was laughing his ass off.

"So, basically, we wait for that ship to arrive, kick their asses, and take the Eternal Pose," Zoro concluded. "I guess all in all mission went well?" he asked with a smirk.

"You could say that," Sanji replied.

"Thank you so much! I was so worried! Sanji-san, I could hug you!" Vivi shouted with glee.

"Please feel free," Sanji said. Vivi's arms wrapped around Sanji's neck, and his eyes seemed to turn into hearts for a moment before reverting back to their neutral state when she detached.

"Oh,Oh, Sanji! Wait until you see all the meat Zoro caught!" Luffy said, his mouth watering. "You're gonna have your hands full!"

Sanji took note of the pile of prehistoric animals and whistled. "That is impressive. We should have a hunting contest sometime." Zoro blinked at this comment for some reason, and the giants' heads both perked up. Hunting contest?

It was while they were waiting for the enemy ship to arrive that Luffy caught sight of something extremely troubling. On the back of Vivi's neck was a large, purple bite mark. She was itching at it in irritation every once in a while. Luffy suddenly felt very nervous. It might not even be the same bug. It could just be a mosquito or something. But what if it's not? What if he had inadvertently caused Vivi to be bitten simply by coming back to the past and changing things? He tried to calm himself down. "Vivi?" he asked. She turned to him. "What's that mark on your neck?"

"Oh, that?" she asked. "I must have been bitten by some bug. It's been bothering me a little."

Zoro walked up and looked at it before exchanging a nervous glance with Luffy. "Vivi," he began, "you know this is a prehistoric island right? We have no idea what kinds of bugs thrive in these conditions. That might not be an ordinary bite. You should probably have someone look at it."

Nami narrowed her eyes at the words. The logic made sense even if she hadn't thought of it herself. It just seemed…so unlike Luffy and Zoro to be this cautious. What had them so worried? "Well, I guess I can get it checked out when we get to Alabasta," Vivi said.

Luffy and Zoro knew that it probably wouldn't be that simple, but they let it drop for now. What could they say?

Luffy, for his part, felt sick. He knew he couldn't have really prevented this. What was he supposed to do? Hover over everyone in the crew and make sure no bugs bit them? There were some things he couldn't control. Still, he felt guilty about what was most likely coming now.

Soon, the Billions ship arrived at Little Garden, only to be met by the Straw Hat Pirates and two giants. Realizing they'd been had, they attempted to make a call on the transponder snail, but everyone on the ship spontaneously fell unconscious. The ship was then looted for all it was worth, and the Straw Hats were able to secure a week's worth of rations, much to the pleasure of Luffy and Sanji, 200,000 Belly, much to the pleasure of Nami, and finally an Eternal Pose to Alabasta, much to the pleasure of everyone.

Before they set sail, Dorry and Brogy told them to sail straight ahead no matter what happened, and that they'd defend their flag just as their honor was defended. Luffy nodded, and told Nami not to change their course no matter what happened. They ended up getting swallowed by a giant goldfish, only to be set free by Dorry and Brogy's flying slashes. Finally, the Going Merry set sail for Alabasta as the Blue Ogre Dorry and Red Ogre Brogy reminisced about memories long forgotten.