Sanji was stunned.
He glanced at the equally shocked Zoro.
Then at Nami, who was both crying and laughing in excitent.
His gaze turned toward the fluttering Sun and Moon flag.
Two simple words—could they really hold such power?
"The Sun and Moon Pirates? That's one of the Four Emperors, right?" Sanji muttered to himself, vaguely recalling hearing about them.
But even if they were one of the Four Emperors…
That alone shouldn't be enough to make Zoro and Nami react like this.
A forr admiral had been standing right in front of them just monts ago, and they weren't nearly as shaken.
"Wait… Could it be that the pirate crew Nami has been searching for, the one she wants to follow… is the Sun and Moon Pirates?"
Sanji's face instantly fell.
Was Nami planning to leave?
No!
He couldn't accept that.
A deep sense of envy and resentnt toward this unknown pirate crew swelled within him.
Sanji could accept anything—except Nami leaving the Going rry.
"Nami, what's so great about the Sun and Moon Pirates? We ca all the way from the East Blue, helping each other to reach the Grand Line! Besides, you don't even know the other mbers of that crew. What if the ship is full of ugly, perverted old n? That'd be way too dangerous for you! Stay with us instead—we can't do without you!"
Sanji pleaded desperately, practically wailing.
In an instant, he drew everyone's attention.
They all stared at him in silence.
"You must not know much about the Sun and Moon Pirates, do you?" Aokiji said, looking at Sanji.
Sanji blinked and nodded.
He didn't think he had said anything wrong.
Since setting out to sea, the Straw Hat crew had encountered many pirate crews, and they all followed the sa pattern—more n than won. Most pirates were cruel, greedy, and lecherous.
So logically, a crew as powerful as the Sun and Moon Pirates, one of the Four Emperors, had to be even worse.
For Nami's sake—
Sanji swore he wouldn't let her walk into a den of wolves.
"Then you're completely mistaken," Aokiji sighed. "The Sun and Moon Pirates are the dream of every woman on the seas—the ultimate dream."
Sanji's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"What do you an?"
"Their captain is the envy of every man on the ocean."
"Of course!" Sanji huffed. "Nami is so fixated on them—obviously, that guy is the most enviable of all!"
His voice was thick with bitterness.
If only Nami looked at him that way…
Sanji wouldn't mind dying happy.
Zoro's gaze darkened.
He thought of his childhood companion—Kuina.
Aokiji turned his attention to Nami.
His eyes glead slightly.
He, too, was a man who appreciated beauty.
Sanji's heart skipped a beat.
He imdiately beca wary, glaring at Aokiji as if to say, What are you planning?
Aokiji ignored him.
Looking at Nami, he remarked, "You're a beautiful girl. If you weren't connected to the Sun and Moon Pirates, I would have invited you to dinner. What a sha."
Sanji exhaled in relief.
But at the sa ti, frustration welled up within him.
Why was it always because of the Sun and Moon Pirates?
Why couldn't it be because of him?
What was so great about that crew?
"You really are beautiful," Aokiji complinted Nami.
Nami, still sowhat afraid of the forr admiral, didn't dare to respond.
"But the crew of the Sun and Moon Pirates isn't simple," Aokiji continued.
Recalling their mbers, he couldn't help but sigh.
That crew was ho to the strongest won on the seas—the most powerful pirate crew in existence.
And also… the most beautiful.
"How so?" Sanji asked eagerly.
He wanted to know what kind of pirate crew was worthy of Nami's admiration.
"The Sun and Moon Pirates are made up entirely of won."
Sanji's jaw dropped.
His breathing quickened.
He gasped like a man deprived of oxygen.
"Nami! Take with you! Let's go join the Sun and Moon Pirates together!"
Sanji had betrayed them.
A ridiculous grin spread across his face.
A crew full of won.
Just thinking about it—
He was convinced that had to be the happiest, most fulfilling life at sea.
"Sanji."
Luffy frowned in disapproval.
Sanji wasn't the least bit ashad.
"Luffy, you can't bla for this! If Nami leaves, my heart leaves with her! It's not that I don't like you guys—it's just that I can't stay here anymore!"
He had already ntally checked out.
Sanji was now daydreaming about his perfect future.
"Wait—what about the captain? Is the captain a woman too? The most beautiful and powerful woman on the seas?" Sanji asked, full of anticipation.
"No," Aokiji answered.
Sanji's excitent ca crashing down.
The captain was… a man?
The captain of a pirate crew full of won was a man?
"Th-That's… That's just too unfair!"
Sanji let out the collective resentnt of every male pirate in the world.
The captain of the Sun and Moon Pirates—soone he had never t—had just beco his greatest enemy.
"Do they accept male mbers?" Sanji clung to a final shred of hope.
"Not a chance. The Sun and Moon Pirates only accept female crew mbers—everyone on the seas knows that," Aokiji replied.
He cast a sympathetic glance at Sanji.
Countless n—powerful warriors, famous pirates—had all dread of joining Kuke's crew.
None had succeeded.
Sanji least of all.
Sanji slumped to the ground, his spirit shattered.
The happiest life at sea had nothing to do with him.
His dream life… belonged to soone else.
"Nami, did you hear that? The crew is all won! The captain must be a total pervert—it's way too dangerous for you!" Sanji desperately tried a new approach to convince her to stay.
"Sanji, shut up!"
Hearing Kuke being slandered, Nami's eyes burned with fury.
She clenched her fist—
And punched Sanji so hard he flew through the air.
Landing in a heap, heartbroken, Sanji lay there, silently crying.
In his mind, he kept telling himself:
The won of the Sun and Moon Pirates must all be ugly.
Yes.
They had to be.
Definitely not beautiful.
"They're here, aren't they?"
Desperate to know the truth, Nami finally mustered the courage to speak to Aokiji directly.
"They are."
Aokiji looked toward the depths of the city.
The Sun and Moon Pirates were here.
Nami's eyes shimred with longing.
She wanted—no, needed—to see them.
Zoro took a deep breath.
If they were here…
Then Kuina was, too.
A fierce determination rose in his eyes.
"Kuina… I've grown much stronger. This ti, I won't lose."
Lying on the ground, Sanji pouted.
Just wait. They must all be ugly.
Luffy suddenly smacked his forehead.
"I rember now! He's the one who took Sister Makino away! Because of him, Ace and Sabo used to beat up all the ti!"
After an absurdly delayed reaction—Luffy finally recalled.
Like Sanji, he pouted, full of resentnt.
"Hmph. So he still hasn't beco the Pirate King after all this ti? That ans… I'm definitely the one who's going to be the Pirate King!"
anwhile, Crocodile had been silent for a long ti.
His eyes darkened as he stared into the city.
Trouble.
If the Sun and Moon Pirates had taken control of Alabasta, his plans were dood.
"If they're here… then that ans Nico Robin is, too?"
The realization struck him.
His gaze burned with intensity—
But then, rembering Kuke's terrifying reputation, the fire in his eyes imdiately died.
"They're coming."
Aokiji stopped speaking to the Straw Hats.
His gaze fixed on the distant street.
Three days ago, after hearing that the Sun and Moon Pirates were here, he had raced across the sea—
Just to et Kuke.
"They're coming?"
The Straw Hats, lacking Observation Haki, couldn't sense anything.
But hearing Aokiji's words—
All of them craned their necks, eagerly looking toward the horizon.
------
DONT FORGET POWER STONE
________________________________
P/S: If you are interested, you can read up 50 chapters at patreon/Emik01.
Reviews
All reviews (0)