𝔰𝔫𝔬𝔴 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔱𝔢 | one piece

[21]

The Straw Hats and Germa 66 went their separate ways for now, each group finding themselves in a fight everywhere they turned.

Eira was right to assume that Big Mom would target the Germa Kingdom for the clone army and tech. She and the Vinsmokes defended their home from what seemed like a never-ending number of invaders. Though, amidst the chaos, they were victorious.

The five commanders gathered, agreeing to dispatch the kingdom's snail ships and make way towards Cacao Island. The island sat at the edge of Big Mom's territory and Eira had a feeling their presence would eventually be needed. After falsifying a report of a crushing victory to Charlotte Mont-d'or, the fleet set sail.

Meanwhile...

The Straw Hats had made a mad dash back to The Thousand Sunny as their situation continued to be a series of unfortunate events. The Yonko had been set on their tails, convinced they stole the focus of her current hunger pangs, the wedding cake. Sanji was whisked away by Pudding and Chiffon to recreate said cake and hopefully stop her destructive behavior. Pedro sacrificed his life to ensure the rest could sail on. And now, they were being chased through the sea with Luffy taking Katakuri head on in the Mirroworld.

To say things were difficult on their end would be an understatement.

Thankfully they were able to communicate with Luffy through a mirror shard, establishing a meetup on Cacao Island at 1 AM. The crew would pick Sanji up on their way too, as he would cross paths with them to deliver the completed cake.

Though, the situation had turned desperate as Big Mom was ready to set the ship and everyone on it on fire. She had already wrecked the main deck and sail having descended down onto the Sunny moments ago. Jimbei had been able to knock her off the deck but the crew could only do so much to hold her off. But another ship coming at them from the distance brought a deliciously sweet scent that distracted the woman.

Sanji and his group hitched a ride on Bege' ship, who had arrived at Cacao Island to save Chiffon. They had just finished decorating the cake when the former allied pirate groups ships' paths were in range of each other. Bege declared they would continue on with the cake and lure Big Mom away as the Straw Hats continued on for their meetup with their captain.

Pudding dropped Sanji off on the Sunny where he was immediately smothered by his friends.

"We're glad you're ok!" Brooke and Chopper exclaimed as they squeezed the cook in a hug.

Nami had tears in her eyes as she looked up at him. "You saved us! We were basically hanging by a thread, I thought we were done for!"

Sanji smiled, relieved to be back with them. As they released him, he took a look around seeing the damage their ship had endured during their escape. "I'm glad you're all ok. Unfortunately, they know about the plan to pick up Luffy. The island will probably be surrounded with fleets waiting to ambush us."

"They consider us tough enemies, which is something they don't usually do." Jimbei shared, having more knowledge on the Yonko's crew than the rest. "Cacao Island will be the last and biggest challenge."

"We'll rescue Luffy no matter what and get out of here. Eira will catch up once they escape too and we'll make our way to Wano." Sanji's voice was stern, but everyone could place the worry laced deep in his tone. "We won't have a chance if we face the fleets head on and I have an idea on how to get through."

Sanji left them one last time, going ahead as Pudding gave him a ride on her flying carpet. He would scope out the island and lie in wait until Luffy emerged from a mirror. With the rest scheduled to arrive at exactly 1 AM, they would reduce the risk of being surrounded if he could scoop their captain and escape to the ship as it passed.

Having arrived without being spotted, he sat cloaked in a dark alley near the main square. A cigarette was between his lips as he smoked to calm his mind.

With a majority of Big Mom's children congregated around one large mirror, Sanji had quickly realized the situation at hand. There was only one way for Luffy to exit the Mirroworld in the correct location, all other mirrors having been smashed.

It was so quiet that the ticking of a clock clearly reverberated through the island. Everyone waited in anticipation to see who would emerge from the mirror. That is, until a lookout from Big Mom's fleet spotted the Straw Hats' ship and set off the alarm announcing their approach.

And then the clock struck 1 AM.

Two figures emerged but neither were Luffy. Pekoms, who was holding Brulee hostage, transformed into his Sulong form with his only thought being to protect the man Pedro had bet his life on.

But he was exposed, having hid Luffy away in an attempt to get him through the enemy crowd. Once his exhausted friend had been revealed and moved into the air to avoid oncoming attacks, Sanji joined in on the action.

The blonde kicked away an attacker in the sky and grabbed Luffy.

Looking down at him, Sanji had to know, "Did you win?"

"Yeah!" Luffy had a large grin on his face before falling asleep in the safety of his friends' arms.

Sanji couldn't help the smile that grew on his face, pride shining in his eyes knowing his captain had succeeded. But it was quickly wiped away at the task of escaping.

Knocked out of the sky after Pekoms' sacrifice to save them stole his attention, Sanji and Luffy were surrounded. As the Big Mom Pirates took aim, a huge explosion at the harbor shook everything. The fleet was set afire causing confusion, only for Germa's fleet to reveal themselves as the culprit.

The commanders joined the fight, suiting up and landing in a protective circle around the two as they were shot at.

"Thank you for what you did to us at the Tea Party." Ichiji taunted Oven.

"Why're you all here?" Sanji strained to ask in his crouch over the sleeping Luffy.

"What a coincidence, Sanji." Eira looked at him over her shoulder and winked.

"We wanted to deal these fools a crushing blow, too." The first-born son finished.