Steel Heart

Ch 56 - the Message

Meanwhile at Kambukka Kingdom

"Give me a ship!" Sanji roared, clenching his lighter in one hand and a rolled up newspaper in the other, "I need to get to my friends! This is an urgent matter!"

He stood in front of a group of drag queens with Caroline at the very front. He could smell the pressed powder from their makeup and the wafts of flowery perfumes emitting from their clothes. The stench gave him a headache, the sight of them made him nauseous, and their cracked voices hurt his ears. His senses were being viciously attacked just by their presence.

"I'm not buying that excuse," Caroline, the stand-in queen and authority, shouted back, 'You're just trying to escape this island."

"Of course I am!" Sanji spat, "I want to get out of this country that's completely devoid of women!"

Suddenly, one of the islanders looked past him towards the sea behind the cook. "Is that a ship?"

They all turned and spotted a marine ship heading their way. Caroline raised a telescope to her eyes and she screeched. "It's Ivan-sama!" she rejoiced. Her whole body trembled with excitement.

"Who?" Sanji asked.

"She's the true queen of Kamabakka Kingdom...Emporio Ivankov-sama!" Caroline squealed.

Sanji recognized the name immediately. It was mentioned in the newspaper that day, in the article that sent Sanji racing around the island in search of a ship to commandeer. The article reported Luffy's appearance at the War of the Best and it stated that the Straw Hat captain was seen with Emporio Ivankov.

He hurriedly ran forward, pushing his way through the crowd, so he could be the first person to speak with the queen of Kamabakka when she disembarked from her ship. He grimaced and steeled his nerves. He could only imagine the horrible appearance of the person who reigned over this hellish island.

The ship pulled in. The stairs lowered onto the dock as did Sanji's jaw. A slim woman with rounded breasts and wavy blue hair appeared at the top of the steps. She wore a pink, one piece swimsuit that barely covered her well endowed chest and fishnet stockings over her long, gazelle like legs.

"I can't believe it. She's...She's..." Sanji gasped as his eyes scanned her entire body, "She's my type!"

Blood spurted out of his nose and his hand went up to his nose to cover it, accidentally slamming Nana's lighter against his face. "Right...I can't be fooled," Sanji said, wincing a bit from the pain. He took a deep breath and got up to his feet, "Oy! You!"

His eyes met Ivankov's. "What type of man do you like? AH! NO! That's not my question."

Ivankov smiled back at him. "Did you want something from me, candy boy?"

A blush came to Sanji's face but he quickly shook it off. "Yes! I need to know about Luffy!"

Ivankov gasped. "Luffy? You mean Straw Boy?"

"Bingo! You were at the Navy headquarters with him. You guys must've been through a lot. Tell me everything," Sanji demanded as he held tightly onto the lighter and his sanity.

Ivankov held out her hands to him and he reached to take them when her hands stopped short just inches away. Suddenly, needles came out from the tips of her gloves and she stabbed them into her own hips.

Almost instantly, her chest flattened and widened. Her whole body turned into that of a giant man with an angled chin, broad shoulders, and stocky legs. "And who are you?!" Ivankov demanded in a husky low voice.

"Damn it! I knew that was going to happen," Sanji exclaimed with fury, "Screw you!"

"And how do you know Straw Boy?!"