The oppressive silence on deck was broken only by the creak of ropes and Luffy's stomach rumbling. Sanji remained frozen on his knees, a monument to shattered dreams, until the door to the bath area finally slid open.
Steam billowed out, carrying the clean scent of soap and damp skin. Nami emerged first, her orange hair clinging damply to her neck, a fluffy towel draped around her shoulders. Vivi followed, squeezing water from her long blue locks, looking refreshed but serious.
Takuya came last, his usually sharp features softened, dark hair plastered to his forehead and dripping onto his collar. He ran a hand through it, sending droplets flying.
"Brr, even the air out here feels cold after that," Vivi murmured, shivering slightly despite the desert heat.
Nami immediately clicked her tongue in concern, stepping towards Takuya. "Honestly, Takuya, dry your hair properly! You'll catch a chill!"
Before he could protest, she whipped the towel from her own shoulders and began vigorously rubbing his hair, her movements efficient yet surprisingly gentle. Strands of dark hair stuck out at odd angles under her intense cleaning.
"Ah, Nami, I can manage—" Takuya started, but Vivi chimed in, pulling out her own smaller towel.
"Nami's right! Here, let me get the back," Vivi insisted, stepping behind him and dabbing carefully at the nape of his neck and his damp collar. "We can't have you get sick now, don't forget you have a promise to keep, and I won't let you get sick before you fulfill it!" She offered Takuya a warm, appreciative smile over his shoulder.
On the deck, a low, guttural growl emanated from Sanji's direction. His immobility shattered, replaced by a visible tremor that ran through his entire body.
His eyes, wide and bloodshot, locked onto the scene: His Nami-swan and his Vivi-chwan… touching him… drying him… fussing over him like… like… His face flushed a dangerous purple. Veins bulged on his forehead. A fresh trickle of blood, bright crimson against his pale skin, started from his left nostril.
"WARNING! PATIENT VITALS SPIKING! JEALOUSY OVERLOAD IMMINENT!" Chopper yelped, transforming into Heavy Point in a puff of smoke.
He lunged, not with medical tools this time, but with a coil of sturdy rope he'd apparently prepared. "Restraints! We need restraints! Usopp, help me!"
"R-Right!" Usopp scrambled over, his own fear momentarily overridden by the need to prevent Sanji from spontaneously combusting or attacking Takuya.
Together, they wrestled the twitching, growling cook onto his back. Zoro, seeing the potential for actual ship damage, sighed and stepped in, using his sheer strength to pin Sanji's shoulders while Chopper and Usopp swiftly bound his ankles and wrists to a hastily repurposed stretcher (formerly a spare sailcloth lashed to poles).
"MMMPH! UNHAND ME! LET ME GO! YOU WET-HAIRED, TOWEL-WIELDING, COLLAR-DABBING SNAKE! RELEASE MY ANGELS!"
Sanji roared, thrashing against the bonds, the stretcher rocking violently. "DON'T TOUCH THEM WITH YOUR FILTHY, DRUG-PEDDLING HANDS!"
Nami finished ruffling Takuya's hair into a messy, mostly dry state and whirled around, while Vivi styled his now dry hair. Nami turned around, hands on her hips, her eyes blazing. "SANJI! ENOUGH! We are trying to have a serious meeting! Chopper, gag him if he says one more word!"
Chopper looked conflicted, holding a large bandage roll. "B-But his mental state is already fragile—"
"JUST DO IT!" Nami snapped.
Before Chopper could act, Vivi stepped forward, her expression a mixture of deep disappointment and royal authority. "Sanji. This is unacceptable. We are about to discuss the fate of my country. Can you please keep your antics to yourself."
Nami took a deep breath, forcing herself to focus. She addressed the group, her voice clear and commanding, deliberately ignoring the tied-down, fuming Sanji.
"Alright, listen up everyone! We've just received critical information." She paused, glancing at Takuya, who gave a subtle nod. (Tashigi contacted him just before dawn. The Marines intercepted intel confirming the Rebel Army is mobilizing for a full-scale assault on Alubarna. The civil war is igniting soon.)
"The Rebel Army is marching on Alubarna right now," Nami stated gravely. A collective gasp went up from Usopp and Chopper.
Zoro's hand tightened on his swords. Luffy stopped scratching his belly, his expression turning serious for a rare moment.
"Crocodile is still out there, pulling the strings. We have two immediate, catastrophic problems, and we don't have time to deal with them one after the other."
She gestured firmly. "This is where Takuya's plan comes in. We split up. Group One: The Brute Squad." She pointed at Luffy, Zoro, the bound Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper. "Your mission: Find Crocodile. Beat him into the sand.
End his game. Group Two:" Her finger swept to encompass herself, Vivi, Mira, and Takuya. "Us. Our mission: Get to Alubarna, fast. Get between the Rebel Army and the Royal Guard. Stop the fighting before it starts. Prevent the slaughter."
There were nods of understanding, even grim determination from Usopp and Chopper. Zoro grunted approval. Luffy cracked his knuckles. "Shishishi! Got it! Beat Croc! Save the country!"
Sanji took a heaving breath, his eyes wild. "BUT WHY IS HE GOING WITH YOU?! WHY IS HE WITH MY PRECIOUS NAMI-SWAN AND VIVI-CHWAN IN THE DESERT?!
HE SHOULD BE WITH US BRUTES! I SHOULD BE PROTECTING THEM! I'M THE ONE WHO CARES ABOUT THE LADIES! MORE THEN HE EVEN DOES!
HE'S JUST A CON MAN! A LIAR! HE'LL TAKE ADVANTAGE THE SECOND YOU'RE ALONE! HE'LL DRUG YOUR WATER! HE'LL FEED YOU DRUGGED COOKIES!
USE HIS SLIMY WORDS! HE'LL— HE'LL HAVE HIS WAY WITH YOU BOTH IN SOME SAND DUNE! THERE'LL BE NO ONE TO PROTECT YOU FROM HIS SCHEMES! HE'S A MENACE! A—"
"SANJI!" Nami's shout cut through his tirade like a knife. Her face was flushed with fury, not embarrassment. Vivi stood beside her, arms crossed, her expression icy, regal disapproval radiating from every pore.
"How DARE you!" Nami stormed over to the stretcher, looming over him. "How dare you speak about Takuya like that!
How dare you imply such vile, disgusting things about us and about him! After everything he's done to help us? After the plans he's made?
The risks he's taking for Vivi's country? If he hadn't gotten info about the civil war, if he hadn't told us, Vivi's country would have succumbed to civil war while we wouldn't have known anything about it."
Vivi stepped forward, her voice cold and sharp. "Takuya is coming with us because his strategic mind is vital, Sanji. Because he can deal with the problem. Because he can get us valuable information and updates. Because we need his intelligence and calm to navigate this political disaster. This isn't about you or your ridiculous fantasies!"
Nami jabbed a finger towards his face. "This is the most efficient plan to save Alabasta! Remember? The whole point of us being here? Vivi risking her life? Or did you forget that while you were busy having a tantrum over towels?!"
"You don't have any right to dictate our lives, you don't own us, whatever we do with whomever we do is none of your business. You aren't our dad nor our boyfriend.
Apologize to Takuya. Right now," Vivi commanded, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Apologize for your disgusting accusations and your disrespect."
Sanji stared up at them, the fire in his eyes momentarily doused by the sheer force of their combined anger and disappointment. The ropes dug into his wrists.
The reality of his situation – tied down, insulting a crucial ally in front of the entire crew, being scolded by the women he adored – crashed over him. His mouth opened, but no sound came out except a strangled gurgle.
The fight seemed to drain out of him, leaving behind a profound, shamed silence, punctuated only by his ragged breathing and the drip of water from Takuya's now mostly dry hair. The desert sun beat down, highlighting the utter wreckage of the Love Cook's dignity.
The silence stretched, thick and suffocating under the desert sun. Sanji lay bound on the stretcher, the ropes biting into his skin, but the real pain was the icy disapproval radiating from Nami and Vivi.
Their words – "You don't own us," "None of your business," "Disgusting accusations" – echoed in the hollow space where his pride and fantasies had been. He looked smaller, crumpled, the fight truly gone.
His gaze, avoiding their furious eyes, drifted past them, landing reluctantly on Takuya. The drug dealer stood calmly near the railing, watching the exchange with detached interest, his damp hair now completely dry. There was no smugness, just quiet observation, which somehow made it worse.
Sanji swallowed hard, the sound loud in the stillness. His voice, when it finally came, was a raw scrape, devoid of its usual theatrical flourish, laced with genuine shame.
"...Takuya," he began, forcing the name out. He couldn't meet the man's eyes, staring instead at the sun-bleached wood of the stretcher. "I... apologize." The words tasted like ash.
"My... accusations... were unfounded. Disrespectful. Uncalled for." He took another shaky breath. "You... you are vital to the plan. To save Alabasta. My... personal... discomfort... is irrelevant."
It was a stark, painful admission. The 'smooth-talking snake' narrative had crumbled under the weight of Nami and Vivi's fury and the undeniable logic of the mission.
Nami's glare softened slightly, replaced by weary exasperation. Vivi's regal sternness remained, but a flicker of something akin to pity crossed her features before she masked it.
Takuya inclined his head, a single, measured nod. "Apology accepted, Sanji," he said, his voice calm, neutral. "Focus your energy on Crocodile. That's where it's needed."
There was no gloating, no forgiveness offered beyond the bare minimum acknowledgement. It was purely functional, underscoring Sanji's irrelevance to his part of the mission.
Zoro snorted, sheathing his swords with finality. "Took you long enough, Love Cook. Now can we get off this floating oven and punch something? All this whining is dehydrating."
"Right!" Nami clapped her hands, snapping the tense atmosphere back to business. "Chopper, Usopp, untie him. We've wasted enough daylight."
Chopper, relieved, quickly transformed back to Brain Point and began working on the knots. "See, Sanji? Apologizing is good for the blood pressure! Now, let me check that nosebleed—"
"Later, Chopper!" Usopp interrupted, helping with the ropes, his own nervous energy returning. "We need to move! Rebel armies! Warlords! Bombs probably! Stage 9: Imminent Peril!"
Sanji sat up stiffly as the ropes fell away, rubbing his wrists. He avoided looking at the Strategy Group. The humiliation was a physical weight.
He stood, swaying slightly, but his spine straightened with a different kind of resolve – the grim determination of a man who had hit rock bottom and could only go forward.
Luffy bounced on the balls of his feet, cracking his knuckles. "SHISHISHI! Finally! Brute Squad, let's go beat up Crocodile! Where's the meat? Fighting makes me hungry!"
"We'll get supplies before we disembark properly, Luffy," Nami said, already unfolding a map of the delta and the desert beyond, Vivi and Takuya moving to flank her. Mira hovered nearby, radiating cheerful readiness.
"Alright, Strategy Group, gather close. We need to finalize the fastest route to Alubarna avoiding known Baroque Works checkpoints. Takuya, based on your contacts..." Her voice dropped, becoming all business.
Sanji watched them for a moment – Nami focused, Vivi determined, Takuya pointing at the map with calm authority, Mira nodding intently.
They looked like a unit. A capable unit that didn't need, or want, his protection. The sting was sharp, but buried under layers of shame and the pressing mission.
He turned away, facing Zoro, Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper. His expression was hard, the earlier despair replaced by a simmering intensity directed at their target.
"Alright, Brutes," he said, his voice rough but steady. He lit a cigarette, the familiar action grounding him. "Let's gear up. We find Crocodile. We end him." He blew out a stream of smoke, his eyes narrowing. "No distractions. No mistakes."
Zoro grinned, a feral thing. "About damn time."
Usopp gulped but puffed out his chest. "R-Right! Usopp the Great and his mighty squad of... brutes! To victory!"
Chopper transformed into Heavy Point, pounding his hooves together. "Yosh! Let's save Alabasta!"
Luffy laughed, pure battle lust in his eyes. "SHISHISHI! CROCODILE, HERE WE COME!"
As the Brute Squad started towards the hatch to gather weapons and supplies, Sanji paused. He didn't turn back, but his voice carried across the deck, meant for the ears now bent over the map.
"Nami-san. Vivi-san." He took a deep drag of his cigarette. "Good luck. Stay safe."
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