It was dark.
Damp.
The thick clang of iron echoed as Vihaan groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head. Around him, the others began to stir.
They were all trapped.
The room was a solid stone cell, cold and unforgiving. Heavy bars lined one side, and a floor of rough-cut stone grounded them. In the center of the room, the worst part awaited them — a thick Sea-Prism Stone cage, humming with quiet menace.
Luffy lay slumped against the wall, eyes dazed. Chopper was trying to push at the bars, only to fall flat on his back with a thud. Zoro had already tried to slash his way out, only for his blades to bounce with a sickening clang. Usopp was huddled in a corner, muttering horror stories to himself.
And Vihaan…
He clenched his teeth.
The Sea-Prism Stone was like poison.
His body felt like lead. His Mirror-Mirror Fruit powers were completely shut off. No reflections. No light-bending. Just weight — so much weight.
"So this is what the ocean feels like… every moment feels like drowning."
Nami groaned and pulled herself up beside him, brushing sand from her face. "Where's… Sanji?"
Vihaan blinked, scanning the group. Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Chopper, Nami… no curly-browed cook.
He grinned.
"Not here."
Above them, a grate opened with a hiss.
A massive screen lit up, showing Crocodile's face in grainy projection. His smirk gleamed like gold.
"Welcome to your tomb, Straw Hats."
Everyone turned upward.
"You've entered Alabasta like a circus. You've meddled in my plans, stirred up the people, and now… this is your curtain call."
"Shut up, sandbag!" Luffy yelled, even as he slumped against the Sea Stone.
Vihaan stayed quiet. He studied every inch of the walls. The drainage vents. The angle of the bars.
"Think," he whispered to himself.
Crocodile chuckled.
"You're probably wondering why you're still alive. Well, I do like a bit of theatre. In exactly five hours, this room will flood with the underground reservoir."
A mechanical whir began above them. Pipes lined the ceiling, water beginning to drip already.
"Let's see if the desert rats can swim."
The screen blinked off.
"Great," Usopp muttered. "We're gonna drown, Luffy's limp like spaghetti, Vihaan looks like he's been steamrolled, and I don't have a single water pistol!"
"Can we break the bars?" Chopper asked hopefully.
Zoro shook his head. "Sea Prism. The bars are coated in the stuff. Can't cut it."
Vihaan, though pale, managed a breath. "...There's always a way. And if Sanji's not in here…"
"Then he's loose," Nami finished, her tone shifting from despair to a sharp edge of hope.
"Five hours," Vihaan said, sitting upright now. "We've gotten out of worse."
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Like?"
Vihaan smirked faintly, despite the exhaustion. "Okay, maybe not worse… but we're not dying in a sewer."
Luffy finally stirred. "I want… meat."
Everyone face-faulted.
Just as the crew began to gather their wits and calm their nerves, the grated ceiling crackled with static again. The projection screen above lit up once more, flickering into focus.
Crocodile's smirking face returned, now sipping wine from a sleek glass, seated like royalty on his golden throne.
"Ah, I forgot one small detail," he drawled, tilting his head in mock apology.
The camera panned sideways, revealing a massive water canal behind him—one that looped downward and snaked through a large gated chamber. The crew squinted to make out the shapes in the water.
Dozens of long, muscled bodies twisted under the surface, barely visible—but their snouts, wide jaws, and sharp teeth glinted under the light.
Then they surfaced—revealing dozens of giant crocodiles.
With bananas growing on their heads.
"Wait—what the hell?" Usopp blinked, confused and horrified.
Chopper gasped. "Banana Crocs!"
Zoro furrowed his brow. "That's a real thing?"
Nami facepalmed. "Of course it is. We're in the Grand Line."
Crocodile's laughter echoed through the speakers.
"These beauties haven't eaten in a week. And when the room floods, they'll be more than happy to greet you personally. Each one of them is... particularly fond of pirate meat."
He took another sip of wine.
"And one of them—just one—has the key to your cage inside its stomach. If you're lucky enough to stay alive long enough to find it…"
The screen glitched and went black again.
Vihaan's fist clenched. "He's sick."
"I've fought weird before," Zoro muttered, stretching his neck. "But banana crocodiles? That's new."
"And we're gonna drown with them," Usopp added helpfully, eyes bulging.
Vihaan, even weakened, managed a small grin. "No. We're going to beat the odds. Again."
"We just need Sanji to kick fate in the face."
Far above the main casino floor and the clutches of the Sea Prism cage, the corridors of Rain Dinners were eerily quiet. Marble hallways stretched endlessly, dimly lit by chandeliers swaying slightly with the vibration of Crocodile's monstrous plans already underway.
Footsteps echoed—light, deliberate, smooth.
A lone figure, dressed in a slick black jacket with his blond hair covering one eye, crept along the ornate walls. Sanji, Straw Hat cook, combat chef, and hopeless romantic, was on the move.
But this wasn't his usual flamboyant strut.
This was stealth mode.
A large pair of sunglasses rested over his eyes, despite being indoors. A cigarette glowed faintly at his lips.
He stopped suddenly, crouched low behind a golden statue of a grinning crocodile.
His eyes narrowed.
"Nami-swaaaan… Vivi-chwaaaan…"
His ears twitched. A faint tremor danced down his spine.
Lady radar: engaged.
"They're in danger. I can feel it."
He pulled a small transponder snail from his jacket. The voice of a shaken Baroque agent crackled through it.
"Sir! The Straw Hats are secured inside the Sea Prism chamber… All except the blond guy. We can't locate him—"
Sanji smirked. "Because I'm not a loud idiot like Luffy. Mr. Prince, reporting in."
He flipped the snail shut with flair and moved. Like a shadow, he glided from pillar to pillar, pausing only once—to kick a patrolling Baroque Works guard straight into a potted cactus. The poor man slumped down, unconscious and stuck with spines.
Sanji continued, boots silent, moving like a dancer and a ghost at once.
As he slipped past a vent shaft, he paused. A draft blew through—carrying a familiar scent.
Citrus and elegance.
"Nami-swan… she's nearby."
His heart fluttered for a moment before he snapped back into focus.
Below him, he could now see it—the chamber where his crewmates were trapped. He climbed up and onto a glass catwalk, gazing down into the depths where water had begun to trickle in ominously. Banana Crocs thrashed in a swirling pool beneath the cage.
"Those beasts are not touching a single hair on their heads."
He took a deep puff, exhaled slowly.
Then he whispered to himself:
"This is it. Spy mission. No hero entrance. I get in, beat the hell outta the controls, and get my beautiful angels out."
As he reached the control room door, he adjusted his tie, slicked his hair back, then cracked his knuckles.
"Time to flip this game."
He kicked the door open—
And a dozen startled Baroque agents turned—
Only to be roundhouse kicked one by one, each collapsing in a heap as Sanji leapt between the machines with pinpoint agility, dodging levers and gears.
He grabbed the loudspeaker mic and blew into it.
"Hey, Croco-boy. This is Mr. Prince. Hope you like surprises."
The control room was a mess of sparking wires and unconscious agents. Baroque Works grunts lay piled like broken playing cards around shattered consoles. In the center of the chaos, Sanji stood tall, one foot propped casually on the control panel.
He adjusted his tie.
On the screen beside him, blinking in red, were the water release levers. The canal connected to the Banana Croc pit had begun to activate. Mechanical gears rotated slowly, and the water gates were moments from opening.
Sanji squinted at the mechanism, taking a drag from his cigarette.
"So… this is how you wanted to drown them, huh?"
Without hesitation, he raised his leg—and with the speed and strength of a chef who could kick through brick ovens—
CRACK!!
His foot smashed into the main lever. The entire console exploded with sparks, gears jammed, and the rotating valve froze mid-turn. The red lights went out. Water flow: stopped.
"Oops. My foot slipped."
He gave a lopsided smirk, then glanced to the corner of the room—where a rusted vent shaft rested, just big enough to fit a determined idiot on a mission.
With a whistle, he strolled toward it, kicked it open with a clang, and dropped down.
Below, inside the prison chamber...
The crew sat grim-faced, the tension heavy. Water had stopped, but the danger still lingered. Nami was biting her nails. Usopp was whimpering softly.
Then—a metallic thud echoed above.
Everyone looked up.
Another thud. Then a crash.
Suddenly, the air vent ceiling panel above them popped loose and fell with a clatter. From the shadowy opening dropped a lean figure, landing with the grace of a cat and the impact of a savior.
A trail of smoke followed him.
The dust cleared to reveal Sanji, crouched, one knee down, a cigarette between his lips.
He straightened slowly, as if he'd rehearsed the pose in a mirror.
The burning end of the cigarette glowed faintly in the dim light.
"Yo," he exhaled."Sorry I'm late."
Zoro blinked. "You missed the crocs."
Chopper's jaw dropped. "He really came through the ceiling like a movie hero!"
Vihaan gave him a nod of respect.
Sanji turned slightly to Nami and Vivi, smiling just a little more smugly than usual.
"Your prince has arrived, my ladies."
Nami and Vivi exchanged glances. Vivi smiled. Nami gave a playful eye-roll but couldn't hide her relief.
"Took you long enough, Romeo."
As the crew gathered closer, Sanji cracked his knuckles.
"Now then… how about we get out of this damn cage?"
LONGER CHAPTERS FINALLY , I AM STILL DOWN WITH A 102 FEVER SO WON'T UPLOAD A LOT THESE UPCOMING DAYS , SORRY FOR THE DELAY