"Fine."
Nami shrugged, then suddenly changed the subject. "Oh, right. Since you're not going, let's settle an old score. You still owe me money."
Zoro froze for a moment, then snapped back indignantly.
"Huh? Didn't I already pay you back? When I bought my swords in Loguetown, the shopkeeper covered it—those one hundred thousand Beli were returned to you in full!"
"And the one who's been owing you money this whole time is Ronan, isn't it?!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Nami wagged a finger, her expression deadly serious.
"Zoro, your memory's terrible. I lent you one hundred thousand, but we agreed you'd pay back three hundred thousand."
"Don't be ridiculous!!" Zoro roared. "I borrowed it and returned it on the same day! Where did interest come from?! And triple interest at that?!"
"Of course there's interest."
Nami said it without the slightest shame, even with a hint of pity.
"The moment you borrowed the money, interest kicked in. And besides…"
She paused, her gaze suddenly sharpening as she stared straight into Zoro's soul.
"As a man who aims to become the world's greatest swordsman, are you really saying you can't even honor a simple financial agreement?"
"If you can't uphold a contract, how can you uphold promises to your companions?"
"Uh…"
Those words hit Zoro like a sledgehammer, striking him square in his weakest spot.
As a swordsman who valued honor and promises above all else, the word "breach" hurt him more than taking two blades to the chest.
This was absolute control—airtight logic, no room to argue.
Seeing Zoro frozen in place, Nami delivered the final blow.
"If you do what I say and protect the princess, I'll wipe your debt clean."
"But if you still refuse to go now…" She narrowed her eyes, her voice turning eerie.
"Once Sanji and Ronan finish them off, this deal's off forever."
A bead of cold sweat slid down Zoro's forehead.
Inside his mind, a fierce battle raged.
On one side was a swordsman's pride—he hated being ordered around.
On the other was a man's sense of honor—forced debt or not.
In the end, he lost.
"Y-You devil!!"
Zoro snarled through clenched teeth, spinning around as his hand slammed onto his sword hilt. He charged forward in long strides.
"You'll pay for this one day, Nami!!"
Watching his resentful yet helpless retreating figure, the gloom on Nami's face instantly vanished, replaced by a victor's smile.
She waved cheerfully behind him and called out sweetly,
"That way's a dead end! You're going the wrong way, stupid swordsman!"
"Shut up!! I know!!"
Zoro's furious voice echoed from the distance, followed by the sound of a wall collapsing. Watching all three of them finally move out, Nami smirked smugly.
"Still think I can't handle you guys?"
...
On the western coast of Whisky Peak, waves crashed against jagged reefs, producing a dull, relentless roar.
Moonlight was shredded by thick clouds, scattering in broken patches across this killing ground.
"Huff… huff…"
Vivi clutched Karoo's reins tightly, her ragged breathing painfully loud in the silent night.
Yet despair clung to her like a shadow.
Ahead, two figures blocked her path like phantoms.
Mr. 5 stood casually beside a towering cactus-shaped rock, mockery filling the gaze behind his sunglasses.
Miss Valentine hovered lightly in midair beneath her lemon-yellow parasol, as if gravity itself had lost all meaning for her.
"Running out of steam?" Mr. 5 sneered. "On this island, no one escapes Baroque Works' pursuit."
Just as Vivi was on the verge of giving up hope, ready to fight to the death—
A black whirlwind tore into the battlefield, dragging smoke and dust behind it, accompanied by the comforting glow of a lit cigarette.
"Hey… you bastard who lays a hand on beautiful ladies—are you ready to get kicked to pieces?"
Sanji stood in front of Vivi, one hand in his pocket. His suit was tattered, but his upright back looked as solid as a mountain in her eyes.
"You…" Vivi stared blankly at the pirate who had been fawning over her not long ago.
Mr. 5 frowned at Sanji's sudden appearance, irritation flashing in his eyes.
"I hadn't even gone to deal with you annoying pirates yet, and you come knocking on death's door yourself? Tired of living?"
"Hehehe… no need for you to handle him, Mr. 5."
Floating above, Miss Valentine let out a string of bell-like laughter as she twirled her parasol, looking down at Sanji with cold amusement.
"This lecherous curly-brow belongs to me!"
As she spoke, her body slowly rose like a balloon, higher and higher, until she nearly overlapped with the moon.
"I ate the Kilo-Kilo Fruit. I can change my weight at will."
Her voice drifted down from above, sweet and cruel.
"Just now, I was light as a feather, riding the wind… but now, I'm going to get heavier."
"Are you ready, handsome?"
"Two kilograms… five kilograms… ten kilograms…"
As she called out the numbers, her falling speed rapidly increased.
Compressed air visibly rippled around her skirt.
"One hundred kilograms… one thousand kilograms… ten thousand kilograms!!"
The moment those words left her mouth, the once-light girl transformed into a meteor capable of annihilating everything.
The air compressed violently, screaming under the pressure.
Carrying the weight of ten thousand kilograms, Miss Valentine dropped straight down, skirt fluttering, and slammed toward Sanji—
"Crushing Kill: Ten-Thousand-Kilogram Guillotine!!"
Against an attack capable of grinding solid rock to dust, any normal person would dodge.
But Sanji wasn't normal.
He slowly lifted his head. In that instant, time itself seemed to slow.
Bathed in moonlight, peering through the fluttering lemon-yellow skirt, his gaze pierced through every obstacle and captured a sacred sight.
"P-Pink…"
Twin jets of blood burst uncontrollably from Sanji's nose. His eyes instantly turned into massive red hearts.
The murderous intent on his face vanished, replaced by overwhelming bliss and fanatic devotion.
"I saw it!! Pink stripes!!"
Amid Vivi's terrified scream, and under Ronan's stunned gaze as he arrived on the scene—
Faced with ten thousand kilograms of crushing force, Sanji didn't dodge. He didn't even defend.
Instead, completely entranced, he spread his arms wide, striking the pose of a man embracing an angel.
"Come on! The weight of love!!"
BOOOOOOM——!!!
A thunderous explosion shattered the silence of the western coast.
The ground shook violently, as if struck by a massive earthquake.
Centered on Sanji, the earth within several meters instantly collapsed and caved in. Towering clouds of dust mushroomed upward as shattered rocks blasted outward like bullets.
Ronan, who had just arrived, had no choice but to swing his ebony staff to knock away the flying debris, staring in disbelief.
"…That's Sanji for you. Completely hopeless."
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