"Nami already told me everything," Sanji said. "Robin is in their hands right now. If possible, I want to take her back here."
"So… what's your answer?"
If they could rescue her now, there would be no need to go all the way to Enies Lobby.
But Luffy was the captain. Starting a fight like this required his approval. Sanji understood that much.
"Alright. Go raise hell."
"Eh?!" Nami blinked, stunned. "You're just agreeing like that?!"
"Hey, Luffy!" Zoro frowned. "Tell him not to act recklessly. We'll catch up first."
"Cook, can you hear me? There are some seriously strong people on that train. It's not something you can handle alone…"
"Enough, Zoro," Luffy cut him off. "If it were you, what would you do?"
"Robin chose to sacrifice herself to save us. If it were you, could you just sit still and do nothing?"
Zoro fell silent.
He couldn't.
If he had been the one ahead, he would have already engaged the enemy. There would have been no time for a call like this.
"Stopping him is pointless," Luffy said. "So… Sanji, do what you want to do."
When it came to his crew, Luffy had absolute faith.
"Now that's what I like to hear," Sanji grinned. "Hey, moss head… are you worried about me?"
"Who the hell would worry about you, idiot!"
Standing to the side, Zian glanced at Zoro. Something about his expression seemed off.
Wait… was that a faint blush?
"No matter what, now that I know Robin's true intentions, even if the captain ordered me to stop… I wouldn't listen!"
Crack!
With a sharp snap, Sanji crushed the receiver of the Den Den Mushi in his hand.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" Franky stared in disbelief. "I still had things to ask Straw Hat!"
"How should I know."
"You…!"
Franky was furious. Hanging up was one thing, but crushing the receiver was just excessive.
Sanji ignored him and instead explained everything that had happened with Robin. By the end, Franky was in tears, somehow pulling out a guitar and playing while crying.
Zian blinked at the sight.
Sanji's eye twitched slightly too. He couldn't quite understand why Franky was so emotional, considering he wasn't even part of the crew.
"And you?" Sanji turned to Usopp. "Robin was protecting you too."
Usopp lowered his head, silent.
Sanji sighed and looked ahead.
"Anyway, I'm going to save Robin."
"She's in the front carriage of this sea train."
"Good! Count me in!" Franky laughed loudly. "As the leader of the Franky Family, I've got to show some spirit!"
"Curly-brow, I'll help you!"
"Long nose, let's go!"
"I'm not going…"
"Huh?" Franky paused, confused.
At a time like this, what did he mean he wasn't going?
"You guys are going to regroup with Luffy and the others, right?" Usopp said quietly. "I already left the Straw Hat crew. This doesn't really have anything to do with me anymore."
"After causing all that trouble… how could I possibly stand beside you again…"
"Sorry. This is where we part ways."
As Usopp slowly walked away, Franky stood there, dumbfounded.
"Hey, what do you mean 'part ways'? You can't even leave this train right now!"
Usopp didn't reply. Soon, he disappeared from their sight.
"Forget it. Let him go," Sanji said, shaking his head.
He turned forward again.
"Even if it's just the two of us, we're getting Robin back."
No matter what, now that he was here, there was no turning back.
"Alright. Let's go…"
"Hm?"
"Where's that singing coming from?"
They turned around.
The Usopp who had supposedly left was now walking back toward them, wearing a mask and muttering something under his breath.
"I was born on Sniper Island…"
"What are you even doing?" Franky asked, confused.
"Greetings," Usopp said in a deep, dramatic voice. "I've heard everything. You're going to rescue a lady, correct?"
"Allow me to lend you my strength!"
"My name is… Sogeking!"
"Hahaha!"
Franky fell silent.
"…Has he always been this awkward?" he asked, turning to Sanji.
"Just try to understand how he feels," Sanji said helplessly. "He can't face everyone openly, so this is the only way he can do it."
"Let's go."
"Keep up, Sogeking. Once we rescue Miss Robin, I'll introduce you to a ninja guy."
"Yeah!"
Back on the Rocketman…
"That guy really doesn't hesitate," Nami said.
He hadn't even given them a chance to say more before ending the call.
"He didn't hang up," Zian said. "He crushed the receiver. That sound at the end wasn't a normal disconnect."
So he wasn't planning to leave himself any way out.
"That idiot cook…" Zoro pressed a hand to his forehead. "Now we can't contact him even if we want to."
Without that Den Den Mushi, even if Sanji got himself killed, they wouldn't know.
"Haha, we'll catch up to them sooner or later anyway. Who needs a Den Den Mushi," Luffy said carelessly.
As he spoke, he started stuffing leftover meat into his pockets.
"…Den Den Mushis are really fascinating creatures," Zian said, taking one from Nami and poking it curiously.
Such a small snail, yet it could transmit bio-electric signals over such long distances. It functioned just like a telephone.
At least phones had signal towers.
This thing relied entirely on itself.
I wonder if there's a giant one somewhere acting as a relay station, Zian thought.
"Of course they are," Nami said with a smile. "Without them, communication would be incredibly difficult… Hey, Luffy, stop stuffing meat into your pockets!"
"Damn it, why aren't these pants made bigger?" Luffy complained.
"That's your problem!"
What kind of normal person stuffs meat into their pockets, especially chunks that big?
Watching Luffy completely ignore her, Zian smiled faintly.
This feeling…
was actually pretty nice.