Part 11 - Sanji 22/21

Waiting for next part? Nope, it's still Sanji.

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Sanji took another drag and slowly nodded, accepting Luffy's explanation, but he still wanted to know what exactly his captain was getting at, so he asked:

"So what truths do we know about All Blue?"

Scraping the bottom of the bowl and finding nothing more, Luffy sighed heavily, then answered Sanji's question after thoroughly licking his spoon:

"We can say that we know two main truths about All Blue. One truth is that, as far as we know, no one has yet found All Blue. The other truth is that, again as far as we know, no one has proven that All Blue doesn't exist."

Sanji, slightly furrowing his brow, took a final drag of his cigarette, which turned out to be the last one in the pack. Opening a new pack and lighting another cigarette, Sanji realized he still couldn't grasp Luffy's point, so he decided to ask directly:

"…What are you getting at?"

"I'm getting at the fact that if All Blue exists but no one has found it yet, then it's possible that it's located in a place that's nearly impossible to reach."

"For example?"

"I'd bet on Raftel," Luffy said with a satisfied smile.

"Raftel?" Sanji's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Sanji's surprise was quite justified. Raftel was the "final island of the Grand Line," the island where the now-deceased Pirate King left his greatest treasure, the One Piece. Yet, aside from the Pirate King and his crew, no one else had ever reached Raftel, leading to an unimaginably vast number of rumors about the island. The truth, naturally, was unknown to anyone… Well, some people definitely knew — it was not really known what happened to the crew of the Pirate King, although it was claimed that they were all caught by the Marines — but somehow they were in no hurry to share this very truth with the rest of the world.

"Why Raftel?" Sanji asked after a short pause, seeking clarification.

"Old man Zeff sailed a lot through the first half of the Grand Line and even ventured into the New World, the second half of the Grand Line, but he still couldn't find All Blue. To me, Raftel seems like an ideal place for All Blue to be… right after the very beginning of the Grand Line."

"The very beginning?" Sanji was even more confused. "I mean, the very beginning?"

"Have you seen the Grand Line map?" Luffy asked rhetorically, already knowing the answer as he had shown it to him himself. "Remember how ships enter the Grand Line?" Luffy asked again, rhetorically. "To me, the beginning of the Grand Line, if not All Blue itself, is something very close to it. It's unlikely, of course, but isn't it almost the perfect place for All Blue?"

Sanji took a thoughtful drag on his cigarette. Luffy's words made a certain amount of sense… in fact, they made a lot of sense. Raftel was one of the few places where an extremely limited number of people had been, and it was almost impossible to reach. In other words, Raftel was an ideal island for the creation of "groundless rumors," meaning the existence of All Blue. As for the beginning of the Grand Line… to enter the Grand Line, one had to overcome the Reverse Mountain. At a specific point in the East Blue, a swift current rose up a massive mountain, a staggering ten thousand meters high, where it met three similar currents from each of the seas outside the Grand Line. These currents then merged into the Grand Line. Accordingly, at this point, there was indeed a chance to encounter creatures from all the seas of the world… except, of course, the New World… though the New World was considered part of the Grand Line… Overall, Luffy's words weren't without logic.

"The idea of Raftel sounds much more plausible than the beginning of the Grand Line," Sanji finally concluded after a few minutes of thought.

"I think so too," Luffy agreed lightly," but you can't underestimate human stupidity either.

Sanji had nothing to counter this.

"Also, I think we've strayed quite far from the topic," Luffy added after a couple of seconds… "I even forgot what I was going to say about your All Blue… hmm… I think we were talking about how stubborn and wrong you are… right… So, do you admit that I might be right about the location of All Blue? That it might be somewhere near Raftel or in a similarly inaccessible place?"

Sanji, taking a pause, took several deep drags. Just a minute ago, he had practically agreed with Luffy's arguments, but now, when asked directly, he found his willingness to agree had suddenly vanished. Sanji knew that agreeing wouldn't bring him anything good… but not agreeing was also not an option.

"Let's say your words aren't without merit," Sanji finally answered evasively, for which he immediately received an ironic look from Luffy, clearly not deceived by such an answer.

"And since my words aren't without merit… who do you think has a better chance of finding All Blue? With our crew, on your own, or with some random idiots?

"...."

Sanji was at a loss. Despite his strength, he knew that if he let his training slide for even a few months, Johnny and Yosaku would catch up with him. Although Sanji was now stronger than the inseparable friends, he didn't delude himself about his uniqueness. When Sanji first met the guys, they were more like scared puppies, lost and following not so much Luffy as Zoro. Strength? What strength? In those seemingly distant times, Johnny and Yosaku wouldn't have been able to handle even a single cook from "Barati," the weakest of them all. And it wasn't even so much about physical strength and experience but about sheer willpower. Unlike the former hunters, the former goons feared neither god nor devil, which gave them an undeniable advantage in battle. And these were ordinary cooks. Patty or Carne could wipe out Johnny and Yosaku with a single half-hearted blow.

However, by the next meeting, which took place just a month later, apart from Sanji and old man Zeff, only Patty and Carne would be able to match Johnny and Yosaku evenly. Another month later? Patty and Carne would have no chance against the now-formidable duo. After six months? One random punch from Johnny could cleanly knock off the head of an ordinary person. Willpower? Cut off their arms and legs, and they'd still rip out their enemies' throats. In just six months, Luffy had turned two timid, frightened boys into highly effective Killing Machines, against which even Sanji had to put in genuine effort to win. And as for Zoro and Luffy, there was no comparison. If Sanji could vaguely sense Zoro's strength limit, Luffy's strength limit remained a complete mystery. With such monsters on the Grand Line, it would clearly be much safer than without them. Not to mention Nami, who seemed to see the sea as one big open book, and that she had apparently never been told that the weather could be unpredictable. With such a navigator, no sea was frightening, even the most mysterious and dangerous of all. And now their crew had Usopp, who had somehow managed to master something in one month that Sanji had struggled with for two years.

In other words, as much as Sanji tried to deny the obvious, he had to admit that Luffy was once again right. With people like them, his chances of finding All Blue were immeasurably higher than with anyone else in the East Blue, and especially alone. And if he missed his chance now, he might never get another one… in fact, he definitely wouldn't! Luffy had clearly demonstrated that he was "the biggest fish in this pond." It doesn't take a genius to calculate the probability of another such "fish" appearing in the foreseeable future, especially considering that the last one appeared nearly thirty years ago. The title of Pirate King came much later; initially, he was just the coolest pirate in the East Blue. In other words, he was truly impressive, unlike Don Krieg.

"If you're still indulging in pointless illusions, I can give you another significant argument," Luffy said, giving Sanji time to think things through before delivering a 'final blow.' "Nami dreams of drawing a map of the whole world… the whole world," Luffy said, lifting a finger in a teaching manner. "So, even if your All Blue exists and it's not near Raftel, we will find it sooner or later. After all, we'll have to sail around the world; otherwise, Nami will never be able to fulfill her dream… Hmm… you know, I never really thought about it before, but come to think of it… becoming Pirate King might actually be easier," Luffy added, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"..."

"Anyway, never mind," Luffy sighed and got to his feet. "We're setting sail tomorrow morning, so make sure you're ready. Otherwise, if you keep wasting time, you'll be setting off in just your suit because you are coming with us… one way or another."

"…Are you seriously going to kidnap me if I refuse?" Sanji couldn't help but ask.

"Kidnap? Sanji, I'm rich and love to throw money around, but even I wouldn't throw hundreds of millions of Berries out the window… You're an important member of Baratie, and although I could have taken you without a word, I've done more than enough to ensure your old crew has no problems after you leave. With my money, old man Zeff can fully enjoy his life doing what he loves. And don't forget, I'm still a pirate, and pirates do whatever they want," Luffy said, leaving the room and leaving Sanji alone with his thoughts… and nearly finished cigarettes.

"What a bastard…" Sanji said with a smile on his face after a while.

Indeed, now that Zeff had so much money that he could use it as napkins, Sanji understood that it was much easier to leave the old man behind. Fact after fact, reason after reason, thread after thread… for months… In some ways, Luffy was terrifyingly methodical.

"Damn captain…"

Extinguishing another cigarette, Sanji sighed heavily and slowly looked around the room. So many years. So many memories. Sighing again, Sanji left the room and headed to Zeff to say goodbye. Probably the only thing left to do. His things? Most of them were already packed; after all, Sanji knew Luffy too well.

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