Chapter 159: The Victim
Pekoms' introduction to the Vinsmoke family left the crew reeling. A family of assassins. War profiteers. A mercenary army that had toppled nations. The kind of bloodline that produced soldiers, not cooks.
"None of this sounds anything like Sanji." Nami shook her head, unwilling to accept it.
"Perhaps he didn't grow up with them. Or he left early." Itachi's voice was thoughtful. "That would explain why he never mentioned any of this."
"That makes sense." Nami clutched Sanji's letter tighter. "He always said he was from the East Blue. From the Baratie."
Luffy scratched his head in visible frustration. "I don't really get all this complicated stuff. But it doesn't matter!"
"What I want to know is—is he coming back or not?!"
"If he wants to get married, fine! Just bring his wife back with him!"
The room went very quiet.
"But if that happens, we'd have to become Big Mom's subordinates. And I don't WANT to be anyone's subordinate!"
"So when I go to get Sanji, you tell Big Mom that for me. Tell her Sanji's coming back with us. Got it, Cocomouse?"
"WHAT?!"
Pekoms, who had just emerged from his blanket cocoon, went rigid. His legs kicked out. His head cracked against the bedframe. The shock sent him rolling three full rotations before he tumbled off the mattress entirely and landed in a heap on the floor.
Even Itachi raised an eyebrow.
"YOU—!" Pekoms scrambled upright, sunglasses askew, tiny eyes blazing. "I'll bite you to death, gawu! Benefactor or not, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Mom is an EMPEROR! AN EMPEROR!"
"Your eyes are so tiny!" Luffy burst out laughing. "They're like little beans!"
Carrot, who had accompanied them from the forest, dissolved into giggles. Even Pedro, standing guard at the door, let out a quiet snort.
Pekoms deflated entirely. He crawled back onto the bed and pulled the blanket over his head. "I honestly don't understand a single person on your crew."
"But." His voice was muffled by the blanket. "It doesn't matter what you want. He can't escape this marriage."
"Why not?" Luffy's laughter faded.
"Because no one refuses Mom's invitation. NO ONE." Pekoms emerged just enough to adjust his sunglasses. "Anyone who dares to refuse... receives a gift."
"A gift? Like a present?"
"Don't get excited. This isn't the kind of gift that makes people happy." Pekoms' voice dropped. "The 'gift' for defying Mom's will... is the head of someone the refuser loves."
The room went cold.
Pedro lit a cigarette in the doorway. "For Black Leg Sanji, that head could belong to anyone. One of you. Someone from that restaurant in the East Blue. A citizen of the kingdom you saved."
The Baratie. The old man who had raised him. The cooks who had been his family before the Straw Hats ever existed.
Now Nami understood why Sanji had gone without a fight.
"Hey! How do you know all this?!" Luffy's fists clenched.
"BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO FACE AN EMPEROR!" Pekoms' roar silenced the room. "When someone with overwhelming power makes a threat, it's not a threat! It's a prediction! A future that's already been decided!"
Nami's voice was barely a whisper. "So Sanji didn't have a choice. He never had a choice."
"There is one thing you can be grateful for, benefactors." Pekoms' voice softened. "You won't be joining us. This is a political marriage. Mom only marries people who want to submit to her. This wedding... it's between the Vinsmoke Family and the Charlotte Family."
He paused.
"I'll put it simply. Once this wedding is complete, Black Leg Sanji will no longer be your nakama."
Silence.
Then Itachi spoke.
"I understand." His voice was quiet. Measured. "Sanji is a victim of this political arrangement. A hostage to ensure the Vinsmoke Family's compliance."
"That's right, Uchiha Itachi." Pekoms nodded. "That's exactly—"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"
Luffy's rubber arms shot out and seized Pekoms by the collar. "SANJI IS MY NAKAMA! HE'S COMING BACK! I DON'T CARE WHAT ANY EMPEROR SAYS!"
"It's no use shouting at ME, Straw Hat!" Pekoms shoved him away. "I don't decide these things! Sanji doesn't decide these things! The only ones who decide are Mom and the Vinsmoke Family, and neither of them cares what you want!"
Itachi had already risen. He walked to the door without looking back, the conversation behind him fading into white noise. Luffy's protests. Pekoms' explanations. The endless circular argument about things that could not be changed by words alone.
Zoro was sitting in a chair outside the room, eyes closed, arms crossed, the very picture of indifference.
Seeing him, Itachi allowed himself a faint smile. "Zoro. You bastard."
"Huh?" Zoro cracked one eye open just as Luffy burst through the door.
"ZORO! There you are!" Luffy's grin was back. "I knew you were worried about Sanji too!"
"Say that again and I'll cut you." Zoro's eye closed. "I told you. Leave that shitty cook alone. I don't care what happens to him."
"You're such a liar." Luffy laughed.
Before Zoro could respond, Chopper came skidding around the corner. "LUFFY! Is Pekoms okay?! Did you break him?!"
"He's fine, he's just—"
Luffy stopped. His eyes widened. His Observation Haki screamed a warning too late.
"STRAW HAT LUFFY! I'VE BEEN WANTING TO MEET YOU PROPERLY!"
The Cat Viper, who had somehow escaped his bed, escaped his nurses, and escaped all medical reason, was charging down the corridor at full speed. The floor trembled. The walls shook. Chopper's antlers drooped in despair.
"CAT VIPER! WHEN DID YOU—YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE IN BED!"
"BENEFACTOR! KARUQIU!"
The massive cat leaped—
And struck the stone pillar above their heads with a thunderous CRACK.
The Cat Viper crumpled. The pillar held. And in his downward trajectory, the unconscious feline king crashed directly into Luffy and Zoro, flattening both of them beneath his considerable bulk.
Fresh blood seeped through the bandages on his head.
Chopper's scream could probably be heard across the entire island.
Zoro emerged from the tangle of fur and limbs with his hand on Enma's hilt. "That's it. I'm turning this cat into a REAL monster. WAKE UP!"
"ZORO! HE'S A CRITICAL PATIENT!"
"I DON'T CARE! I'M SICK OF THIS KARUQIU NONSENSE! NO MORE KARUQIU!"
From his position on a nearby rooftop—where he had wisely relocated the moment the Cat Viper appeared—Itachi watched the chaos unfold. Then his gaze shifted. Beyond the stronghold. Beyond the trees.
Law was approaching. The Heart Pirates walked behind him in formation—twenty crew members in white uniforms, Bepo at the front, their familiar jolly roger emblazoned on their chests.
"Itachi-ya! Straw Hat-ya!"
Luffy extracted himself from the Cat Viper pile. "Tra-guy! And the white bear!"
"These are all your crew?" Luffy peered at the white-uniformed procession behind Law.
"I was going to introduce you properly to all twenty members of my crew." Law's voice was dry. "But it seems you're busy."
The Heart Pirates, as one, spread their arms in the now-familiar crane-wing gesture. "NICE TO MEET YOU, STRAW HAT!"
"Great, introductions done." Law grabbed Luffy by the collar and pulled him toward Itachi. "We need to talk. Now."