Emperor’s New Clothes
Finders keepers, losers weepers!
When Sanji is wed, the Strawhats are too little, too late.
They come upon bloody bodies stuck on tables and chairs, all looking similar to their beloved Cook sans a large man with the only defining feature of blonde hair. They’re all barely alive, clinging to air for how knows long. Chopper is immediately upon them, panicked but steady, shouting instructions over Pedro and Brook’s direction as Carrot tries not to puke with Nami helping her out.
Luffy stands in front of the altar, quiet but not for long.
“Nami,” he says, without looking away at the place where Sanji had been forcefully thrust upon some random girl. He knows he likes women—loves them, even. But this place is a cage hidden with sweets and food that Luffy would never glance at, and Luffy should know (he nearly lost a brother to a similar, golden cage—). “Where?”
Nami stops from where she’s rubbing circles on the Mink’s back, sees the steel line on Luffy’s—no, her Captain’s shoulders and feels a comforting weight settle on her like a protective blanket, and she understands. She may not have Zoro’s innate understanding, nor Robin’s intelligent observations, or Ussop’s easy camaraderie, but she’s his Navigator. She’s the one who guids his anger and let him loose.
It isn’t raining, and there is no Aqua Laguna to run away from, but a nakama is missing (taken away from their home—) and if she has to set the World Government Flag on fire, she will.
“Follow me,” she answers, and knows it’s true.
(They’d give up their lives for him, but knows it’s harder to come back after turning him away)
Sanji is found in a small cottage, asleep and with a girl—his bride, but she looked no older than Shirahoshi—who cries and attempts to kill them with a grin on her face.
Luffy bats her away, then breaks the pistol and knife on her grasp. Face devoid of any joy, he asks, “Are you going to hurt him?”
Speechless, she doesn’t speak. But Luffy’s eyes tell stories when he doesn’t have the patience to, and she tears up as she nods, “For as long as I live.”
Nodding, and deeming her sincere, Luffy walks up to his Cook’s slumbering form and sets his hat on his chest without a word.
Exiting the safe haven amidst a cake-frosted wonderland, Strawhat Luffy leaves for war.
Katakuri sees the man in front of him, thin but whipcord strength hidden underneath his fancy clothes, a fedora atop where a strawhat should be.
He sees, then, still only for a moment, but what he has yet to hear staggers him.
“Move, I have no reason to fight you.”
It takes him a few beats before he realizes that Luffy had spoken in the present, and he can’t help the confused, “What?” Even as he already knows his answer, which was more baffling than the first one.
“Pigtails would cry, and she likes Sanji so I won’t make her sad,” was his simple reply. It was dumbfounding. “So move. I don’t wanna fight you.”
“And why should I?” He finds himself asking, and feels the breath knocked out of him when he gets an answer.
“I have business with Big Mom.”
Jinbei sets down the red cup, no fear whatsoever, for he knows his Captain will be the Future Pirate King. A mere Emperor should not faze him.
Then he comes, decked in red and black, his signature item gone but Jinbei isn’t worried. Luffy-kun is calm, eerily so, and it reminds him starkly of his desperate run towards his brother.
But this is different. This time, Sanji-kun is somewhere safe with a protector by his side, and Luffy is not alone.
“Oi,” he says, unheeding the others’ murmurs and incredulous stares. “You’re the one who took my Cook, right?” His brows furrow. “And you made Fishman Island your territory. You’re doing a pretty sucky job at it.”
“Oh? Aren’t you that pesky rookie who claimed Fishman Island as your own?” Big Mom sneers, haughty and confident in her powers. Around them, her children stir in unease, but refuse to show weakness. “Come here to prostrate yourself? Hah! As if I’d let you live.”
Then, in a rare occurence of seriousness, Luffy-kun’s face is shadowed as he shoots back, “I should be the one saying that to you.” And then he’s a blur of rage.
Big Mom meets his haki-coated fist with one of her own, the collision an explosion of wills that sends majority of those present flying, and Jinbei watches in awe even as he struggles to stand.
This... is a fight between Conquerors.
He sees one of Big Mom’s children—a little girl, who looked severely displeased—try to hit Luffy-kun woth her weapon, and he sends a stream of caramel towards her. Shifting into his favored stance, Jinbei faces the children of the soon-to-be defeated Emperor and introduces himself, palm up, “I am Jinbei of the Strawhat Pirates, and I shall be your opponent! Let’s not bother them, yes?”
Pedro knows what Strawhat is doing is risky, knows that they still need to get to Wano, but Strawhat is still fighting and he’s losing.
“Pedro!” Nami yells, secure with the fact that they’ve gotten a copy of the Red Poneglyph. “We need to go! We’ll just get caught up in the crossfire at this rate!”
“Luffy will be fine!” She interrupts, and smiles. It’s not without worry, but filled with faith. Not blind faith of someone who worships gods, but one that has seen happenings people would call miracles when it was merely a kind and brave act of a human soul. “He’s gonna be the nest Pirate King, remember?” She winks, and Pedro...
Pedro remembers watching the Pirate King’s execution, remembers the rain against his fur and his sword slipping out of his paws.
Then he remembers all that they had done—infiltrated Tottoland, stole a copy of a Red Poneglyph, allied with another Worst Generation Rookie, successfully retrieved their crewmate—and lets himself hope that the sun will shine again, and bring about a new dawn.
Perhaps, after this, he’ll see his home bright and happy (truly happy) once this is done.
Luffy unlocks Snakeman, but it’s not enough.
He knows he’s not strong yet, knows there’s a reason Torao became his friend before going after Kaido, but Sanji was hurt and his family nearly got killes and Sanji—his kind, sweet Cook with a bleeding heart and kicks as hard as steel—would forever blame himself if he didn’t do anything about it.
Sanji is strong, but not as strong as he is. And Luffy is the Captain, so it’s his turn to help him.
Once more concentrating on his haki, he stores up all the helplessness at Sanji being taken away (yet another failure, what kind of captain is he?), the fury (how dare they steal Sanji’s freedom!?), the sorrow (oh, he’ll be sad. He’’ll cry. Luffy can’t let that happen), the glee (he’s safe he’s here he’s whole he won’t die like Ace—) and glares down at Big Mom, huffing and puffing and the flames on her hair dying. The cloud was taken by Nami, so he won’t have to worry about that. He’s rubber, anyway.
He recalls Katakuri’s resigned admittance, the way he’d said, “I can’t leave my family.”
It sounded like—(“Leave them. If I come back with you, leave them.”)
It doesn’t matter now. He’ll beat up Big Mom, make Crybaby-Hoshi’s home safe, and take back the Mochi-bastard with them to Wano. He’ll like the donuts Sanji’ll make.
Decision made, he jumps and meets Big Mom head-on and, this time, it’ll be the last time.
When it happened, nobody knew except those in Tottoland had any idea what was going on (not even those who watched it with their own eyes could dream to describe it).
It starts like a thunderclap, but silent. An abrupt hush all over the world, enveloping everything within, and left all wondering but largely unafraid.
Only one can put it into words, but that was only because he’d lived through it before.
Rayleigh looked up not at the sky, but the sea in the horizon, and mused, “Took you long enough,” as he drank a glass of whiskey.
Roger’s had been more like a roar, a threat and a promise all wrapped in one.
“Let’s turn the world upside-down,” he said. And he did. Oh, how well he did.
But Luffy’s was different. A declaration of war, a simple fact with no room for arguement:
And Rayleigh can’t help but laugh, for the boy who only wanted freedom and adventure, will be the one who conquered all.
He couldn’t believe it. Mama, Mama was—
Dynasty decapitated—
Oven looked at where Mama’s body had flown, sinking into the depths of the sea she loved so. Strawhat Luffy was barely standing, but the sight that he was, that Mama was the one who wasn’t—
“I told you, didn’t I?” He heard, and saw the other Strawhats emerge from where they were hiding on their ship. The busty gingerhead was smiling smugly at a jaw-dropped Pedro, Zeus (coward traitor that he was) cowering behind her shoulder.
—you just might see a ghost tonight.
“Luffy!” The racoon(?) yelled, worry in his features and pale, “You’re injured—heck, you’re worse than any physical dismemberment I’ve seen in my life! And let me tell, you, Doctorine made sure of that!”
“Luffy-san!” The skeleton yohohoho’ed, but the grip he had on his guitar was, well, bone-white. “Come, let us come home! Our nakama is waiting for us!”
Groggily, Strawhat lifts his head up, gaze blurry and almost catatonic. If he moves now, he could—
“Don’t,” Oven gaped at his triplet, and barely has a second to understand what he meant before Strawhta speaks up, voice shaky but with a command that said, Listen.
“You...” he whispers, coarsely. “This place... and Fish...’n Island...”
Oven knew what he was about to say, but nothing prepared for him to be pinned down by a stare heavier than gravity itself,
Then Katakuri flinches, seeing something with his advanced sight as he chokes out a, What!? And then he realizes Strawhat wasn’t done. Not yet.
Finger pointed solely on his big brother—their Katakuri, Luffy announces, “Him too.”
There’s a stillness, like the whole world was holding in its breath. And then—
“I can’t,” Katakuri answers, and he looks so sad and small that Oven can’t believe he’ve never seen this. Never seen the longing and sheer want that Katakuri’s gaze held as he watched Strawhat fight and breathe like he was God’s Word come to life. “I—“
“I...” he pants, but his eyes are determined—the same determination that brought Mama down with his fists and pure spite. “...are you happy?”
Katakuri doesn’t answer. It was enough.
“Go,” Oven murmurs, and Katakuri looks so shocked that his heart clenched. Had they really been so blind to their brother’s woes? “Join him. Call us sometimes.”
Daifuku claps his shoulder, and Smoothie nods. Amande takes out her cigar, and Annana is too young but smiles supportively nevertheless. Katakuri watches his family wait for him, and feels tears pool his eyes.
Brulee pushes him, only able to move him because he was idle, and she tears up as she says, “Be free, brother.”
You’ve done so much for us, let us return your love.
“It’s not goodbye,” Daifuku says. “It never is.”
Throughout it all, Strawhat is patient, and the rest of his crew don’t move. Though the racoon seemed to be a second away from sprinting on land and dragging Katakuri back himself.
Swallowing, Katakuri approaches Straw—no, his Captain, and kneels. Not in deference, but to meet him eye to eye.
Slowly, he unravels his scarf, and despite the horrified intakes of breaths, all the Charlotte Siblings had eyes on were Luffy.
And he doesn’t disappoint (not like Mama—Big Mom)
“Huh, cool teeth...” he grins, tired but so full of warmth even Oven feels safe looking at it. What more to Katakuri who’s been accepted without a second thought? “Like... Barto’s... you guys should... meet...”
“Of course,” Katakuri says, and it sounds like a vow, like I’ll follow you beyond death.
“From now henceforth,” Smoothie suddenly breaks the atmosphere. All look, expect for Luffy who is carried by Katakuri as if it was the most natural thing to do in the world. Maybe it was, maybe it is. “The Big Mom Pirates are now underneath the Strawhats’ Flag. Any opposition?”
None, save for Luffy’s dismayed groan of, There is no Strawhat Grand Fleet!
Scattered laughter erupts, and Katakuri looks more relaxed than Oven has ever seen him just by being with Luffy, and feels more glad of his decision.
And so Katakuri carries Luffy back home to their ship, with Jinbei and the Sun Pirates following, and Oven feels content.
Sanji can’t face him, doesn’t even dare to look at his—at Luffy, the strawhat a heavy reminder of what he left behind, of what he’d done.
“I can’t be the Pirate King without you!”
“Sanji,” Luffy starts, and Sanji can’t hold back his sobs. How could he, when the floor he’s looking at is the welcome sight of Sunny’s wonderful kitchen, when he’s away from that hellhole (and his blood family was alive, by the gods—), when standing before him was a Messiah that refused to be known as anythinh other than simply Luffy.
But he lifts his head up still, meets unfathomable dark eyes, and as they soften with a knowing look, Sanji—
It’s messy, a loud keen tearing from his abused throat. His wrists are free and he still has his hands, his Captain is kissing them like they’re pure gold itself, and he’s wrapped in an embrace like nothing can touch him and he knows it’s true. Knows that, for him—useless, unwanted failure of Germa 66. Simple East Blue cook with a debt never (could never be) repaid and skirt-chaser. Vinsmoke Sanji. Blackleg Sanji. Strawhat Sanji—Luffy would break heaven and raise unimaginable hell. For anyone he considers as nakama—
For anyone he loves and Sanji can’t—
“I’m sorry,” it’s weak, nothing compared to the feeling of his Captain’s face smashed against his shoe, and he wants to cut his legs off—“I—I wanna go home.” I wanna go home with you.
I wanna go to the sea with you.
“Silly Sanji,” he shishishi’s, and it sounds like forgiveness he doesn’t deserve. Curved crescents and a blinding grin. “You’re already home. We’re in the Sunny, remember?”
Sanji laughs, hysterical and so full of relief. And then Luffy’s—his Captain, by god—dragging him out to the deck to meet “Mochi-bastard, he loves donuts!”, and it doesn’t matter that Nami had slapped him when she’s hugging him so tearfully like he’d slip through her fingers, doesn’t matter that he lied to Chopper when he’s clinging on his leg with insults spewing out, doesn’t matter that Brook was a skeleton when he shakes and rattles as he holds him close—
Because Sanji... Sanji’s finally home.
I wanna give All Blue to you, my Captain.
Torao looks at the way Blackleg-ya had a piece of Mugiwara-ya’s yukata on his hand, like a child that could get lost in a crowd. He looks at the unmistakeable forms of the Former Warlord Jinbei-ya’s “First Son of the Sea”, and Charlotte Katakuri “Dogtooth” having brunch with a three-eyed woman. He looks at Roronoa-ya’s unsurprised and exasperatedly fond look and just. Throws his hands up in the air and walks away.
He’s not paid enough to deal with this shit.
Shanks takes one look at the newspaper the News Coo gave him and spits out his drink.
“Capt’n?” Yassop asked, early-riser that he is. “What’s—“ he stops, and Shanks feels his shoulders shake.
There, bold in and huge, were the words printed for the world to know, “Big Mom, Defeated! Strawhat Luffy Is Crowned Emperor of the Seas!” And “Fishman Island and Tottoland, Flies the Strawhats’ Flags!”
Shanks finally guffaws, loud and like his old Captain’s, and he yells to the bastards he called nakama, “See this? Anchor’s an Emperor now! Just like your Captain! DAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“What,” is Benn’s first words in the morning. Yassop is still looking at the newspaper as if it could answer the questions of the universe. “He just brought down Joker, can’t that brat take a rest for us old folk?”
“Nope!” Lucky Roux beams, drumstick at hand. “It’s how we met him, remember?” And Shanks does. He really, truly does. Just like how he ran up on the dock of his West Blue island home and yelled at Roger to take him in.
Feeling for the phantom of a strawhat loved and dear, Shanks faces the sea and hollers, “All hands on deck! Set a course, my fellow bastards!”
“Where to, Captain?” Benn asks, but his grey eyes already know.
Gleefully, he screams an announcement of his own:
I’m taking back the crown! I’m all dressed up and naked!
“Wano! I wanna see Anchor plummet Kaido to the ground!”
I see what’s mine and take it!
