Is He Always This Awkward?

"Nami told me everything," Sanji said. "Robin is in their hands right now. If possible, I want to take Robin back here."

"What's your answer?"

If they could take her back here, there would be no need to go to Judicial Island.

But Luffy was the captain, so starting a fight with the enemy required Luffy's approval. Sanji understood that much.

"Alright, go cause as much trouble as you want!"

"Eh?!" Nami was stunned. He had agreed just like that?

"Hey, Luffy!" Zoro frowned. "Tell him not to act recklessly. We'll talk once we catch up."

"Cook, can you hear me? There are some really strong guys on that train. You're not—"

"That's enough, Zoro!" Luffy cut him off. "If it were you, what would you do?"

"Robin sacrificed herself to save us. If it were you, could you just sit there quietly?"

The moment those words came out, Zoro fell silent.

That was right. He couldn't do it either.

If he had caught up with them first, he would have probably already clashed with the enemy. He wouldn't have had time to make this call to Nami at all.

"There's no point stopping him," Luffy said. "So... Sanji, go do what you want to do!"

Luffy had absolute faith in his companions!

"You really do understand," Sanji said with a grin. "Hey, Green Algae Head, were you worried about me?"

"Who's worried about you, bastard?!"

Xi Yan glanced at Zoro beside him and immediately noticed that something was off with his expression. That face... Had he just blushed?

"No matter what, now that I know how Robin feels, even if it's the captain's order... I have no intention of backing down!"

Crack!

Under the force of his grip, Sanji crushed the Den Den Mushi's receiver in his hand!

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Franky stared in disbelief. "I still had questions for Straw Hat!"

"How should I know?"

"You bastard..."

Franky was furious. Even if the call was over, there was no need to crush the Den Den Mushi's receiver.

Sanji ignored Franky and explained exactly what had happened to Robin to the two of them. Franky was so moved that tears streamed down his face as he pulled a guitar out from somewhere and began crying while playing it.

Sanji's eyelid twitched as he watched. He had no idea why Franky was crying when Franky clearly wasn't part of the Straw Hat Pirates.

"What about you? What are you thinking now?" Sanji looked at Usopp. "Robin was protecting you too."

Seeing Usopp lower his head in silence, Sanji sighed, then turned to look into the distance. "Anyway, I'm going to save Robin."

"She's in the very front car of this Sea Train."

"Alright, count me in!" Franky laughed loudly. "As the leader of the Franky Family, Franky has to show some spirit."

"Curly Brow, I'll give you a helping hand!"

"Long Nose, let's go!"

"I'm not going..."

"Hmm?" Franky paused, unable to understand what had gotten into him.

They had come this far already. What did he mean, he wasn't going?

"You're going to meet up with Luffy and the others, right?" Usopp said with his head lowered. "I've already left the Straw Hat Pirates. When it comes down to it, this has nothing to do with me."

"After causing such a scene, how could I still have the face to stand with you..."

"Sorry. Let's part ways here."

Watching Usopp gradually walk toward the rear, Franky stared blankly. "Hey, what do you mean, goodbye? Even if you want to leave now, you can't get off!"

Usopp didn't answer and soon disappeared from their sight.

"Forget it. Let him go."

Sanji shook his head and looked forward. "Even if it's only the two of us, we'll save Robin."

No matter what, now that he was standing here, there was no reason for him to retreat.

"Alright, let's—"

"Hmm?"

"Where's that singing coming from?"

The two turned at the sound and found Usopp, who should have left, walking back wearing a mask and muttering under his breath.

"I was born on Sniper Island..."

"What do you mean by that?" Franky looked at Usopp in confusion, unable to understand what he was doing.

"Greetings." Usopp spoke in a magnetic voice. "I've already heard what happened. You're going to save a Miss, correct?"

"Allow me to give you a helping hand!"

"My name is Sniper King!"

"Ahahahaha!"

Franky: ...

"Is he always this awkward?" Franky turned to Sanji and asked.

"Try to understand how he feels," Sanji said helplessly. "He can't save his companion openly, so he can only do it this way."

"Let's go."

"Keep up, Sniper King. After we save Miss Robin, I'll introduce you to a Ninja Bro!"

"Yeah!"

"That guy really was decisive," Nami said.

He had ended the call without even giving them a chance to say anything else.

"He crushed the receiver, didn't he?" Xi Yan said. "That cracking sound just now clearly wasn't the sound of a call ending."

The final sound from the Den Den Mushi had clearly been something getting crushed. Was he not planning to leave himself a way out?

"That cook..." Zoro said, rubbing his forehead. "Well, now even if we want to contact him, we can't."

Without that Den Den Mushi to contact him, they would have no way of getting any information even if Sanji got beaten to death.

"Haha, we'll catch up to them sooner or later anyway. No Den Den Mushi, no Den Den Mushi," Luffy said unconcernedly.

After saying that, Luffy began stuffing his leftover meat into his pockets.

"Den Den Mushi really are fascinating creatures." Xi Yan curiously took the Den Den Mushi from Nami's hand and poked it with a finger.

Such a tiny bug could transmit bioelectric signals so far. It was practically a telephone.

But telephones at least had signal towers to relay transmissions. This thing transmitted waves purely through its own body.

I wonder if there's an enormous Den Den Mushi somewhere in this world that serves as a relay station, Xi Yan thought.

"Of course," Nami said with a smile. "Without this thing, it would be extremely difficult for everyone to contact each other... Hey, Luffy, don't stuff meat into your pockets!"

"Damn it, why didn't they make these pants bigger?" Luffy complained.

"That's your problem!"

What normal person stuffed meat into their pockets, especially chunks of meat that big?

Xi Yan smiled as he watched Luffy ignore Nami. This feeling was... rather nice.