"You're seriously the lady who's supposed to marry Sanji?" Luffy asked the girl, Pudding, as she blushed with her hands cupping her face. "Big Mom is your mom?!"
She smiled, nodding her head. "Mhm."
"Sanji's so lucky!" Brook shouted, throwing his arms into the air with a blush adorning his- uh... cheekbones...? "What a beautiful bride to be!"
"Uah! You said... bride!" She gasped, hiding her face into her hands, before placing them onto the table. "I don't understand, you aren't even momma's allies... h-how did you get through Tart's Security? If she finds out you're here, you'll- you'll all be killed!"
"You shouldn't have come to her territory, she's a scary pirate... huh?!" She continued, before gasping and grabbing a knife, pointing it towards us. "You're the Straw Hats, so you're all scary pirates too!" She shrieked. "Help me!"
"Relax, you're okay, we won't attack you!" Nami exclaimed right as Pedro unsheathed his sword.
He got behind her, holding her hands, and knife, in the air while pressing his sword at her neck. "Hey Luffy, want me to kill her?"
I groaned, facepalming. "Now she's really going to think we're scary pirates!"
"WHAT DID I SAY?! BACK OFF!" Nami shouted at Pedro, baring her teeth at him.
"You can let her go, Pedro..." Luffy told Pedro, as he put on a smile. "Don't worry, we just came here to rescue Sanji."
We explained to Pudding that we came to get Sanji back. Pudding decided to help us, and drew a map, leading us to different islands to reach Whole Cake Island.
———
After a long night of fighting ants and melting the candy sea, we finally reached Whole Cake Island. Our target, Big Mom and her Road Poneglyph.
"Yeah, we made it! Big Mom, you can't stop us now!" Luffy exclaimed in excitement as he jumped off the deck and onto the island.
"Geez, he's way too excited for this." I grumbled as Nami, Carrot, Chopper and I began climbing down like any normal person would.
"Cakes everywhere... man, imagine eating that!" Luffy gasped at all the food around us.
"When I heard this place was called Whole Cake Island, I wasn't expecting it to be a literal cake." I gasped, staring at the mound of cake in front of us. "I mean, it's huge!"
"I smell an adventure!" He exclaimed, smiling widely.
"We don't need one." Nami immediately shut his idea down. "Let's just find Sanji and wait on the boat."
"Yeah we don't want Big Mom to know we're here, that'll just cause problems for Brook and Pedro." I told him, hoping he'd get the idea.
While Pedro and Brook went to apprehend the Poneglyph in Big Mom's possession, the rest of us were to meet up with Pudding to get Sanji back. The faster we get this done, the better.
"Sanji, pudding! We made it, just like you told us!" Luffy began shouting, cupping his hands to make his shouts louder.
Nami rushed over, shushing him. "Stop yelling! What if the enemy's here?!" She shouted at him in a whisper, looking around. "This is weird. You said Sanji was just standing here?"
"Uh- yeah. I think I'd know Sanji!" He replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Oh wow! Nami you gotta eat the ground, it's whip cream only hard.~" Chopper exclaimed, stuffing his face with the ground.
Nami grabbed some and ate it. "You're right. Tastes just like Meringue. So this island is all candy too?"
"Seems like all the islands in Big Mom's territory are. I mean we met Pudding in Chocolate Town, and the other towns had similar names." I thought out loud, holding some of the ground in my hand, glancing at it.
Luffy, followed by Chopper, ran up to a ledge where he said he saw Sanji moments before we arrived. "This was the spot. Sanji was standing right up here, with Pudding too. But I looked away for just a second and they were gone."
"Well this is definitely the coast where Pudding told us to meet her." Nami told us as she looked at the map Pudding drew for us. "I know you wouldn't lie about this... but, I don't know why they would run off as soon as they spotted us."
I placed a hand under my chin in thought. "Something isn't sitting right with me about all this... I mean- why didn't Sanji say anything to us?" And about Pudding... I still have my doubts about trusting her.
"SANJI!" Luffy and Chopper yelled, waving their arms with a smile. I look to my left where Carrot ran off to, seeing her chase after Sanji. Why is he running?
"Come back!" Luffy shouted, before he and Chopper jumped over where Nami and I were standing, running in the direction Carrot did. "Wait!"
I looked over to Nami, unsure of what to do now. She looked at me and we both nodded, following the others. "Do you really think it was Sanji?" I asked her as we caught up to where they were standing.
"If all three of them saw him, then he must be here somewhere." She told me as we took in our surroundings. I noticed there was a bridge made out of donuts. "But why did he run into the forest without saying anything? Did something happen...?"
I heard Nami ask herself that, and I looked at her. "Not sure, but we need to keep our guard up, I just have this... feeling something's not right."
She went silent for a moment, as if in thought. "I don't know... maybe he's just embarrassed." Embarrassed?
"Hey, Sanji! Come on out!"
"We're here to pick you up!"
"Sanji!"
Luffy, Chopper, and Carrot kept calling out for Sanji as Nami and I looked around.
"Okay, let's split up and search." Luffy told us all, causing us to focus our attention on him. "I'm going for the cakes- or... searching by the cakes!" Luffy exclaimed, pointing as he tried to cover up his reason for going. Though, the drool dripping down his chin gave it away.
"I'm going straight! Straight to where the awesome looking caramel is!" Chopper shouted, eyes gleaming as he drooled at the mention of caramel.
"Then I'm going to the jelly beans! That looks like a good place for Sanji, right?!" Carrot asked, doing the same as the other two.
I facepalmed at the three. We're doomed... "no you don't! You'll get lost again!" Nami shouted at the three.
"Aw, come on! He couldn't have gone that far, besides, what else are we supposed to do?" Luffy asked, wiping the drool off his face.
"You're talking like people who are about to get lost in the woods. Besides, it seems you're motivated by something other than your desire to find Sanji." Nami lectured the three, sighing.
"What do you mean? Haha..."
"There's nothing that I can think of."
"Just Sanji, I promise!"
The three played dumb, not knowing what she was talking about. "You're awful liars! Okay fine. Let's all search together. You can have snacks, but you can't wander off on your own, got it?"
Nami's acting like a mother. I giggled at the thought, watching as she placed one hand on her hip and the other pointing at the three.
They nodded their heads, "Mhm. It's a deal." Luffy said seriously before they started running off, "Okay we got permission, let's eat!"
"Yayyyy!"
"I. Like. Candy!"
I heard Nami let out a heavy sigh. "Are we gonna be okay...?"
I placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring look. "It'll be fine. Besides, they will get serious when the time comes, let them have their fun for now." I smiled, glancing at the three that looked like kids in a candy shop, "Who knows what battle lies before us... we are facing an Emperor after all..."
———
Published: 08/12/2022
Updated: 02/22/2024