"W–With… with you guys!?"
Zoro's sudden invitation completely startled Sanji, who had been quietly admiring the ocean view.
He yelped, his whole body bristling like a frightened cat.
To him, something utterly impossible had just happened.
After witnessing that incredible battle between Zoro and Hawkeye, he had, deep down, as any man of blood and flesh would, imagined it once or twice…
The dream of one day standing like Zoro did, crossing blades with the world's greatest warriors, leaving behind a name that would echo through the ages.
But Sanji also knew the truth,
They lived in two completely different worlds, worlds that could never truly meet.
For someone of his ability to try and squeeze into that realm of titans who could cleave heaven and earth… it would only end with his body shattered to pieces.
And more importantly, he couldn't just abandon this restaurant.
He still hadn't repaid the debt he owed to the old man.
This life… was a gift from Zeff, and Sanji had vowed to spend it repaying that debt.
That was the promise he made the day he saw that bag of gold Zeff had thrown away without hesitation.
========
Zoro, however, didn't react at all to Sanji's flustered shouting.
The gentle sea breeze stirred his green hair, its short spikes swaying softly.
His sharp, determined eyes stayed fixed on the calm waves as he spoke, not in argument, but in approval.
"Your cooking… tastes great."
"Thanks…"
Sanji fell silent. For some reason, a strange melancholy welled up inside him, like something precious had just slipped away.
Lighting another cigarette, he leaned by the window beside Zoro, both men staring out at the same endless horizon.
Then, Sanji suddenly asked,
"Do you… know about the All Blue?"
"Huh?" Zoro turned to him, puzzled. "What's that?"
"The All Blue, of course!"
Even in his calmest days, there were still a few things that could make Sanji's eyes sparkle.
"It's said there's a sea somewhere in this world, a sea that gathers all the fish from the four oceans separated by the Grand Line and the Red Line! The All Blue!
That place… it's every chef's paradise.
And it's my dream!"
"Your dream…?" Zoro murmured curiously.
"If you have a dream," he said after a pause, "why not chase it?"
Looking at the faint glimmer of longing in Sanji's eyes, Zoro could feel it, the fire of his obsession, that unyielding hope.
To Zoro, there was only one thing that could ever stop a man from chasing his dream, himself.
Watching Sanji lose himself in that dreamscape, Zoro continued quietly:
"If you never even try… won't you regret it?"
"Regret, huh… maybe."
The smoke veiled Sanji's eyes. The sea breeze toyed with his golden hair. His tone carried a faint trace of sorrow, but no sign of change.
Seeing that hesitation, Zoro's voice hardened, firm as steel.
"You have to understand…"
"This world is filled with endless possibilities."
"A dream is the act of chasing those possibilities."
"And the only one who can make them real… is you."
"Waiting for fate to save you has always been the worst choice."
"You cook well…"
Zoro turned fully toward him, his posture straight and unyielding, his voice ringing with conviction.
"I am Roronoa Zoro!"
"As vice-captain of the Starry Sky Pirates, I officially invite you, "
"Come with us!"
"Come see a world even vaster than this sea!!!"
CLANG!
The sheaths of his three blades resonated, releasing a sharp, metallic cry!
"There is nothing that can stop a man from chasing his dream!"
"If there are mountains ahead, I'll cut through the mountains!"
"If there are seas before me, I'll cleave through the seas!"
"Across nine mountains and eight seas, there is nothing I cannot break!!!"
WHIRRRR!!!
Zoro's three blades began to hum violently, their spirits responding to his declaration.
His soul itself surged, transforming in that instant.
The swordsmanship was honed over more than ten years…
The power of his Zanpakuto…
The insights gained from his battle with Mihawk…
The will of the Extreme Blade he'd inherited…
All of it fused together under the guidance of his evolving heart, merging into his own true strength.
At that moment, Zoro's unmatched talent as a swordsman reached its purest expression.
Every time he gave his all,
It became the starting point of the next summit.
His body, reshaped by spiritual energy, erupted with a pressure so tangible it felt like a living storm. It swept past Sanji and exploded outward.
BOOM!!!
A force that towered above ordinary men shook the entire restaurant to its core!
Luffy, sensing the disturbance, looked up in excitement, then instantly released a greater surge of Haki⁵ to suppress Zoro's rampaging aura, keeping the chefs of Baratie from collapsing under the pressure.
After all, without these good cooks, there'd be no dinner tonight!
========
Swoosh,
Sanji's room was a complete mess.
The sea directly outside his window had taken the full brunt of Zoro's unleashed spirit.
The waves that had just begun to rise were instantly flattened, forced back into the ocean by that overwhelming power. Then, they swelled again, stronger than before, ready to crash back with even greater force.
"The All Blue, huh…?"
With that fierce aura still radiating from him, Zoro smiled, an arrogant, untamed grin filled with wild confidence.
His eyes burned with an unshakable light, the gleam of pride that refused to bow to the world.
"If the Red Line blocks the oceans, then I'll break the Red Line!"
"If the Grand Line divides the fish, then I'll connect the Grand Line!"
"If it exists, then chase it!
If it doesn't, then create it yourself!
If you don't even dare to dream of your own ambition, do you really want to spend your whole life trapped in this tiny restaurant, cooking for others!?"
Zoro's aura slowly withdrew.
The sea that had been pushed back returned with a crash, slamming against the restaurant walls.
The sound of waves striking the hull echoed, not just outside, but in Sanji's heart.
It was like an iron hammer slamming against his chest.
Droplets of seawater, caught in the wind, flew through the open window, suspended in the air like crystal beads, before landing softly inside the room.
For that brief, shining instant, time stood still.
Through the glimmer of those droplets, Sanji saw Zoro's figure, burning it into his mind forever.
In that moment, his heart opened.
So this is what it feels like… to burn for a dream!
Forgotten memories flooded back, his cold, emotionless childhood in the Germa 66 Kingdom flashing before his eyes.
He realized he'd long been bound by an invisible chain, one that shackled his confidence, trapped his courage, and caged his life.
But now… that chain has begun to crack.
A fracture wide enough to shatter the lock entirely.
Silence fell. A heavy, uncertain silence.
Dreams and duty clashed within Sanji's heart.
It's not time yet…
Though Zoro's words had ignited the spark of his dream once more, Sanji didn't answer immediately.
His second cigarette burned out amid the roar of waves, the last flicker of its ember dying out, like his hesitation itself.
"I'm grateful…" he said quietly.
"For being invited by someone as strong as you."
His polished black shoes turned toward the door.
"But I'm sorry."
"This restaurant means something special to me."
"I can't abandon my duty out of selfishness."
Drip,
A single tear rolled off the edge of his shoe, darkening the wooden floor beneath him.
A man's tear.
The kind that only falls in moments that truly matter.
"Really…" he whispered. "I'm sorry."
Clack,
The door shut behind him.
Inside, only Zoro remained, smiling faintly as he continued to gaze at the horizon,
as if he could already see the beauty that lay beyond the sea, marveling at the wonder of this world.
=============
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