Chapter Text
“Fuck..” rasped Sanji after he’d awoken from his deep slumber. It was cold and everything felt damp. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness surrounding him. His gaze landed on his crew mates, who were still knocked out from the sleeping gas Germa had used on them.
Oh fuck. That’s right. They were fighting against Germa when he had started feeling exhausted.
His mouth twisted into a sneer. He didn’t want to see Judge or his brothers ever again.
Chains rattled from beside him and he twisted his head to his left. Zoro woke up, a grunt escaping his mouth as he locked eyes with Sanji. Or eye, technically. “Oi…cook? That you?” he rasped, hoping he was looking at Sanji and not one of his ‘brothers’ he had recently met in the battle against Germa.
The cook nodded however, so Zoro sighed in relief. “You better have a damn good explanation for everything, Curly,” the moss head exclaimed and he saw the cook nod, his lips pressed together in a thin line. “I- yeah, I’ll explain when everyone wakes up,” Sanji admitted, his voice quieter than it usually is.
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He ran through the rain towards the hospital, carrying a bento box. By the time he made it to the hospital, he was soaking wet, however he still ran to his mother’s, Sora’s, room. “Mom! Mom!” he yelled cheerfully, bursting into the room as he held out the slick bento box. “I made you lunch, mom!”
”Oh, my dear Sanji. You didn’t have to do all that. Did you come all this way here just to give me this?” Younger Sanji nodded cheerfully, water dripping to the ground. Sora couldn’t help but smile as she opened the bento box. Even though the food was ruined, she didn’t hesitate in trying it. “Oh, my Sanji! This is absolutely delicious, sweet boy!” The nurse tried to stop her from eating it, but she immediately declined. “From now on, I’ll only be eating food Sanji makes for me.” The nurse looked shocked, but she didn’t say anything when Sora shook her head.
That was the moment that cooking had sparked an interest in younger Sanji, and he kept making food for Sora until she eventually passed away. He wasn’t allowed to mourn his mother however, as his siblings and he had to train to take over Germa 66 in the future.
His siblings: Reiju, Ichiji, Niji and Yonji all excelled at their training and managed to gain their powers. Younger Sanji, however, always lagged behind due to his body never gaining his powers because of the drug Sora had taken before his birth. This lead to his brothers continuously picking and bullying him.
After younger Sanji was caught cooking again by Judge, he demanded that he stop cooking completely and focus on his training to gain his powers. When it became obvious that Sanji would never gain his powers to Judge, he decided to erase his existence completely from his future plans. Judge put a heavy iron mask on his head and locked him in the Vinsmoke castle dungeons, all the while Judge staged a funeral for his son.
Younger Sanji was imprisoned for six months and he could only take the mask off when he was receiving meals by the guards. During this time, he read some cookbooks and eventually found out about the All Blue. When his brothers found out that he was still alive in the dungeons, they occasionally came down to bully him with Reiju treating his wounds after.
After the Germa Kingdom crossed the Red Line into the East Blue, younger Sanji told Reiju that he wanted to run away and become a chef. Reiju helped him escape the Germa Kingdom and after that, he cut all ties with his family.
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After Sanji had explained everything, he didn’t dare lock eyes with any of them. Too ashamed of their reactions. “I’m sorry,” he then muttered. “I know I should’ve told you all sooner. I just-… couldn’t.” His breath hitched. “And now I got you all captured here with me, when it only should’ve been me!” He admitted, tears rolling down his cheeks.
The crew remained silent. Luffy wasn’t smiling for once. Usopp, Brook and Franky weren’t making any jokes. Nami looked worried. Chopper was nearly crying himself. Robin looked calm. And Zoro…looked angry. But it was Luffy who spoke up first. “Sanji. You’re our Nakama. And whoever hurts my Nakama is an enemy to me.” Then he smiled. His wide, goofy smile. “So don’t you worry, Sanji! We’re all getting out of here together!”
Luffy lessened the tension in the chamber when suddenly, the dungeon doors burst open. The light from the outside spilled in, causing most of the Strawhats to wince from the sudden brightness and look away. “I can see that you’re all awake. I’ve been waiting to finally start my experiments on you all. Your powers have finally come, Sanji. Come join me to be the future of Germa 66,” a man spoke, his form towering over all of them.
Sanji glared at the man, refusing to show weakness in front of him, and scoffed. “Join you? I’d rather die. Remember when I left all those years back? Remember when you told me to forget all about you and renounce my title as a prince and most of all your son? Well, I have. And you, judge, are dead to me,” he spat out, keeping his gaze firmly locked with the man’s, now known as Judge.
Judge’s expression was answer enough to how pissed Sanji had made him and Zoro couldn’t help but smirk.
His footsteps were loud as he made his way over to Sanji. “Watch how you speak to me. Don’t forget that I am the one who chained every single one of your pathetic friends here. Do it one more time and see the consequences.” If Zoro hadn’t been chained up right beside Sanji, he wouldn’t have heard the words Judge had whispered to him. He decided that he should say something.
“Oi,” he grumbled out. The word echoed across the chamber. “Whad’ya mean by consequences?” By the look on Judge’s face, he didn’t look too pleased by the question. “Would you like a demonstration?” “Wait, no- no. We don’t need any demonstrations, I think he got it,” Sanji quickly cut in, his voice frantic. Well, at least Zoro knew that Sanji didn’t like these so called consequences now.
Judge seemed pleased that Sanji remembered and turned to face the rest of the Strawhats. “Well, we’ve wasted enough time. I think it’s safe to say that we begin the experiments.”
Robin cleared her throat before speaking up. “I think I’m speaking for everybody in here when I ask. What do you mean by experiments?” Nami and Usopp nodded, both looking a little nervous. “Yeah, my bro. And when are we getting any food? I’m like super hungry, man.” Franky admitted.
“The experiments are to steal your powers,” a voice came from the dungeon doors as a female figure stepped in who Sanji quickly recognized as Reiju. “And food? You’re not our guests. You’re our experiments. Don’t think you’re getting any anytime soon.”
“Reiju-“
“Hello, Sanji. It’s been a while,” Reiju interrupted Sanji, her gaze moving across the Strawhats before stopping on Sanji.
“You look well.”