NOVEL NEXT Chapter 53: Chapter 53
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East Blue
Somewhere out at sea, heading to Loguetown
"Two more crew members? Please, Luffy, tell me they're women", Sanji practically begs, hoping they're beauties.
"Well, yes, one of them is a woman—", Luffy starts to say before being interrupted by Sanji, who begins doing a ridiculous dance in celebration.
"Yeah! Tell me about her! Is she hot?", Sanji asks, excited.
"Man, what kind of weird question is that?", Nojiko comments, looking at Sanji strangely.
"That's our King of Simps for you. You better get used to how much this guy licks the floor any woman walks on", Zoro comments next to Nojiko, crossing his arms and mocking Sanji.
"Well, yes, she's pretty beautiful", Luffy says, looking at Sanji strangely.
"This is simply the best thing that could happen, another stunning beauty for me to woo and win her sweet heart", Sanji says, daydreaming.
"Man, if I were you, I wouldn't be talking like that," Luffy says, thinking this was taking a bit of a weird turn.
"What? Why? Don't tell me you're in a relationship with her too", Sanji says, beginning to lose hope.
Luffy quickly clarifies after seeing Nami's look, "No, she's my friend, though my first kiss was with her, but I consider her like a younger sister, even though she's older than me—"
Luffy is then interrupted mid-explanation by a punch coated in Armament Haki to his head, instantly forming a bump.
"What's this story about a kiss?", Nami asks, irritated, with smoke coming out of her Haki-covered fist.
"Well, it was part of my training to build poison resistance", Luffy says, rubbing his sore head.
"And how does a kiss fit into that?", Nami asks, still annoyed, hands on her hips.
"Her abilities involve poison, and she can suck the poison out of your body through mouth-to-mouth. The training basically consisted of her poisoning me with every kind of toxin she had available, and when I couldn't handle the effects anymore, she'd remove the poison from my system with her mouth", Luffy explains, managing to calm Nami down.
"Okay, but then why are you telling me not to woo her?", Sanji asks, confused.
"It's because… you know what, it's not my place to explain this. Let's call Bubblegum; that way, everyone can meet her too", Luffy says, unsure if he should reveal that Bubblegum is his sister.
Luffy takes out his Den Den Mushi and calls Reiju. "Pero... pero... kacha... Hello, who's this?"
"It's me, Luffy", he says with a grin.
"Oh, hey Cap, I've missed you a lot! By the way, I saw you got your first bounty, so congratulations! I know this whole pirate and bounty thing is important to you. Anyway, I just entered the Grand Line and am heading toward Water 7. Will you guys be long before you enter the Grand Line?", Reiju asks curiously.
"I miss you too, Bubblegum. Cool bounty, right? We're heading to Loguetown to refuel and then we'll head straight to the Grand Line. I called so you could meet the crew", Luffy says, explaining the reason for the call.
"Oh, everyone's there with you?"
"Yep, everyone."
"Hey, everyone, how's it going?"
"Hi, beautiful! Much better now that I'm hearing your voice. I barely know you, and I'm already head over heels in love", Sanji says, flattering Reiju.
"So, Sanji started saying these weird things, and I didn't know if you wanted to keep things a secret or not, so I decided it wasn't my problem and now I'm handing you this bombshell", Luffy says, scratching his neck.
"So, you really managed to recruit my little brother?", Reiju asks, not minding revealing herself to her brother now.
"Little brother? Wait... so you're—", Sanji starts stammering, confused by what's happening.
"Wait… oh damn, holy crap, the weird idiot was hitting on his own sister, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA", Zoro says, bursting into laughter as he realizes Sanji was hitting on his own sister.
"SHUT UP, MOSS HEAD!", Sanji yells, irritated with Zoro.
"Well, I guess I should introduce myself properly. Nice to meet you all; I'm Sanji's older sister, Vinsmoke Reiju. I met Luffy three years ago, we became friends, and he convinced me to join the crew. But for that to happen, we both had to get stronger since my family would hunt us down as soon as they find out I joined the crew. So, we agreed to meet up later in the Grand Line to give us time to train and get stronger", Reiju says, properly introducing herself.
"Oh, so Sanji's last name is Vinsmoke?", Usopp asks, curious.
"Don't call me by that name, Usopp. I'm not part of that damn family; that surname stinks of carrion. The only good person left in that family is Reiju; the rest are trash", Sanji says with an angry expression.
"Dude, if you ever want to talk about it, just know we're here", Usopp says, noticing Sanji seemed disturbed by the mention of his last name.
Seeing that everyone agrees with Usopp's words, Sanji sighs, "...Sigh... thanks, Usopp, guys."
"Give him some space; our childhood is something I wouldn't wish on anyone, and that's coming from someone who had an easier childhood than Sanji", Reiju says, explaining why Sanji seems so distraught at the mention of his biological family.
"Reiju, that despicable old man may not care that I ran away, but when he finds out that you betrayed them and left, he'll send the entire kingdom after you. Do you understand that?", Sanji asks seriously.
"Well, first of all, shortly after you escaped, he started looking for you because he thought you might still be useful. Now that you're a pirate, it won't be long before he finds you and comes after you. And honestly, I'm done. You had a terrible childhood but managed to escape, I was still trapped until I met this idiot captain. Twenty-two years of life, and up until three years ago, I didn't have a single friend or know what it meant to be happy. The closest I ever got to happiness in my childhood were the moments I spent with Mom and you. After Mom died and you managed to escape, I was just another weapon under the control of Vinsmoke Judge. That's how it was until I met this straw hat-wearing idiot and decided to rebel. I want to be happy, Sanji. I want to sail with you all, have adventures with you, have control over my own life, and I'm willing to fight for it", Reiju says, opening up about her life.
Sanji stays silent for a few moments after hearing this before looking forward with a determined expression and saying.
"I... I'm glad you want to fight for this goal. Welcome to this crazy team. We'll face together whatever shit that despicable old man throws our way", Sanji says, determined to protect the only remaining member of his biological family who cares about him.
"Thanks, although technically, I should be the one welcoming you, not the other way around, since I joined the crew first and am technically your senior", Reiju says in a playful tone.
"Ha ha, don't start with that. By the way, does the old man know where you're going?" Sanji asks, concerned.
"No, he thinks I'm following a lead in the South Blue for something he wants, and it'll be quite a while before he starts to get suspicious. By then, we'll all be together. Right now, I'm using a ship that's not from Germa, and no one in the crew serves or has ties to the kingdom, so we're all good for now", Reiju says, reassuring her little brother.
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(AN: 1,274 Words)
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