Straw Hat Castaways: The Marimo and the Shit Cook's 72 Hours
When a violent storm tears through the Grand Line, Zoro and Sanji are ripped from the Thousand Sunny and washed ashore on a desolate, uncharted island in the lawless Graveyard of the Calm. No ship. No crew. No way to call for help. Just the world's worst combination—a directionally challenged swordsman and a hotheaded cook—stranded together with nothing but seawater, silence, and each other's company.
With only three days to survive before a Navy patrol might pass by, the two must scavenge for
Straw Hat Castaways: The Marimo and the Shit Cook's 72 Hours - Setting Sail—When Two Dreams Intersect
Morning light filtered through the gaps between the derelict ships of Drift Port.
The patchwork of floating islands rocked gently on the waves again this morning. The sounds of barrel cleanup that had echoed until last night were gone. In their place came voices from the pier and the knock of wood on wood.
Zoro stood by the quay.
His left shoulder was still bound in cloth. The shattered bone had ached more through the night. Even so, he could clearly feel the two weights tucked inside his haramaki.
The broken blade of Sandai Kitetsu.
And that old sea chart.
"...Yo. You actually came."
A low voice. Zoro turned.
A man with a shaved head and a white bandana stood there, a hammer at his hip. Ten, the former shipwright. Two fingers were missing from his left hand. With that hand, he'd tapped the hulls of countless small boats, listening close.
"Yeah. Thanks for everything."
Zoro's words were brief. Ten nodded silently.
A single small boat floated at the pier.
It was hard to believe it had been a wreck until yesterday—the hull had been re-planked so cleanly. The sail was new cloth, too. The smell of wood mingled with the salt breeze and tickled his nose.
"This'll get you to the edge of the storm belt."
Ten rapped his fist against the hull. A clear, ringing note answered.
"Cut corners and she sinks. I didn't cut corners, so she won't. ...Boats don't lie."
"It's your boat. I trust it."
At Zoro's words, Ten's mouth softened, just slightly.
"Zoro. Over here."
The sound of a cane drew near. Tap. Tap.
An old woman with silver-streaked hair tied back—Madam Olga—came walking with a brass cane. A black eyepatch covered her right eye, and her amber left eye caught the morning light, sharp and bright.
"You lot. Take these with you."
From behind Olga, a young man carried over two leather sacks and a small barrel. Water and preserved food.
"The code is the code. Repay your debts—repay them alive. ...Understood?"
Olga's left eye fixed straight on Zoro.
"...Yeah. I'll come back alive. No question."
Zoro bowed deeply.
"Thanks for everything, Olga-san. I'll repay this debt someday, I swear it."
Sanji came walking from the far end of the pier.
His black suit had been washed clean of mud and blood. His blond hair was still a mess, but the blue eyes beneath his bangs were as sharp as ever. A cigarette hung from his lips, unlit.
"...Come back again. Next time, bring sake—not repairs."
Ten spoke quietly.
"Yeah, I promise. Next time I'll bring the finest sake there is."
Sanji laughed.
Then it happened.
Ten lifted his own left hand.
Two fingers' worth of empty space.
"...Better to count what you've got left than what you've lost—and figure out what you can build with it."
Ten's voice was so quiet it nearly vanished into the sound of the waves.
"Swordsman. You've still got two left. Your shoulder'll heal in time. ...So you can still build."
Zoro said nothing.
His shattered shoulder throbbed. The weight of the broken blade sank heavy inside his haramaki.
Even so.
"...Yeah."
Zoro nodded.
"Let's go, Marimo. Linger too long and your sense of direction gets even worse."
"Who the hell's got a bad sense of direction?"
"Who else would I mean? Come on, get in already."
Sanji leaped into the small boat.
Zoro followed.
The boat slowly pulled away from the pier.
"...Take care of yourselves."
"Come back alive, you two."
Their voices dissolved into the morning sea.
Zoro didn't look back.
He only felt, against his back, the presence of Olga waving from the pier and Ten seeing them off in silence.
The sea was calm.
The heart of the graveyard of the doldrums had almost no wind again today. The surface was smooth as a mirror, and only the boat's wake trailed white behind it.
Sanji gripped the tiller; Zoro worked the sail.
"...Which way?"
Zoro asked for the heading.
"You just shut up and hold the sail, you lost Marimo! I decide the heading!"
Sanji shouted back.
"Hah!? We'd get there way faster with me at the tiller!"
"If you took the tiller, we'd go the exact opposite way and plow straight into the middle of the storm belt! Shut up and hold the sail!"
"You're treating me like a lost kid!"
"Because you ARE lost! You natural-born directionless Marimo!"
Their shouting echoed across the quiet sea.
But Sanji's hands were precise.
He checked the sun's position, tracked the flight of the seabirds with his eyes. Then he read the faint differences in the water's color and turned the tiller.
(This guy really is reliable when it comes to navigation, at least.)
Zoro muttered inwardly.
Each time Sanji turned the tiller, the boat changed course smoothly. Riding the currents, catching the wind, they crept toward the outer edge.
(...Not bad.)
Zoro watched Sanji's back as he held the sail.
The back of that black suit swelled slightly in the salt breeze. Blond hair caught the morning light and swayed.
"...What're you staring at, Marimo?"
Sanji spoke without turning around.
"Nothing. ...You actually know which way we're going?"
"Better than you, at least. I'm not the idiot who sails in the opposite direction from the sun."
"That was the current moving on its own."
"Yeah, yeah. The current's fault. It's all the current's fault."
Sanji laughed.
Zoro clicked his tongue.
But he didn't notice that his own mouth had softened, just a little.
As time passed, the sea began to change.
The mirror-smooth surface started to ripple. The wind picked up, and the sail flapped noisily.
"...This is where it gets real, shitty swordsman. Don't fall overboard."
Sanji raised his voice.
"You just steer. I'll hold the sail."
Their voices mixed with the strengthening wind.
The boat rocked hard.
Waves slapped the hull, spray hitting their faces. The taste of salt spread across their lips.
Sanji steered desperately.
Zoro held the sail and kept the boat balanced.
"Hey, Ero-Cook."
Zoro raised his voice to beat the wind.
"Hah!? What? I'm busy right now!"
"About the broken sword."
Sanji's hands stopped for an instant.
"...Sandai Kitetsu."
"Yeah. My own weakness broke it. ...I'll find a new one. Until I become the world's greatest swordsman, I can't waste a single blade."
Zoro's voice was quiet.
But within it was unmistakable resolve.
Sanji put his cigarette back between his lips.
It wasn't lit. Even so, he made the motion of letting smoke drift into the salt wind.
"...When I find All Blue, I'll help you find your sword too."
Zoro looked at Sanji's back.
"I've got no obligation to tag along with your dream."
Zoro's mouth curved, just slightly.
"Shitty swordsman. Can't be honest, can you."
Sanji laughed.
That laughter rode the wind and reached Zoro's ears.
Zoro glanced at Sanji's profile for just a moment.
Blond hair whipped in the salt breeze; blue eyes gazed at the distant horizon.
Zoro's eyes were drawn to that profile.
Deep in his chest, something grew hot.
(...What is this?)
Zoro hurriedly turned his gaze back to the sea.
The waves rocked the boat.
His heartbeat sounded strangely loud.
Fog rolled in.
As they neared the outer edge, white mist rose from the sea's surface, swallowing their field of view.
"...Tch. Fog."
Sanji clicked his tongue.
"Can we keep going?"
"We can. But in this fog, if we miss a ship's silhouette, it's over. ...Keep your eyes peeled, Marimo."
"I know."
The two stared at the sea in silence.
The fog grew thicker and thicker.
Visibility dropped to less than a few meters.
Only the sound of the waves echoed eerily.
"...Hey, look."
Sanji suddenly raised his voice.
"What?"
"There. Beyond the fog—don't you see something?"
Zoro strained his eyes.
Beyond the fog, a shape loomed faintly.
A ship's silhouette.
"A ship...?"
"That flag... you see it?"
Sanji's voice was trembling.
Zoro strained his eyes once more.
The fog cleared for a single instant.
The flag hoisted at the bow fluttered in the wind.
A straw hat mark.
"...That's—"
"Hey, that's the Straw Hat flag!! Hey, Marimo!! That's our ship!!"
Sanji shouted.
"Hoist the sail! I'm turning the tiller!"
Zoro reset the sail.
Sanji turned the tiller, heading for the silhouette.
The small boat cut a straight line through the fog.
As they drew closer, the ship's shape came clear.
A figure on the deck was pointing at them.
"Zoro—!! Sanji—!!"
Luffy's voice broke through the fog.
"Hey, they're really here! Both of them are alive!!"
"See, I told you. Those two don't die."
"Zoro! Sanji! Thank goodness... thank goodness...!"
Their crewmates' voices came one after another.
Zoro stood at the bow of the small boat.
"Captain. Sorry we're late."
That was all he said, briefly.
"You guys are starving, right? I'll cook you something."
Sanji laughed.
A rope ladder dropped from the deck.
Zoro climbed it, enduring the pain in his left shoulder.
When he reached the deck, Luffy was waiting with a huge grin.
"I'm so glad you're both safe! But what were you doing out here?"
"...It's a long story."
Zoro answered briefly.
"Hey, Zoro, that shoulder...!"
Chopper noticed Zoro's bound left shoulder and came running.
"I'll treat it later. ...More importantly, Sanji, can you really cook? In that condition?"
"Don't worry. If a cook can't cook, it's over."
Sanji laughed and started toward the kitchen.
"Hey, Sanji."
Zoro called him back.
"Huh?"
"...Lean on me. You're not back to full strength yet, are you."
At Zoro's words, Sanji blinked in surprise for a moment.
Then his mouth twisted.
"...Are you an idiot? You're the one who's worse off."
"I'm fine. ...You cook. I'll make sure you don't collapse."
Sanji looked at Zoro's face for a while.
Then he let out a small breath.
"...Fine. Then help me. You can at least cut onions, right, Marimo?"
"You're talking like I can't even hold a knife."
"Can you even hold a kitchen knife? Don't confuse it with a sword."
The two headed for the kitchen, bickering all the way.
Luffy and the others watched them go, laughing.
Night fell.
On the Straw Hats' ship, a banquet was held to celebrate the long-awaited reunion.
Sanji's cooking filled the table.
Simmered kagerou nuts, rock crab miso soup, a stir-fry made from preserved food.
Every dish gave off an aroma so delicious it was hard to believe it had been made from such limited ingredients.
"Delicious!! Sanji, your food really is the best!!"
Luffy shouted, mouth stuffed.
"Of course it is. Who do you think I am?"
Sanji laughed.
"...So, what happened to you two? That shoulder, and the sword."
Nami asked Zoro.
Zoro took a sip of sake, then quietly began to talk.
How they'd washed ashore on Kagerou Island.
How Sanji had come down with a fever.
How they'd been attacked by a mud Logia user named Balbarossa.
How he'd lost a sword and had his shoulder shattered.
"...I see. That's rough."
Nami spoke with quiet sympathy.
"But we came back alive. That's enough."
Zoro said it briefly.
"A sword! Then let's find an even better one next time!"
Luffy said it with a laugh.
"...Yeah."
Zoro answered briefly.
The banquet went on late into the night.
Sanji stood alone in the kitchen.
Having finished cleaning up, he lit a cigarette.
The smoke drifted slowly through the quiet kitchen.
He took the copy of the sea chart from his pocket.
The crest of the Germa Kingdom, carved into its back.
(Why would something like this be on that island?)
Sanji traced the crest with his finger.
His curled eyebrow twisted slightly.
(It's the crest of my homeland.)
The Vinsmoke family.
The Germa Kingdom.
Memories he didn't want to recall churned deep in his chest.
"...What's wrong?"
A voice came, and Sanji hurriedly tucked the chart back into his pocket.
He turned. Zoro stood in the kitchen doorway.
"...It's nothing, Marimo."
Sanji put his cigarette back in his mouth and forced a smile.
"I see."
Zoro didn't ask anything more.
He just came to Sanji's side and tipped the bottle of sake in his
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