Chapter 154: The Journey to Zou
"This country has a deep connection to the word 'samurai.' An inexplicably deep connection."
Brook's voice was barely above a whisper.
"The reason is—"
The door burst open.
"FOUND YOU! BARON CORPSE!"
A pack of dog minks exploded into the room with the focused intensity of hounds who had caught a scent. Their tails wagged furiously. Their tongues lolled. Their eyes were locked on Brook with an expression that could only be described as predatory adoration.
Brook's skeletal frame rattled in naked terror. "NO! NOT AGAIN!"
The dogs descended. They seized his leg bones. His arm bones. One particularly enthusiastic spaniel clamped its jaws directly onto his pelvic bone.
"THAT'S NOT A CHEW TOY! THAT'S MY—HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"
Wanda watched the carnage with undisguised fascination, a string of drool hanging from the corner of her mouth. "How remarkable. I've never seen a creature quite like him. Our dog minks simply can't resist. He's like... walking, talking bacon."
"So THAT'S the 'corpse' you mentioned earlier?" Zoro squinted.
Usopp's face went through several stages of realization. "Wait. When we saw you wearing Nami's clothes, and you said 'corpse'... you meant BROOK?!"
"Obviously." Wanda tilted her head. "What did you think I meant?"
"NOTHING! NEVER MIND! COMPLETE MISUNDERSTANDING!"
Itachi had already turned away. He moved silently back to Nami's side.
Zoro fell into step behind him. "Focus on what Brook was saying. There's something important here."
Even Luffy—Luffy, who noticed almost nothing—picked up on the shift in atmosphere. "Itachi? You seem kind of..."
"Speaking of which." Chopper tugged at Luffy's sleeve. "Where did Tra-guy go?"
"He went into the forest," Itachi answered without turning. "To reunite with his crew."
"Everyone..." Nami's voice grew smaller with each word. "About Sanji..."
Every eye in the room had already found Itachi. His back was straight. His hands were still. His face was stone.
"Didn't he leave a letter? There has to be a way to fix this." Zoro's voice was gruff, but his eye was on Itachi, not Nami.
"It doesn't sound like Sanji was taken by force." Luffy scratched his head.
Chopper collapsed to the floor, tears streaming. "I'm sorry! We couldn't do anything! We were completely helpless!"
"Nami." Franky knelt to her level. "We're missing pieces here. Itachi took out the pursuit ship. We watched him do it. How did the Big Mom Pirates catch up so fast?"
"The ones who came weren't the same pirates Itachi fought." Nami's voice was steadier now, anchored by the need to explain. "It was a different group. Someone was leading them—someone we'd seen before."
"Wait, Nami. Back up." Usopp pressed his palms together. "Sanji left. The town's destroyed. The minks are treating us like heroes. There's too much happening. We need the full story, from the beginning."
Robin nodded. "Take your time. Start from when we separated. Tell us everything."
Nami drew a shaky breath. She looked at Itachi.
"So much happened. I didn't know where to start. I panicked."
She began to speak.
She told them about leaving Dressrosa. About the chaos at the harbor, the Marine blockade, the Thousand Sunny's Coup de Burst launching them toward the open sea. About the storms that had battered them, the New World's unpredictable fury, the Log Pose's needles spinning wildly as they sailed toward coordinates no compass could reach.
"Without Itachi, we wouldn't have escaped the harbor." Nami's voice was steady now. "When those Big Mom pirates had us cornered, he handled it. We made it to open water. The rest of the journey was just weather—and weather I can handle."
She had navigated them through squalls and lightning storms. She had ridden the jet streams and dodged the sea kings. She had brought them safely to Zou, guided only by Law's Vivre Card and her own indomitable will.
But from the moment they arrived, everything went wrong.
Wanda stepped forward, her expression somber. "Without Nami and the others—without their courage, without Chopper's medical skills—our people would all be dead. Every last one of us."
The wounds. The bandages. The execution racks rising from the floodwaters.
"The Beast Pirates came here." Usopp's voice was quiet. "They fought you."
A messenger mink appeared at the door of the pineapple house. "Wanda! Duke Inuarashi has awakened. He says he must meet his benefactors immediately. Is now acceptable?"
"Yes." Wanda looked at the Straw Hats with hopeful eyes. "Will you come with me? Please?"
"No problem!" Luffy was already on his feet.
The walk through the stronghold's interior was a journey through the heart of Mink civilization. Pineapple houses gave way to ancient stone corridors. Rope bridges became carved tunnels. Every surface was marked with the scars of recent battle.
Wanda told them the rest as they walked.
Seventeen days ago. That was when the Beast Pirates arrived.
"The town was already in ruins when we arrived," Robin murmured.
"The door was forced." Wanda's voice was hollow. "They didn't ask. They didn't negotiate. They simply broke through our gates and demanded we hand over what we didn't have. What we COULDN'T have."
One of Kaido's three right-hand men—"Drought" Jack—had led the assault. The fighting had torn through Kurau City, through the forests, through every defensive line the minks had maintained for a thousand years.
"And their objective?" Itachi asked quietly.
Wanda's jaw tightened. "They believed we were hiding a samurai. A warrior from Wano Country."
The weight of those words settled over the group.
"Now you understand." Brook's whisper was barely audible. "Why 'samurai' and 'Wano' are forbidden words here. Why mentioning them brings only pain."
At the back of the procession, Robin and Nami flanked Itachi.
"Itachi." Nami's hand found his shoulder. "Stop blaming yourself. Because of you, we made it to Zou. Because of you, we're all still alive."
Robin nodded. "The Big Mom Pirates are an Emperor's crew. Their intelligence network spans the New World. Even if you eliminated every witness on that ship, they would have found another way to track us. The fault isn't yours."
"Nami. Robin." Itachi shook his head slowly. "I know you're not blaming me. That's not what troubles me."
He was silent for a moment.
"When Robin suggested dismembering enemies into eight pieces to confirm kills... I thought she was being thorough, but perhaps overly cautious."
His voice was very quiet.
"Now I understand. Devil Fruit abilities. Survivors who should have died. Information networks that span oceans. I eliminated their ship, destroyed their communications, killed their officers—but I didn't confirm the kills. I assumed the sea would finish what I started."
His hands, folded in his sleeves, tightened almost imperceptibly.
"If I had been more thorough, Sanji might still be here."
"Don't say that."
Nami stopped walking. She threw her arms around Itachi and held him with all her strength.
"Thank you. Thank you so much, Itachi. You've done so much for us. You've done ENOUGH."
Her voice cracked. "It's me. I'm the one who's powerless. I couldn't stop them. I couldn't protect anyone."
Chopper pressed against Itachi's leg, tears streaming down his fur. "Big Brother Itachi... we're the ones who failed. Sanji... Sanji..."
Itachi knelt. He wrapped one arm around Nami and the other around Chopper, pulling them both close.
"Stop blaming yourselves."
His voice was gentle. Firmer than it had been a moment ago.
"We will bring Sanji back. I promise you this."
At the front of the procession, Zoro glanced back at the three figures huddled together. His jaw was tight. His hand rested on Enma's hilt.
That damn cook. Making everyone worry like this.
When I get my hands on him...
Luffy walked with his hands behind his head, his expression unreadable. He had been quiet since Nami's announcement—quieter than anyone had expected.
"So Kin'emon's samurai friend is here after all," he said, apparently to no one in particular. "That ninja guy. Raizo."
The world stopped.
"What did you say?"
Wanda turned. Her eyes were wide. Her voice was barely a whisper, but it carried the weight of seventeen days of suffering.
Luffy blinked. "Huh? I said Kin'emon's friend is here. The ninja. Raizo of the—"
"LUFFY!" Brook's bony hand clamped over Luffy's mouth too late.
The damage was done.
(End of Chapter)
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