Seeing that Gern truly seemed intent on leaving—and made no further moves—the Straw Hat crew's tightly wound nerves finally loosened, if only by the slightest margin.
But that fleeting relief was immediately swallowed by worry for their fallen companion.
"Damn it, you stupid moss-head!! Don't you dare die on us!!"
Sanji practically roared the words. In the next instant, he stopped caring about anything else and sprinted madly toward the stretch of ocean where Zoro had been sent flying.
"Wait for me, Sanji!" Chopper cried through tears. "I'm the doctor!" He immediately shifted into his reindeer form and galloped after him with all his strength.
At that moment, Brook—who had remained silent, deep in thought—seemed as though a bolt of lightning had struck the depths of his memory.
His hollow eye sockets (even though there were none) snapped toward Gern's retreating back, and in his echoing, hollow voice, he exclaimed,
"Yohohohoho…! I remember now!
I remember! That young man… he seems to be—"
Brook's sudden outburst drew everyone's attention.
"From long ago… from the West Blue… a pirate hunter!"
"Pirate hunter?" Usopp blinked, instinctively repeating the term, confusion written all over his face. "Like Zoro? Another pirate hunter?"
"Not quite, Mr. Usopp." Brook shook his skull gently, his bones clicking softly. His tone shifted, taking on the distant, reflective cadence of someone recounting an old legend.
"He was no ordinary hunter.
He was the very first man on the seas to be given the title of 'Pirate Hunter'!
Or rather… the reason that terrifying title—one that later spread far and wide—was born in the West Blue in the first place, before echoing throughout the entire Grand Line… was because of him.
Back then, even my captain wanted nothing to do with him. He once said, 'Thank goodness we set sail early—otherwise, under that man's watch, we'd never have been able to leave the West Blue and enter the Grand Line.'"
Brook had been born in the West Blue, so he still remembered Gern from his days as a rising star there.
"But unlike Mr. Zoro, he didn't hunt pirates merely to survive… or to temper his swordsmanship."
Brook's voice dropped, as if he were recounting a whispered horror story passed down through generations.
"His 'hunt'… was far more thorough. Far more… terrifying."
"The pirates of the West Blue, in their fear and despair, gave him that title—'Pirate Hunter.'
It was not praise… but a blood-soaked name meant to describe the way he did things!
So his infamy had already thundered across the West Blue long before he ever 'slayed the Golden Lion' and shook the world."
"Eh??" At the mention of that, Brook froze again. "Slayed the Golden Lion…? What was that about again…?"
Watching Brook sink back into recollection, the rest of the Straw Hats—Nami, Robin, Franky included, even after the crushing defeat they had just suffered—stood stunned by this sudden revelation.
"No matter how you slice it…" Franky clenched his mechanical fist, his voice low and heavy. "This is… Super… depressing."
"And…" he continued grimly, "that man was right.
If this is all the strength we have now, then heading to Sabaody—or worse, charging into the New World—would be suicide.
We wouldn't even be worthy of standing in front of monsters like that."
At this, Robin spoke up softly.
"Especially… in the New World…"
Unbidden, shadowy silhouettes surfaced in her mind—vague, yet overwhelmingly oppressive.
An arrogant god.
A grinning demon.
A silent tyrant…
And the man who had just departed.
"The 'Calamities' under that man's command are the most terrifying part," Robin said, her voice trembling ever so slightly.
"'Calamity' no longer refers to Gern alone.
It is now the overwhelming force he personally assembled, commands, and entrenched in New World G-10—a power that inspires nothing but despair.
Just him alone… left us completely helpless.
If we were to face the other 'Calamities' under his banner—figures just as infamous as he is…"
She didn't finish the sentence.
She didn't need to.
The weight of it pressed down on everyone's chest, leaving them struggling to breathe.
Just as that crushing atmosphere threatened to break them—
A voice suddenly exploded into the air.
"HEY—!!! What the hell are you idiots moping around for?!"
Everyone spun around.
Sanji stood there, drenched from head to toe, seawater dripping from his blond hair and soaked suit, looking utterly disheveled.
On his back—
Was Zoro.
Covered in blood, his presence so faint it was barely perceptible—yet unmistakably, stubbornly alive.
"Zoro… he's alive!" Chopper cried out in tearful relief, running up beside them.
Sanji carefully lowered Zoro to the ground and handed him over to Chopper, then straightened up.
Though exhaustion weighed heavily on his body—from the battle and the desperate rescue—his spine was ramrod straight.
He scanned his crewmates, their faces still marred by fear and confusion, and barked at them with iron resolve,
"Don't you dare forget—we've still got that idiot rubber captain of ours!!"
He pointed straight at Luffy, who lay unconscious, his chest rising and falling faintly.
"Our captain—Monkey D. Luffy!
He's the man who's going to become the Pirate King!!"
Sanji's voice echoed through the shattered castle, ringing with unquestionable conviction.
"He will stand back up!
And then… he'll beat the living hell out of that so-called 'Heaven-Shaking' bastard!!!"
Those words hit like a jolt of adrenaline—injecting strength straight into the hearts of every Straw Hat.
Nami wiped away her tears.
Usopp slapped his own cheeks hard.
Franky puffed out his chest.
Brook tightened his grip on his cane.
Even the tension in Robin's lips eased ever so slightly.
And Chopper—still working desperately to save Zoro—seemed to gain renewed strength in his hooves.
One by one, all their gazes turned back to the man lying on the ground.
Battered.
Broken.
And yet, somehow… brimming with infinite possibility.
"Yeah…" Nami whispered, her eyes firm once more. "Luffy… he'll do it."
Usopp took a deep breath and shouted to steel himself. "R-right! Luffy's gonna be the Pirate King! There's no way he's going down here!"
Seeing their spirits return, Sanji—still soaked to the bone—finally let himself collapse to the ground.
He lit a cigarette that had somehow survived the water, took a long drag, and exhaled slowly.
Then he lifted his eyes, looking at Luffy's sleeping profile, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Don't worry, you idiot captain…" Sanji murmured, fatigue creeping into his voice.
"You've known from the very beginning who the enemies you need to overcome are.
Whether it's the Seven Warlords…
The Marine Admirals…
Or even the Four Emperors…"
He blew out a thin ring of smoke.
"You'll beat them all."
"No matter… who stands in your way."