Based on One Piece Chapters 843, 844, and 845.

This will be a tragedy. You have been warned. Also, Character Death. Again, warnings now.

It was almost like the ending to the duel in Water 7 all over again, Sanji mused. He'd apologized, more than a few tears were shed that neither he nor Luffy were about to acknowledge any time soon, and he'd been brought back into the crew, the same as Usopp, the same as Robin. Everything should be good between them now, and yet, something sat uneasy in the pit of his stomach. Somehow, things didn't seem right. Was he just imagining it? Something was off but he couldn't place his finger on it.

She'd been cute enough, his supposed bride. At first, it had been seriously tempting, for just a second, to imagine being married to her. He'd never have thrown away his pride as a pirate, his connection to his captain and his crew, for some pretty girl, however. No matter who she was, it went beyond just finding the All Blue. It was more than just cooking for them, being apart of their family. He needed to be there for all of them but especially for Luffy. However, not even Luffy could compare to that threat against the only man he considered like a father, Chef Zeff. Losing his hands, losing his place in the crew, losing his father, all the loses had added up so quickly that he'd quickly spiraled into hopelessness. A spiral down equal to his eyebrows, Usopp had joked when they were reunited, which got him a very light kicking. He hadn't seemed to appreciate Sanji's 'welcome back' kicks to the face, which Sanji was alright with, since he hadn't fully appreciated that comment about his eyebrows.

He half expected, half hoped that reuniting and the resulting fight in Wano would help set the right tone for them again. Yet stubbornly, things continued to seem off. Everyone functioned in their expected place in the crew but there was this soft, underlying tension he couldn't shake. It was as though someone had held up a grenade, pulled the pin, thrown it, only for it to be revealed that it was a dud. The tension, the expectation of everything to go to hell, wouldn't fade with time, though. Wherever it was coming from, and maybe he was just projecting it himself, that person refused to let the expectation of things going to hell die.

Why the hell did it still matter, though? It should have been a clean slate after forgiveness was granted. He frowned, cigarette smoke lightly swirling away with the wind, and stared out into the vast ocean. Behind him, laughter and jokes abound as Luffy entertained the latest additions to their crew. Jimbe had finally joined them, had even helped bring him back to the crew, and with him came his own crew, a merry band of fishmen pirates. They wouldn't always be staying with the Strawhats; they had their own adventures to fulfill, but for the meantime, it was a party.

Usopp came over, wrapping an arm around Sanji's shoulder, a tankard in hand and half drunk already. Laughing and singing, he shook the cook lightly, half coaxing, half demanding he come join in the fun. He gave a half-hearted smiled and tossed his mostly unsmoked cigarette overboard. As he finally started to relax into the festivities, he suddenly felt eyes upon him. Looking around, he noticed Law staring at him for some reason, on the edge of the festivities as usual. He ignored the feeling of dread that suddenly sat heavy in his stomach. No, it couldn't be that Law was the one projecting this heavy air, could it? He was supposed to be their ally. He didn't think that Luffy would handle being betrayed in their alliance very well. With only the thought in mind that he should protect his captain if that might be the case, he made his way over to Law.

Before he could open his mouth to say anything, the other pirate captain beat him to it. Law spoke quietly, only one warning. "You shouldn't over-estimate him."

Sanji's blood ran cold.