A/N: Hello Kittens! Wow, there was a lot of love for the first chapter. Don't know why, it was mainly just a glossover of cannon. Guess you guys just really like the premise. Either way, thank you so much for all the follows and favorites. Also huge shout out to KnightLawn, DefendtheUndefended, and proudsmile for reviewing. Thank you all for taking the time to read and review. I've decided that I'll PM to respond to reviews unless they're done as guests in which case I'll answer them in one of these author notes. I know I don't like to scroll through all the review answers but if you guys want me to, I can answer them all in the Post A/N.
Also, if you guys want something with a similar premise go check out Phalanx and their In Five Pieces and The Supernova Eleven. I think they dropped them but what's written is really good. I've rambled on for long enough, enjoy the second chapter that I think is a little more interesting.
Update 6/4/19
East Blue Saga; Arc 2, the Baratie: Bottomless Pit One and Two
It had only been three days since leaving Shells town, but Luffy was starving. By afternoon on day two, he had eaten all the food and he wasn't having any luck fishing. His little ship drifted in the water, a sky with minimal clouds his only company. It was nearing dinner time, as Luffy's stomach reminded him, when he spotted the giant fish sitting on the water.
Paddling closer, it took a few moments for Luffy to register what the giant fish really was. "FOOD!" Not even hesitating, Luffy stretched out his arm and grabbed hold of the railing of the floating restaurant, his legs wrapping around the little mast on his ship, so he could pull both himself and his boat into the docking area.
In a few moments he was bursting through the doors of the sea restaurant, not bothering to read the sign proclaiming the place the Baratie. A tall blonde man, his hair covering one of his eyes and wearing a clean, black suit, came up to the door.
"Just you? Right this way." Luffy followed the man to a small table in a back corner of the room, making his order as he walked.
"I'm starving! I'll take one of everything please!" The blonde lifted a swirly eyebrow but said nothing as he went into what Luffy assumed was the kitchen. It only took few minutes before the first dish was brought out, and thus began the ugliest consumption of food that the Baratie had ever seen. The plates of food kept coming regularly, the pile of clean plates next to Luffy piling ever higher. The entire building stared in avid disgust as Luffy literally became bloated.
It wasn't until the very last plate had been cleaned of food, that a tall man with buff arms and an apron came to speak with Luffy.
"Hello you dirty scoundrel, how will you be paying this evening?"
"I'm going to have to give you an I.O.U. I'm flat broke! Shishishi." Luffy grinned before he burped loudly. "That was delicious though! Hey, who's the cook? I want them to join my pirate crew."
A vein twitched on the chef's forehead as he pulled his foot back and kicked Luffy's chair hard enough to send the boy flying into the ceiling. "We don't take I.O.U.!"
On the other side of the ceiling, Luffy sat rubbing his behind as an old man in a ridiculously tall chef hat stood from the rubble that had been his bedroom floor, a trickle of blood running down the side of his face.
"What the bloody hell was that?"
"Ahh!" Luffy scrambled to his feet only to bow at the old man, "I'm sorry old geezer! The man downstairs kicked me up here, I swear this wasn't my fault!" Before Zeff could ask what the young man was rambling on about, Patty and a few other of the chefs came barging into the room, each pushing another to get there first.
"Head Chef Zeff!"
"The little shit injured the Head Chef."
"And he didn't even pay for his meal!"
"Shut up, the lot of you!" Zeff yelled, effectively silencing the babbling. "Patty, explain what the hell happened."
"The shitty customer nearly ate out the stores and then said he couldn't pay. So I taught him his place."
"Is his place putting a hole in my floor?!" In the next instant Zeff was spinning on his hands and his feet were planted firmly in Patty's stomach, sending the chef flying back into the hallway. "Get out! All of you, get back to work!" In a few moments the room was empty save for the two pirates.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Zeff gave the brat a once over. "So, you can't pay, huh?"
"Nope! Shishishi, but I'll pay you back after I steal some treasure."
Zeff huffed a snort, "So, you're a pirate then." It wasn't phrased like a question, but Luffy nodded his head anyway. "Well, we don't take I.O.U.s."
"Yeah, the big guy said the same thing." Luffy's bottom lip went out in a pout. It hadn't worked with Daddan, but some of the restaurant's in Goa used to feel bad for him when he'd given them a pout and looked miserable.
"As payment you can work here as our new chore-boy."
The pout quickly turned into a frown before settling into his usual grin. "Okay, I guess that works."
"So, it's agreed. You will work here, unpaid, for a whole year."
"I will work here, unpaid, for a whole ye- Wait what?!" Luffy's mind caught up to what was being said and he started shaking his head, holding up a single finger. At Zeff's lifted eyebrow, Luffy explained. "I can only work here for one week."
"Do you know how much damage you've done? It can't be paid in a single week."
"Fine, two weeks."
"Freaking beansprout! Get to work!"
Needless to say, Zeff would soon come to realize that Luffy was not meant to be a chore-boy. In fact, the only thing Luffy was meant to be was a gluttounous bottomless pit.
After the first day, the chefs soon found that Luffy was capable of only the simplest of tasks. They'd started by letting the boy do what he pleased. They all assumed that someone that was so eager to pay off their debt would get right to work. Oh, how wrong they were.
It wasn't until the end of the second day that they realized what the boy had been doing the entire time; absolutely nothing. Which was when they started giving him some more instructions. Take out the trash; it was done easily without any problems, so they thought the boy had hope but there was only so much garbage. Sweep the floor; well it got swept, but all the dirt ended up in piles in the middle of the floor that were never picked up, so they'd tried something else. Do the dishes; this is where things got intense. Every dish the boy touched was broken into tiny shards, and he didn't even seem to register that he was doing it.
Which is how Luffy ended up being told to bring the food out to the tables. When he stepped up to a plate, taking a bite because it just looked so tasty, the door to the kitchen burst open and in came Patty, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"Get a move on! We got a paying customer that wants everything on the menu three times over!"
Everyone paused for a moment, looking at Patty. "You sure they can pay this time?" someone dared to ask.
"Didn't you idiots hear me? I said a paying customer!" Like a bomb had been set off, everyone went into high gear, each shouting what they would take care of before rushing to start the preparations. Luffy finished the plate in his hand and walked out of the kitchen, no one even noticing him.
The dining hall had only a few empty tables, most of which formed a circle in the middle of which sat a tall, pink-haired woman. Chefs were already starting to exit the kitchen, bringing plates of food as they did so. The woman wasted no time in stuffing her face, usurping Luffy as the messiest eater the sea restaurant had ever seen.
The tall blonde man that Luffy had heard called Sanji twirled up to the lady, dropping off a few more plates, but unlike the other chefs he stayed by the woman's side. Luffy caught the tail end of a few sentences before moving closer to catch the rest.
"… lovely lady like you."
"I don't… bring me… food."
"Oh gladly! I am your…"
"This is good. What did you use for seasoning?"
"Oh, I tried using garlic and oregano in the sauce. You like it?"
"Yeah, can I get the recipe from you?"
"You cook?" Luffy asked, jumping into the conversation as he came nearer the table, grabbing a chicken leg from a plate and stuffing it into his face as Bonney let out an indignant squawk. The girl reached towards her waistband where a pistol sat but before she could draw, and before Luffy received an answer, the door to the restaurant burst open and a tall lanky man came in. Their conversation, and Bonney's intent to shoot, forgotten, they both regarded the scene with mild interest.
"Bring me food, I don't care what it is." The man's foot thumbed on the table and somewhere in the building whispers started.
"Is that…?"
"It is. It's Ghin."
"Who?"
"Idiot, he's Don Krieg's right-hand man."
"Don Krieg?! As in the ruler of the East Blue?"
"And how will you be paying this evening?" Patty asked, coming up to the man and receiving a gun to his face in response. The following scuffle was quick and ended with the feared Krieg Pirate being thrown out the back. When Luffy, who'd been watching this all without judgement, turned back to the table, Sanji had disappeared into the kitchen.
Bonney seemed to regard the kitchen with renewed interest, before turning back to stuffing her face. In a few moments the old geezer was yelling at Luffy to get back to work and he was dragged away before he could get a cook for his crew.
It was the next morning when things went downhill. The pink-haired woman was still there, Sanji flirting with her whenever they weren't sharing recipes. It seemed cooking was the only thing the chef cared for more than hitting on the woman. Luffy was walking into the dining area, long limbs stealing food from passing plates that were being taken to the glutton, when someone began to scream.
"It's Don Krieg! The hourglasses means our time is up!" A huge galleon came into view, tattered sails and broken figure head painting an image of a ghost ship. In the next instant, Don Krieg himself and Ghin walked through the door, only to collapse and beg for food. Sanji fed them, despite the other chefs protesting, only to have the pirate stand and demand the ship they were standing on. Every customer fled, each getting on the various ships docked at the restaurant and getting away as fast as the wind would let them. Soon it was just the chefs, all of which had surrounded Sanji with various weapons, Luffy and Bonney.
From where he was standing near Bonney, Luffy watched on impassively, not taking an interest until the glutton got up and made her way to the kitchen doorway. She looked at Zeff, who was just pushing the door open and Luffy heard her say, "You'll need help to feed that many people. But I expect this to clear my tab, yeah?"
It was a mere few minutes when Zeff and Bonney exited the kitchen again, a large, delicious smelling bag in hand. Krieg left, his threat hanging in the air as the rest of the chefs got ready for battle. Luffy headed out onto the deck with the rest of the restaurant staff, Bonney coming up behind him. When the straw hat wearing boy saw the state of Krieg and his crew and a sudden idea hit him.
"Hey, old man!" Zeff turned to look at him, the wood beneath him creaking at the movement. "If I defeat Krieg, my debts paid, yeah?"
The chef seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding his head. "Okay chore-boy, you manage to get them to leave my ship alone and I'll let you off."
As they'd been talking, the Don's men had made their way over to the Baratie and with a curse, Sanji commanded the fins be raised. Within the next few moments, large platforms floated on the sea, a battleground of wood and nails.
Pearl, a large man with even larger metal shields, engaged in a battle with Sanji, the cook's legs strong enough to break the pirate's nose. The fire from Pearl spread quickly, but Zeff's own kick was enough to put it out. Within the next few moments, Pearl was sprawled unconscious on the deck.
Luffy, satisfied that the cooks could take care of themselves, got ready to rocket over to the Don, only to stop when a hand landed on his shoulder.
"That Krieg has broken the pirate code, and he's a disgrace. He needs a beating." Bonney shrugged a shoulder, her long hair shifting with the movement. "Besides, these guys have great food. I'd hate for this restaurant to be closed down."
Luffy gave her a look over before nodding his head, rocketing to the other ship with the pink-haired woman hanging on his back. Landing on the ship, they both came face to face with Don Krieg, the pirate ruler of the East Blue. Before the man could so much as begin to gloat, Luffy began releasing attacks, punches and kicks doing seemingly nothing to the pirate captain.
"You can't hurt me! My armor is impenetrable." Before any more attacks could be launched, another voice rang out across the water.
"Stop moving or I'll blow his head off!" Looking over, everyone could see Zeff laying on his face, Ghin kneeling on him with a gun pressed to the back of Zeff's head.
"Ahahaha! That's great Ghin. Blow his head off." Krieg was ignored, Ghin looking at Sanji who, despite the injuries he'd already received, was standing tall and smoking as if he didn't have a care in the world.
"Stand down Sanji. Just go and no one will get hurt."
"Little too late for that, don't you think?" Sanji dropped his cigarette, stomping it out before speaking again. "I know you don't want to do this."
"Ghin!" Krieg yelled, "Shoot the bastard!"
In another universe, everyone would have found that Ghin's sense of gratitude outweighed his sense of loyalty to the Don, but in this world he would never get the chance to make the choice. For in the next instant, a small child sat where Ghin had been moments before, a pistol too large for his hands clattering to the ground.
"Damn, that took a lot of energy. He's just on the edge of my range." Luffy grinned at Bonney, his eyes shining.
"Did you do that?! That's awesome!" She just shrugged, watching as the chefs picked up the kid and tied him up, all with very confused faces.
"It won't last very long 'cause I didn't put much energy into it and he's nearly out of range, but I like the old guy, so I figured I'd help him out."
"You ate a devil fruit?" Krieg's voice brought them back to the situation, Bonney and Luffy both nodding.
"Uh," Bonney began, giving Luffy an odd look. "I think he was just asking me."
"Oh." It was Luffy's turn to shrug, "Well, I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit so now I'm a rubber man."
"Rubber? Wow, that's weird."
"You just turned Ghin into a kid!" Luffy pouted slightly at his companion before turning back to his opponent. "Whatever, it's super cool. Just watch." With that, Luffy pulled back his arm, shooting it forward with a snap.
"Gum-Gum Pistol!" Krieg, believing in his armor, didn't even try to dodge as the rubber fist drilled into his stomach. The pirate Don gasped in pain and surprise as his armor cracked under the pressure and he went flying. When he got back up, Luffy and Bonney busy talking about the pros and cons of rubber, he opened fired at them, bullets shooting out of his gauntlets. Bonney's figure shrunk, all the bullets flying above her as Luffy just let the bullets bounce right back towards the sender.
Luffy and Krieg engaged, both dodging and sending attacks in a chaotic dance that was hard to keep track of until Luffy sent a punch towards Krieg's face, only to hit an old man with sagging skin and creaking bones. Luffy hopped back to Bonney's side, giving her a pout.
"Oh, come on! How am I supposed to fight an old man that can barely move?"
"Who cares how old he is?! This way is easier." After a few moments of Krieg cursing them and Luffy pouting, the cook relented, stating, "Finish this quickly or I'm turning him into a two-year-old and throwing him into the water."
Luffy nodded, pulling back his arms just to send them forward at the same time Krieg reverted to his normal age. Before the Don could use a weapon from his arsenal, rubbery arms hit him straight in the gut, expelling all his air as he went flying only to land in the water with a loud splash. Thus ended the rule of the Pirate Don Krieg.
Back on the Baratie, the remainder of the Krieg Pirates were all in various states of defeat, each too weak to fight back properly after weeks of starving. Rocketing back to the fins, that were slightly destroyed, Luffy and Bonney excessed the damage before turning to Zeff who was ordering the chefs to get a move on cleaning everything up.
"So, my debts paid, right geezer?" The old man nodded, giving Luffy an appreciative look before turning back to ordering his chefs around.
"So Bonney, welcome to my crew. Oh, I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who's gonna be the Pirate King!" Bonney blinked quickly, trying to process what the kid before her was saying. Ignoring the blatantly false second statement, she focused on the first.
"What makes you think I'm joining your crew?"
"You're a cook, right? Well I need one, and your powers are really funny, so I've decided that your going to join me." Luffy grinned, stepping to the side as a chef came to pick up a Krieg Pirate that had been laying at his feet.
"Idiot! You can't just decide someone is going to join you." Bonney slapped him upside the head, it doing little to the rubber man.
"Oh, come on. Come be a pirate with me!" Bonney hit him again but didn't respond, instead taking in the boy in front of her. She doubted he could really make it to be the Pirate King, not with people out there like the Yonko. Besides, Old Man Whitebeard was closest to Raftel, even if he didn't want the title. And yet, he certainly seemed like an interesting fellow. Whitebeard always had said to find a crew to be a part of, even if it had nothing to do with the reason she'd set out to sea. Besides, what harm could come from following an idiot like this? If things got dicy, she would leave.
"Okay." Luffy jumped up, laughing as Bonney just worried about what she'd gotten herself into. "So, what next... Captain?"
"Well," he started, holding his straw hat as he spoke, "We need a ship. Then we need to head into the Grand Line for our next adventure."
"I have a ship." Her captain looked like it was Christmas morning, his eyes were shining so bright. "Her name is the White Wolf." Bonney gestured to one of the last ships still attached to the Baratie. It seemed to be a caravel, a single main mast with a white sail standing in the center of a light brown wood deck. She seemed simple enough, though Luffy immediately wanted to sit on the giant white wolf that was her figure head.
"That is so cool! Now we can head straight to the Grand Line!" Before Bonney could comment that it might be best to get a few more members before heading into the worst sea on the planet, Sanji came up and asked to speak to Bonney.
Leaving her new captain to explore the ship, the two cooks headed into the floating restaurant.
Two hours later, the White Wolf was loaded with enough provisions for two people for a fortnight, Sanji claiming that a woman as beautiful as Bonney would need to be able to take care of her and her captain. With final goodbyes, the White Wolf and her two shipmates set sail.
"Woah! To the Grand Line."
"Luffy do you have any idea how dangerous the Grand Line is?" A blank expression was her answer and she stifled the urge to hit him upside the head again. "It's dangerous to go just the two of us. We should stay in the East Blue and at least try to recruit others to join us."
Luffy pouted a little but eventually grinned with a laugh. "Shishishi, we can go on a few adventures here, but after that we'll head to the Grand Line." Bonney just sighed and accepted that was the best she was going to get. Somehow, she doubted that her new captain ever thought things through. "But first," Bonney looked to Luffy, who had somehow found paints and a black piece of fabric in the last few moments. "We need a Jolly Roger. Every good ship has a flag." Bonney thought that the marking he held up was supposed to be a skull with a straw hat on it, but it was hard to tell. Shaking her head at his hideous painting skills, she took another piece of fabric and, in a few minutes, a Jolly Roger was born.
After painting their new mark on the mainsail, Bonney prepared a meal and did what all pirates did; had a party to celebrate the beginning of their pirate crew. It wasn't until the next morning when Bonney asked for a heading that she realized what she had gotten into. Luffy had the navigational skills of a walnut and told Bonney to "head for the greatest adventure". Deciding to play it safe, the cook and now navigator-by-default headed towards Orange Town, hoping that she would get used to her captain before she began thinking about mutiny. She might be a pirate, but she still lived by the code.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Read and Review please!
Until next time Kittens!
Next Time:
Mini Series- Checking in with the World, Chapter 1; The Newest Staff