Spoilers for post Dressrosa arc, I'm following the manga, not the anime, so consider yourself warned from this point on.
"Here you are, straight from the master himself!" Sanji shouted, bursting out of the doors with two silver plates with covers, as well as a wine bottle balanced on top of one, and the glasses on the other.
"Over here!" Luffy shouted, barely quelling the urge to jump out and smash Sanji with the biggest hug the man had probably gotten in his life.
"Ah, and who is the one who made the order?"
"That'd be me!" Luffy said with a wide grin, barely able to contain himself. When Sanji set the dish down, Luffy took in a deep breath through his nose, taking in every scent of Sanji's dishes.
"Whoah, snazzy." Usopp commented as the sous-chef gracefully set them out.
"So, might I ask who told you I was the best cook in the world?" Sanji asked, before recoiling in horror as Luffy opened his mouth impossibly wide, and dipping the plate towards it. He essentially shoveled the food into his gullet, and and then slammed down his teeth with a clack once the plate was clean. He chewed noisily for a few moments, making noises not unlike that of an orgasm, before audibly swallowing.
Sanji closed his eyes. Not wanting to believe what he had just seen.
Johnny and Yosaku turned green.
The others all stared in surprise. They had seen Luffy's albatross-style table manners before, but never seen him enjoy it that much.
"~PHEW~" Luffy sighed, almost melting in his chair as tears came to his eyes. "I... I missed that." He said simply, in a massive understatement.
"Oh my god." Johnny muttered.
Sanji opened his eyes. He looked at the empty plate, and then back at Luffy. "...That was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen."
"I told you it was the best!" Luffy said cheerfully, before picking up the other plate, and eating it much quieter this time.
"Well... bon appetite, I guess." Sanji muttered, before walking away, still partially in shock.
"I think you may have scared him off." Zoro said quietly.
"You might have just scared me off!" Usopp said, horrified as well. "What was in that?"
"Shishishi~"
Lu gaped at his older self, before standing up in his chair, "Waiter! I want whatever he had! And twice as much of it!"
"Ah- I want seconds too!" Luffy agreed.
After they had all eaten, Luffy left his wallet with Zoro, before disappearing to go try and recruit Sanji.
He was chased out of the kitchen by the cooks, before he decided to simply go to Zeff directly. He had spent a few days as the restaurant's slave in the previous timeline after all, he was more familiar with this place than some islands.
Crawling through the window, he looked around at the little room, before going over to the bed and simply lying down to rest off the food. He had gone far too long without Sanji's life-sustaining cooking. He had trouble even eating for a little while after he died, which had been a big deal.
Having a meal made by Sanji again for the first time in a long time... it was like a little taste of heaven. He had said it before, merely seeing his nakama again made coming back to the past more than worth it, but after tasting a bit of Sanji's cooking once more he hereby rejected any reality where Sanji isn't cooking.
"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing in here?"
"Oh! Hey there, just sleeping off the meal!"
"Well get out. This is my private quarters. If you don't want me to launch you right into the sea this instant."
"Shishishi~" Luffy got out of the bed but didn't leave the room. "I wanted to talk to you actually."
"Oh yeah? It better not be any complaints, those who mess with a chef on the sea-"
"Is an idiot, I know. Without a proper sea cook there's all kinds of dangers. And I know never to piss off the sea cook, or you're taking your life into your hands."
Zeff let out a slightly impressed noise, or merely a grunt of acknowledgement. "On the sea you never know when your next meal will be your last, so it's best not to challenge your best source of those meals."
"Yep. And speaking of sea cooks, I'd like to steal away one of yours."
"Meh, I don't decide who stays or goes. Anyone can quit if they want, hell, I encourage a good half of them to, the troublesome bastards that they are." Zeff said, but the tone of his voice was affectionate.
"Sanji, your sous-chef."
"Heh, good luck convincing him." Zeff said, waving him off. "What kind of ship would you want him on, anyway? From the looks of you, you don't look like someone who would work for a luxury ship. We aren't just cooks, we're five-stars!" Luffy raised an eyebrow. "Well, the food is anyway. Not our problem if we don't have the right kind of decor or don't treat our customers as gods when they decide to complain at us."
"I'm the Captain of a ship that's looking for All Blue." Zeff stopped all motion, simply staring at Luffy in amazement. "Among other legends."
"Are you being serious?"
"Yep!"
"It's a fool's dream, you know. Countless idiots have rushed off looking for some kind of paradise sea. What makes you think you'll find it?"
"I know some people who've been there before." Luffy said, but before Zeff could get too excited he added, "Or claimed to at least."
"Is it... a reasonable claim?"
"Sure! After all, they've done plenty of other impossible things!"
"Who are these people?" Zeff asked.
"My best source was Dark King Rayleigh."
Zeff narrowed his eyes, "You've met him?"
"No, not yet. But I know where he is and I'm planning on talking to him. But I have met Rayleigh's old apprentice! He was on Roger's ship too. They've been to every ocean in the world, you know. Including All Blue."
"Sounds impossible." Zeff said simply, but Luffy had an honesty about him, a deep earnestness that someone can feel in their soul. They know, upon seeing his truthful eyes and childlike expression...
That he was too dumb to make up something that crazy.
"But it's true, or at least, it probably is."
"That's... amazing. The boy wants to see All Blue more than anything else. It's his dream..." he looked at Luffy, accusative, "...but how did you know that?"
"Just got a feeling."
"Do you know who I am, boy?"
"Red Leg Zeff? Famous pirate? Spent a year in Paradise looking for All Blue before going to the North Blue, and then... disappearing." Luffy said cheerfully.
"You a bounty hunter?"
"I'm a pirate."
"And you're here for my sous-chef? Why not me?"
Luffy leaned back, and looked Zeff in the eyes. "It's not your dream. Not anymore. You sailed through Paradise for a few months, and then left for easier waters." Luffy said, Zeff winced, anger making his curled mustache twitch.
"You don't know what it's like out there!"
"Yes I do." Luffy said, and Zeff saw once again that Luffy wasn't lying.
"And why would you call the Grand Line paradise?"
"Compared to the New World, the point beyond Fishman island? The first half is Paradise. And All Blue isn't in Paradise, it's an oasis in the depths of Hell."
Zeff let out a breath, slightly amused and finding himself told off by such a younger man. Looking at the proudly displayed scar on his chest, he supposed that the boy must have seen even worse than he did. "Fine. But I didn't give up on my dream. I found a new one. I had gone back to the North Blue to build up resources, get together enough finances to head back into the Grand Line and push all the way to the end! I may be far out of my prime now, without one of my legs, and having years without a decent fight... but back then, I'd like to think I would have made it!"
Luffy smiled, looking at Zeff in a new light. "Found a new dream eh?" Luffy looked down at the floorboard, where even now the scents and sounds of a busy kitchen rose up. "It's a fine treasure you've found. Not as pretty as One Piece, but it's okay."
"It's just okay?! The Baratie is a work of art!"
Luffy laughed, before opening the door. "I'm going to talk to Sanji. I just wanted to let you know."
"Get my permission?"
"Nah, just let you know."
"Fine then. You have my blessing, whether it's wanted or not. The boy needs to get out there, flirt with some girls who aren't paying customers!"
"Shishishi!"
"Hi there again!"
"Oh god not you!" Sanji said, jumping back as Lu, Usopp, and Zoro looked down at him from the deck above. "Wait... no, you're the younger one. Where's your monster of a brother?"
"He snuck off somewhere." Zoro said.
"He better not be stealing food." Sanji growled.
"We are pirates." Lu said, "what if we are?"
"Then I'd knock you both into the sea and make you stay down there." Sanji threatened, raising a leg.
"I think I get why the Captain thinks we'll be friends." Zoro said with a smile, drawing a sword. "Feel like a friendly brawl?"
"Zoro, fighting him isn't going to exactly make our job here easier!" Usopp warned.
"I'm off the clock, you aren't threatening my restaurant. The only one I feel like kicking is your glutton captain."
Lu glared at Zoro, "Why do you keep saying things like 'the' captain! I'm a captain too!"
"Sorry Captain." Zoro said, genuinely. "It's just, he's more authoritative. He feels more like the captain."
Usopp gave Lu a small smile. "Sorry, but he has a point. Don't worry though you can just call me captain and then-" Lu pinched his lips closed, before letting him go. Usopp laughed a little.
"Hmph." Lu said, feeling down.
"Co-Captains?" Sanji asked.
"Yep! He's an older version of me-" he stopped, before grinning, "well, he's my older brother. One of three!"
"Big family?"
"You have no idea." Zoro said with a grin.
"And you're the youngest child, huh?" Sanji continued, looking at Lu with interest.
"Yep."
"Weakest too?"
Lu sighed, crossing his arms and looking over annoyed.
"I know how that feels..." Sanji said, smiling with some empathy. "What was that thing... with his mouth?"
"Devil Fruit."
"Huh, really?" Sanji asked interested. "What, like the Munch-Munch fruit or something?"
"No. Gum-Gum. We're made out of rubber!"
"Both of you?" Sanji asked, interested. "I've come across some books on Devil Fruit, they always talk about how if you eat one of them, the particular power disappears from the world until the person who ate it dies. How can there be two of you?"
"Uh... well, it's a long story." Usopp said. "We'll tell you in full when you join our crew."
"What? What brought this on? I have no interest in joining some pirate crew."
"Come on! Why not? We'll go on adventures, and eventually, I'm going to find the One Piece and become King of the Pirates!" Lu said proudly. "And you, as the best chef in the world, will be our cook!"
"Pfft, you?"
"Hey! I am going to!" Lu defended. "I already have a boat and everything!"
"Yeah right. Besides, if the entire goal is the One Piece, I don't really care. I have my own dream."
Zoro nodded, jumping down to stand next to him. "Yeah? My dream is to be recognized as the greatest swordsman in the world, by defeating Dracule Mihawk."
"Hah! That might be even more impossible. I've seen Mihawk! He comes to our restaurant, sometimes." Sanji said, poking at him.
Zoro gave an evil smile, "I've heard."
"You're all crazy."
Usopp and Lu came down as well, so they would all be standing at the same level. "Well, what's your dream then?" Lu asked.
"Promise not to laugh?"
"You laughed at ours!" Lu said grumpily. "We're allowed."
"I won't laugh." Usopp promised. "You didn't laugh at my dream."
"What's your dream Usopp?"
"I... mine is secret!" Usopp said hurriedly. "A deep secret! I'll tell you when the time comes!"
"Ooh, cool!"
"You don't have to pick something right now." Zoro said lazily, gesturing at the sea, "I mean, it'll be a long time before we reach the One Piece. I'm sure something you want to do will come up."
"Yeah."
"Anyway, my dream is to find the All Blue."
"All Blue?" Usopp asked, Zoro and Lu shared a look, neither familiar with the term.
"It's a Chef's Utopia!" Sanji said, throwing his arms wide out over the sea. "It's a place where all four seas meet, and so fish from all over the world come together in one place. Dishes that were considered impossible, utilizing the unique flavors of the Four Blues, and the Grand Line, would be possible! My dream is to go there, tell the world, and build a Restaurant there!"
"Wow, that sounds beautiful!" Lu said, "It's a great dream."
"Is it a real place?" Usopp asked.
"Of course it's real!" Sanji shouted back. "I'll kick the ass of anyone who doubts my dream!"
"Okay. But how are you going to get there?" Zoro asked, looking out over the sea. "I mean, if no one else has found it, it'd have to be pretty well hidden. Far away, in dangerous waters, probably."
"I... I suppose so."
"And how are you going to do that while staying here?"
"I won't stay at the Baratie... forever." Sanji said, a little uncomfortable. "I'll set out on my own, someday."
"Not on a ship with others?"
"Well, I wouldn't try to head out into the Grand Line on my own. I'd probably join some... other... people." he narrowed his eyes at them, and the three simply grinned in a not-at-all innocent way, "You three are craftier than you act. Why would I join your shitty crew, huh? Why you over anybody else! I'll find a ship full of beautiful ladies to take to the All Blue!"
"What are the chances of that?" Usopp asked. "I mean, besides the Amazon Lilly ships, what are the chances of the boat being nothing than women?"
Sanji blushed deeply, "Amazon Lilly! I'm sure that paradise lies in the heart of All Blue! I'll be sure to visit there as well!"
Lu frowned, "I've heard of Amazon Lilly before..."
"Of course you have!" Sanji said, grabbing him, "It's a dreamland for men like us! The homeland of Empress Boa Hancock, the most beautiful woman in the world, where women live in bliss, not bothered by the cruelties of man's world!" Sanji's eyes were hearts, and he was spinning around on one foot, and Zoro began to find himself sneering.
"Boa Hancock?" Lu asked surprised, "Oh! Her name is in my brother's book."
"Your brother's book, eh? Does it have pictures?"
"No, just cards that tell him where his friends are! I guess he knows her."
Sanji seemed to shatter, the heart-eyes disappearing, replaced with confusion. "That... disaster of human manners... knows the most beautiful woman on the planet?"
"I guess."
Zoro shook his head, ashamed.
"Wow!" Usopp said, "I didn't know that! Good on Luffy. I bet he knows where the island is, too!"
"I bet he knows where All Blue is too then!" Lu said excitedly, smiling at Sanji, "my brother knows everything!"
"You guys are lying." Sanji said, "You're just leading me on to trick me into getting on your boat."
"No, no, look, we'll get him, and he'll tell you all about it!" Usopp said, "though, from personal experience, the explanation is absolutely nonsense. But he is unbelievably powerful, and he does know all about the Grand Line."
"Huh."
"You're... from the future?"
"Yep!"
"And you came back in time, because we all died, but before we died, we somehow managed doing just about the impossible?"
"Yeah!"
Sanji looked over to Usopp, who shrugged, before looking back at Luffy. "Bullshit."
"aggggghhh" Luffy basically melted in his chair, giving up at any pretense of manners. "Why does everyone have so much trouble believing that!"
"Because it's impossible!"
"It's a Devil Fruit!"
"Not just that part, it's this whole... becoming monsters thing!"
"We didn't become monsters. Well... kind of. Me, you, and Zoro were kind of called the monster trio by the others." Luffy smiled over at Usopp. "And you Chopper and Nami were called the coward trio!"
"Agh!" Usopp said, insulted.
"And you said you knew me, that I was your chef? I can't cook fast enough to fill your gullet! With the rate you swallowed down my cooking earlier, I'm shocked we don't starve to death!" Sanji shouted.
"There were a few close calls." Luffy said solemnly. "You convinced Nami to pay for a super-secure refrigerator with a lock."
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANT TO HEAR."
"Look, Sanji, I won't force you." Luffy began.
"You won't?" Lu asked.
"No. If Sanji doesn't want to leave for All Blue, that's up to him."
Sanji narrowed his eyes, and then jumped forward to kick at Luffy. "Until I'm sure you're not lying, you don't get to speak about my dreams and mock them!" the kick passed through air as Luffy simply moved around the blow. Sanji let out a huff of annoyance, before releasing another flurry of kicks. Luffy was like a leaf, making tiny movements that put him just out of the way of the feet, not bothering to put effort into the dodging.
"I won't mock you." Luffy said. "And I won't lie, we didn't reach All Blue. None of us achieved our dreams, the first time. But we were so close, Sanji!"
"Why would I trust you, then? If you failed your friends? If you got me and some lovely ladies killed?!"
Zoro frowned, pulling at his sword to defend Luffy's honor against the insult, when Lu placed his hand over Zoro's, shaking his head no.
Luffy snarled, and a tiny wave of haki permeated out of him. Sanji found himself on the ground, shivering. Usopp was feeling chills as well, but Luffy stopped the wave from stretching too far out of the room. "...You're right." Luffy growled, tears beginning to form. "Okay? You're right, I failed you all! But I'm making a second attempt, okay? And it's not just on me! You died on me, you jerks!" Luffy growled out. Everyone flinched. "You promised me we would reach the end, and that we would achieve our dreams, and instead you all died! You gave up on All Blue, and Zoro gave up on Mihawk, and Robin on the True History, and Nami gave up on her map!"
Lu stared in shock, and the others were a mixture of fear and confusion.
"...And I gave up on One Piece. Until I found that old man, and he let me come back here! You were my precious Nakama, and if you weren't with me when I became King of the Pirates, I didn't want to do it! But I'm here again. And I'm trying again. And I'll die before I fail this time. Before I fail any of you." He took a deep breath, "and none of you are going to fail on me! No heroic sacrifices this time, none of you!" He glared back at Zoro, "Especially not you!" he whipped back to Sanji, "Or you, got it?!"
"I... I uh..." Sanji was at a loss for words, not really sure what to make of the sudden outburst.
Luffy sat down, and focused on his breathing, the room was silent, before Lu got up and walked behind Luffy, before pulling him up into a hug. "You didn't have me before, either, you know? And I'm not going to let my nakama die either!"
"...Yeah, you're right." Luffy said. Managing a smile. "I'm... I'm sorry, all of you. If the Captain can't keep his cool, what am I supposed to expect out of you?"
"That's... that's the spirit." Zoro said. "I gave myself up for you?"
"More than once, you suicidal jerk." Luffy said with a grin. "But you don't have any right to do that now, got it? I'm way tougher this time, I won't need you to keep saving me."
"That doesn't sound like me." Zoro said with a scoff, "Why would I sacrifice my dream just to save your sorry ass?"
"Exactly! So don't!" Luffy said. He turned back to Sanji and held out his hand. "I'm not lying Sanji. And while I never saw All Blue myself, I know it exists."
"How?"
Luffy smiled, "Sanji, if you had to guess, where would All Blue be?"
Sanji frowned, leaning against the wall. "Well, it'd be somewhere in the Grand Line, probably. The Old Man thought that it was around Reverse Mountain. But that's the most well-documented and observed part of the Grand Line, so there's no way-"
"We only know what the East side of Reverse Mountain looks like."
"What are you saying?" Sanji asked. "You think the end of the Grand Line is All Blue?"
"It would make sense, wouldn't it?" Luffy asked, looking excited, "It's one of the few places in the world where all four Blues' meet!"
"...So, you're saying... All Blue would be at the end of the Grand Line, all the way at the end?!"
"Yeah!"
"I could never open a restaurant there! No one would be able to come!"
Everyone stared at him in surprise.
"It's the most dangerous stretch of sea in the world, how many customers do you think would be able to even arrive?!"
"I... never really thought about it." Luffy said.
"Shit." Sanji sighed.
"Maybe Nami could help you find a safe route there and back?" Lu offered. "If we recruit her."
Sanji sighed, pushing past Luffy. "Ah well, finding All Blue is the hard part, after all. I'll have to figure it out when we get there."
"So you'll come?" Luffy asked hopefully.
"...No."
"Oh come on!" Lu shouted.
"Look, you haven't actually given me real evidence of anything... but I'm inclined to believe you."
"So why not?" Luffy asked.
"Because I won't give up on the Old Man." Sanji said simply. "I owe him a debt. I'd give my life for my dream, but I owe Chef Zeff my life."
"Zeff gave his blessing." Luffy said, "if you needed it."
"It doesn't matter. I'm going to help him any way I can." Sanji growled, "You have no idea how much he means to me-"
Luffy gave a sad smile. "I know about the Vinsmokes."
Sanji froze in place, eyes widening as he looked at Luffy in horror. "You..."
"The Vinsmokes?" Usopp asked in surprise. "From the comic?"
"No." Sanji growled as Usopp. "Not from the comic."
"Um." The sniper backed off.
Luffy frowned, and then pointed out of the room, "Sorry guys, if you could leave the room? I'll talk to Sanji alone for a bit."
"Got it." Zoro said, picking up Usopp and carrying him out over his shoulder.
"I can walk you know!"
"Me too?" Lu asked.
"Yeah, just for a bit."
"Fine." Lu said with a sigh, "But after this, I want to be treated like the captain, got it?"
"Got it Captain." Luffy said with a salute.
Lu nodded, and then closed the door behind him.
"Vinsmokes. Talk." Sanji ordered.
"I know you were born into their family."
"I have nothing to do with-"
"And I know that Zeff is your real dad. Just like Dadan is my real Mom, and Ace and Sabo and little Lu are my real brothers, even if little Lu is the only one with the same blood. It doesn't matter."
Sanji looked down, angry. "How do you know about it?"
"The future, remember?"
"I don't want to deal with them ever again." Sanji said. "Why do we meet up with them in the future?"
"One of the Yonkou, the Four Pirate Emperors, Big Mom, wanted to make an alliance with the Germa." Luffy explained. "She wanted a political marriage to seal the deal. The Germa decided that you were right for the job, so they kidnapped you."
"Shit." Sanji growled, "SHIT."
"It won't be for a few years." Luffy said, before clapping him on the shoulder, "Don't worry, we got you out of it, and we kicked all their asses!"
"I don't believe that."
"Pfft, you think the King of the Pirates and his crew can't beat the Germa 66? Hah!"
"Look, this doesn't give me any reason to join your crew, you knowing who my father and siblings are doesn't affect anything."
"No, no, I just, I know what Zeff means to you. But do you know what you mean to Zeff?"
"He thinks I'm a nuisance. Before I go anywhere else, I need to prove to him-"
"He knows you're a great cook. He knows you're his son."
"..."
"Just ask him."
"I can't do that."
"Then don't. He's been telling you to leave because he knows you'll be happier out there. You can't achieve your dream while staying on the Baratie." Luffy said, before walking over to the door.
"I guess not."
