Hiya! It's your boy, BlueRaptor629! Bringing the final chapter of the Baratie Arc, so let's go!
Whether Ghin joins or not will be decided in this chapter, so don't miss it!
With that said, let's get to it!
Disclaimer: Same as the previous chapters
Chapter 15: Explosive Climax! To Cocoyashi Village
(With Usopp and co.)
Currently, Usopp's group is currently pursuing Nami and the Going Merry.
"Man, I hope those guys turn out okay." Usopp said, worrying about Luffy, Seth, and Hoopa, who are still at the Baratie.
"I wouldn't worry about them." Zoro replied. "They'll be fine." Would
"If you say so..." Usopp said.
"Don't worry about Seth, too. He's going be just fine." Henry added.
"You know, I'm surprised that you're not feeling scared of this situation." Usopp said to the Wigglytuff.
"I am afraid. Even now..." Henry said before he has a determined expression. "But if my friends are putting their lives on the line, then I have to cast that feeling aside and help."
"For something that looks timid most of the time, you're really brave." Zoro complimented.
"Yeah! You Pokémon are actually pretty cool!" Johnny said as his partner nods in agreement.
"Thank you..." Henry said. He then look forward. "In any rate, let's hope we get to Ms. Nami as soon as possible."
"Yeah." Zoro said. "Besides, we did kinda promised them that we'll bring her back."
"And let's not forget about the Going Merry too!" Usopp reminded. "She's just as important like the rest of us."
Everyone nods as they continue to sail towards where Nami going to.
(With Luffy and co.)
Most of the cooks and the Krieg Pirates were unbelievably shocked as Luffy manages to take down Krieg, despite getting himself hurt in the process.
Seth, Hoopa, Sanji, Ghin, and Zeff are also spectating from the sides as they have watched Luffy punch Krieg.
"I know one thing though, he's nuts." Sanji said as Zeff looks at him before looking towards Luffy back.
"I've seen one or two like him before." Zeff said as Sanji turns to him with curiosity. "Stubborn kids like Chore Boy who rather die than give up."
"No, he'll stay." Sanji commented.
"I'm happy that he's with us." Zeff commented. "Because guys like that are hell to fight." He continued as Sanji look towards Luffy. "I don't care if he wins or loses... I considered it a honor, just to be able to watch him."
'Impossible... I have never seen Don in this state.' Ghin thought as he gulps. 'Either way, I'm eager to see what will happen next.'
"To be frank, Luffy has nerves of steel if he can endure all of those stakes." Hoopa said. "Normally, humans would die for something like that."
"I don't think that's the case, Hoopa." Seth corrected. "Still, what lucky star does Luffy born under? Only time will tell, I guess."
The Krieg Pirates aren't looking so good since their great captain is out cold.
"This isn't good." A pirate said. "We're in trouble now."
"No! That kid's being lucky, that's all!" His crewmate said. "Don Krieg is gonna get up and kick his ass any second now! Just you wait!"
Then, Krieg regains consciousness as he immediately glare towards Luffy.
"Not your funeral, you said?" Krieg said to Luffy as he slowly gets up. "Well someone has gotta go. And since I'm here... I really like to have MY RESPECT!" He said as he tries punch Luffy with a plate that acts as a shield. But the latter simply jumps over the immoral captain before placing one of his feet on Krieg's shoulder, bringing him down again.
"AAAAAH! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" A member of the Krieg Pirates exclaimed in shock. All of them including Ghin are shocked that Krieg is fallen yet again.
"I'm starting to think... that Don Krieg isn't so invincible after all..." Another pirate asked as he gulps while seeing a smirking Luffy. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?"
The cooks are delighted to see Krieg fall as they start to cheer for the rubber boy.
"His amazing!" A cook commented.
"Finish him off, Chore Boy!" Another cook cheered.
"Yeah! Put an end to that brute!" A third cook cheered.
"That punk is fighting Don Krieg its as if they have the same strength!" A pirate said.
"This can't be real...! It's like I'm watching my own nightmare!" Another pirate said.
"He is suppose to be truly invincible." A third pirate said. "If he gets beaten by this little kid, his reputation will be completely—"
"SHUT UP, MAGGOTS! NEVER DOUBT ME!" Krieg interrupted after he managed to get up. He then proceeds to take off the other shoulder plate before putting them together and then pulling something from them, revealing it to be a spear just as its blade appears.
"Now that's a spear." Seth commented as Krieg slams the spear to Luffy, only for him to dodge. The one thing that caught Seth's attention is when the spear hits something, it creates an explosion.
"Finally! He's stop messing around and start level up his playing field!" A pirate said with delight.
"That kid's done for now! Now he's using the Great Battle Spear!" Another pirate added.
"Is that an exploding spear...?" Luffy asked to no one in particular as he grabs onto a mast.
"Now you're hiding from me...?" Krieg asked rhetorically as he takes off his cape. "Alright boy, this should be fun. My Great Battle Spear is my most powerful weapon that I ever have! Its not just attacking you..." He said before he widen his bloodshot eyes. "IT'LL SEND YOU STRAIGHT TO HELL!"
"Geez, you talk too—Whoa!" Luffy said as he jumps away from Krieg just as slams his battle spear, which causes another explosion. Fortunately, he manages to grab onto another part of the ruined ship deck before climbing on top of it. "That spear's suck! It's explodes every time it hits anything!" He commented as he's about to stand, but can't. "What's going on? My knees..."
"He lost way too much blood." Sanji said. "He can't fight for much longer! This better end quickly."
"You looked tired, huh?" Krieg asked mockingly. "Too bad! Guess you should save some energy."
"Damn..." Luffy said as he notices his glowing... as well as healed. "What? I'm... feeling a lot better now." He then turns to see the culprit... who is none other than Seth in his Mind Plate form.
"Thought I give a little helping hand. It's not much, but this will do just fine." Seth said as Luffy smiles at him.
"Thanks, Seth." Luffy said with a smile.
"I can't believe what I'm seeing! That other punk somehow managed to heal him!" A pirate said with disbelief look.
"That's not even possible, is it!?" Another pirate asked.
"Wait a second, when did he get over there so quickly!?" Sanji said as he just noticed Seth now.
"You! What did you do to that brat!?" Krieg asked with disbelief.
"Just a little Heal Pulse." Seth said. "And a little Reflect!" He said as he raises one of his hands, causing a shining, rainbow-colored round barrier appears in front of both of them. He then turns to Luffy. "This should allows you tank those blasts just for a little while."
"Okay! Thanks, Seth!" Luffy said
"But I'm not done..." Seth said as he changes into his Sky Plate form before he takes flight to the air. "Tailwind!" He said as he flaps his wings, creating a wind that blows behind Luffy.
"I feel like I can go faster!" Luffy said as he feels that his feet are lighter than usual.
"What did he use?" Sanji can't help but to ask.
"The first one is Heal Pulse. A move that allows the user to heal their allies. The second one is Tailwind. It's a move that doubles the speed of the user's team." Hoopa said. "This could be useful against someone like Don Krieg."
"So what if you got some boost?" Krieg said as he jumps to where Luffy is as he lands on it safely. "I'll still kill you and that weird brat!" He declared as he swings his battle spear towards Luffy, but every time the latter dodges it with little effort, thanks to Tailwind. "Guess that I need to be faster. NOW DIE!" He shouted as he swings the spear horizontally very fast, but Luffy dodges it... by grabbing onto the spear.
"Whoa. That was a close one." Luffy commented as Krieg notice his opponent, causing the latter to gritted his teeth in furious.
"YOU'RE JUST LIKE A LITTLE BUG!" Krieg shouted angrily as he slams the Great Battle Spear downwards, causing Luffy to be sent flying to the air. After that, Krieg wastes no time to thrust his spear forward towards Luffy, which the rubber boy responds by punching the head with both of his fists. "How foolish." Krieg said as another explosion occurs, one that engulfs Luffy in it.
"Chore Boy!" Sanji said as Luffy is falling to the deck. His eyes are blank white, his mouth wide open as a smoke comes out of it, and he is burnt.
"That should take care him." Krieg smiled with satisfaction as he points his spear towards Seth, who is still airborne. "Now that I've killed your friend, that means you're next!"
"Oh really? I'm not so sure about that." Seth said as he sees Luffy getting up.
"What?" Krieg asked as he turns around and also sees Luffy. Then he gritted his teeth as he feels a mixture feelings of shock and frustration.
"I'm... not done yet!" Luffy said as he glares towards.
"Is that so?" Krieg asked sarcastically as he prepares to swing his Battle
"Damn it...! There's no way he's going to win now." Sanji commented. "That spear is way too powerful!"
"You're wrong." Zeff corrected. "Even with hundreds or thousands of more weapons, our Chore Boy can still bring him to his knees because he does not know fear."
"Then too bad!" He shouted as he swings his spear towards Luffy, causing him to be engulfed in another explosion. Krieg grin maliciously as he finally takes Luffy down before he turns around and walk away... but he heard a sound from behind as he turns to the source... who is revealed to be Luffy standing.
"Now that's impressive." Krieg commented with sarcasm as he readies to attack Luffy once more.
"Stand or fall... Life or death..." Zeff said as Sanji looks towards Luffy. "In a struggle for your very existence, you cannot even have the slightest bit of fear or you'll be lost." He said as Sanji turns to him.
"What are you talking about?" Sanji asked.
"That kid out there..." Zeff said as he sees Krieg swings his spear towards Luffy, which the Luffy responds by trying to punch him, only ends up with the rubber boy damaged by the explosion. "He's not afraid of everything! Not even death...!" He continued as he sees Luffy rises from a pile of rubble with a grin on his face. Then it's followed by Krieg swinging his battle spear again towards Luffy again, which as usual, explodes when it makes contact with him. He was also sent flying backwards before landing as Krieg steps forward. "Is it just instinct? or all a plan...?" He said as he smirks. "We'll know soon enough... if he lives."
"What plan? Killing himself!?" Sanji asked as he sees Luffy standing up.
"I don't think that's the case." Hoopa told Sanji. "Luffy knows what to do. Just you wait and see."
"You... Son of a bitch!" Krieg gritted his teeth as Luffy replied with a defiant grin.
The cooks soon cheer Luffy on as they see him not bite to dust. Ghin can only stare with disbelief with Seth simply smirks.
"There you go, Luffy." Seth muttered as he spectates the battle from the skies.
"I told you! Today is your funeral!" Krieg said as he charge towards Luffy with his Great Battle Spear on hand while Luffy simply grins before Krieg hits him again with the his spear.
"There's no doubt that Krieg and his men are strong. But Chore Boy here has something they never have..." Zeff said as Krieg gives out a satisfying smile before he widen his eyes as his expression is a mixture of shocked and frustrated because he sees Luffy twitching, proving that he's still alive. "Krieg may have more pirates on his command than anyone else before him, he may have terrible weapons that cause mass destruction to everything on his path! But he will never have... that kid's heart. The same can be said to that red eyed kid."
After he got up, Luffy simply stomp the deck with one of his feet, causing the spear's blade to shatter. Krieg soon noticed it.
"What!? My Battle Spear!?" Krieg exclaimed in shock. "What the hell did you do!?"
'Now I understand why he charge towards that spear head on.' Seth thought as he realized about why Luffy is willing to take the Battle Spear head on. "Reckless that may be, but it's damn right clever.'
"I just punched it in the head five times." Luffy answered with a grin. "It looks tired. Maybe it needs some."
Krieg can only gritted his teeth with anger and bloodshot eyes as he cannot believe that Luffy manages to shatter the blade of his powerful weapon.
"And with that said..." Seth descends towards Luffy before turning back to normal. "Now it's just a bomb on a stick."
Krieg, who is frowning, soon smiles as he look towards Luffy and Seth.
"Yes, you're right. It IS just a bomb on a stick." Krieg said. "But it's more than enough send you two straight to hell!" He said as he lifts the bladeless Battle Spear.
"Care to prove that theory?" Seth asked as he is taunting Krieg.
"Yeah! I'll still kick your ass all the same." Luffy said before giving the Pirate Commodore a raspberry.
"Since you two defied me..." Krieg said as he readies his spear. "YOU BOTH HAVE SIGNED YOUR OWN DEATH WARRANTS!" He shouted as he proceeds to charge towards them before slamming down the spear in front of them. Unfortunately, the two manage to dodge the explosion with Seth simply jumps out of the way while Luffy grabs onto a mast behind him ans hangs around like a monkey.
"Ha! You missed!" Luffy mocked Krieg.
"You damn monkey! I'll deal with you first!" Krieg said angrily as he slams the spear to the mast, causing it to fall to the side. But not before Luffy grabs ahold of a part of the mast he was holding onto as he hurls it towards Krieg.
"It's useless!" Krieg said as he burns the incoming mast part with a mini flamethrower on his wrist.
On midair, Luffy proceeds to do a rapid barrage of punches.
"Now Gum Gum Gatling!" Luffy shouted as he do a series of rapid fire punches to Krieg, which only does nothing because of the body armor that the latter is wearing.
After several seconds of trying to punch Krieg, Luffy lands to the deck once he stop his assault.
"You still don't get it, do you?" Krieg asked mockingly before he laughs. "I'm wearing wootz steel body armor! This stuff is practically indestructible!"
"Oh yeah? Then how about this!" Luffy said as he charge towards Krieg with his one of his fists stretches backwards. "Gum Gum Pistol!" He shouted as the fist reels forward and hits Krieg in the center.
Though he doesn't feel from that attack, but Krieg becomes annoyed with Luffy's attempt.
"You stubborn pest! Die already!" Krieg shouted as he slams Luffy with his spear, causing the straw hat boy to be sent flying backwards from the explosion.
"I hope Luffy's alright." Seth muttered aloud as Krieg proceeds to approach Luffy.
"It's useless! My body armor can withstand dozens of your monkey punches!" Krieg said as Luffy slowly gets up.
"We'll just see about that..." Luffy said as he turns to Krieg... but the latter is nowhere in sight. "Huh? Where did he go?"
"He's right there." Seth replied as he points Luffy towards Krieg, who is on top of a mast looking smug and everything.
"You brats don't stand a chance!" Krieg said with a smug grin. "Real power comes from deadly weapons! They're the source of true strength!" He boasted. "See, only the strong are meant to live and that's me!"
Luffy wastes no time to get onto the mast and charge towards Krieg for another attempt of attack. Little does he know, Krieg has one last trick on his sleeve.
"That's what you think! GUM GUM..." Luffy said as he stretches both of his arms backwards while running towards Krieg.
"IT'S USELESS!" Krieg shouted as he hits Luffy with the spear, causing another explosion that engulfed latter. But this doesn't stop the straw hat boy as he simply endured the attack.
"BAZOOKA!" Luffy shouted as he hits Krieg with both of his arms, causing him to sent flying backwards while letting go of the spear.
"It's useless—" He doesn't get to finish as his body armor finally cracks, surprising him. "NO! My body armor cracks!"
Fortunately for Krieg, he scatters his remaining explosive marbles around him in one last attempt to take Luffy down.
"Uh oh. Time to go." Seth said as he swiftly changes to his Mind Plate form before using Teleport to escape.
After Seth finally escapes, the bombs set off, causing some explosion that engulfs Luffy again.
The cooks excluded Zeff are shocked about Krieg's attempt while the Krieg Pirates are delightful to see Luffy being blown up for good.
"Chore Boy!" Sanji called out Luffy before he turns to Seth, who is happen to be next to him. "Hey! You're his friend, aren't you? Do something!"
"I wouldn't worry about Luffy, he won't let some big explosions to take him down." Seth replied. "I have faith that he'll make it out of this. Just you wait and see."
Sanji can only stares at Seth before he turns to the battlefield.
Krieg smirks victoriously as he finally taken down Luffy... or so that he thinks as the latter bursts forth from the smokes, surprising the foul pirate once more.
"What the!?" Krieg said as Luffy looks at him with a grin.
"Gum Gum Bazooka!" Luffy shouted as he attacks Krieg in the body armor once more, causing the armor to be completely shattered by Luffy's Gum Gum Bazooka.
"There we go." Seth said with satisfaction smile.
"Ha ha! I did it! I won!" Luffy said happily. Unfortunately for him though...
"THIS ISN'T OVER, YOU BRAT!" Krieg shouted as he barely stay conscious enough for one last attempt.
"He's still alive?" Luffy asked before Krieg catches him with his specialized steel net.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! Now you're going down to the sea!" Krieg said. "And it looks like that I'll be getting the last laugh after all!"
"Go, Don!" A member of Krieg's crew cheered.
"Make that brat pay!" Another one cheered.
"It's great and all, but..." Luffy said as he manages get arms and legs out from the net. "But I got you where I wanted to." He said before he stretches his legs towards Krieg while twisting it as it doesn't take long for his feet to catch Krieg by the face.
"Seth, you better be ready to catch him." Hoopa advised.
"I know." Seth replied.
"NOW GUM GUM..." Luffy shouted as he begin to untwist his legs, causing Krieg to spin around screaming as he head straight towards the deck. "... GIANT HAMMER!" He shouted as he slams Krieg to the deck, with him having his mouth open, bleeding, and have blank eyes as the dreaded pirate is finally defeated.
Of course, while the cooks cheered and the Krieg Pirates expresses shock with disbelief, Luffy falls down to the sea because he is still trapped within the steel net.
"Guess that's my cue." Seth said as he turns to his Splash Plate form before he dive to the sea towards Luffy.
"What's he doing?" Sanji asked after seeing Seth dive to the sea.
"That kid made the right choice. Chore Boy can't swim." Zeff said as Sanji turns to him.
"What do you mean?" Sanji asked.
"Those who ate the Devil Fruit are hated by the sea." Zeff explained.
"You mean that he's literally going to sink like a rock!?" Sanji asked as he is surprised at this newfound information.
"Not unless that red eyed brat manage save him in time." Zeff said as Seth comes to the surface with Luffy in tow.
"I got him!" Seth said as he puts Luffy onto the deck before getting onboard himself.
"How was he?" Sanji asked him as Seth turns back to normal.
"He's fine. Luffy's sleeping." Seth said as he points out Luffy snoring.
"In here I thought he's dying. What an idiot." Sanji said before pounding Luffy in the head, with the latter is too asleep to feel.
'They actually did it...' Ghin thought as he stares at Luffy and Seth with disbelief, though he stares more at Luffy. 'Maybe he did got what it takes to go to the Grand Line...' He pondered as he look towards his hand. 'If I'm brave, just like those two... then maybe... just maybe that I-'
All of sudden, Krieg stands up and starts yelling while he's half conscious.
"I'M THE STRONGEST! NO ONE HAS EVER DEFEATED ME!" Krieg yelled.
"Just stay down, Don!" One pirate said as they all try to subdue their captain. Eventhough not fully conscious, Krieg manages to get them off of him.
"I WON'T LOSE FOR I AM DON KRIEG!" Krieg shouted. "I'LL FIGHT UNTIL I WIN-"
Without warning, Seth punches Krieg in the gut so hard that he passes out on his back again.
"Enough is enough, you pathetic excuse of a pirate." Seth said. "You lost, so stop being a poor sport and accept it." He said as he turns to the Krieg Pirates. "You have two choices: Call off the attack and get the hell out of here and don't bother coming back. Or if you want a to fight a losing battle, then I'll be happy to oblige."
All of the Krieg Pirates gulps as they were given an ultimatum by Seth.
"So, what's it going to be?" Seth asked with a dangerous tone of voice. Luckily, he get the answer sooner than he thinks.
"WE SURRENDER!" All of the Krieg Pirates said as they concede defeat.
"You know, it's a miracle that how a small boat can hold all of these pirates." Hoopa commented as he and Seth are left bewildered at the sight of multiple pirates including Krieg and Pearl on a small boat. Of course, there's a second one, that is empty.
"I know. Nothing make sense in this world anymore." Seth added as he turns to Ghin. "So, what are you going to do next?"
"I think... I'm going to the Grand Line." Ghin answered.
"But you said you don't want to return there." Hoopa pointed it out.
"That maybe true..." Ghin said before looking towards the sky. "But after seeing that straw hat boy defeating Krieg and battling that... Pokémon, maybe I should do the same."
"With the Krieg Pirates?" Hoopa asked.
"No..." Ghin said as he plant his foot on the ship... and pushes it, making the boat set sail without him. "I'm through following a pathetic crew like that."
"Then you could join us." Seth said. "We're heading to the Grand Line too once we done dealing with something."
"I appreciate the offer, but I have to decline." Ghin softly refused. "If I'm going to the Grand Line, then I need to gather my own crew. One that can handle anything that the Grand Line throws at us. One... that is like yours."
"So you're basically saying that you want to start from scratch?" Sanji asked as he blows some smoke from his cigarette.
"Yes. I hope you can understand." Ghin said.
"Oh no, we understand perfectly." Seth said. "If that's what you want, then so be it. I'm sure if Luffy's awake, he'll tell you the same thing."
"Agreed." Ghin said as he get onboard of a second boat. Just before he set sails, he then turns to Seth, Hoopa, and Sanji. "One last thing: Can you all do me a favor and tells that straw hat boy a message?"
"Depends on the message, really." Seth said.
""See you in the Grand Line"." Ghin said as he sails away to parts unknown, to wherever the boat takes him.
(The next day)
"Come on! Is that the best you can do!? I wouldn't serve this slop to anyone!" Zeff shouted towards Seth as the former kicks him with his peg leg. Speaking of Seth, he's currently in the kitchen with Zeff, wearing an apron.
"Crap!" Seth cursed as he get sent flying across the kitchen. Fortunately, Seth isn't hurt too bad. "You really play rough around here."
"Of course, I am a former pirate after all." Zeff said. "And this is the Baratie, where the cook fights."
"I know that." Seth said as he gets up. "Still though, I still don't get why you want to teach me how to cook."
"I can tell at first glance that you're a cook." Zeff answered towards. "It would be go to waste if you don't hone that skill."
"And that involves me getting kicked around." Seth replied. "Is this how you teach Sanji to cook?"
"Correct. I happen to taught some few things to that brat." Zeff said. "My fighting style, my habits, and etc."
"That's good to know." Seth said.
"I forgot to mention that there's another reason why I teach you cooking." Zeff said.
"And that is?" Seth asked with a raised eyebrow.
"To help your little problem." Zeff said.
"Excuse me?" Seth asked.
"The one that has you having trouble with women." Zeff said.
"How did you-"
"It's not hard seeing it from you." Zeff said. "You've been giving weird looks to other women other than that orange haired friend of yours."
Seth can only sighed in defeat before talking.
"It's... complicated." Seth said. "I don't want to talk about it. At least... not now."
"I see..." Zeff said as he brushes his mustache. "In that case, I won't pry to that any longer."
"Thank you for your understanding." Seth said.
"With that said, let's continue to where we left off!" Zeff ordered Seth as the cooking lesson continues.
Despite the abuses he suffered, Seth continues on with honing his cooking skills with Zeff. It takes for quite while since every time Seth does wrong in his cooking, he was ordered to remake it over and over again.
Seth has every opportunity to give up and leave the kitchen, but he chose not to because there's something inside him told him to keep on trying no matter what it takes.
On Zeff's part, he sees improvement on each dish that Seth brought to him. He may be a bit hard on Seth, but The Pokémon Trainer believe that he is teaching him cooking with the only way he know how, and Seth doesn't hold any resentment towards the former pirate.
After three hours have passed, Seth finally presents Zeff with a dish that is simply eye catching. It is a spaghetti carbonara with lots of creamy sauce as well as some squids and shrimps on top of it.
"All right. Let's see how you do better this time..." Zeff said as he tasted the dish while Seth look towards the Head Chef with anticipation. After taking his time on finishing the dish, Zeff give Seth a bonk with his top hat.
"Hey! What was that for!?" Seth asked while holding his head.
"The dish taste great, but not enough to impress me." Zeff said. "But I guess that'll do."
"Is it a yes or no?" Seth asked.
"Depends on how you will think." Zeff said. "But I have to give it a yes."
"Well that's a relief." Seth said as he sighed in relief. "Even if you didn't give me a straight answer."
"Hey! Soup's ready!" Patty told his fellow cooks as they go towards the dining hall.
"I'm afraid that this is where our lesson ends." Zeff said. "Just remember about what I thought you, and you'll be fine."
"Thanks a lot, old man." Seth said as Zeff leaves the kitchen. Once he leave, Seth takes a seat on a chair before he takes off the apron. "Whew. I'm glad that's over."
Then, Hoopa appears from his portal.
"That was a good try there, Seth." Hoopa said. "It was very impressive to watch."
"Thank you for the compliment." Seth said. "Still, I didn't expect for the old man forcing me to have a lesson with him."
"It is your fault for being a cook, you know." Hoopa said.
"I suppose it was." Seth replied.
"Hey! Who prepare this soup!?" Patty's voice can be heard as this gains the attention of both Seth and Hoopa.
"Let's go check it out." Seth offered.
"Guess we should." Hoopa replied as they both leave the kitchen and into the dining hall, where Sanji's looking pissed and so is Patty.
"I think something about to go down." Hoopa said.
"You think?" Seth replied.
"That soup is nothing but a delicacy! There's something wrong with your tastebuds." Sanji said in an angry tone.
"Bleh! That's gross!" Carne said as he puts his spoon down hard, infuriating Sanji.
"I can't eat this!" A cook said as he too put his spoon down before spitting in disgust. "Revolting!"
Soon, most of the cooks put their spoon down as they feel disgusted of Sanji's soup, which infuriates the blonde cook even more.
"What the hell is wrong with you, bastards!?" Sanji asked angrily. "That soup is supposed to be deli-"
He never gets to finish as Zeff drops his plate to the floor, shattering in the process.
"This soup taste like rotten barnacles." Zeff commented as he wipes his mouth with his sleeve. "That slop will surely put my restaurant out of business!"
This is a last straw for Sanji as he marches towards Zeff angrily and grabs hil by the collar.
"How is it my soup that different than yours, you damn geezer!?" Sanji asked angrily. "I made the damn thing just like how you made it!"
"You think mine is the same as yours!? Learn your place, you brat!" Zeff snapped as he outright punches Sanji across his face, shocking the cooks. This is because Zeff never punches Sanji before since he always kicked the blonde cook around. "I'm a cooking veteran, you damn runt! I have cook all over the world! You can never be like me!"
Hearing these words made Sanji even more livid. Like a Gyarados that is about to go on a dangerous temper tantrum.
"Oh my. He's gonna blow his top." Seth said as he eat his share of the food.
"To hell with all of you!" He cursed as he storms outside before slamming the door hard.
Luffy, Seth, and Hoopa are tasting the soup as they finish them all.
"What are you talking about? This soup is great!" Luffy said as he does a second helping to the soup.
"Yeah. Why do you have to go and lie like that? Even if that feels necessary." Hoopa said.
"We know that, but we don't much of a choice." Zeff said, revealing that he and his cooks were just acting. "Everyone here in the Baratie knows that Sanji is an outstanding chef."
"Yeah, he's great."
"Aside from Chef Zeff, he's the best we got."
"That was scary, he seriously snapped."
"No kidding. It's almost as if my heart is about to pop."
"But the only problem is that idiot is a little stubborn for his own good." Zeff explained as he sees Luffy still eating. "Hey, listen. You were saying you needed a cook for your ship, right? Well, this isn't something I would ask of anyone, but would you mind taking that brat along with you? Taking him to the Grand Line?"
The words made Luffy twitches as he turns to Zeff.
"That would be best for him..." Zeff said with a smile. "The Grand Line was his dream."
"I love to take him..." Luffy said before swallowing a food. "But I won't."
This makes the cooks even Zeff baffled at Luffy's decision.
"But you said you wanted a cook for your ship." Zeff argued. "What are you trying to say? Is he suddenly not good enough for you?"
"Oh no, he's a great cook. There's no doubt about that." Luffy said before he eats a food once more. "It's just that he really wanted to stay cooking with all of you, so no matter how many times you ask me, I'm not gonna take him." He continued.
"I see. So you're basically that he needs to join your crew on his own terms, right?" Zeff asked while stroking his mustache.
"Yeah." Luffy said before he hand the plates towards him. "More please!"
"That seems fair, but I don't know when will that hot headed brat will join you on his own free will." Zeff replied.
"Yeah. Once he decides something, he won't change his minds that easily." Patty said as something suddenly crashes to the walls of the Baratie from the outside. And as the dust settles, it reveals to be Sanji... and Yosaku, who has his body in the mouth of a shark.
"Sanji, what is that?"
"Is that a Fishman?"
"You idiots! It's just a human in a Pan Shark!"
Luffy soon noticed Yosaku.
"Oh, it's Yosaku." Luffy said as Seth approaches the man.
"Hey, Yosaku! Perfect timing." Seth said. "Where's the others? Have you caught up to Nami yet?"
"Seth, I think we should give him some time to recover." Hoopa advised as Seth decides to pull Yosaku out of the shark before handling said shark.
After Seth puts the shark back in the water as it swam away, Yosaku was given a towel wrapped around him as he drinks a glass of water.
"We couldn't catch up to Big Sis Nami. But from the direction she's heading, we have figured out on where she going and what she intends to do there." Yosaku explained.
"We can still bring her back, right?" Luffy asked.
"Maybe..." Yosaku said before she raises a finger. "If our suspicions are true, then the place she's heading towards to could mean certain death to those who followed her."
'If my suspicions are true... she's heading towards Arlong.' Seth thought as he finally put some pieces together. 'I knew there's something going on with him and Nami.' He thought as he facepalms. 'The question is why would she hide this instead of telling us? Is Arlong really that big of a deal to her?'
"We really need you both, Big Bro Luffy, Big Bro Seth." Yosaku said.
"Say no more, Yosaku." Seth said as he stretches his arms a bit. "Let's head there right now."
"Yeah! I don't really get it, but let's do it." Luffy agreed as he, Seth, and Hoopa proceeds to exit the restaurant with Yosaku in tow. After walking a few steps, they were stopped by a familiar voice... who is none other than Sanji.
"Hey." Sanji called them, but more specifically, Luffy. "Your dream's foolish... then again, so is mine." He said as Luffy turns away from him. "Now's a good time as any. Why not start my quest right now?"
"Sanji..." Luffy called out his name softly.
"I'll be joining your little crew on your journey to become King of the Pirates." Sanji said as Luffy, Seth, and Hoopa turns to him with a surprised looks. "You hear me? I want to be the cook on your ship."
The Baratie cooks can only stare at him and his proposal.
"So, what do you say?" Sanji asked, causing Luffy to be very happy.
"Yeah!" Luffy said as he laughed before he and Yosaku do a happy dance with each other.
"Welcome to the crew, Sanji." Seth said as he extends his hand of friendship towards Sanji.
"Yeah." Sanji said as he takes the hand, allowing him and Seth to shake hands. He then turns to the Baratie cooks. "You guys happy now? Sorry, really. I'll leave now."
"Hah! I don't like it." Patty said with his arms folded. "I was hoping that I get to kick you out personally, but I guess you're okay about abandoning us."
"Well I'm sorry that you all had to resort to bad acting." Sanji retorted, shocking Patty.
"What the!? How did you know!?" Patty asked.
"First off, I heard the whole thing." Sanji answered. "Second, it's kind of obvious. I'm not sure if you call that acting."
"Why you...!?" Patty growled as Sanji turns to Zeff. "It's always a fight with you!"
"Is that the best plan you came up with? Stomping on my pride?" Sanji said to Zeff.
"Don't ignore me, you bastard! Let's throw down, right here right now!" Patty said before Zeff outstretched his hand in front of the big forearms cook, stopping before the latter turns to Sanji.
"Hmph. I never like children." Zeff retorted. "As matter of fact, I hate children. There wasn't a day that I didn't regret saving a worthless twerp like you."
"Well, enjoy the rest of your miserable life in here, you old bastard." Sanji retorted in kind.
After that, Sanji go to his quarters in order to pack his belongings while Luffy packs some food for the journey. Currently, Seth, Hoopa, and Yosaku are one of Baratie's spare boat. It doesn't take Luffy to appear with a bag of food on him, along with the cooks who are standing on the patched up fin. All of them are waiting for Sanji to come out.
Soon enough, Sanji comes out from the restaurant with his belongings as he started walking towards Seth and the rest. But suddenly, Patty and Carne appears as they proceed to do an ambush on Sanji with their weapons on hand.
"This is our version of goodbye, Sanji!" Patty yelled.
"Let's see how you handle this-" Carne said before Sanji effortlessly defeats them and they didn't see it coming.
Seth and Hoopa sweatdrop at the sight.
"Really? That was dumb." Seth commented.
"If it were me, I would keep my mouth shut." Hoopa added as Sanji arrived near the boat.
"Well? Let's get going." Sanji said.
"Don't you want to say goodbye first?" Luffy asked.
"Luffy's right. That old man kinda like a dad to you." Seth added. "There's no telling when you'll be able to see him again."
"It's fine. There's no need to." Sanji said as he prepares to get onboard the boat. But just as he able to land his foot to the boat...
"Hey, Sanji." Zeff said, calling the blonde cook from the balcony of the restaurant on the second floor. "Take care of yourself."
Hearing those words made Sanji tears up as he can't keep up with his cold facade anymore. He then turns around and bow to the point where his head hits the deck.
"Thank you, you geezer!" Sanji said while in tears. "I WILL NEVER FORGET YOUR KINDNESS! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING YOU DONE FOR ME! THANK YOU!" He said as he still bow his head to the deck.
Soon, the cooks are also starts to crying with Zeff sheds some tears himself.
"SANJI YOU ASSHOOOLE!" Patty said while in tears, getting Sanji attention. "I'm gonna miss you, you bastard."
"Yeah I'm gonna miss you too, Sanji!" Carne added.
"We're all going to miss you, Sanji!"
"This place will be lonely without you!"
Hearing those words made Sanji smile through his tears, happy to know that they really did care about him.
"You idiots." Zeff said with a smile as he wipes off some tears. "A farewell between men are one without words, let alone tears."
After shed enough tears, Sanji got on the boat.
"Now that we have our cook..." Luffy said with a grin. "LET'S GO!" He said as he raises a fist to the air.
"Welp, you heard the captain. Let's set sail!" Seth said as Yosaku unfurls the sails and the boat sailed off.
While still in tears, Sanji was waving goodbye to his fellow cooks as well as his father figure until he couldn't see the Baratie anymore.
'Don't worry, Nami. I'm coming...' Seth thought with a determined look as the boat sail towards their next destination, wherever that may be.
(Somewhere on the Grand Line)
Inside the building of what appears to be a research facility was a lone man, sitting on a chair as if it is his throne. There's nothing much to say about this figure since the only thing visible it's his yellow demonic eyes which they're visible as he wakes up.
"So... the Mirage Dragon has finally been awakened after all these years?" The man said as he chuckles sinisterly. "How interesting."
A crow descents from above as it perch on the man's shoulder. The crow then caws at the man as if it's talking to the man.
"Patience, Wormwood. We will soon meet whoever is the vessel of the Mirage Dragon. That and as wells as the vessel of the Shining Bird of course." The man assured his companion. "The rest of the powers from those mighty creatures will soon be mine." He said as he soon lets out an evil laugh throughout the facinity with the crow also imitates his laughter.
(With Nami)
"I'm finally here." Nami said as she looks towards an island from the Going Merry. Her clothes is diffirent from yesterday. Now she wears now wears a green camisole with dark green flower shapes, tight black pants with two yellow rings on the sides, and light orange high-heeled sandals.
"Home." Nami said as she heads towards a building with a Jolly Roger on top of it. The flag has the picture of an intimidating saw shark.
With Luffy's triumph against the dreaded Don Krieg, Sanji has finally join the crew. However, their dilemma is only just getting started as Nami suddenly took off with the Going Merry. What exactly her connections with Arlong? All shall be revealed in due time as the journey continues...
Baratie Arc
END
Next...
L: Are fishmen looks like this?
Sn: So why Nami would go after this guy?
H: That's a one big Miltank-looking creature.
Hnr: I-I don't want to do this, but you leave me no choice
?: You filthy human... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!?
J: He's dead... Big Sis Nami killed him!
S/H/L: Next time on A Star in the Ocean, Chapter 16: The Eastern Terror! Arlong the Fishman
L: I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!
And that concludes the Baratie Arc as well as Chapter 15.
Needless to say, I was hoping to get this chapter up early, but... my grandma passed away last Saturday after several days of being hospitalized. Though, I have to keep moving forward while cherishing my memories with her.
Concerning Ghin, I initially wanted him on the crew... but I decided not too. On the other hand, he chose to strike his own and build his crew from scratch. He'll appear in a future original arc along with his crew.
And the mystery man at the end of the chapter? I can't say much, but he's a villain that's for sure. His crow, Wormwood (which I got the name from Sofia the First) is more than just an ordinary bird. You'll see in due time.
Comments and reviews are appreciated :)