Chapter 10: The Amazing Floating Restaurant!Enter Baratie!
It had been a couple of days since the crew left Syrup village. The days went on as usual,with haki training for Nami,Zoro and Coby,followed by either Zoro or Nami sparring with Luffy and Coby studying marksmanship under Ussopp. Garp and Makino were usually in the galley,with Garp more often by the helm.
Luffy saw Ussopp standing by the railing,looking out on the sea. "Thinking,Ussopp?" he said as he walked over and stood next to the sniper. "Not quite. I feel a couple of signatures somewhere in this direction,I'm just trying to pinpoint the location. One seems to be in distress,and the other feels sick" Ussopp said. Luffy frowned and followed his Observation haki. "They're a couple of miles more out,we'll see their location in about ten or twenty minutes" Luffy said before walking up to Garp. "Gramps,turn us five degrees to port,me and Ussopp has noticed a couple of signatures that might need help" he said. Garp just smiled. "Aye-aye,captain,five degrees port!" the old sailor announced as he turned the wheel.
Sure enough,ten minutes later,they came across a small rock with a small dinghy attached. "Me and Ussopp will see if there is anyone there,and if there is anything we can do to help" Luffy said. A moment later they found two men,one was apparently sitting guard for the other,who looked to be sick. "Excuse me" Luffy said,causing the man to jump and look at them. "Do you need help?" asked the young captain. "Umm,yeah,we do. My partner here is sick. A couple of days ago, some old wounds reopened,and yesterday he collapsed" the man explained. "Bring him aboard,maybe Gramps knows what's wrong" Luffy said,getting a nod from Ussopp.
A couple of minutes later,they had brought the two men on the ship and put the sick one to rest in the galley. Luffy,Ussopp,Makino and Garp stood around them when Zoro came in to the galley. He took a double-take when he saw the two men. "Johnny?Yosaku?What the hell happened to you?" he asked. Luffy looked at Zoro. "Oh? You know these guys Zoro?" he asked. Zoro nodded. "I got to know them during my bounty-hunting days. I helped them take down some small-fry bounties every now and then. What the hell happened to you guys?" the green-haired swordsman asked the newly identified Johnny. "Oh,Zoro-aniki" Johnny said. "Yosaku is sick,and I don't know what with. His old wounds have reopened,and he collapsed yesterday" Johnny said with tears in his eyes.
Garp looked at Yosaku's injuries with a critical eye. "What have you been eating?" he asked. "Well,we've had whatever we've been able to hunt and fish,why?" Garp looked at him with a deadpan expression. "Idiots" he grumbled. Johnny's expression turned angry. "OI!What do you mean by that,old man?"he exclaimed. Garp fixed him with a look. "I mean that your friend has scurvy. Very common among newcomers on the sea. It's what happens when you haven't gotten enough Vitamin C in you" Garp pointed to Zoro. "Go fetch some limes from storage,at least half a dozen,and I'll make a vitamin shake for this idiot to swallow " Garp said as he walked over to the refrigerator and started to fix up ingredients. Zoro nodded and went to the storage to find the limes. A couple minutes later,Zoro had come back with the limes,and Garp started mixing together the vitamin cocktail. "Have him finish this" Garp said as he gave a tall glass to Johnny.
He then looked at Luffy. "I really hope you're planning on getting a chef soon Luffy. I can't be here all the time" the old sailor said. Luffy nodded in agreement. "Yeah,we need to find a chef that can fight" Luffy said. "Excuse me Luffy-aniki" said Johnny from where he was pouring juice into Yosaku's mouth. "Did you say that you need a fighting chef?I know the perfect place!" Luffy grinned. "Oh?And where would that be?" the young captain asked. "The Baratie! It's located about 2 days away from here to the north west" Johnny said. Luffy looked at Garp. "Well,you heard the man! South west it is!" Luffy said before he and Zoro went out to train some more.
The next day,Johnny and a slightly recovered Yosaku sat out on the deck and watched the crew train. "Zoro-aniki's so strong-"Johnny said. "-Yet he's actually struggling against Luffy-aniki" Yosaku finished. Off to the side of the ship Coby was trying to shoot off some targets Ussopp had put up. "Shoot down as many as you can see from where you are. Judging from that we'll find out what kind of weapon suits you best" Ussopp said. Coby nodded and took aim. '20 targets. 5 at 10 meter,10 at 20 meter,5 at 30 meter' the pinkette thought to himself as he took a deep breath and exhaled before releasing his shots. Without thinking,he released 10 shots in rapid succession. When he was done,Ussopp walked over to the targets. "Not bad,Coby! You got all the closest targets,and a couple of the mid-range ones. I see that you didn't get any of the long range ones though" Ussopp commented. Coby scratched the back of his head. "Yeah,I tried to,but I just didn't feel comfortable at the distance" the pinkette said. Ussopp nodded with a smile. "That's fine,that can't stop you from becoming a good shooter. When we get to Logue town,we'll see if we can't find you a mid-range weapon,like a shotgun and a couple of pistols in case,all right?" Ussopp said,getting a nod and a smile from the pinkette.
After Luffy was done training with Zoro,he walked over to Nami,who stood by the helm with Garp. "Hey Nami,how far away would you say we are?" the fox-eared captain said. Nami smiled. "At this rate,we'll be there by mid-day tomorrow" she said. Luffy grinned. "Nice. How far away is Baratie from Cocoyashi?" he asked. Nami furrowed her brows slightly. "I'd say another day and a half at a normal rate" she said. Luffy nodded and walked over to Ussopp,who had just sent Coby off to Zoro. "Hey,Ussopp?" "What's up,Luffy?"the sniper asked. "What do you say to hoisting the colours a little early?" Luffy asked,causing Ussopp to almost drop his rifle as he looked at his captain. "Are you sure,Luffy?I mean,are you sure we can deal with the marines this early?" he asked.
Luffy nodded seriously. "Nami,Coby and Zoro's training has paid off in spades. I'm confident we could handle anything that comes at us on this side of Reverse Mountain" he said. Ussopp swallowed hard before he nodded. "When?" he asked. "Tonight,right as the sun sets" Luffy said before walking over to Garp. Ussopp looked after his captain as he sat down to do maintenance and cleaning of his rifle. "Damn,that ,well. At least I can stop holding back"Ussopp said to himself with a small smile.
At dinner that day,Luffy stood up. "I have an announcement to make. Tonight,as the sun sets,we are going to hoist the colors" this,of course,surprised Nami and Coby most. "Are you sure about this,Luffy?" Nami asked. Luffy nodded at her with a smile. "I am. You three have soaked up our training better than I could have imagined. I am confident that you could handle every obstacle we may come across on this side of Reverse Mountain"he said,causing Coby and Nami to smile and Zoro to smirk. "Excuse me,Luffy-aniki" Johnny said. "But did you just say to hoist the colors? Does that mean that you're pirates?" the swordsman asked. Luffy nodded. "That's correct. I apologize for deceiving you,but to be fair,we're still pretty new. We originally weren't planning on hoisting our flag until we crossed the Reverse Mountain. However, after we've found our cook,we're going to war with a group of fishmen on the Conomi Islands,and I want to send them a message. That is why we're hoisting the colors tonight. You two are bounty hunters,right?" Luffy asked,getting a nod from the duo. "Well,there's no bounties on this ship,unless Gramps' is still active" Luffy said with a questioning look at Garp,who chuckled. "Oh? Were you a pirate,Garp-san?" Yosaku asked,causing almost everyone to laugh. "Oy,Yosaku!" Zoro said between laughs. "You heard our captain's name,right? Monkey D. Luffy" the green-haired swordsman said,causing the other two swordsmen to pale. "You-you're Monkey D. Garp?!" the two exclaimed,looking like they were about to faint. "Guilty as charged,though I'm not sure what my bounty was before I retired" the old pirate said.
Yosaku found a bunch of papers from inside his jacket. "We take care to collect all the up-to-date bounty posters" Johnny explained. "Geez,I'd never think we'd ever meet one of the world's most famous pirates,especially not one who sailed with the Pirate King" Yosaku said as he flicked through the papers. The two swordsmen eventually stopped at one page. "this is it" Johnny said as he took the paper out of the pile,only to rapidly pale. "What's it say,Johnny?" Zoro asked. Johnny swallowed. "Monkey D. Garp,Wanted dead or alive, Beri!" he exclaimed. Almost everyone had their jaws drop to the floor at that revelation,except for Luffy,who had a big shit-eating grin on his face,Ussopp,who had figured it out years ago,when he realized that even Shanks were reluctant to anger the old man,and Garp himself,who had the audacity to actually blush at the large sum put on his head. "Woo! Gramps,who'd have thought that you still have such a huge bounty?! That's awesome!" Luffy exclaimed. "I'm so happy that he is not my enemy" Nami mumbled,getting a nod of agreement from Zoro,Johnny and Yosaku.
"I gotta say,that was more than what I expected" Garp said. "Wait,so you didn't know what your own bounty was?" Zoro asked,getting a shake of the head from the old sailor. "Nah,I never bothered knowing about stuff like that,I figured it would make me cocky. The only kind of fame that I cared about was the nickname I got; Garp the Fist. I got that nickname after a big fight with the marines where I accidentally got a little carried away and leveled a mountain" Garp finished with a grin. Once again,Zoro,Nami,Coby and the two traveling swordsmen were left speechless.
"Holy...How the hell did you level a mountain?" Nami exclaimed with wide eyes. Garp grinned. "Let me show you" was all he said before walking out on deck. The crew all followed him out. Garp made sure he had everyone's attention before speaking. "Luffy,remember when I gave you my old knives?" he asked. Luffy tilted his head,before nodding. "Yeah,they were in an old chest along with the weapon's belt and your old brass knuckles" Luffy said. Garp nodded. "Those brass knuckles is how I leveled that mountain" the old man said,before retrieving said items from his pants pockets. "Pay attention,I want to see if you guys can understand" Garp said with a serious look at each of them. He slipped the brass knuckles onto his hands and squeezed. Instantly,the sea around them were quaking,and the vibrations started rocking the ship. Nami panicked. "What?Sea Kings here? They are supposed to be in the Calm Belt only!" she exclaimed as she ran to the side of the ship. Then the vibrations stopped. "What the hell? How the hell did you do that?" Zoro asked.
Garp smiled. "These brass knuckles has been with me since I first joined up with Roger,on my first trip to Logue town. Inexperienced and dumb as I was,I simply picked up a weapon without knowing what it was. I just thought they were old and beaten down,judging from the dents on them. However,I later found out that the previous owner had destroyed an island just by grabbing the brass knuckles too tightly. I have no idea how,and I don't know why. All I know is that I eventually learned to control how much power to use" the old pirate said. Everyone on board was in shock. Those brass knuckles were capable of destroying islands? Everyone there woved to never piss off Monkey D. Garp.
Luffy then turned to Johnny and Yosaku with a serious expression on his face. "You got your answer. Anything else?" he asked the bounty hunter duo. Both shook their heads vigorously. "No more questions,Luffy-aniki. We swear,we will never reveal any secrets that has been spoken aboard this ship" they said in unison,causing a sweatdrop to form on everyone else.
Luffy then turned to his crew. "The sun sets in an hour. Ussopp,take Coby and grab two of the barrels from the cargo hold. Gramps,take Johnny and Yosaku and make sure we're on the right course. Zoro,Nami. You two and Coby were our first crewmates. As such,we might demand more of you than we will of any other crewmates we'll have. Whenever we're not available,Zoro's in charge,just never when it comes to directions" Luffy said at the end,causing a tick mark to form on the swordsman's head. "What's that supposed to mean?" he yelled, sharkteeth showing in his mouth for a moment. Nami simply nodded. She understood where Luffy came from and why Zoro was promoted to third-in command instead of her.
"I understand,Luffy-kun" she said. Luffy simply ignored Zoro's outburst and smiled at Nami. "Follow me" he said before walking to the bow of the ship. Just then did Ussopp and Coby come up from the cargo holds with two barrels each. "I see your strength is starting to pick up,Coby" Luffy said with a smile.
The pink-haired teen smiled. "Yes,thanks to yours and Ussopp's training,Captain" he said. Then he saw that Luffy opened a secret hull in the mast and took something out of it. Then he turned to look forward.
And then he started to sing:
The king and his men
Stole the queen from her bed
And bound her in her Bones.
The seas be ours
And by the powers
Where we will we'll roam.
Then Ussopp took over:
Yo, ho, haul together,
Hoist the colors high.
Then Zoro and Coby automatically joined in:
Heave ho, thieves and beggars,
Never shall we die.
Nami took a step forward and sang:
Some men have died
And some are alive
And others sail on the sea
With the keys to the cage...
And the Devil to pay
We lay to Fiddler's Green!
Makino took a place next to Nami and sang:
The bell has been raised
From it's watery grave...
Do you hear it's sepulchral tone?
We are a call to all,
Pay head the squall
And turn your sail toward home!
Then Garp,Johnny and Yosaku joined in for the last part:
Yo, ho, haul together,
Hoist the colors high.
Heave ho,
Thieves and beggars,
Never shall we die.
As the last verse was sung, Luffy gave Ussopp the flag. The long-nosed teen immediately walked over to the mast and fastened it and hoisted it. As the flag was hoisted Luffy called Zoro,Nami and Coby to him.
"You three were our first crewmates and will be essential in keeping up training any newcomers.I am not going to collect just anyone,so our crew has no plans of becoming too big to control" Luffy said. "Ussopp is my first mate,and so is directly under me when it comes to giving direct orders. However,I have the final say unless a situation has showed up where I am not able to be present, understand?" he said as he looked at his three crewmates,who all nodded seriously,knowing that this time was not a time for jokes or arguments. "Good. Now,let's drink!" he said with a grin that was copied by everyone else on the ship.
The Strawhat Pirates partied into the wee hours in the morning the day after. When Luffy got up,Ussopp was standing at the helm. "How long until we reach the Baratie?" the straw-hatted teen asked. Ussopp simply shrugged and said: "According to Yosaku,we got a bit more tailwind during the night,so with our current speed,I'd say we're about six hours out". Luffy nodded and went into the kitchen,where Makino and Garp were making breakfast.
"Good morning nee-chan,Gramps!" he said with a smile. Makino smiled at her surrogate little brother. "You seem in a good mood this morning,Luffy-kun" he said. Luffy nodded as he sat down across from Garp. "Yeah,I just talked to Ussopp,he said that we're about six hours out from Baratie" he said.
Garp sat down with a small grin. "Baratie...Right,owner is an old retired pirate,by the name of "Red-legged" Zeff. He got his nickname because he only attacked with kicks,seeing as he was both the captain and the cook of his crew. His epithet came from his legs being stained by the blood of his enemies. I met him a few years ago,while you,Ace and Sabo got trained by Shanks and his men. He had a little protege as well,could be that you'd get him to join" the old man said with a knowing smirk at Luffy,who grinned back as Makino gave him a serving of pancakes and a cup of coffee. "We'll see. If he's as awesome as he sounds,I'd be glad to have him,but I won't force the issue" the raven-haired captain said.
Just then Zoro,Nami,Coby,Johnny and Yosaku came in the door. "Any news on our position,Luffy-kun?" Nami asked as she sat down next to him. Luffy nodded as he ate. "Ussopp said we're approximately six hours out from the Baratie. Eat light people,we're having some light training while we're still out at sea" he said as he gulped down his coffee. His crew took him up on it and ate quickly,knowing Luffy would be extremely unhappy if kept waiting.
A couple of hours later,Luffy was training Zoro's Observation haki when Ussopp called out from the helm: "Luffy!Marines incoming at 4 o'clock!" Luffy walked over to the side of the ship and looked at the incoming marine ship. "Nobody move until they have attacked" Luffy said,loud enough for everyone to hear.
Eventually the marine ship came up on the side of them and a voice called out:
"You there,Pirates!" Luffy arched an eyebrow over the speaker. He was a tall,thin,pink-haired man with an arrogant smirk on his face. "Yes?" he asked,causing the man to falter for a moment before catching his drift. "I am marine lieutenant "Iron-fist" Fullbody. I have never seen that pirate flag before,who is your captain?" Luffy narrowed his eyes. "I am,so what?" causing the marine to take a step back before regaining his arrogant tone. "I have no time to waste on worthless pirates,I have a date" he said as he pointed to a lower rank marine. "Sink their ship" he said as he walked off. Luffy narrowed his eyes further. "Let's see if I can do this as well as Gramps,eh?" he said as he prepared a hand just as the marine shot a cannonball with a mighty BOOM. "Gotcha!" Luffy said as he caught the cannonball with a hand coated in armament haki. "Have this BACK!" he yelled as he threw the cannonball with such force that it broke the hull of the marine ship.
Luffy turned to his crew who all had gobsmacked impressions on their faces,causing him to grin. "Well,I think it's safe to say that my training has paid off" he said with a grin,soon getting a hug from Nami. "I am sooo glad that you're not my enemy,Luffy-kun" she said. "Baratie at 10 o'clock!" Coby's voice called out from behind them. Luffy narrowed his eyes. "It looks like a fish" he said. "Yep,that's the Baratie,alright" came Johnny's voice from the bottom of the mast. Luffy grinned. "Alright crew! Prepare to anchor! Let's get up portside on the pier there!" Luffy commanded. Coby,Nami and Yosaku dealt with the sails,Ussopp manned the helm carefully, and Zoro was lifting the anchor by himself. Soon enough the ship had anchored by the floating restaurant Baratie.
When they arrived at the entrance,they were met by a stocky-built man in an apron. "Welcome,ya squid-faced crooks!" Luffy arched an eyebrow. "Hi,I'd like a table for nine please" he said calmly. "And how would you prefer to pay?" the man asked with a wide grin. "With beri,of course" Luffy said,a bit agitated by the man's attitude. "Wonderful,sir,please follow me" the man said. Not long after,the crew was all gathered around one big circular table when a voice came from behind Garp: "Welcome to the Baratie,my name is Sanji and I'll be your waiter for today,how can I be of assistance?" the speaker was a tall,lanky blonde man in a navy blue suit. His blonde hair was groomed down over the left side of his face and he had a cigarette in his mouth. Garp twitched. "How the hell did Zeff allow you into the kitchen with a cigarette,ya damn brat?" he asked.
Sanji twitched as he recognized that voice. "Y-You-You're here again?" Sanji asked with a stutter. "That's right,brat,and I want a word with Zeff,if you won't mind" Garp said without getting up. Sanji swallowed. "Right-eh,let-let me first take your orders,and I'll get Owner Zeff here right away,shall I?" the chef said as he took everyone's orders,delivered them to the kitchen and ran off. "Stupid brat" Garp muttered. "You knew that man,Garp-san?" Coby asked. Garp nodded. "Aye,he's the sous-chef around here and Zeff's protege. He's a good cook,as long as he's not distracted" Ussopp loked sceptical. "Distracted how exactly?" he asked. Garp looked at him with mirth in his eyes. "He gets distracted easily by the fairer gender,if you know what I mean" the old man said,causing Zoro and Coby to simultaneously mutter: "pervert" under their breaths as they each took a sip from their drinks. Luffy looked confused. "If that was the case,he'd be drooling over Nami by now" the young captain said with a frown. Garp nodded with a small grin. "He would've if I wasn't here,it seems that only me and the old man are the only ones who can keep him in check" the old sailor said.
Just then, they heard a couple of arguing voices coming from behind Garp. "I don't know why he wants to see you,you old geezer!All I know is that he's here and he's not alone!" came Sanji's voice right before he stopped by their table. "The owner will be with you shortly" he said, before walking into the kitchen.
Just as Sanji disappeared into the kitchen, another voice came from behind Garp: "You harassing the eggplant again,you old coot?" Garp grinned as he stood up and turned towards the man. "Just making sure he's not getting himself killed by my grandson by hovering over his navigator" he said as he shook the other man's hand. "Good to see you again,Zeff,I see the business is blooming" Garp said with an honest smile on his face. "Aye,despite the stupid eggplants flirtatious attempts on most of our female customers,business has been as good as ever" the man,Zeff answered. Luffy took a good look at the man who obviously knew his gramps. Zeff was a stocky man of average height with a big blonde mustache and a peg leg.
Garp smiled. "Let me introduce you. Zeff this is my grandson,Luffy,then we have Nami,Zoro,Coby,Johnny,Yosaku,Ussopp and Makino" he said as he gestured to each with his hand. Zeff smirked. "Your grandson,huh? He a pirate too,by chance?" the old cook said as he looked at Luffy,who easily answered: "Yep,we hoisted our colours just last night" Zeff barked out a laugh. "Hah! Just as straightforward as your gramps,eh? Good on you kid,I like an honest man" the old cook said with a grin,which Luffy mirrored. "Shishishi" the young captain laughed. Just then,Sanji came out with a trolley with all their orders on. "Here you all are,I hope you enjoy your meals" he said as he tried to get away from the two people who scared the crap out of him. "Oi,Sanji. Did the old geezer introduce you to his party?" Zeff asked. "Do you really think I want to hang around that old bastard longer than necessary,you old geezer?" Sanji barked back.
Just then,the doors to the Baratie was opened,by a man who looked half-dead and drenched to the bone. Patty went up to him. "Welcome,ya squid-faced crook" he said with a huge grin. "I want food" the man said. "What will you be paying with?" Patty asked. "Do you take lead?" the man asked as he drew a gun and pointed it straight at Patty. Ussopp looked at Luffy,who nodded. He then said. "Oi!Instead of embarrassing yourself by drawing a pistol with wet gunpowder,get your ass over here!",causing both Patty and the walking corpse to gape at the teen,before the man reacted by walking over to them. "How do you know my pistol was wet?" the man asked. Ussopp smirked. "Easy. You looked like you had been swimming through the East Blue,and you're still dripping" he said,making the man grit his teeth. Before he said another word,Garp interrupted. "Man-Demon" Gin,isn't it? Second-in command of the Krieg Pirates?" he said with narrowed eyes. The man smirked. "That's me,what's it to you,old man?" his reply came from Johnny who poked his shoulder and held up Garp's wanted poster. Gin paled even further,if possible. "Wh-What are you doing,here?" he simply asked. "I'm simply here to enjoy a meal with my grandson and his crew before I head back towards the Grand Line" Garp said. Gin then took notice of the straw-hat-wearing teen. "You're his grandson?" Gin asked. Luffy simply nodded. "I'll pass on the meal,Luffy,I'll eat something later. Let Gin-san take my place,he looks like he could use it. I've got something I need to talk to Zeff about anyway" Garp said as he placed a hand on the shoulder of Zeff as the two veterans walked off. "Well,you heard Gramps,take a seat" Luffy said. Gin swallowed hard before he reluctantly sat down. However,when he saw the food in front of him,his hunger overtook him and he started shovelling up everything as fast as possible, as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. "You look like you've been through some real shit" Luffy said. Gin shrugged. "You can say that again" he said between bites. "First,we lost five ships going over reverse mountain,then we lose five more because some lunatic cut our ships. Then I get captured by the marines and locked up for two weeks without proper food before said marine ship suddenly got a cannonball through the keel and I swam over here" he said.
Luffy suddenly shrank a little,which went unnoticed by Gin. However,the rest of the crew saw,and realized that Luffy hadn't used his Observation to search for others aboard that marine ship. "Do you know if anyone else survived on that ship?" Nami asked. Gin nodded. "Most of them got I heard the lieutenant a and a few others got killed" he said. Nami looked at Luffy,who looked a bit better about hearing that.
The rest of the meal went by silently, until Gin finished eating. "Thanks for the food,it was delicious. Unfortunately,I have nothing to pay you back with" Gin said. Luffy waved a hand. "Don't worry about it. I have a feeling we'll meet again,before we head for the Grand Line" he said with a smile,which Gin copied. "Good luck to you then" he said as he walked out the door.
Zeff and Garp came back a few moments later,with Garp carrying something in a brown leather bag. If anyone was curious,they didn't show it,figuring that Garp did things in his pace,and nagging him would earn you a one-way ticket into the Red line's impenetrable stone wall via fist.
"Where's the walking corpse?" Garp asked as he noticed Gin wasn't there anymore. "He left" Luffy replied nonchalantly as he took a swig of his drink. Garp sighed. "Well,here's to hoping that it won't come back to bite us" he said before looking at Zeff. "We'll stick around for a couple of days,until Luffy can convince that perverted dumbass to join them" Garp said. "So,about a week then?" Zeff said,making Garp grin.
True enough,a couple of days later,and Luffy was still trying to convince Sanji to join the crew. "Come on Sanji,join us! It's going to be the adventure of a lifetime!" Luffy said with a grin. "I've told you,I'm flattered to be asked,but I can't leave the restaurant! Now leave me alone,you shitty strawhat!" Sanji yelled at Luffy, who narrowed his eyes. "Did you just mock my hat?" Luffy said,in a deadly quiet voice. "And what if I did?" asked Sanji. "That's it,you need to be beaten!No one mocks my hat!" Luffy said. "Bring it,you damn strawhat!" Sanji said as he raised his leg in a battle pose,only to be hit over the head by Garp,who came up from behind. "You ungrateful little shit! Zeff didn't sacrifice his leg,just so that you wouldn't live your life! Hell,I know you have the same dream! Now,what good will that bring you if you keep staying here?"Garp thundered at the blonde chef before walking out of the restaurant. Luffy sighed. "He's right,you know? It's a piss poor way of thanking someone for saving your life,after all,what's a life worth if it's not spent living?" the strawhat-wearing teen followed his grandpa out the door,leaving Sanji to his thoughts. "Sanji" came the familiar voice of Zeff from behind him. Sanji turned around. Zeff stood there with a melancholic expression on his face.
"Zeff?What's wrong?" the young man asked. "it's been thirteen years since that fateful week on that blasted rock. I've watched you grow,both as a man and as a chef. You're damned good at what you do,kid,but I want you to follow our dream. The All Blue is out there, but you'll never find it here" Zeff said. Sanji looked down. "It's been a helluva ride,hasn't it,you old geezer?" he said. "Aye,it has. But now,it's time for you to move on. Follow that kid,he's guaranteed to shake things up in this world, and I have a feeling that you'll be better than I ever was" Zeff said. Sanji took a deep breath. "Well then...Chef Zeff,in three days,I'll be out of your hair. I wish to spend my remaining time here to find a suitable replacement for a sous chef. Is that acceptable?" Sanji said as he stared Zeff straight in the eyes. Zeff gave a small smile. "That's acceptable,thank you" Zeff said. Sanji then gave a smirk. "I better go and notify my new captain" Zeff smirked and waved him off, as Sanji walked calmly out of the restaurant.
Back on the ship,Luffy had taken to oversee Nami's training in Observation haki by throwing things at her from different directions while she was blindfolded. As soon as Sanji came out,he saw Luffy hurling a full sandbag at her. "What the hell are you doing? you're going to hurt her!"Sanji said,but before he could do anything,right before the sandbag would hit,Nami moved one step to the left,causing it to just hit the floor. Sanji stood there with open mouth. Luffy turned to Nami. "Great job Nami,we'll take a break for now,okay?" he said with a grin before turning to Sanji. "Oh,Sanji! You changed your mind?" he asked. Sanji stood there and took a drag of his cigarette.
"I gave the old geezer a three-day notice. I'll be spending the next three days helping him finding someone who can fill my role as sous chef. Once that is done,I'm all that sound good,captain?" the blonde chef said with a grin. "Awesome! Three more days is fine,after that...we're going fishing" Luffy ended on a serious note that screamed bloody murder,slightly unnerving Sanji. "What do you mean?" Sanji asked. "We're going to kill Arlong the Saw" Luffy said seriously. "For eight years,he has terrorized the Conomi Islands,where Nami is from. He killed her mother in front of her and chained her down until she would hate her own dream. No more. I'll finish Krieg while we're here,'cause there's been a rumor around that he's headed this way. Try to see if you can get a change out of a man named Gin. He looks kinda sickly,but he has a bad-ass attitude,got it?" getting a confused nod from Sanji.
"Umm,sure. By the way,what the hell were you doing tossing a sandbag at Nami-san for?" "That was training. If you can learn to listen to the environment around you,you can learn to anticipate your opponents next move in a fight. It's training from hell,but you'll get the hang of it. Be here at 5 am sharp,and I'll get you started,understood?" Luffy asked. Sanji just nodded. "Aye,captain. I'll go and get my stuff and get settled in. even if we're not leaving in three days,it's good to get used to where I'll be staying for the foreseeable future" Sanji said,getting a nod from Luffy,who turned his head up.
"Ussopp!Come here!" he yelled to the crow's nest. A minute later,Ussopp stood there with them. "Join Sanji to get his things and show him where he's gonna sleep afterwards. After that,get Coby and ask Zeff if he can provide some provisions for us until we reach Loguetown" Luffy said,getting a nod from the sniper,who promptly followed Sanji back to the Baratie.