It is now time for me to begin...the DISCLAIMER! Now, who is our guest for today, hmm? Oh! Oho! Welcome, Whitebeard!
Whitebeard: Gurararara! It's good to be here! I heard that you'll have given me more sons!
Er...yeah, sure, let's go with that...but, could you please do the disclaimer?
Whitebeard: Very well. Gurararara! Author-san does not own One Piece or Naruto, or any characters referenced within who are the intellectual properties of other authors!
The Going Merry was quite the nice ship.
Sure, it was a caravel, and much, much smaller than the Marine battleships that Boruto had long been used to as a young child, however, it just seemed to feel like home, as if the ship was theirs, and only theirs – as a crew.
Well, that crew now had some – ahem – interesting personalities in addition to the simple-minded Luffy and the remaining battle maniacs.
Boruto was not really sure what to make of Nami, their new 'navigator' – well, that was what Luffy had said, over her protests that she was merely partnering up with them for the time being; immediately, alarm bells began ringing in Boruto's head, for even the shitty old man would have realised something was very wrong with this statement, as, in the eyes of the Marines, one did not simply partner up with a pirate (you were either a pirate or a law-abiding citizen). However, Luffy seemed to take a liking to her – purely platonic, mind you, for Luffy knew very little about romance, much less sex. He still remembered the travesty which occurred when Ace tried to explain sex education to Luffy, only to repeatedly slam his head against the walls of the Dadan hideout when Luffy kept insisting that sex must be some kind of food. Dadan and company had already fled, not willing to be involved in the madness guaranteed to occur.
He, however, liked Usopp himself, though his um…half-truths were perhaps much too outlandish for his own personal taste. Usopp was a good lad (and didn't he sound old, for Usopp was not much younger than he was, for Usopp and Luffy were of the same age in years, and he himself was a year and three months or so younger than Ace) with a good heart, really, for in the process of getting their ship – and wasn't that surprising, that 'Thousand Plans' Kuro turned out to be alive all the time, hmm (just how much of an embarrassment did Captain Morgan turn out to be, he nostalgically thought, still having a soft spot for the Marines, even though he had nothing to do with them anymore)? Who knew that this long-nosed liar would be the one to get them a ship? Still, it definitely trumped Boruto's plans of hijacking Marine vessels that he definitely refused to share with Luffy until the last minute, as Luffy would simply refuse out of principle.
Designed by Merry, the family butler of Kaya, Usopp's rich girl friend, (but not girlfriend, Usopp would always lament), the Going Merry, with its sheep's head for a figurehead, appeared to be anything but menacing; a limited armament of four total cannons (one aft, one at the fore, and one on each side) did not help it at all. This was honestly reasonable, as the vessel itself was never meant to be involved in any combat whatsoever – why would lady Kaya have engaged in any maritime conflict?
As the newly dubbed 'Straw Hat Pirates' departed Syrup village, bidding a tearful Kaya goodbye, Boruto waved his hand, and down came a News coo, papers in hand.
"Thank you very much." He said, flipping two hundred-berry coins as the bird pulled out two papers, one from each pouch to its side.
Nami looked at him disapprovingly. "Isn't that too expensive?" She always looked quite put out whenever money was being spent around her and had sulked for a good half of the day upon realising that Boruto, as the first mate, had control over the crew's finances (Zoro and Boruto could guess why, though Luffy only had an adorable, confused look on his face).
"News is priceless in value." Boruto nonchalantly replied. "Let's see, World Economic News…" He began flipping through the first paper. "Hmm, Cavendish of the Beautiful Pirates…never heard of him before, what else is there…"
Zoro, meanwhile, swinging his swords as he moved through practice kata on the deck, noticed Boruto in the corner of his eye. "Oi, anything interesting happen? And spar with me, I need the practice!"
"In a bit." Boruto accepted, as he kept skimming through the headlines. "…hmm, Eustass Kid, he could be interesting." Placing down the issue of the World Economic News, he picked up the other paper. "Alright, there might be something interesting in the World Guardian," again, skimming through the paper. "Alright, let's see…Loguetown voted safest place in East Blue, that's boring…"
"Oooh!" Luffy suddenly popped up behind Boruto. "Let me see! Let me see!"
Ignoring him, Boruto just kept on looking. "…'Bohemian Knight' Doma submits himself to Whitebeard…"
"Who?"
"Didn't I already tell you who Whitebeard was?"
"Oh, yeah! One of the four whats-its-names…"
"Emperors, Luffy. One of the Four Emperors. Shanks is one of them, remember?" Returning to look at the newspaper, one particular headline caught his attention. "What the…" he began, before continuing to read the article.
SUSPCIOUS PIRATE ACTIVITY IN THE EAST BLUE; COULD THIS BE A MESSAGE?
By Lucy Heartfilia
The actions of pirate crews in the East Blue have confused many Marine observers as increased incidents of inter-pirate conflict have begun to increase in number and severity.
Pirate crews in the East Blue are suddenly coming into conflict with one another, with even the biggest pirate names in the East Blue being involved. Some of the biggest names subject to this include Buggy 'the Clown', a pirate with a 15 million Berry bounty who had terrorised Orange town for quite some time. The pirates allegedly drove Buggy off from the town after stopping there and putting out a fire burning a pet shop, says the mayor, Boodle.
"Whilst they were pirates, I am grateful that they have helped us put our lives back on track. They even left behind some of Buggy's treasure to help us rebuild." Boodle could not remember who exactly saved his village but did note that one of them had a sword which looked like it was a lightning blade. "I was knocked out quite early, so I didn't really take note of what they looked like."
Based on the description, it seems that Uzumaki Boruto is involved in some way. However, it is still unknown why he is stirring up the East Blue, or who he is working with. "Unfortunately, we have no idea about his motivations." Commander Ripper was willing to admit when I interviewed him. "However, that simply makes him more dangerous."
There has been much speculation, however. Commodore Brannew, from Marine Headquarters, believes that he is sending a message to the pirates in East Blue with his brazen actions…
"No fair…" Luffy began to sulk. "I'm supposed to be the captain…I'm supposed to be the most famous…"
"Ah, cheer up, Luffy," Usopp began to speak. "Surely the Marines will soon hear of the tales and exploits of the Great Usopp – and yours as well soon enough!"
Boruto, paying the two idiots no attention, flipped to another article which had interested him. "This appeared already?"
Luffy was broken out of his sulking to hover over Boruto again. "Ooh, ooh! Am I in this one, at least?"
Both captain and first mate began to scan through the article.
HOW LOW CAN CAPTAIN MORGAN SINK? 'THOUSAND PLANS' KURO STILL ALIVE
It was one upheaval after another in the East Blue as the legacy of one of the most well-known Marines, Captain Morgan of the 153rd Branch Base fell even further when new facts came to light. This reporter was lucky to be in Syrup village on the Gecko islands to witness a monumental event; it turned out that the event which precipitated Morgan's rise to power was founded on a lie. 'Thousand Plan' Kuro revealed himself to be alive as he attempted to assassinate Kaya, the heir to the Yasuda fortune. Although Kaya herself declined to be interviewed, citing health concerns, this reporter was able to receive some clarity from her butler, Merry.
"No one expected Kuro to be such a villain," he had said. "We – and the entire Syrup village, never realised that Klahadore the butler was anything but. Only the town liar, Usopp, really knew that there was something suspicious about him, and I am sorry to say that we ignored these warnings." Unfortunately, Usopp could not be reached for comment, as he had soon departed the village not long after Kuro's defeat.
"He's now gone to accomplish his dream," says Ninjin, a young boy who always looked up to Usopp. "And he inspired us, and his girl friend, to achieve our dreams too. I hear that she's now studying to become a doctor!"
Aside from this feat, not much is really known about Usopp. Most of the townspeople I spoke to were unaware of his role in stopping Kuro's plot, and expressed quite a bit of surprise when told of this. "Usopp, at his heart, is a good lad." An old man admitted, declining to give his name. "Sure, he's been telling lies from a very young age, but he must have wanted to keep our peace of mind."
The issue of Kuro is still to be…
"Woohoo!" Usopp cheered. "I'm in the paper!" He began dancing on the deck of the ship, somehow nimbly avoiding the sword strikes of Zoro, still flowing through kata after kata. "This is the first step to my legacy as a brave warrior of the sea!"
Meanwhile, Luffy had returned to sulking again. "Even Usopp is more well-known than me," he whined petulantly, tracing circles on the Merry's deck. "I'm supposed to be the most famous one! I'm the captain!" His complaining would have continued going on, had not a loud growl rumbled through. "I'm hungry! Food!"
Unfortunately, no one on the ship really knew how to cook – well, nothing that nutritious anyway, and the foods those who were able to cook were best at preparing were quite limited: Usopp could fry up a good fish and chips, though frying was hard to do on such a ship – and the amount of oil, goodness, that would be needed! Whilst Nami claimed that she could cook an impressive roast duck with orange sauce, no one was willing to verify her claim, not when she would insist on a 100,000 Berry fee per meal, something Boruto, Zoro and Usopp immediately rejected, much to Luffy's consternation (thankfully, he did not press the issue).
The less said about the idiots, the better. However, the paper did not just contain news articles. Littered throughout, sometimes inserted between news stories, were many different advertisements for many different things. One could find promotions for Doskoi panda merchandise amongst corners extolling the virtues of snake oil, Marine recruitment advertisements with Sengoku's image, finger pointing out of the page, stern visage etched onto his face above the words 'The Marines need YOU', and how hilarious did the shitty old men find that poster (allegedly, Garp could not stop laughing whenever he saw it), alongside various adverts for shipbuilding services and couriers.
One particular ad stood out. Only a few words accompanied by a picture of a fairly large ship with a fish-head decorating the fore, it would not have been paid any more attention had it not the word 'food.'
"Sea-faring restaurant…Welcome to the Baratie…finest food and wine to enjoy on the waves…welcome all, but the cooks know how to fight…"
"AWESOME!" Luffy managed to groan out. "Let's go there and get a fighting cook, so we can have delicious food all the time!"
Luffy actually said something smart, Boruto realised. Not only would such a cook be able to provide them food, but the crew would also be able to obtain optimal nutrition with the limited amount of food available – when Luffy wasn't stealing from the fridge, of course. It would be very underwhelming, he knew, if someone who was to be Pirate King died from scurvy!
"Go where?" Nami perked up.
"This restaurant, of course!"
"Do we actually know where it is?"
"Ehh…Boruto?"
"Here." He pointed the advertisement out to Nami. "It says the Sambas region of the East Blue."
Nami nodded, taking out a chart and gazing at it before quickly issuing directions on steering the ship in the direction – though not before angrily punching Zoro as he had fallen asleep sometime earlier after finishing his kata.
Upon approaching the Baratie, one's first thought would often be that it was indeed a magnificent place. Indeed, though the design looked rather plain on the outside, looking through the windows one could see a restaurant with some of the finest décor and furniture. Each table was covered with white silk tablecloth, and the floors appeared to be of polished stone. The ship itself dwarfed the Merry, with other ships being parked alongside the ship, their passengers enjoying the finest cuisine offered on the sea.
The Straw Hat Pirates' awe at seeing this sight, however, were placed on hold as a Marine vessel had suddenly appeared next to their ship. A cruiser-class vessel which strangely did not feature the four large bow cannons commonly seen on such vessels. On the ship, a man in a striped suit began to stride towards the deck, deliberately putting force into each step; the click-clack of his dress shoes being heard even by the Straw Hats on the foredeck of their ship. Marine Lieutenant Fullbody, from Marine Headquarters, looked to be well-groomed and dressed, though the 'Justice' coat was missing from his attire.
"A Marine ship!" Usopp exclaimed. "Surely, they're not going to shoot at us?"
"What an unpleasant bunch…" Zoro muttered darkly, as the Marine began to speak.
"I've never seen that pirate flag before." And for good reason, since the jolly roger of the Straw Hat Pirates was not even decided on until the day that they had seen the ad for the Baratie, much to Zoro's consternation (Luffy, he decided, was a rubber-brained idiot who would definitely need his and Boruto's help in making decisions; Usopp was just as moronic, and he didn't trust the witch).
Placing his hand down on the cruiser's deck, revealing a set of fist-cuffs, the officer continued his monologue. "I am 'Iron Fist' Fullbody, Lieutenant at Marine Headquarters! Who is your Captain? Come out and state your name!"
"I'm Luffy!"
"I'm Usopp!"
"Aren't you going to say something?" Zoro quipped at Boruto, who promptly slapped both Usopp and Luffy on the backs of their heads.
"Ouch!"
"Boruto! What was that for?"
"You do not just give information like that out that easily!" Boruto snarled. "Do you want your dream to be Pirate King prematurely ended by the Marines sending, goodness forbid, your GRANDFATHER after us because you could not keep your mouth shut?"
Usopp, clutching his head, only looked bewildered as Luffy began to shake in fright. "Not the fist of love again," he heard him whispering, deathly silent, hints of fear in his voice. Who was Luffy's grandfather, that he would be able to scare Luffy, so fearless, so brave, like so?
Fullbody did not seem to have caught onto the exchange. "Luffy, Usopp…" he put his hand to his chin. "No, I don't think I've heard of you before." He squinted again. "Although that guy looks familiar, where have I seen him before?" He raised his voice afterwards. "I'm off duty for the day, so I won't sink you here! But if you cause any further trouble, I will show no mercy!"
"Come on, let's get going." A young woman, quite beautiful in appearance – certainly, her nicely-styled wavy hair and velvet maroon dress which accentuated her figure greatly helped, no doubt – linked her arms with Fullbody's right. "This is our special day today." Sure enough, Fullbody turned away, hand in hand with the lady. However, before departing, he made sure to wave two of his Marine escort over.
"They're," he pointed out the Going Merry, "an eyesore. Sink them."
"Yes, sir!"
As the side cannons of Fullbody's vessel began to be pushed forward, ready to fire upon the Merry, Usopp began panicking. "We're in trouble!" He exclaimed. "They are aiming at us!"
"Leave it to me!" Luffy exclaimed as he began to inflate. "Gomu Gomu no Fusen!" (Gum-Gum Balloon)
As the cannon fired, Luffy began to inflate his body, greedily gulping down air; his body seemingly swelling (though it was not in any way similar to actual inflammation) up not unlike a balloon. Sure enough, the cannonball fired simply bounced off Luffy's inflated body, landing in the ocean, far away from both vessels.
"He can't keep this up! Fire!"
More cannonballs began to fly through the air, though none hit the Merry itself due to Luffy's own inflation preventing the cannon rounds from impacting any part of the ship. However, his own aim was quite poor as the Marine ship was unscathed in return; most cannonballs simply fell into the water, the waves shaking up the two ships as well as the small rowboat Fullbody had boarded to sail to the Baratie's doorstep. Some did hit the ships to the side, however, though the Baratie itself remained unscathed.
"Shishishishi!" Luffy began to deflate himself. "Boruto! Let's go get food and a cook!"
Sighing in response to his captain's antics, he waved Usopp and Zoro over as they prepared to anchor the ship next to the Baratie itself.
Upon reaching the restaurant itself, the Straw-Hat Pirates were greeted by a large, muscular and hairy man in a navy blue short-sleeved shirt with light blue highlights along the sleeves, complimented by yellow buttons on both sides. His shorts were quite similar in style, reaching to a knee-length, capped off by brown shoes – perhaps a very plain style of brown shoes. Wearing a white apron, a pink ascot, an earring in his right ear, and a white rope tied around his head, this looked to be a weird waiter.
"Welcome, ya damn customers!" He boomed as he began to flamboyantly wave and gesture towards the entrance of the restaurant deck. "Do you have a reservation?"
Before Luffy could open his mouth, Boruto moved to shush him as he replied. "Do you take walk ins?"
"You have money?"
"Of course!" Boruto answered just as rapidly.
"Hey!" Luffy looked defiant. "When did you get that money?"
"I saved."
"Then welcome to the Baratie! I'm Patty." The now-named Patty exclaimed. "I'll get you a table ready, just follow me!"
Zoro spoke up. "You don't look like a waiter."
Usopp, meanwhile, concurred. "You look more like a cook…"
Patty just laughed. "Haha! You are right! You won't find a better cook at making cakes and pastries in the East Blue! And as for the waiters, we had some new ones earlier, but they all ran away. Couldn't stand up to the pressure." Seating the pirate crew at a round table, Patty then spun to reveal a pen and notebook in his hands. "Now, how can I take your order?"
The Straw Hat pirates were quite stunned when in front of them lay several menus, all perfectly laid out in front of them. Opening them up – what a rich selection of dishes to choose from! Luffy had already begun salivating from what he was seeing – so many kinds of meat to choose! Though Boruto's death glare threatened him enough not to go overboard and actually try to control himself. (He remembered the last time Ace took him to eat Ramen at Goa, about four years ago, when they stole Boruto's stash of bills. The aftermath was very painful, given how many stab wounds Luffy and Ace found themselves gaining. No more trying to go straight, Ace would later joke, he would stick to dine-and-dashing, thank you very much.)
Zoro began to voice his opinions. "You have any sea king dishes? And a serving of your finest sake, to go with the rest of your meal."
Patty chuckled as he began to scribble down the order. "You're in luck! The boys went on a Sea King hunt just last week, so we have a Sea King steak, lightly seared and seasoned with black pepper." Zoro merely nodded as Patty added it to his notebook. "Can I interest you in any soup options? Dessert? Salads?"
Zoro quickly ordered a Beef oxtail consommé ("A fine choice, always our favourite soup to serve here,"), Smoked Sea King with Fresh Salad and a red bean mocha crème custard, whilst Usopp happily asked about fish options before settling on salt-grilled saury with rice, with a seafood bisque, warm salad with smoked salmon, and some Oshiruko for dessert. Nami took a while longer, eventually deciding on roasted duck breast with fruity seasoning, to go with a honey baked fruit tower salad and pomelo mousse cake, to which Patty nodded approvingly, for it was a favourite of his to make; though after some questioning and explanations by Patty later, she decided finally on the same soup as Zoro. Boruto was rather quick with his order, with a grilled hamburger topped with spicy special sauce alongside a spicy chicken soup, a chill-garnished version of Usopp's own salad choice, and a chocolate lava cake with ice cream. Luffy, as per usual, wanted meat, getting a blank stare from Patty.
"Ignore this idiot." Zoro muttered as Patty kept trying to insist that no, 'Meat' was not a suitable order given how many kinds of meat there were on offer at the Baratie. "Just order for him, if you must."
"Right." Patty decided, scribbling down in his notebook. "Then it'll be a rib steak, konbu dashi-based chicken soup, scallops and salad, and cheesecake to go with the lot." With another spin, Patty began to head towards the kitchen. "Your orders will be ready in a moment, esteemed customers! A staff member will be here with your drinks shortly!"
"He seemed nice," Usopp commented. "Are we recruiting him?"
"I doubt it." Boruto replied. "Luffy didn't really feel that connection he was looking for."
Meanwhile, a rather young man in a black dress suit overlaying a black tie and pinstriped light blue shirt walked towards the table serving Fullbody and his date, a wine bottle wrapped in a white cloth – it looked silken – in hand. He was quite the stand-out in the restaurant, perhaps because of his own sun-kissed blond hair, not unlike Boruto's own, or it was perhaps the small cigarette nestled between his teeth, or perhaps even the swirly eyebrows on his very face. Striding over in silence, he uncorked the bottle, ceremoniously pouring out a glass of wine for both Fullbody and his date.
"Look, over there!" Whispers began to pick up in the dining hall.
"Is that…"
"Definitely!"
"Lieutenant Fullbody!"
"One from Marine Headquarters!"
The whispers were not missed by the Straw-Hat crew. "From Marine Headquarters?" Zoro was confused. Why would it be significant if a Marine officer came from Headquarters? "And isn't he just a lieutenant? Why the big deal?"
"Marines in the Blue Seas aren't that strong, not compared to the monsters on the Grand Line." Boruto began to answer but was cut off as Usopp interjected.
"Wouldn't it just be because of people of higher rank being in the Grand Line?"
"It's not just that." Boruto continued. "Marine officers on the Grand Line are considered equivalent to officers three ranks above those in the Branch Bases on the Blue seas. Fullbody is probably as strong as Captain Morgan…"
"And just how exactly do you know this?" Nami accused as she leaned forward in her chair.
"Shishishi! Boruto used to be a Marine candjit!" Luffy, thankfully, remembered to whisper (admittedly, Boruto pinching him may have helped him along here) as he tapped on his forehead protector.
"Cadet, Luffy…Luffy!"
"Hey, you're my brother! That secret of yours is mine too!"
"I was going to tell them that…"
"Besides, they would have started asking about that forehead thingy ninja wear anyway, and why yours was slashed with 'MARINE' etched on it."
"You're brothers?" Zoro asked, disbelief permeating throughout his question. "I don't really see the resemblance."
"Adopted. Exchanged Sake cups and everything."
"Oh." Zoro began tapping the table as his mind suddenly came to a halt at a horrifying realisation. "Did our captain just say something intelligent?"
Meanwhile, Fullbody was beginning to launch into a poetic monologue about the wine he had begun to sip from. "This flavour…Hm…this scent…the scent of the soil of Micquo of the North Land…bitter with plenty of body, a tad sour…this wine is…" he took a deep breath, before finishing with force, "Ithürzburger Stein!". He pointed his finger, fistcuffs still on his hands, at the waiter. "Am I right, waiter?"
"Not even close." The waiter began to place Fullbody's spoon into the hand with the outstretched finger. "Your soup is getting cold, please enjoy it while it's still hot."
Fullbody was left gobsmacked. He had specifically called in at the restaurant to request that they provide this wine when he was making the reservation – how did this waiter screw it up, and who on earth was running this operation?
"By the way, I'm Sanji, the Sous Chef. All the waiters ran off as of yesterday." The now revealed sous-chef commented as he walked away, up a spiralling staircase in the middle of the restaurant. Meanwhile, Patty, balancing many a plate on his arms and hands, strolled down the stairs, before approaching Luffy and the remaining Straw-Hat pirates.
"Smoked Sea King with Fresh Salad," he expertly placed down Zoro's plate with a spin, "Warm salad with smoked Salmon," doing the same for Usopp, before sliding the next few plates from his arms to his hands, catching them with utmost precision before serving the plates up. "Warm salad, smoked Salmon with chili garnish," – at this, Boruto's eyes lit up – "Honey baked fruit tower salad," Nami began to look approvingly at the food – "and scallops and salad, freshly caught today!" Though Luffy normally loathed salad, even the fare before him looked quite good to eat. Turning towards Zoro, Patty started to talk again. "Your drinks will be served in a moment." With that, the cook rushed back up the stairs, not that the crew minded – the food looked good, and as the cooks seemed to be doubling as waiters, heck, even the Sous chef was doing it – they were busy preparing good food; so what if the service wasn't the best as it would have been on a good day?
Just as the Straw-Hat Pirates began to enjoy their food as Sanji, the Sous chef from earlier, appeared with the Sake Zoro had earlier ordered, ("Our best sake – Junmai Daiginjo-shu from the West Blue." Sanji had claimed) and soon returned with their soup orders not long after leaving the bottle for the table to enjoy, Fullbody suddenly called out to him.
"Waiter!" He yelled, catching the attention of all the other patrons of the restaurants perhaps with the exception of the Straw Hats, who were perchance too amazed at their Captain actually enjoying his soup in a polite manner, though Luffy could be visibly seen straining himself not to just chug the soup from the bowl directly, and it was quite difficult, for not only did Luffy live in a way such that you had to fight for your food to even eat anything, but the deliciousness of the soup – it was heavenly!
"Hmm?" Sanji, the only staff member in the restaurant proper, had responded. "Didn't I tell you I'm not a waiter?" He calmly asked as he strode towards Fullbody's table, though his tone softened as he took in the woman seated opposite the Marine lieutenant. "My, how beautiful you are! Would you like to have some wine with me…"
Fullbody, enraged at the Sous chef's behaviour towards his date, slammed the table, obtaining Sanji's attention.
"Hey!"
Sanji just simply cocked his head to the side.
"Do you serve soup with bugs in it to customers?", Fullbody demanded, pointing his finger at a fly floating in his broth – it appeared to be some sort of beef-based soup, given its colour, though whether it was a consommé or bouillon could not be immediately visually distinguished.
"Bugs?" This was a ruse, and Sanji knew it. No soup of his had any bugs in it; he had just served some to another table of five earlier, and they were enjoying it immensely! No bugs whatsoever to complain about. However, to start a fight over this much would be reckless, Sanji knew. Hence, he merely decided to reply with a playful retort.
"What kind of bug is this?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't know," Sanji began to drawl, "as I don't seem to know much about insects."
Fullbody growled. The plan to diminish the restaurant's reputation seemed to have backfired spectacularly, he realised, as many other patrons began to giggle and point at him. Even Moodie, his lovely date, was laughing at him! Such insolence! A Marine Lieutenant from Headquarters – subject to this abuse in the East Blue?
"Don't mess with me!" He angrily yelled as he smashed the table into two with his iron fist. By now, the Straw Hat Pirates had just finished their soup dishes, placing down their bowls. The resultant shattering of the plates and bowls rang through the dining hall, catching their attention.
"He did not…" Boruto began to seethe.
"…just do that." Luffy's face took on the same dark look.
Sanji's own reaction was much more subtle. Bending down, placing his right hand into the soup scattered throughout on the floor of the dining hall between fragments of smashed bowl, he initially said nothing. However, the next few words out of his mouth were very chilling – almost as if one's soul were touched by those words.
"That soup took three days to make…you could have had a perfectly fine soup, had you not…"
Fullbody simply slammed his foot onto Sanji's soup-drenched hand. "Aren't you getting a bit too big for your britches?"
As Sanji remained silent, Fullbody continued to rant. "I'm a customer! I'm paying you!" In his rage, he failed to notice poor Moodie trying to make sense of the situation, violently throwing her off him to the ground. Nor did he notice that Sanji was, in fact, not so silent, though even the keenest observers would have been hard-pressed to catch words other than "money," or "hunger." Nor did he realise, as he cocked back his fist, ready to strike at the cook who dared to ruin his date, that –
Sanji's kick struck him in his temple, and another, and another. Eventually, Fullbody's bloodied body was hoisted up by Sanji's hand, grasping at his face – he did not notice, thankfully, for he was already out cold, unable to mount a resistance to the force of Sanji's own kicks. "Don't waste food." Sanji could be heard saying as he let Fullbody collapse to the ground, before walking away.
Boruto and Luffy shared a knowing grin, one which did not escape Zoro's notice. Working out just what that grin meant, Zoro began paling.
"No."
"Yes."
"You cannot be serious."
"We're getting him."
"Did you see how he acted towards the woman?"
"So?"
"All the better for me to manipulate."
"What do you – actually, I'm not going to ask; you're a ninja, what else you do is going to rob me of any further sanity." Zoro sighed as he sipped at the Sake served – that Junmai Daiginjo-shu he picked out certainly lived up to its reputation, and the soup was most certainly delicious; however, given the likely perils they would face at sea and that sous chef's attitude towards women?
If he joined the crew, who would know how much power the witch had…
Then again, Zoro thought, their First Mate always ensured that the Captain's shenanigans resulted in a successful outcome. Resolving to put his faith in Luffy and Boruto, he decided to take another sip. Goodness, that cook really outdid himself with the sake!
Patty would return with the main courses delivered to the table. "Our meat master Carne really outdid himself today!" He opened his presentation with another pirouette, expertly placing each main dish in front of the ones ordering them. "Sea King Steak with rice," Zoro grinned as he put down the sake cup – "Salt-grilled saury with rice side," – Usopp was pleasantly surprised that there were two saury fish in front of him, for he had only expected there to be one – "Roasted Duck Breast with fruity seasoning," – at this, Nami's eyes lit up in excitement – "Grilled Burger with our Baratie special spicy sauce," – Boruto was smiling as he looked upon the large burger with three beef patties flame-grilled to perfection, drizzled in that heavenly spicy sauce; "And here," he finally presented Luffy his dish, "Rib beefsteak, seared and butter-basted with accompanying herbs."
"It looks so tasty!" Luffy was openly salivating.
"We are glad to hear that, but just wait until dessert!" Patty boomed. "The customer is always king, after all, and…"
He trailed off after noticing that a very customer had found himself hoisted up by the sous chef.
"You again, Sanji! What are you doing to our customer!" He began walking towards Sanji, finger outstretched. "Of all people, a Navy Lieutenant!"
Sanji simply dismissed him with a glance. "What is it, you damn cook?"
"A damn cook has no right to call me a damn cook!" Patty began to snarl. "Customers are the lifeblood of restaurants; what do you think…"
"This is so good!" Luffy called out, as he continued to devour his steak, from his table, not too far away from Patty and Sanji.
"Thank you, dear customer!" Patty had turned back to receive the compliment before resuming his argument with Sanji. "See, that is how we are supposed to treat customers!" He gestured to the Straw-Hats whilst looking Sanji in the eyes.
"He treated the food carelessly, unlike those customers you just served. Furthermore, they actually respected the food served by this restaurant, unlike this trash!" Sanji himself seethed. Letting Fullbody's body fall to the ground, he continued to rant. "So, I taught him a lesson."
Patty would have continued to argue, however, Zoro called him over. "Excuse me?"
"Yes, dear customer, how else can we serve you?"
"Could we get another bottle of the Junmai Daiginjo-shu from the West Blue, please?" At Boruto's glare, Zoro simply waved him off. "Hey, you enjoyed it as well!"
"I want to be able to keep eating here at least until we recruit a cook!" Boruto insisted.
Patty merely laughed. "Haha! I'll let the head chef know about your other request, but I'd be happy to get you another bottle! Oh, and dessert will be here shortly after that!"
"No…restaurant should…treat its customers like this…" Fullbody began to rage – albeit a more simmering one, for he had no immediate outburst, nor did his face redden. Instead, he just kept his head bowed as he continued his outburst. "I'll shut it down…I'll shut this place down…the World Government will be…"
Boruto put his face into his hands. "I can't watch this Lieutenant anymore; and he calls himself a Lieutenant from Marine Headquarters?"
"Don't worry, Usopp the Gallant has defeated many a Marine Lieutenant from Headquarters…" Usopp began to say, though he was cut off.
"Liar."
"So obvious."
"Given Fullbody's performance, this actually might be a lie that comes true really soon."
"Shishishishi!"
"You guys suck." Usopp muttered as the Straw-Hat pirates focused again on Sanji, to find him being barely restrained by a multitude of cooks who had come down from the spiral staircase some time earlier – huh, when did they get there? Whilst Fullbody was still laying on the ground, the enraged Sanji was spewing vitrol and curses out of his mouth as many a hapless cook tried to prevent him from actually killing the Marine.
"Sous chef! What are you doing?"
"A stuck-up asshole like you…" Sanji kept trying to say, whilst attempting to throw the other cooks off of him.
"If you keep going at him, we'll be in a lot of trouble!"
"He's still a Marine Lieutenant!"
"…who's too big for his britches…"
"Someone go get the head chef!"
"You're going too far, Sanji!"
"…just PISSES ME OFF!"
Thankfully, before Sanji could actually kill Fullbody, the tell-tale click-clack of wood began to make itself known through the restaurant as the head chef made his way down the spiral staircase.
He was a grizzled old man who still retained the colour in his hair – a dirtied blonde seen peeking out of his extremely tall chef's hat – perhaps as tall as his legs were long, in addition to that seen in his long, braided moustache jutting out to his shoulders and a beard much less impressive (though it was still well-manicured). Though his white chef's uniform and blue ascot did not seem out of the ordinary for the staff of the Baratie, perhaps most unsettling was his own peg leg, for though he walked with one in lieu of his right leg, it did not seem to hobble him in any way.
"Alright, who are the idiots who wanted to ask about poaching one of my cooks…" the owner began to grumble, though he was temporarily stopped from continuing his question when the remaining cooks began to call out to him.
"Owner Zeff!"
"What are you doing?"
"Please stop Sanji!"
Only then did Zeff, head chef and owner of the Baratie, notice the commotion. "SANJI!" He bellowed. "Are you going on a rampage in the restaurant again, idiot?"
"Shut up, you geezer!"
"Who do you think you're talking to? Are you trying to put my restaurant out of business?"
Sanji did not get a chance to respond as the peg-leg struck his head, though he did not falter, unlike Fullbody, who was kicked the same way not long thereafter, sent sprawling to the ground.
What's with this restaurant? Fullbody began to ask himself as he finally drifted back into consciousness. Even the owner acts like a gangster, he kept saying to himself as he tried to get up, struggling to move his body.
"Lieutenant!" came a sudden cry from outside the Baratie. "Lieutenant!"
In ran a panting Marine soldier, blood running down his head and across the left side of his face, who could only sway into the restaurant.
"We've got trouble! Pirate Krieg's underling escaped!"
"What?"
"After seven of us finally captured him to get a lead on the Krieg Pirates…"
"Impossible! He was close to starving when we captured him three days ago! And we haven't fed him since!"
At the mention of the Krieg Pirates, hushed whispers began to abound across the restaurant.
"The Krieg Pirates?"
"Oh, no…"
"We're going to die!"
"Who are the Krieg Pirates?" Luffy asked as Patty began serving dessert to his table.
"Apparently, they're reputed to be the 'Strongest Pirates in the East Blue,' though I really doubt they're really all that." Patty replied whilst placing dish after dish down. "Here, chocolate lava cake with ice cream," he continued, placing the plate in front of Boruto. "Besides, Krieg doesn't even have the highest active bounty in the East Blue anyway. Arlong the fishman has a 20 million Berry bounty" – at this, Nami suddenly started clenching her fork much more tightly whilst she began eating her pomelo mousse cake – "but the news speaks of a hundred-and-thirty million Berry bounty moving in the East Blue who dwarfs any of the current bounty heads." Seeing Nami's expression, he tried to reassure her, assuming that she must have been distressed at all this bounty talk. "Don't worry! Head chef Zeff is a very…"
Patty and the remaining restaurant patrons found themselves interrupted as a gunshot made itself heard over the din of the dining hall itself, the hapless Marine falling to the ground, blood soaking into his sailor's uniform. As the remaining customers all huddled together in fright, the figure behind the dead Marine soldier revealed himself to be a relatively lanky man of average size, made to look older than he was, really, by the stubble, the dark rings, and all the lines on his face. His own open grey-white jacket lined with twin red sea-serpent design and green undershirt did not help either, for they were so dull – in fact, perhaps everything about this man was dull – dull grey trousers, dull grey headband; even his own hair seemed to start to go grey.
As he walked into the restaurant, gun still in hand, he said not a word, only deigning to speak upon reaching a table emptied of customers, just next to the Straw-Hat crew. Boruto and Zoro each began reaching for their swords, though Luffy waved for them to stand down, at least for now. When the newcomer sat down, leg laid upon the table, he could only let out a guttural rasp. "Anything's fine." He spoke. "Just bring me food. This is a restaurant, right?"
Patty walked over to him, his hands held together in front of his body. "Welcome, ya damn crook."
"I'll say it one more time, so listen good. Bring me food."
"Um, sir, I'm so terribly sorry, but you don't have a reservation, and although we do take walk-ins, do you have the money for that? A full course meal is 10,000 Berries, although individually ordered courses can cost less…"
"Would a bullet do?" The pirate asked as he brought the pistol up to Patty's head, cocking the gun.
"So, you don't have money, right?"
The pirate's eyes widened as Patty brought his fists down – and they sure packed quite the power, given just how much muscle was in those arms, onto the non-customer's head. Though he did not die from such a blow, the chair was reduced to broken wood and splinters littering the region of floor surrounding the downed pirate.
"That dumbass!" Zeff could be heard saying. "He broke the damn chair…"
"If you can't pay for the food, you're not a customer!" Patty insisted as he kept kicking the downed man, to the cheer of many cooks and patrons in the restaurant hall, though Sanji, who was also watching, suddenly slipped away.
Luffy, noticing this, motioned to Boruto, who also stood up with him. "Zoro! Usopp! We'll be back in a second."
'Man-Demon' Gin was a fearsome pirate by reputation.
Sure, he wasn't as strong as the Don, nor did he have a bounty as high as Buggy, Arlong or even that new Uzumaki Boruto kid, but a 12 million Berry bounty was still highly respectable in the East Blue. The combat commander of the Krieg Pirates did not earn his title by standing by idly whilst the Krieg Pirates built up their reputation, oh no! Therefore, to be defeated so shamefully – such a thing would not have happened had he had some food to nourish himself. Just the thought of the 'defeat' – if it honestly could be called that – made him quite sick.
"Hey, are you hungry?" A chipper voice called out from the upper deck of the Baratie, above where he was, left to lie on the outside of the dining hall.
"Shut up!" Gin denied, though he could not move his body to face the voice. "I'm not hungry!", he adamantly denied, though his stomach continued to rumble and growl as he insisted on his vehement refutations.
Such refutations were interrupted as Sanji opened the door, setting a plate of pilaf, steaming hot, next to Gin's prone body.
"Eat it." Sanji said as he sat down on the deck, leaning against the ship's rails.
"Shut up! Beat it! Even when I'm down and out, I won't take charity from others!"
"Stop whining and just eat it already!"
"No! Take this food away now!"
"Any one who's hungry is a customer!"
"But I'm not a customer!"
Sanji took a deep breath, before exhaling some smoke. "How cruel is it to starve on this sea…I know that better than anyone."
Gin, amazed, looked at Sanji in bewilderment as he continued to speak.
"You can die for your pride if you want, but if you eat and survive, don't you think there's a future for you?"
That statement seemed to synergise with a perfectly timed rumble from Gin's stomach; the hardened combat commander could not resist his hunger anymore as he eagerly devoured the dish. Tears streaming from his eyes, he could only blubber out words as he ate. "Sorry…thank you so much…I thought I'd die…delicious…most delicious…"
The serenity of the moment was again broken by that chipper voice as Luffy and Boruto revealed themselves to Sanji and Gin proper. "We've found our cook, Boruto!" Looking at Gin, Luffy then decided to add a few more words. "It's a good thing he gave you food! You almost died!" he said, before turning back to Sanji.
"Oi! Cook! Join my crew!"
"Huh?"
"What this knuckle-head means," Boruto interrupted, eliciting a small protest from Luffy, "is that we want you to be the cook on our pirate ship."
"What?"
"Don't interrupt me, Boruto!" Luffy pouted as he stretched himself over to Sanji, Boruto leaping off the deck in response.
"Are you both pirates?"
"Yep!"
"Well, in any case, don't do anything stupid to this restaurant. The owner of this place used to be a cook in a famous pirate crew." Sanji commented after a moment. "To him, this place is his treasure. And the cooks, drawn here by his reputation, are just as hot-blooded as he is; customers would even come just to see the cooks fight pirates."
"Sounds great." Luffy began to pick his nose, wiggling his right finger into his nostril. "Hey, come and join our crew!"
"I refuse." Sanji's reply was swift and cold. "There's a reason that I have to work here."
"No! I refuse!" Luffy retorted.
"What?"
"I refuse your refusal!"
Now Sanji was bewildered. "W-what?" Who refused refusals? That would have been the end otherwise!
"You're a good cook! Let's be pirates together!"
"Oi! Listen to what I say!"
"So what's your reason?"
"Why the hell should I tell you?"
"You literally just told me to listen to what you say!"
"I'm telling you to accept what I say!"
Luffy, indignant, turned to his snickering first mate. "Boruto! You try!"
With a grin, Boruto placed his hands together, middle and index fingers perpendicular to the ground, pointing upwards, left hand on top of right hand.
"Transform!" he yelled, as he was enveloped in a smoke cloud, before revealing a rather buxom young woman in a two-piece swimsuit leaving nothing to the imagination. Boruto's rather signature whiskers were absent, as were the dark blue marks running along his-her? right arm and face. Neither did the 'MARINE' headband remain on his head, whereas the sun-kissed locks ran down to her hips.
"Are you sure," Boruto cooed softly, lifting Sanji's chin with his fingers, "that you won't join our crew, Mr. Cook?"
Sanji could not contain the incoming nosebleed. Nor did he want to. There was a beautiful woman suddenly in front of him – touching him – caressing him! But she was a man just then – IT DIDN'T MATTER! But could he leave the Baratie even for this…
"A beautiful lady wants me to join her pirate crew!" Meanwhile, Luffy began to snigger into his fist. "But alas, I have my own reasons to remain here, though it breaks my heart to leave you behind…"
"There's one more lady travelling with us, you know."
"How did I not notice such a beauty! And if I could, I would join just to set my eyes on such beautiful ladies! But! I must still work here!"
"Sorry to interrupt…" Gin began to speak as he finished his plate of pilaf.
"What?"
"I'm Gin, of the Krieg Pirates." He continued to speak. "You're pirates too, right? Do you have any goals?"
"I'm aiming for One Piece, and he," Luffy pointed at Boruto as he dispelled his transformation, "is aiming for something much higher. But we're both going to enter the Grand Line!"
Gin gasped before silencing himself. "You're still looking for a cook; you must only have a few crew members as of now."
"He's our sixth!" Luffy chirped, pointing at Sanji, his protest of "Why are you counting me" going ignored.
"You seem like a nice guy," Gin finally said after some time to process this newfound information. "So, I'll warn you. Stay out of the Grand Line; you're young, you don't need to rush. There's an endless amount of ocean out there if you want to be a pirate; the Grand Line is just a small strip of it!"
Luffy was not disturbed. "You seem to know something about the Grand Line?" he asked, motioning for Boruto to let him say his piece – not that Boruto wanted to intervene either; though he was himself quite well versed with the fundamentals of the Grand Line, what was the point of revealing all of the, admittedly meagre, secrets of the greatest ocean in the world? Moreover, aside from Luffy's desire to prevent any mention of 'spoilers' before the beginning of their pirate adventure, Boruto admittedly wished to see just how strong these East Blue pirates were, compared to the monsters he knew to wait for them in the Grand Line…
"No…I don't know anything…I don't understand anything about it! That's exactly why I'm afr…"
"You're a Krieg Pirate," Sanji suddenly interrupted, "and you're speaking like this?"
Gin said nothing, before moving to depart in a small rowboat. However, as he was boarding the boat, Boruto's voice stopped him.
"We're not afraid of the Grand Line," Boruto asserted, "because we're ready for what's there. Besides, this won't be my first time in that sea."
As Luffy and Boruto had disappeared, Zoro and Usopp had begun to talk with old Zeff.
"So, you're the pirate crew who's trying to poach one of my cooks, hmm?"
Zoro took a sip of his sake, placing the cup down. "That's us."
Grinning, Zeff leaned forward until the tip of his nose pushed against Zoro. "And just why," he demanded, pausing for dramatic effect, "should I let one of my cooks just go like that?"
"Hey, don't blame us!" Usopp began to stammer. "It was our Captain and First Mate's idea!"
"You didn't protest against it either."
Zeff snorted. "And who is your captain? You?" He looked pointedly at Zoro.
"Nah." Zoro dismissed. "I'm not even the First Mate. That's them over there," he pointed out as Luffy and Boruto came back to the dining hall.
"Then I'll ask you," he turned to face the two newcomers, "just why should I let one of my cooks go with you, no strings attached?"
"We're not asking for just any cook." Boruto retorted.
"We want Sanji to come with us!" Luffy cheered.
"Sanji, eh?" Zeff took a chair from one of the neighbouring tables, before seating himself. Letting out a sigh – not one of tiredness, really, for even though Zeff was quite advanced in years, he did not tire that easily; not when he had to run a full restaurant operation; more so a sigh of mental exhaustion – too much had happened today!
"It's not like I really need him here anyway." However, he still had one more question he wished to ask. "What are your goals?"
The crew proper knew that this wasn't just a question for Luffy; it was addressed to all of them.
"To find the One Piece and become pirate king!"
"To become the World's Greatest Swordsman."
"To be a brave warrior of the sea!"
Though Nami did not say anything, still lounging in her chair, all eyes turned to Boruto, who had not yet revealed his dream just yet. And for good reason; such a dream – could he utter it, even here, in the crowded restaurant? Certainly, the din would hide it as much as it could, but…
Eh, if he did not enter the tiger's lair, how could he retrieve its cubs?
"To throw down the World Nobles and rebuild this world through a purifying cataclysm."
A crew of dreamers, huh? Even if many such dreams would have been borderline insane, much less unachievable. Yet the conviction in their eyes was something Zeff couldn't deny. Sanji would be in good hands with them…
"Hahahaha!" Zeff let out a raspy laugh. "Go on and take Lil' Eggplant to be a pirate with you, then!"
Please read, and review! Reviews help me improve by pointing things out in my writing.
I'M SO SORRY! Normally I edit my chapters myself during the writing process, but I had ended up posting the chapter before I noticed a rather embarrassing error. If you read this chapter before it was corrected, again, sorry!
Now, SBS time!
R: Will we be getting even a brief family reunion anything soon?
Well, let's see...uh, a family reunion, well...I don't want to spoil too much, but, er...how do I put this...there will be one. But given my writing speed, it probably won't be any time soon.