Chapter 3.

The Chef ,The Admiral and the Warlord.


The going merry sailed the seas effortlessly she was a wonderful little ship and the crew could not be happier with her. It was four days since they left Usopp's home island and the crew of five were currently training.

Usopp had no idea what joining Luffys crew entailed, he thought it would be all fun and games but he could not have been more wrong.

The first four days went by quickly but not without pain and suffering, training as some knew it.

Zoro was making progress with rokushiki, now able to activate soru but not yet good enough to use it in spars with the others. Give him a few months he would be at a level where he could use it in his actual fights. he had no real time to learn it before they got Merry but now he could actually train.

Luffy had shown the two Male nakama the different types of Haki that could be taught and learned. He showed Usopp the rokushiki too.

To say the sniper was shocked at what the three members could do was an understatement. Zoro too, he was a monster before training.

Kaya had some weights that her father used to use before he died, so she had them loaded onto merry before the Strawhats left her village. They were not enough for Zoro to get a good workout but would be ideal for Usopp to start with.

As it turned out Usopp was a natural at observation Haki, with Betty stating he was already using it, which kind of explained how he rarely missed a target. The one thing that would hold him back was his weapon of choice. Zoro suggested he should upgrade to a much more powerful slingshot with thicker and taughter elastics for greater range and impact.

Something which the sniper took onboard.

Luffy was really happy with his first two Nakama after setting sail on his adventure. Add them to Nami and Betty and he had the makings of a great crew.

Just after they had finished the mornings training, Usopp once again proved how good his vision was. "Guys I see something in the distance, it looks like a giant fish ", he said a little confused.

Betty put him at ease by telling the crew that was what they were looking for, the seafaring restaurant Baratie. One of the finest floating restaurants on the seas and home to the fighting cooks that worked there .

Luffy as usual was bouncing about deck, his excitement barely in check. Was it the giant fish ship, was it the possibility of new Nakama or was it the fact that he was a glutton. Who knew what rolled around that head of his.

They sailed to within three hundred yards before they noticed a marine ship that seemed to be locked onto their own. The marine ship slowly edged alongside the Merry and a greasy looking marine walked out onto the deck. "I've never seen that pirate flag before are you pirates and if so what are your intentions "he asked.

Luffy replied nonchalantly " firstly, we are pirates and we only just raised our flag and secondly, why else would you go to a floating restaurant other than to eat food?!".

The marine clenched his teeth before speaking again. "Dont get smart with me boy or I will sink you no named pirates!".

Luffy laughed in his face, "Shishi you could not sink us even if you wanted to".

"Right that's it, I've had enough of your smart ass self, open fire!" He screamed losing his cool.

Again ,what happened next was something they would not soon forget. The fired cannonball was smacked right out of the air by a woman with purple hair, the cannonball went soaring into the distance. She landed back on Merry with a simple warning, "do that again and you will be sat at the bottom of the ocean".

The strawhats continued on to Baratie. Fullbody already a distant memory as they dropped anchor.

Since it was a special occasion, they decided to look a bit classier than their usual clobber. The men of the crew wore designer shirts, trousers and shoes and the women wore expensive cocktail dresses in their respective colours. Nami had to admit they certainly scrubbed up well just because they were pirates doesn't mean they had to look like pirates all the time

Nami had great taste ,expensive but great all the same. Their weapons were left on merry as they felt no need to bring them as it would only take a second to get them. Zoro never got the memo as he kept all three katana at his hip.

The crew walked through the double doors, Zoro and Usopp first followed by Nami and Betty and finally Luffy. Strawhat firmly in place as his captain's coat fluttered behind him as it draped off his shoulders.

They saw a six seater table to one side, so they took it and waited to be served. All eyes were on the crew of five, but they did not care. They conversed among themselves trying not to be too loud. And failing as The meat monster became restless.

A couple minutes later a waiter exited the kitchen, his hands laden with what looked and smelled incredible. He delivered it to the waiting customers, who were salivating at the sight of what had been placed infront of them. As the waiter turned round to make his way to take the orders of the people who entered minutes prior he laid his eyes on Nami and Betty for the first time.

He stood around the same height as Zoro, He was ahearing a black waiters suit with a mustard shirt and purple tie. The suit was fitted so suited his slim build with long legs perfectly, it didn't look cheap either. He had blond hair parted from over his left eye falling to near his chin and covering the right side of his face. His eyebrows were definitely his defining feature, they had a comical swirl to the right side of both.

Betty also noticed his shoes, They were something she had seen Dragon wear. They were extremely tough, Durable dress shoes. If she remembered correctly they were made out of cursed leather that could be set on fire and would burn but would never deteriorate,' Burn leather' was what she was thinking of.

She also knew it was ridiculously expensive and rare. She couldn't help but wonder where he got them. Certainly not from this sea as they could only be bought in the back end of paradise and the new world.

As the waiter regained his motor functions, his eyes were replaced by beating hearts, for some reason Zoro's eyebrow twitched.

He rushed over to where they were seated,he noticed the three none females and completely ignore their existence. He slid the last two metres on his knee, head bowed with his right hand on his heart. His left hand outstretched ready to take the hand of the beautiful plumette.

Unfortunately for him Nami reached over Luffy's back and put one finger on Betty's shoulder while her other hand did the exact same thing on Zoro's shoulder. She switched them round using her abilities so they now sat in the chair the other person was. Thus causing the waiter to kiss Zoros knuckles passionately.

The following confrontation between the two angry young idiots left the entire restaurant in raucous laughter.

So much so they never noticed the scruffy waif of a pirate that just entered, pistol in hand.

" waiter bring me some food and alcohol, anything will do" he demanded in a gruff voice.

A chef named Patty approached his table "of course sir ,how do you intend to pay for this 'anything'?,huh?".

The man stared straight into his eyes ,"money ,how else would you pay for the things you buy?", he said easily as he threw a wad of beri on the table.

Patty went red as a lobster he was so embarrassed, but restrained from smashing him through the table he sat at. He retreated back to the kitchen ignoring the chuckles around him.

Meanwhile the now named Sanji who was actually a chef took the tables order. It turned out he made the entirety of the delicious food he served before he noticed them. they also felt his strong aura it was on par with Zoro.

The difference was his was orderly and smooth while Zoro's was wild and chaotic.

Not long after the scruffy man finished his meal before burping loudly. He got to his feet and mock bowed to patty thanking him for the delectable meal. As he walked to the exit he turned smirking. "I will definitely be back, this place is exactly what we need right now". He exited with nobody the wiser in regards to the venom his voice was laced with or the hidden meaning behind his statement.

There was however a table full of people that understood it loud and clear.

Two chefs at different ends of the age spectrum heard it too they looked at eachother and quietly dared the man to try it.

An hour later and the Strawhats had eaten and eaten well and were now drinking well, Chatting away. Sanji it turns out was actually a nice guy, his food was to die for.

If he could fight, he would be a keeper.

As it stood they did not know if he could, but if he could he would fit right in. just dont ask Zoro, he already had an irrational dislike for him and it was reciprocated aggressively in an instant .

Sanji already seemed to understand that treating the men at this particular table was only turning the women against him. He decided to try and be more accepting of the none females. To his surprise the two ladies were instantly warmer to him, even if it was only in a friendly manner.

To him the thought of any woman showing dissatisfaction towards him was something he could not even entertain. A single positive comment would do wonders for his confidence. He was a nice guy, intelligent, funny, strong and he was a great chef. Pretty much all the ingredients women look for in men.

He just had no idea how to talk to beautiful women.

Suddenly the double doors that had been closed due to the wind picking up were kicked open by the same scruffy man from earlier.

This time he was not alone. He was supporting the weight of a much larger man. The man looked in a terrible state, but nobody knew why.

The large sickly looking man then raised his head, shortly after gasps could be heard as the mans appearance became known.

The man was Don Krieg and he was at deaths door. He began to speak,"please, please can I have some food?, I'm starving. We have plenty of money and are not looking for trouble. I will eat and then leave all of you in peace and go on my way, please I beg of you".

Not a single person took what he said at face value, they were all aware of his reputation and knew if the chefs fed him they were contributing to their own demise.

The man with him looked calm, suspiciously calm even.

The strawhats were not easily fooled, they could sense the underlying tone of deception and violence.

An elderly chef walked out of his kitchen.

He approached the stricken pirate as he began to speak,"Although I am reluctant to serve a known scumbag like you krieg if you do have the means to pay for it. So we will feedyour. If you try anything or hurt any of my staff or customers, you will not leave this restaurant. Am I clear krieg?".

"Of course" he said instantly, "I promise I wont do anything!" added the man known for his deceit.

The chef, who was actually the owner of Baratie and a former wellknown pirate captain himself, going by the name 'Red leg' Zeff . A captain known to be the only one allowed to cook on his own ship. Walked back into the kitchen and back to work.

Sanji exited the kitchen soon after. He carried a plate full of rice chicken with vegies and a bottle of wine. He placed them on the floor infront of Krieg and begrudgingly told him to enjoy.

The blonde chef knew what was going to happen once krieg finished his meal. His subordinate had scouted them for when he brought his captain for some food. Once he had his energy back he would try take the ship. Sanji just hoped the old man still had something left when it ended.

Krieg began eating his food as fast as he could, almost as fast as a certain strawhat wearing glutton. A few seconds after he cleared his plate and glugged his wine he jumped up and rose to his full height of almost eight feet and let out a burp followed by a content sigh.

"That was some good food I'm almost back to my full strength" roared the fleet Admiral.

True to his word,he instantly threw a Haymaker at Sanji, the blonde was switched on and way too quick. He avoided the blow effortlessly by tilting to his head to the right. Allowing the punch to sail straight past his head over his shoulder.

Krieg looked shocked that the blonde chef wouldn't just stand there and be assaulted.

"So the dog shows his true colours, I suppose once a mutt always a mutt eh?" Sanji said in his uncaring tone as he exhaled the smoke from his cigarette.

Krieg looked proud as he responded, " Ha, I'm Don Krieg fleet admiral of fifty ships. I do what I want when I want!. Now what I want is enogh food to feed a hundred of my crew that are dying and if you dont make it you will suffer the consequences, now get to it. That is an order and nobody defies my orders!".

Sanji walked towards the kitchen to make the food for Kriegs crew, despite protests from the resident cooks. They were completely ignored by the the young chef.

The customers knew they were in a bad situation so they left as fast as they could before the inevitable happened.

"Good decision peasents " krieg mocked.

His right hand man laughed at his captain before he spoke, "Same plan as usual captain?", he whispered so krieg was the only one to hear. krieg nodded in the affirmative.

Luffy and his crew sat and observed what was going on and he calmly told his to stay on alert as knew krieg was going to try take this ship, Luffy would not let that happen. He liked this place and would love to come back one day to eat more of its tasty cooking.

A few minutes later Zeff exited the kitchen with a huge sack of food. He dropped it at kriegs feet and told him to get the hell off his ship

Krieg smirked once more,"its about damn time, now you all have until my crew has eaten to get the hell off my new ship, I'll be taking the ship with the goat figurehead too. My ship was destroyed by the Devil so I will be needing a new one, or two. Then i will return to the grandline and find One Piece to become King of the pirates!".

As soon as those words left his lips, kriegs luck ran out. As he began laughing he was interrupted by somebody laughing even more boisterously. He looked in the direction of the laughter and his eyes landed on a table of five.

"what is so funny brat?",krieg asked .

Luffy replied with more laughter before humouring the deluded pirate. He looked dead into kriegs eyes,"you becoming coming the pirate king, that is too funny don. How could a weakling like you be king of the pirates?".

"Who are you to question me boy and I can throw battleships with my bare hands!, how is that weak?", krieg snapped back.

Luffy pushed his seat out and stood tall, "My name is Luffy and I'm going to be Pirate King you will find out very quickly why if you touch my ship krieg".

Krieg scowled at him, "A little kid like you could never hold such a powerful position, you are nothing when compared to the likes of me!".

Nami decide to wind him up a little, " He is anything but little krieg, he satisfies us both in a way a loser like you ever could" she finished with a wink as Betty chuckled to her left.

Krieg was getting worked up as his anger got the better of him, he whipped a flintlock from his fur coat and aimed it at where the cocky bitch was sat. That was his last action before a fist impacted his chest so hard it shattered his wootz armour. Krieg had never felt anything like it and had zero chance to react.

He was sent rocketing back through the double doors and out onto the deck. His vision swam as blood flowed freely from his mouth as he tried to process what just happened.

As he looked up after vis vision cleared he saw the orangette walking towards him with the sack of food for his crew. " take this and go feed your crew krieg, if you dont? nobody will be able to stop him from ending you and your crew loser".

Krieg smirked as he saw gin walk up behind the orangette and pointed his own pistol at her pretty head.

"What you gonna do now little girl Haha maybe I will take you with me and keep you as my own personal sex slave, how does that sound ?" krieg said thinking he had wrestled control of the situation back .

Nami took on a thinking pose, " I actually like the sound of that, just with him not you". She vanished along with gin's gun, he was then pistol whipped with his own weapon and sent crashing to the deck. "last chance krieg, feed your crew or die now" she muttered.

"Hahaha, I'm beginning to like you girl, I think I will take you regardless. Gin get your ass up we are leaving to feed my crew".

As krieg and gin returned to the dreadnought sabre, kriegs flagship. Nami noticed they were both massaging their injuries.

She turned and walked upto Luffy. "thank you for defending me captain", she said as she grabbed his hand breaking his glare at krieg as she led him back to their table.

Sanji stood open mouthed at the huge kid and the orangette, unable to comprehend the speed and strength they must have, he saw neither move they were so fast.

Zeff who was stood at the door to his kitchen did see both of them move. He was becoming quite curious about this small crew. It had the same vibe as a crew he knew from decades ago.

Luffy turned to the old man and stated,"krieg will be back soon, If we stop him from taking the restaurant would you allow us to take one of your chefs for our crew?, it's a position we are yet to fill and somebody we need as soon as possible. I'm sure I dont need to explain why".

"The other ship he was talking about was mine and he insulted and pointed a gun at one of my girlfriends", he added in a darker tone.

Zeff thought about it for a second before responding. "I dont have a problem with that but they would need to agree to leave Baratie, I dont know if any would leave to join a pirate crew. Luffy smiled, "I dont just want any, I want him" he said as he pointed at Sanji.

Sanji had no idea why the strawhat wearing kid wanted him out of everybody, he tried to woo one of his girlfriends and treated the men of his crew like trash when they first arrived. Now he was saying how he only wanted him on his crew. Sanji tried to ignore the sudden feeling of pride he felt with somebody who seemed crazy strong singling him out as the only choice for the position of crew cook. That said he had no plans to leave Zeff and Baratie.

Sanji was also a little annoyed that the pirate had not just one beautiful girlfriend but two. Maybe if he acted a bit more like Luffy he would be able to attract beautiful women too.

Zeff just knew there was something different about this kid, he could feel his power dripping from every pore, even as he tried to suppress it. Even when the kid spoke those hallowed words Zeff could sense no cockiness, only confidence as if it was just a matter of time. Would he have been able to match him in his prime?. He quickly threw that away, no he would not have been a match for him. Not even close.

Zeff accepted Luffy's offer. Sanji immediately jumped in, "what makes you think I would join your crew anyway?, I'm happy here and i have no reason to leave".

Luffy responded,"you make the best food I've ever eaten Sanji add that to the fact you dodged kriegs punch like it was in slow motion. You must have had some good training and you seem too young to be stuck working in a restaurant". Tell me Sanji is there anywhere you would like to go or anything you want to see?".

Sanji took a drag of his cig, exhaling the thick grey smoke he decided to ask Luffy a question as his response. "have you ever heard of the Allblue?".

Luffy had no idea what that was so he answered honestly, "no I cant say I have I'm afraid.

Betty spoke up from Luffys left. "I have". Sanji ignored his rapidly beating heart to ask her what she knew.

She was only too happy to tell him what she knows, "I have heard the stories of the place where the worlds oceans converge into a breeding ground for the worlds rarest fish and aquatic mammals, unfortunately I haven't heard of any who found it ". Sanji beamed at her description, that was definitely Allblue.

Sanji was happy somebody else knew the legend, it gave the myth credibility. The young man was dragged from his thoughts. "Is that your dream Sanji, to find the Allblue?" Luffy asked grin stretching the width of his face. His crew knew the importance behind this question.

Sanji matched it and replied, "it is, it is a dream I share with the man I consider my father, he spent his career searching for it without any joy, I would like to do the same".

Luffy jumped right on in, " how you gonna do that if you are stuck here Sanji ?, join my crew Sanji and we will chase our dreams together". Before Sanji could give his answer Luffy stopped him, "save it for later krieg is on his way with his goons. Think about it Sanji I will give you two days before we sail away from here with or without you".

The Strawhat pirates all stood and walked outside to wait for krieg and the remnants of his once five thousand crew.

The ship began to shudder as two platform like fins rose from the sea, giving a wider area to fight. They would also limit damage to the main ship and its contents.

Not sixty seconds later krieg and the remnants of his crew. He jumped on the platform followed by gin. "Last chance to surrender" he offered the soon to be defeated crew.

Luffy simply said, "No thanks, I'm not letting you off so easily krieg. You threatened my girlfriend and to take my ship". He also noticed how krieg was looking his female Nakama up and down. He would pay for that too.

"Zoro and Usopp, you two can use this as a training exercise, try using Haki and the other skills you are learning. Nami, Betty you act as support but you cant use Haki, understood?!".

"Aye captain" the four Strawhats agreed.

The krieg pirates came charging from kriegs battered ship, cheering and screaming. "Usopp say hello for us" Luffy ordered.

The sniper dipped into his bag of tricks and pulled out four small orbs. He loaded them into his slingshot and drew back the rubber tubes and called out his attack.

"Exploding Star" he released the pocket and released its payload. They impacted a group of around half adozen men, they were immediately engulfed in flame. They screamed as their clothing fused to their skin as they were partially incinerated . Just a few seconds later they were all burned to a crisp. Not one of them thought to jump in the fire quenching substance all around them.

before Usopp could celebrate another group charged towards him rapidly. He dipped into his bag again and pulled out a handful of lead balls, he fired them off rapidly one after another. Every shot hit centre of the forehead putting them all into unconsciousness as their bodies hit the deck.

Usopp was already starting to tire, he was not used to facing real enemies and he definitely wasn't used to facing real charging enemies while using Haki. He was happy though he just took out over a dozen men in less than thirty seconds without moving a muscle.

However his observation faded and a lone pirate was able to sneak up on him, he swung a spiked mace at Usopp. Fortunately for Usopp no contact was made as a black dress shoe impacted said lone pirates face crushing it beyond recognition. The pirate was dead before he even hit the drink.

Sanji was thanked by Usopp as Luffy told Usopp he did great. Sanji then spoke to Luffy. "I've made my decision!". Luffy and the others looked at him with passive expressions as they waited for what they hoped would follow.

"Permission to come aboard captain, I'm not going to let this opportunity go I would regret it forever if I did. I know the old man doesn't want me to leave but I know he wants me go find Allblue, i understand now".

Luffy looked him dead in his eyes before speaking, "I'm glad you decided to join us now I dont have to employ dirty tactics shishishi. Permission granted welcome aboard Sanji the Kings cook!".

Now that Sanji was officially a Strawhat pirate he could join the battle. Before that Luffy decided to get Sanji's juices flowing.

"Nami, Betty it's your turn. Thin the numbers please". he asked.

The two Strawhat females smirked before getting to work. They both became nothing more than a blur as they smashed the krieg pirates. Single swing attacks broke everything they touched, arms ribs faces nothing could withstand the onslaught. Luffy called for them to stop.

They each appeared at Either side of their captain as they looked over the fourty bodies that now littered the ground from no longer than thirty seconds work.

"Great job ladies" he said as he side hugged them for a second. Both ladies purred at the praise given.

Krieg while being outraged at forty of his men were taken out so easily by too women had a long overdue moment of clarity.

He finally realised numbers meant nothing when thousands could be defeated by just one. He would never vocalise his mistakes though.

How had he been so blind, he saw what that Hawkeyed bastard had done. How were you supposed to handle the fact that you would never be strong enough to have these kinds of people on his crew. He finally realised that to be somebody big, a major player in this world you needed a strong crew. strong crews do Not follow weak leaders.

Which is what krieg knew he was, why else would he wear unbreakable armour and employ dirty tactics to get what he wanted. Without his weapons and armour he would probably lose to his second in command gin, who was a seasoned combatant with genuine toughness.

Krieg knew he could not win this fight. However, he would sacrifice his entire crew to keep up the ruse.

Luffy looked to his swordsman and cook before speaking, "Zoro, Sanji you two are up now. whoever takes out the most pirates from what is left gets to request one thing from me. if I can grant it I will, deal?". Both men agreed and jumped into the fray.

The situation was the similar to what the ladies had just done but with more blood. Zoro would slash leaving gaping wounds and even severed limbs. Zoro took no real pleasure in fighting weaklings. He did what needed to be done and showed no emotion as he did it using his hard earned skills.

Sanji on the other hand was like a man on fire. These bastards had come to his home where his shitty friends/inferior cooks worked and lived. But most of all they threatened the only man he would ever consider his Dad, not his father his Dad. Any man can father a child but only Dads raised and nurtured them.

No mercy would be shown by him today. What would be on display was a ballet of destruction. He leapt forward with his left knee high as he approached his first target. His left knee dropped as his right leg rose in a blur before it impacted just under the pirates left ear, there was a sickening snap followed by a dull thud and a sharpening of the eyes. Sanji was gone.

The next misguided individual knew nothing as Sanji appeared above front and executed a picture perfect axe kick that crashed down on the head of the soon to be deceased pirate with enough force to whip his legs round to where his head used to be and snapping his neck in the process.

His next victim swung what he though would be a solid blow to the young blonde only to realise he had no weapon. He was sure he had it in his hands just a second ago. He was confused as he saw it on the floor, he must have dropped it there was no other explanation.

As he reached for it a black spotless dress shoe stepped on it with enough force to snap the blade clean.

He looked up, Sanji motioned for him to stand. He was quite a big guy but that would hold zero relevance as Sanji jumped only a couple of feet in the air before he administered a dozen bone crushing front kicks to the mans chest, each one landed viciously on point. The pirates chest caved as he eventually flew backwards into his watery coffin.

Sanji then did something nobody expected. He flipped onto his hands and began to spin, faster and faster until his legs were like two flails as he moved through the pirates with renewed vigour. Zoro saw Sanjis anger and slowed down his own assault deciding to let the blonde chef have this one, it was personal for Sanji and Zoro wanted to see what he was actually capable of.

The swordsman forfeited silently, Sanji wanted this way more than he did so he sheathed his blades and rejoined Luffy and the others before stating,"No fun in this for me captain, he has a lot of anger for them". Luffy smiled and nodded his agreement.

Krieg and gin simply stood as the blonde destroyed the remaining dregs. Three of the Strawhats could sense another person hiding in the water for some reason. He was no threat so they paid him no mind.

When Sanji finally halted his attack he was surrounded by dead or dying krieg pirates. Krieg himself shuddered at the happy yet somehow evil smile on the cooks face, it was almost demonic. Sanji was visibly tired as his chest heaved and his killing intent slipped away but he had done what he set out to do, as much damage as possible.

Sanji pulled out his twenty deck and took out one before lighting it and evening out his breathing before he spoke, "I feel a bit bitter now, slightly". The strawhats all smiled at him even Zoro had to admit Sanji was pretty much custom made for this crazy crew although he would never tell his so.

Sanji then felt something behind himself as his alarm bells whirred loudly. He spun round just in time to see a heavy Tonga steaming towards his face. Before it could make its death blow it was blocked by a katana, pushing it to the side.

Zoro stood between Sanji and kriegs right hand man Gin. "Sneak attacks are for cowards, you must be a coward". Zoro spoke those words with venom, as a swordsman honour was a huge deal to Zoro, attacking somebody from behind is not something he would ever do, he would rather die than ignore his honour.

Gin smirked at the green haired swordsman as he spoke honestly, "we do what we must to survive, if it meant murdering every last one of you to survive I would have zero issue in carrying it out. "Any advantage must be seized upon,honourable or not I'm not bound by such sentiment.

That statement hurt Zoro's ears, he was a man bound by honour and discipline, it was what drove him to achieve his goal to be the greatest swordsman not just alive but in all history . It was Zoro's turn to speak and he did so with assured clarity, "since this is no swordsman duel I wont treat it as such which means I dont need to respect you as an opponent, I will make this short and violent". Zoro got a small nod as he silently asked his captain if he could cut loose .

"Shall we begin?". Zoro asked as he drew all three blades receiving a nod from the scruffy pirate indicating his readiness.

They raced at eachother and the first clash alone was enough for gin to realise he had bitten off more than he could chew. His Tonfa in his left hand had been sliced halfway up the shaft leaving him with nothing but a single weapon to combat a demon with three blades.

Zoro still could not shake his honour as before Gin knew it the Santoryu exponent had placed his two poor blades away securely. Leaving Wado vs Tonfa. Zoro removed Wado from his mouth and held her tightly in his left hand as he began speaking. "This is where your story ends gin, at my feet".

Gin gritted his teeth before he launched at Zoro swinging wildly but every blow was blocked effortlessly by the future worlds greatest. Gin continued for as long as he could but he was the only one expending energy as Zoro was static, only using his arms. Zoro eventually got bored and decided to go on the offensive.

He began slashing at gin in a relentless flurry of blows the tonfa wielder simply could not match. Within no time at all Gin was in a sorry state as blood loss from the many wounds all over his arms began to leave him unable to react to the monster that barely looked to be winded if tired at all.

"Now do you see the difference between us Gin, you were doomed to failure from the start. Now your demise is guaranteed because my captain is dozens of times stronger than your captain and I genuinely do mean that. I'm not sure how strong he is myself infact but he could beat every pirate in this sea combined just as a point of reference".

It was time to finish it. "time to end this, here I come". Zoro said calmly before blitzing forward Wado raised over his right shoulder, he swung down in a perfect ninety degree slash which gin tried to block but his tonfa was sliced like plastic by Wados blade. Zoro noticed the edge of his lone Meito tinted black as it impacted and sliced through firstly gins tonfa and then his chest, ribs and abdomen.

Gin stood somehow until Wado slid back into its sheath, as it clicked securely in place gins chest erupted in a geyser of blood. The pirate slumped boneless as he took his last breath.

Zoro was shocked and happy in equal measure as he evaluated what could be achieved using weaponised will,even at his low level. He had a taste of it and would never rest til he mastered it. He walked back over to his crew smiling, the three Haki users all acknowledged what he did for the first time.

Luffy was the first to praise him for being able to maintain such calmness in the heat of battle, while Nami and Betty lamented the fact he was learning it so damn fast. It took Nami years to even get it to show but she was a kid then.

Zoro was already a physical specimen when he joined so it did make absolute sense he would get it so quick, he was a conqueror after all. So it was to be expected. imagine if Zoro was learning Haki a Rokushiki since he first picked up a sword

His life target was to be able to coat his whole blade in Haki Hardening at will so Zoro needed everything he was learning to work in perfect harmony but at levels he never until recently knew of. one thing for sure was he would have a rival to take him up levels as Sanji had also seen what Zoro did and while he had no concept of Haki the proof was in the pudding.

Zoro turned to Sanji and spoke calmly, "the moment you switch off on the battlefield is the moment you lose the battle". Sanji tsked but stored the information anyway.

Both men rejoined their crew with Hope's of more praise from their Male and female members respectively. Sanji swooned at Nami and Betty, "Nami-san, Betty-chan did you see my fight I took out more than the moss-head did, are you impressed with my skills", he asked in hope of praise.

Nami eye rolled, "yes Sanji your fight was er,great" she said. "Right upto the point you nearly had your skull caved in ,it was quite adequate", Betty added. As you could imagine the praise went straight to the blondes head as he thanked the ladies for their admittedly half-hearted praise.

Zoro only looked to Luffy for praise. A simple smile and nod was all he needed and only from his captain.

"good job Sanji", he offered his new cook. Sanji accepted it but was more focused on his wish he just remembered about. He walked upto Luffy and got in his face,"you owe me a wish captain" he said. Luffy felt like slapping him for getting in his face, that would be something that ceased as soon as they were at sea. No way would Luffy tolerate that from his Nakama.

If they didn't respect him they should not be on his crew.

However, Luffy did owe him a favour so he would grant it if he could. "ok Sanji, what is it you want?". Sanji grinned "nothing much just a kiss off each of these lovely ladies" he replied. Nami wanted to punch him. She never wanted to entertain the thought of kissing somebody else.

Luffy looked at her, "please Nami, just a peck on the cheek" he begged with his puppy dog eyes. He whispered something into both women's ears "you mean it ?" they said in unison looking hopeful. He nodded and winked at his girlfriends.

They walked upto Sanji and Kissed him lightly on the cheek for two seconds after which the cook promptly fell into bliss and unconsciousness as his back hit the extended deck smile welded on his face.

Zoro just looked at him in a manner that said, "still in the middle of battle and acting like a lovestruck moron', Zoro might just let the next weapon his the blondes face.

The rest of the crew could only sweat drop.

In reality Sanji and his weakness for women would do nothing but hold him back or endanger the crew, would Sanji defend a woman he did not know over his crew?. Luffy really hoped not because if any of Luffy's crew were harmed because of misplaced loyalty. The thought alone pissed Luffy off and he had no option but to address it when they left Baratie.

Luffy then turned back to address krieg smile plastered on his face as krieg raged at the shitshow he was watching. Reality had reared its ugly head at the worst possible moment once again, as far as the krieg pirates were concerned anyway.

Krieg was literally left with nothing to fight for, no future, no fleet of ships, no army of sacrificial lambs dedicated to dying for his cause. All krieg had left was pearl, "Pearl get your ass out of the damn water and show these kids, Now!" he screamed.

A second later a tall odd looking man climbed out of the water and stood almost proudly on one of the extendable platforms.

He had iron plates covered in Pearl's, all over his body legs and arms, he even had a giant pearl cap on his head. He was absolutely terrifyingly underwhelming.

Luffy turned to Nami, "you like Pearl's dont ya?, she nodded. "you want those ones right?", again she nodded before vanishing . A dozen clanks later and pearl was stripped of every pearl on his body, his shields laying broken at his feet and a look beyond fear on his ugly face. He looked to his captain for help but none would be coming.

Krieg looked at his last crew member and decided it was time to cut ties. His armour opened up and a dozen barrels of varying calibre clicked into place, all aimed at pearl.

"This is what happens when you fail me pearl" the defenceless man stood begging for his life which seemed to make krieg angrier. "Die!"screamed the former fleet admiral of fifty ships and five thousand men. Krieg opened fire on his supposed crewman.

A dozen seconds later clicking was all that could be heard, krieg either didn't care or was in a blind rage failed to realise his weapons were empty. Luffy stood off to the side and dumped two handfuls worth of crushed lead into the deep blue.

His fingers finally released the triggers when he realised pearl was stood in the same spot completely unharmed. "How are you still alive?!",he roared his disbelief obvious.

Pearl had no idea how he was not riddled with holes, the one thing he did know was his captain tried to take his life, "why don?" was his only question asked in a defeated and broken tone. As far as he knew he had always been one of kriegs most loyal members yet his captain showed him absolutely no care or compassion.

"That is obvious pearl ,I have no use for you anymore because you are weak. I will rebuilt my crew even greater than before and i will conquer the grandline, I am don krieg and I am the stronge...". Was all he managed before he was interrupted by loud laughter from multiple sources.

"People like you will never make it anywhere krieg. You simply dont see reality like the rest of us. Even now ,you have just stood and watched while every single remaining member of the crew fought for you. Yet you did nothing . Your entire fleet was destroyed while you did nothing and that is the problem krieg, you do nothing therefore you are nothing !".

"If any person in this world wants to get to my crew and touch even a single hair on their heads, they have to get through me, if you want to take my ship you have to go through me !". Luffy got louder and louder , hotter and hotter as he began to release the hold on some of his shackles power.

"You have nothing left krieg, I think the best thing I could do now would be to put you down, the world doesn't need people like you in it!".

Krieg still refused to accept his defeat as he went to grab the pauldrons off his shoulders, only to realise they were no longer there. "sorry krieg she took those too" Luffy laughed as he pointed at the waving Nami.

Krieg looked at the orange haired girl and she did indeed have his armour in her hands along with the pearls from pearl the person, Nami mouthed the words 'Thank you' to krieg which obviously made him all the more ragey.

Krieg let out a gutteral roar as he charged full force at the Strawhats, only to be met by a peg leg to the jaw sending him skipping across deck backwards on his shoulders with his legs high in the air and akimbo, he only came to a stop about thirty feet later just prior to falling in the sea. He struggled to his feet after gathering his bearings. He saw Zeff stood before him surrounded by armed cooks.

The former pirate lowered his leg and placed it back on the ground folding his arms across his chest with an ice cold glare aimed at krieg. it was now very apparent who had taught Sanji the way of the foot.

Luffy gaped at Zeff, "what happened to staying out of it old man?", Luffy questioned with a grin.

Zeff looked at the teen and spoke with experience and authority. "This fight was over a long time ago boy the victory is already yours and I have a restaurant full of cooks that all want a collective piece of the krieg pie".

"So if it's okay with you they will be finishing him off for what he planned to do to their home", he added. Luffy was slightly annoyed as he wanted to be the one to finish krieg off but he knew this was something he had to do, "ok old man if that is what you want I wont stop you. You might aswel collect his bounty too to pay for any damages" he said pointing to krieg.

"I dont know what you wanna do with pearl though?". Zeff smiled, "I think I could use another pair of hands as long as they are clean". Pearl heard this and was shocked for the second time in minutes, that the old man would even consider helping him. How blind had he been to follow krieg.

Luffy turned to Betty "does anyone else have bounties?". She nodded adding " yes gin has eleven million while pearl has nine million, thirty seven million total".

Luffy turned to Zeff again, "its all yours old man we already raised our flag so we cant claim them, we raided a marine base too. Unless you do decide to spare this one". Zeff smirked at the amount, he could completely transform Baratie with that kind of cash injection.

"Nobody gets involved now this is the Baraties fight now, like Zeff said our fight is won, understood?!". His crew accepted and took a step back to watch Baratie vs Krieg.

All the cooks exited the restaurant and surrounded krieg who was rooted to the spot. None of the cooks had weapons of any description as they all charged at krieg, he prepared himself for his final stand.

What followed was a brutal fury of fists, for every ten the cooks landed krieg would land one and take a cook out of the fight. soon enough there was a mess of bodies as the cooks all tried landing kicks punches and even bites on krieg. He was clearly stronger than each individual but was unable to focus on any single one.

It was a testament to how strong krieg actually was, well compared to the cooks sans Zeff. The don managed to take out fifteen of the roughly twenty pirates before they started to get the better of him due to exhaustion setting in after about five minutes.

The stronger members of the Baratie were left and they all managed to land heavy blows and do damage, not singularly but as a collective. Blood washed over the deck as the battle drew to a close. Krieg was now on his back as four of the five pinned him down with everything they had left. krieg didn't have the strength to throw them off as he had done earlier.

Then krieg saw a shadow looming over him as the sun was blocked out, it was Patty with blood running down his head and face with his nose splattered to the side clearly broken. He raised his huge forearms above his head and clasped his hands tightly together.

He brought them down in a hammer blow with every bit of energy and power he could muster. He looked down at krieg and spoke one simple word "Bastard" he screamed as he brought his hammer down and pummeled kriegs head into the deck. That still wasn't enough as krieg stayed conscious forcing Patty to hit him with three more blows.

Don krieg was finally out of commission as the collective damage accrued took its toll on the former strongest nothing. The cooks of Baratie had done it and all collapsed through exhaustion or the damage they each received in battle.

Zeff looked incredibly proud of his employees if the smile on his face was anything to go by. Zeff asked if the Strawhats could help securing krieg as his chefs were cooked. Luffy was only to happy to help after watching normal folk defend everything they held dear.

It would also take the marines days to arrive and collect krieg and his crew.

After krieg was tied up securely he was placed in the baratie cargo hold with the survivors of his crew, all blissfully sleeping. The body of Gin was but in a sack and stored in the cold storage unit they used to store meat, that way his body would still be identified by the relevant authorities.

The staff of Baratie took on liquids and some food before they went out on deck to get rid of all the blood and bodies also minor repairs.

The strawhats returned to merry to get changed and show Sanji where he would be sleeping and where he would spend most of his time ,The kitchen.

He was happy just with the knowledge he would not be sharing his kitchen. All he needed was some of his pots and pans, his utensils and of course his prized possessions, the knife set Zeff gave him a decade ago.

Once he was familiar with the ship and his kitchen Sanji went back to Baratie to pack his things up. He joined his new and old crews as they sat and talked about things from the past and things that would be in their future, including stories from Zeffs past adventures, turned out the old man had a bounty of six husband sixty million when he was in his pomp.

He was also known to be able to leave shoe prints in steel his kicks were so potent.

The crew also learned of Sanji and Zeffs meeting and subsequent stranding on a rock, the old man had eaten his own foot just to keep Sanji alive. Sanji thought staying by Zeffs side was the right thing to do, even if now he knew that wasn't what Zeff wanted. He wanted Sanji to live his life so Zeff could live vicariously through Sanji.

All that was now in the past . Zeff could live a new life just as pearl would in his new role of waiter/janitor which all things considered was a great outcome for the odd looking man. He decided a pirate's life was no longer for him.

Luffy decided he was in no rush so they would stay a little longer, The stories were fun, the food was great and the booze was cold . Luffy had kept quiet about the presence he had just picked up not having a clue who it belonged to, my God was it strong. Luffy could sense it was even bigger than his own and so damn clean, calm and focused. like nothing could fluster this person.

All he could do is wait for the owner of such an aura to appear, they would not be waiting much longer as Luffy and to a lesser degree Nami, Betty and Zeff all suddenly went very stiff as their Haki was now screaming at them that danger was approaching.

A lone figure sat in his small boat as it sailed closer to Baratie with a curious eyebrow raised, he quickly forgot about krieg. "Now that is one very interesting signature indeed, to whom does such a presence belong, looks as though this hunt will become interesting very soon". The figures soul piecing eyes seemed to focus intently as a minute grin showed at the corner of his lips.

Roronoa Zoro had no idea the man he set out to find would soon be stood in front of him, giving him the true scale of his and Kuina's dream.


That is chapter 3 done. Story will calm slightly until Alabasta from this point. Hope you enjoyed it.