Disclaimer... I don't own One Piece at all. Even a little. Like not even 1%.

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"Thoughts"

"Dialogue"

The sun was almost set when Kaya finally returned home from Meshi. Although it was strange, none of the lights were on and the gates were still wide open. Kaya opened the front door but saw more of the same, so she announced herself, "I'm home! Merry! We need to discuss the preparations for the ship!"

Kaya waited a few moments but received no response. Moving up the stairs and towards Klahadore's room, Kaya then called for her caretaker, "Klahadore! Do you know where Merry is?"

She didn't receive a response again which was frightening, walking quickly towards his room and knocking on the door. Kaya put her ear to the door but didn't hear anyone inside, "Maybe he's asleep, although it's very early." Kaya then slowly opened the door, not to disturb the sleeping man, only to see a pool of blood on the floor. She threw open the door to see Merry, her head butler, lying face down in the puddle.

Kaya ran as fast as she could to his side and with tears already streaming down her face, she rolled him over. She saw four shallow gashes from his forehead to his chin, and his right eye was sliced as well. Kaya ran to Klahadore's bed and ripped off the bedding. She rushed back to Merry, praying she wasn't too late to save the man's life. She bit into the beddings, then used her nails to make a hole big enough for his nose and mouth so he could breathe. She then put the bedding over his face and applied pressure.

This received a small reaction from Merry, as both of his hands moved to the person applying pressure to his wounds. Now crying tears of joy, Kaya then told Merry, "It's alright Merry, it's Kaya. I need you to hold pressure right now, I need to supplies to help you."

Kaya put his hands on his face and was about to leave when Merry grabbed her blood stained dress. He then lifted the already stained bedding over his mouth and said with labored breaths, "Lady Kaya... Klahadore did this... He attacked me! Please...be careful, he might still be in the house!"

Kaya recoiled when she heard this and with her whole body shaking, she asked, "He-He did this to you? But why would he?"

"He said..cough... He was going to steal everything... He said...I was the first to be killed...cough... and he was coming for you tonight!" Merry declared, sounding more and more strained as he spoke.

"Please Merry, stop talking! I'll be right back, I'm only going to get supplies from my room. Just keep applying pressure, everything will be fine." Kaya wiped her tears and decided at that moment, she had to be strong. She had to leave behind the scared little girl. She had to be strong for Merry's sake, to save a man's life.

Kaya rushed to her room and took the medical kit that is always next to her bed. She thought for a moment then grabbed some towels, her sewing kit and the few medical books she had in her room. Running as fast as she could, Kaya bolted out of her room and into Klahadore's. Dropping everything next to Merry, she grabbed his hands and brought them to his sides. Kaya peeled off the bloody sheets and got a much clearer picture of how bad these wounds were... Merry would never be able to use his right eye again. The slashed were deep enough to slice through the eye as well, the slashes were all deep enough to hit bone too. So the man would have nasty scars for the rest of his life. Realizing she was wasting time, Kaya grabbed her medical kit, opened up one of the books and started to sow up the man's face.

As Kaya worked, Merry began to speak again with tears streaming from his eye, "Lady Kaya, I'm sorry... I couldn't...do a thing when he attacked me... I'm a terrible excuse for a butler."

"Don't say that Merry, you are an incredible butler. You have been taking care of my family even before I was born. You have been there for my family in the good times and the bad, I can't ask any more from you. Besides, you couldn't have known Klahadore's plan... Please, tell me how this happened."

"I was cleaning...the foyer...Then I heard Klahadore scream from upstairs. I ran to see if I could be of assistance, but when I entered the room,...he was hunched over on the bed looking at a black bag. I asked if he was alright... and he said, 'Don't call me that anymore, call me Kuro... Besides, today...is the day, my 3-year plan will come to fruition tonight! My crew...is already on their way, and we will ransack everything on this speck of an island... Which means you aren't required anymore, you are the first to die, Merry, then the entire village... Lastly, that...little bitch Kaya, after she gives me everything in her possession of course.' He then...attacked me using a glove with blades on every finger... He was a pirate, Lady Kay-"

Kaya's tears had returned at the things Merry had said, she then stopped him, "Please stop Merry, I have to dress your wounds, otherwise you might not survive. I don't know where he is but he isn't in the mansion. Everyone in the town is safe as well...So, don't worry about anything else, everything will be alright."

Usopp talked to the owner of Meshi, and she said everyone could stay there for the night. With one last wave goodbye, Usopp left Meshi with a skip and a jig in his step, thinking of the adventures tomorrow might hold.

"So, what happened to Kuro?" Nami asked Luffy as he poured himself and Nami a drink.

Luffy took a long sip from his cup, then declared, "He was barely breathing by the time his crew arrived, they sent out the cannon fodder first, which Zoro handled easily." He then looked over to Zoro who was finishing off his first cup. "I bet it wasn't even a warm-up for Zoro. I swear I could smell the shit from the Vice-Captains pants after that, but then the Vice-Captain ordered three brothers to go fight Zoro at once."

Zoro then cut in, "They tried some underhanded tactics so I'd drop my guard, but I didn't give them a chance to get close. Then this weird dude with sunglasses tried to 'hypnotize' me, which was one of the funniest things I've ever seen."

Luffy finished by saying, "When he realized that he couldn't do a thing, he grabbed Kuro and ran back onto the ship. He tried to escape but barely left the island before I burned down the ship. Kuro died, but the guy with the glasses escaped on a dingy."

Nami looked astounded for a second, then inquired, "So, you just left the bodies? What happens if they're found? The people here will hate us!"

While pouring himself another drink, Zoro said, "Don't worry about that. We burned the bodies, all that was left was blood stains and ash. And that will be gone the next time it rains, so we have nothing to worry about."

Nami then sighed, "Alright, then good riddance to those dickheads! Kampi!" She said, lifting her cup to the center of the table.

"Kampi!" Luffy and Zoro answered, before downing their drinks.

When Nami finished her drink, she passed her cup to Luffy and asked, "Luffy, you said you burned down their ship, how'd you do it?"

Luffy grabbed his bottle of sake and filled the cups, He then looked at Zoro who was already downing another cup, for a second. He then said, "It's part of my devil fruit. I can fly and can control a special fire."

"You have a devil fruit power! So, when Zoro laughed at my sarcasm earlier..."

"Yeah, he was laughing because of how ridiculous you thought it was." Luffy answered, passing back her cup.

"Alright, so when do I get to see this power and what else should I know? You better tell me everything!"

"Where to begin... I told you a little about my devil fruit, but it is called, Tenshi Tenshi no Mi."

"Tenshi... So, you're an angel?"

"Yep, I have wings, a halo, and everything!" Luffy replied with a massive grin.

Nami then took a sip of her drink, "Ok, what else is there?"

"I told you about Observation Haki, there are two other types. Armament and Conqueror's, I have all three, which is incredibly rare."

"So... Are you the strongest person in the East Blue?" Nami asked hesitantly.

"Right now? Probably, but it depends if gramps is in the East Blue. I still can't overcome his Armament Haki." Luffy then looked at his bottle, which was almost empty. He suddenly looked to Zoro, "Zoro, can you get us a couple more bottles?"

Zoro looked at his bottle and realized he was in a similar situation. "Alright, I'm almost dry anyways." He then got up to look for the bar, only to realize he was drunker than he thought.

"Luffy... Who is your Grandfather?"

"Monkey D. Garp. I haven't seen him in a couple years though." Luffy responded, looking down at his sake, then pounding the rest of the cup.

"Your... Monkey D. Garp is your... You know what, I'm not even surprised anymore." Nami declared before finishing off her drink. Nami looked back to Luffy, who was pouring the last of his first bottle in his cup, "Luffy..."

Luffy put the bottle down and looked her in the eyes. "What is it?"

She then quietly asked, "How far are you willing to go for your Nakama?"

"How far... I'd go to Impel Down for my Nakama. Hell, I'd even fight all three Admirals or the Yonko for my Nakama." Luffy answered with a beaming smile, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. This stunned Nami completely, this man is willing to fight the world, just for someone he considers a friend.

Finally, Zoro had returned with three bottles of sake in his hand. "Did you get lost on your way to the bar? Shishishishi" Luffy asked, failing to contain his enjoyment.

"Shut up, this place is confusing is all." Zoro answered, plopping down in the booth next to Luffy. Zoro passed the bottles out, which were greedily taken by everyone at the table.

Luffy poured himself another drink, then looked at Nami, who had the look of contemplation on her face. "Do you any more questions Nami?"

"I do, Luffy... Can you kill someone for me?" Nami asked with reluctantly.

Zoro almost did a spit take, but didn't want to waste good sake. He looked at Nami with an extremely confused face, before pounded the rest of his cup, while Luffy turned very serious and set his down. "Who is it?"

Nami flinched a little but held strong and announced, "Arlong... Of the Arlong Pirates. I'm originally from the Conomi Islands, he killed my mother and enslaved everyone for the past ten years. He then took me as a prisoner and branded me, because of my skills as a navigator and a cartographer." Nami pulled up her sleeve and showed him her tattoo. "He made me hate myself and my dream." She finished with disgust.

Zoro was surprised by the information, but Luffy just looked at her with sympathy in his eyes. Luffy then replied, "Ten years... I'm sorry... You had to go through that." Luffy then slammed his hands on the table and announced, "I promise, I will make him pay for all the suffering he's caused you." He then sat back down on the bench and continued, "But I don't have an idea where the Conomi Islands are. Nor do I know what he looks like, so you will have to show me."

This put a smile on Nami's face, "Thank you... Thank you so much Luffy. I thought he would terrorize my village for the rest of my life." As Nami spoke, she started crying tears of joy at the thought of Arlongs demise. At the thought of Bell-mère finally resting peacefully. She then put her head on the table and slowly passed out thinking of freedom, a life without the monster known as Arlong.

After awhile and a few more drinks, Zoro grabbed Nami's bottle and looked at Luffy. "I wasn't joking when I said Arlong is strong for a Fishman. I've had opportunities to go after him before, but I've doubted my survival every time. Not to mention he'll try to get you into the water, where he is even stronger."

Luffy downed his cup, and replied, "I'm not worried. I might have a devil fruit, but all he's got is strength and fear. All I have to do is keep him from the water." Luffy then turned to him and declared, "Mark my words Zoro, I will rip off his head and present it to the people he's enslaved."

Zoro smirked, then took a pull from the bottle, "Aye, aye Captain. I'll be on clean up duty for the fodder, it should be a great workout. I heard Fishmen are ten times stronger than humans, so it should be fun to test the theory."

Luffy gave him a tired smile before yawning, "I'm going to sleep as well, we do need to meet Kaya tomorrow morning." Luffy put the cork in his bottle, then put his head on the table and was out like a light.

Zoro watched Luffy for a moment, then looked at Nami. He sighed deeply and grabbed Wado Ichimonji from the floor, to clean it.

It was a few hours after sunrise when Usopp awoke. He almost rolled over and fell back asleep, until he remembered yesterday. He remembered his crew waiting on him. Usopp jumped out of bed, put on the clothes he laid out late last night. He then put on his boots and his bandana, grabbed his sack of clothes and was out the door.

Usopp sprinted to Meshi, but was stopped on the way by Mayor Mornin. The Mayor then said, " So Usopp, you are really leaving today."

"Yes, Sir! I'm going out to accomplish my dream, and if I see my father, I'll tell him everything he has missed while he was gone."

"That's great my boy. You have those pistols correct?"

Usopp dropped his sack and pulled out the box from inside, he then opened it and found a letter. "What is... What is this?"

"That was written by your mother, the day she passed. I was meant to give it to your father when he returned, but you will see him sooner than I will. If you open it, at least wait until you are out at sea."

"Thank you again, Mayor. I will get this to my father and we will read it together. And don't worry, I will return home. Because I have someone waiting for me." Usopp finished the statement looking towards the mansion on the hill, he then repacked his sack and looked back at the Mayor.

"I'm sure you will Usopp. Now go! Your friends are waiting." The Mayor said, giving Usopp a slight push towards Meshi.

Usopp gave the old man one last smile, then picked up his sack and sprinting down the path. When Usopp arrived at Meshi, he walked in to find Nami slapping a passed out Luffy while Zoro just watched with a grin. Zoro heard the door open and turned around to see Usopp. "Sleep well, Usopp-"

They both heard a splash as water was thrown onto Luffy, whose eyes shot open. Nami let go a sigh of relief, "Finally, let's go Luffy. We need to leave the island."

Luffy, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes looked at Nami, then at Zoro and Usopp and asked, "Is it morning yet?"

Zoro then smacked Luffy on the back of his head, "Yeah, dumbass it is. Come on, let's go see what the Going Merry looks like."

Luffy begrudgingly got up from the booth, while Nami paid the barkeep for the booze they drank throughout the night. The four of them left Meshi, while Luffy, Zoro, and Nami followed Usopp to the Southern Coast. It took around twenty minutes for them to walk to the coast, and when they arrived they found a ship that was exactly what Kaya described. Sheep figurehead and all.

Everyone but Usopp looked amazed at the ship, which could now be considered theirs. "Where is Kaya?" Usopp asked, looking around the coast for any sign of her.

Luffy looked at the confused Usopp and replied, "Let's check the ship, maybe she left a note or something."

The four walked up the gangplank and checked every deck. It was perfect, Merry would be the ship that carried the Straw Hat Pirates to greatness! Luffy immediately went to the kitchen and found a note on the table. It was addressed to Usopp, Luffy then yelled, "Usopp! Come to the Kitchen!"

Everyone hurried to the Kitchen, although Usopp arrived last. Usopp walked up to Luffy and took the note from his hand. After a minute or so of reading, Usopp sat at the table with the note in front of him. "What does it say?" Nami asked as she looked over his shoulder.

"It says she apologizes that she couldn't see me off, Kaya had to take care of her head butler, Merry... Apparently, he was attacked yesterday by Klahadore. His wounds are severe so she wasn't able to get us many supplies, only a few barrels of fresh water, a fishing rod and a good amount of cannon balls. She also wrote, that we should leave as soon as we read the note because she called for the Navy. It says they should arrive sometime in the morning."

"Well, then we better leave, we are pirates after all, alright Luf-" Nami stated, about to order everyone to their stations.

"Wait!" Luffy yelled, causing everyone to freeze. "Before we leave, we need a Jolly Roger. We aren't official pirates without it."

Usopp perked up, "Do you have any ideas? I'm an amazing artist after all."

Luffy stopped for a second, deep in thought before declaring, "I do...I want our Jolly Roger to be a skull with a Straw Hat, with two white flames on either side of the skull."

"Like this?" Somehow Usopp finished the Jolly Roger easily within five minutes and it was perfect.

"That's exactly what I had in mind. Go put it up Usopp! We also need the main sails too."

"Are you sure? It's just a rough draft, what about this one?" Usopp then showed Luffy a Jolly Roger with a long nose and a bandana. "Or this one?" He then showed him one with a slightly different style.

"I think the first ones the best, we are the Straw Hat Pirates after all," Nami replied while looking at Luffy and Zoro.

"I agree with her, the other two don't have a Straw Hat at all..." Zoro responded, already walking out of the kitchen.

"Seems you've been outvoted Usopp, just remember... The Jolly Roger you've made will become known all across the world. This is the future Pirate King's ship after all. Shishishishi" Luffy said motioning with his hands in a wide arc. "Lets go Usopp, we need to leave before the Marines arrive."

Usopp looked at the note one last time before stuffing it inside his pouch. He then grabbed the Straw Hat Jolly Roger and paint, ran onto the deck and climbed the main mast towards the crows nest.

A few Days later...

"Hey Luffy! You want to help me with target practice?" Usopp shouted at Luffy, who was asleep on the figurehead, which he claimed as his special seat.

Luffy jumped down from the figurehead while rubbing his eyes and walked over to Usopp. "What are you aiming at?"

"I'll be trying to hit that island over there," Usopp replied pointing to a tiny island with a mountain.

"Be careful, there are people on that island. Although, if you hit the mountain they should be fine." Luffy told Usopp while watching him aim towards the island.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember what you said about Haki, but I'm a crack shot. I am the son of Yasopp after all." Usopp announced triumphantly. Usopp didn't wait for Luffy's answer when the cannon was lined up, he fired. The shot was perfectly lined up, and the arc of the cannonball was perfect. The cannonball hit the top of the mountain, but debris fell into the forest below. Usopp had a look of horror on his face, he turned to Luffy and asked, "Did I hit anyone? Are the people of the island ok?"

Luffy was silent for a moment, before saying, "You didn't kill anyone, but the people are frantic. They are also heading this way."

Nami then chimed in, "Luffy, what do you mean by 'heading this way'?"

"I think they're swimming. They are too far apart to be on a boat." Luffy then looked at the crows nest and yelled, "Zoro! Wake up, we are about to be attacked!"

Zoro was on the deck in less than thirty seconds and scanning the sea around them. "How many and where from?"

"Two people and from that way," Luffy responded while pointing towards the now smoking island.

"Only two... You can handle them." Zoro replied dismissively, before walking to the side of the deck, sitting down and somehow falling asleep again.

"He's right Luffy. Why did you call him down? You are stronger than Zoro." Nami inquired slightly confused.

Luffy shrugged then stated, "Zoro just looks more threatening than I do."

"I guess that's true..." Usopp said while mentally comparing Luffy and Zoro. "Eh, maybe."

Usopp then heard something to his right, only to see two men climbing aboard with their weapons drawn.

The one with sunglasses yelled, "You dumbass nameless pirates! You'll pay for nearly killing us!" He then held his sword above his head about to swing at Usopp, only to have a pistol shoved in his face and his partner.

"Johnny, Yosaku is that you?" The man with the sunglasses looked to his right was Zoro. "What are you idiots doing here?" Zoro asked with a grin while getting up from the deck.

"Big Brother Zoro! What are you doing on this pirate ship? Are you holding them captive?" Both of the swordsmen asked, running up to Zoro and completely forgetting about the guns pointed at their heads.

"Nah, the Captain saved me from execution at Shells town. So, I joined the crew as thanks. The others are cool too." Zoro answered, looking at a bewildered Nami and an equally as confused Usopp.

"Where's the Captain? We have to thank him for saving your life!" Yosaku yelled, looking everywhere but the figurehead. Johnny then added, "He must be super strong if he saved your life, big bro."

"He is. I'd wager he's the strongest person from here to the Grand Line."

"Really! If he's that strong we just have to meet him! So, where is he?" Johnny asked while doing the exact same thing Yosaku did.

Zoro then pointed behind them, towards the figurehead. The two followed his finger and saw a man in a red vest with a Straw Hat and a smile on his face, staring right back at them. The two then sprinted over to Luffy and kneeled before him. They both shouted, "Thank you for saving our Big Bro! If he died, we wouldn't know how to continue living. Thank You!"

"Shishishishishi, you don't have to kneel. I was happy to save my Vice-captain." Luffy told the two, before looking at Zoro with an amused grin. He then looked back at the two and said, "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, Future Pirate King. The guy with the long nose is Usopp and the fashionable redhead is Nami. We're the Straw Hat Pirates."

"Is it true you are the strongest person in the East Blue?" Both of them asked, eye Luffy up and down. "He doesn't look like it," Johnny said under his breath while leaning towards Yosaku.

"Looks are often deceiving Johnny, besides the most dangerous man in the world has a single arm, and he is also one of nicest people alive," Luffy declared holding his Straw Hat with his hand.

The two looked dumbstruck, "A single arm? Who could that be?" Yosaku asked, with his mouth agape. Everyone on the Merry was intrigued by who this person was.

"Red-Haired Shanks of course. Shishishishi, he wasn't considered the world's greatest swordsman before Mihawk for nothing."

"Damn... He was stronger than Mihawk... Then, what happened to his arm?" Zoro asked walking over to Luffy.

Luffy grabbed the Straw Hat and with a massive smile on his face he announced, "He still is stronger than Mihawk, he's a Yonko after all. But, he saved my life eleven years ago... He was the one who saved my life and taught me what it means to be a pirate, He's my hero!" Luffy finished with stars in his eyes.

"You know a Yonko, your Grandfather is Monkey D. Garp. What else should we know about you?" Nami asked with her hands on her hips.

"Well, my brother is Ace, a Commander on the Whitebeard Pirates." Luffy replied as if he didn't just say something significant.

Zoro fell over from shock at what he just heard. "You're telling me your brother is Fire Fist Ace... The guy with a 550 Million Berri bounty?! That Ace!?"

"Yeah! I haven't seen him in a while though, he left Dawn Island three years ago... Sucks that he got a head start on finding the One Piece." Everyone but Luffy and Usopp fell over when they heard this information. The only reason Usopp didn't fall over was that he didn't hear about too many bounties on Gecko Island, but he knew 550 million was outrageous.

"So, where are you guys heading next?" Yosaku asked completely ignoring what he just heard.

"We are heading for Baratie, but we have no idea where it is." Nami responded weakly, still a tad shaken up from the information she just heard.

Johnny suddenly said, "Well you're in luck, I happen to know where it's anchored right now. But we will also need a ride"

Usopp then asked, "Is it far? We don't have much food to spare..." Looking at the storage room, which was nearly empty.

"Nah, it's only a couple hours Northeast from here... It's in the Sambas Region right now." Yosaku stated, looking towards a random direction.

"Well, then let's go find our Chef!" Luffy yelled to everyone on board, while Nami rolled her eyes and yelled out orders.

"So, where are we heading?" A beautiful woman asked a pink-haired Marine.

"We are heading to the greatest restaurant in the world. It's the best fine dining experience in the entire East Blue, my Love."

"A restaurant on the Sea? Is that even possible?"

"It is, the business is so successful because it follows the fish." The marine replied while pouring the woman another glass of wine.

"To your Beauty." The marine said, holding his glass up for a toast.

Before she brought her glass up for the toast, a ship caught her eye and it was heading in the same direction. "Oh, dear, there is a pirate ship over there." The woman said while hanging over the crows nest a little.

The Marine looked down at the men in his command and ordered, "Helmsman pull to the Port of that pirate ship. We are going to sink it for obstructing our view."

"Aye Aye, Lieutenant Fullbody."

Luffy noticed the Marine ship before anyone else on board and suddenly ordered, "Usopp get the port cannon ready, we are about to have company."

Everyone looked off the Port side and saw the Seagull sails. While Johnny and Yosaku ran into the kitchen, everyone else was preparing for a fight. Luffy and Zoro were patiently waiting while Usopp got the cannon ready. Nami just hid behind the mast, trying to remain unnoticed.

"My name is Lieutenant Fullbody, of Navy HQ. I have never seen your Jolly Roger before..." The pink haired guy in the striped suit said, announcing his status. He then demanded, "Where is your scum of a Captain?!"

Luffy stepped forward and announced, "I am Luffy. The Captain of this vessel. We are the Straw Hat Pirates."

"The Straw Hats...Ha, I've never heard of such a band of lowlifes. Men sink the ship, we are almost late for my reservation." Fullbody said, walking away from the pirates.

"USOPP! FIRE AT WILL!" Luffy shouted, regaining the attention of Fullbody.

"AYE, AYE CAPTAIN!" As Usopp responded as he fired. The cannonball rocketed out of the cannon and broke through the mast like it was butter. This caused Fullbody to run to the dingy pulling the woman behind him. As soon as the first shot was fired, Usopp loaded the next. Before he got the next shot off, the Marines returned fire. The shot missed the Merry entirely, going just past the mast and Nami's head, causing her to scream excessively. When Usopp loaded the next cannon, he quickly aimed where the last shot came from and fired. The shot hit dead on and the Marine ship had already suffered massive damage, suffering from fires and already taking on water. Some more shots and the Navy ship would sink, all the while, the Merry was still in perfect condition.

"Sink the ship Usopp!" Luffy yelled, noticing a few auras already abandoning ship.

Usopp followed his Captain's orders and fired again and again. As soon as one shot was off, he shot another somewhere else. Usopp didn't miss a single shot and in less than five minutes, the Marine Ship was sinking into the waves of the East Blue.

"Nami, let's dock with Baratie I'm starving. Shishishi." Luffy ordered, looking at the shaking woman sitting behind the mast.

Nami slowly got up and gazed at the Marine Ship, seeing as it was almost completely sunk, she left her cover and shakily started ordering to everyone on board to their posts.

Ten minutes later

The Straw Hats walked through the entrance to Baratie. The four of them were greeted with an elegant ballroom, the smell of delicious food and a fight. The fight was between the Lieutenant and a blonde guy smoking a cigarette. The fight was over, however, with Fullbody being completely outclassed and was now begging for his life. The Straw Hats moved towards the end of the ballroom and seated themselves. While Usopp and Luffy were interested in the fight, Zoro fell asleep with his feet on the table and Nami was looking for a waiter.

Quickly, five other chefs came running to stop the blonde man. After the five restrained him, Fullbody ran towards the entrance, before looking back and threatening the entire restaurant. "I will tell the Government about this! I will burn this hell hole of a restaurant into the-" His threat was short lived when a Marine came running up behind him and screaming "Lieutenant! The Krieg Pirates have been sighted coming this way! We need to escape!"

The mention of the Krieg Pirates caused panicked screams throughout Baratie. Luffy looked at Zoro, who had awoken at the mention of them, and asked. "Whose the Krieg Pirates?"

Nami answered for him, saying, "The Krieg Pirates are an armada of some of the strongest pirates in all of the East Blue, besides Arlong of course. Their Captain is Foul Play Don Krieg, but I heard they left for the Grand Line some time ago."

"How many pirates are in the fleet?"

Nami replied, "I've heard anywhere from three thousand to five thousand. They are the largest pirate crew in the East Blue by far."

"Eh, size doesn't matter... Quality beat quantity every time." Luffy declared, looking back towards the Blonde chef.

A chef with a giant hat and an equally as big mustache came down the stairs, yelling, "Sanji! You better not be fighting the customers again, If you are I'll kick your ass."

The Blonde chef shook off the others and replied, "I'm not doing anything, you shitty old geezer. This ass wipe just refused to eat perfectly good food, so I was teaching him some manners." Sanji said, pointing to Fullbody.

"I don't care what he did, if you don't calm down, you are going to drive away all of my customers. You're lucky I don't fire you."

"And you're lucky I'm the best damn cook on this shitty ship, otherwise, customers wouldn't come here at all." Sanji replied, getting into the face of the older man.

"Seems you still need to be taught respect, dumbass!" The older man then kicked Sanji with his peg-leg, with enough force to break a neck, but Sanji flew into the Straw Hat's table. He closed his eyes as he got up and just rubbed his jaw. When he opened them, he saw Nami.

Sanji then looked back at the old chef and yelled, "Now if you don't mind, there is a beautiful woman in dire need of my assistance!"

"Fine! But, if you cause another fight, I'll kick your ass out of here." The older man responded, before looking back towards Fullbody. "And you... Get the fuck out of here!" The man yelled, running towards the Marine and kicking him in the jaw, breaking it.

Sanji looked to Nami and said, "Good afternoon Madam, I hope you are having a fantastic day. Is there anything I could assist you with or would you like to have wine and an incredible lunch with me over there?" He then pointed to a candlelit table in the corner.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'll stay with my crew. You are welcome to join us though, we are looking for a chef..." Nami told the blonde.

"To serve someone as beautiful as you every day... It would be a dream come true, alas I have things to accomplish here."

The old man suddenly appeared behind him and stated, "No, you don't...Why don't you join them? It's true, you are the best chef here and we don't need you. They would help you accomplish our dream."

"We both know this restaurant won't survive without me, Zeff." Sanji said walking towards the Chef.

"Oh, It will. Hell, it'll probably do better without you here."

"What is that supposed to mean you shitty geezer?" Sanji demanded.

"It means you drive away a third of my customers and whenever there is a woman even slightly attractive you run to her like a horny dog. We'll be fine without you Sanji... Now, get the hell out of here. You are dead weight and the All Blue is waiting." Zeff answered, walking away from Sanji.

"What's the All Blue?" Luffy questioned, not really thinking.

Sanji looked at Luffy, then relit his cigarette and replied with a faraway look in his eye, "The All Blue, is every chef's paradise. The legends say, that there is a sea in the world, that every other sea flows into. The All Blue apparently has fish from every sea in the world. It is what every Chef strives to find in his life."

"Wow, sounds just like Reverse Mountain..." Luffy announced, before stealing Nami's glass of wine.

"Luffy... How do you know of Reverse Mountain?" Nami asked not even noticing the theft of her wine.

"I only know a little about The Grand Line. I know how to navigate with a log pose and how to get in, which besides the calm belt, everyone has to go through Reverse Mountain."

"You didn't answer my question..." Nami responded, still staring at Luffy.

Luffy finished her wine in a single gulp, "Oh, my bad, Shank's first mate Benn Beckman-" He wasn't able to finish his sentence, because of nearly all the patrons of Baratie started screaming while looking out on the East Blue. Luffy didn't have to know why they started screaming. He felt the 100 or so dying auras slowly approach the restaurant, but looking out the large window, Luffy could see a massive galleon. Every patron besides the Straw Hats ran to the exits, hoping to not be killed by the man everyone calls, 'Foul Play'. A couple of minutes later a large purple haired man burst through the entrance of Baratie. The man fell to the floor with a Thud. He then demanded in a raspy voice, "Please, give me water and some food! It has been 3 weeks since I ate last... Please... I've forgotten the taste of food or drink."

Sanji watched the man beg for some moments, before walking to the Kitchen. As he was walking up the stairs, nearly every chef in the restaurant came running down to see the commotion, pushing Sanji out of the way in the process. A large chef with blue hair came down the stairs last, he looked upon the starving man with cold eyes. He then asked, "Do you have any money, Pirate?"

Krieg looked up at the chef with hope in his eyes and yelled, "YES! Yes, I do ... I have tons of Berris on my ship. I will pay you after you feed me and my crew."

A chef with sunglasses emerged behind the blue haired man and declared, "Patty... You can't trust this man. He is Foul Play Don Krieg, the Ruler of the East Blue! We should kill him while he's weak right now! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Patty looked at Krieg for a few more seconds before looking at the staff around him and responding, "Carne is right. This man will try to kill all of us the second his strength returns. But we aren't killing him...Carne! Go call the Navy. I'll watch him, we don't want him slipping away." This announcement started to rally the staff around Patty. Although, before they could get out of control, Sanji returned with a massive bowl of fried rice and a bottle of wine. This effectively stunned everyone in the restaurant, besides Zeff, who was walking behind with a massive sack of food.

Sanji walked down the stairs and pushed Patty out of the way, walking up to the starving man. He put the bottle and bowl in front of him and said, "Eat. No one, no matter what they've done in life, deserves the struggle and pain of starvation."

Don Krieg looked at Sanji with tears in his eyes and tore into the food. In less than two minutes the entire bowl was empty, Krieg then ripped the cork out of the bottle with his teeth and drank it without care for air. Zeff watched the man for a while before dropping the sack of food beside him. "Here. Feed this to your crew."

Patty looked at the two in confusion before yelling, "What are you doing?! Don't you know who he is!? That man is notorious for backstabb-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP PATTY!" Zeff screamed, completely losing his composure. Zeff calmed down a moment later, "You don't know the pain of starvation. You don't know how hard it is to survive... You don't know the feeling of weakness. You don't know what it is like to be so tired you can hardly move." Zeff the turned around and faced his staff, " All of you shits listen up... Any person who is hungry is welcome here no matter where they came from or who they are."

"But, Owner Zeff..." Patty stated weakly, quickly shrinking from the man's gaze.

Zeff looked back at the chef with fire in his eyes and yelled, "I don't want to hear another word from you, Patty!"

"Cough..Cough" Krieg cleared his throat and looked up at the old chef. "So, You are Red-Leg Zeff. The man whose kicks were so strong, they left footprints in steel. I thought you were killed in the Grand Line."

"We survived the Grand Line, but I am the only survivor of my Crew. A storm devastated our boat. Although, judging by your ship... It seems you didn't fare much better." Zeff stated, looking at Krieg's galleon through the entrance.

"We were in that accursed sea for over two weeks, before a single man destroyed every ship in my fleet besides that one," Krieg announced pointing back through the entrance towards his wrecked galleon. "The only things I could see of the man were his golden hawk-like eyes and his tiny ship.

"Shishishishishi" Everyone's attention shifted to Luffy, who was about to fall out of his chair listening to him.

Krieg walked over to Luffy with a glare on his face, "What's so funny kid?"

"Just the fact that an entire fleet of five thousand pirates couldn't fight a single person to save their lives, and the fact that you only survived was because you fled from the battle. Even If you ran into Mihawk, running won't save your life. He will follow you to stave off boredom." Zoro perked up instantly when he heard the name of the World's Greatest Swordsman.

Everyone besides the Straw Hats, Zeff and Sanji looked at Luffy in disbelief. Krieg looked at the man with the straw hat for a moment before smirking, "And you think a weakling like you could do better?"

Luffy stared at the man for a second before answering with a sneer, "With ease."

Having enough, Krieg let out a battle cry and broke through the table separating him from Luffy. He then stomped over the table and grabbed Luffy by his neck, all the while Luffy was giving him a smug grin. Zoro the burst out laughing, "Hahahaha, you are dumber than you look, better let go of the Captain. Unless you want to die here." Zoro finished that statement with complete seriousness, putting his hand on Wado Ichimonji and carefully watching the deranged mans actions.

Luffy looked at his crew, then back to the Chefs and said, "Fuck it." Krieg looked back at Luffy, just as he grabbed his arm and squeezed. Immediately, Krieg fell to his knees, letting go of Luffy and nearly crying from the pain. Luffy quickly came to the realization he was wearing armor, which was confirmed when his sleeve rolled up his arm revealing a golden forearm. Luffy then gripped the man's arm even tighter crushing both his bones and the metal armor, causing Krieg to shriek and wail in pain. He then ripped off the man's overcoat revealing armor that covered everything but his hands and head. Luffy then shook his head at the failure of a Captain, "What a pansy, you could have done so much with that gold..."

Luffy suddenly lets go of the already crushed and limp arm, then ordered the broken man. "Go back to your crew. They are starving, and you will only die staying here. He is almost here."

Krieg looked at Luffy in fear and asked, "Wha...What is your name?"

"Monkey D. Luffy, Future Pirate King."

Krieg looked at Luffy one more time, before climbing to his feet, running to the food Zeff left, grabbing it and running for his galleon.