Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Oda-sensei owns this brilliant creation.

"So, what have you guys been up to, since you came back? Other than almost getting me killed?" asked the long nose sniper of the Straw-hat Pirates.

"Well, I've been trying to make these two idiots see that we have a responsibility to not mess up what we already have done, as well as make things better than they were before. So far, I haven't been succeeding, as you well know," sighed the navigator in defeat. The day was calm and bright for the pirates, as they sailed across the endless blue sea. For Nami, it was unbelievably refreshing, to sail the easy to navigate and predictable sea of the East Blue. She really didn't miss the turbulent sea of Paradise, not to mention the absolute hell of the New World.

"In other words, you and I will have to remind these two meatheads what they have to do, in order to either not die, or to save our friends lives?" asked Usopp in exasperation. It was good to be back here, in the East Blue. It was even better to see Kaya and the kids, and to not be terrified of all the terrors of their adventures, if only for a little while. He's pretty sure, that as soon as he sees Crocodile, or someone equally strong, he'll go back to being the coward that he usually is.

"Oi, Usopp, you need to make me my old Climatact again. Otherwise, I'll be useless in battles," reminded Nami.

"I know, that's why I'm making Kabuto again. Even if I don't have my plants from Boin Archipelago, I still have ammos that I can make from the things that I do currently have. I'll work on yours as soon as I finish mine, but yours won't be as powerful as it was before, because I don't have the dials from Skypeia anymore," reminded Usopp.

"Yeah, but just having a competent weapon is enough for now," sighed Nami. Usopp and Nami looked towards the peaceful ocean for a while. It was quiet here. Except for the noise the two brutes were making.

"They're training hard, aren't they? Our bodies really aren't strong enough yet, now is it?" asked Usopp in slight dread. He really didn't want to train that hard again. Luffy and Zoro were lifting their ridiculously heavy weights, and doing sit-ups, pushups, and whatever the hell Luffy was doing to make their bodies up to snuffs again.

"I know, we should be doing that as well," groaned Nami tiredly.

"Before that, we should be planning what we should do next. We really shouldn't be late like that again," reminded the sniper bitterly.

"Yes, you're right. This job falls entirely on us until the others also return. Even when they do, Chopper, Franky and Brook wouldn't be of much use," said Nami dispassionately.

"Robin will be very helpful though, unless she's being scarily morbid," added Usopp with a shudder. Nami nodded in agreement. Robin was scary.

"From what I can remember, we saved Johnny and Yosaku from somewhere close to here," said Nami, looking across the ocean.

"Hold on a sec, let me search for them," Usopp said while looking with his Observation Haki. He could feel two signatures not too far from here.

"There!" he pointed out. Nami couldn't exactly see anything in that direction, but she trusted Usopp, so she changed the direction of the ship to where Usopp was pointing.

"Heh, haven't seen those guys in a while," grunted Zoro with a smile as he stopped his training, to look at where he could feel the bounty hunter duo was.

"Let me bring out the limes. Those two idiots don't even know what scurvy is and they're sailing the seas," sighed Nami and she went into the kitchen.

"Zoro bro! Thank you so much for saving my life!" shouted Yosaku gratefully.

"Nami sis, if it weren't for you, my partner would be dead for sure!" shouted Johnny gratefully.

"Don't call me sis," replied Nami dispassionately.

"But colour me surprised! I never would have pictured the infamous Pirate Hunter Zoro to have become a pirate himself!" asked Yosaku lively. But, as soon as he said it, his scurvy got the better of him, and he fell down with blood coming out of his mouth.

"Yosaku!" yelled Johnny worriedly.

"Just shut up and get some rest already!" yelled Zoro with a sweat drop.

"So, where are you guys going?" asked Johnny, after he got over his friends illness.

"We're going to the Baratie, to see an old friend and make him our chef," answered Usopp.

"Yeah! I want Sanjis' food!" shouted Luffy happily.

"Really? That place is dangerous because it's so close to the Grand Line, and there are a lot of dangerous guys out there. I even heard that the "Hawk-eyed man" you've been looking for has been sighted there once before, Zoro bro," said Johnny. The only response he received from Zoro was his body tensed a little. There was no more obsessive need to defeat Mihawk and become the greatest.

"What are you going to do when you meet him, Zoro?" asked Usopp concerned.

"I'll fight him in the Grand line, preferably in the New World. I'm not strong enough to fight him at the moment, but soon I will be. I don't need to fight him right now," answered Zoro truthfully. Luffy had an understanding look on his face.

"We'll meet him and Shanks together!" said Luffy firmly.

As they were nearing the sea restaurant Baratie, they could see that a marine ship was also anchored there. A marine in yellow plaid suit and an iron fist stood on the front of the ship.

"I'm the Lieutenant of the Marine Headquarters know as 'Iron Fist' Fullbody. Who's your captain? Name yourself!" ordered Fullbody pompously.

"Don't you dare destroy the Baratie again Luffy! We're not going to wait for you for weeks again!" threatened Nami angrily.

"Shishishishi, of course I won't!" answered Luffy without any care, "He's just a weak Marine," he added.

"Why you no name pirates! I only came here to eat at this restaurant, but because you piss me off, I'm going to destroy you!" yelled Fullbody furiously.

"Sink'em!" he ordered and the marines fired a cannon towards the Straw-hat ship.

The Straw-hats looked on in disinterest as Luffy caught the cannon in his hand and threw it back towards the marine ship.

"The hell! Wow, Luffy bro! You're strong!" shouted Johnny and Yosaku in awe.

"Aaaaaah! We're sinking!" yelled the marines, as they tried to salvage the ship. During the commotion, Luffy and the others boarded the restaurant nonchalantly.

"O'Blessed are the oceans for bringing me this fine day!

O'Love! Laugh if you will, at my poor self who cannot endure his torturous passions!

As long as I can be with you, I'm prepared to walk across any path, be it the paths of a pirate or a devil!

But alas! 'Tis tragic there is such a great obstacle standing between the two of us!" concluded Sanji dramatically, as he gave a rose towards Nami. Every looked on in exasperation, as he looked and sounded goddamn ridiculous.

"Hey Sanji," greeted Luffy cheerfully.

"How'd you know my na…" Sanji trailed off, as right then, he had looked into Luffys' eyes. Time seemed to stop then, as he remembered things that hadn't happened yet. His whole demeanor changed in an instant.

"Nami swaaaaaan! You look exceptionally beautiful in your younger body! I have missed being in your radiant presence oh so much! Would you give a kiss to your knight in shining armor!" moaned the pervert cook, as he went in to kiss Nami.

"Cut it out!" roared Nami with a huge vein on her forehead and hit him square on the head. Sanji went down with a huge bump on his head.

"You're such a bother, ero-cook," muttered Zoro dispassionately.

"What'd you say, you shitty marimo!" hissed Sanji in anger as they crossed blows.

"Really, guys? You just met and you're fighting?" asked Usopp exasperated.

"Shishishi, I missed this. SANJIIII! FOOOOOOOOD!" yelled Luffy exuberantly.

"Shitty captain, is food really all you think of?" asked Sanji in fond exasperation.

"Really? Is that all you have to say to us? No questions? No hellos? Just hit on Nami?" asked Usopp astonished.

"I don't have to greet you brutes. All I have eyes for is my beautiful Nami swan!" declared Sanji grandly.

"Who are these people, brat?" asked Red-Leg Zeff. He had come downstairs during the commotion the Straw-hats had made.

"This is the wonderful, beautiful and talented navigator Nami swan, this is my captain Luffy, that is our sniper Usopp, and that is the shitty swordsman marimo," answered Sanji, pointing towards the aforementioned people.

"Why you! I'll show you a shitty swordsman, you shitty cook!" warned Zoro, as he went to attack Sanji.

"I said… CUT IT OUT!" yelled Nami as she hit both of them on the head.

"Since when did you have a captain and a crew?" asked the head chef with a raised eyebrow.

"Since now. I decided to go with them as their cook, to fulfill my dreams of finding the All Blue. Do you have a problem with that, shitty geezer?" challenged Sanji.

"Good riddance. Your cooking and your fighting was driving out customers," replied Zeff disinterestedly.

"Sanji! Food!" yelled Luffy impatiently.

"Wait a second, you rubber brain idiot. I'm going," Sanji answered in irritation as he went into the kitchen to make food enough for 50 for his endless pit of a Captain.

They were sitting down and eating the feast that Sanji had prepared in record time, when the door opened and a wounded and bleeding guy entered. He was a thin man of average height and had a scruffy beard and mustache, but his most prominent trait was the dark circles under his eyes. He looked on the verge of death due to starvation. He went towards an empty seat and put his feet on the table. Every customer was looking at him in fear or interest.

"This place is a restaurant, right?" asked the man coolly.

"What would you like?" asked Sanji knowingly. He knew what was happening and he knew what was going to happen. He didn't need Patty being annoying about it.

"Anything's fine. As long as it's food," answered the man. Sanji nodded and went into the kitchen.

"That's Gin, the second in command of the Krieg Pirates!"

"What's a man like that even doing here?" were the main whispers of the other customers.

"Hey! Sanji! You're not actually going to give him food, are you?" was heard from the kitchen.

"Get out of my way. As long as he's a hungry customer, I will feed him," was the drawling answer. After a couple of minutes, Sanji came back out, with a plateful of food. He put it in front of the starving man. Gin ate like a hungry wolf and finished it with a tear in his eyes.

"Thank you, that was the most delicious food I have ever eaten," was the heartfelt thanks.

"So, can you pay?" was asked sardonically.

"I-I can't pay right now… But, I can come back and pay you later! My captain is very rich. We can all eat in this great Restaurant!" Gin answered fervently.

"No, thanks. Don't bring your crew here. There are plenty of restaurants out there. We don't want Don Krieg here. You are officially banned from here forever," Sanji replied lazily but firmly.

"B-but, how do I pay you?" asked Gin confused.

"We need tough waiters, how about you work it off?" asked Sanji amused, thinking about Luffy. Usopp, Nami and Zoro laughed at their table, while Luffy had an indignant look on his face.

"I can't! I need to find my captain," Gin nervously replied.

"From what I hear, your captain can take care of himself. He doesn't need you anymore, now does he? They all left you behind for the marines. How can you still remain loyal?" the cook asked. Gin looked confused and kind of hurt.

"I had to protect my crew! Don Krieg knew that there was no other way! Otherwise, he would have never left me!" shouted Gin as he desperately tried to defend his captain.

"My captain would never have left me behind. He would have fought with everything he had, to protect his nakama. Most captains in the Grand Line would do the same. Most crew would also do the same for each other and especially for their captain. Could you honestly say the same for your crew and Captain?" Sanji asked honestly.

"Don Krieg is the strongest man I know! He's my captain! I don't care whether you gave me food or not, I won't let you disrespect my captain!" he angrily answered while standing up.

"Don Krieg? The strongest? You don't know many people, do you?" asked Sanji sarcastically. He took out his cigarette and took a drag. "Even the marimo is stronger than him," he said with a smirk.

"Oi, watch your tongue," hissed Zoro from where he was eating.

Gin looked furious. He took out a pistol and aimed it at Sanji.

"If you don't shut your mouth, I will blow your brains out!" he warned.

"Go ahead, shoot me. See how tough it makes you feel," Sanji drawled out, as he got closer to the gun. He blew out a smoke right into Gins' face. Gin let out a frustrated yell and went to hit Sanji on the head with his gun.

"You've got to do better than that," Sanji avoided the blow with ease and kicked the gun right out of his hand.

"Fuck!" cursed Gin as he held his throbbing hand. He went to kick the cook but Sanji dodged it and swept Gins' legs from underneath him and let him fall flat on his back.

"With that kind of strength, how do you expect to go to the Grand Line? I hope your captain is a lot stronger than you," admonished the blond cook as he stood there staring down at Gin.

"My captain and our crew will go to the Grand Line! We're the strongest crew in East Blue! My captain has the highest bounty!" defended Gin as he, with a bit of an effort, stood up.

"What was his bounty again? 16, 17 million? That's not high at all. From what I know, Arlong has a higher bounty and that's just in the East Blue,"

"We have a fleet! The largest fleet in the East Blue, we can defeat anyone!" screamed Gin in frustration as he tried to attack Sanji again.

"Quantity before quality, huh. What about Dracule Mihawk? Did you defeat Dracule Mihawk?" asked Sanji lazily as he dodged Gins' every attack. "Mihawk's not even the strongest in the world. The strongest swordsman sure, but not the strongest, that title belongs to Whitebeard at the moment," replied Sanji casually, as if they weren't fighting.

"We can do it! No matter what you say. We can! I trust my captain!" Gin desperately screamed.

"Does your captain trust you? Does he trust your crew? Does your crew trust each other?" asked Sanji rhetorically. "To survive on the Grand Line, pirates have to have absolute trust in each other. They can't have doubts. Otherwise they can't last a week. How long did you last?" Sanji asked cynically. By then absolutely everyone in the restaurant was looking at them with rapt attention. Zeff with a new found respect and the Straw-hats with a knowing smile.

Sanji kicked him for the last time and Gin flew into the wall with a loud thud. He just lay there gasping for breath, almost unable to move. It was a hard week for Gin, the hell that was the Grand Line, the demon that was Mihawk, getting captured by the marines, starving to the point of death, then the beating from Sanji. Yeah, it was bad.

"Fine, I'll give you my boat and I won't make you pay for your food, if you really and honestly think about Don Krieg and his lackeys. We'll even take care of your marine problem for you," conceded Sanji. Gin did look pitiful, lying on the ground, wheezing. As if on cue, the marines came rushing in at that exact moment. They looked haggard and drained with soot and dirt all over their body. Fullbody himself looked furious.

"You pirate scum! How dare you attack us and destroy our ship! I'm a Marine Lieutenant! I will crush anyone who disrespects me! You no name pirates are going down!" yelled Fullbody frantically. He took out his pistol, aimed at Luffy and fired. Luffy just nonchalantly continued eating his food.

"Die! Die you pirate scum!" he dementedly screamed.

The bullet just bounced back from Luffys' skin and ricocheted back towards Fullbody. Luffy looked like he didn't even notice. The other Straw-hats also seemed unconcerned.

"Why won't you just die!" the marine lieutenant screamed and he came in close to try to punch Luffy. Luffy caught his fist in between mouthfuls and threw him hard against the wall. Fullbody was knocked out cold.

"Hey! Don't damage my Restaurant!" yelled Zeff.

"I'll finish up the others," Sanji said casually and proceeded to beat up the rest of the marines with inconceivable ease. With just one kick, the marines were falling like flies. In no time, Sanji had them all on the floor, unconscious.

"There, that's done. I really hope you don't come back here, ever, other than to be the new waiter, that is," added Sanji to Gin and pointed his boat out and told him to leave.

"Thank you for everything you've done!" Gin expressed his gratitude honestly, even with the beating and left the restaurant.

"Sanji, you bastard! What are we going to do with the marines now?!" yelled Patty and the other cooks.

"Feed them food if they want it or throw them into the ocean for all I care. I quit this shitty place," answered Sanji with a smirk.

"Hah! Well good riddance! Your food sucked by the way. I'm happy you're going away," yelled Patty in fury.

"With you gone, we won't have to clean up after your mess!" screamed Carne.

"So, is this our cue to leave?" whispered Usopp in confusion.

"Apparently, Luffy finish your food! We're leaving," ordered Nami. Luffy inhaled the rest of his food and jumped up from his seat.

"Sanji! Let's go!" he screamed exuberantly and headed for their ship.

"So, what do you say, shitty geezer? Do you want me to go," Sanji asked defiantly.

"Yes I do lil' eggplant. I've always hated brats. There hasn't been a single day when I didn't regret saving a brat like you," Zeff haughtily replied.

"Ha… Whatever you say, geezer. Enjoy the few years you have left," Sanji angrily said and went into the kitchen to prepare food and ingredients for their journey. Because of Luffy, they needed a lot of food.

"Are you sure you want to go now?" asked Usopp, as he helped Sanji, "What if they come back?"

"Don't worry, Gin won't come back. And even if he does, Mihawk will stop them. I don't need to stay here any longer. No matter how good it feels to be back, I still want to go back to the Grand Line. At the risk of sounding like Luffy, I want an adventure," Sanji said sardonically, "It might feel like we've just been fighting Kaido and Big Mom, but it also feels like I've been on the Baratie for the last decade, so it's time to leave."

"Yeah, I get what you mean, even if we have the memories, it almost feels as if it's not real and I'd just dreamt it, and with my imagination, it's quite possible," said Usopp with a chuckle. "But there's a completely new but familiar fighting instinct as well as a camaraderie between us, that it's impossible to deny that makes this journey as fun as it before and not boring at all, even though we lived it before," added with fondness.

Sanji agreed with a nod and continued his packing with a contended smile. It was good to be back and it was great to be going back. Baratie might have been his home before, but his crew was his home now.

As he was leaving the restaurant, Patty and Carne tried to attack Sanji one last time.

"This is payback for all those years!"

"Die, Sanji!"

Sanji kicks both of them on the head and they fall down like a log. He continued walking like nothing happened.

"Told ya you can't beat him," said a random chef to the two pitiful chefs on the ground.

Just before Sanji got on the Going Merry, Zeff called out to him.

"Hey, Sanji. Don't catch a cold." Sanji froze. Tears started to fall from his eyes and his lips quivered. He turned around for the last time and shouted,

"OWNER ZEFF!" he fell to his knees, "I'm eternally grateful, for taking care of me for so damn long!" with tears in his eyes and his head bowed low to the ground, "I shall never forget, for the rest of my life… The debt I owe you!" Sanji yelled out.

"You bastard! Goddamn it, we're gonna be lonely without you!"

"Real lonely, you hear!"

"We'll miss you!"

"You're making us cry! Dammit!" were their responses as they cried their hearts out. Even Zeff had tears in his eyes.

"Damn idiots… Men should say their goodbyes silently."

"Let's meet again one day! You good for nothing bastards!" Sanji cried out for the last time.

"Alright! Let's set sail!" shouted Luffy and the rest of the crew obeyed and set their course.

"Heh, crybaby," teased Zoro from the side.

"What did you say? I remember you bawling your eyes out the last time!" Sanji angrily retorted.

"You want a piece of me, Pervy cook!?"

"Just try me, shitty marimo!"

"Next stop, Arlong Park!" shouted Nami resolutely.