Welcome to the Baratie Restaurant! Gin and Krieg from the Pirate Armada!
It was a beautiful day as the members of the Going Merry were doing their things.
"Finish!" Luffy shouts as he shows the crew a banner with a deformed skull and hat. "This is our Pirate mark, I had it planned for a long time, what do you guys think?!"
Their opinions were truthful.
"This guy has a terrible sense of art," Usopp replied with an open jaw of disbelief.
"Or maybe is some sort of dislocated drawing?" Nami asked, trying to see the art of the flag.
"Guys, you're missing the point, a pirate's flag is supposed to inspire terror to others…This...is fucking scary." Zoro said with a twitching eyebrow.
"I feel like one of the father's of painting had his hair yanked out of exasperation at this insult," Seth commented.
"So?! What you guys think?!" Luffy asked with a goofy smile.
"It stinks, let me do it," Usopp offered. "After all, I've been drawing graffiti all my life!"
With that said, Usopp painted the mark. But while he was much better at painting than Luffy, what he ended up painting was a jolly roger that resembled himself instead of the captain.
"That is NOT our mark," Luffy and Zoro said as they bonked Usopp on the head.
So he did it again and this time it looked like Luffy.
"Yeah, that's the one! Now draw one on the sail too!" Luffy said.
A little while later the mark was on both the flag and the sail. "Alright! Now the Going Merry has everything she needs. The Straw Hat Pirates are now officially formed!" Luffy declared.
"The Straw Hat Pirates…" Seth looked at the others, "Nice name, but we don't have straw hats in our head." he comments.
BOOOOM!
Everyone was surprised to hear a cannon sound off. They all turn to see Luffy next to the cannon.
"What are you doing?" Zoro asked.
"Cannon practice, although it doesn't work," Luffy said.
"Here Luffy, let me try." Usopp said as he walks next to the cannon and aims it at a rock pillar, "Now, judging by your trajectory, this should do the trick!" Usopp shot the cannonball, hitting the rock.
"Woah! You hit it!" Luffy was amazed.
"Woah! I hit it!" Usopp himself was amazed, but quickly recompose himself, "I mean, of course, I hit it, if you're so amazed, you can call me captain!"
"Naw...I'll make you our sharpshooter!" Luffy said.
"Wait a minute, I thought we agreed to call him by the word sniper," Seth says.
"Eh? Is that what it says?" Luffy asked while taking out a script, "...Oh yeah."
"Run it back!" Zoro yells out.
Rewind a few seconds ago
"...Our sniper!" Luffy said before walking back inside the cabin, with Usopp trying and failing to convince Luffy to make him Captain.
"Alright, I'll let you be Captain for now, but mess up once and I'll take over." the long-nose says.
"Yeah, sure," Luffy said before raising a point, "You know, there's still one more position to fill before we get to the Grand Line."
"Agreed, with all this stock, we're going to need it," Zoro said.
"I can do it, for a price that is." Nami offered.
"Then it's official! We need-" Luffy began to say before Seth grabbed him by the vest.
"Monkey D. Luffy!" The straw hat boy shut up at seeing the glare his friend was giving him. "I swear in the name of Gol Roger that if you say we need a musician right now, I'll rope you to the side of the ship, throw you overboard, and hang you from there with no meat for a week!" Seth finishes.
Luffy bites his lips while sweating buckets.
The others stood silently before understanding what happened. "You were talking about a musician?!"
"...Pirates need to sing?" Luffy sheepishly says, followed by three facepalms.
Suddenly they heard a racket coming from the deck. "COME ON OUT PIRATES!" yelled the voice of a man.
Luffy, being curious about it, went out and saw a man in a blue sweater, holding a saber in hand, "Hey! Who are you?" Luffy demanded, none too happy at seeing this man damage the ship.
"Shut up! It doesn't matter who I am," the man yelled. "I've killed countless pirates in my day, and you no names decide to shoot at my friend!?"
The man charged Luffy, who dodged and grabbed him by the collar.
"I don't know who you are, but stop wrecking our ship!" He flung the man over his shoulder and made him hit the wall face first.
"Lost by a hair..." he muttered as he slides to the ground.
Zoro and Seth came out, "Huh? Well, I'll be, is that you, Johnny?" The swordsman spoke in surprise.
The man called Johnny looked up and saw who it was. He quickly flipped over to get a better look. "Big Bro Zoro!? What are you doing on a pirate ship?!"
"It's a long story," Zoro said. "But where's Yosaku? Isn't he with you?"
Johnny fell to his knee and started to cry. "Oh, Big Bro…Yosaku is…is," he took a deep breath and yelled, "HE'S DYING!"
…
..
.
Moments later, Johnny had brought aboard a man with some sort of boxer's helmet, green jacket, and…was on his underwear? Anyway, blood was coming out from his mouth and his breathing was heavy.
"He was fine a few minutes ago, but then he turned pale and his teeth started falling out," Johnny explained. "His old wounds started bleeding and I didn't know what to do so I brought him to that rocky outcrop over there to rest…then your ship fired a cannonball at us!"
Both Luffy and Usopp turn blue as blueberries, they bow to him, "Please forgive us! We didn't know you were there!"
"...You apologized, so you're forgiven," Johnny looks at his partner, "For years...pirates have feared the names of Johnny and Yosaku, he's my trusting partner and brother…Is...Is he going to die?"
Nami stood silently before looking at the battle cat user, "Seth, there are some lemons, go squash some and bring it here." she says.
"...Oh! Scurvy!" With that said, Seth disappears in the blink of an eye and reappears with a barrel full of lemon juice.
"Scurvy?" Zoro and Johnny asked.
"Yeah, it's caused by lack of Vitamin C." Nami explains while Seth tells Usopp to hold Yosaku up and Luffy to open his mouth as he pours the drink in, "In the old days' sailors would fall victim to it all the time because they couldn't carry fresh fruits and vegetables on long trips. Nowadays, we can refrigerate food so people aren't getting scurvy as often. All your friend needs are some fruit and he'll be fine." Nami finishes explaining.
"Seriously Big Sis?!" Johnny asked hopefully.
"...Don't call me that," Nami says with a stinky eye.
"Wow, Nami! You're smart!"
"I always knew you have the smartest brain around."
"IS COMMON SENSE, YOU IDIOTS!" Nami yells to both Luffy and Usopp.
"Don't yell, I have sensitive ears here." Seth groans, making the thief blush in embarrassment.
"A-Anyways, it'll probably be two to three days before he fully recovers." Nami clarifies.
Yosaku stood up and commenced to dance. "I'M/HE'S CURED!" Both him and Johnny shout as they dance together.
"Or it'll take two to three seconds…" Usopp muttered.
"NO ONE RECOVERS THAT FAST!" Nami screamed.
"Sensitive ears!" Seth yells back.
After a while, Johnny and Yosaku dropped their antics and assumed a professional stance.
"Now for introductions. I am Johnny."
"And I am Yosaku."
"And we're bounty hunters! Nice to meet you!" they said in unison.
"Big Bro Zoro used to travel with us," Johnny said.
"Who would have guessed that he would become a pirate," Yosaku said.
They went to shake everyone's hand, but Yosaku went pale again and fell. "Partner!?" Johnny yelled.
Yosaku was moved into a bed to rest and went to the kitchen to eat. "Let this be a lesson to all of us. This could happen at any time during our journey," Nami said.
"Who knows when we'll suddenly get sick," Zoro said.
"We need someone who knows about nutrition," Usopp said.
"We need someone that can turn the food into healthy meals," Seth said.
"We need a cook!" Luffy exclaimed, "We need a cook that can give us food, let's go get one!" He then stops and asks, "But...where are we going to get a cook?"
"Oh! Oh!" Johnny had raised his arm in the air like a little kid in class.
"Speak Johnny," Zoro says.
"If it's a cook you want, I know where you can get one…however, wherever he chooses to go is up to them." He points at the north, "It's 27 degrees north-northeast from here; the floating restaurant Baratie."
"Restaurant!?" Luffy, Seth, and Usopp had shining stars in their eyes. "Set sail man!"
"Aye, Captain!"
"By the way, Big Bro," Johnny looked at Zoro, who looked at him, "I heard rumors that Hawk-Eye goes there."
Hearing those words, Zoro's eyes trembled in excitement.
At long last…a trail to the greatest swordsman in the world!
A few days later, the Straw Hat Pirates, accompanied by Johnny and Yosaku, were finally approaching the Baratie.
It was a big floating boat that resembled a fish.
"We're here! Big Bro Zoro! Big Bro Luffy! Big Bro Seth! Big Bro Usopp! Big Bro Nami!" both hunters call for them. Everyone came to the deck as they watched in awe.
"Amazing! A giant fish!" Luffy said.
"Must. Hold. Self." Seth was holding hard on the side of the Merry, seeing that fish activate his animal instinct.
Good thing they heard some noise from the side of the ship. They turned to see a marine ship pull up beside them.
"I smell trouble," Zoro remarked.
"No, I smell trouble, Zoro," Seth spoke, making the swordsman sweatdrop at him.
From the Marine ship, a man with pink hair that resembles Coby's, dark skin, a white tuxedo and brass knuckles in his hands look at them with a bored look,
"Pirates…Unknown." he then yells out, "I'm Marine Lt. 'Iron Fist' Fullbody! Who's the captain of this ship?"
"I am," Luffy said. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy! We painted our flag a few days ago!"
"He didn't have to know that, moron." Seth bonked his captain head.
"...Hmph, you all seem like a bunch of morons to me. Although I have seen you two before," Fullbody said before looking at Johnny and Yosaku. "Finally caught yourselves some pirates, eh? Took you long enough."
"What?! We're not some regular bounty hunters you jerk," Johnny protested. "Look at these wanted posters!" He pulled out a ton of wanted posters and dropped them on the deck, but Fullbody just ignored them and turned to a beautiful woman.
"You're lucky that I'm here for my date, but next time won't be." He says while walking away with her.
However, Fullbody turned to one of his men and said, "This ship's an eyesore. Sink it."
"Yes, sir!" the marine salute.
All the crew began to prepare to fire a cannonball at the Straw Hats, freaking out Johnny, Yosaku, and Usopp as they were screaming in fear.
"I got it," Seth said before jumping on the railing.
*Boom!*
The moment the metal ball was fired, Seth summoned his lion arm and caught the cannonball with his palms.
The display of power shocked the bounty hunters duo and the Marines.
They were about to shoot again, but they all stopped when the auburn-haired boy glared at them, throwing the message of 'Shoot again, and I will send them back'.
The Marines shake in fear before unloading the cannon and return to their original positions.
"S...So…AWESOME!" Luffy, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku yell with kid's faces.
Seth began to show-off by moving around the cannon on his arms like a simple rubber ball, finishing by spinning it on his finger.
"...Okay, that's awesome," Zoro couldn't contain his amazement.
"What can I say? I train," Seth replied.
Meanwhile, Nami was looking at him in amazed, ('Is...Is like he is him…') she look at her hand, in which was a wanted poster of a certain person, she looks at it before looking back at Seth, ('...Maybe...Maybe...He can defeat him?') Nami thought before she noticed that they were leaving her behind.
Inside the restaurant, everybody was commenting on none other than Fullbody, who was sitting with his date in the center of the room.
"You're quite popular it seems. Everyone's looking at you," the woman said.
"Nonsense, they're just admiring your beauty," Fullbody replied coolly as he lifted his glass. "To your beauty." They clang it together before taking a sniff from it, in which the lieutenant raised his finger, "This fragrance…it's the fragrance of Mitqueo City in the north. This wine must be Wurzburger wine! Am I correct, waiter?" he says with full confidence, making the crowd go amazed.
"...Dead Wrong."
You could hear a window crack at the 'waiter's' replied.
Said waiter was a blond man with a circle eyebrow and expensive black tuxedo. "And I'm the Sous Chef, not the waiter, those guys jumped ship yesterday." He placed two bowls of soup in front of a trembling and embarrassed Fullbody and his date. "The soup is getting cold. Please enjoy it before it gets."
The blonde left a trembling Fullbody, who had lowered his head in embarrassment as the whole restaurant, including his date, were giggling softly.
Most of them were trying not to laugh too loud for fear of Fullbody going ballistic.
"Discouraged? 'Cause of the wine?" the woman asked.
"A little bit. Guess my tongue's a bit numb," he tried to cover up his embarrassing act but his thought was far less innocent. ('What the fuck?! I plan that ahead with the head chef!')
Suddenly, a loud 'thud' landed on his table, he looked up to see an auburn-haired kid with black clothes and a cannonball on the table, "Just been a good samaritan and bringing back the cannonball that your ship threw at us." With that, the boy excused himself and walked away, leaving a more embarrassed lieutenant.
Back with the pirates, Seth, and the others, except for Johnny and Yosaku, immediately got served…or rather, Nami was.
"Ah, my beautiful Goddess of the sea!~ Where have you been all my life~," the blonde from before said as he lowered himself to one knee and pulled out a rose to present her with. "My name is Sanji. How may I serve you?"
Taken back by this, Nami shrugged it and answer, "We want a table for five,"
"AND MEAT!" Luffy was then hit in the head by both Nami and Seth.
Once they were seated, Sanji gave them menus and went to get the sake and wine when he was stopped by Fullbody. "WAITER!" he yelled loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Didn't I say I'm not a waiter?" an annoyed Sanji said.
"Does this restaurant serve bugs in its food?!" Fullbody said, ignoring what Sanji said and pointing at the fly that was in the soup.
"Bugs?"
"Yeah, what's this bug doing in my soup!?" he says, although his mind was another thing. ('Heh! That should do it, when word gets out that this restaurant served bugs in its food, it'll get shut down for good!')
Sanji blinks a few times before looking at the marine, "Forgive me, sir…but, what bug are you talking about?"
"...Huh?" Lt. Fullbody looked at his soup, only to see that it was clear like the sky, "What?!"
"Sir, if you are suffering from bad sight, I recommend visiting a doctor," Sanji says, making some of the customers giggle.
Fullbody was having enough, he guessed wrong the wine, a kid brought a cannonball to his table, and now, the bug that was supposed to be in his soup was gone, ruining his plan.
"SCREW THIS!" he punches the table so hard, it breaks...and makes the cannonball fall on his feet. "YOUCH!" he began to jump on one foot while holding his other.
"Fullbody?!" the woman was surprised by his action.
"I hope you have enough money to pay for that table," Sanji said, very angry that this man just destroyed one of their tables.
"Shut Up! How dare you insult me like this! I'm a paying customer here!" Fullbody yells, shocking his date at this new personality.
"…Can money satisfy your hunger?"
"What!?"
"I said 'Can money satisfy your hunger'," Sanji said with anger in his face
…
…
…
A few minutes later, the entire restaurant was left aghast and horrified at the sight in front of them.
Sanji was holding Fullbody by the chin. His whole upper body was drenched in blood.
Just then a rather large man with hair covering most of his arms, dark skin, a rope around his head and an apron around his waist appeared from the back.
"Sanji! What are you doing to the customer?!" yelled the man in anger.
Just then, another man with a tall hat that looks to be the owner came down from the upper floor, "What's going on?! Sanji! Are you attacking the customers?!"
"A lieutenant, no less!" the man confirms to the owner.
"Customer? Patty, this man smashed a table, wasted food, and insulted the cook to his face. As far as I'm concerned that's the same as signing your death warrant," Sanji said as he let go of Fullbody, who moaned in pain as he dropped to the floor.
"What kind of restaurant is this…Do you treat all your customers this way!? Who do you think I am!? I'll destroy this place! Just you wait when I tell HQ-" Fullbody says as he slumped against something.
"Not if I kill you first," Sanji growled before the owner put his hand on his shoulder.
"I'll handle this Sanji," he said before turning toward the downed marine. "GET OUT OF MY RESTAURANT!" He kicked Fullbody in the gut with his peg leg, putting the poor man in even greater pain.
('Even the owner is like this! These cooks are just like pirates!') he thought.
Just then the door burst open and in came a very scared marine.
"Lieutenant Fullbody we have an emergency!"
"What is it!?" he asked him
"Our prisoner has escaped! That man from Krieg's crew killed seven of us and escaped!" the marine said, freaking everyone in the restaurant.
"EEEEEEK!"
"The Krieg Pirates?!"
"They're the strongest pirates in the East Blue!"
"Impossible!" Fullbody exclaimed in disbelief. "That man was nearly dead when we captured him three days ago, and he hasn't had anything to eat since!"
"I'm sorry sir! Forgive-"BLAM! "…me."
The Marine was shot in the back and died instantly. As he fell, a shadowy man appeared behind him holding a smoking pistol.
"That…makes eight," he said as he entered inside.
He had a blue and white strap on his head, dark skin, a blue shirt, and black pants. However, he was half-dead, it was obvious that he had not eaten in a while. He took a table and sit on a chair like if he owned the place.
"Well? This is a restaurant, isn't it? Someone get me some food," he growled.
"Well, welcome to the Baratie ye moron!" Patty said as he walked up to the man with a shitty grin.
"I'll only say it once more; get me some damn food." the man said
"Pardon my rudeness, but how exactly are you paying for this?"
"How about a bullet to your head?" said the man as he pointed a gun at Patty.
"So you don't have money…" In a second, Patty slams the man down and broke the table at the same time. "We only take Berries, you bastard! If you don't have the money, you don't eat!"
Now the customers were yelling things like 'Way to go cook' and 'Beat that pirate scum' while the starving man only sits in his slumped position as his stomach growled loudly.
"Oh, hungry are you?" Patty said mockingly.
"...It was a fart… now get me some food." the man tries to play it cool.
"YOU'RE NOT A CUSTOMER! NOW GET THE HELL OUT!" yelled Patty as he lost his patience and kicked the man repeatedly in the gut. However, before he could continue, a foot stopped him.
Patty looked up to see Seth with his eyes covered by his hair, "What are you doing, punk?"
"...I think he had enough," Seth replied before moving his feet away. "Attacking a hungry man when he asked for food…is the worst crime a chef can do."
"What you say you little-!?" Patty began saying before being shut up by a glare from Seth's eyes.
He then grabs the hungry man and places it on his shoulder before walking outside.
…
..
.
Seth placed the hungry man against the rail, while he rests against the wall. Neither of them spoke up for a bit before the man spoke.
"I didn't need your pity," he says.
"Is not pity…is doing the right thing," Seth responds.
Just then, two plates of steamy rice and vegetables were placed in front of them. They looked up and saw Sanji as he sat down against the wall.
"Go ahead. Eat it while it's still hot," he said.
"Thanks!" Seth says before picking the plate and begins to eat the rice.
The man, however, turns away from it, "Take it away. This is worse than what happened inside, I won't accept charity."
"...Is not charity," Sanji said as he looks up into the sky, "If you say you're hungry, then you're a customer."
"I can't pay for this." the man says.
Sanji leaned on the railing, looked up at the sky, and let out some smoke from his cigarette.
"…It's baffling, isn't it? How one can lose food, water, and even their life in this cruel and unforgiving sea. I understand starving people better than anyone. It's your choice if you want to die with your dignity. But listen, if you eat and live now, won't that give you a chance to fight for your honor tomorrow?"
The man's eyes widened at these words and soon he found himself eating hungrily. "This is delicious...It's incredible! I thought I was gonna die! Thank you, both of you!" the man said through the tears flowing from his eyes.
"Glad you like it," Sanji smiled, he turns to the auburn-haired, "Also…thanks kid."
Seth finished eating before looking at the blond, "Thanks for what?"
"...For reminding me to feed those that need to," Sanji said while releasing a puff of smoke.
"Wow…you're a good cook," Seth says before looking up, "Don't you think so Luffy?"
"Yep!" Both Sanji and the man look up to see a straw hat boy looking at them. "And I think I just found our cook!" he jumped down and landed next to them.
"What do you mean kid?" Sanji asked.
"Looking for people to join my crew," Luffy said as he looked up at Sanji. "I need a cook for my pirate crew. What do you say?"
"You're a pirate?" Sanji asked. "Well, don't try anything stupid with this place. The owner's an ex-pirate himself."
"Really?" Luffy said, impressed.
"Huh...I guess that explains why this place is all wild," Seth commented.
"Yeah. Not a day goes by that there isn't a fight or argument going on here. It's gotten so bad that the waiters bailed on us." Sanji continued.
"So, you in or what?" Luffy asked.
"I'll pass. I can't leave this restaurant." Sanji said.
"Really? What reason?" Luffy asked.
Sanji blew some smoke out and said, "Is nothing important."
"Then I refused!"
"Huh? What do you refuse?"
"You're refusing! I need a cook for my pirate ship and I decided to pick you!" Luffy said as he crossed his arms.
"What?!" Sanji yelled. "Didn't you hear me? I said no, you Straw Hat bastard!"
"I'll kick your ass if you make fun of my hat!" Luffy yelled back while Seth was holding him down.
"Uh, hate to interrupt…" the dark-skin man spoke, earring the glare of both boys.
"What!?" Luffy and Sanji asked.
Surprisingly, the man didn't flinch at this. "My name's Gin, and as you have already known, I am a pirate of Don Krieg's fleet." Gin introduced himself before looking at Luffy. "Kid. You said you are a pirate, right?" he asked.
"Yeah," Luffy replied, still a little steamed at Sanji.
"What are you after?" he asked.
"One Piece!" Luffy said with a smile. "I'm heading to the Grand Line soon to go after it."
Gin looked back in utter terror. "You can't have been searching that long," he said. "If you don't have a cook, your crew can't be that big."
"Seth here is one, this guy is my sixth member," Luffy said as he pointed at Sanji.
"No, I'm not!" Sanji yelled.
"I see...Let me give you some advice kid." Gin's eyes turn serious, "Stay away from the Grand Line. There are plenty of other places that you can go to." Gin said.
"I know, but One Piece is in the Grand Line, so that's where I'm going," Luffy said.
"You sound like you've been there, Gin," Seth said.
Gin grew quiet as he stared at the ground while shaking. "Once," he muttered. "That place...makes no sense! It was nothing but one horror after another there!"
"Is that so?" Sanji said. He began to look up in the sky, ('It does sound dangerous...')
…
..
.
Moments later, Gin was in a boat-
~I'm on a boat! I'm on a boat! I'm on a b-
Experiencing Technical Difficulties, please hang on...
...That Sanji gave to sail away.
"Thank you so much, Sanji. I'll never forget this." Gin thanks back before looking at the auburn-haired boy, "And you too, kid."
"No problem," both of them replied.
"SANJI! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! GET BACK TO WORK!" The owner, Zeff, came out and looked down at the blonde cook, seeing the plates.
"That shitty geezer," Sanji muttered.
"I'm sorry. Now you'll get in trouble for giving me that food," Gin said sadly…then he saw Sanji kick the plate into the sea.
"Get in trouble? Where's the evidence?" he says with an oblivious smile.
"T-thank you Sanji. I appreciate this," Gin bows his head.
Luffy, Seth, and Sanji watched him sail away until Zeff yelled at Sanji again, making the cook go inside.
"...So, I guess that's our cook?" Seth asked.
"Shishishi! That's right!" Luffy replied.
"I'll give credit; he knows how to make a meal." Seth replied before turning around, "I'm going back to the ship, you better get back. I bet the others are already eating."
The captain's eyes turn pale, "You bastards! Don't order without me!" with that, Luffy sprint back inside.
('And if they let you, you order everything on the menu.') Seth though as he made his way back to the ship.
It has been two days, Luffy still tried to convince Sanji to join his crew and be his cook, with no success. As that happens, the rest of the crew were in the ship, Zoro was sleeping, Johnny and Yosaku were sleeping, Usopp was creating some explosives pellets, Nami was looking at the sea. She appears to be thinking hard about something.
"..." the orange-haired girl turned around and began walking to the back of the ship, once there she found something that she wasn't expecting.
Lionel D. Seth had his legs crossed, eyes closed and his lion arms out, he was breathing softly while his sweat rolled down his forehead, however, he was bare-chested, showing his muscles and tone chest.
The navigator was looking at him, drinking his back into her mind. She had to admit, between all the guys, he and Zoro show muscles. But seeing Seth like this makes her love him-
('W-W-Wait!') she shook her head to take off that thought, ('I-I-I wasn't thinking that he's hot!') she blushed at her words before walking forward.
Hearing footsteps coming close, Seth sniffed the air to see who it was, and oranges came to mind, "Miss Navigator?" he asked, making the footsteps stop, "Is that you?"
"...Y-Yeah," Nami replied to him.
The lion boy opened his eyes to see that she was there. "Can I help you?"
She panics at his question, she can't tell him that she was ogling him. She quickly came up with something that has been picking her curiosity for a while, "Um, well…There was something that has been bothering me and I wanted to ask you," Seth show her that he was paying attention, so she asked, "..Why don't you call me by my name?"
"Hmm?" Seth ponders for an answer, "...Well, I guess it is because I'm respecting your decision."
Nami raised an eyebrow, "Respecting...my decision?"
Seth stood up and explain, "When we first met, you said 'Let's just say that we are cooperating,' meaning that we aren't on the same team," a pang hit Nami's heart when he said that, "Also meaning that you don't want others to call you by your name because it would be disrespectful." he says.
"...That's it?" Nami says, expecting more of him, "Nothing else? Like, you don't trust me?"
Seth gazed at her before he let out a laugh, "Trust? Miss Navigator, you sail us through the ocean with Going Merry, I let you touch my lion ears when you asked me to," he says before pulling back his clothes on, "Is not about me trusting you…Is about you trusting me." The thief was taken back by his words, "I can tell…that you don't completely trust me. And I can't blame you, I am a pirate, and you hate them."
Nami knew he was right, she had a problem with pirates since that day, "You're...right…I have a problem with pirates..."
Seth simply looked at the ocean, "I know, and I'm not going to ask you to tell me," he turned around and began to walk up to her. He places a hand on her shoulder, "But if you need to talk, I'll hear you out…After all, I do trust you." he smiles at her.
Nami blush at both his words and touch, however, before she could say anything-
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WHAT IS THAT THING?!" Usopp's scream caught everyone's attention, everyone made their way into the deck, and what they saw, shocked them.
Out in the distance, flying from the mast of a broken Galleon ship, was a jolly roger that depicted a skull with sideburns, and parallel to the crossbones were two hourglasses that sent the same message to everyone; their time was up.
Inside the restaurant, the customers were losing it, the Krieg Pirates had arrived. The galleon pulled up next to the restaurant as everything seemed to grow quiet. Footsteps could be heard as a huge man was approaching the door.
The doors opened to reveal a light-purple short-haired man with a Hawaiian shirt, being carried by Gin. "Please…Can I have food?" the man asked, "I have money…lots of money…" he fell to his knees.
"Don Krieg!" Gin said in worry before looking at the cook's, "Please, bring some food! We got money, we're paying customers!"
"Ha! Like we are falling for this!" Patty laughs out, "We know about Krieg's reputation!" he turns around to a chef, "Someone called the Navy, they are going to love this!"
Just then, the infamous commander did something unexpected, he bows his head to them on his knees and begs for food, "Please...I need food...even a small portion of rice is enough…"
"Don Krieg!" Even Gin was surprised, "Don't beg! This isn't you!"
Sanji suddenly appeared, "Move, Patty." and he kicked Patty out of his way before placing some food and drink in front of Krieg, shocking the chefs.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Krieg began to shove the food in his mouth.
"Sanji! What are you doing?! Don't give him food!" A cook named Carne yells at him in anger. Explaining how Krieg's reputation started as a prisoner before he lied his way onto a marine ship. Then he killed the commanding officer and took the ship as his own. That's how he got his start as a pirate. Sometimes he'll pretend to be a marine and even raise a white flag to deceive an opponent and strike when their guard is down. All he cares about is victory and he'll stoop to any low to achieve it.
"He won't just leave after getting strength back! You should have just let him die!" Carne finishes saying.
Just then, Krieg finishes his drink and slams it hard on the ground. Before Sanji could react, he was clotheslining hard.
"SANJI!" the cook yelled as the Sous Chef slammed into the ground.
"No, Captain! You promised not to hurt anyone!" Gin pleaded. "That man saved our lives!" He was awarded by getting his shoulder grip.
"Ah, this feeling is great!" Krieg said with a twisted smile as he gripped Gin's shoulder tightly, completely ignoring his man yelling in pain. "I like this restaurant," he said. "I'll take it as my new Flagship!"
Chaos; that's what followed next. All of the customers flew into a panic and ran for the rear exit, taking boat after boat to get as far away from Krieg as possible. Meanwhile, the cooks were very scared, especially Patty who woke up to see Krieg standing up and giving demands.
"I'll make this short," He said. "I have one hundred starving men on my ship. Give me enough food to feed all of them right now."
"No way!" Carne yelled in protest. "We're not going to feed your crew only for them to ransack us!"
"You must've misheard me. That wasn't a request, it was an order. And if you don't follow it I'll kill you all," Krieg growled.
"Dammit Sanji, this is all you…Hey, where are you going!?" Carne yelled at seeing the blonde walking away.
"To the kitchen. I've got a hundred people to feed," Sanji responded.
"Heh, looks like one of you can follow orders," Krieg said with a smirk.
But as Sanji walked away, he was suddenly surrounded by all the cooks who now had pistols pointed at his chest.
"What are you? Krieg's pet?" one of the cook's demanded.
"Who's side are you on anyway!?"
Sanji simply extended his arms, "If you're going to shoot me, do it," the cooks were left speechless from his words, "My job as a cook is to feed hungry people, no matter how rotten they are. Is that so wrong?"
Taking the chance, Patty slammed Sanji hard on the ground, "Quick, get him!" at his words, two cooks hold the blonde cook down. "Sanji, you've always snuck food to every one of the bastards that I kick out of here," Patty said. "Sometimes you're right to do that, but this time it's wrong! You messed up so you're going to stay right there while I protect the Baratie alone. He may be Don Krieg, but he's only one man! Taking care of pirate scum is nothing new to us!"
He then took out…IS THAT A LOBSTER BAZOOKA?! Where in the name of all things did he get that from!?
"My magical satchel," Patty said before aiming at Krieg, "I hope the food didn't feel you up, 'cause here is dessert! Meatball of Doom!" The bazooka was fired, and the giant cannonball was sent hurtling toward the pirate admiral.
"Impudent…" Krieg muttered as he was hit head-on and the explosion sent him out of the restaurant and tore the doors off their hinges.
"Damn, I broke the door. The Head Chef ain't gonna like this," Patty muttered.
"He'll understand if it's to protect the Baratie," Carne assured him.
"You call that garbage desert?" came the voice of Krieg from within the smoke. Not only was he fine, with only his shirt burned off, but now he revealed mounted guns on what appeared to be gold-colored armor.
"No way…" muttered a shocked Patty.
"That was the worst dessert I've ever tasted…SO DIE!" And with that, Krieg fired his guns releasing about 14 rounds quicker than anyone could see. The chefs scattered in a desperate attempt to avoid the bullets, inadvertently letting Sanji get back up. As soon as Krieg stopped, he began to rant.
"I am the strongest in the world! These powerful arms gifted with immense strength," he said as he flexed his right arm. "The armor I wear is made out of wootz steel, the strongest metal in the world! I have diamond-knuckled gauntlets that can smash through anything and a massive arsenal of weapons at my disposal! I am Don Krieg, commander of fifty battleships each with a hundred members! If I tell you to do something, you should do it without question! Don't you dare oppose me!"
At hearing that, a big bag landed in front of him by none other than Zeff.
"That's 100 meals worth of food," Zeff said. "Take it and leave."
"Chef Zeff!" one of the cooks said.
"Don't give them the food! We can't let them recover their strength!" another says.
"...True…That is if their spirits aren't broken already." Zeff says before looking back at Krieg. "Well? Did your 'will' survive defeat?" Krieg just stared at him as the other chefs realized what he said.
Krieg came...from the Grand Line running away.
"He...couldn't make it?" Carne was in shock, East Blue Army commander…was defeated in the Grand Line?! Zeff turns around to leave until Krieg speaks up.
"You're...Red Leg Zeff?!" Krieg said in quiet shock, "The pirate that can kick so hard, enemies blood were tainted on it...You're alive?!"
"Yes...Although I can't fight anymore, I don't need to. I'm a cook now, as long as I have my two hands, I'll be fine. Enough talking. What is it that you want?" Zeff asked.
"You've been to the Grand Line old man. Not only that but you sailed those blasted waters for a whole year and returned safely. As the Captain, you must've kept a logbook of your journey. Give it to me right now!" he ordered.
"My log eh? Well, you're right that I kept it. Surprising since it was in my cabin that day." Zeff says before his gaze hardened, "But I ain't giving it to you. That book is a testament to me and my crew when we traveled together. Handing it over to the likes of you is out of the question."
Krieg's smirk turned into a snarl at Zeff's answer. "Fine then. I'll take it by force! I had the essentials going into the Grand Line; power and a big crew, and ambition. What I lacked was information! Unlike the fools that usually go there, I was never afraid of it!" Krieg raises his hand, "I simply had to make a tactical retreat, but with that log, I will rebuild my crew and go back to the Grand Line where I'll reign over this era as King of the Pirates!"
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"
A hard stomp caught everyone's attention as Monkey D. Luffy stood in the middle of them, "No way! The one who'll be King of the Pirates is me!" he affirmed.
Everyone looked at him in shock, except Zeff, who was smirking, and Krieg, who was growling before he laughed at him.
"Ha! What do you know kid? You think your crew can do better than mine?!" he says.
"Better than you, so to speak," says another voice, Krieg turned to a table and saw Seth, Zoro, and Usopp sitting in a chair.
"You Krieg Pirates can't be all that good if you have to resort to skullduggery," Zoro said.
Krieg just looked at them with a glare before breaking into laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! This is your crew, boy!? They're just a bunch of kids!"
"A bunch of kids that are stronger than you, idiot," Seth retorts.
"Sssh! Seth, don't make him angrier than he is!" Usopp tried to shut him down.
"Hmph! I love to shut you boys up, but I have men to feed up." Krieg picks the bag and slung it over his shoulder. "You have until my men eat up to turn over the restaurant, this is my last warning!" With that, he left.
The restaurant was quiet, before Gin, while holding his shoulder, spoke up, "Sanji…I'm sorry…I didn't think it would come to this…"
"You don't need to apologize," Zeff said. "Everyone here does what they think is right."
"What?!"
"Owner! Why are you defending Sanji!?"
"Yeah! He's the one you got us into this mess!"
"You're working for Krieg, aren't you Sanji?! You want to take over this restaurant!"
"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!" Zeff exploded, silencing all in the room. "None of you chowderheads know what you're talking about! You don't know what it's like to be starving in the open ocean!" Zeff says before pointing at the blonde, "However, Sanji does, he's experienced it before!" He then points to the back of the door, "If all you're going to do is cry like a baby, then the back door is there."
The cooks didn't say anything, they just grabbed their weapons and began saying that they would fight.
"Have you all lost your minds!?" Gin demanded. "You just saw how strong Krieg is and you still want to fight him!?"
"Listen to me, Gin," Sanji said with a cold look in his eyes. "My duty as a chef is to feed people and it's generally not my business what they do after that. But, if anyone does what your captain just did, then I'll kick the living shit out of them. That includes your mates and you."
Gin looked at him in shock, these were the words of a man that saved him. He was then brought back from his thoughts by Luffy's question, "Hey Gin, what happened in the Grand Line?"
At his words, the man shakes in fear before holding his head, "I…I don't know...None of it seems real. We had no idea where to go. We pretty much sailed aimlessly for six days. On the seventh day, we were slaughtered. That entire fifty ship fleet was utterly destroyed…by one man."
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?"
"One man?!" Usopp was shocked, "You got defeated by one man!?"
"Had it not been for that storm, the flagship would have been destroyed too. Up until that point, I had full confidence that Krieg could and would conquer anything. But we were so outclassed…the minute I saw that man it felt like we were already dead. That man with the eyes of a hawk…"
Zoro's eyes widened, "Eyes of a hawk….?"
"...There is only one person in the world with eyes like that," Zeff said. "It must've been Hawk-Eye."
"Hawk-Eye?" Patty asked.
"The description is proof enough. Having eyes of a hawk coupled with destroying fifty ships so quickly, there is no other person it could be."
"But who is Hawk-Eye?" Seth asked.
"The one I'm looking for," Zoro says, "That's why I sail, to find him…"
"Never hear a 'Hawk-Eye' in here, but old 'Red-Eyes' was here."
"Yeah the poor bastard got so drunk his eyes turned red. Then he lit himself on fire. 'Twas a beautiful sight though."
"Dammit, Johnny! You gave me the wrong information," Zoro muttered to his friend's bad info.
"Hey Zoro," the swordsman turned to the lion, "What makes him so special? This 'Hawk-Eye' guy?"
"...He's the Greatest Swordsman in the World," he replied in an exciting voice.
"Is not a surprise that he's there," Zeff says, "That's the kind of place the Grand Line is; The impossible happens there daily."
"Shishishishishi! Sounds like a blast!" Luffy says.
"Why aren't you scared at all!?" Usopp asked in terror.
"Anything can happen, eh?" Seth mutters, "Maybe strong people to take down?"
"Now I know where to go," Zoro says while leaning back on the chair. "To Mihawk, I need to go to the Grand Line."
"...You're all fools," the four of them turn to Sanji, "You all will wind up dead sooner or later."
"Don't you lecture me, cook," Zoro glares at him, "The day I set sail, I threw my life away, only one person can call me a fool, and that's me."
"Besides," Seth placed his feet on the table, "The fools are those that do what others don't have the balls to do."
"Yeah! I'm a fool that threw his life away!" Luffy exclaimed.
"A-A-As a w-warrior of the sea, I-I ag-agreed as well!" Usopp says with shaking eyes.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
After a while, they all hear a lot of battle cries from outside, meaning that the Krieg Pirates were ready to fight.
"They are coming!" One of the cooks informed them as they began to take their weapons.
Both sides were getting ready to attack when…
*SLASH!*
A powerful wave went through the giant ship and cut it in half, making it start to sink below.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"
"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!"
"CAPTAIN THE SHIP IS LISTING!"
"MY GALLEON SHIP IS SPLIT APART AND LISTING?! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"
The crew of the Baratie scrambled to move the floating restaurant out of the way of the whirlpool that was created by the ship's destruction.
"AH! The Going Merry!"
The straw hats went to check their ship…only to find Johnny and Yosaku in the water while crying.
"Oy! Johnny! Yosaku! Where's the ship?!" Zoro asked.
"Big Bro Zoro…The Ship…"
"Big Sis Nami took the Ship away!"
"WHAT?!" They both points at far in the distance, true words, the Merry Going was sailing away from them.
"That wrench! She left us!"
"Curse you, Nami!"
As Usopp and Zoro cursed the navigator, Seth stood silent, looking at the Going Merry. Suddenly, something caught his attention in the corner of his eyes, he found a bottle floating in the water. He summons his lion tail and grabs it. There was some sort of letter inside. Taking it out, he unfolded the letter and read it.
"...Interesting..." Seth mumbles out.
"No! Nami will be our navigator, and that's final!" Luffy's voice brought him back from his thoughts, he put away the letter in his pocket.
"...Fine…" Zoro sighs, "Come on Usopp," he calls for the sniper.
"Uh...right!" the long nose hurry up with Zoro, he then turns to Seth, "You're coming?"
"Naw, someone needs to look after him," Seth replied before slapping Luffy's straw hat off him who got mad.
Before they could set sail, some of the Krieg Pirates began to freak out.
"Don Krieg! That man is back!"
"He's come back to finish the job!"
"What? He followed us?!" Krieg shouted.
Everyone turned towards the sea to see a coffin-shaped boat with candles on the edges that burned with green fire. The mast looked like a crucifix and there was only one seat for a passenger. As for the man on this boat, one would only have to look at his eyes to know who it was. Yellow, cold, and murderous.
Zoro's eyes widened in shock and surprised, "No way..." Standing in front of his own eyes, was the man who holds the title of 'Greatest Swordsman in the World'... The one he was looking for.
"Hawk-Eye Mihawk!"