Chapter 18

Presents

"The construction of the restaurant's going well," Franky said with satisfaction.

Gathered around the Sunny's table for lunch, the crew had just finished the starter and Sanji placed two nice plates of mixed salad in front of the girls before throwing a huge plate on the boys' side, not caring about the massive brawl it triggered immediately.

"Is it almost done?" Chopper inquired after he managed to get a few spoons.

"The exteriors are almost finished," Usopp confirmed, jealously watching his share.

"How wonderful, the inauguration is coming soon!" Brook rejoiced, his fork in his hand.

"We still need to find the furniture as well as the interior decoration," The cook tempered while making sure his princesses had everything they needed.

"Nevertheless, you were very quick," The skeleton complimented, turning to the shipwright and sniper. "Barely a week!"

"Franky drew all the plans, I just followed the instructions," Usopp explained modestly while Luffy and Zoro were glaring at each other for the still full plate of the swordsman.

"I worked in super company!" The cyborg beside them got enthused.

"Can we visit before it's finished, Sanji-kun?" Nami asked him while raising her glass of water to her lips. "I'm quite curious to see what it looks like."

The blond whirled immediately towards her. "Of course, Nami-san! I'd need your advice and that of Robin-chan for the decoration!" He then offered the bread basket to the archaeologist who helped herself with a smile.

"We'll need to have a party for the opening!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed, his mouth full of salad from the plate of the offended sniper.

"A lovely house-warming party!" Brook added.

Sanji sighed and started clearing the first empty dishes. "It's planned but the main guest needs to be here," He grumbled, "The restaurant doesn't even have a name yet…"

"Let's hope you can reach him soon," Nami agreed.

"An opening under the snow can be very beautiful," Robin pointed out.

"It's true but I wish it wasn't so long," The blond confided while he was setting up his dessert plates.

"Speaking of parties, what do you have planned for tonight?!" The straw hat boy asked him, his eyes shining with excitement.

Sanji checked the baking of his fondants in the oven before turning to answer his captain, looking annoyed. The harvest ended at the end of September and the traditional party associated with the event was a new opportunity for the inhabitants and the crew to come together to enjoy the cook's dishes. However, although it made the blond happy, he hadn't settled on all the details just hours before the fateful moment. "I'm still unsure," He admitted, leaning with his back against the counter, "As a starter, I'd like to make a lobster carpaccio and oysters with grapefruits pearls. For dessert, a peach tiramisu and some lemon verrines but for the dish, I have a doubt…"

"It seems very refined," The navigator appreciated, clearly delighted.

"It seems so good!" Luffy yelled in front of her, making her wince.

"What about the wine, did you think about it?" The fencer inquired, suspicious.

"Of course I thought about the wine," His companion got annoyed. "It's a harvest party, you moron!" Zoro rolled his eyes before continuing to eat.

"Which dishes are you hesitating between?" Chopper then asked.

Sanji shook his head, embarrassed. "Actually… It's been on my mind to make seafood skewers because everyone can choose what they prefer…"

"That's a super idea!" Franky immediately encouraged him.

"Yes, but it's also Zeff's specialty and I'm not sure I've completely mastered the recipe," The cook admitted, gritting his teeth. "If he makes it later, I might hear about it for ages…"

"You kidding? He cooks better than you?" Usopp exclaimed in disbelief.

"The old man doesn't cook better than me!" His friend roared immediately, making him shrink in his chair. "It's just that… seafood skewers are his specialty, that's all. But for the rest, I beat him hands down!"

Everyone shared a look around the table and then returned their attention to their plate in silence in view of the obvious sensitivity of the subject. For his part, Sanji gritted his teeth and took his fondants out of the oven, aware of his unreasonable outburst. However, he couldn't prevent his frustration when he remembered the gap that still remained between him and the old cook. Despite all his efforts when he was at Baratie, he had never been able to completely reproduce his specialty and this fact remained a failure in his eyes.

Shutting the door of the oven brutally, he arranged his cakes and turned towards the table but in doing so, he fell on the mocking gaze of the swordsman fixed on him while all their other crewmates were carefully avoiding it.

Instantly, his agitation focused on the fencer. "What's the matter with you?" He barked.

"Nothing," The man calmly replied.

The blond felt his anger increase in front of his provocative attitude and he put his plate of cakes on the table, staring him straight in the eyes. "If you got something to say, spit it out, mosshead," He insisted, his aura threatening.

At these words, Zoro stared harder into his eyes, a confident smile on his lips. "I was just thinking… You really are a lousy cook not knowing how to make simple skewers."

The detached tone of the swordsman as well as his murderous words sent an electric shock to the cook who glared at him. "These are not simple skewers, jackass," He growled back. "The most subtle spices and finest herbs constitute the base of the sauce in which the seafood has to marinate and don't even get me started on the quality you need to find before mastering their cooking!"

The fencer nodded like he was accepting his explanation. "Okay, so that's what I was thinking: the old man put too much hope in you."

Sanji's eyes practically popped out of his head and the sound of his two hands slamming down on the table in front of the swordsman startled all of his crewmates. "Fuck you! My cooking is the best you'll ever eat and I'll prove it to you!"

"How?"

"I'm gonna make these fucking skewers and if one day you taste Zeff's, you'll know that I've long since surpassed that old fart!"

Zoro smirked. "We'll see about that. I bet on him anyway."

"You bastard!" Losing what little patience he had left, Sanji rushed in his direction to make him regret his words and the swordsman parried his right foot with one of his swords, a confident smile on his face. The fight was clearly going to escalate and everyone quickly grabbed their cakes before heading for the door.

When Robin reached it, she smiled knowingly at the fencer who had quickly backed away to avoid the cook's latest attack. "Well done, dear swordsman," She whispered while walking past him, "I couldn't have done better."

Zoro didn't answer but the smile that was already stretching his lips deepened when he swung two of his swords forward in order to reply. Nobody was better than him to force the blond to surpass himself.

"This is impressive," Nami said, discovering the huge space in front of her.

"There'll be two dining rooms but one will be more intimate and we'll only open it when it's busy," The cook showed her.

"There's a fireplace!" Chopper got enthused.

"The view is breathtaking!" Brook marveled, observing the ocean at the location of the future window.

Upstairs, racing noises were suddenly heard and a few seconds later, Luffy tumbled downstairs again. "There's a huge storage room for food with an elevator to go to the kitchen!" He told his friends, overexcited.

"It's not an elevator, it's a freight elevator," The cyborg specified.

"The kitchen is huge!" He continued, his eyes shining. "And there's a second storage room that goes down to the cellar!"

"Did you use the freight elevators?" Usopp grumbled, "They're not even fully fixed yet. If you break them, we'll need to do it all over again…"

"How's the cellar, Luffy? Big enough?" The swordsman wanted to know, interested.

His captain nodded briskly. "It's almost the entire length of the ground floor!" Zoro smiled appreciatively and Robin chuckled in front of the sniper's sullen face for being ignored.

"The restaurant is built on the model of a boat, isn't it?" The navigator asked, observing the shape of the rooms on the plan.

"Yeah, the windows will be portholes!" Franky confirmed.

"Why not use the resources of the sea for your decoration then," She suggested to the cook. "Dried starfish, shells, fishing nets to hang things from? You'd stay on the theme of the sea in this way."

"Drawings related to the ocean will give a feeling of immersion while maintaining a refined style that paintings don't necessarily bring," Robin added, observing the walls.

"I knew I could trust you, goddesses of my heart!"

"Luffy, take your head out of here! The fireplace isn't open yet!" Usopp tried to free his captain and pulled his body with all his strength. In the end, they both rolled on the floor when the straw hat boy's head jerked out.

"Stop messing around," The redhead sighed, staring wearily at the troublemaker, "We're here to help Sanji-kun so you need to focus."

From the floor, Luffy nodded, a huge smile on his face, and he jumped up while Usopp was struggling to get back on his feet despite Chopper's help. The captain then stood in front of his cook, eager to redeem himself. "Tell me how I can help you, Sanji!"

"Uh… Well…" The blond took a quick look around, looking for a bright idea to not only keep his captain busy but also do him a favor. "We'll need shells for decoration," He remembered then. "Could you go get some?"

"No problem!" Before the cook could tell him what he wanted, Luffy had stormed off towards the beach and Sanji shrugged. Thanks to the hyperactivity of the straw hat boy, he had no doubt he would have plenty to choose.

"Hey, Luffy!"

The young pirate turned around, trying not to drop the multitude of shells he was holding in his arms at the same time. Seeing that Lily, Liam and a handful of villagers were advancing towards him, he put his finds in his hat down on the beach, a delighted smile on his face. "Have you come to find seashells for Sanji too?!"

"Uh, no," Lily admitted, confused, while the group was stopping in front of him.

"Really?" He wondered.

"We wanted to ask you something," Liam explained, pointing to the inhabitants at his side.

"Okay," The captain agreed, examining the contents of his hat.

The scientist cleared his throat. "You see, you and your crew have helped us a lot since you've been here, not to mention the last time with this storm…"

"Oh yeah, that was fun!" Luffy remembered, laughing.

"Well, actually… It wasn't so funny for us," Liam confessed, not knowing what to do in front of this special man.

"We'd like to thank you," Lily chimed in. "So, we thought of making a gift for each of you."

"A gift?"

"Yes. With the villagers gathered this morning, we all want to show our appreciation."

Luffy glanced at the townspeople who were nodding at the young woman's words and then he smiled broadly. "That's so cool! What is it?!"

"That's why we need you," The fisherwoman continued, "You know your crew better than anyone so what do you think would make them happy?"

"Hmm…" The straw hat boy took a few moments to think, focused. "Chopper likes healing people, Brook likes music, and Franky likes ships," He began.

"Okay," Lily agreed while Liam was taking notes. "What about the others?"

"Robin likes old books, Usopp likes telling stories and Zoro likes his swords."

"Uh… Telling stories? What do you mean?"

"He likes telling stories, that's all," The captain repeated, shrugging. "And he likes building projectiles and fireworks too!"

"Okay."

"Ah, and Zoro likes Sanji too. And drinking!" He added, proud to remember this detail.

"Oh. Very well…"

Luffy looked for a moment at the other villagers who were staring at him cautiously and he scratched his head before continuing his enumeration. "Sanji, it's easy, he likes cooking and All Blue. And girls. And Zoro. And fighting with Zoro."

"I don't know if it's easier but we'll do our best," Lily answered, glancing at Liam to make sure he was still writing.

"Nami likes maps and weather," The captain resumed. "She also likes treasures and tangerines but they need to be ripe, otherwise she'll be angry," He warned them.

"Okay," The scientist agreed, leaning on his notebook. "Are those sky maps?"

"Yeah, but also navigation maps and seabed maps. She draws a lot of them and she needs lots of paper!" He remembered.

"Duly noted. What about you, what do you like?" Lily then asked him.

Luffy's eyes lit up at those words. "I like meat and my friends!"

Lily couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. "Meat and friends. Alright. We should have what we need…"

"What a delight, I've never eaten anything so delicious!" Lily exclaimed in disbelief.

"It is divine," Robin approved.

"My favorite is the one with prawns," Nami showed them, biting delicately into the crustacean.

The party was in full swing and as his crew members had surmised, their cook's seafood skewers were more mind-blowing than the next. And if they couldn't help but sigh with delight at each new bite, the inhabitants of All Blue were totally blown away.

A little further on, Sanji was making sure his dish had the expected success and the first opinions he had collected had eased his anxiety somehow. The villagers helped themselves to the huge tables and everyone could then take their meal to chat with each other, allowing the cook to hear their impressions as he served. So, when he heard the three girls complimenting his meal, his torment shattered and he was about to rush towards them, his heart and eyes more than ever transfixed with love.

Unfortunately, a hand landed heavily on his shoulder at the same time and he froze. In a bad mood, he turned around to identify the one who dared to spoil his happiness but when he recognized him, a mocking smile tugged at his lips. "Here you go, mosshead. I see you're enjoying my skewers in the end."

The swordsman gulped his mouthful and cast a distracted glance at the three others he was holding in his right hand before shrugging casually. "Not exactly. I need to taste them all to tell the old man what's wrong with your food."

Sanji rolled his eyes in annoyance. The reactions had been unanimous so far but in doubt, he needed to check. He then took one of his skewers from the swordsman and tasted it, carefully studying every nuance. He knew that Zoro provoked him on purpose but this dish was different from the others. He couldn't be sure it was executed perfectly; he could just make sure he did his best to achieve it. And one day, his skewers would be better than those of the old geezer, he was sure of it.

"The lemon stands out well compared to the scallops and the iodine taste on the zucchini isn't too strong… The texture is ideal, it's firm but not elastic." He chewed for a moment longer, then frowned. "I don't know if the four spices goes perfectly with the basil, maybe I should have used mixed berries…"

Zoro watched him for a moment before shoving his two other skewers into his mouth at once and the cook stared at him before sighing in spite. "If you eat them so quickly, how are you gonna enjoy the flavors?" He mumbled, giving him back his now started skewer. "I'm killing myself so that the variety of the skewers reveals their subtleties and you swallow as if it were a mere pasta dish…"

The fencer raised his eyebrows as he was devouring the rest of his skewer. "You're always complaining, cook. I don't eat, you yell. I eat, you complain."

"Yeah, right. Like it's my fault you have no sense of taste," The blond growled.

"You'll need to work even harder," The swordsman approved, looking for what would help him wash it all down.

Sanji had understood and he grabbed a bottle on the table which he gave to the fencer, annoyed. "Take this and leave my skewers for those who really enjoy them."

Zoro caught the bottle and nodded but before turning away, he leaned to whisper in his companion's ear, a smile on his face. "I don't know how the old man's skewers are but what is sure is that you're good at talking about it in an erotic way."

Amid the chatter of the townspeople and their laughing crew a few feet away, Sanji felt his eyes widen. "Wh-What are you talking about, you idiot?" He stammered. His cheeks were flushed.

"'The texture is ideal', 'enjoy the flavors', 'swallow'? Why is it always coming down to sex with you, cook?" The swordsman enumerated with amusement.

"You're talking nonsense, I'm talking about cooking!" The blond flushed even more.

"Really? The way you rolled your tongue over every bit of what was in your mouth, I could have doubts…"

"Shut up, mosshead!" His companion hissed while glancing anxiously around him.

"Are you horny?"

Sanji stared at the fencer. There was no way Zoro had the upper hand in this kind of conversation. This was his area. "Remember I was already planning to use food when you got back, mosshead. You're not ahead of the game."

"What were you thinking?"

"Raspberries and whipped cream on your six-pack abs. Or maybe sake running down my belly…" The cook saw the swordsman's eyes darken with desire and he smirked. "Since when do you like this kind of innuendo?" He then added mockingly. "Usually, you blush at the slightest crude word."

"I ain't blushing," His companion scowled immediately. As Sanji was still smirking, the fencer whispered in his ear again, clearly smiling in turn. "I only make an exception because the girls are watching us and I think they have understood what we're talking about."

At these words, Sanji jumped violently to move away from the fencer, his cheeks red, while making an effort not to turn around and attract more of their attention. He tugged at his jacket to smooth it down and ran a hand through his hair to regain composure, nervous.

"Are they still watching?" He then whispered to the swordsman who was quietly staring at him. Zoro shifted slightly to see better and answer his question but he winced just as quickly when the blond's heel crashed on his foot. "Be discreet, moron!" The low voice of the cook roared in front of him.

Zoro rolled his eyes but complied, glancing quickly over his companion's shoulder. "Robin's staring at us without moving."

"Maybe it's a coincidence?" The blond tried, uncomfortable.

"I don't think so. She's smiling at me." Sanji closed his eyes, mortified, but the swordsman's voice resumed. "It's okay, she's chatting with Nami and Lily again."

The cook sighed heavily before stepping resolutely away from the fencer. "Go and drink your bottle; I don't wanna see you again before tonight," He growled as he sped towards the exit, determined to enjoy a cigarette to recover from his emotions.

Zoro nodded. The program suited him.

"Oh, lead balls! Their density is perfect for my Lead Star attacks!" The sniper got enthused.

Sanji had just entered the village hall again when the inhabitants had invited the crew to gather before dessert. Puzzled and delighted, everyone was then presented with carefully wrapped gifts. Robin had discovered a beautiful volume of the village elders on the daily life of All Blue and Franky, magnificent model ships. For their part, Chopper had unpacked several small boxes of medicinal herbs and the swordsman was observing a bottle of wine with a promising appellation, satisfied.

At the same time, Nami opened her package and took out several sheets yellowed by time. His friends leaned over her shoulder, curious, and discovered numbers and a logbook. "Uh… What is it?" Usopp inquired, confused.

"A weather log!" The navigator exclaimed.

"They're from the main island," Lily confirmed, "They date back to ten years and for fifty years. Unfortunately, we don't have more recent reports…"

"It's perfect, I'll be able to make a comparison with the other islands!" The young woman rejoiced, turning to the fisherwoman. "Thank you very much, Lily."

"I'm glad you like them."

"Oh, a metronome!" Brook discovered not far from them.

"It's tuned to pick up the frequency level of sound waves in addition to indicating the tempo," Liam showed him, "I added this feature for instrument recognition."

"It is absolutely splendid!" The musician thanked him.

"Meat!" Luffy yelled.

Everyone turned to the captain, who was dancing with joy, clutching a huge haunch. Disgusted, Nami looked away to focus on her reports and Sanji sighed when he saw the straw hat boy rush towards him.

"Sanji, look at the m-"

"Yes, I know. I'll cook it for you tomorrow, you bottomless pit."

"Awesome!" Luffy yelled louder.

He went back to dancing with the villagers who were drawn to his good humor and Lily and Liam walked towards the blond. "We knew this gift wouldn't be that nice for you," The dark-haired woman apologized.

"No problem, sweet Lily. Look how happy he is."

The young woman followed his gaze and nodded as the rest of the crew approached.

"These gifts are extremely generous of you," Robin thanked them.

"You took the trouble to look for one that would suit us, that's very thoughtful," Nami agreed.

"Yeah, it's super nice!" Franky added.

"Besides, they're useful gifts!" Chopper got enthused. "I'll be able to make new potions with these herbs!"

"Very useful," The swordsman repeated, examining his bottle more closely with a smile on his face.

"I'll be able to use mine tonight to entertain you!" Brook decided.

"If you want me to defend you, I'm ready!" Usopp added proudly.

Lily shook her head, smiling. "It's not much compared to all the help and joy you bring us," She reminded them.

"Sanji."

At these words, the blond turned to Liam who was holding a last rather imposing package while all the attention was now on them. "You're the one who has done the most for us so far and this gift needed to be special," The young man said.

"I haven't done that many things," The pirate corrected him, embarrassed.

"Of course you did," Lily insisted. "You've been feeding the entire village for weeks and you stopped the latest attack on the island."

"Oh, they weren't very strong…"

"But more than anything, you bring us hope," The young woman continued with emotion. "Hope to see All Blue grow and hope that our people can live better days."

Liam handed him the package and the cook bit his lips, both embarrassed and grateful. "What is it?" He asked the scientist.

"Hope." As the blond looked at him questioningly, Liam smiled frankly. "The new transmitter to reach the East Blue. It's done."

I apologize for the delay; I wasn't home for a few days and it could happen again in October.

Anyway, progress is slow but steady. A new part of the story will soon begin…