Chapter 51

Ready for action

After spotting the new products available with a quick glance, Sanji crouched down in front of a crate of carrots to examine them, his cigarette stuck between his lips. Summer was coming and it was time to select fruits and vegetables for the next season.

"Um, about our deal, I need to tell you something…" The blond looked up at his usual supplier to look questioningly at him, intrigued by his tone. "Is there a problem?"

"You could say that." Sanji stood up, frowning, and the man in front of him sighed. "It's nothing personal but I'm not gonna be able to continue to supply you."

The cook stared back. "Why? I always paid on time," he reminded him.

"I know, that's not the problem…"

"So what?" The blond got annoyed, "It's gonna be hard for me not to take it personally if I don't even know what's driving your decision!"

The man sighed again.

"Believe me, you're my best customer and people come from all sides as soon as they know that the All Blue gets their supplies here, so if it were up to me, we wouldn't change anything. But it turns out that the mayor was very clear about this."

At his words, Sanji felt his jaw tense. What did the mayor have to do about it? "What's going on?"

The merchant hesitated to answer for a second and he checked that no one was listening, suspicious. "I told you to ask for protection from the World Government but since you refused, the officials are taking advantage of it and they no longer want us to sell you anything. They plan to buy you back for a pittance when you go out of business."

"So that's what it is."

Sanji put down his bunch of carrots and the merchant shook his head. "Why did you refuse? It was an interesting offer," he insisted. "Everyone benefited from it: Vorgo, you and us…"

The blond looked into his eyes. "All Blue is a free territory and it will remain so. There's no way a corrupt organization can come and appropriate its wealth to further enrich the powerful of this world."

"If you take it that way…"

"Is there any other way to take it?" The cook replied curtly. He then looked at his interlocutor with disdain. "What about you? You're just doing as you're told? Too bad for your business, too bad for your principles, is that it?"

"Hey, it's not that simple," the shopkeeper grimaced. "I get where you're coming from and somehow, I admire you, you have guts. But the thing is, if I don't do what they tell me, I can say goodbye to this store and everything I own! Principles are all well and good, but when it comes to having something to eat at the end of the month, ethics don't feed your family! So I do what must be done and you can't judge me for that. We already have to pay them an exorbitant tax just to open…"

Sanji reached into his pockets to light a cigarette before looking back at the man. "You're more numerous than them and if all the merchants get together and decide to no longer pay this tax or to stand up to them, there'd be nothing they could do," he pointed out.

"You're not wrong but it'd be too late for your restaurant anyway. Trust me, no one will want to sell you even a piece of bread here now."

The cook blew his smoke into the air. "We'll do without Vorgo then. They have probably forgotten that the particularity of All Blue is to have doors leading to the whole world and the others will be more than happy to supply us."

"I guess so," the man admitted.

He then quickly turned away as a customer entered his store and Sanji knew it was time for him to leave. Being seen in his presence was probably meaning trouble and he turned on his heels towards the door, exasperated. He was about to cross the threshold when the merchant called out to him again.

"I'm sorry it ends like this and I honestly hope your restaurant gets through this but either way, if I were you, I'd watch the door carefully from now on."

The cook turned around, intrigued, and the man shrugged, pretending to put away his salads while turning his back to him. "I think I heard them say they wouldn't be so vigilant about security in your area now so I'm just saying you should check that your customers remain intact during the crossings."

Sanji stared at the figure of his former supplier and felt disgust come over him. So this was Vorgo's method of punishing them for not wanting to cooperate? They were going to threaten the traders in the hope of lowering the quality of their cuisine and thus making them decline until the inhabitants begged to buy them back so as not to die of hunger?

The blond felt like throwing up. These were unworthy and perfectly pitiful methods. Being ready to destroy lives to gain wealth could only be the work of cowardly and unscrupulous men.

"Thanks for the advice."

Without another glance, the cook slammed the store door behind him.

"What a bunch of cowards!"

Sanji stormed into the All Blue's kitchen in a huff and threw his crumpled shopping list onto the worktop. Lily, Liam and Amy were gathered with Elio and Sam to discuss the evening shift and they all looked up in his direction when he arrived.

"What's going on, Sanji?" The fisherwoman asked him.

"Those bastards from Vorgo have decided to cut off our supplies," the blond explained while his friends widened their eyes.

"What do you mean?"

The cook tried to regain his composure. He came back empty-handed. He had visited all his usual suppliers and just like the first merchant had told him, not a single one had wanted to renew his orders. One more compassionate than the others had given him the contact details of one of his cousins who could provide him with cream, butter and eggs on a neighboring island and the blond had stuffed his address in his pocket with gratitude. Although he sincerely thought that All Blue could manage without Vorgo's help, he was well aware of the enormity of the task at hand.

"They put pressure on all the suppliers, no one wants to sell us even the smallest ingredient anymore."

His team stared at him, eyes wide with fear.

"They-They can't do that," Sam stammered, "This is an outright death sentence!"

"It's because of the independence of All Blue," Elio sighed.

"Exactly," Sanji growled. "They make us pay for it so that we have no choice but to crawl back to them."

"What are we gonna do?" Amy was worried, "The restaurant is fully booked for months!"

"Our own harvests will never be enough," Lily realized.

"We can try to trade with other islands but by the time we put the agreements in place, we'll run out of some food," Liam agreed with a grimace.

"We knew they'd try to make us regret our decision, it's not that surprising," Sanji reminded them.

"Okay, but what are we gonna do?" Sam asked him. "Starting next week, we're gonna have a problem with creamery, dry foods and pastries!"

"I'll find a way but, in the meantime, we have yet another problem."

"Another problem?" Lily repeated, clearly distressed now.

The cook nodded, his jaw clenched. "Our former fruit and vegetable supplier told me to be wary of the door. He thinks Vorgo will intentionally let pirates through or at least, they will no longer provide security around it."

"Damn, if they take aim at the customers, we're screwed," Elio grumbled.

"That's why our top priority from now on is to ensure the safety of customers passing through the door," Sanji agreed firmly. He then looked at his friends attentively. "From now on, we'll need to be twice as efficient. We'll redouble our efforts and vigilance at all levels. No detail should be left to chance. Quality is the trademark of All Blue and whatever happens, we'll never compromise on this principle."

Facing him, his team nodded and the cook stared back, passing his fierce will on to them.

"We will overcome this obstacle. Vorgo will never have the satisfaction of seeing us submit. Remember, we represent All Blue and our work is recognized even in the New World today. No one will steal our dream."

As determination took hold on his friends' faces at these words, the blond turned more specifically to Elio and Sam.

"I want day-to-day inventory management and even more adaptation. Make all our foods that are usually dependent on suppliers last as long as possible. Take inspiration from those of All Blue, be creative. And never lower your standards. This is a unique opportunity to test your true talents."

The young cooks nodded again and Sanji turned towards the two women this time.

"Sweet Lily, you need to update Tori and his teams, they have to speed up the possible harvests and plant everything they can. Amy, I'm counting on you during the shifts to be very attentive. Customers must feel safe and at the slightest alert, you let us know or you kick them out."

The young girl agreed firmly. Over all these months, she had learned to be more independent and confident, and she no longer hesitated to put those who deserved it in their place.

Satisfied, the blond finally turned to the scientist and stared into his eyes. "I'm going to need you, Liam."

"Whatever you want," he offered him immediately.

"I need you to handle the security of the door and its surroundings tonight. Your alarms are a success for the restaurant, we need them at the doors to warn us in the event of an intrusion. You also need to develop weapons like the one that triggers sirens when they cling to attackers. Recruit as many people as you can. At the same time, I'd also need you to stabilize other doors so that we can trade with neighboring islands."

Sanji looked a little deeper into his eyes, increasing the intensity of their exchange. "I know I'm asking a lot because you won't have time to study the sound waves and work on your projects, but without your help, I can't do it."

Liam stared back. "You can count on me, don't worry."

"Thanks."

"What about you? What are you gonna do, Sanji?" Amy asked him and the blond turned his attention to his little protégé. "I'll negotiate with those who want to restore our orders as quickly as possible. The old man may also help so the kitchen will be entirely your responsibility sometimes," he added in the direction of his two apprentices. "I trust you."

"We'll be up to the task, Chef," Elio assured him.

"Great." Sanji then looked around the kitchen, intrigued. "Where's that old geezer anyway?"

"He got a call earlier and he came out," Sam replied.

"He sounded weird," Liam remembered.

The cook frowned before heading towards the door again. "Don't waste a minute and implement what we have decided. This is war now."

"Yes, Chef!"

Sanji found his mentor on the beach below. Zeff had stopped a few steps away from the ocean, his gaze fixed on its waves, and the blond paused to look for a cigarette in his pocket, annoyed. It wasn't like the old man to lose himself in contemplation of the landscape and his hard gaze couldn't be good.

Yet he had to inform him of the situation and given its importance, he couldn't afford to wait.

"Vorgo has finally decided to show his true colors, they refuse to do business with us from now on," he told him, lighting his cigarette butt once he reached him.

Sanji blew out his smoke and looked at the waves which were limply caressing the sand in front of them. "They'll also be happy to let all pirates through in the hope that we'll come back and beg them to protect us. These idiots think we can't defend ourselves but they're gonna be disappointed."

The other cook remained desperately silent beside him and Sanji took one more drag on his cigarette before exhaling.

"I'll look for new suppliers tomorrow and I briefed the team. The next few weeks are gonna be tough but I think they're ready."

"They burned the Baratie."

The cigarette Sanji was about to put back to his lips froze halfway and he felt his eyes widen in shock. He abruptly turned around.

"Wh-What are you saying?!"

"Patty called. A pirate ship showed up during lunch and set the restaurant on fire without warning. It looked like a full-blown attack to him."

"Tell me those morons managed to put out the fire."

"The priority was to get customers out. Then they tried to save the kitchen but the fire had already caught on. Nothing remains of the first floor and the dining room is hanging by a thread."

"Holy fucking shit."

Sanji let his cigarette slip from his grasp and Zeff spoke again, still focused on the sea.

"I couldn't figure out who could have done that. Everyone knows the Baratie can defend itself and even the Marines protect it so they can have a table."

"Is everyone okay?" The cook didn't miss the tremor in his own voice.

"Several cooks suffered from smoke poisoning but no one's dead. They're lucky when you know that the fire spread in just a few minutes."

Sanji closed his eyes to catch his breath before feeling his body swell with fury. "They will pay for this," he growled in a dull voice.

"We have no way of proving it's them."

"Are you fucking kidding me?! In less than twenty-four hours, we lost all our suppliers, they threatened to destroy us and they attacked the restaurant you ran! What more do you want? A fucking signature with their confession?!"

"They will pay. But not now. We've got enough problems here."

"God fucking dammit!"

Sanji kicked violently into the sand which just flew away in swirls, impervious to his anger. Silence then fell over the two men and a minute passed, then another. In the end, the blond looked down.

"I'm sorry. I know how much this restaurant meant to y-"

"Shut up, you idiot."

For once, Sanji didn't respond. He really didn't have anything to say.

"I can't believe they dared to do such a thing!"

Since returning home at the end of the evening shift, Sanji had been pacing back and forth in his living room. When he had returned to the All Blue, Liam had already left for the door with his team and Lily had headed inside the island to find Tori. His two cooks had worked in silence, focused on their task, and Zeff had reappeared a few moments later at his post. Not a word had been said and Sanji had spent the evening watching the coast and checking that the dining room was quiet at the same time as he was helping Amy and thinking of a plan. The next day, he had planned to take to the sea to negotiate new agreements with suppliers and despite the satisfaction of seeing his friends fulfill their roles without flinching, anger had been slowly building within him again since the beginning of the evening.

"They dared to attack the Baratie! The most popular restaurant boat in the East Blue! The old geezer built it from scratch and dedicated half of his life to it! He built it so that we cook together, to make his dream come true despite what had happened! How could they do that?!"

Sanji kicked the table in his living room and it crashed against the wall, reducing it to dust in the process. A few steps away, Liam carefully moved aside so as not to get a splinter of wood when the blond pulverized the chairs, his eyes flashing.

The scientist had returned after their last customer had left through the door and upon his return, he had come to report on the situation to the cook despite the late hour. He had thought that he could reassure him because the area around the door hadn't been under attack and he had started to think about positioning underwater alarms. But he had been greeted by Sanji who was literally vibrating with rage and when he had understood the reason why, he couldn't help but shiver in turn.

"They have no idea how valuable this place is! It's not just a fucking restaurant! It's where I learned to cook and it's where I spent my entire childhood! That's when I finally felt like I had a fam-"

Sanji stopped abruptly, realizing what he was about to say, and shook his head in front of the concerned look of the dark-haired man. He relaxed his leg which was about to fall on the sideboard facing him and sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry. I know All Blue is the priority and that doesn't change what I said earlier. It's just that… I didn't expect it and I feel bad. I should have known it could happen, they'll stop at nothing and I knew it. The old geezer, it must have been such a shock…"

The blond ran a tired hand over his face and finally fell onto the couch. Carefully, Liam sat down not far from him.

"I saw Zeff's reaction when he heard the news and I see yours now so I know it wasn't just a restaurant. You have the right to be angry."

"I can't stand this helplessness." The cook raged, biting his lips. "They're gonna pay for it and I won't sleep until I find these bastards…"

The scientist looked at him for a moment. "Did you have a lot of memories of this place?"

"So much." The blond sighed, leaning against the back of the couch. He was suddenly exhausted. "Everything I learned among these crazy chefs and this tyrant Zeff. All my teenage years trying to smoke in secret so that old fart wouldn't discover I was ruining my work tool. All those gorgeous women coming to lunch and all those pretentious guys trying to impress them…"

His gaze suddenly became distant and Sanji let the images come over him a little more.

"It was on the Baratie that I met Luffy. This idiot went through the roof and I went to serve his friends while he toiled with the dishes to repay his debt. When I saw Nami-san I thought my heart was gonna explode. I've never seen such a goddess in my life… That idiot Usopp was also here and… so was Zoro."

In the end, the blond came out of his reverie and let the silence spread through the room. Beside him, Liam observed him attentively.

"Zeff isn't your father, is he?"

The blond turned his head in his direction, surprised, and met the clear gaze of the scientist. He leaned back against the back of the couch then, his gaze drifting to the ceiling.

"He isn't my biological father but he has often proved that he has what it takes. Much more than the one that raised me anyway."

"What happened to your family?"

Sanji shrugged. "I have a sister and three brothers. Somewhere. My mother died when I was just a child."

"I'm sorry." The cook didn't move, his gaze still fixed on the ceiling. "Was your father around?" Liam asked softly.

"In his way."

"What happened?"

Sanji slowly turned his head towards the man and took the time to observe him. His eyes were filled with real tenderness and he hesitated for a moment. He had never shared this part of himself with anyone but he had no doubt that Liam would listen to him. That's why he felt bad when he finally looked away. His past was a wound from which he would probably never completely heal and today even more than yesterday, all his loyalty was focused towards the pirate who had saved him so he didn't want to think about it.

"Zeff is my only father, that's all that matters."

At these words, the blond stood up and began to collect the pieces of chairs and tables scattered all over the living room. Liam instantly understood the message and didn't insist, getting up in turn to help him.

In a few minutes, the room was cleared and the pieces of wood stored outside. Liam decided to go back home then and he grabbed his coat to head towards the door but Sanji grabbed his arm as he turned away and their eyes met.

"You don't have to go."

"Um, okay."

Liam put his coat down again but the silence continued between them and Sanji sighed inwardly. The scientist was keeping his head down and the blond couldn't blame him after rejecting so firmly his offer to confide. Yet he had asked him to stay and so it was up to him to take the first step.

"Want me to make you something? I bet you didn't eat tonight."

"I didn't, thanks."

Sanji immediately grabbed his utensils and Liam sat behind the counter. The sound of food cooking in the pan, the characteristic sound of the cutlery but also that of the drawers finally helped to relax the atmosphere and the scientist soon noticed a recipe book open on the last donut the blond had given him a few days ago.

The cook continued patiently to work on Liam's aversion towards fairground desserts and despite his own disbelief, the man was forced to admit that he was making progress. He absentmindedly stroked the recipe with his fingertips then.

"Your dessert reminded me of something last time," he said to the blond. "I remembered that time when my parents were furious when I told them I wanted to become an acoustician. A lot of details came back to me, when they punished me and forced me to work with them every day for almost six months…"

The blond glanced at him over his shoulder while continuing to fry his potatoes. "They wanted you to learn the job?"

"They probably thought I didn't know what I was saying and they hoped to talk some sense into me."

"It didn't really work," the cook pointed out with a smile.

"It's funny. I remember that time with a feeling of indifference towards them but when I think about it more precisely, I have never hated them as much as during those months."

Sanji cut the heat under his potatoes to slide them onto a plate garnished with thin slices of smoked duck breast and he placed a few more salad leaves as well as several cherry tomatoes before approaching the counter.

"They probably thought they were doing the right thing," he suggested, setting down the plate.

Liam nodded his thanks.

"I spent six months breathing in that smell of roasted sugar and even when I went home, it felt like it stuck to my skin. It constantly reminded me that I was intended to live between these walls, selling cotton candy and repairing broken wooden horses. That I had no other future, that this was my destiny. And as the days went by, I almost believed it. I told myself that maybe my parents were right to say that being a researcher wasn't a career for me. That it was far too uncertain and way too far from everything my family had always done for many generations."

Sanji sat on a stool across from him, attentive, and Liam sighed.

"I really doubted, you know… I never read anything but disapproval in their eyes but during this period with them, even if this smell made me sick and this work bored me to death, they looked at me differently. Like they were proud of me for the first time. So I told myself that maybe it wasn't worth it…"

"That didn't stop you from being here today," the blond pointed out gently.

"Yeah. And I will never forget their disappointment when they realized I hadn't changed my mind. After that, they left me alone."

"Did you convince them?"

"I don't think so. I rather think they gave up, as if I was a lost cause. That's when I really started to hate them. From that day on, every time I returned to the fairground, this unbearable smell assailed me and it didn't take long until I didn't even want to set foot back there. My parents took it as an additional offense but actually… I think I transferred my feelings towards them onto these desserts and this smell which suffocated me. And now, as I start to appreciate them again, it's like I'm making peace with my folks somehow…"

Liam looked at his plate then, almost stunned by his own revelation.

"Your cooking is truly miraculous," he laughed, looking up at the blond who was still observing him. "It's truly therapy!"

"If it makes you feel at peace with yourself, that's all I want," the cook agreed.

The scientist nodded thoughtfully. "I don't know what they'd think of me today. I've never given them any news since I was on the All Blue. I guess I'm afraid of their reaction even after all these years." He then gave a sad smile. "It's crazy to think that despite our differences, somehow, I still seek their approval…"

At these words, Sanji placed his hand on his and the dark-haired man looked up.

"You don't have to be ashamed of who you have become. Maybe one day they'll realize their mistake but even if that doesn't happen, you'll always be right for following your heart. You may be different from them, but you're an honest and upright person. You deserve to be happy and follow your path, even if it's not the same as theirs. Don't doubt your dreams, Liam. They belong only to you."

The scientist felt himself embraced in the bright look of trust that Sanji was giving him at that moment and he shivered. If he hadn't already fallen in love with the cook, there's no doubt he would have tonight.

Sometimes you have to fight for your dreams. I love that in One Piece, and Luffy is the best at it. Sanji, like some other people, learned it from him. It was time for our cook to pass it on to his team.