Chapter 66

Homecoming

"Whaddya want?"

Malek swallowed, impressed by the imposing build as much as by the dark aura of the man who had just brutally opened the door of the All Blue. With his huge hat pointing towards the sky, it was obviously the old cook that Sanji had told them about but the dark-haired man had not imagined that he would look so surly. Beside him, Chopper hid behind his legs.

"I, uh, I apologize but Sanji told me I could cook here," he began hesitantly. The man in front of him raised an eyebrow. "Cook? What's got into this idiot to start recruiting again?"

"Oh, no, no," he disabused him, "I had never seen the All Blue and I admit that I am… rather curious so he suggested to come. I'm, uh, the new cook. Of the Straw Hat crew. My name's Malek."

At these words, the former pirate narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean you're the new cook?"

"S-Sanji still is too," he reassured him immediately. "It's just that, uh… In the meantime, I came across them and… and that's it."

"How long have you been here?"

Malek looked at his watch. "About thirty minutes? We went through one of those doors and found Sanji on the beach just after disembarking. I guess he saw us coming…" Zeff looked at him from head to toe this time and then noticed the little reindeer still hidden behind the cook. He frowned. "And who are you? The crew's tanuki?"

"I am a reindeer! A reindeer!"

Chopper got immediately annoyed before hiding even more in front of the man's impassive look. Yet Zeff opened the door to let them through. "A talking reindeer, gee. I knew this kid was weird but goddamn…"

Malek entered the restaurant shyly. "I don't wanna bother; I can come back later…"

"Do what you want. If that idiot told you to come, that's his business. It's his restaurant anyway, so if you break something, it'll be charged to his account, not mine."

The man disappeared just as suddenly through the swinging doors and Malek let out his breath before sharing a look with Chopper.

"It's probably Zeff, the old cook who raised Sanji," the little reindeer whispered to his friend. "Luffy told me that he and his team used to fight against everyone who looked for trouble on their restaurant boat. They're very strong!"

"Usopp told me that he had taught Sanji a very effective fighting technique with the feet," the cook confirmed in the same tone, careful not to be heard.

"He doesn't look very friendly either way," the doctor grimaced. "I know why Sanji seemed so uncertain when he called to tell him he had found the All Blue now…"

"It's lucky he warned us," the dark-haired man agreed.

The two friends took a few steps into the main room made up of two differentiated spaces separated by a huge fireplace.

"When we left, the restaurant wasn't really furnished, Franky had just finished it," Chopper remembered, wandering between the tables in wonder. "It's so beautiful now!"

"Franky built the restaurant? That explains the boat shape…"

"With Usopp," his friend confirmed. "Franky also made the plans with Sanji. They planned two pantries to manage stocks because All Blue was very isolated and they even built a freight elevator to connect them from the kitchen to the cellar!"

"Very ingenious," the dark-haired man said, letting his finger brush against an immaculate tablecloth. "And the crockery is superb. High-quality without being flashy. It's all about cooking, I can feel it."

"Sanji's specialty is seafood!" The little reindeer told him, "He's also very talented at cakes, meats, vegetables and salads!"

"In short, he excels in all areas," the other cook laughed.

"His food is delicious and this restaurant is exactly as he had planned!" Chopper rejoiced again, his eyes shining with admiration at the mention of his friend. "I knew he'd make it!"

Malek turned once again to look around the room bathed in the faint light of day that entered through the porthole-shaped windows. He grinned with determination then. "I can't wait to try his cooking. Given what you all described and what I see today, I'm gonna have a lot of questions to ask him…"

At this moment, the swing doors suddenly opened again and the old cook emerged to throw an apron in the direction of the dark-haired man who barely caught it before staring at him.

"Didn't you tell me you were here to cook?" Zeff reminded him when seeing the blank look on his face. Malek's eyes widened and the old pirate rolled his eyes, "I hope for your sake you know how to handle yourself because I won't hold your hand."

"I won't cause trouble!" The young man assured him with excitement when he finally recovered his speech. "And I'm deeply grateful to enter your kitchens; it's a great honor!"

Zeff ignored him and glanced at the reindeer still in the middle of the room. "Do you know how to cook?"

"No, I'm a doctor," Chopper said, blushing.

"You don't set foot there then. We'll call you if your friend's finger falls off." The old cook turned away and entered the kitchen after Malek, grumbling, "A talking reindeer crew doctor and a second cook. This guy's really not an ordinary person…"

"Hey, guys!" Chopper jumped out of his chair and rushed towards the rest of the crew who had just passed through the door of the restaurant. Franky whistled in admiration.

"Well, it became super cool around here!"

"What elegance!" The skeleton agreed, delighted.

"He also arranged the terrace, it must be nice to eat there," Usopp noted while glancing out of the window.

"Sanji used our decoration suggestions." Robin smiled, noticing the shells on the tables and the drawings representing the ocean on the wall.

"The articles about All Blue weren't lies, they're full," Nami said while leafing through the heavy reservation book at the reception. "No more tables available for weeks…"

"It's so yummy!" Luffy rejoiced, devouring a slice of cake on the table that the little reindeer had just left.

"The old cook who works with Sanji gave it to me!" Chopper told him.

"Is Malek with him?" Robin guessed.

"Yes, they're in the kitchen but we're not cooks so we're not allowed to go there," the doctor warned them.

"Is the old man here?! Awesome! This restaurant is so cool!" The captain got enthused and he pushed open the doors, "Pops, I'm h-"

In front of the stunned eyes of his crew, the elastic boy was violently pushed back to the other side of the room and he flew into the air before crashing hard on the floor. Behind the swinging doors, Zeff lowered his leg, clearly furious.

"What part of not coming to the kitchen do you not understand, you little punk?"

Luffy stood up, pouting. "But I'm hungry!" He pleaded.

"And that prevents you from respecting the rules of the house?" Zeff barked back. "It doesn't, so sit down and be quiet! That goes for all of you by the way," he added, glaring at the rest of the crew. He then limped back through the doors on his wooden leg and everyone hurried to sit down around the table.

"He's impressive but he's very nice actually," Chopper told them, pointing to the empty plates on the table. "Before you arrived, he gave me several slices of nougatine cake!"

"Anyway, I understand better where Sanji-bro's personality comes from," Franky sneered, sliding as best he could onto the seat.

"This old cook hasn't changed," Nami agreed.

"Well, he had to manage a whole team of rebellious cooks, not to mention they were constantly under attack," Usopp remembered.

"Do you think our dear Malek will cope?" Brook asked, concerned.

"He's definitely good at cooking and I think that's the greatest skill there is within these walls," Robin reassured him.

"I'm hungry," Luffy complained, slumped on the table.

"Sorry for the delay, Captain, I made breakfast as quickly as possible."

"Malek!"

The dark-haired man pushed open the doors, his arms full of dishes.

"Hm, the smell is to die for!" Brook sniffed, his mouth watering.

"It looks super!" Franky appreciated.

"What is it? What is it? What is it?!" Luffy wanted to know, drooling.

"Express breakfast," the cook showed them, placing the numerous plates on the table. "Scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon, milkshakes, fresh fruit and cottage cheese with muesli verrines!"

"Awesome!" The captain yelled, rushing for the food.

"You had the opportunity to cook then?" Robin asked as Malek placed large pitchers of juice, milk, tea and coffee.

"Zeff helped me," he confirmed.

"What's it like working with him?" Usopp asked, curious, "Sanji said he was a real torturer."

"I haven't spent enough time with him yet but what is certain is that he knows his job. He's fast and he doesn't waste time."

"Where's Sanji?" Chopper asked worriedly, putting down his fork.

"He went on the Sunny to get some ingredients, he wanted to make a dessert with tangerines," Nami replied, pouring herself a cup of tea.

Beside her, Usopp suddenly started coughing and the young woman stared at him.

"We're so stupid!" He choked, trying to wash down his mouthful of pancake with a sip of coffee, "We… We left Sanji alone with Zoro!"

Shock froze all his crewmates around the table with the exception of Luffy who continued to eat loudly.

"Zoro has locked himself in the crow's nest for days. Maybe he hasn't even come down," the navigator said, tense in spite of herself.

"He likes to come for a drink after his training," Malek recalled, uncomfortable. A little silence stretched across the room then.

"I'm sure the reunion between Sanji-bro and Zoro-bro will go great!" The cyborg decided after a few moments. "They're both super nice and super cool!"

"And super strong," Usopp sighed. "The Sunny doesn't deserve this…"

"Yohohohoho! To hear the sound of their fights again would be the sweetest music to my ears! Even though I don't have ears!" The skeleton rejoiced.

"Zoro and Sanji can't fight! Zoro is still recovering!" Chopper said in horror.

"I'm not sure that ever stopped them," Robin pointed out kindly.

"All in all, it wouldn't be so bad," Nami agreed. "Zoro has been really weird lately; it'll probably do him good."

"Or it'll be worse," the sniper lamented. "I mean, considering how they parted…"

The crew members shared a concerned look before the archaeologist delicately grabbed a glass in the middle of their captain's raid.

"Anyway, none of this is up to us. Let's just trust them."

Around the table, her friends agreed.

When Sanji walked through the door of the All Blue about twenty minutes later, none of his crewmates questioned him. The absence of Zoro at his side could mean everything and its opposite and because the cook didn't try to broach the subject, everyone remained discreet. The blond disappeared into the kitchen to make his dessert and when he reappeared with his plate in hand, his friends had sat on the terrace to enjoy the view and they forced him to sit among them for a few moments.

The chef served everyone before sitting down between Franky and Brook. He then impatiently awaited the verdict of his companions, his heart pounding strangely in his chest. He hadn't cooked for them in so long that he felt surprisingly anxious about them tasting his cooking again.

Malek was the first to open his mouth. "This mousse is delicious!" He exclaimed, "It's both firm and… airy!"

"I told you Sanji was good at making cakes!" Chopper got enthused, his mouth already smeared with chocolate.

"It's because Nami-san's tangerines are the best in the world," the blond replied with a smile.

"They never taste better than in your preparations," the navigator sighed with satisfaction.

"The chocolate is melting," Usopp was thrilled.

"The combination is perfectly exquisite," Brook added in turn.

"As usual, your cooking is super, bro!" Franky complimented him.

"Your desserts have always been sins," Robin agreed with a smile.

"Oh, thank you, Robin-chan!"

"Sanji, it's so good!" Luffy yelled before handing him his already emptied plate, "More!"

"What do you mean?!" The blond was indignant, "Malek served you a gargantuan breakfast! You've devoured half of the stocks single-handedly since you arrived and I got a restaurant to run!"

"Please, Sanji," the straw hat boy whined. At these words, Zeff pushed open the back door of the restaurant and placed a huge portion of rice and yellowfin tuna in front of the captain, whose eyes lit up. "Thanks, gramps; you're the best!"

The man gritted his teeth. "Don't call me gramps."

Luffy completely ignored him, already busy picking happily from the plate and the old cook observed the hungry boy for a moment before crossing his arms, frowning. "I hope you got a plan to feed this ogre because at this rate, it'll be the All Blue or him, kid," he then muttered to his former student.

"No kidding." Sanji sighed and took out a cigarette which he stuck between his lips to help himself think. "Tori can give me a precise overview of our fruit and vegetable stocks by this evening. Lily and her team have brought in a lot of fish lately so we can anticipate, but as for meat, we'll have to see with our suppliers. Fortunately, the All Blue is making a profit now…"

His gaze met that of his mentor and Zeff nodded imperceptibly. The blond turned to Malek then. "If that's okay, I think we'll need another chef to keep up."

"Of course, count me in!" The dark-haired man immediately accepted, delighted. "It'd be a real honor!"

"I think we can manage then," Sanji said. "I got two sous-chefs but they're still learning."

"Is this us you're talking about, chef?"

At the same moment, Elio and Sam pushed the back door onto the terrace, already dressed. "We didn't find you in the dining room so we thought maybe you were outside," Sam clarified to explain their presence.

"Perfect timing you two," Zeff grumbled, "There's a lot to do in the kitchen if we wanna be ready for lunch service."

"Are you cooks too?" Luffy immediately got enthused, turning towards them with shining eyes.

Zeff shook his head and returned to the kitchen while Sanji blew his cigarette smoke into the sky. "It's absolutely forbidden to cook for him even if he begs you," he warned them. "Your only priority is the All Blue."

"We saw a ship with a Jolly Roger representing a straw hat when we arrived this morning. Is this your crew, chef?" Elio asked, looking at the people around the table with curiosity.

"The… Straw Hat Pirates?" Sam understood, his eyes wide.

Sanji nodded. "This is Elio and Sam," he said to his friends. "They're learning the trade. Elio and Sam, this is the almost complete Straw Hat crew."

"It's a great pleasure to meet you!" Elio immediately introduced himself, shaking their hands. "Thanks to you, maybe we can hope that the looters will leave us alone for more than five days in a row!"

"I don't think so," Sanji replied while taking a drag on his cigarette. "If their presence became too well known, it'd be like an announcement for the Marines and in that case, the looters would be the least of our worries, believe me. No, the best we can do is behave as normally as possible."

"Do you plan to stay long?" Sam asked.

"Depends on the Captain," Franky said, turning to the latter.

"Dunno," Luffy replied, his mouth full.

Sanji shrugged. "Whatever. We'll see."

Elio nodded, convinced, before casting a flirtatious glance at the two young women of the crew. "Anyway, if you need anything, don't be afraid! I'm staying in a little house by the ocean very close and if you so desire, I shall be pleased to show you the island!"

Robin thanked him with a smile, amused, but for his part, Sanji stubbed out his cigarette in his ashtray with annoyance. "We got here before you, stupid, everyone knows All Blue here."

"Just in case they want a private tour, chef," his cook insisted provocatively.

This time, Sanji felt the muscles in his face tense and Robin stifled a laugh while the rest of the crew followed the exchange with interest. The blond's first instinct was to want to crush his sous-chef's face under his shoe but he needed him for lunch so he tried to breathe and grabbed another cigarette to calm down.

"I'm not sure you'll have a lot of time to walk around, don't forget that you're on potato duty today, Elio. And you'll pick up the order for cream and milk from Luc afterwards," he reminded him while lighting his cigarette.

"I thought Liam was going there." The man was surprised. "You're the one going now; Liam already has a lot to do," Sanji replied placidly. "Is that a problem?" He then asked, arching an eyebrow. His cook looked down, "No, chef…"

"Great. You can go, the old man is waiting for you." Elio turned towards the kitchen and Sam smiled shyly at the crew. "It's nice to have met you," he said to them before following his colleague.

"See you soon!" Luffy replied energetically. "Make a lot of food!"

The door closed behind the two sous-chefs and Usopp turned to his friend. "Wow, you keep a strong hand on them," he said.

"I got no choice," the blond muttered, tapping his cigarette against the ashtray. "Running a kitchen requires a lot of discipline; it's hard work."

"They seem very nice!" Chopper pointed out.

"I have nothing to complain about," the cook agreed. "Elio is a little too sure of himself sometimes but he learns quickly. Sam is more reserved; he manages the organization better."

"I knew it was you!"

The crew turned towards the voice that had just raised from the side of the dirt road that led to the restaurant and their faces instantly lit up when they recognized it.

"Hey, Lily, cool!" Luffy greeted her between his last two mouthfuls of rice.

"Lily, it's been so long!" Nami rushed towards the young woman to take her in her arms and the fisherwoman hugged her back, laughing before looking at the navigator more attentively. "My God, Nami, you look amazing! You all seem to be in such good shape," she added when she saw the blond's crewmates. "I can't believe we were worried about you in the New World!"

"It's not easy but we try to be super careful!" Franky said.

"We missed you and Liam a lot!" Chopper assured her.

"We did our best to record all possible information relating to the doors," Robin added.

"I'm sure Liam will be thrilled." The young woman thanked them, smiling.

"It's Lily, the first resident we met on the All Blue," Usopp said to Malek, who nodded.

"She's a remarkable fisherwoman and the official representative of this territory," Brook added. "I dream of being able to see her panties one day…"

"That's never gonna happen, you walking satyr!" Sanji immediately kicked him violently to the head.

"We just got back from fishing," Lily continued. "I sent the team to store the fish."

"What did you find?" Nami asked.

"Lots of lobsters and shrimps as well as several sea breams and some salmon."

"All Blue's resources are truly fascinating," Malek murmured, amazed.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet someone." Everyone focused their attention on the young woman who turned towards the corner of the restaurant. "Amy, come over. Let me introduce you to Sanji's crew."

At this moment, a thin young girl with long auburn hair timidly approached Lily who placed a hand around her shoulders to reassure her. "Amy works at the All Blue and regularly helps me with fishing. She also makes beautiful jewelry from pearl oysters."

"Jewelry?" Nami was immediately interested, "What can you do?"

"N-Necklaces, bracelets… I-I just started," the young girl stammered, visibly intimidated.

"She'll sell her first creations at the Basterl market tomorrow!" Lily added proudly.

"Yohohohoho! A few adornments would definitely make me stand out!" Brook got enthused.

"That'd be super cool for my style!" Franky agreed, jumping out of his chair to strike a pose.

The young girl widened her eyes before fearfully curling up against Lily in front of the impressive figures of the two men and Sanji decided to intervene. "Amy, don't mind them. They're noisy but not mean and they'll make an effort to behave," he assured her, casting a pointed look at his companions.

"We're super nice!" The cyborg affirmed as he sat down again.

She nodded mechanically, her eyes fixed on the blond to give herself courage. Luffy's head soon appeared in her field of vision though and she let out a scream of horror when she noticed that the rest of his body had remained in his chair.

"Say, what do you do at the All Blue? Do you cook? Because I'm often hungry and Sanji-"

"I told you to stop scaring her, you walking elastic!" His cook barked as he jumped out of his chair to kick Luffy's head back on his shoulders. Furious, he then headed towards the young girl who took refuge in his arms, shaking like a leaf.

"Amy doesn't cook, she's a waitress," he explained to his friends. "She arrived shortly after the inauguration of the All Blue, she was looking for work."

"Work?" Usopp wondered.

"She looks young," Chopper noted with concern.

"Amy's family is very poor and she had to make do," Sanji clarified.

"So that's why you offered her a job at the All Blue," Malek understood.

"That is so like you, dear chef," Robin noted with a smile.

"Amy's very good at her job and she's also good at creating jewelry," the blond affirmed again.

"Sanji-kun is right, you don't have to be afraid," the navigator chimed in kindly as she leaned towards her. "I'm Nami, the navigator, and the dark-haired woman is Robin. She's an archaeologist. The guy with the long nose is Usopp, he's a sniper, and the little reindeer is Chopper, our doctor. He loves sweets, you'll see. Malek is also a cook. Brook looks like a skeleton but it's because of his devil fruit; he's a musician. The big cyborg is Franky, he's the one who built our ship. There's also a green-haired guy with swords named Zoro who you'll probably come across. And the elastic boy is Luffy, our captain."

"L-Luffy?" The young girl stammered, remembering the blond's words.

"He's a little stupid sometimes because he's always hungry but apart from that, he's quite nice," Nami assured her. "Say, Amy, will you show me your jewelry?" She then asked.

The navigator's reassuring smile calmed the young girl who glanced at the cook. He immediately approved, beaming. "You won't find better company than Nami-san! Just be back for the lunch service, okay? I'll need you!"

"Okay…"

Amy walked away with Nami and the blond followed them with his gaze until they disappeared around the corner of the restaurant.

"She trusts you so much," Lily pointed out to him, moved.

"You've become a real big bro, bro!" Franky agreed.

The cook shook his head while returning to the table. "This kid has a heart of gold but she had a difficult childhood. I wanna make her life a little easier, that's all."

"What is the official status of the All Blue now?" Robin asked as Lily took Nami's seat around the wooden table.

"It's an independent nation," the young woman replied proudly. "We don't depend on the World Government or any surrounding island!"

"How did you do that?" Usopp wondered. "Given the success of the All Blue, I'd have thought that they'd all want a piece of the pie!"

"Ah, it's a long story…"

As Lily says, there's a lot to talk about!

The next chapter will also allow the characters to exchange information so that the context and issues are clear. Then we can move on!