Everyone just stared at what Luffy had done. One of the fins was now broken up and floating in the sea. Luffy just stood there smiling while everyone was looking at him in shock. Krieg was the first to react.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR GIN?!" he yelled. "KILL ZEFF ALREADY!" Gin however seemed reluctant to. As Gin struggled with himself, Sanji came up to Luffy with an angered look.

"What are you doing?!" he yelled. "Why are you attacking the restaurant?!"

"Why are you angry? All I broke was the fin." Luffy said before he grinned. "But I'll sink the restaurant next.

"WHAT?!" everyone but Zeff said.

"NO WAY! You will not sink this restaurant!" Sanji yelled. "I owe everything to her! It's all Zeff has left!"

"So you're going to die for a dumb restaurant? Are you stupid?" Luffy asked. "Getting killed is how you'll repay the old man for all he's done? The old man didn't save you to kill yourself. He saved you so you could do something with your life! Not die like a fool!"

"So you're helping them out?!" Sanji yelled back. Before he could go on, a banging noise got everyone's attention as Pearl had taking the shields from his knees and were now hitting them together.

"I've had enough of you two!" he screamed as he set himself on fire again. "This time, I'll burn you both until not even ashes remain!" He then charged at the both of them. Luffy was ready to take him out again, but stopped when Gin ran in front of him and smashed Pearls shield, taking him out for good.

"Move it Pearl." Gin said as Pearl fell to the deck. Everyone stared in shock at Gin for taking out his own crewmate. Luffy just gave a blank stare as Krieg snarled.

"What is the meaning of this Gin?" Krieg shouted. "First you disobey my orders, and now you're taking out your own shipmates? Have you lost your mind?!"

"I know that Don. I'm sorry." Gin said. "But Sanji saved my life. The least I can do is take him out myself. I owe him that much. Please Don." Krieg stared at Gin before he sat down on the wreckage of his ship.

"Fine." Krieg said. "You take out that cook and the kid in the straw hat." The Krieg pirates then started yelling about how Gin was Chief Commander of Krieg's armada. How he was a strong, cold hearted monster.

"Look Sanji, I didn't want the ship damaged, but it's too late for that. All I'm doing is following orders."

"I see." Sanji said before he lit a cigarette. "But if you want this restaurant, then you're gonna have to kill me first."

"Sounds fair." Gin said. "It'll be an honor...my friend."

"Thanks, you bastard." Sanji said as he blew out some smoke. Gin then looked at Luffy.

"You too kid." Gin said. Luffy only smiled as he crossed his arms.

"What makes you think you can kill me?" he asked. Gin narrowed his eyes as the Krieg pirates started yelling insults.

"How dare you talk like that to us!"

"Crush him into dust Gin!"

"Show him why we Krieg pirates are the strongest in the East Blue!" Luffy just looked at them all.

"Only because you outnumber everyone else." he said. All the Krieg pirates wanted to object, but knew they couldn't deny the truth.

"They look angry." Sanji said with a smirk.

"So what?" Luffy said. "How are they getting stronger if all they do is add more crewmates?" Gin raised an eyebrow at this while the other Krieg pirates started rushing in to attack Luffy.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Krieg shouted. All the pirates stopped as Krieg told them it was pathetic to get riled up at a few words. He then ordered Gin to kill them.

"Yes Don." Gin said before looking back at Sanji. He began to swing his tonfa around before he and Sanji began to fight. He missed Sanji, smashing his weapon into the deck while Sanji aimed a kick at his side. He dodged it before slamming his tonfa down on Sanji's neck, pinning him to the floor. "Nothing personal Sanji. Die!" He then attacked, but Sanji spat his cigarette in his face before sliding away and kicking Gin in the head. Gin held onto his weapon as he smashed it into Sanji's side. Sanji was flung away by the attack, but got back to his feet before they went at each other again.

While this happened, Luffy was calmly walking along the fallen mast towards Krieg. Krieg saw him before he smirked. "Where do you think you're going brat?" he asked.

"Sanji can handle Gin." Luffy said as he looked at Krieg. "So I'm gonna kick your ass Krieg."

"Big words from a wimp like you." Krieg said.

"GIN!"

"SANJI!"

Both Luffy and Krieg looked back to see both fighters bleeding and breathing heavily.

'Looks like Sanji's holding his own against Gin.' Luffy thought. Without Pearl attacking Sanji like last time, he stood a better chance.

Gin started swinging his tonfa again before he attacked again. He missed as Sanji did a handstand and kicked Gin in the back. Gin stumbled forward a bit but held his ground as he looked back at Sanji. He tightened his grip on his weapons as he narrowed his eyes before spinning them again. He charged and aimed his balled tonfa at Sanji's head. Sanji jumped back, but found out too late that it was a ruse as Gin used the momentum to aim a his other tonfa at Sanji's side, nailing his in the ribs. Sanji was coughing up blood, but managed to stay on his feet.

"Sanji!" Luffy yelled.

'Shit.' thought Sanji. 'Another attack like that and I'm screwed.'

'Why couldn't you just stay down Sanji?' Gin thought. 'If you had, I wouldn't have to kill you.' He sighed before he spun his weapon again, determined to end this.

"Finish him off Gin!" Krieg ordered. Gin eyes were covered in shadow before he charged at Sanji. He swung downward, aiming for Sanji's legs to secure victory. Luffy looked at the fight to see how it ended. Gin attacked, but missed and left himself open to Sanji. Everyone was shocked except Luffy, who just smiled under his hat. At the last second, Gin twisted his hand slightly and deliberately missed. Sanji took this chance to swing around and put everything he had into one final kick into the back of Gin's head. Gin's head smacked into the deck before his eyes turned white and blood spurt from his mouth.

'Don,' Gin thought as he slowly fell to the deck. 'I'm sorry...No one ever showed me any kindness...I can't do it. I can't kill him.' He then fell to the deck, half concious, and bleeding as his weapons fell from his hands. He struggled to get back up, but only succeeded in turning over and lying on his back. Everyone was stunned by Gin's defeat, while Gin had tears falling down his face. Not for losing, but because he couldn't live with himself if he killed Sanji.

"No way." a pirate mumbled.

"Gin...lost?" another asked. It was silent for a moment, but that ended when the chef's cheered.

"HA! See that pirates!" Patty yelled.

"This is our restaurant!" Carne added. Luffy smiled while the Krieg pirates couldn't help but stare on in shock. Krieg eyes were shadowed as veins started sticking out of his neck and on his forehead.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING GIN?!" Krieg bellowed, shutting everyone up. Gin turned an eye toward Krieg from where he lay. "LOSING TO A COOK?! HOW DARE YOU HUMILIATE US LIKE THIS!" Other pirates were yelling as well.

"Come on Gin! Get up!"

"You can't lose to that cook!"

"Don." Gin muttered as his sight blurred in and out of focus on his captain. He then looked over at Sanji, who was also bloody, but standing over him. His then looked at Luffy, who was smiling.

"You're second-in-command of the Krieg pirates! How could one guy beat you?!" a pirate shouted out. Gin's eyes shot open at that statement, but not from anger. He stared, wide-eyed at the sky, for a few moments as the others finally stopped yelling.

"Well?!" Krieg shouted. "What do you have to say for yourself?!" Everyone was quiet, waiting to hear what Gin had to say. It felt like forever before a sound came from Gin as he trembled. It was faint at first, but slowly the sound grew. Gin...was laughing. Everyone stared, completely gobsmacked, at hearing Gin laugh as he lay defeated.

"Is he laughing?" a chef asked.

"Sanji must've kicked him too hard." Luffy asked, just as stunned as everyone else. Krieg was grinding his teeth at this act.

"What's so funny Gin?!" he shouted. Gin laughter died down, but a smile was left on his face as he stared at the sky.

"I'm sorry." he said. "It's just that I asked myself the same question." Everyone looked at him confused before he continued. "When Hawk-Eye destroyed the fleet, I asked myself 'How could one man beat all of us?' I didn't understand it at first, but now it's all so clear."

"What's so clear?" Krieg asked in annoyance.

"Everything." Gin said as he struggled, but finally managed sit up. "Why we lost as bad as we did to Hawk-Eye." He looked at Luffy. "Why that kid doesn't fear us." he then looked at Sanji. "And why Sanji here beat me." Everyone looked at each other, totally lost at what Gin was saying.

"What was it then?" Luffy asked from the mast. Gin looked to the sky again before he sighed.

"Because...were weak." Gin said. Krieg's eyes widened and were bloodshot, while all the pirates had their mouths hanging open in pure shock. The chefs were equally stunned except Zeff, who smirked. Luffy smiled as well while some of the pirates found their voices.

"What do you mean 'We're weak' Gin?"

"How hard did that cook kick you?!"

"We're the Krieg pirates! We're the strongest in the East Blue!"

"HOW DARE YOU!" Krieg shouted so loud that he was on the verge of tearing his own throat. "WHAT EXACTLY MAKES US 'WEAK' THEN?! TELL ME GIN!"

"It's like that kid said." Gin said. "How are we getting stronger if all we do is add more to the crew?" Luffy smiled as Gin gave him an answer. "The answer: We're not." Everyone looked at him in confusion. "If we just keep adding more crewmates, the ones we have won't get any stronger. Right kid?"

"Shishishishi. That's it." Luffy said. Everyone was lost as Krieg had finally had enough.

"SILENCE!" he said. "Did you forget who we are? We're the Krieg pirates! All we'll need is that logbook of Zeff's and the Grand Line is in the bag!"

"No." Gin said. His smiled dropped as he stared at Krieg. "Even with that logbook, nothing will change. All we'll know is what's out there. We'll still be too weak to do anything about it." The other pirates couldn't believe what they were hearing. The most loyal of their crew was disagreeing with their captain.

"You little son-of-a-bitch!" Krieg said as he took one of his shoulder plates and aimed it at them. "If you've lost faith in us, then you're not my Chief Commander anymore! Pirates, out of the way!" The face on the shoulder plate opened its mouth at them all.

"Not the gas!" Gin gasped.

"He's gonna use MH5!" one of the pirates shouted. All the pirates then fished out masks and placed them on their faces. Gin pulled out his own as well.

"Drop that mask!" Krieg shouted. "You're not one of us anymore!" The chefs panicked while Krieg went on. "The only thing that matters in battle is who wins, even if more have to die. Poison Gas is just a means to an end. Victory decides what's right and wrong. No one will hear you complain if you're dead."

"No you don't!" Luffy said as he ran down the mast towards Krieg.

"You're wasting your time kid!" Krieg yelled as he punched the mast, making Luffy lose his footing. Krieg then shot long yellow and green striped spikes at him, but Luffy uses his Iron Body to avoid taking any damage as the spikes bent and dented on impact. Luffy landed next to Gin and Sanji before he looked back at Gin.

"Don't listen to him Gin." he said. "Someone like him isn't worth dying for." Gin looked at Luffy with a blank expression before he looked back at his mask.

"I said drop that mask gin!" Krieg shouted. Gin kept his head down as his eyes were covered in shadows.

"..u. up." Gin mumbled.

"Are you defying me Gin?"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Gin roared as he raised his head. Everyone stared as he struggled to get up. "Up till now...I've obeyed every order without question...because I truly believed that you could do it. I respected and admired you because I thought you were the strongest. But now...I see I was wrong." The other pirates stared wide eyed at Gin as he narrowed his eyes at Krieg. "If all you think it takes is information and a lot of shipmates, then all you'll be doing is leading us to a slaughter." Gin looked like he was struggling as he tried saying something else, but found his voice caught in his throat. The memories of their loss on the Grand Line and of what had happened today were racing through his head.

"Gin! Stop!" screamed the pirates.

"Have you lost your mind?!"

"If that's all that you're going to do," Gin croaked out before his eyes shot opened and he roared "THEN I'M THROUGH LISTENING TO A COMPLETE DUMBASS LIKE YOU!" Everyone froze as Gin put his mask on. The pirates in terror, the cooks in shock, and Sanji and Luffy in surprise. Krieg however had a calm face.

"Fine." he said. "But when I'm through with you, you're gonna wish you died from the poison. FIRE THE GAS! M...H...5!" he shouted before he shot out the poison gas bomb.