9
"Sanjiii! Join my crew!"
"No. Go away." The blond cook replied nonchalantly to the annoying, bouncing pirate.
"I refuse your refusal!" Luffy stated proudly.
Sanji groaned at Luffy's stubbornness.
"Luffy is really persistent." Nami mentioned while sipping her drink. "Two days of roundings no and he still keeps going at it."
For the past two days, the rookie captain has been pestering Sanji at every chance to join his crew. And at every chance, the blonde sous-chef rejected him.
Since their captain insisted on having Sanji as their cook, the Merry and its crew waited docked at the Baratie.
The only ones who didn't care about the delay were Ashley and Zoro.
The former pirate hunter spent every hour training for his hopeful match against the elusive strongest swordsman.
The Pokemon trainer took advantage of the wait to train alongside her team. Fortunately, Zeff had allowed her to use a reinforced part of their deck to do so. As a thanks for defending Sanji against Fullbody.
"Should we still be here? What if Krieg comes? Or that Fullbody guy brings reinforcements?" Usopp asked, afraid.
"That marine? He ran with his tail behind his legs. He was all bluster and no bite." Ashley remembered how the lieutenant had ordered his remaining men to return straight to headquarters. The marine had been so frightened that he hadn't even retrieved the dead marine left on the Baratie. It had been the cooks under Zeff's supervision who covered the body and prepared a boat to send him to the nearest Marine Headquarters.
"That's just worse! What if Krieg comes!?" The curly-haired boy insisted.
"Is that Krieg guy so scary?" She asked Johnny.
Both bounty hunters had chosen to wait with their new friends. When asked, they said that they would never miss the opportunity to see Zoro-aniki fighting against the man with hawk-eyes.
Johnny's brow furrowed.
"During his entire career as a pirate captain, Krieg managed to amass one of the biggest pirate's fleets of the East Blue. He single-handedly conquered most of these waters, with the exception of a few marine outposts and territories held by other pirates.
He quickly earned a strong reward, the biggest one on this sea."
"So, the reward is what they use to rank the pirates?" She asked curiously. Yasopp nodded beside his partner.
"The more dangerous and powerful a pirate is, the higher their reward." He explained it to her.
"And how's it decided?"
"Well, it's a little arbitrary. The marines consider factors like how many kills or raids they were involved, crewmates, marines that they managed to defeat, pirates they managed to defeat, etc."
"Huh. I guess we should have a good reward then." The trainer pointed out, remembering how they had already defeated two pirate crews and a marine.
"For that to happen, the global government would have to know about it." Nami reminded her.
"Always a catch, right buddy." "Pika." Her best friend agreed with her.
"Still, Usopp may be right about one thing." Nami nodded towards him. "If one of his underlings managed to survive and make it here, what would stop him from going back to his boss and telling him about this place? We should consider leaving now before what remains of Don Krieg forces come and attack the Baratie."
"Good luck convincing Luffy or Zoro of that. Luffy won't leave until Sanji caves in. And Zoro won't leave without a direct order from Luffy." Nami and Usopp slumped in their seats at Ashley's words, knowing she was right.
"Come on guys, we defeated Buggy and Kuro. And according to Gin, most of their fleet got wrecked back at the Grand Line. We can handle Krieg if he shows up." The trainer tried to cheer them up.
Nami shook her head. "You don't get it. Krieg has a massive fleet. At least five thousand men under his command. His was one of the few crews I never dared to steal from."
"His reward is seventeen million berries. Buggy's is fifteen million, and Kuro's was sixteen million before his supposed death." Johnny showed them posters with the three pirates' faces.
"What about that one?" Usopp pointed at a fourth poster. It was below the others, but the number was higher.
"Oh. This is Arlong, the Saw. A gyojin pirate." Yosaku answered.
"Wait, his reward is 20 million berries?! Then why is Krieg the strongest?" Usopp didn't remember hearing about Arlong.
"Well, Krieg is much more visible than Arlong. That fishman mostly stays in his territory, a group of small islands that he controls, while Krieg is more well known by the public because of his raids and murders." Usopp, Ashley, and Pikachu nodded at Yosaku's explanation.
"Gyojin are also stronger than humans. They can breathe underwater, and their skin is much tougher than ours." Johnny added in.
"Huh. Gyojins? Are there more like him?" Ashley asked curiously.
"Of course there are. Fishman Island is someplace on the Grand Line. The entire species comes from there."
"We should definitely convince Luffy to go there once we are on the Grand Line, right, Pikachu?" "Pika pi!" Pikachu nodded enthusiastically.
"Heh, think you can get us there, Nami?" Usopp asked the orangette. "Nami?" The girl didn't answer him. Her eyes were glued to the wanted posters. One of her hands was clenched tightly.
Nami blinked and glanced at the rest of the group. All gave her confused glances.
"Eh? What?" She asked.
"Fishman Island? Think you can get us there? Sounds like a great adventure for the great Captain Usopp and his friends."
"More like Sniper Usopp and his friends." Corrected Ashley.
Nami didn't answer. Her face was blank, and then she smiled.
"Of course I can. I am a great navigator after all." She said smugly.
While the group continued to talk and eat their food, a former pirate analyzed the young captain.
For the past two days, the young boy has been pestering Sanji, his protegee, into joining his crew.
When Zeff heard that the strawhat was a rookie pirate who intended on going to the Grand Line and wanted Sanji as his cook, he hadn't objected.
He had been pleased.
Sanji was young. A kid still. He had his whole life ahead—a bright and ambitious dream. He was both talented and a hard worker—not something common to find these days.
Sanji shouldn't be spending his days at a small marine restaurant. He should be going on adventures, fighting against pirates, thugs, and marines, learning new cooking methods, and fooling around with girls all over the world.
Not chained by a self-made vow to repair Zeff for saving the brats life at the expense of his own leg.
Unfortunately, the brat was as stubborn as him, and had bluntly refused the opportunity to leave the Baratie.
Zeff sighed. Maybe he would have to kick up a notch on his methods to get the brat to leave.
"L-lo-look!" A man shouted from one of the window tables. The customer was trembling and pointing at something outside the restaurant. "It's a pirate ship!"
"Shit! That's a skull with hourglasses! It's Krieg's flag!"
"What!?" "Don Krieg!?"
Panic flew across the customers and workers. Everybody had heard about Krieg's ruthlessness and savagery. Those who crossed his path were destroyed. Few survived his cruelty. Not even children were spared.
"Wow, that's a big ship." Whistled Luffy, impressed by the size of Krieg's insign ship, a massive galeon that easily dwarfed the Baratie, with a sabertooth tiger as a figurehead.
"More like a wrecked ship." Said Sanji. Despite its impressive size, the galleon was in a rough state. Ripped sails, broken masts, and missing planks. Even the figurehead was broken.
Whatever happened on the Grand Line, it took its toll on the Dreadnaught Saber.
Anxiety and nervousness were palpable inside the Baratie. Nobody spoke. All wanted to see what happened next.
They didn't have to wait much.
A figure appeared at the doorway. A big, muscled man, hunched and tired, was supported by a familiar figure.
"Gin." Whispered Ashley.
The man, held by Gin, stumbled and fell to his knees.
"Captain!" Gin exclaimed, worried. "Please bring some food and water! We have money! Please!" Gin begged the cooks.
"Are you kidding us?! Like hell we will help that monster!"
"Please." Krieg begged, his forehead touching the floor. "Just a piece of food. A speck."
"You think we are some idiots?! If we help you, then you will just attack us!"
"I won't! I swear it! I will leave these waters forever! You will never see my face again!" Despite Krieg's pleas, nobody moved.
"Call the marines! This is a one-time chance to get rid of Krieg forever." Patty ordered.
"Oy, Patty. Move." Sanji warned the other chef before kicking him aside.
"Sanji! What the hell are you doing?!" Asked Carne.
Sanji ignored the protests of his coworkers and gave the starving man a plate of food and a bottle of water.
"Sanji." Gin said, grateful for his savior's intervention.
"Eat it slow." The blonde advised the infamous pirate. The man just thanked him and stuffed the food inside his mouth.
"Sanji! Stop! Don't you know who that man is? Krieg the Liar! That man is considered the most dangerous pirate of the entire East Blue because of his tricks and lies. He joined the marines just to steal one of their ships, and then he pretended to be a marine to attack cities. He likes to use a white flag to feign weakness and then attack. If he recovers, he will kill us!" Carne tried to warn him of the monster he was saving.
As if a switch were turned, Krieg got up and punched Sanji savagely. The blonde sailed over the air until he crashed against a wall.
"Sanji!" Gin shouted, worried. The pirate turned towards his captain incredulously. "Sir, wait! You promised that you wouldn't hurt anybody!" Krieg didn't answer his underling; he just grabbed Gin's shoulder until he shouted in pain.
"Shit guys, we definitely have to leave." Usopp whispered to his friends.
"Nami, Usopp, go to the Merry and warn Zoro about Krieg. Johny, Yosaku, go with them. I will stay with Luffy." Ashley ordered immediately. None of them disobeyed her.
Pikachu jumped to the floor, his cheek sacks charging up with electricity, while she grabbed Hawlucha's pokeball.
If Krieg tried anything, then she wouldn't hesitate.
The rest of the customers followed her friend's lead and ran for their ships. In mere seconds, the workers, Luffy, Ashley, Gin, and Krieg, were the only souls inside the maritime restaurant.
"The Baratie, eh? Looks like a fine ship. It will serve as a good replacement until I can rebuild my fleet." Krieg spoke calmly, no sign of tiredness or fear in his voice. "Listen well, cooks. This ship is now mine. There are a hundred men starving on the Dreadnaught, some close to death's door. Feed them, and then leave this ship."
"Fucking bastard. Do you think we will just leave our home like that?" Patty snarled at Krieg's audacy.
"It wasn't a request. It was an order." Krieg clarified sternly.
"Fuck it. It's just one wounded man. The other one looks like he can barely move. We can take them." Carne began to gather the other cooks when he saw that Sanji was going to the kitchen.
"The fuck do you think you're doing, Sanji?" Patty grabbed him by the shoulder, his face red with anger.
"Preparing a meal for one hundred men, Patty." He answered with no hesitation.
Patty didn't answer. He looked down and then punched Sanji in the gut. The blow caught him by surprise, and he fell to the floor, gasping and holding his stomach.
"I'm not an idiot, Sanji. I know that you give food to all those beggars that I kick out. I never complied or said anything because it wasn't going to change anything. Neither one of us will change; we both know it." Patty was sincere. Both cooks were stubborn mules. All of them were. That's why they got along well despite their fights and arguments. "But this time it's different. This time, you fed a dangerous pirate and let him get away scot free. Now his captain, the most dangerous man in the entire East Blue, is here, threatening our home, and you are going to feed his army? Give them their strength back so they can kill us?! Sanji!"
Sanji didn't look bothered. He just lit his cigarette and smoked.
"I give crap about who he is or what he has done. I am a cook. If someone comes asking for food, then it's my duty to feed them. That's how it is."
"Tch." Patty was disgusted with the younger man's stupid ideology. That stupidity was why they were in this mess!
"We will deal with your stupidity later. Right now, we have a bigger problem in our midst." Patty turned toward the infamous pirate captain. Don Krieg hadn't moved a muscle since he gave his order.
"Even if our enemy is Krieg, we can still take him down. He is just one man, wounded and tired, while we are more than a dozen, all fresh and strong." The pastry chef grabbed a wrapped object and uncovered it.
Krieg's eyes widened at the weapon in Patty's hands.
"What the-"
"After dinner comes dessert. This is the special dish for pirate scum that tries to bring problems to the Baratie!" Held between his hands was a hand held cannon that resembled a lobster.
"Syrup Cannon!" A cannonball was launched towards Krieg, who made no motion to defend himself.
"Boss!" Gin cried out when the projectile impacted. The force of the explosion launched Krieg outside the restaurant in a crumbling mess.
"Damn, I broke the door." Patty grumbled. Zeff would be pissed at it.
"That takes care of him. We still have the rest of his men to deal with." Muttered Carne.
"A bunch of starved and hurt men? What is exactly your plan?" Sanji asked the duo.
"Butter them up and light them up." Patty answered sadistically.
"Sounds delicious, baldy!" A man's voice yelled from the doorway.
Standing there, with no injury or burn marks, was Krieg. The man was wearing golden armor that hadn't been visible before. The explosion from the Syrup Cannon had destroyed his cloak and revealed it.
"He was wearing fucking armor?" Carne berated himself. Why didn't he think of that?
"What a lousy dessert! The food for my men better be tastier!" Krieg was annoyed at the cooks' resistance.
"Dammit! Everyone, after him! That armor just protects his chest! Go for the head!" Except for Sanji, Luffy, and Ashley, the rest ran straight for Krieg.
"Stay down, damn pests!" Krieg wiped out two pistols and began to fire at the charging men. His shoulder and side plates opened, and bullets started to fire from there too.
"No way! His armor shoots bullets!?" Luffy was surprised at the sight. At his side, Ashley too was shocked.
From what she had seen over the past few weeks, the technology that the rest of the world used was decades behind the one used in the Regions.
Why, she had no clue. Brock, or Clemont, might be able to figure it out. But she couldn't.
Gin couldn't bear to see the consequences of his actions. He hadn't meant for any of this to happen! Captain Krieg had promised him that nobody would be hurt. That he just planned to buy enough food to save their lives and then continue towards one of their holds to recover and regroup.
Not this!
"Fucking weaklings. I have the most powerful weapons! The most powerful body! The diamond fist who destroys all! Many secret weapons hidden all over my body! A fleet of fifty ships and over five thousand men! I am the strongest! Anyone who tries to defy me will only receive death!" Krieg yelled furiously to the shocked spectators.
BLAM!
A giant sack was deposited briskly in front of the furious captain.
Zeff, the owner and head chef of the Baratie, stood in front of Krieg the Liar, looking him right in the eyes.
"Take the food and feed your men." Zeff didn't even twitch at the sight of his wounded workers. He just stared stone-faced at Krieg.
"Boss! What are you doing?! If his men recover, then they will take the Baratie!"
"They are welcome to try. I wonder if they have the strength to back it up. Fugitives of the Grand Line." Zeff's words made Gin flinch and Krieg scowl. The others were shocked at the fact that Krieg was forced to leave the strongest sea.
"Krieg was forced to run away from the Grand Line?"
"What kind of crazy place is it?"
"Who are you? How do you know that?" Krieg asked suspiciously.
"Zeff. I am the owner of the Baratie and Head chef."
Krieg couldn't believe what he heard. The name, the face, the fact that he was a chef...
An old name came to his mind.
"Red Leg Zeff? The captain of the Cook Pirates?" Krieg couldn't believe that such a strong pirate was in this state. Old, legless, and leading a fucking restaurant?!
"I can't believe it. Red Leg Zeff alive and running a restaurant. What a joke."
"I am just Zeff the chef now, and happy about it."
"Ha! Happy? The only reason you are no longer a pirate is clear enough." He pointed at Zeff's wooden peg. "Red Leg was known for his powerful kicks that could destroy mountains. Whenever he fought, his boots ended up covered in his enemies blood. He never used his hands to fight. Without legs, all that you have left are hands that are only useful to cook."
"And?"
"Red Leg Zeff. You were on the Gran Line. No, you survived the Grand Line and made it back intact. All captains have a travel log where they write all about their journey. I want it. With it and this ship, I can finally conquer the Grand Line!"
"You were on the Grand Line, old man?" Luffy asked him curiously. Zeff just gave a grunted yes.
"I did write about my journey on the Grand Line. But I won't give it up to you. That log describes the many adventures and dangers that my crew and I had to endure. It's too valuable. I will never surrender it to someone like you." Zeff didn't back down.
"Then I will just rip it from your warm corpse." Snarled Krieg. "When I first entered the Grand Line, I had the biggest army, the most powerful weapons, and enough supplies for years of voyage. I only lacked information about that hell. But with that log and this ship, I can finally do it! I will conquer the Grand Line and become the next Pirate King!"
"Wait a second! I will become Pirate King, not you dumbass!" protested Luffy. The young pirate had been quiet the whole time; after all, it wasn´t his business, but he wouldn´t let anybody else claim to be the next Pirate King. That was his future title!
"You? A kid? Don´t make me laugh. The Grand Line is not a game, kid."
"I know; that's why I'm going there." Luffy stated completely confident.
"Please, you don´t even have a crew!" "Yes, I do! I have six members, including these three." He pointed at Ashley, Pikachu, and Sanji.
"Oy, don't include me!" Sanji once again rejected him.
"Stop joking with me! I am the strongest pirate in the entire East Blue, and even my entire fleet was demolished after just spending a week there!" Krieg admitted it in a fit of rage.
"One week!" "That's impossible!" "What kind of monsters lurk under those waters?" A fleet of over fifty ships and five thousand men, defeated in just one week? It was both incredible and terrifying.
After that revelation, Krieg grabbed the sack filled with food and spoke one last time.
"Listen carefully. I will go back to my ship and give these foods to my men. Once they are full, we will take this ship and the log. Those who want to live, run now. I have no mercy for my enemies." That said, he left.
Gin was still on the ground, kneeling and ashamed of his actions. He had promised himself that he would repay Sanji for saving his life. And all he did was put him at risk!
"Sanji- I," he began to speak.
"Sweat it, it's ok," the blonde interrupted him. Gin just stared at him, surprised. The other man just sat on a table and continued to smoke.
"I´m not the type of guy who can just sit back and let someone die from hunger. But," His tone suddenly became serious: "If your crewmates and captain recover their strength and try to take the Baratie, then I won't hesitate to kill them." Gin saw the seriousness in his eyes. Sanji wasn´t lying.
"What the hell? Now you say that you want to protect our home, Sanji?" Patty berated him.
"We wouldn´t be in this mess if it weren´t for you, fucking brat?!" "Yeah! What are you planning, Sanji?!" The other cooks let their rage out at the only available target near them: Sanji. Sanji, however, refused to react.
"Stop it, idiots!" Yelled Zeff.
"But, boss! Why do you keep protecting him?!" "This is his fault!"
"I don't care. We all have our own code we live by; don't deny it! Right now, the only thing that matters is protecting our home. If any of you want to leave, then there is the door," he pointed at the back.
Instead of taking the offer and backing down, a fight lit inside all the cooks eyes. All of them, even those injured, gripped their weapons tighter and refused to leave. They would protect their home, no matter what.
Zeff nodded, glad that those dumbasses he called a family could get themselves together in a time like this. He knew that if they survived this mess, he would have to explain why he and Sanji chose to feed Krieg and his men.
He never spoke about it. It was only his and the kid´s business.
He still felt the phantom pain sometimes.
The hunger.
But he didn´t regret his choices.
Never.