With a destination set, the Going Merry was directed to a floating restaurant in the middle of the ocean, known as the Sea Restaurant Baratie.

"Wow, look at it! It's a giant ship with a fish figurehead!" Usopp exclaimed.

"The whole thing is a floating restaurant that travels the Blue Seas, kept stabilized in any weather thanks to the large fins jutting out from either end. The cooks all reside on the upper deck, with the kitchen on the middle deck and the dining area on the large lower deck." Johnny said. "With twenty-three cooks who are masters of the craft, there should be one you can convince to join your crew."

Suddenly a warning bell sounded off nearby. Usopp hurried up to the crow's nest and peered out in the direction of the noise.

"Marine vessel off the starboard! She's closing in fast!"

Luffy groaned. "Really?! Just when we were about to get some food?!"

"Their cannon is aimed right at us, but there's no way they'd risk firing from this close," Zoro noted.

"Unless they were idiots." Kuina pointed out.

"I am Lieutenant Iron Fist Fullbody! Have your captain come out and state his name at once!" The man heading the vessel shouted.

"You're looking at all four, mate!" Ben called back. "Monkey D. Luffy, Monkey D. Sonson, Lor D. Draco, and Sparrow D. Benjamin, at your service!"

"So it's a rookie crew. Maybe I shouldn't have-" Fullbody began before noticing Johnny sneaking into the cabin to join Yosaku. "You two! I remember seeing you before. You're that bounty hunter duo who always goes after the small fish. So you finally got caught by pirates."

"Actually, they're our guests. Yosaku got sick so we helped render aid." Draco said.

"Rather atypical behavior for pirates, but not unbelievable." Fullbody noticed before a beautiful woman approached him.

"Hey, baby. We should get going."

"You're right. We've wasted enough time out here."

"You bastard! We're not just after small fry on the seas!" Johnny snapped as he revealed all the wanted posters they had, many of them crossed off showing they'd already claimed that bounty.

Nami noticed one poster of a sawtooth shark fishman, worth 20 million Berris. The sight of it made her clench her fist, which Luffy noticed.

"Those people are an eyesore," Fullbody said as he walked off with Moodie. "Sink them."

"Shit, they really are going to fire!" Draco cursed as he saw the cannon being deployed.

Kirby suddenly ran in front of everyone and inhaled deeply as the cannon fired. The cannonball was sucked right into his mouth, which he then proceeded to swallow without any ill effects.

"Sheesh, I think we found someone with an appetite bigger than Luffy!" Sonson said.

"Uh, should we fire again?" A Marine asked.

Fullbody groaned. "Don't bother. We have a reservation schedule to keep."

-OP-

The crew walked into the Baratie and marveled at the interior.

"Wow, this place is even better than I imagined," Nami said.

"Poyo!" Kirby cheered, smelling many delicious foods all around him.

"This is truly sensational!" Penny noted. "Though I don't possess an actual stomach, it would certainly be growling!"

A fishman with a beard and a nice suit approached them.

"Welcome to the Baratie. I am your Maître D'. Table for..." He took a moment to count everyone in the crew. "...Thirteen, I presume?"

"Yes, please!" Luffy grinned.

The Maître D' led everyone to their table. As they sat down, Fullbody and his girlfriend Moodie also entered. He noticed the Straw Hats but simply scoffed and ignored them.

"Hello, and here are your menus." A dark-skinned young woman dressed in a nice suit with black hair that had a streak of white said as she placed the menus on the table. "My name is Noire and I will be your waitress for the evening."

"Sharp dress. I respect a woman who isn't afraid to dress like that." Draco noted.

Noire chuckled. "Our chef's special today includes oven-roasted seabird, prawn bibimbap, three types of churrasco, mussel stew, and is served with tepache. And please, let me know if you'd like anything for dessert as well."

"Kirby's got a pretty big appetite. I think it'll be best if we get one of everything for him." Kaya giggled as Kirby sat on her lap.

"Any drinks, like one of our signature cocktails or just a soda?" Noire asked.

"Give me your finest rum," Ben smirked.

"Milk!" Luffy raised his hand.

"Four beers, one for me and one for my friends," Zoro said, gesturing to Kuina, Johnny, and Yosaku.

"Uh...I'll have a beer as well!" Usopp said. "I usually have three, but..."

"Just some cranberry juice, please." Kaya smiled. "And Kirby would like a cola."

"Banana juice!" Sonson chirped.

"Scotch. Single Malt. Speyside. No Ice." Draco said.

"I'd like to try some Ramune!" Penny chirped.

"I'll have just a water, please," Nami said.

Noire smirked. "Still, Sparkling, Mineral, with/or without ice, cubed, or crushed?"

Nami rolled her eyes. "Regular water in a regular glass, smartass."

"Right away for all of you." Noire smiled. "Are you ready to order now? Besides the cute little pink puffball wanting one of everything."

"I'll take the barbecue meat platter with a large cobb salad!" Luffy said.

"I'll also have the cobb salad, as well as the fried seafood platter," Draco said.

"Garlic Bird Oyakodon!" Sonson said excitedly. "With a fruit cocktail on the side!"

"That chef's special actually sounds good, I'll order that." Usopp decided.

"I'll share the chef's special with Usopp." Kaya smiled.

"I'll have the Sea King steak. Well Done, if you please." Zoro said.

"Same here, but make it Medium-Rare for me," Ben added.

"The large omelet rice for me," Nami said.

"The Hardshell Crab Sandwich for me!" Penny smiled. "Oh, and a shrimp cocktail!"

"Gatsukatsu Curry." Kuina said.

Johnny and Yosaku ordered a large beef bowl, with Yosaku also ordering a large fruit salad to help with his scurvy.

"Alright, I'll have the food and drinks sent right up." Noire nodded. "Should you need anything, just holler. We strive to bring the highest quality meals for everyone."

With that, she walked off to check with the other customers, leaving everyone to pass the time talking.

"So how are we paying for all this?" Yosaku asked. "The Baratie is top quality so it can get expensive."

"Thanks to the treasure from Gaimon we do have a little bit of a buffer. We could afford to eat here several days in a row if we wanted." Nami said.

"I also brought money from home just in case," Kaya added.

Luffy knew something was bothering Nami, ever since she saw that wanted poster. She didn't name herself one of the Captains because she wanted the title, she knew how to read people. And for Nami to be willing to part with money so easily meant her mind was incredibly conflicted right now. Looking at Ben, Sonson, and Draco's faces, she could tell they were thinking the same thing.

"Foods here!" Noire said as she came in with everyone's food. "The meal was personally cooked by our sous chef, Sanji. Please, enjoy every bite!"

The chef's special came with a giant block of mozzarella cheese. The churrasco was sausage, beef, and shrimp. The barbecue platter had various meats of all cuts. And the fried seafood included scallops, clams, eel, squid, and other edible sea creatures.

Zoro took his first bite of the Sea King steak and found that even well done it was incredibly tender.

"Oh man, this is the best cooking I've ever had!" Luffy said. "Whoever this Sanji guy is, I think we found our candidate for the ship's cook!"

At the same time, a blonde-haired man dressed in a nice black suit and uniquely swirled eyebrows was bringing over a wine bottle wrapped in a towel to Fullbody's table, pouring some out for him and Moodie. Fullbody took a sip of the wine and nodded in approval.

"Mmm, incredible! This flavor and scent... Like the soil of Micquo of the North Land... Bitter with plenty of body, a tad sour... This is Iturutz Burger Stein! I'm right, aren't I, waiter?"

The man, Sanji himself, placed the wine bottle on the table and removed the towel, showing a completely different label from what Fullbody was expecting.

"Incorrect, sir. Now please." He grabbed Fullbody's hand, the one with the metal knuckles, and placed a spoon in it. "Your soup is getting cold. Please eat while it's still hot."

Moodie actually giggled as Sanji started to walk off, which annoyed Fullbody. The Straw Hats all snickered at Fullbody's attempt to look sophisticated.

"Call that karma for trying to sink us for a flimsy reason," Usopp said.

"I never understood wine experts..." Sonson said as she took a bite of her fruit cocktail.

"He probably ordered the wine ahead of time when he made the reservation, but the chef thought a different wine would go better with the soup he ordered," Nami suggested. "This Sanji guy really knows his stuff."

Fullbody was annoyed beyond belief."That damn cook thinks he can make a fool of me. Meanwhile, those no-name rookie pirates are over there eating, drinking, and laughing together. How is that fair?!"

To vent his frustration, he stomped on a passing bug. However, when he noticed its crushed remains, a wicked grin crossed his face as he slipped the dead insect into his soup and then waited for Sanji to pass by.

"Hey, waiter!"

Sanji sighed in annoyance. "I'm not the waiter, I'm the sous chef. The only waiter on hand is Noire since all the others jumped ship."

He then noticed Moodie and his own mood instantly improved.

"Hello there. I didn't know we had another beauty gracing this fine establishment today. I must have been distracted not to notice you before."

"Hey! Is this place in the habit of serving soup with bugs to its customers?!" Fullbody snapped, slamming the table to get Sanji's attention.

"Only if they order it," Sanji quipped with a smirk.

"Then just what the hell is this bug doing in my soup?!" Fullbody demanded, pointing to the insect he himself placed there.

Sanji took a quick look. Fullbody smirked, thinking he could ruin the Baratie's reputation.

"I couldn't say, I don't know much about insects," Sanji said, smirking himself. "If I had to guess, I'd say it's either drowning or doing the backstroke."

That got Moodie and several other customers giggling.

"Ooh, he's good," Kaya whispered to Kuina, who nodded.

"You think you can mess with me?!" Fullbody yelled out as he slammed his fist into the table, breaking it in half.

Sanji took a deep breath. "You could have just taken the bug out, you know. It took three whole days to cook that soup."

"You think you can act like a big shot around me?" Fullbody demanded, grabbing Sanji by the collar. "I'm the paying customer! And as the saying goes, the customer is always right!"

"Stop it, Fullbody!" Moodie pleaded, only to be pushed aside. While her date didn't notice, Sanji's eyes narrowed and his tone shifted.

"First of all, the phrase you just uttered is not a hard truth, but a philosophy. It means that customer satisfaction is the priority." Sanji said. "But it's impossible to satisfy everyone, and this establishment doesn't need toxic customers. Second, money can't satisfy hunger. Only food can satisfy hunger. And third..."

Before Fullbody could react, Sanji had broken free of his grip, did a perfect handstand, and spun around with his legs extended to slam right into his face, knocking him on his ass. The sound of the impact got the rest of the chefs rushing down to see the commotion. Sanji had picked Fullbody up by the head, actually lifting him off the ground.

"Don't... Waste food. At sea, insulting a cook is as good as suicide. Remember that."

"Damn, this guy is badass. And here I thought the worst an insulted cook would do is spit in your food." Usopp muttered.

"Daddy always said that one of the things wise men always fear is the anger of a gentleman." Penny pointed out.

"And he's ABSOLUTELY correct." Ben nodded.

"Oh boy, do we have another shithead customer we gotta throw out to sea?" Noire sighed as she came over, helping Moodie up and handing her some water.

"Sanji, what the hell are you doing?!" Yelled one of the cooks, Patty, the restaurant's patissier. "Are you at it again? And with a Marine lieutenant of all people!"

"Still taking your duty too seriously, Patty?" Sanji asked nonchalantly.

"Don't take that tone with me!" Patty snapped. "A restaurant cannot exist without its customers! So why the hell are you hurting one of our precious patrons?!"

"Let's see; He treated food carelessly, insulted cooks, assaulted his date who also happens to be a customer, scuffed my uniform, broke one of our tables..."

"I WAS NOT ASKING FOR A DAMN LIST!"

"Patty, if they badmouth our cuisine or work, It's like they're shittin' all over us!" Noir snapped, making Patty cower slightly in her tone.

"Noir's right: We don't need a toxic customer like him when we have plenty of other, more polite customers who are still waiting to be served." Sanji shrugged as he dropped Fullbody unceremoniously, who coughed as he grasped his throat.

"Damn you... I'll get this restaurant shut down... Just wait... One call to the government and I can..."

He screamed as Noire suddenly stomped on his foot hard enough that several fingers were audibly heard breaking. The dark-skinned waitress glared death at him.

"If that's the route you're going to take, then maybe we should finish you off."

Fullbody panicked as Noire flicked a card from seemingly out of nowhere that wedged itself in the ground near his head by mere inches. The card seemed to have a skull on it with the letter 'D' printed underneath before it suddenly faded away into a black mist.

"That card clearly wasn't on her person beforehand..." Ben noted calculatingly. "A Devil Fruit?"

"What the hell is going on down here?!" A powerful authoritative voice bellowed out.

Everyone turned to see a large man with a tall toque, braided mustache, and peg leg approaching.

"Boss, we need help stopping Sanji and Noire!" Carne, the Meat Master of the Baratie, cried.

Zeff sighed in annoyance. "What did the offending customers do this time?"

Carne opened his mouth to speak, but Zeff cut him off.

"Ya know what? Doesn't matter. He's clearly a toxic customer, so throw him out!"

"Are you insane!? Do you know who I am!?" Fullbody cried in disbelief.

"A lousy Marine lieutenant who thinks he's higher on the pecking order than he actually is?" Zeff replied with a powerful glare, causing Luffy, Draco, Ben, Zoro, and Kunia to laugh at that. Spying Ussop, Kaya, and Penny's confused looks, Ben assured them:

"We'll tell ya later."

Suddenly, a Marine officer burst in and ran towards his superior.

"Lieutenant Fullbody! That Krieg underling escaped custody

"Are you serious?!" The lieutenant screamed. "We needed seven men to capture him and get a lead on Pirate Admiral Don Krieg! Not to mention he was close to starving when we found him and we haven't fed him for three days!"

"Krieg?" Penny asked, Luffy sharing in her confusion.

"'Foul Play' Don Krieg, with a bounty of 17 million berries. He's known as the strongest pirate on the East Blue, despite there being only one pirate in the area with a higher bounty." Johnny explained. "He has a fleet of fifty captains with a crew total in the thousands, and he's known to employ a variety of dangerous weapons."

"Krieg..." Noire whispered, her eyes widened in shock.

The sound of a gunshot went off as the Marine collapsed to the floor dead. Most of the customers naturally screamed and started vacating, but the Straw Hats and cooks just remained calm. Of course, Kaya made sure to cover Kirby's eyes.

"Seems we have a new customer," Patty noted nonchalantly.

Zeff nodded in agreement as he approached the man who just entered; he was relatively tall and lanky with short, scruffy hair and slight stubble. His eyes are surrounded by dark rings.

"Sir, before we seat you, I will have to ask you to holster your pistol."

The man, despite a bleeding head wound, did as asked then walked over to the nearest empty table and sat down.

"I'll take whatever food you can bring me. Doesn't matter what dish it is."

Fullbody, despite having fought with Sanji just minutes ago, picked himself up and readied to fight the man; the chefs stood no chance against him…yet he saw that Zeff was unconcerned.

"You look like you haven't had a decent meal in days. We'll set up a tab for you and bring you our largest entree. Do you need anything to drink in the meantime?"

"Just some water" The man mentioned. "I'm too thirsty for booze."

"Sanji, let's get to work!" Zeff barked as he turned to Sanji, then Noire. "Noire, keep the man hydrated, and let me know if his condition changes!"

"Got it, Pops!" The two nodded as they left to do their work.

Fullbody was stick awestruck and confused at this: Feeding a dangerous pirate with so little fear?

"Don't worry about him causing trouble. Every member of the cooking staff is a fighting cook." Zeff said to Fullbody as he passed him. "Besides, I doubt that group of rookie pirates would sit still if they felt threatened. And I can gauge a man's strength just from his appetite. They're tougher than this guy. Might want to see about patching up your subordinates."

Fullbody's brain finally snapped back to reality and he quickly scrambled to check on his men. Meanwhile, Sanji came out with a seafood risotto and placed it in front of the man, along with a glass of ice water. The pirate quickly wolfed down the entire plate, taking a few gulps of water to make sure he got it all down.

"Sir, why act so charitable to someone who likely can't pay?" Patty asked Zeff.

"You don't know what it's like, Patty, to lose food and water while on the ocean. It's unbelievably terrifying, more so than any other danger at sea." Zeff said. "But me and Sanji... We know that feeling all too well. Why do you think Sanji gets livid when he sees someone wasting food?"

"Thank you!" The man sobbed to Sanji. "I thought I was going to die!"

Sanji smiled. "Delicious, isn't it?"

"A good cook who can even tell what someone needs to eat without them ordering. Now I know you're the perfect cook to join my crew!" Luffy laughed as she made himself known, surprising Sanji and the other chefs. "Be the cook on my pirate ship!"

"Wait, you're a pirate?" Noire asked as she came over.

"What, you didn't notice that Marine lieutenant firing on the pirate ship earlier?" Zeff asked, "That ship belongs to this young man and his party. I saw that little pink puffball of yours swallow that cannonball whole. Quite the appetite on him, eh?"

"You don't seem to be upset that we're declaring ourselves pirates," Sonson noted as she came over beside her sister.

"A paying customer is always welcome. It doesn't matter what their alignment is." Patty proudly declared. "Plus, all of us who work here as cooks have a pretty pirate-like disposition ourselves, so we can handle it if things get too rowdy. Heck, Pops here is a retired pirate himself."

"Wait, I think I recognize him now..." Ben said as he came over as well. "Red Leg Zeff! I've heard the tales!"

Zeff chuckled. "So you've heard of me? Well, I was pretty small-time as pirates go. My bounty at the time of retirement was average for the East Blue. Though I was tough enough to survive a year in the Grand Line. Heck, most of the customers who come here nowadays do so for the fights between the cooks and pirates.

"Dinner and a show. What's not to like?" Noire laughed. "It's why the wait staff decided to vacate except for me. Buncha lousy cowards."

"I get it. So Sanji, how'd you like to join our crew?" Luffy offered to Sanji.

"Sorry, but there's a reason I have to work here. I'll have to refuse."

"I refuse your refusal!" Luffy declared, getting right up in Sanji's face. "My ship needs a good cook, and you seem like the best one here. Well, except for Pops, but there's no way I can ask him to leave this place."

"You won't be arguing with him," Draco said as he approached. "Once Luffy decides on a crewmate, she won't give up on them."

"That goes for all of us, mate. You're looking at the four head captains of the Straw Hat Pirates, eh?" Ben smirked. "There's Luffy, Draco, me, and Sonson over there."

The pirate then stood up. "Excuse me, I'd like to get a word in on this argument. My name is Gin, a member of the Krieg Pirates."

"Gin the Man-Demon?" Draco asked in surprise. "You're infamous enough among the Krieg Pirates to have a bounty of your own. Last I heard it was 12 million Berris."

Gin nodded. "You said you were pirates too, yes? Do you have any goals?"

Luffy grinned. "My crew is sailing to find the One Piece. I'm going to be King of the Pirates, Draco wants to vindicate his father's claims that it's real, Ben wants to explore every part of the world, and Sonson wants to see adventures of all kinds!"

"Right now, we're eleven strong, thirteen if you count Johnny and Yosaku over there," Ben said. "But we're always on hand for more crew members. Another goal of ours is to have the largest pirate crew to ever exist!"

"Listen, you kids seem nice, so I'll offer a warning," Gin said. "The Grand Line is the one place you should avoid."

"Too late. I was actually born there." Draco said.

Gin nearly fell over. "You're telling me people actually live on the Grand Line!? In that hellhole?!"

"You must have been there before," Penny noted.

"Hardly. That place...nothing about it makes sense!" Gin said, his body shaking. "You can't 'know' anything about it because it doesn't work like the rest of the world. That's why I fear it."

"I'm guessing you and the Krieg Pirates went in unprepared." Draco guessed. "It's a common mistake."

"I guess we were pretty cocky going in there. Well, I'm a stranger to you and your crew, so I have no right to stop you from going." With that, Gin stood up and prepared to leave. "I'll make sure to pay my tab the next time I come. Thanks for the food."

"Wait, Gin!" Noire suddenly called out, making the man pause and his eyes widened as he got a good look at the girl who'd kept his water glass full.

"N-Noire? Noire, sweetheart! I-is that..?"

She cut him off with a hug, which he awkwardly returned.

"Hey, hey, hey." Gin smiled weakly. "No tears. Where's that spunky future Princess of Pirates?"

Noir smiled at that and cleared her eyes.

"Still here, just working to earn that title." She smiled, producing a card with her picture on it which she handed to him. "Are…are mom and dad…?"

Gin looked down in shame.

"They were devasted when you vanished. Searched for two weeks nonstop before we had to move on…but they never doubted you survived."

The two smiled at that and Noir fixed her outfit.

"Please tell them I'm okay…and if they're in the area, come and have a bite. It'll be on me."

Gin smiled.

"Will do. You take care now…" He turned to leave, shooting her and Sanji one last look before he left.

-OP-

"If you're serious about trying to recruit Sanji, you're welcome to keep your ship docked here as long as you need." Zeff chuckled after he'd served to the Straw Hats, now heading back to the Merry, some desserts and coffee. "But I'll warn you, he's stubborn."

"So is Luffy. And believe me, I know." Draco smirked.

"In the meantime, feel free to order from us again while you're moored here. We always appreciate repeat customers." Noire smiled, waving to Kirby. "Especially the littlest ones!"

-OP-

Gin had returned to Don Krieg's flagship, the Dreadnaught Sabre.

"So you were helped out by the cook, which is how you were able to come back here."

Gin nodded. "Yes, Captain. Sorry for my weakness."

"Starvation is one of the few weaknesses that cannot be avoided, and can be forgiven," Krieg assured. "I just wish the rest of our remaining forces were so lucky as to find a place to get food."

Gin looked around the ship. "I never imagined the flagship was in such condition. But maybe... That ship can replace it."

That got Krieg's interest. Not just because of the Baratie's potential, but also because of a very special person being there.

"So, after all these years, my daughter has been a cook on that ship. Well, she always did have her mother's talent..." Krieg smiled.

Knightmare Lord A/N:

We have arrived at the Baratie and met Sanji as well as Noire, who just so happens to be Don Krieg's daughter?! Find out more in the next chapter!

FYI; Noire is an OC made by Jeetdoh on DeviantArt. All rights go to him.