Chapter 15: Goodbyes and New Adventures
"Say... Say something, 11097!"
Yelling beside him and a familiar burning in his chest, throat, and nose woke him up. Eyebrows scrunching together, Luffy coughed roughly a few times, sitting up as he did. There were brief flashes of being dunked over and over into tanks, Haru telling him to go longer, but he pushed them away as fast as he could when he saw the sun, the sky, the ocean.
"I'm the strongest man!" Someone was still yelling, though it wasn't the same person as before, and Luffy looked to see Krieg, who he vaguely remembered beating, standing with blank eyes and a bloodied face. The rest of the Krieg pirates were clinging to the man, telling him to calm down, and Luffy felt that the man wasn't even conscious despite his movements.
"He's still going?" Sanji asked beside Luffy, surprising the teen as he hadn't realized how close the blonde was.
"Gack!" Turning back, Luffy saw that Gin, who Luffy felt was still in a state of shock, punching Krieg in the gut, downing the man once more.
"Don Krieg... we lost." Gin said mournfully, slinging the man over his shoulder as he said this.
"Chief Commander!" One of the pirates said, surprised.
"Let's withdraw gracefully and start afresh. Thanks for everything Sanji-san." Gin continued, not even looking towards the chef.
"Sure. Don't ever come back!" Sanji answered without any hesitation.
"11097." Gin called to Luffy next. Tilting his head in question, Gin smiled.
"I'll see you again on the Grand Line." He promised, the young Captain smiling widely at the words.
"You..." Sanji trailed off in surprise, not having expected the pirate to say that.
"When I think about it carefully, that's the only thing I want to do... It seems that Don Krieg's ambition became mine as well before I knew it. The hell with Krieg's loyalty! I've just been running away using Don Krieg's name as a shield... Once you're resolved, you don't have to think about stupid things like fearing your enemy or how to keep from getting hurt... I learned that from you, 11097." Gin finished with a grateful smile towards Luffy.
"Shishishi, you're a good guy, Gin. I like you. I definitely want to see you again!" Luffy declared. Beside him, Sanji was smiling softly as well.
"Patty! Carne! Give him the boat used to go grocery shopping!" Sanji ordered, looking towards the two who were watching from the Baraties doorway.
"What?! Are you stupid?!"
"Why do we have to give our boat to pirates?!"
"What's gonna happen to our grocery shopping?! You idiot!"
"He's right! Let's let those guys swim!" As Patty and Carne yelled, one after the other, Luffy felt Sanjis irritation rise.
"Just bring it out already!" The blonde finally erupted, stunning the two to tears.
"Okay, we got it..."
"Don't yell at us..." They sobbed out seperately.
"Okay, okay, we'll bring it out!" They yelled together now, trying to hide their tears as they ran into the restaurant. Luffy laughed as he watched them go while Sanji shook his head and sighed.
It took a few minutes, but soon enough, Patty and Carne had brought the boat around and Gin, Sanji, and Luffy had piled all of the Krieg members, along with Krieg himself, onto the tiny boat. It wasn't nearly enough to hold them all, so they were all piled high, one on top of the other.
"Its gonna sink!" One of them cried in worry, but he was ignored.
"Why did I hesitate? What was I so worried about? When I think about it, I feel stupid..." Gin said with a smile, Luffy and Sanji returning it as they watched him step onto the boat.
"Well, then! We gratefully accept the boat. We don't have to return the boat, right?" Gin asked.
"Right. If you have the courage to come here to return it, try it, you small fry." Sanji teased.
"He's right! Just keep this in your brain! This is the sea restaurant Baratie, where cooks fight!" Patty called, Luffy feeling that all of the chefs were standing behind him.
"Yeah!" They called out, raising their fists proudly in the air.
"Hmph! What a scary restaurant..." Gin commented.
With that, Gin set the sail and he and the rest of the Krieg Pirates were sailing off, Luffy waving happily to them and smiling widely. It was only seconds after Gins boat was too far to see that Luffy started panicking.
"Ahh! My hat! My straw hat!" He cried, grabbing at his head as he realized he still wasn't wearing it.
"Oi, relax! It's right there." Sanji said as he gestured over to where Luffy had left the item on the deck.
"Huh? Oh yeah, there it is." Luffy said, calming down as he stretched his arm out and grabbed the hat, pulling it over and putting it on.
"By the way, will you-"
"I'm not joining you! I won't become a pirate. I'll continue as a cook here until I get that damn geezer to acknowledge my skills." Sanji said in determination, looking off into the distance as he spoke softly. Luffys smile left his face and it grew serious, also turning to look off at the horizon.
"Okay, then I give up." He said seriously.
"Your hand hasn't given up yet!" Sanji choked out, grabbing at his collar that Luffy was pulling on. When he got the rubbery appendage off of him, Sanji straightened his collar and sighed.
"I can't leave here... since they're all undependable... But I'm hoping to go someday... To the Grand Line." Sanji said with a wistful smile, Luffy feeling his words as true and laughing.
"Then let's go now." He suggested with a smile.
"It's not the right time yet. Say... do you know the All Blue?" Sanji turned to look at Luffy, his visible eye wide with excitement and his smile stretching bigger than Luffy had seen it before. The emotions from the blonde were happy, excited, longing, and Luffy thought that whatever this All Blue was, it was something that Sanji certainly liked.
"No..." Luffy replied honestly, wanting to know what was so amazing about it to make Sanji so happy.
"Oh, you don't?! It's a miracle sea!" Sanji answered before going into detail about the mystical place. Luffy listened on attentively, watching as Sanji grew more excited, clearly passionate about the All Blue.
Both Sanji and Luffy sat there on the broken deck for what seemed like hours, Luffy listening as Sanji rambled on about how amazing the All Blue was supposed to be. The straw-hatted teen was sure that Sanji could talk about the place forever, but he was stopped when a chef called him inside to start cooking.
Smile dropping, Sanji sighed and stood up with Luffy, smoothing out his clothes. Turning to head into the restaurant, Luffy laughed, stopping the chef who looked at him in confusion.
"You'll go there someday. To the All Blue. I know it." Luffy said confidently, giving Sanji his D smile as he did. The blonde blinked at him, Luffy feeling that he was surprised by his words, and then with a smile and nod, Sanji headed into the restaurant.
Glancing up to the upper floor of the Baratie, Luffy saw Zeff there, smiling fondly down at them, and with a small chuckle, Luffy headed inside as well.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Guys! Mealtime!"
"Aw, man!"
"We can finally eat!"
"Food! Food! Food!" The chefs were sitting at two long tables set up in the restaurant when Luffy came down from upstairs, face cleaned from the char that he'd gotten from the explosions Krieg's bomb had caused. His mouth drooled at the smell wafting to his sensitive nose and he only barely noticed Sanji walking out from the kitchen behind him.
"Hey, where do we sit?" Sanji asked as he walked up to Luffy, talking to the chefs.
"Wheres our food?" Luffy asked, more concerned about eating than he was sitting. He'd eat standing if it was necessary.
"There's no chairs for you."
"Sit on the floor and eat." Two chefs said, one of them laughing as he spoke.
"No chairs? That can't be true! This is a restaurant!" Sanji said, annoyed as he looked around at the chefs stuffing their faces. Luffy wasn't hung up on that predicament though, and was instead going around and grabbing food to eat, putting it on a tray.
"Guess we can't help it..." Sanji muttered as he walked over to the wall and sat against it.
"They're acting kinda weird..." Luffy said as he returned to Sanji with a tray of food. He could feel that, even though the chefs were pretending to be mean and annoying, their emotions said that they were only acting.
"Hmph! Nothing new..." Sanji told him as the young Captain sat down beside him. A clang from the table as someone hit it drew their attention.
"Oi! Who prepared the soup this morning?!" Patty demanded, turning his head to look around the room. Beside him, Sanji raised his hand high, a giant smile on his face and pride swelling in his chest.
"I did it! Isn't it good? I made it especially good today!" The blonde chef boasted.
"I can't eat damn nasty soup like this! What is this, pig feed?!" Patty asked as he rubbed his mouth, spitting a few times as if trying to clear the taste from his mouth. Sanjis pride quickly turned to rage, his smile falling as he glared at Patty. Meanwhile, Luffy was continuing to eat as he listened, a little confused as to why Patty was lying so convincingly to the chef. He didn't intervene though, only watched on as he ate.
"Oi, is human food not to your liking, you damn raccoon dog?" Sanji asked lowly as he slowly stood up, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
"Ha! When its this bad, its art now. It makes me sick to my stomach!" Patty said, spitting again.
"I'm sorry, but I'm really confident about today's soup. There's something wrong with your taste buds!" Sanji all but growled as he walked towards Patty. At the table, Carne took a spoonful of the aforementioned soup, and once he wiped his mouth he was sticking his tongue out as well.
"Ugh! This is nasty!" Carne cried out, spitting like Patty had done.
"I can't eat it! Right, guys?!" Another chef yelled, going through the same motions of spitting in the air.
"I can't eat something like this!"
"This is damn nasty soup!"
"I can't eat soup like this!"
"This is terrible! Someone, give me some water!" One by one, the chefs tasted the soup and then immediately declared their hatred for it, spitting in the air as they slammed their spoons down onto the table.
"What do you think you're doing, you bastards?!" Sanji yelled out, enraged now.
"You're a sham Sous Chef after all... You're just an old-timer."
"We're sick and tired of you settling matters with violence!"
"If the foods bad, we're gonna say so!" They all yelled back.
"What'd you say?!" Sanji asked, almost daring them to continue.
"We're seafaring cooks. Don't waste even a drop of soup." Zeff said from his own table, eating the soup as he did until not a single drop was left in his bowl. Everyone looked surprised to hear him speak, and when he was finished they watched as he stood, smashing the bowl on the ground.
"Owner!"
"You geezer..." Luffy only continued watching, still not sure what was going on or why everyone was lying to Sanji.
"What is this damn nasty soup? It's like sludge! If we serve something like this, our restaurant will go out of business!" Zeff said as he pointed at the shattered bowl.
"Don't be ridiculous, you damn geezer! Just how is this soup different from yours?! Tell me!" Sanji demanded as he stepped forward, grabbing Zeff's collar and shaking him.
"From my soup? Don't flatter yourself!" The owner yelled after glaring back at Sanji. With a punch, Zeff knocked Sanji off of him and onto the floor.
"Owner punched him..."
"He didn't kick..." The watching chefs said quietly, obviously surprised by this turn of events.
"It'll be a billion years before you can give me a lecture on cooking, little brat. I'm a man who has cooked on seas around the world." Zeff yelled. There was a tense few seconds as Sanji stared at the man from the ground, holding his cheek, but eventually he stood.
"Dammit!" With that curse, the blonde chef ran out of the restaurant, slamming the door behind him. The chefs all move to the window, watching as the angry man jumped over the railing and took his anger out on the already destroyed deck, kicking it over and over again.
From the floor, Luffy had finished everything else and moved onto the soup that had started all of this, sipping it down in one gulp. With a satisfied sigh, Luffy stood up and went to get more.
"This soup is super good. I don't know why you lied." Luffy said as he ladled more of it into his bowl.
"We know its good. Sanjis cooking skills are recognized by everyone here." Zeff said in a much quieter tone than before as everyone looked over at Luffy.
"It's not bad at all."
"Yeah, this soup is very well made."
"Boy, that was scary... He seriously snapped..."
"Yeah..." Luffy continued listening as he ladled more and more soup into his bowl until it was full, and even then he only started ladeling it into his mouth.
Compared to other soups he'd had, this one was heavenly.
"But that idiot won't listen unless we go this far... Say, kid..." Zeff suddenly asked as Luffy went to sit back down on the floor.
"Hm?" Luffy hummed, eating more of the soup.
"You were saying that you wanted a cook for your ship, right? This isn't a favor that Id like to ask of you or anything, but would you take that little brat with you to the Grand Line?" When Luffy perked up at that, Zeff continued.
"The Grand Line... is his dream." Zeff continued.
"Man, Owner, you really made us put on quite a show."
"I was worried that he might figure it out because of your bad acting."
"Your acting was horrible, too."
"I'll have another bowl of soup!"
"Me too!" One by one, all the chefs that declared the soup to be inedible all went in for more, smiles on their faces as they did.
"So what do you say, kid?" Zeff asked once everyone was settled with their food again.
"No," Luffy replied bluntly, feeling everyone's shock as well as seeing it as some fell from their chairs.
"What?!" They cried out, none of them having expected that answer.
"I thought you wanted a cook for your ship. Or are you saying that he's not good enough for you?" Zeff asked in confusion.
"No, he's good enough all right. I do want him to come with me. But he wants to continue working here as a cook. Even if you guys ask me to take him with me, I cant. I won't force him to join." Luffy said as he finished yet another plate of food.
He had felt how adamant and determined Sanji was to stay here, and like he said, he would never force someone who truly didn't want to join him. He wanted people to join because they wanted to join, and Sanji didn't want to join. Not yet.
"So you're saying that you can't agree to it until he tells you so himself, huh?" Zeff asked as he stroked his long braided mustache.
"Exactly. More please!" Luffy said, holding out his empty plate.
"Well... fair enough. But who knows if that twisted damn brat can just say he'll go... There's no way he can sense he's an idiot through and through..." Zeff mused, ignoring Luffy completely.
"More please!" Luffy repeated as if the owner hadn't heard.
A familiar presence and strong feelings of panic and fear were suddenly closing in on the Baratie, and only seconds after Luffy turned to look at the door, it was smashed down with a loud crash, a dust cloud forming as a result. Standing, everyone watched as the cloud cleared and Sanji was laying there with a giant shark on top of him, a man sticking out of the shark's mouth.
"Sanji!"
"What is he? A Fishman?"
"He came all the way from the Fishman Island to eat our dishes?"
"Idiot! Its a human and a panda shark!" Poking his head through the crowding chefs, Luffy chewed on a bone.
"Yosaku!" He called, having recognized both the scent and haki signature of the man.
"Oh, Luffy-Aniki!" Yosaku cried, tears falling down his face as he twitched in the shark's mouth.
"Why are you alone? Where're the others? What happened to Nami?" Luffy asked. All Yosaku could do was twitch again, holding out his hand to Luffy in a silent plea for help. Seeing this, Luffy was able to get Yosaku out of the shark, sending it swimming off into the water. When Yosaku was out and recovering from his shock, he was able to explain what had happened.
"It's not that we caught up with her, but from the direction Nami-Aneki was heading, we figured out roughly where she was going," Yosaku told him, hugging a blanket tight around him that one of the chefs brought him.
"Hm, I see... We can bring her back then." Luffy determined, sitting in front of Yosaku.
"Well... If what we're thinking is right, her destination is a crazy place... In any case, we need your help, Luffy-Aniki. Please, come with me." The bounty hunter pleaded. Without any hesitation, Luffy nodded.
"Okay! I don't really get it, but got it. I'll come with you." Luffy affirmed, standing up with Yosaku and walking out of the giant hole the shark had caused. Outside, Sanji was leaning against the Baraties railing, lighting a cigarette.
"Wait!" He called as Luffy and Yosaku passed.
"hm?" Luffy hummed, stopping but not turning to look at Sanji.
"We both have foolish dreams. In order to achieve my goal, the All Blue..." Sanji started, Luffy having a feeling he knew where this was headed.
"Sanji..." He said, trying to stop the smile from coming in case he was wrong, though he did turn his head slightly to the side, still not quite looking at the chef yet.
"Yeah. I'll come along on your journey to become King of the Pirates!" The chef said, stepping away from the railing and looking at Luffys back, hands stuffed in his pockets.
"What?" Luffy asked, now fully turning his head to look at him.
"I'll be the cook for your ship. Is that okay or not?" Sanji asked, and even though he looked calm, Luffy could feel he was a little nervous to ask. Finally, Luffy let the giant D smile spread across his face, pumping out his fists in excitement.
"It's okay! All right!" He cheered, Yosaku running up beside him in equal excitement.
"I'm happy for you, Luffy-Aniki!" He cheered as well.
"Yeah!" Luffy yelled, grabbing Yosakus arms as the two began jumping in joy together.
"Yaay! Yaay! We got a cook! We'll have good food!" They cheered, spinning in circles as they did.
"So that's how it is, everyone. Sorry for causing you all sorts of trouble." Sanji said, addressing the chefs who were watching on.
"H! I don't like it! I wanted to kick you out of here myself. And you decide it so easily?" Patty remarked with a scowl, arms crossed over his chest.
"Sorry for making you resort to bad acting," Sanji said next, surprising them.
"You knew?!" Patty cried.
"I could hear everything since you're all stupid." The blonde quipped.
"What?!"
"That is to say, you're willing to go that far to kick me out, huh, you damn geezer?!" Sanji dared, though his expression never changed.
"Why do you always have to talk like that?! You bastard!" Patty yelled, raising a fist, but Zeff holding a hand out stopped him from continuing.
"Hmph! That's right, little brat! I don't like kids to begin with. Not a single day passed where I didn't regret letting a useless one live, you damn brat." Zeff answered with a glare.
"Ha! Fine by me, you damn geezer! Enjoy the rest of your life to the utmost."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"You still need more?!" A chef asked incredulously as he stuffed a bag to the brim with meat.
"Yeah. Give me more meat." Luffy said as he held the bag open for the two chefs filling it.
"Just how many days will you be at sea?" One asked, continuing to fill the bag as best he could with how full it was.
"Don't know," Luffy replied simply with a shrug.
"Kid..." Hearing, and feeling, Zeff behind him, Luffy perked up and turned to look at him.
"Oh, old man." He said in way of greeting, wondering what the man wanted.
"Do you wanna take this? It's a record of my one-year journey in the Grand Line. I understand that even though you've sailed it with the Whitebeards before, you've never done it on your own." Zeff offered, holding out said logbook to Luffy who smiled.
"Don't need it." At his words, Zeff laughed.
"I knew it..." With that, Zeff turned and walked off, Luffy immediately turning his attention back to the fridge of meat.
"I want that marbled meat, too!"
"Enough already!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Luffy and Yosaku sat on the boat that the chefs had provided them as they waited for Sanji to join them. The bag of food that Luffy had gotten from the chefs was inside the cabin and everything was all set and ready for them to go.
"Cook-Aniki sure is taking time..." Yosaku mumbled as he and Luffy stared at the doors of the Baratie. All of the chefs had assembled out on the deck to see them off, and even they were beginning to wonder where the blonde chef was.
And then finally, he appeared. He took slow, casual steps up to the doorway, and after a small pause, he stepped out onto the deck.
"This is for my longstanding grudge!"
"Be prepared Sanji!" Patty and Carne yelled as they moved into action at once. They both had oversized spoons in their hands and were attempting to hit the blonde from behind. It was useless however because Sanji quickly dropped his things onto the floor and ducked out of the way. In a swift movement, Sanji balanced on his hands, spinning his legs out and kicking both Patty and Carne in the face, knocking them bloody on to the deck. With that done, the chef picked his things back up and casually walked away towards the boat.
"There's no way you guys can defeat him." A chef muttered to Patty and Carne, shaking his head.
Everyone else was silent as Sanji walked through them and to the boat Yosaku and Luffy were waiting in. Luffy could feel that everyone was tense, but there was the underlying bittersweet feeling that people felt whenever they said goodbye to friends or family. It was the same in Sanji, and even though the blonde looked indifferent, Luffy could feel the turmoil of bitter sadness and longing, and even further underneath that was excitement.
"Let's go," Sanji said as he placed his things inside the boat.
"You don't have to say goodbye?" Luffy asked knowingly, glancing behind Sanji to the chefs.
"That's okay," Sanji said with a small smile now, preparing himself to get into the boat. He hadn't even got one foot inside when his name was being called, surprising him and making him freeze.
"Sanji. Don't catch a cold." Luffys smile widened as he looked up at Zeff who was watching with a smile of his own from the upper deck of the Baratie. Sanjis face morphed from surprised to struggling not to cry in an instant, his sadness and love increasing. It wasn't long before there were tears streaming down his face.
"Owner Zeff!" He cried, turning and kneeling down on the Baraties battered deck, his head to the ground.
"Thank you for all the damn things you've done for me over all these years! I'll never forget your kindness... for the rest of my life!" He cried gratefully.
"You asshole! I'll miss you dammit!"
"I'll miss you!" Sanji raised his head to see that everyone else was crying now too.
"I'll miss you too!"
"I feel sad, dammit!"
"You idiots! Men should part without a word." Zeff said, and even he was wiping his tears, smiling down happily to them.
With everyone successfully getting their emotions out, Sanji stood back up and got into the boat, Luffy smiling widely.
"Let's go! Set sail!" The teen cheered, arms outstretched.
"I'll see you again, you damn bastards!" Sanji cried, waving both arms to the chefs as the boat began sailing off, smiling as big as he could. Luffy laughed joyously, waving to them as well.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Some time passed since the three left the Baratie, and Luffy had taken to relaxing on the ship's bow, hat over his eyes as he lay back. Sanji and Yosaku were lounging on the deck a few feet away, neither making a move to do anything else.
"Wah! The weather so great!" Luffy said happily with a stretch, sitting up.
"It's so much nicer than the New World! I don't think its rained or stormed once since I've been here!" He continued, jumping off the bow and running to the railing, looking out at the sea with a big smile.
"The East Blues so peaceful! Ah, but that means everyone here is weak too! Oh well, we're heading to the Grand Line, so there'll be stronger guys there! Man, I can't wait to go back!" Luffy said loudly, talking more to himself than to his two companions.
"Ne, where do you think the Grand Line is? That way? Or maybe its that way! This way? That way?" Luffy asked, jumping all around the ship and looking in different directions, his energy endless.
"You're annoying. Sit still, will ya?" Sanji asked, smoking a cigarette as he watched Luffy bounce around.
"Sorry! Sorry! But we finally have a cook, so we just need to get Nami back, and then we're finally going back to the Grand Line!" Luffy cheered, raising his arms again.
"Nami-san, huh? Just remembering her beautiful visage makes me happy! How I cant wait to see her again!" Sanji all but purred, the smoke from his cigarette changing to hearts.
"Ne, Yosaku. We're almost to where Nami is, right?" Luffy asked as he went to sit on the railing, and it was then he realized that Yosaku was practically a human-shaped ball of anxiety.
"You guys're soft-minded! Too soft-minded! Don't you get it?! Minute by minute we're heading right for the infamous Arlong! Big Sis' eyes were glued to Arlong's picture when she saw it! She wasn't her normal self! Nami-Aneki plans to take down Arlong and collect his 20 million Berry bounty! She may already be inside his compound as we speak!" Yosaku said, his tone dropping low and eyes narrowing. Luffy didn't like all the anxiety and fear in the man, so he tried ignoring it, stretching as he looked to Sanji.
"Well, let's have some food!" Luffy decided.
"Yeah." Sanji agreed with a smile, causing Yosaku to cry.
"Don't tell me you guys've never heard of Arlong?!" The bounty hunter exclaimed in disbelief.
"Arlong? Whose that?" Sanji asked.
"Never heard of him," Luffy said next, face blank. There was a part of him that thought the name was familiar though, like maybe he had heard of him, but where? And why? If Arlong was an East Blue pirate, then there was no way he would have ever heard anything about him.
"Alright, listen up! I guess I'll just have to fill you in about everything! Arlong is a Fishman who used to rampage throughout the Grand Line!" Yosaku began, pacing back and forth in front of Sanji and Luffy.
"Fishman?" Sanji asked, not having seen one before.
"A Fishman from the Grand Line..." Luffy muttered to himself, head tilting back and forth in thought, eyebrows creasing.
"Say, I hear the mermaids on Fishman Island in the Grand Line are absolutely beautiful!" Sanji mused, eyes shaped as hearts again as he blushed at the thought.
"They're pretty cool! Shib- Shora- Shirahoshi's really nice, but she cries a lot." Luffy said to Sanji with a smile.
"Shirahoshi? Whose that? Is it a beautiful mermaid just as I imagined?! Stunning and graceful in the water!" Sanji pictured, hands clasped together in front of him and his blush darkening.
"Shirahoshi's the princess. My brothers and I helped her and now we're friends with her and her brothers." Luffy explained, smiling as he thought back to the four,
"A mermaid princess! Just imagine the type of beauty such a Goddess would hold!" Sanji exclaimed, all but fainting. In front of them, Yosaku was facepalming.
"Stay focused! I'll explain from the very beginning. The reason the Grand Lines called a pirate graveyard in the first place is because of the three powers that reign over it. One of which is the seven warlords of the sea! Simply put, they're government-authorized pirates." Yosaku explained. He continued on to explain why the Shichibukai were allowed to exist and that they were all extremely powerful. He told them that Mihawk was one of the Shichibukai which interested Luffy. He had never paid much attention to Shichibukai and Yonkos, he just knew that they were all strong. To hear that Mihawk was one didn't surprise him all that much.
"So, one of the Seven Warlords is Jinbei, a Fishman pirate boss. And the Fishman Arlong is a pirate on par with him who used to commit atrocity after atrocity in the Grand Line!" Yosaku continued, piquing Luffys interest again when he mentioned Jinbei.
"Arlong has ruled over 20 towns since coming to the East Blue! His strength is far superior to Don Kriegs!" The bounty hunter exclaimed fearfully.
"Really?! That's great! I might actually have a fun fight!" Luffy said, happy to hear this which is not what Yosaku expected.
"What?! No, it's a bad thing! Arlong is strong, much stronger then Krieg! There's no way you could-" It was at that moment Yosaku remembered who Luffy was and as he stared at Luffys unwavering smile, the young teen practically vibrating with excitement, he realized that this may actually be an easy fight for the Captain.
"Why would Nami-san go to this guy all by herself if he's so dangerous?" Sanji asked in confusion. He didn't know much about Nami yet, but he had a feeling that she wouldn't throw herself into this kind of danger unnecessarily, especially by herself.
"I told you, shes after the bounty on his head!" Yoskau insisted.
"No, who knows? Maybe Nami-san is actually a mermaid! Especially given how lovely she is!" Sanji cooed as he imagined Nami as a mermaid.
"She is? She never told me!" Luffy exclaimed, a little annoyed to be hearing this.
"Are you guys even listening?!" Yosaku cried again.
"Yeah, there's a strong Fishman, right? We get it!" Luffy said, summing it up the best way he knew how.
"No, you don't get it! You don't know how strong Fishmen are!" Yosaku said, worried for the two.
"Sure I do. Namur's a Fishman, and he and I sparred all the time. There was this one time that Ruta and I had this cool idea to use him as a target! Shishishi, Ace, and Sabo were so mad at us for that!" Luffy laughed, remembering back to that day with a fond smile.
"Don't worry, Yosaku, everything's gonna be fine. We'll help Nami with whatever she needs, and I'll beat up this Fishman guy no problem." Luffy finished with a shrug, still smiling.
"Anyways, let's have some food," Sanji said as he stood up, having heard all he needed to hear.
"Yeah! Food!" Luffy cheered.
"Eh? Food?" Yosaku asked, not expecting that.
"What do you guys want?" Sanji asked as he rolled up his sleeves in preparation, grinning to them.
"Meat things with bones in it!"
"I want sauteed bean sprouts!" Luffy and Yosaku cheered with happy smiles.
"Alright! Leave it to me!" The chef said, turning to head inside and begin cooking.
"I'll be done in no time! Meat and bean sprouts..." He muttered to himself, heading inside and leaving Luffy and Yosaku outside.
"Having a cook really is great!" Luffy mused where he stood, hands on his hips.
"Y-Yeah!" Yoskau agreed.
"Meat! A jumbo serving of meat!"
"And bean sprouts for me! A jumbo serving!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"You're great, Sanji-Aniki! This is topnotch seasoning!" Yosaku praised as he shoveled food into his mouth as fast as possible.
"I want to make dinner for Nami-san more than I do for you guys," Sanji told him, drinking from his glass.
"I hope you manage to get Nami-Aneki to join again!" Yosaku said with a hopeful smile, finishing off his plate. Luffy, who had reached the bone of his meat, looked to Yosaku.
"We will! Shes our navigator! She's going to the Grand Line with us!" He remarked as if fact, reaching for the last piece of meat. Before he could grab it though, Yosaku snatched it up for himself.
"That's mine!"
"You just ate one! Let me have one too!
"But its mine!"
"C'mon, just one!"
"No! Give it back!"
"C'mon! Let me have it!"
"Quit rockin' the damn boat!" Sanji yelled furiously, having difficulty pouring himself another drink with Luffy chasing Yosaku around.
"You're going to make me spill this fine alcohol!" He muttered, but Luffy was more focused on something else. Letting Yosaku eat the meat, he turned to look at the water with a blank face.
"Somethings down there," Sanji stated as he walked up beside Luffy, also looking into the water.
"What?" Yosaku asked in confusion.
"It's big," Luffy noted, watching as a shadow appeared in the water. Right after saying this, the thing appeared, towering over their tiny boat.
"A sea monster!" Yosaku cried fearfully.
"Its a cow! It's huge!" Luffy called in amazement as he looked at the animal.
"A cow? They don't swim. Its a hippo." Sanji corrected as he took a drag of his cigarette.
"What's something like this doing in the East Blue?! This is a Grand Line creature!" Yosaku asked, terrified as he stared up at the sea cow. After he said this, the sea cow lowered its head to get a better view of them.
"Huh? What's this guy doing?" Luffy asked. He could feel that the sea cow was expectant of something, but animal emotions were harder to read than humans, so Luffy didn't know what the sea cow was expecting.
"He's after the food!" Yosaku realized, looking to the table that still had plates of food on it.
"What?!" Luffy cried, not wanting to give the delicious food up.
"Hurry and give it to him! He'll flip the boat over!" The bounty hunter yelled, but before he could even get a start on doing that, Luffy flung his fist at the cow, knocking it backward into the water.
"Stay away from my food!" He yelled, pointing a finger at the cow.
"You did it! You're incredible, Luffy-Aniki!" Yosaku cheered, only for the sea cow to rise back out of the water, clearly enraged.
"Looks like you make it mad!" Yosaku cried.
"Another one, huh?!" Luffy asked, readying another, more powerful, punch.
"You dumbass! Don't beat up someone whose hungry for no reason!" Sanji chastised, kicking Luffy over before the rubber man could attack again.
"He's probably hurt or something and can't catch his own food. Right? Here, eat up. No need to hold back." Sanji said, holding out a plate of food to the cow with a smile.
"What love..." Yosaku uttered as from where he was standing. Luffy, rubbing his side on the floor, watched as the cow's emotions changed from nervous, to contemplative, and then it opened its mouth.
"Die, you damn thing!" Sanji roared, kicking the cow away much like how Luffy had punched it.
"What're you doing?! What happened to that love?!" Yosaku yelled in confused anger.
"That bastard just tried to eat me, too," Sanji remarked, as if it was obvious. A roar from the water drew their attention as the sea cow ascended from the water once more, even angrier than last time as it swam straight towards their boat.
"Here he comes! He's gonna sink the boat!" Yosaku cried again, tears falling in fear.
"That's it-!" Luffy was stopped from his punch again when Sanji held out a hand.
"Hold on, I'll handle it." The chef said before running up to higher ground on top of the cabin. Using this height, he jumped into the air.
"Collier shoot!" Flipping his leg back, he kicked the cow right in the neck, stunning it and making it fall, again, into the water.
"Damn hippo..." Sanji muttered as he landed back on the boat, he and Luffy moving to sit back down at the table while Yosaku watched, dumbfounded.
"Alright! Back to food!" Luffy cheered.
"That was good exercise," Sanji said pleasantly.
"These guys are crazy..." Yosaku muttered in realization.
Of course, with Luffy, crazy is normal. Which is how, in a matter of a half-hour, the boat they had gotten from the chefs back at the Baratie was now being pulled along by the sea cow they had just defeated.
"Wahoo! Faster! To Arlong Park!"
Ah, so sorry everyone for the late chapter! I had such a long day at school and when I got home I immediately just laid in my bed. I was actually about to fall asleep when I bolted up and remembered that it was Thursday and you all were due a chapter. Well, technically now its Friday for me, but oh well.
In any case, the chapters up now and Sanji is officially a crewmember! Next is Nami, and then they'll be heading to Lougetown, which I'm excited for because I've got a little surprise for you all at the end of that little mini arc.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves now. I know this chapter, like many from the East Blue Arcs, followed canon rather closely, but I promise, after Lougetown, that'll change. We'll start learning a few things that'll drive the plot of this altered universe and we might even see a few familiar faces from The Devil Wears White!
So, with that said, I'll leave you all to wonder on just what those new developments could be. Hopefully I'll be on time next time! Thank you as always for all of your support, it truly means everything to me! See you in two weeks!