Chapter 11: The Floating Restaurant
That night was quiet; everyone turning in pretty early seeing as there wasn't much else to do. They had already begun starting a tentative watch schedule, switching midway through the night to avoid having one person up all night only to be exhausted in the morning. Tonight, Zoro would have the first watch and then be relieved by Usopp who would stay until morning.
The Merry quietly sailed the waters, the stars shining high in the sky with the moon allowing at least some light to illuminate the deck. When morning came, Nami told them she would make them all food so long as she was compensated for it, and seeing as no one else knew how to cook, they agreed. It would take them another day to reach the sea restaurant so for the time being, they were going to relax.
Of course, that's always easier said than done.
Shortly after lunch, Luffy and Usopp were talking with Johnny. Yosaku was still resting in the storage room and Nami was back by the barrels, looking over her maps again. Zoro was resting nearby as well, but he wasn't actively participating in their conversation, merely listening to it silently.
"You know, we never were properly introduced," Usopp noted, realizing that while Johnny and Yosaku had introduced themselves formally, none of the crew had done the same. The two knew Zoro, obviously, and they'd heard them mention each other's names in passing, but they were never formally introduced.
"That's right, it was pretty hectic yesterday," Johnny said, realizing this as well.
"In that case, I'm Usopp, the sniper and Captain aboard this grand ship, the Going Merry!" Usopp said, arms stretching at his side to show off said ship, grinning proudly as he did. Luffy was quick to hit him on the head, making the liar shout in pain, rubbing his head.
"No way, I'm the Captain! My name's Monkey D. Luffy, nice to meet you!" Luffy said, any annoyance towards Usopp gone as he smiled his D smile to Johnny.
"Ah, Usopp, and Monkey D- Gah! Monkey D. Luffy?!" Johnny's eyes were blown open wide in surprise, shuffling back away from Luffy as quickly as he could at this new information.
"Y-you're 11097?! The Whitebeard Pirate?!" Johnny asked to which Luffy nodded. His smile fell, no longer the big D smile, but it didn't leave completely. He was used to this reaction after all, so he wasn't going to let it bother him too much.
"Right. But I'm not apart of Pops' crew anymore. I'm starting my own." He told him, pointing to the sails that bore his brand new mark. Johnny continued openly gaping at him, and Luffy could feel his fear and shock.
"I can't believe it! A member of a Yonko crew here in the East Blue..." Johnny said in a mixture of fear and awe. The bounty hunter seemed unsure of Luffy at first, but as Luffy and Usopp shared stories with him, Luffy could feel his apprehension slowly leave him.
It probably helped that Zoro- someone that Johnny knew and respected- was apart of Luffy's crew.
After that, the day passed normally with nothing big happening. Nami cooked the meals, and inbetween everyone did their own thing, whether it was relaxing, reading, or sleeping. It passed slowly, but before they knew it, they were waking up again to find they were nearing the Baratie.
"Whoa!" Everyone, sans Zoro who was still groggy from waking up, exclaimed as they took in the fish-shaped restaurant.
"What do you think, everyone?!" Johnny asked, arms outstretched wide at his sides as he looked to the Baratie himself.
"Woah! It's a huge fish!" Luffy exclaimed in awe, not having seen something like this before. Behind them, Yosaku was peeking out of his room; AKA, the storage room they'd left him in.
"How lovely!" Nami said, hands clasped together as she smiled.
"That's pretty funky!" Usopp said next.
"Right?! Just like I told you, right?!" Johnny asked with a grin, arms crossed over his chest. Yosakus mouth started to water as he peeked out of the storage room, but a sudden noise to his right caught his attention, everyone turning to see a large Marine ship coming up beside them.
"Wh-What the... at a place like this?! A Marine ship..." With wide eyes, Yosaku watched as the Marine ship stopped beside them.
At the front of the Merry, Usopp was starting to freak out a little, gaping at the ship beside them while Nami and Zoro merely watched it get closer- Nami with a little apprehension and Zoro with a calculating look. Johnny was in much the same state as Usopp, and Luffy was frowning, head tilted a little as he watched the Marines.
They always ruined everything.
"S-surely they're not gonna shoot at us, right?" Usopp asked hesitantly.
"What an unpleasant bunch we've run into..." Zoro muttered.
"W-when did they..." Nami trailed off, wondering how they hadn't noticed the ship sooner. Behind her, Johnny was trying to sneak off towards Yosaku.
"I've never seen that pirate flag." One of the people on the Marines ship said to them, walking closer to the railing to address them. Johnny stopped sneaking altogether and practically ran over to Yosaku, hiding behind the door with him.
"Damn it! We're not pirates!" He said to his partner.
"I'm Iron Fist Fullbody, Lieutenant at Navy Headquarters! Hey, who's your Captain?! Come out and state your name!" The Marine called over to them. Luffy walked closer to the Merrys railing in response, still frowning at the man.
"I'm Luffy!" He called over. Next to him, Usopp walked over as well, but he wasn't able to say anything when Fullbodys eyes widened in recognition.
"You wouldn't perhaps be 11097, Monkey D. Luffy, would you?" He asked carefully, eyes narrowing in suspicion while Usopp wilted at being ignored.
"That's right," Luffy affirmed, ignoring Yosakus shout of surprise. Seeing as he'd been resting all day yesterday, word of Luffy's past pirating escapades hadn't reached him yet and he was figuring this out for the first time.
"A Whitebeard Pirate in the East Blue? For what purpose?" Fullbody asked, his frown deepening.
"I left Pops' crew to start my own. We just made our pirate flag the day before yesterday!" Luffy told them.
"And I'm the one who drew it!" Usopp added, feeling compelled to even though he knew he should let Luffy handle this.
"A previous Whitebeard starting a crew of his own... hm?" Fullbody finally noticed the bounty hunters.
"You two over there, I remember seeing you before too. If I remember correctly, you're a bounty hunter duo going after small fish. Looks like you bit off more then you could chew with this one and got caught, huh?" He asked them, looking back to Luffy as he said this.
"W-what?!" Johnny and Yosaku asked in a mixture of annoyance and fear.
"Finally caught and it's by a former Whitebeard Pirate..." Fullbody said, shaking his head.
"W-we are..." Johnny started but knew he couldn't exactly tell him they were here willingly, lest they want to be imprisoned.
"That's a laugh!" Fullbody said, chuckling to himself.
"C'mon, let's get going." A woman said as she stepped out from behind the Marine.
"Right," Fullbody told her.
"You think small-time bounty hunters would go after these guys?!" Johnny asked, pulling out a stack of wanted posters and throwing them. They all fluttered to the ground, but Fullbody ignored him, turning back to address Luffy instead. Luffy wasn't paying attention to the Marine anymore though and was instead looking at Nami who he'd suddenly felt a spike of fear and hatred from. He noticed that she was looking to the wanted posters, but he didn't know which one was making her feel that way.
"Oi, 11097!" Fullbody called, grabbing Luffys attention again.
"You're wanted alive. Shame that after all you and you're demonic brothers have done to the Marines I can't kill you here and now." He said with a sneer. Luffy glared to the Marine, not liking that Ace and Sabo were being bad mouthed by this guy.
"Arrest them," Fullbody told the soldiers around him, walking off with the woman on his arm towards the restaurant.
"S-sir?!" One of them asked, hesitant.
"You heard me. My lovely date and I are going to go ahead inside. I expect you all to be able to do a simple task such as this." Fullbody told them flippantly, waving his hand as he continued walking.
"R-right! Yes sir!" They said as they saluted. With that, the soldiers all began scrambling to the railing, aiming their guns at the newly formed pirate crew. Usopp shrieked in terror while Namis eyes widened, the woman running off to take cover with Johnny and Yosaku. Zoro grabbed his swords while Luffy shifted into a fighting stance, eyes narrowing.
"11097, surrender now and avoid unnecessary conflict!" One of them called.
"No way," Luffy said with a glare, making the Marines sweat nervously and glance at each other.
"You leave us no other option then. Ready men. Aim. Fire!" On his command, shots were fired. Usopp started screaming in fear but Luffy was quick to block the bullets from hitting anyone, allowing his body to stretch in the necessary places before flinging the bullets right back to the Marines who all scrambled to avoid being hit.
"He took the hits! And sent them back!"
"He really is a demon! Just like the higher-ups said!"
"What do we do?!"
"Is that all you got?" Luffy asked them, grinning sadistically to them. It looked as if the Marines were imitating Usopp, their legs shaking in their fear as they glanced at each other nervously.
"W-we won't stand down! In the name of Justice, the Marines will prevail!" Someone said, making Luffy frown.
"Justice, huh?" He asked, voice low as he spoke the word. Seeing that Luffy had it handled, Usopp had stopped shaking and was watching in awe. Zoro had his arms crossed, an eyebrow raised as he listened as well, and Johnny, Yosaku, and Nami were watching from the storage room.
"Marines like you don't know what, 'Justice' you're really fighting for, do you?" He asked them, confusing them with his words.
"If you did, how many of you would continue being Marines? How many of you would still call what you're fighting for, 'Justice?'" It seemed Luffy had riled himself up with his own words, the anger on his face doubling and scaring the Marines further.
"Well here's what I think of your stupid, 'Justice!'" Luffy shouted, jumping up onto the railing and swinging his leg out.
"Gum Gum..." Realizing he was about to attack, the Marines started shouting and running, some pulling out swords, but overall, they were an unorganized group of scared men.
"Whip!" Luffy shouted, stretching his leg out towards them. His leg successfully swept every Marine on deck into the cabin of the ship, knocking them all into each other and onto the ground, some unconscious, and some not moving from the pain of being dogpiled into a wall.
When no one made a move to go after them anymore, Luffy turned, jumping off the railing and taking a deep breath. His anger melted away and he briefly realized he'd been influenced, but he had no clue as to who had done it. No one on the Merry was angry, they were all a mixture of surprised, scared, and awed, but no anger. The Marines had all been scared, no one there angry enough to influence him, and the emotions from the restaurant were too jumbled for Luffy to feel any strong anger, so where had it come from?
Shrugging it off, Luffy looked to his friends.
"Let's go eat! I'm starving!" Luffy said, a sunny smile on his face that contradicted the angry glare that had been there moments ago. Blinking at the sudden mood change, all the crew did was nod, all of them getting the smaller ship Johnny and Yosaku had been using ready. The bounty hunters had decided on staying on the Merry while the rest went off to the restaurant. In just a few minutes, Usopp, Nami, Zoro, and Luffy were on the small boat; Luffy and Zoro rowing while Nami stood at the head and Usopp sat against the wall.
"You stopped those marines with one move," Usopp said to Luffy, still awed by the teens strength. Even though he knew Luffy was strong, that had been a whole deck of Marines taken down with a single kick.
"I didn't really mean to do that..." Luffy admitted sheepishly, Nami turning to look at him in confusion.
"What do you mean, 'Didn't mean to?'" She asked almost incredulously. With that kick, Luffy should have known what would happen.
"Well, someone was really angry, and it made me angry too. These guys are weak, and I accidentally hit them harder then I meant to." Luffy told her with a frown as he continued rowing, still confused on who'd influenced him.
"Someone was angry? Right, you mentioned you can be... what was it... influenced?" Zoro asked, Luffy nodding.
"Yeah, and whoever was really angry made me angry," Luffy confirmed.
"So who was angry then?" Usopp asked. Now that he was getting used to Luffy's strange abilities, he wanted to know more about it.
"Don't know. It wasn't the Marines, they were all scared, and you guys weren't angry- Johnny or Yosaku either. It wasn't anyone from the Baratie, there're too many emotions there, and if someone was angry enough for me to feel them, I would have noticed." Luffy explained, all of them listening, amazed by his words. Even though Nami had been hesitant and outright a nonbeliever before, even she had to admit that it was getting to the point where she couldn't deny it anymore. Luffy definitely had at least some sort of strange ability to sense emotions.
Finally, they reached the Baratie, tying their boat to the small outer deck of the fish-shaped restaurant and boarding it. Luffy stretched, grinning widely again as he began marching towards the doors.
"Meat! Meat! Meat! Can't wait to eat meat!" He chanted cheerfully, the others following behind him. Nami was shaking her head, sighing at his childishness, and Usopp was a step away from joining Luffy in his chanting. Zoro was indifferent to the theatrics, more focused on the idea that he might be able to get some good alcohol here.
Walking inside, they saw the many people dining, but realized there seemed to be a tension in the air. Luffy could feel someone who was particularly annoyed and looked to see it was the Marine from earlier. A blonde man stood by his table, but Luffy didn't have time to register anything else other than their hair color before there was a loud crash. Fullbody was standing now, fist hovering where a table had been, but now it was split in two on the ground, soup spilled and the bowl it'd been in shattered.
Everyone was watching with wide eyes and the woman Fullbody had come with was standing as well, hands to her mouth in surprise. The blonde kneeled down next to the spilled soup, frowning.
"You could've eaten it if you took that bug out, couldn't you?" He asked, all of the Straw Hats watching in confusion.
"It took three full days to cook it, skimming the scum-" Suddenly Fullbodys foot was stomping Sanjis hand, cutting him off.
"Aren't you acting a bit too big for your britches?" He asked the blonde, twisting his foot on the hand.
"I'm a customer! I'm paying you!" He shouted down at him.
"Please stop, Fullbody-san!" The woman pleaded, grabbing the Marines arm in an attempt to stop him. It didn't work, and instead, the Marine twisted, shrugging the woman off of him and throwing her to the ground.
"Shut up!" He shouted to her, the woman sitting on the ground. Luffy felt that she was in pain from the push.
"F-Fullbody-san..." She said weakly, holding her cheek.
"Can money... satisfy your hunger?" The blonde suddenly asked, his hand still pinned to the ground by the Marines foot.
"What'd you say?!" He growled out.
"I'm asking, 'Can it... satisfy your hunger?!'" The blonde asked again, his tone changing as he looked up to the marine. Not giving the Marine a chance to answer, the blonde spun, pulling his hand out from under Fullbodys foot and using his hands to support himself, his legs spinning out above him and kicking the man into the ground.
"Fullbody-san!" The woman gasped.
"Sanji..."
"Sous chef..." A group of chefs said from the stairs. Grabbing the Marine by the neck, the blonde, now named Sanji, lifted Fullbody into the air, glaring at him. Blood was dripping on the ground, but it was ignored.
"Don't... waste food," Sanji told the twitching man.
"At sea, provoking a cook is the same as committing suicide. Remember that." He finished, still holding Fullbody high in the air. A new presence, one filled with sudden irritation, walked into the room and drew Luffys attention.
"You again, Sanji! What're you doing to our customer?!" The man asked, pointing to Sanji accusingly as he walked towards him.
"Of all people, he's a Navy Lieutenant!" He continued in a tone of displeasure.
"What is it, you damn cook?! Don't call my name as if I were your friend!" Sanji said as he turned his head to look at the incoming chef. This clearly angered the man even more as he leaned in towards Sanji and shouted.
"A damn cook has no right to call me 'damn cook!' Restaurants cant exist without customers! Hurting our precious customer... What do you think you're doing?!" The man asked Sanji, his gold hoop earrings flying from his aggressive movements.
"What's the big deal with customers? He treated the food carelessly. On top of that, he insulted cooks." Sanji said, finally letting go of the Marines neck and letting his fall to the ground.
"So I taught him a lesson." He finished.
"What's with this restaurant?" Usopp muttered quietly, not wanting the cooks wrath to turn on him.
"No restaurant should treat its customers like this... I'll shut it down... I'll shut down this restaurant! I'll shut it down! I'll contact the government immediately and..." Fullbody was full-on ranting now where he sat on the ground, not looking at anyone.
"Then I'd better finish you off here..." Sanji growled, Fullbody looking up at him in terror as he stalked closer.
"Stop it sous chef!"
"A stuck up asshole like you,"
"What are you doing?! If you keep going at him,"
"Who's too big for his britches,"
"We'll be in big trouble! Stop it Sanji! Stop it!"
"Just pisses me off!"
"You're going too far Sanji!" All of them were talking at once, the chefs attempting to hold Sanji back as the blonde continued yelling at the terrified Fullbody.
"So you think you're a big shot?! Huh?!" Sanji growled out, reaching a hand out in a vain attempt to grab at the Marine who had tears in his eyes.
"Owner! Please stop Sanji!" One of the struggling chefs called as another new person entered the room. He wore a tall chefs hat and had a long braided mustache that stuck out straight on either side of his face. Luffy had to contain his awe, because as cool as the hat and mustache were-
Was that a peg leg?!
Nami and Zoro facepalmed when they saw stars in Luffys eyes, his jaw dropped.
"So cool~!" Luffy whispered quietly, Usopp silently nodding in agreement beside him.
"Hey, Sanji!" At the new mans words, Sanji stopped his struggling, glaring to the man.
"Are you going on a rampage in the restaurant again, you idiot?!" The owner asked as he walked closer.
"Shut up, you damn geezer!" Sanji said, the chefs letting him go once they realized his attention was solely focused on the owner.
"What'd you say?! Who do you think you're talking to?! Are you trying to put my restaurant out of business?! You brat!" Without warning, the owner swung out his peg leg, connecting with Sanjis face. On the ground, Fullbody was smiling.
"You, too! Get out of here already!" Again, the owner swung his peg leg, knocking Fullbody back on the ground and leaving him furious.
"You listen! The customer is king!" The chef with the gold earrings yelled to Sanji who looked indifferent.
"Just those who eat your damn crappy dishes," Sanji muttered.
"Patty, Sanji! If you wanna fight, do it in the kitchen!" The owner reprimanded. Someone stumbling in behind them surprised the Straw Hats, all of them turning and finding a bloody beaten marine stumbling in.
"Uh oh..." Nami muttered with a sigh, recognizing the marine as one that Luffy had kicked earlier.
"L-Lieutenant! Lieutenant Fullbody! W-we've got trouble!" He shouted, Fullbody, and everyone else turning to look at him. In doing so, they finally saw the Straw Hats standing there, the bloody marine moving in front of them, seemingly unaware of their presence.
"It's one thing after another here..." Zoro said, meanwhile Luffy was listening silently and without expression.
"What is it?! And whats 11097 doing here?! You were supposed to capture him!" Fullbody screamed in a mixture of fury and fear as his eyes bugged out, looking right at Luffy who frowned back.
"B-but sir! He's too strong! And to make matters worse, Pirate Kriegs underling escaped!" The Marine explained, noticeably moving further away from Luffy once he realized who he was.
"What?!" Fullbody asked, his fear rising.
"After seven of us finally captured him and got a lead on the Krieg Pirates..." The Marine muttered softly.
"Can't be! When we captured him three days ago, he was close to starving! And we haven't fed him at all since!" Fullbody exclaimed, his rage returning full force. Luffys frown deepened as an anger of his own began to take form.
"K-Krieg Pirates..."
"11097..."
"A Whitebeard Pirate and the strongest Pirates in the East Blue... in the same place..." Around them the customers of the Baratie were beginning to freak out, everyone's fear rising and allowing Luffy to let go of the anger.
"I'm very-" The Marine was suddenly stopped from speaking as a bang went off and he fell to the ground, Luffy feeling a sudden pain in the man before his emotions became muffled. Behind the Marine stood a man who was lowering a gun. With that, he began slowly walking into the restaurant, everyone watching him carefully.
"We have a new customer," Patty said, unfazed by the shooting that had just occurred.
"He'd better not shoot someone who'll go on a rampage in my place." The owner muttered in mere annoyance more than anything.
"A pirate, huh?" Luffy asked himself, head tilting as he examined the newcomer. His aura was relatively blue for a pirate. Over the years of fighting with the Whitebeards, Luffy had noticed that most pirates they came across that weren't allied with Whitebeard almost always had a least a little speck of gray in their auras, but not this man. It wasn't a clear crystal blue like Ace and Sabos, but it was still relatively blue.
The pirate walked slowly over to one of the unoccupied tables, passing Fullbody who turned his head to avoid looking at him. Sitting in the chair, the pirate put his foot casually on the table, relaxing.
"Anythings fine. Bring me food." He demanded, turning to look at Patty who was now standing beside him.
"This is a restaurant, right?" The pirate asked. Beside him, Pattys smile stretched wide on his face as he held his hands together in front of him.
"Welcome, ya damn crook." Patty greeted, some of the customers blanching at the words. The pirate only smiled, looking to his table.
"I'll say it one more time, so listen good. Bring me food." He demanded again as everyone watched on.
"The cook is gonna get killed..." Luffy heard Fullbody mutter.
"Umm, sir, I'm terribly sorry, but do you have money for that?" Patty asked, rubbing the top of his head. Suddenly, the gun that the pirate had was pointed at Pattys forehead.
"Would a bullet do?" He asked menacingly.
"So you don't have money, right?" The mood in Patty suddenly changed as he glared at the man. Within the blink of an eye, he raised his clasped hands into the air, slamming them down towards the pirate who dodged, consequently breaking the chair he'd been sitting on.
"What?!" The patrons and Fullbody gasped in surprise.
"Patty, that dumb ass! He broke the chair..." The owner muttered.
"What power!" Usopp said in awe. Around them, the mood of the patrons was changing now that they realized the chef was stronger then it seemed and could take on the pirate, many smiling.
"If you can't pay for the food, you're not a customer," Patty told the man who was now sitting on the ground.
"Good job, Cook!"
"Beat that pirate up, Patty-san!" The cheering around them was accompanied by a few whistles while Patty continued grinning. A gurgle from the starving pirates stomach was heard by both Patty and the Straw Hats.
"Oh... Your stomach is grumbling, pirate." Patty told him as if the man himself didn't notice.
"That was a fart, you stupid raccoon dog. Just bring me food." The pirate demanded once again, glaring up at the cook. Luffy could feel the pain, how hungry the pirate was, and he felt his own stomach rumble in sympathy, knowing how much it sucked to starve.
Surviving on only three bowls of soup a day in the facility had barely kept Ace and Luffy alive, they're fast metabolisms causing them to slowly starve despite having food. Even Sabo had suffered, having a bigger appetite than a normal person usually did and not used to the lack of nutrition. Having barely enough food to live for seven entire years had been almost as bad as all the horrible testing the doctors had done to him and his brothers.
"If you're not a customer, beat it already!" Patty screamed at the pirate, breaking Luffy from his memories. The cook began kicking the downed pirate in the stomach over and over, everyone cheering encouragingly around him. Luffy continued watching with a blank stare, but he could feel the frown working its way onto his face. He didn't even pay any attention to Fullbody and two other Marines who were crawling out of the restaurant in an attempt to escape.
Once the pirate was unmoving on the ground, Patty stopped kicking him, grinning widely.
"Now, dumb customers, please continue your meal!" He announced as everyone began clapping, cheering and whistling as they watched Patty curtsy to them. It seemed they'd already forgotten that Luffy was there, focused more on the other pirate instead.
Patty picked up the downed pirate, throwing him onto his shoulder and carrying him off to the back, everyone continuing to cheer.
"I'll be right back," Luffy said to his friends as he turned to walk back out of the restaurant.
"What? Where are you going?" Nami asked in surprise. Luffy didn't say anything though, the three watching him as he left.
"Oh well, may as well get some booze while we're here," Zoro said with a shrug.
"And some food. But after seeing all of that, these chefs are no joke." Usopp said with a frown, watching as everyone went on as normal, completely forgetting their previous fear.
Meanwhile, Luffy had climbed onto the upper part of the fish-shaped restaurant and walked over to where he could smell both Patty and the other pirate. He got there just in time to see Patty wipe his hands- the other Pirate laying silently on the ground- and then the cook left, heading back inside.
"Damnit! If I were in a normal state, I wouldn't have been... mocked by someone like that..." The pirate groaned out as he rolled over onto his stomach, too weak do move anymore. Luffy leaned over the railing of the second floor, looking down at him.
"Ne, are you hungry by any chance?" He asked the man. He had felt his pride back in the restaurant, that pride holding him back from admitting that he was hungry, and he wondered if now, after all that had happened, he would deny the hunger further.
"Shut up! I'm not hungry!" The pirate insisted, too weak to even look to Luffy in his state. Luffy frowned but was stopped from saying anything when the back door opened again and Sanji walked out, placing a plate of food in front of the hungry man. The man looked to the food in surprise, and then looked to Sanji who sat against the railing in front of him.
"Eat it." He said, taking out a cigarette. A strong desire to do as told filled the pirate, but at the same time, there was a fierce refusal, that pride overcoming his desire.
"Shut up! Beat it! Even when I'm down and out, I won't take charity from others. Take this food away now!" He told Sanji, turning his head as he clenched his teeth, visibly struggling not to dig in.
"Stop whining and eat it already! To me, anyone who's hungry is a customer." Sanji told him before he looked at the sky. Luffy continued watching silently, looking at Sanjis bright blue aura and giving a small smile.
"Sorry, but I'm not a customer." With another growl of the pirates stomach, he continued denying the food.
"How large and cruel the ocean is... How scary it is to lose food and water on the ocean... How hard it is..." Sanji said, and from his emotions, Luffy could tell he was talking from experience.
"I can understand how a hungry person feels more than anyone." He continued. Luffy frowned at that because he knew Sanji wasn't lying, and the thought of someone else starving like he had upset him.
"You can die for your pride if you want, but if you eat and survive, don't you think there's a future for you?" Sanji finished, a barely visible smile on his face as he looked over to the man. With a gulp and wide eyes, Luffy felt the pirates resolve fail. Hands darting forward, he grabbed the plate and spoon and began shoveling the still steaming food into his mouth as fast as he could, tears falling as he did.
"Sorry..." He said, stopping in his eating to rub an eye.
"Sorry... Thank you... I thought I'd die. I thought I was done..." And then he was shoveling the food again, the food already half gone in his desperation.
"Delicious... Delicious... I've never eaten food so delicious." He cried. Sanji was grinning behind him, a cigarette between his teeth.
"It's damn delicious, isn't it?" He asked, Luffy feeling the chefs pride swell at the compliments. Laughing loudly, the chef and pirate finally noticed Luffys presence.
"I found a good cook!" Luffy exclaimed with a wide smile as he watched them. After everything he'd seen and heard, he knew without a doubt that Sanji was not only a good chef but a good person as well.
"Hey you, it's a good thing that he gave you food! You almost died!" Luffy said with another laugh, knowing it to be true. He'd felt the pain from the mans hunger and knew he wouldn't have made it much longer. He was just glad he was finally able to push aside his pride and accept the food Sanji'd made him.
"Hey you, cook! Join my group!" Luffy said next, looking at Sanji now.
"Huh? Wait a minute, aren't you that 11097 guy?" Sanji asked, swirly eyebrow slanted in confusion as he observed Luffy. For as scary and ruthless as the marines made him out to be, this straw-hatted teen didn't look all that scary.
"That's right! Be the cook on my pirate ship!" Luffy said again, pointing his thumb to his chest.
"Huh?!" Both Sanji and the pirate exclaimed in shock. Jumping down from the upper floor, Luffy joined the two on the lower deck, sitting on top of the railing Sanji was leaning against. Food finished, the pirate turned to face him as well, interested.
"Whitebeard Pirate 11097. Gotta say, you don't look all that scary." The pirate said as he looked Luffy up and down.
"I never said I was scary..." Luffy said in slight confusion, head tilting and wondering where the man had gotten that idea from.
"And I'm not apart of Pops' crew anymore. I left and started my own, which is why I need a cook, and I think you'd be a good one!" Luffy explained as he turned to look at Sanji again.
"I don't care who you are or what you want, just don't do anything stupid to this restaurant. The owner of this place used to be a cook in a famous pirate group." Sanji said, brushing off the invitation, more worried about Luffy causing trouble.
"I see... so the old man was a pirate..." Luffy mused, thinking back to the peg-legged man with a smile.
"To that damn geezer, this restaurant is like his treasure... On top of that, those cooks, who came here out of admiration for him, are all hot-headed just like pirates. Well, they're actually perfect for this place since pirates like you come and go." The blonde continued nonchalantly as if he wasn't sitting beside a well-known criminal.
"Yeah, this restaurant is really wild." Luffy nodded in agreement, knowing as much from the few minutes he'd been here.
"Yeah. This is how it is here every day. There're even customers who come to see fights between cooks and pirates these days. Because of that the waiters all got scared and ran away." The chef finished.
"Ah, I see... Hey, join our group." Luffy said, reminded of his reasoning for talking to the man.
"I refuse. There's a reason that I have to work in this restaurant." Sanji told him with a frown, looking away from him. He wasn't able to be so lucky though as Luffy bent over, placing his face directly in front of Sanjis.
"No! I refuse!" The teen shouted, surprising Sanji who pressed back against the railing, trying to move away from Luffys close proximity.
"Wh-what do you mean?!" Sanji asked, not understanding what he was hearing. Not to mention, a pirate with a few hundred million bounty had their face extremely close to his, and for the first time, he realized that this man was possibly strong enough to take him no problem.
"I refuse your refusal! You're a good cook, so let's be pirates together." Luffy said stubbornly, arms crossed as he sat back up.
"Hey, listen to my reason," Sanji said as he moved away from the railing to better see Luffy.
"So what's that reason?" Luffy asked, ready to listen.
"I don't need to tell you," Sanji said, a tick mark forming on his forehead.
"Huh? You just told me to listen to your reason!" Luffy replied, growing annoyed himself now.
"I'm telling you to accept what I say! I'm gonna cut you into three pieces, you damn Straw Hat!" Sanji yelled, getting in Luffys face now, anger overpowering rational thought.
"What'd you say?! I'm gonna beat you up if you make fun of the straw hat, you jerkwad!" Luffy shouted back, equally angry thanks to Sanjis emotions, as well as the dis on his hat.
"Sorry to interrupt..." The pirate who had been sitting silently beside them suddenly spoke up.
"What?!" Both Sanji and Luffy shouted, turning to look at him with equal looks of fury.
"I'm Gin of the Krieg Pirates. So you left the Whitebeards? Do you have any goals?" He asked Luffy, oddly calm now despite facing who he knew to be a strong opponent. At the innocent question, Luffy grinned, his rage replaced with happiness at the thought of his dream.
"I'm aiming for the One Piece. I'm gonna go back to Paradise and then the New World. The One Piece is somewhere there, and I'm definitely gonna be the one to get it." Luffy said with such conviction that both Gin and Sanjis eyes widened.
"P-Paradise?" Gin stuttered out.
"Ah, right. Grand Line is what you guys call it, right?" Luffy asked, still trying to get used to that.
"How can you call that nightmare of a place Paradise?!" Gin asked in shock. Luffy blinked slowly at that, frowning as he looked at Gin and felt the terror in him at just the mention of the place.
"I don't know, that's just what Pops and the others always called it cause its Paradise compared to the New World," Luffy said with a shrug.
"The New World..." Sanji muttered quietly to himself, eyes still wide himself.
"Yeah, the second half. If you can't make it through Paradise, there's no way you'll survive the New World." The Straw Hatted teen explained.
"And you were apart of the Whitebeards who easily handled the Grand Line..." Gin said in realization. With how young Luffy looked, the idea that he had traversed places as dangerous as the Grand Line and lived surprised Gin.
"Given that you're looking for a cook, it seems your new crew only has a few members." The Krieg pirate realized, Luffy nodding in confirmation.
"Yep. He's the fifth member." Luffy said with a smile, pointing to Sanji.
"Why are you counting me?!" Sanji snapped indignantly, however, he was ignored. Gin looked over Luffy once more before sighing.
"I guess you already know then that traveling the Grand Line with so few people is suicide." Gin told him.
"Nah, not if you don't know what you're doing. Ne, do you know a lot about the Grand Line?" Luffy asked. It seemed as if Gin knew at least a little bit about the place with how much he was talking about it. Sweating and wide-eyed, Gin held his head with his hand.
"No... I don't know anything... I don't understand anything about it... That's exactly why I fear it..." Gin told him truthfully. Luffy tilted his head at the words, wondering what had him so spooked. The Grand Line, while no cakewalk by any means, wasn't that scary.
"You're an underling of Krieg, and yet you talk so wimpily..." Sanji said, hands in his pockets where he stood beside Luffy who hadn't left his spot on the railing.
"Hmm? Who's Krieg?" Luffy asked, only briefly having heard his name earlier back in the restaurant, but even then he hadn't paid the name much attention.
"You haven't heard of him? Don Krieg is said to be the strongest and most evil pirate in the East Blue." Sanji told Luffy, taking the cigarette out of his mouth as he looked at Luffy, eyebrow raised.
"It's true. My Captains the don of a fleet that controls the Captains of 50 pirate ships. We have more than 5000 men in our ranks." Gin added though Luffy didn't seem all that intimidated by those numbers. Seeing this, Gin sighed and frowned, reminding himself he was talking to someone who had once been apart of a Yonkos crew. Standing, he moved to a tiny boat that was sitting in the water beside them.
"In any case, I've said my share." He said as he hopped into the boat, looking to Luffy and Sanji who were watching him.
"So long then..." He told them, holding the rope that had held the boat to the Baratie in his hand.
"Thank you so much, Sanji-san. I owe my life to you. The food you gave me was the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. Is it okay if I come back for it?" Gin asked almost sheepishly. Sanji smiled widely at that, his cigarette back in his mouth.
"Any time!" He told the pirate.
"Hey, Sanji!" Luffy and Sanji both turned to see the Owner standing on the upper floor, looking down at them.
"Geezer..." Sanji said with a sigh.
"There you are." The man said, noticing the empty plate on the ground.
"Go Gin," Sanji told the still lingering pirate who hesitated.
"Ah, sorry. You're gonna get yelled at, because you fed me for free, right?" He asked, rubbing his forehead.
"Well..." Sanji started, walking over to the empty plate and glass. Picking them up, he walked back over to the railing, dropping them into the ocean.
"There's no proof so there's no reason for me to be yelled at." The blonde told him with a grin. Gin looked close to tears at this, but nodded, unfurling his sail.
"Don't ever get caught again, Gin!" Sanji said in farewell as he and Luffy, as well as the Owner, watched the boat sail off.
"Thank you, Sanji-san! I'll never forget your kindness!" Gin said gratefully, kneeling on the deck and bowing his head, touching it to the ground. When the boat was far enough away, the owner finally spoke up again.
"Sanji! Get to work already!" Luffy and Sanji turned to look at the man, Sanji tsking but looking like he was going to do as told.
"Shishishi, see you soon Sanji!" Luffy laughed, jumping off the railing and beginning to make his way back to the front of the ship. Sanji watched him walk off, ready to retort, but decided against it.
Shaking his head, he walked into the kitchen without a word.
And Sanji has made his appearance! The third member of the monster trio has arrived.
Already things have changed from canon. Seeing as Luffy is a highly wanted criminal who is wanted alive only, I feel like Fullbody would realize that they shouldn't do something as detrimental as shooting at them with a cannon and would instead order his men to do the dirty work while he went and relaxed at the restaurant. After all, he seems like someone who thinks they're high and mighty compared to others and wouldn't want to bother himself with actually doing any heavy lifting such as capturing Luffy and his crew.
Since no cannon was shot, Luffy didn't end up working at the restaurant to pay off any debt and is instead an actual customer. It's not a big change, and it's not anything that other writers have explored before, but it felt like a logical change to make in this story.
Anyway, not only did we meet Sanji, but we met Gin as well who is- as we know- going to head off back to Krieg. I'm still working on the big fight between Krieg and Luffy- and not to mention what I'm going to have Nami do in regards to stealing Merry and heading back to Arlong- but so far I think it's going alright! I can't wait to show you guys the next few chapters and I hope you'll continue to stick with me!
Again, as always, thank you all for your support on my stories! I feel bad that I don't get around to replying to everyones reviews, but I get so caught up in real life things that I completely forget to check who I have and haven't responded to. So sorry for that, and hopefully I'll be better about that in the future.
In any case, I love you all so so soooo much! I hope to see you again in two weeks with the next chapter!