Chapter 20: Baratie

I felt the wind blow against my face and through my hair as I stood on the main mast's rope riggings, looking out into the ocean without a care in the world with the morning sun shining down from the clear blue skies above; the ocean waters reflecting the rays off them like sparkling blue gems.

It has been two years since I've entered the One Piece universe and changed into a woman against my will. And two years since I've joined the East Traders' Silver Fang.

And in those two years, my body has grown to be more… womanly.

I've grown a good head taller, that's a given, so I'm no longer being look on like a kid, instead is more of a somewhat short high school girl. I'm still the shortest person around, though. My figure has filled up quite a bit, with my bust growing from a small AB-cup to a full B-cup.

I have to get a new bra, annoyingly…

And thanks to my training, my limps are toned with defined muscles as well as a slight six pack, most which are half covered under my new halter top. Never in my life would I have even conceive having a tone stomach.

Speaking of which, my wardrobe has been given a little of an upgrade as well.

Gone is my dark blue tube top, changed into a white sleeveless turtleneck halter top that barely covers my toned belly but shows off a bit of my belly button; over it is now a dark blue cropped short-sleeved jacket with a red hood. My grey pants are now a pair of black slacks that cut off halfway up my shins and my usual brown leather boots is replaced with a pair of sturdy leather sandals.

I still got the same white cloth sash is tied around my waist though, with Nanashi hanging from it.

My hair has also grown out and has remained grown down past my shoulders to the middle of my back, despite my desire for it to be short boyish cut. For some reason, Silvia and Justin really don't want that, saying that it is such a waste to do so.

Long hair really gets in the way, though…

And they are a real pain to maintain and keep clean…

I usually just tie them up as a simple ponytail.

Besides those bodily changes, these past two years has been a pretty wild ride. From Sen's harsh and brutal training, to helping out on the ship's many long voyages, I've been through a lot and encounter quite a lot.

Like for example, Lee and Silvia got married last year!

Yeah, no kidding! We have a ceremony and everything!

Thanks to the harsh training, I'm now well trained and fully equipped with a set of skills that even if I quit the East Traders and goes off on my own, I could easily navigate the seas with relative ease and hold my own against most pirates.

Speaking of pirates, I have been keeping taps on the news to see if anything about Luffy or the plot rearing its head for the past two years.

Ace got his first bounty, as expected, as Fire Fist Ace of the Spade Pirates just last year. And there have been constant talks about a certain swordsman now pretty much becoming the most infamous bounty hunter in the East Blue. Rumours about a pirate stealing thief seems to be circulating around too.

But no signs of any of the Straw Hats forming up with each other yet, especially about their captain.

There had been an article about a certain Axe hand marine captain and his corruption and tyranny over his base about a month ago, so at least I know that canon is long underway.

"Hey, Rein!" My captain, Silvia calls out to me from the deck below with some of the crew around her. "Get down here! I need to brief about this job!"

I comply and leaps off the rigging onto the deck. Right in front of her.

"Nice landing." She noted before turning to address us, her crew, "Baratie is just a few clicks away and we have ingredients needing to be unloaded. So, the people who will be unloading are…"

I tuned out her list of names as I thought about this new delivery trip.

When I heard that we are actually delivering ingredients to THE Baratie, I was floored! East Blue's only seafaring restaurant, the one fictional restaurant that I thought would be an awesome place to visit if I ever get the chance to! I didn't think that the East Traders would have a contract with them, especially with how much of a grumpy hardass Zeff is portrayed in the manga.

I wonder if we get a chance to have a meal there…?

Also, it is the working place of one blonde kicking future pirate cook of the Straw Hats and former North Blue noble, Sanji Vinsmoke. Or just Sanji.

I really doubt he would have liked being called that, especially with his 'family' history…

It is also the future battleground for Luffy and Don Krieg. With the canon plot now chugging along, there's a small chance that I might ended up right in the middle of it. As much as it would be nice to see Sanji kick some ass, I would rather not get the Silver Fang caught up in it, especially with a certain swordsman coming to kick up a storm.

If he can cut up a huge galleon with no real trouble, I'm afraid of what would happen to our smaller ship if we get caught in the crossfire…

"Rein! East Blue to Rein!"

I was brought out of my musing when Silvia waves her hand in front of me.

"Yes! W-What is it!?"

"Good to have you back from lalaland, Rein." She stated in annoyance as some of the crew starts chuckling to my embarrassment, "You are part of the group helping unload the cargo. Take extra care not to overexert yourself. We all remember what happened last time you did."

I groaned as laughter exploded around me. Just one time I tried to carry way too much boxes and accidentally drop them into the ocean, and they hang it over my head forever.

When the seafaring restaurant comes into view, I was once again shocked over how much of Oda's design seems to fit in with the world.

The Baratie looks exactly like how it is in the manga; A three-layered 'ship' themed after what I think might be a grouper. Though calling it a ship might not be right. It looks more like those floating restaurants you often find off the coast of a marina, but with sails and a fish fin rudder.

At its entrance, or at least I think is its entrance, docked a row of ships of all sizes, with a few rowboats among them, most likely from the larger vessels anchored a bit further away. Some of them looks to be private yachts and passenger ships.

Then, one of them caught my attention immediately.

A small ship with a goat head figurehead and a certain jolly roger painted on its sails and black flag.

A smiling jolly roger with a straw hat.

This must mean that we came at the time either Luffy just destroyed part of the restaurant, during the period which he is working as their chore boy, or just before Don Krieg arrives with his half-wrecked galleon and starving crew.

And seeing that there are some tarp covering over a part of the top floor, I dare wager it would be either during the period or before Don Krieg.

"Hm? Something caught your eyes?"

I turn around to see Sen walking up to me with curious glint in his eyes. I pointed at the Going Merry among the anchored ships, "That. That's the Going Merry."

"Okay? What about it?"

"Remember two years ago, when I told you about a… certain someone?"

"Two years ago-Oh! Wait, is that his ship?"

I nodded before whispering to him, "His first one. Since that is here, there's a small chance that he would be here as well. And a possibility of Don Krieg attacking this restaurant."

"Don Krieg? Why would he attack this place?"

"Long story short, he got his ass busted by the Grand Line and now wants to rebuild his fleet."

"And he starts here?"

"Again, a long story. The main point is that he might attempt to take over the Baratie today."

"Might?"

"I'm not too sure of the timeline, so–"

"What are you guys whispering about over here?"

I nearly jumped when Lee suddenly makes a point to budge into our whispered conversation. He gives us a pointed look, "Well? Spit it out."

"U-Um…"

How do I explain to him that a dangerous pirate is about to try to hijack the seafaring restaurant!?

"Rein just wants to dine at the Baratie." Sen helpfully answers for me, "I mean, it's not everyday we get to come to the famous Baratie. What do you think? Mind letting her take a break after work to dine to some fine dining?"

"Hm… It would be a shame not to do so…" He noted, "I'll run it by Silvia and let you know what she thinks."

"Thanks, Lee!"

As the quartermaster walks away, we both let loose a huge sigh of relief, "That was way too close…" I stated.

"No kidding…" Sen nodded, "So, about Don Krieg."

"Ah, right. I don't know what the exact moment he might arrive. It could be today or tomorrow, who can say? But there's still a small chance that he'll try to hijack this restaurant. So, mind keeping a look out, just in case?"

"Sure. Better to be safe than sorry." He noted with a smile as he chuckles, "And I'm kind of curious how bad the Grand Line screw him up."

"…You are one sadistic bastard, you know that?"

…

After our little discussion over the matter, the Silver Fang anchors a good distance away from the other ships at the opposite side of the restaurant.

The ones who will be handling unloading most of the cargo would be: me, Sen, Lee, and Gord. The rest of the crew are to take a short break in the meantime, which either means that sleeping or drinking the afternoon away. Thank goodness that we only need to unload ten crates worth of stuff.

"You guys with the East Traders?"

The head chef of Baratie, Chef Zeff greets us in all his peg leg and braided moustache glory. Lee answers back, "Yes, we are the Silver Fang of the East Traders. I'm the quartermaster of the Silver Fang, Lee-"

"Don't care. Show me the stock."

With a disregarding wave, he belts out his demands for his order which we hastily brought out for him. With a crowbar, we open a barrel filled with fish laid over ice, which he inspects each spud with a careful eye, "Hm… good, good… and the vegetables?"

"Huh?"

"I'm sure I order some vegetables as well?"

"A-Ah, of course!"

We quickly brought out another crate which we also open up for him, this one filled with fresh leafy vegetables kept with packs of ice. He gave a nod after checking them over.

"Alright. Take them to storage over there."

"Of course, sir. We also need to get your signature for confirmation-"

"I know, I know. I'll sign it after you store it over there." He waves Lee's words off with no regard to him.

"He is quite a character, huh?" Gord whispers to me.

"Yeah." I nodded. I mean, he used to be an infamous pirate, so I was expecting someone not too keen on polite talk but he sure is straight to the point…

"That's a given, considering he used to be a pirate and all that." Sen noted, "But to be fair, he has mellowed out over the years. You should see him at his prime."

"You met him before?" Gord asks him.

"Oh yeah, many a time! There's this one time which-"

"Alright! Talks are over! Get at move on, everyone!"

"Y-Yes sir!"

As we follow the head chef, I can hear the sounds of food sizzling away from behind the slightly opened door. It no doubt leads to the main kitchen. A small peek through the gap has me seeing waiters yelling orders over to the busy chefs, knives chopping up vegetables, even the ever presence flambe at work at one station.

So, this is what the main kitchen of a fancy restaurant looks like…

I think I can see a few familiar faces among them, like that one guy whose hands looks like Popeye is any indication. I think I saw Sanji among them too, in his usual black suit and all.

"Rein. This way."

"Ah, right!"

I swiftly caught up to Gord who waited for me.

Zeff opens up the door to the storage room, and he flinches for a moment before yelling out, "CHORE BOY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"

"…Having a snack."

"Like hell you are! Your last break was over an hour ago!"

I peek around my crate and got a good look at who Zeff is yelling at.

Black messy and oily hair? Check.

Stitched scar under his left eye? Check.

Red vest and blue puffy pants? Check.

Straw hat on his head? Oh, definitely check!

Sitting on a crate while cradling his head in pain is the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates and most likely future Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy.

"Huh. Didn't know they even have a chore boy." Sen noted.

"Yeah… one with a straw hat…" I emphasised for Sen, who gave me a look which I nodded in response.

"Huh… I can see the resemblance there…"

Now that he pointed that out, I can see some of Garp in Luffy. Their cheeks are similar, for one.

After the peg legged chef left with the future pirate king in his grasp, we all start to unload the crates into the storage room. My mind wanders off to the possibility of Don Krieg actually showing up going up.

From what I can tell, Luffy has no doubt been here for a while now, a day or two perhaps. If that's the case, there's a high chance that today might be the day that Don Krieg will attack this restaurant.

The problem is what am I to do about it?

If this was two years ago, I might jump at the chance to join the Straw Hat pirates.

My knowledge of the plot would be the most useful on their crew, and the idea of touring around the high seas with what might be the most cheerful and mostly morally good bunch of outlaws is pretty inviting. Not to mention that Luffy is a powerhouse of a fighter, and he is willing to fight for his crewmates till the bitter end so I'll definitely be well protected.

But after spending two years with the East Traders, that didn't seem that inviting anymore.

While not adventuring pirates, they are pretty fun to be around. They can be crude at times, but they can be kind as well. Not to mention it has a pretty steady income. It's stable and secure, and safe from all the craziness and wackiness of the Grand Line.

"Hey, do you guys hear screaming?" Gord suddenly pointed out.

I strained my ears and listened. As he said, there seems to be screaming coming from the restaurant. Did something happen?

"Puru puru puru puru."

Lee took out the ringing mini Den-Den Mushi from his pocket and answers it, "Hello?"

"Lee, get everyone back to the ship right now!"

"Is something the matter, Silvia?"

"It's Don Krieg! Don Krieg is coming here!"

My eyes widen at what she said. This is no doubt going like the plot states! But if that's the case, Don Krieg and his men are most likely starving and thirsty, not strong enough to hijack this restaurant right now.

"Don Krieg himself!? Are you sure!?" Lee asks.

"There's no doubt. That's his flag on the wrecked galleon that just docked."

"Wrecked?"

"Yeah, the whole ship looks to be barely holding together. It's a miracle that it hasn't fallen apart yet."

No doubt, the Krieg pirates are definitely severely weakened by their encounter with Mihawk, not to mention starving. If we are fast, we can get out of here before Sanji feeds him.

"Hey, Sen! Where are you going!?"

"To see what's all the commotion is about."

I turn around to see Sen walking into the kitchen despite Gord calling out to him. I quickly gave chase after him, Gord following close behind with a groaning Lee who no doubt wants to leave right now.

We follow him through the kitchen and out onto the dining room, where we saw a skinny and starving man who is no doubt Don Krieg stumbling in with a pale and skinny-looking Gin supporting him.

"Please…may I… have some… food and… water…?" He gasps out, "I've got money… lots and lots of… money…"

"That's Don Krieg?" Gord asks, "He doesn't look as intimidating as the wanted posters. Heck, he looks more like a dead man walking than a fearsome pirate."

"Yeah…" Lee nodded.

When he falls over, stomach growling up a storm, I'm quite certain that if no one feeds, Krieg would no doubt perish right here and now. I glanced over at Sen, who just stare at the pirate admiral with a very bored look on his face. What, was he expecting more? I mean, the guy literally just escaped hell, what more was he expecting?

"Food and water, please!" Gin quite literally begged, "The Don is on the verge of death! If you don't help him, he'll die! Please! We have money this time! We're paying customers!"

"Hahahaha! How rich! What a laugh! Is this really the dreaded Pirate Admiral, Don Krieg!?" The chef with the Popeye arms laughs, "Hey! Someone go alert the marines! They wouldn't want to miss the chance to catch him! And no one feed him a single crump!"

"Y-Yeah! If he regains his strength, there's no telling what he'll do!"

"He's a pirate, and a killer! Starving to death is too good for him!"

"He deserves to die, so let him!"

One by one, the diners in the restaurant all shouts out their opinions of the pirate in front of them, all of them filled with anger and disgust. Heck, one of them straight up tell him to go kill himself!

As they do, the starving Don Krieg got on his knees and starts to beg, "Please… I won't harm anyone… feed me… and I'll leave quietly… I beg of you… please help me…"

"Don Krieg, don't! Don't grovel! This is beneath you!'

"Please… even just leftovers… anything…!"

"Don Krieg…"

"Lee? Lee, are you still there?"

"…Um, Silvia." Lee calls on his still on mini Den-Den Mushi, "You're not going to believe this, but Don Krieg is literally begging on his knees for food."

"Whoa, whoa, are you serious!? THAT fearsome Don Krieg!?"

"You know, I kind of feel bad for him." Gord whispers to me, "Sure, he is a bloodthirsty pirate, but starving to death? That's not a good way to go…"

"Yeah…"

Sure, he might be bluffing, but you can't fake an empty stomach growling. Even so, this guy is no doubt a killer of hundreds of innocent people. And would kill even more if someone feeds him. Wouldn't starving him to death be the right thing to do?

"Hmph! Trying for sympathy now? Get real! No one would-"

"Move it, Patty."

The Popeye cook got kicked to the side by Sanji as he walks up to the starving pirate with a plate of fried rice and a bottle of water, "Here, Gin. He can eat this."

"Sanji!"

"T-Thank you!"

"Huh. Guess there are nice guys here as well." Gord noted.

As Krieg stuff his face with food, one of the cooks shouts out, "Sanji, take that food away from him! Don't you know who he is!? He's Foul Play Krieg, the tyrant of the eastern seas!"

"He started at prison, and lied his way onto a marine ship before killing all the officers and took over! That's how he got started as a pirate! Flying a marine flag, he sails into ports and attacks both town and ships! Sometimes he flies a white flag, only to open fire afterwards! He'll stoop to all kinds of low just to win, that's Foul Play Krieg!"

"At full strength, he'll be unstoppable! He says he'll go if we feed him, but can we trust his word!? That two-faced scoundrel should starve! The world would be a better place without him-"

"GRK!"

"S-Sanji!"

Without any warning, Krieg slams a haymaker into Sanji, knocking the blonde cook away and tumbling across the floor.

"Don, why!?" Gin cries out to his captain, "You swore you wouldn't hurt anyone if I led you here! That man saved our lives-ARGH!"

"Thanks for the meal." Krieg shoves his lieutenant aside as he got back on his feet, "I can feel my strength returning. This is a nice restaurant. I'll take it."

As he says so, every paying customer all book it to the exit as fast as they can, some stumbling over each other in their mad rush.

"Lee? What happened!?"

"Someone feed Don Krieg, and now he wants to hijack the Baratie!" Lee cries into the Den-Den Mushi.

"WHAT!? You guys need to get out of there, now!"

"No need to tell me that…! we've got go!"

"Yeah!" I turns to my mentor, "Sen, let's go!"

"You guys go on ahead." Sen tells us, "I want to see where this is going."

"Are you crazy!?" Lee shouted at him, "This is Don Krieg, we're talking about! And there's likely to be at least a hundred of armed pirates still on his ship! We'll all be killed!"

"Not likely." He stated to our quartermaster's confusion, "Those hundred pirates are near death as we speak. The only one capable of even fighting is Don Krieg and his right-hand man over there."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"My ship is a wreck, you see." Don Krieg continues on with his demand, "I'm in need of a new one. Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. You still have something to do for me. I have about a hundred men on my ship who still draw breath. They are dying of wounds, hunger and thirst. They need a hundred rations of food and water. You will prepare them. Some of them have already starved to death. There's no time to waste."

"You expect us to feed a hundred pirates who would take over our ship!?" The same cook from before shouted out, "We refuse!"

"Refuse? You misunderstand something here. This isn't a request. It's an order! Do not defy me!"

"Eek…!"

"Damn it, Sanji! You got us into this mess!"

The cook that the blonde cook kicked aside before got up and shouted at him. He just ignores him and walks away, "Hey! Where do you think you're going!?"

"To the kitchen. We have a hundred meals to prepare."

"WHAT!?"

"Heheh, that's good boy." Krieg chuckles.

With no time at all, all the chefs pull out guns from under their aprons and surround the blonde cook, firearm aiming straight at him. "Are you Don Krieg's dog, Sanji!? We can't let you into the kitchen! We're not going through with this! This is an outrage!"

"Then shoot me." Sanji states to their shock, "I know they are unredeemable evil men, but I'm a cook. Feeding hungry men is part of my job. Whether or not they are a paying customer or a pirate doesn't matter."

"Sanji… you…"

"What a guy…" Gord blinks in shock.

"Yeah…" I nodded in response. The way he speaks of such a thing is more than just an ideal way, it is his own code of conduct as a cook. There's no doubt he wouldn't turn away from it even if he wanted to.

"Ah, Patty!"

The Popeye chef from before slams his fists onto Sanji, knocking him to the ground, "Hold him down!" He tells his colleagues, in his hand is a clothed something, "Sanji, I know you feed the people I chase off. Maybe you're right to do that sometimes, but this time you're dead wrong! Now just stay put! I'm going to defend this restaurant."

"Patty, you…!"

"He may be Don Krieg, but he is just one man! He can't beat all of us!" He then removes the cloth to reveal what looks to be a lobster shaped cannon, "This is the Baratie! We deal with rowdy pirate all the time! And we know what kind of customer service to give them!"

He then aimed the weapon at the pirate admiral. "Have some dessert, on the house! Indigestion Meatball Cannon!"

"You son-of-a-!"

The cannon fires and hits Don Krieg square in the chest with a huge boom, sending the pirate flying out of the restaurant.

"Don Krieg!"

"Shit. I busted the door down." The Popeye chef noted, "Head Chef is going to have my hide."

"Don't worry about it." One of the cooks tells him, "It's a small price for saving the Baratie."

"What about the men on Krieg's ship?"

"Hm… how about we smear some butter on the ship and set it on fire?"

The cooks all let out a chuckle at the idea. I, on the other hand, wasn't sure now is a good time to joke around. After all, there's no way a pirate who got a bounty of over 10 million beri would be so easily taken out by a simple hand cannon of all things.

"Well, that was pretty anti-climactic." Lee noted as he clicked on the mini Den-Den Mushi, "Um, Silvia. I think Don Krieg just bit the dust by cannon ball."

"Really? That was anti-climactic."

"That was what I've said!"

"I didn't think Don Krieg will be taken out like that." Gord nodded.

"It's not over yet." Sen stated to their confusion, "He's not dead yet."

"What do you-"

"That was a lousy dessert."

Everyone immediately turns towards the smoke by the entrance as Don Krieg walks through, body covered with shiny armour. "A little too heavy for my taste. Hardly worth a four-star meal."

"Lee!? What now!?"

"I was wrong! Don Krieg is alive! He is very much alive!" Lee cries out, "And he is wearing armour!"

"What a dirty trick, hiding armour under his clothes!" The Popeye pirate tosses the cannon aside as his colleagues tosses him one of the many dining utensil styled weapons, "Everyone, rush him!"

Following his lead, the cooks all charge at him. Krieg scoffs at them and pulls out two pistols with parts of his armour unfold to reveal hidden gun barrels, "Impudence!"

The cooks weren't able to stop themselves in time as the pirate unloads his rounds at them. The lead bullets pierces through all of the cooks, not one is spared from the barrage. A couple of stray shots came our way but I managed to block them all with my transformed scaled arms.

"No one defies Don Krieg! I am stronger than anyone!" He loud boasts to us, "Arms of steel, stronger than any flesh! A carapace of the strongest wootz steel available! Diamond fists to demolish anything! And an array of built-in weaponry! I command 50 ships and 5000 fighting men! I've never lost a battle! I'm the Don of the Pirate Armada, the strongest man of the East Blue, Don Krieg!"

"PFT-DAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Everyone all stunned into silence when Sen lets out a bellow of laughter. Lee, Gord and I all turn to him with a glare that just screams 'what are you doing!?'.

"What is so funny?" Krieg walks up to us. We all took a step back from the laughing Sen as the pirate glares at him, "Why are you laughing!?"

"Dahaha, it's just-pft, it's just how stupid you sound just now." He noted with a barely contain laughter, "Arms of steel? Diamond fists? You're nothing more than some cowardly smuck who covered himself in powerful weapons with no actual strength to use any of it! No wonder you ran away from the Grand Line, you absolutely suck-"

Krieg did not waste any more time and interrupts Sen by slamming his fist into him; he easily takes the blow to his forehead without moving, a loud bang can be heard from the impact. He let loose a snicker, before his smirk quickly vanished as Sen is still standing right there with a smirk on his face, "See, what did I tell you? No actual strength."

"It didn't faze him at all…!"

"Who is that man…?"

"A-Amazing…!"

The cooks along with Luffy all voices their shock over Sen's overwhelming power and might, which I can sympathise. After all, it's not everyday someone just takes a hit from a 10 million bounty pirate like how Sen did.

"Not only that, didn't you hear what he said?"

"So not even Don Krieg couldn't handle the Grand Line…?"

"What kind of place is it, the Grand Line?"

And then words of shock and horror echoes among the murmurs. Seeing as the natives of East Blue has no idea what to expect from the Grand Line, it is no wonder that the place seems even more terrifying now.

"I-Impossible!"

"Impossible?" Sen wraps his fingers around Krieg's wrists and grip on tight, "You went to the Grand Line and you call me impossible? Looks like I was wrong. You didn't run away from the Grand Line at all. You didn't even enter the sea from the start."

"I-I can't move my wrist…!" Krieg tries to pull his arm free from my mentor's grasp, but to no avail, "W-What are you!?"

"Allow me to introduce you…" Sen raises his arm, fist clenched as his grin widen, "To what the Grand Line actually holds."

Just as he is about to slam his fist into the pirate's face and no doubt smash his skull in like it was nothing…

"Here. Food for a hundred men."

Zeff nonchalantly slams a large bag of food next to the two men, "Take it to your men."

"H-Head Chef Zeff!?"

"Why are you giving him the food!?"

"Z-Zeff…!?" Krieg chokes out, "Did they just call you Zeff!?"

"Is that a problem with that?" The former pirate asks with a glare.

"I-It can't be… aren't you Red-Leg Zeff!?"

"I was once called that, once upon a time." The head chef then turns to Sen, "And Sen, really? Do you have to make a ruckus in my restaurant every time you come here?"

"For your info, he attacked first." Sen pointed out, "I'm entitled to self-defence."

"And I wish to keep my roof less damaged, thank you very much. We're already trying to patch up one hole, and I don't need to patch up another."

"Yeah, I guess that's fair."

Sen lets go of Krieg's wrist; the pirate admiral lets loose a controlled sigh before turning to Zeff, "So, Red-Leg Zeff. You're still alive, I see."

"Yeah, and what is it to you?" He asks, "I'm not a pirate anymore, just a humble chef now."

"Ha! You said it like you had a choice. But from where I'm standing, you have no choice but to be a cook!" Krieg scoffs, "To speak of Red-Leg Zeff is to speak of his powerful kicks. Kicks so powerful that they shatter rocks and dent steel. The blood of your enemies stained your feet with each kill, dying it red, thus the name 'Red-Leg Zeff'. It was said that you died in a shipwreck years ago, but I see that rumour is false. You are still alive, but you have lost one of your precious legs."

"I have lost one of my legs, yes. And what of it? I can't fight as well as I used to, but I still got my hands to cook with. But I highly doubt that what you want from me. So, what is it you want?"

"Red-Leg Zeff! You once sailed that devilish sea, the Grand Line for a whole year. And you returned from it, unscathed. You must have kept a record of that voyage in your logbook. Give it to me!"

"Whoa, you been to the Grand Line too, old man!?" Luffy cries out in awe.

"Aye, I did." Zeff nodded, "And yes, I still have that logbook with me. But I won't give it to you. It is a testament to me and the men that sailed alongside me on that year-long voyage. I won't give it to the likes of you!"

"Then I'll just take it from you!" Krieg declares, "It is true that I didn't succeed on the Grand Line! But I am Don Krieg, the mightiest of them all!" Sen let loose a snicker at the proclamation, "Weaklings do well to shun that dark route. But I have the ambition, the strength! The only thing I lacked is intel. That's what stop me! I just didn't know enough. I will have that logbook, along with this ship!"

"You can't have it! This ship is all we have!"

"Yeah! We've each been reach cast out from everywhere else!"

"Head Chef Zeff is our saviour! He took us in when no one else could!"

"We would never let you take this ship! Never!"

All the cooks declare their loyalty to Zeff one by one. With how rough and vulgar looking those cooks looked, it is no wonder most restaurant wouldn't even hire them. To them, Zeff is more than a boss.

I glanced at Gord to see him misty eyes at their proclamation. Seeing as Gord has been kicked out from the marines and was jobless until Silvia invites him on board the Silver Fang, it is no wonder he sympathised with them.

"Fools! No one can defy me!" I saw him glanced at Sen for a moment; my mentor sticks his tongue out at him in response, "You've seen that I'm the strongest of all! I'll take Zeff's logbook, assemble another pirate armada, capture the One Piece, and lord over the Great Pirate Era as the new Pirate King!"

"HEY, HOLD IT! The one who will be Pirate King is ME!"

Everyone all turned to face the one that shouted that out, as Luffy stood there firmly in front of Krieg with his arms on his hips.

"C-Chore Boy!?"

"What are you doing, kid!? He'll murder you!"

"I can't. Not out of this!" Luffy stated firmly.

"Did you say something, boy?" Krieg scoffs, "Don't you want to take that back?"

"Nope. I was only stating the facts."

"This isn't a game."

"Obviously. Are you an idiot?"

Lee stares on with his mouth wide open, while Gord just rubs his face with an annoyed groan. "That kid, he is going to get himself killed…" Gord stated.

"Weren't you listening!? The Grand Line is too much even for Don Krieg! Can't we call it off!? Going there is suicide!"

"Quiet. Stay out of this."

We all turns to the source of the whispering. And sure enough, there sat two of the original Straw Hat Pirates crew in their long nose and mossy green hair glory.

"Time to fight, Luffy?" Roronoa Zoro asked with a grin, "I'll lend a hand."

"Ah, Zoro, Usopp. You guys are here?" Luffy blinked in surprise, "It is fine, I can handle it."

"Heheh… hahahaha!" Krieg burst out laughing, "That's your crew!? A pretty small crew, don't you think?"

"Wrong! There are two more!"

I saw Sanji face-palming at the proclamation.

"Don't be so cocksure, brat!" The pirate admiral shouted, "I have a fleet of 50 ships and over 5000 men! But in just seven days, we were smashed to bits in that demonic sea!"

"Seven days!?"

"The pirate armada was destroyed so quickly!?"

"What could have even done such a thing!?"

Everyone all voiced out their shock over it, including me. But I wasn't shocked that they got destroyed in only seven days. I'm shocked that they lasted seven days. I guess I remember the plot of this arc a bit poorly. I've always thought that they only lasted a single day when Mihawk shows up at Twin Peaks and rip them to shreds.

I guess they were a little tougher than I thought…

"Such reckless impudence…" Krieg scoffs at Luffy as he picks up his bag of food, "Watch your mouth, or I'll kill you right now!"

"As if you can." Luffy stated with his tongue sticking out mockingly.

"Tch… Now listen carefully." The pirate admiral turns to the rest of us, "I'll give you all a chance. I'm taking this food to the men on my ship. If you don't want to die, you better be off this ship when I get back. All I want is this ship and the logbook. But if you are so eager to die, wait for me. I'll bury you all in the sea."

With those last words, he left the restaurant, leaving behind a downtrodden Gin.

"Well, you heard what he just said." Lee turns to us, "Let's all get out of here before it is too late."

"Agree." We all turn to Sen, who just shrug his shoulders.

"Sure. But before that…"

He adjusts his fedora and walks over to an excited Luffy, who is talking with his crewmate as we speak.

"Hey, kid!" He waves at the future Pirate King, Luffy gives him a confused look, "I saw what you did there. It's pretty ballsy to declare to be the next Pirate King out loud like that."

"I'm just saying what's true." He stated.

"That's quite a statement there." He chuckles before pointing at him, "But to be Pirate King is to be the one that rules the high seas, the one that untattered to anyone in this world, and the one that rises up this era of strife and chaos. Do you have what it takes?"

"…Naturally." Luffy smirks.

"…Hm, I see. That Straw Hat truly fits you."

"Sen!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."

With that, he follows us back through the kitchen and towards the Silver Fang.

"There you guys are!" Silvia greets us as we walked up the wooden ramp, "I was worried sick! What happened? You guys suddenly cut off."

"Well, Don Krieg gave us an ultimatum, and we obliged to flee while we still can." Lee explained.

"We would have left sooner, if Sen didn't want to watch the show." Gord pointed out.

"Oh, just chill, will you?" Sen stated, "It's not like that smuck is going to do anything-"

His eyes suddenly widen and looks around in a panic, much to our confusion. "We need to move, now!"

"What's the matter?" I asked.

The moment I said that, parts of the sea suddenly split open, creating wild and strong waves. The waves rock the ship heavily, sending most of us tumbling onto the deck with loud thuds.

I was unluckily the last one to board the ship, which meant that I was very close to the empty spot on the railing. When the ship rocked back and forth, my momentum has me overcompensating and falls through the gap and off the ship.

"Rein!"

Those were the last words I heard before plummeting into the cold waters below.

…

To be continued…

I AM BACK! Oh boy, I missed writing this fic, and boy was this a doozy of a chapter. It was easier to write than most, seeing that I mostly followed the plot along a certain path, but here it is.

So, yes. There is a time skip between this chapter and the last one. It is mostly to pad out time as there isn't much I can elaborate on that isn't just omakes and side stories. And so that I can get to the canon timeline faster. Rein got a new wardrobe, like all time skip tends to do, and he is much more skilled than before, which you'll all see in the next chapter.

With that, I thank you all for reading this!