"You really should consider taking the boy's offer, Sanji."
Zeff had said this to Sanji while he and the other cooks were working in the kitchen.
"I still haven't paid off my debt to you, Pops," Sanji pointed out.
"You keep thinking about that debt, and you'll never leave, then who will fulfill our dream?" Zeff retorted. "Besides, it's clear you and the other cooks don't get along, and for good reason. You get in fights with customers, albeit not without reason. Your nostrils flare up whenever you meet a pretty girl. If you weren't the best damn chef in this place I'd have kicked you out years ago. And that's another thing. Sanji... Several times you've wound up getting caught off-guard because some pirate starting a fight in this place happened to be a woman."
"You're the one who taught me not to hit women," Sanji reminded him.
"Yeah, but I never meant that to be absolute," Zeff clarified before sighing. "Sanji, if you don't fight back against a woman who's trying to kill you, they will succeed. Honestly, I shouldn't even have to explain this flat-out. I thought it was common sense."
Meanwhile, on the Going Merry, Nami was holding the wanted poster for the Sawtooth Shark Fishman.
"That's the guy who killed the person you're close to, right?" Luffy asked as he sat next to her.
"Yeah, his name is Arlong. The woman he killed... Well, she might as well have been my mother." Nami said, Luffy frowning when he saw the tears forming in her eyes.
"It hurts me seeing you sad like this. Especially with how cheerful you are inside the restaurant. It's kinda funny seeing you take advantage of Sanji's infatuation."
Nami giggled at that. "Yeah, I've gotten good at taking advantage of guys who think I'm easy."
"Speaking of Sanji, it's been four days since we docked here. Any update on him?" Ariala asked as she came over.
"Guy seems determined to work here until Zeff dies, but I can wear him down," Luffy noted confidently. "Zeff already gave me permission to take Sanji for the crew, so at least that's one obstacle down."
"Captain! Something's coming through the fog just off the starboard!" Usopp called out.
Luffy and the Children of Whitebeard went up near the aft of the Merry to take a look. A dark shape, visible even from miles away, was approaching swiftly.
"Is that a ship?" Zoro asked.
"Looks pretty banged up," Ferros noted.
Usopp looked through his telescope and his jaw dropped in shock.
"That Jolly Roger! A skull and crossbones with an hourglass on each side! That's the mark of the Krieg Pirates!"
"Looks like Gin made it back," Luffy said.
"And apparently, he decided to tell his crew about this place," Lithos noted.
The customers inside must have seen the ship as well because there was a sudden chorus of panicked screams coming from inside the Baratie as the cooks got on guard. As the fog cleared, the damage to the Dreadnaught Sabre became more evident, shocking everyone even more.
"Who or what could have wrecked such a powerful galleon?" Nami wondered.
"We can think of a few people more than capable off the top of our heads," Merone replied.
Ferros nodded. "Looks like those rumors Johnny mentioned have a bit of weight to them."
Krieg himself soon boarded the Baratie, supported by Gin, and entered the restaurant. Several people noticed that his head was bandaged as if someone had actually managed to injure him.
"My crew needs food and water. There's plenty of money on my ship to pay for it." Krieg said as he dropped a bag of money on the ground. "Here, Gin's tab for his last visit. This amount should cover it, right?"
Both the customers and cooks were flabbergasted. Krieg wasn't begging, but he wasn't being forceful either. He was just acting like he was another customer. Suddenly he keeled over in pain, clutching his stomach.
"Captain!" Gin called out. "Damn it, he hasn't had food in days... Hey, someone help us out here! He's about to starve!"
The customers all looked at him with disdain, but Zeff just sighed as he turned to his cooks.
"Well you heard him! Get to work right now!" He barked. "Carne, please escort any customer that has finished paying out. We don't want the unsettling mood to kill anyone's appetites."
Carne, the meat master, nodded and got to work as Patty approached Zeff with concern.
"Sir, what are you thinking? This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance! If we call the Marines right now and keep Kreig under arrest..."
"They'll just take all the credit. Don't go dreaming of improving our restaurant's reputation with something like that." Zeff cut off. "The only way we'll keep folks coming is by maintaining a strict policy of feeding anyone who comes in hungry."
"Are you nuts?" Carne asked as he came in. "Krieg's sure to attack us once he's back to full strength!"
"Then we'll simply fight to protect ourselves like we always do," Zeff said. "Or do you think you've gotten so soft you can't handle it?"
Sanji then came walking down from the kitchen carrying a large bowl of fried rice, placing it in front of Krieg, who didn't waste a second to shovel the food into his mouth.
"Sanji, are you crazy?! Do you have any idea who Krieg is?!" Carne called out. "He's known as 'Foul Play' for a reason. At the start of his career, he pretended to be a Marine soldier and took over a ship by killing its senior officer. That's when he first declared himself a pirate. He would raise Marine flags to sneak into towns and passenger ships to attack them. Or white flags to trick enemy ships into thinking he was surrendering, then destroying them when they got close. His strength is said to be overwhelming! We're better off just letting him die!"
Sanji just took a puff of his cigarette before giving his co-workers an icy glare.
"Do you know how long it takes to starve to death?"
"H-Huh?"
"How painful it is? Your body literally starts eating itself due to a lack of calories. It does more than just weaken you. You feel the worst sort of pain you've ever felt in your entire existence."
Krieg stood up. "Thank you. That was the best food I've had in a long time. The rest of my crew still needs as well. Plus my children."
"Wait, you have kids?!" Patty asked in disbelief.
"What's so strange? I'm an adult man in my forties. Did you really think I wouldn't find someone to marry during my time as a pirate?"
Patty shook his head. "Well, it doesn't matter! We're not going to risk getting your crew back up to full strength!"
"That's right!" Carne added. "So you can all starve for all we-"
He was cut when Zeff used his peg leg to slam him and Patty into the nearby wall.
"Have you idiots not gotten it through your thick skulls yet?! How about I strand you on a deserted reef with no food for a month!? See how you feel about letting people starve after that?!" The old chef called out angrily before looking over to the other shocked cooks. "Well? What are you all standing around for? We have a hundred people to cook for! Get to work!"
That got the cooks scrambling all at once as Sanji just smirked before heading up as well. Meanwhile, Krieg was looking at Zeff with a fear Gin had never seen before.
"So, Krieg, it seems even you could be defeated by the Grand Line."
"You gotta be kidding..." Carne said as he and Patty picked themselves up. "A fleet of fifty ships... And he still got defeated by the Grand Line?"
Krieg wasn't bothered by Zeff's words, so much as his demeanor.
"Red Leg Zeff... That is you, right? I had no idea you were still alive. A pirate of such skill that you were both your ship's cook and captain."
"So you've heard of me. And what of it? My bounty was canceled years ago when it was clear I couldn't act as a pirate anymore. Now I'm just the head chef of this establishment."
"Maybe, but it's clear you haven't lost your edge. Even with a peg leg, it's clear you're as strong as ever." Krieg pointed out. "Back in the day, Red Leg Zeff was a master of kicks who never used his hands in battle. His legs were strong enough to break bedrock and leave footprints on steel. He got his epithet from the blood of his enemies that covered his legs. But I'm curious... What could finally remove that powerful leg of yours after so much success?"
"You really want to know? I'm sure you've heard your fair share of rumors."
"Well, you did come out of the Grand Line after a year completely unscathed," Krieg noted. "Which reminds me. You should have a chronicle of your journey there, yes? I'd appreciate it if you'd hand it over."
Zeff shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that. That logbook is the last testament of the crew I sailed with during that year. It's far too precious to hand over. Besides, it won't help you."
"I'll admit we got careless sailing into the Grand Line, but that's only because we couldn't understand it. If we only had the knowledge of what to expect, I'm positive a crew as strong as mine could easily make its way through!" Krieg said. "I'm the strongest man in the world! So I figure why not take that to its logical conclusion to become King of the Pirates? And for that, I need the One Piece. With it, I will stand atop the Great Pirate Era!"
Zeff smirked. "You think you're the only one after the One Piece? I've had hundreds of pirate crews stop here and talk big about how they would claim the legendary treasure of Gold Roger. Heck, you might have noticed the only other ship still docked here. They also intend to sail on the Grand Line. Except they have the benefit of people who actually lived there."
Krieg was stunned. "You're serious? Maybe I should try interrogating him."
"You can try if you like..."
Krieg turned to see Lithos, Merone, Ferros, and Ariala approaching, all of them with serious expressions on their faces.
"However, there's only one man who's going to be the King of the Pirates. And that's the captain we're serving under." Ferros grinned.
Krieg blinked for a minute, then laughed. "Just a bunch of kids? You're telling me someone like you once lived in the Grand Line?"
"It's the truth. Our dad makes his home out there." Ariala said. "And let me tell you this much... five thousand men are way too many to be taking out there."
Krieg scoffed. "You clearly have no idea who you're taunting. Allow me to show you why I'm the strongest in the world!"
His golden armor opened to reveal multiple pistols. Instantly they all fired but Lithos turned into hard rock, Merone caught the bullets in her water body, Ferros turned into steel to reflect the bullets, and Ariala caught them in her wind body. Krieg stopped firing when he realized his guns weren't doing anything and stared in shock.
"You know, we take offense to you giving yourself a title that already belongs to someone else," Lithos said. "You see, our father is Edward Newgate, known to the world as Whitebeard. And it's he who is considered the strongest man in the world. Someone like you, who only rules the East Blue and nothing else, could never compare to him."
Krieg just growled at the audacity before hearing the sound of a sword being unsheathed. It turned out Zoro and Luffy had also entered.
"Thought you could use a hand...or a sword."
Ariala giggled. "A little backup never hurt."
"Why aren't Usopp, Nami, and The Eds with you?" Ferros asked.
"Some lady and her kids boarded our ship," Luffy explained. "Nami took advantage of all those pirates being weakened. Again."
Krieg's wife, Don Frieden, was busy chatting with Nami while Usopp looked over the son and daughter, Don Jaeger and Don Helferin.
"I'm kinda surprised Don Krieg has a wife."
Frieden nodded. "We met twenty years ago and have been together ever since."
"I gotta say, your kids are pretty talented."
"Jaeger has a talent for mechanical engineering and Helferin has knowledge of chemistry. Krieg would never admit it, but that's the real source of his strength."
I'm honestly surprised you're okay with Nami just robbing your ship." Double-D said.
"Honestly, it's a drop in the bucket for a man like Krieg. And you clearly need it more than he does." Frieden said.
"Wait, your crew only has eleven members?!" Krieg called out.
"Twelve," Luffy corrected. "We're still bringing in one more."
"Don't lump me in with your crew!" Sanji demanded.
"Just accept the damn offer already!" Zeff shot back.
Krieg noticed that one of the cooks had come down with a large bag of food, which he picked up before making his way out.
"Anyone who wants to live can leave. I'm only interested in the logbook and the ship. I need a replacement after what happened to my old one. Any of you choose to fight, and I won't hesitate to bury you at sea."
He walked out while Gin stayed behind, bowing in apology to Sanji.
"Sorry about this, Sanji. I was able to convince him to spare the customers and the cooks, but I knew we needed a new ship. Even if our treasure hadn't been stolen, our flagship was beyond repair."
"Don't apologize. I know firsthand what it's like to be on the brink of starvation." Sanji calmly said, lighting another cigarette. "You might as well go join your captain, I get the feeling he's prepping for a raid just in case."
Gin grumbled, but nodded. However, Sanji was not done talking.
"Gin! Don't hesitate when it counts. I'm not gonna regret my actions, so neither should you."
Gin nodded, then headed off as Zeff sighed and turned to his cooks.
"Any of you who value your lives more than this restaurant should leave through the back door while you can. This is going to be a rough one."
Patty got out a large, lobster-themed hand cannon.
"Personally I'm going to stick around and fight. I couldn't bear it if I was beaten without at least giving it my all."
Carne and the other cooks all agreed, citing that the Baratie was their home.
Luffy grinned. "Count on us to help, too. We're always willing to help someone protect their treasure."
"Didn't one of your own steal Krieg's treasure?" Carne pointed out.
"Nami stole gold. A real treasure is something irreplaceable." Lithos clarified.
Zeff smiled. "I certainly won't say no to a bit of extra help. Especially since you seem to have a personal stake in this."
Zoro laughed. "If Usopp and Double-D were here, they might be freaking out."
"Why would they freak out? They're safe on the Merry." Luffy said. "Even if Nami hasn't sailed off with it, our ship's too small for Krieg to bother with."
"Oh, yeah! Nami wanted to head for Cocoyashi Village after we were done here." Ariala recalled. "But we weren't sure if she'd wait for us or if she intends to just sail off without us."
"Something tells me she'd have done the latter if we hadn't become such GREAT friends with her." Ferros chuckled.
"One thing I don't get here. Even if the Grand Line is bonkers, it doesn't sound like it's impossible to learn." Zoro said.
"Yeah, despite what I said to Krieg a fifty-ship fleet shouldn't have too much travel at least surviving," Ariala admitted, "Though judging from the damage to Krieg's ship, I think I know what happened.
Lithos nodded. "Me too. But I wonder why he would travel so close to the Calm Belt to cross into the Blue Seas."
"Wait...You're saying you think one man destroyed Krieg's whole fleet?!" Patty asked in disbelief.
"If it was him, then yes," Merone replied. "Not sure why he bothered to thrash people below his level. Maybe he was in a bad mood. But we've met him several times and he's normally an amiable sort."
"Guys, I need to know," Zoro said, his eyes wide. "Is this the same guy? From the rumors Johnny mentioned?"
"Probably...Dracule 'Hawk-Eyes' Mihawk, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea." Ferros said grimly. "Granted there are several others stronger than him, but only in terms of general skill. As a swordsman, he's never yet met his equal. If you want to claim the title of the world's greatest swordsman, then sooner or later you'll need to surpass him. It won't be easy."
"Who are the Seven Warlords?" Luffy asked.
"A group of powerful pirates commissioned by the World Government to keep the peace in regions where Marines can't easily reach," Lithos explained. "Merone, Ariala, Ferros, and I have personally met three of them, including Mihawk. But we know all seven by reputation, and three of them have very bad ones."
Zoro smirked. "At least now I know for sure. My search is narrowed down to the Grand Line."
Sanji scoffed. "You stupid or something? Guys like you are typically the first ones to die."
"You calling me stupid, you shitty cook?" Zoro retorted angrily. "When I started on my path to become the world's greatest swordsman, I decided to devote my life to it. So don't you dare call me stupid, only I can do that."
"Something tells me that something big is heading our way..." Ariala gulped.
"I know, the suspension is killing me..." Merone muttered.
"I hope it lasts!" Ferros grinned.
Don Frieden is German for "Peace", as a play-off of Krieg's name being German for "War. Get it? War & Peace?
Don Jaeger's name means "Hunter" while Helferin is German for "Helper".
I'm just trying to be creative here but Jaeger was actually mtnetsurfer's idea first, I just borrowed it.
Anyway, Mihawk's coming next chapter.