Chapter 14: Chapter 13: Baratie (Sea Restaurant)

"Lucky you! You got fed when you were one step from starving to death. Shishishit."

"Hey, cook. Join my crew. Be the cook on my pirate ship."

Luffy immediately tried to recruit Sanji.

"You’re pirates? Why’d you fire a cannonball at the restaurant?"

"Ah, let me explain that. The bloodied Marine captain from earlier fired a cannonball, and I knocked it back—then it flew over here."

"It was a cannonball fired in self-defense."

"Anyway, you’d better not cause any trouble here. The owner and head chef of this restaurant used to be the cook for a famous pirate crew, and this restaurant is that old man’s treasure."

"And the cooks here are practically half-pirates themselves. I guess you could say they’re the perfect flunkies for a place where pirates come and go."

"I see."

"This place is awesome."

Luffy and I answered.

"Lately, people have even been coming here just to watch pirates and cooks brawl."

"Though all the waiters who worked here ran off because of it."

"Aha, so that’s why you told me to work for a whole year?"

"Huh? You have to work here for a year?"

"No. Anyway, you’ll join my crew, right?"

"I refuse. There’s a reason I absolutely have to work at this restaurant."

"Nope! I refuse your refusal!!"

"..."

"Refuse what, exactly?"

"I’m refusing your refusal."

"Luffy, I like you a lot, but sometimes you make me want to hide."

"So what’s this reason?"

"I have no reason to tell you."

"Then join us!!"

"Say no one more time and I might just crush you, you dimwitted straw hat."

"What’d you say?!"

"Sorry to interrupt..."

"I’m Gin, from the Krieg Pirates. You’re pirates too, right? What’s your goal?"

"Oh. I’m an adventurer."

"Obviously, our goal is One Piece."

"If you’re looking for a cook, I take it there aren’t many of you?"

"Including that guy, there are six of us!"

"Why are you including me?"

"You seem like good guys, so let me give you some advice. Give up on the Grand Line."

"Do you know something?"

"No... I don’t know anything. That’s why it’s even scarier."

"A guy who serves Krieg is one hell of a coward," Sanji said.

"Ooh. Isn’t that a little too direct?"

"...Then I’ll be going. And Luffy? I only wanted to give you some advice."

"Yeah, but I’m still going. To the Grand Line."

"Fine. Do whatever you want. It’s your freedom."

"And Sanji, thank you so much. You’re my benefactor. Can I come eat here again sometime?"

"Any time..."

"Hey! Were you standing around there, you errand boy?!"

"Eek!! Old man!!"

Old Man Zeff had been watching from above.

"Sanji, errand boy, get back to work already!!"

Mm-hmm. So that guy was the one who brought Krieg back here.

And Hawk Eyes was coming too. Another EXP event, huh?

Would it be better if Luffy or I got a round in too, not just Zoro?

Or... would it be better if I fought alone?

I remembered the arc where Sanji joined the crew pretty well.

Because it was fucking overflowing with romance.

It was so fucking romantic that I couldn’t think of any other way to emphasize it.

When evening came, everyone except Luffy decided to eat at the restaurant.

While we were eating, Luffy, who had become an errand boy, came into the dining hall.

"You guys!! Eating without me!!"

"Hey there, errand boy," Nami said.

"Didn’t you say you’d be working for a whole year?" Usopp asked.

"Guess we’ll have to redraw the ship’s flag," Zoro said.

"Hmm. Should we kill time hunting bounties for a while?" I said.

Apparently Zoro’s comment pissed Luffy off the most, because he dropped a booger into Zoro’s glass of water.

Nami and Usopp saw it and struggled to hold back their laughter.

"I do feel a little bad for you, but the food here is exquisite."

Zoro said that while holding up the glass of water with the booger in it.

"You drink this yourself!!"

Zoro poured the water straight into Luffy’s mouth.

Maybe because he was a rubber man, it went down his throat whole without any trouble.

"My stomach hurts, I’m dying!!"

Usopp and Nami clutched their stomachs as they laughed.

Yeah. Seeing Nami laugh made me feel good.

Be happy, Nami. Sniff...

Then Sanji suddenly looked at Nami, his eyes turned into hearts, and he started talking to her.

"Hey, hey, hey! Your eyes... your eyes!!! They turned into hearts! Is that actually possible?!"

"...A massive obstacle stands in the way of our love!!"

It was more or less a parade of bizarre, greasy lines.

"That obstacle must be referring to me, Sanji," Zeff said from beside him.

"Ugh, old man."

"Good opportunity. Go become a pirate. This restaurant doesn’t need you anymore."

The two suddenly started fighting, and Zeff slammed Sanji onto the floor.

Whoa, this is how they run a business? Is this some kind of trade secret?

"Even if you try to throw me out, I’m never leaving!! I’ll stay until the day you die, old man!"

"I’m not dying. I’m going to live another hundred years."

Zeff said that as he turned and walked away.

"Wow, great! You gave permission, so now I can become a pirate—"

"I said I’m not doing it!!"

A little later, Sanji brought Nami dessert and alcohol.

Ah, Sanji... Is this what they call mirror therapy? ;;;

Then he went back, saying he would not charge Nami for her meal.

Y-You can stop, Sanji. The mirror therapy has been enough.

I just want Nami to be happy.

On his way back, Sanji dragged off Luffy, who had been loafing around our table.

Then, two days later, a pirate ship belonging to Krieg appeared.

It was a pirate ship far larger than the sea restaurant.

That pirate ship was utterly battered, as though Mihawk had given it one hell of a beating.

"Hey, this is dangerous. Shouldn’t we get the hell out of here?" Usopp said, completely terrified.

"Nami, should we rob those guys’ treasure too? Looking at the size of that ship, they must be loaded."

When I saw Gin and Krieg enter the restaurant,

I immediately went down beneath the sea restaurant.

Better loot it quickly, because Mihawk was going to destroy that ship.

"Nami, wait!"

Please wait for me.

Fortunately, before Krieg came back out of the restaurant carrying food supplies, I managed to loot the ship at least roughly and return to ours.

"Huh? Where are Zoro and Usopp?"

I asked Nami.

"They went to the restaurant."

"I see..."

Even though I had brought back the treasure Nami liked so much, she did not look particularly happy.

It felt like she was forcing herself to smile.

We had lingered at this restaurant for too long lately...

She was probably feeling anxious.

She must have gathered all the money by now... and she probably did not want to put us in danger either.

"Nami."

"Yeah?"

"No matter what happens, remember this one thing."

"What...?"

"If anything happens to you, no matter what it takes, I’ll save you.

Got it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"No matter what anyone else says about you, I’ll believe in you, and I’ll come save you."

"..."

"Got it?"

"...Yeah."

"I’m getting off the ship now to fight over there, and I probably won’t be able to pay attention to this side at all... But if you ever can’t get away on your own, I’ll come save you..."

"..."

"Johnny, Yosaku!!"

"Yes, boss."

"Let’s go down."

I told Yosaku and Johnny that Nami had somewhere she needed to go first, so they should keep a close eye on the direction she headed and tell me later.

Nami would probably leave. For herself, and for us...

I knew that, but it still left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I knew it would be hard for Nami to realize that our strength—no, that my strength—was greater than Arlong’s.

I considered suggesting that we just go to Arlong Park, but... yeah. This was the safer route, and it was how she would truly become our crewmate.

I understood it in my head.

But I was still a little angry.

Then, a short while later, the Krieg Pirates started shouting, apparently having finished all their food.

The cooks in the restaurant were raising each other’s spirits as well.

And then Krieg’s enormous ship was sliced in half.

Not smashed apart—cleanly cut...

"Jin!"

"Nami has set sail."

"Huh?? Nami set sail?"

Luffy came outside and asked.

"Yes. Jin said Nami had somewhere she needed to go first."

"Where’s Nami going?"

"Luffy... could you just leave it at that for now?"

"Shishishit. Yeah, okay!"

Luffy looked at my expression for a moment, then answered with a smile.

"No, wait! You need to explain what that means!" Usopp said in a panic.

"Luffy, the captain, said okay, Usopp."

Zoro folded his arms and shut Usopp up.

"Johnny, Yosaku, could you get ready to set sail for now?"

"Understood."

Amid the pieces of Krieg’s shattered ship, a peculiar black coffin-shaped boat came into view.

"Lord Krieg!! It’s him!!"

"He’s the one who destroyed our fleet!!"

"He followed us all the way here!!"

He was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the strongest swordsman in the world—

Hawk Eyes Mihawk.

"Damn it, what grudge could he possibly have against us that he keeps targeting us?!"

One of the Krieg Pirates asked Mihawk.

"To pass the time."

At Mihawk’s answer, the pirate fired his gun at him.

Mihawk drew the enormous cross-shaped sword strapped to his back

and deflected the bullets.

"H-He missed!!"

"He made them miss. It would be the same no matter how many shots you fired. He changed their trajectories with the tip of his blade."

"I’ve never seen a sword so fluid."

Zoro gave his assessment after seeing Hawk Eyes Mihawk’s move.

"A sword without ‘fluidity’ could never possess strength."

Perhaps having heard Zoro, Mihawk answered him.

"So that’s the sword that destroyed this ship. I see. You really are the strongest."

Zoro untied the bandanna from around his left arm and put it on his head as he stepped toward Mihawk.

"I set out to sea to meet you."

"What is your purpose?"

"The strongest swordsman in the world."

"You have time to kill, right? Let’s fight."

Zoro challenged Mihawk.

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