"Wow—what a big fish!"
Luffy crowed, sprawled on the Merry's rail as he gaped at the fish-shaped ship looming ahead.
"It looks like a ship to me," Usopp muttered, exasperated that Luffy could confuse a vessel for a fish.
"Really? I thought it was a Sea King," Luffy protested, then blinked when Usopp complained. "You can tell it's a ship at first glance."
"Yeah, yeah."
Johnny and Joseph grumbled in the background.
Zoro watched them all with deadpan silence. "None of your eyes are looking at the right thing, huh?" he said under his breath.
Kaoru Tsubasa couldn't help a small, incredulous smile. Beside the Merry, a warship was sailing in parallel toward the floating restaurant—Baratie.
"A warship," someone murmured. "When will it arrive?"
Luffy spun around and caught sight of the warship, surprised. Usopp turned too—but, strangely, he didn't look frightened at all.
"Usopp, aren't you scared?" Kaoru asked, puzzled.
"Scared? Why would I be scared?" Usopp shot back casually. "I am Captain Usopp!"
The reason Usopp wasn't shaken wasn't bravado. Earlier, when they'd been in Xiloubu Village, Kaoru had spoken directly with Luffy's grandfather. Luffy had even flung a bounty poster at Usopp as a joke. When Usopp saw that bounty, he'd paled—but then convinced himself these men must be crew members and not immediate enemies. With someone as formidable as Kaoru around, fear wasn't on his list.
Kaoru watched Usopp, bemused—had the man's personality really changed? He said nothing, simply turning his gaze back to the warship.
Johnny and Joseph, meanwhile, had scuttled back below deck—bounty hunters don't like being noticed by the wrong people. They peered out with only their heads visible.
"I've never seen a pirate flag before," one of the naval officers called. "I am Iron Fist Hobodi of the Navy Headquarters."
"Who are you? Tell me your name!" another demanded.
"I'm Luffy!" "I'm Usopp!" they shouted in unison, puffing out chests as if names alone made them formidable.
"The pirate flag was only raised the day before yesterday," Hobodi said, watching the pair with a smirk. When Luffy heard Usopp trying to claim credit for the flag, Luffy pouted. "I drew the pirate flag!"
Usopp scowled back. "No, I drew it!"
Zoro, listening to their bickering, thought to himself he'd never stoop to such childish competition. He glanced at the sword hanging at his waist and scowled.
Hobodi rolled his eyes at the two idiots. "I know those two," he said casually, nodding toward Johnny and Joseph. "They're a pair of bounty hunters who prey on small-time targets."
Johnny and Joseph snapped. "What? We were finally caught by pirates?" They flared with fury at being dismissed.
"It's laughable," Hobodi continued, unconcerned. "Come on, let's go." A woman in a red dress emerged just then; their destination was also the sea restaurant Baratie.
"Do you dare call that a small-time bounty hunter?" Johnny spat, ripping a stack of wanted posters from his coat and flinging them into the wind. Kaoru noticed among them a poster for a Fish-Man with a big X scrawled across it.
"Okay. Let's go into the restaurant," Hobodi said, ignoring Johnny's display. "What an eyesore. Sink him."
He barked an order to bombard the Merry.
Johnny and Joseph clenched their fists. "He didn't even take us seriously," Johnny said. "Next time we'll make him pay."
Kaoru walked over to the scattered wanted posters and picked up the one with a Fish-Man's face on it. A small smile tugged his mouth. "This is the bounty for that fishman, Arlong," he observed.
Johnny, worried Kaoru might not recognize the name, explained hurriedly. "Yeah, but I heard Arlong got taken out by a big pirate crew—the Buggy Pirates. Our original target was Arlong. We couldn't beat him then, but someday we will."
At the mention of Buggy, Luffy's ears perked up. "We should go pick up our navigator," Kaoru said, tossing Arlong's wanted poster to him.
"Really? Let's go right now!" Luffy burst, thrilled at the chance to recruit Nami.
"Idiot—first we need a chef," Kaoru snapped, lightly smacking Luffy on the head. This time the reprimand lacked any real force—more a nudge of authority than domination.
While Kaoru and Luffy argued, Zoro, who'd been listening, gave a dry look. "Are you paying attention to that warship?" he asked, gesturing.
Kaoru kept his expression unreadable. "Why don't you just chop it in two?" he suggested without ceremony, glancing at Zoro as if daring him.
Zoro, who could hear the whispers of Wado Ichimonji in his mind, felt something click. Kaoru guessed Zoro might have finally mastered a new cutting technique—the Zantetsu-style edge. This time Kaoru wanted to see if Zoro could cut the warship clean in half.
"Cut open a warship? Are you kidding me?" Sauron muttered—he'd been surprised, too. Even after growing stronger following the last fight with the demonic blade, he didn't think he—or Zoro—could slice through a warship.
"Interesting. Let's try," came a voice eager to test itself.
Kaoru ignored the protest and tossed the mantra he'd won in the lottery toward Zoro. The swordsman snatched it up, hungry to try something new—he'd never aimed at cutting a ship before.
"Three Swords Style: Blood-Bird Predation!" Zoro roared, clamping Wado Ichimonji between his teeth while drawing his other blades. Blood energy surged in him. He shaped the attack into a blood-red bird that slashed forward toward the warship.
"Bang—bang—" Six clean, deep gashes rent the warship, slicing it into seven pieces.
"Awesome!" Luffy's eyes shone. "They actually cut the warship apart!"
Usopp's legs shook as he watched. Johnny and Joseph, stunned but faithful to their swordsman, cheered, "Of course! You're worthy—Brother Zoro!"
Zoro himself looked almost as shocked as everyone else. He hadn't expected the outcome—but Kaoru had. Zoro had mastered the Zantetsu art enough that cutting through a captain-class warship was within his reach.
Of course, Kaoru knew the limits—Zoro could now cleave through ships of ordinary captains. A warship belonging to a vice admiral like Garp? That would probably leave, at best, a scratch.
"As expected of Zoro," a voice said with unaccountable warmth.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Zoro frowned at the enigmatic compliment.
"No—what I mean is, you deserve to be my master," the voice amended.
Because Zoro had severed the warship after Hobodi had set out, Hobodi—the man who'd just arrived at Baratie—hadn't realized his ship had been cut. He assumed the noise was just the sounds of his warship bombarding the Merry. Unnoticed by the crowd, a lone rowboat slipped away into the waves.
Soon the Merry pulled up alongside Baratie.
Because Zoro had dismantled Hobodi's warship, Luffy never had to be forced into working for Zeff. The Merry being larger and the mystery man having gone hungry for a long time, Luffy and his friends reached Baratie earlier than that other fellow.
"Meat, meat, meat! I want meat!" Luffy bellowed as he shoved open Baratie's doors.
Kaoru and the others were used to Luffy's outbursts; it was nothing new. Hobodi, seated nearby, went pale when he saw Luffy and his crew entering unscathed—his warships hadn't sunk them. Now Hobodi dared not open his mouth. If they could evade his bombardment, they must be formidable.
Zoro noticed Hobodi but ignored him. A man like that wasn't worth Zoro's attention—unless he did something first.
"Meat! Meat! Serve the meat!" Luffy demanded, plopping down.
"Hello, guest—do you have money?" Paddy, the restaurant's tall, broad-shouldered maître d', approached with suspicion.
"No money," Luffy said honestly.
"If you don't have money, you're not a guest." Paddy's voice hardened. He wouldn't serve those who couldn't pay; to him, money was law. Luffy blinked at the sudden change in Paddy's face.
Kaoru set a bag of berries on the counter. "This will cover our meal. Please call your chef," he said, tossing the coins forward.
Paddy's expression shifted instantly when he counted the berries; he broke into a grin. "Very well, sir. Please wait a moment."
Luffy stared. "What's with this place?" Usopp whispered, equally baffled.
Kaoru and Zoro were used to those kinds of reactions—this was Baratie, after all; not a place for newcomers to assume they knew everything.
An old man with a missing leg hobbled up, laughing. "Hahaha—what are you doing here, kid?"
"Long time no see, old man Zeff," Kaoru replied warmly. Zeff and Garp were perhaps the only two real friends Kaoru had in this stretch of ocean.
"What brings you here?" Zeff asked, settling down beside Kaoru and stroking his beard.
"Is this your friend, Kaoru?" Usopp asked curiously.
"This is the captain of the Chef Pirates," Kaoru explained. "Red-footed Zeff."
"Oh—captain of a pirate group," Johnny and Joseph murmured, recognizing the name.
Luffy leaped forward, puffing out his chest. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to be the Pirate King!"
The room fell silent. The Straw Hat Boy had declared his ambition loud enough that everyone paused—what had they just heard? Hobodi, in the corner, was paling; Monkey D. Luffy? The surname Monkey rang out in his head—the name of the naval legend Vice Admiral Garp.
"Hahaha—Pirate King?" Zeff chuckled, amused. "You're brave, but the Grand Line isn't so easy."
Kaoru gave a little cough of affirmation. "This is my captain," he said, indicating Luffy with a small but clear gesture.
Zeff's laugh faded into a curious glare. "This guy's your captain?" Zeff knew Kaoru's strength; he was surprised to learn Kaoru sailed with a boy like Luffy.
"Yes. We came to recruit a chef," Kaoru explained plainly.
Zeff paused, thinking of his sous-chef. "I do have someone who might fit," he said after a moment—Sanji, his sous-chef, shared a dream with Kaoru and his crew: to find the All Blue, that legendary sea containing every fish and ingredient.
"I've got a fellow I'd like you to take away," Zeff said finally.
"Stinky old man—I'm not leaving!" a voice spat from the side. A suited man stormed up, cursing at Zeff; it was Sanji, Baratie's hotheaded sous-chef.
Sanji had heard Zeff say he'd found someone who wanted to be taken by pirates—and he immediately assumed Zeff meant him. Sanji's heart burned for the sea and the All Blue, but his loyalty to Zeff ran deep: Zeff had once cut off Sanji's foot to save him, and Sanji had stayed to look after the man he'd come to love like a father. Sanji had no plans to leave Baratie until Zeff no longer needed him.
"Stop your nonsense, Sanji—go when I tell you to go," Zeff barked, blunt as ever. "People like you only cause trouble for my business."
Sanji retorted but didn't move—his loyalty and pride held him fast.
Zeff's voice cut through the din, blunt and rough as always, and the kitchen's hum swelled around them. The Baratie's dangerous charm and the crew's chaotic warmth braided together, and for a moment the sea itself seemed to hold its breath at the strange new company gathered on its boards.