"That's enough, old man."
Sanji glared at Zeff, irritation simmering in his tone. "Don't think you can keep bossing me around just because I don't argue back."
Though he knew the old man meant well, Sanji couldn't bring himself to leave Baratie — not yet.
Suddenly—
Bang!
A gunshot echoed through the restaurant.
"Anything will do… just bring me something to eat."
A ragged pirate stood in the doorway, smoke curling from the pistol in his hand. His eyes were hollow from hunger and exhaustion.
Kaoru Tsubasa looked up from his seat, recognizing the man instantly. So that's him… Gin, the Demon Heir of Krieg's Pirates.
Paddy, one of the chefs, stepped forward without a hint of fear. "Welcome to Baratie, sir. You got money?"
The pirate's expression darkened.
"If you don't have money…" Paddy cracked his knuckles. "Then you're no guest of ours."
"I said—bring me food!" Gin snapped, aiming the gun straight at Paddy's head.
"Oh, so you don't have money after all."
Paddy's grin vanished. In a flash, he slammed the pirate across the face, knocking him flat. A flurry of blows followed, leaving Gin beaten and bleeding. Then, without ceremony, Paddy dragged him outside and threw him onto the deck.
"See that?" Paddy called to the diners. "That's what happens when you try to eat without paying. Keep it in mind — or you'll end up like him!"
The crowd murmured. Some looked away. Sanji, however, went quiet, his jaw tightening. Without a word, he turned and disappeared into the kitchen.
Kaoru Tsubasa leaned back in his chair and said to Zeff, "Mind if I take my captain to meet your future chef?"
"Do as you like," Zeff replied, limping toward the kitchen with his peg leg tapping against the floorboards.
Kaoru turned to Luffy. "Come on."
"Meat! Meat! Meat! Kaoru, my meat—!"
Luffy stuffed his mouth as Kaoru pulled him away.
"Luffy!" Zoro and Usopp shouted in unison as their captain swiped every last dish from the table. They were about to chase him, but Kaoru raised a hand.
"Relax. Order whatever you want — it's on me."
That was enough to keep the two from pummeling Luffy.
Luffy frowned as Kaoru dragged him out to the back deck. "Hey, Kaoru, what's this about?"
But as soon as he saw Gin lying there — weak, pale, trembling — the complaints stopped.
Without a second thought, Luffy held out a hunk of meat. "Hey. Eat this."
Gin's eyes flickered. "You… giving me charity?"
Even in his state, pride burned in his voice.
"If you don't eat," came another voice from behind them, "you won't live to see the sunrise."
Sanji stepped out from the kitchen, a bowl of fried rice in his hands.
He stopped when he saw Luffy sharing his food and smiled faintly. Not bad… this kid's got heart.
Luffy grinned. "You're not bad yourself."
Gin stared at the food — and then, dignity be damned, he devoured every bite.
Luffy clapped his hands. "Yosh! I've decided!"
Sanji blinked. "Huh?"
"Be my chef!"
"I refuse."
"What do you mean, you refuse?"
"I mean I refuse your refusal!"
"Idiot!"
Sanji and Luffy's argument filled the deck. Kaoru and Zeff watched from the railing.
"How about that?" Kaoru said, amused. "Pretty good captain, huh?"
Zeff chuckled. "He's a lot like my idiot kid."
As the two looked on, Gin finished eating, wiped his mouth, and stumbled toward his small boat.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Sanji. You'll be punished for feeding me."
Sanji frowned. "What are you talking about?"
He hurled the empty plate into the sea. "There. No evidence."
Gin bowed deeply. "Thank you, Mr. Sanji."
"Don't go starving again, Gin."
When Gin sailed away, Luffy and Sanji kept bickering until hunger forced them to stop — mainly Luffy's, since Gin had eaten all his meat.
Back inside, Luffy lunged for the next freshly served dish, only for Zoro and Usopp to seize him.
Johnny and Joseph shoved the meat into their own mouths while Luffy thrashed.
"Damn it, Zoro! Usopp! Let me go!"
His eyes turned sharp, his teeth sharklike.
"Here, open wide."
Kaoru offered him a piece of meat. Luffy bit down so fast Kaoru barely pulled his hand back in time.
"I want more!"
"Yeah, yeah," Kaoru sighed.
Soon, Zoro and Usopp were holding Luffy still, Johnny and Joseph feeding them both, while Kaoru kept handing out meat like a zookeeper at feeding time.
Then—
Crash!
The ceiling above shattered as Zeff and Sanji came tumbling down, locked in a heated argument.
"You always butt heads with people!" Zeff roared. "The moment a woman smiles at you, you lose focus! Can't cook anything decent! You're a damn burden, Sanji. You should just leave with these pirates!"
"What did you say, you perverted kappa?" Zoro muttered with a smirk.
"What was that, moss-head? You wanna get kicked?"
"I'll slice you before you can."
"See? You fit right in with them," Zeff said dryly.
"Who fits with this algae-headed freak?" Sanji and Zoro snapped in unison.
"Perfect match," Luffy said cheerfully, earning a nod from Usopp.
Zeff pointed his cane. "You should go with them."
Sanji's eyes flared. "You've gone too far, old man!"
He grabbed Zeff by the collar.
"How dare you touch your captain, brat!" Zeff shoved him off — right into Kaoru's table.
Luffy and Zoro instantly grabbed their plates.
"Whew, close one. Almost lost the meat," Luffy sighed.
"Watch it, pervy kappa!" Zoro barked.
Sanji, embarrassed, turned to apologize — then noticed whose table he'd hit.
"Tch. Shame I didn't land on you instead," he told Zoro.
"What was that!?"
If Zoro hadn't been holding his plate, he might've drawn his sword right then.
"Listen, old man," Sanji said, ignoring him. "No matter what you say, I'm staying here as Baratie's chef — until the day you die."
"I ain't dying anytime soon," Zeff replied. "I'll live another hundred years."
Luffy grinned. "Great! Now you can join us!"
Sanji glared. "I'm not becoming a pirate!"
He fixed the overturned table, pretending not to hear.
Usopp folded his arms. "Aren't you gonna apologize? You owe us, perv cook!"
"Didn't I serve you tea, long-nose? Be grateful."
If Usopp had been a woman, Sanji's tone might've been sweet. But alas…
"You wanna fight, bastard?"
"I don't back down."
Usopp turned to Kaoru. "Vice-Captain! Take him out!"
Kaoru laughed. "No way. He might be our chef soon."
"What if he poisons our food!?"
Kaoru shrugged. "Guess we'll die together."
That was enough to terrify Usopp. "Luffy! Can we not hire him?"
Luffy shook his head. "Nope. He's our chef."
Hearing that, Sanji finally said quietly, "A real chef never poisons food."
That calmed Usopp — though Sanji was already gone.
"Ha! Scared off by Captain Usopp!" he bragged, while the others just kept eating.
Kaoru leaned back. "Eat up, everyone. Enjoy this while you can — once Nami joins us, your wallets are doomed."
He smirked, thinking of the stash of gold filling his system's storage. It was so overloaded he couldn't even use the lottery feature anymore. Every time he drew, it just gave him more gold.
Now his inventory was bursting, and unless he cleared space, he couldn't claim a single new item.
It was his own fault — after leaving Redoria, he'd thought giving Buggy all his loot would be enough. But when he joined Luffy, he got carried away and filled the system again.
Four days later, the crew was still docked at Baratie.
Usopp, manning the lookout, squinted at the horizon. "Huh? Something's coming… looks like a ship."
"A ship?"
Luffy climbed the mast. "Whoa, that's huge!"
The others gathered as a massive, battered vessel loomed closer.
"Why's it in such bad shape?" Zoro asked.
"Must've been cut up," Kaoru said. "Maybe by Mihawk himself."
As the wreck drifted near, Gin emerged — helping a tall, armored man off the deck.
"That's Gin!" Luffy said, recognizing him instantly.
Ignoring him, Gin led his captain inside Baratie.
"Please," the gaunt man said hoarsely. "Food… and water. I'll pay — as much as you want. We haven't eaten in days."
Sanji watched silently. Then, without hesitation, he set down a steaming bowl of fried rice before him.
"Eat."
The man — Don Krieg — devoured it like a starving beast.
The Baratie chefs whispered nervously. "Sanji, that's Don Krieg! He's a monster!"
But Sanji's eyes were calm. "Hungry or not, a man who asks for food is a guest."
Kaoru and the others stood at the entrance, watching the scene unfold.
Then, just as Krieg finished eating, he stood — and swung a massive punch straight at Sanji.
Kaoru's eyes narrowed. He moved in an instant, teleporting behind Sanji and pulling him out of harm's way before the blow could land.