[Ding! New quest unlocked: sell ten jars at the Baratie!]
With the destination reached, the system chimed again. The task this time was still to sell ten jars.
"Another ten… fine, let's do it."
By now Amon had the system's routine figured out. Basically, every stop wanted ten jars sold. Which was fine by him, since every ten sold earned him a personal exclusive jar. Not a bad setup at all.
While he was mulling over how to push sales here, his boat was already easing into the restaurant's mooring area. Just then, a thunderous bellow rolled out from inside the Baratie.
"Sanji, you little punk, you've trashed my kitchen again. Didn't I tell you you're not ready to be on the line? I finally get a customer and your lousy cooking scares him off."
"Do the prep like I told you. Chop. Wash. Plates."
Before the tirade finished, the kitchen's back door banged open. A boy in a white apprentice's coat, yellow short-cropped hair, came running out.
"Old geezer, seriously… I only messed up one dish and you blow your top like that."
"I was trying to help lighten your load. Hmph, so over the top, that old man."
He dug out a cigarette, lit up, and started puffing. For his age, he already smoked like a veteran.
From his ship, Amon spotted the boy and brightened. That was Sanji, the Straw Hats' lecherous cook-to-be. Funny how, as a kid, he was actually pretty cute, none of that future greasy scoundrel vibe yet. Too young to be truly hopeless about girls, probably.
Watching a sulky Sanji, Amon knew his chance had arrived. He'd been wondering how to spread word about his jars' magic. Now the answer was walking right out his door.
"Heh. Sanji should be easy to talk around."
He stepped up on the gunwale and called out, pitching his voice just right.
"Yo, isn't this the Baratie's world-famous superstar chef Sanji, head chef Sanji himself?"
He was just a kid. Flatter him a little and he'd float right off the planks. Cost Amon nothing to lay it on thick, and if he wanted to sell jars, reputation was everything. Once the Baratie crew believed those jars could improve culinary skill, the rest would be easy.
"Huh?"
Sanji, in mid-drag, froze, clearly blindsided.
"World… fa… mous?"
"Super… chef?"
Since following the old man to open this sea restaurant, he'd been called clumsy more often than not. No one had ever praised him as a "super chef." This was a first.
"Head chef Sanji? You mean… me?" he asked, a little hopeful.
Seeing that flicker in his eyes, Amon smiled and turned the dial up. "Of course. Who hasn't heard the Baratie has a superstar chef, the head chef Sanji? Don't tell me the rumors are false. I came all this way just for you."
Anyone with sense could hear the holes in that line. Sanji hadn't managed a single dish for the dining room yet. But vanity is a slippery hook. He scratched his cheek and snickered.
"Ehehehe… that's right, I'm the Baratie's famous superstar chef, head chef Sanji, that's me."
Amon laughed inwardly. A kid, through and through.
With Sanji drifting on the compliment high, Amon struck while the iron was hot. "By the way, chef, want to check out my little shop? I am Amon, a jar merchant. I specialize in items that upgrade cooking skill. Honestly, I'm only telling you because you're a top chef. I don't mention it to just anyone."
"Items that upgrade cooking… Mr Amon, are you a chef too?"
Sanji hadn't swallowed the hook whole. He eyed the ship with a bit of caution.
"Here, taste what I made."
Amon lifted the whole grilled fish he'd just finished.
As the fish came up, a rich fragrance unfurled. The suspicion on Sanji's face melted into shock and awe. If he could cook a fish that smelled like this, the old man would have to take him seriously. With that thought, no more coaxing was needed. Sanji hopped aboard Amon's ship of his own accord.