Chapter - 30
East Blue – Baratie
“It might sound like I’m trying to ftter you, but this is the best food I’ve ever had in my life, no competition”, the man says, devouring the carbonara Sanji had prepared for him.
“As they say, hunger is the best seasoning”, Sanji responds with a smile, taking a drag from the cigarette he had just lit.
“Shishishi, you know, you're a cool guy, Sanji. You want to find the All Blue, right? Well, I’m going to find the One Piece and become the King of the Pirates, so how about you join my crew and come cook for me and my crew?”, Luffy asks with a wide smile, sitting at the same table as Sanji and the man.
Sanji briefly looks at him with a smile, wondering if Luffy is serious. Realizing that Luffy is indeed serious, he says, “Tempting offer, man, but I can’t. I still have things to do here, so I’ll have to pass.”
“Nah, I refuse”, Luffy says, stretching in his chair.
“What do you mean you refuse? Refuse what?”, Sanji asks, confused.
“I refuse your refusal. I’ve already decided you’re part of my crew”, Luffy says with a wide grin on his face.
“Dude, that’s not how things work”, Sanji says, starting to think Luffy might be a bit crazy.
“You said you’re after the One Piece?”, the man asks, pausing momentarily from eating.
“Yeah... What’s your name again?”, Luffy asks, not sure if the man had introduced himself.
“My name’s Gin. If you want my advice, don’t enter the Grand Line and forget that dream of finding the One Piece. I’m part of Don Krieg’s great pirate armada, and we couldn’t even st a day there. We lost forty-nine ships and over five thousand men. Only a few, including me, made it back to East Blue through the Calm Belt. I went a week without food when those Marines captured me and brought me here. After I escaped, I waited for them to leave before trying to get food. When I came in here, I could barely stand”, Gin recounts his story, trying to dissuade Luffy from heading to the Grand Line.
Luffy looks at Gin for a moment before replying, “Well, that’s my dream. Why would I be afraid of dying while chasing it?”
“...Sigh... Well, I’ve given my warning. I can’t force you to do anything. Anyway, I’d better go. I don’t want to cause you any more trouble. Thanks for saving my life by feeding me, Sanji, and take care on your journey, Straw Hat”, Gin says, standing up after finishing his meal.
After arranging a small boat for Gin to leave, Luffy and Sanji say their goodbyes, watching as the boat slowly drifts away from the restaurant.
“Goodbye, Gin. Take care”, Sanji shouts from afar.
After Gin disappears into the horizon, Luffy and Sanji hear a voice from behind them. “What are you two doing?”
“Sanji definitely didn’t feed a starving pirate for free”, Luffy says, trying to cover up and failing miserably.
“Dude, where did you learn to keep a secret?”, Sanji asks, impressed by how quickly Luffy spilled everything as soon as Zeff appeared.
“You fed a starving man?”, Zeff asks Sanji.
“Yeah, got a problem with that, old man?”
“No. Now go rest. We’ll have a full house tomorrow”, Zeff says before walking away.
=Scene Break=
Nami gets up quietly in the middle of the night in her room, silently packing her things to avoid waking Kaya, who was sharing the room with her. She was one million Berries away from finally reaching the hundred million, but she preferred to leave the crew now because she didn’t want them to get hurt.
Before heading to the deck, she searches the ship to see if Luffy has any money stashed away.
In the end, she finds a rge chest full of money, seven hundred million Berries that Luffy had stolen from the nobles of the Goa Kingdom.
“...Sigh... So much effort to collect a hundred million, and he just has way more than I can imagine”, Nami whispers, looking at the pile of money before her.
Against all her instincts, she only takes enough to complete her hundred million and closes the chest.
As she steps onto the deck, she finds Luffy sitting on the Merry’s figurehead, talking to himself.
“What are you doing, Luffy?”, she asks, knowing he would have noticed her even if she had tried to leave quietly.
“Oh, hey Tangerine. I’m telling Merry all the adventures we’ve had so he doesn’t feel left out since he can’t join us on nd”, Luffy says, petting the figurehead where he was sitting.
“It’s already te. You should get some sleep”, Nami says, not wanting to make things harder for herself as she prepares to leave.
Noticing that Nami seemed troubled by something, Luffy gets up and walks over to her, asking, “You look sad. Did something happen?”
“I... I’m fine. Nothing’s happened, Luffy”, Nami says, trying to hide her feelings.
“Is it Arlong?”, Luffy asks calmly.
“How—”
“What did he do to you?”, Luffy asks, gently pcing his hands on her shoulders.
“You knew?”, Nami asks, trembling, her head lowered.
“For someone trying to keep a secret, you don’t hide the tattoo on your shoulder very well”, Luffy says with a reassuring smile.
“Luffy... please don’t make this harder than it already is. I’ve grown attached to you guys, okay? And I don’t want to involve you in my problems. I... I don’t want you to get hurt because of me”, Nami says, practically breaking down, starting to cry.
“Silly girl, you’re my navigator, Nami. Whether you like it or not, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to dive headfirst into hell for you”, Luffy says, hugging her and using her name instead of her nickname for the first time.
Nami then breaks down completely, crying into his chest. Luffy sits on the ground, leaning against Merry’s main mast with Nami lying in his p, continuing to cry into his chest while he tries to soothe her by stroking her back with one hand and gently ruffling her hair with the other.
After calming down a bit, Nami begins to tell him about her life up to this point, describing how her life in Cocoyasi Vilge had been before Arlong and his crew showed up.
How Arlong took over the isnd and started demanding tribute in money from the isnd’s residents, one hundred thousand per adult and fifty thousand per child.
How her mother sacrificed herself so she and her sister could live since she only had one hundred thousand Berries.
How he kidnapped her and forced her to become the crew’s cartographer after seeing her talent for drawing maps.
How he chained her to a desk, forcing her to draw maps even with bleeding fingers and trembling hands, barely feeding her.
How he unchained her when she turned twelve, saying it was a birthday present.
How he said if she brought him one hundred million Berries, he would free her vilge.
Through it all, Luffy listened in silence, holding her tightly against his chest while staring at the horizon, his jaw clenched.
Nami then continued, recounting her life up until the moment she met him.
“It has to come from you, Nami. You just have to say the word”, Luffy says calmly.
After a moment of silence, Nami whispers, burying her face in Luffy’s chest, tears streaming from her eyes, “Luffy, help me.”
She then feels something being pced on her head. Looking up, she sees Luffy gently pcing his straw hat on her head.
“Take care of it for me for now. After Sanji joins the crew, we’ll go fishing for some big fish”, Luffy says, his face set in a serious expression that Nami had never seen before.
Exhausted from crying, Nami falls asleep in Luffy’s arms.
Luffy then hears footsteps beside him. Turning his head, he sees Zoro standing beside him, jaw clenched in anger, his hand resting on one of his swords. “We going fishing, Captain?”
“Yeah, after Sanji joins the crew, we set off”, Luffy says, cradling Nami in his arms.
“Then the chimney better join the crew soon. In the meantime, I’ll sharpen my swords”, Zoro says before walking away.
---
(AN: 1,386 Words)
Chapter - 31
East Blue – Baratie
The next day arrives, and Luffy returns to his work of breaking... I mean, washing dishes in the Baratie’s kitchen.
The day was unfolding normally until everyone from a distance spotted a giant ship approaching the restaurant.
The ship was in shambles, looking like it had been through rough times and was very likely to sink soon.
People, still unaware of the ship approaching the establishment, were going about their lives normally until the sound of a gss breaking on the floor echoed through the space, followed by someone yelling, “What the hell is that?”
More and more people started noticing the approach of the giant ship. They began to panic as someone commented, “Isn’t that Don Krieg’s Jolly Roger?”
“Hourgsses with a skull, damn, it’s really him.”
“We’re gonna die.”
“I want my mom.”
With all the commotion caused by the customers, the staff began to appear to see what was happening.
When Luffy saw the ship as soon as he arrived, he whistled and said, “Fiiiu, damn, this ship has definitely seen better days. Who’s the bastard who let one of his crewmates end up like this?”
“That’s Don Krieg’s fg”, Sanji said next to him, recognizing the ship's Jolly Roger.
“Isn’t that the crew Bin is part of? Maybe he came to thank you for the food again?”, Luffy asked, curious.
“His name’s Gin, not Bin, and I highly doubt he came to thank me. This feels really strange to me”, Sanji said, crossing his arms.
“Hmph”, Zeff grumbled beside them as he observed the ship approaching.
A while ter, the ship docked, and the restaurant doors opened to reveal Gin, supporting a burly man.
Everyone in the hall was tense, terrified at the thought that Don Krieg might appear at any moment.
Luffy and his crew, who had arrived when they saw the giant ship approaching, were sitting at a table, watching events unfold.
Nami, much calmer now, sat beside Luffy, with the straw hat resting on her head, giving her an inexplicable sense of security despite the uncertain future.
“Good morning. Could you bring us some food and water? We have money if that’s what you want”, the burly man said, barely able to stand.
“You’re joking, right? This zombie is the infamous Don Krieg?”, Patty raised an eyebrow.
Barely able to take a step into the restaurant, Don Krieg colpsed face-first on the ground, leaving Gin worried.
“Please, help us! He’s dying of hunger. We have money”, Gin pleaded, trying to aid his captain.
“Don’t worry, he’ll eat all he wants in prison. Call the Marines”, Patty said, ordering one of the cooks to contact the Navy.
Without wasting time, the man rushed downstairs toward where the restaurant’s Den Den Mushis were kept.
A few moments ter, Sanji appeared with a pte of food in hand, having disappeared without anyone noticing.
He handed the pte to Gin, who passed it to his captain, who devoured it quickly.
“Are you out of your mind, Sanji? That guy’s a dangerous monster. You should’ve let him starve”, one of the cooks said, outraged that Sanji was feeding Don Krieg.
“You’ve never been starving, have you? I’m a cook; it’s my job. If I see someone hungry, I feed them. If they cause trouble after that, I’ll beat them up”, Sanji said, lighting a cigarette and taking a drag.
Sanji was then punched in the face by Don Krieg, who had just finished eating and fully recovered his strength.
He was sent flying from the mezzanine of the reception area down to the hall below, crashing and breaking a table in half as he nded.
“What the hell, Don? I brought you here because you promised not to hurt anyone. Besides, this is the man who saved both my life and yours”, Gin shouted, indignant at what his captain had just done.
Don Krieg then grabbed Gin by the shoulder, squeezing him hard, making him cry out in pain, and with an indifferent face, said, “Shut up, Gin.”
He then jumped from the mezzanine, nding on one of the tables below, which colpsed under his weight.
“I like this ship. It’s mine now”, Don Krieg said, gncing around the room.
“Damn”, one of the cooks cursed upon hearing this.
“Don, you promised”, Gin shouted desperately, still lying on the mezzanine floor, clutching his shoulder in pain.
“Whether you saved my life or not, I’m feeling generous today. Prepare food for a hundred men, and then get the hell out of here”, Don Krieg said, walking around the hall.
“No way”, the cooks said in unison.
“I think you misunderstood something. I’m not asking; I’m ordering”, Don Krieg said, striking fear into everyone.
“Sanji, I’m sorry. I didn’t think he’d do this”, Gin shouted, still on the floor of the mezzanine, crying.
“Hey, Sanji, where do you think you’re going?”, Patty asked as he noticed Sanji moving toward the kitchen.
“I’ve already said, as long as I’m here, no one goes hungry”, Sanji said, eyeing all the weapons pointed at him by the cooks.
“Sigh... very noble of you. Now tie him up”, Patty said, giving orders while heading to a corner of the restaurant, grabbing a bazooka, and returning to his original spot.
“This is a restaurant that serves a lot of pirates every day, so we always have to be prepared for situations like this. Now try this”, Patty said, pointing his cannon at Don Krieg and firing a ‘Shokuatari Meat-Ball,’ hitting him square in the chest and sending him flying backward, crashing into the wall and raising a cloud of dust.
After some time, the dust settled, revealing a completely unharmed Don Krieg. His shirt had been completely destroyed, revealing that he was wearing golden armor underneath.
“You insignificant insects. With my armor, I’m invincible”, Don Krieg said, stepping out of the hole in the wall.
Suddenly, Zeff appeared in front of Don Krieg, dropping a huge sack of food on the floor.
“Here, food for a hundred men. Now get the hell out of my restaurant”, Zeff said before turning his back.
“Chef Zeff, what are you doing? Once they recover, he and his crew will kill us and take the ship”. the cooks asked, worried.
“That’ll depend on their mental state once they’ve recovered, right, deserter of the Grand Line?”, Zeff said, giving Don Krieg a knowing look.
“Zeff? You’re Red-Leg Zeff? So, you’re still alive? But without a leg, I see”, Don Krieg said, pointing at Zeff’s missing limb.
“So what if I’m alive or not? Take the food, feed your men, and get the hell off my ship”, Zeff said impatiently.
“Nah, I like this ship. I’ll keep it. By the way, you sailed through the Grand Line and came out unscathed. You must have a logbook. I want it too.”
“You may want it, but you won’t get it. Now get out of here.”
“Then I’ll take it by force. I may have fled from there, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m the strongest man in the world. I failed because I didn’t have enough information. With that logbook, I’ll return to the Grand Line, find the One Piece, and become the Pirate King”, Don Krieg said with a wild grin on his face.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.”
Suddenly, everyone heard a loud ugh echoing through the hall. Looking toward the source, they all saw Luffy rolling on the floor, clutching his stomach from ughing so hard.
---
(AN: 1,248 Words)
Chapter - 32
East Blue – Baratie
"What’s so funny?", Don Krieg asked, restraining himself from killing the brat in front of him.
"Shishishishi, no, it's just really funny that you think you're the strongest man in the world when people like Whitebeard, Shanks, Kaidou, and Garp are out there. Besides, you won’t find the One Piece or become the Pirate King because I’ll be the one to do that", Luffy expined, a pyful grin on his face.
"Hahaha, you? A brat who hasn’t seen anything of the world is going to become the Pirate King? Don’t make me ugh", Don Krieg sneered.
“Well, you better listen to the old man, take the food and get out, or I’ll throw you out myself", Luffy said, standing up from the floor.
"Ha! I’d like to see you try, brat", Don Krieg said, taunting Luffy with his arms wide open.
"You asked for it", Luffy replied, suddenly appearing in front of Krieg and delivering a punch straight to his sor plexus, creating a hole in his armor the size of a watermelon, both in the front and the back.
Though it didn’t tear through his body like it did his armor, a dark purple bruise immediately appeared at the point of impact. Krieg vomited several mouthfuls of blood and passed out instantly.
His body flew out of the restaurant, crashing through the wall and only stopping when it hit one of the masts of his ship, which, already in poor condition, split in two from the impact.
"Here, Bin, give this to your friends so they can eat, then you can leave", Luffy said, handing Gin the sack of food that Zeff had prepared.
Gin immediately stood up with some effort, took the sack, and ran to feed his companions.
Suddenly, Luffy sensed a powerful presence approaching the restaurant using his Observation Haki.
Luffy moved outside the restaurant, waiting for the arrival of this powerful presence.
At that moment, all the customers took advantage of the brief calm to flee to their ships, knowing that a storm was likely on the horizon.
Seeing Luffy staring intently at the horizon, Zoro asked as he approached, "What are you looking at, Captain?"
"Someone really strong is coming", Luffy replied, putting his crew, Sanji, Zeff, and the chefs on alert.
A few minutes passed as Gin fed his starving crewmates, and then a small coffin-shaped boat appeared on the horizon, approaching the restaurant.
“Looks like you’ll get your fight sooner than expected, Zoro”, Luffy said, watching the boat draw closer.
"Is that Hawkeye?", Zoro asked, gripping the hilt of one of his swords tightly.
"Yes, and I should warn you, you’re going to lose", Luffy said seriously.
"I know", Zoro said, pulling the bandana off his arm and tying it around his head in preparation for Mihawk’s arrival.
"And you're still going to fight him?", Kaya asked, worried.
"My dream is to become the greatest swordsman in the world, and for that, I need to defeat this guy. Besides, a swordsman doesn’t run from a fight, whether weaker or not than their opponent. I don’t run from battles", Zoro said, his eyes burning with determination.
"You're crazy, you know that? And you, Luffy, aren’t you going to say something to stop him?", Nami asked, concerned.
"I don’t stand in the way of my crew’s dreams, Nami", Luffy said, gently patting Nami’s back.
=Scene Break=
A few minutes ter, Don Krieg’s pirates finished eating and fully recovered.
"WE'RE ALIVE!"
"WE SURVIVED THAT HELL!"
Suddenly, they noticed their captain lying on the deck in a pool of blood from his mouth.
"CAPTAIN? WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?", one of the pirates asked, worried.
"He got beaten up. Now we better get out of here so we can treat the captain", Gin said, not wanting to cause trouble for Sanji.
Suddenly, their ship was sliced in half by Dracule Mihawk, who had just arrived.
"Usopp, go check if the Merry was damaged", Luffy said, unfazed by the violent waves caused by Mihawk’s attack, which split Don Krieg’s ship.
Once the sea calmed, Usopp returned and said, "The Merry's fine, just a bit messy from the waves knocking things over."
"No worries, we’ll tidy it up ter", Luffy said, patting Usopp on the shoulder.
“What the hell, did that guy follow us?”, one of the pirates asked, noticing Mihawk after managing to stabilize himself.
"WHY DID YOU ATTACK US IN THE GRAND LINE?", one of the pirates yelled at Mihawk, wanting to know the reason for the attack they had suffered almost immediately upon entering the Grand Line.
"You woke me from my nap", Mihawk said in a bored tone.
"WHAT THE HELL?", The pirates were outraged by this answer, realizing their entire fleet had been destroyed for nothing.
"And why did you follow us here?", Gin asked, confused about why Mihawk had come all the way here.
"I was bored, so I decided to kill some time, but it seems I found someone interesting", Mihawk said, gncing at Luffy, who was standing on the Baratie’s entrance deck.
Noticing the familiar straw hat on Nami’s head, Mihawk said, "That straw hat looks familiar. Is it yours, girl?"
"The hat’s mine, why?", Luffy asked, crossing his arms.
"So, you’re the boy Shanks talked about?", Mihawk asked, intrigued by Luffy.
"You know Shanks?"
"The Red-Haired was the only one who could keep up with me in a sword fight. Then one day, he shows up missing an arm, saying he bet it on the future of a boy from the East Blue. From what I see, you’re quite strong for your age", Mihawk said, assessing Luffy.
At that moment, Zoro stepped forward, drawing Mihawk’s attention. "Dracule Mihawk, also known as Hawkeye, I’ve been searching for you for a long time."
"And what do you want from me, boy?"
"Your title", Zoro said, drawing his swords and pcing Wado in his mouth.
"How original", Mihawk replied in a monotone voice.
“You’ve got some free time, right? Well, I, Roronoa Zoro, challenge you to a duel”, Zoro said, determination written all over his face.
"Interesting. Is this will to fight me, even knowing the outcome, born from your heart or your foolishness?", Mihawk asked, intrigued by the young man in front of him, determined to fight even though he knew he was too weak to face him.
"It’s my dream and a promise I made to someone dear", Zoro said, getting into the stance for the fight he’d trained for his whole life.
---
(AN: 1,085 Words)
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