Pirates: Martial Arts Masters on the Straw Hat Ship

Suddenly, Sanji, who was pouring wine, froze.

As if sensing the call of some "priceless treasure," he suddenly turned his head, his gaze sweeping across the hall like a radar.

Ultimately, they pinpointed Ronan's table... or more precisely, Nami.

In that instant, Ronan seemed to see a blazing fire of love burning behind Sanji, and the background music transformed into a stirring symphony.

"This is...this is so beautiful..."

Sanji muttered to himself, nearly dropping the wine bottle in his hand.

"Whoosh—!!"

Without any warning, Ronan didn't even see his starting motion.

In a flash, Sanji, who was just over ten meters away, suddenly teleported to the table!

This speed is three times faster than when he kicked Hebdo away! Is this the power of love?!

"Huh?" Nami was eating dessert when she was startled by the sudden appearance of the figure, and her fork stopped in mid-air.

Under Nami's astonished gaze, Sanji made an extremely standard, operatic-like gesture.

He knelt on one knee, placed his left hand on his chest, and conjured a vibrant red rose from who-knows-where with his right hand, tenderly presenting it to Nami.

His eyes, no longer cold as usual, had transformed into two beating pink hearts; his voice was deep and magnetic, as if reciting the oldest poems.

"Oh, ocean... thank you for granting me this miraculous encounter today!"

"This beautiful lady..."

Sanji looked up, his gaze fixed intently on Nami, a look so intense it could melt anyone's heart.

"Love, go ahead and mock me for being unable to bear this pain!"

"As long as I can be with you, even if it means becoming a pirate despised by the world, or falling into hell as a demon... I'm prepared for it all!!"

"For you, I'd give my heart's every beat!!"

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

Ronan's teacup froze in mid-air, his lips twitching wildly.

Although I already knew that Sanji was a lecherous cook, seeing his shameless behavior of "I can elope with any beautiful woman" was still too shocking.

Luffy, with a meat bone in his mouth, looked completely bewildered: "What's he doing? Is he doing magic?"

Zoro, his face darkening, rested his hand on his sword hilt, seemingly contemplating whether to cut this guy down: "This curly eyebrow... is he an idiot?"

Usopp was dumbfounded: "This...this transformation is too fast! Just a moment ago he was a cold-blooded killer, and now he's a lovestruck fool?!"

Nami, the one being confessed to, looked at the man in front of her with hearts in his eyes and pink bubbles all over his body, and a huge bead of cold sweat rolled down her forehead.

But as a professional "cat thief," she only paused for a second before flashing a professional, sweet smile (though her eyes betrayed a hint of pity for the mentally challenged):

"Um... is this flower for me?"

"Yes! This is a flower of love blooming for you!" Sanji trembled with excitement.

Sanji knelt on one knee before Nami, the rose in his hand vibrant and beautiful. His eyes were melancholic and affectionate, like a prince enacting a Shakespearean tragedy.

"However……"

Sanji sighed deeply, even squeezing out two glistening tears: "This is so sad, Nami-san."

"Although my heart already belongs to you, there stands a huge, insurmountable obstacle between us..."

"The obstacle you're talking about—you mean me, kid!"

A rough, hoarse voice, thick with gunpowder, boomed behind Sanji like a muffled thunderclap.

Before Sanji could finish his cheesy line, a hard wooden prosthetic leg slammed heavily onto the floor with a dull thud.

The newcomer was none other than the mastermind behind the floating restaurant, "Redleg" Zeff.

He wore a tall chef's hat, his beard was braided into two pigtails, his arms were crossed, and his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's as he coldly stared at Sanji, who was still acting.

"You old geezer!"

The affection on Sanji's face vanished instantly, replaced by displeasure and rebellion. He abruptly stood up, the speed of his change of expression astonishing.

Zeff snorted coldly, showing no respect for Sanji, and pointed towards the door, shouting:

"Why don't you join these pirate kids and become a pirate yourself? This shop doesn't need you anymore!"

This sentence, like a sharp knife, instantly pierced the originally slightly comical atmosphere.

"You old geezer..."

Sanji's forehead veins bulged as he gritted his teeth and said, "I'm the sous chef here! What do you mean by saying we don't need me?!"

Zeff's eyes were cold as he began to list Sanji's "crimes," each one hitting a nerve:

"He's either constantly getting into conflicts with customers, breaking restaurant tables and chairs, or he gets all lustful and rushes over to fawn over women! Most importantly..."

Zeff paused, a fleeting, complex emotion flashing in his eyes, before turning into an even sterner rebuke:

"Your cooking skills have stagnated; you can't make anything decent! You're a complete burden to this restaurant!"

"What...did you...say?!"

Sanji clenched his fists instantly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

He could tolerate Zeff calling him a lecher and a violent person, but he could never tolerate the denigration of his cooking.

That was his soul, the meaning of his existence.

The chefs watching the spectacle—especially Paddy, who had just thrown Akin out—all let out gloating laughs.

"Hehe, the boss finally said it!"

"Get out of here, you violent chef!"

"We don't need you here!"

These jeers were like adding fuel to the fire.

"Anyway, none of the chefs here like you!"

Zeff's voice rose an octave, as if delivering a final verdict:

"Why not just become a pirate or something and fend for yourself on this high seas! Get out of this shop now!"

"asshole!!"

Sanji finally snapped.

"You yourself are spewing filth! You stinking old man!"

Sanji approached Zeff step by step, his aura no less imposing than that of the former great pirate.

He suddenly reached out and grabbed Zeff's pristine white chef's uniform collar tightly, roaring with bloodshot eyes:

"Putting everything else aside... I absolutely will not allow you to belittle my cooking!"

"No matter what you say, I will never leave! I'm going to stay here and be a chef! You're not allowed to have a problem with that!"

This is Sanji's obsession.

To repay the kindness shown to him by the man who saved him with a broken leg, he was willing to dedicate his life to protecting the restaurant, even if he was driven away, he would never leave.