Pirates: Martial Arts Masters on the Straw Hat Ship

The following day, at the seaside restaurant, Barradi.

The shadow of the Krieg Pirates has dissipated, and the sea has returned to its former azure and tranquil state.

Seagulls circled at the top of the mast, emitting clear cries.

However, the departure of the Merry was repeatedly delayed.

In the spacious living room of the restaurant, Ronan, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp sat listlessly.

Usopp lay on the table, poking at the ice cubes in his glass with his fingers, and sighed:

"When exactly are we going to set sail? Will that chef really come with us?"

Ronan leaned against the window, gazing at the shimmering sea outside, a confident smile playing on his lips.

"Don't rush, once Luffy has dealt with Sanji, we can set sail."

Some knots in one's heart require a "special" approach to untie.

......

Barati rooftop.

The sea breeze howled, making the hems of their clothes flutter.

Sanji lay on the white wooden fence, a burning cigarette between his fingers.

Amidst the swirling smoke, his eyes revealed a deep longing, yet were suppressed by an even heavier sense of responsibility.

"I can't leave..."

Sanji gazed at the distant horizon where the sea and sky met, his voice low and hoarse:

"None of the guys here are reliable. What will happen to that old geezer if I leave...?"

"However, I will go someday! To the Grand Line."

Luffy, sitting cross-legged on the railing with his straw hat pulled down, excitedly exclaimed with an air of self-righteousness:

"Then let's go now! If you want to go, why wait?"

"It's not time yet!" Sanji said irritably, stubbing out his cigarette.

He suddenly turned his head, his deep eyes seeming to burn with two flames, and as he looked at Luffy, his tone became exceptionally sacred:

"Hey you, do you even know what ALL BLUE is?"

Luffy tilted his head, looking completely bewildered: "ALL BLUE? What's that? Is it tasty?"

"What? You don't know? That's the Sea of ​​Miracles!"

When this word was mentioned, Sanji's whole demeanor brightened.

"In that sea, all the fish from the East China Sea, West China Sea, North China Sea, and South China Sea gather!"

Sanji gestured with his hand in the air, as if that dreamlike ocean were right before his eyes:

"For us chefs, that place is like heaven! A dream paradise!"

"It's right there on the Grand Line! Pretty amazing, right?"

Luffy looked at Sanji, who was beaming with excitement. Although he didn't understand the names of the fish, he understood the look in their eyes—

That was the exact same look in his eyes when he wanted to become the Pirate King.

And at the very top of their heads, in the shadow of the roof with its huge, fin-like shape.

"Redfoot" Zeff crossed his arms and listened quietly to the boastful words of his "foolish son" below.

The sea breeze ruffled his braided beard, and a complex smile appeared on his usually serious and stern face.

"Look how happy he is... what a fool."

Lunchtime, restaurant lobby.

The bell rang, signaling it was time for the chefs to eat.

"Want to eat together?" Sanji asked Luffy, reverting to his usual self.

"Is it okay? There's delicious food again!" Luffy immediately followed.

However, when he entered the lobby, the atmosphere was strangely quiet.

All the chefs were sitting around a long table, and when they saw Sanji enter, the noisy atmosphere instantly disappeared.

Everyone had a long face, as if they owed them millions of pesos.

"Hey, where are we sitting?" Sanji asked casually, oblivious to anything amiss.

A cook, who was munching on bread, didn't even look up and coldly said, "There's no room for you!"

Another chef went even further, pointing directly to the floor: "Eat on the floor if you want!"

Sanji froze, his brows furrowing instantly: "No place for me? Are you kidding me! How is this possible!"

Just then, Paddy, who usually didn't get along with Sanji the most but also loved to argue with him, stood up.

He walked to the soup pot, ladled out a bowl, and took a sip.

"puff--!!"

Paddy dramatically spat out the soup in his mouth, shouting with disgust, "Who made this soup this morning?!"

Sanji immediately waved and shouted, "It's me! It's me! It's delicious, isn't it? I got up early today especially to make it with the best ingredients—it's extra delicious!"

"tasty?"

Paddy slammed the bowl down on the table, spat twice, wiped his mouth, and said, "Who could drink something this awful! It's like pig swill!"

"What did you say?!"

Veins bulged on Sanji's forehead as he rushed towards Patty, roaring:

"Human food doesn't suit your taste, does it?! You tasteless gorilla!"

Patty, not to be outdone, glared back with her bull-like eyes and roared, "To make something this awful is an art in itself! I'm about to throw up!!"

Sanji trembled with rage as he approached Patty step by step, his eyes icy cold.

"Excuse me, today's soup is one of my specialties, absolutely no problem! It's your rotten tongue that's causing the problem!"

However, to his surprise, the other chefs around him also put down their spoons and began to join in.

"It really tastes awful!"

"I can't drink this! This is no human being!"

"It's so salty! It's like drinking seawater!"

"This soup is awful, let's just throw it away!"

Negative reviews flooded in.

Those companions who usually quarreled but were still relatively harmonious now all had ferocious expressions, as if Sanji had done something heinous.

Sanji stood in the center of the hall, looking around with disbelief and anger in his eyes:

"What...what do you want?!"

Paddy sneered, his true intentions revealed: "Anyway, you're just a fake sous chef, a lazy bum who's been hanging around here for ages! We've had enough of you!"

"What did you say?!"

Just as Sanji was about to go berserk, a dignified figure walked over.

Zeff held a bowl of soup in his hand and took a sip without expression.

however--

*Smack!*

Zeff, expressionless, slammed the empty bowl onto the ground, shards flying everywhere.

"What is this awful soup that tastes like mud?!"

Zeff's voice was icy cold and devoid of any emotion:

"If we served this kind of stuff to our customers, the shop would go out of business!!"

This one sentence completely shattered Sanji's defenses.

He could tolerate Paddy's mockery and the ostracism from other chefs, but he couldn't tolerate Zeff's rejection of his cooking—the kind of cooking Zeff taught him!

"Stop joking around, you old geezer!"

Sanji suddenly rushed forward, grabbing Zeff's collar tightly, his eyes bloodshot and his voice hoarse:

"What's the difference between this and the soup you made?! It tastes exactly the same!!"