Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 409 We, the Baroque Works, eat at your restaurant, don't you have to pay us?

Barati, a restaurant on the sea.

This is a restaurant built on the sea.

The entire restaurant was converted from a huge ocean-going ship, and the head chef was once a great pirate who had sailed the Grand Line for a year.

A warship slowly came to a stop at the entrance of the restaurant.

Just as everyone at the floating restaurant thought some important naval figure had arrived, three figures stepped off the warship, causing everyone's eyes to narrow instantly!

"The Devil's Son, with a bounty of 120 million!"

"A bounty of 115 million for the Sharkman!"

"And Uehara Naraku, for whom there's a 30 million bounty!"

When Uehara Naraku and his group walked in, they immediately attracted everyone's attention, because their bounty posters had just been delivered to the sea restaurant yesterday.

Everyone's eyes were involuntarily drawn to them, even the weakest one here, Uehara Naraku, had a higher bounty than the most terrifying pirate in the entire East Blue!

To be honest, there are very few people in the entire East Blue who have seen a pirate with a bounty of over 100 million. The strongest pirate they have ever seen in their lives is probably Red-Leg Zeff, the head chef of this floating restaurant Baratie, who only has a bounty of 74 million Berries.

Even though many of the restaurant's waiters and chefs were once villains, they couldn't imagine that a pirate with a bounty of hundreds of millions would appear here!

"We are from the Baroque Works."

Uehara Naraku introduced himself to everyone he met. He slowly sat down, looked at a wary-looking waiter, and said with a smile, "We've heard that the Baratie restaurant is the best restaurant in the East Blue."

"That's right."

The waiter nodded in a trembling voice.

"Don't be nervous."

Uehara Naraku narrowed his eyes, a sunny smile spreading across his face, and gently reassured the waiter, "If your cooking is delicious, we won't pay; if it doesn't suit our taste, we'll tear this restaurant down, understand?"

"..."

The waiter was startled.

Is this even human language?

This guy is clearly here to cause trouble, isn't he?

If these three people weren't so formidable, the waiters at Barradi Restaurant would have loved to teach them a lesson and show them how to speak properly...

Unfortunately, he doesn't have the guts now.

"Oh, right."

Uehara Naraku maintained his smile, raised a finger, and uttered a chilling statement: "Please prepare yourselves quickly, because Baroque Works is worth millions of Berries every minute. For every minute we wait for our food to be served, you will have to pay Baroque Works one million Berries, understand?"

"..."

The waiter's expression changed slightly.

This guy is totally looking for trouble!

Uehara Naraku tilted his head, his eyes narrowed, and he smiled warmly: "Your expression...does it mean you have some objection to what I suggested?"

"..."

The waiter dashed off into the kitchen!

He couldn't handle such a powerful pirate; now he could only ask Zeff, the head chef in their kitchen!

Kisame Hoshigaki looked at Naraku Uehara and couldn't help but grin, saying, "That's outrageous! No restaurant could possibly meet this condition!"

"Yeah?"

Uehara Naraku tapped his fingers lightly on the table, glanced at the clock in the restaurant, and slowly said, "Maybe they really can meet this condition!"

In less than a minute.

One waiter after another came out, each carrying a plate, and placed it on their table.

Most of these dishes are cold.

A young man with a full head of blond hair walked over, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and placed a bottle of red wine on the table.

"This bottle of wine is a gift for a few people."

The blond-haired youth took a drag of his cigarette and looked at the three people present, saying, "I'm Sanji, the sous chef of this restaurant. I made all these dishes. If you're not satisfied with the food, you can come and find me..."

"My family is very strict; I can't drink alcohol."

Uehara Naraku glanced at Sanji and slowly said, "Because you brought us a bottle of wine, you ruined our mood. The entire Baratie restaurant is going to be destroyed by our Baroque Works..."

"Tsk..."

Sixteen-year-old Sanji slowly took a drag of his cigarette, sighed, and said, "You pirates, you really are here to cause trouble!"

"yes!"

Uehara Naraku slowly nodded, then fanned his nose with his palm, smiling as he continued, "Now, because you smoked in front of me, someone will die for that one cigarette, but you can freely choose one person's life..."

Uehara Naraku tilted his head, looking at Sanji with a leisurely air, and continued, "Hmm... let me think about who we need to kill! One candidate is the head chef of this restaurant, Red-Leg Zeff, and as for the other candidate..."

"..."

When Sanji heard the name Red-Leg Zeff, his pupils contracted slightly, because it was Red-Leg Zeff who had raised him.

For Sanji, Red-Leg Zeff was like a real father, not only raising him but also guiding him to find the life that truly belonged to him.

Uehara Naraku tilted his head, looked at Sanji, and continued, "The second candidate... let me think about it some more..."

At this point, Uehara Naraku suddenly chuckled, "Hey, Mr. Sous Chef, what do you think about killing that woman, Vinsmoke Reiju? Anyway, our Baroque Works is about to go to war with the Vinsmoke family of the North Blue!"

"..."

Sanji's expression changed drastically!

How did this guy know his identity?!

He has never mentioned it to anyone all these years!

The Vinsmoke family is the family Sanji was born into. Although he had long wanted to sever ties with that family, the only person he still had feelings for in the family was his sister, Vinsmoke Reiju.

This person is absolutely terrifying...

How come they were able to find out about something like this?!

Nico Robin's expression was subtle. She didn't quite understand the relationship between these people, but when did Baroque Works start a war with the Vinsmoke family of the North Sea?

Just how many enemies will Uehara Naraku make for Baroque Works?

Will they only stop when the entire ocean is about to besiege Baroque Works?

Seeing that Sanji's expression had turned extremely ugly, Uehara Naraku finally spoke with satisfaction: "Alright, I'm hungry. Although this restaurant is definitely going to be demolished and people are going to be killed, I still need to eat..."

"..."

Sanji's expression shifted between light and dark, and he couldn't help but clench his fists.

"After all, a chef can't just watch someone go hungry."

Sanji abruptly stubbed out his cigarette and said softly, "If you're hungry, I won't disturb your meal for now. We'll settle the bill after you've finished eating."

That was a very polite way of speaking.

This is how Red-Leg Zeff taught Sanji, ensuring that this prince, who was once truly born into a prominent family, remains as elegant and gentlemanly as a prince to this day.

Uehara Naraku smiled and nodded, then continued softly, "Oh, by the way, you were talking to me for a few minutes just now. Remember to prepare a few million Berries, understand?"

"Ah, that..."

Sanji clenched his fist again and said softly, "I've already said, we'll settle the bill after the guests have finished eating!"

After Sanji left the table, he slowly walked towards the kitchen and saw the worried faces of the people there. He frowned slightly.

One of the sous chefs, who held the same position as him, couldn't help but ask, "Hey, Sanji, what's going on?"

Don't ask me!

Sanji couldn't help but rub his temples, and whispered, "You guys... while they're still eating, take Zeff and run away!"

"What do you mean?"

"Those pirates are going to destroy Baratie!"

Sanji clenched his fist tightly and continued in a deep voice, "Zep will definitely stay and fight them to the death... but that will only be a pointless death. Those guys are stronger than I imagined. Just standing next to him makes me break out in a cold sweat!"

Yes, extremely strong!

Sanji maintained his composure and dignity in front of Uehara Naraku because he had experienced something even more terrifying.

Sanji had always believed that his father, Vinsmoke Judge, was the most cold-blooded person in the world, but today he's met someone even more ruthless...

Uehara Naraku!

Is that guy's name?

Baroque Works!

Is that the place that guy is staying in?

Just as Sanji was sitting on the ground, curled up, covered in cold sweat, contemplating his impending death, he suddenly felt someone pat him on the shoulder.

Sanji's expression suddenly changed, and he leaped forward to kick the person in front of him away, but unfortunately, the person's kick was faster than his!

Red-Leg Zeff kicked Sanji to the ground, his face full of displeasure as he said, "Sanji, what are you doing now, you bastard! The customers have a lot of complaints about you!"

"What?"

Sanji suddenly looked up at Red-Leg Zeff in front of him: "Hey, why aren't you gone yet? Those guys..."

"What nonsense! If you're talking about those powerful guests, they already left after their meal!"

Red-Leg Zeff, his voice booming like thunder, placed a piece of paper in front of Sanji and said angrily, "The guests have given us, the Baratie, a lot of complaints. You absolutely cannot smoke at your age!"

Sanji grabbed the paper.

The note had several lines of text clearly written on it.

Mr. Sanji:

The food you made was delicious, so we've decided not to punish this restaurant for now. Of course, we won't pay the bill either, because we're going to dine and dash.

Also, talking to you took up three minutes of our time, so we took three million Berries.

Finally, thank you for the hospitality.

By the way, your restaurant is really profitable; it makes me want to come back again and again.

Sincerely, Baroque Works.

This Baroque Works organization directly became Sanji's number one enemy!

"Damn it... how dare you play me!"

Sanji clenched the paper tightly in his hand, anger instantly filling his face. He strode towards the door: "Those pirates actually tried to dine and dash?"

Is this even human?

I went to a restaurant, ate a meal without paying, and even robbed the restaurant!

These pirates are even worse than I imagined!

They're such powerful pirates, yet they robbed a small restaurant like theirs!

at the same time.

On a naval warship.

Uehara Naraku listlessly flipped through the rewards he had received, and began to marvel at the wonderful things about starting in the beginner village. It was like getting stronger while lying down!

Side Quest: Enjoy a meal at the Baratie restaurant (1/1). Quest complete. Reward: 500 Life Energy, 500 Armament Haki, and 500 Observation Haki.

Side Quest: Enjoy a delicious meal prepared by Sanji (1/1). Quest complete. Reward: 10000 Life Energy, 10000 Armament Haki, 10000 Observation Haki.

Side Quest: Eat a free meal (1/1), reward: 100 coins.

This is truly a beginner's village.

According to the data, eating a meal is enough to rival a pirate with a bounty of hundreds of millions!

Besides Baratie's mission, there was another mission concerning Uehara Naraku's bounty. After his bounty reached 30 million, he received a new reward.

Side Quest: Bounty reaches 3000 million Berries (1/1), quest completed, reward 3000 Life Energy, 3000 Armament Haki, 3000 Observation Haki.

Uehara Naraku, with a straw dangling from his mouth, slowly opened the map after reviewing his rewards: "Let's go. Before heading to Cocoyasi Village, let's pick up a little girl and let her watch us dig up her family's orange tree!"

Third update!

One more chapter to come!

Hmm, these foreshadowing elements will have to wait until Luffy sets sail...

(End of this chapter)