Meeting Sanji

In the background, tens of people rushed out of the restaurant as I walked in with my crew. The information network in this world never ceased to surprise me since it hadn't been too long my bounty had come out. There were still a few brave ones who remained and watched us cautiously though.

In time, we opened the two large doors to the restaurant. A man walked up to us holding a silver platter. He was an average-sized man, muscular man with a hairy arms and legs. I recognized him as Patty, who was a waiter and chef here.

"Hello and Welcome to Baratie, may I ask how you'll be paying today?"

Patty had a fake smile on his face; he was probably used to dealing with pirates who'd skip out on the money.

"With money, you idiot" I replied.

Patty's smile turned pleasant from my words, and he led us to our tables. He handed us our menus and said that the waiter will be here shortly.

"Wa ha ha Cross, why do you always create a ruckus wherever we go. You idiot!" Noelle laughed and teased me while excitedly going through the menu.

Just before I was about to get up and spank her for being annoying, the Marine Lieutenant Fullbody's figure appeared outside the door. His clothes were wet and his breath short of air.

"Gasp... Gasp... Who are you...? Do you know you let a dangerous criminal escape by making all of us drown."

Fullbody's face was flushed red, and he seemed to be ready to fight.

'How the hell are is this guy is alive if he is blind enough to approach someone as strong as me,' I pursed my lips with irritation

At that moment, Sanji arrived at our table, his signature cigarette and spiraling eyebrows with him. He said, "Hi, I'm the Vice-Head Chef and will be taking your orders for this table just for today... Do we have a problem here though?"

"Chhh... Get out of here chef. This is our business here. The food of this place is trash anyway..."

Fullbody gave a sideway glance to Sanji and then brought back his focus to me.

Bahm... The compliments from Fullbody weren't taken too well from Sanji. He delivered a spectacular spinning heel kick, worthy of his future title 'Black Leg,' on to the man's face.

While Sanji was moving towards the injured Fullbody, I said, "Take a good look at your future crew member everyone..."

While everyone curiously looked at Sanji and appreciated his martial arts, Zoro had a really bad itch on his head for reasons he could't understand.

Soon Gin from the Krieg pirates crawled from the door just like in the manga; he was starving and on the verge of death. He threatened the restaurant for food, but he was beaten back by Patty for his weakness and not having money. Sanji went out and sneaked some food to him, and then Gin started to cry from his kindness and left the restaurant...

Buzz... I teleported right behind Sanji at lightning speed at that moment.

"Hey, Cook join my pirate crew man! It will be awesome," I said.

"W-What...? How did you come right behind me? And no way am I leaving this place!'

Though Sanji was a little surprised how I was able to sneak up on him , he regained his composure quickly.

"You sure bro? I'm going to go the Grand Line and then the fishman island... and do you know what they have over there..."

I licked my lips, leaning closer to his ear to tell him some shady stuff...

"Gulp... What do they have over there?'

Then, I told Sanji the the story of the giant-sized mermaid, Princess Shirahoshi. I told him that she was being stalked and needed saving from her prince charming at the moment.

"Damn... I need to go out there and see her now!" Sanji clenched his fist with determination. He looked like the perfect gentleman, but with a little bit of a nosebleed when I described the mermaid's breasts.

"Yes, and I'm also going to become the King of the Pirate sometime after we go to the Island. You may have some dreams that you may want to fulfill too, right?" I continued, my voice reminiscent of my Chunibyo days.

Sanji closed his eyes and took a drag of his cigarette at my words. He was probably lost thinking about his dream to see the All Blue sea... he said, "I have one too, but there's something that's holding me back."

"Sigh... Well, it won't hurt for you to see my crew... maybe it might reignite your passions."

After failing to recruit Sanji on the first try, I had to be a little underhanded with my methods now.

I grabbed Sanji and led to him to our table. I introduced him to my crew, particularly focusing on Nami and Noelle. I curled my lips when he reacted exactly according to expectations.

Sanji got the girls an an extra dessert of fruit Macedonia and some wine to go down with it, and he said, "Wow, O'Blessed are the oceans for this fine day. The news of the mermaids and the presence of two fine beauties, for who I'm ready to even become a pirate ! Please take this as a token of my appreciation."

Hearts were popping out his eyes as he served the two girls.

Zoro snorted at Sanji's demeanor, and he said, "Do we really need a pervert this much bigger than you Captain... he hasn't even gotten my order yet!"

"What did you say you moss-head? I got you your water didn't I...?!"

Both Sanji and Zoro got ready to fight, and I just watched their fight with amusement.

"Wow! This food is so nice! We really need you Chef!"

Noelle'e eyes sparked at her desert, and she encouraged Sanji.

"Yup, it would be good to have this food everyday... Hey Chef, this place is a tad bit expensive for me... could you please do something about it?" Nami winked at Sanji and gave him a coy smile.

"All food is free for you two!"

Blood started leaking from Sanji's nose, and he focused on wiping it to avoid food contamination. My grin became wider when I saw the honey-potting strategy working charms...

"Hey Cross, you should really nice to me like Sanji you know. That expensive dresses I was looking for the other day...♥"

Nami leaned in closer to me, her warm breath was on my face. 'Damn this seductress wants to make me go broke too or what...?!"

"Oh yes... as long as you let me buy what's under those dresses. I'm all game!"

I pulled her face close to mine, and I delivered a gentle kiss on Nami's cheeks. Her face grew a tinge of red... She hurriedly pulled back, and she whispered "Kuhum... Kuhum... Not here Cross..."

Sanji's nostrils flared looking at the scene. "What are you forcing that innocent girl to do?

Before I could even reply to his allegations, Noelle said, "H-He would forcefully do t-this to me too every night... b-but not at my face."

Whaaat?!... Nami, Sanji, and I got up from our chairs and shouted in unison. 'This bitch once again,' I clenched my jaw.

"What is this Cross?!" Nami yelled.

"Ahhhh... They have a captain like this..? I need to join this ship and sail with them to save them... and then maybe they'll love me. But alas, it's tragic there's an obstacle standing between me and them." Sanji talked to himself; he seemed to be hesitating heavily.

Fortunately, the head chef Zeff came and took Sanji away from our table. Zeff tried to convince Sanji to leave; however, Sanji was firm in his decision to stay and work for his savior at this restaurant. At least, this gave me some time to sort some mess out.

By the time I was done explaining to Nami that Noelle had just cracked a practical joke... Chinn... I detected the sound of something interesting approaching...

Kyahhhh!

"It's the Don Krieg pirate ship! it seems in complete shambles though... "

A ghastly ship that looked like it's been through the middle of a war sailed in the distance. I knew the man responsible for it, and I swallowed just thinking about meeting the 'World's best Swordsman.'

"They must have come here to take revenge at the restaurant beating his underling. Run away from here!"

All the remaining customers rushed out from the Baratie and headed to their ships. I signaled my crew to stay patient and just enjoy their food!

In front of the gate, a tall, muscular man, with short cut purple-gray hair and long sideburns stood along with his subordinate, Gin. He was Don Krieg, the infamous admiral of the Krieg pirates, commanding over 50 ships.

"Please give me food... anything! Even leftover... please!"

Contrary to what his infamous reputation may have suggested, he begged and pleaded for simple food scraps. His body was weak and frail, and he bowed down to everyone at the restaurant.

I simply sneered at his current condition. If he thought that gathering a large fleet was enough to conquer the Grand Line, he truly had no clue on what the One Piece world was all about.

Was he to blame though...? He was sailing from across the weakest sea with no recorded information available on the Grand Line.

Patty laughed openly at his condition, ready to watch him starve. Most agreed with him and said, "Letting a demon like him starve is for the good of the world!"

But... There was one man; a chef from inside and outside. He picked up the leftovers from a table and brought it to Don Krieg. His kindness left Gin crying and thanking him gratefully.

However, as if the fate were mocking his kindness or something, Don Krieg turned his back at Sanji's kindness and Gin's resolve. He ordered the capture of the restaurant and food for 100 people.

And yet, Sanji and the head chef Zeff delivered the food for 100 people unfazed. 'A cook should freely be able to feed anyone who's starving,' they believed with all their heart.

Soon Krieg said that he would destroy the Baratie if Zeff wouldn't give him the ship logs and records. This was all for his ambitions on becoming the pirate king; nonetheless, Zeff and his chefs held on to their pride and refused to leave or surrender.

"Hey defeated man... I don't know if you keep up with the times, but this place is now under my protection. I highly doubt those logs can help someone like you anyway... Mwah ha ha."

I got up and stared Krieg down with a mocking smile. The chefs that recognized my 40 million bounty rejoiced and started celebrating.

"Hmmm, you and what... just those 3 people?" Don Krieg said.

"Well, and that Chef dude over there soon too."

I pointed at Sanji who became flustered for a second.

"Hmmm, I still have a hundred men under me. If you haven't left by the time I return, I'm going to kill you all."

Krieg declared and left the Baratie. Gin was still on his knees, devastated from the consequences of his actions. "I'm sorry Sanji... i didn't mean to do this.." He said.

"Ha ha ha... It's all good that you've all eaten now! Just don't blame me for taking your lives when you return because no one harms this restaurant."

Sanji took a drag and walked into the kitchen.