Enter Black Leg Sanji 2...

Chapter 15.5 - E ter Black Leg Sanji 2...

"Just who is that anyway?" Chopper asked hesitantly.

"His name is Gin," Sanji explained dully as he watched Gin began to curse himself, muttering how he would be inside eating and Patty would be out here if he wasn't so weak from hunger.

Luffy then called out, "Hey! You're not hungry by any chance are you?"

"What gave him that idea?" Zoro asked, rolling his eye.

"No… I'm not…" Gin snarled to him, but his stomach was clearly still rumbling. "Just leave me alone."

"But I thought he was…?" Chopper said in confusion.

"His pride," Robin explained to him softly, "he doesn't want to admit that he's this weak."

Chopper was frowning before the door opened and Sanji came out with a steaming plate of food and a glass of water. He set it down next to Gin before he took a seat, his back leaned against the rails and lit a cigarette. "Eat up," he told him almost as if it was a chore he was doing.

Gin's eyes were wide and he stared hungrily at the plate. But he looked away, as if it took all his willpower to do so. "Take it and leave me alone! I won't accept charity," he said stubbornly, "It doesn't matter how down and out I may be. Just take the stuff away now!"

"He can howl all he wants to, but it would've been a pathetic way to die," Sanji disagreed.

"Stop your whining and eat it already," memory Sanji said harshly. "I don't care what they say in there. To me, if anyone's hunger they're a customer."

"That's so sweet of you, Sanji," Nami said and Sanji became lovestruck again.

"Thank you Nami-swan! I'm glad to see that someone appreciates all that I do!"

"Which would be what?" Zoro asked him, "Bleeding to death whenever you see a woman?"

"Do you really want me to kill you one of these days?" he yelled, "I swear, one of these days I'm gonna finish you off once and for all!"

"Why don't you all watch the scene before you get to it?" Robin offered as Gin still kept his head turned away from the plate.

"Sorry… but I'm not your customer," he said stubbornly, but his stomach was roaring in disagreement.

Memory Sanji looked up into the sky with a thoughtful expression, almost grim, before he went on, "It's amazing how beautiful and cruel the ocean can be. How it's almost a death sentence to lose your food and water out here. How difficult it is to survive…?"

"You sound like you speak from experience, Sanji-san," Brook said softly, looking over at the cook. If he still had a face, he would've had a thoughtful expression as he gazed at Sanji.

Sanji didn't answer. He didn't want to think about those endless days on that miserable rock in the middle of the sea. He could understand now Zeff's reluctance to remember certain events from the past… he did his best not to think of his near-death experience.

"I know what it means to go hungry because of the sea more than anyone," his past self said and everyone was looking at him curiously. But he refused to look as he listened. "You can die for your pride if you want. But listen, if you eat and survive won't that give you the opportunity to fight for pride truly worth having now and in the future?"

Franky sniffled, his heart going out to Gin as he listened to those words. Gin stared out at the food before he finally took the plate and practically inhaled it into his mouth.

"I'm sorry!" Gin gasped out, and his tears were now starting to mix in with the food and he was wiping them away furiously, "I'm sorry! Thank you so much! I thought it was over! I truly thought I was gonna die!" He was quickly cleaning the plate and the tears kept falling, "This food… it's delicious! I've never eaten food this good before!"

Sanji grinned. "Of course it is."

"Well, when you're desperate enough you're willing to eat just about anything," Zoro said, but even he was feeling some grudging respect for the cook as he watched this.

"Shut up Moss-Head, at least I can cook! You can't even do that!" Sanji snapped at him.

Before Zoro could give him another death threat, Luffy was chuckling to himself. "I think I just found my cook." He leaned over the rails and called to Gin with laughter, "You're lucky he gave you some food! You weren't looking so good there! I thought you were a goner!" He then turned to Sanji and said, "So listen, Mister Cook, how about you leave this boat and join my crew?!"

"He doesn't waste time does he?" Franky asked with a laugh as past Sanji looked up at him startled. "He barely knew you but wanted you to come with him."

"He knows a good cook when he sees one," Sanji said proudly.

"And that's how we got stuck with you," Zoro sighed.

"SHUT UP!" Sanji yelled.

"I could use a cook like you on my pirate ship!" Luffy exclaimed happily before he gracefully jumped down and landed like a cat on the railing.

"So, you're a pirate?" past Sanji said, looking him up and down, and it was clear that he didn't believe him. Which was true, Luffy honestly didn't look like any pirate they had seen.

"Uh-huh," Luffy said proudly.

"Is that why you went and did a crazy thing like shoot a cannonball into the restaurant?" Sanji asked as if he was asking which way the wind was blowing, not even sounding like he cared for an answer.

"That was an accident," Luffy said at once, looking up at the building, "It was self-defense that turned into a stray shot."

"A stray shot?" Sanji asked, sounding close to laughing.

"Yeah, I didn't believe a word he said," present-day Sanji admitted.

"In any case, you really don't want to do anything stupid to this place. The owner used to be a cook in a famous pirate fleet," his past said.

"Oh," Luffy said, understanding coming over his face, "So the old man used to be a pirate."

"It explains a lot," Usopp said, thinking of Zeff. Past Sanji was still staring up at the sky as he explained how the restaurant meant everything to the old man and it was all he'll need for the rest of his life. As well as explaining that the other cooks that joined him were just like pirates.

"So how'd you get stuck here?" Zoro asked teasingly.

"None of your business!" Sanji snapped, but a part of him was now deeply worried about them finding out the truth about his past. Right now, Luffy was the only person on their crew who knew about what he had to go through and he was concerned about them hearing that as well.

Luffy was nodding as he happily clapped his sandals together. "Yeah, noticed that. This is a really wild restaurant."

"You get used to it," Sanji admitted as his past self sighed.

"So true," he admitted, "and this is how it is every day. It has gotten so bad that customers are coming just to watch fights between the cooks and the pirates."

"Hell, if that's the case, I'll come and see it for myself," Franky said happily, "Sounds like it be one heck of a place to see."

"It did good business," Sanji said in amusement, "Never a dull moment."

"Every day it's been a new pirate ship and a new rampage," memory Sanji sighed tiredly, "It wasn't long till all the waiters got scared and bailed."

"So that's why the chefs were forced to do the delivery themselves," Robin said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, the waiters were almost killed more than once and they just couldn't take it anymore," Sanji answered with a shrug, "Their loss."

"Ah, so that makes sense," Luffy said, thinking that over. "So, that's why the old man wants me to work for him for a year."

"And I don't think that ever would've happened," Nami said, laughing at the idea. "He's a disaster no matter what he does."

"That I can't disagree with," Sanji sighed, remembering all the damage he caused. Broken plates and dishes… eating all the food… slacking off and dropping food all over…? If he had stayed a year there wouldn't have been anything left of the restaurant.

"So, you're joining my pirate crew or what?" Luffy asked him brightly.

Sanji glanced up at him, a hint of an apology in his eyes as he said, "I'm sorry, but I can't. There's a reason why I have to work here in this restaurant, so I can't just walk away from it."

"Did you break something too and have to work it off?" Chopper asked him curiously.

"Not exactly," Sanji confessed as he yawned. "But everything I am I owed to Baratie and I just couldn't bring myself to leave." Truthfully, he had secretly planned to work at the restaurant for the rest of his life… at least until the old man died… but…?

Luffy had bent over so that he was right in Sanji's face and he looked taken aback as Luffy declared, "No way! I don't accept!"

"What? You don't you accept!?" he yelled at him.

Luffy moved back up and folded his arms as he responded stubbornly, "It's simple. I refuse to accept your refusal. You're a good cook and I need one, so it's obvious that we should be pirates together."

"That makes no sense!" Nami sighed.

"To Luffy it does," Usopp pointed out.

"What I don't get is that how can he think that Crap Cook's food is good when he hasn't tried it?" Zoro added as Sanji gave him a quick kick, that he dodge.

"You're really pushing your luck here Moss-Head!" he snarled.

"Listen to what I'm saying," memory Sanji said, now starting to sound annoyed, "I can't leave here, alright?"

"What's your reason for staying?" Luffy asked.

"I don't have to tell you anything!" he barked at him and Luffy looked confused.

"What the…? But you just told me to listen to you," he retorted as Sanji stood up and yelled at him.

"I told you my answer was no and that's all you need to hear from me!" he said with a finality in his voice, "Now, take your pirate ship and go find a cook somewhere else before I cut you up, Straw Hat!"

"You're right about one thing," Zoro said, "We could've found a better cook somewhere else. If only Luffy wasn't so stubborn about it."

"I'm beginning to think you really wanna die here," Sanji snapped.

Luffy, however, lost his temper and was now yelling at him, looking much like how he and Ace used to fight when they were little as they got in each other's faces. "You listen to me, jerk!" he yelled at him, "No one makes fun of my straw hat unless they're ready for a beating!"

"Did you two get into a fight?" Robin asked like how a mother would to two children who didn't get along.

Nami sighed. "Huh, and you were having such a civil conversation too…" she said.

"It would've ended well if he just accepted my refusal with grace," Sanji retorted grimly, "He was the one who wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Well, you can't say that you're sorry that he didn't do you?" Usopp asked him.

Sanji rolled his eyes, unable to answer, but they understood what his silence really meant.

"Yeah, I noticed that," Nami said, thinking it all over. "At first, Luffy's almost always rejected whenever he asks someone to join him. However if the person really interests him, he will still try to get them to join anyway regardless. However, even if he is rejected, he still treats them as if they were already a crew member."

"Much to our annoyance," Sanji added in an undertone.

"He does that," Usopp laughed, "He'll sometimes act as if it is his decision and not ours whether we join or not."

"But don't forget that when he decides on someone joining, they do eventually join," Chopper said happily, still so thankful that he ended up joining in the end.

"And that's the part that drives me crazy," Sanji sighed at the thought. But it was true… once Luffy makes up his mind, that's the end of it. And he usually gets what he wants.

At this time, probably tired of being ignored like this, Gin looked up to them both and said, "I'm sorry to interrupt…"

"What is it!?" the two yelled irritably at him.

"My name is Gin and I'm a crew member of Don Krieg's pirate fleet," Gin stated simply, his eyes looking to Luffy, "And you say you're a pirate yourself? What is it you seek?"

"Oh," Luffy said, his bad mood fading almost at once, "The One Piece! Pretty soon, I'm gonna sail the Grand Line and find it!"

Gin's eyes widen a little and a look of terror came over his face.

"What happened to him?" Franky asked.

"He'd been to the Grand Line and barely made it back alive," Sanji explained as he watched Gin shaking where he sat.

"Well, you can't have been seeking it for long," Gin said suddenly, gulping almost painfully. "If you don't even have a cook yet, your crew can't be all that big."

"Nope," Luffy said, pointing to Sanji, "He's only the fifth member."

"I told you I'm not going so don't count me!" Sanji yelled at him.

"Like I said," Usopp said with a little laugh, "It's like he thinks it's his choice from the start…"

"But I'm glad I did join," Sanji said, turning to her and Robin, "After all… how many men are as lucky as I am to sail to the ends of the earth with such beautiful ladies?!"

"Aren't you sweet?" Robin said with a polite smile and he looked ready to fall over with happiness.

"You seem like a nice kid so let me give you some friendly advice ok?" Gin said in an anxious voice, "The Grand Line is a place you want to avoid. You're still young so there's no need to rush into anything."

"Well, I'll give him that," Zoro said, thinking of the training that he went through. They were all strong but they were barely able to handle 'paradise'… the New World however… it still took two years for them to be ready for anything.

"Remember, the Grand Line is one small part of this entire ocean," Gin finished, "If you wanna be a real pirate, there are plenty of other places out here on the sea to explore."

"I see," Luffy said, but it was clear from his tone that he didn't care how dangerous it was, "Well, how about you just tell me what to avoid in the Grand Line now?"

"That would actually be a good idea," Robin stated.

"I can't," Gin said at once, but he was shaking in such a way that they could tell that he was lying. "I don't know anything!" he said, his hand up and gripping half of his face as if he was remembering a bad memory. "I don't understand it…! And that is why I fear it!"

"For being a member of Don Krieg's you're a pretty whimpy pirate," Sanji said.

"Who's Don Krieg?" Luffy asked in confusion.

"Yeah, who is he?" Chopper asked curiously wit hthem.

"Wait," Gin said, staring at Luffy. "You've never heard of Don Krieg?" he said this in such a way that he obviously thought that Luffy was either crazy or joking around.

"Nope," he said evenly, "Who's he?"

"Foul Play Krieg," Robin explained, "I've heard of him… and I believe that he had a seventeen million bounty."

"That's almost the same as yours, Nami," Chopper said turning to look at her and she sighed.

"Please don't remind me of that," she said, still not happy about the idea that she had a bounty.

"What else do you know about him, Robin-san?" Brook asked her.

"Only a little," she confessed, "Just what I've heard in rumors. Apparently he had an entire Armanda of pirate ships… the largest ever heard of in the history of the East Blue."

"Around fifty ships and five-thousand men," Sanji answered her, remembering Krieg's words.

"Fifty ships?!" Brook repeated in awe. "That's amazing!"

"Yeah, but when he went to the Grand Line, he was only there for a week before he hightailed it outta there," Zoro added mockingly.

"Why? What happened?" Franky asked in surprise. But before he could find out, they looked back in time to see that Gin was in a small boat that he stole from the Marines. Apparently they were so focused on their discussion that they didn't notice anything else going on around them.

"Thanks for the warning," Luffy said to him, "But I'm still gonna go to the Grand Line."

"I know," he said with a brief nod, and he sounded like a different person as he looked to them both. "Do whatever you want. I'm just a stranger and I can't stop you from going anywhere you want to go. I just wanted to give you a fair warning."

"Well, it was nice of him," Chopper said as Gin looked to Sanji, his eyes filled with gratitude and respect.

"And to you chef?" he said, his tone filled with appreciation, "Thank you for everything. You saved my life and I owe you for that. You're cooking skills are the best I've ever seen." He smiled, "I hope to come back again sometime."

Sanji smiled back. "I'll have a seat for you," he promised.

Present-day Sanji smiled at that. Yeah… it was always nice to meet someone who appreciates all the work that you do. Though it was a shame that things worked out the way they did with Gin…

Franky sniffled, covering his eyes with his arm. "Your actions have moved me to tears, bro!" he cried out.

Brook was right beside him and was also crying. "I am so deeply moved that my eyes are overflowing with tears!" he said, "But then again, I have no eyes!"

"We get it," Nami said softly.

"CHORE BOY!" yelled a familiar voice and they looked up to see Zeff was up on the higher balconies and glaring down at them. "Get up here now!"

"Boss Zeff," he said with a sigh.

"You're hard to find," he barked, before his eyes found the clean plate on the deck and easily put two and two together. Past Sanji was looking a little apprehensive as he hissed for Gin to just get going.

"You didn't get into trouble for that did you?" Usopp asked him in surprise.

"Nah," he said, still puffing on the cigarette. "He may not act like it, but that old fart's got a good side in there somewhere."

Gin looked terribly guilty as he tried to apologize to Sanji, believing that he was going to get yelled at—or possibly fired over giving him that free food.

Sanji didn't look concerned at all as he picked up the plate, fork, and glass. "Whatever…" he said, before he dumped the utensils into the sea. "There," he said smirking, "Now there's no proof so there's no way I can get yelled at."

"Well said, why didn't I ever think of that?" Usopp said with a little laugh as Gin looked ready to cry again as Zeff and Luffy looked at him.

"Try not to get caught again, you here?" Sanji called to him as Gin spread the sail and allowed the wind to carry him off.

But as he left, Gin fell to his knees and bowed his head low. "Thank you again, Chef Sanji! I will never forget your kindness!"

And that was when everything faded again so that they were back in the open air. "This is really becoming tiring," Zoro said, looking up at the night sky. If this kept up they wouldn't be able to tell the difference between night and day anymore.

"That really was a kind thing you did, Sanji," Robin said softly. "You owed that man nothing but you still gave him food. Not just anyone would've done something like that."

He smiled back as he looked to her. "I'm a cook. It's my sacred duty to feed hungry people. Any chef worth his salt would've done that."

"But considering what happens next, you think you would've regretted it," Usopp pointed out.

"Why what happens next?" Chopper asked.

"Well, Gin came back… but he wasn't alone," Usopp explained grimly at the memory.

"He brought Krieg and the rest of the crew back with him," Zoro explained as Chopper went blue in the face at the thought.

"Now that could've been a problem," Franky muttered to himself.

"Doesn't matter," Sanji said, thinking back to what Gin did for him when faced with that poison gas. "I'd do it all again. Like I said, I'm a cook and people get hungry. That's all I need to know!"

Again, the next scene came up and they were suddenly back in the dining room with Sanji there, presenting a rose to Nami—clearly the first time they met—and was now promising her words of love and devotion when Zeff appeared behind him.

"Sanji?" Zeff said gruffly.

"Stupid geezer," past Sanji hissed, snapping out of love mode and glaring at his old boss in annoyance.

"This is an opportunity you don't want to pass up," Chef Zeff told him suddenly and some of the Straw Hats were surprised by the odd gentleness in Zeff's tone. "Why not join them and become a pirate?"

"But I thought he wanted Luffy to work there?" Chopper said, completely lost.

"Thinking back, I think that if it meant getting me out of there, he'd forget the damage and let us go," Sanji explained as he looked to his old boss thoughtfully.

"What? You mean they wanted you to leave that badly?" Brook asked in surprise.

Sanji shook his head. "It's a little more complicated than all that," he admitted softly as he continued to watch it—finding it hard to believe that it was once him there… was this stubborn kid really him?

"I have no need to keep you at my restaurant," Chef Zeff informed him coldly.

Past Sanji glared at him. "Hey listen pal," he said in barely more than a whisper. "I'm the sous-chef in this place! What do you mean you don't need me anymore?"

"I think he made it clear," Zoro said smugly, but Sanji ignored him that time as Zeff leaned up against a table, and answered, "You fight with customers all the time… you flirt with every woman under eighty that walks through here… you can't even cook a descent meal."

Sanji, both in the memory and out, had their eyes twitching angrily at those words.

"You're as worthless to me as the chum after brunch," Zeff said, "That's what I mean."

"Harsh," Franky said. Talk about letting someone know they aren't wanted.

"It's not like that," Sanji said, breathing in more smoke. He was too naïve back then to fully realize this, but he understood now what the old geezer wanted from him. He wanted to give him an excuse to leave so that he could fulfill his dream of finding the All Blue.

"So ah…" past Sanji said as they heard the chefs all laugh from their place in the kitchen above them and he sneered up at them.

"Oh, and let's not forget how the other chefs avoid you like you were poison," Chef Zeff finished up. "So just run off and become a pirate or whatever but get out of this restaurant."

"That's mean…" Chopper said with a shiver.

"You think they could tell you to leave in a kinder way," Robin said with a smile. But she understood, having experienced this when the archeologists on her home wanted to keep her away from studying the 'Void Century'. They merely wanted what was best for her… she could see that it was much the same for Sanji here.

"Yeah, well the old man never did know how to talk in a nice way," Sanji said unconcerned.

"That's how it is?" memory Sanji hissed back, "You shoot off at the mouth and expect that I'm just gonna take it, old man?" he slowly walked towards him, "I can blow off everything you said, but I won't let anyone trash my cooking! I'm staying here as a chef and that's final!" He grabbed him by the front of his coat and yelled, "YOU HEAR ME?"

Everyone in the restaurant was now staring at him as Zeff looked completely indifferent.

"Sanji-san?" Brook said with a gulp. "If I ever said anything you didn't like about your food, I'm sorry."

"Me too," Chopper said, not liking the scary look on his face. Sanji just sighed as he held up his hand, showing that all was forgiven.

"What do you think you're doing?" Zeff demanded angrily, "Grabbing your boss by the collar?" Throwing his hand off, he threw Sanji as though he weighed no more than a sack of flour, "YOU INGRATE!" he screamed, throwing him into their table and smashing it apart.

"Well, now we know," Robin said as some of the other Straw Hats, who hadn't seen this, stared at Zeff. It was almost impossible to get Sanji down, but this guy was doing it without any effort at all.

Cursing, memory Sanji sat up among the wreckage of the table and said, "Enough of the games. You can try to kick me out—but I'm here to stay. I'm not going anywhere old man. Not till you're dead and gone!"

Current Sanji sighed, knowing that would've been a nightmare. As much as he respected the old man, the idea of working for him forever would've been too much for him.

Zeff didn't seem interested as he turned and left, but perhaps a trace of annoyance and even… disappointment was in his eyes? "Dead? Ha! I got another hundred years of kicking your ass left in me!"

"Knowing him, he'll do that just to tick me off," Sanji muttered as his past self hissed to himself about how Zeff always had to have the last word.

Luffy however looked thrilled and clapped a hand on Sanji's shoulder. "See?" he said excitedly, "He says it's cool! So now you can become a pirate!"

"SHUT UP!" Sanji yelled at him, looking ready to beat him up now.

"I'm not sure I get it bro," Franky confessed, as the memory faded again and he was rubbing the back of his head. "Did you really hate the idea of becoming a pirate that much?"

"Not really," he confessed. "After all, as soon as I saw Nami-san on the crew, I really wanted to go. But I just couldn't bring myself to leave."

"But why?" Chopper asked, "I mean… he said so himself that it was alright."

But Usopp was shaking his head to him, running his hand across his throat, letting them know that they should keep quiet about it. While he didn't know the whole reason behind it, he didn't think that it was a good idea to push Sanji too far and risk an ass-kicking.

The future memories they saw happened two days later when Krieg's ship appeared in the distance. At first, the chef's and the customers were terrified at the idea of getting into a fight with Don Krieg. However, what they saw was anything but a dangerous pirate. The enormous ship looked like it had seen one too many storms and seemed just as battered as Brook's old ship had been—it looked ready to sink at any moment.

The men on board were barely alive, looking thin and starved… and when Krieg finally appeared, he was too weak to stand on his own feet and had to be assisted by Gin.

Krieg was an enormous man with short cut gray hair and long sideburns, with a thick gauze wrapped around his head. The most notable aspect of Krieg's appearance is his golden wootz steel armor that was made up of chest plate, shoulder guards, and elbow guards, and it all seemed to be fur-lined.

With a great effort, Krieg made it to the deck and began asking for food before he fell to the floor. Gin begged them all to help his Captain, but some members, like Patty, laughed at that. Gin continued to beg, saying that they could pay so they were customers. The rest of the cooks refused, knowing all about Krieg's dirty reputation. Krieg was then bowing his head and begging for food as well and Gin was trying to stop him, tears in his eyes.

But the Straw Hats all knew that there was someone who was listening. Sanji had come in with a large bowl of food and actually kicked Patty out of his way—who couldn't believe what he was doing. But as Krieg eats, another chef by the name of Carne told Sanji and the rest of them about all the horrible things that Krieg had done over the years.

And it was soon clear that he lived up to his reputation; for once Krieg had finished eating, he attacked Sanji and even Gin was shocked at what he was doing. Krieg even went as far to injure Gin's shoulder as the rest of the customers went screaming out of the restaurant in panic.

"Ingrates," Sanji sighed, but didn't sound concerned as Krieg glanced around at the restaurant and stated that he liked it. He said that the second reason he had come here was so that they could take the restaurant. His old ship would soon sink and he wanted the Baratie as his new vessel. He then demanded that they serve food for the rest of his crew.

Predictably, they all refused and ready to fight. Krieg laughed as he yelled at them that he wasn't ordering anything—but that he was giving them all an order. And no one had ever disobeyed him before and lived to tell the tale.

"Lowlifes," Franky hissed, "They gave him food and now he's barking orders like he owns the place."

Holding onto his hurt shoulder, Gin apologized to Sanji, saying that he didn't think that Krieg would do this.

"He should've known better," Nami sighed. "Most pirates wouldn't just leave like he thought… and if their ship was in such bad shape, of course they would try to take it."

"What did they do to it?" Franky demanded, looking out the window to get a good look at it. "It doesn't take a genius to see that it was once an amazing ship and they all but destroyed her!"

But Zoro didn't have to look at the damage to know what happened. They had a run-in with Hawk-Eye… he felt his breath caught in his chest at the thought of watching himself and his first meeting with Mihawk… he wasn't sure he wanted to see that first-hand.

Memory Sanji stood up and was actually heading back to the kitchen and the rest of the cooks were horrified and shocked when he said that he was gonna start cooking. The cooks, who each had giant knives and forks, were now pointing their weapons at Sanji ready to fight him if he set foot in that kitchen. He then explained as to why he is giving them food, how he was a cook and it was his one job, but was then smashed to the ground by Patty, who then turned a cannon on Krieg and attacked—asking him if he wanted 'dessert'.

Krieg complained how awful the dessert was and then pulled out a private arsenal of weapons and began firing on them all as he screamed out why he was the strongest.

"Yeah right," Franky said, rolling his eyes. He could understand having a shitload of weapons at hand, but just because you're decked out with arsenal doesn't make you the strongest. For himself? He had to really work to put these weapons into his body…

But before Krieg could get into another rant, Zeff almost knocked Luffy off the stairs as he had a giant sack with enough food for a hundred people, which shock the chefs. However, upon hearing Zeff's name, Krieg's jaw fell open in horror and he was gaping at Zeff.

"What's with him?" Nami asked in surprise.

"He heard of him," Sanji said softly as he watched Zeff turn and looked like he wanted to leave the room. The rest of the cooks were all demanding to know what he was thinking for feeding them… about how they'd lose their ship for sure if the pirates got their strength back.

"That would be true," Zeff answered coolly, but not sounding at all worried, "If they still had the will to fight."

They all looked at him in confusion but Robin understood as she glanced to Gin's shaking form. Defeat is often a painful experience.

"Tell me…" Zeff went on as he looked back at Krieg. "Did your will survive defeat?"

The words slowly dawned on them all. That Don Krieg had run away from the Grand Line and now they were all staring up at him… his face replaced with a very ugly look. But he never stopped staring at Zeff as Gin cowered by his side.

Krieg then told the story about Red Leg Zeff: the once famous pirate who was both chef and captain, and that it was his ability to kick that gave him his name. How he could smash bedrock and even leave footprints on steel… the nickname 'Red Leg' or even just 'Red Foot' came from the blood of his enemies which sent shivers down some of the Straw Hats spins.

Krieg also stated that Zeff was supposed to have died in an accident years ago, but he realized that he had only lost a leg which made him unable to fight anymore and forced him to retire as a chef of a restaurant… how he was now defenseless.

"Defenseless my ass," Sanji muttered with his eyes rolling. The old man may not be as strong as he once was, but he was far from defenseless.

But Zeff didn't show any fear as he continued to look at them with a bored expression.

"I don't need to fight anymore," he said coolly, as he held up his hands, "I'm a cook. As long as I have my two hands I'll be fine. Now enough chit-chat. What do you want from me?"

"You gotta hand it to him," Usopp said watching him with awe, "He's not afraid of anything is he?"

"Nope," Sanji admitted as Krieg then said what he now wanted.

The restaurant and Zeff's logbook. Since Zeff once went in the Grand Line and returned safely, Krieg said that he wanted the journal written at that time. Naturally, Zeff refused.

"Of course he would," Brook said angrily. How could someone demand something as sacred as a logbook? However Krieg said that he'll then take it by force. He stated that Zeff's journal will give him the information he lacked when he first tried to enter the Grand Line, eventually making him the King, this leads to a funny scene with Luffy stating in front of everyone that he will be the one to be the Pirate King.

The other chefs told him to back off but Luffy wouldn't listen as Krieg snarled.

"This isn't a game," he said to him.

"Yeah, I know," Luffy said confidently, "But still… I'm gonna conquer the Grand Line."

His words just seemed to tick Krieg off. "NO YOU WON'T! It's true we didn't have the information we needed but my fleet of five thousand men were wiped out in just seven days you brat! That place is hell!"

"Pathetic," Zoro said, shaking his head.

"Now what happened to him to cause that?" Robin asked, "It's not easy sailing the Grand Line but how did he lose all those men and ships in just a few days?"

"He's a shitty captain that's why," Sanji answered as the rest of the people in the memory were stunned to hear that and when Krieg was about to fight, memory Zoro and Usopp showed up to watch the scene. Krieg saw them and mocked Luffy for having a tiny crew.

"Well, that's not all!" Luffy said, holding up two fingers. "I've got two more!"

"I'm not a part of your crew!" past Sanji yelled in the background.

"Just give it up, Sanji," Usopp said with a sigh, "You might as well just join and save yourself the effort."

Krieg then took the food and went to go feed his crew, giving them all a choice. He was taking the restaurant one way or the other and their only options were to flee with their lives or to stay where they were and die. They had until they finished eating to make up their minds.

"I'm so sorry for this Sanji," Gin said, and he truly sounded like he meant it, "I never thought it would be this way."

"You have nothing to apologize for sailor," Zeff said in an unusually kind voice as everyone looked to him. "Every cook at this restaurant did what he thought was right," he finished. "That's all there is to say about that."

"Now I can see him as a Captain," Brook said, his tone full of admiration as he looked at him. He could understand why Sanji respected him so much.

"Yeah, say whatever you want of the old man, but he's a true leader," Sanji admitted gruffly, "Even if he is a pain in the ass."

"But Boss!" Patty yelled, sounding outraged, "Why are you acting like you're taking Sanji's side? This mess is his fault!"

"I think it's because he was taking your side, Sanji," Robin offered as he merely lowered his head slightly as he nodded in understanding.

As the other cooks tried to speak up to that as well, Zeff lost his temper. "YOU FOOLS DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

Everyone was a little shocked at the sudden anger in his tone as he explained, "None of you have any idea what it's like to be on the brink of starvation. To have no food or water on the open ocean…? There is no way you could possibly understand what a terrifying prospect that is. It's the most difficult situation a man can ever face."

Sanji didn't react at all. He heard all those words before the first, but that didn't stop them from having an effect on him. Unless you felt the true pains of hunger in your stomach, you couldn't possibly understand.

"What?" Patty said, sounding lost. "I don't know what you're talking about Chef Zeff…"

"Of course you don't dumbass," Sanji whispered to himself.

Zeff looked over at them all, a strange expression in his eyes, "The difference between all of you and Sanji… is that Sanji knows…"

The chefs all looked completely lost at those words, but they weren't the only ones. The Straw Hats all looked to their Sanji, whose face was shadowed by his hair.

"Sanji?" Chopper asked softly. "What's he talking about? What do you know?"

Sanji just sighed. "It happened years ago… and that's the reason I never wanted to leave this place…"

He was grateful that Zeff was speaking again, giving him an excuse as to not go any further with his answer. "If all you're gonna do is stand around grumbling," Zeff went on, a hard look on his face. "Then leave this place! And never come back!"

Not a single one of them moved. They all held up their weapons, ready to fight, they had decided to protect the Baratie, since it is the only place where they were accepted.

"Yeah!" Usopp cheered on, but Gin screamed at them to please leave—that they had no idea who they were up against. But memory Sanji walked forwards, moving one of the tables up and explaining that now that he fed them, he can beat them all… and he said all this with a terrifying expression on his face.

"Looking scary there, Sanji," Nami said, looking surprised.

"Hey Gin!" Luffy suddenly called out, "You said you don't know anything about the Grand Line! I thought you'd been there! Doesn't make any sense."

"Isn't it obvious that he lied?" Franky asked, as if hoping Luffy could hear him.

So Gin told them all what happened. How on the seventh day of their voyage through the Grand Line, their entire fleet was almost annihilated… he spoke it all as if reliving a terrifying nightmare.

"For that entire fifty ship fleet… to be completely eradicated by a single man…?" he gasped as everyone stared at him, choking in horror at what they were hearing.

"One man did all that?!" Brook cried out.

"Why are you all surprised?" Zoro asked tiredly, "There are people like that all over the Grand Line who are that strong."

Gin explained about how as soon as this man appeared he began to slice apart the entire fleet… and how, if not for a freak storm, the flagship would've been snuck as all. "It all seems like a terrible nightmare burned into my memory!" Gin cried out shaking in fear, his hands on his face, as if he hoped to claw out those images. "I just want to forget… his eyes… they were like a hawks! Sharp and murderous! His gaze alone felt like the cold hands of death!"

On the stairs, memory Zoro gripped the railing tightly as he stared at him, eyes wide.

"Is that…?" Brook began hoarsely and Zoro nodded, silently confirming who it was they all thought.

"Well then," Zeff said as they all turned back to him. "That can only be the one known as Hawk-Eye." Gin looked fearful that Zeff recognized who it had been. "Your description of his heartless gaze isn't proof of his identify in and of itself… but the way he so easily decimated your fleet confirms without a doubt that it's him."

"Hawk-Eye Mihawk…" memory Zoro repeated softly.

"I've never seen you look so shaken before, Zoro," Robin said softly.

"I always knew I'd find him someday," Zoro answered to her, "I just never expected it to be this soon."

Luffy looked up at him. "You know him Zoro?" he asked curiously.

Remembering the matter at hand, his past self took several calming breaths as he answered Luffy's question. "Yes, I do…" he admitted, "He's the man I've been looking for. He's the whole reason I set out to sea."

Luffy blinked up at him as Sanji asked Gin if Mihawk had some kind of a score to settle with them for him to go out and sink all his ships.

"We didn't do anything to him!" Gin cried back to him.

Zeff had an interesting suggestion. "Perhaps you disturbed him during a nap?"

"STUPID COOK!" Gin yelled in fury, "WHY WOULD HE DESTROY AN ENTIRE FLEET FOR SOMETHING SO TRIVIAL?!"

"He's been known to kill for less than that," the current Zoro answered, his hand going up to trace the scar over his eye.

Zeff smirked at Gin's fear. "There's no reason to shout," he said coolly, as if telling a child to off for being too loud. "It's just an example. I thought you'd like a little friendly advice on what kind of place the Grand Line is."

"Don't we all know it?" Nami sighed, but she was smiling the whole time as well.

Past Usopp gulped. "And what kind of place is that?" he asked in a croak.

Memory Zoro was the one who answered, "He probably means that anything can happen there."

Zoro smiled to himself, "And boy is that ever true."

"It's just one crazy adventure after another," Sanji added with a chuckle.

Past Usopp on the other hand now had tears of fear in his eyes. "HEY LUFFY! DO WE REALLY REALLY HAVE TO GO THERE?" he yelled at Luffy who was shaking at the foot of the stairs. "Luffy?" he gasped.

But their Captain was smiling as he cried out, "THAT'S SO AWESOME! THIS IS GONNA BE SUCH A BLAST!"

"Well, he's probably the one having the most fun out here," Nami added with a little smile. "Even when we're in danger, he's loving every minute of it."

"Don't you understand the concept of danger?!" past Usopp demanded loudly.

"No," current Usopp answered for himself. "It took me awhile to realize that."

"Finally," past Zoro said softly. "My life's goal will be achieved on the Grand Line."

"What?" Usopp gasped up at him.

"I was hoping that you were gonna take my side here," present-day Usopp whimpered to him.

"Why would I want to do that?" Zoro asked as he gave him an evil grin.

The memory Zoro leaned up against the wall with a similar satisfied smirk. "My rival… is out there somewhere and I'm gonna find him."

Past Sanji looked up at him and asked, "Are you that stupid? It's idiots like you guys who end up dead."

"I'm a little surprised that you would say something like that, Sanji," Robin said lightly.

"Yeah well… I'd come a long way since then," Sanji admitted, wondering just when he started thinking like that. He supposed that he had simply forgotten about his own dream as he tried to find a way to pay Zeff back for all that he done for him.

But when he looked out the window at the sea… he couldn't bring himself to stop dreaming of the All Blue. He had been dreaming of that miraculous sea for so long that he could almost see it.

"That may be true," past Zoro said as Sanji looked back at him, "But lay off the name calling. I devoted my entire life to becoming the world's greatest swordsman. It was my choice so I'm the only one who gets to call me stupid."

"And I meant that," Zoro nodded, shutting his one eye. "As far as I'm concerned, no one else has any right to tell me how to live my life."

"But still…" Nami sighed, "It's still stupid."

Just then, outside they could hear the sounds of battle cries and knew that their time was up. The Krieg Pirates were all ready to go again. But then something happened… just when they start to attack the restaurant, the great galleon was suddenly cut in half creating a lot of disbelief on everyone's faces and even a mini tsunami. Everyone was rocked around inside the restaurant and they were all trying to find something to hold onto. Zeff ordered them to raise the anchor before the ship sank in the waves… while the three past Straw Hats all went running outside to where Nami and the guys were on the Merry.

They followed them and they found Yosaku and Johnny floundering in the sea. They explained that Nami took the treasure and ship and left.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp yelled together in panic.

"You did what?" Chopper asked Nami who blushed a little.

"I know it was a dirty thing to do," she admitted as they heaved the two men onto deck as they told them the story of how Nami tricked them and took off with the Merry. "But you have to believe me, I didn't want to do it… I had no choice."

"But…?" Brook began before memory Zoro lost his temper. He punched the side of the restaurant. "Dammit!" he yelled, "She just had to make a bad situation worse!"

Past Usopp was looking angrier than they had seen him in a long time. The closest was back at Water 7 when he had been told that the Merry could no longer sail. "The heartless thief!" he yelled, "Kaya gave us that ship!"

"We get why you did it now," Usopp reassured her in a whisper and she gave him a tiny smile.

Luffy jumped up onto the railing and searched over the sea to try and get a glimpse of the ship. "Wait!" he called, "I see a ship! It's the Going Merry!" He turned towards Yosaku and Johnny. "Tell me where your boat is!"

"We have it moored to the restaurant," Yosaku said at once.

"Zoro, Usopp, don't just stand there!" Luffy ordered, turning to them all, "Take their ship and go get Nami!"

"Calm down," Zoro stated, as if he could care less. "Let her keep the ship. Trust me, that woman's way more trouble than she's worth."

"And I still believe that," he stated as Sanji aimed a kick at his head.

"How dare you say something like that you heartless bastard?!" he yelled at him.

Luffy frowned at him as well. "She's the only one I'll accept as the ship's navigator," he said firmly, and it was clear from this tone that he wasn't going to change his mind.

"Oh, Luffy," Nami said, touched by that. They only spent a short time as crewmates, but he was already seeing her as their one and only navigator. The rest of them were also smiling at the moved expression on her face as memory Zoro threw Luffy an aggravated look. For a moment, there was a nasty moment of thinking that he would actually refuse… but he then sighed.

"Fine! I'll do it!" Zoro snapped in frustration, though it was clear that he wasn't happy about it. "You're one high maintenance Captain, you know that?"

"In more ways than one," present-day Zoro added as he watched himself looking towards Usopp and telling him to hurry.

"Besides, Nami had our ship! I couldn't let her get away with that!" the current Usopp said at once, his heart aching at the thought of the Merry. He didn't say anything else as they waited for Johnny and Yosaku to get their boat and bring it back.

"The ship's ready for action Big Bro Zoro!" they yelled together; once again, showing that these two were really two peas in a pod.

"Hey, what about you?" past Zoro asked, looking at Luffy.

"I should probably stick around here till I get things settled with the restaurant," Luffy said, jerking his thumb at the building, "you know what I mean?"

"Well, be careful," he warned, a slight trace of worry in his face, "The situation here could get really bad really fast."

Luffy nodded, "Yeah, got that right."

"Wow, I'm impressed," Nami said, and she truly sounded like she meant it, "You guys actually sound serious here."

"He does have his moments," Zoro shrugged just as they heard shouts coming from the floating pieces of the remains of Krieg's ship.

"Over there! It's that man!"

"He came back!"

"Don Krieg, the man who destroyed our fleet is back!" someone's voice screamed out above all the others, "What are we gonna do?!"

That got everyone, Zoro's especially, attention. They were all focused on a boat that was sailing towards them… as soon as they saw it, even Zeff's cool disappeared as he watched looked up, his eyes wide, "That man is…?"

And there, through the dust from the attack that destroyed the ship, the form of a single man slowly appeared. The memory Zoro was shaking, sweat pouring down his face. On a small raft that was lit with several candles with eerily green flames—that looked as though something to fetch you from the netherworld. Some of them shivered at the sight of it… but their eyes were drawn directly to the man sitting in the boat.

He was a tall and lean man with a short beard, moustache and sideburns that point upwards. His clothing was made of a wide-brimmed black hat decorated with a large plume, and a long, open black coat with no shirt underneath, with red, flower-patterned sleeves and collar. There was a small, golden cross-shaped necklace hanging around his neck and a large, black sword on his back. It had a beautifully curved black blade, in the shape of a cross, and with a golden handguard decorated by blue and green jewels, and a hilt wrapped in bandages, with a particularly big jewel at its edge.

But underneath the hat they could see his eyes… cold yellow eyes that resembled a hawk that was hunting its prey.

"So that's him?" Brook gulped.

"The greatest in the world," Zoro answered with a nod. Even after seeing his power for two years, it was still an impressive sight for him.

"You mean he cut that huge ship in two?" Franky said, moving his sunglasses up so that he could get a better look at him.

"He's scaring me," Chopper whispered, hiding behind Robin.

"That all makes sense now," Robin said, now fully understanding the damage that Mihawk could do after seeing his power first-hand.

"He destroyed that entire fleet by himself?" Usopp gulped nervously, "With nothing but a sword?!"

"It's all that he needs," Zoro said knowingly, "You don't become a Warlord by being a weakling." But then he remembered Buggy and added, "At least most of the time."

The Krieg Pirates were all so full of fear that they couldn't move and were shaking in their boots as Mihawk sailed by them.

"That psycho followed us back here!"

"He's gonna kill us all!"

"Probably," current Zoro nodded.

Luffy stepped forward when he noticed that Zoro had frozen. "Zoro, who's that?" he asked him as he glanced towards Mihawk.

"The man I've been looking for," memory Zoro confessed as he watched his rival sail closer. "Hawk-Eye Mihawk…"

"So that's… Mihawk," Luffy said seriously, and the present-day Zoro could see that his Captain could sense it. He could sense the power inside Mihawk… he should've guessed that Luffy could sense just how dangerous this man was.

"Yeah, the greatest swordsman," past Zoro said as he kept his eyes trailed on him. Zeff, Patty, and Carne were only a little ways away and were talking about him as well.

"That's gotta be the guy who destroyed Krieg's fleet," Patty said nervously, "He sunk fifty battleships out on the Grand Line all by himself."

"Looks like he came back to finish the job," Carne said anxiously, "But is that all he wants?"

"Hard to say," Zoro muttered, it was impossible to guess what was going on inside that man's head.

"Wait a minute," another chef said from behind them, "He looks like any ordinary man. He doesn't even look like he has any special weapons with him."

"He carries his weapon on his back," Zeff explained and they stared at him in disbelief.

"That's impossible!" Patty cried out in incredulity.

"He couldn't have destroyed a galleon like that using nothing but a sword!" Carne cried in agreement.

"Oh, he can, and he did," Zoro nodded dully.

Zeff just stood there with his arms folded. "Hawk-Eye Mihawk is a true master. He is without a doubt the greatest swordsman in the world." Here, Zoro couldn't disagree with that as he looked to his past self. He was looking nervous, but excited at the same time… a wild grin appeared as he put his hand on the white blade. He was gonna fight… he was willing to fight Mihawk for his title… or die trying…