Chapter 27: The Price of Freedom

Rosan with emotions, had plenty of things that he could admit he childishly disliked. Vegetables, zombies (he finally came to terms with them not being real at around 15), being ignored... The amount of things he didn't like were numerous.

His time on Daybreak Island, only increased the amount of things he hated and turned those dislikes into something not so childish anymore.

He of course hated the World Government for everything that they had done to him and the people he loved. They had offended him too much for that to ever dissipate and he was sure when he regained his emotions, it would be stronger than ever and they would suffer as a result.

He could not stand being restrained in any capacity. If you tied the redhead up or reminded him of the time he was a prisoner in any sort of capacity, he'd go feral and become uncontrollable.

He did not like needles or being touched very much. Meiko herself had personally done her best to get rid of these fears and it worked wonders for the redhead with trust issues. It was one of the reasons he had been so fond of hugging, it actively helped him recognize that some people were not a threat to his safety.

He was sure he'd despise the virus because they went out of their way to turn him against one of the most important people in his life. Mod may have wanted to talk to them, but Rosan wouldn't even bat an eye if he needed to destroy them. It would be incredibly difficult for his Devil Fruit to get them to coexist but she didn't seem to understand that and he was in no rush to explain it to her until the day came.

But the one thing Rosan truly hated, were traitors because they signified everything that the redhead was against.

Traitors were liars and the honest boy didn't like being lied to. They said one thing and then did the other and they did it without regard of how you felt. They didn't care how much they hurt you in the process. They didn't care that they tricked you into forging a bond with them and stamped on that trust.

They just cared about themselves.

For someone like Rosan, who valued his loved ones above all else, of course traitors would be the thing that he were most vulnerable to. His overly emotional heart, couldn't handle the sting of betrayal because he always put his wholehearted trust into the people that he loved.

That's why he wrongly blamed Robin... His ire had been directed towards the fact that one of his two favorite people on the planet broke their promise and it broke him as a result.

Of course, none of that mattered now because of his current disposition and he didn't truly hate anything at the moment.

That was probably one of many reasons he hadn't killed Nami on the spot. One of the others, was that people who wronged him didn't get to die fast.

As the terrified navigator stared into his, at the moment, draconic slits, Rosan tilted his head in contemplation.

She was quivering right now and it was obvious that she was just crying. It seemed like the girl was desperately trying to find a way out of this, soon to be, terrible situation.

What a silly thing to do. No one had ever escaped him.

"I guess it's a good thing I didn't tell you about my Devil Fruit, right?" Rosan hummed quietly, never taking his eyes off of her.

Nami flinched back at his statement and finally found her words.

"R-Rosan!" She squeaked out, looking behind her and seeing the never ending ocean. Unless she wanted to take her chances with the sea (which might not actually be a bad idea considering Rosan couldn't swim), there was no way she was getting away from the redhead who she just discovered could fly.

"Nami," he replied curtly, nodding his head as greeting. "You were crying recently. Why?" The redhead asked with a tilted head.

She averted her gaze from those disturbing eyes and said, "T-That's none of your business."

During their time together, the navigator got used to staring into them, but that was before she betrayed the crew. Right now, those empty eyes didn't hold any of the familiarity she had grown fond of.

"That's fair enough. You have your secrets," the redhead replied understandingly.

Before the orange haired woman could even blink, a warm hand wrapped itself firmly around her neck and hoisted her up effortlessly until she was forcefully put face to face with that dimly glowing gaze. She tried to inhale only to go pale at realizing she was quickly losing the ability to breathe.

"I'm not sure you fully comprehend the situation we're in right now," Rosan whispered gently to the terrified navigator, refusing to loosen his grip. "You betrayed us and unlike Luffy, I have much lower tolerance for people who tried to earn my trust, only to betray me later."

Those unique irises stared straight into her brown ones without a hint of feeling in them and Nami let out a strangled yelp as she continued clawing at his hands.

"I like you Nami. I thought we had a pretty nice relationship but we are not close enough where I'd feel even remotely bad about eliminating you here," the bronze man answered truthfully, tightening his grip ever so slightly to emphasize the point he was making and making her go completely white. "Those tears of yours, are one of the few things saving you right now so tell me, for what reason are you crying, alone on this ship?"

He wouldn't kill her regardless but she didn't need to know that. Luffy was dead set on making her their navigator and even Rosan could see the immense value in her skills.

His brother would also not forgive him if he did kill her.

But if she proved to be too difficult, the redhead would just overhaul her minutely so that his rubber captain (who was very perceptive) wouldn't notice the changes.

The redhead placed her down and waited patiently for her to catch her breath.

Nami coughed a bit and looked at the tall man staring down at her. His head was tilted slightly and he was allowing his little faithful bird to rub it's cheek against his own, ignoring everything around him in favor of garnering affection from his creator. The sight would honestly be pretty adorable, if not for the fact that Rosan was utterly terrifying right now.

But... He was right to be doing this so she couldn't fault him… She did betray them and steal the ship that Rosan had put a lot of effort into securing for the crew. The fact that he was allowing her to explain herself, when she had witnessed how merciless he could be, was a small testament to the bond that the two had been forming while traveling.

Even if they argued nonstop, the two both enjoyed it and she ruthlessly stomped on it by leaving without a second thought.

She closed her eyes in resignation. "I was crying because I betrayed you guys," the navigator admitted sadly.

Rosan paused at that.

Oh...?

"I… I really liked traveling with you all and I didn't want to leave but I have to… When I finished my business, I was hoping to run into you guys, explain myself and travel together again," she informed him, glancing down at the floor.

She missed the redhead scrutinizing gaze as he digested her words.

"She's telling the truth. What will you do now?" Mod mused.

"I don't know. I never thought of this as a possibility."

"That's because you never want to see the good in people."

"…"

She was right but should she really be the one talking to him about trusting people? After all, even she held vital information from him and she was the person he was supposed to trust most in the world.

"What caused you to betray us if you didn't want to?" Rosan asked softly and his threatening aura vanished. His slits transformed back into their tiny pupils and he guided the relieved orange haired girl to the kitchen to give her a glass of water.

Nami gratefully accepted the cup and drank it down while thinking of how to best explain it to the redhead. She was glad that he was past the murdering her stage but she was still hesitant to inform him of what exactly her business was.

"Does it have something to do with Arlong?"

That sudden question, caused Nami to choke on her drink. The redhead pat her back as she began coughing erratically and she regarded the redhead with disbelief.

"H-How long have you been watching me?" She asked hesitantly. That was... she never even made mention of Arlong. How... How did he know?

"Since the moment you grabbed his bounty poster," the redhead replied immediately. "I was keeping an eye on you these past few days," he admitted.

"After my bird nearly got swept away by the tide of people, I had him rest on the ship and activated it when I heard what you did. Even if I couldn't reach you, we would have found you regardless because he was watching you the whole time."

More and more, Nami was beginning to realize, just how dangerous Rosan was and just how resourceful he could be. Not only that, he was intelligent with it too. He didn't reveal all his cards to them and that's why she felt confident in being able to get away from them.

If she knew he could fly (his teleportation was not on the Going Merry, it was apparently on Luffy), there was no way she'd have entertained the notion of taking the ship and leaving because he'd always be able to catch up.

But by not informing her of what he was capable of, she had fallen right into a trap…

She wondered just how capable the redhead was. What else was he hiding? What else could he do?

"I'm apart of Arlong's crew," Nami admitted bitterly. "He… He came to my village eight years ago and took over. He kidnapped me after seeing how well I could draw maps and we struck up a deal… If I could give him 100 million, I'd be able to buy the village back and he'd leave."

"This Arlong…" Rosan began softly. "...He took something important from you, right?"

Nami flinched at his observation, eyes wavering a bit, and he reassured her that she didn't have to tell him.

The redhead digested what she told him for a moment and then nodded his head. "So you've been a slave to Arlong since you were 10…"

Arlong had shown up to the East Blue long after he had retired Reaper. Rosan was about 16 when it happened but after glancing at the man's bounty poster, he did a bit of research using Maro and her connection to the Government.

Apparently, after the Fishman Warlord Jimbe acquired his position, he asked for a number of his allies to be pardoned from prison and among them was Arlong.

Why he would do that? Rosan didn't have a clue but Arlong made the decision to not even bother with the Grand Line and instead went for the weakest of the blue seas. It appeared that poor Nami here was a victim of that.

A fishman subjugating humans… Rosan couldn't say he was too surprised. They had been heavily prejudiced for a long time now and plenty of them were enslaved even at this moment. For one to want revenge... was anyone really expecting otherwise?

He had seen many things over the years, an outcome like this was only natural. You couldn't treat something with nonstop disdain and expect them to return it with peace.

"It must have been hard. I can't say I know what you've gone through fully, but I know what it's like to be enslaved to another person so I'm sorry for reacting the way I did," he apologized quietly.

Nami froze for two reasons. For one, Rosan actually apologized to her. She had thought he would have been a lot more unreasonable, which would have been justified, considering she betrayed them all but here he was, letting her explain herself and even apologizing as a result of her explanation.

As for the second…

"You were enslaved to someone?" She asked quietly, half expecting him to not answer such a personal question.

To her surprise, he did.

"Yes, when I was 8 going onto 9," he replied, much to her shock and horror. "He wanted me for my potential as a weapon and I was tortured for six months as a result, due to my rebellious nature and refusal to submit to him."

"So this is how you plan on showing your apologetic? By sharing information?"

"I'm not very good at showing sincerity."

Nami felt her heart drop at his admittance and looked at the redhead with a sympathetic gaze. "For s-six months? You were tortured for six months…?"

At such a young age, he was tortured every day for six... Nami wanted to throw up at the thought. Who could be so heartless?

He nodded. "It was a difficult time for me. I was rather naive and innocent before that moment but that moment in my life woke me up."

The navigator found herself nodding sympathetically at his words, gazing at that lifeless gaze of his and slightly understanding why he was like this. "How did you get free?"

"I fell into his good graces and lied about what my Devil Fruit was. After lulling them into a false sense of security, I struck and killed everyone on that island."

That was a good day. As a child, Rosan would smile whenever he thought about the terror on Doc's face at his actions. The catatonic expression as he immediately crumbled under not even a quarter of what Rosan had been dealt at his own hands.

That didn't stop him though, he made sure to thoroughly teach Doc about the monster he created.

Nami took a step back in surprise at his blunt declaration, paling at the reveal. "You… You killed everyone? At only 9?" She whispered in horror.

When he was kid? T-That was insane... How?

"That's right. They deserved it for treating me like some toy to do what they please. Months of being treated like a plaything… that man did whatever he wanted with my body. He didn't treat me like a human so I showed him that he was right."

Her eyes softened at his words and she felt a deeper kinship forming with the secretive redhead. They both went through their fair share of hell it looked like.

"You're not the monster he thinks you are, Rosan. Don't let some bastard tell you that," Nami assured, resting a hand on his shoulder.

The redhead gazed at her with a tilted head, eyes momentarily shifting to her hand. "I'm certainly a monster but maybe you're right in that I'm different from what he thinks."

"That doesn't change that I had the power of monster to free myself but you don't have that power," the redhead said softly. "Don't worry, Luffy or I can deal with the fishman and you can properly join our crew."

Nami's eyes widened in horror and she felt her heart drop. "W-What?! N-No! You guys can't come here! J-Just let me finish paying the rest of the money and then I'll be free of him! We can travel together again afterwards!"

"Or, we could just get rid of him. This seems like a more surefire and faster way, don't you think?" Rosan countered calmly.

"You'll all die! It's an entire crew of fishman." Nami urged Rosan to reconsider. "I don't want you guys to lose your lives because of me! Just… Just let me handle this! I only need a couple million more…"

Due to the fact that Rosan had reimbursed her from the 5 million Luffy left at Orange Town, it would take her no time at all to get the rest of the funds. All she needed was two million more beri and she'd be free.

Rosan hummed. "I'm coming with you then. Luffy is going to seek you out one way or the other. He's already set on you becoming his navigator and I agree with the sentiment."

He could have just given her the rest of the money but that would achieve nothing and he wanted Arlong defeated anyways.

Nami opened her mouth to protest, but closed it in defeat. At least they wanted her back... but they really couldn't come here! They'd die and she didn't want that!

"Do you have a way to hide yourself and them when we dock? I'll let you stay with my sister until I figure something out..."

The redhead nodded at her inquiry. "I have my ways."

"Good. And please, don't cause a scene while your there," the orange haired woman pleaded.

"I'm not Luffy. I don't seek trouble for fun… anymore."

Nami held her head and sighed deeply. "Sometimes, I think you and Luffy are just as bad as each other."

Rosan disagreed.

Luffy glanced at the invading pirates with an eager grin on his face and he began idly stretching, attracting the attention of the chefs surrounding him.

"You sure you don't need that redhead crewmate of yours?" Zeff asked gruffly. With him around, this would be a helluva lot easier. He hadn't been able to phase Mihawk but his showing was still far above what anyone else here could do.

At some point, they couldn't even see the two moving!

Having him help would end the Krieg's invasion long before it could even start.

"Nope! He probably wouldn't help anyways!" Luffy laughed cheerfully and they face planted at his honesty. "Rosan only fights when he feels like it! Everyone here is too weak and boring for him."

Zeff let out a short laugh. "That boy probably needs a good fight to motivate him and he won't find it here."

Sanji could see why Rosan thought that. He was Reaper after all and the Shinigami had hunted all manner of people over the years… Don Krieg and his entire armada would just be another day in the office for him...

He no doubt would have been useful in this battle, but the blonde had grown strong over the years, he didn't need to rely on the man anymore and he'd show it here.

The chef refused to admit that it was his admiration for Reaper that motivated him to start fighting and training in the first place.

"Go to the operation room and open up the fins," Sanji ordered one of the chefs.

"But… that'll give the enemies a foothold!" He gaped in disbelief.

"That's fine, we can't let the inside of the restaurant become a battlefield or this old geezer will start complaining," the chef smirked.

"Did you say something, you damn brat?" Zeff grunted.

"Yeah, I said you'd scream like a baby," Sanji retorted.

The roaring of the enemy pirate crew caught their attention and Luffy began jumping in excitement.

That sparring session between Rosan and Mihawk got him pumped! He needed to spar with his brother when they met up again but for now, this crew would do to work off some steam!

Grabbing onto the railing and pulling himself back, the rubber captain excitedly yelled out, "Gomu Gomu no Rocket," and soared towards the pirate crew.

"HE'S FLYING TOWARDS US!" Someone panicked but they were far too slow.

As Luffy soared through the air, he kicked out his legs in a sweeping motion and bowled over the screaming fodder.

"Gomu Gomu no Whip!"

Everyone caught by the attack, went flying into the water and the rubber boy grabbed the mast of Krieg's fallen ship so he wouldn't join them. Luffy laughed at the look of shock on the captain's face and childishly stuck his tongue out.

"YEAH, THAT CHORE BOY IS PRETTY GOOD!" One of the chefs cheered and the rest soon followed up.

"The Grand Line's crawling with guys like that, eh?" Sanji muttered, sweating a bit. It seems like Reaper had chosen quite the capable person to be his captain. That was good to know.

Not that he had any reason to be worried...

"Watch carefully how he fights, Sanji," Zeff instructed the surprised chef. "Don't take your eyes off of him until the end of the battle."

"Attacking the restaurant that fed you… Ungrateful jerk, I'll knock you to the moon!" Luffy declared, pounding his fists together as he expertly balanced himself on the broken down mast.

Krieg's response was to laugh. "HAHAHA! You plan on fighting near the water with little foothold? I know that you Devil Fruit users sink like stones in the sea, Anchor boy," he said, smiling in a superior manner.

"Yeah, but I can still stretch!" He beamed. He had plenty of tools in his arsenal that would keep him out of the water!

Their conversation halted at the sudden noise coming from the Baratie and Luffy watched in awe as a battlefield formed from the fins of the seafaring restaurant.

At the same time, the fish head of the ship detached itself from the Baratie, and revealed cannons hiding inside of it's mouth. Piloting the paddleboat, were Patty and Carne.

"What the hell is that?" Krieg muttered.

"THAT'S SO COOL!" Luffy screamed in open mouthed awe. He wanted one!

The fish shaped paddleboat (Sabagashira I) began firing indiscriminately at the pirates and they were forced to flee lest they get hit by it.

Patty and Carne then turned their attention onto Don Krieg and with a battle cry, they fired a point blank shot at the leader of the pirate armada.

Their cheering was cut short, as the momentum of the Sabagashira was suddenly halted and the two manning it looked on in confusion.

The duo's eyes bugged at the sight of Don Krieg stopping the paddleboat with just his single hand.

"I am Don Krieg, ruler of the world's seas!" The captain declared gravely.

"I told you that's gonna be me!" Luffy said, annoyance clear on his features. He was really gonna have to teach this guy a lesson!

With a roar, Krieg hoisted the boat up and launched it towards the Baratie.

"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR GAMES!"

The chefs screamed in terror at the sheer power that Krieg possessed and felt their hope dampen at the approaching missile.

"IT'S GONNA DESTROY THE RESTAURANT!"

"MOVE OUTTA THE WAY!"

"Those two had a lotta heart." Sanji puffed out smoke and regarded the flying ship coolly. Him and Zeff were the only chefs unfazed by the incoming missile and he shrugged at his coworkers.

The sous chef tensed his muscles and leapt up to reach the paddleboat before redirecting its course with a single kick, sending it flying in the opposite direction.

"With only one kick?!" Krieg gaped in disbelief at the display of strength from the mere chef.

"He's pretty good!" Luffy smiled. His chef was becoming even more impressive the longer he watched him!

"YOU SON OF A BITCH, SANJI!" Patty roared in fury.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US?!" Carne asked in equal fervor.

"Yeah..." Sanji replied bluntly.

They collapsed at that.

"You really think you've got time to be cracking jokes?" A pirate from Krieg's crew asked in amusement, discarding a body of one of the chefs there.

The Krieg Pirates had made short work of the cooks there and they cockily stared at the workers.

"We're the crew of the great pirate Captain Krieg, don't think we're gonna lose to some damn cooks!"

"Be some good little cooks and find some land restaurant to cook on!"

The pirates jeered and grinned cockily.

Patty and Carne watched their coworkers get beat up with bugged eyes, not believing their eyes.

"Why are you guys losing so easily?!" Carne gaped.

"You call yourselves fighting cooks?!" Patty questioned in disbelief before the two rushed into battle.

Luffy let out an impressed whistle at the sight of the duo effortlessly dispatching the pirates that had made it onto the platform but he tilted his at watching them both get taken out by a…

What was that?!

He was a towering man, with an ensemble that included two large iron plates covering his front and backside, as well as two small plates with large pearls embedded in them.

"Wow, he looks so stupid!" Luffy whistled. The stupid man (Pearl was his name) was lucky his brother wasn't here right now, Rosan was really rude!

If Rosan was there, he would have shot the rubber boy a raised brow at the fact that he didn't seem to include himself.

(They were both incredibly ignorant at their own antics, not realizing how similar they were and causing everyone else a headache as a result)

A pirate walked over to Patty and tried to steal the beaten man's knife, only to receive a hellacious kick to the face for his efforts. The poor man went flying until he collided with three other pirates and they all collapsed in a heap from the force of smashing into Pearl's shielded body.

"A kitchen knife is a chef's soul," Sanji glared darkly at the pirates. "Don't you dare put your amateurish hands on it again, shitty pirates."

The sous chef handed the knife back to Patty and told him to lie there while he dealt with the crew. He stared at the charging pirates with a neutral expression.

"WE WON'T LOSE TO SOME MERE COOK!"

His glare darkened further and Sanji vanished from his spot, only to appear in the middle of the approaching pirates in a double handstand position. Then, he began spinning rapidly, delivering a kick to everyone surrounding him.

"GAH!"

"UGH!"

"OOF!"

"Mere cook?" Sanji repeated with a scowl. "I'll cut you bastards in 3," he promised.

"As expected of my future cook!" Luffy beamed. He was really impressing the rubber boy right now with his display!

"Beating them with only kicks? How arrogant," Pearl remarked.

"The hands of a chef are their life. I can't risk damaging them in battle. Don't worry, I'll finish you off with just my feet too," Sanji smirked and he took a drag of his smoke.

Pearl began bragging about how he had never lost a battle out of 61 fights. In all 61, he had never been harmed and because of that he was invincible. He was so invincible, that he had never shed a single drop of blood in battle.

At the same time, Krieg grew tired of looking at Luffy and brought out his chained flail. He began spinning it rapidly before calling the rubber boy's attention.

"If you don't pay attention to your opponents, Straw Hat, you'll die!" Krieg cackled, launching the weapon at the 17 year old.

Luffy sighed in annoyance as the attack connected with the mast he was holding onto and he was sent flying towards the Baratie.

He just wanted to watch the fight between his chef and the stupid shield but since this guy wanted to be annoying...

The flying teen angled himself so he didn't fall into the water and instead slammed into a cocky Pearl, knocking his face into the shield he was holding and causing blood to leak from his nose.

Everything was silent except for the sound of Sanji chuckling softly and Luffy picking himself up to dust himself off.

Pearl shakily touched the blood leaking from his nose. "What?"

The pirates began panicking.

"This isn't good…" Krieg sighed in annoyance.

"BLOOD?! OH NO!"

"IT'S OKAY PEARL! IT'S JUST A NOSEBLEED!"

"YEAH! YOU DIDN'T GET A WOUND FROM BATTLE!"

The third mate of the Krieg pirates wasn't listening though. He eyed the two before him with a shaky gaze and said, "T-t-t-these guys are dangerous!"

"He's acting weird," Sanji pointed out.

"From a bloody nose?" Luffy asked in confusion, picking his own nose in the process.

Pearl began slamming his shields together while screaming "Danger!" over and over again until the man caught fire.

Krieg sucked his teeth in annoyance. His third in command had been raised in the jungle and this was the technique he created when there were strong creatures around.

"Fire Pearl Big Bonus!" Pearl shrieked, spreading fire onto the entire platform and catching everyone unfortunate enough to be in it.

Luffy yelped at the fire and leapt a safe distance away from the burning man. If he kept burning like that, he was gonna set the whole place on fire!

The rubber boy looked at his own burning butt and proceeded to freak out.

"HOT HOT HOT!" Luffy comically screamed, running back and forth while patting out the flames.

If Rosan were here, he'd be very displeased with Luffy's antics so it was a good thing he wasn't.

Sanji's gaze darkened at the sight of the flames and he immediately launched himself at the offender. He would be damned if this random idiot, burned down this restaurant.

The people awed at Sanji's insanity, as Pearl blocked the kick with his fiery shield.

"Flaming Pearl Surprise!" The pirate yelped, throwing a punch that Sanji ducked under.

"You think I'd call myself a chef if I was afraid of some flames?" The sous chef taunted, launching another kick that connected solidly with Pearl's face, making him stumble backwards. That didn't deter Sanji whatsoever because he dipped into the man's guard and delivered two more that successfully broke his nose.

The pirate teared up at the pain and looked at Sanji as if he were the Devil himself, clutching his bleeding nose with choked sobs.

H-He was crazy! Attacking him even despite the fire? Who did that?! W-Why would he break his nose?!

He needed more fire! That's what! More, more, more and MORE!

"FIRE PEARLS!" He screeched, sending out even more fiery pearls. A group of the flying balls went sailing towards the Baratie, trajectory sending it straight into Zeff, and the chefs tried to warn him to get away.

"GET OUTTA THERE OWNER! IT'S GONNA HIT THE RESTAURANT!"

Zeff watched the oncoming projectiles with his arms crossed and ignored everyone warning him to move. With a single swipe of his wooden leg, he put out the flames using a gust of wind and the pearls fell flat on the floor.

"Even with one leg, that was nothin," The owner scoffed, looking at his shocked chef's with a derisive snort.

"You're really cool, Pops!" Luffy laughed before glancing at a Don Krieg who was preparing to attack again. The rubber boy shook his head.

No one ever wanted to fight fair these days.

"I'll get you and the fins before you can set fire to the ship!" Krieg roared, grabbing his flail again and launching it at the unsuspecting Sanji and Pearl.

Sanji's eyes widened in worry, as he realized he had to take the attack, due to the surrounding flames cutting off any hopes of escape.

Everyone's eyes bugged as Luffy burst through the fire without any hesitation and punted the flail away into yet another mast of Krieg's ship, sending it crashing.

The mast began falling forward, causing Luffy and Sanji to leap out of the way. Pearl wasn't as smart and it crashed right into his head, knocking him unconscious and stopping the idiot from causing more damage.

"What a freak…" Sanji muttered.

"He's really stupid too," Luffy remarked idly.

"All these pirates, but I have to do everything," Krieg complained with a grumble. Useless damn crew. Why did he even bother recruiting half of them if they were just gonna take up space?

"Hold it right there, Sanji."

Sanji spun around in surprise at the dull thud he heard and his eyes widened, at the sight of Gin forcing Zeff's body down with a boot, while holding a gun to his head.

"I don't want to kill him," Gin said. He demanded that Sanji get off the ship or else he would kill Zeff right here and now. The man may have been a powerful pirate in the past but after breaking his peg leg, it was child's play to muscle him down.

But surprisingly, despite the situation, Sanji refused Gin's order.

"You sure look stupid down there, damn geezer," the chef commented, making eye contact with Zeff. "You're setting a bad example for the fighting cooks like that."

The owner snorted and said, "I don't need to be lectured by some little brat."

Sanji's face instantly morphed into one of fury at his words. "Who do you think you're calling little brat, you damn bastard?!" He barked. "Quit treating me like a kid already!"

The chefs gulped nervously at Sanji's actions. Surely he wouldn't let the owner die right now? Did he want to be head chef that badly?!

"Hey, Gin. Point that gun at me instead."

Luffy looked at Sanji in surprise. "That'll kill you, you know?!"

"Maybe," an unfazed Sanji replied.

The chefs gawked at the blonde's request, unable to believe what they were hearing from the troublemaker's mouth.

Gin nervously regarded Sanji and couldn't help but wonder why he made such a demand. He didn't want to have to kill Sanji so why was he being so difficult?!

Pearl chose that moment to wake back up and he demanded that Sanji not move, else they'd blow out Zeff's brain. Then with a roar, he bashed his shield into the sous chef's head and sent him flying until he crashed into a wall.

Luffy snarled at the foul play and was about to give Pearl a royal ass whooping, but he was stopped by Sanji, causing him to regard the chef in shock.

"Why didn't you dodge?!" The rubber boy asked in disbelief. Sanji was way stronger than the shield coward so why did he just stand there and take it?

"If I did, that damn underling would have pulled the trigger," The chef gasped out. Blood was leaking from his skull and mouth as he let out a raspy breath.

"Why? If you abandon the restaurant, you'll all get to leave alive!" Gin tried reasoning with the one who saved his life.

But Sanji was steadfast in his refusal.

"This restaurant is that damn geezer's treasure!" He retorted, silencing the Krieg pirate immediately. "I took everything away from that old geezer…"

Sanji's voice became a little wobbly at the memory and he shakily began to push himself back up. The crowd listened in surprise at the confession by their fellow chef.

"...His power, his dreams… So… I don't want anything else to EVER be taken from him!"

"SANJI WATCH OUT!"

Sanji's eyes rolled to the back of his head, as Pearl slammed both his left and right hand shields against either side of his head.

Luffy had to harshly restrain himself from pulverizing the pirate right then and there. He rounded on Gin with a deep glare on his features and said, "That was a cheap shot, Gin!"

Gin didn't look good doing this but he kept his resolve. "We fight for keeps, kid!" He roared back. "You brought this on yourselves! If you'd just handed over the ship, you coulda left in peace!"

Pearl, not finished with his torment of Sanji, leapt into the air and screamed "Tarnished Silver Surprise!" before crashing into the chef headfirst.

Sanji was briefly knocked unconscious by the dive bomb and he couldn't help but think about the time he had taken everything from Zeff.

It had been a normal day on the Orbit for Sanji, one year after being saved by Reaper. He had been discussing the All Blue with his fellow chefs and even though they laughed at him for believing in it, he just knew it was real!

A place with fish from all corners of the sea? It was a dream come true! If his hero could believe in his ability to become a chef, then of course he'd believe in a place like the All Blue!

If he found that place… He'd definitely be able to make the best dish ever for Reaper…

But that might be a bit difficult, considering they were labeled a criminal now. What did the Shinigami who saved him, do to earn a bounty of 500 million?! It was completely insane for a first bounty and made one of his goals a lot more difficult to attain.

It had only been a few weeks since he discovered the Angel of Death had a bounty and it left him in a bit of a predicament.

Was Reaper crueler than they let on? No. That couldn't be possible… the Shinigami had literally no reason to free Sanji but they had done so just because of the boy's dream and even stepped up to stop his abusive father in the process…

Someone who believed in his dream and freed him for no cost, couldn't have been that bad. He still killed people but all of them had bounties. Maybe whatever he did, was justified...?

There was no point beating himself up about it… Maybe one day he'd be able to get an answer out of Reaper themselves… Wherever they were. There had been no sighting of them since their bounty wa revealed and they disappeared off the face of the map without a word.

The budding chef sighed. This was dumb... what if he never ran into him again? He was dead set on making his hero the best meal ever but he couldn't really do that if he didn't know how to access them...

Ugh, maybe he should have asked to travel with them. It would have been awesome to travel with the Shinigami but his desire to get far away from his father prevailed.

While Sanji was thinking about his dilemma, he noted that his fellow chefs were eating the leftover food of the customers and reprimanded them for doing so. That was disgusting! What was wrong with them?

"We're a seafaring restaurant, Sanji."

"You never know what's going to happen at sea. Don't waste nothin."

"You can tell he's a greenhorn! Here have some!"

The blonde scoffed and refused their order with a look of clear annoyance on his face. Why would he eat other people's waste? That was so gross!

As they continued to argue, the screams of the patrons they were serving, rang out throughout the ship and gave them pause.

"What's all the commotion about?!" Sanji asked in confusion.

His heart dropped, as he heard that pirates were invading them.

Worst, it was "Red-Leg Zeff" of the cook pirates, a crew who had just come back from the Grand Line…

This was bad. Really bad. Sanji had no intentions of dying here to these pirates! He glanced around for a weapon to defend himself and settled on one very large knife (Reaper used a weapon bigger then themself so he could too!).

The child immediately made his way out into the open and was soon met with the pirate crew themselves.

He had a glare of determination on his face and despite being underestimated, he began swinging the knife around with reckless abandon, only managing to briefly nick someone's hand in the process.

Hm... they should have been dead by now...

Sanji's glare deepened at the fact that hey were mocking him and his fellow chefs were trying to convince him to stop, but they were idiot cowards that already accepted their deaths.

"I AIN'T GONNA LET YOU BASTARDS KILL ME!" Sanji declared with a look of fury on his face.

No way was he gonna die here! He finally got away from his shitty lifestyle and his shitty dad, only to lose it all? He needed to find the All Blue and he still needed to thank Reaper!

"If he want's to die so badly, just kill the kid," Zeff said coldly.

"Who said I want to die?!" Sanji snarled and he raised his knife challengingly. "You're gonna kill us anyways right?! I'll kill you before you shitty pirates get me!"

A kick slammed into the boy and sent him flying into the wall, breaking it on impact with a resounding thud.

"S-SANJI!"

Witnesses that weren't the pirates, were forced to close their eyes at the brutal sight of the child being mercilessly kicked.

"Now you've gone and done it, Cap'n!"

Zeff nearly scoffed, but paused as the kid came out of the wreckage. He watched the approaching child with a neutral expression on his face.

Sanji huffed, as he crawled over to the one who kicked him and bit the man with all the force he could muster around his leg.

"I'm... not... gonna die. NOT UNTIL I FIND THE ALL BLUE!" Sanji declared with utter determination.

If only he were Reaper, the Shinigami would have been able to easily deal with these pirates! Ugh, he should have asked his savior for some tips before they separated…

He wouldn't be getting tossed around like this otherwise, or being made fun of! The pirate crew was laughing at him for declaring his dream but he didn't care. Reaper would have believed in it if he told him about it and these idiots just lacked the conviction!

Zeff stared at him, before cocking his foot back and brutally tossing him into a wall again.

Sanji gasped as the breath left his body and he hacked up a glob of blood. His breathing became raspy and he tried, and failed, to push himself up, lying spread eagle on the floor.

"Not… gonna… die… to these… shitty… pirates," Sanji huffed. Not until he found the All Blue… Not until he properly thanked Reaper. He had finally gotten away from his abusive family, there was no way he was going to die before properly experiencing his freedom.

He listened, with tears in his eyes, as the pirate crew took all the treasure and began leaving the ship. Damn it… if only he had been stronger…

His inner loathing was cut short, as a gigantic wave crashed into the ship and swept up the, now screaming, boy.

Sanji was helpless to stop the tide and he was knocked unconscious, so he was unable to see Zeff saving him.

When the boy awoke, it was on a large rock and his only other companion, had been the damn pirate who had gotten him in this situation.

Worst of all, he had given him this small little bag of food, while keeping a big one for himself! He then ordered the child to stay on one side while he would remain on the other and he wasn't allowed to visit until he spotted a ship.

Asshole...

Whatever, screw that old pirate. If he found a ship, he wouldn't tell him about it and he'd escape all on his own!

He just needed to survive with his food… it would take 5 days if he ate like a regular person so he'd split it up into 20 portions. A ship would definitely show up in 20 days.

He wouldn't die here. He just needed to be patient and help would come.

So Sanji waited. He had been tempted to eat more than one portion a day but he couldn't. He needed to survive at all costs.

One day turned into ten and ten turned into twenty.

Sanji had seen a ship on day 5, but it had been storming and they didn't hear him as a result. The boy watched in despair, as they sailed off without stopping near their rock prison.

On Day 10, he began hallucinating. The sight of Reaper flying in the sky had filled him with hope, only to realize that it was just a raven and not the one who had saved him. He was pretty sure he cried that day.

On day 25, he had been left with one moldy piece of bread left. As he bit into it, he couldn't help but tear up at how naive he'd been to waste all that food back then.

A strong breeze knocked the bread out of his hand, and the child watched in despair as his last source of food fell into the ocean below, losing hope for the rest of that day before rebounding admirably.

On day 70, he decided to check on that stupid old man.

His eyes widened in disbelief at seeing him still alive, with a massive bag of food leftover.

T-There was so much! How had he managed to save all that food?!

Eyes narrowed in determination, the boy pulled out a knife before approaching the pirate with intent to kill. Sanji quietly snuck behind him but was caught embarrisingly quick.

"What are you doing here, brat? Didn't I tell you not to come here until you find a ship?" Zeff asked calmly.

"I'm here to steal your food. I'm gonna die anyways so kill me if you want," Sanji declared with an unhinged smile on his face.

Zeff said nothing, as Sanji approached the bag with his knife and tore into it.

"To think you had all this food for yourself…" Sanji scowled. Greedy old man, how dare he give the child such a smaller portion?! The nerve of some…

Of some…

Sanji stared with disbelieving eyes at the sight of nothing but treasure spilling from the bag. The child collapsed on both knees, not quite believing the sight.

The nerve of some... people...

"Isn't it strange that we can't eat despite having money?"

The blonde looked up shakily at Zeff as a horrifying realization slowly seeped into him.

"What's the meaning of this?! W-Where's your food? H-Have you not eaten anything this whole time?!" The blonde asked, shaking Zeff rapidly.

He caught a glimpse of the man's front half and collapsed on the floor in disbelief.

"Your foot…!" Sanji gasped in horror at the sight. It was dawning onto the boy just what happened and he began tearing up. "You… YOU ATE YOUR OWN FOOT?!" He screamed in dismay.

"That's right," Zeff confirmed.

"A-AND YOU GAVE ME ALL THE FOOD TOO?!"

"Yes."

B-But why…? His career as a pirate was as good as over without his foot! Why did he do all this? What did Sanji do to deserve his kindness? Why? WHY?!

He had been thinking nothing but bad thoughts about the pirate. He even decided to kill him just now! So why was he being so kind to him?!

"Because you had the same dream as me…" The starving Zeff said truthfully and it dawned on Sanji what he was talking about.

The All Blue…

"B-But… even your men said it doesn't exist…" Sanji whispered.

"Of course it does. When the time comes, head for the Grand Line," Zeff said simply. "I've seen so much things in that sea, that I'm sure it exists but now that I've lost my crew, I don't feel like continuing as a pirate."

The former pirate closed his eyes and fell flat on his back, much to the concern of Sanji who hastily urged him to stay alive.

Zeff sighed and said, "The ocean is a brutal place… I wonder how many people die cursing the sea. I've been in a lot of tough spots where I had no food to eat and each time I thought, if only there was a restaurant in the middle of the ocean…"

"A restaurant?!" Sanji repeated in surprise.

The man nodded his head. If he got off this island alive, he'd build that restaurant if it was the last thing he did. That way, anyone who crossed its path, would never have to worry about starving again, no matter who it may be.

"I'll help you! Just please don't die," Sanji begged.

"As if a weak brat like you could help!" Zeff laughed heartily.

"THEN I'LL GET STRONG!"

On day 85, a ship finally passed by and saved the two stranded cooks.

Sanji began shakily standing back up, despite the unimaginable pain he was in. "That old man gave up his leg to save me, so I'll defend him with my life and pay off my debt to the geezer!" he declared through grit teeth as the memories poured through him.

"Wha?!" The chefs said in shock. Zeff had eaten his leg for Sanji's sake?! That was the first they ever heard of this and it explained why despite fighting every single day, the sous chef still refused to leave.

Who knew their bond was so deep?!

Zeff frowned deeply. He didn't want any favors from that baby eggplant. The damn idiot thought he still owed him a debt, when all he wanted was for his foolish son to be free to follow his dreams.

Pearl was surprised to see Sanji still standing after his ultimate attack but quickly regained his bravado.

Luffy glared at the pirates with a deep disdain. He wasn't even gonna mess around with the underhanded pirates after he got their hands on them. Buggy was at least lucky enough to know about Shanks but this guy was just pure scum.

Now if only he could find a way to do something without jeopardizing that old man… Ugh, Rosan was much better equipped to deal with stuff like this… maybe he shouldn't have sent his brother off so soon.

Wait a second! He just had an idea!

Luffy scowled and launched his leg high into the sky, much to the surprise of everyone there, and it stretched until his foot vanished from everyone's sight.

"WAIT YOU IDIOT! DON'T INTERFERE!" Sanji screamed at the sight of Luffy getting ready to attack.

"Gomu Gomu no Battle Axe!" He roared, slamming his foot down and demolishing the fins of the Baratie into pieces.

Everyone's jaw dropped at the force of the attack and Krieg's eyes bugged in disbelief.

"THE FINS BEEN COMPLETELY DESTROYED!"

"WITH ONE MOVE?!"

"That kid's up to something… GIN BLOW ZEFF'S BRAIN OUT!" Krieg roared. They needed to get this over with now.

Gin hesitated despite how ruthless he had been earlier. This man had still given them 100 meals for their men… he didn't want to kill him. He just wanted them to give up and leave quietly!

"Hey, I didn't touch any of you guys. I just broke the fin," Luffy commented casually, dusting himself off a bit.

"What are you thinking, chore boy?!" Sanji demanded in disbelief.

"I'm going to sink this ship."

Everyone froze for a moment, at that blunt declaration from the chore boy. Did he really just say what they thought he just said?

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

"SINK THE SHIP?!"

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" The chefs roared.

"THAT SHIP IS OURS!" The pirates joined.

Sanji grabbed Luffy by the collar and glared deeply at him. Who did this damn idiot think he was?!

"Don't you realize why I've been slaving away all this time?! You'd never understand the enormous debt I have to pay off and the way I feel about this ship!" The blonde snarled.

Luffy's gaze hardened and he slapped Sanji's hand away. "So you're just gonna die for this ship? What are you, stupid?" He retorted before grabbing the chef by his own collar.

"You think he saved your life so you could throw it away?! Getting killed is no way to repay your debt! Only a coward would do that!" The rubber boy snarled back in return.

The two continued arguing, only to be interrupted by Pearl. He began bragging about there was nothing they could do since they had a hostage.

The third mate of the Krieg Pirates began charging the two with one final attack —

Only to cough up a fountain of blood. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and his shield armor shattered at the force of the blow and he said, "G-Gin?! Why?!"

The tonfa wielding pirate glanced at the man who's armor he had casually destroyed.

Krieg gnashed his teeth in disbelief at the blatant betrayal displayed by Gin. "What do you think you're doing, Gin, battle commander of the pirate armada?"

"See, it worked! Now he's free!" Luffy beamed at his genius strategy.

"THAT WASN'T YOUR PLAN!" Sanji roared at the idiot, taking his eyes off the dumbass to stare at Gin.

"I'll send Sanji to the grave myself," Gin declared.

The two stared at each other for a long while.

Gin had just wanted Sanji to get off this ship unhurt for being the first person to show him kindness, but the chef was too stubborn. The least he could do was kill the man who had repaid him, himself.

Sanji wouldn't leave this restaurant, even if it meant risking his life. That's just how it was and that's how it would always be.

"You shouldn't have sent your redheaded crewmate away, Straw Hat," Gin called to the rubber boy, remembering the performance that Rosan had put up against Mihawk.

Gin wasn't foolish, that redhead would have slaughtered their crew if he so pleased at any point… even the Don would have stood no chance based on how he was holding up against that demon swordsman. But now that he was gone, their last hurdle had vanished.

Why he hadn't intervened when the Don had clearly attacked him? Gin wasn't sure but he counted his blessings that it hadn't come to be.

"Hm, why? I'm not gonna lose to a bunch of weaklings like you!" Luffy laughed cheerfully, much to Gin's surprise. "Even if Rosan was here, he wouldn't fight you guys, except for that stupid captain! You're way too weak!"

"So he only goes after worthy people," Krieg muttered with a superior smirk on his face. That made sense. Krieg was by far the strongest in his cre—

"Nope! He only goes after weak people when they attack him!" Luffy beamed without a care in the world. "He would just kill you!"

Everyone listening, gawked at the audacity of the rubber boy. He was… He was insulting the Don without a care in the world! What was this dudes problem?!

Krieg felt a vein throb at what the Straw Hat boy was implying. "So you think the two of you are stronger than me? Is that what you're saying?"

"Duh!" Luffy nodded without hesitation. "Rosan was right, you really are stupid!" The captain laughed.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING CHORE BOY? THAT'S DON KRIEG, LEADER OF THE PIRATE ARMADA!" Patty screamed at him. Was he trying to enrage the entire pirate crew right now? They were already struggling!

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy! Future Pirate King!" Luffy responded with a large grin.

"NOW'S NOT TIME TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF!"

Krieg felt that vein that had previously formed, throbbing even harder. "Still spouting out shit like that huh? Future Pirate King? Don't be ridiculous!" He scowled, standing up.

"You talk too much," Luffy complained. "Don't worry, I'm coming over there to kick your ass right now!"

"Gin, deal with the cook. This naive dumbass is mine."

"Understood, Don Krieg."

"Try it, shitty small fry."

Gin twirled his tonfa and charged after Sanji, who leaned back and responded with a kick. The second mate of the Krieg Pirates leapt back with a smug smirk and smashed down his tonfa, which was jumped over by the chef, leaving a hole in the area struck.

Sanji grunted in midair and tried to deliver a kick before Gin could recover, but the man spun his body to avoid it and slammed his tonfa down on the chef's neck, restraining him.

The pirate began spinning his tonfa, intent on smashing Sanji's head into paste with the sphere but the blonde took a puff of his cigarette and spit it in Gin's face, catching the man off guard and giving him enough time to escape his grasp.

Sanji pushed himself into a handstand and slammed one foot down directly on Gin's head, bouncing the man's skull of the floor in a spray of blood.

Gin didn't take that lying down, however. With a grunt, he tightened his grip around his tonfa and rammed the metal sphere into Sanji's rib. There was a crack in the area the attack connected and the two fell flat on the floor.

"Tch, this guy isn't all that but these injuries are really hampering me," Sanji frowned, clutching his ribs. He had taken quite the beating from Pearl before but if he hadn't, this fight would have been over quick. It was hard for him to even move without a spike of pain jolting through his body.

The Krieg Pirates began nervously glancing at the fight and began voicing their worries. Gin had taken a hit from the chef… was there a chance that he was actually gonna lose?!

"Don't underestimate my battle commander, idiots," Krieg growled. "Have you forgotten just what Gin is capable of? He's a demon who has gained my trust."

The pirates began nodding along at his words, as memories of what Gin was capable of began surging through them.

He was a demon in battle!

"There's a reason I appointed him battle commander! Just watch, soon he'll show you what he's capable of —"

Krieg's sentence was cut short, as a fist connected squarely with his cheek and sent him crashing to the ground.

"Pay attention! You shouldn't take your eyes off your enemy, weakling!" Luffy laughed, pulling his extended arm back with an easy snap. He stepped on the fallen mast that connected the fin to Krieg's location and began running over to the floored pirate.

"DON KRIEG!" The pirates yelled in shock.

The chefs looked at the clearly unhinged rubber boy and sent him their prayers. He was dead for sure.

Krieg hadn't even seen the attack coming… How dare this stupid fucking brat lay a hand on him when he wasn't paying attention!

He would teach hi —

Another rubber punch connected squarely with his face and Krieg was floored again with an "oomph".

"Man, you really are stupid," Luffy sighed with a shake of his head. It was a good thing Rosan had tortured the importance of battle into him.

"Shanks has influenced you too much and he treats battles far too lax for my liking. Before we set sail, I'm going to teach my stubborn little brother the importance of staying focused."

Without Ace there to split his attention, Rosan (and Maro!) had focused on just the younger brother.

Everyone could only watch with sympathy as the redhead drilled the way too carefree Luffy with, what may as well have been, torture and Maro had scowled at the fact that his training wasn't nearly as bad as hers (that got her a concerned glance from Makino and the bartender had made sure to talk to Rosan about it when they were alone).

Luffy had no clue how his oldest brother consistently managed to evade Makino's wrath but when he asked Maro so he could try it himself, the Dokkaebi just burst out laughing and said, "I don't think it'll ever work for you and Makino but if you do this to some other lady in the future it might! Remember, only do this if she is looking at you with a really red face like this!"

He was pretty sure Angel was not happy at all about what the Queen taught him but he had no idea why. He didn't even get to try it yet!

Rosan knew that it was Luffy's character to be this carefree, so he was satisfied with how much progress he managed to make despite that detail.

Luffy smiled fondly at the memory. Rosan was a jerk and when the rubber boy refused to listen, he would hold his food hostage until he did and refuse to feed the boy.

That was a great way to get someone as stubborn as Luffy to do something and the captain hadn't expected his oldest brother to be that ruthless (it was due to the years of being spoiled rotten by them all as the youngest).

It worked spectacularly… but Rosan was still a complete jerk for doing it every single day. He was this close to passing Ace as the meanest brother and was sure to achieve that title during their journey.

Ah, he was getting distracted! It was about time he taught this Krieg guy a real lesson! Him? Pirate King? How ridiculous!

There could only be one Pirate King and that was him!

Krieg's eyes were bugged in a barely restrained fury at the actions of the rubber boy. Twice. He had been struck twice by that damn boy. Just who the hell did he think he was?!

He would dare strike Don Krieg?!

Luffy was about to plant a sandal on Krieg's face this time (he seriously didn't learn!), but the raspy coughing of Sanji caught his attention and he hastily looked back in concern.

The chef was holding his ribs and breathing heavily, while Gin looked down on him with his tonfas covered in blood.

Despite the absolute mess of his bones, Sanji still found the energy to laugh and mock Gin, which caused the pirate to charge him again. He twirled his tonfa rapidly before swinging with a roar.

Sanji's eyes narrowed in anger and he dodged the wild blow before delivering a kick to the nape of his neck, slamming him into the deck.

"You just missed on purpose? Don't underestimate me!" The chef snarled. He didn't need the man's pity in the middle of battle. This wouldn't have even been a battle if he was healthy

But even the force of his kicks were betraying him because the pain from the recoil was too much for his broken body to handle and even the slightest movement, made the cracking of his bones heard.

He slowly turned around, at the sound of Gin pushing himself back and was unable to resist the hand grabbing his neck and forcing him down.

Gin's gaze was shadowed and he tightened his grip around his tonfa. It looked like the pirate was gearing up to finish the battle, but to the surprise of everyone there, tears began leaking from his eyes.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't kill the only person to have ever shown him kindness. Gin had been on the brink of death, starving and the only one who had responded to that, had been Sanji, the man he was about to kill.

The battle commander was a failure to Don Krieg. No matter what he did, he couldn't muster up the resolve to end Sanji's life.

So Gin tried pleading for the lives of this restaurant. Maybe he could convince the Don too —

"You pathetic… SON OF A BITCH!" Krieg roared. The pirate grabbed his shoulder pad and everyone in his crew began to panic.

"OH NO THE MH5!"

"THE STRONGEST GAS WEAPON!"

Luffy cursed. He could have clobbered Krieg long before he pulled out that weapon. It wouldn't take him long at all to get over there but the man was already gearing up to shoot it and it'd fire at about the same time Luffy knocked him out.

He needed to find safety first then he'd properly clobber that Krieg guy.

Bah, he needed to not tell Rosan that he got distracted. That wouldn't be good for him at all.

Everyone of the pirates began grabbing for their masks and Gin was about to do so too but Don Krieg swiftly shut that down.

"THROW AWAY THAT GAS MASK, GIN! You're no longer one of us!"

Gin froze at the order from Don Krieg and despite Luffy and Sanji's warnings, he threw the gas mask into the ocean.

"That man is trying to kill you! Come to your senses!" Sanji barked in concern. Was he insane? Was it worth it to follow a man like this?! Krieg didn't give a fuck about Gin and he was just fine with that?!

Luffy snarled at the way the captain was treating his crew but he had more pressing matters.

Namely, avoiding the upcoming attack.

"Deadly Poison Gas Bomb: MH5!"

A red ball shot out of the shield cannon and panic ensued.

"DIVE UNDER THE SEA!"

"GET IN THE RESTAURANT"

Luffy stretched his limbs and swiftly grabbed two gas masks off of someone's face and before a third person could go under, he quickly grabbed theirs too.

Now with 3 masks, he threw two of them over to Sanji and Gin and kept one for himself, placing it on without hesitation.

Krieg was done for after this. Luffy was tired of this nonsense and the way he treated his crew had made the rubber boy seriously annoyed. He was seriously trying to kill Gin, his own crewmember, right there and that just wouldn't slide with him.

A deafening explosion rang throughout the battlefield, as the MH5 blew up and released its gas throughout the air.

After around 5 minutes, people began resurfacing to inspect the damage done.

Luffy glanced around and paused in disbelief, at hearing the gagging noises of someone who had clearly been afflicted by the poison.

"You… idiot! Are you STUPID?!" Sanji gasped at Gin. The man actually removed his mask at the last second due to Krieg's orders and as a result, was afflicted by the full brunt of the MH5.

"So even to the end, he followed my orders. Too little too late," Krieg muttered before throwing his head back. "HAHAHAHA! Serves him right for allowing something stupid like compassion to rule him! He's of no use to me anymore. That idiot deserves to die."

"Don... Krieg?!" Gin gasped desperately, before throwing up a river of blood and clutching his chest. Everything hurt. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. It hurt to thin —

He spat out another glob of blood and collapsed.

"QUICK, GET THE ANTIDOTE!" Sanji demanded, steadying Gin and placing the gas mask on his face.

Under Zeff's instructions, they took him to the upper deck and made him take deep breaths.

Luffy glared darkly at Krieg and began marching over to the laughing captain. Sentencing your own crew to death? Laughing about it? Telling them to die?

He wasn't going to mess around like he did with Buggy and Kuro.

Luffy was going to pulverize this idiot.

"Wait, Chore Boy! Krieg's paying attention now so if you just run at him, you'll die!" Sanji tried to stop Luffy by grabbing onto his arms but the rubber boy just batted it away.

"I won't die."

He'd never die to someone like this.

With that, the rubber boy was off.

Krieg's eyes widened at his speed, before he hastily pulled out some bombs and tossed them into the water. A massive burst of water erupted at the explosion, but Luffy ran through unimpeded and the Don pulled out his Needle Machine Gun.

The rubber boy ducked and weaved between them, managing to evade every single one and leapt high into the air before stretching his arms back.

"Gomu Gomu no…"

Krieg pulled out his Porcupine Cape to block the incoming blow, nervous at how agile the rubber boy was. Straw Hat was stronger than he had expected and completely reckless to boot! He was determined to get a hit in no matter what so the Don would make him pay for it.

"HIT ME IF YOU CAN!" Krieg roared, convinced that the rubber boy wouldn't follow through with his attack.

"BULLET!" Luffy roared.

The Don's eyes bugged, before rolling to the back of his head, at the fist connecting through his shield. He was sent flying at the force of the blow and nearly fell into the ocean before stopping.

"H-HE'S CRAZY!" A pirate screamed, looking at the blood leaking from Luffy's fist. The rubber boy didn't even seem to notice it as he glared hard at Krieg.

"What kind of person…?" Sanji muttered. Was this why Reaper chose to follow him?! The rubber boy clearly had no regards for his life and for someone like Reaper, who also had no regards for people's lives, this guy must have been super interesting!

"Do you want to know why the redhead chose to follow him, Sanji?" Zeff asked knowingly, much to his shock. "Because of his resolve. That kid wants to become the Pirate King and he won't stop fighting until he achieves his dreams, or dies. The redhead fully believes in his goal and probably wants to see what that fool can do!"

"Such a strong resolve does not deserve to be stifled and killed here."

Sanji shuddered at the memory and focused on Luffy even harder.

The resolve to fight to the death until achieving your dreams… Was this guy just like him? Is that why Reaper acknowledged him...? Did that mean he acknowledged Sanji too... Would he readily accept him?

Zeff grinned knowingly at his son.

"All those cheap tricks aren't gonna save you from the ass kicking you're about to get!" Luffy grinned. "I ain't dying here to someone like you."

Krieg tried to push himself up but stumbled and collapsed again before he managed to catch his own fall. With a herculean effort, he got up and coughed harshly —

Only to be floored again by a kick to the face that left a red imprint on him.

"Gomu Gomu no Stamp!"

Everyone watched in disbelief at the sight of Krieg being manhandled and they looked at the one doing it in clear surprise.

This scrawny little kid? Who knew he could be so ruthless! Who knew he could be so strong?!

Well, it made sense… he was the one leading that terrifying redhead and Pirate Hunter Zoro in his crew… Maybe they chose to follow him for a reason...

Luffy's leg snapped back into place and he stared curiously at Krieg's fallen form. Rosan told him to always press the advantage in a battle and to never underestimate a foe until they were completely defeated...

This guy was really weak though… did that apply to him? All he had going for him, was the stupid amount of weapons he used.

But Luffy was used to dealing with all sorts of weapons. That was kind of Rosan's fighting style after all… and he fought his brother almost everyday for 10 years...

He even had an answer for the armor! There was a reason Rosan didn't like wearing metals (besides having the infinitely more useful Raid Suit).

Krieg had no idea how such a scrawny little brat could hit so hard. Twice now, he had to stop himself from blacking out completely from the force of his blows and it was getting embarrassing.

It was ridiculous! Don Krieg couldn't lose to some no name!

"Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!"

The leader of the armada began to gag as the force of the blow caved his invincible armor into his chest, cutting off his breathing and turning him blue.

The rubber boy laughed at the look on his face. That was why Rosan didn't wear armor! It was so easy to deal with!

Just look!

"Gomu Gomu no…" Luffy began, cocking his fists back in preparation.

The Don looked up in fear, unable to move in time to dodge the oncoming attack.

"GATLING!" The rubber boy roared, punching Krieg's armor over and over again until it began to split under his assault. Cracks began to appear in the Don's "invincible" armor before it fully crumbled from his might.

Krieg himself, despite having his armor to protect him, was still being battered senseless by the merciless attack and could only take it with disbelief.

Who... Who the fuck was this?! Where did this random no name come from? W-Was this some type of JOKE?!

"Monster…" The pirates gaped in fear. Krieg didn't stand a chance! The rubber boy was just tossing him around without an issue?!

"Woah! You can take a beating!" Luffy called in surprise, leaping back as Don Krieg tossed a shuriken bomb at him mid assault. He managed to avoid getting struck by them but Krieg took the opportunity to hastily pull himself back up before the rubber boy could continue his relentless onslaught.

With a roar, the armor-less man removed his shoulder pads and combined them together before activating the internal device.

Luffy watched curiously, as a shaft formed for Krieg to grab onto and a blade popped out, forming a spear.

The Don let out another roar and slammed his Battle Spear downward, causing an explosion that forced Luffy to jump away from it.

"Oh! It explodes whenever he strikes down!" Luffy exclaimed, before a sneaky grin made its way onto his face.

"Behold the ultimate Battle Spear!" Krieg howled, fury at being treated like this mounting until it boiled over. "I'LL BLOW YOU TO PIECES!"

Without hesitation, the Don slammed his Spear on the tiny platform the two were standing on and Luffy kicked his legs hard to fly towards another one.

"That spear really is amazing," a pirate commented.

"Yea. The stronger that big spear is struck down, the bigger the explosion!"

Luffy's mischievous grin grew wider. The rubber boy landed neatly on the same platform Zoro and Mihawk fought on before leaping back again, as Krieg followed him.

This persisted for a few minutes, Luffy dodging Krieg's attacks and the Don getting more and more annoyed at the cheeky grin on his face.

The moment Luffy was waiting for soon showed itself, as the Don swung too hard downward and took longer than normal to pick his weapon back up.

The insane rubber boy ran right through the explosion, heedless of the damage he just took and planted a sandal on Krieg's face, pushing him back, and grabbing his massive battle spear right out of his hand in the process.

The straw hat wearing boy laughed triumphantly, while Krieg's eyes bugged in fury.

"G-GIVE THAT BACK!" He demanded like a child, watching the rubber boy wave around his weapon (with startling ease) like a newborn child who had just received a new toy.

"Nope! It's mine now!" Luffy beamed, much to his rage.

His ultimate weapon… being treated like a TOY? By some cheeky little brat?!

That was the final straw for Krieg and he charged Luffy with the intent to kill. He would use his bare hands if he needed too.

STRAW HAT DIED HERE!

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed merrily at the enraged pirate. "You rely too much on cheap tricks and that armor and you couldn't even beat me! Weakling!"

Luffy jumped over the charging Krieg and effortlessly whirled in midair (the onlookers had to wonder how he was maneuvering in the air so easily), launching the arm holding the Don's spear back and grinning victoriously.

"Time to use my new weapon! Gomu Gomu no…"

"BATTLE SPEAR!"

Krieg's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he spat out a river of blood, as a fist connected to his stomach. The momentum of the blow nearly turned him inside out and he collapsed in defeat.

The pirate crew watched in varying degrees of disbelief, as Don Krieg lay there, unconscious to the world. It took them a while to register what happened, but when they did, chaos ensued.

"THAT WAS JUST A PUNCH! YOU DIDN'T EVEN USE THE BATTLE SPEAR!"

"KRIEG'S BEEN DEFEATED?"

"THE DON LOST TO SOME RANDOM KID?"

"HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!"

"IT WASN'T EVEN CLOSE?!"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

The chefs were in equal levels of disbelief. That straw hat wearing kid wasn't joking around! He really didn't need that redhead to beat them!

He made that look easy! There was only a few injuries on his body but he looked like he was still raring to go!

"I never thought I'd see the Don lose…" Gin muttered. He thought the man was the strongest! To see him defeated so decisively… he couldn't believe it! There really were bigger monsters out there and the Straw Hats had two of them!

Sanji looked at the rubber boy with wonder in his eyes. So this was the man who Reaper chose to follow… A man with no fear in his eyes, that would fight until he achieved his dream, or died.

That… was kind of admirable.

"If that Krieg claims his ragtag feel is military might… and his weapons are military might, then that kid's grit is also military might. That's why the redhead follows him," Zeff said knowingly, smiling at the awed gaze of Sanji.

Luffy landed upright on the battlefield and looked at the spear with a dissatisfied look on his face. "Why didn't it explode? What a stupid weapon!" He exclaimed, tempted to throw it away.

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T USE IT AT ALL! YOU JUST PUNCHED HIM!" Everyone roared and the rubber boy scratched his head.

"Oh, I'll just give it to Rosan then!" He beamed, walking over to pick his straw hat up and placing it neatly on his head. His brother might appreciate such a gift! Ram was always talking about eating weapons and Luffy, as a fellow enjoyer of eating, figured she'd appreciate this!

They sweatdropped at the unhinged rubber boy before the tension released and they began cheering.

"WE WON!"

"NICE ONE CHORE BOY!"

"SO STRONG!"

Luffy laughed cheerfully. "So I'm free to go now, right old man?"

"A deal's a deal," Zeff nodded and the rubber boy beamed.

"I'M THE STRONGEST!" A voice roared in delirium.

Everyone watched as Krieg, who's eyes were still in the back of his head, began spouting out nonsense.

"NO ONE DEFEATS MY FORCE! I WIN! I WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN!"

Luffy whistled at the man losing his mind. "Maaaan, he really doesn't know when to quit!"

"WE COULD SAY THE SAME TO YOU!"

The surrounding pirates tried to stop Krieg but the unconscious man was unrelenting and batted them aside with no effort at all.

Luffy was about to step in and finish this for sure, but to the surprise of everyone there, Gin showed up and simply punched Krieg in the stomach, stopping his rampage.

"Don Krieg… We lost," Gin said bluntly, throwing the taller man over his shoulder. "Let's withdraw gracefully and start again from zero."

"Thank you for your kindness, Sanji."

"...Sure. Don't come back."

"Straw hat… I'll see you again in the Grand Line," Gin said.

"Yeah!" Luffy grinned.

After some words from Gin (along with concern for seeing him throw up even more blood), Sanji had ordered Patty and Carne to get a boat for the crew and they sailed off.

"Shouldn't you be going too?" Sanji asked the straw hat wearing boy curiously.

"You haven't fully healed so we can't go yet!" Luffy said like it were the most obvious thing in the world. With the help of some chefs, he managed to tie the battle spear on his back.

Rosan better appreciate his gift! It wasn't light!

"Who said I was going with you?!" Sanji barked in annoyance. He couldn't become a pirate until that damn old man acknowledged his skills. Until that day, he'd stay at the Baratie and continue to hone his craft.

Besides, after what happened with the Krieg pirates, Sanji couldn't rely on those half rate cooks to defend his restaurant. Even... Even if Reaper was right there and he was letting him slip out of his grasp... Probably to never see him again...

"Fine, I understand. I'll give up," Luffy nodded understandingly.

"Your... hand... didn't!" Sanji growled at the rubber boy gripping his collar.

The chef sighed and looked out at the sea. He did want to go to the Grand Line one day but that would have to wait for now.

He didn't think he'd ever get the chance to travel with the Shinigami though... but... Maybe that was just a childish wish of his.

"Hey, have you ever heard of the All Blue?" Sanji suddenly asked Luffy, who tilted his head in confusion.

"Nope," The rubber boy replied bluntly.

The blonde grinned and began describing the wondrous sea to the rubber boy.

Zeff watched with a fond look in his eyes, as Sanji talked about the All Blue with the one trying to recruit him.

That fool still looked as happy as ever when talking about his dream.