Arms vs Arms

"I'm sorry, did you just wager that you could beat me? ME?! THE STRONGEST WARLORD IN THE EAST BLUE, THE MAN WITH ARMOUR THAT CAN WITHSTAND CANNONFIRE AND A DIAMOND FIST THAT CAN BREAK SHIP MASTS WITH A SINGLE SWING?!" Krieg bellowed as he overheard Morgan asking to clear his chore debt by beating up Krieg.

"Alright brat, if you want to risk your life to get out of chores…then by all means…Patty, Carne! Roll out the fins, if this becomes a battleground then they can take it outside." Zeff ordered his two other chefs while Sanji climbed out to join Morgan; "I don't remember asking you to join in."

"You said it yourself, if we keep this up then the restaurant will turn into a ruin…I can't call myself a cook if I don't fight for a place here." Sanji stated bluntly and took a drag of his cigarette, "Besides…You may be a tough guy but I don't think you can take all of these guys AND Krieg on your own, Chore Boy."

"That's the one thing you are right about." Another voice said as a large man made his entrance onto the fin; he was covered head to toe in shields and had what looked like a lightbulb on his head; "But before you can get to our commander…You'll have me to deal with, the Dandy Gentleman Pearl!" Pearl would declare with an obnoxious grin on his face and waving the buckler shields in his hands like an ostentatious flag.

"You just look like an idiot." Sanji pointed out; "Take care of the big guy, Chore Boy…I'll deal with Mr. Absolute Defense over he-" He trailed off as he saw Pearl trip over his own feet and plant his face into the edge of the shield on his front. "Did…Am I looking at this right?"

"Trust a pirate to be sneaky enough to take a low bl…danger….Danger! DANGER!" Pearl tried to act cocky but he started to get nervous and bashing his shields together, causing the other pirates around him to start worrying.

"PEARL, DON'T PANIC!"

"IT'S JUST A NOSEBLEED!"

"PEARL, KEEP IT COOL!"

Both Sanji and Morgan were confused that this formerly cool headed "Gentleman" was screaming his head off and bashing his hand shields like they were cymbals; "This guy trips over himself and starts to freak out…Think you can take him, Sous Chef?" Morgan asked with a grin and earned himself a thumbs up from Sanji; "Then I'll take care of the overgrown gorilla!" He yelled out before rushing towards the edge; noting a collapsed ship mast to run across.

"Don't think you can close this that easily, brat!" Krieg snarled as he used his fist to break the mast off and set it sinking into the water; "Anyone lucky enough to eat a Devil Fruit will sink like a rock but even skilled swimmers fall at the hands of my weaponry!" He roared and then pulled the plate off of his right should and took aim; "NEEDLE GUNNER!" 

The splash from the water covered Krieg and shielded him from Morgan's sight; it took a split second from his observation to start moving as the Straw hat started to see a rain of metal darts shoot at him through the wave. Morgan's body tried to duck and weave under each dart while attempting to keep a footing on the mast; "Hiding behind your toys doesn't make you a brave captain! I can see why they call you a dirty player!" Morgan yelled at him but yelped in pain as the momentary distraction caused a lone dart to hit him deep in the leg and then the domino effect made more sink into his body as he finally breached the water and landed in front of Krieg who looked more then pleased with his handiwork.

"I must admit it, my aim must be a little off but enough of those darts were enough to bring down an elephant…though it was foolish of you to go in alone with no armour…it'll be a matter of time before you bleed to-" Krieg gloated but was interrupted by Morgan's roar of anger as he rushed forward and ready to punch him; "YOU CAN AT LEAST DO THE COURTESY OF LISTENING TO YOUR OPPONENT BEFORE THE GRAVE!" Krieg yelled defiantly before pulling his cloak around him; shielding his body and the side of his head with a literal bundle of spikes around his body like a hedgehog.

"I DON'T CARE….STRONG STYLE KENPO!" Morgan cried as he reared his arm back and without caution or even a worry, twisted on his heel and delivered a solid right hook straight into Krieg's jaw through the spiked cape, sending plenty of Krieg's men into a combined shock of seeing Pearl getting taken out by Sanji and Krieg hitting the ground for the first time: "HARPOON HOOK!"

"He…He just floored Don Krieg!"

"And through that violent cape too!"

Morgan would be panting and wincing in pain as he drew his fist back; his knuckles were now bleeding from hitting the spikes along with the darts that stuck out of his shoulder and his leg; "You said a grave, right?" Morgan wheezed as he pulled out the dart in his shoulder with a yell of pain through grit teeth; "Well, I can tell you one thing…against someone like you, it's not going to be MINE!" He would slur his words as he gripped the dart in his leg tight and pulled it out of his thigh with a more louder yell of pain. With a determined grin on his face through the agony, he held up the dart in his bloodied hand and then dropped it for Krieg to see. "Until I become King of the Pirates, I refuse to die to someone like you!" Morgan yelled for everyone to hear, impressing the likes of Zeff who had seen countless pirates in his restaurant claim the same thing before.

"You…You don't know when to quit…I'll show you why exactly I am feared as the Ruler of the East Blue! Taste the destructive force of my DAISENSO!" Krieg obstinately yelled as he grabbed both cauldrons from his shoulders and slammed them together to make what looked like a giant war spear.

"You can pull out all the tools you want…but I'll make sure to break them all if it means I kick your a-" Morgan yelled and swung a high kick to knock the spear away, however he was cut off as an explosion engulfed the captain the moment that the spear made contact.

Krieg laughed triumphantly as he watched the now burned looking Morgan slam into a wall; "You finally see? It doesn't matter how strong you punch if you can't even get close enough to hit me!" Krieg taunted him as he watched the injured Morgan struggle to his feet, "Very well, a slow beating it is!" Krieg roared as he swung another strike at Morgan as he rushed, hitting him with another explosive blast.

"What's he doing?! If he doesn't stop then he's going to…is he smiling?" Sanji watched in bemusement as he saw Morgan with a childlike grin on his face as he rushed towards him again, this time with a left hook swinging into the pointed tip of the spear…Once more hitting Morgan with a violent blast into the floor.

"Do you truly wish to die like this? Or did those explosions rattle your brain into thinking that you'll win…" Krieg wondered as he was starting to get annoyed at Morgan's tenacity but even he could see that his opponent was all but wiped out as his clothes were singed and his skin was burnt and bloody.

"I…already told you…I ain't dying." Morgan forced himself to speak as he raised up his fists once more; "If Zoro can put in the effort that he did…then I'd feel bad if I didn't!" Morgan remarked as he took a deep breath and focused himself while Krieg frustratedly rushed him with a jab forward in an attempt to skewer him.

"KABOOM!"

The chefs watched in shock and even Krieg's pirates were wondering about Morgan's body, knowing their captain would've turned most men into a well cooked steak, however they saw Morgan standing tall with shaky legs and Krieg looking shocked as the blade on his spear shattered; "M-My spear! What did you do to my spear?!" Krieg demanded as he saw the fragments of the blades.

"Grandpa's training was nightmarish but it made me tougher…I counted five good punches to turn that spear of your's into a bomb on a stick…I did tell you that I was gonna break you down tool by tool!" Morgan grinned before rushing at Krieg with a roll under his manic swing before kicking upwards at the spear's shaft, causing it to break and sent the explosive splashing into the water.

"Y-You…The hell even are you, did you eat a Devil Fruit or something?!" Krieg was flabbergasted and shocked that this kid was as durable as he was, a Devil Fruit was by far the most logical for this display.

"Nope…But I had Hell's worst cantankerous old fart to train me!" Morgan quipped as he rushed forward and tried to channel as much Haki to his hands as he could with the limited stamina that he had left; "I talk a big game but I'm near the end of my rope…if I'm gonna finish it then now's the chance!" He thought as he ducked under the Don's furious swipe and started to deliver a salvo of rapid fire punches on Krieg's chest; "Strong Style Kenpo: Battering Ram Rush!" He yelled out as he rallied punch after punch on Krieg who didn't seem fazed at all and almost seemed to laugh it off.

"You can't let that sink into your thick skull…No fist, cannonball or hammer can even dent this Wootz Steel armour of mine so go ahead and let it all out…it'll make finishing you off all the easi-huh?" Krieg remarked as he noticed that Morgan's final punch into his stomach had shattered under it's duress…Though he barely registered it as Morgan focused all his effort into sinking his fist into Krieg's abdomen; sending the larger man falling backward in pain at the sudden shock.

Panting heavily and feeling the Haki slip away from him; Morgan was just about done with his consciousness barely holding on. "I…I did it?" Morgan slurred on his words as he staggered towards the collapsed Krieg with a victorious wave of his hand but was caught off guard when Krieg swung a giant boot into Morgan's stomach and knocked him to the ground; his eyes rolled back and swinging his fists down on his face in a literal blind rage.

"STRAW HAT! KILL YOU! I AM THE STRONGEST!" Krieg screamed out to the heavens with the energy of a rabid animal; swinging his large arms to blindly whale on him but with some small luck, his crew climbed over to pull their Don back and force him down.

"It's over, Don!"

"He's gonna kill someone!"

But someone else seemed to jump in as Gin who had been kept to the sidelines slammed his fist into Krieg's chest, knocking the fallen baron out for good; "It's all done now, Krieg…we leave and regroup." Gin muttered as he helped the remainders of the Krieg pirates drag their leader away; "Sanji, if you can lend us a boat to let us leave…then we'll never bother you again." 

"Hey Patty, Carne…Go bring around the boat we use for groceries for them." Sanji relented as he watched the two go grab the boat under protest before watching the heavily piled up boat row away.

—Several hours later—

Morgan groaned in agony as he woke up inside one of the bedrooms on the Baratie; "Hey, hold it still…You don't wanna ruin your bandages, Chore Boy." Sanji would say as he smirked on seeing Morgan wake up.

"S-Sanji? What happened?" Morgan asked with a croaky voice and straining to look up as his entire upper body was covered with bandages and somehow felt cold still.

"Well, after you beat Krieg, you ended up passing out and gave everyone a scare…Zeff was able to patch you up decently but he told me to warn you not to run ass first into fire again anytime soon." He chuckled; "You got ointment and bandaged up, so once you're ready then you can head out on your way."

"Heh…Still, thanks Sanji…though I guess since I fought him off, I'm out of chores to do."

"Congrats." Sanji remarked sarcastically; "I'm still standing by what I said earlier by the way, I've got a debt of my own to pay."

"Okay…" Morgan responded with a calm smile as he readjusted himself in the bed to sit up and watched as Sanji left to go downstairs.

"Well…I guess at the very least, I'm off the hook with that old guy…" Morgan thought to himself as he heard some loud footsteps coming up and sure enough; Zeff was there to talk.

"Well, Brat…A deal's a deal so no more chores and debt paying for you here…You can cheer all you want now." Zeff snarked and then grabbed a nearby chair; "You helped save my restaurant when you could've easily jumped ship so you have my thanks…But if you could. Can you hear out an old man on a last favour? I overheard you out back yesterday and you mentioned that you needed a cook, so if it's not too much trouble: Why not take Sanji with you?" Zeff asked him but found himself surprised when Morgan shook his head.

"Sorry, that's a no can do…" Morgan said outright as he then saw Zeff growing a tic mark on his forehead and readied himself for a rant.

"Why? You think he's not good enough? Or you're one of those guys that like a specific type of food for your journeys? Because Sanji is a damn good cook!" Zeff glowered and started bopping Morgan on the head with his chef's hat.

"It's because it should be HIS choice to come with us, I'm not gonna force the guy to join us if he doesn't want to." Morgan stated calmly.

"I see…I can appreciate you being honest and I respect that you aren't the type to drag away someone you want." Zeff mentioned; "But I remember the All Blue, it was my dream once and Sanji dreams of it too…I'd rather him pursue what he wants for once." Zeff explained while Sanji sat at the bottom of the stairs; hearing everything that was said and began to contemplate.

—A few minutes of food later—

While Sanji and Morgan ate, there was a loud crash through the door as Yosaku kicked down the door; "Morgan-Bro! You're awake!" He bawled heavily as he sat in front of the two; "I was worried that you weren't gonna wake up!"

"It's gonna take more then a walking multitool to put me down!" Morgan remarked with a smirk but noticed that Yosaku had a look of intense guilt and shame plastered on his face; "Yosaku…I'm alright, once we're all done here then we can carry on to other places."

"It…It's not that…" Yosaku grimaced as he gripped onto the hilt of his sword; "It's about Nami…She's left us…" He blurted out and bowed his head.

"Nami…Left?" Morgan said with a hoarse voice as he tried to take this revelation in.

"While we were prepping the ship to move, Nami knocked me and Johnny out while we weren't looking and then sailed off with all the money and the map to the Grand Line." Yosaku explained to the two, Sanji looked bummed out because that meant the cute girl hanging around Morgan and the others was now gone…but Morgan looked shellshocked to say the least.

"W-What about the others?! I didn't see Zoro and Usopp around, what happened with them?!" Morgan asked and listened as the bounty hunter explained that Usopp came up with the plan to take the injured Zoro and Johnny to tail after Nami in the Merry.

"And that's not the worst part…" Yosaku mentioned as he took a grim look on his face and stared down Morgan; "With the way she was travelling and based on a Wanted poster we had lying around…I think she's going after a really big bounty…a Fishman by the name of Arlong, I heard he set up a base on the Conomi Islands."

"Then that's where we're going." Morgan said bluntly as he got up and headed for a nearby boat that Sanji had made up for himself with the two joining him.

"I thought you said that you weren't joining." Morgan said glibly with a smirk on his face as he saw Sanji with a bag.

"Well, I guess you could call it a way of leaving the nest, I had to leave this crappy restaurant sometime and besides, if I show up to aid that pretty girl…she'll be all over me~" Sanji swooned with a goofy look on his face at the prospect of being Nami's knight in shining armour.

"Well then, looks like our crew's got a cook now…let's get a course set for the Conomi islands." Morgan said as Yosaku started planning out the maps; "Do you need to say goodbye?" he asked Sanji as he climbed aboard.

"Nothing left to say, these morons wouldn't want me to get all sappy on them anyway." Sanji stated but stopped when he heard Zeff speak up.

"Hey Sanji! Try not to catch a cold out there." Zeff said with a small smirk on his face and began to get misty eyed as he realised the tiny brat he saved all those years ago was finally going out on his own.

And as it turned out, Sanji felt it too as his tears welled up and he slammed himself on the ground in a respectful bow; "OLD MAN, CRAPPY COOKS! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID FOR ME!" Sanji broke the dam as he felt his body shake from the emotions he felt about leaving everyone; his thankfulness, his appreciation and Zeff stepping in to care for him.

Morgan smiled a little as the three sailed off, listening to the rather confusing mixture of heartfelt goodbyes and foul language from the cooks as they waved off Sanji's departure.

—Meanwhile, outside of Conomi Islands—

The Going Merry was sailing on it's planned course towards the monolith of subjugation known as Arlong Park, Nami now dressed for the part as her sleeveless top showed off the tattoo that bore Arlong's mark; "10 years…With the treasure on this ship and the stash I saved up, I'm so close…100 million Berries." Nami thought to herself as she tried to think on the optimistic side but no matter how much she tried to deny it: being on the ship and the memories she harboured kept playing in her head.

Zoro and Morgan's training that woke her up in the early morning, the games that she, Morgan and Usopp played on the deck but the worst part was every time she pictured Morgan in her memories and how he must think of her made her heart feel like it was being squeezed in a vice. "Maybe in another life…I could've stayed with them…with him…" Nami whispered to herself with a heavy tone of dejection; "But right now…other people need me, I promise that I'll do this right…Bellemere."