Chapter 018

Sanji thought on that for a moment. "I do," he admitted. "But I'm not ready to pursue it yet. I still have unfinished business here, and I can't leave until I'm done with it."

"I see…" Luffy said, looking down sadly. "I'll give up then."

"Your hand's not giving up!" Sanji shouted, freaking out as he tried to tug away from Luffy's outstretched arm. "How the hell are you stretching like that!? What kind of human are you?"

"A rubber man," Luffy said in a downcast tone as he let go. "I ate a Devil Fruit." Sanji seemed to accept this easily enough, and the man, having found his strength again, spoke up.

"Sorry to interrupt. My name is Gin. If you're a pirate, may I ask what your dream is?" he said.

"To be the Pirate King," Luffy answered.

"One Piece, huh? You're going to the Grand Line, then." Gin said slowly. He hesitated, and then went on, "Let me give you some advice kid. Give up on the Grand Line. You're still young, there's no need to rush it. There are plenty of other amazing places out there on the open sea."

Luffy frowned. He remembered the story of what happened to Krieg's crew. To put it bluntly, they had had the worst luck. They had run into a very bored Dracule Mihawk on the first week of their journey. The Grand Line was treacherous by East Blue standards. That much was certain. But Mihawk? He wasn't exactly the norm in Paradise.

Luffy knew that Don Krieg didn't have the mindset needed to get through the first half. He wasn't just reckless. He was extremely overconfident and thought himself invincible. This would most likely lead to him pissing off some relatively powerful Grand Line pirate and getting thrashed despite his superior forces. Luffy shuddered to think what would happen if Krieg ever miraculously made it to Sabaody Archipelago. If his God complex was to crash with those of the Celestial Dragons, and Luffy was sure it would, Krieg would come up short.

Luffy honestly thought that Gin had what it took to survive Paradise with a little luck once he got some experience behind him, but he'd never make it through with Krieg leading him. He had pledged his allegiance to a lesser man who covered up his weakness with a suit of armor.

"Thanks for the warning," he said finally. "But my mind is set."

Gin nodded. "Well, it's not my role to stop you. I just thought I'd give you a heads-up." He hopped into the boat that he had salvaged from the sunken Marine ship and untied it. "Thanks again for the meal, Sanji-san. It really was the best I've ever had. Would you mind if I came back sometime?"

Sanji's wide smile returned to his face. "Anytime," he said.

"Hey, Sanji! Get your ass back to work, you little eggplant!" They all turned to see Zeff standing above them. He was eyeing the empty plate in front of Sanji.

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you then, Gin," he said meaningfully. Gin looked ashamed.

"Sorry, Sanji-san," he said with his hand in his hair. "You're gonna get in trouble because I didn't pay."

"What are you talking about?" Luffy said with a small smile. He flicked a gold coin at Sanji, who caught it gracefully. "You did pay. Now get on out of here."

Gin nodded gratefully. "Thank you, both of you. I won't forget this." He bowed his head low as his boat sailed away from the floating restaurant.

It was 15 minutes later when the Straw Hat group received their meal, all digging in to their heart's content. It was then that Sanji made his way over to their table and started hitting on Nami. "But alas," he sighed as his chivalrous drawl ended, "I fear this is quite the tragedy. Such a large obstacle stands in the way of our love." Nami just looked uncomfortable. How could the guy who had casually beaten a Marine lieutenant unconscious be such a flake so soon afterwards?

"I'm guessing that obstacle is me," came the voice of the owner and head chef. Sanji's head perked up at the sound. "Actually, this is perfect," Zeff continued. "Why don't you go along with them and be a pirate? We don't need you here after all."

Sanji's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean you don't need me? I'm the assistant head chef. What are you trying to say exactly?"

"I'm saying you cause trouble with half of the male guests, hit on most of the female ones, and can't even cook a decent meal to save your life. None of the other chefs want you here either, so why don't you just scram?"

"So that's how it is, huh? You shitty old geezer," Sanji growled. "I don't care about that other stuff you said, but I won't stand for people insulting my cooking, even if it's you!" he said angrily as he walked up to the old man. "You can bitch at me all you want, but I'm not leaving!" he shouted.

"Disrespectful little shit!" Zeff roared as he kicked Sanji with his wooden leg, sending him crashing into a table. It occurred to Luffy that everyone in this restaurant seemed to tell other people not to fight or break things before proceeding to do it themselves. "You're a hundred years too young to be standing up to me," Zeff growled, as Sanji wiped the blood off of his forehead. "Like I said, we don't need you here. I don't know why you stay around."

"If that's how you feel, then fire me," Sanji said simply. They stared at each other a while, neither one of them backing down. Finally, Zeff scoffed and turned away, heading back into the kitchen. Sanji got up and quickly recovered as if nothing had happened. He started where he had left off, pouring Nami a glass of wine.

Nami, who had grown used to his antics, smiled widely. "This is all so great," she praised. "But to be honest, it's all a little expensive for my budget," she said sadly. She really was opportunistic. Sanji waved her off, telling her that he wouldn't even think of charging her. Then he turned to the rest of their group.

"You shitheads have to pay," he said bluntly.

"Yeah, we kind of guessed," Zoro said lazily. Usopp didn't take it so well.

"You bastard! This is gender discrimination! I'll sue your ass, you love cook!"

"Yeah, have fun taking this up with the World Government, shitty pirate," Sanji said in an astounding display of logic.

"Oh, you wanna go?" Usopp challenged. "If you start something, you better be ready to finish it!" He pointed at Sanji. "Get him Zoro!"

"All you, Usopp," Zoro replied as he continued eating. Usopp's jaw dropped. That was cold.

"Hey, boys. Please don't fight over me," Nami said with an innocent expression.

"Yes ma'am! It's just so tempting," Sanji replied.

"Who the hell is fighting over you!?" Usopp raged.

Zoro questioned Luffy about the search for their chef. Luffy responded that they should stay there for a while and keep looking, giving Zoro a meaningful look, and Zoro nodded.

It was two days later when a large, rundown ship bearing the mark of the Krieg pirates was sighted making its way towards the sea restaurant.

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