Chapter 26: The Best Meal 2

"Get outta here, Gin," Sanji muttered, grabbing the plate and cup. Without any hesitation, he dumped both into the ocean and grinned smugly. "I can't get in any trouble if there's no proof that I did something."

Gin's eyes widened at his action and he bowed to the floor as the ship set sail. "Thank you, Sanji-san! I'll never forget your kindness!"

"Try not to get caught again," Sanji waved and he took a puff out of his cigarette.

"Sanji! Chore boy! Get back to work already!" Zeff barked. His patience had run thin with the two and he had an annoyed look on his face. What a waste of a plate and cup. He could have fixed the issue in any other way.

"Hey, redhead. Could you fix the hole on the ceiling?" The owner asked the chore boy's subordinate. Since he was here, it was best to just ask him instead of having to pay for it.

"I don't work for free," Rosan replied calmly. "I only fixed your roof because my captain blew a hole into it. That other hole was your own doing so I have no obligation to fix it for free."

"How candid," Zeff remarked. He was more similar to his captain then the head chef thought.

Rosan hummed for a moment, coming to a decision on the spot. "I'll fix it, but I want Sanji to cook me his best meal in return," the redhead replied.

"Deal," Zeff nodded immediately, not seeing a problem with that. The best meal from his brat? That would be easy enough and he'd get a repaired roof in return.

While the head chef saw no problem with that, Sanji froze completely at those words. There was something about those words… Something alarmingly familiar. Something that reminded him of a time that not many people alive should know about and this scout shouldn't have been one of them.

Unless...

He looked at the redhead talking to his straw hat captain with a searching gaze. He was tall, much too tall… That was the first thing and he was very clearly missing his signature black wings and that oppressive aura. The next was that he was not covered head to toe in black… Well, he actually was but you get the point! The outfit was much too expensive and looked fitted for leisure and not combat. Reaper would never wear something like this!

But didn't that make sense? Reaper did have a bounty of 500,000,000 after all and they had gone missing for 10 years...

What was stopping the Shinigami from just having no disguise on? It's not like anyone knew who was under the hoodie... Hell, no one even knew Reaper's official gender.

He started wracking his mind at possibility that this Rosan was Reaper…

The two acted startlingly similar. They both had an emotionless disposition and talked in an empty but polite manner… but that wasn't nearly enough to make the connection! The redhead also seemed much more playful (as playful as someone who seemed to display zero emotion could be) then the daunting Shinigami.

Besides, many people admired the Shinigami and opted to act like them. This person could just be one of the thousands who decided to adopt some of Reaper's qualities in hopes of mimicking his success. Others did it just because they thought the Shinigami was cool!

The chef nodded at that. He could only chalk it up as a coincidence right now. He was the sous chef after all and was decently well known in the East Blue as a prominent chef. Of course someone would want to try his best meal over the shitty geezer's own.

Sanji idly made eye contact with the relaxed scout and the chef idly noted that the dead eyed man was heterochromatic. He had quite the set of orbs and they were probably the most notable part of his appearance. His right eye was a dull royal purple and the left was…

The left was…

The... left... was...

A dull blood red.

"Sanji! What are you so spaced out for?! Get back to work!" Zeff demanded.

The chef's cigarette fell out of his mouth at the sheer shock he was currently feeling. There was just no way right? After 11 years… Was it really them? No, it had to have been a coincidence. It had to be!

"Eh? Rosan, do you know him?" Luffy asked in confusion. Sanji had been staring at his brother for a pretty long time now. Was his chef alright?

Rosan hummed and nodded. "We met once when I was 13. I'm surprised he can recognize me," the redhead replied. He wasn't too surprised. Ever since his shift, him and Reaper's personality were practically identical.

"How old are you now?" Zeff asked curiously, interested in knowing when the redhead had met his foolish son and why his sous chef was reacting the way he did.

"24."

Sanji let out a choked noise.

"There is no reason for you to have ordered this much food."

Rosan stared at the smug Nami with a neutral expression on his face. Was this her definition of revenge? He had been antagonizing her quite a bit since she joined them so perhaps he should have expected this.

Neither him nor Luffy were at the table currently to order all of the food so this was definitely to try and spite him.

"You said we can order whatever!" Nami beamed and Usopp shot him an apologetic look.

The sniper tried to stop her from provoking the scary redhead but the navigator was not willing to listen to reason, spearing forward with a ruthless smile and a cunning gleam in her eyes.

Since the moment they met, Rosan went out of his way to constantly annoy her and he always got the upper hand on her too. On her! Of course she'd take this opportunity to finally get revenge on him! He was practically begging for it by placing such a tempting offer on the table.

Zoro was drinking away merrily, ignoring everything else but his current task. Clearly he had been the one to order the sake because no one else was touching it.

Their table was fully packed with a wide assortment of food ranging from seafood, rice, meat, soup, sake and pasta.

Rosan sat down and took a bite out of the pasta. He chewed it for a bit and nodded in satisfaction. It was good. The Baratie's reputation was well earned so he'd enjoy everything here.

Nami blinked in confusion at his lack of a reaction and just chalked it up to his emotionless disposition.

There was surely no way he'd be willing to just pay for all of this! Why was he just eating without a care in the world?

Rosan noticed her confusion and made a point to wave at her mockingly. "I did tell you to order whatever, didn't I? If I say that, naturally it means I have the means to pay. And I do happen to eat a lot so you did me a favor."

The redhead had been getting income that increased constantly from Fregate since he was nine years old and Aiko's island was one of the wealthiest in the North Blue. Even now, he went to collect payments from his long time partner and the amount only increased as their island became more prestigious.

Money would never be an issue for him. It was a good thing he had said a percentage instead of a set price. Not only did he get more and more every time their total earnings increased, he forced Aiko to constantly do the math of the island's entire funds and that was something she especially despised doing (he forbade Akemi from doing it) if the way she glowered at him whenever he brought it up meant anything.

Some things would never change and that was the enjoyment of pissing off his surrogate older sister.

He should visit them soon. It was about that time to annoy his long time partner.

When the bill came up to nearly 120,000 beri (about 1,200 USD), Rosan accepted it easily enough and took out the required amount out of his pocket without hesitation, paying for them all and even asking for more so that he didn't have to cook tonight.

Nami watched him effortlessly pay for the entire meal with a dropped jaw and the redhead glanced at her, making a point to raise a brow.

"You'll catch flies," he advised gently. Did she forget how he just casually gave her five million beri all that time ago? Silly little orange girl. You needed to plan a bit more to get revenge on someone like him.

Usopp moved a bit away at the glower on Nami's face. He was not going to get in between what was quickly becoming a daily routine between the navigator and the scout because they were both terrifying.

"Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?" The orange haired woman growled.

"I've been getting told that since I was four," the redhead answered.

"And you never thought of changing your ways?" She suggested.

"I am infamously stubborn according to some of those same people," he replied dryly.

Nami was about to continue but they were interrupted by Luffy's scream of outrage.

"YOU GUYS ARE EATING WITHOUT ME?!"

"Oh! If it isn't the chore boy!" Zoro called with a teasing grin on his face.

"I heard you have to work here for a month!" Usopp laughed at his plight, much to Luffy's chagrin.

"Should we repaint the flag to something else?" The green haired man laughed.

"Wait… Doesn't that mean Rosan would be the captain now?" Nami asked with barely restrained disgust. He was the first to join Luffy's crew after all. Having to take orders from the redhead seemed like a trip to an early grave for her.

"No/Nope!" Rosan and Luffy said at the same time. "Rosan doesn't wanna be a captain! He wouldn't be in the crew if he did!"

The scout nodded in agreement and watched as Luffy tried to sneak a booger in Zoro's drink.

Usopp and Nami began snickering as they also caught sight of it and Zoro grabbed his cup to take a drink —

And forced the beverage down Luffy's mouth.

"YOU REALLY THOUGHT I DIDN'T NOTICE?!" Zoro roared and Luffy collapsed on the floor, clawing his tongue in the process.

Sanji glanced up from what he was doing to glance at the table the chore boy was at. He saw a head of red hair and was starkly reminded of his current predicament.

Right… he owed the man one of his best prepped meals in exchange for him fixing the hole on the ceiling.

Sanji wouldn't normally mind but there was one big glaring detail.

That redhead could potentially be Reaper. Sanji wasn't completely sold on that fact (it was basically all his denial) because some things just didn't add up.

For one, Reaper, when they were active, traveled with only one other person and that was Grim… he couldn't imagine the Angel of Death traveling with such a loud group because that went against everything he knew about his old hero and he knew a lot more then others!

But maybe it was a cover up? In that case… did that mean one of these people were Grim? He found that a little hard to believe honestly but maybe...

Sanji looked over at the group more deeply and froze as he gazed at Nami. In a blur, he was at the pirate groups table with a rose in hand and presenting it to the laughing navigator.

"Oh, dear ocean! I thank you for today's encounter!" Sanji swooned much to Nami's surprise.

"How odd, he never struck me as a pervert," Mod mused, watching the blonde chef shamelessly flirt with Nami. He was really laying it on thick with exaggerated movements and heart eyes as well.

"It's not like we've seen him interact with a woman before and he was a prisoner… Maybe if he had seen you, he'd be just like this," Rosan countered.

"How embarrassing," Ram snorted at the pathetic sight.

"I'd love to journey with you but alas, the obstacles between us are too great!" Sanji gripped his chest at the reminder and forlornly looked away from the puzzled Nami, starkly doing his best to completely ignore Rosan's presence in the process.

"Are those obstacles you're talking about me?" Zeff called, making the chef scowl in annoyance.

"Tch, damn geezer," Sanji muttered.

The head chef of the Baratie began stroking his ridiculously long mustache.

"This is a good opportunity. Why don't you go become a pirate with them? I don't need you here anymore," the head chef declared.

"What?!" The swirly-browed chef gasped at the audacity of Zeff. "I'm the sous chef here, you damn geezer!"

"And?" Zeff raised a brow at the brat. "You get into trouble too often with the customers, you flair your nostrils the second you see a girl, you can't even cook a decent meal! You're dead weight at this restaurant so you might as well go."

Ram whistled at the verbal lashing Sanji was receiving. She liked this old man, he knew how to hit you where it hurt.

The chef in question, glared at Zeff and said, "I can ignore everything else you just said, but don't go mouthing off about how bad my cooking is."

He gripped the owner by his collar and looked him dead in his eye. "I'm going to stay here as a cook so stop trying to kick me out, you shitty old geezer."

Zeff did not appreciate being grabbed like that because he hoisted Sanji up and slammed him over the pirate's table, knocking it over in the process and gathering the attention of everyone there.

The sous chef slowly clambered back up and glared at the old man who attacked him. He then claimed that he wouldn't leave until the head chef died and Zeff left with some parting words stating that he still had 100 more years left in him.

Sanji took a drag out of his cigarette and calmly picked the table up, before placing a Fruit Macedonia in front of Nami, back to his flirting like nothing happened.

Usopp didn't take kindly to the chef only apologizing to the orange haired woman and when it looked like it was coming to blows, Nami managed to easily placate the blonde man.

"You sure do know how to abuse your good looks, Nami," Rosan commented idly, watching her shamelessly manipulate Sanji.

Nami's eyes narrowed before they lit up. "So you do think I look good!" She pointed out triumphantly. She still remembered their encounter on Orange Island and how effortlessly he had dismissed her advances. It still stung her pride but she began feeling a lot better after watching just how much people's advances he denied (he got a lot).

The redhead tilted his head at her statement. "I would be a fool not to acknowledge how attractive you are. It's unfortunate that you're not my type," Rosan replied, causing her to raise a brow at that.

"You have a type?" Nami asked and they all looked at the redhead for his answer, curious to know just what his type was.

"No."

The navigator flew over the table to try and strangle him, failing like every other time and making her more unhinged as a result.

Luffy was happily munching away at some of the leftovers on the table.

Zoro barked out his laughter, downing even more sake in the process as he watched the altercation.

Usopp tried to break it up but a stray kick from Nami, sent him flying into dreamland.

Sanji watched their interaction and seemingly convinced himself of something.

There was no way this was Reaper. The only one who could have possibly been Grim, had shamelessly attacked him and they didn't seem very familiar at all like him and that Luffy idiot (there was absolutely no chance the straw hat boy was Grim).

Besides, Rosan was too playful (in comparison to the Angel of Death) and seemed to thrive on annoying people. He was much different then Reaper's professional, business like demeanor. The Shinigami didn't deign to do stuff like this.

It was underneath them.

Yes, there was no way this colorful redhead was Reaper.

"Is he still in denial?" Mod asked in amusement.

"I'm in no rush to change his mind," Rosan hummed, repelling Nami's efforts completely. It's not like he had explicitly said he was Reaper, he wouldn't directly tell anyone about his identity like he had done with his family.

Not even Luffy fully knew he was Reaper because he was terrible at keeping secrets.

"Are you still trying to hit me?" The redhead asked curiously, wondering if patting her would make her froth. "Stop, can't you see that you're causing a scene? Look, the people are watching us more then normal and it's not only because of me this time."

That only made the navigator more feral, if the intense struggling meant anything. "It's almost like someone was just thrown through a table!" Nami hissed, desperately trying to wrap her hands around the redhead's neck and failing due to him using his height to repel her.

"I don't understand why you're so upset," Rosan sighed with a shake of his head. "You're pretty, you're getting free food and you have Sanji here eating out of the palm of your hand. To still be so angry... I worry for you, Nami. I hope you know that."

"You are going to make this girl go gray early," Mod giggled. Rosan and Nami had a really amusing dynamic to her and she found it very entertaining. The fact that it was never serious made it all the better for you.

"Haha, Father can be very annoying!" Ram teased.

"I'll see the both of you tonight," Rosan hummed and they immediately began spluttering. Whenever Rosan said that, it never turned out well for them and they had learned that it was best to appease him before he actually did enter the mindscape, lest they get tickled unconscious.

"W-What?! Don't you think this is a bit uncalled for? I didn't do a thing!"

"I-It was Auntie Mod's fault! You should have seen the way she was looking at me! She was practically telling me with her eyes to say it!"

"You little lying demon! I did no such thing!"

Rosan smiled a small smile as they devolved into argument with each other.

It was almost too easy sometimes.

"Rosan!" Akemi beamed in joy, flying into his strong arms with a happy sigh.

She had missed the redhead dearly and was glad that he was visiting!

"We saw him two weeks ago," Aiko rolled her eyes but she was happy to see him too. "How's the pirate life, Rosan? Why don't you have a crazy high bounty yet?"

The younger sister nodded vigorously in agreement. He needed to have one upped Reaper by now! 1 billion was a great starting point!

"I'm trying to avoid attracting attention right now, you two. I already have one absurd bounty, I don't need a second one at the moment," the redhead replied calmly, pulling the other sister into a hug and squeezing the two gently.

Akemi melted into it and Aiko tried to protest, despite relishing in the hug, so she could keep up appearances.

She wasn't fooling anyone.

"Here, your money," Aiko grumbled, accepting his reasoning and handing him his stipend. "How's that little squirt Luffy anyways? I would have expected him to have a bounty by now. That kid has no ounce of subtlety."

"We haven't really had much altercations with the Marines and Luffy isn't one to cause harm to innocents so we don't have a real reason to gain bounties," he explained calmly, accepting the money and having it vanish into his pocket dimension with a simple wave of his hand.

His little brother was still slaving away at the Baratie while his crew patiently waited for him to get out of the situation. If he took too long, Rosan would just have a talk with Zeff.

It's not like the head chef had a real reason to keep Luffy there, the Mod Mod no mi user had immediately repaired the roof of the restaurant. They both knew that but Rosan only allowed it to continue because the rubber boy had been asking for it and they had still been unable to sway Sanji to join the crew.

Once he succeeded, then Rosan would allow his dumb captain to be free. There was no way he would allow Luffy to stay there for a month.

"I have some free time since Luffy is occupied, is there anything you guys want to do?" Rosan asked the sisters and Akemi beamed in excitement.

"Have you and Angel updated your wardrobe recently?!" The younger sister asked, causing him to shake his head no. "Great, we can all go shopping and grab a meal! It's on me!"

"Alright. I've been meaning to add a bit of silver to my collection," he nodded. There was no point in offering to pay, it literally never worked.

"Silver? I know just the place! I'll try not to get you too much this time," she grinned.

Rosan nearly snorted. That was absolutely a lie. Angel and Akemi bought him far too much clothes to last a lifetime. He was sure if he put his entire wardrobe on the Going Merry, she wouldn't even make it out of the East Blue before sinking. It was incredibly handy to have a Pocket Dimension to store all that stuff.

"I still have stuff to do but I guess I'll go," Aiko complained. She wasn't even remotely as psychotic as Angel and Akemi when it came to clothing the others but she would never turn down a chance to see the redhead shirtless.

What? She deserved to spoil herself a little!

"Do you honestly still think you're fooling anyone?" Rosan asked with a tilted head, pinching her cheek and getting a growl of aggravation out of her. "Honestly, this tough act of yours has not worked for about 13 years. You're like a little gumball on the inside."

Akemi giggled at the look of outrage on Aiko's face and the older sister launched herself at the redhead.

"I'll show you gumball you little annoying fucking —," The leader of Fregate snarled and Rosan deftly caught the shorter woman, patting her on the head and carrying her bridal style, knowing that it would piss her off all the more being held like this.

"You would like one of my crewmates, she thinks I'm just as annoying," Rosan chimed, effortlessly holding the struggling, suit wearing, woman and walking out of the room with her, Akemi in tow.

The younger sister giggled the entire time at their antics. This was like clockwork between the two and it was great to see Aiko let her guard down when the redhead was here. She was normally calm and strict when on the job and cooled down significantly when it was just the two of them but Rosan made sure it was impossible for her to remain coolheaded.

"I hate you," Aiko growled. He sure did love to lord around that height of his. She tried punching him on the chest but the first one ended up with her fist hurting and she immediately gave up.

Strong, annoying, muscular brat.

"I haven't heard you say you hate me in a while, I kinda missed it," Rosan hummed, patting her mockingly on the head. "It's refreshing to know that some things don't change, like your temper."

Aiko snarled.

Akemi laughed loudly.

"You're lucky that you can just go in and out whenever you want while we're stuck here waiting for Luffy," Usopp complained to the redhead that suddenly appeared on the ship.

They had no clue how he did it (and Usopp had screamed the first time) but Rosan had a tendency to vanish for who knows what and just suddenly show up again near Luffy. He didn't deign to explain what it was but apparently Zoro knew about it.

"It's difficult for me to stay in one place for long due to the fact that I've been traveling since I was four," Rosan informed him. "Being on the sea brings that feeling of restlessness back so I move around a lot."

It was hard for him to stay still. As a child, it made him a nightmare for Rouge and then Mod... and then Robin... and then Meiko...

You get the point. He was a free spirit.

The sniper nodded at his lying crewmate (he needed to work on them a bit, maybe Usopp would give him pointers in the future) and said, "I know what you mean, I've been sailing the seas since I was two and settling down was really difficult for me but I managed!"

Rosan stared at him for a long moment. "Are you mocking me?" He asked lowly, tilting his head to the side.

Did their sniper think him sailing the sea at just four was something worth making fun of? There was hardly a good situation where a near toddler should be on the ocean alone.

Usopp froze at the question and immediately hid behind Zoro at those piercing eyes boring into him. "O-Of course not! The great captain Usopp doesn't mock anyone!"

"Hm." Rosan eyed him for a moment longer before gazing away from the sniper. Whatever, some lying coward who knew nothing about him, wasn't worth his attention. Let him continue to lie to himself in peace.

Zoro snorted at their interaction. Did Usopp really think everything that came out of their scouts mouth was a lie? Well, he'd find out eventually that the redhead was an honest person and it was clear he also wasn't a fan of liars.

"Rosan, can't you do something to get Luffy out of this?" The swordsman asked.

"I already did," Rosan interjected. "It's his fault that he's working here currently and like I said, I'll bail him out after a week. It's been two days so we have five more to go."

"I don't see what the big idea is," Nami grinned happily, unfazed by their stay here. "We get free food and drinks and it tastes amazing!"

"That's only you," Usopp replied in annoyance. At least Rosan didn't let them die of starvation... mostly. The redhead was so rude sometimes honestly.

Sanji was firmly in Nami's palm. It was rather amusing because he was doing everything in his power to avoid Rosan in the process despite convincing himself that there was no way he was Reaper.

He had yet to give the redhead his promised meal and Rosan had waved Zeff off when the head chef asked if he wanted intervention.

"I can't have the best meal if it's not readily cooked, I don't mind waiting," he replied calmly, causing the old man to nod in respect.

Luffy had still been unsuccessful in recruiting the blonde chef, which was also apart of the reason he hadn't freed his younger brother. They would have stayed here until the rubber boy managed to convince him regardless.

Speaking of which, his captain was currently walking a huge trash bag when he caught sight of his crew lazing about on the Going Merry.

"Luffyyyy," Usopp whined in exasperation. "Let's hurry up and get outta here!"

"I'll try talking to the owner again today," the rubber boy frowned. Zeff was completely unwilling to change his mind no matter what Luffy asked of him. He was steadfast in his decision to keep the pirate here and when he asked Rosan, the redhead told him to deal with his own stupidity for once.

"No, I won't help you again," Rosan replied out of nowhere, shutting Luffy down before he could even open his mouth.

Bah, Rosan was so mean. He was about to replace Ace as the meanest brother!

Conversation between the crew halted, as a massive shadow loomed over them and Rosan angled his head up slightly to see what the cause was.

It was a very large galleon ship with a saber tooth tiger as a figure head. It was nearly triple the size of the Baratie (which was not small at all) and positively eclipsed the Going Merry. It had a standard jolly roger with two hour glasses on either side.

"Oh?" Rosan hummed.

Screaming and panicking began to ensue inside of the restaurant as the ship's jolly roger was instantly recognized.

The Krieg Pirates. This was no coincidence.

"I find it a bit odd, don't you think?" Mod questioned. "It's a miracle that their ship is even able to move."

Mod's observation was spot on. The ship was a complete wreck and it looked more akin to a ghost ship. How it was able to still sail, was a complete mystery to the redhead.

"Looks like they had quite the fun trip," Rosan commented idly. Whatever natural disaster they had run into, sure did it's job in utterly wrecking them.

The man of the hour, Krieg himself, descended from the ship and everyone watched with bated breaths, as he slowly made his way to the entrance of the Baratie.

He was a large, muscular man, with purple-gray hair and distinct sideburns. There was a thick layer of gauze wrapped around his head and he wore a fur-lined coat over a yellow vest with black spots-like motifs.

Gin was carrying him currently and the two entered the restaurant with haste.

Rosan sent his bird to follow after the duo and his crewmates regarded him with curiosity.

"Don't you all want to listen in?" He asked, extending his palm upwards as it began to glow. "Modification: Stream," Rosan thought and his little birds perspective was suddenly being shown to the straw hats and bounty hunters.

Everyone on the ship gasped at the sight of sudden footage and they clambered around to get a better sight, until Rosan made it larger for them.

"You're all too close to me, I'm not a fan of that."

He didn't trust them (barring Zoro) enough to be comfortable with their proximity. His family had made him far more tolerable but he was just that. Tolerable. He wouldn't go out of his way to be crowded.

They backed a bit away from him and he nodded his head in thanks for the lack of questions, ignoring the curious gazes and focusing on the stream.

The group watched with varying degrees of confusion, as Don Krieg began begging the restaurant for food, even choosing to prostrate himself in the process. It was a far cry from what they had heard about him and his personality.

It was clear that he was in the same boat as Gin had been in before. The captain had not eaten in many days and out of desperation, they had come to the Baratie to fulfill their hunger.

Unfortunately, their reputation was well known and it was said that the Krieg Pirates were a cruel bunch who relied on trickery and deceit.

Gin tried to beg them when Krieg collapsed, but they were not spared a single sympathetic glance.

"Would you have fed them?" Mod asked curiously. She always liked to ask what her charge would do in these situations just to make him think! It was fun imagining what he'd do in certain scenarios and she liked to make poke his brain.

"If I had something to gain out of it," Rosan began, watching the chefs refuse to give Krieg food. "I am not one to trust rumors, but those about pirates hold at least some merit. If Don Krieg had something valuable, I'd feed him in exchange for it but otherwise I'd turn in his bounty. That's probably the most valuable thing about him," he finished.

His armada was weak, he was weak and he doubted the man had something Rosan would want. His 17 million bounty was very likely the best thing about him so the redhead would have just killed him and turned in the body.

"And if he promised to repay you after you fed him and lied about it?" Mod prodded.

"He'd find out what it means to lie to me of course."

She nodded, satisfied at his response. It was what she expected him to say and the purple haired Devil Fruit had no problem with his response. She had almost certainly become much more compassionate over the years but she was still Rosan's mother and they shared many traits. That compassion only extended to people she cared about much like her son and Mod wouldn't bat an eye if a person she cared little for were to die.

She may have acted more human then Rosan these days, but that would never change what she truly was.

They continued to watch the scene unfold in a comfortable silence, interested in seeing what they would do with Krieg. It didn't look like the chefs were planning on feeding the Don and for good reason too. The pirate was a terror in the East Blue and a chance like this, where he was completely vulnerable to capture, didn't appear often.

"This is the best chance they've got to turn in his bounty," Johnny nodded, agreeing with the sentiment of all in the restaurant.

"He's kinda stupid for just showing up in such a weakened condition," Usopp muttered, no longer afraid of the giant galleon after fully taking in its appearance.

The crowd had begun to regain their bravado at the sorry sight of Krieg and they began jeering at the duo, threatening to throw anything near them at the two.

"Once we feed him, he'll pillage us immediately!" A chef growled with his arms crossed. "We shouldn't even give him a drop of water!"

"I won't do anything…" Krieg interrupted, causing them all to pause. He prostrated himself lowly to the ground and weakly said, "Once I eat, I promise I'll leave quietly. So... please... help me."

Gin looked petrified at the sight of his esteemed captain begging and urged him to stop but Krieg remained rooted to his spot.

The group on the Going Merry watched in surprise, as Sanji kicked Patty unconscious, holding a plate of food and a drink in his hand. The blonde chef placed both in front of Don Krieg and urged Gin to have him eat it.

"That wasn't very smart of him," Rosan said softly, much to the confusion of the crew.

"Why? Because he's a pirate?" Nami asked and the redhead shook his head.

"No, because he lied about leaving quietly."

They froze at his blunt declaration.

"W-What do you mean?" Usopp asked in slight fear. If what Rosan was saying was true, then they were all going to be in danger soon!

"I'm good at detecting when a person is lying," the redhead told them. "When Krieg said he was going to leave quietly, that was a lie. I could tell from his tone, but he's probably going to attack the moment he regains his energy."

They, barring Zoro, somewhat doubted his claims (why did everyone doubt his words? Was he that good at being incognito?) but almost like being spoiled to a movie, they watched Krieg devour his meal, slam his bottle on the deck and clothesline the unsuspecting Sanji across the room.

"Still doubting me?" Rosan hummed to the petrified crew.

They glanced at the redhead who correctly predicted it and wondered how he was so easily able to tell, shakily denying his question in the process.

They didn't miss how unbothered he was at the fact that Krieg seemed to be at full strength but the screaming of the fleeing patrons, grabbed their attention.

Rosan's bird chirped at the mass of people and flew out of their way, cutting off the connection to the inside and disappearing from their sight.

"What do we do?!" Usopp asked, tempted to join the fleeing patrons.

"Isn't it obvious? We're going in there," Zoro remarked and the sniper's jaw dropped in disbelief at that.

"Yeah, Luffy's still in there," Rosan agreed. "We can't leave without our captain, idiot."

"Are you scared?" The swordsman asked with a smirk on his face.

"Afraid you might die?" The scout tilted his head curiously.

"D-Don't be silly!" Usopp barked in embarrassment. Who wouldn't be afraid of dying?! These two just had no sense of self preservation!

"Don't worry, I won't protect you," Rosan assured and Usopp relaxed.

Then he registered his words.

"DON'T YOU MEAN YOU WILL?!"

Nami and Zoro couldn't help but laugh at Rosan's silence.

When the crew entered the restaurant (sans Johnny, Yosaku and Nami), they were surprised to see every single chef surrounding Sanji with guns.

"Are you a spy for Krieg, Sanji?" One of the chefs asked with fury on his face. "We ain't letting you in the kitchen! We've had enough of your behavior."

Sanji stared at them for a moment and then spread his arms out. "If you want to stop me, then fire," he demanded without a hint of care on his face.

"I know they're irredeemable villains, but my job is to feed people, not to judge them. It gets too complicated otherwise," the chef smirked.

"If a man is hungry, I feed him! That's a cook's job."

Rosan appraised his words with a hum. It seems the boy had been incredibly serious about becoming a chef all those years ago. He had taken his duty as a cook to heart and that resolve he had seen when Sanji was just a prisoner, was still there, looking even stronger than before.

He wondered what happened to the child to strengthen his conviction to this level.

"I think Luffy might see the same thing you saw all those years ago," Mod remarked. It was really quite amusing (and a little suspicious) that the child they had saved 11 years ago, was about to be recruited onto their ship but the world worked in mysterious ways so she wouldn't question it too much.

Rosan hummed curiously. He had figured that Sanji was a kind person, seeing as he was a prince but only wanted to become a chef, but this went past his expectations. He wondered if something happened to the blonde to make him like this.

Clearly it went past his fellow chefs too because Patty sucker punched the back of his head and ordered the remaining cooks to restrain him so that he couldn't do anything else.

The large chef bent over and seemed to be rummaging for something, only to reveal a ridiculous lobster themed bazooka.

"Should we have Ram absorb that?" Mod asked in amusement. It was a weapon and the silver haired woman was the ultimate weapon. It made sense for her to absorb all manner of weapons

"S-Stop messing around, Auntie! I can already transform into a bazooka! W-Who the hell did they even commission to make a lobster themed weapon?!" The ring balked in confusion. It was so, so ugly!

What a complete insult to all weapons out there! She was tempted to eat it just so that it didn't exist anymore!

Patty laughed and taunted Krieg in victory, before firing the bazooka at the pirate captain.

Rosan idly pulled Usopp out of the way of the flying debris that was the broken door and hummed at the lack of blood… and body parts.

"T-Thanks, Rosan," Usopp stammered at the save. Maybe he wasn't as rude as he acted! Yeah, Rosan was just a tsundere! Saying one thing and actually meaning the other!

The redhead nodded at his thanks, before dropping him unceremoniously on the ground with a thud.

"That's my one save for the day, good luck surviving anything else," he said ruthlessly.

"You're the worst," Usopp grumbled in annoyance. Nevermind. Definitely not a tsundere. He was just a genuine asshole.

Seriously, the least he could do was extend a helping hand when they needed it but nooo. He was content to be as annoying as possible!

Once the dust settled, they were surprised to see that the shot had only infuriated a, now revealed, armor wearing Krieg.

The chefs let out gasps of horror, as Krieg revealed his built in weapons and sprayed them all down with bullets... that didn't kill them?

Usopp screeched in fear.

"He's probably over reliant on that armor," Rosan commented, unfazed by what had just happened due to the fact that every single chef was still alive. If Krieg really was as reliant on that armor as the redhead thought, then the Mod Mod no mi user was a terrible matchup for him.

After all, he could just modify the man's armor. Whether it be transforming it into a different material or making it too tight to wear. People who relied on fighting with material items, would find that facing Rosan was never a good time.

"You're not fair, Auntie Mod," Ram tsked at the crimson eyed woman, who only regarded her with a shocked expression.

"A-A lot of Devil Fruits are absurd! I'm just one of many!" Mod tried to defend herself with a look of protest on her. "I actually used to be much more fair before I was combined with the blank zoan but even then, I think I'm much easier to deal with than being completely intangible!"

"Whatever you say, hack," The mix eyed girl scoffed. She remembered her Auntie mentioning how her modifications were temporary before combining with the Zoan but that mattered little to her because she didn't know that version of Auntie.

"You're just trying to irritate me right now!"

Rosan was only half focused on the two children's arguments ("I will seriously end you, Rosan") and watched with a tilted head as Zeff brought a large sack of what could only be food so that Krieg could feed his men.

"There, that should be enough to feed all 100 of them," the gruff owner said.

"Owner?!"

"Chef Zeff?!"

"What are you doing?!"

The chefs were understandably shocked by the owner's display. First Sanji, now him?! What was going on right now?! Were they really that afraid of Don Krieg? Why would they do something so incredibly stupid?!

Krieg's eyes went wide at something the other chef's said.

"Did you say Zeff?!"

"Is that owner famous?" Zoro asked curiously.

"You could say that," Rosan replied. "He used to be a pirate by the name of Red-Leg Zeff. He was quite strong too, they say he never used his hands in battle, only his legs. I'm surprised though... Last I heard, he had been sailing the Grand Line and it's not easy to reenter the Blue Seas once you've left them."

Age had changed his appearance a bit from his bounty poster but it was still unmistakable. Rosan just didn't care enough because unlike Kuro, this man had clearly given up a life of piracy to do something that he loved.

"You know a lot," Usopp pointed out incredulously. Whenever the redhead actually said something that wasn't an insult, it was surprisingly useful and insightful! Perhaps in his quest for knowledge, he had become such a formidable liar like him!

"…" Rosan didn't deign to answer the long nose, idly preparing for the possibility of getting attacked despite how weak everyone here was.

Something told him the Straw Hats weren't leaving here quietly.

"The only thing I lacked in my journey through the Grand Line, was information but with your logbook, I'll be able to conquer that sea easily!" Krieg declared excitedly.

After learning of Zeff's identity, the Don had demanded the owner's logbook of his journey through the Grand Line but the former pirate had refused, claiming that it was a testament to his crew's adventure.

Krieg didn't appreciate that reply.

"Then I'll take it by force! I didn't succeed the first time, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm Don Krieg!" He roared arrogantly.

"I'M THE STRONGEST OF THEM ALL! I HAVE THE AMBITION, THE STRENGTH, THE SHIPS, THE MEN, I JUST LACKED THE KNOWLEDGE!" He roared proudly. "I'll take that log, assemble another armada, conquer the Grand Line, and capture the One Piece!"

"You? Capture the One Piece? Don't be ridiculous, someone as stupid and weak as you could never be King of the Pirates."

Everyone paused in disbelief at the insulting words and Krieg mechanically turned around to see that the unknown speaker was a bronze redhead with heterochromia. He was currently staring at the Don without a hint of fear on his expression, head tilted to the side as they made eye contact.

Usopp's jaw dropped at the redhead's stupidity and he hastily tried to pull him out of the way, to very little success. What the hell was he thinking?! Bringing the attention onto them?! Was he insane?! Why was he so hard to pull?!

"Yeah! I'm the one who's gonna be King of the Pirates!" Luffy declared bluntly, smiling at his brother who nodded in approval.

"Hey, you two should stay out of this! You're no match for him!" Patty exclaimed, taking a step forward to try and dissuade the maniacs from dying so early.

They effortlessly ignored the chef, much to his outrage.

"Gold armor, 50 ships, a massive ego and yet you couldn't even last a week in the Grand Line. Do you really think a log of someone else's book will help with your severe lack of skill? You're as embarrassing as you are stupid, Don Krieg," Rosan said, tilting his head at the Don.

Come on now, surely his arrogance wasn't this prominent. Mod-chan told him that a journey through the Grand Line would be different for everyone because of how random the sea was so what did Krieg think was going to happen?

Everyone looked at Rosan like he had personally signed a death wish while Luffy and Zoro chuckled at his insult.

Krieg felt a vein throb at his words and turned fully towards Rosan, food forgotten at the moment as he took a step forward. "What the fuck did you just say?" He asked threateningly. Who did this no named idiot think he was messing with?

"I said it's impressive how you're still alive despite such a difficult journey," the redhead hummed.

"That's not what you said," The leader of the pirate armada growled.

"So you did hear me. I feared that the Grand Line took more than your dignity away. You shouldn't act dumb, its dangerously similar to your normal personality," the redhead advised wisely.

"Rosan, stop!" Usopp hissed. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" He whispered, urging the redhead to move and scowling at not seeing him budge at all.

He shrieked at the sight of Krieg revealing his weaponry again and hastily moved out of the way of his line of sight, leaving the redhead alone to stare down the man neutrally.

The captain had enough of this dumbasses smartass attitude. "WATCH YOUR MOUTH, WORM!" The man roared and began firing at the lone redhead who made no effort to move out the way.

Rosan stared at the man with a tilted head and instantly turned Ram into a floating shield, blocking every single bullet effortlessly while his hands lay lazily at his side.

Everyone who chose to watch the, presumable, carnage, blinked and then opened their mouths in surprise.

Where… Where did that shield come from?!

Luffy laughed cheerfully at their dumbfounded looks. Did they really think this guy was gonna be able to beat Rosan?! They were all really stupid!

"Shields are lame," Ram pouted. Why didn't he just turn her into his gloves and incinerate every single bullet! Sure the people behind them would have died but who cared about the small details!

"The ultimate weapon shouldn't be complaining about what she turns into," Mod teased.

"I-I'm not complaining! I'm just stating my genuine opinion! Unless Father wants to bludgeon people to death with the shield, I don't see how its useful! The best defense is a good offense!"

"That's not the…" Mod immediately gave up on trying to teach the silver haired woman and just let it be.

Ram was impossible sometimes.

"Quite the temper you have," Rosan commented over the stationary shield, not a scratch on the weapon. "I don't know why your so upset. You're not the one who's going to conquer the Grand Line."

"I am!" Luffy grinned challengingly.

Krieg's eyes bugged in rage at the audacity of these two. "I don't think these jokes are very funny, so how about I crush you both right here and now?"

They thought that they could just sail the seas after Don Krieg himself had managed to fail?! Utterly preposterous! He'd get rid of them then he'd take this ship and its logbook.

Two on one was overkill but apparently Krieg didn't know that.

"I don't need Rosan for this," Luffy agreed confidently. He cocked his fist back in preparation for battle and eyed the tall pirate without a hint of fear on his face.

Krieg looked back and forth at the two crewmates and growled at the sight of the redhead being unarmed again (they weren't taking him serious) but he took another look at Zeff and calmed his temper.

"I'll deal with you two later," he declared, picking up the large sack of food. "I'm going to feed my underlings, anyone who doesn't wanna die can escape the restaurant. The only things I want are the logbook and this ship."

"Anyone who stays… It'll be a bother but I'll bury you into the sea, remember that."

With that, Krieg departed from the restaurant and paused for a long moment to look Rosan in the eye.

The redhead tilted his head and glanced up at the near 8ft man, unfazed by such a silly intimidation tactic. "You shouldn't stare at me for so long. People will get the wrong idea and I for one, would rather die then take you on a date."

Krieg felt his veins throb but scoffed and promised himself that he wouldn't let the redhead escape, before making his way to the beaten Dreadnaught Sabre.

"You seem to relish in antagonizing every single foe we meet."

"It's their fault for making it so easy. I just have to point out a couple of things and they start frothing at the mouth."

"D-Do you have a death wish?!" Usopp gaped at the crazy redhead. Didn't he hear all those things about Krieg?! What was he doing? Was he trying to get their crew annihilated?!

Oh no… W-What if their close proximity made him a target now! He had been right next to Rosan before the bronze man had gotten fired on so it wouldn't be illogical to think that they were allies.

"You worry too much about the stupidest things," Rosan countered, causing Usopp to splutter. "Luffy will you handle this or should I teach that silly pirate a lesson?"

"Leave it to me!" the rubber boy grinned.

They noticed Gin apologizing to Sanji and Luffy recalled something.

"I'm sorry Sanji, I never imagined it would come to this…" A defeated Gin bowed his head.

Surprisingly, Zeff was the one who spoke to him.

"That's not something you should apologize for, underling. Each cook acted as if they were right, that's all."

The chefs, sans Sanji, began protesting loudly at what the owner had to say.

"Don't tell me you're taking Sanji's side?!" Patty roared.

"That's right! He's responsible for this whole thing!" Another exclaimed in anger.

"He's going to put your precious restaurant out of business!"

"That's right isn't it, Sanji?! You'd do anything to be the head chef!"

"SHUT UP, YOU IDIOTS!" Zeff roared in fury.

All the protesting died down at the anger in his voice and the chefs went ramrod straight.

"Have any of you ever felt what it's like to be on the brink of starvation?! Losing food and water on the high seas… Do you know how scary it is?! Do you know how hard it is?!" The owner of the Baratie asked, tone barating them due to their ignorance.

"W-What do you mean, Owner?" Patty asked dumbly.

"The difference between Sanji and you all, is whether you know it or not," Zeff said.

Sanji said nothing, only taking a long drag of his cigarette.

"It seems like just being free from his family didn't end the hardships Sanji had to face," Mod frowned sympathetically. His life was full of difficulties that seemed to never end and it reminded her of Rosan's own struggles.

"He's survived his trials and has become stronger as a result. It's even given him an even stronger resolve that will benefit him," Rosan replied.

When given a trial, there were two choices you could make. Crumble underneath the challenge, or rise and overcome it, becoming a new person in the process and discarding the previous version of you.

Rosan had overcome one challenge when he was nine and he had almost completely crumbled underneath another one when he was twelve. Even now, he was trying to recover from that soul crushing defeat but when you crumbled, it was difficult to piece yourself back together alone.

"You're doing good, Rosan," Mod assured quietly, regal voice soothing as she was filled with a desire to hug her charge. "One step at a time, we're in no rush."

He nodded gently at her words. Mod-chan was the only reason he hadn't fallen into an irreversible despair. She was his foundation and kept him focused, constantly being the voice of reason that did its best to drown out his self loathing nature. If not for her, he'd have died long ago.

He owed the woman more than she knew...

Even despite his doubts about her true intentions.

Mod grinned fondly at her charge, sending him overwhelming amounts of love. They would always have each others back. Nothing could change that and despite the few hiccups that were her fault, the love they had for each other would never falter.

"You two have the most adorable bond ever!" Ram gushed. She hoped that one day she could have a proper father and daughter relationship with her creator like the mother and son relationship these two had!

"Shut up, Ram."

"Y-Yes Ma'am!"

"If you all have time to grumble, leave the restaurant from the back door already!" Zeff declared with a wave of his hand.

The chefs looked conflicted at his order and stared hesitantly at the man. He was just telling them to leave?

"I'll stay and fight," Patty decided. "I couldn't bear it if I was just beaten and didn't fight back."

That seemed to strengthen the resolve of his fellow chefs because they joined him.

"I'll stay too! This is the restaurant where I work!"

"We don't have anywhere else to go anyway!"

"ARE YOU ALL STUPID?!" Gin yelled in disbelief. "YOU SAW HOW POWERFUL THE DON IS, RIGHT?!"

Were they actually planning on fighting the Don?! That was suicidal! They stood no chance against the leader of the Krieg Pirates and he really would bury them in the Sea!

"Hey, Gin," Sanji interrupted his raging.

The man looked up in surprise at the chef who had saved him.

"Let me tell you something. As a cook, it's my duty to feed someone who's hungry. But…"

Sanji effortlessly kicked up a fallen table and sat on it's edges.

"...soon, we'll be facing plunderers with full bellies. If I have to beat your crewmates to death, don't complain. If someone's going to take over this restaurant, I'll slaughter them without hesitation, and that goes for you too!"

Gin remained silent, stunned by his words and resolve.

"Wow, your change is like night and day. I'm impressed to see how much you've grown," Rosan commented and Sanji's gaze snapped to him in surprise.

"What do you mean by that?" The chef asked warily.

"Still playing stubborn? I can respect that, I'm rather stubborn myself," the redhead nodded, dropping the conversation. It wasn't his job to forcefully make someone see something. He much preferred seeing the shock on their face as they came to their own realizations.

Honestly, he wasn't even sure why he revealed his identity to Sanji so boldly in the first place. Perhaps it was a form of curiosity, perhaps he was tired of keeping it secret, perhaps he trusted the blonde who owed him his life to a degree. He didn't know and he didn't care but the fact that Luffy had practically already cemented the chefs role into the crew, probably played a part.

Besides, no one would ever believe someone's claim that Rosan was Reaper unless they had overwhelming evidence. His skillset had so much variety that he fought nothing like the Angel of Death currently.

His controlling the field style was handy but it was wholly unnecessary currently and deep down, he was a showoff and his current style reflected that. Reaper's fighting style was incredibly effective at winning decisively however so if he was ever pushed into a corner, bringing it out would be a bad sign for his opponent.

Sanji clenched his cigarette a bit harder at the redhead and let the conversation drop. He had more things to worry about than the identity of someone, who he admittedly looked up to (practically worshipped) as a kid, who had gone missing for 10 years. Once this battle was over, he could fully dwell on the overwhelming evidence of Rosan being Reaper but until then, he would push it out his mind...

Well, that's what he was telling himself at least.

"Gin, you said you didn't know anything about the Grand Line, but you've been there!" Luffy pointed out in confusion.

Gin gulped and clutched his head. "I… I know nothing. It's all a crazy fog. Something happened on our seventh day out. But was it a dream or reality? It's all mixed up in my head… Just one man, one man wiped out 50 ships!"

Everyone let out noises of disbelief at the revelation.

"WHAT?!"

"JUST ONE PERSON?!"

Gin revealed to them that the only reason the main ship hadn't been completely destroyed, was due to the arrival of a freak storm.

"I don't even want to remember that man! That man's piercing hawk eyes, eyes that could kill with just a glance!"

"What?!"

That was Zoro who said that and at the same time, Rosan paused.

"They had a run in with Hawk-Eye Mihawk?" The redhead mused. It was no wonder they had been nearly wiped out. Few would be capable of escaping from the Worlds Strongest Swordsman and even fewer would make it out alive.

Even a freak storm was seen as more favorable then a run in with that man. Perhaps the Krieg Pirates truly did get unlucky and would have made a much better run if they didn't run into one of the literal worst options on the planet...

"Nah, they suck. They'd have died in 2 weeks instead," Ram shrugged.

He agreed.

As they discussed the identity of the man, Luffy spoke up.

"Who's Hawk-eye, Rosan?"

"The world's strongest swordsman," the redhead replied. "If Zoro wants to be the strongest swordsman, he needs to fight and defeat him."

Which would be impossible right now. Zoro overestimated his abilities currently and wasn't aware of just how strong some people really were.

The green haired man nodded at that. "He's the reason I went out to see. I'm searching for him."

"The Grand Line… what an interesting place," Rosan hummed.

"That's where we have to go to find him then…" Zoro grinned challengingly.

"I'm getting excited just thinking about it!" Luffy laughed happily.

"W-We can still not go there," Usopp cried comically.

"Are you guys stupid or what?" Sanji suddenly asked the group. "Guys like you die before anyone else."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to call us stupid," Zoro replied, making the blonde chef raise a brow. "When I decided to become the world's strongest swordsman, I decided to devote my life to it. Nobody can call me stupid but me."

"Me too, me too!" Luffy agreed, laughing all the while.

"As a man, I must agree," Usopp lied and Zoro hit him with the butt of his sword.

"If I die before achieving my goal, that just means I wasn't good enough to be alive," Rosan stated simply. "I'm not afraid of death. That's all there is to it."

Zoro and Luffy nodded in unison at his words. They were both the exact same way.

"What nonsense," Sanji scoffed.

Unseen to everyone, Zeff smiled a small smile at the interactions going on.

"DO YOU GUYS EVEN UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION?!" Patty screamed at them in disbelief. "Out there is the huge Galleon that belongs to Don Krieg, Commodore of the pirate fleet! If you wanna dream, do it after surviving this life-or-death crisis!"

"How scary," Rosan hummed, utterly unmoved by Patty's words. The burly chef glared at him due to his neutral tone and he waved back, much to the amusement of Luffy and Sanji and the further irritation of Patty.

Honestly, if he were as weak as the chef, he'd be scared too. Rosan was sure even his four year old version would give this guy a run for him money.

"Rosan gets it!" Usopp nodded in agreement.

"That was sarcasm, Usopp. There's no human alive that scares me."

"R-Right! I knew that!" Man, his redheaded crewmate seriously needed to layoff the lying sometimes. Even Usopp had periods of downtime but Rosan had to have been a compulsive liar or something!

"It's a good thing you said human, how is your fear of giant lizards?"

"...Mod-chan, did you know that you're one of the most gorgeous people on the planet but that's only when you aren't talking?"

Mod's jaw dropped at Rosan's sheer audacity, and her sharp red gaze narrowed in disbelief. "T-That is no way to talk to me, you rude —,"

"Language!" Ram chimed in eagerly.

Mod gaped at the two. She wasn't even planning on cursing! "I'll see you both tonight and you can see how gorgeous I am when I'm angry! I wonder how confident you'll be then!" She harrumphed.

Rosan wisely remained silent.

Ram was not as smart. Before the silver haired woman could even utter a syllable, the Devil Fruit ruthlessly gripped her cheek and reduced the ring to just whining.

Honestly, his weapon was such an idiot.

It didn't take long for them to hear the battle cries of the, now rejuvenated, pirate crew and the chefs prepared themselves for battle.

"Try not to die, Sanji," Rosan called quietly. "You still owe me that best meal so show me how strong you've gotten."

"Worry about yourself," the blonde muttered in annoyance. He could whip up his best meal for the redhead but he just knew he could get better so he didn't want to do it yet.

"Do you still cry a lot?" The redhead asked softly, tilting his head at the irritated chef.

Sanji bit his cigarette even harder then before. "...No I don't cry. I don't know who told you about that," he bit out. Another piece of evidence in a case that should have long been shut.

Rosan hummed. "Good. I wouldn't want tears on my meal. You certainly did cry a lot when you were a child."

"S-SHUT UP!" Sanji barked, not liking how much this redhead knew about him. "STOP PRETENDING LIKE YOU KNOW ME AND AFTER THIS IS OVER I'LL HAVE YOUR MEAL READY!"

Rosan nearly snorted. What was that one saying? Right. Never meet your heroes. Sanji was learning that first hand because he wasn't a hero in the first place. "Don't worry, I'll accept it sometime during our journey together. There's no rush."

Sanji felt himself gain a tick mark. "I never said I was going with you guys!" He barked in annoyance.

"Right."

Sanji felt his annoyance grow. The more he talked to him, the less he believed that this was Reaper. They were just too different! He didn't even kill Don Krieg for sizing him up like that!

After this was over, he'd just skip all pretenses and ask the man outright because this was ridiculous.

Was he a spy for Judge?! How did he know so much about him? Only Germa knew he cried alot as a kid and after encountering Reaper, he trained himself hard and stopped crying as much.

"GET READY! WE CAN HEAR THEIR WAR CRIES!" Someone called out.