Chapter 39 – Baratie 02.

[Chapter Size: 2215 Words.]

Third Person POV

Baratie, East Blue.

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"I... I want you to join my crew!" He finally said, creating total silence in the place. Everyone, from the staff to Luffy's acquaintances and customers, was stunned by the revelation.

"Hm?"

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"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!!" The pink-haired woman with snail-like eyebrows shouted in astonishment, echoing the small commotion throughout the restaurant.

'I can't believe the person I'd encounter in this place was neither Sanji nor a female version of him, but his own sister!' Luffy smiled, looking at the pink-haired woman. He acted so weird because he was shocked and couldn't let this woman go, so he went straight to the point.

"What are you talking about, so suddenly!" The woman shouted with a comical face at Luffy.

'She's even more comical than in the anime, her story is different from the original, so I believe her personality is more like Sanji's, since her story should be the same as his. Although she doesn't seem like a pervert, that's good.' Luffy reflected as he analyzed the woman in front of him.

"Hahaha, sorry for it being so sudden, but I've already decided. I want you on my crew, and I won't change my mind!!" Luffy smiled confidently.

"How do you ask such a thing?! No, you're randomly stating it as if I don't have a choice!" She shouted again, with a comical face.

"As I said, sorry for it being so sudden, but I've already decided; you're joining my pirate crew!" Luffy spoke, while everyone was stunned by his words, as only Luffy and the waitress could be heard throughout the entire place.

"Don't decide that for others!" She shouted back and continued with an angry tone, wanting to kick Luffy.

"And no, I'm not joining your pirate crew!" She said firmly.

"It doesn't matter, I've already decided! I already consider you part of the group!" Luffy crossed his arms with a confident smile. He really didn't want to force anyone to join the group, but he was sure this woman would be like the original Sanji; he just had to insist enough to make her leave this restaurant, so he acted more like the original Luffy here.

"NO!"

"No matter what, I won't accept your no!"

"I refuse!"

"I refuse to accept your refusal!"

"WHAT KIND OF LOGIC IS THIS!?"

"Prepare our food, for it will be your last day working here. HAHAHAHA!" Luffy smiled and laughed at the end good-naturedly. He finally found his cook, and a great beauty on top of that.

"I already said, NO!" The woman had a vein on her forehead as she shouted. This time, she was irritated by this strong, tattooed man who never removed that arrogant and annoying smile. Without holding back, the woman spun her body once again, while her hand was still being held, she gave another kick to his head.

*Boom!*

The sound of the impact was heard throughout the restaurant, but it didn't surprise anyone with any surprise, as the commotion had already caught the attention of the entire place while Luffy said he already considered this woman part of the crew.

"OW! You have a powerful kick there! Great, I'll take you." Luffy smiled, with the delicate leg stuck next to his face, unfazed.

Contrary to what most expected, Luffy's neck didn't even move with the woman's kick. He seemed totally oblivious to the fact that he had just received this blow, as his smile didn't waver a millimeter.

"What the hell are you!" The woman shouted amazed. Her kick was always powerful, no matter what she kicked, but now there was a monster in front of her who didn't care about receiving her blows.

"Me? I'm your captain, didn't I mention?" Luffy joked, smiling at her.

"I'm not a member of your crew, why do you insist on this?" She spoke dejectedly, tired of the strange man's persistence.

While the two conversed in the middle of the restaurant, the Straw Hat crew couldn't be more stunned by the scene.

"Luffy really is relentless..." Usopp commented at the table, observing the situation.

"But this woman seems pretty hard to convince to join the crew..." Zoro commented beside him.

"Calm down, Yamato! You're breaking the table!" Kuina shouted at an enraged Yamato, as she cracked the table with her grip, glaring at Luffy.

"I doubt he can convince this woman. Clearly, she doesn't like how Luffy is approaching her." Nami complained beside.

"Ouch!"

"SHARKY!"

"Chouchou-sama said Luffy-sama should offer her some pedigree!" Shirahoshi innocently said, making everyone facepalm.

"That's dog food!" Nami responded, frustrated.

"Brother Luffy is so cool!" Jhonny and Yosaku exclaimed in unison, admiring Luffy's persistence in the situation.

"Skorkydoso sȳz issa naejot sagon ābrītsos!" said the woman named Jundiny.

"It's true, my love, the love among the young ones is quite active. This young man already has so many women and is starting life, hohohoho!" Kyrti, the man, replied with a laugh, continuing their conversation. "He reminds me of my youth. I was so popular with women..." He said nostalgically.

"Oh kessa? se gaomagon ao iēdrosa emagon contacts lēda these ābrar? issi ao sure īles? kesrio syt skori nyke rhēdan ao, īlē olvie shy!" She said simply.

"Don't talk like that. After I met you, I only had eyes for you and no one else!" He defended himself.

"Who's talking about lovers!" Yamato, Nami, and Kuina shouted at the same time, dissatisfied with how the man spoke about Luffy and other women.

"Are all these women jealous?" Usopp cautiously asked beside.

"And shy..." Zoro pointed to the mermaid at one end of the table.

Shirahoshi had a deep blush on her face in her corner after these words, unable to lift her face as she fidgeted with her hair shyly.

"I have to ask my father for permission before having Luffy-sama as my husband..." She said timidly.

"Don't say such things like that!" Nami shouted at her.

Now, the scene with Luffy and the pink-haired woman in the middle of the restaurant...

Luffy looked at her and spoke with an apologetic tone.

"Sorry, that was uncouth of me. First of all, may I know your name?" Luffy spoke calmly now, releasing his hand, which had been stuck to the woman's arm until then.

The woman looked at him and spoke, crossing her arms, as Luffy released his hand.

"It's impolite to ask for a name without introducing yourself first." She said, raising an eyebrow.

Luffy opened an even bigger smile and spoke so naturally that it seemed like he had repeated this phrase ten thousand times.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will rule the seas, and you?"

"I am Reiju, just Reiju, nice to meet you. Wait, rule the seas? You seem strong, but that doesn't seem possible." She said, looking at Luffy like a fool.

"I might not do it if I didn't have a cook since I'll need to eat a lot while sailing and conquering stuff. But don't worry, now I have you!" Luffy would try to mess with her at any possible opportunity now.

"Huh? I already said no!" She insisted angrily.

Luffy would try to provoke her even more, but a thunderous voice interrupted their conversation.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE!?" The voice roared from the kitchen entrance, and a man with a big hat and a peg leg appeared in both of their views.

"Owner-San! A man is trying to steal Miss Reiju! Do something!" One of the waiters shouted quickly upon seeing the owner of the place.

"Hm? Is that true?" The man referred to as the owner, Zeff, looked at Luffy in front of Reiju and scratched his chin, thinking of something.

"You can take this stinky brat if you want, I'll give you a discount. No, I'll even pay for your lunch..."

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Everyone, whether waiter, customers, the crew, or even Luffy and Reiju, all fell to the floor stunned by this.

"HOW CAN YOU SPEAK LIKE THAT, OLD MAN!" Reiju shouted angrily.

"Sir, he can't take Miss Reiju!"

"Stop this, my lord!"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTHS AND GET BACK TO WORK!" Zeff roared at them to shut up.

"AND YOU, REIJU, YOU STINKY BRAT, IF YOU WANT TO LEAVE WITH THIS MAN, FINISH YOUR WORKDAY FIRST!" He said and went back towards the kitchen without waiting for her response.

"WHO SAID I'M LEAVING!" Reiju was furious with Zeff's suggestion.

Luffy, finding the situation amusing, laughed without any embarrassment in front of his future cook: "HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Reiju, now more irritated, retorted as she crossed her arms: "And you! Don't find this funny!"

Luffy, still laughing, teased: "I just wanted a cook, didn't expect such an entertaining show!"

A stunned waiter, muttering to himself: "These pirates are crazier than usual today..."

Zeff from the kitchen shouted back, "AND YOU, PIRATE, IF YOU MAKE MORE MESS, YOU'LL HAVE TO CLEAN EVERYTHING UP AFTERWARD!"

Luffy, with a mischievous smile, replied, "Alright, old man, I'll behave... for now!"

Customers in the restaurant, observing the chaos, exchanged surprised glances.

"Well, Luffy, nice meeting you, but I'm taking your table's order to the kitchen, and I'm not joining your pirate crew. Goodbye!" Reiju said, not giving Luffy a chance to react, and quickly walked away.

With nothing else to do but watch the waitress's back, Luffy returned to his companions, who stared at him like hawks, especially the women.

"What the hell was that?" Nami shouted at him as soon as he sat at the table.

"Hahaha, I was recruiting our cook!" Luffy said, smiling, and noticed some odd behaviors.

"Hey, why is Shirahoshi acting like that?" Luffy asked curiously.

The mermaid in question was all red, unable to look at him, as she placed both hands on each cheek and turned her face as if she were thinking of something embarrassing, making a rather cute expression, in Luffy's opinion.

"Nothing you need to know!" Kuina said angrily.

"Is that how you invite someone?" Jhonny and his partner, Yosaku, asked Luffy as if they were talking to their idol.

"OF COURSE THAT'S NOT HOW YOU DO IT!" Usopp shouted, giving two punches to the men.

"Anyway, she'll be coming to the ship soon; I have no doubt about that!" The captain said with a smile on his face.

"She didn't seem to want that..." Zoro said calmly.

"Don't worry, before they even realize it, she'll already be sailing with us." Luffy insisted confidently.

It didn't take long for the food to arrive at the table, brought by other waiters who looked grumpy at Luffy, trying to snatch the beauty of the restaurant from them until recently.

"Hmmm! This is really good!" Shirahoshi exclaimed, trying new flavors.

"Ouch!"

"Indeed, it's great food."

"Why do you only eat raw salmon?" Kuina shouted at Yamato.

"Because it's my favorite food!" She said confidently.

'Favorite food? Or did she read that in Oden's diary?' Luffy thought as he watched Kaido's daughter devour all those fish.

While they ate, making quite a noise for almost an hour, an unexpected event occurred.

*BOOM!*

The restaurant door swung open, and Fullbody appeared soaked and injured through the doors.

His gaze swept everyone in the restaurant, but his expression intensified when he looked at a certain table in a corner.

"You!!" He shouted upon seeing the group that destroyed his ship.

"He came here again?" Usopp said.

Hearing this, Fullbody could only clench his fists even harder.

"I'll destroy you, I swear, as soon as I get in touch with my superiors! Hm? OUCH!!"

While making a threat filled with hatred towards the crew, a shadow appeared behind him, giving no time to react, and the marine was kicked aside, falling unconscious.

This startled almost everyone in the restaurant, well, almost everyone.

The shadow revealed itself as it began to enter the place, showing to be an injured pirate.

"Him? Wait, I forgot he was inside Fullbody's ship. Hahahaha!" Luffy remembered Gin from canonical events and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"What are you laughing at?"

"HAHAHAHA! I FORGOT ABOUT THIS GUY, BUT I CAN'T HELP BUT LAUGH, NOT WHEN I REMEMBER THROWING THAT CANNONBALL WHEN HE WAS INSIDE THE SHIP, IMAGINE HIM BEING CRUSHED BY A CRANE BALL WITH INCREASED GRAVITY PRESSURE. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Luffy began to laugh at the man's misfortune.

The man didn't seem to appreciate the mockery while being the target of laughter, looking at this man who laughed at him with hatred. However, he couldn't do much, as he was all battered and weak after days without proper food.

As if he couldn't feel more hatred, even without knowing what really happened, he was in his cell, trying to conserve his strength. Suddenly, the ceiling began to crack, frightening him immensely. When the ceiling finally gave way, he saw a giant, dark ball with several hundred kilos falling on him! He narrowly escaped not only being hit by a bullet falling from the ceiling but almost drowned inside his cell. His luck was that the impact broke the bars that held him, allowing him to swim back to the surface, where the marines had to bring him to the restaurant without handcuffs.

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