Part 11 - Sanji 4/21
Just a few days ago, the late Arlong could boast of such a bounty on his head. And again, just a few days ago, such a bounty was considered the second highest in all of East Blue, but now it only ranked fifth... or fourth, considering that the second place was occupied by two people... or maybe even third? Buggy had a bounty of thirty million, but recent local newspapers mentioned that he had supposedly set sail for the Grand Line, which meant he was automatically removed from the East Blue pirate lists. However, in Sanji's extremely biased view, whether it was twenty million or not, such a bounty for Nami was complete nonsense! It would be insulting to even give the Goddess twenty billion, let alone the pitiful twenty million: the Goddess is priceless! The only comfort was that it seemed he wasn't alone in thinking this. Sanji noted that the word "DEAD" was removed from Nami's poster. That's right! The Goddess deserves only "ONLY ALIVE" and nothing but "ONLY ALIVE"! There are countless pirates, but there is only one Goddess!
Under Nami's poster was an additional note stating that no reward would be given for a dead girl. The editorial also explained that, when it came time to choose between "The Queen of the Monsters" and "The Queen of Mercy," after prolonged debates, the girl's official title became simply "Queen." Nami, the "Queen of Pirates," similar to Boa Hancock, the "Pirate Empress." Incidentally, a question was raised about who was more beautiful. After all, the "Empress" had long been at the peak of her beauty, while the "Queen," due to her age, still had yet to reach that peak. Considering that the "Queen" already had a look quite comparable to the "Most Beautiful Woman in the World," it inevitably raised the question.
Overall, there was seemingly an entire order of magnitude more written about Nami than about Zoro, Johnny, and Yosaku. Moreover, it was written in a way that the only negative fact about the girl was her association with the "Pirate Slayers." Additionally, this information was presented in a way that created the impression that by becoming a pirate, the "Queen" had merely stumbled slightly. Like, who hasn't? Therefore, it was enough for her to make a formal apology for her bounty to be immediately withdrawn. After this, Sanji admired the journalist responsible for the article and the editors even more — what a proper approach! Goddesses should be appreciated!
However, as soon as Sanji reluctantly turned the page from his Goddess's poster, he saw a completely different article, unrelated to the "Pirate Slayers." All his respectful feelings instantly vanished. Instead, his eyes immediately filled with blood.
"These idiots… these feeble-minded idiots… these feeble-minded, thick-headed idiots! Do they still not get it?!! " The newspaper in Sanji's hands shook visibly, and all the people around him, except for old Zeff, wisely moved away. "How could they have missed Him?! They wrote so much and still managed to overlook the most important thing?! Idiots!!! "
The satisfied Zeff stroked his mustache, which stuck out in all directions and was braided. Watching the boy who had flared up with rage — literally flared up! — and then immediately extinguished when he realized he had irrevocably burned the newspaper with the photo of his Goddess, Zeff couldn't stop smiling. So 'hated' by Sanji pirate evoked almost completely opposite feelings in the old pirate. Zeff had no idea where such a Monster had come from in these waters, but he understood that the saying about devils in a quiet pond had been around for a long time and was not without reason… Here, however, it was more like full-fledged demons, even Demons. Rather, there was initially only one Demon, but then he raised another, and together they began training the rest. Zeff had seen a lot in his life, including a wide variety of people. However, he had never encountered anyone like this. The main "Pirate Slayer" always operated from the shadows, which did not prevent him, like a giant octopus, from wrapping his "tentacles" around literally all of East Blue. Zeff, now quite satisfied with his life as a chef on his floating restaurant, had once been a true Legend, so he knew well how the world worked. And if Zeff wanted to learn something about someone, he would simply find out, but not this time.
When the Monster first came to the restaurant, Zeff, it must be said, was deceived, like everyone else. At that time, he was more interested in the person who had been considered the strongest swordsman in East Blue for quite some time. And as soon as Zeff saw him, he instantly realized that the term "considered" could not even come close. The young man named Zoro could not be considered the strongest swordsman in East Blue, not when he was one! Although Zeff had no idea where such a kid could not only learn about Haki but also master it despite his youthful age. Such a person could easily be found on the Grand Line, especially in the second half, but to meet such a person in East Blue? The weakest sea of all? Nevertheless, as always, the facts spoke for themselves. And although Zoro, at the time of their first meeting, had only mastered the basics of Haki, even that was enough to elevate him to the level of a local god. Pirates with Haki were worth a hundred million and above, and usually mastered only one type, while Zoro had managed to master two. This was so far beyond the average level of East Blue that Zeff couldn't help but be intrigued by such a person.
First and foremost, Zeff, naturally, inquired about Zoro's background. The boy, who initially seemed to the old pirate to be somewhat taciturn, was indeed just that, but as it turned out, Zoro was quite a drinker. Sake didn't interest him, but the wine and rum offered were received with great enthusiasm. The conversation immediately improved. Zoro didn't reveal much about his parents — he might not have known much about them himself or simply didn't want to talk about them for some reason — but he did talk enough about his teacher and his school for Zeff to draw appropriate conclusions.
Zoro's teacher, as the old pirate understood, was a well-educated, reasonably strong, and clearly respectable man, but he was not the one who taught the green-haired boy Haki. Or had no one taught him? Could he have discovered the ability himself? This was indeed possible, though it happened extremely rarely. However, before Zeff decided to ask directly that day, his attention was drawn to Zoro's companion.
Frankly, against the backdrop of such a mystery as the best swordsman in East Blue with his distinctly palpable Haki, Zeff almost immediately forgot that Zoro had come to their restaurant with someone else. The second guy, though he drew a fair amount of attention with his loud voice, laughter, and an acid-bright T-shirt that nearly made one's eyes bleed just by looking at it, did not interest Zeff at all. In terms of personal strength, the guy was nothing outstanding. Not particularly strong, but not weak either. To be honest, Zeff found it hard to measure his strength at all.
Perhaps it was the strong contrast between the guy's behavior and his personal strength? The exuberant vitality prevented a proper sense of his ordinary strength? Zeff had never encountered such a phenomenon before. Most likely, in any other situation, the old pirate would have definitely been interested in Zoro's companion, but that day, he was sitting across from Zoro himself, and he was far more intriguing than unusual phenomena. After all, Zoro himself was quite a phenomenon.
In general, after spending a few seconds evaluating the green-haired swordsman's companion, making some assumptions, and drawing a few conclusions, Zeff immediately lost almost all interest in him. Although not entirely ordinary, he was still just another typical blabbermouth clinging to his strong friend — how many of these had there been and how many more would there be? So, Zeff was completely unprepared for the sight of "Flying Sanji," whose body, having flown straight over his head, smashed through one of the restaurant's walls and flew out onto the street. A ringing silence immediately fell over the room. It wasn't the fight itself that was unusual — such things happened here a hundred times a day — but the outcome.
Zeff, of course, enjoyed kicking Sanji and calling him a weakling and an ignoramus, but essentially, the little brat was the second strongest person in his restaurant. So, aside from Zeff himself, Sanji had never lost a fight. Not once. What surprised Zeff even more was Sanji's opponent. Because this opponent turned out to be none other than Zoro's companion. Just a minute ago, Zeff would have bet anything that Sanji would easily take this guy down in two or three seconds.
The situation not only didn't improve but began to get stranger and stranger. However, as Zeff would soon learn, when the infamous "Pirate Slayer" was nearby, such circumstances became the norm.
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