Battle Begins

The half-hour countdown ended.

Krieg stood at the bow and gave the order.

"Men, kill all the cooks, seize this ship, and continue our assault on the Grand Line!"

"Yeah!"

The many underlings charged down from the ship as if pumped full of adrenaline.

Gin still wanted to stop them. He did not want to repay kindness with enmity, but after Krieg shot him a vicious glare, he too headed below.

On the Baratie side, Paddy and Carnage had raised the Baratie's two "fins," forming a modest combat platform.

The cooks armed themselves with battle kitchen tools and stood ready.

The two sides quickly collided.

The cooks, who looked tough and brash, were crushed in an instant and fell to the ground.

The Krieg Pirates' underlings burst into laughter. "Hahaha! No matter how well you can fight, you're still just cooks. We're pirates who fight for a living!"

Seeing this, Paddy and Carnage turned and headed downstairs into the restaurant.

Sanji was still watching. The enemy officers had yet to make a move, so he needed to hold back in case of trouble.

From the very beginning, the battle had become a complete rout for the cooks, utterly one-sided.

Can Yue, who stood on the restaurant rooftop gathering his fighting spirit, fell into thought as he watched the situation.

According to his memories, Hawk Eyes should have appeared by now and cut Krieg's pirate ship into pieces.

But why had Hawk Eyes not acted? He had merely moved forward a little and stopped a kilometer away. Was he really just watching the show?

No matter. What is meant to come will come sooner or later.

The battle continued, and with the cooks on the verge of defeat, Sanji could no longer sit still.

A single upside-down spinning flying kick sent numerous enemy pirates flying off the platform.

With Sanji joining the fight, the cooks gained room to recover and gradually began gaining the upper hand.

Just then, a strange-looking man shaped like a turtle and covered head to toe in shields emerged from the sea. He was Iron Wall Bara, an officer of Krieg's pirate fleet.

Gin also came ashore with him, carrying a rotating iron ball hammer.

Gin looked at Sanji. "Mr. Sanji, I am deeply grateful for that meal. If it were not Captain Krieg's order, I would not raise a hand against you. Please surrender."

Hearing that, Sanji lit a cigarette and replied, "I will never allow anyone to destroy this restaurant. No matter who they are!" Then he entered a fighting stance.

With Sanji tied down, the cooks fell into a disadvantage again. Paddy and Carnage, who had gone to start the pepper fish head boat, saw that the situation was bad and had no choice but to return upstairs.

The two looked at Sanji and said, "Leave the one with the hammer to us. You go defeat that iron turtle first."

The battle continued. Sanji quickly gained the upper hand against Iron Wall Bara and knocked him to the ground in just a few moves.

As for Paddy and Carnage, the instant they faced Gin, they were smashed flying by his hammer, their eyes rolling white as blood spilled from their mouths.

Worried about his companions, Sanji lost focus for an instant. As a result, Iron Wall Bara landed a heavy blow on his head, leaving him briefly dazed.

It seemed the cooks were about to suffer a total defeat.

But Can Yue was not worried, because at this point, it meant the Straw Hat Crew should be joining the battle.

Luffy grinned. "Brothers, it's our turn."

Zoro gripped the hilts of his swords with both hands and followed closely behind Luffy.

Nami took out her connectable staff from her chest and guarded the restaurant entrance, ready to stop any pirates who might break through the line.

Usopp hid by one of the restaurant's windows, drew his slingshot, and prepared to support the battlefield.

Chouchou trotted after Zoro with little taps of his paws.

Standing at the bow, Krieg looked at them and asked disdainfully, "Where did these nobodies come from? How dare they interfere in the affairs of the great me, Pirate Admiral Krieg?"

Hearing that, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp were all a little surprised.

So this guy did not recognize us after all?

Luffy, on the other hand, did not think much of it at all.

Zephyr had also been a little surprised at first. After all, the Straw Hat Crew had been the hottest crew in the East Blue pirate world recently.

But after thinking it over, he guessed Krieg and his men had only just returned from the Grand Line. Their fleet of five thousand had nearly been wiped out, and they were all close to starving to death, so they probably had not been in the mood to follow recent events.

Thinking of that, Zephyr began looking forward to Krieg's reaction once he learned the truth.

Zoro blocked Bara.

Chouchou let out a roar and transformed into a five-meter-long dog demon form. His terrifying Demonic Aura intimidated every pirate present.

Luffy, meanwhile, walked toward Sanji, who lay at Gin's feet.

With the Straw Hat Crew's appearance, the battlefield changed in an instant.

Even if the Krieg Pirates had not recognized Luffy.

Chouchou alone crushed the pirates with his presence until they could barely breathe.

Just as the Krieg Pirates were frightened into backing away by Chouchou, Krieg shot one retreating underling dead from the bow.

He shouted, "Getting scared like that by a mere beast is disgraceful! Whoever dares retreat, I'll kill him!"

Krieg's viciousness shocked the underlings into calming down. Once they thought about it, retreat meant certain death, while facing Chouchou did not necessarily mean they would lose.

So they shouted and charged at Chouchou one after another.

Zoro looked at Iron Wall Bara, the corner of his mouth lifting into a confident smile.

"Don't disappoint me."

With that, Zoro did not put on his bandana and merely drew two swords to face him.

Iron Wall Bara looked thoroughly displeased. A mere combatant from some unknown pirate crew actually dared look down on him. He immediately flew into a rage, skipping the trash talk as he charged straight in.

He raised his shield and smashed it toward Zoro's head.

Zoro easily sidestepped it and swung the sword in his right hand. Blood spurted from Bara's shoulder and neck, where his shields did not cover him.

"Bastard!" Bara roared. Ignoring the pain from his wound, he jumped up and prepared to use his crushing weight.

Zoro smiled faintly. This time, he did not intend to dodge. He crossed his swords before his chest and raised them to meet the attack.

The seemingly incredibly heavy Bara was held aloft by Zoro just like that.

Bara's legs pointed toward the sky, with only his shield braced against Zoro's blades as the point keeping him balanced.

If he flipped over and landed, his entire body would be exposed, and he would surely be cut down.

Unable to move freely, he had completely lost the initiative.

Zoro looked at Bara and said, "If that's all you've got, then this battle is about to end."

As he spoke, the muscles in Zoro's arms swelled and veins bulged. He sent Iron Wall Bara flying, crashing to the ground.

"Show me your trump card. If you don't have one, you'll become a turtle swimming in the waters of the underworld."

Bara had landed face-first from high in the air, and blood flowed from his nose.

Wounded again and humiliated, Bara instantly lost his mind. Flames rose from every shield on his body.

Overall, he looked like an oversized turtle hiding inside a flaming shell.

"Damn green-haired bastard, I'll kill you!"

As though he had lost all reason, Bara charged at Zoro with flames covering his body.

The moment Zoro saw it, he lost interest.

"Your ultimate move is just a turtle shell that looks more intimidating? Then this can end now."

"Two Sword Style, Rhino Return!" Zoro pointed both swords forward, bringing them together at one point like a rhinoceros horn as he charged ahead.

"Let's see if your turtle shell can stop a rhino's charge!"

In an instant, the two collided.

Bara stared in shock at Zoro charging into the flames. "Why do you dare charge into the fire? Aren't you afraid of being burned to death?"

Zoro said disdainfully, "The pain from this little fire is nothing compared to Can Yue's daily training."

"And besides, your turtle shell has far too many openings!"

As Zoro finished speaking, the shield on Bara's chest split apart from the point struck by Rhino Return, like a pizza being sliced open.

The terrifying force of Rhino Return shot through the shield from that point and blasted straight backward. Zoro's twin swords immediately pierced Bara's abdomen.

Bara's eyes rolled white, and he collapsed completely.

Zoro sheathed his swords and turned away coolly.

Nearby, Luffy had already helped Sanji up. Looking at the scene, he asked Gin, who was still standing straight, "Aren't you going to help your companion?"

Gin shook his head. After sighing, he replied, "You cannot defeat Captain Krieg. Victory was decided long ago. As for me, I only want to bury my benefactor, Sanji, with my own hands."

Hearing that, Luffy turned his head toward Sanji.

Sanji forced himself to stand steadily, lit a cigarette, and said to Luffy, "Leave Krieg to you. Gin and I have unfinished business."

Luffy fell silent for a moment, adjusted his straw hat, and said to Sanji, "Don't die. You're the cook on my ship."

Sanji looked thoroughly annoyed, but he did not argue on the spot. Instead, he prepared for a fierce battle with Gin.

With that said, Luffy clenched his fists and looked up at Krieg. "Are you ready, you heartless bastard of a gorilla?"