Chef Sanji and Demon Man Ajin

"We've arrived at the Baratie~~"

As Johnny Joseph, who had taken it upon himself to be the errand boy, reported, the Golden Merry gradually approached a...

"This really is a restaurant."

Roman looked at the three-story restaurant-like... ship? before him, unable to comment.

Was it because the seas in this area were too calm, allowing any piece of wood to float? Or was the shipbuilding technology in this world so advanced that such a bizarre structure could appear on the sea...

Ah, forget it. As a Devil Fruit user himself, he shouldn't be thinking about scientific impossibilities.

Huh?

As the Golden Merry, carrying Roman and the others, slowly approached, a Marine warship appeared on the other side of the Baratie.

"Ah, this..."

"Should we try to avoid them?"

The two Pirate Hunters, Joseph and Johnny, hid by the ship's railing, while Roman, Luffy, and the other 'Pirates' stood boldly on the deck.

"A Pirate flag I've never seen before..."

On the Marine warship, a Marine officer wearing iron fist gauntlets looked at Roman and the others.

"I am Marine Headquarters Captain 'Iron Fist' Fullbody. Who is the captain?"

Although he asked this, his gaze had already fallen on Roman. Compared to the other guys with their peculiar 'art styles,' Roman looked much more reliable. However:

"I'm the captain,"

Luffy, standing beside him, declared his identity with a serious expression. "We just drew the Pirate flag yesterday."

"What a joke, another idiot with a screw loose."

The Marine Captain nodded. So, they were just a bunch of fools who dared to call themselves 'Pirates' after hanging a skull flag.

"Today is my day off, so I'll let you off the hook."

"If I catch you during my 'working hours,' I'll throw you all into prison!"

With that, he linked arms with his female companion and went to the 'Baratie' ahead to eat, simultaneously snapping his fingers at the sailors on the warship.

"Old rule."

—The so-called 'old rule' was that when the Marines encountered Pirates but didn't want to pursue them, they would fire a cannon as a 'deterrent' to make them retreat. This also prevented others from gossiping about them not firing a single shot when an enemy was present...

"Whoa, whoa, this is bad!"

However, Usopp, who knew nothing of these 'unwritten rules,' saw the cannon being aimed at them and shouted in panic.

"Their cannon is aimed at us..."

BOOM!

The cannon's muzzle flashed, and a cannonball the size of a person's head flew towards the Golden Merry.

"Watch this, Rubber-"

Facing the cannonball, Luffy unhesitatingly jumped onto the ship's railing, took a deep breath, and suddenly transformed into a round, plump 'fat man' over three meters tall.

"Balloon!"

THUD~~

The cannonball deeply embedded itself in Luffy's chest, and after its kinetic energy was depleted, it was then bounced back by Luffy.

"Here's your cannonball back~~~!"

Hmm, not bad.

It seemed that even a 'Rubber-Rubber Fruit' could be developed in various ways, suggesting that Luffy, as the captain, was quite...

KABOOM—

POOF!

"Hey, hey, hey, Luffy!"

"Where did you bounce that cannonball?"

I'm numb, I'm numb.

In just a moment of carelessness, Luffy started goofing around again...

The cannonball was indeed successfully bounced back, but the angle was a bit exaggerated. —It hit the roof of the nearby 'Baratie'!

"Who? Who did that!!"

Soon, a group of chefs wielding knives and forks rushed out of the 'Baratie' menacingly. Although they only held kitchen knives and forks, the 'kitchen utensils' made to be as tall as a person could kill fish and, presumably, people as well!

"It was him!" X4

"Ahhhhhh~~~"

Betrayed by Roman, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp, Luffy was dragged away by the many chefs amidst a string of screams. Next:

"Well, since we've encountered the Baratie."

Roman rubbed his chin.

"Then let's grab a meal while we're at it."

"Agreed~~~"

Since Roman always paid anyway, who wouldn't agree to a free meal?

"The two of us will watch the ship."

Although Joseph and Johnny didn't have much skill or ability, they were good at handling people.

"Everyone who comes and goes here is a pirate, a Marine, or someone just trying to make a living at sea. If no one's watching the ship, we might not even know if it's been secretly taken away."

"Alright then," Roman nodded. "You two stay on the Golden Merry and keep an eye on that merchant ship behind us. We'll bring you some food later."

"Got it, thanks, Brother Roman."

"I can't believe there are actually ships that operate as restaurants at sea. How do they even maintain..."

Usopp asked as he looked around while walking.

On the vast sea, the law of the jungle was displayed in its entirety. A restaurant could easily encounter guests who, after finishing their meal, would try to pay with 'bullets'—!?

Oh, this...

As the four of them entered, they saw a waiter in a suit? Beating up a customer!

And that customer was the Marine Lieutenant who had just ordered them fired upon, Iron Fist... what was his name again?

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, they're even hitting Marines... maybe we should..."

Usopp immediately got scared! This wasn't a restaurant, it was probably a pirate hideout...

"Don't panic,"

Roman waved his hand.

"Look, there are still so many people in the main hall... and it's good that some people ran away, it cleared up some seats for us."

With that, Roman walked directly towards an empty table. Zoro, who looked indifferent, Nami, who was preoccupied with her thoughts, and Usopp, who was trembling with fear, had no choice but to sit down. Then:

"Yo, isn't that Luffy?"

"How come after just a few minutes, you've gone from Pirate King to waiter?"

"Aaaahhh, I'm so miserable, Roman~~"

Luffy, wearing a straw hat and an apron, sat down naturally, looking completely out of place as he 'served'.

"That chef uncle... he's the captain of this ship, and he's making me work here for a year to pay off a debt..."

"How can this be? I still need to go to the Grand Line..."

Serves you right for having such terrible aim when deflecting cannonballs.

Roman thought to himself, then frowned suddenly.

Wait a minute!

Could Luffy have done this on purpose?

This way, he could infiltrate the restaurant and get a sense of their true nature, which would make recruiting the chef...

No, no, I'm probably overthinking it.

Rubbing his temples, Roman glanced at Luffy, who had sat down naturally. He had to remind him of his current 'identity'.

"Say, aren't you dressed as a waiter?"

"Shouldn't you be taking our order, bringing us tea and water, and so on..."

"Captain!"

"Captain Fullbody!"

Just then, a bloodied Marine soldier rushed into the restaurant! This made Captain Fullbody, who had just been beaten up for throwing a bug into someone's food out of annoyance with the waiter, turn around.

"That... that executive from the Krieg Pirates... escaped—"

Bang!

With a gunshot, the Marine soldier at the door slowly fell down, revealing a thin man behind him.

He wore a gray and white jacket with a red snake pattern, and his pants matched the jacket. He wore a green shirt underneath and a patterned headscarf on his head.

After taking down the reporting Marine with a single shot, the man stepped over Captain Iron Fist, who had just been beaten, and casually sat down at an empty table.

"Hey, this is a restaurant, right?"

"Whatever, just bring me something to eat..."

Facing this man, who practically had 'I am a vicious pirate' written all over his face, a burly chef stepped forward without a hint of fear and asked with a... ferocious smile.

"Sir, do you have any money?"

"?!"

Snap

The flintlock gun in his hand was pressed against the burly chef's head.

"Can I pay with bullets?"

Bang!

But the very next second, the pirate holding the gun was smashed to the ground with a single punch! Even the chair beneath him exploded into pieces.

"No money?"

The burly chef, his 'smile' gone, glanced coldly at the man on the ground.

"A penniless pirate gets no leftovers!"

Bang, bang, bang!!

Punching and kicking, It was another scene of a chef beating someone up. However, compared to beating up Marines earlier, this time the crowd in the restaurant roared with approval at the chef beating up a pirate.

"Take him down—"

"Not bad, chef..."

"Well done!"

Yeah, not bad.

Roman, who was watching the show, his eyes flickered. This burly chef, even in the old Silver Light Pirates, could have been a junior captain. But—he was just a junior captain with a bounty of a few million.

Damn it, what kind of chef is this? They're clearly a bunch of combatants!

Taking advantage of the distraction, the Marine Captain who had managed to get up quietly crept towards the door, taking the Marine soldier who had been shot with him.

"Alright, esteemed customers, please continue your meal~~"

After throwing the troublemaking pirate out, the burly chef turned and gave a disgusting curtsy, lifting his skirt. One could imagine—only a chef like this could run a restaurant on the chaotic seas, right?

"Cough, cough,"

The man who had been thrown out like a dead dog felt a wave of despair. Who would have thought that Demon Man Ajin, a combat captain of the Krieg Pirates with a bounty of 12 million, would fall so low? He feared this was the day of his death...

Thump

A plate of fried rice and a cup of water were placed before him. It was the blonde waiter in the suit who had just beaten up the Marine Captain.

"Eat,"

"Ah... Th... Thanks..."

"Thank you!"

"This is delicious!!"

Facing Pirate Ajin, who swallowed his tears along with his food, the waiter leaning nearby took a drag from his cigarette.

He was so foolish to pity a pirate who committed all sorts of evil. But...

Isn't giving food to the hungry his life's creed?

"Haha~"

Luffy, who was leaning by the window, grinned.

"Found a good chef..."