Arriving at Baratie

The vast East Blue was bathed in blinding sunlight.

The Eclipse cut steadily through the waves. On the expansive aft deck, a startlingly high-temperature white steam was rising.

"Hoo—"

Ace, his muscular upper body bare, slowly exhaled a scorching, turbid breath. Across his massive eight-foot-two frame, the muscle fibers that had just been torn from training beyond human limits were healing, reorganizing, and becoming denser and more terrifying under the shroud of the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire.

The price for this was an incredibly extravagant expenditure of physical energy.

"Captain! The roast is ready!"

Buggy, wearing a chef's hat and with his face blackened by soot, ran over carrying a massive iron tray with a look of despair. On the tray lay an entire leg of a coastal sea beast weighing several hundred pounds, charred black on the surface but still oozing blood within.

Ace didn't waste words; he grabbed the giant beast leg and began to chew and swallow with the ferocity of a gale sweeping through clouds.

In just three minutes, several hundred pounds of meat were eaten clean.

Ace tossed the bone aside and frowned slightly. This crude method of cooking failed to bring out the delicious flavor of the sea beast meat, serving only as fuel to fill his stomach.

"We should be arriving at the place I mentioned soon, Carina."

Ace picked up a towel to wipe the sweat from his body and draped his dark red trench coat over his shoulders.

"Yes, Captain."

Carina, dressed in a sharp, professional suit, jumped down from the top of the wheelhouse holding a nautical telescope, a hint of a smile flashing in her purple eyes. "Based on the currents and wind direction, we are at most five nautical miles away."

"Finally, I don't have to cook anymore," Buggy muttered under his breath, but upon catching Ace's gaze, he immediately shrank his neck and began cleaning up the trash with practiced efficiency.

Half an hour later.

A maritime structure with a peculiar design, shaped like giant fish heads at both ends, appeared on the horizon.

That was the most prestigious top-tier restaurant in the East Blue—Baratie.

At this moment, many merchant ships and pirate vessels of various designs were already moored around the perimeter of Baratie. Yet, when the Eclipse's eye-catching, teardrop-shaped hull, resembling a black blade, slowly pulled into a berth, it still instantly drew the gaze of countless diners and bodyguards inside and outside the restaurant.

Amidst the crowd's mixed looks of awe and greed, the Eclipse docked steadily.

"Thud."

Heavy footsteps landed on the wooden deck extending from Baratie.

Ace walked in the lead; his eight-foot-two stature stood like an insurmountable wall before these ordinary East Blue citizens, who averaged five-foot-eight. Even though he suppressed his aura, the natural coldness and pressure he exuded still caused the vicious pirates blocking the entrance to subconsciously swallow their saliva and obediently clear a path.

Sabo carried his alloy staff, following calmly on the left; Carina walked on the right with elegant strides; while Buggy followed at the very back, looking around like a lackey.

The four of them pushed open the restaurant doors and took seats at the most spacious round table in the main hall.

"So this is the best restaurant in the East Blue? The decor is actually quite tasteful," Carina remarked, glancing around at the exquisite tableware and chandeliers.

"Hey! Waiter! Hurry up and bring out the most expensive, highest-calorie meat you have! Our Captain is hungry!" Buggy shouted, slamming the table with extreme arrogance.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a swift figure slid out from the direction of the kitchen.

It was a young man in a black double-breasted suit with short blond hair, his left eye obscured by his bangs.

He held an exquisite tray with perfect stability, seemingly prepared to lash out at the loud-mouthed Buggy. But as his gaze swept across the round table and landed on the purple-haired, purple-eyed, and curvaceous Carina.

"Boom!"

The blond man's eyes instantly transformed into exaggerated pink heart shapes, and he slid to his knees beside Carina as smoothly as a tornado.

"Oh! To think this ocean could give birth to such a beautiful and charming violet! My noble lady, your beauty makes all the lights in Baratie pale in comparison!"

The blond man, Sanji, clutched his chest with one hand in an exaggerated gesture, while his other hand gentlemanly placed a specially mixed fruit juice from his tray in front of Carina.

"This is the Deep Sea Love, prepared especially for you. Please, enjoy it at your leisure. If you do not mind, I would like to offer you all of my culinary skills and my soul." Sanji's body twisted into the shape of a noodle, and pink bubbles seemed to float all around him.

Carina was taken aback by this sudden display, then covered her mouth and chuckled shrewdly: "Giggle, you have a sweet tongue, handsome."

Watching this scene, Buggy couldn't help but rap his knuckles hard against the table.

"Hey! Swirly-brow! I told you to bring meat! Are you deaf?!"

The pink hearts on Sanji's face vanished instantly.

He turned his head in extreme annoyance, his eyes filled with disdain and impatience as he shot a cold glare at Buggy: "Shut up, Red-nose. Can't you see I'm serving this beautiful lady? Go to the back kitchen and fetch whatever wild boars eat yourself."

"You want to die, you bastard?!" Buggy, enraged, pulled out his Seastone knuckles.

"That's enough, Buggy."

Sabo reached out to stop the agitated Buggy, his gaze looking toward Sanji with extreme calm: "Since you are the chef, please bring us ten servings of the signature dishes on the menu. Money is no object."

Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke and let out a perfunctory "tch": "Fine, fine, a bunch of boorish men. Please wait a moment, my beautiful lady, your exclusive special meal will be here soon~"

With that, Sanji blew a flying kiss to Carina once more and slipped back into the kitchen like a nimble loach.

The commotion briefly subsided, and Carina shook her head with amusement.

Ace, sitting in the main seat with his chin resting on his hand, had taken in Sanji's entire performance.

He had, of course, recognized this blond cook as the future Black Leg Sanji. The moment Sanji had slid over, Ace had keenly sensed the remarkable explosive power contained within the muscles of the lad's legs.

The culinary skill was indeed top-tier, and the foundation was solid.

But this kid—this spineless, sycophantic act is just too stupid, isn't it?

Ace shook his head in silent speechlessness.

Reading the manga in the original work was one thing, but seeing a grown man abandon all bottom lines for a woman, twisting his body into that noodle-like shape in reality, only gave Ace goosebumps.

Furthermore, Ace was well aware of Sanji's true colors, that "chivalrous spirit" and his principle of "never kicking a woman even if he dies."

Such a personality was a perfect bond within a romantic, eccentric adventure crew like Luffy's. But if placed aboard his own Eclipse, a ship with the goal of dominating the world and a cold, domineering style of conduct, it would be completely out of place. If they were to encounter an extremely troublesome female enemy in the future, this kid would definitely be unable to handle it, and might even make a complete mess of things.

Forget it, such a rare specimen is better left to that kid Luffy.

Ace decisively crossed Sanji off his recruitment list in his heart.

This ocean was vast and boundless, hiding countless monsters who kept their true strength concealed. With the current financial resources of the Eclipse Pirates and his own strength, was he afraid he wouldn't be able to find a satisfactory chef who could both satisfy his monstrous appetite and fit his personality?

For this trip, simply spending money to buy the top-tier recipes from Baratie would be enough.

Just as Ace completely dismissed the idea of recruiting Sanji and prepared to wait patiently for his meal.

"BANG--!!"

The two heavy glass doors of the sea restaurant were suddenly kicked open from the outside with extreme violence.

The sound of shattering glass, accompanied by a set of incredibly arrogant footsteps, instantly shattered the elegant atmosphere within the restaurant.

"Hey! Everyone in this restaurant, get out immediately! From this moment on, this place is being completely reserved by His Highness, the Third Prince of the Lubneel Kingdom!"

An extremely arrogant and grating voice exploded throughout the hall of Baratie.