When You're Hungry, You Eat

"Wow! This guy was carrying quite a bit of money." Nami swept all the bills on the ground into her pouch with a beaming smile, sighing happily.

"But let me make this clear first: you'll each have to pay for your own meals! This money is only enough to cover Rayson and me!" Nami immediately wiped the smile off her face and deliberately put on a stern expression as she looked at Zoro and Usopp beside her.

"Huh?!" Zoro and Usopp instantly froze.

Rayson had clearly pressured the Marines into leaving that money behind, hadn't he?

How had it become Nami's personal property in the blink of an eye?!

Still, seeing Rayson standing nearby with an indulgent smile, showing no intention of stepping in, Zoro and Usopp could only sigh to themselves and start figuring out how they would pay their own bills later.

Rayson watched Nami with a smile. He knew that although she was stingy about money, she would never truly abandon her companions at a critical moment.

"Hm?" Luffy noticed that Sanji, the blond chef with curled eyebrows, was carrying a tray alone and silently heading toward the kitchen.

"Everyone, please continue enjoying your delicious meals!" After beating Gin until he was barely alive, Patty once again put on his trademark ingratiating smile, drawing a burst of enthusiastic applause from the restaurant's diners.

He then grabbed Gin by the collar, pushed open the back door, and threw him onto the outer deck like garbage.

"Don't let me see you again!" Patty snorted coldly and slammed the door shut.

"Hey! You're hungry, aren't you?" Luffy leaned over the second-floor railing, looking down at Gin curled up on the deck and shouting loudly.

"Shut up! I'm not hungry!" Gin stubbornly retorted. Even though his body had weakened to the limit, the last remnants of a pirate's pride still kept him from bowing his head.

Grrrrr...

But the thunderous growl of his stomach exposed him on the spot.

Creak...

The back door was gently pushed open again.

Sanji came out carrying a steaming plate of egg fried rice and silently set it down in front of Gin.

"Eat." Sanji spoke softly, skillfully lighting a cigarette for himself. He raised his eyes toward the blue sky, deliberately avoiding Gin's miserable, embarrassed state.

"Take it, take it away! I won't accept anyone's charity!" Gin stared fixedly at the fragrant fried rice, swallowing with difficulty, but his words still resisted.

"Whether you eat or not is your freedom. But to me, anyone who's hungry is my customer." Sanji slowly exhaled a plume of smoke.

"No one in this world understands better than I do... just how terrifying it is to be on the vast sea without food or fresh water." Sanji murmured softly as bitter memories buried for years surfaced in his mind.

Once, he and Zeff had been stranded on a barren reef island without so much as a blade of grass for forty-eight whole days. Those agonizing days that had nearly driven them mad had completely forged his iron rule as a chef: whether someone was an utterly evil devil or a passing stranger, as long as they were starving, they deserved food to fill their stomachs.

As for grudges, there would be time to settle them after they had eaten.

"I understand that boring pride of yours... but if you eat this plate of food, you'll live." Sanji turned to Gin with a faint smile.

Gin could no longer suppress his instincts. He grabbed the spoon like a starving wolf pouncing on prey and frantically shoved rice into his mouth.

"It's good... it's so good... I thought I was really going to die this time..." Tears splashed into the fried rice as Gin wolfed it down and wailed.

"This is the best food you've ever eaten, isn't it?" Sanji asked with a smile.

Whenever he saw someone on the verge of starving to death eat food he had personally cooked, he remembered how moved he had felt when he was saved. It was the taste of life, the hope of surviving.

"Did you find a suitable cook, Luffy?" At that moment, Rayson pushed open the wooden door and strolled over to Luffy's side, chuckling at the sight on the deck.

"Hahaha! That's right! We found an amazing guy!" Luffy grinned broadly.

"Hey! Chef! Join my pirate crew and become our companion!" Unable to contain his excitement, Luffy shouted down at Sanji at the top of his lungs.

"Huh?" Sanji paused slightly, raising his head toward the second floor in surprise.

When he saw Rayson beside Luffy, Sanji's expression immediately turned serious. "You're the man who was with that beautiful lady... You're pirates?"

"That's right. My name is Rayson, and I'm this guy's companion. So, are you interested in setting sail with us?" Rayson extended the invitation from above.

Rayson studied Sanji.

Rather than finding Sanji's nearly obsessive code as a chef foolish, Rayson sincerely admired it.

A chef's duty was to feed the hungry. That was the purest foundation of the profession.

On this ocean where the strong preyed upon the weak, everyone had a bottom line they insisted on defending. It might seem childish and laughable to outsiders, but only by following one's true heart could one achieve greatness.

What's more, as a traveler who had crossed over into this world, the words "eating a meal" held an equally sacred place in Rayson's heart.

Even in peaceful times, food and warmth were the first necessities of survival.

When acquaintances met, the first greeting they most often exchanged was, "Have you eaten yet?"

If not, then they should sit down and have a meal first.

No matter how dangerous the situation, filling one's stomach came first.

Even if it came down to a fight to the death, it had to wait until after a full meal.

Just like the timeless truth Luffy often shouted in the original story:

"When you're hungry, you eat!"

"Rayson? That name sounds strangely familiar." Hearing Rayson introduce himself, Sanji muttered to himself around his cigarette. He vaguely remembered customers discussing that name excitedly lately.

But Sanji's interests were completely occupied by beautiful ladies and exquisite cooking. He had never paid any attention to the customers' idle chatter. Whatever prominent identity Rayson might have now, he had no interest in it.

Compared to Rayson's reputation in the outside world, what Sanji envied most was that this man had somehow won the heart of that lovely girl.

"I refuse." Sanji answered expressionlessly, rejecting Luffy's invitation on the spot.

"I refuse your refusal!" Luffy shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice even louder than Sanji's.

"What the hell are you refusing?" Sanji was immediately amused by this straw-hatted Idiot.

"Either way, I refuse your refusal! Your cooking is so good, so you should become a pirate with me!" Luffy yelled with a completely serious expression.

(If you new crewmates think this story is decent, please leave a good review and lend me a hand!)