An Uninvited Guest

"Ah, there you are!" Inside the Baratie, Luffy found William and the others enjoying a delicious meal in the dining hall, making him feel rather jealous.

When the Golden Merry had been approaching the Baratie earlier, Luffy had actually impatiently launched himself onto the restaurant with Gum-Gum Rocket. As a result, he smashed the restaurant's upper deck and was caught by Zeff, the owner and head chef. Since fights between chefs and pirates often broke out at the restaurant, most of the waiters had quit out of fear. So Zeff decided that Luffy, who had no money to pay for the damage, would work as a waiter for a year to repay his debt.

Although the process had differed greatly from the original story, the fact that Luffy had been forced to become a waiter at the Baratie remained unchanged.

"Hey, waiter!" Nami greeted Luffy when she saw him dressed as a waiter. She truly could not believe that this man in server attire was Luffy, the one who always shouted about becoming the Pirate King.

"I heard you have to work here for a year?" Usopp, seated beside Nami, could not help saying. They had already heard from the chefs that Luffy would have to work as a waiter for a year to compensate for the damage. Though they found it unbelievable, considering Luffy's personality, it was not impossible.

"How about changing the ship's flag?" Zoro went straight for the jugular. In other words, if Luffy kept working here as a waiter, they would have no choice but to replace the captain.

But if they really replaced the captain, probably no one here besides Usopp would be willing to remain pirates. William and Zoro had agreed to become pirates because of Luffy. If the captain were replaced, they would likely either kill the new captain or quit being pirates altogether. Nami hated pirates more than any other profession. If not for the appearance of a peculiar pirate like Luffy, she would still be a thief who specialized in stealing pirates' treasure. Although Usopp wanted to become a pirate and a brave warrior of the sea, he was too timid to sail alone.

"Work hard. Being a waiter has a promising future," William said with a faint smile.

Since the Baratie was quite famous in the East Blue and all sorts of people could appear here, William wore not only his usual newsboy cap but also a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. However, he had long told the Straw Hat Pirates that he was a former Marine colonel who was being pursued by the Marines for committing an offense.

Though they had their doubts, it was the truth. He simply could not explain, nor did he need to explain, anything about being transported into this world.

"You guys actually left me here while you ate such delicious food! That's too much!" Seeing his companions enjoying fine food while he, the captain, had to work, Luffy was extremely displeased. But then again, who would dare let Luffy do any work? Tell him to wash dishes, and he would break as many as he washed. Tell him to wash vegetables, and he would sneak food in the kitchen. William had no idea why Zeff insisted on keeping him, but it definitely could not be as simple as making Luffy work as a waiter for a year. If that were really the case, this restaurant would shut down before the year was over.

"It's nothing. We're free to do as we please," Zoro said as he drank. Still, he felt that it was not as satisfying as beer. This restaurant had everything except the beer he wanted.

"But putting that aside, the food here really is delicious." William picked up his glass, ready to drink, then suddenly poured the water straight into Luffy's mouth and shouted, "Drink this disgusting crap!"

"What are you doing? Bleurgh!"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" William had noticed Luffy picking his nose long ago. Seeing Nami and the others smirking, he had known something was up. Sure enough, because he did not get to eat a grand meal, Luffy had resorted to this disgusting method to get revenge on them.

But judging by Luffy's expression, he had brought it upon himself. He had actually put boogers into William's glass of water and thought William would not notice?

"Ah, sea, thank you for letting me meet her today! Ah, love! Mock me to your heart's content as I suffer in agony! ... But how tragic! There is such a tremendous obstacle between us!" A blond young man suddenly appeared beside Nami. From his hairstyle, clothes, and casual confession to a beautiful woman, this was Sanji, the person William needed to invite.

"Am I your obstacle, Sanji?" asked a displeased middle-aged man with one leg and a braided beard. The aura around him made it clear that this old man was no ordinary restaurant owner.

"Huh? You old geezer?" Sanji froze when he realized that the newcomer was Zeff, the restaurant's owner and head chef. He knew he had let something slip without thinking.

"Take this chance and become a pirate. This place has no need for you anymore!" Zeff said with a look of disgust.

"Hey, old geezer, I'm the sous-chef here! You're saying this place doesn't need me? What are you talking about?" Sanji said irritably upon hearing that Zeff intended to throw him out.

"You constantly offend customers, harass girls, and your cooking is terrible. You're nothing but dead weight to this restaurant. Whether you become a pirate or anything else, get lost already!"

"What? You think I'm easy to bully just because I don't say anything? Old geezer, no matter what you say, I'm the sous-chef here. You're not allowed to complain!" Clearly, Sanji had no intention of leaving the Baratie, nor was he afraid of Zeff's disdain.

"You punk, what are you doing grabbing the head chef by the collar?" When Zeff knocked Sanji down with his chef's hat, William actually sensed Haki. As expected of a pirate who had sailed the Grand Line for over a year and returned unharmed. He really was strong.

"Great, he agreed! That means you can become my companion!" The moment Luffy heard that Zeff intended to fire Sanji, he immediately seized the chance to recruit him.

"No way!" Sanji readily refused. But William could see that Sanji actually wanted to go out to sea and adventure. He had merely decided to stay here for the rest of his life to protect Zeff's life's work in repayment for Zeff's kindness.

Although Sanji had refused Luffy's invitation, William felt there was no need for him to personally invite Sanji yet. The time was not right, and no one could persuade Sanji before it arrived. But that time would come within the next few days. To keep the story aligned with the original, William had even moved the treasure Nami stored inside him into the Golden Merry's warehouse. Of course, Nami had been the one to suggest it first.

"My apologies for earlier. To express my regret, please accept this assorted fruit cheesecake. Your after-dinner drink is sweet wine. Please enjoy, Princess." Having just argued with the owner, Sanji turned around and immediately began fawning over Nami again.

"Wow, thank you! You're so thoughtful!" Nami acted like a proper lady at that moment. Anyone who did not know her identity would have thought she was a refined young lady from some wealthy family.

"Hey, aren't you going to apologize to us too, you perverted cook?" Usopp said unhappily at Sanji's discriminatory treatment.

"Didn't I already serve you coarse tea? Don't push your luck, idiots!" Unlike his gentleness toward beautiful women, Sanji treated men as though he were negotiating with gangsters. He was practically a thug.

"You looking for a beating? William, Zoro, take down this perverted cook!" As expected of Usopp, he was invincible with his mouth, but the moment things got serious, his timid nature was immediately exposed.

"You do it yourself." Neither William nor Zoro had any intention of helping Usopp. They had no interest in dealing with childish squabbles like this.

"Who told you to sit here slacking off, waiter? Get back to work!" Sanji slammed a kick into Luffy's head. Fortunately, Luffy was made of rubber, or he would have been left bleeding from the head.

"Yes, sir!" Luffy was dragged away by Sanji, helpless and unwilling. Yes, dragged away, because Luffy had absolutely no desire to leave the table.

"Boss, Admiral Don Krieg's ship is outside!" Patty, one of the Baratie's chefs, ran in and anxiously informed Zeff of the situation outside.

When William heard that Admiral Don Krieg's warship had appeared outside the restaurant so soon, he realized that he and the Straw Hat Pirates had arrived at the Baratie later than in the original story. Otherwise, Don Krieg would not have shown up this quickly.

"You've got to be kidding! Isn't Don Krieg the leader of that pirate fleet with five thousand men? Why is he here?" The restaurant's customers began discussing it among themselves. The person before them was no ordinary pirate, but the dreaded admiral of the East Blue's most terrifying pirate fleet—the East Blue's overlord, Admiral Don Krieg!

"Still, that ship is really wrecked," Luffy said as he looked at the enormous warship. No other warships accompanied it, and the one before them was severely damaged. It truly made people curious.

"They must have encountered some kind of disaster at sea. Human strength alone couldn't have damaged such a massive warship to this extent!"

"Excuse me... Could you... give me some water and food? I have money. I'll pay whatever you ask." Don Krieg was carried inside by his subordinate, Demon Man Gin, and weakly pleaded.

"What's going on? He has no dignity or presence at all. Is he really Don Krieg?" Neither the restaurant's guests nor its staff could believe that the pathetic man being carried inside was the dreaded East Blue overlord, Admiral Don Krieg.

But despite the objections of the restaurant's guests and his coworkers, Sanji did not refuse to provide food. Yet the moment Don Krieg had eaten his fill, he immediately repaid kindness with hostility. "Not a bad restaurant. I'm taking this ship!"