Intimidating Krieg

Sanji fought Gin.

As for that iron-wall shield guy, Gin, unable to hold himself back, smashed his shield with his weapon and knocked him out in disgrace. Krieg was furious, yet helpless.

After a fierce battle, Sanji was still no match for Demon Man Gin.

After all, Sanji had already been seriously injured during his fight with the shield guy, while Gin was the commander-in-chief of the Krieg Pirates and the strongest fighter besides Krieg himself. It was only natural that Sanji, in his badly wounded state, could not defeat him.

To everyone's surprise, when Gin was about to kill Sanji, he held back. He even turned around and urged Krieg to give up the ship, ultimately enraging Krieg enough to use a poison gas bomb!

"Poison Gas—"

Suddenly.

Bzz!

Krieg's words were forcibly cut short by a brilliant azure light that flashed to life. The blue streak swept across the sea beside him, slicing the deck in its path cleanly in half!

"If you dare fire that poison gas bomb, I'll kill you right now!"

Hearing Zero's chilling words, Krieg felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar and did not dare move an inch. When he came back to his senses the next moment, his expression turned manic, bloodshot veins bulging in his eyes.

"You brat, you dare threaten me? I'll kill every last one of you right now!"

"Luffy!"

Hearing Zero call out, Luffy immediately stretched out his arm.

"Gum-Gum—Pistol!"

His suddenly elongating arm blew apart the barrel of Krieg's poison gas launcher. Not only did it delight everyone at the Sea Restaurant, it also made Zero, who had been forcing himself to stand, breathe a sigh of relief.

Their captain could be careless at times, but he was still dependable when it mattered. At the very least, his side mission had been completed!

As Zero thought this, Luffy had already begun fighting Krieg.

Krieg's armor was like an arsenal. He continuously pulled out all kinds of devastating weapons to fend off Luffy's attacks, from explosive guns to a cape covered in sharp iron spikes. Before long, Luffy's body was covered in wounds.

Even so, Luffy did not fall into a disadvantage. Instead, his fearless momentum infected everyone present, making Krieg more and more alarmed as the fight went on.

In the end, under Luffy's relentless barrage of punches, Krieg's super-alloy armor shattered apart!

Just when everyone thought the battle was over, the treacherous Krieg pulled out a huge iron net from somewhere and caught Luffy in midair, intending to drag him into the sea and drown him.

"Luffy!"

Even knowing Luffy would ultimately be fine, Zero could not help shouting.

Krieg's plan was obvious enough. For a Devil Fruit user, entering the sea meant becoming helpless, able only to wait quietly for death.

What he had not expected was that Luffy did not give up. He stretched his limbs out through the iron net, twisted his body into a spiral, and tightly clamped his own face between his feet!

"Gum-Gum—Battle Axe!"

Krieg still failed. Luffy hurled him viciously onto the deck, knocking him out cold!

As for Luffy, who was tangled in the iron net, he fell into the sea but was rescued when Sanji dove in after coming to his senses. Then, thinking Luffy could not be saved, Sanji saw him already snoring soundly in his sleep. Sanji immediately relaxed and collapsed onto the ground.

With that, the turmoil caused by the Krieg Pirates came to an end, and Luffy and the others claimed a resounding victory!

Sea Restaurant.

Zero sat listlessly by the window, gazing out at the sea as though lost in thought. He did not notice Zeff approaching from behind until the man was close, then nodded to him.

Zeff asked, "Have you rested enough?"

Zero nodded.

Then Zeff added,

"You came from the Grand Line, didn't you?"

"Hm?"

"Was what you displayed in your battle with Hawk-Eye just now Haki? I heard that Haki is an ability possessed only by a very small number of powerful people on the Grand Line."

Zero did not deny it.

"It was Haki."

"Then..."

"Unfortunately, I have never been to the Grand Line. I can assure you of that. Otherwise, I would not have boarded Luffy's ship."

Zero wanted to add something else, but Zeff burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha, it doesn't matter! This is the era of you young people. Us old fossils should have handed the stage over to you long ago!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"With you and your pirate crew, I believe you can reach the Grand Line! If possible, take Sanji with you. His dream is there too!"

Seeing Zeff's earnest expression, Zero nodded. "I'll do my best. It's what our captain wants too, but he seems to—"

"You don't need to worry about that. I'll arrange it!"

Zeff patted his chest as he spoke. Zero chuckled, then turned to look out the window once more.

Before long, Luffy woke from his sleep and invited Sanji to join the pirate crew again, only to be rejected again. It was also here that Luffy learned Sanji's dream was to reach all blue, though the time had not yet come.

Standing by the doorway, Zero heard their conversation as well. Luffy wanted to drag Zero over to help persuade Sanji, but Zero merely shook his head and remained silent, leaving Luffy with no choice but to give up.

The three of them then went downstairs, only to be greeted by the other chefs criticizing Sanji's dishes. Even Zeff joined in, smashing plates in protest as if Sanji's food were the worst in the world.

Sanji was so angry that he immediately walked away and hid behind a door, only to accidentally overhear Zeff and the others planning to make him willingly join the Straw Hat Pirates. He was instantly speechless.

After that, Joseph leaped onto the ship while being chased and bitten by a shark, urging Luffy and the others to hurry to the island where Nami was. This also made Sanji finally decide to set sail with Luffy and the others.

"Sanji, don't catch a cold!"

Sanji had been about to step onto the small boat without looking back, but upon hearing Zeff's words, he instantly turned around, dropped to his knees, and shouted,

"Old Man Zeff! Thank you for taking care of me all this time! I will never forget the kindness you have shown me!"

Luffy, Zero, and Joseph watched the touching scene from the small boat and could not help smiling together.

"All right, set sail!"

At Luffy's call, everyone joined in. The Straw Hat Pirates had gained another member, who would battle across the seas with Luffy and the others while pursuing his own dream!